The aim of this study was to compare the incidence of root canal dentinal micro-cracks after canal instrumentation using reciprocating files (WaveOne Gold® and Twisted Adaptive®) and continuous rotation files (Edge Evolve® and EndoSequence®) in an ex-vivo benchtop study. This project used a novel methodology of finding dentinal defects using the “K-cube”, which allows evaluators to visualize sectioned root surfaces before instrumentation and after instrumentation. Mesial roots from 40 human mandibular first molars were divided into 4 groups of 10 for each file type. Root section pictures were taken with a Zeiss Discovery V20 stereomicroscope before and after canal instrumentation. Each of the pre-instrumentation and post-instrumentation images were evaluated for dentinal defects by four calibrated endodontists utilizing REDCap survey. Using a chi-square analysis, there was no statistically significant difference between dentinal defects created by continuous and reciprocating rotation (p=0.1924) and no difference between the four file types (p=0.2317).

The Swedish mining company LKAB is using limestone as additives for the production of its iron ore pellets. The company is considering five new proposals of limestones since the Nordkalk Company is soon no longer able to provide limestone from the Storugns quarry which is the one that is used today. The first purpose in this study was to characterize and compare these five new limestones in respect to their texture and their disintegration during the transport from the quarry to the final destination in Malmberget, considering the Storugns limestone as a reference material. The second aim was to focus on finding any link between texture and disintegration properties of the limestones. Another intention is that the methodology which is used in this study will help the company to consider new proposals of limestones in the future. Six limestones from the Orsa, Storugns, Stucks, Vasalemma, Verdal and Võhmuta quarries were analyzed by an optical microscopy analysis of the textures. Two types of physical tests were also included in the study: a tumbler test and a breakage test. Six different textures were identified by a qualitative thin section analysis which shows similarities between the limestones from different origins but also a high variability of texture within a same quarry. A more quantitative optical microscopy analysis led to the assumption of both the degree of lithification and the amount of initial micro-cracks for each sample. According to the physical test results, the limestones disintegrate as follows, from the less to the more disintegrated: Stucks (7,6%), Storugns (9,4%), Verdal (10,3%), Võhmuta (11,1%), Vasalemma (11,8%) and Orsa (17,6%). There is no evident textural parameter which is controlling directly the disintegration of limestone. However the samples with a rather high lithification and a rather low fracturing disintegrate less than samples with a rather low lithification and a rather high fracturing. It is assumed that the combination of degree of lithification together with the amount of initial micro-cracks is somehow controlling the disintegration of limestone. / Validerat; 20101217 (root)

Rolling contact fatigue is a damage process that may arise in mechanical applications with repeated rolling contacts. Some examples are: gears; cams; bearings; rail/wheel contacts. The resulting damage is often visible with the naked eye as millimeter sized surface craters. The surface craters are here denoted spalls and the gear contact served as a case study. The work focused on the asperity point load mechanism for initiation of spalls. It was found that the stresses at asperity level may be large enough to initiate surface cracking, especially if the complete stress cycle was accounted for. The gear contact is often treated as a cylindrical contact. The thesis contains experimental and numerical results connected to rolling contact fatigue of cylindrical contacts. At the outset a stationary cylindrical contact was studied experimentally. The stationary test procedure was used instead of a rolling contact. In this way the number of contact parameters was minimized. The cylindrical contact resulted in four different contact fatigue cracks. The two cracks that appeared first initiated below the contact. The other two cracks developed at the contact surface when the number of load cycles and the contact load increased. The influence of a surface irregularity (asperity) was studied numerically with the Finite Element Method (FEM). Firstly, the stationary contact was modelled and investigated numerically. At the cylindrical contact boundary a single axisymmetric was included. The partially loaded asperity introduced a tensile surface stress, which seen from the asperity centre was radially directed. Secondly, FE simulations were performed where a single axisymmetric asperity was over-rolled by a cylindrical contact. The simulations were performed for pure rolling and rolling with slip. For both situations, tensile forward directed stresses in front of the asperity were found. The presence of slip and a surface traction greatly increased the stresses in front of the asperity. Finally, when rolling started from rest with applied slip, the distance to steady-state rolling was determined for elastic similar cylindrical rollers. / QC 20100702

