Estudo da propagação de trinca por fadiga sob carregamento de amplitude variável

For engineering projects that require high reliability levels, is often not enough know only physical and chemical material properties. It’s necessary understand the failure mode of these materials in operation to ensure security level in the project and establish more stringent criteria in the analysis of structural integrity. Due to this need, aircraft industry has been using aluminum alloys in their designs and projects. “Currently more than 70% of aircraft structures are built of high strength aluminum alloys among which stand out 7075-T6 and 2024-T3 alloys, which are considered basics for being used in the new alloys development.” (PASTOUKHOV & VOORWALD, 1995). Some years ago ALCOA develops Al 2524 alloy that has emerged as refinement of Al 2024 (Al, Cu. Mg) alloy, with purpose of improve fracture toughness and fatigue resistance on structural components. The present research addresses testing of fatigue crack propagation under variable amplitude loading for Al 2024 alloy, observing the interaction effects from application of overhead blocks and plastic zone at the crack tip and makes an analysis of fracture surface images

Contribuição ao estudo de lajes lisas unidirecionais de concreto armado com pilares retangulares ao puncionamento

São apresentadas análises das recomendações para estimar a resistência ao puncionamento de lajes lisas de acordo com a versão atual da norma brasileira, a NBR 6118:2003, que não considera o efeito da retangularidade de pilares internos, e sua predecessora, a NBR 6118:1980. Em seções transversais retangulares, o índice de polarização das tensões de cisalhamento é crescente. Isto altera a forma de ruptura da laje, já que a punção se inicia em torno das extremidades da seção do pilar, não se estendendo para os lados maiores, como prescreve a norma, comportamento este que reduz a resistência última das lajes frente às estimativas normativas. São apresentados os resultados de uma análise numérica por elementos finitos (M.E.F.) e uma proposta para melhorar a ductilidade das lajes lisas através das dimensões mínimas dos pilares. Observou-se que a NBR 6118:1980 mostrou-se conservadora e que as estimativas da NBR 6118: 2003 podem ser melhoradas.

SEM analysis and push-out bond strength of fiberglass posts luted with different cements of glass-ionomer in humid environment: pilot test

The objective of this study was to evaluate the push-out bond strength of fiberglass resin reinforced bonded with five ionomer cements. Also, the interface between cement and dentin was inspected by means of SEM. Fifty human canines were chose after rigorous scrutiny process, endodontically treated and divided randomly into five groups (n = 3) according to cement tested: Group I – Ionoseal (VOCO), Group II – Fugi I (GC), Group III – Fugi II Improved (GC), Group IV – Rely X Luting 2 (3M ESPE), Group V – Ketac Cem (3M ESPE). The post-space was prepared to receive a fiberglass post, which was tried before cementation process. No dentin or post surface pretreatment was carried out. After post bonding, all roots were cross-sectioned to acquire 3 thin-slices (1 mm) from three specific regions of tooth (cervical, medium and apical). A Universal test machine was used to carry out the push-out test with cross-head speed set to 0.5mm/mim. All failed specimens were observed under optical microscope to identify the failure mode. Representative specimens from each group was inspected under SEM. The data were analyzed by Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Levene’s tests and by two-way ANOVA, and Tukey’s port hoc test at a significance level of 5%. It was compared the images obtained for determination of types of failures more occurred in different levels. SEM inspection displayed that all cements filled the space between post and dentin, however, some imperfections such bubles and voids were noticed in all groups in some degree of extension. The push-out bond strength showed that cement Ketac Cem presented significant higher results when compared to the Ionoseal (P = 0.02). There were no statistical significant differences among other cements.

Integration of design tools and knowledge capture into a CAD system: a case study

onceptual design phase is partially supported by product lifecycle management/computer-aided design (PLM/CAD) systems causing discontinuity of the design information flow: customer needs — functional requirements — key characteristics — design parameters (DPs) — geometric DPs. Aiming to address this issue, it is proposed a knowledge-based approach is proposed to integrate quality function deployment, failure mode and effects analysis, and axiomatic design into a commercial PLM/CAD system. A case study, main subject of this article, was carried out to validate the proposed process, to evaluate, by a pilot development, how the commercial PLM/CAD modules and application programming interface could support the information flow, and based on the pilot scheme results to propose a full development framework.

