Arbetet har genomförts i samarbete med Malmö Gatukontor med målet att samla in information om fiberförstärkta plastkompositer (fiber-reinforced polymer; FRP). FRP-kompositer kan vara ett intressant alternativ till konventionella byggnadsmaterial på grund av sina goda materialegenskaper. FRP har inte använts i gångbroar i Sverige tidigare och materialet är därför relativt okänt för byggbranschen. Studiens syfte var att undersöka och dokumentera beständigheten för FRP-gångbroar som påverkas av den omgivande miljön. Arbetet har genomförts som en litteraturstudie. Huvuddelen av studien fokuserade på att utvärdera olika nedbrytningsprocesser för att kunna bedöma potentiella svagheter hos FRP kompositer i gångbroar. Kopplingspunkter mellan olika delar i FRP broar har också studerats och dess inverkan på den totala beständigheten av konstruktionen har evaluerats. Studien ger en överblick av hur beständighetsparametrar för FRP-kompositer påverkas av olika typer av nedbrytning. Från denna överblick värderades nedbrytning genom fuktabsorption, höga och/eller cykliska temperaturer och UV-strålning som de faktorer som mest påverkar materialegenskaperna för FRP-kompositer. Studien konstaterar även att effekten av samverkan mellan olika nedbrytningsprocesser måste beaktas då materialet utsätts för flera olika angrepp i naturliga miljöer. Denna synergi gör att det är svårt att värdera effekten av varje enskilt angrepp. På grund av brist på information kunde inte kopplingspunkterna mellan komponenter i överbyggnadskonstruktionen i gångbroar fullständigt utvärderas, med avseende på dess påverkan på den totala beständigheten. Studien kunde dock konstatera att kopplingspunkter bör undvikas om det är möjligt, då vibrationer, utmattning och termisk expansion kan orsaka högre spänningsnivåer i kopplingspunkterna. Resultaten från studien syftar till att ge vägledande information vid projektering av gångbroar med FRP-kompositer. / This bachelor thesis was written in cooperation with Malmö Streets and Parks Department to collect information on fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. In today’s building industry, FRP composites provide an interesting alternative to conventional building materials because of their superior material properties. FRPs are suggested to be a sustainable solution meeting the future requirements in infrastructure and especially bridge design. The use of FRP composites in pedestrian bridge applications have not previously been utilized in Sweden and thus the material is relatively unknown to the building industry. The aim of this study was primarily to examine the performance in terms of durability of FRP pedestrian bridges subjected to the effects of the surrounding environment by conducting a literature review. The main part of this study was to evaluate different types of degradation to assess the potential weaknesses of FRP composites during in-service use in pedestrian bridges. The connections between the different members and components in FRP bridges were also studied and their impact on the overall durability of the construction was evaluated. The results from this study provided an overview of the durability characteristics of FRP composites subjected to different types of degradation. From this overview it was concluded that degradation by moisture absorption, high and/or cyclic temperature, and UV-radiation had the most significant impact on the material properties in FRP composites. This study also concludes that the effects of synergism between the different types of degradation need to be considered since FRP composites are subjected to many types of degradations in natural environments. Because of the effects of synergism, the individual effects of the different types of degradations can be difficult to evaluate. Due to lack of information, the impact on overall durability in pedestrian bridges from the connections between components in the superstructure could not be fully evaluated. However, it was found that connections should be avoided if possible due to vibrations, fatigue, and thermal expansions that may cause higher stress levels in the connection points. The results of this study aims to provide guidance when designing FRP composite pedestrian bridges.

Corrosion is a major challenge in the use of molten fluoride salt as a coolant in molten salt reactors (MSRs). A promising way of satisfying the two requirements of high strength and corrosion resistance is to clad structural alloys with a corrosion resistant material. Four candidate cladding and structural alloy combinations—stainless steel 316L and Incoloy 800H structural alloys either diffusion bonded to Hastelloy N or electroplated with nickel—were thermally aged at 700 °C for two to eight months. Based on measured concentration profles, the diffusion resistance of the four material combinations was compared and diffusion results were extrapolated to an end of reactor lifetime. The most important conclusion from this work is that Hastelloy N is highly likely to be signifcantly more diffusion resistant than nickel. The difference in diffusion resistance between Incoloy 800H and stainless steel 316L is relatively small. Two methods were used for extrapolating experimental diffusion results: (1) a diffusion model and calculated diffusion coeffcients and (2) simulations with Thermo-Calc DICTRA. Some simulations were carried out with a corrosion boundary condition of near-zero chromium concentration, demonstrating the potential of simulations for predicting diffusionlimited corrosion in molten fluoride salts. A surprising result of these simulations is that decreasing the thickness of Ni plating did not increase the thickness of diffusion zones in underlying structural alloys. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

