Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rhode Island, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-134).

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2010. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 176 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 119-125).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 327-337).

Thesis (M.Sc.)(Mechanical Engineering)--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Title from opening screen (viewed March 20, 2006). Includes summary. Includes bibliographical references.

It is well known that the formation and propagation of microcracks within concrete is anisotropic in nature, and has a degrading effect on its mechanical performance. In this thesis an anisotropic damage mechanics model is formulated for concrete which can predict the behavior of the material subjected to monotonic loading, fatigue loading, and freeze-thaw cycles. The constitutive model is formulated using the general framework of the internal variable theory of thermodynamics. Kinetic relations are used to describe the directionality of damage accumulation and the associated softening of mechanical properties. The rate independent model is then extended to cover fatigue loading cycles and freeze-thaw cycles. Two simple softening functions are used to predict the mechanical properties of concrete as the number of cyclic loads as well as freeze-thaw cycles increases. The model is compared with experimental data for fatigue and freeze-thaw performance of plain concrete. / DOT-MPC grant / Department of Civil Engineering, North Dakota State University

A multiscale continuum model for fragmentation in ductile metals was developed, motivated by structure-property relationships obtained from lower length scale and numerical simulations. Fragmentation occurs during high strain rate deformation as the result of widespread internal damage in the form of void or crack nucleation, growth, and coalescence. The connection between internal damage structures and fragmentation was determined through Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations of high rate deformation in copper, iron, and iron-carbon alloys. The fragmentation metric of interest in this study is the fragment size, which is represented in MD simulations by the fragment length scale, or the solid volume per surface area ratio. Three deformation modes of varying stress triaxialities, plane strain tension, equibiaxial expansion, and isotropic expansion, provide a range of damage growth behavior allowing the fragment length scale to be correlated to damage structures under different conditions. Modified Embedded Atom Method (MEAM) potentials for the materials enable the representation of damage (and newly created free surfaces) under the extreme conditions. Continuum, nonhomogeneous percolation simulations establish a criterion for fragmentation based on internal damage structure. The continuum percolation simulations are motivated by void size and shape information taken from experimental fracture surfaces of an aluminum 7085 alloy. The combination of the percolation based fragmentation criterion and MD motivated fragmentation model yields a framework for the multiscale modeling of fragmentation.

Yes / Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) is a material which possesses advanced self-healing properties. Although the self-healing performance of ECC has been revealed in numerous studies, only small-scale, laboratory-size specimens have been used to assess it under fixed laboratory conditions and curing techniques. In order to evaluate the effect of intrinsic self-healing ability of ECC on the properties of structural-size, large-scale reinforced-beam members, specimens with four different shear span to effective depth (a/d) ratios, ranging from 1 to 4, were prepared to evaluate the effects of shear and flexural deformation. To ensure a realistic assessment, beams were cured using wet burlap, similar to on-site curing. Each beam was tested for mechanical properties including load-carrying capacity, deflection capacity, ductility ratio, yield stiffness, energy absorption capacity, and the influence of self-healing, by comparing types of failure and cracking. Self-healed test beams showed higher strength, energy absorption capacity and ductility ratio than damaged test beams. In test beams with an a/d ratio of 4 in which flexural behavior was prominent, self-healing application was highly successful; the strength, energy absorption capacity and ductility ratios of these beams achieved the level of undamaged beams. In addition, flexural cracks healed better, helping recover the properties of beams with predominantly flexural cracks rather than shear cracks. / The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance of the Scientific and Technical Research Council (TUBITAK) of Turkey provided under Project: MAG-112M876 and the Turkish Academy of Sciences, Young Scientist Award program. The second author would also like to acknowledge the financial support of TÜBITAK for the 2219 Scholarship.

