14,721 research outputs found
Effect of circular holes on the ratchet limit and crack tip plastic strain range in a centre cracked plate
No full textIn this paper a centre cracked plate subjected to cyclic tensile loading and cyclic bending moment is considered. The effect of circular holes drilled in the region of the crack tip on the ratchet limit and crack tip plastic strain range is studied. Direct evaluation of the ratchet limit and crack tip plastic strain range is solved by employing the new Linear Matching Method (LMM). Parametric studies involving hole diameter and location are investigated. The optimum hole location for reducing the crack tip plastic strain range with the least reduction in ratchet limit is identified, and located at a distance 10% of the semi-crack length from the crack tip on the side opposite the ligament for both cyclic tensile loading and cyclic bending moment cases. It is also observed that the optimum location is independent of the hole size for both cyclic loading cases
Intermediate strain rate testing methodologies and full-field optical strain measurement techniques for composite materials characterisation
No full textTwo optical full-field strain measurement techniques, Digital Image Correlation and the Grid Method, are applied to characterise the strain-rate dependent constitutive behaviour of composite materials. Optical strain measurement techniques based on full-field images are well established for material characterisation in the quasi-static strain rate region, however in this work they are developed to study the material behaviour at intermediate strain rates, which is relatively unexplored. For this purpose a testing methodology that combines high speed imaging and the use of a high speed test machine is devised. The overall goal is to extract composite materials constitutive parameters to be used in the modelling of strain rate dependent behaviour. Particularly the strain rate dependence of the stiffness of glass and carbon fibre reinforced epoxy materials is investigated. A characterisation procedure based on off-axis specimens with oblique end-tabs is developed and applied to the study of the shear behaviour of a carbon/epoxy composite material.The research in the PhD programme constitutes an essential first step for more profitable applications of full-field measurement techniques to high speed testing. Full-field data acquired with the experimental methodology devised here can be used to investigate non linear material behaviours. Furthermore this experimental methodology, applied to specimens that generate non uniform strain fields, can produce strain maps useful for the application of the Virtual Fields Method. This will lead to a reduction of the experiments needed to characterise materials
Discontinuous modelling of strain localisation and failure
No full textThe computational simulation of failure in solids poses many challenges. A proper understanding of how structures respond under loading, both before and past the peak load, is important for safe and economical constructions. This requires numerical models for failure which are both faithful to the physical reality and mathematically well founded. A serious computational issue is that of objectivity with respect to the spatial discretisation of a problem. This requires that upon refinement of the spatial discretisation of a problem, a unique, physically meaningful result is approached. One approach to ensure objectivity with respect to spatial discretisation when simulating failure in solids is to allow displacement discontinuities in the solution. In this work, different techniques, of varying complexity, are developed to simulate displacement discontinuities which are independent of the spatial discretisation using finite elements. The different techniques are then critically evaluated. The first model examined involves adding only the effect of a displacement discontinuity to a finite element as an incompatible strain mode. This allows a traction–separation relationship to be applied at an interface and can be implemented simply in a standard finite element code. It is however shown that this type of model can be cast in an equivalent continuum format, a form which is known to be sensitive to the spatial discretisation. The second approach developed involves the addition of the Heaviside function to the underlying finite element interpolation basis. This method is based on the partition of unity concept, and allows the Heaviside function to be added locally to a finite element mesh to simulate a propagating displacement discontinuity. The approach is formulated for geometrically linear, geometrically nonlinear, quasi-static and dynamic problems. It is shown to be completely independent of the spatial discretisation. The partition of unity-based model is used also to simulate failure using a regularised strain softening model. When a critical level of inelastic deformation is reached, a displacement discontinuity is inserted. This model is better suited to modelling the entire failure process than a continuum or discontinuous model alone. Through numerical examples, it is shown that the inclusion of a displacement discontinuity during the failure process can lead to a different failure mode than for a continuum-only model
A LISA Interferometry Primer
No full textA key challenge for all gravitational wave detectors in the detection of changes in the fractional difference between pairs of test masses with sufficient precision to measure astrophysical strains with amplitudes on the order of approx.10(exp -21). ln the case of the five million km arms of LISA, this equates to distance measurements on the ten picometer level. LISA interferometry utilizes a decentralized topology, in which each of the sciencecraft houses its own light sources, detectors, and electronics. The measurements made at each of the sciencecraft are then telemetered to ground and combined to extract the strain experienced by the constellation as a whole. I will present an overview of LISA interferometry and highlight some of the key components and technologies that make it possible
