An extended invariant approach to laminate failure of fibre-reinforced polymer structures

This paper presents the extension and validation of omni-failure envelopes for first-ply failure (FPF) and last-ply failure (LPF) analysis of advanced composite materials under general three-dimensional (3D) stress states. Phenomenological failure criteria based on invariant structural tensors are implemented to address failure events in multidirectional laminates using the “omni strain failure envelope” concept. This concept enables the generation of safe predictions of FPF and LPF of composite laminates, providing reliable and fast laminate failure indications that can be particularly useful as a design tool for conceptual and preliminary design of composite structures. The proposed extended omni strain failure envelopes allow not only identification of the controlling plies for FPF and LPF, but also of the controlling failure modes. FPF/LPF surfaces for general 3D stress states can be obtained using only the material properties extracted from the unidirectional (UD) material, and can predict membrane FPF or LPF of any laminate independently of lay-up, while considering the effect of out-of-plane stresses. The predictions of the LPF envelopes and surfaces are compared with experimental data on multidirectional laminates from the first and second World-Wide Failure Exercise (WWFE), showing a satisfactory agreement and validating the conservative character of omni-failure envelopes also in the presence of high levels of triaxiality.

Fragility Analysis of Structural Pounding Between Adjacent Structures Arranged in Series With Various Alignment Configurations Under Near-field Earthquakes

A major cause of local to total damages is related to structural pounding in a large number of past earthquakes. In general, these collisions take place as a result of differences in the dynamic characteristics of the colliding structures. To acquire a better perception of the behavior of structures, in this paper, three structures featuring different heights are modeled in series and with various configurations next to each other in OpenSees. To determine the collision effects of the structures, three different configurations of 4-, 8- and 12-story adjacent reinforced concrete special moment resisting frames were considered. Then, by conducting an incremental dynamic analysis, their structural seismic limit state capacities were assessed via 20 near-field record subsets recommended by FEMA-P695. At last, for the above adjacent buildings with various separation distances and configurations, the fragility curves were determined, and the probability of exceedance from the primary Hazus-MH failure criteria was estimated. In addition, the results were compared with those obtained when this phenomenon did not take place for buildings to have a better perception of the pounding phenomenon. The results of the analyses show that arranging adjacent structures in series greatly affects the collapse capacities of the colliding structures. In addition, in the case when the shorter structure is placed in the middle of two taller structures, it results in the most critical situation among all configurations, and in this case, a higher reduction is observed in the structural performance levels.

The Role of Soil Structure Interaction in the Fragility Assessment of HP/HT Unburied Subsea Pipelines

Subsea high pressure/high temperature (HP/HT) pipelines may be significantly affected by the effects of soil structure interaction (SSI) when subjected to earthquakes. Numerical simulations are herein applied to assess the role of soil deformability on the seismic vulnerability of an unburied pipeline. Overcoming most of the contributions existing in the literature, this paper proposes a comprehensive 3D model of the system (soil + pipeline) by performing OpenSees that allows the representation of non-linear mechanisms of the soil and may realistically assess the induced damage caused by the mutual interaction of buckling and seismic loads. Analytical fragility curves are herein derived to evaluate the role of soil structure interaction in the assessment of the vulnerability of a benchmark HP/HT unburied subsea pipeline. The probability of exceeding selected limit states was based on the definition of credited failure criteria.

Failure Criteria for Brittle Notched Specimens

Recently, new failure criteria were proposed for brittle materials to predict their failure loads regardless of the shapes of a notch or a crack in the material. This paper is to further evaluate the failure criteria for different shapes of notches and different materials. A circular hole, elliptical hole or crack-like slit with a different angle with respect to the loading direction was considered. Double circular holes were also studied. The materials studied were an isotropic material like polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) as well as laminated carbon fiber composites. Both cross-ply and quasi-isotropic layup orientations were examined. The lamination theory was used for the composite materials so that they can be modelled as an anisotropic and homogeneous material. The test results were compared to the theoretical predictions using the finite element analysis with 2-D plane stress models. Both theoretical failure stresses agreed well with the experimental data for the materials and notch geometries studied herein.

