Thesis (Nav. E.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Ocean Engineering; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 44-46). / Although there has been interest in the behavior of metal plates under blast and projectile loading for many years, definitive open-source analysis has only been recently forthcoming. This analysis is most often in the form of scaled recreations of the dynamic blast event, or "live fire" tests. New developments in methods of recreating blast and projectile induced plate failure using a quasi-static approach provide possible, accurate, alternatives to the cumbersome and expensive live fire test. This research endeavors to develop an accurate, quasi-static method of recreating the petalling phase of blast and projectile failure in metal sheets, based on a modified trousers- type test. By using the trousers-type fracture test the overall plastic bending kinematics of the fractured petal is preserved, as well as the mixed mode (mode one and mode three) fracture. Through analytical and qualitative analysis, a testing apparatus to generate this trousers-type, plastic bending and mixed mode fracture was designed and machined. The apparatus was then used to test thin steel sheets of varying thickness (0.419 and 0.724mm) in order to validate the quasi-static method of recreating the petalling phase through a comparison with analytically derived results. / by Michael L. Roach. / S.M. / Nav.E.

Thesis. 1978. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND SCIENCE. / Vita. / Includes bibliographical references. / Ph.D.

Thesis (Sc.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1981. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Subramanian Suresh. / Sc.D.

The safety of engineering structures depends heavily on the presence of cracks, which may propagate and lead eventually to structural failure. This dissertation aims to advance the computational modeling of fracture, within the context of linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) and cohesive zone models (CZMs). The extended finite element method (XFEM) is employed as the discretization method and cracks in both homogeneous and bimaterial solids are considered in this work. First, a novel set of enrichment functions within the framework of XFEM is proposed for the LEFM analysis of interface cracks in bimaterials. The motivation for the new enrichment set stems from the revelation that the accuracy of the widely accepted 12-fold bimaterial enrichment functions significantly deteriorates with the increase in material mismatch. To this end, we propose an 8-fold material-dependent enrichment set, derived from the analytical asymptotic displacement field, that well captures the near-tip oscillating singular fields of interface cracks, including the transition to weak discontinuities of bimaterials. The new enrichment set is tested on various examples and found to outperform the 12-fold set in terms of accuracy, conditioning, and total number of degrees of freedom (DOFs). The formulation is then extended to include high-order enrichment functions and accurate stress and displacement fields are obtained. The complex stress intensity factors (SIFs) of interface cracks are evaluated by employing Irwin's crack closure integral. To this end, a closed-form SIF formulation in terms of the enriched DOFs is derived by matching the leading term in the XFEM with an analytical expression of Irwin's integral. Hence, the SIFs of interface cracks can be directly obtained upon the solution of the XFEM discrete system without cumbersome post-processing requirements. The proposed method is shown to work well on several benchmark examples involving straight and curved interface cracks, giving accurate SIF results. Another contribution of the work is the application of Irwin's integral to the estimation of SIFs for curved homogeneous cracks. At the core, the proposed approach employs high-order enrichment functions to accurately capture the near-tip fields and evaluates the original definition of Irwin's integral through closed-form formulations in terms of enriched DOFs. An improved quadrature scheme using high-order isoparametric mapping together with a generalized Duffy transformation is proposed to integrate singular fields in tip elements with curved cracks. The proposed extraction approach is shown to yield decomposed SIFs with excellent accuracy and avoid the need for auxiliary fields as in J-integral method. Second, with respect to cohesive fracture, a discrete damage zone model (DDZM) is proposed following a rigorous thermodynamic framework similar to that of continuum damage mechanics (CDM). For the modeling of mixed-mode delamination, a novel damage evolution law is proposed to account for the coupled interaction between opening and sliding modes of interface deformations. A comprehensive comparison made with several popular CZMs in the literature demonstrates the thermodynamic consistency of the DDZM. The proposed interface model is integrated with the XFEM and the effectiveness of this framework has been validated on various benchmark problems. Finally, a novel continuous/discontinuous method is proposed to simulate the entire failure process of quasi-brittle materials: from the nucleation of diffuse damage to the development of discrete cracks . An integral-type nonlocal continuum damage model is coupled in this framework with DDZM with a new numerical energetic coupling scheme. The transition from the continuous (CDM) to the discontinuous approach (DDZM) can be triggered at any damage level with a weak energetic equivalence preserved. A few benchmark problems involving straight and curved cracks are investigated to demonstrate the applicability and robustness of the coupled XFEM cohesive-damage approach.

