Over the last decade it has become increasingly clear that the traditional methods of fire safety design can be unnecessarily conservative and therefore expensive. In 1995 a series of fire tests were carried out at Cardington, UK on a full-scale eight storey steel-concrete composite building. These tests produced an extensive body of data about the response of such structures to fire conditions and it is intended that this data be used to develop a clearer understanding of the structural behaviour involved. This thesis presents a method of analysing the behaviour of structures such as the Cardington frame using the commercial finite element package ABAQUS, with the addition of user defined subroutines; applies the method to two of the Cardington tests and analyses the results. FEAST, a suite of computer programmes that defines the behaviour of shell finite elements using a stress-resultant approach, was programmed for use with ABAQUS. The FEAST suite consists of two main programmes. The first, SRAS, is designed to model the behaviour of orthotropic plate sections at elevated temperatures. The second, FEAI, interfaces with the finite element package ABAQUS and allows realistic models of the behaviour of whole structures in fire conditions to be obtained. Phenomena modelled by FEAST include non-linear thermal gradients, non-linear material behaviour and coupling between membrane and bending forces. FEAST was used to analyse the behaviour of the Cardington Restrained Beam Test and the Cardington Corner Test. In both cases it was possible to produce a comprehensive set of results showing the variation of forces, moments and deflections in the structure under fire conditions. In addition, a number of parametric studies were performed to determine the effect of factors such as slab temperature and coefficient of thermal expansion on the behaviour of the structure. Special attention was given to the role of tensile mebrane action. The results showed that the behaviour of the heated structure was very different to that of an unheated structure. The response of the structure was shown to be very strongly governed by restrained thermal expansion and by thermal gradients. Degradation of material properties were found to have only a secondary effect on the structural behaviour.

Due to the competitive nature of airline industry and the desire to minimise aircraft weight, there is a continual drive to develop lightweight, reliable and more comfortable seating solutions, in particular, a new generation slim economy seat. The key design challenge is to maximise the “living space” for the passenger, with strict adherence to the ‘Crash Safety Regulations’. Cranfield University is addressing the needs of airliners, seat manufactures and safety regulating bodies by designing a completely novel seat structure coined as “Sleep Seat”. A generous angle of recline (40 degree), movement of “Seat Pan” along the gradient, fixed outer shell of the backrest, and a unique single “Forward Beam” design distinguishes “Sleep Seat” form current generation seats. It is an ultra-lightweight design weighing 8kg (typical seat weight is 11kg). It has to sustain the static (CS 25.561) and dynamic (CS25.562) “Emergency landing” loads as specified by “Certification Specifications (CS). Apart from maintaining structural integrity; a seat-structure must not deform, which would impede evacuation, should absorb energy so that the loads transferred to Occupants are within human tolerance limits and should always maintain survivable space around the Occupant. All these parameters, which increase a life-expectancy in a ‘survivable’ crash, can be estimated using either experimental testing or virtual simulation tools such as “Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Design of the “Sleep Seat” is still in its conceptual phase and therefore experimental testing for all the design iterations involved is unrealistic, given a measure of the costs and timescales involved. Therefore focus of research is to develop practical and robust FE methodologies to assess static and dynamic performances of a seat-structure so as to compare different design concepts based on their strength, seat interface loads (a limit defined by strength of aircraft-floor), maximum deformations and cross-sectional forces ... [cont.].

In packaging industries, the demand for usage of Low Density Poly Ethylene foil is of profound interest. In the past, research was carried out on finite and infinite plates with varying crack lengths but having constant crack width. In this thesis, a detailed analysis on crack initiation is carried out on finite plates by varying width of the hole. The hole shapes for stress analysis include circle, ellipse and rectangular notch. Initially, maximum stress is found out using Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM) theory and compared with Finite element method (FEM) results. Secondly using Elastic Plastic Fracture Mechanics theory (EPFM), critical stress and geometric function are evaluated theoretically by Modified Strip Yield Model (MSYM) and numerically by ABAQUS. Finally, a tensile test is conducted to validate the theoretical and numerical results.  By varying the width of the hole, a study on the parameters like critical stress, geometric function is presented. A conclusion is drawn that the effect of hole width should be considered when calculating fracture parameters.

This thesis deals with numerical simulation of a peel test with an Aluminium foil and Low Density Poly-Ethylene (LDPE) laminate. This work investigates the effects of the substrate thickness and studies the influences of interfacial strength and fracture energy of the cohesive zone between the Aluminium and LDPE. This study evaluates the proper guidelines for defining cohesive properties. A numerical cohesive zone model was created in ABAQUS. Continuum tensile tests were performed to extract LDPE material properties. The aluminium properties were found in literature. After acquiring material parameters, the simulation continued with studying the effects of changing interfacial strength, geometric parameters and fracture energy. The results were obtained in the form of root rotations and the force displacement response was studied carefully. It was validated by comparison to the traction separation curve.