On shakedown, ratchet and limit analysis of defective pipeline
No full textIn this study, the limit load, shakedown and ratchet limit of a defective pipeline subjected to constant internal pressure and a cyclic thermal gradient are analyzed. Ratchet limit and maximum plastic strain range are solved by employing the new Linear Matching Method (LMM) for the direct evaluation of the ratchet limit. Shakedown and ratchet limit interaction diagrams of the defective pipeline identifying the regions of shakedown, reverse plasticity, ratcheting and plastic collapse mechanism are presented and parametric studies involving different types and dimensions of part-through slot in the defective pipeline are investigated. The maximum plastic strain range over the steady cycle with different cyclic loading combinations is evaluated for a low cycle fatigue assessment. The location of the initiation of a fatigue crack for the defective pipeline with different slot type is determined. The proposed linear matching method provides a general-purpose technique for the evaluation of these key design limits and the plastic strain range for the low cycle fatigue assessment. The results for the defective pipeline shown in the paper confirm the applicability of this procedure to complex 3-D structures
An SDI model to include the marine environment
No full textDeposited with permission of the author. © 2006 Lisa StrainCurrently Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) initiatives are mainly focused on the terrestrial environment and have not yet expanded to fully accommodate marine and coastal spatial information. This causes many stakeholders within the marine and coastal environments difficulty in obtaining spatial data or information about these areas. Therefore the aim of this research is to develop an extended seamless SDI model that can apply to coastal and marine spatial data as well as terrestrial data. This thesis explains the need for improved management of the marine and coastal environments, in terms of sustainable development and the importance of spatial information to underpin administration of the various rights, restrictions and responsibilities in these areas. It also discusses the common understanding and views of the nature, concept and components of SDI. Different views about the development and implementation of SDI are explored and the Australian Spatial Data Infrastructure (ASDI) is used as a real-life example of an SDI. (For complete abstract open document
Linear matching method for design limits in plasticity
No full textIn this paper a state-of-the-art numerical method is discussed for the evaluation of the shakedown and ratchet limits for an elastic-perfectly plastic body subjected to cyclic thermal and mechanical load history. The limit load or collapse load, i.e. the load carrying capacity, is also determined as a special case of shakedown analysis. These design limits in plasticity have been solved by characterizing the steady cyclic state using a general cyclic minimum theorem. For a prescribed class of kinematically admissible inelastic strain rate histories, the minimum of the functional for these design limits are found by a programming method, the Linear Matching Method (LMM), which converges to the least upper bound. By ensuring that both equilibrium and compatibility are satisfied at each stage, a direct algorithm has also been derived to determine the lower bound of shakedown and ratchet limit using the best residual stress calculated during the LMM procedure. Three practical examples of the LMM are provided to confirm the efficiency and effectiveness of the method: the behaviour of a complex 3D tubeplate in a typical AGR superheater header, the behaviour of a fiber reinforced metal matrix composite under loading and thermal cycling conditions, and effects of drilling holes on the ratchet limit and crack tip plastic strain range fora centre cracked plate subjected to constant tensile loading and cyclic bending moment
Optimization of tensile strain-hardening cementhious composites for tensile strain capacity
No full textThe synergistic action of a cementitious matrix and fibres can result in strain hardening in tension. The accompanied tensile strain capacity can be an important design parameter for strain-hardening cementitious composites in order to prevent the localization in a single crack and to assure that the stress is at least the tensile strength o f the unreinforced matrix. Such a behaviour is desired for example for bridge decks or joints where the strain-hardening material has to follow the deformations of either the substructure or that of the total structure. An experimental study was executed in order to determine the tensile strain capacity of cementitious composites. As a start of the study, a reference mixture developed at the University of Michigan was chosen. Adjusted mixtures in three different compressive strength classes and straight fibres of two different lengths were applied. The six mixtures were tested on characteristics in the fresh and in the hardened state. This paper discusses experimental results and observed failure pattems. The tensile strain capacity was the highest for the lowest compressive strength and with longer PV A-fibres applied.Structural EngineeringCivil Engineering and Geoscience
Development of SCAR marker-targeted quantitative PCR assay for strain-specific detection of Oenococcus oeni during wine malolactic fermentation.
