Experimental and numerical study of debonding in composite adhesive joints

The mode I and mode II fracture properties of the FM300-2 adhesive bond between 5HS/RTM6 laminates are determined experimentally by DCB and ELS test. The crack propagation is studied numerically by means of interface elements based on the decohesive zone model. The latter is characterized by material degradation, which is usually assumed to be linear. In the present study it is shown that if a non-linear material degradation is used with an increased magnitude of the interface relative displacement at failure it is possible to model more correctly the experimentally observed significant non-linear behaviour before the start of crack propagation. An adhesive stepped flush joint is studied experimentally and numerically. A mixed mode interaction criterion is used together with the nonlinear material degradation of the interface. Sensitivity studies are performed to study the influence of the parameters defining it.

Aplicação de um método de correlação de imagem para a determinação da tenacidade à fratura em corte de adesivos estruturais

Qualquer estrutura hoje em dia deve ser resistente, robusta e leve, o que aumentou o interesse industrial e investigação nas ligações adesivas, nomeadamente pela melhoria das propriedades de resistência e fratura dos materiais. Com esta técnica de união, o projeto de estruturas pode ser orientado para estruturas mais leves, não só em relação à economia direta de peso relativamente às juntas aparafusas ou soldadas, mas também por causa da flexibilidade para ligar materiais diferentes. Em qualquer área da indústria, a aplicação em larga escala de uma determinada técnica de ligação supõe que estão disponíveis ferramentas confiáveis para o projeto e previsão da rotura. Neste âmbito, Modelos de Dano Coesivo (MDC) são uma ferramenta essencial, embora seja necessário estimar as leis MDC do adesivo à tração e corte para entrada nos modelos numéricos. Este trabalho avalia o valor da tenacidade ao corte (GIIC) de juntas coladas para três adesivos com ductilidade distinta. O trabalho experimental consiste na caracterização à fratura ao corte da ligação adesiva por métodos convencionais e pelo Integral-J. Além disso, pelo integral-J, é possível definir a forma exata da lei coesiva. Para o integral-J, é utilizado um método de correlação de imagem digital anteriormente desenvolvido para a avaliação do deslocamento ao corte do adesivo na extremidade da fenda (δs) durante o ensaio, acoplado a uma sub-rotina em Matlab® para a extração automática de δs. É também apresentado um trabalho numérico para avaliar a adequabilidade de leis coesivas triangulares aproximadas em reproduzir as curvas força-deslocamento (P-δ) experimentais dos ensaios ENF. Também se apresenta uma análise de sensibilidade para compreender a influência dos parâmetros coesivos nas previsões numéricas. Como resultado deste trabalho, foram estimadas experimentalmente as leis coesivas de cada adesivo pelo método direto, e numericamente validadas, para posterior previsão de resistência em juntas adesivas. Em conjunto com a caraterização à tração destes adesivos, é possível a previsão da rotura em modo-misto.

On the yield stress of frozen sucrose solutions

Measurement or prediction of the mechanical and fracture properties of foods is very important in the design, operation and optimization of processes, as well as for the control of quality of food products. This paper describes the measurement of yield stress of frozen sucrose solutions under indentation tests using a spherical indenter. Effects of composition, temperature and strain rate on yield stress of frozen sucrose solutions have also been investigated.

Electrochemical behaviour of heat-treated Al-Zn-Mg alloys in chloride solutions containing sulphate

The electrochemical corrosion and passivation of Al-5Zn-1.7Mg-0.23Cu-0.053Nb alloys, submitted to different heat treatments (cold-rolled, annealed, quenched and aged, and quenched in two steps and aged), in sulphate-containing chloride solutions, has been studied by means of cyclic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The cyclic polarization curves showed that sulphate addition to the chloride solution produced a poor reproducible shift of the breakdown potential to more positive potentials. The repassivation potentials, much more reproducible, and practically separating the passive from the pitting potential region, were slightly displaced in the negative direction with that addition. When the alloys were potentiodynamically polarized in the passive potential region, sulphate was incorporated in the oxide film, thus precluding chloride ingress. In addition, Zn depletion was favoured, whereas Mg losses were avoided. Different equivalent circuits corresponding to different alloys and potentials in the passive and pitting regions were employed to account for the electrochemical processes taking place in each condition. This work shows that sulphate makes these alloys more sensitive to corrosion, increasing the fracture properties of the surface layer and favouring the pitting attack over greater areas than chloride alone. (C) 2002 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Polyolefin fiber-reinforced concrete enhanced with steel-hooked fibers in low proportions

Over the past few years, polyolefin fiber reinforced self-compacting concrete has shown high performance in both fresh and hardened state. Its fracture behavior for small deformations could be enhanced with a small amount of steel-hooked fibers, obtaining a hybrid fiber-reinforced concrete well suited for structural use. Four types of conventional fiber-reinforced concrete with steel and polyolefin fibers were produced on the basis of the same self-compacting concrete also manufactured as reference. These concrete mixtures were manufactured separately with the same fiber contents being subsequently used for two more hybrid mixtures. Fracture properties, in addition to fresh and mechanical properties, were assessed. The research showed both synergies (with the two types of fibers working together in the fracture processes) and an improvement of the orientation and distribution of the fibers on the fracture surface

Estudo experimental do comportamento à fratura frágil em aços estruturais ferríticos e aplicações à determinação da curva mestra.

