BEHAVIOR OF FIBER REINFORCED POLYMER COMPOSITE PILES WITH ELLIPTICAL CROSS SECTIONS IN INTEGRAL ABUTMENT BRIDGE FOUNDATIONS

Every year in the US and other cold-climate countries considerable amount of money is spent to restore structural damages in conventional bridges resulting from (or “caused by”) salt corrosion in bridge expansion joints. Frequent usage of deicing salt in conventional bridges with expansion joints results in corrosion and other damages to the expansion joints, steel girders, stiffeners, concrete rebar, and any structural steel members in the abutments. The best way to prevent these damages is to eliminate the expansion joints at the abutment and elsewhere and make the entire bridge abutment and deck a continuous monolithic structural system. This type of bridge is called Integral Abutment Bridge which is now widely used in the US and other cold-climate countries. In order to provide lateral flexibility, the entire abutment is constructed on piles. Piles used in integral abutments should have enough capacity in the perpendicular direction to support the vertical forces. In addition, piles should be able to withstand corrosive environments near the surface of the ground and maintain their performance during the lifespan of the bridge. Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) piles are a new type of pile that can not only accommodate large displacements, but can also resist corrosion significantly better than traditional steel or concrete piles. The use of FRP piles extends the life of the pile which in turn extends the life of the bridge. This dissertation studies FRP piles with elliptical shapes. The elliptical shapes can simultaneously provide flexibility and stiffness in two perpendicular axes. The elliptical shapes can be made using the filament winding method which is a less expensive method of manufacturing compared to the pultrusion or other manufacturing methods. In this dissertation a new way is introduced to construct the desired elliptical shapes with the filament winding method. Pile specifications such as dimensions, number of layers, fiber orientation angles, material, and soil stiffness are defined as parameters and the effects of each parameter on the pile stresses and pile failure have been studied. The ANSYS software has been used to model the composite materials. More than 14,000 nonlinear finite element pile models have been created, each slightly different from the others. The outputs of analyses have been used to draw curves. Optimum values of the parameters have been defined using generated curves. The best approaches to find optimum shape, angle of fibers and types of composite material have been discussed.

Fracture Toughening and Self-Healing of Composite Laminates by Nanofibrous Mats Interleaving

Composite laminates present important advantages compared to conventional monolithic materials, mainly because for equal stiffness and strength they have a weight up to four times lower. However, due to their ply-by-ply nature, they are susceptible to delamination, whose propagation can bring the structure to a rapid catastrophic failure. In this thesis, in order to increase the service life of composite materials, two different approaches were explored: increase the intrinsic resistance of the material or confer to them the capability of self-repair. The delamination has been hindered through interleaving the composite laminates with polymeric nanofibers, which completed the hierarchical reinforcement scale of the composite. The manufacturing process for the integration of the nanofibrous mat in the laminate was optimized, resulting in an enhancement of mode I fracture toughness up to 250%. The effect of the geometrical dimensions of the nano-reinforcement on the architecture of the micro one (UD and woven laminates) was studied on mode I and II. Moreover, different polymeric materials were employed as nanofibrous reinforcement (Nylon 66 and polyvinylidene fluoride). The nano toughening mechanism was studied by micrograph analysis of the crack path and SEM analysis of the fracture surface. The fatigue behavior to the onset of the delamination and the crack growth rate for woven laminates interleaved with Nylon 66 nanofibers was investigated. Furthermore, the impact behavior of GLARE aluminum-glass epoxy laminates, toughened with Nylon 66 nanofibers was investigated. Finally, the possibility of confer to the composite material the capability of self-repair was explored. An extrinsic self-healing-system, based on core-shell nanofibers filled with a two-component epoxy system, was developed by co-electrospinning technique. The healing potential of the nano vascular system has been proved by microscope electron observation of the healing agent release as result of the vessels rupture and the crosslinking reaction was verified by thermal analysis.

