Damage accumulation near the cold-expanded hole due to high-cycle fatigue by crack compliance method

The novel destructive method is implemented for quantitative assessment of fatigue damage accumulation in the stress concentration zone accompanied by residual stress due to cold expansion of the through-thickness hole. Damage accumulation is reached by preliminary cyclic loading of plane specimens with cold-expanded holes. Narrow notches, emanating from the hole edge at different stages of high-cycle fatigue, serve to manifest a damage level. These notches are inserted without applying external load. Deformation response to local material removing, caused by pure residual stress influence, is measured by electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) in terms of in-plane displacement components. Normalized values of the notch mouth open displacement (NMOD), in-plane displacement component at the initial point of the notch acting in the notch direction (U0), in-plane displacement component at the final point of the notch acting in the notch direction (U1) and the stress intensity factor (SIF) are used as current damage indicators. Numerical integration of curves, describing an evolution of each fracture mechanics parameter over lifetime, produces the damage accumulation function in an explicit form. It is established that all four fracture mechanics parameters give very close results.

Numerical study of TRIP transformation in 35NCD16 steel-effects of plate orientation and some criteria

This study aims to analyze the effect of thermo mechanical coupling damage in the presence of a phase change (austenite/martensite) in 35NCD16 steel. The impact of increasing mechanical traction load, accompanied by a martensitic transformation on the scale of a single grain with boundary has been studied. The prediction transformation of induced plasticity (TRIP) was evaluated by taking into account the following parameters: twenty shear directions of the martensitic plates, two values of the shear deformation of the martensitic plates, energetic and thermodynamics criteria for getting in order the transformation of the martensitic plates, elastoplastic behavior of the two areas in the first case (martensitic plate and grain boundary) and elastic behavior for the grain boundary in the second case. The numerical calculation is carried out using the finite element method (FEM), implemented in the Zebulon calculation code. The developed approach is validated using the available experimental results reported in the literature. The numerical results showed that the estimation of TRIP given by the energetics criteria with the values of the shear deformation (γ0 = 0.16) are closer to the experiment results.

Cracking Patterns of Brittle Hemispherical Domes: an Experimental Study

Crack formation in hemispherical domes is a distinguished problem in structural mechanics. The safety of cracked domes has a long track record; the evolution of the cracking pattern received less attention. Here, we report displacement-controlled loading tests of brittle hemispherical dome specimens, including the evolution of the meridional cracking pattern. The 27 investigated specimens, 20 cm in diameter, were prepared in 3D printed molds, and their material is one of the three mixtures of gypsum and cement. We find that neither the (limited) tensile strength nor the exact value of the thickness significantly affects the statistical description of the cracking pattern, i.e., the cracking phenomenon is robust. The maximal number of the meridional cracks never exceeds seven before the fragments’ disintegration (collapse). We find that the size distribution of the fragments exhibits a lognormal distribution. The evolution is reflected in the load-displacement diagrams recorded in the test, too, as significant drops in the force are accompanied by an emergence of one or more new cracks, reflecting the brittle nature of the phenomenon. A simple, stochastic fragmentation model, in which a segment is fragmented at either in the middle or at the fourth point, fairly recovers the observed size distribution.

The critical influence of some “tiny” geometrical details on the stress field in a Brazilian Disc with a central notch of finite width and length

The role of some geometrical characteristics of the notches ma­chined in circular discs, in order to determine the mode-I fracture tough­ness of brittle materials, is discussed. The study is implemented both analyti­cally and numerically. For the analytic study advantage is taken of a recently intro­duced solution for the stress- and displacement-fields developed in a finite disc with a central notch of finite width and length and rounded corners. The vari­ation of the stresses along strategic loci and the deformation of the peri­me­ter of the notch obtained analytically are used for the calibration/validation of a flexible nu­mer­ical model, which is then used for a parametric investiga­tion of the role of geometrical features of the notched disc (thickness of the disc, length and width of the notch, radius of the rounded corners of the notch). It is con­cluded that the role of the width of the notch is of critical im­port­ance. Both the ana­lytic and the numerical studies indicate definitely that ignoring the ac­curate geo­metric shape of the notch leads to erroneous results concerning the actual stress field around the crown of the notch. Therefore, it is possible that misleading values of the fracture toughness of the material of the disc may be obtained.

Numerical investigation of the cold-formed I-beams bending strength with different web shapes

The wide use of cold-formed sections (CFS) in the field of steel constructions, favored by the multiple advantages they offer (lightness, ease of installation, etc.), has led us to reflect on a new process for manufacture of metal beams allowing the design of very large span hangars and a reduction in instability problems. This paper presents a study of the theoretical and numerical behavior of a large span CFS beam with different webs, a solid web, a triangular corrugated web, and a trapezoidal corrugated web. These beams are stressed by a concentrated bending load at mid-span. Numerical modeling was done using the finite element software ABAQUS. The results were validated with those theoretically found, based on the effective width method adopted in standard EN1993-1-3. The load capacity and failure modes of the beams were discussed. According to numerical and analytical analysis, corrugated web beams perform better than all other sections.