O aparecimento e a propagação de fissuras nos elementos estruturais de uma ponte de aço podem ser resultantes de flutuações de carregamento. Os elementos soldados são suscetíveis ao aparecimento de descontinuidades internas localizadas nas soldas e são bem sensíveis às variações de tensões. A consideração da redistribuição dos esforços entre os elementos da estrutura têm importância relevante no planejamento do custo de recuperação. Desenvolve-se um modelo de análise em vigas de pontes de aço para simulação de abertura de fissuras ocasionadas por carregamento cíclico. Esse modelo considera duas alternativas possíveis para governar a propagação da fissura. A fase inicial é baseada na formulação da mecânica da fratura linear elástica a qual é geralmente utilizada na análise de fissuras devido à fadiga em estruturas de aço. O modelo é expandido para consideração dos conceitos de mecânica da fratura elasto-plástico. Durante inspeções de pontes de aço é possível aplicar uma técnica não destrutiva na determinação de variações de freqüências naturais e com esse artifício auxiliar na localização e verificação da amplitude de fissuras. A diminuição da rigidez do elemento estrutural é obtida através de uma técnica inversa. São desenvolvidos algoritmos correspondentes aos modelos simplificados para implementação em microcomputadores, sendo os resultados numéricos obtidos, comparados com as soluções calculadas através de um código de cálculo largamente utilizado em análises numéricas. / Crack formation and growth in steel bridge structural elements may be due to loading oscillalions. The welded elements are liable to internal discontinuities along welded joints and sensible to stress variations. The effort redistribution among the structural elements are very important to evaluate repairing costs. In this work a steel bridge beam model has been proposed to simulate crack openings due to cyclic loads. Two possibilities have been considered to model crack propagation. The initial phase is based on the linear fracture mechanics which is often adopted to analyse fracture formation in steel structure due to fatigue. The model is extended to incorporate elastoplastic fracture mechanic concepts. For steel bridge inspections, it is possible to adopt a non destructive technique to quantify the structure eigenvalue variation that will be used to help the localisation and size evaluation of the grown fracture. The structural element stiffness reduction is obtained by inverse analysis. The corresponding numerical algorithms to be implemented in microcomputers are proposed for those simplified models. Numerical results obtained by applying those developed codes are compared with the solutions achieved by using other well known computer software.

