Sheet trimming is an important forming operation in stamping industry. However, trimming of automotive magnesium sheet materials is not well understood. The objective of present study was to investigate the trimming behavior of AZ31 and ZEK100 automotive magnesium sheet materials using a laboratory-based experimental set-up and complementary finite element (FE) simulations of the lab-based experiments. The effects of the trimming process parameters that included tool setup configuration, punch speed, clearance, sheet thickness and sheet orientation (rolling and transverse directions) on the quality of trimmed edge were analyzed. Experimental results indicated that the trimmed edge quality depended strongly on the trimming conditions. The optimal trimming parameters for AZ31 and ZEK100 sheets were experimentally obtained. Interrupted trimming experiments were conducted to examine crack initiation and development, the mechanism of fracture, and the generation of the fracture profile of the trimmed edges. The R-value as a measure of material anisotropy and fracture strain of both materials were measured using uniaxial tension and plane strain tests and incorporated in the FE model. General purpose Finite Element software ABAQUS/Explicit was employed to simulate the trimming process where five different fracture criteria and element deletion method were used to predict profile of trimmed edge and the fracture initiation and development during the trimming process. Good general agreement was observed between experiments and FE simulations. However, some discrepancies were also observed. These are presented and discussed in the thesis. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

博士(工学) / Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University

The Antarctic ice sheet is a geophysically - and in an age of growing concern about global warming, geopolitically - important portion of Earth. The composition and dynamics of the Antarctic ice sheet influence global climate patterns, global sea level and the planet's radiation budget. Recent evidence also suggests that the long term stability of portions of the ice sheet may be in jeopardy. In this thesis I use data from three Ku-band space-borne scatterometers to monitor changes in the backscatter signature of the Antarctic ice sheet from 1978 through 2007. Significant changes in backscatter, which result from geophysical changes in the ice sheet itself, are found over much of the Antarctic continent, especially in West Antarctica and along much of the coasts. Less drastic changes, including regular seasonal variations, are observed over much of the ice shelf. Possible scattering mechanisms are proposed and discussed. A secondary result is the demonstration of the stability of NASA's QuikSCAT scatterometer, data from which is used extensively in this thesis and in many other publications. It is shown that QuikSCAT's observation geometry and backscatter instrumentation have remained consistent to great precision throughout its nearly nine-year long mission.

The development of algorithms that effectively modify all-hexahedral finite element mesh is currently an active area of research. Mesh modification can be used to improve mesh quality reduce the time required to mesh a model, and improve the finite element analysis results. However, general modification of all-hexahedral meshes has proven difficult because of the global effects of local modifications. This thesis explains the global constraints on modifying all-hexahedral meshes and then presents three mesh modification techniques that make it possible to do local modifications while accounting for the global effects. These techniques are sheet insertion, sheet extraction, and mesh cutting. Sheet insertion is used to refine a mesh by inserting sheets of hexahedral elements into existing meshes. Sheet extraction coarsens existing meshes by deleting sheets of elements from the mesh. Mesh cutting is used to modify a simple mesh to fit it to complex geometric feature. The mesh modification techniques are covered in detail with representative graphics. Examples are given that demonstrate the application of each technique to the mesh generation process.

This study will present the Experimental, numerical and analytical characterizations of composite sandwich structures needed to optimize structure design. In this study, the effects of varying honeycomb core ribbon orientation and varying face sheet thickness’s have on the flexural behavior of honeycomb sandwich structures was investigated. Honeycomb sandwich panels were constructed using Hexcel 6367 A250-5H carbon fiber face sheets and Hexcel Nomex HRH-10-1/8-5 honeycomb cores. The mechanical properties of the constituent materials were discovered experimentally using ASTM standards and theoretical models using honeycomb mechanics and classical beam and plate theory are described. A failure mode map for loading under three point bending is developed from previous works by Triantafillou and Gibson26, showing the dependence of failure mode on face sheet to core thickness and honeycomb core ribbon orientation. Beam specimens are tested with the effects of Honeycomb core ribbon orientation and unequal face sheet thickness’s examined. Experimental data sufficiently agrees with theoretical predictions. A finite element model was developed in ABAQUS/CAE to validate experimental and analytical analysis and produced agreeable results. Optimal bending stiffness and strength with respect to minimum weight was analyzed. The results reveal an important role core ribbon orientation has in a sandwich beam’s bending behavior, and design of unequal ply count face sheets can produce higher stiffness to weight ratios than conventional symmetric sandwich structures of similar weight when subjected to a single static load.

The relationship between cells and their environment is one of dynamic reciprocity, whereby cells can influence their surrounding and the surroundings can influence the cells. One example of this relationship arises from the effect of the mechanical properties of an environment on a cell and of a cell on its environment. Inspired by this relationship, we investigate 1) the local environment of biological materials, both native and synthetic, and 2) the forces that cell sheets exert on surfaces. We do this by developing techniques that focus on local mechanical properties and experimental strategies that provide insight into intercellular mechanics. We first focus on determining local mechanical properties of hydrogel materials by developing the Cavitation Rheology technique. This process involves inducing a cavitation event at the tip of a syringe needle. We develop theory to show that the critical pressure to cavitate can be directly related to the modulus of the material (Chapter 2). This allows us to experimentally determine the mechanical properties at arbitrary locations throughout a material scaffold over a range of length scales defined by the needle radius (Chapter 3). We then demonstrate that we can viturally elminate the energy contribution from the creation of new surface area to the critical pressure by cavitating with a media of lower surface energy (Chapter 4). In chapter 5, we show that Cavitation Rheology can be used on native biological tissues and we go on to demonstrate the importance of measuring the mechanical properties in vivo. We then focus on understanding the force development of cells as they grow to confluency on a dynamic substrate (Chapter 6). We demonstrate the method of living microlenses to measure the collective strains cell sheets attain by growing cells on a thin polystyrene film supported by a surface of microwells. The cells cause the film to buckle and the resultant buckling can be directly related to the strain. We use this technique to study the strains exerted by various cell types and to determine the importance of the cell-cell junctions on the strain development.

Strain path changes are common in complex automotive stampings, where sheet materials undergo a combination of drawing, stretching, and bending to achieve a desired part shape. Aluminum sheet alloys are increasingly used in vehicle structure light-weighting efforts, but limited formability and high levels of springback present challenges to the manufacturing and assembly processes. The current work explores springback levels in AA6016-T4 sheet after various pure bending operations, where sheets were first pre-strained in uniaxial, plane-strain, and biaxial tension. Finite element modeling of the pre-straining and subsequent bending operations will be performed using both isotropic and elasto-plastic self-consistent (EPSC) crystal plasticity approaches. Because the EPSC model incorporates backstresses informed by GND content, as measured via high-resolution EBSD, the predictions are more accurate than those of the isotropic model. The benefits and limitations of the current EPSC model, regarding accuracy of the predictions for the proposed strain path changes, are discussed.

https://dc.etsu.edu/engr-1110-oer/1012/thumbnail.jpg

https://dc.etsu.edu/entc-2170-oer/1012/thumbnail.jpg

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