Impelled by the increase in the number of tunnel fires in the last decade alone, wide spread attention has been drawn towards tunnel fire safety studies. Many of these fires occurred in road and railway tunnels involving vehicles and trains. These fire incidents have claimed lives, caused structural damages to the tunnel infrastructure and even economic losses to the government, businesses and communities concerned. When there is a fire in a tunnel, the temperature inside the tunnel increases rapidly to magnitudes as high as 1500°C. At such high temperatures costly damages to the tunnel structure is inevitable. Having an understanding of the detrimental effects of such high temperatures is essential and valuable when carrying out preliminary assessment of the type and extent of damage in the tunnel. This would in turn provide useful information in determining the appropriate remedial measures required to make the tunnel safe and usable again in the aftermath of a tunnel fire. In most tunnel fire safety studies, the focus has been on the behaviour of concrete, since of course concrete is one of the major support elements in tunnels. However, in several cases, such as in Scandinavia for example, where the rock mass is competent enough to support itself only a thin layer of shotcrete is used usually on tunnel walls. In such cases the rock will be fully exposed to heat in an instance of fire. In this case, whether it is prevention or maintenance of the tunnel, it would require knowledge on the effect of elevated heat on the rock mass. Hence, it is line with this thinking that a study was initiated by the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket), Kärnbränslehantering AB, SKB and Vattenfall to study the effect of heat on the physical and mechanical properties of some common rock types, and hence the focus of this thesis. This thesis presents the results of a series of laboratory studies which was carried out to investigate the effect of heat on the physical and mechanical properties of selected rock types, namely; diabase, granite and quartzitic schist. Samples from these rock types were heat treated at temperature levels of 400°C, 750°C and 1100°C, before investigating their mechanical and physical properties through mechanical testing and microscopic investigations of thin sections. Because the effect of heat on rock can be affected by the heating rate and exposure time, the test were conducted under controlled conditions in order to avoid significant variation in the results. The results clearly show that the rock types behave differently at different temperature levels, which tend to depend on the mineral composition and micro cracks distribution. As the temperature increases the rock forming minerals undergo changes in their chemical structure thus causing them to alter from the original phase they had existed in. With these phase changes different reactions take place such as re-crystallization, the loss of crystal bound water, thermal expansion and micro cracking of mineral grains as well as the development of voids. These microscopic changes were manifested in the macro-scale by the variations observed in the behaviour of strength and stiffness of the samples in the mechanical tests.

La modélisation de la rupture des géo-matériaux constitue un important défi pour les applications telles que la séquestration du CO2 , le stockage de déchets nucléaires, la production des hydrocarbures ainsi que les projets de génie civil concernant les tunnels ou les excavations. L'objectif de cette thèse est de développer des lois d'évolution macroscopiques d'endommagement à partir des descriptions explicites de la rupture à l'échelle microscopique en vue de la modélisation du comportement d'endommagement à long terme des sites de stockage géologique. L'approche adoptée est basée sur l'homogénéisation par développements asymptotiques et la description énergétique de la propagation des micro-fissures, qui permettent l'obtention des lois d'endommagement et conduisent à une quantification explicite de l'énergie de l'émission acoustique associée à la rupture. Les modèles obtenus sont capables de prédire la dégradation des modules d'élasticité en raison de l'évolution des micro-fissures. Cette représentation permet de modéliser la propagation des ondes dans un milieu à endommagement évolutif. Deux types de modèles d'endommagement seront proposés: indépendants de temps et dépendants de temps. Les modèles dépendants de temps décrivent l'évolution progressive quasi-fragile de la micro-fissuration. Dans les modèles dépendants de temps, l'évolution des micro-fissures est décrite à travers un critère sous-critique et la propagation mixte, par branchement. En utilisant le modèle dépendant de temps, des simulations seront faites à trois niveaux: du laboratoire, du tunnel et du réservoir. / Accurate modeling of failure of geomaterials is the key to the success of a diverse range of engineering challenges including the topic of CO2 sequestration, nuclear waste disposal and hydrocarbon production plus civil engineering projects for tunnels or excavations. The aim of this thesis is to develop macroscopic damage evolution laws based on explicit descriptions of fracture at the micro-scale level which can be successfully employed to describe long term damage behavior of geologic storage sites. The approach taken is based on homogenization through asymptotic developments combined with micro-crack propagation energy analysis which leads to an explicit quantification of the acoustic emission (AE) energy associated with damage. Proposed damage models are capable of modeling the degradation of elastic moduli due to the micro-crack evolution. This representation allows the modeling of wave propagation in a medium with evolving damage. Two types of damage models will be considered: time independent and time dependent. Time independent damage models capable of describing progressive micro-cracking propagation (i.e. quasi-brittle type damage law) are considered. In the case of time-dependent damage models, the evolution of the micro-crack length during propagation is described through a sub-critical criterion and mixed mode propagation by branching. Using the time dependent damage model including rotational micro-cracks, simulations will be made at three levels: laboratory, tunnel and reservoir scales.

