Toward improved DAS sensitivity for surface-based reflection seismics: Configuration tests at the Aquistore CO2 storage site

Alternative fiber configurations have been tested in an attempt to improve the sensitivity of surface-deployed DAS fiber cables for the purpose of recording steep-angle P-wave reflections. Four alternative fiber configurations were deployed at the Aquistore CO2 storage site to record 401 dynamite shots during a 3D VSP survey. The test cable comprised horizontal configurations (straight fiber, helixes and asymmetric helixes) buried in a shallow trench and vertical configurations (straight fiber and helixes) deployed in 3.5 m drillholes. Evaluation focused on deep reflections with two-way travel times of 0.8 to 1.8 s. All of the alternative fiber configurations increased the sensitivity relative to the horizontal straight fiber. Sensitivity was highest for the vertical straight fiber configurations and the asymmetric helixes with sensitivity increases of more than 10 dB and 5 dB, respectively, and AVO behavior similar to that of a vertical-component geophone for reflections with incidence angles of 0° to 15° at the surface and 0° to 34° at the reflector. Modeling of the DAS responses explains the general pattern of sensitivity variability amongst the different configurations, but does not explain the large range of observed sensitivities.

Fiber Rearrangement and Matrix Compression in Soft Tissues: Multiscale Hypoelasticity and Application to Tendon

It is widely accepted that the nonlinear macroscopic mechanical behavior of soft tissue is governed by fiber straightening and re-orientation. Here, we provide a quantitative assessment of this phenomenon, by means of a continuum micromechanics approach. Given the negligibly small bending stiffness of crimped fibers, the latter are represented through a number of hypoelastic straight fiber phases with different orientations, being embedded into a hypoelastic matrix phase. The corresponding representative volume element (RVE) hosting these phases is subjected to “macroscopic” strain rates, which are downscaled to fiber and matrix strain rates on the one hand, and to fiber spins on the other hand. This gives quantitative access to the fiber decrimping (or straightening) phenomenon under non-affine conditions, i.e. in the case where the fiber orientations cannot be simply linked to the macroscopic strain state. In the case of tendinous tissue, such an RVE relates to the fascicle material with 50 μm characteristic length, made up of crimped collagen bundles and a gel-type matrix in-between. The fascicles themselves act as parallel fibers in a similar matrix at the scale of a tissue-related RVE with 500 μm characteristic length. As evidenced by a sensitivity analysis and confirmed by various mechanical tests, it is the initial crimping angle which drives both the degree of straightening and the shape of the macroscopic stress-strain curve, while the final linear portion of this curve depends almost exclusively on the collagen bundle elasticity. Our model also reveals the mechanical cooperation of the tissue’s key microstructural components: while the fibers carry tensile forces, the matrices undergo hydrostatic pressure.

Simulation on the fiber arrangement and distribution in the drafting zone

Roller drafting is an indispensable and fundamental procedure in attenuating the sliver to an adequate linear density during the spinning process. In this study, the drafting dynamic process was reflected in the arrangement containing hooked fibers and straight fibers, and the fiber straightness in the drafting zone in real-time. The drafting process was implemented from the initiation of the sliver head moving into the drafting zone to the achievement of the straightening process for all fibers in the sliver. The developed model demonstrated that the simulated weight distributions of various fibers, including the total fibers, back fibers, front fibers and floating fibers, were more in line with the actual results than the simulative ones based on the previous drafting model with the simulation of the straight fiber arrangement in the sliver. In conclusion, the drafting model with the application of the hooked fiber arrangement was effective and precise in quantizing the drafting process of a sliver with many hooked fibers, such as a cotton card sliver. Moreover, the drafting model can offer the theoretical foundation for setting the drafting parameters from the perspective of the distributions of slow-floating fibers and fast-floating fibers.

DESIGN OF A COMPOSITE PANEL WITH CONTINUOUS TOW STEERING AROUND AN ELLIPTICAL CUT-OUT

Cut-outs are inevitable in many structural components such as in aircrafts to accommodate windows or openings for access purposes or fasteners. Engineers usually view cut-outs, especially in primary structures, with disfavour as they result in stress/strain concentration and consequently reduced load carrying capability. Local reinforcements usually increase cost and weight to the overall design which is not favourable in aerospace applications. In case of composite panels, emerging advanced manufacturing methods such as 3D printing of automated fiber placement made it possible to continuously steer fibers/tows around a cut-out to potentially alleviate stress/strain concentration problem. Another advantage of tow steering in this case is maintaining the continuity of fiber/tow paths without any fiber cut which precludes ply-level, 3D stress/strain concentration which could otherwise lead to delaminationinduced damage. In this study, potential capability of tow steering around an elliptical cut-out (manhole) in reducing stress/strain concentration in a composite wingbox is investigated Buckling response under compression loading together with stress and strain concentrations under both tensile and compression loads are examined. Under tensile loading, the maximum stress and strain concentration factors around the cut-out in the straight fiber design are shown to be approximately 29% and 32% larger than its counterpart with steered tows around the cut-out. For the compression loading condition, the direct strain of the panel with straight fiber orientations was found to be three times that of steered fiber trajectories in the vicinity of the cut-out.

