• Composites Research
• /
• v.33 no.6
• /
• pp.383-389
• /
• 2020

Thermoplastic composite is introduced to design an automotive door impact beam, and the manufacturing process is demonstrated. The safety regulation for vehicles has been steadily tightened, and weight-reduction has become a mandatory factor in the automotive industry. Hence, both high-performance and lightweight are demanded for automotive components. The aim of the present study is to develop an automotive door impact beam using fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites to reduce the weight of the impact beam while increasing its mechanical performance. A new production method which combines continuous fiber-reinforced composite and LFT(Long Fiber-reinforced Thermoplastic) is implemented by using insert injection molding process. The mechanical performance of the composite impact beam was evaluated using 3-point bending tests. Thermoplastic composite will expand its application range to various automotive components due to its light-weight design capability and high productivity.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.602-608
• /
• 2021

For the comparison of bond strength between the Co-Cr alloy and ceramic, which are clinically used, test samples made with a traditional casting method as a control group), and Milling and SLM(3d printing group) samples were made as an experimental group. The metal-ceramic bond strength was measured with a universal testing machine. For the measurement, a three-point bending test was conducted. After the bond strength was measured, metal-ceramic interface was observed. According to the test result, casting group had 53.59 MPa, milling group had 45.90 MPa, and 3d printing group had 58.34 MPa. There was no statistical significance. With regard to failure pattern, most of the samples in two groups, showed mixed failure. This study showed a clinically applicable value when measuring the bond strength of alloy-ceramic material with an alloy produced by 3D printing.

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
• /
• v.14 no.5
• /
• pp.285-293
• /
• 2022

PURPOSE. This study evaluated the relationship among translucency, crystalline phase, grain size, and fracture toughness of zirconia. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Four commercial zirconia - Prettau^®Anterior^® (PA), Prettau^® (P), InCorisZI (ZI), and InCorisTZI (TZI)- were selected for this study. The bar specimens were prepared to determine fracture toughness by using chevron notched beam method with four-point bending test. The grain size was evaluated by a mean linear intercept method using a scanning electron microscope. X-ray diffraction and Rietveld refinement were performed to evaluate the amount of tetragonal and cubic phases of zirconia. Contrast ratio (CR) was measured to investigate the level of translucency. RESULTS. PA had the lowest fracture toughness among other groups (P < .05). In addition, the mean fracture toughness of P was significantly less than that of ZI, but there was no difference compared with TZI. Regarding grain size measurement, PA had the largest average grain size among the groups. P obtained larger grain size than ZI and TZI (P < .05). However, there was no significant difference between ZI and TZI. Moreover, PA had the lowest CR value compared with the other groups (P < .05). This means PA was the most translucent material in this study. Rietveld refinement found that PA presented the greatest percentage of cubic phase, followed by TZI, ZI, and P, respectively. CONCLUSION. The different approaches are used by manufacturers to fabricate various types of translucent zirconia with different levels of translucency and mechanical properties, which should be concerned for material selection for successful clinical outcome.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.80 no.6
• /
• pp.749-765
• /
• 2021

Suspension bridges bear large eccentric live loads in rush hours when most vehicles travel in one direction on the left or right side of the bridge. With the increasing number and weight of vehicles and the girder widening, the eccentric live load effect on the bridge behavior, including bending and distortion of the main girder, gets more pronounced, even jeopardizing bridge safety. This study proposes an analytical algorithm based on multi-catenary theory for predicting the suspension bridge responses to eccentric live load via the nonlinear generalized reduced gradient method. A set of governing equations is derived to solve the following unknown values: the girder rigid-body displacement in the longitudinal direction; the horizontal projection lengths of main cable's segments; the parameters of catenary equations and horizontal forces of the side span cable segments and the leftmost segments of middle span cables; the suspender tensions and the bearing reactions. Then girder's responses, including rigid-body displacement in the longitudinal direction, deflections, and torsion angles; suspenders' responses, including the suspender tensions and the hanging point displacements; main cables' responses, including the horizontal forces of each segment; and the longitudinal displacement of the pylons' tower top under eccentric load can be calculated. The response of an exemplar suspension bridge with three spans of 168, 548, and 168 m is calculated by the proposed analytical method and the finite element method in two eccentric live load cases, and their results prove the former's feasibility. The nonuniform distribution of the live load in the lateral direction is shown to impose a greater threat to suspension bridge safety than that in the longitudinal direction, while some other specific features revealed by the proposed method are discussed in detail.

