The drained residual shear strength at the interface between soils and solid materials can be of importance in evaluating the stability of geotechnical structures. Drained residual shear tests have been performed at relatively high effective normal stress levels, over 50 kPa. These effective normal stresses are relevant for many field applications and manageable in typical laboratory shear testing. However, there are field applications, such as offshore pipelines where the effective normal stresses can be below 50 kPa. There are two significant challenges in measuring the drained shear strength at low effective normal stresses: (1) a small amount of friction in a test device can affect the results; (2) small shear rates may be required to achieve drained conditions at the soils. A tilt table test method has been developed to overcome these challenges. The objective of this work is to measure the drained residual shear and interface strength of soils at low effective normal stresses so as to provide logical explanations of the effect of various parameters. These parameters include soil index properties, clay content, clay mineralogy, stress history, and loading rate together with the effective normal stress levels. The total 74 tilt table tests are performed to measure the drained residual shear and interface strength of marine clays and sand-kaolinite mixtures. The following conclusions can be drawn based on the test results. 1. The drained residual shear strength both for the interface and for the soils is not affected by the over-consolidation ratio. 2. The drained residual shear strengths for the interfaces are all less than the drained residual shear strengths of soils. The drained residual strength of interface depends on the roughness of interface, clay mineralogy. 3. The empirical correlations and shear test results at higher effective normal stresses cannot be extrapolated to lower effective normal stresses. 4. Clay mineralogy and clay contents together with the magnitude of effective normal stress are the most important factors to estimate the drained residual shear strength of cohesive soils. 5. Cohesionless soils exhibit a constant residual secant friction angle regardless of effective normal stress levels. / text

BMGs (bulk metallic glasses) exhibit many exceptional advantages for engineering applications, such as high strength, good corrosion resistance, etc. Despite of having these excellent properties, the brittle nature of metallic glasses in the bulk and thin film forms inevitably imposes limitation and restricts the wide application of BMGs and TFMGs. Composite concept might be another idea to solve this dilemma. In order to manufacture the bulk metallic glass composites (BMGCs), the approaches are classified into two categories: the intrinsic and extrinsic methods. For the intrinsic method, the in situ process and heat treatment process are two kinds of ways in common uses. Adding reinforcements into the BMGs or TFMGs is extensively used to manufacture composites in the extrinsic method. In this study, the deformation behaviors of multilayer (amorphous/nanocrystalline) micropillars are studied by uniaxial microcompression tests at room temperature. The nanocrystalline layer to be coupled with the amorphous layer can be of either face-centered cubic (FCC), hexagonal close-packed (HCP) or body-centered cubic (BCC) in crystal structure. The current study demonstrates that brittle problem of a metallic glass coating can be alleviated by percolating with a nanocrystalline metallic underlayer. The brittle thin film metallic glass can become highly ductile and exhibit a plastic strain over 50% at room temperature. The present study has an important implication for MEMS applications, namely, the life span of a brittle amorphous layer can be significantly improved by using an appropriate metallic underlayer. The brittle problem of thin film ZrCu metallic glasses was also treated by invoking soft Cu layers with optimum film layer thickness. Such multilayered amorphous/crystalline samples exhibit superplastic-like homogeneous deformation at room temperature. It is found that the deformability of the resultant micropillars depends on the thickness of Cu layers. Microstructural observations and theoretical analysis suggest that the superplastic-like deformation mode is attributed to homogeneous co-deformation of amorphous ZrCu and nanocrystalline Cu layers because the 100 nm-thick Cu layers can provide compatible flow stress and ¡§plastic zone¡¨ size well matched with those of ZrCu amorphous layers. Besides, we also made attempts to investigate the critical sample size below which shear band localization would disappear and the sample can deform homogeneously. In situ TEM compression was conducted on amorphous ZrCu nanopillars to study shear band formation behavior. The nanopillar is 140 nm in diameter and with a taper angle of 3¢X. Experimental observations and simulations based on a free-volume model both demonstrate that the deformation was localized near the top of the tapered metallic glass pillar. Eventually, the interface nature of metallic glass amorphous/crystalline was characterized through evaluating its energy and validated by the mechanical response of micropillar with ~45o inclined interface under compression. The calculated results showed that the ZrCu/Zr interface energy resides several joules per meter square, meaning that the Zr/ZrCu interface is inherently strong. The high strong adhesion ability of ZrCu/Zr interface was further confirmed by shear fracture happening rightly within the Zr layers rather than along the interface when compressing the ZrCu/Zr micropillars with 45o inclined interface.

