• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.8 no.1 s.27
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• pp.139-152
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• 2006

Many experimental and numerical approaches have been developed to evaluate paving materials and to predict pavement response and distress. Micromechanical simulation modeling is a technology that can reduce the number of physical tests required in material formulation and design and that can provide more details, e.g., the internal stress and strain state, and energy evolution and dissipation in simulated specimens with realistic microstructural features. A clustered distinct element modeling (DEM) approach was implemented In the two-dimensional particle flow software package (PFC-2D) to study the complex behavior observed in asphalt mixture fracturing. The relationship between continuous and discontinuous material properties was defined based on the potential energy approach. The theoretical relationship was validated with the uniform axial compression and cantilever beam model using two-dimensional plane strain and plane stress models. A bilinear cohesive displacement-softening model was implemented as an intrinsic interface and applied for both homogeneous and heterogeneous fracture modeling in order to simulate behavior in the fracture process zone and to simulate crack propagation. A disk-shaped compact tension test (DC(T)) with heterogeneous microstructure was simulated and compared with the experimental fracture test results to study Mode I fracture. The realistic arbitrary crack propagation including crack deflection, microcracking, crack face sliding, crack branching, and crack tip blunting could be represented in the fracture models. This micromechanical modeling approach represents the early developmental stages towards a 'virtual asphalt laboratory,' where simulations of laboratory tests and eventually field response and distress predictions can be made to enhance our understanding of pavement distress mechanisms, such its thermal fracture, reflective cracking, and fatigue crack growth.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.17-22
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• 2009

Thermal stress and elastic creeping stress analysis was conducted by finite element method to simulate start-up process of a boiler header of 500MW standard fossil power plant. Start-up temperature and operating pressure history were simplified from the real field data and they were used for the thermal stress analysis. Two kinds of thermal stress analysis were considered. In the first case only temperature increase was considered and in the second case both of temperature and operating pressure histories were considered. In the first analysis peak stress was occurred during the temperature increase from the room temperature. Hence cracking or fracture may occur at the temperature far below the operating maximum temperature. In the results of the second analysis von Mises stress appeared to be higher after the second temperature increase. This is due to internal pressure increase not due to the thermal stress. When the stress components of radial(r), hoop($\theta$) and longitudinal(z) stress were investigated, compression hoop stress was occurred at inner surface of the stub tube when the temperature increased from room temperature to elevated temperature. Then it was changed to tension hoop stress and increased because of the operating pressure. It was expected that frequent start-up and shut-down operations could cause thermal fatigue damage and cracking at the stub tube hole in the header. Elastic-creeping analysis was also carried out to investigate the stress relaxation due to creep and stabilized stress after considerable elapsed time. The results could be used for assessing the creep damage and the residual life of the boiler header during the long-tenn service.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.69-77
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• 2009

Structural analysis of a brake shoe for commercial vehicle was performed using finite element method. Since the strength of a brake shoe is affected by the magnitude and distribution shape of the contact pressure with the drum, the contact pressure between the shoe friction material and drum was calculated using a 2-Dimensional non-linear contact analysis in a state. And the brake was actuated by input air pressure and the drum of it was calculated both stationary and dynamic based on forced torque applied to the drum during the static state analysis. The results of the above analysis were then used as the load boundary conditions for a 3-Dimensional shoe model analysis to determine the maximum strain on the shoes. In the analysis model, the values of tensile test were used for the material properties of the brake shoes and drum, while the values of compression test were used for the friction material. We assumed it as linear variation, even though the properties of friction material were actually non-linear. The experiments were carried out under the same analysis conditions used for fatigue test and under the same brake system which equipped with a brake drum based on the actual axle state in a vehicle. The strains were measured at the same locations where the analysis was performed on the shoes. The obtained results of the experiment matched well with those from the analysis. Consequently, the model used in this study was able to determine the stress at the maximum air pressure at the braking system, thereby a modified shoe model in facilitating was satisfied with the required endurance strength in the vehicle.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.65 no.6
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• pp.679-687
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• 2018

