Aramid fiber reinforced polymer (AFRP) composite materials show promise for prestressed concrete bridge applications. However, there are still some knowledge gaps due to lack of sufficient data to assess the long-term performance and therefore sustainability of beams prestressed with AFRP composite materials. The objective of this research is to effectively characterize the material properties based on the short-term and long-term characteristics of AFRP bars. Tensile, creep-rupture, and relaxation tests are experimentally conducted using AFRP bars to validate testing procedures and expand an existing limited database. Previous results from tensile tests show that the stress-strain behavior of Arapree® AFRP bars is linear until failure with tensile strength of approximately 210 ksi (1448 MPa) and strain of 2.1%. For the creep-rupture tests, three specimens are tested and monitored at four different load levels (50, 60, 75 and 85% of maximum tensile strength) throughout a period of 14 days (short-term evaluation) and 42 days (long-term evaluation). From these tests, it is expected that for a 100-year life span, 55% of the ultimate load, Fu, must be applied as an initial stress to obtain a long-term residual strength of 0.80 Fu. For the relaxation tests, six specimens at four different strain levels (50, 60, 75 and 85% of maximum tensile strain) are tested and monitored throughout a period of 14 days and 42 days. Relaxation loss profiles of the AFRP bars are developed based on the experimental data collected from prestressed AFRP bars, which have been less well understood given lack of sufficient experimental data. Overall, the results of this study provide more insight as to the reliability and potential long-term performance of AFRP bars embedded within prestressed bridge structures.

E911 creep samples exposed to temperatures of 600˚C, 625˚C and 650˚C at differing stress levels were supplied by CORUS. The hardness of the gauge length that experienced both creep strain and temperature was found to be lower than that of the head where thermal softening only can be assumed. The changes in the morphology and size of precipitates were observed qualitatively by optical microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy. A creep fracture mechanism map of E911 steel was constructed with two modes of creep (transgranular and intergranular ). A fitted ellipse shape was used to characterise the irregular block shape by Electron Backscattered Diffraction (EBSD). It showed that the width of the block inside a prior austenite grain increases more rapidly in the gauge length than in the head; subgrain growth was also observed by EBSD. Transmission Electron Microscopy studies indicate that at 600°C E911 steel can reach up to 75647 hours creep rupture life (108MPa), which is due to the relatively small size of M23C6, Laves and M2X phases. However, Z phase precipitation results in a drop in creep resistance owing to the dissolution of fine MX phase and the transformation of M2X phase. At 625°C and 650°C, the creep rupture life decreases owing to the coarsening of Laves, M23C6 and M2X phases. Four experimental steel casts were prepared with varying levels of Ni and Cr to investigate the effect of these elements on Z phase formation. After 10,000 hours exposure, there was little evidence of Z phase in the samples studied and therefore it is difficult to draw definitive conclusions about the role of Ni or Cr in promoting Z phase formation. It is possible that the casts studied here will allow better conclusions to be drawn after exposing the samples to longer durations.

No description available.

Hardness tests have the potential to provide a simple means of investigating the mechanical properties of materials, both at room temperature, and at higher temperatures. However, the information gained can not be fully utilized unless the deformation processes and variables are properly understood. Careful consideration of such deformation on single crystals can help to clarify the situation and lead to better understanding. This thesis describes indentation experiments on (001) MgO and Ge at temperatures up to 1175°C and 700°C respectively. Since anisotropy was one of the questions being addressed, the majority of the testing used Knoop indenters, although a few experiments used Vickers indenters. The work was carried out on a specially commissioned high temperature hardness tester (based on an original design by Wilberforce Scientific Developments). A main conclusion of the discussion on the design of high temperature hardness testers is the importance of independent heating of the indenter for accurate hardness results. The indentation behaviour of MgO was shown to include creep, even at room temperature for the Knoop <110> orientation. However a region of no indentation creep was exhibited between 750°C and 1050°C for both Vickers and Knoop indentations. This has not been reported in previous studies. The anisotropy displayed at room temperature between <110> and <100> Knoop decreased with increasing temperature, due to the faster creep rate of the < 110> orientation, and finally reversed. Knoop indentations in the <110> and <100> orientations on Ge also showed hardness anisotropy which changed with temperature. In this case there was no anisotropy at room temperature, but anisotropy developed as the temperature increased due to the faster creep rate of the <110> orientation. The indentation hardness response of both MgO and Ge is explained in terms of the interaction of dislocation arrays which are formed in the first few moments of the indentation. Measurement of the two diagonals of the Knoop indentations showed that the ratio of the diagonal lengths, and also the morphology of the surrounding material, can be used to examine the extent and direction of material displacement. Surface etching, and etching of sections, were used to analyse the disposition of slip around the indentations.

