Civil Engineering thin cylindrical shells such as silos and tanks are normally subjected to axial compression that arises from a stored solid, wind, earthquake, self-weight or roof loads. The walls of these shells are very thin, generally of the order of 6 to 25 mm, and massively less than the radius, which is typically 5 to 30 m. They are thus very thin shell structures, like those of rockets, spacecraft, motor vehicles and aircraft. The commonest failure mode is elastic buckling under axial compression. It has long been known that the buckling strength of a thin cylindrical shell under axial compression is very sensitive to tiny deviations of geometry, reducing the buckling strength to perhaps 10 or 20% of the value for the perfect structure. A normal internal pressure usually accompanies the axial compression, caused by stored granular solids or fluids. At relatively low pressures, the elastic buckling strength under axial compression rises, but an elastic-plastic buckling phenomenon intervenes at higher pressures, causing a dramatic decrease in buckling resistance associated with an elephant’s foot collapse mode. To construct such large shells, the fabrication technique is generally the assembly of many rolled plates or panels, joined by short longitudinal welds and continuous circumferential welds. The process of welding produces a distinctive geometric imperfection form at each weld joint, which in turn is extremely detrimental to the shell axial buckling carrying capacity. The strength may be further reduced by slight misalignments between adjacent panels, or in bolted construction, by vertical and horizontal lap splices. Due to the pattern of loading, both the axial compression and internal pressure increase progressively down the wall. Accordingly, practical construction usually uses a stepped wall, formed from panels of uniform thickness, but with larger thicknesses at lower levels. Since the loading varies smoothly, but each panel has constant thickness, the critical location for buckling lies at the base of a panel. But the greater thickness of the lower panel can usefully enhance the buckling strength of the critical panel above it. This thesis presents an extensive computational study that examines all the above influences, divided into chapters that are outlined here. A full exploration of the effect of the cylinder length on the perfect and imperfect elastic buckling strength is presented in Chapter 3. In Chapter 4, the elastic-plastic buckling resistance of imperfect cylinders is described, including strain hardening. These lead to many capacity curves, for which the key parameters are extracted. The effect of internal pressure on the buckling resistance of imperfect elastic cylinders is explored in Chapter 5. Chapter 6 studies the effect of high pressures that produce elastic-plastic elephant’s foot buckling at circumferential welds in imperfect shells. Next, a step change in plate thickness is studied in Chapter 7 for imperfect butt jointed cylinders with and without the internal pressure. Chapter 8 presents an exploration of the effect of plate misalignments at a circumferential joint, as well as the full misalignment of a circumferential lap joint in bolted construction. These are investigated in both the elastic and elastic-plastic domains. The entire thesis is conceived in the context of EN 1993-1-6 (2007) and the ECCS Recommendations on Shell Buckling (2008). This research has shown significant weaknesses in both the concepts and the detailed rules of these standards. Many conditions are found where either the standard is unnecessarily conservative, or its safety margin may be too low. Thus, some new provisions are proposed for each of the above practical problems. These are expected to provide useful knowledge for the design of such structures against buckling in the future.

