Effect of Strain Rate Sensitivity on Fracture of Laminated Rings under Dynamic Compressive Loading

The effects of cladding layers of rate-sensitive materials on the ductility and fracture strain of compressed rings are numerically investigated by using the finite element method (FEM) and employing the Johnson–Cook (J–C) model. The results show that ductility is governed by the behavior of the material that is located at the ring outer wall regardless of the volume fraction of the core and clad materials. However, as the number of layers increases, this influence becomes less noticeable. Moreover, as barreling increases at the outer wall and decreases at the inner wall, fracture strain increases. Furthermore, the effects of ring shape factor and bonding type of clad and core materials are numerically evaluated. The numerical results show that less force per unit volume is required to fracture narrower rings and that using a noise diffusion pattern at the interface of the materials is more suitable to simulate crack propagation in the compressed rings and functionally graded materials (FGMs). Additionally, delamination has a direct relation to layer thickness and can occur even in the presence of perfect bonding conditions owing to differences among the material and fracture parameters of laminated layers.

Perspective/Discussion on “Quantum Mechanical Metric for Internal Cohesion in Cement Crystals” by C. C. Dharmawardhana, A. Misra and Wai-Yim Ching

The single most important structural material, and the major Portland cement binding phase in application globally, is calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H). The concentration has increasingly changed due to its atomic level comprehension because of the chemistry and complex structures of internal C-S-H cohesion in cement crystals at different lengths. This perspective aimed at describing on calcium-silicate-hydrates (C-S-H) structures with differing contents of Ca/Si ratio based on the report entitled “Quantum mechanical metric for internal cohesion in cement crystals” published by C. C. Dharmawardhana, A. Misra and Wai-Yim Ching. Crystal structural and bond behaviors in synthesized C-S-H were also discussed. The investigator studied large subset electronic structures and bonding of the common C-S-H minerals. From each bonding type, the results and findings show a wide variety of contributions, particularly hydrogen bonding, that allow critical analyses of spectroscopic measurement and constructions of practical C-S-H models. The investigator found that the perfect overall measurement for examining crystal cohesions of the complex substances is the total bond density (TBOD), which needs to be substituted for traditional metrics such as calcium to silicon ratios. In comparison to Tobermorite and Jennite, hardly known orthorhombic phased Suolunites were revealed to have greater cohesion and total order distribution density than those of the hydrated Portland cement backbone. The findings of the perspective showed that utilizing quantum mechanical metrics, the total bond orders and total bond order distributions are the most vital criteria for assessing the crystalline cohesions in C-S-H crystals. These metrics encompass effects of both interatomic interactions and geometric elements. Thus, the total bond order distribution and bond order offer comprehensive and in-depth measures for the overall behaviors of these diverse groups of substances. The total bond order distributions must clearly be substituted for the conventional and longstanding Ca/Si ratios applied in categorizing the cement substances. The inconspicuous Suolunite crystals were found to have the greatest total bond order distributions and the perfect bonding characteristics, compositions, and structures for cement hydrates.

B EFFECT OF BOUNDARY CONDITIONS ON BUCKLING LOAD FOR LAMINATED COMPOSITE DECKS PLATES

Finite element (FE) method is presented for the analysis of thin rectangular laminatedcomposite decks plates under the biaxial action of in – plane compressive loading. Theanalysis uses the classical laminated plate theory (CLPT) which does not account for sheardeformations. In this theory it is assumed that the laminate is in a state of plane stress, theindividual lamina is linearly elastic, and there is perfect bonding between layers. The classicallaminated plate theory (CLPT), which is an extension of the classical plate theory (CPT)assumes that normal to the mid – surface before deformation remains straight and normal tothe mid – surface after deformation. Therefore, this theory is only adequate for bucklinganalysis of thin laminates. A Fortran program has been developed. New numerical results aregenerated for in – plane compressive biaxial buckling which serve to quantify the effect ofboundary conditions on buckling loading. It is observed that, for all cases the buckling loadincreases with the mode number but at different rates depending on whether the plate is simplysupported, clamped or clamped – simply supported. The buckling load is a minimum whenthe plate is simply supported and a maximum when the plate is clamped. Because of therigidity of clamped boundary condition, the buckling load is higher than in simply supportedboundary condition. It is also observed that as the mode number increases, the plate needsadditional supp

Synthetic Microstructure Generation and Multiscale Analysis of Asphalt Concrete

In this paper, we present an enhanced framework for the synthetic asphalt concrete (AC) microstructure generation for the numerical analysis purposes. It is based on the Voronoi tessellation concept with some necessary extensions that allow for the reliable generation of the aggregate particles of the given size distribution. The synthetic microstructure generation allows for faster numerical modeling of the novel materials. It can partially replace the X-ray computed tomography approach, which is frequently used in such analysis. Our framework is a kind of compilation of the known techniques with the enhancements applied to expedite the microstructure modeling process. Therefore, the generated microstructure is used in the numerical upscaling to model the macroscale asphalt concrete properties. We restrict ourselves (in this paper only) to the 2D elastic computations. We also assume the perfect bonding between these two materials and the static load for the sake of simplicity. The upscaling is performed by the multiscale finite element method (MsFEM). A short recapitulation of the MsFEM foundations as well as the numerical test comparing the overkill mesh solution with the upscaled one is provided in the paper. The test results confirm that the whole presented methodology can serve as a fast and reliable tool for the tests on novel asphalt mixtures and other heterogeneous materials. It can reduce the cost of the design process substituting some of the laboratory experiments, giving the opportunity to test the developed constitutive models and expedite the numerical analysis itself.