In composite materials technology, the fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) have opened up new horizons in infrastructural engineering field for strengthening existing structures and components of structure. The Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets are well suited for RC columns to this application because of their high strength to weight ratio, good fatigue properties and excellent resistance to corrosion. The main focus of present experimental work is to investigate effect of shapes on axial behavior of CFRP wrapped RC columns having same cross-sectional area and slenderness ratio. The CFRP volumetric ratio and percentage of steel are also adopted constant for all the test specimens. A total of 18 RC columns with slenderness ratio four were cast. Nine columns were control and the rest of nine columns were strengthened with one layer of CFRP wrap having 35 mm of corner radius. Columns confined with CFRP wrap were designed using IS: 456:2000 and ACI 440.2R.08 provisions. All the test specimens were loaded for axial compression up to failure and failure pattern for each shaped column was investigated. All the experimental results were compared with analytical values calculated as per the ACI-440.2R-08 code. The test results clearly demonstrated that the axial behavior of CFRP confined RC columns is affected with the change in shapes. The axial deformation is higher in CFRP wrapped RC circular column as compared to square and rectangular columns. Stress-strain behaviour revealed that the yield strength gained from CFRP confinement was significant for circular columns as compare to square and rectangular columns. This behaviour may be credited due to effect of shape on lateral deformation in case of CFRP wrapped circular columns at effective confinement action.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.163-177
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• 2020

Concentrically Braced Frames (CBFs) are commonly used in the construction of steel structures because of their ease of implementation, rigidity, low lateral displacement, and cost-effectiveness. However, the principal disadvantage of this kind of braced frame is the inability to provide deformation capacity (ductility) and buckling of bracing elements before yielding. This paper aims to present a novel Composite Buckling Restrained Fuse (CBRF) to be utilized as a bracing segment in concentrically braced frames that allows higher ductility and removes premature buckling. The proposed CBRF with relatively small dimensions is an enhancement on the Reduced Length Buckling Restrained Braces (RL-BRBs), consists of steel core and additional tensile elements embedded in a concrete encasement. Employing tensile elements in this composite fuse with a new configuration enhances the energy dissipation efficiency and removes the tensile strength limitations that exist in bracing elements that contain RL-BRBs. Here, the optimal length of the CBRF is computed by considering the anticipated strain demand and the low-cyclic fatigue life of the core under standard loading protocol. An experimental program is conducted to explore the seismic behavior of the suggested CBRF compare with an RL-BRB specimen under gradually increased cyclic loading. Moreover, Hysteretic responses of the specimens are evaluated to calculate the design parameters such as energy dissipation potential, strength adjustment factors, and equivalent viscous damping. The findings show that the suggested fuse possess a ductile behavior with high energy absorption and sufficient resistance and a reasonably stable hysteresis response under compression and tension.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.221-232
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• 2019

Material non-linearity of Reinforced Concrete (RC) framed structures is studied by modelling concrete using the Concrete Damage Plasticity (CDP) theory. The stress-strain data of concrete in compression is modelled using the Hsu model. The structures are analyzed using a finite element approach by modelling them in ABAQUS / CAE. Single bay single storey RC frames, designed according to Indian Standard (IS):456:2000 and IS:13920:2016 are considered for assessing their maximum load carrying capacity and failure behavior under the influence of gravity loads and lateral loads. It is found that the CDP model is effective in predicting the failure behaviors of RC frame structures. Under the influence of the lateral load, the structure designed according to IS:13920 had a higher load carrying capacity when compared with the structure designed according to IS:456. Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) strip is used for strengthening the columns and beam column joints of the RC frame individually against lateral loads. 10mm and 20mm thick strips are adopted for the numerical simulation of RC column and beam-column joint. Results obtained from the study indicated that UHPFRC with two different thickness strips acts as a very good strengthening material in increasing the load carrying capacity of columns and beam-column joint by more than 5%. UHPFRC also improved the performance of the RC frames against lateral loads with an increase of more than 3.5% with the two different strips adopted. 20 mm thick strip is found to be an ideal size to enhance the load carrying capacity of the columns and beam-column joints. Among the strengthening locations adopted in the study, column strengthening is found to be more efficient when compared with the beam column joint strengthening.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.293-304
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• 2014

Rubber air spring (RAS) is a special suspension device for the industries of automobile, railroad car and other transportation. A RAS serves as a spring component with the elastic effect of compression and expansion of air in a composite rubber bag. The main component of RAS is the rubber sleeve. Rubber sleeve is the composite which is made up of combination of chloroprene rubber (CR) and nylon 6 cord, and the adhesive strength between CR and nylon 6 cord is very important. In this study, considering the effects of additives in rubber sleeve, various physical properties were tested to find the optimal combination of composition and conditions. Further, in order to select the optimum orientation of the reinforcing fibers, numerical analysis was performed using the finite elements method. After assembling all components of RAS, it was mounted on an actual vehicle, and then it was tested air leakage, fatigue life and fundamental properties.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.16-27
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• 2015

