This work is focused on study of mechanical properties of NiTi alloy which shows pseudoelastic and shape memory behaviour. Functional and structural fatigue of the material is examined. The main aim of this work was to perform and to evaluate a series of fatigue tests. The material was supplied in the form of wire which was gripped in the machine using special grips. In the first part of the experiment, tensile tests are evaluated and the reproducibility of measurements is demonstrated. Then, a series of cyclic tests was performed. Results were analysed together with previous measurements. One part of discussion concerned changes of the hysteresis loops during cycling and their dependence on strain rate. The fatigue life curves were plotted. It was found that these curves have non-standard shapes. The reasons for this are explained in the work.

The present doctoral thesis is focused on the effect of dwells on the low cycle fatigue behaviour of advanced high temperature materials. 10 minutes strain holds are introduced into the cyclic straining of cast Ni-based superalloy IN792-5A and cast intermetallic alloy TiAl-7Nb which were chosen as experimental material. Fatigue experiments were conducted in strain control mode with constant total strain amplitude and strain rate. IN792-5A was subjected to continuous cyclic loading test as well as fatigue tests either with tensile peak strain holds or compressive peak strain holds at temperature 800 °C. TiAl-7Nb was experimentally examined by continuous cyclic loading tests and also by fatigue test with tensile peak strain hold times at temperature 750 °C. Cyclic hardening/softening curves, cyclic stress-strain curves, Manson-Coffin curves and Basquin curves were obtained. Stress relaxation data were measured during hold times. Mean stress evolution was observed and documented. Microstructure of both alloys was observed in as-received state and also after cyclic loading by means of SEM and TEM. Surface relief investigation revealed cyclic plastic strain localisation as well as fatigue crack initiation sites. Fatigue crack propagation was described using fracture surface and longitudinal gauge section observations. Dislocation structures developed in the course of fatigue tests were studied and documented.

Due to coming emission legislations, the temperature is expected to increase in heavy-duty diesel engines, specifically in the hot-end of the exhaust system affecting components, such as exhaust- and turbo manifolds. Since the current material in the turbo manifold, a ductile cast iron named SiMo51, is operating close to its limits there is a need for material development in order to maintain a high durability of these components. When designing for increased life, many material properties need to be considered, for example, creep-, corrosion- and fatigue resistance. Among these, the present work focuses on the latter two up to 800°C improving the current material by additions of Cr, for corrosion resistance, and Ni, for mechanical properties. The results show improved high-temperature corrosion resistance in air from 0.5 and 1wt% Cr additions resulting in improved barrier layer at the oxide/metal interface. However, during oxidation in exhaust-gases, which is a much more demanding environment compared to air, such improvement could not be observed. Addition of 1wt% Ni was found to increase the fatigue life up to 250°C, resulting from solution strengthening of the ferritic matrix. However, Ni was also found to increase the oxidation rates, as no continuous SiO2-barrier layers were formed in the presence of Ni. Since none of the tested alloys showed improved material properties in exhaust gases at high temperature, it is suggested that the way of improving performance of exhaust manifolds is to move towards austenitic ductile cast irons or cast stainless steels. One alloy showing good high-temperature oxidation properties in exhaust atmospheres is an austenitic cast stainless steel named HK30. This alloy formed adherent oxide scales during oxidation at 900°C in gas mixtures of 5%O2-10%H2O-85%N2 and 5%CO2-10%H2O-85%N2 and in air. In the two latter atmospheres, compact scales of (Cr, Mn)-spinel and Cr2O3 were formed whereas in the atmosphere containing 5%O2 and 10%H2O, the scales were more porous due to increased Fe-oxide formation. Despite the formation of a protective, i.e. compact and adherent, oxide scale on HK30, exposure to exhaust-gas condensate showed a detrimental effect in form of oxide spallation and metal release. Thus, proving the importance of taking exhaust-gas condensation, which may occur during cold-start or upon cooling of the engine, into account when selecting a new material for exhaust manifolds. / <p>QC 20130508</p>