No full textControl over malolactic fermentation (MLF) is a hard goal in winemaking and needs rapid methods to monitor Oenococcus oeni malolactic starter (MLS) in a stressful environment such as wine. In this study we describe a novel quantitative PCR (QPCR) assay enabling the detection of an O. oeni strain during MLF without culturing. O. oeni strain LB221 was used as model to develop a strain-specific sequence-characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker derived from a discriminatory OPA20-based random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) band. The 5' and 3' flanking regions and the copy number of the SCAR marker were characterized using inverse PCR and Southern blotting, respectively. Primer pairs targeting the SCAR sequence enabled the strain-specific detection without cross amplification of other O. oeni strains and wine species of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), acetic acid bacteria and yeasts. The SCAR-QPCR assay was linear over a range of cell concentrations (7 log units) and detects as low as 2.2 x 10(2) CFU per ml of red wine, with good quantification effectiveness, as shown by correlation of QPCR and plate counting. Therefore the cultivation-independent monitoring of a single O. oeni strain in wine based on SCAR marker represents a rapid and effective strain-specific approach. This strategy can be adopted to develop easy and rapid detection techniques for monitoring the implantation of inoculated O. oeni MLS on the indigenous LAB population, reducing the risk of unsuccessful ML
Strain hardening behaviors and strain rate sensitivity of gradient-grained Fe under compression over a wide range of strain rates
No full textIn the present work, gradient-grained Fe was synthesized by means of surface mechanical grinding treatment, and then the compression behaviors of the coarse-grained Fe and the gradient-grained Fe were investigated under both quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions over a wide range of strain rates (from 5 x 10(-4) to 10(4) s(-1)). After surface mechanical grinding treatment, equiaxed ultrafine grains, elongated lamellar ultrafine grains, full-developed sub-grains with dense dislocations walls, non-fully-developed dislocation cells, and deformed coarse grains are sequentially observed along the depth from the treated surface. The grain/cell size increases while the measured micro-hardness decreases along the depth for the gradient-grained Fe. The gradient-grained structure shows apparent strain hardening behaviors at all strain rates up to 10(4) s(-1) although the strain hardening exponent (n) for the gradient-grained Fe is smaller than that of the coarse-grained Fe at the same strain rate. This apparent hardening behavior is attributed to the hardening from both the coarse-grained center and the surface gradient layers when the strain localization trend for the ultrafine-grained surface layers is suppressed by the coarse-grained center. The extra hardening might be due to the back stress hardening associated with the constraint and mechanical incompatibility between different layers in the gradient-grained structure. The dynamic strain rate sensitivity of the gradient-grained Fe is observed to be slightly larger than that of the coarse-grained Fe, which is controversial to the general observation that strain rate sensitivity should decrease with reduction of grain size for BCC metals. The geometrically necessary dislocations associated with the back stress hardening and the grain size gradient result in additional increase in dislocation density, which may be the reason for the enhanced dynamic strain rate sensitivity in the gradient-grained Fe even it has smaller average grain size compared to the coarse-grained Fe. The present results should provide insights for the applications of gradient-grained structure under dynamic conditions. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
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