Experimental and numerical investigation on short and long term performance of macro-synthetic fibre reinforced concrete materials

Fibre Reinforced Concretes are innovative composite materials whose applications are growing considerably nowadays. Being composite materials, their performance depends on the mechanical properties of both components, fibre and matrix and, above all, on the interface. The variables to account for the mechanical characterization of the material, could be proper of the material itself, i.e. fibre and concrete type, or external factors, i.e. environmental conditions. The first part of the research presented is focused on the experimental and numerical characterization of the interface properties and short term response of fibre reinforced concretes with macro-synthetic fibers. The experimental database produced represents the starting point for numerical models calibration and validation with two principal purposes: the calibration of a local constitutive law and calibration and validation of a model predictive of the whole material response. In the perspective of the design of sustainable admixtures, the optimization of the matrix of cement-based fibre reinforced composites is realized with partial substitution of the cement amount. In the second part of the research, the effect of time dependent phenomena on MSFRCs response is studied. An extended experimental campaign of creep tests is performed analysing the effect of time and temperature variations in different loading conditions. On the results achieved, a numerical model able to account for the viscoelastic nature of both concrete and reinforcement, together with the environmental conditions, is calibrated with the LDPM theory. Different type of regression models are also elaborated correlating the mechanical properties investigated, bond strength and residual flexural behaviour, regarding the short term analysis and creep coefficient on time, for the time dependent behaviour, with the variable investigated. The experimental studies carried out emphasize the several aspects influencing the material mechanical performance allowing also the identification of those properties that the numerical approach should consider in order to be reliable.

Nanostructured smart materials as functional components of medical devices

The field of medical devices has experienced, more than others, technological advances, developments and innovations, thanks to the rapidly expanding scientific knowledge and collaboration between different disciplines such as biology, engineering and materials science. The design of functional components can be achieved by exploiting composite materials based on nanostructured smart materials, that due to the inherent characteristics of single constituents develop unique properties that make them suitable for different applications preserving excellent mechanical proprieties. For instance, recent developments have focused on the fabrication of piezoelectric devices with multiple biomedical functions, as actuation and sensing functions in one component for monitoring pressure signals. The present Ph.D. Thesis aims at investigating nanostructured smart materials embedded into a polymeric matrix to obtain a composite material that can be used as a functional component for medical devices. (i) Nanostructured piezoelectric material with self-sensing capability was successfully manufactured by using ceramic (i.e. lead zirconate titanate (PZT)) and (ii) polymeric (i.e. poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoro ethylene (PVDF-TRFE)) piezoelectric materials. PZT nanofibers were obtained by sol-gel electrospinning starting from synthetized PZT precursor solution. Synthesis, sol-gel electrospinning process, and thermal treatment were accurately controlled to obtain PZT nanofibers dimensionally stable with densely packed grains in the perovskite phase. To guarantee the impact resistance of the laminate, the morphology and size of the hosting filler were accurately designed by increasing the surface area to volume ratio. Moreover, to solve the issue relative to the mechanical discrepancy between rigid electronic materials/soft human tissues/different material of the device (iii) a nanostructured flexible composite material based on a network of Poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) made of curled nanofibers that present a tuneable mechanical response as a function of the applied stress was successful fabricated.

Smart tracking of composite parts: feasibility study and effect on mechanical behaviour

This research proposes a solution for integrating RFID - Radio Frequency Identification technology within a structure based on CFRPs - Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers. Therefore, the main objective is to use technology to monitor and track composite components during manufacturing and service life. The study can be divided into two macro-areas. The first portion of the research evaluates the impact of the composite materials used on transmitting the electromagnetic signal to and from the tag. RFID technology communicates through radio frequencies to to track and trace items associated with the tags. In the first instance, a feasibility study was carried out to assess using commercially available tags. Then, after evaluating different solutions, it was decided to incorporate the tags into coupons during production. The second portion of the research is focused on evaluating the impact on the composite material's resistance to tag embedding. It starts with designing tensile test specimens through the FEM model with different housing configurations. Subsequently, the best configuration was tested in the facilities of the In the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at TU Delft, particularly in the Structure & Materials Laboratory, two tests were conducted: the first one based on ASTM D3039/D3039 - 14 - Standard Test Method for Tensile Properties of Polymer Matrix Composite Materials, the second one dividing the path to failure into failure intervals in a load-unload-reload. Both tests were accompanied by instruments such as DIC, AE, C-Scan and Optical Microscopes. The expected result of the inclusion of RFID tags in composite components is that it brings added value to the parts with which it is associated without affecting too much its mechanical properties. This comes first from the automatic identification of RFID during the production cycle and its useful life. As a result, improvements were made in the design of production facilities.