This thesis is mainly focused on the seismic behaviour of cross laminated timber (CLT) buildings. The document can be subdivided into three main sections closely related to each other. In the first part, after a short introduction on the state of the art on timber buildings regarding the constructive and legislative issues, the behaviour of CLT buildings is presented. The research is focused on the study on single shear-walls, on the multi-storey single-walls and on the behaviour of the whole buildings. The analyses are performed in order to assess the ductility level achievable by a CLT building as a result of different choices for the ductility of the connections at the foundation level. In order to estimate the ductility level, a large number of non-linear analyses were performed. This was possible thanks to a Matlab code, specifically developed, which allowed to reduce the computational burden. The results are used to evaluate a reliable set of behaviour factors to be applied in the seismic design of CLT buildings. In the second part of thesis, the low-cyclic fatigue strengths for different typologies of dissipative timber connections are presented. The low-cyclic fatigue strength represents a key-parameter in the assessment of the seismic behaviour of timber connections. In fact, high values of ductility associated with low values of strength degradation ensure a remarkable and reliable energy dissipation without a significant loss of strength. Despite the current version of chapter 8 of Eurocode 8 requires specific values of seismic demand for timber connections in terms of low-cyclic fatigue strength, no specific provision is reported to this regard in the European Standard for the cycling testing of timber connections and assemblage in seismic design (EN 12512). In This Standard the ductility capacity and the impairment of strength are calculated as separate mechanical parameters. For this reason, a proposal of revision of European Standard EN12512 is presented and discussed. The third and last part of the thesis describes an innovative connection for CLT buildings. This innovative connection was originally developed in order to absorb both traction and shear actions. Furthermore, a good performance has been obtained in terms of low-cyclic fatigue strength and ductility, with the aim of conceiving a connection able of satisfy the requirements of the current seismic European Standard. The design of this new connection was an iterative process, starting from some simplified numerical models. After some improvements, it was possible to obtain the expected performance levels. The strength and rigidity of the designed connection were initially obtained through numerical analysis, and then compared with the results of physical tests carried out in the Materials and Structures Testing Laboratory (MSTL), that is a part of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering (DICAM) of the University of Trento.

[pt] O método EN baseia-se na quantificação do dano causado pela deformação decorrente do histórico de carregamento. O objetivo desse modelo consiste em estimar o número de ciclos para iniciar uma trinca por fadiga. Diferente do método SN o número de variáveis envolvidas nesse modelo é menor. Entretanto, requer um número maior de constantes, que nem sempre podem ser obtidas experimentalmente. Esse fato levou a formulação de diversos modelos que se propõem a estimar as constantes de Coffin-Manson, que na maioria dos casos levam a previsões de vida não conservativas, como visto em outros trabalhos. Contudo a maioria dos casos existentes na literatura não abordam o efeito de regiões de concentração de tensão e a influência de carregamentos com amplitudes variáveis. A metodologia usada nessas pesquisas consiste em avaliar a influência desses aspectos através da comparação entre a vida em fadiga experimental e a estimada segundo as constantes de Coffin-Manson medidas e estimadas segundo diferentes modelos. Esse estudo avalia o dano à fadiga segundo 2 tipos de concentradores de tensão e quatro históricos de carregamentos de amplitude variável. Considerando os modelos de Manson, Muralindhran-Manson, Bäumel-Seeger and Meggiolaro-Castro os resultados mostram que a vida em fadiga prevista usando os parâmetros de Coffin Manson obtidos segundo o método de Meggiolado-Castro e por Baumel-Segger são os que mais se aproximam das vidas estimadas baseada nas constantes experimentais. Nos demais casos nota-se que a regra de concentração de tensão exerce uma maior influência no resultado e levam a vidas à fadiga não conservativas. / [en] The strain-life designed is based on the damaged caused by the strain as a result of a loading history. The purpose of this approach is estimating the number of cycles to initiate a fatigue crack. Compared with the stress life method the EN needs a lower number of variables. However, it needs a large number of parameters that are not directly measurable properties of a material and conduct the necessary number of tests to obtain them is not always an option. This fact leads to the formulation of different models to estimate Coffin- Manson s constants, which in most of the cases can result in a non-conservative fatigue life prediction, as seen in several papers. However, in these studies, it is not considered a specimen with a stress concentration factor neither under a variable amplitude loading history. The methodology used in this research is evaluating the influence of these aspects by comparing the fatigue life experimental with the estimated by using the Coffin Manson s experimental constants and the fatigue life calculated with different models to estimate the Coffin-Manson s parameters. This study evaluated the fatigue damage based on four load histories and two types of samples with different stress risers. Considering the models of Manson, Muralidharan-Manson, Bäumel-Seeger, and Meggiolaro-Castro the results indicated that the fatigue life predicted using the Coffin Manson s parameter obtained by Meggiolaro-Castro and Baumel-Segger s model are more similar to the life calculated with the experimental constants. The other models are more influenced by the stress concentration s rule and can lead to not conservative fatigue life.