As claudicações são a principal causa de encaminhamento de equinos aos médicos veterinários e uma das maiores causas de encaminhamento destes animais aos hospitais de referência; sendo as fraturas, especialmente aquelas de ossos longos e articulares, as que têm menor índice de sucesso devido ao prognóstico reservado e alto custo do tratamento; entendendo como sucesso o retorno do animal à função ou manutenção da qualidade de vida. A articulação interfalangeana proximal (AIP) dos equinos é clinicamente importante devido à apresentação frequente de claudicação, com lesões que comprometem a vida esportiva e função do equino. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi comparar biomecanicamente as características de duas técnicas de artrodese da AIP em equinos, utilizando-se placa de compressão dinâmica (DCP) de 4.5mm e três orifícios em combinação com dois parafusos corticais transarticulares de 5.5mm oblíquos inseridos pela técnica de tração (lag screw) e placa em "Y\" de compressão bloqueada (LCP) de 5,0mm e sete orifícios, com parafusos bloquados unicorticais e um parafuso cortical de 4.5mm oblíquo transarticular inserido no orifício central da placa, pela técnica de parafuso de tração. Foram utilizadas doze peças anatômicas de membros anteriores de equinos, das quais foi isolada a porção distal do membro desde a primeira falange até o casco. Uma vez preparadas as peças, cada par foi sorteado randomicamente para cada um dos dois grupos. Os modelos experimentais foram submetidos a ensaios biomecânicos de compressão axial em ciclo único até a sua falha. O tipo de falha ocorrida na placa, nos parafusos ou nos ossos foi avaliado, assim como a força à qual ocorreram estas falhas. Não houve diferença estatística significativa entre os grupos DCP e Y-LCP, nas variáveis rigidez e força máxima, quando submetidas a compressão axial até sua falha. Mesmo não havendo diferença entre as duas técnicas cirúrgicas na variável rigidez, a técnica Y-LCP possibilitou um procedimento menos invasivo e com menor tempo cirúrgico. Conclui-se que, as propriedades biomecânicas das duas técnicas de fixação (DCP e Y-LCP) são semelhantes nas condições testadas. / Lameness is the main cause of sport horses\' owners consulting equine veterinarians and one of the highest cause to send these animals to the reference hospitals. Long bones and joint fractures have the lesser rate of success, consequence of the hight cost of the treatment and poor prognosis. Understanding as success the return of the horse to previous athletic performance or at least to have useful life. The proximal interphalangeal joint (PIPJ) is clinically important because the injuries that involve it may threaten the horses sport life or its usefulness. The objective of this study was to compare the biomechanical properties of two PIPJ arthrodesis techniques using 4.5mm dynamic compression plate (DCP) in conjunction with two oblique abaxial transarticular 5.5mm cortical screws inserted in lag fashion and 5.0mm Y locking compression plate (Y-LCP) with unicortical locking screws and one axial transarticular 4.5mm cortex screw inserted in lag fashion through the midle plate hole. It was used twelve cadaveric adult equine forelimbs from the first phalanx to the foot. After full-limb preparations, each forelimb pair was randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups. Constructs were submited to axial compression single cycle to failure biomechanical testing. The failure of the screws, plate or bone, and the force at wich it happened was evaluated. There were no significant differences in construct stiffness or max force when loaded to failure, between the DCP and Y-LCP treatment groups. Even though there was no construct stiffness diffrences between the two techniques, the Y-LCP technique provided the possibility of a less invasive procedure with a shorter surgical time. In conclusion, the biomechanical properties of both fixation techniques (DCP and Y-LCP) are equivalent under the test conditions used.