A large proportion of the food that is consumed daily is bought ready-madeand is served on some sort of disposable container. ConServ AB developsand produces sustainable food packaging made from Areca palm leaves.The company wonders how durable the product is so that they can further investigate on their own what form the product should have for thebest durability. They also wonder how durable the product is during usage.The aim is to conduct a pilot study to investigate and identify trends regarding the material’s durability and mechanical behaviour during and as aresult of simulated useage. The goal is to use tensile tests and photograhicmethods to produce a basis with data on the material’s behaviour for ConServ.In order to be able to evaluate the durability and behavior of the product,a systematic study has been carried out where tensile tests were performedon test pieces exposed to a food simulant in the form of water or vinegarsolution. The test pieces were exposed for 0, 1, 6, 24 or 48 hours and testswere performed immediately after exposure.Experimental data show that the durability of the product depends to alarge extent on the fiber direction, where the test pieces taken perpendicularto the fiber direction performed worse in the tensile test. The mechanicalbehavior of the material is affected by the time it is exposed to liquid andbecomes more ductile with time.

Modern durability and damage tolerance predictions for composite material systems rely on accurate estimates of the local stress and material states for each of the constituents, as well as the manner in which the constituents interact. In this work, an number of approaches to estimating the stress states and interactions are developed. First, an elasticity solution is presented for the problem of a penny-shaped crack in an N-phase composite material system opened by a prescribed normal pressure. The stress state around such a crack is then used to estimate the stress concentrations due to adjacent fiber fractures in a composite materials. The resulting stress concentrations are then used to estimate the tensile strength of the composite. The predicted results are compared with experimental values. In addition, a cumulative damage model for fatigue is presented. Modifications to the model are made to include the effects of variable amplitude loading. These modifications are based upon the use of remaining strength as a damage metric and the definition of an equivalent generalized time. The model is initially validated using results from the literature. Also, experimental data from APC-2 laminates and IM7/K3B laminates are used in the model. The use of such data for notched laminates requires the use of an effective hole size, which is calculated based upon strain distribution measurements. Measured remaining strengths after fatigue loading are compared with the predicted values for specimens fatigued at room temperature and 350°F (177°C). / Ph. D.

Structural adhesive bonding offers several advantages over other types of joining. These include improved stress distribution and increased design flexibility. Adhesive bonding is important in aerospace, automotive, and packaging applications. However, the full potential of the technology has not been exploited because the understanding of the basic mechanisms of adhesion and adhesion failure is incomplete. This investigation elucidates the chemical and mechanical mechanisms responsible for durable adhesion of epoxy resins to phosphorus oxo acid treated aluminum alloys. By systematically altering the adherend surface chemistry, surface topography, and adhesive formulation, combined with accelerated testing, the chemical and mechanical factors that influence the properties of adhesively bonded aluminum are isolated and assessed. It is postulated that a combination of two factors determines the strength and environmental durability of epoxy-bonded aluminum. One is the formation of hydrolytically stable, primary bonds between the adhesive and the adherend, and the second is the hydrolytic stability of the surface oxide, which is always present on the surface of aluminum and aluminum alloys. These conditions can best be met by chemical pretreatment of the oxide surface, which renders the oxide insoluble and creates, at the same time, functional surface sites. These sites can form chemical bonds with reactive components of the adhesive. Morphological and mechanical alteration of the metal surface oxide through hydroxide formation requires liquid water. Liquid water can only form by capillary condensation in interfacial gaps from molecularly diffusing water. A hydrolytically stable oxide will prevent bond failure due to mechanical weakening of the substrate surface, while a high density of hydrolytically stable surface bonding sites will minimize the occurrence of capillary gaps at the interface, thus decreasing the formation of liquid water. It is shown that highly chemically active, although not inherently stable, oxide surfaces can provide environmentally stable adhesive bonds. Conversely, certain highly stable oxide surfaces with few chemically active sites provide no environmental stability to adhesive joints, regardless of the topography of the surface. / Ph. D.

