Aujourd’hui, la technologie du béton ayant fortement évolué, il est, sous certaines conditions, réaliste de construire des éléments structuraux en béton ayant à la compression une résistance de 90N/mm² voire nettement plus. En conséquence, l’ingénieur concepteur peut être amené dans le cadre du dimensionnement des colonnes à en diminuer les dimensions transversales pour des raisons esthétiques ou d’encombrement. <p><p>Inévitablement, cette diminution de la section transversale induit une augmentation de l’élancement et augmente ainsi les risques des instabilités de flambement. <p>A cette question de flambement, il faut adjoindre l’influence d’une préconception qui veut qu’une structure en béton à haute résistance soit moins ductile qu’une structure construite avec un béton normal !De ceci résulte la question à la base de ce travail :<p><p>« Peut-on arriver à diminuer la section transversale d’une colonne en utilisant des résistances de béton plus élevées tout en imposant la même valeur de capacité portante et en ne réduisant pas leur ductilité ?»<p><p>Afin de répondre à cette question, le travail s’est articulé autour de deux axes essentiels qui sont d’une part une campagne d’essais (afin d’obtenir des résultats fiables) sur 12 colonnes en béton armé à haute résistance (90N/mm²) d’élancement 74 et 82 dont l’excentricité de la charge est une variable, et d’autre part l’implémen- tation de deux programmes informa- tiques utilisant le principe de l’analyse au second ordre en vue de réaliser une étude paramétrique dont l’excentricité, la hauteur des colonnes, la proportion d’acier, la résistance du béton sont les variables.<p><p>Trop souvent encore, les ingénieurs de bureau d’études hésitent à effectuer un calcul au second ordre et placés devant la question des dimensions de section à donner à une colonne de hauteur et de capacité portante imposées, déterminent celles-ci pour se satisfaire d’un calcul au 1er ordre. Au terme de notre étude, nous avons montré que cette approche est loin d’être optimale, qu’il est possible, au prix d’un calcul au second ordre (mais il est fait à l’ordinateur), de tirer profit d’une augmentation de la résistance du béton pour réduire les dimensions des sections et aboutir en toute sécurité à un dimensionnement plus économique en consommation de matériaux (acier, béton, ciment).<p><p> / Doctorat en sciences appliquées / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

An experimental method was further developed to quantify the anisotropy of multi-site fatigue crack initiation behaviors in high strength Al alloys by four-point bend fatigue testing under stress control. In this method, fatigue crack initiation sites (fatigue weak-links, FWLs) were measured on the sample surface at different cyclic stress levels. The FWL density in an alloy could be best described using a three-parameter Weibull function of stress, though other types of sigmoidal functions might also be used to quantify the relationship between FWL density and stress. The strength distribution of the FWLs was derived from the Weibull function determined by fitting the FWLs vs. stress curve experimentally obtained. As materials properties, the FWL density and strength distribution could be used to evaluate the fatigue crack nucleation behaviors of engineering alloys quantitatively and the alloy quality in terms of FWL density and strength distribution. In this work, the effects of environment, types of microstructural heterogeneities and loading direction on FWLs were all studied in detail in AA7075-T651, AA2026-T3511, and A713 Al alloys, etc. It was also found that FWLs should be quantified as a Weibull-type function of strain instead of stress, when the applied maximum cyclic stress exceeded the yield strength of the tested alloys. In this work, four-point bend fatigue tests were conducted on the L-T (Rolling-Transverse), L-S (Rolling-Short transverse) and T-S planes of an AA7075-T651 alloy plate, respectively, at room temperature, 20 Hz, R=0.1, in air. The FWL populations, measured on these surfaces, were a Weibull-type function of the applied maximum cyclic stress, from which FWL density and strength distribution could be determined. The alloy showed a significant anisotropy of FWLs with the weak-link density being 11 mm-2, 15 mm-2 and 4 mm-2 on the L-T, L-S and T-S planes, respectively. Fatigue cracks were predominantly initiated at Fe-containing particles on the L-T and L-S planes, but only at Si-bearing particles on the T-S plane, profoundly demonstrating that the pre-fractured Fe-containing particles were responsible for crack initiation on the L-T and L-S planes, since the pre-fracture of these particles due to extensive deformation in the L direction during the prior rolling operation could only promote crack initiation when the sample was cyclically stressed in the L direction on both the L-T and L-S planes. The fatigue strengths of the L-T, L-S and T-S planes of the AA7075 alloy were measured to be 243.6, 273.0 and 280.6 MPa, respectively. The differences in grain and particle structures between these planes were responsible for the anisotropy of fatigue strength and FWLs on these planes. Three types of fatigue cracks from particles, type-I: the micro-cracks in the particles could not propagate into the matrix, i.e., type-II: the micro-cracks were