Vários implantes cirúrgicos têm sido desenvolvidos para estabilizar fraturas em seres humanos e animais. O fixador esquelético externo circular de Ilizarov é método de fixação amplamente utilizado para tratamento de fraturas complexas, desvios angulares, bem como no alongamento ósseo. O anel destaca-se como componente fundamental desse dispositivo e as cargas de compressão no mesmo plano do anel são devidas principalmente a fios ligados de um lado ao outro do implante. O estudo teve como objetivo comparar a resistência à compressão axial de anéis de Ilizarov e analisar a composição da liga metálica desses anéis. Foram testados dois diâmetros de anéis de três fabricantes nacionais para os ensaios biomecânicos de compressão axial, divididos em dois grupos com quinze corpos de prova. Os testes foram realizados em máquina universal de ensaios Kratos® modelo KE 3.000MP, dotada de célula de carga de 3000N com velocidade de ensaio de 10 milímetros por minuto. Os parâmetros força e deformação foram enviados ao computador IBM®-PC através do sistema de aquisição analógica Lynx® modelo ADS-2000, que permitiu a gravação dos parâmetros para posterior análise. Também avaliou-se a composição elementar dos anéis através do método TTPIXE (partículas induzidas pela emissão de raios X em alvos espessos) em PIXE externo. Os espectros foram acumulados em buffer-multicanal conectado a um micro-computador pessoal tipo IBM-PC®. A redução de espectros de raios-X foi realizada por meio do programa AXIL. Concluiu-se que os anéis para fixador esquelético externo circular são compostos de liga metálica de alumínio e que existe diferença entre os fabricantes nacionais no ensaio mecânico de compressão axial, sendo que o fabricante A é mais rígido que os outros fabricantes para os dois diâmetros (60 e 80 milímetros) de anel e mais resistente que os outros fabricantes para o anel de 80 milímetros. / Various surgical implants have been developed to stabilize fractures in humans and animals. Ilizarov\'s circular external skeletal fixator is a fixation method widely used for the treatment of complex fractures, angular deviation, as well as in bone lengthening. The ring stands out as a fundamental component of the device and compression loads in the same plane of the ring are due mainly to wires connected from one side to another of the implant. The study aimed to compare the resistance to axial compression on Ilizarovs rings and analyze the alloy composition of these rings. Two diameters were tested of three domestic ring manufacturers for biomechanical axial compression, divided into two groups with fifteen specimens each group. The tests were performed in a universal test machine Kratos® model 3.000MP KE, equipped with a 3000N load cell with a test speed of 10 mm per minute. The strength and deformation parameters were sent to the IBM®-PC computer through the Lynx® analog acquisition system model ADS-2000, which allowed the recording of the parameters for further analysis. Also, the rings alloy composition was evaluated using the TTPIXE method (thick-target particle induced X-ray emission) in external PIXE. The spectra were accumulated in a multi-channel buffer connected to an IBM®-PC type personal microcomputer. The reduction of X-ray spectra was performed using the AXIL program. In conclusion the rings was made from aluminum alloy, witch differs in composition among different fabricants, also the rings showed differences performance in mechanical testing of axial compression, and the manufacturer A is more rigid than the other manufacturers for the two diameters (60 and 80 mm) ring and tougher than the other manufacturers to the 80 mm ring.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Civil Engineering / Hayder A. Rasheed / The use of laminated composites in aerospace, automotive, and civil engineering applications is ever growing due to their distinguished properties (High stiffness-to-weight ratio, high strength-to-weight ratio, fatigue and corrosion resistance). This growth has resulted in increasing the demand for better understanding the mechanics of laminated composites. Composite columns and wide plates, like any traditional members subjected to axial compression, undergo stability issues prior to failure. Limited amount of research studies has focused on the buckling of laminated anisotropic composite members. Analytical formula for the buckling load of generally anisotropic laminated composite simply supported thin columns and wide plates is derived using the Rayleigh Ritz approximation and bifurcation approach. The effective axial, coupling and flexural stiffness coefficients of the anisotropic layup is determined from the generalized constitutive relationship using dimensional reduction by static condensation of the 6x6 composite stiffness matrix. The resulting explicit formula is expressed in terms of the generally anisotropic material properties as well as the member geometry. The developed formula may be considered an extension to Euler buckling formula using Rayleigh-Ritz approximation and the first of its kind since Euler. This formula reduces down to Euler buckling formula once the effective coupling stiffness term vanishes for isotropic and certain classes of laminated composites. The analytical results are verified against finite element Eigen value solutions for a wide range of anisotropic laminated layups yielding high accuracy. Comparisons with experiments; conducted at Kansas State University for the simply supported case, are also performed showing good correspondence. A brief parametric study is then conducted to examine the effect of ply orientations and material properties including hybrid carbon/glass fiber composites, element thickness, and element type in FE analysis. Relevance of the numerical and analytical results is discussed for all these cases.

Out-of-Autoclave (OoA) processes for manufacturing aerospace-grade parts needs to be better understood to further the development and success of industries that are manufacturing reusable launch vehicles, military and commercial aircraft, and spacecraft. Overcoming the performance limitations associated with OoA, also known as low-pressure prepreg curing, methods (void count, energy absorption, etc.) will help decrease the costs associated with aerospace composite manufacturing and the negative environmental effects correlated with high-pressure composite curing methods. Experimental, theoretical, and numerical approaches are used to explore both low and high-pressure curing cycles and how the two different processes affect final cured parts. Quasi-static uniaxial compression tests on 33mm diameter tubular specimens concluded that the high-pressure curing methods (up to 90 psi) increased the likelihood of a final part with increased stiffness compared to the lower atmospheric-pressure methods (14.7 psi) on an order of 22%. After further extension and deformation past the linear elastic region, tests concluded that although the autoclaved specimens may have been higher-quality parts, the low-pressure-cured specimens performed more efficiently with respect to energy absorption. Considering the specific energy absorption (SEA) and crush force efficiency (CFE) are both on average around 6% higher for the low-pressure specimens, it is concluded that they can perform similarly to the high-pressure specimens and possibly even more efficiently depending on the loading conditions and desired purpose of the structure.

