• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.377-396
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• 2001

The excessive cracking of RC cantilever decks, which often requires special attention for structural engineers, is studied using a three-dimensional crack analysis model. The model is based on a fracture energy approach for analyzing cracks in concrete, and the numerical analysis is carried out using a modified load control method. The problem of excessive cracking is then studied with four different span-ratios. Based on the numerical results, the crack behavior with respect to the patterns of crack propagation, dissipation of the fracture energy, and effects on the structural integrity are discussed. The mechanisms which cause the excessive cracking are also explained.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.343-361
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• 2010

The Discrete Element Method adopting particles for the domain discretization has recently been adopted in fracture studies of non-homogeneous continuous media such as concrete and rock. A model is proposed in which the reinforcement is modelled by 1D rigid-spring discrete elements. The rigid bars interact with the rigid circular particles that simulate the concrete through contact interfaces. The DEM enhanced model with reinforcement capabilities is evaluated using three point bending and four point bending tests on reinforced concrete beams without stirrups. Under three point bending, the model is shown to reproduce the expected final crack pattern, the crack propagation and the load displacement diagram. Under four point bending, the model is shown to match the experimental ultimate load, the size effect and the crack propagation and localization.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.343-349
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• 2003

The fuselage-wing intersection suffers from the cyclic bending moment of variable amplitude. Therefore, the influence of cyclic bending moment on the delamination and the fatigue crack propagation behavior in AFRP/Al laminate of fuselage-wing was investigated in this study. The cyclic bending moment fatigue test in AFRP/Al laminate was performed with five levels of bending moment. The shape and size of the delamination Lone formed along the fatigue crack between aluminum sheet and aramid fiber-adhesive layer were measured by an ultrasonic C-scan. The relationships between da/dN and ΔK, between the cyclic bending moment and the delamination zone size, and between the fiber bridging behavior and the delamination zone were studied. As results, fiber failures were not observed in the delamination zone in this study, the fiber bridging modification factor increases and the fatigue crack growth rate decrease and the shape of delamination zone is semi-elliptic with the contour decreasing non-linearly toward the crack tip.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.117-123
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• 2006

Woven fabrics composites are used as primary structural components in many applications because of their superior properties that offer high specific strength and stiffness. However, the complexity of the fabric structure makes understanding of their failure behavior very difficult. Also, laminate woven fabrics CFRP have unique failure mechanisms such as fiber bridging, fiber/matrix crack and so on. In particular, the delamination phenomenon of the composite materials is one of the most frequent failure mechanisms. So, we estimated interlaminar fracture and damage in composites using as ENF specimen by a 3 point bending test. And AE characteristics were examined for crack propagation on plain woven CFRP. We obtained the following conclusions from the results of the evaluation of the 3 point bending fracture test and AE characteristic estimation. AE counts of maximum crack length were obtained as $85.97{\times}10^4\;and\;93{\times}10^3\;for\;a_0/L=0.3$ and 0.6, respectively. Also the maximum amplitudes were over 80dB at both $a_0/L=0.3\;and\;0.6$. $G_{IIc}$ at that's $a_0/L$ ratio were obtained with $1.07kJ/m^2\;and\;3.79kJ/m^2$.

• Advances in biomechanics and applications
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2014

In this paper, a simple and accurate finite element model coupled to quasi-brittle damage law able to describe the multiple cracks initiation and their progressive propagation is developed in order to predict the complete force-displacement curve and the fracture pattern of human proximal femur under quasi-static load. The motivation of this work was to propose a simple and practical FE model with a good compromise between complexity and accuracy of the simulation considering a limited number of model parameters that can predict proximal femur fracture more accurately and physically than the fracture criteria based models. Different damage laws for cortical and trabecular bone are proposed based on experimental results to describe the inelastic damage accumulation under the excessive load. When the damage parameter reaches its critical value inside an element of the mesh, its stiffness matrix is set to zero leading to the redistribution of the stress state in the vicinity of the fractured zone (crack initiation). Once a crack is initiated, the propagation direction is simulated by the propagation of the broken elements of the mesh. To illustrate the potential of the proposed approach, the left femur of a male (age 61) previously investigated by Keyak and Falkinstein, 2003 (Model B: male, age 61) was simulated till complete fracture under one-legged stance quasi-static load. The proposed finite element model leads to more realistic and precise results concerning the shape of the force-displacement curve (yielding and fracturing) and the profile of the fractured edge.

