Properties of Plywood Made from Perforated Veneers

The paper is focused on the bending properties of beech plywood made from veneers with perforations. The modification of the plywood was done by the targeted perforations in veneers used. The perforations were rectangular in shape 5 × 30 mm. There was a gap of 10 mm between the perforations (in each direction) and the perforations in the individual rows were shifted by 10 mm relative to each other. Two structures of lightweight plywood were investigated: sheathed (lightweight type 1) with perforated inner layers sheathed with solid veneer and perforated (lightweight type 2) with perforations in each layer. Bending properties were evaluated by three-point bend testing. The results showed decreased bending strength (MOR) as well as decreased modulus of elasticity in bending (MOE) with reduction of weight. Bending strength (MOR) was reduced by 33 to 57% and modulus of elasticity (MOE) by 13 to 43% compared to standard (non-lightweight) plywood. Bendability of lightweight plywood expressed by the minimum bending radius (Rmin) and the coefficient of bendability (koh) point to a slight decrease in bendability by 1 to 35% compared to standard (non-lightweight) plywood. The benefit of the proposed plywood lightweight constructions is weight reduction by 16.5 to 24.4%.

Evaluation of loading methods for determination of material and elastic constants of cement fiber board

Cement fiber boards (CFB) are special group that are used in a wide range of structural civil engineering. For the correct design of a cement fibre board structure, it is important to define their material and elastic constants, which are usually determined by destructive tests. The paper deals with a definition of a suitable method of loading for the determination of basic materials and elastic constants of cement fiber boards reinforced with organic fibers loaded in the mid-plane. The publication compares and evaluates load tests by three-point and four-point bend.

Analysis of the Damage Mechanism around the Crack Tip for Two Rubber-Toughened PLA-Based Blends

The toughening mechanisms of poly(lactic acid; PLA) blended with two different elastomers, namely poly (butylene adipate-co-terephtalate; PBAT) and polyolefin elastomers with grafted glycidyl methacrylate (POE-g-GMA), at 10 and 20 wt.%, were investigated. Tensile and Charpy impact tests showed a general improvement in the performance of the PLA. The morphology of the dispersed phases showed that PBAT is in the form of spheres while POE-g-GMA has a dual sphere/fibre morphology. To correlate the micromechanical deformation mechanism with the macroscopical mechanical behaviour, the analysis of the subcritical crack tip damaged zone of double-notched specimens subjected to a four-point bending test (according to the single-edge double-notch four-point bend (SEDN-4PB) technique) was carried out using several microscopic techniques (SEM, polarized TOM and TEM). The damage was mainly generated by shear yielding deformation although voids associated with dilatational bands were observed.

Property Evolution and Reliability of Underfills Under Sustained High Temperature Storage

Automotive underhood electronics may be exposed to high temperature in the neighborhood of 100°C–200°C. Property evolution may impact reliability and accuracy of predictive models to assure desired use life. In this paper, evolution of properties of two underfill material properties are studied using DMA (Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer). The underfills are exposed to three different operational temperatures in the range of 100°C to 140°C for the measurements. The dynamic mechanical properties such as storage modulus (E′), loss modulus (E″), tangent delta (tan δ), and respective glass transition temperatures (Tg) are studied using DMA. Study of viscoelastic behavior of underfills is achieved by performing TTS (time-temperature superposition) experiments at 7 discrete frequencies 0.1, 0.21, 0.46, 1, 2.15, 4.64, and 10 Hz using DMA in three-point bend mode. From the selected reference temperatures, the master curves were constructed for storage moduli, loss moduli and tan delta as a function of frequency using TTS results. Using the WLF (Williams-Landel-Ferry) equation, the shift factors as a function of temperature were determined along the frequency axis. The relaxation modulus as a function of temperature and time can be obtained using the master curves of storage and loss moduli. A simple and detailed procedure has been established to find the Prony series constants.

Evolution of Potting-PCB Interfacial Reliability After Long Term High Temperature Operation

Fine Pitch Electronic Components are reinforced using epoxy potting compounds and underfills to improve reliability and survivability, in extreme environments. Potting of electronic components offers structural support, shock damping and protection for the components from environmental conditions like moisture. Potting is one of the cost-effective and viable way to improve the survivability of the electronic components. On dynamic shock loading, interfacial delamination occurs between the potting material and the PCB, which further propagates to solder interconnect failures. The interfacial properties change with long-term exposure to temperature during operating and storage conditions. Mechanics of interface delamination of the epoxy potted PCB samples with thermal aging is a primary focus on this paper. Determination of fracture parameters such as fracture toughness and strain energy release rate at steady state stress is important in selection of the potting material and the reliability study of the supplemental restraint systems. PCB/Epoxy specimens are prepared, and their fracture behavior is observed under quasi-static three-point and four-point bend loading. In three-point bending, the peak stress acts at the midpoint of the specimen. In four-point bend loading, the peak stress is along whole area of the specimen under load (load span). The curing temperature providing the best fracture resistance is selected and followed throughout the study. The samples are exposed to 100°C for 30days and 60 days. Under dynamic loading, damage at the interface is studied. The experimental results provide the peak critical load, from which the fracture toughness parameters are calculated. A comparison has been made on fracture toughness and crack initiation of the PCB/Epoxy systems, based on flexure method and thermal aging.