Multilayered materials and structures are of special interest to both academic researchers and industrial engineers as they have been used in an increasing number of applications, such as micro- electromechanical system (MEMS) on polymer substrate, protective coating on metal structure for anti-corrosion, ceramic coating on metal substrate for abrasion resistance, thermal barrier coatings, metal or metal oxide coating on metal-coated polymer for reflectance tuning and protection, as well as laminated composites and structures, etc. However, the surface layer and joint interface are commonly prone to premature failures because of cracking and delamination due to their different thermal and mechanical properties. In return, the premature failures will affect the performance and structural integrity of the device and eventually cause the failure of the multilayered structures to perform their functions. Therefore, it is essential to understand the mechanical behavior and corresponding failure mechanisms of the multilayered systems. This Ph.D. dissertation focuses on the study of opening-mode fracture (OMF) behavior and interfacial delamination in different types of multilayered structures, such as the aluminum plate or wire with alumina protective coating, multilayered advanced polymeric reflectors, and asphalt pavements. In addition, another failure mechanism, i.e. the material degradation and aging, is also studied. Firstly, a two-dimensional (2D) elasoplastic fracture model in Cartesian coordinates is developed to study the OMF in the thin alumina film fully bonded to an aluminum plate undergoing large- scale yielding. The stress field in the coating layer is described by one section between two adjacent cracks. The 2D plane strain formulations are employed to analyze the elastic field in the thin film, while a one-dimensional (1D) linear hardening plastic model is applied to account for the large plastic deformations in the substrate under substantial yielding. An elastoplastic shear lag model is established to transfer the tensile stress in the substrate to the thin film. General formulations and explicit expressions of the elastic/elastoplastic solutions of the thin film/substrate system under different loading stages have been presented. The elastic field in the thin film is then verified with the finite element (FE) results. The fracture energy release rate (ERR) is calculated and corresponding elastoplastic fracture analysis is conducted. Experimental characterization is further conducted to validate the present model; the results show that this fracture modle can capture the fracture initiation, infilling, and saturation in the thin film successfully. This model has been extended to cylindrical coordinates, where the alumina coating is fully bonded to an aluminum wire/rod. Due to the axial symmetry, the proposed 2D elasoplastic fracture model has been reproduced in polar coordinates and be used to study the OMF behavior of alumina coating fully bonded to an aluminum wire. For the case where thermal loading is applied on coating/substrate structures, neither the plane strain nor plane stress assumption can be applied because the thermal loading would introduce multi axial normal stress, therefore, a three-dimensional (3D) elastic fracture model is then developed to study the OMF in the coating fully bonded to the elastic substrate. When the temperature change reaches a certain level, block cracking will initiate in the surface layer to release the accumulated thermal stress. For simplicity, we assume the top surface of the coating would keep flat and in a rectangular shape after deformation. Then the elastic field in both coating and substrate is analyzed and verified with the FE results. The fracture ERR is then obtained based on the solved elastic field and used to analyze the fracture initiation, infilling, and saturation. In order to verify the fracture analysis, the theoretical fracture analysis results are compared with FE simulation results based on the cohesive zone model (CZM) and experimental data from the literature. The good agreement demonstrates the accuracy of the proposed 3D fracture model. In addition, this model for coating/substrate system is extended to study multilayered structures with arbitrary number of layers. In order to verify this extended model, the predicted elastic field in an advanced polymeric solar reflector is compared with FE simulation results and parametric studies are conducted to investigate the effect of geometry on the accuracy of this model. Furthermore, the fracture behavior of the surface layer in the advanced polymeric solar reflector is studied using the calculated fracture ERR. Additionally, the delamination behavior, as another common failure mode of the coating/substrate structures, is then studied. The delamination fracture energy of a multilayered glass solar reflec- tor is tested by employing the width-tapered beam method. The testing results indicate that the weakest interface of the multilayered solar reflector would be the glass-copper interface with a de- lamination fracture energy 4.4 J/m2. Using the tested fracture energy as an input, an FE model is built based on the CZM and the returned peeling force from simulation is then compared with the test results to verify the accuracy of the test method. The good agreement between the simulation and test results demonstrates that the width-tapered beam method is accurate enough to measure the delamination fracture energy of this multilayered solar reflector. Additionally, the effect of aging on the delamination fracture energy is investigated by measuring the delamination fracture energy after 50 hrs’ accelerated aging test. The results show that the aging has minor effect of delamination fracture energy for samples with alumina (Al2O3) protective coating, while it reduces the delamination fracture energy for samples with titania (TiO2) protective coating. As another failure mechanism, the material degradation or aging behavior is studied in this dissertation. The weight percentage of oxygen (WPO) in three types of asphalt binders extracted from reclaimed asphalt pavements (RAPs) and one extracted from fresh Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA), that have been aged under continuous ultraviolet (UV) or UV/moisture/condensation exposure for different period, is measured using a energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Then the tested data are fitted based on two classic aging models, namely the fast-rate constant-rate (FRCR) and nonlinear differential dynamic (NDD) models. The good fitted results show that both FRCR and NDD models can capture the aging behavior of asphalt binders extracted from both RAPs and fresh HMA under continuous UV or UV/moisture/condensation exposure. Meanwhile, although exposed under UV for the same time, the WPO in samples after UV/moisture/condensation aging are lower than those in samples after continuous UV aging, which indicates that condensation and moisture reduce the UV-induced photo-oxidative aging rate.