This thesis deals with the study of cement – concrete coverings. The aim of the thesis is a summary of current knowledge of these constructions. The experimental part of this paper deals with the design of concrete for the lower layer of cement – concrete cover. Emphasis is placed on the elimination of microcracks and to increase the lifetime of these construction.

Les structures maçonnées sont largement connues en génie civil comme constituant d’une partie des bâtiments, mais également en tant que garnissages réfractaires dans des structures utilisées à hautes températures, par exemple en sidérurgie. Malheureusement, les outils actuels ne sont pas suffisamment puissants pour prédire le comportement de ces structures avec l’apparition de fissures et pour tenir compte du comportement non linéaire d’un des deux constituants (le mortier par exemple). Ce travail de thèse contribue à la modélisation multi-échelles des maçonneries classiques et des garnissages réfractaires avec un faible coût numérique grâce à la technique d’homogénéisation périodique. Les techniques de modélisation et de simulation du comportement des maçonneries sont présentées et développées. L’influence des lois d’interface entre briques et mortier, des paramètres géométriques et matériels, ainsi que de la densité des fissures sur le comportement effectif des maçonneries est étudié. Trois approches (une extension analytique de Cecchi et Tralli, une approche numérique et un modèle micromécanique) sont proposées pour la détermination du comportement effectif d’une cellule périodique dans le cas de maçonneries avec mortier viscoélastique microfissuré et briques saines élastiques ou rigides. Les résultats des calculs sur deux exemples de maçonneries (1D et 2D) ont confirmé que l’approche multi-échelle est une solution appropriée avec une grande capacité à exprimer le comportement des maçonneries viscoélastiques microfissurées. Ce travail, limité au cas sans propagation de fissures, peut être étendu aux mortiers à comportement viscoplastique. / Masonry structures are widely used in civil engineering as part of buildings or in refractory linings of structures working at high temperatures, like in steel industry. Unfortunately, the present tools are not powerful enough to predict the behavior of these structures at their micro-cracked state and/or if one of their constituents behaves nonlinearly (e.g. the mortar). This research contributes to the multi-level modeling of classical masonries and refractory linings with a low numerical cost using basically the periodic homogenization technique. Modeling and simulation techniques of masonry behavior are presented and developped. The influence of interface law between bricks and mortar, of geometrical and material parameters, and of crack density on the effective masonry behavior is studied. Three approaches (analytical extension of Cecchi and Tralli, numerical approach and micromechanical modeling) were proposed to determine the effective behavior of a periodic masonry cell with micro-cracked viscoelastic mortar and safe elastic or rigid bricks. The results obtained on two examples of masonry (1D and 2D) confirmed that the multi-scale approach is a suitable solution with a great ability to model the effective behavior of microcracked viscoelastic masonry. This work, actually limited to the case without crack propagation, could be extended to mortars with viscoplastic behavior.