Failure mechanism of reinforced concrete structural walls with and without confinement

This paper presents the results of cyclic loading tests on two large-scale reinforced concrete structural walls that were conducted at Purdue University. One of the walls had confinement reinforcement meeting ACI-318-11 requirements while the other wall did not have any confinement reinforcement. The walls were tested as part of a larger study aimed at indentifying parameters affecting failure modes observed to limit the drift capacity of structural walls in Chile during the Maule Earthquake of 2010. These failure modes include out-of-plane buckling (of the wall rather tan individual reinforcing bars), compression failure, and bond failure. This paper discusses the effects of confinement on failure mode. Distributions of unit strain and curvature obtained with a dense array of non-contact coordinate-tracking targets are also presented.

Diseño basado en técnicas de fiabilidad del tratamiento de mejora del terreno mediante columnas de grava

El proyecto geotécnico de columnas de grava tiene todas las incertidumbres asociadas a un proyecto geotécnico y además hay que considerar las incertidumbres inherentes a la compleja interacción entre el terreno y la columna, la puesta en obra de los materiales y el producto final conseguido. Este hecho es común a otros tratamientos del terreno cuyo objetivo sea, en general, la mejora “profunda”. Como los métodos de fiabilidad (v.gr., FORM, SORM, Monte Carlo, Simulación Direccional) dan respuesta a la incertidumbre de forma mucho más consistente y racional que el coeficiente de seguridad tradicional, ha surgido un interés reciente en la aplicación de técnicas de fiabilidad a la ingeniería geotécnica. Si bien la aplicación concreta al proyecto de técnicas de mejora del terreno no es tan extensa. En esta Tesis se han aplicado las técnicas de fiabilidad a algunos aspectos del proyecto de columnas de grava (estimación de asientos, tiempos de consolidación y aumento de la capacidad portante) con el objetivo de efectuar un análisis racional del proceso de diseño, considerando los efectos que tienen la incertidumbre y la variabilidad en la seguridad del proyecto, es decir, en la probabilidad de fallo. Para alcanzar este objetivo se ha utilizado un método analítico avanzado debido a Castro y Sagaseta (2009), que mejora notablemente la predicción de las variables involucradas en el diseño del tratamiento y su evolución temporal (consolidación). Se ha estudiado el problema del asiento (valor y tiempo de consolidación) en el contexto de la incertidumbre, analizando dos modos de fallo: i) el primer modo representa la situación en la que es posible finalizar la consolidación primaria, parcial o totalmente, del terreno mejorado antes de la ejecución de la estructura final, bien sea por un precarga o porque la carga se pueda aplicar gradualmente sin afectar a la estructura o instalación; y ii) por otra parte, el segundo modo de fallo implica que el terreno mejorado se carga desde el instante inicial con la estructura definitiva o instalación y se comprueba que el asiento final (transcurrida la consolidación primaria) sea lo suficientemente pequeño para que pueda considerarse admisible. Para trabajar con valores realistas de los parámetros geotécnicos, los datos se han obtenido de un terreno real mejorado con columnas de grava, consiguiendo, de esta forma, un análisis de fiabilidad más riguroso. La conclusión más importante, obtenida del análisis de este caso particular, es la necesidad de precargar el terreno mejorado con columnas de grava para conseguir que el asiento ocurra de forma anticipada antes de la aplicación de la carga correspondiente a la estructura definitiva. De otra forma la probabilidad de fallo es muy alta, incluso cuando el margen de seguridad determinista pudiera ser suficiente. En lo que respecta a la capacidad portante de las columnas, existen un buen número de métodos de cálculo y de ensayos de carga (tanto de campo como de laboratorio) que dan predicciones dispares del valor de la capacidad última de las columnas de grava. En las mallas indefinidas de columnas, los resultados del análisis de fiabilidad han confirmado las consideraciones teóricas y experimentales existentes relativas a que no se produce fallo por estabilidad, obteniéndose una probabilidad de fallo prácticamente nula para este modo de fallo. Sin embargo, cuando se analiza, en el contexto de la incertidumbre, la capacidad portante de pequeños grupos de columnas bajo zapatas se ha obtenido, para un caso con unos parámetros geotécnicos típicos, que la probabilidad de fallo es bastante alta, por encima de los umbrales normalmente admitidos para Estados Límite Últimos. Por último, el trabajo de recopilación sobre los métodos de cálculo y de ensayos de