fully arrested soon after they propagated into the matrix, and type-III: the micro-cracks became long cracks, were observed in the AA7075-T651 alloy after fatigue testing. By cross-sectioning these three-types of particles using Focused Ion Beam (FIB), it was found that the thickness of the particles was the dominant factor controlling fatigue crack initiation at the particles, namely, the thicker a pre-fractured Fe-containing particle, the easier it became a type-III crack on the L-T and L-S planes. On the T-S plane, there were only types-I and III Si-bearing particles at which crack were initiated. The type-I particles were less than 6.5 μm in thickness and type-III particles were thicker than 8.3 μm. Cross-sectioning of these particles using FIB revealed that these particles all contained gas pores which promoted crack initiation at the particles because of higher stress concentration at the pores in connection with the particles. It was also found that fatigue cracks did not always follow the any specific crystallographic planes within each grain, based on the Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) measurement. Also, the grain orientation did not show a strong influence on crack initiation at particles which were located within the grains. The topography measurements with an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) revealed that Fe-containing particles were protruded on the mechanically polished surface, while the Si-bearing particles were intruded on the surface, which was consistent with hardness measurements showing that Si-bearing particles were softer (4.030.92 GPa) than Fe-containing ones (8.9 0.87 GPa) in the alloy. To verify the 3-D effects of the pre-fractured particles on fatigue crack initiation in high strength Al alloys, rectangular micro-notches of three different types of dimensions were fabricated using FIB in the selected grains on the T-S planes of both AA2024-T351 and AA7075-T651 Al alloys, to mimic the three types of pre-fractured particles found in these alloys. Fatigue testing on these samples with the micro-notches verified that the wider and deeper the micro-notches, the easier fatigue cracks could be initiated at the notches. In the AA2024-T351 samples, cracks preferred to propagate along the {111} slip plane with the smallest twist angle and relatively large Schmid factor. These experimental data obtained in this work could pave a way to building a 3-D quantitative model for quantification of fatigue crack initiation behaviors by taking into account the driving force and resistance to short crack growth at the particles in the surface of these alloys.

With increasing fuel costs and the current drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption, a need to reduce vehicle weight is apparent. Weight reduction can be achieved by replacing conventionally stamped structural members with hydroformed parts. The weight reduction can be further enhanced by reducing the thickness of the hydroformed members through the use of advanced high strength steel (AHSS). A primary limitation in hydroforming AHSS, is the limited ductility or formability of these materials. This limitation becomes acute in multi-stage forming operations in which strain path changes become large making it difficult to predict formability. Thus, the focus of the current work is to study the effects of pre-bending on the subsequent hydroformability of Dual-Phase DP600 steel tubes. As part of this effort, the effect of key bending and hydroforming process parameters, bending boost and hydroforming end-feed, have been studied in a parametric fashion. <br /><br /> Multi-step pre-bending and hydroforming experiments were performed on 76. 2 mm (3. 0") OD tubes with a wall-thickness of 1. 85mm (DP600). Experiments were also performed on 1. 74mm Interstitial Free (IF) steel tube, which provided a low strength, high formability baseline material for comparison purposes. A fully instrumented servo-hydraulic mandrel-rotary draw tube bender was used in the pre-bending experiments in which various levels of boost were applied. The results showed that increased boost reduced the major (tensile) strain and thinning at the outside of the bend. At the inside of the bend, the compressive minor strain became larger and thickening increased. <br /><br /> Hydroforming of the straight and pre-bent tubes was conducted using various levels of load-control end-feed (EF). For both straight and pre-bend tube hydroforming, an increase in hydroforming EF resulted in increased burst pressure and corner-fill expansion (CFE). The effect of bending boost on CFE was also measured. For a given hydroforming EF case, a tube bent with greater boost achieved a higher burst pressure and consequently a greater CFE which increased the hydroformability of the material. Pre-bending was shown to consume a considerable amount of the formability of the tube in the hydroforming experiments. For the same EF case, the pre-bent tubes could only achieve a fraction of the straight tube CFE at burst. <br /><br /> The pre-bending and hydroforming experiments were complimented by finite element simulation in the hope of providing additional insight into these processes. The finite element (FE) models were able to accurately predict the strain and thickness changes imposed during