Ce travail de thèse a pour but de contribuer à l'étude du comportement thermomécanique des matériaux métalliques soumis à un impact balistique. Des études expérimentales, analytiques et numériques ont été réalisées pour analyser en détail le processus de perforation. Deux matériaux ont été étudiés au cours de ce travail : un acier doux ES et un acier IF. Dans un premier temps, des essais de caractérisation mécanique (traction et compression quasi-statique et dynamique) ont été réalisés en vue de la modélisation du comportement mécanique des matériaux étudiés. Les résultats montrent que l'acier doux ES et l'acier IF sont très sensibles à la vitesse de déformation. Deux modèles constitutifs, l'un empirique (Johnson-Cook) et l'autre semi-physique (Rusinek-Klepaczko) ont été utilisés pour modéliser le comportement thermoviscoplastique des matériaux. Une identification complète des constantes définissant les deux modèles a été réalisée pour chaque matériau en vue de l'implémentation des lois dans un code éléments finis pour la simulation numérique des essais d'impact et de perforation. Le comportement à l'impact des matériaux a ensuite été étudié. Les essais d'impact et de perforation ont été réalisés à l'aide d'un canon à gaz. L'influence de la géométrie du projectile, des propriétés mécaniques du matériau le constituant, de l'épaisseur de la cible et de sa configuration (sandwich ou monolithique) sur le processus de perforation a été analysée. Les résultats montrent que le mode de rupture, la limite balistique et la capacité d'absorption d'énergie de la cible métallique sont fortement liés à la forme du projectile utilisé. Il a été montré que les cibles métalliques monolithiques résistent mieux à la perforation que les configurations sandwichs (épaisseur totale inférieure ou égale à 4 mm). En outre, il a été trouvé que la limite balistique de la cible est fortement influencée par la rigidité du projectile utilisé. Enfin un modèle EF 3D a été développé permettant de simuler le comportement mécanique des cibles métalliques soumises à l'impact et à la perforation. Les résultats issus des prévisions numériques ont été comparés aux résultats expérimentaux. Il a été observé de façon globale un bon accord entre les prévisions numériques et l'expérience notamment en termes de courbes balistiques, d'énergie absorbée, de modes de rupture et de temps de rupture pour chaque type de projectile. Les résultats numériques montrent l'importance d'une description précise du comportement des matériaux dans les conditions dynamiques basée sur des expériences de laboratoire incluant les effets d'adoucissement thermique, d'écrouissage et de sensibilité à la vitesse de déformation, dans la modélisation numérique de processus physiques / This thesis aims to contribute to the study of the thermo-mechanical behaviour of metallic materials subjected to ballistic impact. Experimental, analytical and numerical studies were performed to analyze in details the process of perforation. Two materials have been investigated in this work : mild steel ES and IF steel. As a first step, mechanical characterization tests (tensile and compression tests under quasi-static and dynamic conditions) As have been made towards to modeling the mechanical behaviour of the materials studied. The results show that mild steel ES and IF steel are highly susceptible to the strain rate. Two constitutive equations, one empirical (Johnson-Cook) and other semi-physical (Rusinek-Klepaczko) were used to model the thermoviscoplastic behaviour of materials. A complete identification of constants defining the two models was carried out for each material in order to implements the constitutive laws into a finite element code for the numerical simulation of impact and perforation tests. The behaviour of materials under impact was then examined. The effect of the projectile shape, the mechanical properties of the projectile material, the target thickness and it is configuration (monolithic or sandwich) on the perforation process was analyzed. The results show that the failure mode, the ballistic limit and the energy absorption power of the metal target are strongly related to the shape of the projectile used. It has been shown that the monolithic targets plates are more strong to be perforate than the sandwich configurations (total thickness less than or equal to 4 mm). In addition, it was found that the ballistic limit of the target is strongly influenced by the rigidity of the projectile used. Finally, a 3D FE model was developed to simulate the mechanical behaviour of metal targets subjected to ballistic impact. The results from the numerical predictions were compared with experiments. It has been observed globally a good agreement between the numerical predictions and experiments especially in terms of ballistic curves, energy absorbed, failure modes and failure time for each kind of projectile. The numerical results show the importance of an accurate description of materials behaviour under dynamic conditions based on laboratory experiments including thermal softening effects, strain hardening and strain rate sensitivity in numerical modeling of physical processes