A glassful of graphene: graphene-based materials for drinking water remediation

Modern world suffers from an intense water crisis. Emerging contaminants represent one of the most concerning elements of this issue. Substances, molecules, ions, and microorganisms take part in this vast and variegated class of pollutants, which main characteristic is to be highly resistant to traditional water purification technologies. An intense international research effort is being carried out in order to find new and innovative solutions to this problem, and graphene-based materials are one of the most promising options. Graphene oxide (GO) is a nanostructured material where domains populated by oxygenated groups alternate with interconnected areas of sp2 hybridized carbon atoms, on the surface of a one-atom thick nanosheets. GO can adsorb a great number of molecules and ions on its surface, thanks to the variety of different interactions that it can express, such as hydrogen bonding, p-p stacking, and electrostatic and hydrophobic interaction. These characteristics, added to the high superficial area, make it an optimal material for the development of innovative materials for drinking water remediation. The main concern in the use of GO in this field is to avoid secondary contaminations (i.e. GO itself must not become a pollutant). This issue can be faced through the immobilization of GO onto polymeric substrates, thus developing composite materials. The use of micro/ultrafiltration polymeric hollow fibers as substrates allows the design of adsorptive membranes, meaning devices that can perform filtration and adsorption simultaneously. In this thesis, two strategies for the development of adsorptive membranes were investigated: a core-shell strategy, where hollow fibers are coated with GO, and a coextrusion strategy, where GO is embedded in the polymeric matrix of the fibers. The so-obtained devices were exploited for both fundamental studies (i.e. molecular and ionic behaviour in between GO nanosheets) and real applications (the coextruded material is now at TRL 9).

“Study of Electro-thermal Effects on PLA Materials Fed with AC Currents”

Given the rise in the emergence of new composite materials, their multifunctional properties, and possible applications in simple and complex structural components, there has been a need to unravel the characterization of these materials. The possibility of printing these conductive composite materials has opened a new area in the design of structural components which can conduct, transmit, and modulate electric signals with no limitation from complex geometry. Although several works have researched the behaviour of polymeric composites due to the immediate growth, however, the electrothermal behaviour of the material when subjected to varying AC applied voltage (Joule’s effect) has not been thoroughly researched. This study presents the characterization of the electrothermal behaviour of conductive composites of a polylactic acid matrix reinforced with conductive carbon black particles (CB-PLA). An understanding of this behaviour would contribute to the improved work in additive manufacturing of functional electro-mechanical conductive materials with potential application in energy systems, bioelectronics, etc. In this study, the electrothermal interplay is monitored under applied AC voltage, varying lengths, and filament printing orientations (longitudinal, oblique, and transverse). Each sample was printed using the fused deposition modeling technique such that each specimen has three different lengths (1L, 2L, 2.75L). To this end, deductions were made on properties that affect composite’s efficiency and life expectancy. The result of this study shows a great influence of printing orientation on material properties of 3D printed conductive composites of CB-PLA. The result also identifies the contribution of AC applied voltage to composites' stabilization time. This knowledge is important to provide experimental background for components' electrothermal interplay, estimate possible degradation and operating limits of composite structures when used in applications.

Ultrasonic material characterization using large-aperture PVDF receivers

This work describes the use of a large-aperture PVDF receiver in the measurement of liquid density and composite material elastic constants. The density measurement of several liquids is obtained with accuracy of 0.2% using a conventional NDE emitter transducer and a 70-mm-diameter, 52-mu m P(VDF-TrFE) membrane with gold electrodes. The determination of the elastic constants is based on the phase velocity measurement. Diffraction can lead to errors around 1% in velocity measurement when using alternatively the conventional pair of ultrasonic transducers (1-MHz frequency and 19-mm-diameter) operating in through-transmission mode, separated by a distance of 100 mm. This effect is negligible when using a pair of 10-MHz, 19-mm-diameter transducers. Nevertheless, the dispersion at 10 MHz can result in errors of about 0.5%, when measuring the velocity in composite materials. The use of an 80-mm diameter, 52-mu m-thick PVDF membrane receiver practically eliminates the diffraction effects in phase velocity measurement. The elastic constants of a carbon fiber reinforced polymer were determined and compared with the values obtained by a tensile test. (C) 2009 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

