• Advances in materials Research
• /
• 제9권1호
• /
• pp.1-14
• /
• 2020

The hybrid method of three-dimensional ion implantation and electric arc is presented as a novel plasma-ion technique that allows by means of high voltage pulsed and electric arc discharges, the bombardment of non-metallic and metallic ions then implanting upon the surface of a solid surface, especially out of metallic nature. In this study AISI/SAE 4140 samples, a tool type steel broadly used in the industry due to its acceptable physicochemical properties, were metallographically prepared then surface modified by implanting titanium and simultaneously titanium and nitrogen particles during 5 min and 10 min. The effect of the ion implantation technique over the substrate surface was analysed by characterization and electrochemical techniques. From the results, the formation of Ti micro-droplets upon the surface after the implantation treatment were observed by micrographs obtained by scanning electron microscopy. The presence of doping particles on the implanted substrates were detected by elemental analysis. The linear polarization resistance, potentiodynamic polarization and total porosity analysis demonstrated that the samples whose implantation treatment with Ti ions for 10 min, offer a better protection against the corrosion compared with non-implanted substrates and implanted at the different conditions in this study.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• 제10권4호
• /
• pp.299-312
• /
• 2000

The response of an embedded body to dynamic loads is greatly influenced by the reactions of the soil to the motion of the body. The properties of the soil surrounding embedded bodies (e.g., piles) may be different than those of the far-field for a variety of reasons. It may be weakened or strengthened according to the method of installation of piles, or altered due to applying one of the soil strengthening technique (e.g., electrokinetic treatment of soil, El Naggar et al. 1998). In all these cases, the shear strength of the soils and its shear modulus vary gradually in the radial direction, resulting in a radially inhomogeneous soil layer. This paper describes an analysis to compute vertical and torsional dynamic soil reactions of a radially inhomogeneous soil layer with a circular hole. These soil reactions could then be used to model the soil resistance in the analysis of the pile vibration under dynamic loads. The soil layer is considered to have a piecewise, radial variation for the complex shear modulus. The model is developed for soil layers improved using the electrokinetic technique but can be used for other situations where the soil properties vary gradually in the radial direction (strengthened or weakened). The soil reactions (impedance functions) are evaluated over a wide range of parameters and compared with those obtained from other solutions. A parametric study was performed to examine the effect of different soil improvement parameters on vertical and torsional impedance functions of the soil. The effect of the increase in the shear modulus and the width of the improved zone is investigated.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
• /
• 제3권1호
• /
• pp.29-43
• /
• 2016

Composite materials are rapidly gaining popularity as an alternative to metals for structural and load bearing applications in the aerospace, automotive, alternate energy and consumer industries. With the advent of thermoplastic composites and advances in recycling technologies, fully recyclable composites are gaining ground over traditional thermoset composites. Stamp forming as an alternative processing technique for sheet products has proven to be effective in allowing the fast manufacturing rates required for mass production of components. This study investigates the feasibility of using the stamp forming technique for the processing of thermoplastic, recyclable composite materials. The material system used in this study is a self-reinforced polypropylene composite material (Curv$^{(R)}$). The investigation includes a detailed experimental study based on strain measurements using a non-contact optical measurement system in conjunction with stamping equipment to record and measure the formability of the thermoplastic composites in real time. A Design of Experiments (DOE) methodology was adopted to elucidate the effect of process parameters that included blank holder force, pre heat temperature and feed rate on stamp forming. DOE analyses indicate that feed rate had negligible influence on the strain evolution during stamp forming and blank holder force and preheat temperature had significant effect on strain evolution during forming.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• 제16권5호
• /
• pp.539-545
• /
• 2018

Longitudinal Displacement Profile (LDP) is an appropriate tool for determination of the displacement magnitude of the tunnel walls as a function of the distance to the tunnel face. Some useful formulations for calculation of LDP have been developed based on the monitoring data on site or by 3D numerical simulations. However, the presented equations are only based on the tunnel dimensions and for different quality of rock masses proposed a unique LDP. In the present study, it is tried to present a new formulation, for calculation of LDP, on the basis of Rock mass quality. For this purpose, a comprehensive numerical simulation program was developed to investigate the effect of rock mass quality on the LDP. Results of the numerical modelling were analyzed and the least square technique was used for fitting an appropriate curve on the derived data from the numerical simulations. The proposed formulation in the present study, is a logistic function and the constants of the logistic function were predicted by rock mass quality index (GSI). Results of this study revealed that, the LDP curves of the tunnel surrounded by rock masses with high quality (GSI>60) match together; because the rock mass deformation varies over an elastic range.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• 제25권4호
• /
• pp.295-302
• /
• 2021

Cross-borehole electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is an effective groundwater detection tool in geophysical investigations. In this paper, an artificial water injection test was conducted on a small clay sample, where the high-resolution cross-borehole ERT was used to investigate the moisture migration law over time. The moisture migration path can be two-dimensionally imaged based on the relationship between resistivity and saturation. The hydraulic conductivity was estimated, and the magnitude ranged from 10^-11 m/s to 10^-9 m/s according to the comparison between the simulation flow and the saturation distribution inferred from ERT. The results indicate that cross-borehole ERT could help determine the resistivity distribution of small size clay samples. Finally, the cross-borehole ERT technique has been applied to investigate the self-sealing characteristics of clay.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• 제27권5호
• /
• pp.437-445
• /
• 2021