carga sobre la columna aislada ha permitido generar una base de datos suficientemente amplia como para abordar una actualización bayesiana de los métodos de cálculo de la columna de grava aislada. El marco bayesiano de actualización ha resultado de utilidad en la mejora de las predicciones de la capacidad última de carga de la columna, permitiendo “actualizar” los parámetros del modelo de cálculo a medida que se dispongan de ensayos de carga adicionales para un proyecto específico. Constituye una herramienta valiosa para la toma de decisiones en condiciones de incertidumbre ya que permite comparar el coste de los ensayos adicionales con el coste de una posible rotura y , en consecuencia, decidir si es procedente efectuar dichos ensayos. The geotechnical design of stone columns has all the uncertainties associated with a geotechnical project and those inherent to the complex interaction between the soil and the column, the installation of the materials and the characteristics of the final (as built) column must be considered. This is common to other soil treatments aimed, in general, to “deep” soil improvement. Since reliability methods (eg, FORM, SORM, Monte Carlo, Directional Simulation) deals with uncertainty in a much more consistent and rational way than the traditional safety factor, recent interest has arisen in the application of reliability techniques to geotechnical engineering. But the specific application of these techniques to soil improvement projects is not as extensive. In this thesis reliability techniques have been applied to some aspects of stone columns design (estimated settlements, consolidation times and increased bearing capacity) to make a rational analysis of the design process, considering the effects of uncertainty and variability on the safety of the project, i.e., on the probability of failure. To achieve this goal an advanced analytical method due to Castro and Sagaseta (2009), that significantly improves the prediction of the variables involved in the design of treatment and its temporal evolution (consolidation), has been employed. This thesis studies the problem of stone column settlement (amount and speed) in the context of uncertainty, analyzing two failure modes: i) the first mode represents the situation in which it is possible to cause primary consolidation, partial or total, of the improved ground prior to implementation of the final structure, either by a pre-load or because the load can be applied gradually or programmed without affecting the structure or installation; and ii) on the other hand, the second mode implies that the improved ground is loaded from the initial instant with the final structure or installation, expecting that the final settlement (elapsed primary consolidation) is small enough to be allowable. To work with realistic values of geotechnical parameters, data were obtained from a real soil improved with stone columns, hence producing a more rigorous reliability analysis. The most important conclusion obtained from the analysis of this particular case is the need to preload the stone columns-improved soil to make the settlement to occur before the application of the load corresponding to the final structure. Otherwise the probability of failure is very high, even when the deterministic safety margin would be sufficient. With respect to the bearing capacity of the columns, there are numerous methods of calculation and load tests (both for the field and the laboratory) giving different predictions of the ultimate capacity of stone columns. For indefinite columns grids, the results of reliability analysis confirmed the existing theoretical and experimental considerations that no failure occurs due to the stability failure mode, therefore resulting in a negligible probability of failure. However, when analyzed in the context of uncertainty (for a case with typical geotechnical parameters), results show that the probability of failure due to the bearing capacity failure mode of a group of columns is quite high, above thresholds usually admitted for Ultimate Limit States. Finally, the review of calculation methods and load tests results for isolated columns, has generated a large enough database, that allowed a subsequent Bayesian updating of the methods for calculating the bearing capacity of isolated stone columns. The Bayesian updating framework has been useful to improve the predictions of the ultimate load capacity of the column, allowing to "update" the parameters of the calculation model as additional load tests become available for a specific project. Moreover, it is a valuable tool for decision making under uncertainty since it is possible to compare the cost of further testing to the cost of a possible failure and therefore to decide whether it is appropriate to perform such tests.