Simplified Mechanical Tests Can Simulate Physiological Mechanics of a Fixation Construct for Periprosthetic Femoral Fractures

Plate fractures after fixation of a Vancouver Type B1 periprosthetic femoral fracture (PFF) are difficult to treat and could lead to severe disability. However, due to the lack of direct measurement of in vivo performance of the PFF fixation construct, it is unknown whether current standard mechanical tests or previous experimental and computational studies have appropriately reproduced the in vivo mechanics of the plate. To provide a basis for the evaluation and development of appropriate mechanical tests for assessment of plate fracture risk, this study applied loads of common activities of daily living (ADLs) to implanted femur finite element (FE) models with PFF fixation constructs with an existing or a healed PFF. Based on FE simulated plate mechanics, the standard four-point-bend test adequately matched the stress state and the resultant bending moment in the plate as compared with femur models with an existing PFF. In addition, the newly developed constrained three-point-bend tests were able to reproduce plate stresses in models with a healed PFF. Furthermore, a combined bending and compression cadaveric test was appropriate for risk assessment including both plate fracture and screw loosening after the complete healing of PFF. The result of this study provides the means for combined experimental and computational preclinical evaluation of PFF fixation constructs.

Correlation Between Granule Strength and Green Strength at Compaction of Cemented Carbide Powder Materials

The correlation between granule strength and green strength of hard metal powders is examined. The approach is based on experiments and numerics. In the latter case, a Design of Experiment software is used. The granule strength of the powder (particle) is determined by GFP-measurements (“Granularfestigkeits-Prüfsystem”). During this test, a single particle is pressed from one side until breakage. The corresponding measurements of the green strength are done using three-point bend (3PB) testing. The experimental results show that the pressing agent has a strong influence on the behavior of both quantities. The statistical evaluation shows that the relation between the two strength properties is very close to linear with coefficient of determination R2 taking on the value 0.97. This of course indicates that it is possible to get information about one of the properties for a similar set of materials by experimentally determining the other one. This is of substantial practical importance as for one thing it can limit the amount of testing required. Even though the present investigation is pertinent to hard metal powders, the results could be of value for many other types of powder materials.

Four Point Bend Test of 5LPP – Concrete Coated Pipe

The objective of this paper is to present a 4-point bend test of 5LPP (Five Layer Polypropylene) concrete coated pipe. This is the first of its kind of bend test for a complex coating combination of 5LPP and concrete layers. The bend tests have been carried out to simulate S-Lay installation loading conditions to assess the coating integrity of the pipeline during installation. This paper reports the test arrangements including instrumentation, load schedule, test procedure and the challenges involved. Finally, the preliminary results and conclusions of the tests are documented. Two separate full scale four-point bend tests are carried out to study the behavior of the 5LPP concrete coated pipe. The purpose of the first test is to understand the complex behavior of the 5LPP/CWC coated test pipe and validate previously made industry standard assumptions regarding the calculated coated joint stiffness. The purpose of the second test is to observe the coating integrity of the test joint and slippage behavior due to the simulated installation conditions (overbend and sagbend bending moments and/or corresponding curvatures). The nonlinear moment-curvature for the concrete coated pipe is estimated based on an analytical approach taking into consideration plane bending theory and slippage behavior of the coating layers. The moment-curvature is used to prepare the load schedule for the tests. The test string consists of a test joint (40ft) welded to half joints at the ends. The bend test is performed using industry established full scale 4-point bend test arrangements. A global finite element model is used to simulate the tests using the analytical moment-curvature of the concrete coated pipe. The stiffness of the test pipe is calculated using the first bend test and compared against the analytical stiffness. The second test is carried out by applying loads corresponding to an estimated maximum overbend bending moment and then the test string is unloaded and rebent in opposite direction by applying loads corresponding to an estimated maximum sagbend bending moment. The results of the second test are documented at each load step and the integrity of the coating is measured against specified concrete coating damage criteria for tension as well as compression. Finally, field observations from the actual installation operation are compared against the bend test results. Conclusions are presented to address various aspects of concrete coated pipe for S-Lay installations.