Retrofitting of structures has gained importance over the recent years. Particularly, Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) column strengthening has become a challenge to the structural engineers, owing to the risks and complexities involved in it. There are several methods of RCC column strengthening viz. RCC jacketing, steel jacketing and Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) wrapping etc., FRP wrapping is the most promising alternative when compared to the others. The large research database shows FRP wrapping, through lateral confinement, improves the axial load carrying capacity of the columns under concentric loading. However, its confining efficiency reduces under eccentric loading. Hence a relative newer technique called Near Surface Mounting (NSM), in which Carbon FRP (CFRP) strips are epoxy grouted to the precut grooves in the cover concrete of the columns, has been thrust domain of research. NSM technique strengthens the column nominally under concentric load case while significantly under eccentric case. A novel configuration of NSM in which the vertical NSM (VNSM) strips are being connected by horizontal NSM (HNSM) strips was numerically investigated under both concentric and eccentric loading. It was found that the configuration with 6 HNSM strips performed better under eccentric loading than under concentric loading, while the configuration with 3 HNSM strips performed better under concentric loading than under eccentric loading. Hence an optimum of 4 HNSM strips is recommended as strengthening measure for the given column specifications. It was also found that Aluminum alloy cannot be used instead of CFRP in NSM applications owing to its lower mechanical properties.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• 제30권5호
• /
• pp.461-469
• /
• 2022

One of the most important factors that should be considered for using any ground improvement technique is the stability of stabilized soil and the durability of the provided solution for getting the required engineering properties. Generally, most of the earth structures that are constructed on clayey soils are exposing movements due to the long periods of drying or wetting cycles. Over time, environmental changes may result in swells or settlements for these structures. In order to mitigate this problem, this research has been performed on mixtures of high plasticity clay with traditional additives such as lime, cement and non-traditional additives such as polypropylene fiber. The purpose of the research is to assess the most appropriate ground improvement technique by using commercially available additives for resisting the developed desiccation cracks during the drying process and resisting the volume changes that may result during wet/dry cycles as an attempt to simulate the changes of environmental conditions. The results show that the fiber-reinforced samples have the lowest volumetric deformation in comparision with cement and lime stabilized samples, and the optimum fiber content is identified as 0.38%. In addition, the desiccation cracks were not visible on the samples' surface for both unreinforced and chemically stabilized samples. Regarding cracks resistance resulting from the desiccation process, it is observed, that the resistance is connected with the fiber content and increases with the increase of the fiber inclusion, and the optimum content is between 1% and 1.5%.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• 제81권1호
• /
• pp.103-115
• /
• 2022

The prediction error variances for frequencies are usually considered as unknown in the Bayesian system identification process. However, the error variances for mode shapes are taken as known to reduce the dimension of an identification problem. The present study attempts to explore the effectiveness of Bayesian approach of model parameters updating using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) technique considering the prediction error variances for both the frequencies and mode shapes. To remove the ergodicity of Markov Chain, the posterior distribution is obtained by Gaussian Random walk over the proposal distribution. The prior distributions of prediction error variances of modal evidences are implemented through inverse gamma distribution to assess the effectiveness of estimation of posterior values of model parameters. The issue of incomplete data that makes the problem ill-conditioned and the associated singularity problem is prudently dealt in by adopting a regularization technique. The proposed approach is demonstrated numerically by considering an eight-storey frame model with both complete and incomplete modal data sets. Further, to study the effectiveness of the proposed approach, a comparative study with regard to accuracy and computational efficacy of the proposed approach is made with the Sequential Monte Carlo approach of model parameter updating.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• 제12권3호
• /
• pp.351-375
• /
• 2013

Post-punching resistance of a flat slab can help redistribute the gravity loads and resist progressive collapse of a structure following initial damage. One important difficulty with accounting for the post-punching strength of a slab is the discontinuity that develops following punching shear. A numerical simulation technique is proposed here to model and evaluate post-punching resistance of flat slabs. It is demonstrated that the simulation results of punching shear and post-punching response of the model of a slab on a single column are in good agreement with corresponding experimental data. It is also shown that progressive collapse due to a column removal (explosion) can lead to punching failure over an adjacent column. Such failure can propagate throughout the structure leading to the progressive collapse of the structure. Through post-punching modeling of the slab and accounting for the associated discontinuity, it is also demonstrated that the presence of an adequate amount of integrity reinforcement can provide an alternative load path and help resist progressive collapse.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• 제10권4_5호
• /
• pp.459-470
• /
• 2012

This paper summarizes a study for the modal analysis and model updating conducted using the monitoring data obtained from the Canton Tower of 610 m tall, which was established as an international benchmark problem by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Modal properties of the tower were successfully identified using frequency domain decomposition and stochastic subspace identification methods. Finite element model updating using the measurement data was further performed to reduce the modal property differences between the measurements and those of the finite element model. Over-fitting during the model updating was avoided by using an optimization scheme with a regularization term.