With the increasing requirements for higher strength materials with high electrical conductivity, a lot of interest has been paid to develop Cu-based composites in the last 25 years. These composites have superior tensile strength, combined with good electrical conductivity, to that exhibited by pure Cu and conventional Cu alloys. To date, much of the research carried out on this composite has focused on the mechanical and electrical properties of the as processed material. However, there is a basic lack of understanding of the way in which the properties may change or degrade during service. Without this knowledge, these composites cannot be fully and safely exploited. Thus the objective of this study was to investigate the thermo-mechanical behaviour of a Cu-Cr composite, and the nature and extent of any damage mechanisms occurring within the composite over a wide range of experimental conditions. Neutron diffraction was used to investigate the deformation behaviour of the individual phases in the composite and their interaction through elastic and plastic loading at room temperature. For the composite, a fairly good agreement was observed in the phase strains predicted by the Eshelby theory and measured by neutron diffraction. In-situ tensile tests in the SEM were also performed to study the damage mechanism of the composite. Tensile and creep tests were carried out in air and in vacuum over a wide range of temperatures. To provide data for comparison with the composite material, pure Cu specimens were tested whenever possible. Creep resistance increases significantly with the introduction of Cr fibres into Cu. The higher creep rate of the composite in air than in vacuum is due to the gradual decrease of the cross-sectional area of the matrix due to increasing thickness of the oxide layer. Damage characteristics and distributions were found to be similar during tensile and creep testing.

Softening deformation of iron ore in the form of sinter, pellet, and lump ore in the cohesive zone of an ironmaking blast furnace is an important phenomenon that has a significant effect on gas permeability and consequently blast furnace production efficiency. The macroscopic softening deformation behavior of the bed and the microscopic deformation behavior of the individual particles in the packed bed are investigated in this study using wax balls to simulate the fused layer behavior of the cohesive zone. The effects of softening temperature, load pressure, and bed composition (mono - single melting particles, including pure or blend particles vs binary ??? two different melting point particles) on softening deformation are examined. The principal findings of this study are: 1. At low softening temperatures, an increase in load pressure increases the deformation rate almost linearly. 2. At higher softening temperatures, an increase in load pressure dramatically increases the deformation rate, and after a certain time there is no more significant change in deformation rate. 3. The bed deformation rate of a mono bed is much greater than that of a binary one. 4. In a binary system, the softening deformation rate increases almost proportionally with the increase in the amount of lower melting point wax balls. 5. In a mono system with blend particles, the content of the lower melting point material has a more significant effect on overall bed deformation than the higher melting point one. 6. The macro softening deformation of the bed behaves the theory of creep deformation. 7. A mathematical model for predicting bed porosity change due to softening deformation based on creep deformation theory has been developed. 8. Increase in load pressure also reduces the peak contact face number of the distribution curves, and this is more prominent with higher porosity values. 9. The contribution of contact face number to bed porosity reduction is more pronounced in a mono system than in a binary system. 10. The porosity reduction in a binary bed is more due to the contact face area increase, presumably of the lower melting point particles. 11. The mono system has a single peak contact face number distribution pattern while the binary system exhibits a bimodal distribution pattern once the higher melting point material starts to deform. 12. In a binary system, an increase in deformation condition severity tends to reduce the contact face number of the higher melting point material without having to increase the contact face number of the lower melting point material accordingly to achieve a given porosity.

El cobre se utiliza para aplicaciones que buscan una buena conductividad eléctrica y térmica, pero el problema radica en su resistencia mecánica a altas temperaturas, esta se puede mejorar al endurecer el material con una dispersión de elementos cerámicos, así la resistencia mecánica disminuye poco a altas temperaturas y no afecta de sobremanera la conductividad ni térmica ni eléctrica. Este trabajo tiene por objetivo fabricar una aleación con dispersión de carburos de titanio y vanadio, en particular (Cu - 2,5%v TiC -2,5%v VC, determinar como afecta esta composición en la compresión en caliente y creep y compararla con otras aleaciones anteriormente investigadas, además de su textura en la molienda y la variación de la microdureza con la temperatura de recocido y de extrusión. La dispersión se puede lograr a través de la molienda reactiva que consiste en someter al polvo a grades deformaciones plásticas para lograr la formación in situ de carburos. El proceso se inicia llenando el molino atritor con bolas de acero, el líquido de molienda (en este caso tolueno) y los polvos homogenizados. Luego se consolidan en caliente extruyéndolos a dos temperaturas diferentes: 750 y 850 °C. La caracterización de la aleación es a través de difracción de rayos X, de microscopía electrónica de transmisión y microdureza. Las probetas son recocidas una hora a rangos de temperaturas establecidos entre 400 y 900 oC, son medidas sus resistencias al ablandamiento en función de la temperatura de recocido y determinado microdureza Vickers para una carga de 100 [gr]. El ensayo de termofluencia se realiza para un rango entre 500 y 850 °C y las cargas aplicadas, de los 60 a los 100 [MPa].