In the pursuit to create more natural, chemical-free antibacterial surfaces, fracture mechanics and the ability of laser-modified surfaces to store an antimicrobial agent have been investigated through the combination of scanning electron microscopy coupled with focused ion beam, infrared spectroscopy, bactericidal tests and a colorimetric method. It was found that the irradiation of a nanosecond pulsed laser on Ti-6Al-4V and 304L stainless steel surfaces creates colored oxide layers with 100-150 nm in thickness and, by using the adequate parameters, it is possible to obtain surfaces with cracks of 1-6 μm deep that not only penetrate the film but also the substrate. Physisorption was used to immobilize nisin, an antimicrobial agent, to the walls of those cracks. Antibacterial tests show that nisin-coated oxide layers exhibit antibacterial activity against Listeria monocytogenes even after immersion in water or the application of mechanical scrubbing, and release kinetics tests demonstrated that nisin desorption is promoted by acidic pH and that nisin is effectively stored into the cracks of stainless steel. The immobilization into the cracks of the titanium oxide layer seem to reveal that there is an excellent anchor between the peptide and the crack walls, but future research is still required.

In this thesis multiple controllers are developed which command a small boat with twin tied outboard motors to hold a desired position. In the process of developing a controller to hold a position, controllers were first developed which follow a desired heading or path over ground with the motors outputting constant thrust. These heading and path following controllers were tuned and tested in a numerical simulation, then validated on the R/V Lee and Ocean Power vessels through sea trials in the Atlantic Ocean. After successful path following trials were performed, station keeping algorithms were developed and tuned in the numerical simulation, now with heading and thrust of the vessel both being variables to be controlled. After tuning in the numerical simulation, the Ocean power vessel was outfitted with systems for controlling throttle and steering with sea trials conducted in the Atlantic Ocean for station keeping. / by Aaron D. Fisher. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

To support the trust in the design development of adhesively bonded joints, it is important to precisely predict their mechanical failure load. A numerical simulation model with a two-dimensional linear elastic cohesive zone model using a combination of a soft and a stiff adhesive is developed to optimize the strength of a lap-joint. Separation under mixed-mode conditions (normal and shear direction) is considered. By varying the length of the adhesives, the fracture load is optimized. The results obtained from the numerical experiments show an improvement in strength.

This thesis investigates the quantity Crack Tip Opening Displacement (CTOD) as a means to assess fracture toughness when measured in the Single Edge Notched Bend (SENB) specimen setup. A particular objective is to assess the effectiveness of the test when used for high strain-hardening materials (e.g. stainless steels). This has been an increasing concern as the current available methods were generally designed for lower strain hardening structural steel. Experimental work on CTOD tests included silicone casting of the crack, and constant displacement tests were also performed. The silicone castings enable physical measurement of the crack under an optical microscope. Results from a series of Finite Element (FE) models were validated from the experiments. δ5 surface measurements were obtained using Digital Image Correlation (DIC) as a courtesy of TWI, which were compared to surface CTOD measurements from the silicone castings. In addition to the experiments and Finite Element modelling, archived test data from TWI was processed, showing analytical differences between current Standard CTOD equations. CTOD calculations from BS 7448, ISO 12135, ASTM E1820 and WES 1108 were compared to the experimental and FE modelling results. For high strain hardening material, CTOD predicted by Standard equations (apart from those in BS 7448 and single point CTOD from ISO 12135) were lower than the values determined from silicone measurements and modelling. This potentially leads to over conservative values to be used in Engineering Critical Assessments (ECA) or material approval. Based on a series of different strain hardening property models, a relationship between strain hardening and the specimen rotational factor, rp was established. An improved equation for the calculation of CTOD is proposed, which gave good estimation of the experimental and Finite Element modelling results. The improved equation will be proposed for future amendments of the ISO 12135 standard. The results of this research enable the accurate fracture characterisation of a range of engineering alloys, with both low and high strain hardening behaviour in both the brittle and ductile fracture regime.