Propagation des fissures microscopiques, est représentée par des variables d’endommagement. L’évolution de la variable d’endommagement est généralement formulée sur la base d’observations expérimentales. De nombreux modèles phénoménologiques d’endommagement ont été proposés dans la littérature. L’objet de cette thèse est de développer une nouvelle procédure pour obtenir des lois d’évolution macroscopique d’endommagement,dans lesquelles l’évolution de l’endommagement est entièrement déduite de l’analyse de la microstructure. Nous utilisons une homogénéisation basée sur des développements asymptotiques pour décrire le comportement global à partir de la description explicite d’un volume élémentaire microfissuré.Nous considérons d’une part un critère quasi-fragile (indépendant du temps) puis un critère sous-critique(dépendant du temps) pour décrire la propagation des microfissures. De plus, le frottement entre les lèvres des microfissures est pris en compte. Une analyse énergétique est proposée, conduisant à une loi d’évolution d’endommagement qui intègre une dégradation de la rigidité, un adoucissement du comportement du matériau, des effets de taille et d’unilatéralité, mettant en avant un comportement différent à la rupture en contact avec et sans frottement. L’information sur les micro-fissures est contenue dans les coefficients homogénéisés et dans la loi d’évolution de l’endommagement. Les coefficients homogénéisés décrivent la réponse globale en présence de micro-fissures (éventuellement statiques), tels qu’ils sont calculées avec la(quasi-) solution microscopique statique. La loi d’endommagement contient l’information sur l’évolution des micro-fissures, résultant de l’équilibre énergétique dans le temps pendant la propagation microscopique.La loi homogénéisée est formulée en incrément de contrainte. Les coefficients homogénéisés sont calculées numériquement pour des longueurs de fissures et des orientations différentes. Cela permet la construction complète des lois macroscopiques. Une première analyse concerne le comportement local macroscopique, pour des trajets de chargement complexes, afin de comprendre le comportement prédit par le modèle à deux échelles et l’influence des paramètres micro structuraux, comme par exemple le coefficient de frottement. Ensuite, la mise en œuvre en éléments finis des équations macroscopiques est effectuée et des simulations pour différents essais de compression sont réalisées. Les résultats des simulations numériques sont comparés avec les résultats expérimentaux obtenus en utilisant un nouvel appareil triaxial récemment mis au point au Laboratoire 3SR à Grenoble (France). / In continuum damage models, the degradation of the elastic moduli, as the results of microscopic crackgrowth, is represented through damage variables. The evolution of damage variable is generally postulatedbased on the results of the experimental observations. Many such phenomenological damage modelshave been proposed in the literature. The purpose of this contribution is to develop a new procedurein order to obtain macroscopic damage evolution laws, in which the damage evolution is completelydeduced from micro-structural analysis. We use homogenization based on two-scale asymptotic developmentsto describe the overall behaviour starting from explicit description of elementary volumes withmicro-cracks. We consider quasi-brittle (time independent) and sub-critical (time dependent) criteria formicro-cracks propagation. Additionally, frictional contact is assumed on the crack faces. An appropriatemicro-mechanical energy analysis is proposed, leading to a damage evolution law that incorporates stiffnessdegradation, material softening, size effect, and unilaterality, different fracture behaviour in contactwithout and with friction. The information about micro-cracks is contained in the homogenized coefficientsand in the damage evolution law. The homogenized coefficients describe the overall response inthe presence of (possibly static) micro-cracks, as they are computed with the (quasi-) static microscopicsolution. The damage law contains the information about the evolution of micro-cracks, as a result ofthe energy balance in time during the microscopic propagation. The homogenized law is obtained in therate form. Effective coefficients are numerically computed for different crack lengths and orientations.This allows for the complete construction of the macroscopic laws. A first analysis concerns the localmacroscopic behaviour, for complex loading paths, in order to understand the behaviour predicted bythe two-scale model and the influence of micro structural parameters, like for example friction coefficient.Next, the FEM implementation of the macroscopic equations is performed and simulations for variouscompression tests are conducted. The results of the numerical simulations are compared with the experimentalresults obtained using a new true-triaxial apparatus recently developed at the Laboratory 3SRin Grenoble (France).