RADIANCE-A planning software for intra-operative radiation therapy

In the last decades accumulated clinical evidence has proven that intra-operative radiation therapy (IORT) is a very valuable technique. In spite of that, planning technology has not evolved since its conception, being outdated in comparison to current state of the art in other radiotherapy techniques and therefore slowing down the adoption of IORT. RADIANCE is an IORT planning system, CE and FDA certified, developed by a consortium of companies, hospitals and universities to overcome such technological backwardness. RADIANCE provides all basic radiotherapy planning tools which are specifically adapted to IORT. These include, but are not limited to image visualization, contouring, dose calculation algorithms-Pencil Beam (PB) and Monte Carlo (MC), DVH calculation and reporting. Other new tools, such as surgical simulation tools have been developed to deal with specific conditions of the technique. Planning with preoperative images (preplanning) has been evaluated and the validity of the system being proven in terms of documentation, treatment preparation, learning as well as improvement of surgeons/radiation oncologists (ROs) communication process. Preliminary studies on Navigation systems envisage benefits on how the specialist to accurately/safely apply the pre-plan into the treatment, updating the plan as needed. Improvements on the usability of this kind of systems and workflow are needed to make them more practical. Preliminary studies on Intraoperative imaging could provide an improved anatomy for the dose computation, comparing it with the previous pre-plan, although not all devices in the market provide good characteristics to do so. DICOM.RT standard, for radiotherapy information exchange, has been updated to cover IORT particularities and enabling the possibility of dose summation with external radiotherapy. The effect of this planning technology on the global risk of the IORT technique has been assessed and documented as part of a failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA). Having these technological innovations and their clinical evaluation (including risk analysis) we consider that RADIANCE is a very valuable tool to the specialist covering the demands from professional societies (AAPM, ICRU, EURATOM) for current radiotherapy procedures.

Desenvolvimento de um método para diagnose de falhas na operação de navios transportadores de gás natural liquefeito através de redes bayesianas.

O Gás Natural Liquefeito (GNL) tem, aos poucos, se tornado uma importante opção para a diversificação da matriz energética brasileira. Os navios metaneiros são os responsáveis pelo transporte do GNL desde as plantas de liquefação até as de regaseificação. Dada a importância, bem como a periculosidade, das operações de transporte e de carga e descarga de navios metaneiros, torna-se necessário não só um bom plano de manutenção como também um sistema de detecção de falhas que podem ocorrer durante estes processos. Este trabalho apresenta um método de diagnose de falhas para a operação de carga e descarga de navios transportadores de GNL através da utilização de Redes Bayesianas em conjunto com técnicas de análise de confiabilidade, como a Análise de Modos e Efeitos de Falhas (FMEA) e a Análise de Árvores de Falhas (FTA). O método proposto indica, através da leitura de sensores presentes no sistema de carga e descarga, quais os componentes que mais provavelmente estão em falha. O método fornece uma abordagem bem estruturada para a construção das Redes Bayesianas utilizadas na diagnose de falhas do sistema.

Effects of dynamic strain ageing on fatigue crack propagation and threshold behaviour in a Ni-base superalloy

In the temperature range 200-400 degree C the Ni-base superalloy, N901, develops marked dynamic strain ageing effects in its tensile behavior. These include inverse strain rate sensitivity, especially in UTS values, strongly serrated stress-strain curves and a heavily sheared failure mode at the higher test-temperatures. As for steels these effects seem to be due to interactions between the dislocations and the interstitial carbon atoms present. The results of tensile and fatigue threshold tests carried out between 20 degree C and 420 degree C are reported and the fatigue behavior is discussed in terms of the effects of surface roughness induced closure, temperature and strain aging interactions.

Emerging of human factor in risk analysis of home care service

Risk management in healthcare represents a group of various complex actions, implemented to improve the quality of healthcare services and guarantee the patients safety. Risks cannot be eliminated, but it can be controlled with different risk assessment methods derived from industrial applications and among these the Failure Mode Effect and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) is a largely used methodology. The main purpose of this work is the analysis of failure modes of the Home Care (HC) service provided by local healthcare unit of Naples (ASL NA1) to focus attention on human and non human factors according to the organization framework selected by WHO. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014.

Performance analysis of disk mirroring techniques

Unequaled improvements in processor and I/O speeds make many applications such as databases and operating systems to be increasingly I/O bound. Many schemes such as disk caching and disk mirroring have been proposed to address the problem. In this thesis we focus only on disk mirroring. In disk mirroring, a logical disk image is maintained on two physical disks allowing a single disk failure to be transparent to application programs. Although disk mirroring improves data availability and reliability, it has two major drawbacks. First, writes are expensive because both disks must be updated. Second, load balancing during failure mode operation is poor because all requests are serviced by the surviving disk. Distorted mirrors was proposed to address the write problem and interleaved declustering to address the load balancing problem. In this thesis we perform a comparative study of these two schemes under various operating modes. In addition we also study traditional mirroring to provide a common basis for comparison.

