Damage evaluation and damage localization of rock

Knowledge of damage accumulation and corresponding failure evolution are prerequisite for effective maintenance of civil engineering so as to avoid disaster. Based on statistical mesoscopic damage mechanics, it was revealed that there are three stages in the process of deformation, damage and failure of multiscale heterogeneous elastic-brittle medium. These are uniformly distributed damage, localized damage and catastrophic failure. In order to identify the transitions from scattering damage to macroscopically localized one, a condition for damage localization was given. The experiments of rock under uniaxial compression with the aid of observations of acoustic emission and speckle correlation do support the concept of localization. This provides a potential approach to properly evaluate damage accumulation in practice. In addition, it is found in the experiments that catastrophic failure displays critical sensitivity. This gives a helpful clue to the prediction of catastrophic failure. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microstructural evolution and formation of nanocrystalline intermetallic compound during surface mechanical attrition treatment of cobalt

Nanocrystalline intermetallic Co3Fe7 was produced on the surface of cobalt via surface mechanical attrition (SMA). Deformationinduced diffusion entailed the formation of a series of solid solutions. Phase transitions occurred depending on the atomic fraction of Fe in the surface solid solutions: from hexagonal close-packed (<4% Fe) to face-centered cubic (fcc) (4-11% Fe), and from fcc to body-centered cubic (>11% Fe). Nanoscale compositional probing suggested significantly higher Fe contents at grain boundaries and triple junctions than grain interiors. Short-circuit diffusion along grain boundaries and triple junctions dominate in the nanocrystalline intermetallic compound. Stacking faults contribute significantly to diffusion. Diffusion enhancement due to high-rate deformation in SMA was analyzed by regarding dislocations as solute-pumping channels, and the creation of excess vacancies. Non-equilibrium, atomic level alloying can then be ascribed to deformation-induced intermixing of constituent species. The formation mechanism of nanocrystalline intermetallic grains on the SMA surface can be thought of as a consequence of numerous nucleation events and limited growth. (C) 2007 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Numerical analysis of spatial evolution of the small signal gain in a chemical oxygen-iodine laser operating without primary buffer gas

A chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL) that operates without primary buffer gas has become a new way of facilitating the compact integration of laser systems. To clarify the properties of spatial gain distribution, three-dimensional (3-D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technology was used to study the mixing and reactive flow in a COIL nozzle with an interleaving jet configuration in the supersonic section. The results show that the molecular iodine fraction in the secondary flow has a notable effect on the spatial distribution of the small signal gain. The rich iodine condition produces some negative gain regions along the jet trajectory, while the lean iodine condition slows down the development of the gain in the streamwise direction. It is also found that the new configuration of an interleaving jet helps form a reasonable gain field under appropriate operation conditions. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Collective evolution characteristics and computer simulation of short fatigue cracks

Fatigue testing was conducted using a kind of triangular isostress specimen to obtain the short-fatigue-crack behaviour of a weld low-carbon steel. The experimental results show that short cracks continuously initiate at slip bands within ferrite grain domains and the crack number per unit area gradually increases with increasing number of fatigue cycles. The dispersed short cracks possess an orientation preference, which is associated with the crystalline orientation of the relevant slip system. Based on the observed collective characteristics, computer modelling was carried out to simulate the evolution process of initiation, propagation and coalescence of short cracks. The simulation provides progressive displays which imitate the appearance of experimental observations. The results of simulation indicate that the crack path possesses a stable value of fractal dimension whereas the critical value of percolation covers a wide datum band, suggesting that the collective evolution process of short cracks is sensitive to the pattern of crack site distribution.

A self-closed system of equations of damage evolution

This paper introduces a statistical mesomechanical approach to the evolution of damage. A self-closed formulation of the damage evolution is derived.