The interphase is a localized region adjacent to a manufactured inclusion that is surrounded by granular soil. These regions are ubiquitous in civil infrastructure and often are components of large-scale composite systems. The interphase region influences load-deformation behavior of the entire composite system. However, mechanisms that control the mechanical behavior of the interphase region and, in turn, control the composite structure behavior, are not clearly understood. Few relationships exist for predicting interphase behavior from properties of granular materials and the inclusion surface that can be measured in the laboratory. A two dimensional discrete element model of a general interphase system was developed and validated against laboratory data. Numerical experiments are conducted with varying soil to inclusion relative geometry. A new micromechanics-based approach, which utilizes microscopic quantities to explain the mechanics of granular media from a continuum point view, is adopted to investigate the mechanisms that underlie the interphase behavior. It is shown that the grain to inclusion surface relative geometry controls the degree of granular media strength mobilization by controlling development of fabric and contact force anisotropy inside the interphase region. A unique bilinear relationship exists between the mobilized granular media strength and the principal direction of average contact force anisotropy at the interface between the particles touching the surface and the inclusion. These findings suggest the problem is one of contact and can not be solved using purely geometric correlations, as past research presumed. A fundamental mechanism of behavior, long sought in geomechanics problems, is presented. Publications resulting from this research are significant and original contributions to the geoengineering, material science, geophysics and granular physics literature. / Ph. D.

Tire bales are a suitable construction material for conditions which require a lightweight material with high permeability and strength. Although several tire bale case histories have been reported in the literature, only limited material properties of the bales are available. Determining the mechanical and physical properties of the tire bales is necessary for the proper design and construction of future tire bale structures. The development and results from a series of large scale laboratory and field test procedures, used to determine the mechanical and physical characteristics of a tire bale structure, are provided in this dissertation. A tire bale structure, as compared to the individual tire bale, is defined as two or more tire bales stacked upon each other resulting in an interface contact between layers of the tire bales. Results from the test programs indicate that the interface between the tire bales controls the strength and compressibility of the bale structure. The strength of the interface was characterized utilizing a large scale direct shear test, which was modified to include the effects of moisture, soil infill and stress orientation on the interface strength. Interface shear stresses were used to define shear strength parameters for the different tire bale interfaces. The compressibility of the tire bale structure was characterized utilizing a large scale vertical compression test. The influence of the individual tire bale geometry on strength and compressibility was determined by conducting the large scale tests on two bale types, the standard block bale and the standard cylinder bale. A tire ridge interface model was developed to represent the physical characteristics of the tire bales that control the strength and deformations along the interface. Tensions within the baling wires were measured during the direct shear and compression tests using strain gauges attached to the baling wires. A tension meter was also developed so that the baling wire tensions could be determined without damaging the tire bale and baling wires. A destructive expansion pressure test was used at the conclusion of the research program to determine the pressures the tire bale exerts on the surrounding structure after wire breakage. / text

The polymer laminated sheet metal (PLSM) is a layered material which involves a sheet metal substrate, a thin polymer film and an adhesive layer between the film and the substrate. The adhesion properties between the bonded materials are among the most important issues in PLSM forming operations. In this thesis, the main focus has been devoted to characterizing and improving the adhesion properties of the PLSM system for forming applications. Metallic surface roughness evolution and residual stress development in polymer adherends are two consequences of the plastic deformation of the PLSMs. In chapter 2, the effect of these factors on interfacial adhesion strength between metallic substrate and polymer adherend (polymer film with a thin uniform pressure-sensitive adhesive layer on one side) is investigated by devising a new experimental methodology. This methodology is based on two different protocols for preparation of peel sample, one involving pre-straining in uniaxial tension of the metallic substrate prior to lamination and the other involving post-lamination pre-straining of the PLSM. In chapter 3, the peel test results of two different types of PLSMs at different peel speeds are analyzed with two different approaches common in cohesive zone modeling in the literature, namely linear elastic stiffness approach and critical maximum stress approach. The modeling results revealed the significance of the peel speed in determining the interface strength between the adhesive and metallic substrate. In chapter 4, two mechanical treatment techniques of grinding and knurling are implemented to alter the metallic substrate surface roughness before lamination. Peel strength of these samples are investigated at different peel speeds and at different peel loading directions with respect to the grinding and knurling directions. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / The polymer laminated sheet metal (PLSM) is a layered material which involves a sheet metal substrate, a thin polymer film and an adhesive layer between the film and the substrate. In this thesis, the main focus has been devoted to characterizing and improving the adhesion properties of the PLSM system for forming applications. A new experimental methodology has been devised for analyzing the effects of deformation-induced surface roughness of metallic substrate and deformation-induced residual stress in polymer adherends on interfacial peel properties of PLSMs. A novel interpretation of the results obtained from rate-independent cohesive zone modeling of peel test has revealed the significance of peel speed in determining the interface strength between the adhesive and the metallic substrate. In another part of this thesis, the effects of two substrate surface alteration techniques, grinding and knurling, on peel properties of PLSMs have been studied.

