<p>The aim of this study was to understand injury mechanisms behind fractures of the upper extremities in car accidents. Volvo Car Corporation initiated this project based on the fact that no safety system today focuses on preventing injuries to the upper extremity. A literature study was undertaken focusing on the basic anatomy of the upper extremity, different fracture types and fracture mechanisms. Three subsets, from 1998 – January 2009, were selected from Volvo’s statistical accident database: 1) all occupants involved in an accident 2) all occupants with a MAIS2+ injury 3) all occupants with an upper extremity fracture. These subsets were used in a comparison, using frequency analyses. The comparison analysis showed that frontal impact is the dominating accident type for all three subsets. The comparison analysis also indicated that the risk for upper extremity fractures follows the pattern of MAIS2+ injury risk. An in-depth study using 92 selected cases, including 80 occupants, was also performed. All available information, such as medical records, questionnaires completed by the occupants and photographs from the accident scene was collected and analysed. The analysis of the in-depth study, together with knowledge retrieved from the literature study, resulted in six different mechanism groups that were used to categorise fractures. The groups were then analysed individually in regard to accident type and fractured segment of the upper extremity. Analysis of the mechanism groups showed that frontal impact is the dominating accident type in these subsets as well. It could also be seen that the fractures occurring in the in-depth study are quite evenly distributed along the upper extremities. Upper extremity injuries are relatively infrequent in car accidents but may result in long-term disability, including chronic deformity, pain, weakness and loss of motion. More attention is therefore necessary in order to develop a safer environment for car occupants.</p>

The aim of this study was to understand injury mechanisms behind fractures of the upper extremities in car accidents. Volvo Car Corporation initiated this project based on the fact that no safety system today focuses on preventing injuries to the upper extremity. A literature study was undertaken focusing on the basic anatomy of the upper extremity, different fracture types and fracture mechanisms. Three subsets, from 1998 – January 2009, were selected from Volvo’s statistical accident database: 1) all occupants involved in an accident 2) all occupants with a MAIS2+ injury 3) all occupants with an upper extremity fracture. These subsets were used in a comparison, using frequency analyses. The comparison analysis showed that frontal impact is the dominating accident type for all three subsets. The comparison analysis also indicated that the risk for upper extremity fractures follows the pattern of MAIS2+ injury risk. An in-depth study using 92 selected cases, including 80 occupants, was also performed. All available information, such as medical records, questionnaires completed by the occupants and photographs from the accident scene was collected and analysed. The analysis of the in-depth study, together with knowledge retrieved from the literature study, resulted in six different mechanism groups that were used to categorise fractures. The groups were then analysed individually in regard to accident type and fractured segment of the upper extremity. Analysis of the mechanism groups showed that frontal impact is the dominating accident type in these subsets as well. It could also be seen that the fractures occurring in the in-depth study are quite evenly distributed along the upper extremities. Upper extremity injuries are relatively infrequent in car accidents but may result in long-term disability, including chronic deformity, pain, weakness and loss of motion. More attention is therefore necessary in order to develop a safer environment for car occupants.

With the introduction of air bags, occupant safety in frontal car crashes has been improved for upper regions of the body, such as the head and thorax. These improvements, however, have not helped improve the safety for the lower extremities, increasing their percentage of injuries in car crashes. Though lower extremity injuries are usually not life threatening, they can have long lasting physical and psychosocial consequences. An LSDYNA finite element model of the knee-thigh-hip (KTH) of a 50th percentile adult male was developed for exploring the mechanics of injuries to the KTH during frontal crash crashes. The model includes a detailed geometry of the bones, the mass of the soft tissue, and a discrete element representation of the ligaments and muscles of the KTH. The bones were validated using physical tests obtained from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration's (NHTSA) test database. The geometry, the material properties and the failure mechanisms of bone materials were verified. A validation was also performed against a whole-body cadaver test to verify contributions of passive muscle and ligament forces. Failure mechanisms in the tests and simulations were compared to ensure that the model provides a useful tool for exploring fractures and dislocations in the KTH resulting from frontal vehicle crashes. The validated model was then used to investigate injury mechanisms during a frontal car crash at different occupant positions. The role of muscle forces on these fracture mechanisms was explored and simulations of frontal impacts were then reproduced with the KTH complex at different angles of thigh flexion, adduction and abduction. Results show that the failure mechanism of the lower limb can significantly depend on the occupant position prior to impact. Failure mechanisms in the simulations were compared to results found in literature to ensure the model provides a useful tool for predicting fractures in the lower limb resulting from out-of-position frontal vehicle crashes. The FE model replicate injury criteria developed for ligament failure and suggested lowering the actual used axial femur force threshold for KTH injures both in neutral and out-of-position KTH axial impacts.