" Sample cutting is an important minimally invasive medical procedure. Currently there are several types of medical devices used to cut a distal biological sample, for example, a video endoscope and TurboHawk Plaque Excision Systems. Directional Atherectomy (DA) with the TurboHawk Plaque Excision Systems is a catheter-based, minimally invasive treatment method for peripheral arterial disease (PAD). During a procedure, a catheter is directed toward an area of plaque buildup to remove the plaque from the body, restoring blood flow (Covidien, 2013). Endoscopy is an important procedure used in the medical field to study and diagnose different parts of a body without the need to undergo a major surgery. The major devices are a video endoscope with a flexible or rigid insertion tube and endoscopic therapy devices. Arrays of the devices, through the instrument channel in the insertion tube of endoscopes, to perform a variety of functions are offered. The biological sample cut is one of the important endoscopic therapies. Both of Directional Atherectomy and endoscopy procedures require a power transmission from the proximal tip of device to the distal end, where the cutter is located, for cutting a sample. However, the working length is up to meters, and the diameter of the devices is in millimeter scale in the minimally invasive surgery. Thus enough power transmitting to the distal end of the device for the biological sample cutting is crucial. This research presents the effort toward the investigation of the potential power mechanisms from the proximal tip to the cutter at the distal end of the device for rapid rotational cutting motion to improve the cutting efficiency and accuracy. In this thesis, the potential powering mechanisms including fluid, electrical, and torque coils are investigated. Since the transmission power is used for a rotational cutting action, and the cutting geometry has influence on the cutting power, thus this research also focuses on the analysis of the cutting geometry for the rotational sample cutting. The Hertz contact theory and von Mises yield criterion are used to find the influence of tool geometry on the material removing process, as well as Abaqus, a commercial FEM software, is used for the finite element analysis. Fiber-reinforced composite structures are the main characteristic of the representative biological sample, and their mechanical behavior is strongly influenced by the concentration and structural arrangement of constitute such as collagen and elastin. Researches show that the biological sample, for example, a soft biological sample, has hyperelastic properties and behave anisotropically, and there are a few publications about the plastic properties and cutting mechanics. Thus a linear elastic and linear plastic material model is defined for the finite element analysis of material removal. The analytical results and finite element results both show that as the tool rake angle increases or the tool angle decreases, the magnitude of cutting force decreases. A preliminary representative sample cutting experiment was conducted, and standard cutters with different cutting geometries were tested in order to find the characteristic of the biological sample cutting and the influence of tool geometry on the required cutting power. The experiments reveal the same conclusions as the analytical and finite element results. "

The main concern of this thesis is to propose a new inverse identification procedure applied to metal forming and machining situations, which can provide an appropriate parameters set for any elastoplastic constitutive law following J_{2} plasticity and isotropic hardening, by evaluating the correlation between the experimental and numerical responses. Firstly the identification program has been developed, which combines the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm and the Data processing methods to optimize the constitutive parameters. In terms of experimentation, dynamic compression and tensile tests have been conducted. The final deformed shape of specimens, which relies on a post-mortem analysis, has been selected as the observation quantity. As for the numerical simulation, the numerical models of the same experimental procedure have been built with the finite element software Abaqus/Explicit in order to provide numerical responses. A numerical algorithm has been proposed for the implementation of user defined elastoplastic constitutive laws in Abaqus/Explicit.

<p>This Master’s thesis is summery of a comparative study of 2 commercial CAD-integrated</p><p>FE-programs. These FE-programs were CATIA v5 and ABAQUS 6.3-7. The primary</p><p>objective of this study is to investigate the basic FEA capabilities of CATIA and</p><p>ABAQUS 6.7-3 in performing the linear static analysis and to identify whether there are</p><p>any differences and similarities between results the both Finite Element FE codes give.</p><p>The overall research question in the present thesis is: Do different FE programs, here</p><p>CATIA and ABAQUS, give the same results for FE analysis giving the same models if</p><p>subjected to the same boundary conditions? This research seeks to achieve its aims</p><p>through making a comparative qualitative study. Certain pre-selections were performed in</p><p>advance of conducting Finite element analysis and the comparison process to ensure that</p><p>results would reflect only the most relevant and meaningful differences and similarities</p><p>between the both FE-codes. Five different 3D solid models have been selected to perform</p><p>linear static Finite element analysis on. All these models (case studies) are created in</p><p>CATIA V5 and the linear static analysis conducted on using FE-codes CATIA v5 and</p><p>ABAQUS 6.7-3. Three static responses (results) of the linear static analysis have been</p><p>adopted as criteria for comparisons purposes. These criteria were: (1) displacements, (2)</p><p>Von Mises stress, and (3) principal stress. The results of comparisons showed that there is</p><p>a very good agreement in most cases and small gap between in a few cases. Results of</p><p>this study demonstrate that the both FE-programs CATIA v5 and ABAQUS 6.7-3 have</p><p>good capabilities to perform FE-analysis and they give very near results. Reason behind</p><p>differences is that each of them uses a different algorithm for solving problems. The final</p><p>answer for the research question is given with valuable recommendations for future work</p><p>in the scope of this research.</p>