pre-bending. The models were able to accurately predict the CFE, EF displacement, and strain and thickness distributions after hydroforming. <br /><br /> The extended stress-based forming limit curve (XSFLC) failure criterion was applied to predict failure (onset of necking) during hydroforming, which was measured as the burst pressure in the experiments. For straight tube hydroforming, the XSFLC predicted the correct failure pressure versus hydroforming EF load trend, but over predicted the failure pressures. In pre-bend hydroforming, the models were able to capture the effect of bending boost and hydroforming EF on the hydroformability of the tubes. The XSFLC was able to capture the drop in formability for bending versus straight tube hydroforming, but was unable to capture the failure pressure versus hydroforming EF load trend or magnitude. Further work is required to make the XSFLC applicable to straight and pre-bend hydroforming.

Este trabalho aborda o estudo de pilares preenchidos flexo-comprimidos e algumas ligações viga-pilar preenchido. Para ambos, são realizadas experimentações com modelos físicos e numéricos, sendo que para os pilares preenchidos um amplo estudo paramétrico foi desenvolvido. Ao todo, foram ensaiados 13 pilares preenchidos flexo-comprimidos, cujos valores de força última são comparados com aqueles provenientes da simulação numérica via programa CFT e, os demais resultados, comentados e discutidos. Aferido, o programa CFT foi utilizado no estudo paramétrico com o intuito de avaliar a influência de parâmetros como resistência dos materiais, excentricidade da força axial, eixo de flexão e relação lado/espessura na capacidade resistente do pilar preenchido. Quanto às ligações viga-pilar, foram ensaiadas 4 tipologias de ligação, sendo duas compostas por chapas de extremidade e parafusos passantes e duas soldadas, sendo uma delas enrijecida por cantoneiras soldadas no interior do perfil tubular. Discutem-se os resultados, sobretudo quanto ao comportamento momento-rotação das tipologias investigadas. As ligações também foram investigadas via simulação numérica e os resultados obtidos permitiram elaborar diretrizes para o aprimoramento de tais simulações. Por fim, são apresentadas as conclusões pertinentes a este trabalho e recomendações para novas pesquisas / This research thesis presents a study of concrete filled steel columns subjected to combined bending and compression and beam-column connections. In both cases, tests were conducted on physical and numerical models, resulting in the development of a wide range of parametric studies for the case of the concrete filled steel columns. 13 concrete filled steel columns were tested under combined bending and compression loads whose ultimate values were compared to ultimate forces obtained from numerical simulations using the CFT computer program. After calibration, the computer program was used in the parametric study with the aim of verifying the influence of parameters, such as the material strength, eccentricity of the axial force, bending axis and breadth/thickness relation, on the ultimate load carrying capacity of the concrete filled steel columns. With respect to the beam-column connections, four types of connections were tested, two of them composed of endplate and bolts, while the other two were welded, with one of them stiffened by an angle steel placed inside the steel tube. The obtained results are discussed, giving more emphasis to the bending moment-rotation behaviour of the tested specimens. The beam-column connections were also investigated numerically. The obtained results permit the laying out of important directives for the improvement of such numerical simulation tools as the one employed in the present thesis. Lastly, pertinent conclusions relative to this thesis and recommendations for future research are presented

O desenvolvimento e utilização de novos materiais, mais leves e com propriedades mecânicas superiores aos atuais, se mostram extremamente importantes devido à redução de peso e consequentemente redução na emissão de gases poluentes que poderiam gerar. As ligas de Fe-Mn-C com elevados teores de Mn (20-30%) representam um desenvolvimento muito recente de aços austeníticos, que, através dos seus mecanismos diferenciados de deformação reúnem elevada resistência mecânica com grande ductilidade. Essa nova classe de materiais estruturais possibilita uma efetiva redução de custos na produção através do reduzido tempo de processamento (sem a necessidade de tratamentos térmicos especiais e de processamentos termomecânicos controlados). A soldagem é, atualmente, o mais importante processo de união de metais usado no setor industrial. Dentro da variada gama de processos de soldagem existentes, a soldagem por fricção e mistura mecânica (SFMM, em inglês: Friction Stir Welding - FSW) se destaca por ser um processo de união no estado sólido que apresenta uma série de vantagens sobre as tecnologias convencionais de soldagem por fusão. Do ponto de vista metalúrgico, uma das suas principais vantagens se manifesta justamente na junção de materiais dissimilares, visto que o grau de mistura de composições e as transformações de fases entre materiais incompatíveis podem ser minimizados. Outra vantagem é que há um refino de grão no cordão de solda comparado com a microestrutura