The use of selective laser melting for AlSi10Mg has been gaining a lot of popularity, but unfortunately, there are a great deal of issues surrounding internal porosity. Hot isostatic pressing (HIP) has been used in many instances alongside a standard T6 treatment to reduce porosity, but that typically involves water quenching. The application for this project is meant for the satellite industry, which has tight dimensional tolerances and as such, water quenching is not adequate. Currently, annealing for a stress relief treatment is the only post- processing measure that does not involve water quenching. This project studied a novel direct HIP approach, whereby an argon quench is used after solution annealing. Three different cooling rates were studied within the DHIP process (DHIP-L=50°C/min, DHIP- M=200°C/min, and DHIP-H=400°C/min) and compared to specimens that were stress relieved (SR). Uniaxial tensile testing revealed that the strength and ductility of DHIP-H outperformed the SR condition. The true stress/strain results showed that all DHIP conditions had a superior true strain and true stress at fracture. All DHIP conditions and SR showed evidence of void growth and coalescence. SR fracture is driven through crack initiation, while the DHIP conditions fracture is driven through localized necking. In-situ tensile tests via scanning electron microscopy coupled with μ-DIC revealed that the DHIP conditions feature damage due to particle fracture, while the SR condition experiences strain localization along the interface of Si particles and the α-Al phase. In-situ tensile testing via XCT studied a comparative analysis between DHIP-M and SR and revealed that DHIP-M experiences more void growth and nucleation than the SR condition. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Orientador: Prof. Dr. Alexandre Jose de Castro Lanfredi / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do ABC, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Nanociências e Materiais Avançados, 2014. / Este trabalho dedica-se ao estudo da influencia das condicoes de deposicao de filmes finos de nitreto de titanio (TiN), observando o comportamento mecanico quando solicitados em um ensaio de tracao. Os filmes foram depositados utilizando a tecnica de deposicao fisica a vapor (PVD) Triodo Magnetron Sputtering (TMS) em substratos de Al. Atraves dos resultados dos ensaios mecanicos, estimou-se o espacamento maximo entre trincas a partir do valor de saturacao das mesmas, para cada condicao de sintese. Duas condicoes principais de sintese para obtencao dos filmes foram a variacao da tensao (bias) de polarizacao em -50, -100 e -150 V no substrato e o tempo de deposicao em 30, 60, 90 e 120 min, obtendo assim diferentes tensoes compressivas e espessura de filmes, respectivamente. Os filmes finos foram obtidos a partir de um alvo de uma liga de Ti6Al4V em atmosfera reagente de gas nitrogenio e foram utilizados substratos de aluminio comercial com 1 e 3 mm de espessura. Tanto os filmes quanto os substratos foram caracterizados pela tecnica do Ensaio de Tracao, Difracao de raios-X, Microscopia otica, Microscopia Eletronica de Varredura e Espectroscopia de Energia Dispersiva. Calculou-se o espacamento de saturacao de trincas utilizando o metodo proposto por Jeong, comparando esse espacamento entre as diferentes condicoes de deposicao e espessura dos filmes. A partir do metodo de sen2¿Õ (SSPP), que utiliza os resultados de difracao de raios-X obtidos em Angulos rasantes fixos (configuracao Seeman-Bohlin), calculou-se a tensao residual do filme apos a sintese com o intuito de estimar a tensao cisalhante interfacial pelo modelo proposto por Chou. Como resultado, os filmes com maior espessura tiveram um espacamento de saturacao das trincas maior quando comparados com os filmes de menor espessura. Os filmes depositados com a tensao de polarizacao negativa menor (-50V) tambem tiveram um espacamento de saturacao maior quando comparados com os filmes depositados com tensao de polarizacao negativa mais elevado (-100 e -150V). Tensoes de polarizacao tendem a gerar altas tensoes residuais compressivas no filme, o que podem levar ao destacamento do mesmo na interface. Tensoes de cisalhamento interfacial tambem estao diretamente