Loading Path (loading + path)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


A simple displacement control technique for pushover analyses

EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING AND STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS, Issue 7 2006
Armelle Anthoine
Abstract This paper explains how to control in displacement any force proportional loading. Such a procedure makes it possible to derive the complete (i.e. including the possible softening branch) response curve of a structure along any radial loading path in the force space. This is exactly what is required in the so-called pushover analysis used in the seismic assessment of structures. The proposed procedure is simple in the sense that it can be easily implemented in any classical (displacement-based) finite element code through a standard displacement control loading process. Furthermore, it leads to an interesting definition of the controlled degree-of-freedom, which, in the case of the pushover analysis, could substitute the classical roof displacement. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Comparative study on biaxial low-cycle fatigue behaviour of three structural steels

FATIGUE & FRACTURE OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES, Issue 12 2006
M. De FREITAS
ABSTRACT In this study the uniaxial/biaxial low-cycle fatigue behaviour of three structural steels (Ck45 normalized steel, 42CrMo4 quenched and tempered steel and AISI 303 stainless steel) are studied, evaluated and compared. Two parameters are considered for estimating non-proportional fatigue lives: the coefficient of additional hardening and the factor of non-proportionality. A series of tests of uniaxial/biaxial low-cycle fatigue composed of tension/compression with cyclic torsion were carried out on a biaxial servo-hydraulic testing machine. Several loading paths were carried out, including proportional and non-proportional ones, in order to verify the additional hardening caused by different loading paths. The experiments showed that the three materials studied have very different additional hardening behaviour. Generally, the transient process from the initial loading cycle to stabilized loading cycle occurs in a few cycles. The stabilized cyclic stress/strain parameters are controlling parameters for fatigue damage. A factor of non-proportionality of the loading paths is evaluated based on the Minimum Circumscribed Ellipse approach. It is shown that the microstructure has a great influence on the additional hardening and the hardening effect is dependent on the loading path and also the intensity of the loading. [source]


Analytical and experimental studies on fatigue crack path under complex multi-axial loading

FATIGUE & FRACTURE OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES, Issue 4 2006
L. REIS
ABSTRACT In real engineering components and structures, many accidental failures are due to unexpected or additional loadings, such as additional bending or torsion, etc. Fractographical analyses of the failure surface and the crack orientation are helpful for identifying the effects of the non-proportional multi-axial loading. There are many factors that influence fatigue crack paths. This paper studies the effects of multi-axial loading path on the crack path. Two kinds of materials were studied and compared in this paper: AISI 303 stainless steel and 42CrMo4 steel. Experiments were conducted in a biaxial testing machine INSTRON 8800. Six different biaxial loading paths were selected and applied in the tests to observe the effects of multi-axial loading paths on the additional hardening, fatigue life and the crack propagation orientation. Fractographic analyses of the plane orientations of crack initiation and propagation were carried out by optical microscope and SEM approaches. It was shown that the two materials studied had different crack orientations under the same loading path, due to their different cyclic plasticity behaviour and different sensitivity to non-proportional loading. Theoretical predictions of the damage plane were made using the critical plane approaches such as the Brown,Miller, the Findley, the Wang,Brown, the Fatemi,Socie, the Smith,Watson,Topper and the Liu's criteria. Comparisons of the predicted orientation of the damage plane with the experimental observations show that the critical plane models give satisfactory predictions for the orientations of early crack growth of the 42CrMo4 steel, but less accurate predictions were obtained for the AISI 303 stainless steel. This observation appears to show that the applicability of the fatigue models is dependent on the material type and multi-axial microstructure characteristics. [source]


Effects of non-proportional loading paths on the orientation of fatigue crack path

FATIGUE & FRACTURE OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES, Issue 5 2005
L. REIS
ABSTRACT Fatigue crack path prediction and crack arrest are very important for structural safety. In real engineering structures, there are many factors influencing the fatigue crack paths, such as the material type (microstructure), structural geometry and loading path, etc. In this paper, both experimental and numerical methods are applied to study the effects of loading path on crack orientations. Experiments were conducted on a biaxial testing machine, using specimens made of two steels: 42CrMo4 and CK45 (equivalent to AISI 1045), with six different biaxial loading paths. Fractographical analyses of the plane of the stage I crack propagation were carried out and the crack orientations were measured using optical microscopy. The multiaxial fatigue models, such as the critical plane models and also the energy-based critical plane models, were applied for predicting the orientation of the critical plane. Comparisons of the predicted orientation of the damage plane with the experimental observations show that the shear-based multiaxial fatigue models provide good predictions for stage I crack growth for the ductile materials studied in this paper. [source]


Numerical local analysis of relevant internal variables for constitutive modelling of granular materials

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, Issue 11 2010
Yuhanis Yunus
Abstract DEM simulations on spherical materials have been performed to study the behaviour of model granular materials not only under monotonous stress path such as triaxial compression or extension, but also under two-way cycling loading paths. Three reference states have been considered to characterize the behaviour of the granular material: the characteristic state, transitory state between volumetric contraction and dilation, the state of maximum resistance and the critical state. These states are regarded with respect to void ratio and anisotropy of fabric which are the two internal variables retained for the description of the internal state of the material. The characteristic state and the state at maximum resistance are clearly dependent on both levels of density and anisotropy at the beginning of a loading path. Bilinear models involving the two internal variables were designed for the characteristic state, the maximum dilatancy and the extent of the dilatancy domain for axisymetric loadings. They show that in each case the effect of density and anisotropy are different in compression and extension. The influence of anisotropy and density seems to be of the same order of magnitude. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Failure of heterogeneous materials: 3D meso-scale FE models with embedded discontinuities

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 13 2010
N. Benkemoun
Abstract We present a meso-scale model for failure of heterogeneous quasi-brittle materials. The model problem of heterogeneous materials that is addressed in detail is based on two-phase 3D representation of reinforced heterogeneous materials, such as concrete, where the inclusions are melt within the matrix. The quasi-brittle failure mechanisms are described by the spatial truss representation, which is defined by the chosen Voronoi mesh. In order to explicitly incorporate heterogeneities with no need to change this mesh, some bar elements are cut by the phase-interface and must be split into two parts. Any such element is enhanced using both weak and strong discontinuities, based upon the Incompatible Mode Method. Furthermore, a dedicated operator split solution procedure is proposed to keep local any additional computation on elements with embedded discontinuities. The results for several numerical simulations are presented to illustrate the capabilities of the proposed model to provide an excellent representation of failure mechanisms for any different macroscopic loading path. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]