fundida que se forma nos processos convencionais. Este trabalho teve como objetivo produzir em escala laboratorial os aços de alta liga ao manganês com efeito TRIP, avaliar o impacto da velocidade de rotação da ferramenta na soldagem por fricção e mistura mecânica e avaliar a microestrutura e propriedades mecânicas das juntas soldadas. A microestrutura das juntas soldadas caracterizou-se pela presença apenas da zona de mistura e do metal base, além da formação de \'anéis de cebola\' na zona de mistura, esta não mostrou sinais de transformação martensítica induzida por deformação e sofreu recristalização dinâmica para todas as velocidades de rotação investigadas com a formação de grãos refinados e com morfologia equiaxial. Os corpos de tração fraturaram todos nos metais de base, mostrando que as propriedades mecânicas da zona de mistura foram superiores à do metal base e que a variação de aporte térmico alcançada com a velocidade de rotação da ferramenta não comprometeu a qualidade das juntas soldadas. / The development and application of new light materials with superior mechanical properties is extremely important to weight reduction in vehicles and consequently reduction of greenhouse gases emission. The Fe-Mn-C steels with high Mn (20-30%) are a recent development of austenitic steels, which, due to their different mechanisms of deformation, possesses high strength and high ductility as well. In addition, this new type of structural steel allows an effective reduction of manufacturing costs due to its reduced processing time (it does not require special heat treatments and controlled thermo mechanical processing). Welding has been one of the most important processes for joining metals. Among the available welding processes, friction stir welding (FSW) is notable for being a solid state process with great advantages over the conventional welding methods. In the mettalurgical point of view, welding dissimilar materials is a significant advantage of FSW over the other process. The main reason is the reduction of mixture of material and phase transformations between the incompatible materials in the weld. Moreover, grain refinement is another advantage from the process. The present study aimed to produce laboratorial scale high Mn steels with TRIP effect, investigate the impact of tool speed ont the microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welded joints. The microstructure of the welded joints exhibited only the stirred zone (SZ) and the base material (BM), besides the presence of ´onion rings´ within the stirred zone. The SZ exhibited no signs of martensite suggesting that dynamic recrystallization have occurred for all the speed tested. Moreover, the grains in the SZ had equiaxial morphology and were significantly refined. The fracture of the tensile specimens occurred in the base material, bringing to light that the welding process was beneficial to the mechanical properties. Furthermore, the variation of heat input achieved with the speed did not compromise the quality of welded joints.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo caracterizar e comparar as microestruturas de diferentes regiões de uma chapa de aço microligado para tubo API 5L X65, empregado no transporte de gás natural e petróleo, como recebido e submetido a tratamentos térmicos de austenitização e resfriamento contínuo sob diferentes taxas de resfriamento. O aço em estudo apresenta uma linha de segregação central, originada durante o processo de produção do aço. Corpos de prova de dilatometria foram usinados da região central e de outras regiões da chapa. As amostras foram previamente austenitizadas a 1200°C e temperadas em água, visando solubilizar grande parte dos precipitados presentes no aço. Após este tratamento, as amostras foram austenitizadas em um dilatômetro de têmpera a 950°C por 180s, e em seguida resfriadas nas seguintes taxas de resfriamento: 0,5°C/s, 1°C/s, 5°C/s, 10°C/s, 20°C/s, 30°C/s, 40°C/s, 50ºC/s e 60ºC/s. Valores de temperatura e tempo correspondentes a inflexões da curva dilatométrica foram obtidas e correlacionadas com a microestrutura, para cada taxa de resfriamento. Com base nesta análise foi traçado um diagrama de Transformação por Resfriamento Contínuo (TRC) do material. / This work aims to characterize and compare the microstructures of different regions of a plate of microalloyed pipeline steel that conforms to API 5L X65, employed in the transportation of natural gas and oil, as received and after being subjected to heat treatments of austenitization and continuous cooling under different cooling rates. The steel under study presents a central line of segregation that was originated during production. Specimens for dilatometry were machined from the central region and from different regions of the plate. The samples were austenitized at 1200°C and in quenched in water, with the purpose of solubilizing most of the precipitates in the steel. After the preliminary heat treatment, the specimens were austenitized at 950°C for 180s and cooled under the cooling rates: 0.5°C/s, 1°C/s, 5°C/s, 10°C/s, 20°C/s, 30°C/s, 40°C/s, 50ºC/s and 60ºC/s in a quench dilatometer. Values of temperature and time correspond of transformation for each rate of cooling were used for the determination of the Continuous Cooling Transformation (CCT) diagram.