Tensile Strength and Density Evaluation of Composites from Waste Cotton Fabrics and High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE): Contributions to the Composite Industry and a Cleaner Environment

The growth of the textile industry and the massive use of plastic-based materials create economic growth, but it produces waste from post-use, such as clothing waste from cotton fabrics and HDPE that can be recycled and combined as composite materials. Therefore, an experiment was carried out to investigate and analyze the effect of the fiber volume fraction of waste cotton fabric (1.5%, 3.5%, 4.5%, 6%, and 7.5%) with straight fiber arrangement on the tensile strength and density. From the test results, a tensile strength of 178.4 MPa and 182.6 MPa was obtained for yield and max stress, respectively at a fiber volume fraction of 7.5%. Meanwhile, the highest density of 0.95 g/cm3 was obtained at 1.5% fiber volume fraction. The fracture macroscopic view of the specimen shows a resilience fracture (uneven and appears stringy). Although the strength of this composite cannot yet compete with the new composite material, it has a decent environmental contribution. Considering the availability of waste cotton fabrics and HDPE, it promises to be produced as a low-strength composite for construction, ornamentation, or coatings.

Influence of Fiber Shape and Volume Content on the Performance of Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC)

This research studied the influence of three types of open (short-straight, long-straight, semicircular) and three different shapes of closed steel fibers (triangular, rectangular, circular) with different fiber contents by volume (0, 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2%) on the working and mechanical performance of reactive powder concrete (RPC). The results indicated that (1) the number of steel fibers and the enclosed area formed by closed steel fibers would remarkably impact the performance of RPC; (2) the semicircular fiber improves RPC’s strength the most among the three open shapes; (3) the short-straight fiber works more effectively than the closed steel fibers; (4) the circular fiber works the most efficiently in improving RPC’s mechanical performance while the triangular ones have the least effect among the three closed steel fibers; (5) both the closed and open steel fibers improve their compressive strength more than their flexural strength; (6) the closed steel fiber works more efficiently in improving the flexural strength but less efficiently in improving the compressive strength; (7) the open steel fibers enhance the mechanical performance of RPC via their anchoring performance while the closed steel fibers work by confining the concrete; (8) the hybrid utilization of steel fibers improves RPC’s mechanical performance to a higher level via combing the advantages of open and closed steel fibers.

Improvement of structural characteristics of composite thin-walled beams using variable stiffness concept via curvilinear fiber placement

This study presents the use of variable stiffness concept via curvilinear fiber placement to achieve improved structural characteristics in composite thin-walled beams (TWBs). The TWB used in the study is constructed in circumferentially asymmetric stiffness (CAS) configuration. The variation of fiber angles along the span and the width of the TWB is included by defining two fiber path functions. A parametric study is performed to investigate the effects of different fiber paths on the structural performance metrics including frequency spacing, unit twist, and critical buckling load. For this purpose, a semi-analytical solution method is developed to conduct free vibration, deformation, and buckling analyses of the TWB with curvilinear fibers. The semi-analytical method is validated with several finite element (FE) analyses performed using ABAQUS. Elastic stress analyses of TWBs with selected fiber paths subjected to simplified distributed loading are also conducted using the FE method, and a ply failure criterion is applied to evaluate the strength of these TWBs. Overall results show that curvilinear fiber placement varied along the span leads to greater structural performance for a composite TWB than the straight fiber configuration.

Overlap-Stiffened Panels for Optimized Buckling Performance Under Minimum Steering Radius Constraints

Recent research on variable stiffness laminates have shown both numerically and experimentally that further improvement on the buckling behaviour is possible by incorporating overlaps that result in variable thickness profiles, with the thickness non-linearly coupled with the local steering angle. We present the concept of overlap-stiffened panels, developing a design method that allows for incorporating higher-stiffness regions into individual plies of a variable-angle tow (VAT) laminate, taking advantage of the non-linear coupling between the tow steering angles and the local thickness. The proposed method naturally copes with minimum steering radius constraints of different manufacturing processes, and the present study considers two tow steering processes: automated fiber placement (AFP) and continuous tow shearing (CTS). The minimum radius constraint is satisfied by connecting two transition regions of thickness specified on each ply by means of circular fiber tow arcs, of which the radius of curvature always exceed the minimum manufacturing constraint. Each individual ply exploring the overlap-stiffened design is described using 5 design variables. Laminates made up of these overlap-stiffened plies are optimized for a maximum volume-normalized buckling performance under bi-axial compression, measured through FEM, by a genetic algorithm and benchmarked against a straight fiber panel optimized for the same load case. The conclusion can be drawn that both AFP and CTS overlap-stiffened VAT panels can at least achieve the double of the volume-normalized buckling performance of an optimized straight fiber panel, demonstrating the potential of the proposed design method.