Search results for "Cracking"
showing 10 items of 102 documents
Pumice concrete for structural wall panels
2003
Some properties of lightweight pumice stone concrete (LWPSC) are discussed, on account of a possible structural use of this material. Then the results of an experimental investigation are described, in order to show that pumice can really be considered an alternative to common artificial lightweight aggregates, taking into account the performance pointed out by loading tests carried out on structural systems made of LWPSC. Three different kinds of reinforced wall panels were made using LWPSC, lightweight expanded clay concrete and normal weight concrete; then their structural responses under horizontal cyclic and constant vertical forces were compared, above all with reference to lateral st…
On the origin of the sigmoid shape in the UO2 oxidation weight gain curves
2009
International audience; Cracking and spalling are known to occur during the oxidation of UO2. However, these phenomena are not considered by the existing kinetic models of the oxidation of UO2 into U3O8. In this study the oxidation of UO2 samples of various sizes from the single crystal to nanopowders, has been followed by isothermal and isobaric thermogravimetry, environmental scanning electron microscopy and in situ X-ray diffraction at temperatures ranging from 250 to 370°C in air. It has been shown that cracking occurs once a critical layer thickness of intermediate oxide has been reached, which corresponds to the beginning of the sigmoid kinetic curve. Cracking contribution to the sigm…
Moment-axial force domain of corroded R.C. columns
2016
In the present paper, a simple model to determine the moment-axial force domain of the cross-section of reinforced concrete (R.C.) columns subjected to corrosion process is presented. The model considers members with square and rectangular cross-sections and it accounts for—cover spalling; buckling of longitudinal reinforcing bars; loss of bond of bar in tension; reduction of confinement pressures (due to the reduction of the area of stirrups and cracking of concrete induced by rust formation). The analytical expressions for prediction of the area reduction of steel, bond strength and critical load of longitudinal bars utilized were verified against experimental data available in the litera…
Experimental in situ behaviour of unreinforced masonry elements retrofitted by pre-tensioned stainless steel ribbons
2014
Abstract The results of in situ tests carried out on unreinforced and reinforced poor rubble masonry full-scale walls in the earthquake prone Messina (Italy) area are presented and discussed. This experimental research was aimed at the assessment of the in plane shear behaviour of ancient masonry strengthened with an innovative system for masonry and retrofitting of reinforced concrete element constituted by three-dimensional pre-tensioned stainless steel ribbons. A comparison between different strengthening configurations was made in order to characterise the behaviour of masonry panels under shear-compression load, focusing attention on the diagonal cracking failure mode. The effectivenes…
Laser-induced damage in cold-sprayed composite coatings
2011
International audience; Ag-Ni composite coatings were achieved using the cold spray process. In this work, two blends were sprayed to lead to coatings with different mechanical properties, which corresponded to either a fine or a coarse microstructure. These coatings were studied using SEM and X-ray microtomography (XMT) to determine the best coating quality through characterization of particle-to-particle bonding. The fine microstructure showed better properties than the coarse microstructure. To avoid time-consuming characterization techniques such as SEM and XMT, an innovative laser characterization test was developed. The principle of this test is based on the thermal shock-induced by a…
An enhanced grain-boundary framework for computational homogenization and micro-cracking simulations of polycrystalline materials
2015
An enhanced three-dimensional (3D) framework for computational homogenization and intergranular cracking of polycrystalline materials is presented. The framework is aimed at reducing the computational cost of polycrystalline micro simulations, with an aim towards effective multiscale modelling. The scheme is based on a recently developed Voronoi cohesive-frictional grain-boundary formulation. A regularization scheme is used to avoid excessive mesh refinements often induced by the presence of small edges and surfaces in mathematically exact 3D Voronoi morphologies. For homogenization purposes, periodic boundary conditions are enforced on non-prismatic periodic micro representative volume ele…
Formulation of a truss element for modelling the tensile response of FRCM strips
2022
Modelling the tensile behaviour of Fabric Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (FRCM) is not a straightforward task due to the inner complexity of the mechanics of this kind of composite materials. In fact, after that the matrix is cracked, the compatibility between the fibre and the surrounding mortar is lost and the system behaves as two separate elements connected by a brittle interface. For this reason, several research studies proposed computational approaches for evaluating the tensile behaviour of FRCM composites, usually referring to brick-based 3D Finite Element Models (FEM) or to complex numerical procedures. This paper shows the formulation of a simplified coupled truss element for mod…
Prediction of crack onset strain in composite laminates at mixed mode cracking
2009
Failure process of continuous fiber reinforced composite laminates in tension usually starts with appearance of intralaminar cracks. In composite laminates with complex lay-ups and/or under combined loading, intralaminar cracks may develop in plies with different reinforcement directions. A necessary part of mixed mode cracking models is the criterion of failure. For propagation-controlled fracture it is usually formulated in terms of energy release rates and their critical values of the particular composite material. Intralaminar fracture toughness of unidirectionally reinforced glass/epoxy composite was experimentally determined at several mode I and mode II ratios. It is found that the c…
Time dependent viscoelastic rheological response of pure, modified and synthetic bituminous binders
2016
Bitumen is a viscoelastic material that exhibits both elastic and viscous components of response and displays both a temperature and time dependent relationship between applied stresses and resultant strains. In addition, as bitumen is responsible for the viscoelastic behaviour of all bituminous materials, it plays a dominant role in defining many of the aspects of asphalt road performance, such as strength and stiffness, permanent deformation and cracking. Although conventional bituminous materials perform satisfactorily in most highway pavement applications, there are situations that require the modification of the binder to enhance the properties of existing asphalt material. The best kn…
Modelling intergranular and transgranular micro-cracking in polycrystalline materials
2018
Abstract In this work, a grain boundary formulation for intergranular and transgranular micro-cracking in three-dimensional polycrystalline aggregates is presented. The formulation is based on the displacement and stress boundary integral equations of solid mechanics and it has the advantage of expressing the polycrystalline problem in terms of grain boundary variables only. The individual grains within the polycrystalline morphology are modelled as generally anisotropic linear elastic domains with random spatial orientation. Transgranular micro-cracking is assumed to occur along specific cleavage planes, whose orientation in space within the grains depend upon the crystallographic lattice.…