• Composites Research
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.46-53
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• 2001

In this research, damage behavior of singly oriented ply (SOP) fiber metal laminate (FML) subjected to concentrated load was studied. The static indentation tests were conducted to study fiber orientation effect on damage behavior of FML. During the static indentation tests, acoustic emission technique (AE) was adopted to study damage characteristics of FML. AE signals were obtained by using AE sensor with 150kHz resonance frequency and the signals were compared with indentation curves of FML. The damage process of SOP FML was divided by three parts, i.e., crack initiation, crack propagation, and penetration. The AE characteristics during crack initiation show that the micro crack is initiated at lower ply of the plate, then propagate along the thickness of the plate with creating tiber debonding. The crack grow along the fiber direction with occurring 60∼80dB AE signal. During the penetration, the fiber breakage was observed. As fiber orientation increases, talc fiber breakage occurs more frequently. The AE signal behaviors support these results. Cumulative AE counts could well predict crack initiation and crack propagation and AE amplitude were useful for the prediction of damage failure mode.

• Advanced Composite Materials
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.151-166
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• 2007

High-cycle fatigue characteristics of quasi-isotropic carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminates [-45/0/45/90]s up to $10^8$ cycles were investigated. To assess the fatigue behavior in the high-cycle region, fatigue tests were conducted at a frequency of 100 Hz, since it is difficult to investigate the fatigue characteristics in high-cycle at 5 Hz. Then, the damage behavior of the specimen was observed with a microscope, soft X-ray photography and a 3D ultrasonic inspection system. In this study, to evaluate quantitative characteristics of both transverse crack propagation and delamination growth in the high-cycle region, the energy release rate associated with damage growth in the width direction was calculated. Transverse crack propagation and delamination growth in the width direction were evaluated based on a modified Paris law approach. The results revealed that transverse crack propagation delayed under the test conditions of less than ${\sigma}_{max}/{\sigma}_b$ = 0.3 of the applied stress level.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.354-366
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• 2020

This work mainly focuses on determination of the fully plastic J-integral solutions for welded center cracked plates subjected to remote tension loading. Detailed three-dimensional elasticeplastic Finite Element Analyses (FEA) were implemented to compute the fully plastic J-integral along the crack front for a wide range of crack geometries, material properties and weld strength mismatch ratios for 900 cases. According to the database generated from FEA, Back-propagation Neural Network (BPNN) model was proposed to predict the values and distributions of fully plastic J-integral along crack front based on the variables used in FEA. The determination coefficient R2 is greater than 0.99, indicating the robustness and goodness of fit of the developed BPNN model. The network model can accurately and efficiently predict the elastic-plastic J-integral for weld centerline crack, which can be used to perform fracture analyses and safety assessment for welded center cracked plates with varying strength mismatch conditions under uniaxial loading.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.663-673
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• 2018

In this study, the effect of particle size on the cracks propagation and coalescence or cracking pattern of the edge notched disc specimens are investigated. Firstly, calibration of PFC3D was performed using Brazilian experimental test output. Then micro parameters were used to build edge notched disc specimen. The horizontal wall of the assembly is let to move downward with a standard low speed of 0.016 m/s. The numerical results show that the tensile cracks are dominant failure pattern for the modeled discs. These tensile cracks initiate from the pre-existing notch tip and propagate parallel to the loading direction then interact with the upper boundary of the modeled specimen. As the size of the balls (ball diameter) decrease the number of tensile cracks increase. The tensile fracture toughness of the samples also decreases as the particle size increases. Understanding the crack propagation and crack coalescence phenomena in brittle materials such as concretes and rocks is of paramount importance in the stability analyses for engineering structures such as rock slopes, underground structures and tunneling.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.78-83
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• 2000

In this study, CT specimens were prepared from AST SA516 Gr. 70 which was used for pressure vessel plates for room and low temperature service. And we got the following characteristics from fatigue crack growth test carried out in the environment of room and low temperature at 25$^{\circ}C $, -60$^{\circ}C $, -80$^{\circ}C $ and -100$^{\circ}C $ and in the range of stress ratio of 0.05, 0.3 by means of opening mode displacement. At the constant stress ratio, the threshold stress intensity factor range ${\delta} K_{th}$ in the early stage of fatigue crack growth (Region I) and stress intensity factor range $\delta $K in the stable of fatigue crack growth (Region II) were increased in proportion to descending temperature. It was assumed that the fatigue resistance characteristics and fracture strength at low temperature is considerable higher than that of room temperature in the early stage and stable of fatigue crack growth region. The straight line slope relation of logarithm da/dN -$\delta $K in Region II, that is, the fatigue crack growth exponent m increased with descending temperature at the constant stress ratio. It was assumed that the fatigue crack growth rate da/dN is rapid in proportion to descending temperature in Region II and the cryogenic-brittleness greatly affect a material with decreasing temperature.