• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.290-296
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• 2005

This paper presents the implementation of a crack tracking mobile robot. The crack tracking robot is built for tracking cracks on the pavement. To track cracks, crack must be detected by laser and camera sensors. Laser sensor projects laser on the pavement to detect the discontinuity on the surface and the camera captures the image to find the crack position. Then the robot is commanded to follow the crack. To detect crack position correctly, neural network is used to minimize the positional errors of the captured crack position obtained by transformation from 2 dimensional images to 3 dimensional images.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.75-84
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• 2007

This paper presents a closed-form model for evaluating the restraint effect of pressure induced bending on the opening of a circumferential through-wall crack, which is considered plastic deformation behavior. Three-dimensional finite element analyses with different crack lengths, restraint conditions, pipe geometries, magnitudes of internal pressure, and tensile properties were used to investigate the influence of each parameter on the pressure-induced bending restraint on the crack opening displacement. From these investigations, an analytical model based on elastic-perfectly plastic material was developed in terms of the crack length, symmetric restraint length, mean radius to thickness ratio, axial stress corresponding to the internal pressure, and normalized crack opening displacement evaluated from a linear-elastic crack opening condition. Finite element analyses results demonstrate that the proposed analytical model reliably estimated the restraint effect of pressure-induced bending on the plastic crack opening of a circumferential through-wall crack and properly reflected the dependence on each parameter within the range over which the analytical expression was derived.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.373-380
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• 2000

Finite element analysis is performed on the subsurface crack propagation in brittle materials due to sliding contact. The sliding contact is simulated by a rigid asperity moving across the surface of an elastic half-surface containing single and multiple cracks. The single crack, coplanar cracks and parallel cracks are modeled to investigate the interaction effects on the crack growth in contact fatigue. The crack location is fixed and the friction coefficients between asperity and half-space are varied to analyze the effect of surface friction on stress intensity factor for horizontal cracks. The crack propagation direction is predicted based on the maximum range of shear and tensile stress intensity factors. With a coplanar crack, the stress intensity factor was increased. However, with a parallel crack, the stress intensity factor was decreased. These results indicate that the interaction of a coplanar crack increases fatigue crack propagation, whereas that of a parallel crack decreases it.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.158-165
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• 2004

Up to now, many crack repair techniques have been developed for inhibiting crack growth in structural components. However, the simplest way for inhibiting crack growth is to apply a indentation at the crack tip or at some distance ahead of the expected crack growth path so as to produce residual compressive stresses that can reduce the effective stresses around the crack tip. In spite of its importance to the aerospace industry, little attention has been devoted to evaluation of the indentation residual stress effect on the fatigue crack initiation life quantitatively. Therefore, in the present work, the magnitude and distribution of the indentation residual stresses were investigated in order to estimate the beneficial effect on fatigue crack initiation by using finite element method. Furthermore, to examine the validity of finite element analysis results, residual stress distribution in the indented specimen was measured by using X-ray diffraction technique, and fatigue crack behavior at fastener hole in aluminum alloy 7075-T6 before and after indentation processes was investigated.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Mechanical Technology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.31-37
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• 2011

Sheet aluminum alloys have been used in manufacturing of machine structures. In fatigue crack propagation behavior of thin sheet aluminum alloys, it is important that fatigue crack growth rate is affected by crack closure phenomenon. In this work, we analyzed the characteristics of fatigue crack propagation behavior in experiment of constant stress condition for thin sheet Al 2024-T3 alloys, and identified the retardation behavior of crack growth by comparing experimental results of thin and thick plate specimen. We attempt to operate the fatigue life estimating process using the fatigue related material constants from referred fatigue crack propagation analysis. And we analyzed the experimental and prediction results of fatigue life of thin sheet aluminum alloy in order to identify the relation between retardation behavior of fatigue crack growth and crack closure phenomenon.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.86-94
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• 2000

This study was performed to investigate types and formation mechanism of cracks in two Al alloy welds, A5083 and A7N01 spot-welded by pulse Nd : YAG laser, using SEM, EPMA and Micro-XRD. In the weld zone, three types of crack were observed : center line crack({TEX}$C_{C}${/TEX}), diagonal crack({TEX}$C_{D}${/TEX}), and U shape crack({TEX}$C_{U}${/TEX}). Also, HAZ crack({TEX}$C_{H}${/TEX}) was observed in the HAZ region, furthermore, mixing crack({TEX}$C_{M}${/TEX}) consisting of diagonal crack and HAZ crack was observed. White film was formed at th hot crack region in the fractured surface after it was immersed to 10% NaOH water. In the case of A5083 alloy, white films in {TEX}$C_{C}${/TEX} crack and {TEX}$C_{D}${/TEX} crack region were composed of low melting phases, {TEX}$Fe_{2}SiAl_{8}${/TEX} and eutectic phases, $Mg_2$Al$_3$ and $Mg_2$Si. Such films observed $CuAl_2$, {TEX}$Mg_{32}(Al,Zn)_{3}${/TEX}, MgZn$_2$, $Al_2$CuMg and $Mg_2$Si were observed in the whitely etched films near {TEX}$C_{C}${/TEX} crack and {TEX}$C_{D}${/TEX} crack regions. The formation of liquid films was due to the segregation of Mg, Si, Fe in the case of A5083 alloy and Zn, Mg, Cu, Sim in the case of A7N01 alloy, respectively. The {TEX}$C_{C}${/TEX} and {TEX}$C_{D}${/TEX} cracks were regarded as a result of the occurrence of tensile strain during the welding process. The formation of {TEX}$C_{M}${/TEX} crack is likely to be due to the presence of liquid film at the grain boundary near the fusion line in the base metal as well as in the weld fusion zone during solidification. The {TEX}$C_{U}${/TEX} crack is considered a result of the collapsed keyhole through incomplete closure during rapid solidification.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.680-689
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• 2010