Yes / Extensive experimental and theoretical studies have been conducted on the compressive strength of concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) columns, but little attention has been paid to their compressive stiffness and deformation capacity. Despite this, strength prediction approaches in existing design codes still have various limitations. A finite element model, which was previously proposed by the authors and verified using a large amount of experimental data, is used in this paper to generate simulation data covering a wide range of parameters for circular and rectangular CFST stub columns under axial compression. Regression analysis is conducted to propose simplified models to predict the compressive strength, the compressive stiffness, and the compressive strain corresponding to the compressive strength (ductility) for the composite columns. Based on the new strength prediction model, the capacity reduction factors for the steel and concrete materials are recalibrated to achieve a target reliability index of 3.04 when considering resistance effect only.

no / This paper investigates the axial compressive behaviour of short concrete-filled elliptical steel columns using the ABAQUS/Standard solver, and a new confined concrete stress-stain model for the concrete-filled elliptical steel hollow section is proposed. The accuracy of the simulation and the concrete stress-strain model was verified experimentally. The stub columns tested consist of 150 × 75 elliptical hollow sections (EHSs) with three different wall thicknesses (4 mm, 5 mm and 6.3 mm) and concrete grades C30, C60 and C100. The compressive behaviour, which includes the ultimate load capacity, load versus end-shortening relationship and failure modes, were obtained from the numerical models and compared against the experimental results, and good agreements were obtained. This indicated that the proposed model could be used to predict the compressive characteristics of short concrete-filled elliptical steel columns.

This paper is an attempt to study the behavior of axially loaded concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) stub columns with special-shaped cross-sections, i.e. triangular, fan-shaped, D-shaped, 1/4 circular and semi-circular. A total of forty-four specimens including CFST stub columns and reference hollow steel tubular stub columns were tested. The effects of the changing steel tube wall thickness and the infill of concrete on the behavior of the composite columns were investigated. The results showed that the tested special-shaped CFST stub columns behaved in a ductile manner, and the composite columns showed an outward local buckling model near the middle section. Generally, the failure modes of these five kinds of special-shaped specimens were similar to those of the square CFST stub columns. Finally, simplified model for predicting the cross-sectional strength of the special-shaped CFST sections was discussed and proposed.

Yes / This paper presents the experimental results of axial compression tests on concrete-filled bimetallic tubes (CFBT). The cross section of the bimetallic tube is composed of an outer layer made of stainless steel and an inner layer made of carbon steel. A total of 12 specimens with a circular cross section were tested under axial compression. The test parameters included the thickness of the stainless steel tube layer (tss=0-1.36 mm) and the compressive strength of the infilled concrete (fcu=21.1-42.8 MPa). Test results showed that, the two layers of the bimetallic tube worked well together, and the CFBT specimens exhibited ductile characteristics. The influence of the parameters on the failure mode, load versus deformation relationship, axial compressive strength, and strain development of the tested specimens were investigated. Finally, the feasibility of three existing design codes for predicting the axial compressive strength of CFST under axial compression was evaluated. / Tsinghua University Initiative Scientific Research Program, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation

Yes / In recent years, a new low nickel content stainless steel (EN 1.4162) commonly referred as ‘lean duplex stainless steel’ has been developed, which has over two times the tensile strength of the more familiar austenitic stainless steel but at approximately half the cost. This paper presents the finite element analysis of concrete filled lean duplex stainless steel columns subjected to concentric axial compression. To predict the performance of this form of concrete filled composite columns, a finite element model was developed and finite element analyses were conducted. The finite element model was validated through comparisons of the results obtained from the experimental study. A parametric study was conducted to examine the effect of various parameters such as section size, wall thickness, infill concrete strength, etc. on the overall behaviour and compressive resistance of this form of composite columns. Through both experimental and numerical studies, the merits of using lean duplex stainless steel hollow sections in concrete filled composite columns were highlighted. In addition, a new formula based on the Eurocode 4 was proposed to predict the cross-section capacity of the concrete filled lean duplex stainless steel composite columns subjected to axial compression.