Este trabalho apresenta uma investigação experimental sobre o comportamento à fratura frágil de aços estruturais ferríticos, ASTM A285 Gr C e ASTM A515 Gr 65. Os resultados deste trabalho ampliam a base de dados de propriedades mecânicas utilizadas nas análises de integridade de estruturas pressurizadas tais como vasos de pressão e tanques de armazenamento construídos com esta classe de material. O trabalho tem por objetivo também avaliar a aplicabilidade de corpos de prova de dimensões reduzidas, PCVN, na determinação da temperatura de referência, T0, por meio da metodologia da Curva Mestra, a qual define a dependência da tenacidade à fratura do material em função da temperatura. Os ensaios de tenacidade à fratura foram conduzidos utilizando-se corpos de prova solicitados em flexão três pontos com geometria SE(B), PCVN e PCVN com entalhe lateral, extraídos de chapas laminadas. Os resultados dos ensaios foram obtidos em termos de integral J no momento da instabilidade, denotados por Jc. Dados adicionais de resistência à tração e de Impacto Charpy convencional também foram obtidos para caracterizar o comportamento mecânico dos aços utilizados. Os resultados mostraram uma forte influência da geometria dos corpos de prova sobre os valores de Jc, evidenciada pela grande variação nos valores de tenacidade à fratura.

Validação numérica de leis coesivas triangulares para previsão de resistência de juntas adesivas em tração e corte puros

As ligações adesivas surgiram pela necessidade de se encontrar formas de unir componentes, por vezes de materiais distintos, através de técnicas mais vantajosas. Atualmente, qualquer estrutura deve ser resistente, robusta e leve, o que amplificou o interesse industrial e investigação nas ligações adesivas, principalmente na melhoria das propriedades de resistência e fratura de materiais. Desta forma, nos últimos anos, a utilização de juntas adesivas em aplicações industriais tem aumentando gradualmente, substituindo alguns métodos de ligação tradicionais, por apresentarem vantagens, tais como redução de concentração de tensões, reduzido peso e facilidade de processamento/fabrico. Em qualquer área da indústria, a aplicação em larga escala de uma determinada técnica de ligação supõe que estão disponíveis ferramentas confiáveis para o projeto e previsão da rotura. Neste âmbito, os Modelos de Dano Coesivo (MDC) são uma ferramenta fundamental, apesar de ser necessário estimar as leis coesivas do adesivo à tração e corte para entrada nos modelos numéricos. Nesta dissertação o trabalho experimental consistiu no tratamento de dados com vista à obtenção de GIc e GIIc, com a devida comparação de diferentes métodos de redução, bem como potencialidades e limitações dos mesmos. É realizada uma comparação dos três adesivos: Araldite® AV138, Araldite® 2015 e SikaForce® 7752. Neste trabalho estudou-se também numericamente a adequação de leis coesivas triangulares na previsão no comportamento de juntas adesivas, nomeadamente nas curvas forçadeslocamento (P-) de ensaios Double-Cantilever Beam para caracterização à tração e ensaios End-Notched Flexure para caraterização ao corte. Os ensaios foram simulados numericamente pelo software ABAQUS®, recorrendo ao Método de Elementos Finitos (MEF) e um MDC triangular, com o intuito de estimar a lei coesiva de cada um dos adesivos. Para os adesivos Araldite®AV138 e Araldite®2015, à tração e ao corte, a lei triangular previu o comportamento do adesivo com alguma razoabilidade. Para a previsão da resistência do adesivo SikaForce® 7752, a lei triangular não se ajustou convenientemente nem à tração nem ao corte. Considera-se que, para este adesivo, uma lei trapezoidal é a que melhor se adequa, devido à ductilidade do mesmo.

