The mechanical reliability of electronic components has become harder and harder to predict due to the use of composite materials. One of the key issues is creating an accurate model of the delamination mechanism, which consists in the separation of two different bounded materials. This phenomenon is a very challenging issue that is investigated in the Nano Interface Project (NIP), in which this thesis is involved. The macroscopic adhesion force is governed by several parameters described at different length scales. Among these parameters, the roughness profile of the interface has a pronounced influence. The main difficulty for an accurate delamination characterization is then investigating the effects of this roughness profile and the modifications it implies for the overall cohesion. The objective of the NIP is to develop an interface model for the numerical testing of electronic components in a finite element software. The problem is that a direct modeling of all the mechanisms described previously is really expensive in term of computation time, if possible at all. This difficulty is increased by the huge mismatch of the mechanical properties of the materials in contact. A scale transition method is therefore required, which is provided by homogenization. The idea is to consider the delamination at a wider scale. Rather than modeling the whole roughness profile, the adhesion at the interface will be described by homogenized, or macroscopic, parameters extracted from a representative model at the micro-scale, the RVE. This thesis will deal with the determination of these homogenized parameters.

Joints provide a path for transfer of load and are important components in an assembly of structures, particularly in translating joint strength improvements directly to significant cost savings. This cost savings is more evident in composite joints since manufacturing of more complex single piece components results in a reduction of both part count and labor. An improvement in joint strength for co-cured composite joints through minimized free-edge delamination was investigated for quasi-isotropic [0/±45/90]s lay-up based on the quantitative assessments of the quasi-static and fatigue strength and qualitative understanding of the fatigue damage initiation and propagation for the [0/±θ/90]s family of co-cured composite joints. A previously proposed co-cured joint concept, the Single Nested Overlap (SNO) joint, was compared against a Straight Laminate (SL) and a single lap joint. The SL represents a "perfect" joint and serves as an upper bound whereas the single lap joint represents the simplest generic joint and is the base design for the SNO joint concept. Three categorized failure types, which represented predominant failure modes in the SL, single lap and SNO joints, along with two different fatigue strength indicators were used for quasi-static and fatigue strength comparison. With fatigue run-out defined at 1 x 106 cycles, the fatigue damage initiation and propagation at high loadings was monitored with an Infrared Thermoelastic Stress Analysis (IR-TSA) technique, while a damage type comparison was used at low loadings. Quasi-static Acoustic Emission (AE) counts were observed to be Fatigue Limit (FL) predictors for [0/±θ/90]s SL and SNO joints. The validity of these FL predictors were also assessed in the damage type comparison.

Thin material layers have found various applications with various roles of functions, such as in fibre reinforced laminated composite materials, in integrated electronic circuits, in thermal barrier coating material system, and etc. Interface delamination is a major failure mode due to either residual stress or applied load, or both. Over the past several decades, extensive research works have been done on this subject; however, there are still uncertainties and unsolved problems. This thesis presents the new developed analytical studies on local delamination failure of thin material layers. Firstly, the analytical theories are developed for post-local buckling-driven delamination in bilayer composite beams. The total energy release rate (ERR) is obtained more accurately by including the axial strain energy contribution from the intact part of the beam and by developing a more accurate expression for the post-buckling mode shape. The total ERR is partitioned by using partition theories based on the Euler beam, Timoshenko beam and 2D-elasticity theories. By comparing with independent test results, it has been found that for macroscopic thin material layers the analytical partitions based on the Euler beam theory predicts the propagation behaviour very well and much better than the others. Secondly, a hypothesis is made that delamination can be driven by pockets of energy concentration (PECs) in the form of pockets of tensile stress and shear stress on and around the interface between a microscopic thin film and a thick substrate. Both straight-edged and circular-edged spallation are considered. The three mechanical models are established using mixed-mode partition theories based on classical plate theory, first-order shear-deformable plate theory and full 2D elasticity theory. Experimental results show that all three of the models predict the initiation of unstable growth and the size of spallation very well; however, only the 2D elasticity-based model predicts final kinking off well. Based on PECs theory, the room temperature spallation of α-alumina oxidation film is explained very well. This solved the problem which can not be explained by conventional buckling theory. Finally, the analytical models are also developed to predict the adhesion energy between multilayer graphene membranes and thick substrates. Experimental results show that the model based on 2D elasticity partition theory gives excellent predictions. It has been found that the sliding effect in multilayered graphene membranes leads to a decrease in adhesion toughness measurements when using the circular blister test.