In-service inspections of high temperature pressureequipment show that weldments are prone to creep and fatiguedamage. It is not uncommon that severely damaged weldments arefound even before the design life of the component has beenreached. In order to improve this situation action has beentaken during the last decades, both from industry, universitiesand research institutes, aiming at an enhanced understanding ofthe weldment response. The work presented in this thesis focuses on numericalsimulation of weldment creep response. For a more profoundunderstanding of the evolution of creep damage in mismatchedlow alloy weldments, simulations are performed using thecontinuum damage mechanics, CDM, concept. Both design and lifeassessment aspects are addressed. The possibility to assessseam welded pipes using results from tests of cross-weldspecimens taken out from the seam is investigated. It is foundthat the larger the cross-weld specimen the better thecorrelation. The advantage to use the CDM concept prior to aregular creep analysis is also pointed out. In order to developthe CDM analysis, a modified Kachanov-Rabotnov constitutivemodel is implemented into ABAQUS. Using this model, a secondredistribution of stresses is revealed as the tertiary creepstage is reached in the mismatched weldment. Creep crack growth, CCG, in cross-weld compact tension, CT,specimens is investigated numerically where a fracturemechanics concept is developed in two steps. In the first one,the C*value and an averaged constraint parameter areused for characterising the fields in the process zone, whilein the second step, the creep deformation rate perpendicular tothe crack plane and a constraint parameter ahead of the cracktip, are used as characterising parameters. The influence oftype and degree of mismatch, location of starter notch as wellas size of CT specimen, is investigated. Results show that notonly the material properties of the weldment constituentcontaining the crack, but also the deformation properties ofthe adjacent constituents, influence the CCG behaviour.Furthermore, the effect of size is influenced by the mismatchof the weldment constituents. A circumferentially cracked girth weld with differentmismatch is assessed numerically by use of the fracturemechanics concept developed. The results show that type anddegree of mismatch have a great influence on the CCG behaviourand that C*alone cannot characterise crack tip fields.Corresponding R5 assessments are also performed. Comparisonwith the numerical investigation shows that the assumption ofplane stress or plane strain conditions in the R5 analysis isessential for the agreement of the results. Assuming the formerresults in a relatively good agreement for the axial stressdominated cases while for the hoop stress dominated cases, R5predicts higher CCG rates by an order of magnitude. <b>Keywords:</b>ABAQUS, constraint effect, continuum damagemechanics, creep, creep crack growth, design, design code,finite element method, fracture mechanics, life assessment,mismatch, numerical simulation, weldment

Proppants are a specific application of granular materials used in oil/gas well stimulation. Employment of hard and soft particle mixtures is one of the many approaches availed by the industry to improve fracture resistance and the stability of the granular pack in the hydraulic fracture. Current industrial practices of proppant characterization involve long term and expensive conductivity tests. However, the mechanics governing the proppant pack response, in particular the effects due to material, shape and size of particles on the pack porosity, stiffness and particle fragmentation are not understood clearly. The present research embodies analytical and experimental approach to model hard (ceramic) and soft (walnut shell and/or pure aluminum) proppant mixtures by taking into account polydispersity in size, shape and material type of individual particles. The hydraulic fracture condition is represented through confined compression and flowback loads. The particle interactions clearly illustrate changes in pore space as a function of pressure, mixture composition and friction. Single particle compression tests on individual particles are carried out to obtain mechanical properties which are incorporated into the finite element models and are further correlated with the compression/crush response of the mixture. The proppant pack stiffness and particle fragmentation depends strongly on the mixture composition as illustrated in the models and experiments. The flowback models demonstrated that the formation of a stable arch is essential to pack stability. Additional variables that enhance flowback resistance are identified as: addition of softer particles to a pack, softer rock surfaces and higher inter-particle friction. The computational studies also led to the discovery of better, and more efficient pack compositions such as - short and thin pure Al needles/ceramic and the pistachio shells/ceramic mixtures. These analytical results have generated great interest and are engaged in the design of experiments to formulate future proppant pack mixtures at Baker Hughes Pressure Pumping, Tomball, TX.