The design challenges when attempting to obtain sufficient strength for a deepwater steel catenary riser (SCR) include high stress near the hang-off location, an elevated beam-column buckling load due to the effective compression in the touchdown zone (TDZ), and increased stress and low-cycle fatigue damage in the TDZ. Therefore, a systematic strength analysis is required for the proper design of an SCR. However, deepwater SCR analysis is a new research area. Thus, the objective of this study was to develop an overall analysis procedure for a deepwater SCR. The structural behavior of a deepwater SCR under various environmental loading conditions was investigated, and a sensitivity analysis was conducted with respect to various parameters such as the SCR weight, weight of the internal contents, hang-off angle (HOA), and vertical soil stiffness. Based on a deepwater SCR design example, it was found that the maximum stress of an SCR occurred at a hang-off location under parallel loading direction with respect to the riser plane, except for a wave dominant dynamic survival loading condition. Furthermore, the tensile stress governed the total stress of the SCRs, whereas the bending stress governed the total stress at the TDZ. The weight of the SCR and internal contents affected the maximum stress of the SCR more than the HOA and vertical soil stiffness, because the weight of the SCR, including the internal contents, was directly related to its tensile stress.

• Composites Research
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.392-397
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• 2018

In this study, the development purpose is to replace steel Tie Rod of commercial vehicle to the carbon composite by a braiding process. CFRP tie rod was designed to meet the performance requirements of existing products by designing the cross section of the core for braiding weaving and the structural design of the joint between the core and the carbon fiber. The specimens were fabricated by braiding method and applied to structural analysis through test evaluation. The manufacturing process proceeded from braiding to infusion through post-curing process. The test evaluation of the final product was satisfactorily carried out by sequentially performing tensile test, torsion test, compression test and fatigue test. In addition, the weight of CFRP tie rod could be reduced by about 37% compared to existing products.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.225-237
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• 2018

The difficulties of satellite vibration testing are due to the commonly expressed qualification requirements being incompatible with the limited performance of the entire controlled system (satellite + interface + shaker + controller). Two features cause the problem: firstly, the main satellite modes (i.e., the first structural mode and the high and low tank modes) are very weakly damped; secondly, the controller is just too basic to achieve the expected performance in such cases. The combination of these two issues results in oscillations around the notching levels and high amplitude beating immediately after the mode. The beating overshoots are a major risk source because they can result in the test being aborted if the qualification upper limit is exceeded. Although the abort is, in itself, a safety measure protecting the tested satellite, it increases the risk of structural fatigue, firstly because the abort threshold has been already reached, and secondly, because the test must restart at the same close-resonance frequency and remain there until the qualification level is reached and the sweep frequency can continue. The beat minimum relates only to small successive frequency ranges in which the qualification level is not reached. Although they are less problematic because they do not cause an inadvertent test shutdown, such situations inevitably result in waiver requests from the client. A controlled-system analysis indicates an operating principle that cannot provide sufficient stability: the drive calculation (which controls the process) simply multiplies the frequency reference (usually called cola) and a function of the following setpoint, the ratio between the amplitude already reached and the previous setpoint, and the compression factor. This function value changes at each cola interval, but it never takes into account the sensor signal phase. Because of these limitations, we firstly examined whether it was possible to empirically determine, using a series of tests with a very simple dummy, a controller setting process that significantly improves the results. As the attempt failed, we have performed simulations seeking an optimum adjustment by finding the Least Mean Square of the difference between the reference and response signal. The simulations showed a significant improvement during the notch beat and a small reduction in the beat amplitude. However, the small improvement in this process was not useful because it highlighted the need to change the reference at each cola interval, sometimes with instructions almost twice the qualification level. Another uncertainty regarding the consequences of such an approach involves the impact of differences between the estimated model (used in the simulation) and the actual system. As limitations in the current controller were identified in different approaches, we considered the feasibility of a new controller that takes into account an estimated single-input multi-output (SIMO) model. Its parameters were estimated from a very low-level throughput. Against this backdrop, we analyzed the feasibility of an LQG control in cancelling beating, and this article highlights the relevance of such an approach.