Die Delamination beschreibt einen glaskorrosiven Angriff, bei welchem dünne, plättchenförmige Partikel im angreifenden Medium vorhanden sind. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist die Analyse der zu Grunde liegenden Reaktionsmechanismen. Nahezu jedes der untersuchten silikatischen Glassysteme zeigt Delamination. Notwendige Bedingungen sind das Vorhandensein von Magnesiumionen sowie eine ausreichende Auflösung des Glasnetzwerkes zur Bereitstellung der Reaktionspartner. Es kommt zur Bildung einer magnesiumreichen Schicht auf der Glasoberfläche, welche sich ablöst. Die Delaminationsprodukte sind teilweise kristallin. Als Hauptphase wird das Magnesiumsilikat-Hydrat Talk nachgewiesen. Es wirken weitere Elemente delaminationsfördernd, darunter die Erdalkalimetalle höherer Ordnungszahl, außerdem Eisen und Mangan sowie Lithium. Eine hemmende Wirkung besitzen die Elemente der dritten Haupt- und Nebengruppe des Periodensystems, insbesondere Bor, Aluminium und Yttrium sowie Beryllium. Die Delamination ist nur einer von zahlreichen Teilschritten der Glaskorrosion mit Phasenneubildung.

The in-plane properties of paperboard have always been of interest to paper scientists. Tensile properties are crucial when the board is fed through converting machines at high speeds. Compressive properties are essential in the later use. Inhomogeneities affect both the compressive and tensile properties. For the tensile properties, it is the inherent heterogeneity of the paperboard that might cause problems for the board-maker. Varying material properties, through the thickness of the paperboard, are on the other hand used to achieve high bending stiffness with low fiber usage. It is of interest to know how this practice affects the local compressive properties. Papers A and B aims to address this, while C, D and E focus on in-plane heterogeneities. Paper A investigates the mechanism that causes failure in the short span compression test (SCT). It was concluded that the main mechanism for failure in SCT is delamination due to shear damage. In paper B the effect of the through-thickness profiles on the local compression strength was examined. It was concluded that the local compression is governed by in-plane stiffness and through thickness delamination. The latter was in turn dependent on the local shear strength and in-plane stiffness gradients. In paper C the tensile test is investigated with focus on sample size and strain distributions. The strain behavior was dependent on the length to width ratio of the sample and was caused by activation of local zones with high strainability. Paper D focuses on the strain zones seen in C. The thermal response in paper was studied. It was observed that an inhomogeneous deformation pattern arose in the paper samples during tensile testing. It was concluded that the heat patterns observed coincided with the deformation patterns. It could be shown that the formation was the cause of the inhomogeneous deformation. In final paper, E, the virtual field method was applied on data from C. / Egenskaperna hos ett kartongark kan grovt delas upp i två kategorier: i-planet egenskaper och ut-ur-planet egenskaper. I-planet egenskaperna har länge varit ett område som pappersmekanister och andra pappersforskare visat intresse för. Anledningen till detta är att de är avgörande för hur väl det går att konvertera kartongen till färdiga förpackningar, samt hur väl de förpackningarna klarar sin uppgift. Dragegenskaperna prövas när kartongen dras genom tryck- och konverteringsmaskiner i hög hastighet. Tryckegenskaperna spelar stor roll för hur väl en förpackning klarar att staplas och hålla sitt innehåll intakt. Inhomogeniteter påverkar både drag och tryckegenskaper. Papprets naturliga variation påverkar dragegenskaperna hos kartongen och kan orsaka problem för kartongmakarna. Särskilt när utvecklingen går mot mer avancerade kartong utseenden. Å andra sidan så använder sig kartongmakare flitigt av egenskapsvariationer genom tjockleken på kartongen, när dom vill åstadkomma böjstyva kartonger utan att slösa med fibrer. I detta fall är det intressant att veta hur de lokala kompressionsegenskaperna påverkas av kartongens ut-ur-planet profil. Det första två uppsatserna i denna avhandling, A och B, handlar om just detta. Uppsatserna C, D och E avhandlar hur i-planet variationer påverkar kartongens egenskaper. I Artikel A undersöks vilka skademekanismer som aktiveras under ett kortspannskompressionstest (SCT). Tre flerskiktskartonger undersöktes. De hade valts så att de hade distinkt olika skjuvstyrkeprofiler. Kartongerna karakteriserades och datan användes som materialdata i en finit element modell av SCT-testet. Modellen bestod av skikt, betraktade som kontinuum, mellan vilka det fanns kohesiva ytor. Huvudmekanismen i SCT var att kartongen delaminerade på grund av skjuvskador. Den andra uppsatsen, Artikel B, var en fortsättning på den första. Denna gång undersöktes fem flerskiktskartonger framtagna så att de hade olika skjuvstyrka beroende på positionen i tjockleksled. Det konstaterades att kompressionsegenskaperna lokalt styrs av skjuvstyrkeprofilen och styvhetsgradienter. Vidare konstaterades det att mekanismerna innan kartongen delaminerar är, i huvudsak, elastiska. Den tredje artikeln, Artikel C, fokuserade på hur dragprov på kartong påverkas av provstorleken och töjningsvariationen. Tre olika flerskiktskartonger användes som provmaterial och provbitar med olika storlek analyserades. Förutom dragprov så användes digital image correlation (DIC) för analysen. Det visade sig att den globala töjbarheten varierade med storleken på provet beroende på kvoten mellan längd och bredd. DIC visade att detta i sin tur berodde på att zoner med hög töjbarhet aktiverades i provet. Dessa zoner hade samma storlek oberoende av provstorlek och påverkade därför den totala töjbarheten olika mycket. Artikel D undersöker töjningszonerna som sågs i Artikel C samt hur de påverkas av kreppning. Vidare undersöktes pappersproverna med hjälp av termografi. Termografin visade att varma zoner uppstod i proven när det töjdes. Zonerna blev synliga när provet töjdes plastiskt. Termografi kördes parallellt med DIC på några prover. Det visade sig att de varma zonerna överenstämde med zoner med hög lokal töjning. Vidare kunde det visas att dessa zoner övenstämde med papperets mikrostruktur, formationen. En finit element analys av hur papper med olika formation töjs gjordes. Delar av provningen gjordes på kreppade papper som har högre töjbarhet. Det visades sig att någon form av skada hade överlagrats på papprets mikrostruktur under kreppningen, och att den deformationen återtogs när pappret töjdes. I den sista artikeln, Artikel E, behandlas hur VFM (Virtual Field Method) kan användas på DIC-data från kartong. DIC-datan som användes hämtades från Artikel C. Detta gjordes för att visa på hur olika VFM-formuleringar kan användas för att karakterisera styvhetsvariationen hos kartong. Provet delades upp i tre subregioner baserat på den axiella töjningsgraden. VFM-analysen visade att dessa subregioners styvhet och tvärkontraktionstal sjönk monotont, men att skillnaden mellan regionerna ökade med ökande spänning. även om endast ett prov undersöktes, så indikerade resultaten att områden med hög styvhet endast förbättrar de mekaniska egenskaperna marginellt. Analysen visade också att även om subregionerna inte är sammanhängande, så har dom liknande mekaniska egenskaper. / <p>QC 20160429</p>