Failure Criteria and Constitutive Relationship of Lightweight Aggregate Concrete under Triaxial Compression

This paper investigates the compression behavior and failure criteria of lightweight aggregate concrete (LAC) under triaxial loading. A total of 156 specimens were tested for three parameters: concrete strength, lateral confining pressure and aggregate immersion time, and their effects on the failure mode of LAC and the triaxial stress-strain relationship of LAC is studied. The research indicated that, as the lateral constraint of the specimen increases, the failure patterns change from vertical splitting failure to oblique shearing failure and then to indistinct traces of damage. The stress-strain curve of LAC specimens has an obvious stress plateau, and the curve no longer appears downward when the confining pressure exceeds 12 MPa. According to the experimental phenomenon and test data, the failure criterion was examined on the Mohr–Coulomb theory, octahedral shear stress theory and Rendulic plane stress theory, which well reflects the behavior of LAC under triaxial compression. For the convenience of analysis and application, the stress-strain constitutive models of LAC under triaxial compression are recommended, and these models correlate well with the test results.

Determination of Safe Mud Weight Window in Rumaila Oilfield, Southern Iraq

The oil and gas industry, wellbore instability plays an important role in financial losses and stops the operations while the drilling which leads to extra time known as non-productive time. In this work, a comprehensive study was carried out to realize the nature of the instability problems of the wellbore in Rumaila oilfield to improve the well design. The study goal is to develop a geomechanical model in one dimension by utilizing Schlumberger Techlog (Version 2015) software. Open hole wireline measurements were needed to develop the model. The model calibrating and validating with core laboratory tests (triaxial test), well test (Mini-frac test), repeated formation test. Mohr-Coulomb, Mogi-Coulomb, and Modified Lade are the three failure criteria which utilized to analyze the borehole breakouts and to determine the minimum mud weight needed for a stable wellbore wall. For more accuracy of the geomechanical model, the predicted profile of the borehole instability is compared with the actual failure of the borehole that is recorded by caliper log. The results of the analysis showed that the Mogi-Coulomb criteria are closer to the true well failure compared with the other two criteria and considered as the better criteria in predicting the rock failure in the Rumaila oilfield. The wellbore instability analysis revealed that the vertical and low deviated wells (less than 40º) is safer and more stable. While, the horizontal and directional wells should be drilled longitudinally to the direction of the minimum horizontal stresses at a range between 140º–150º North West-South East and the mud weight recommended is increased to 10.5 ppg to avoid most of instabilities problems. The results contribute in development plan of the wells nearby the studied area and decreasing NPT and cost.

Comparison of Numerical Simulation Techniques of Ballistic Ceramics under Projectile Impact Conditions

This article presents an analysis of the effectiveness of available numerical techniques in mapping the characteristic behavior of ballistic ceramics under projectile impact conditions. As part of the work, the ballistic tests were performed on the layered ceramic/steel composite armor and tested with the 7.62 × 39 mm, armor-piercing incendiary (API) BZ projectile. The experimental tests were then mapped using computer simulations. In numerical analyses, four different techniques were used to describe cubic ceramic tiles Al2O3 placed on the ARMOX 500T steel backing plate, i.e.,: the Finite Element Method without Erosion (FEM), Finite Element with erosion (FEM + Erosion), Smoothed Particles Hydrodynamics (SPH) and a hybrid method that converts finite elements to SPH particles after exceeding the defined failure criteria (FEM to SPH conversion). The effectiveness of the individual methods was compared in terms of quality (mapping of characteristic phenomena occurring during the penetration process), quantity (bulge height of the backing plate) and time needed to complete the calculations. On the basis of the results of the experiments and numerical simulations, it was noticed that the most accurate reproduction of the phenomenon of ballistic impact of AP projectiles on ceramic/steel composite armor can be obtained by using a hybrid method, incorporating the conversion of finite elements into SPH particles. This method should be used in cases where accuracy of the results is more important than the time required to complete the calculations. In other situations where the purpose of the calculation is not to determine, for example, the exact value of penetration depth but only to observe a certain trend, the FEM method with defined erosion criteria (variant 2), which is more than 10 times faster, can be successfully used.