L'estimation des pertes de précontrainte liées aux déformations différées des bétons est un sujet d'intérêt pour la maintenance à long terme d'ouvrages de génie civil tels que les enceintes de confinement des centrales nucléaires. L'objectif de ce travail de doctorat est d'améliorer la prise en compte des particularités morphologiques de la microstructure des bétons pour estimer le comportement à long terme des bétons précontraints. Cette étude est limitée au cadre de la mécanique des matériaux et à la théorie de l'homogénéisation : le béton y est décrit comme un matériau composite constitué de granulats élastiques enchâssés dans une matrice cimentaire viscoélastique linéaire vieillissante. Les outils novateurs mis en œuvre sont la tomographie par rayons X et la simulation numérique 3D.On distingue sur les images de tomographie les granulats, la matrice cimentaire et l'air occlus. Mais l'extraction de données morphologiques de ces images est une tâche difficile à systématiser. En revanche, la construction numérique de microstructures matrice-inclusions et la simulation numérique 3D en viscoélasticité linéaire se sont montrées assez robustes pour permettre l'étude de l'influence de paramètres morphologiques (fraction volumique, granulométrie et forme des inclusions) sur le comportement macroscopique estimé. Le schéma d'homogénéisation semi-analytique de Sanahuja dédié aux matériaux composites viscoélastiques linéaires vieillissants a été étendu aux cas d'inclusions ellipsoïdales pour étudier l'influence du rapport d'aspect des inclusions sur le comportement viscoélastique vieillissant d'un béton. Les estimations du comportement macroscopique par les simulations numériques 3D restent proches de celles obtenues par les schémas d'homogénéisation semi-analytiques. Ainsi, il reste difficile d'expliquer la dispersion des résultats expérimentaux de Granger par l'homogénéisation, dans la mesure où les bétons de Granger ont des formulations similaires. Enfin, les simulations numériques 3D permettent l'estimation des contraintes dans la matrice cimentaire lorsque l'on impose à un échantillon de béton une histoire de chargement similaire à celle rencontrée sur les ouvrages / Prestress losses due to creep of concrete is a matter of interest for long term operations of containment buildings. In the present study, the time-dependent strains of concretes are estimated starting from morphological details of the microstructure. X-ray tomography provide a new way to spot such details and 3D numerical simulations are performed to estimate the time-dependent strains. Concrete is described as a composite material made of aggregates embedded in a cementitious matrix. On X-ray tomography images, aggregates can be separated from the cementitious matrix and entrained air. But extracting morphological parameters remains a difficult task. Nevertheless, building numerical matrix-inclusion microstructures and performing 3D numerical simulations proved a reliable way to estimate the influence of morphological features such as a the volume fraction of aggregates or the sieve curve on the time-dependent strains of concretes. Moreover, the semi-analytic homogenization scheme of Sanahuja dedicated to linear aging viscoelastic composite materials has been extended to the case of ellipsoidal inclusions to study the influence of the aspect ratio of the aggregates on the time-dependent strains of concretes.3D numerical estimates of the overall time-dependent behavior of concrete are similar to the ones produced by semi-analytical homogenization schemes. Hence, explaining the differences between the experimental measurements of the time-dependent strains of concretes performed by Granger remains challenging given the similarities between their mix designs. Lastly, 3D numerical simulations are performed on a sample of concrete to estimate the local stress in the cementitious matrix, the history of loading being representative of the one experienced in a containment building

No description available.

abstract: Cohesive zone model is one of the most widely used model for fracture analysis, but still remains open ended field for research. The earlier works using the cohesive zone model and Extended finite element analysis (XFEM) have been briefly introduced followed by an elaborate elucidation of the same concepts. Cohesive zone model in conjugation with XFEM is used for analysis in static condition in order to check its applicability in failure analysis. A real time setup of pipeline failure due to impingement is analyzed along with a detailed parametric study to understand the influence of the prominent design variable. After verifying its good applicability, a creep model is built for analysis where the cohesive zone model with XFEM is used for a time dependent creep loading. The challenge in this simulation was to achieve coupled behavior of cracks initiation and propagation along with creep loading. By using Design of Experiment, the results from numerical simulation were used to build an equation for life prediction for creep loading condition. The work was further extended to account for fatigue damage accumulation for high cycle fatigue loading in cohesive elements. A model was conceived to account for damage due to fatigue loading along within cohesive zone model for cohesive elements in ABAQUS simulation software. The model was verified by comparing numerical modelling of Double cantilever beam under high cycle fatigue loading and experiment results from literature. The model was also applied to a major industrial problem of blistering in Cured-In-Plane liner pipelines and a demonstration of its failure is shown. In conclusion, various models built on cohesive zone to address static and time dependent loading with real time scenarios and future scope of work in this field is discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Mechanical Engineering 2016