The Antimatter Experiment: Gravity, Interferometry, Spectroscopy (AEGIS) at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) is an experiment investigating the influence of earth’s gravitational force upon antimatter. To perform precise measurements the antimatter needs to be cooled to a temperature of 100 mK. This will be done in a Penning trap, formed by several electrodes, which are charged with several kV and have to be individually electrically insulated. The trap is thermally linked to a mixing chamber of a 3He-4He dilution refrigerator. Two link designs are examined, the Rod design and the Sandwich design. The Rod design electrically connects a single electrode with a heat exchanger, immersed in the helium of the mixing chamber, by a copper pin. An alumina ring and the helium electrically insulate the Rod design. The Sandwich uses an electrically insulating sapphire plate sandwiched between the electrode and the mixing chamber. Indium layers on the sapphire plate are applied to improve the thermal contact. Four differently prepared test Sandwiches are investigated. They differ in the sapphire surface roughness and in the application method of the indium layers. Measurements with static and sinusoidal heat loads are performed to uncover the behavior of the thermal boundary resistances. The thermal total resistance of the best Sandwich shows a temperature dependency of T-2,64 and is significantly lower, with roughly 30 cm2K4/W at 50 mK, than experimental data found in the literature. The estimated thermal boundary resistance between indium and sapphire agrees very well with the value of the acoustic mismatch theory at low temperatures. In both designs, homemade heat exchangers are integrated to transfer the heat to the cold helium. These heat exchangers are based on sintered structures to increase the heat transferring surface and to overcome the significant influence of the thermal resistance (Kapitza resistance). The heat exchangers are optimized concerning the adherence of the sinter to the substrate and its sinter height, e.g. its thermal penetration length. Ruthenium oxide metallic resistors (RuO2) are used as temperature sensors for the investigations. They consist of various materials, which affect the reproducibility. The sensor conditioning and the resulting good reproducibility is discussed as well.

The Antimatter Experiment: Gravity, Interferometry, Spectroscopy (AEGIS) at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) is an experiment investigating the influence of earth’s gravitational force upon antimatter. To perform precise measurements the antimatter needs to be cooled to a temperature of 100 mK. This will be done in a Penning trap, formed by several electrodes, which are charged with several kV and have to be individually electrically insulated. The trap is thermally linked to a mixing chamber of a 3He-4He dilution refrigerator. Two link designs are examined, the Rod design and the Sandwich design. The Rod design electrically connects a single electrode with a heat exchanger, immersed in the helium of the mixing chamber, by a copper pin. An alumina ring and the helium electrically insulate the Rod design. The Sandwich uses an electrically insulating sapphire plate sandwiched between the electrode and the mixing chamber. Indium layers on the sapphire plate are applied to improve the thermal contact. Four differently prepared test Sandwiches are investigated. They differ in the sapphire surface roughness and in the application method of the indium layers. Measurements with static and sinusoidal heat loads are performed to uncover the behavior of the thermal boundary resistances. The thermal total resistance of the best Sandwich shows a temperature dependency of T-2,64 and is significantly lower, with roughly 30 cm2K4/W at 50 mK, than experimental data found in the literature. The estimated thermal boundary resistance between indium and sapphire agrees very well with the value of the acoustic mismatch theory at low temperatures. In both designs, homemade heat exchangers are integrated to transfer the heat to the cold helium. These heat exchangers are based on sintered structures to increase the heat transferring surface and to overcome the significant influence of the thermal resistance (Kapitza resistance). The heat exchangers are optimized concerning the adherence of the sinter to the substrate and its sinter height, e.g. its thermal penetration length. Ruthenium oxide metallic resistors (RuO2) are used as temperature sensors for the investigations. They consist of various materials, which affect the reproducibility. The sensor conditioning and the resulting good reproducibility is discussed as well.