This thesis investigates the application of ultra-high modulus carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) plates to strengthen damaged reinforced concrete beams and slender columns. In the first phase, two different pre-repair loading histories were simulated in seven 3000x300x150 mm reinforced concrete beams, namely cracking within the elastic range, and overloading in the plastic range. After unloading, the beams were repaired with either high- or ultra-high modulus (210 or 400 GPa) CFRP plates, or a hybrid system, and then reloaded to failure. It was shown that the level of pre-existing damage has an insignificant effect on the strengthening effectiveness and the failure mode at ultimate. The 210 and 400 GPa CFRP of reinforcement ratio ρf = 0.17% increased the ultimate strength by up to 29 and 51%, respectively, despite the 40% lower tensile strength of the 400 GPa CFRP, due to the change in failure mode from debonding to rupture. Doubling ρf of the 400 GPa CFRP to 0.34% resulted in a 63% overall gain in flexural strength, only 8% increase in ultimate strength over ρf = 0.17%, due to change in failure mode from rupture to concrete cover delamination. The beam retrofitted by hybrid CFRP showed remarkable pseudo ductility and warning signs before failure. However, a parametric study revealed a critical balance in proportioning the areas of hybrid CFRP to achieve reliable pseudo ductility. In the beam with ρf =0.34%, this was achieved using a maximum of 30% ρf of the 400 GPa CFRP. The second phase of this thesis presents an analytical model developed by modifying the provisions of the ACI 318-08 code and employing the computer software Response 2000, to predict the performance of CFRP strengthened slender reinforced concrete columns. Response 2000 is used to establish the interaction curve while the modified ACI 318-08 code is used to acquire the slender column loading path to failure including the second order effects. The model predicts that the effectiveness of the FRP strengthening system increases as the slenderness ratio and FRP reinforcement ratio increase. / Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2013-09-24 12:36:48.352