Atomic-level structure and deformation in metallic glasses

Metallic glasses (MGs) are a relatively new class of materials discovered in 1960 and lauded for its high strengths and superior elastic properties. Three major obstacles prevent their widespread use as engineering materials for nanotechnology and industry: 1) their lack of plasticity mechanisms for deformation beyond the elastic limit, 2) their disordered atomic structure, which prevents effective study of their structure-to-property relationships, and 3) their poor glass forming ability, which limits bulk metallic glasses to sizes on the order of centimeters. We focused on understanding the first two major challenges by observing the mechanical properties of nanoscale metallic glasses in order to gain insight into its atomic-level structure and deformation mechanisms. We found that anomalous stable plastic flow emerges in room-temperature MGs at the nanoscale in wires as little as ~100 nanometers wide regardless of fabrication route (ion-irradiated or not). To circumvent experimental challenges in characterizing the atomic-level structure, extensive molecular dynamics simulations were conducted using approximated (embedded atom method) potentials to probe the underlying processes that give rise to plasticity in nanowires. Simulated results showed that mechanisms of relaxation via the sample free surfaces contribute to tensile ductility in these nanowires. Continuing with characterizing nanoscale properties, we studied the fracture properties of nano-notched MGnanowires and the compressive response of MG nanolattices at cryogenic (~130 K) temperatures. We learned from these experiments that nanowires are sensitive to flaws when the (amorphous) microstructure does not contribute stress concentrations, and that nano-architected structures with MG nanoribbons are brittle at low temperatures except when elastic shell buckling mechanisms dominate at low ribbon thicknesses (~20 nm), which instead gives rise to fully recoverable nanostructures regardless of temperature. Finally, motivated by understanding structure-to-property relationships in MGs, we studied the disordered atomic structure using a combination of in-situ X-ray tomography and X-ray diffraction in a diamond anvil cell and molecular dynamics simulations. Synchrotron X-ray experiments showed the progression of the atomic-level structure (in momentum space) and macroscale volume under increasing hydrostatic pressures. Corresponding simulations provided information on the real space structure, and we found that the samples displayed fractal scaling (r^d ∝ V, d < 3) at short length scales (< ~8 Å), and exhibited a crossover to a homogeneous scaling (d = 3) at long length scales. We examined this underlying fractal structure of MGs with parallels to percolation clusters and discuss the implications of this structural analogy to MG properties and the glass transition phenomenon.

Influence of plate bending stiffness on mechanical properties of healing fracture, mouse femora

Mechanically well-defined stabilization systems have only recently become available, providing standardized conditions for studying the role of the mechanical environment on mouse bone fracture healing. The aim of this study was to characterize the time course of strength recovery and callus development of mouse femoral osteotomies stabilized with either low or high flexibility (in bending and torsion) internal fixation plates. Animals were euthanized and femora excised at 14, 21, and 28 days post-osteotomy for microCT analysis and torsional strength testing. While a larger mineralized callus was observed in osteotomies under more flexible conditions at all time points, the earlier bridging of the mineralized callus under less flexible conditions by 1 week resulted in an earlier recovery of torsional strength in mice stabilized with low flexibility fixation. Ultimate torque values for these bones were significantly higher at 14 and 21 days post-osteotomy compared to bones with the more flexible stabilization. Our study confirms the high reproducibility of the results that are achieved with this new implant system, therefore making it ideal for studying the influence of the mechanical environment on murine fracture healing under highly standardized conditions.

Influence of interface properties on fracture behaviour of concrete

Hardened concrete is a three-phase composite consisting of cement paste, aggregate and interface between cement paste and aggregate. The interface in concrete plays a key role on the overall performance of concrete. The interface properties such as deformation, strength, fracture energy, stress intensity and its influence on stiffness and ductility of concrete have been investigated. The effect of composition of cement, surface characteristics of aggregate and type of loading have been studied. The load-deflection response is linear showing that the linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) is applicable to characterize interface. The crack deformation increases with large rough aggregate surfaces. The strength of interface increases with the richness of concrete mix. The interface fracture energy increases as the roughness of the aggregate surface increases. The interface energy under mode II loading increases with the orientation of aggregate surface with the direction of loading. The chemical reaction between smooth aggregate surface and the cement paste seems to improve the interface energy. The ductility of concrete decreases as the surface area of the strong interface increases. The fracture toughness (stress intensity factor) of the interface seems to be very low, compared with hardened cement paste, mortar and concrete.

A micromechanical model of influence of particle fracture and particle cluster on mechanical properties of metal matrix composites

A general analytical model for a composite with an isotropic matrix and two populations of spherical inclusions is proposed. The method is based on the second order moment of stress for evaluating the homogenised effective stress in the matrix and on the secant moduli concept for the plastic deformation. With Webull's statistical law for the strength of SiCp particles, the model can quantitatively predict the influence of particle fracture on the mechanical properties of PMMCs. Application of the proposed model to the particle cluster shows that the particle cluster has neglected influence on the strain and stress curves of the composite. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.

The influence of microcrack density on the elastic and fracture mechanical properties of stripa granite

Microcracks can have a strong influence on the elastic and fracture mechanical properties of rocks if they are numerous, or if they are orientated in unfavourable directions in anisotropic rocks in particular. This paper presents results from a great number of mechanical tests on Stripa granite containing various amounts of microcracks. Variations in the microcrack density were obtained by shock-heating the rock at different temperatures in the range 100–600°C for 3 h.