Elastic-plastic fracture analysis of anisotropy effect on AA2050-T84 alloy at different temperatures: A Numerical Study

The third generation Al-Li alloy AA2050-T84 is widely used in aircraft applications due to its lightweight and significant mechanical properties. The anisotropic variations of tensile and compression properties of this alloy at various temperatures are substantial. In this work, the variations of the J-integral, CTOD, and Plastic Zone Size (PZS) due to anisotropy of a 4-inch thick AA2050-T84 plate at ambient and cryogenic temperatures were studied numerically by using Compact Tension (C(T)) specimen. The material anisotropy resulted in fracture and constraint parameter variation for Mode-I constant load. Numerical results indicated a decrease in crack driving forces and a constraint parameter with the decrease in temperature at the plate surface and central location. Plate surface locations appear to be isotropic for both temperatures under elastic-plastic fracture analyses as crack driving forces were almost identical. The temperature effect is more on constraint as the normalized PZS values at ambient temperature have been twice that of cryogenic temperature. The isotropic behavior of a plate under sub-zero temperature makes the plate suitable for cryogenic temperature applications.

Crack paths in multiaxial fatigue of C45 steel specimens and correlation of lifetime with the thermal energy dissipation

The work deals with the analysis of the multiaxial fatigue damage of a C45 steel and its relationship with the thermal energy dissipation used in the last decades to estimate the uniaxial fatigue behavior of metals. For this purpose, thin-walled samples made of quenched and tempered C45 steel were tested under completely reversed combined axial and torsional cyclic loadings with different biaxiality ratios and phase-shift angles. The analyses of the crack paths at the initiation of the failure were performed after a 50% of stiffness loss that corresponded to a crack size ranging from 10 to 20 mm; afterwards, the characteristic crack paths of each loading condition were analysed by using a digital microscope to identify the direction of the crack at the initiation. The fatigue crack initiation points were inspected using a Scanning Electron Microscope after having broken under static tensile loading all specimens previously tested under fatigue. The specific heat loss per cycle was measured during the fatigue tests by applying the cooling gradient technique. Nevertheless, the fatigue damages observed are dependent on the load condition, the Q parameter was able to collapse all the axial, torsional and multiaxial fatigue test results in a sole scatter band

Experimental contribution to the study of the physic-mechanical behavior and durability of high-performance concretes based on ternary binder (cement, silica fume and granulated blast furnace slag)

Le béton à hautes performances (BHP) est un béton innovant largement utilisé dans la construction moderne. De nouvelles techniques de formulation et de conception du HPC ont permis d'obtenir des performances mécaniques et une durabilité remarquables par rapport au béton conventionnel. Les principaux avantages du HPC sont liés à sa faible porosité, sa très haute résistance mécanique et son excellente durabilité. La facilité d'application du HPC est obtenue par l'utilisation combinée de superplastifiant et d'ajout de minéraux, ce qui se traduit par une augmentation significative de la résistance à la compression tout en améliorant la maniabilité et la durabilité. L'utilisation d'un liant ternaire (ciment, fumée de silice et laitier granulé de haut fourneau broyé) dans la fabrication du HPC est une nouvelle avancée dans la construction durable qui offre des avantages économiques, techniques et écologiques. L'objectif de ce travail de recherche était d'améliorer les propriétés physico-mécaniques du HPC à base de liant ternaire en étudiant l'influence du remplacement du ciment par du laitier granulé et des fumées de silice. Les résultats des tests mécaniques montrent que les performances du HPC réalisé avec ces liants ternaires sont similaires au HPC témoin sans laitier granulé. Enfin, il est conclu que l'utilisation de tels liants est très bénéfique pour diminuer les problèmes environnementaux et améliorer la durabilité du HPC.

Numerical analysis of the elastic-plastic behavior of a tubular structure in FGM under pressure and defect presence

Given the field of application and the many advantages, the use of FGM (Functionally Graded Materials) materials has recently been extended in several components and more particularly in cylindrical structures, which have been the subject of several recent studies. Our work aims to use the finite element method to analyze a cylindrical structure in FGM with properties gradated in the direction of the radius (Thickness) solicited purely in internal pressure by the implementation of a UMAT subroutine in the calculation code ABAQUS. The elasto-plastic behavior of the FGM is described by the flow theory represented by the equivalent stress of Von Mises and an incremental hardening variable. The TTO model (Tamura-Tomota-Ozawa) was used only to determine the elastic-plastic properties of the FGM material. The radial, tangential and axial stresses according to the thickness were evaluated in the first part of our work. In the second part, these stresses are evaluated under the same conditions but with the presence of a micro-cavity. The results obtained show clearly that these stresses are in direct relation not only with the thickness and properties of the FGM tube but also with the presence of the cavity.

Residual Force Method for damage identification in a laminated composite plate with different boundary conditions

The strongest point about damage identification based on the dynamic measurements, is the ability perform structural health evaluation globally. Researchers in the last few years payed more attention to damage indicators based on modal analysis using either frequencies, mode shapes, or Frequency Response Functions (FRFs). This paper presents a new application of damage identification in a cross-ply (0°/90°/0°) laminated composite plate based on Force Residual Method (FRM) damage indicator. Considering single and multiple damages with different damage levels. As well as investigating the SSSS and CCCC boundary conditions effect on the estimation accuracy. Moreover, a white Gaussian noise is introduced to test the challenge the technique. The results show that the suggested FRM indicator provides accurate results under different boundary conditions. Favouring the SSSS boundary condition than the CCCC for 3% noise.