[pt] A falha mecânica conhecida como fadiga é caracterizada pela iniciação e/ou propagação de trincas, causada por forças variáveis. Suas metodologias tradicionais calculam uma tensão elástica uniaxial equivalente que atua no componente, a fim de compará-la com os dados experimentais de comportamento mecânico do material do componente sob cargas uniaxiais. Esta hipótese pode levar a resultados não conservativos, por considerar que o material é igualmente sensível a tensões normais e cisalhantes, o que é falso em várias aplicações práticas. Portanto, dados torcionais e multiaxiais são necessários para melhor prever a vida em fadiga dos componentes. Para executar estes experimentos, o presente trabalho propõe uma variedade de projetos de componentes e metodologias de montagem para que se possa usar em uma máquina de tração-torção Instron 8874 uma garra hidráulica originalmente projetada para uma máquina tração pura Instron 8501. É proposto um método simplificado para estimar, por controle de deslocamento, as propriedades de fadiga de baixo ciclo em cisalhamento (gama)N, evitando assim a necessidade de usar equipamentos caros e diferentes tipos de corpos de prova. Este método é usado para caracterização das ligas Aço SAE 1020 e Alumínio 6351-T6 e os dados levantados são comparados com as propriedades medidas de fadiga de baixo ciclo em tração (epsilon)N, identificando assim se o material é mais sensível a tensões normais ou cisalhantes. Um programa numérico é usado para ajustar as curvas (epsilon)N e (gama)N nos dados experimentais, e seus procedimentos de implementação são discutidos. Por fim, são propostos e calibrados modelos de fadiga multiaxial de plano crítico mais adequados para cada material testado, com base nos dados medidos. / [en] The mechanical failure known as fatigue is characterized by the formation and/or propagation of cracks caused by variable forces. Its traditional methodologies normally calculate an equivalent uniaxial tensile stress acting on the component, in order to compare it with the known experimental mechanical behavior data of the component s material measured under uniaxial loads. This assumption can lead to non-conservative results because it considers the material to be equally sensitive to shear and tensile stresses, which is not true in a wide range of practical applications. Therefore, torsional and multiaxial experimental data is necessary to better predict the fatigue life of components. To execute those experiments, the present work proposes a variety of component designs and assembly methodologies to use on an Instron 8874 axial-torsional testing machine a hydraulic grip originally designed for an Instron 8501 uniaxial testing machine. Furthermore, a simplified method to estimate shear (gamma)N low-cycle fatigue properties via displacement-controlled experiments is proposed to avoid the need of using expensive equipment and different specimen designs, and used for characterization of SAE 1020 Steel and 6351-T6 Aluminum alloys. This data is compared with the measured tensile (epsilon)N low-cycle fatigue properties to identify if these materials are tensile or shear sensitive under multiaxial loading conditions. A numerical computing code is used to fit (epsilon)N and (gamma)N curves to the experimental data, and its implementation procedures are discussed. Finally, the most suitable critical-plane multiaxial fatigue models are proposed and calibrated for each material tested, based on the measured data.

The thesis is focused on assessment of fatigue behaviour of austempered ductile iron with nodular graphite. Optimal period of transformation was determined based on the best combination of stress and strain characteristics established by tensile test. Cyclic response and low-cycle fatigue life were studied under both stress-control and longitudinal strain-control mode at room temperature. For both modes, shapes of cyclic hardening curves are dependent on stress amplitude. Cyclic deformation curves (CDC) were fitted by power regression function. Results were compared with CDC established by multiple step test in both modes with verification of the influence of cyclic creep (high stress levels, stress-control mode). Experimental data of S-N curves are in agreement with the Manson-Coffin and the Basquin law. Fatigue and cyclic parameters were compared. Fatigue life time in high-cycle fatigue region was determined. Experimental data were fitted by suitable regression functions. Regression parameters and fatigue limit were established by means of each regression function. Experimental data in low- and high-cycle fatigue regions were used to construct S-N curve and to determine relevant parameters. Discontinuity of experimental data was not observed. Low-cycle fatigue behaviour was predicted. Approximation of tolerance bands was realized in high-cycle and both high and low cycle fatigue regions.