In this dissertation, novel approaches to PEMFC durability research are summarized. These efforts are significantly different from most other studies on durability in that rather than focusing on chemical degradation, more attention is given to the mechanical aspects of the PEMFC system. The tensile stress-strain behavior of Nafion® 117 (N117) and sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) random copolymer (BPSH35) membranes is explored under ambient conditions, with respect to the effects of initial strain rate, counterion type, molecular weight and the presence of inorganic fillers. A three-dimensional "bundle-cluster" model is proposed to interpret the tensile observations, combining the concepts of elongated polymer aggregates, proton conduction channels as well as states of water. The rationale focuses on the polymer bundle rotation/interphase chain readjustment before yielding and polymer aggregates disentanglement/ reorientation after yielding. In addition, the influence of uniaxial loading on proton conductivity of N117 and BPSH35 membranes is investigated. When the membranes are stretched, their proton conductivities in the straining direction increase compared to the unstretched films, and then relax exponentially with time. The behavior is explained on the basis of the morphological variations of hydrophilic channels, accompanied by the rotation, orientation and disentanglement of the copolymer chains in the hydrophobic domains, as illustrated with the help of our bundle-cluster model. Finally, the long-term aging of hydrogen-air PEMFCs is examined with a cyclic current profile and under constant current conditions. The end-of-period diagnosis is performed for both MEAs at 100h aging intervals, including a series of cell polarization, impedance and electrochemical experiments. The results demonstrate that hydrogen crossover is the most significant result of degradation for the MEA under cyclic aging mode due to the formation of pinholes at approximately 500-600h, and mass transport limitations are the major degradation sources for constant current mode. A phenomenological mathematical model is set up to describe the PEMFC aging process under both cyclic and constant conditions. / Ph. D.

Porous ceramics and porous ceramic composites are emerging functional materials that have found numerous industrial applications, especially in energy conversion processes. They are characterized by random microstructure and high porosity. Examples are ceramic candle filters used in coal-fired power plants, gas-fired infrared burners, anode and cathode materials of solid oxide fuel cells, etc. In this research, both experimental and theoretical work have been conducted to characterize and to model the mechanical behavior and durability of this novel class of functional material. Extensive experiments were performed on a hot gas candle filter material provided by the McDermott Technologies Inc (MTI). Models at micro-/meso-/macro- geometric scales were established to model the porous ceramic material and fiber reinforced porous ceramic material. The effective mechanical properties are of great technical interest in many applications. Based on the average field formalism, a computational micromechanics approach was developed to estimate the effective elastic properties of a highly porous material with random microstructure. A meso-level analytical model based on the energy principles was developed to estimate the global elastic properties of the MTI filament-wound ceramic composite tube. To deal with complex geometry, a finite element scheme was developed for porous material with strong fiber reinforcements. Some of the model-predicted elastic properties were compared with experimental values. The long-term performance of ceramic composite hot gas candle filter materials was discussed. Built upon the stress analysis models, a coupled damage mechanics and finite element approach was presented to assess the durability and to predict the service life of the porous ceramic composite candle filter material. / Ph. D.