relacionadas com tensoes residuais compressivas. Filmes com uma maior espessura podem ter uma menor tensao compressiva, mas ao mesmo tempo correm o risco de sofrerem destacamento do substrato. Assim, a escolha da amostra que obteve a melhor adesao foi aquela que ao mesmo tempo nao destacou e teve um alto valor de ¿É Sat. / This work presents a study of the influence of coating conditions on mechanical properties of titanium nitride (TiN) thin films, under tensile test. The films were deposited using a physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique, the Triode Magnetron Sputtering (TMS), on aluminum substrates. From interrupted mechanical testing results, the maximum inter-crack spacing of the cracked coating was obtained in the saturated situation (ë Sat), for each synthesis conditions applied. Two parameters used on the film deposition were the bias voltage polarization applied to the substrate (in -50, -100 and -150V) and the deposition time (30, 60, 90 and 120 min), leading to different compressive stress and film thickness, respectively. The thin films were obtained from a Ti6Al4V target in Ar and N2 atmosphere and the substrates were made from commercial laminated aluminum sheet with 1 and 3 mm thickness. The substrate and the films deposited were characterized by Tensile Test, x-ray diffraction, Optical Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive Spectrometry. The inter-crack spacing was calculated using the method proposed by Jeong and the results were compared between the several deposition conditions utilized and thickness obtained. From sen2ø (SSPP) method, obtained from x-ray diffraction pattern in grazing configuration (Seeman-Bohlin), the residual stress of the thin films was calculated and used to estimate the interfacial shear strength by the model proposed by Chou. As result, the samples with larger thickness had a saturated inter-crack spacing greater then thinner films. The deposited films using low negative bias voltage (-50V) also had a saturated inter-crack spacing greater when compared with the higher negative bias voltage (-100 and -150V). Higher negative bias voltage applied to the substrate leads to higher compressive residual stress and can induce to the detachment of the film. The interfacial shear stress is directly related with residual compressive stress. Films with higher thickness generally have lower compressive stresses, but with increase in the risk of detachment. Finally, the sample with best adhesion was the one that in same time not presented detachment and had a higher value of ëSat.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-08T17:19:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carlos Opelt.pdf: 7615127 bytes, checksum: 5e43e822ab87a7a0d10b15340d565e38 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-07-05 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Suitable cure processes produces epoxy resins with a large quantity of crosslinks. In this way, it has a brittle behavior. One of the many ways to enhance the fracture toughness of epoxy resins, without prejudice the tension resistance, can be made by the addition of nanoparticles. However, there are still some contradictions in the factors of influence (particle size, dispersion state, adhesion, concentration and aspect ratio). This work attempted to evaluate the phenomena involved in the mode I crack propagation on epoxy matrix nanocomposites. For this, nanocomposites with different type of nanoparticle (&#947;-alumina, multiwalled carbon nanotubes, natural montmorillonite clay and organophilic montmorillonite clay), in three different volumetric concentrations (0.15%, 0.5%, 1.5%) were prepared using the same procedure. Mechanical (ultimate stress, elasticity modulus, ultimate strain and fracture toughness) and thermal properties (cure and glass transition temperature) were analyzed, moreover the mechanisms acting on the enhancement of the rigidity and fracture toughness. The formation of an interconnected network of nanoparticles/agglomerates was observed for the epoxy/alumina nanocomposites, providing enhancements in the elasticity modulus and in the glass transition. Further observations showed a fracture toughness 15% higher than the neat epoxy, where