Numerical performance assessment of buried corrugated metal culvert subject to service load conditions

Author(s):  
Elham Nakhostin ◽  
Shawn Kenny ◽  
Siva Sivathayalan

Two- and three-dimensional continuum finite element methods were used to assess the mechanical response of buried metal culverts subjected to service load conditions. The analysis explored the influence of the culvert profile, cover depth, section aspect ratio, and service load magnitude on culvert deformation, thrust, and section moment response. The numerical predictions were calibrated using third-party experimental data. For shallow burial conditions, the culvert section profile was found to be an influential parameter on the predicted culvert response where the soil–culvert interaction mechanisms and load transfer processes are governed by nonlinear behaviour. Models that incorporate the corrugated culvert profile provided better estimates of the culvert thrust than the simplified computational models that are typically used in analysis. Results from this study demonstrate that existing simplified methods cannot capture the local variation (i.e., amplitude, waveform) of the membrane strain and section thrust particularly between the crest and trough of corrugation.

2020 ◽  
Vol 143 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuolun Wang ◽  
Hamed Hatami-Marbini

Abstract The cornea, the transparent tissue in the front of the eye, along with the sclera, plays a vital role in protecting the inner structures of the eyeball. The precise shape and mechanical strength of this tissue are mostly determined by the unique microstructure of its extracellular matrix. A clear picture of the 3D arrangement of collagen fibrils within the corneal extracellular matrix has recently been obtained from the secondary harmonic generation images. However, this important information about the through-thickness distribution of collagen fibrils was seldom taken into account in the constitutive modeling of the corneal behavior. This work creates a generalized structure tensor (GST) model to investigate the mechanical influence of collagen fibril through-thickness distribution. It then uses numerical simulations of the corneal mechanical response in inflation experiments to assess the efficacy of the proposed model. A parametric study is also done to investigate the influence of model parameters on numerical predictions. Finally, a brief comparison between the performance of this new constitutive model and a recent angular integration (AI) model from the literature is given.


2008 ◽  
Vol 131 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. García-Aznar ◽  
J. Bayod ◽  
A. Rosas ◽  
R. Larrainzar ◽  
R. García-Bógalo ◽  
...  

The load transfer mechanism across the skeleton of the human foot is very important to understand its biomechanical function. In this work, we develop several computational models to compare the biomechanical response of different metatarsal geometries. Finite element 3D simulations of feet reconstructed from computer tomography (CT) scans were used to evaluate the stress/strain distributions during the stance posture. The numerical predictions for pathological and healthy foot geometries present different load transfer mechanisms that can provide a biomechanical explanation of why some metatarsal geometrical configurations cause different foot skeletal stresses. The most significant result in all cases was a reduction between 20% and 30% of the peak load supported by the first metatarsal. Therefore, we conclude that a clearly unloaded first metatarsal, overloading the rest, is a risk factor to induce metatarsalgia.


2015 ◽  
Vol 52 (10) ◽  
pp. 1592-1604 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Briançon ◽  
D. Dias ◽  
C. Simon

This paper describes a case history of a pile-supported industrial structure with an area improvement ratio of 2.2%. Field-monitored data from the contact pressures acting on the pile, the mattress, and underneath the concrete slab; pore-water pressures; settlements; and vertical strains in the inclusions are reported and discussed. The case history is back-analyzed by performing a three-dimensional (3D) finite difference analysis. The measured and computed results are compared and discussed. Based on the field observations of the contact stresses and pore-water pressures and the numerical simulations of the industrial structure construction, it is clear that there was a load transfer from the soil to the piles due to soil arching. The measured contact pressure acting on the pile was approximately six times higher than that acting on the soil located between the piles. Numerical predictions of the stress reduction, differential settlement, and pile strain are consistent with the measured values during construction of the industrial structure. This concurrence of the numerical and experimental data permits evaluation of these behaviors at the end of the industrial building construction.


2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmet Erdemir ◽  
Pavana A. Sirimamilla ◽  
Jason P. Halloran ◽  
Antonie J. van den Bogert

Mechanical properties of the foot are responsible for its normal function and play a role in various clinical problems. Specifically, we are interested in quantification of foot mechanical properties to assist the development of computational models for movement analysis and detailed simulations of tissue deformation. Current available data are specific to a foot region and the loading scenarios are limited to a single direction. A data set that incorporates regional response, to quantify individual function of foot components, as well as the overall response, to illustrate their combined operation, does not exist. Furthermore, the combined three-dimensional loading scenarios while measuring the complete three-dimensional deformation response are lacking. When combined with an anatomical image data set, development of anatomically realistic and mechanically validated models becomes possible. Therefore, the goal of this study was to record and disseminate the mechanical response of a foot specimen, supported by imaging data. Robotic testing was conducted at the rear foot, forefoot, metatarsal heads, and the foot as a whole. Complex foot deformations were induced by single mode loading, e.g., compression, and combined loading, e.g., compression and shear. Small and large indenters were used for heel and metatarsal head loading, an elevated platform was utilized to isolate the rear foot and forefoot, and a full platform compressed the whole foot. Three-dimensional tool movements and reaction loads were recorded simultaneously. Computed tomography scans of the same specimen were collected for anatomical reconstruction a priori. The three-dimensional mechanical response of the specimen was nonlinear and viscoelastic. A low stiffness region was observed starting with contact between the tool and foot regions, increasing with loading. Loading and unloading responses portrayed hysteresis. Loading range ensured capturing the toe and linear regions of the load deformation curves for the dominant loading direction, with the rates approximating those of walking. A large data set was successfully obtained to characterize the overall and the regional mechanical responses of an intact foot specimen under single and combined loads. Medical imaging complemented the mechanical testing data to establish the potential relationship between the anatomical architecture and mechanical responses and to further develop foot models that are mechanically realistic and anatomically consistent. This combined data set has been documented and disseminated in the public domain to promote future development in foot biomechanics.