A stochastic jump and deterministic dynamics model of impact failure evolution with rate effect

Motivated by the observation of the rate effect on material failure, a model of nonlinear and nonlocal evolution is developed, that includes both stochastic and dynamic effects. In phase space a transitional region prevails, which distinguishes the failure behavior from a globally stable one to that of catastrophic. Several probability functions are found to characterize the distinctive features of evolution due to different degrees of nucleation, growth and coalescence rates. The results may provide a better understanding of material failure.

A modified split hopkinson torsional bar in studying shear localization

A modified split Hopkinson torsional bar (SHTB) is introduced to eliminate the effect of the loading reverberation of the standard SHTB on the study of evolution of shear localization. The effect, the cause and the method by which to eliminate loading wave reverberation are carefully analysed and discussed. By means of the modified apparatus, the post-mortem observation of tested specimens can provide data on actual evolution of micro-structure and micro-damage during shear localization. Some test results of shear banding conducted with this apparatus support the use of the modified design. Moreover, the modification makes possible the correlation of evolving micro-structures to the transient shear stress-strain recording.

Experimental and theoretical study on numerical density evolution of short fatigue cracks

Fatigue testing was performed using a kind of triangular shaped specimen to obtain the characteristics of numerical density evolution for short cracks at the primary stage of fatigue damage. The material concerned is a structural alloy steel. The experimental results show that the numerical density of short cracks reaches the maximum value when crack length is slightly less than the average grain diameter, indicating grain boundary is the main barrier for short crack extension. Based on the experimental observations and related theory, the expressions for growth velocity and nucleation rate of short cracks have been proposed. With the solution to phase space conservation equation, the theoretical results of numerical density evolution for short cracks were obtained, which were in agreement with our experimental measurements.

Characteristics and microstructure in the evolution of shear localization in ti-6al-4v alloy

A new interrupting method was proposed and the split Hopkinson torsional bar (SHTB) was modified in order to eliminate the effect of loading reverberation on post-mortem observations. This makes the comparative study of macro- and microscopic observations on tested materials and relevant transient measurement of tau - gamma curve possible. The experimental results of the evolution of shear localization in in Ti-6Al-4V alloy studied with the modified SHTB are reported in the paper. The collapse of shear stress seems to be closely related to the appearance of a certain critical coalescence of microcracks. The voids may form within the localized shear zone at a quite early stage. Finally, void coalescence results in elongated cavities and their extension leads to fracture along the shear band.

Statistical description of pattern evolution in damage-fracture

A model of dynamical process and stochastic jump has been put forward to study the pattern evolution in damage-fracture. According to the final states of evolution processes, the evolution modes can be classified as globally stable modes (GS modes) and evolution induced catastrophic modes (ElC modes); the latter are responsible for fracture. A statistical description is introduced to clarify the pattern evolution in this paper. It is indicated that the appearance of fracture in disordered materials should be depicted by probability distribution function.

Evolution induced catastrophe

Fracture due to coalescence of microcracks seems to be catalogued in a new model of evolution induced catastrophe (EIC). The key underlying mechanism of the EIC is its automatically enlarging interaction of microcracks. This leads to an explosively evolving catastrophe. Most importantly, the EIC presents a fractal dimension spectrum which appears to be dependent on the interaction.

Evolution of thermo-visco-plastic shearing

The paper outlines the study of the evoluation of the thermally assisted visco-plastic shearing. Analytically, numerically and experimentally, it is demonstrated that the whole process of the shear consists of multi-stages. Owing to instability, early uniform unsteady shear deformation would transform into localization and finally a band-like shearing zone forms, which appears to be a quasi-steady dissipative structure. The mechanisms governing the processes are analyzed. Accompanying the shear banding, micro-damage also develops. The microscopic observations reveal the details of the cumulative damage.

Evolution of ideal micro-crack system

The ideal micro-cracks are treated with the number-density function; the characteristics of their evolution are investigated; a deterministic model is applied to the discussion of their extension. It is discovered that under certain conditions saturation may occur in the number-density. The main features of the statistical formulation are illustrated by several examples and compared with those observed in experiments.

The dynamic evolution of the kepler supernova remnant

been analyzed in detail. The effects ofm icroscopic energy transfer from