Sandwich panels using fibre-reinforced composite skins and low-density cores are being increasingly used in the aerospace industry due to their superior specific strength and stiffness, and increased design flexibility over traditional metallic and composite structures. However, it is well-known that sandwich panels are highly vulnerable to the effects of impact damage, with even low-energy impacts potentially causing very severe reductions in the in-plane compressive strength of these structures. The objective of this project was to produce a faithful and reliable numerical model for the simulation of the compression-after-impact strength of composite sandwich panels. An in-depth literature review revealed that delamination within the skins of a sandwich panel is a damage mechanism that has gone almost entirely neglected in previous efforts at modelling this problem, despite the proven significance of this mechanism in the failure of impact damaged sandwich panels in compression. Consequently, the use of the cohesive zone model for delamination initiation and propagation is the key unique feature of this model, with Hashin s criteria being used for intra-laminar damage formation, and a simple plasticity response capturing core crushing. An experimental study is performed to produce a thorough dataset for model validation, featuring differing levels of damage induced via quasi-static indentation, and novel asymmetric panels with skins of unequal thickness (the thinner skin being on the unimpacted side). The experimental study revealed that the use of a thinner distal (undamaged) skin could improve the strength of mildly damaged sandwich panels over undamaged sandwich panels using the same asymmetric configuration. It is believed that this effect is due to the movement of the neutral plane of the sandwich panel caused by the reduction in the stability of the damaged skin through stiffness reduction and geometric imperfections. This removes the eccentricity of the compressive loading that exists in the undamaged asymmetric panels, which has mismatched axial stiffness between the indented skin and the thinner distal skin, and thus a noticeably lower ultimate strength than the undamaged symmetric panels. The sandwich model is developed using pre-existing experimental and material data, and trialled for a variety of different skin lay-ups, core thicknesses and indenter sizes. The numerical model generally agreed well with the ultimate stress found in the experiments for these different configurations, but is quite poor at estimating the magnitude of the damage induced by the indentation. When used to model the experimental study, the model gave generally good, conservative estimates for the residual compressive strength of both the symmetric and asymmetric panels. The tendency of the asymmetric panels to become stronger with mild damage was not captured by the model per se, with the numerical results instead showing an insensitivity to damage in the asymmetric panels, which was not shared by the symmetric panels. However, the numerical model did exhibit erroneous strain-stress responses for both panel configurations, particularly for the undamaged and mildly damaged cases. Investigations revealed that this erroneous behaviour was caused by inconsistency in the material data, which had been collected partially via experimentation and partly from literature sources. Overall, the model developed here represents a promising advancement over previous efforts, but further development is required to provide accurate damage states.

Tissue engineering scaffolds come in many shapes and sizes, however, due to difficulty manufacturing the microstructure architecture required in tissue engineering, most scaffolds are architecturally non-dynamic in nature. Because the microstructural architecture of all biological tissues is inherently complicated, non-dynamic tissue engineering scaffolds tend to be a poor platform for tissue regeneration. The current method for manufacturing dynamic tissue engineering scaffolds involves electrospinning successive layers of different fibers, an approach that exhibits no fiber transition between layers and subsequent delamination problems. In this study we aim to address the design challenges of tissue engineering scaffolds through our novel integrated fiber electrospinning technique. Developed in our lab, this electrospinning technique makes it possible to manufacture complex electrospun scaffolds tailorable to specific tissue engineering needs while minimizing delamination tendencies. Our goal is to enhance the capabilities of the tissue engineering field by increasing the manufacturable scaffold complexity and overall structural integrity of electrospun scaffolds.