Un suivi des processus microstructuraux prenant place au cours de la fatigue oligocyclique de l’aluminium pur est assuré par la technique d’émission acoustique EA par ces deux types: émission continue et discrète. Cette technique est intéressante car elle permet de suivre l’évolution dynamique de la structure tout le long de l’essai. Les différents stades du comportement macroscopique du matériau au cours des sollicitations cycliques sont clairement différenciés par l’activité acoustique. Nous distinguons cinq stades : écrouissage primaire, adoucissement primaire, écrouissage secondaire, adoucissement secondaire et rupture. Les trois premiers stades mettent en jeu des phénomènes microstructuraux liés à la plasticité du matériau tandis que des phénomènes relatifs à l’endommagement (micro et macro-fissuration) dominent les derniers stades. L’EA continue résulte de l’effet cumulatif de nombreux mouvements de dislocations de faible amplitude et décorrélés entre eux. Cette plasticité continue diminue au cours du 1er stade mais copie l’évolution de la réponse macroscopique de l’échantillon au cours des stades suivants. Ce comportement est lié aux structures de dislocations établies à travers les différents stades de fatigue. En revanche, l’EA de type discret enregistrée lors des trois premiers stades est associée à un autre type de plasticité : la plasticité intermittente, se manifestant à travers des mouvements coopératifs de grande ampleur, les avalanches de dislocations. Ces avalanches de dislocations génèrent des signaux acoustiques de tailles variables, distribuées en loi de puissance. La plasticité intermittente est alors invariante d’échelle tandis que la plasticité continue met en jeu des mouvements ayant une taille caractéristique. Nous mettons ainsi en évidence pour la première fois la coexistence de ces deux types de plasticité dans un matériau cubique à faces centrées CFC, qui ne sont donc pas incompatibles. Au cours des deux derniers stades de fatigue, les signaux acoustiques enregistrés se catégorisent également en deux groupes: l’un est caractérisé par des invariances d’échelle, l’autre associé à une taille caractéristique. La première catégorie comprend des signaux acoustiques indépendants, apparaissant aléatoirement au cours des cycles. Ces signaux sont générés par des phénomènes de microfissuration au sein du volume de l’échantillon (nucléation, percolation…). Le second groupe, réunit des signaux acoustiques générés quasiment au même niveau de contrainte sur plusieurs cycles successifs et ayant une signature acoustique quasi identique. Nous nommons ces signaux multiplets en référence à la sismologie. Nous émettons l'hypothèse que de tels multiplets d’EA sont la signature de la propagation, cycle après cycle, d'une fissure de fatigue dont la trace peut être vu post-mortem avec les stries de fatigue sur une surface de fracture, ou encore la signature de frottements entre les aspérités présentes de part et d’autre des lèvres de fissures. / An analysis of microstructural processes taking place during low-cycle fatigue of pure aluminum is performed by the Acoustic Emission technique (AE) with its two types: continuous and discrete. The main interest of this technique is that it enables the following of the dynamic evolution of the microstructure during the fatigue test. We distinguished five fatigue stages: primary hardening, primary softening, secondary hardening, secondary softening and failure. The various stages of the material’s macroscopic behavior during cyclic loading are clearly differentiated by the acoustic activity. During the first three stages, mainly microstructural phenomena related to plasticity of material are taking place, whereas damage (micro and macro-cracking) dominate the last two stages. The continuous AE results from the cumulative effect of many uncorrelated dislocations’ movements of low amplitude. This continuous plasticity decreases during the 1st stage but reproduces the evolution of the macroscopic behavior of the sample during following stages. This behavior is related to the dislocation structure established during the various fatigue stages. On the other hand, the discrete AE recorded at the time of the first three stages is associated to another type of plasticity: intermittent plasticity. This plasticity is associated to co-operative dislocation movements of great amplitude; dislocation avalanches. These dislocation avalanches generate acoustic signals power law distributed in amplitude and energies. Intermittent plasticity is then scale invariant while continuous plasticity is associated to dislocation movements with a characteristic size. We highlight for the first time the coexistence of these two types of plasticity in FCC materials, which are therefore not incompatible. During the last two stages of fatigue, the recorded acoustic signals are categorized in two groups: the first one is characterized by scale invariance whereas the other is associated to a characteristic size. The first category comprises independent acoustic signals, appearing randomly during cycles. These signals are generated by micro-cracking events within the volume of the sample (nucleation, percolation…). The second group contains acoustic signals generated almost at the same stress level during several successive cycles and having a nearly identical acoustic signature. We name these signals multiplets in reference to seismology. We put forth the hypothesis that such AE multiplets are the signature of fatigue crack propagation, one cycle after the other, whose trace can be observed post-mortem with fatigue striations on fracture surface, or a signature of frictions between the asperities present on both sides of the crack.