The crack-tip stress fields and fracture mechanics assessment parameters for a surface crack, such as the elastic stress intensity factor or the elastic-plastic J-integral, can be affected significantly by the adjacent cracks. Such a crack interaction effect due to multiple cracks can alter the fracture mechanics assessment parameters significantly. There are many factors to be considered, for instance the relative distance between adjacent cracks, the crack shape, and the loading condition, to quantify the crack interaction effect on the fracture mechanics assessment parameters. Thus, the current assessment codes on crack interaction effects (crack combination rules), including ASME Sec. XI, BS7910, British Energy R6 and API 579-1/ASME FFS-1, provide different rules for combining multiple surface cracks into a single surface crack. The present paper investigates crack interaction effects by evaluating the elastic stress intensity factor and the elastic-plastic J-integral of adjacent in-plane surface cracks in a plate through detailed 3-dimensional elastic and elastic-plastic finite element analyses. The effects on the fracture mechanics assessment parameters of the geometric parameters, the relative distance between two cracks, and the crack shape are investigated systematically. As for the loading condition, an axial tension is considered. Based on the finite element results, the acceptability of the crack combination rules provided in the existing guidance was investigated, and the relevant recommendations on a crack interaction for in-plane surface cracks are discussed. The present results can be used to develop more concrete guidance on crack interaction effects for crack shape characterization to evaluate the integrity of defective components.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.57-65
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• 2000

The stress corrosion crack growth is simulated assuming a small axial surface crack inside a S/G tube. Internal pressure and residual stresses are considered as applied forces. Stress intensity factors along crack front, variation of crack shape and crack growth rate are obtained and discussed. It is noted that the aspect ratio of the crack is not depend on the initial crack shape but depend on the residual stress distribution.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.13 no.3 s.33
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• pp.36-48
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• 1999

Fatigue life and crack retardation behavior after penetration were experimentally examined using surface pre-cracked specimens of aluminium alloy 5083. The Wheeler model retardation parameter was used successfully to predict crack growth behavior after penetration. By using a crack propagation rule, the change in crack shape after penetration can be evaluated quantitatively. Advanced, waveform-based acoustic emission (AE) techniques have been successfully used to evaluate signal characteristics obtained form fatigue crack propagation and penetratin behavior in 6061 aluminum plate with surface crack under fatigue stress. Surface defects in the structural members are apt to be origins of fatigue crack growth, which may cause serious failure of the whole structure. The nondestructive analysis on the crack growth and penetration from these defects may, therefore, be one of the most important subjects on the reliability of the leak before break (LBB) design. The goal of the present study is to determine if different sources of the AE could be identified by characteristics of the waveforms produced from the crack growth and penetration. AE signals detected in four stages were found to have different signal per stage. With analysis of waveform and power spectrum in 6061 aluminum alloys with a surface crack, it is found to be capabilities on real-time monitoring for the crack propagation and penetration behavior of various damages and defects in structural members.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.597-618
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• 2014

For the structures containing multiple discontinuities (voids, inclusions, and cracks), the simulation technologies in the framework of extended finite element method (XFEM) are discussed in details. The level set method is used for representing the location of inner discontinuous interfaces so that the mesh does not need to align with these discontinuities. Several illustrations have been given to verify that the implemented XFEM program is effective. Then, the implemented XFEM program is used to investigate the effects of the voids, inclusions, and minor cracks on the path of major crack propagation. For a plate containing cracks and voids, two possibly crack path can be observed: i) the crack propagates into the void; ii) the crack initially curves towards the void, then, the crack reorients itself and propagates along its original orientation. For a plate with a soft inclusion, the final predicted crack paths tend to close with the inclusion, and an evident difference of crack paths can be observed with different inclusion material properties. However, for a plate with a hard inclusion, the paths tend to away from the inclusion, and a slightly difference of crack paths can only be seen with different inclusion material properties. For a plate with several minor cracks, the trend of crack paths can still be described as that the crack initially curves towards these minor cracks, and then, the crack reorients itself and propagates almost horizontally along its original orientation.