the main mechanism acting is the cavitation and shear yielding. The epoxy/organophilic clay showed no significant changes in the mobility of the polymer chains. This is reflected in the elasticity modulus and glass transition temperature, being the probable cause the existence of micrometric agglomerates observed by TEM. A transition in the acting crack propagation mechanism was observed with a rise in the nanoparticle concentration. While for the epoxy/natural clay, it was noted a enhancement of the elasticity modulus and the glass transition with a rise in the nanoparticles concentration. This behavior is due to a decrease in the mobility of the polymer chains. For the fracture toughness, values 20% higher were observed and the cause was the deflection of the crack propagation front. Finally, the additions of carbon nanotubes provided rises on the elasticity modulus, due to a homogeneous dispersion and an efficient stress transfer. A decrease in the glass transition temperature were also observed, this was attributed to the impediment of the crosslinks caused by the nanotubes. The fractures have demonstrated an interaction between the nanotubes and the matrix, even with the occurrence of pull-out of nanotubes in regions of higher nanotube concentration. / Processos de cura adequados proporcionam às resinas epóxi muitas ligações cruzadas. Desta forma, seu comportamento é frágil. Uma das muitas formas de aumentar a tenacidade à fratura das resinas epóxi, sem provocar diminuições na resistência à tração, pode-se dar pela adição de nanopartículas rígidas. Porém, ainda há contradições quanto aos fatores de influência (tamanho de partícula, estado de dispersão, adesão, concentração, razão de aspecto). Este trabalho buscou avaliar os fenômenos envolvidos na propagação de trincas (iniciadas em modo I) em nanocompósitos de matriz epóxi. Para isto, diferentes tipos de nanopartículas (&#947;-alumina, nanotubos de carbono de paredes múltiplas, argila montmorilonítica natural e argila montmorilonítica organofílica), em três diferentes concentrações (0,15%, 0,5% e 1,5% em volume) foram preparados usando a mesma rota. Foram analisados para os nanocompósitos em questão as propriedades mecânicas (tensão de ruptura, módulo de elasticidade, deformação na ruptura e tenacidade à fratura) e propriedades térmicas (cura, temperatura de transição vítrea), além do estado de dispersão e dos mecanismos atuantes no aumento da rigidez e da tenacidade à fratura. Para os nanocompósitos com nanopartículas de alumina, observou-se a formação de uma rede interligada de nanopartículas/aglomerados, o que proporcionou aumentos tanto no módulo de elasticidade quanto na transição vítrea. Foram ainda observados aumentos de 15% na tenacidade à fratura, onde o principal mecanismo atuante foi o de cavitação seguida de escoamento por cisalhamento. Os nanocompósitos epóxi/argila organofílica não apresentaram alterações significativas na mobilidade das cadeias poliméricas, se refletindo no módulo de elasticidade e na transição vítrea, sendo a provável causa os aglomerados micrométricos, observados por microscopia. Observou-se também uma transição entre os mecanismos atuantes na propagação da trinca (entre os mecanismos de deflexão e de imobilização de trinca), de acordo com o aumento da concentração de nanopartículas. Já para os nanocompósitos epóxi/argila natural, notou-se aumentos na transição vítrea e no módulo de elasticidade, com o aumento na concentração de nanopartículas. Este comportamento é atribuído às diminuições na mobilidade das cadeias poliméricas. Quanto à tenacidade, foram observados aumentos de até 20%, causado principalmente pela deflexão da frente de propagação da trinca. Em relação à adição de nanotubos de carbono em matriz epóxi, foram encontrados aumentos no módulo de elasticidade, devido a uma dispersão homogênea que proporcionou uma eficiente transferência de tensões. Foram observados também diminuições na transição vítrea, que foram atribuídos ao impedimento histérico dos nanotubos às ligações cruzadas da resina epóxi. As fraturas observadas demonstraram uma interação entre nanotubos e a matriz, inclusive com a ocorrência de pullout de nanotubos em regiões com uma maior concentração de nanotubos de carbono.