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
• /
• v.14 no.6
• /
• pp.360-368
• /
• 2022

PURPOSE. This study assessed the physical and mechanical properties of interim crown materials fabricated using various digital techniques after accelerated aging. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Three groups of interim dental restorative materials (N = 20) were tested. The first group (CO) was fabricated using a conventional manual method. The second group (ML) was prepared from prefabricated resin blocks for the milling method and cut into specimen sizes using a cutting disc. The third group (3D) was additively manufactured using a digital light-processing (DLP) 3D printer. Aging acceleration treatments using toothbrushing and thermocycling simulators were applied to half of the specimens corresponding to three years of usage in the oral environment (N = 10). Surface roughness (Ra), Vickers microhardness, 3-point bending, sorption, and solubility tests were performed. A 2-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Fisher's multiple comparison test were used to compare the results among the groups. RESULTS. The mean surface roughness (Ra) of the resin after accelerated aging was significantly higher in the CO and ML groups than that before aging, but not in the 3D group. All groups showed reduced hardness after accelerated aging. The flexural strength values were highest in the 3D group, followed by the ML and CO groups after accelerated aging. Accelerated aging significantly reduced water sorption in the ML group. CONCLUSION. According to the tested material and 3D printer type, both 3D-printed and milled interim restoration resins showed higher flexural strength and modulus, and lower surface roughness than those prepared by the conventional method after accelerated aging.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.85 no.2
• /
• pp.179-195
• /
• 2023

The performance of reinforced concrete (RC) beam specimens strengthened using a newly proposed Side Near Surface Mounted (S-NSM) technology was investigated experimentally in this work. In addition, analytical and nonlinear finite element (FE) modeling was exploited to forecast the performance of RC members reinforced with S-NSM utilizing steel bars. Five (one control and four strengthened) RC beams were evaluated for flexural performance under static loading conditions employing four-point bending loads. Experimental variables comprise different S-NSM reinforcement ratios. The constitutive models were applied for simulating the non-linear material characteristics of used concrete, major, and strengthening reinforcements. The failure load and mode, yield and ultimate strengths, deflection, strain, cracking behavior as well as ductility of the beams were evaluated and discussed. To cope with the flexural behavior of the tested beams, a 3D non-linear FE model was simulated. In parametric investigations, the influence of S-NSM reinforcement, the efficacy of the S-NSM procedure, and the structural response ductility are examined. The experimental, numerical, and analytical outcomes show good agreement. The results revealed a significant increase in yield and ultimate strengths as well as improved failure modes.

• Composites Research
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.463-468
• /
• 2022

The high porosity of the infill pattern of carbon chopped fiber-reinforced Nylon composite structures fabricated by the fused filament fabrication (FFF) type 3D printers determines the mechanical performance of the printed structures. This study experimentally evaluated the mechanical performance of Onyx composite specimens fabricated with a rectangular infill structure under the hot-pressing condition to improve the mechanical properties by reducing the porosity of the infill pattern of the printed structure, and evaluated the best mechanical performance. The hot-pressing conditions (145℃, 4 MPa, 12 min) that induce the most appropriate mechanical properties were found. As a result of microscopic observation, it was confirmed that the infill porosity of the composite specimens subjected to post hot-pressing treatment was effectively reduced. In order to confirm the mechanical performance of the post-treated specimen, a tensile test and a three-point bending test were performed with a control specimen without post-treatment and a specimen printed with the same density and dimensions after post-treatment to evaluate the mechanical properties. As a result of comparison, it was confirmed that the mechanical properties were effectively improved when the post-treatment of hot-pressing was performed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.83 no.5
• /
• pp.693-707
• /
• 2022