Tradicionalmente no reforço de pilares de concreto armado são empregados materiais já consagrados, como as chapas de aço, o próprio concreto armado, e, mais recentemente, o polímero reforçado com fibras (PRF). Porém existem ainda alguns problemas associados a estes materiais ou, mais especificamente, às técnicas utilizadas para promover o reforço, destacando-se a dificuldade de execução, comportamento frágil e perda de área útil em função do aumento da seção transversal do pilar original. Por outro lado, o desenvolvimento da tecnologia dos materias e a constante inovação tecnológica tem como resultado a oferta de uma grande variedade de materiais com características orientadas à solução de um determinado problema. Cita-se como exemplo o concreto reforçado com fibras de aço, inicialmente desenvolvido para aplicação em elementos submetidos à flexão, mas que apresenta atributos, que se bem explorados, são desejáveis para aplicação no reforço de pilares. Busca-se neste trabalho desenvolver estratégias e técnicas de reforço que busquem potencializar o aproveitamento de todos os atributos oferecidos pelos materiais comumente empregados e desenvolver um concreto reforçado com fibras de aço com diferentes comprimentos que possibilite sua aplicação no reforço de pilares. Os resultados da análise experimental demonstram que a escolha do material, da estratégia e técnica de reforço são fatores decisivos para aliar o melhor aproveitamento dos materiais empregados e o atendimento às exigências de projeto. Conclui-se ainda que a associação de fibras de aço de diferentes comprimentos possibilita a utilização do concreto reforçado com fibras no reforço de pilares de concreto, tendo como grande virtude a facilidade de execução, se comparado com o concreto armado. / Tradicionally the strengthening of reinforced concrete columns uses materials well known, such as steel plates, the reinforced concrete, and, more recently, fiber reinforced polymer (FRP). But there are still some problems associated with these materials, or more specifically, with the used techniques, specially the difficulty of implementation, brittle behavior and loss free space due to the increase of the original cross section of the column. On the other hand, the materials technology development and the constant innovation has resulted in the provision of a wide variety of materials with specifics caracteristics to solving a particular problem. For example, steel fiber reinforced concrete, originally developed for use in elements subject to bending, but it has some attributes, which if are well explored, are desirable for use in strengthening columns. This work presents the development of strategies and techniques that optimize the o use all the attributes offered by the commonly used materials, and develop a different lengths steel fiber reinforced concrete to enable its application on columns strengthening. The results of experimental analysis show that the choice of material, strategy and technique of strengtheningt is a key factor to combine the best use of the materials used and the design requirements. It is also concluded that the combination of steel fibers of different lengths allows the use of steel fibers reinforced concrete on the strengthening of concrete columns, with the great virtue of the ease of implementation, compared to the reinforced concrete.