Background and Objective: Nickel-base superalloys, strengthened by a high volume fraction of Ni3Al precipitates, have been the undisputed choice for turbine discs in gas turbines as they exhibit the best available combination of elevated temperature tensile strength and resistance to low cycle fatigue (LCF), which are essential for a disc alloy. Alloy 720LI is a wrought nickel-base superalloy developed for disc application and exhibit superior elevated temperature tensile strength and LCF properties. It is distinct from contemporary disc alloys because of its chemistry, (especially Ti, Al and interstitial (C and B) contents), processing and heat treatment. However, literature available in open domain to develop an understanding of these properties in alloy 720LI is rather limited. This study was taken up in this background with an objective of assessing the tensile and LCF properties exhibited by alloy 720LI within a temperature regime of interest and understand the structure-property correlations behind it. Tensile Behavior: The effect of temperature and strain rate on monotonic tensile properties were assessed at different temperature in the range of 25 – 750°C (0.67 Tm) at a strain rate of 10-4 s-1 and strain rate effects were explored in detail at 25, 400, 650 and 750°C at different strain rates between 10-5 s-1 and 10-1 s-1. Yield and ultimate tensile strength of the alloy remains unaffected by temperature till about 600°C (0.58Tm) and 500°C (0.51Tm), respectively, beyond which both decreased drastically. Negligible strain rate sensitivity exhibited by the alloy at 25 and 400°C indicated that flow stress is a strong function of strain hardening rather than strain rate hardening. However at 650 and 750°C, especially at low strain rates, strain rate sensitivity is relatively high. TEM studies revealed that heterogeneous planar slip involving shearing of precipitates by dislocation pairs was prevalent under strain rate insensitive conditions and more homogeneous slip was evident when flow stresses were strain rate sensitive. The planarity of slip is also considered responsible for the deviation in experimental data from the Ludwick–Hollomon power-law at low plastic strains in regimes insensitive to strain rate. Irrespective of strain rate sensitivity and degree of homogeneity of slip, fracture mode remained ductile at almost all the conditions studied. Dynamic Strain Ageing: Alloy 720LI exhibits jerky flow in monotonic tension at intermediate temperatures ranging from 250-475°C. After considering all known causes for serrated flow in materials, the instability in flow (Portevin-LeChatelier (PLC) effect) is considered attributable to dynamic strain ageing (DSA), arising from interactions between diffusing solute atoms and mobile dislocations during plastic flow. As the temperature range of DSA coincided with typical bore and web temperatures of turbine discs, its possible influence on tensile properties is considered in detail. No significant change in tensile strength, ductility, or work hardening is observed, due to DSA, with increase in temperature from smooth to serrated flow regime. However strain rate sensitivity, which is positive in smooth flow regime turned negative in the serrated flow regime. Analysis of serrated flow on the basis of critical plastic strain for onset of serrations revealed that in most of the temperature-strain rate regimes studied, alloy 720LI exhibits ‘inverse’ PLC effect which is a phenomenon that has not been fully understood in contrast to ‘normal’ PLC effect observed widely in dilute solid solutions. Other characteristics of serrated flow viz., stress decrement and strain increment between serrations are also analyzed to understand the mechanism of DSA. Though the activation energy determined using stress decrements suggest that carbon atoms could be responsible for locking of dislocations, based on its influence on mechanical properties and also on its temperature regime of existence, weak pinning of dislocations by substitutional solute atoms are considered responsible for DSA in alloy 720LI. LCF Behavior: LCF studies were carried out under fully reversed constant strain amplitude conditions at 25, 400 and 650°C with strain amplitudes ranging from 0.4-1.2%. Different cyclic stress responses observed depending on the imposed conditions are correlated to the substructures that evolved. Low level of dislocation activity and interactions observed in TEM is considered the reason behind stable cyclic stress response at low strain amplitudes at all temperatures. TEM studies also show that