Finite element analysis of mechanical properties in discontinuously reinforced metal matrix composites with ultrafine microstructure

This investigation focused on the finite element analyses of elastic and plastic properties of aluminium/alumina composite materials with ultrafine microstructure. The commonly used unit cell model was used to predict the elastic properties. By combining the unit cell model with an indentation model, coupled with experimental indentation measurements, the plastic properties of the composites and the associated strengthening mechanism within the metal matrix material were investigated. The grain size of the matrix material was found to be an important factor influencing the mechanical properties of the composites studied. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.

Understanding Contradictory Data in Contraction Stress Tests

The literature shows contradictory results regarding the role of composite shrinkage and elastic modulus as determinants of polymerization stress. The present study aimed at a better understanding of the test mechanics that could explain such divergences among studies. The hypothesis was that the effects of composite shrinkage and elastic modulus on stress depend upon the compliance of the testing system. A commonly used test apparatus was simulated by finite element analysis, with different compliance levels defined by the bonding substrate (steel, glass, composite, or acrylic). Composites with moduli between 1 and 12 GPa and shrinkage values between 0.5% and 6% were modeled. Shrinkage was simulated by thermal analogy. The hypothesis was confirmed. When shrinkage and modulus increased simultaneously, stress increased regardless of the substrate. However, if shrinkage and modulus were inversely related, their magnitudes and interaction with rod material determined the stress response.

Biaxial failure model for fiber reinforced concrete

Steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) is widely applied in the construction industry. Numerical elastoplastic analysis of the macroscopic behavior is complex. This typically involves a piecewise linear failure curve including corner singularities. This paper presents a single smooth biaxial failure curve for SFRC based on a semianalytical approximation. Convexity of the proposed model is guaranteed so that numerical problems are avoided. The model has sufficient flexibility to closely match experimental results. The failure curve is also suitable for modeling plain concrete under biaxial loading. Since this model is capable of simulating the failure states in all stress regimes with a single envelope, the elastoplastic formulation is very concise and simple. The finite element implementation is developed to demonstrate the conciseness and the effectiveness of the model. The computed results display good agreement with published experimental data.

Integrating environmental and economic life cycle analysis in product development: a material selection case study

Purpose Achieving sustainability by rethinking products, services and strategies is an enormous challenge currently laid upon the economic sector, in which materials selection plays a critical role. In this context, the present work describes an environmental and economic life cycle analysis of a structural product, comparing two possible material alternatives. The product chosen is a storage tank, presently manufactured in stainless steel (SST) or in a glass fibre reinforced polymer composite (CST). The overall goal of the study is to identify environmental and economic strong and weak points related to the life cycle of the two material alternatives. The consequential win-win or trade-off situations will be identified via a Life Cycle Assessment/Life Cycle Costing (LCA/LCC) integrated model. Methods The LCA/LCC integrated model used consists in applying the LCA methodology to the product system, incorporating, in parallel, its results into the LCC study, namely those of the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) and the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA). Results In both the SST and CST systems the most significant life cycle phase is the raw materials production, in which the most significant environmental burdens correspond to the Fossil fuels and Respiratory inorganics categories. The LCA/LCC integrated analysis shows that the CST has globally a preferable environmental and economic profile, as its impacts are lower than those of the SST in all life cycle stages. Both the internal and external costs are lower, the former resulting mainly from the composite material being significantly less expensive than stainless steel. This therefore represents a full win-win situation. As a consequence, the study clearly indicates that using a thermoset composite material to manufacture storage tanks is environmentally and economically desirable. However, it was also evident that the environmental performance of the CST could be improved by altering its End-of-Life stage. Conclusions The results of the present work provide enlightening insights into the synergies between the environmental and the economic performance of a structural product made with alternative materials. Further, they provide conclusive evidence to support the integration of environmental and economic life cycle analysis in the product development processes of a manufacturing company, or in some cases even in its procurement practices.