The mechanical properties of unaged and aged constituent materials for solid oxide fuel cells were evaluated using microindentation, plate tensile, four-point bend, ball on ring and pressure on ring tests. The Vickers hardness of the anode, interconnect and electrolyte was determined before and after 1000 hours aging at 1000 oC in air. The fracture toughness KIC was found for the electrolyte materials. Finite element analysis (FEA) was validated and used to calculate the stress distribution and peak stress for the biaxial strength test. A Weibull analysis was carried out on the test/FEA-predicted peak stresses, and Weibull strength, modulus and material scale parameters were found for each test methodology. The methodologies were evaluated based on the results of the Weibull analysis and the pressure on ring test is preferred one for brittle thin film fracture strength testing. Half cell SOFCs with composite cathode (Pr0.7Sr0.3)MnO3±Î´ /8YSZ on the 8YSZ electrolyte were aged 1000 hours at 1000 oC in air with/without polarization and investigated using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (B.E.T.) method and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The performance of the half cell SOFCs degraded after aging with/without polarization compared to the initial state, which was ascribed to the decrease of the electrolyte conductivity. The current load was shown to have impact on the performance by slowing down the decreasing rate of the polarization resistance of the SOFCs. After aging, the microstructural properties - pore size and pore volume changed, and growth of grains was found on the (Pr0.7Sr0.3)MnO3 phases, which may have contributed to the decrease of the activation polarization by decreasing the capacitance and increasing the number of active sites. After aging the high frequency EIS arcs/peaks shifted to a lower frequency range, and the low frequency arcs/peaks became unapparent compared to before aging. A 3-D multiphysics finite element model was used to simulate the performance of the half cell SOFC. The effective exchange current density and the effective ionic conductivity of the cathodes showed much influence on the performance of the SOFC. Predicted and observed performance was compared. Suggestions were given for the further experiments on the composite cathode. / Ph. D.

Yes / Considering the continuous development of sustainable development, energy saving, and emission reduction concepts, it is very important to reduce concrete's cement content in order to improve its environmental impact. Using reactive admixture to replace part of the cement in ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) can effectively improve the overall performance of the concrete and reduce carbon dioxide emissions (CO2), which is an important aspect of environmental protection. Here, industrial waste residue (fly ash and slag), sea sand (SS), and manufactured sand (MS) were used to produce UHPC under standard curing condition, to reduce the material cost and make the it more environmentally friendly and sustainable. The effects of water-binder ratio, contents of cementitious materials, types of sands, and content of steel fibers on the mechanical performance of UHPC under standard curing were investigated experimentally. In addition, the effects of various factors on the depth under hydraulic pressure and electric flux of UHPC, mass loss, relative dynamic modulus of elasticity, flexural, and compressive strengths of UHPC specimens after freeze-thaw cycles were conducted to evaluate the impermeability, chloride, and freeze-thaw resistance of various UHPCs produced. The obtained experimental results show that the SS-UHPC and MS-UHPC prepared by standard curing exhibit high strength, excellent impermeability, and chloride resistance. The frost resistant grade of all groups of UHPCs prepared by standard curing are greater than F500 and had excellent freeze-thaw resistance, including those produced with local tap water or artificial seawater. The investigation presented in this paper could contribute to the production of new UHPCs of low cost and environmental-friendly and accelerate the application of UHPC in engineering structures.