With the traditional fracture mechanics approaches, an initial crack and self-similar progression of cracks are assumed. In this treatise, theoretical and numerical tools are developed to mathematically describe non-self-similar progression of cracks without specifying an initial crack. A cohesive-decohesive zone model, similar to the cohesive zone model known in fracture mechanics as Dugdale-Barenblatt model, is adopted to represent the degradation of the material ahead of the crack tip. This model unifies strength-based crack initiation and fracture based crack progression. The cohesive-decohesive zone model is implemented with an interfacial surface material that consists of an upper and lower surface connected by a continuous distribution of normal and tangential nonlinear elastic springs that act to resist either Mode I opening, Mode II sliding, Mode III sliding, or mixed mode. The initiation of fracture is determined by the interfacial strength and the progression of fracture is determined by the critical energy release rate. The material between two adjacent laminae of a laminated composite structure or the material between the adherend and the adhesive is idealized with an interfacial surface material to predict interfacial fracture. The interfacial surface material is positioned within the bulk material to predict discrete cohesive cracks. The proper work-conjugacy relations between the stress and deformation measures are identified for the interfacial surface theory. In the principle of virtual work, the interfacial cohesive-decohesive tractions are conjugate to the displacement jumps across the upper and lower surfaces. A finite deformation kinematics theory is developed for the description of the upper and lower surface such that the deformation measures are invariant with respect to superposed rigid body translation and rotation. Various mechanical softening constitutive laws thermodynamically consistent with damage mechanics are postulated that relate the interfacial tractions to the displacement jump. An exponential function is used for the constitutive law such that it satisfies a multi-axial stress criterion for the onset of delamination, and satisfies a mixed mode fracture criterion for the progression of delamination. A damage parameter is included to prevent the restoration of the previous cohesive state between the interfacial surfaces. In addition, interfacial constitutive laws are developed to describe the contact-friction behavior. Interface elements applicable to two dimensional and three dimensional analyses are formulated for the analyses of contact, friction, and delamination problems. The consistent form of the interface element internal force vector and the tangent stiffness matrix are considered in the formulation. We investigate computational issues related to interfacial interpenetration, mesh sensitivity, the number of integrations points and the integration scheme, mathematical form of the softening constitutive law, and the convergence characteristics of the nonlinear solution procedure when cohesive-decohesive constitutive laws are used. To demonstrate the predictive capability of the interface finite element formulation, steadystate crack growth is simulated for quasi-static loading of various fracture test configurations loaded under Mode I, Mode II, Mode III, and mixed-mode loading. The finite element results are in agreement with the analytical results available in the literature and those developed in this work. A progressive failure methodology is developed and demonstrated to simulate the initiation and material degradation of a laminated panel due to intralaminar and interlaminar failures. Initiation of intralaminar failure can be by a matrix-cracking mode, a fiber-matrix shear mode, and a fiber failure mode. Subsequent material degradation is modeled using damage parameters for each mode to selectively reduce lamina material properties. The interlaminar failure mechanism such as delamination is simulated by positioning interface elements between adjacent sublaminates. The methodology is validated with respect to experimental data available in the literature on the response and failure of quasi-isotropic panels with centrally located circular cutouts. Very good agreement between the progressive failure analysis and the experiments is achieved if the failure analyses includes the interaction of intralaminar and interlaminar failures in the postbuckling response of the panels. In addition, ideas concerning the implementation of a fatigue model incorporated with a cohesive zone model are discussed. / Ph. D.

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Technology: Mechanical Engineering, Durban University of Technology, 2011. / The objective of the present study was to investigate if piezoelectric techniques or sensors can be used in monitoring structural degradation. The study considers experimental results and analytical modelling of a ductile structure under tensile and cyclic loading. Throughout the project the emphasis was placed on the effectiveness of strain measuring sensors. Conventional tensile testing was conducted using a Lloyds testing machine. The testing machine was calibrated to have a lateral movement of 2mm/min (tension force). Rectangular plates were pulled in tension until failure. From that experimental data was produced for a uni-axial loading system. Cyclic testing was carried out using an in-house designed and manufactured fatigue machine. It produced a reciprocating load (force) of 25rad/s on a rectangular plate. Two different sensor measuring instruments (strain gauge and piezoelectric) were used. The strain gauge sensor was attached to a specimen and connected to a Wheatstone bridge. The piezoelectric sensor was attached to the specimen and then linked directly to the capturing system. From these two sensors experimental results were obtained and compared. The mathematical relationships for the rectangular plates were formulated using effective stress-strain behaviour based on the elastic and plastic behaviour of the plates. The analytical and experimental results were compared. Results from this investigation show that piezoelectric sensors can be useful for measuring fatigue failure on a ductile material.