secondary γ’ precipitates that are degraded through repeated shearing are responsible for the continuous softening, observed after a short initial hardening phase, at higher strain amplitudes. Studies at 400°C show manifestation of DSA on LCF behavior at 400°C in the form increased cyclic hardening which tends to offset softening effects at higher strain amplitudes. Plastic strain dependence of fatigue lives exhibited bilinearity in Coffin-Manson plots at all temperatures. TEM substructures revealed that planar slip with deformation concentrated on slip bands is the major deformation mode under all the conditions examined. However, homogeneity of deformation increases with increase in strain and temperature. At 25°C, with increasing strain, increased homogeneity manifested in the form of increased number of slip bands. At 650°C, with increase in strain, increased dislocation activity in the inter-slip band regions lead to increased homogeneity. It is also seen that fine deformation twins that form at 650°C and low strain amplitudes play a role in aiding homogenization of deformation. Unlike other alloy systems where an environmental effect or a change in deformation mechanism leads to bilinearity in Coffin – Manson (CM) plots, our study shows that differences in distribution of slip is the reason behind bilinear CM plots. While the properties and behavior of alloy 720LI under monotonic and cyclic loading conditions over a range of temperatures could be rationalized on the basis of deformation substructures, the thesis opens up the door for further in-depth studies on deformation mechanisms in 720LI as well as other disc alloys of similar microstructure.

This study mainly addresses the problem of estimating the prior earthquake damage on the response of reinforced concrete structures to future earthquakes. The motivation has arisen from the heavy damages or collapses that occurred in many reinforced concrete structures following two major earthquakes that recently occurred in the Marmara Region, Turkey. The analysis tool employed for this purpose is the package named IDARC2D. Deterioration parameters of IDARC&#039 / s hysteretic model have been calibrated using a search method. In the calibration process experimental data of a total of twenty-two beam and column specimens, tested under constant and variable amplitude displacement histories, has been used. Fine-tuning of deterioration parameters is essential for more realistic predictions about inelastic behavior and structural damage. In order to provide more realistic damage prediction, three ranges of parameters are proposed. Some damage controlling structural parameters have been assessed via a large number of two-dimensional section analyses, inelastic time history and damage analyses of SDOF systems and seismic vulnerability analyses of reinforced concrete buildings. Inelastic time history and damage analyses of numerous SDOF systems have been carried out to determine whether the loading history has an effect on damage and dissipated hysteretic energy. Then this emphasis is directed to the analyses of MDOF systems. In the analyses of the SDOF systems, various forms of constant and variable amplitude inelastic displacement reversals and synthetic ground motions composed of one of the four earthquake records preceded or followed by its modified records acted as a prior or successive earthquake, have been used. The analyses of two five-story R/C buildings have been caried out using synthetic accelerograms comprised of base input provided by the two recorded ground motions. It is shown that both damage progression and cumulative hysteretic energy dissipated along a path seem to depend on the number and amplitude of cycles constituting the path. However, final damage and accumulated hysteretic energy dissipated along a loading path are independent of the ordering of the same number and amplitude cycles along the path. There is a nonlinear relationship between the earthquake excitation intensity and final damage attained in the end. Increase in the acceleration amplitude leads to exponential increase in damage. As the prior earthquake intensity increases the damage from the succeding main earthquake decreases. A definite ground motion acting as prior and successive earthquake causes substantially different amount of damage. Prior earthquake damage does not substantially affect the maximum drift response in future larger earthquakes. A MDOF frame type structure with aprior damage suffers less overall damage in an earthquake in comparison with the one without a prior damage.