Author(s):  
D. L. Callahan

Modern polishing, precision machining and microindentation techniques allow the processing and mechanical characterization of ceramics at nanometric scales and within entirely plastic deformation regimes. The mechanical response of most ceramics to such highly constrained contact is not predictable from macroscopic properties and the microstructural deformation patterns have proven difficult to characterize by the application of any individual technique. In this study, TEM techniques of contrast analysis and CBED are combined with stereographic analysis to construct a three-dimensional microstructure deformation map of the surface of a perfectly plastic microindentation on macroscopically brittle aluminum nitride.The bright field image in Figure 1 shows a lg Vickers microindentation contained within a single AlN grain far from any boundaries. High densities of dislocations are evident, particularly near facet edges but are not individually resolvable. The prominent bend contours also indicate the severity of plastic deformation. Figure 2 is a selected area diffraction pattern covering the entire indentation area.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4284
Author(s):  
Lvtao Zhu ◽  
Mahfuz Bin Rahman ◽  
Zhenxing Wang

Three-dimensional integrated woven spacer sandwich composites have been widely used as industrial textiles for many applications due to their superior physical and mechanical properties. In this research, 3D integrated woven spacer sandwich composites of five different specifications were produced, and the mechanical properties and performance were investigated under different load conditions. XR-CT (X-ray computed tomography) images were employed to visualize the microstructural details and analyze the fracture morphologies of fractured specimens under different load conditions. In addition, the effects of warp and weft direction, face sheet thickness, and core pile height on the mechanical properties and performance of the composite materials were analyzed. This investigation can provide significant guidance to help determine the structure of composite materials and design new products according to the required mechanical properties.


2015 ◽  
Vol 665 ◽  
pp. 241-244
Author(s):  
Marco Thiene ◽  
Zahra Sharif Khodaei ◽  
M.H. Aliabadi

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) techniques have gained an increased interest to be utilised alongside NDI techniques for aircraft maintenance. However, to take the SHM methodologies from the laboratory conditions to actual structures under real load conditions requires them to be assessed in terms of reliability and robustness. In this work, a statistical analysis is carried out for a passive SHM system capable of impact detection and identification. The sensitivity of the platform to parameters such as noise, sensor failure and in-service load conditions has been investigated and reported.


2013 ◽  
Vol 729 ◽  
pp. 702-731 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. I. Ruban ◽  
M. A. Kravtsova

AbstractIn this paper we study the three-dimensional perturbations produced in a hypersonic boundary layer by a small wall roughness. The flow analysis is performed under the assumption that the Reynolds number, $R{e}_{0} = {\rho }_{\infty } {V}_{\infty } L/ {\mu }_{0} $, and Mach number, ${M}_{\infty } = {V}_{\infty } / {a}_{\infty } $, are large, but the hypersonic interaction parameter, $\chi = { M}_{\infty }^{2} R{ e}_{0}^{- 1/ 2} $, is small. Here ${V}_{\infty } $, ${\rho }_{\infty } $ and ${a}_{\infty } $ are the flow velocity, gas density and speed of sound in the free stream, ${\mu }_{0} $ is the dynamic viscosity coefficient at the ‘stagnation temperature’, and $L$ is the characteristic distance the boundary layer develops along the body surface before encountering a roughness. We choose the longitudinal and spanwise dimensions of the roughness to be $O({\chi }^{3/ 4} )$ quantities. In this case the flow field around the roughness may be described in the framework of the hypersonic viscous–inviscid interaction theory, also known as the triple-deck model. Our main interest in this paper is the nonlinear behaviour of the perturbations. We study these by means of numerical solution of the triple-deck equations, for which purpose a modification of the ‘skewed shear’ technique suggested by Smith (United Technologies Research Center Tech. Rep. 83-46, 1983) has been used. The technique requires global iterations to adjust the viscous and inviscid parts of the flow. Convergence of such iterations is known to be a major problem in viscous–inviscid calculations. In order to achieve improved stability of the method, both the momentum equation for the viscous part of the flow, and the equations describing the interaction with the flow outside the boundary layer, are treated implicitly in this study. The calculations confirm the fact that in this sort of flow the perturbations are capable of propagating upstream in the boundary layer, resulting in a perturbation field which surrounds the roughness on all sides. We found that the perturbations decay rather fast with the distance from the roughness everywhere except in the wake behind the roughness. We found that if the height of the roughness is small, then the perturbations also decay in the wake, though much more slowly than outside the wake. However, if the roughness height exceeds some critical value, then two symmetric counter-rotating vortices form in the wake. They appear to support themselves and grow as the distance from the roughness increases.


2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 704-718 ◽  
Author(s):  
X.W. Zhou ◽  
J.A. Zimmerman ◽  
B.M. Wong ◽  
J.J. Hoyt

Palladium hydrides have important applications. However, the complex Pd–H alloy system presents a formidable challenge to developing accurate computational models. In particular, the separation of a Pd–H system to dilute (α) and concentrated (β) phases is a central phenomenon, but the capability of interatomic potentials to display this phase miscibility gap has been lacking. We have extended an existing palladium embedded-atom method potential to construct a new Pd–H embedded-atom method potential by normalizing the elemental embedding energy and electron density functions. The developed Pd–H potential reasonably well predicts the lattice constants, cohesive energies, and elastic constants for palladium, hydrogen, and PdHx phases with a variety of compositions. It ensures the correct hydrogen interstitial sites within the hydrides and predicts the phase miscibility gap. Preliminary molecular dynamics simulations using this potential show the correct phase stability, hydrogen diffusion mechanism, and mechanical response of the Pd–H system.


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