Le pop-in est un phénomène d’instabilité de propagation de fissure observé lors d’essais de ténacité sur certains matériaux. Ce phénomène a été observé sur l’alliage d’aluminium 6061-T6 qui a été identifié pour constituer des éléments de structure essentiels du cœur du réacteur de recherche Jules Horowitz. Cette thèse a été initiée pour comprendre l’origine de ce phénomène sur l’aluminium 6061-T6 et en proposer une modélisation à bases physiques qui pourra être utilisée pour l’exploitation et l’interprétation des essais de ténacité, notamment à l’état irradié.Les différentes pistes identifiées dans la littérature ont été testées expérimentalement. Des revenus (4/8/12/16 h) ont été appliqués afin d’obtenir différents comportements mécaniques. Des essais de traction avec corrélation d’images ont montré que les pop-ins observés ne sont pas dus à un effet PLC. Ils ne correspondent pas non plus à une hétérogénéité microstructurale ; ils ne sont pas liés à des mécanismes d’endommagement, car la rupture est typiquement ductile, qu’un pop-in soit intervenu ou non. Ces mécanismes et les différentes microstructures ont été comparés par le biais de plusieurs techniques (MEB, EBSD, EDS, Sonde Atomique Tomographique, tomographie, laminographie et nanolaminographie par rayonnement synchrotron). Les pop-ins sont donc uniquement le résultat d’une accélération de la rupture ductile.En réalité, ils sont dus à une interaction entre deux paramètres : une résistance réduite du matériau à la propagation de fissure (i.e. un faible module de déchirement) et une complaisance importante du dispositif d’essai (i.e. une faible raideur). Afin d’investiguer ce deuxième paramètre, un dispositif innovant a été conçu, permettant de faire varier la raideur de la machine d’essai lors d’essais de ténacité. Deux critères analytiques, l’un basé sur la courbe force-ouverture, l’autre sur l’intégrale J, ont été établis, permettant de quantifier les conditions d’amorçage et d’arrêt de pop-in de façon fiable.Pour prendre en compte le rôle central du durcissement vis-à-vis de la propagation ductile, un nouveau critère de germination piloté par les contraintes a été introduit dans un unique modèle GTN. Cela permet de simuler et de reproduire par éléments finis les différentes courbes de ténacité J-Δa en modifiant uniquement la loi élastoplastique. En rajoutant des ressorts dans les modélisations et avec un pilotage adapté, les pop-ins sont simulés avec succès, et restent exploitables avec les critères analytiques.Des études sur éprouvettes irradiées réalisées dans des enceintes blindées ont montré que l’augmentation des pop-ins avec l’irradiation résultait de la diminution du module de déchirement, elle-même due au durcissement. De même qu’à l’état non irradié, les pop-ins apparaissent donc à cause de l’interaction du module de déchirement avec le dispositif d’essai, et non pas à cause d’une gamme d’élaboration industrielle non maitrisée. / Pop-in is a phenomenon of crack propagation instability observed during toughness tests on some materials. This phenomenon has been observed on the 6061-T6 aluminum alloy, which has been identified as an essential structural element of the core of the Jules Horowitz research reactor. This thesis was initiated to understand the origin of this phenomenon on 6061-T6 aluminum and to propose a physics-based modeling, usable for the exploitation and interpretation of toughness tests, especially in the irradiated state.The different origins identified in the literature have been experimentally tested. Different aging times (4/8/12/16h) were applied to obtain different mechanical behaviors. Tensile tests with image correlation have shown that the observed pop-ins are not due to a PLC effect. Nor do they correspond to microstructural heterogeneity; they are not linked to different fracture mechanisms, because the rupture is typically ductile, whether a pop-in is involved or not. These mechanisms and the different microstructures were compared using several techniques (SEM, EBSD, EDS, Atom Probe Tomography, tomography, synchrotron laminography and nanolaminography). Pop-ins are therefore only the result of an acceleration of the ductile fracture.In fact, they are due to an interaction between two parameters: the reduced material crack growth toughness (i.e. the low tearing modulus), and the significant compliance of the test device (i.e. the low stiffness). In order to investigate this second parameter, an innovative setup has been designed to vary the machine stiffness during toughness tests. Two analytical criteria, one based on the load-opening curve, the other on the J-integral, have been established, making it possible to reliably quantify the conditions for initiation and arrest of pop-in.To take into account the central role of hardening for ductile propagation, a new stress-controlled nucleation criterion has been introduced into a single GTN model. This makes it possible to simulate and capture by finite elements the various J-Δa toughness curves by modifying only the elastoplastic law. By adding springs in the models and with an adapted control, the pop-ins are successfully simulated, and remain exploitable with the analytical criteria.Studies on irradiated specimens carried out in hot cells have shown that the increase in pop-ins with irradiation results from the decrease in the tearing modulus, itself due to hardening. As in the non-irradiated state, pop-ins thus appear solely because of the interaction between the tearing modulus and the test device stiffness, and not because of a range of industrial development not mastered.

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