O presente trabalho avaliou a viabilidade do uso de Resíduos de Construção e Demolição (RCD) provenientes da geração de dois traços de concretos distintos. Um Concreto Convencional-CC (traço em massa:1:2,94:3,56; a/c:0,61) utilizando cimento CP IV 32 e outro concreto de Alta Resistência-CAR (traço em massa:1:1,11:2; a/c: 0,22; com adição, aditivo e pó xadrez vermelho) utilizando cimento CP V-ARI. Após 28 dias de cura, 3 corpos de prova de cada traço foram submetidos ao ensaio de resistência a compressão axial apresentando em média para CC 21,02 MPa e para CAR 95,09 MPa. Os materiais de ambos os traços foram cominuídos através de um britador de mandíbula ajustado para granulometria menor que 19,1 mm e retido em 4,75 mm. Com isso, foram realizados ensaios de granulometria de cada traço, e misturados em volumes iguais para o beneficiamento do material. Os primeiros ensaios foram realizados no jigue a ar, porém os resultados apresentados foram insatisfatórios. Para o jigue à água ocorreu uma separação visível de 3 estágios (Topo, Meio e Fundo) Utilizando somente as camadas de topo e fundo, os agregados reciclados de concreto (ARC) foram utilizados para confecção de novos concretos. Os resultados apontaram que a aplicação do jigue à água possibilitou um beneficiamento do material para uso como agregado graúdo. Os ensaios de resistência à compressão, os concretos produzidos com a camada de fundo do agregado reciclado superaram os produzidos com agregado natural. Nos ensaios de módulo de elasticidade, os concretos com o agregado natural exibiram resultados melhores do que os reciclados do topo, porém para os concretos produzidos com os agregados do fundo, os módulos se igualaram aos dos concretos com agregado natural. No ensaio de absorção, o concreto reciclado mostrou uma absorção maior que o concreto natural. Para a carbonatação os concretos com agregados reciclados tiveram melhores resultados. As avaliações dos efeitos foram concludentes para o uso do jigue no beneficiamento do agregado reciclado de concreto (ARC). / The present work evaluates the feasibility of using Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) generated by two different concrete mixes, one being aconventional concrete-CC (mix:mass: 1:2, 94:3, 56, w/c: 0,61) using CP IV 32, and another being a high strength concrete - CAR (mix:mass: 1:1, 11:2, w/c: 0.22), with the addition of additive and red pigment) using cement CP V-ARI. After 28 days of curing, three test specimens of each concrete were submitted to the resistance test, presenting 21.02 MPa on average for CC and 95.09 Mpa for CAR. The materials of both mixes were comminuted by jaw crusher, and sieved to a particle size range of -19.1 mm + 4.75 mm. With this, granulometry, tests of each concrete were performed and the concretes were mixed in equal volumes for the application of the material processing. The first tests were performed by air jig, but the results were found to be unsatisfactory A visible separation of 3 stages (Top, Middle and Bottom) was achieved by use of water jig. Using only the top and bottom layers, Recycled Concrete Aggregates (RCA) was added for the creation of new concrete. The results indicate that the application of the water jig made it possible to improve the material for use as a large aggregate. For the compressive strength tests, the concretes produced with the bottom layer of the recycled aggregate surpassed those produced with natural aggregate. In the modulus of elasticity tests, concretes with the natural aggregate presented better results than those recycled from the top. For the concretes produced with the bottom aggregates, the modules matched that of the concrete with natural aggregate. In the absorption test the recycled concrete showed a higher absorption than the natural concrete. For carbonation the recycled had better results. An evaluation of the results concludes in favor of the use of water jig for the recycling of concrete aggregates (RCA).