Analytic Simulations of Packaging Cardboards with Non-Rigid Adhesives

The understanding of the cardboard performance is necessary to the design of packaging containers and the protection of their contents for safe deliveries. The use of adhesives is unavoidable in the manufacturing of the cardboards. Like all materials, the adhesives have finite stiffness but when used in the literature, they are assumed perfectly rigid. This study changes this assumption by using the real properties of adhesives. A closed-form solution for cardboard panelsassembled withnon-rigid adhesives, and subjected to edgewise loading is presented. The solution satisfies the equilibrium equations of the layers, the compatibility equations of stresses and strains at the interfaces, and the boundary conditions. To investigate the effects of the finite values of adhesivestiffness on the responses, numerical evaluations are conducted. The results obtained have shown that the adhesive stiffness has a strong effect on the performance. Beyond a certain level of stiffness, the usual assumption of perfect bonding used in classical theories is acceptable. This could provide an answer to what constitutes perfect bonding in terms of the ratio of the fluted layer, or simply flute, stiffness to the bonding stiffness.

Topology Optimization of the Fiber-Reinforcement of No-Tension Masonry Walls

An innovative approach is proposed to define the optimal fiber-reinforcement of in-plane loaded masonry walls, modeled as linear elastic no-tension (NT) bodies. A topology optimization formulation is presented, which aims at distributing a prescribed amount of reinforcement over the wall, so as to minimize the overall elastic energy of the strengthened element. Perfect bonding is assumed at the wall-reinforcement interface. To account for the negligible tensile strength of brickwork, the material is replaced by an equivalent orthotropic material with negligible stiffness along the direction (s) undergoing tensile principal stress (es). Compressive principal stresses in the reinforcement are not allowed. A single constrained optimization problem allows both the equilibrium of the NT body to be enforced, and the optimal reinforcing layout to be spotted out, without any demanding incremental approach. Some preliminary numerical examples are shown to assess the capabilities of the proposed procedure and to identify the optimal reinforcement patterns for common types of masonry walls with openings.

Optimization of Roll Bonding by Hot Rolling in Experimental and Industrial Use

In this study the major topic were the bonding properties of the layer-clad aluminum sheets. The bonding was performed between AlMn1Si0.8 and AlSi10 alloys using hot rolling (a VON ROLL experimental duo mill). The experimental temperatures were 460, 480 and 500°C. The goodness of bonding was tested by tensile test and T-peel test. T-peel test provided a good description about the quality of bonding. Structure analysis was also performed by light microscopy to detect typical bonding faults. The aim of this investigation is modelling the bonding conformation in experimental conditions. Further aim of this investigation is to produce some typical bonding faults and find the cause of formation. The influence of the rolling temperature and surface roughness on the bonding was also analyzed. Rolling schedule and the role of first pass on the development of perfect bonding were experimentally determined.

The Strength of Dissimilar Fractal Joints

In this investigation, the influences of fractal geometry and material properties on the strength of dissimilar joints were studied. The fractal geometry explored was an iterative Koch curve. The interfacial layer joining two different materials was designed to be a Koch layer with three different numbers of iteration. The mechanical behaviors of the fractal dissimilar joints under both normal tensile traction and shear traction were simulated via finite element (FE) method. In the three-phase FE models, isotropic elasto-perfect-plastic material models with different stiffness and yielding strength were used for all three phases. By varying the stiffness and strength ratio of the Koch layer and the dissimilar materials, fractal dissimilar joints with both perfect bonding and imperfect bonding were simulated and compared. It was found that the fractal geometry plays a very important role in enhancing both the tensile and shearing strength of dissimilar joints, especially for the cases with imperfect bonding.

Dislocation Loop in Isotropic Bimaterial With Linear Springlike Imperfect Interface

The mobility of dislocations and their interaction with interfaces in nanocrystal and multilayers affect the mechanical behaviors of the material, depending on material compositions and interface conditions. In this paper, a semi-analytical solution is developed for calculating the elastic fields of dislocation loops within isotropic bimaterials with linear springlike imperfect interface models. Calculation examples of dislocation loops within Al–Cu bimaterials are performed, which demonstrate the reliability of the semi-analytical approach. The effects of constant matrix on the interface elastic fields are studied, showing that the interface constant matrix can influence the elastic fields drastically. Comparisons between perfect bonding and imperfect interface models are performed to study the effects of interface imperfection conditions on the in-plane and out-of-plane elastic fields across the bimaterial interface plane.