Autoavaliação da governança de TI em uma autarquia federal com base na gestão de riscos

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Departamento de Ciência da Computação, 2016.

Numerical prediction of the lateral displacement capacity of flexural reinforced concrete shear walls

Previous earthquakes showed that shear wall damage could lead to catastrophic failures of the reinforced concrete building. The lateral load capacity of shear walls needs to be estimated to minimize associated losses during catastrophic events; hence it is necessary to develop and validate reliable and stable numerical methods able to converge to reasonable estimations with minimum computational effort. The beam-column 1-D line element with fiber-type cross-section model is a practical option that yields results in agreement with experimental data. However, shortcomings of using this model to predict the local damage response may come from the fact that the model requires fine calibration of material properties to overcome regularization and size effects. To reduce the mesh-dependency of the numerical model, a regularization method based on the concept of post-yield energy is applied in this work to both the concrete and the steel material constitutive laws to predict the nonlinear cyclic response and failure mechanism of concrete shear walls. Different categories of wall specimens known to produce a different response under in plane cyclic loading for their varied geometric and detailing characteristics are considered in this study, namely: 1) scaled wall specimens designed according to the European seismic design code and 2) unique full-scale wall specimens detailed according to the U.S. design code to develop a ductile behavior under cyclic loading. To test the boundaries of application of the proposed method, two full-scale walls with a mixed shear-flexure response and different values of applied axial load are also considered. The results of this study show that the use of regularized constitutive models considerably enhances the response predictions capabilities of the model with regards to global force-drift response and failure mode. The simulations presented in this thesis demonstrate the proposed model to be a valuable tool for researchers and engineers.

Influence of specimens' design and manufacturing process on microtensile bond strength to enamel: laboratory and FEA comparison

This study evaluated the effect of specimens' design and manufacturing process on microtensile bond strength, internal stress distributions (Finite Element Analysis - FEA) and specimens' integrity by means of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy (LCM). Excite was applied to flat enamel surface and a resin composite build-ups were made incrementally with 1-mm increments of Tetric Ceram. Teeth were cut using a diamond disc or a diamond wire, obtaining 0.8 mm² stick-shaped specimens, or were shaped with a Micro Specimen Former, obtaining dumbbell-shaped specimens (n = 10). Samples were randomly selected for SEM and LCM analysis. Remaining samples underwent microtensile test, and results were analyzed with ANOVA and Tukey test. FEA dumbbell-shaped model resulted in a more homogeneous stress distribution. Nonetheless, they failed under lower bond strengths (21.83 ± 5.44 MPa)c than stick-shaped specimens (sectioned with wire: 42.93 ± 4.77 MPaª; sectioned with disc: 36.62 ± 3.63 MPa b), due to geometric irregularities related to manufacturing process, as noted in microscopic analyzes. It could be concluded that stick-shaped, nontrimmed specimens, sectioned with diamond wire, are preferred for enamel specimens as they can be prepared in a less destructive, easier, and more precise way.

Glulam beams reinforced with FRP externally-bonded: theoretical and experimental evaluation

The glued- laminated lumber (glulam) technique is an efficient process for the rational use of wood. Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRPs) associated with glulam beams provide significant improvements in strength and stiffness and alter the failure mode of these structural elements. In this context, this paper presents guidance for glulam beam production, an experimental analysis of glulam beams made of Pinus caribea var. hondurensis species without and with externally-bonded FRP and theoretical models to evaluate reinforced glulam beams (bending strength and stiffness). Concerning the bending strength of the beams, this paper aims only to analyze the limit state of ultimate strength in compression and tension. A specific disposal was used in order to avoid lateral buckling, once the tested beams have a higher ratio height-to-width. The results indicate the need of production control so as to guarantee a higher efficiency of the glulam beams. The FRP introduced in the tensile section of glulam beams resulted in improvements on their bending strength and stiffness due to the reinforcement thickness increase. During the beams testing, two failure stages were observed. The first was a tensile failure on the sheet positioned under the reinforcement layer, while the second occurred as a result of a preliminary compression yielding on the upper side of the lumber, followed by both a shear failure on the fiber-lumber interface and a tensile failure in wood. The model shows a good correlation between the experimental and estimated results.