The proposed research is essentially concerned on numerical simulation of materials and structures commonly used in the aerospace industry. The work is primarily focused on the study of the fracture mechanics with emphasis to composite materials, which are widely employed in the aerospace and automotive industry. Since human lives are involved, it is highly important to know how such structures react in case of failure and, possibly, how to prevent them with an adequate design. It has become of primary importance to simulate the material response in composite, especially considering that even a crack, which could be invisible from the outside, can propagate throughout the structure with small external loads and lead to unrecoverable fracture of the structure. In addition, structures made in composite often present a complex behaviour, due to their unconventional elastic properties. A numerical simulation is then a starting point of an innovative and safe design. Conventional techniques (nite elements for example) are not su-cient or simply not ecient in providing a satisfactory description of these phenomena. In fact, being based on the continuum assumption, mesh-based techniques suer of a native incapacity of simulating discontinuities. Novel numerical methods, known as Meshless Methods or Meshfree Methods (MM) and, in a wider perspective, Partition of Unity Methods (PUM), promise to overcome all the disadvantages of the traditional finite element techniques. The absence of a mesh makes MM very attractive for those problems involving large deformations, moving boundaries and crack propagation. However, MM still have signicant limitations that prevent their acceptance among researchers and engineers. Because of the infancy of these methods, more efforts should be made in order to improve their performances, with particular attention to the computational time. In summary, the proposed research will look at the attractive possibilities offered by these methods for the study of failure in composite materials and the subsequent propagation of cracks.

Les fils d’acier perlitiques tréfilés ont une limite à rupture en traction qui peut dépasser 4000 MPa. Ils sont ensuite assemblés sous forme de câble, avec des contraintes de traction – torsion – flexion, où les plus résistants peuvent présenter un manque de ductilité.La première partie de ce travail permet d’identifier que la torsion est la sollicitation mécanique la plus critique, et la délamination le mode de rupture associé. Le mécanisme de rupture par délamination en torsion est ensuite étudié, à partir de la compréhension de l’influence du tréfilage sur les contraintes résiduelles, les défauts et fissures en surface, le type de microstructure et les textures. Cette approche démontre l’existence d’une taille de défauts et d’une contrainte critiques pour l’apparition de fissures de délamination. Les phénomènes de déformation et de rupture sont finalement décrits à l’échelle de la microstructure. Trois étapes sont nécessaires à la délamination : la localisation de la déformation et une fissuration longitudinale, la propagation d’une fissure instable dans la section, et la propagation longitudinale de la fissure. Si la première étape est associée aux imbrications des microstructures en « ciels de Van Gogh » et à l’anisotropie de structure, la seconde étape est plus directement liée aux niveaux de contraintes dans les zones de localisation en cisaillement et à la taille des défauts propagés. La dernière étape résulte des contraintes de cisaillement en jeu et de l’anisotropie microstructurale.En conclusion, la mise en évidence des étapes d’amorçage et de propagation des fissures permet de prouver l’impact du champ de contraintes résiduelles et de la taille des défauts sur la délamination en torsion des fils perlitiques tréfilés, et d’identifier le rôle essentiel de la microstructure à l’échelle locale. Une des perspectives serait alors la recherche de microstructures moins sensibles à la localisation de la déformation, ainsi que la propagation de fissures. / Drawn pearlitic steel wires have a remarkable tensile strength, which can reach 4000 MPa. After drawing, however, wires have to pass through the cabling step where they undergo traction – torsion – bending solicitations. Under such loading conditions the wires that are the most effective in tension tend to lack ductility.First, torsion was identified as the most critical solicitation, and delamination as the associated rupture mode. Then, the formation of delamination cracks in torsion was examined, as well as the impact of some drawing parameters on properties influencing the formation of cracks, such as residual stresses, defects and cracks on the wire surface, microstructure type and textures. Conclusions were drawn on the existence of a critical defect size and residual stress level for the propagation of a delamination crack transverse to the wire section. A study at the microscopic scale showed three successive steps to be needed for a delamination crack to propagate: shear localization accompanied with longitudinal cracking, unsteady crack propagation across the wire’s cross-section and longitudinal crack propagation. A curled microstructure, also named “Van Gogh skies”, in addition to structural anisotropy make shear deformation in the wire section difficult, and thus favor localization. The stability of the crack across the section is most influenced by macroscopic mechanical parameters such as stress level in localization’s zones and size of propagated cracks. The last longitudinal propagation step is more related to the torsional shear stress and to the microstructural anisotropy.In conclusion, a phenomenology for delamination of high strength pearlitic steel wires was outlined. It allows one to demonstrate the impact of the residual stress field and of the crack size in addition to identifying the influence of the microstructure. An interesting future perspective of this study could be the investigation of microstructures less sensitive to shear localization and to crack propagation.