Es werden hydrostatisch stranggepresste Aluminium/Magnesium-Verbunde untersucht. Mittels verschiedener Rissdetektionsmethoden wird die Beschaffenheit des Interface analysiert. Es erfolgt die Bestimmung von Fließkurven der verpressten Einzelwerkstoffe bei Raumtemperatur. Des Weiteren erfolgen Eigenspannungsanalysen mit dem Bohrlochverfahren und einer speziellen numerischen Auswertungsmethode, welche den Entstehungsprozess der Eigenspannungen berücksichtigt. Zur Analyse der Festigkeitseigenschaften und des Deformationsverhaltens des Interface werden Biegeversuche in einem erweiterten Temperaturbereich durchgeführt. Die Deformationsanalyse erfolgt mittels Digital Image Correlation. Des Weiteren finden in den Festigkeitsuntersuchungen Push-Out-Versuche Anwendung. In bruchmechanischen Analysen wird die Interfacerissspitze von speziell entwickelten Proben unter Mode I-Bedingungen, bezogen auf den homogenen Fall, beansprucht. Die bruchmechanischen Größen – kritischer betragsmäßiger Spannungsintensitätsfaktor und kritische Energiefreisetzungsrate – werden auf Basis der Experimente, der numerischen Simulation der Rissspitzenbeanspruchung sowie der für die linear-elastische Bruchmechanik des Interfacerisses geltenden Nahfeldgleichungen berechnet. / Hydrostatic coextruded aluminum/magnesium compounds are analyzed. By means of different methods of crack detection, the quality of the interface is investigated. Plastic behavior of the basic materials at room temperature is determined. Furthermore, residual stress analyses are performed using the hole drilling method and a special numerical evaluation procedure, which considers the formation process of the residual stresses. The strength and deformation behavior of the interface are determined by means of bending tests in an extended temperature range. Digital Image Correlation is used to analyze the deformation. Furthermore, push out tests are performed to determine the interface strength. In the course of fracture mechanical analyses, the crack tip of specially developed specimens is stressed under Mode I conditions (relating to homogeneous material). The fracture mechanical values – critical absolute value of the stress intensity factor and critical energy release rate – are determined by the use of experiments, numerical analyses of the crack tip fields as well as the equations of the linear elastic near field equations of interface fracture mechanics.

Es werden hydrostatisch stranggepresste Aluminium/Magnesium-Verbunde untersucht. Mittels verschiedener Rissdetektionsmethoden wird die Beschaffenheit des Interface analysiert. Es erfolgt die Bestimmung von Fließkurven der verpressten Einzelwerkstoffe bei Raumtemperatur. Des Weiteren erfolgen Eigenspannungsanalysen mit dem Bohrlochverfahren und einer speziellen numerischen Auswertungsmethode, welche den Entstehungsprozess der Eigenspannungen berücksichtigt. Zur Analyse der Festigkeitseigenschaften und des Deformationsverhaltens des Interface werden Biegeversuche in einem erweiterten Temperaturbereich durchgeführt. Die Deformationsanalyse erfolgt mittels Digital Image Correlation. Des Weiteren finden in den Festigkeitsuntersuchungen Push-Out-Versuche Anwendung. In bruchmechanischen Analysen wird die Interfacerissspitze von speziell entwickelten Proben unter Mode I-Bedingungen, bezogen auf den homogenen Fall, beansprucht. Die bruchmechanischen Größen – kritischer betragsmäßiger Spannungsintensitätsfaktor und kritische Energiefreisetzungsrate – werden auf Basis der Experimente, der numerischen Simulation der Rissspitzenbeanspruchung sowie der für die linear-elastische Bruchmechanik des Interfacerisses geltenden Nahfeldgleichungen berechnet. / Hydrostatic coextruded aluminum/magnesium compounds are analyzed. By means of different methods of crack detection, the quality of the interface is investigated. Plastic behavior of the basic materials at room temperature is determined. Furthermore, residual stress analyses are performed using the hole drilling method and a special numerical evaluation procedure, which considers the formation process of the residual stresses. The strength and deformation behavior of the interface are determined by means of bending tests in an extended temperature range. Digital Image Correlation is used to analyze the deformation. Furthermore, push out tests are performed to determine the interface strength. In the course of fracture mechanical analyses, the crack tip of specially developed specimens is stressed under Mode I conditions (relating to homogeneous material). The fracture mechanical values – critical absolute value of the stress intensity factor and critical energy release rate – are determined by the use of experiments, numerical analyses of the crack tip fields as well as the equations of the linear elastic near field equations of interface fracture mechanics.