Evaluation of FRP concrete compression member under repeated load and harsh environment

Strengthening and rehabilitation have been increasingly applied in many structures to improve their capacity and serviceability. Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) materials are universally known for their ability to improve the load capacity of damaged structural elements because of their high linear-elastic behavior. However, enhancing the capacity of structural elements that are exposed to repeated load coupled with harsh environment is an area that requires further investigation. This research focused on experimental analysis of the behavior and response of confined and unconfined concrete compression members (300mm x 150mm) under repeated load while exposed to 1440 cycles of seawater splash zone in United Arab Emirates (UAE). Confining concrete compression members with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) and Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) sheets have increased the load capacity compared to the control sample at room temperature by 110% and 84%, respectively. Results showed that the average value of compressive strength for the confined concrete exposed to sea water splash zone conditions for CFRP and GFRP specimens has decreased by 33% and 23%, respectively, compared to the confined concrete in the room temperature. However, GFRP specimens showed higher performance in compressive strength under sea water splash zone than those of the CFRP specimens. Different mode of failures such as delamination, de-bonding and combination of such modes were observed and related to various exposure factors and mechanical properties.

Mechanical behavior of irregular fibers part I : modeling the tensile behavior of linear elastic fibers

Fiber irregularities are inherent to textile fibers, natural fibers in particular. This series of papers examines the impact of fiber irregularity on the mechanical behavior of textile fibers. In the first part, the effect of fiber dimensional irregularities on the tensile behavior of linear elastic fibers is examined, using the finite element method (FEM). Fiber dimensional irregularities are simulated with sine waves of different magnitude and frequency. The results indicate that increasing the level or magnitude of irregularity will decrease the breaking load, breaking elongation and method Young’s modulus of the fiber, while increasing the frequency of irregularity will decrease the breaking load and method Young’s modulus, but the breaking elongation will increase. Fiber dimensional irregularity and the gauge length effect are also simulated in this study.

In-situ white beam microdiffraction study of the deformation behavior in polycrystalline magnesium alloy during uniaxial loading

Scanning white beam X-ray microdiffraction has been used to study the heterogeneous grain deformation in a polycrystalline Mg alloy (MgAZ31). The high spatial resolution achieved on beamline 7.3.3 at the Advanced Light Source provides a unique method to measure the elastic strain and orientation of single grains as a function of applied load. To carry out in-situ measurements a light weight (~0.5kg) tensile stage, capable of providing uniaxial loads of up to 600kg, was designed to collect diffraction data on the loading and unloading cycle. In-situ observation of the deformation process provides insight about the crystallographic deformation mode via twinning and dislocation slip.

Phase behavior and nanomechanical mapping of block ionomer complexes

Block ionomer complexes SSEBS-c-PCL were prepared, as a consequence of proton transfer from the sulfonic acid of sulfonated polystyrene-block- poly(ethylene-ran-butylene)-block-polystyrene (SSEBS) to the tertiary amine of a tertiary amine terminated poly(?-caprolactone) (APCL). The phase behavior of SSEBS-c-PCL was thoroughly investigated and the results showed that APCL in SSEBS-c-PCL displays unique crystallization behavior owing to the influence of interactions between the amine and sulfonic acid groups as well as the effects of confinement. Further, small-angle X-ray scattering study revealed that SSEBS-c-PCL displays a less ordered micro-phase structure compared to SSEBS. A quantitative mapping of mechanical properties at the nanoscale was achieved using peak force mode atomic force microscopy. It is found that the block ionomer complex possesses a higher average elastic modulus after complexation with crystallizable APCL. Additionally, the moduli for both hard and soft phases increase and the phase with higher modulus assignable to the hard SPS component shows much more pronounced changes after complexation, confirming that APCL interacts mainly with the SPS blocks. This provides an understanding of the composition and nanomechanical properties of these new block ionomer complexes and an alternative insight into the micro-phase structures of multi-phase materials.

Observations on the nonlinear unloading behavior of advanced high strength steels

The unloading behavior was compared for three different steel grades: a dual-phase steel, a transformation-induced plasticity steel, and a twinning-induced plasticity steel. Steels that harden by phase transformation or deformation twinning exhibited a smaller component of microplastic strain during unloading and a smaller reduction in the chord modulus compared to the conventional hardening steel. As a result, unloading is closer to pure elastic unloading when the TRIP effect or TWIP effect is active.

A study on mechanical behavior of functionally-graded carbon nanotube-reinforced nanocomposites

In this study, we are focusing on the investigation of the effects of gradient patterns on mechanical behavior of functionally-graded carbon nanotube-reinforced nanocomposites and considering typical beams made of such nanocomposites. Both analytic and finite element-based numerical models were developed. Analytic model was developed based on the first-order shear deformation and Timoshenko beam theories meanwhile finite element models were developed using Abaqus in conjunction with user-defined subroutines for defining the continuously gradient material properties for different gradient patterns. Position-dependent elastic modulus equations for four continuously graded patterns were studied. A nongraded pattern was used for benchmarking with the same geometry and total carbon nanotube (CNT) contents. For validation and verification, the results on both deflection and stress of these nanocomposite beams were analyzed, which clearly showed high influence from gradient patterns on these mechanical behaviors of such beams.

Effects of microstructure on the variation of the unloading behavior of DP780 steels

The nonlinear unloading behavior of three different commercial dual-phase steels (DP780 grade equivalent) was examined. These steels exhibited small variations in chemical composition (0.07 to 0.10 mass percent carbon) and martensite volume fraction (0.23 to 0.28), and they demonstrated similar hardening behavior. Uniaxial loading-unloading-loading tests were conducted at room temperature and quasi-static strain rates between engineering strains of 0.5 and 8%. Steel microstructures were examined using electron backscatter diffraction and nanoindentation techniques. The microplastic component of the unloading strain exhibited no dependence on the martensite volume fraction or the ferrite grain size within the small range encountered in this investigations. Instead, the magnitude of the microplastic component of the unloading strain increased as the strength ratio between the martensite and ferrite phases increased. Correspondingly, the apparent unloading modulus, or chord modulus, exhibited a greater reduction for equivalent increments of strain hardening as the strength ratio increased. These results suggest that springback can be reduced in structures containing two ductile phases if the strength ratio between the harder and softer phases is reduced.