Polymeric adhesives play an increasingly critical role in today's engineering designs. When used, adhesively bonded components reduce or eliminate the need for bolted or welded connections. In many cases, this can reduce stress concentrations and weight. With energy dissipating adhesives, noise and vibration reduction are possible, as is the use of unique or complicated designs that could not otherwise be constructed. Adhesive properties however, can vary greatly with time, temperature, and environmental exposure conditions such as moisture. It is therefore critical, to understand the behavior of adhesives over the range of conditions that a bonded component might experience. In this work, the behavior of a urethane-based adhesive was characterized and long-term durability predictions were developed as a result of the data collected. The popular T-peel sample geometry has been used extensively in this study to explore the mechanics of a bonded system and the resulting impact on adhesive durability. The T-peel specimens used, consist of two aluminum sheets or adherends bonded together, with tabs bent back in the shape of a "T" for gripping in a universal load frame. Unlike some other test geometries, T-peel samples are often made with relatively thin adherends that may experience significant plastic deformation during testing. This extraneous energy dissipation greatly complicates the analysis to extract meaningful fracture properties of the adhesive. During testing, the load required to propagate a crack in the adhesive layer is measured at fixed displacement rates. The total system energy can then be partitioned into the energy dissipated within the adhesive (fracture energy), and the energy dissipated through plastic work in bending of the adherends. By performing these tests at different temperatures and rates, the calculated fracture energies span a wide range of possible material behavior. Using the principles of Time Temperature Superposition (TTS), the collected data can be shifted to different times or temperatures. This behavior is well understood in polymer physics, and is made possible with material specific "shift factors". By using the principles of TTS, data collected in in a relatively short experimental window, can be used to accurately predict the behavior of the adhesive in years or even decades. In this work, nearly 200 T-peel samples were tested in four different studies. A preliminary set of unaged specimens was used to develop testing and data analysis methodologies. A second set of unaged samples was tested over a wide range of temperatures and rates, in addition to a third group, subjected to constant moisture and cyclically varying temperature. The final set of specimens, was exposed to 20 separate isothermal aging conditions. The experimental data showed that the 400+ cycles, were insufficient to statistically distinguish these samples from their unaged counterparts. Additionally, samples aged for up to 2000 hours in a dry environment, or 500 hours in a wet environment, showed no reduction in fracture energies in comparison with unaged samples. Specimens aged for more than 500 hours however, were observed to have a significant decrease in fracture energy values. Strong correlations between the thickness of the adhesive layer and estimated fracture energy values were found in this study. As adhesive thickness varied substantially due to manufacturing differences in the specimens tested, new analysis techniques were developed to deal with the variations in adhesive thickness. A MATLAB code based on the ICPeel program, was written to provide a spatial variation of parameters such as adhesive thickness, peel load, and fracture energy. This provided additional insights into the behavior of these T-peel coupons, and prompted the investigation of the Universal Peel Diagram concept. While this diagram was not found to be applicable to the adhesive tested in this study, the analysis indicated that T-peel coupons could be multivalued. That is, a single measured load value does not always describe an adhesive's fracture energy (as is widely believed). Depending on the sample's geometry and material properties, several measured loads could cause debonding. This has potentially far reaching implications on the selection of appropriate T-peel test geometries, as a single measured load is often assumed to correlate to an adhesive's true fracture energy. In this work, both aged and unaged T-peel specimens were tested and the basis of the Universal Peel Diagram investigated. Given sufficient exposure times to moisture, elevated temperatures were found to significantly reduce the amount of energy dissipated in the urethane-based adhesive. Additionally, the Universal Peel Diagram indicated that for some systems, the load required for debond is in fact, multivalued. Therefore, care should be taken when designing a T-peel test configuration to avoid the multivalued regions. / Master of Science / Polymeric adhesives play an increasingly critical role in today's engineering designs. When used, adhesively bonded components reduce or eliminate the need for bolted or welded connections, reducing their weight in the process. With adhesives, noise and vibration reduction are possible, as is the use of unique or complicated designs that could not otherwise be constructed. Adhesive properties, however, can vary greatly with time, temperature, and other environmental exposure conditions such as moisture. It is therefore critical to understand the behavior of adhesives over the range of conditions that a bonded component might experience. In this work, the behavior of a urethane-based adhesive was characterized in order to develop long-term durability predictions. Numerous test methods have been developed to characterize the behavior of adhesively bonded joints. In this work, T-peel specimens were used consisting of two aluminum sheets (the adherends), bonded together with tabs bent back in the shape of a "T" for gripping in a universal load frame. During testing, the load required to propagate a crack in the adhesive layer is measured. An outcome of this measurement and subsequent data analysis is the fracture energy—a measure of the effectiveness of the adhesive in transferring loads. If we perform these tests at different temperatures and loading rates, we can determine fracture energy values which span a wide range of possible material behavior. Using principles from basic polymer physics, the collected data can be shifted to different times or temperatures enabling us to accurately predict the behavior of the adhesive over years or even decades. In this work, nearly 200 T-peel samples were tested in four different studies. A preliminary set of unaged specimens was used to develop testing and data analysis methodologies. Unaged and cyclically (temperature) aged samples were tested over a wide range of temperatures and rates. The fourth set of specimens was subjected to 20 separate isothermal aging conditions and also tested at different temperatures and rates. The experimental data showed that the 400+ temperature cycles were insufficient to damage these samples significantly. Additionally, samples aged for up to 2000 hours in a dry environment, or 500 hours in a wet environment showed no reduction in performance in comparison with unaged samples. Specimens aged for more than 500 hours in a wet environment however, demonstrated a significant decreases in fracture energy values. Strong correlations between the thickness of the adhesive layer and estimated fracture energy values were found in this study, and new analysis techniques were developed to analyze the effect of these thickness variations on the joint performance.