Bonded joints have proven their performance against conventional joining processes such as welding, riveting and bolting. The single-lap joint is the most widely used to characterize adhesive joints in tensile-shear loadings. However, the high stress concentrations in the adhesive joint due to the non-linearity of the applied loads generate a bending moment in the joint, resulting in high stresses at the adhesive edges. Geometric optimization of the bonded joint to reduce this high stress concentration prompted various researchers to perform geometric modifications of the adhesive and adherends at their free edges. Modifying both edges of the adhesive (spew) and the adherends (bevel) has proven to be an effective solution to reduce stresses at both edges and improve stress transfer at the inner part of the adhesive layer. The majority of research aimed at improving the geometry of the plate and adhesive edges has not considered the effect of temperature and water absorption in evaluating the strength of the joint. The objective of this work is to analyze, by the finite element method, the stress distribution in an adhesive joint between two 2024-T3 aluminum plates. The effects of the adhesive fillet and adherend bevel on the bonded joint stresses were taken into account. On the other hand, degradation of the mechanical properties of the adhesive following its exposure to moisture and temperature was found. The results clearly showed that the modification of the edges of the adhesive and of the bonding agent have an important role in the durability of the bond. Although the modification of the adhesive and bonding edges significantly improves the joint strength, the simultaneous exposure of the joint to temperature and moisture generates high stress concentrations in the adhesive joint that, in most cases, can easily reach the failure point of the material even at low applied stresses.

• Advances in concrete construction
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.45-55
• /
• 2022

In this article, the flexural and shear capacity of ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete beams (UHPFRC) using two kinds of rebars, including GFRP and steel rebars, are experimentally investigated. For this purpose, six UHPFRC beams (250 × 300 × 1650 mm) with three reinforcement ratios (ρ) of 0.64, 1.05, and 1.45 were constructed using 2% steel fibers by volume. Half of the specimens were made of UHPFRC reinforced with GFRP rebars, while the other half were reinforced with conventional steel rebars. All specimens were tested to failure in four-point bending. Both the load-deformation at mid-span and the failure pattern were studied. The results showed that utilizing GFRP bars increases the flexural strength of UHPFRC beams in comparison to those made of steel bars, but at the same time, it reduces the post-cracking strain hardening. Furthermore, by increasing the percentage of longitudinal bars, both the post-cracking strain hardening and load-bearing capacity increase. Comparing the experiment results with some of the available equations and provisions cited in the valid design codes reveals that some of the equations to predict the flexural strength of UHPFRC beams reinforced with conventional steel and GFRP bars are reasonably conservative, while Khalil and Tayfur model is un-conservative. This issue makes it essential to modify the presented equations in this research for predicting the flexural strength of UHPFRC beams using GFRP bars.

• Advances in concrete construction
• /
• v.14 no.5
• /
• pp.299-307
• /
• 2022

Cement-based matrixes have low tensile strength and negligible ductility. Adding fibres to these matrixes will improve their mechanical properties and make these composites suitable for structural applications. Post-cracking tensile strength of steel fibers-reinforced cementitious composite materials is directly related to the number of transverse fibers passing through the crack width and the pulling-out behavior of each of the fibers. Therefore, the exact recognition of the pullout behavior of single fibers is necessary to understand the uniaxial tensile and bending behavior of steel fiber-reinforced concrete. In this paper, an experimental study has been carried out on the pullout behavior of 3D (steel fibers with totally two hooks at both ends), 4D (steel fibers with a total of four hooks at both ends), and 5D (steel fibers with totally six hooks at both ends) in which the fibers have been located either perpendicular to the crack width or in an inclined manner. The pullout behavior of the mentioned steel fibers at an inclination angle of 0, 15, 30, 45, and 60 degrees and with embedded lengths of 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 millimetres is studied in order to explore the simultaneous effect of the inclination angle of the fibers relative to the alongside loading and the embedded length of fibers on the pullout response in each case, including the maximal pullout force, the slip of the maximum point of pullout force, pullout energy, fiber rupture, and concrete matrix spalling. The results showed that the maximum pullout energy in 3D, 4D, and 5D steel fibers with different embedded lengths occurs at 0 to 30° inclination angles. In 5D fibers, maximum pullout energy occurs at a 30° angle with a 25 mm embedded length.