Most materials including concrete have pre-existing flaws or defects. The fracture energy of concrete is a basic material property needed to understand fracture initiation and propagation in concrete. Whether fracture energy is size dependent or not is being discussed world over. Strictly the fracture energy if taken as a material property should be constant, and should be independent of the method of measurement, test methods, specimen shapes and sizes. A computational study on simulation of fracture in concrete using two dimensional lattice models is presented. A comparison is made with acoustic emission (AE) events with the number of fractured elements. A three-point bend specimen (TPB) is modeled using regular triangular lattice network. It was observed that the number of fractured elements increases near the peak load and beyond the peak load. AE events also increase rapidly beyond the peak load. Singular Fractal Functions (S.F.F) has been employed to interpret the size effect of quasi-brittle materials like concrete. The usual size dependent fracture energy of High Strength Concrete (HSC) beam is reported. The results are presented which are obtained directly from the experiments related to size effect in concrete carried out in the Structural engineering laboratory, Department of Civil engineering, IISc. Various fracture parameters studied in this experimental program are (a) Nominal strength N (b) Fracture energy, Gf (c)Fracture toughness, KIc, (c) Crack mouth opening displacement, CMOD (d) Size effect on the strength of concrete. Three-point-bend (TPB) specimen was chosen for the experimental study. Six different concrete mixes viz. A-mix, B-Mix, C-mix, D-Mix, E-mix, F-Mix were used. Acoustic Emission (AE) experiments are conducted to relate acoustic emission energy to fracture energy. It is interesting to note that both acoustic emission energy and fracture energy have similar characteristics. The advantage of the above relationship is that now it is possible to evaluate fracture energy by non-destructive testing methods. The b-value analysis of AE was carried out to study the damage in concrete structures. The Guttengberg-Richter relation for frequency versus magnitude can be applied to the AE method to study the scaling of the amplitude distribution of the acoustic emission waves generated during the cracking process in the test specimen at laboratory or in engineering structures. In the next part of this chapter b-value at various stages of damage of a reinforced concrete beam are obtained experimentally under typical cyclic loadings. The b-values at different levels of damage are tabulated. As fracture is size dependent, it may not be very useful unless its size dependency is eliminated. An effort is made to obtain size independent fracture energy by a hybrid technique.

With increasing fuel costs and the current drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption, a need to reduce vehicle weight is apparent. Weight reduction can be achieved by replacing conventionally stamped structural members with hydroformed parts. The weight reduction can be further enhanced by reducing the thickness of the hydroformed members through the use of advanced high strength steel (AHSS). A primary limitation in hydroforming AHSS, is the limited ductility or formability of these materials. This limitation becomes acute in multi-stage forming operations in which strain path changes become large making it difficult to predict formability. Thus, the focus of the current work is to study the effects of pre-bending on the subsequent hydroformability of Dual-Phase DP600 steel tubes. As part of this effort, the effect of key bending and hydroforming process parameters, bending boost and hydroforming end-feed, have been studied in a parametric fashion. <br /><br /> Multi-step pre-bending and hydroforming experiments were performed on 76. 2 mm (3. 0") OD tubes with a wall-thickness of 1. 85mm (DP600). Experiments were also performed on 1. 74mm Interstitial Free (IF) steel tube, which provided a low strength, high formability baseline material for comparison purposes. A fully instrumented servo-hydraulic mandrel-rotary draw tube bender was used in the pre-bending experiments in which various levels of boost were applied. The results showed that increased boost reduced the major (tensile) strain and thinning at the outside of the bend. At the inside of the bend, the compressive minor strain became larger and thickening increased. <br /><br /> Hydroforming of the straight and pre-bent tubes was conducted using various levels of load-control end-feed (EF). For both straight and pre-bend tube hydroforming, an increase in hydroforming EF resulted in increased burst pressure and corner-fill expansion (CFE). The effect of bending boost on CFE was also measured. For a given hydroforming EF case, a tube bent with greater boost achieved a higher burst pressure and consequently a greater CFE which increased the hydroformability of the material. Pre-bending was shown to consume a considerable amount of the formability of the tube in the hydroforming experiments. For the same EF case, the pre-bent tubes could only achieve a fraction of the straight tube CFE at burst. <br /><br /> The pre-bending and hydroforming experiments were complimented by finite element simulation in the hope of providing additional insight into these processes. The finite element (FE) models were able to accurately predict the strain and thickness changes imposed during pre-bending. The models were able to accurately predict the CFE, EF displacement, and strain and thickness distributions after hydroforming. <br /><br /> The extended stress-based forming limit curve (XSFLC) failure criterion was applied to predict failure (onset of necking) during hydroforming, which was measured as the burst pressure in the experiments. For straight tube hydroforming, the XSFLC predicted the correct failure pressure versus hydroforming EF load trend, but over predicted the failure pressures. In pre-bend hydroforming, the models were able to capture the effect of bending boost and hydroforming EF on the hydroformability of the tubes. The XSFLC was able to capture the drop in formability for bending versus straight tube hydroforming, but was unable to capture the failure pressure versus hydroforming EF load trend or magnitude. Further work is required to make the XSFLC applicable to straight and pre-bend hydroforming.