Search results for "Finite Element Method"
showing 10 items of 746 documents
Improved FE model for simulation of friction stir welding of different materials
2010
Abstract One of the most relevant aspects of friction stir welding is the possibility to weld different materials. In the present paper, the authors present an improved continuum finite element model for the simulation of friction stir welding processes aimed to obtain T joints, made of a stringer in AA7175-T73511 and of a skin in AA2024-T4. The model, taking into account the thermomechanical behaviours of the two different materials, is utilised to study the occurring material flow and residual stress state. Numerical results are compared with experimental observations: the model is able to predict the material flow, obtaining important information on the joint failure mode.
Meshless meso-modeling of masonry in the computational homogenization framework
2017
In the present study a multi-scale computational strategy for the analysis of structures made-up of masonry material is presented. The structural macroscopic behavior is obtained making use of the Computational Homogenization (CH) technique based on the solution of the Boundary Value Problem (BVP) of a detailed Unit Cell (UC) chosen at the mesoscale and representative of the heterogeneous material. The attention is focused on those materials that can be regarded as an assembly of units interfaced by adhesive/cohesive joints. Therefore, the smallest UC is composed by the aggregate and the surrounding joints, the former assumed to behave elastically while the latter show an elastoplastic soft…
Solid state bonding mechanics in extrusion and FSW: Experimental tests and numerical analyses
2007
In the paper the authors compare the different solid state bonding mechanics for both the processes of hollow profiles extrusion and Friction Stir Welding (FSW), through the results obtained from a wide experimental campaign on AA6082-T6 aluminum alloys. Microstructure evaluation, tensile tests and micro-hardness measurements realized on specimens extracted by samples of the two processes are discussed also by means of the results obtained from coupled FEM simulation of the processes. ©2007 American Institute of Physics
Microstructural corrosion of aluminium alloys: a predictive finite element model based on corrosion-mimicking experiments
2013
The purpose of this study is to implement the basis of a finite element model (FEM) based on the resolution of the Nernst–Planck equation in order to progress in the predictive simulation of microstructural corrosion on aluminium alloys. Certain constituent intermetallic particles at the surface of aluminium alloys are considered as preferential sites for the initiation of structural corrosion resulting in localised trenching around the particles and the surrounding Al matrix. In this work, a modified scanning electrochemical microscope (SECM) experiment was used to induce such phenomena via a local alkalinization on 200 nm thick aluminium coatings, promoting their local dissolution in an a…
Grain-boundary modelling of hydrogen assisted intergranular stress corrosion cracking
2018
Abstract A novel hybrid strategy for modelling intergranular hydrogen embrittlement in polycrystalline microstructures is proposed. The technique is based on a grain-boundary integral representation of the polycrystalline micro-mechanics, numerically solved by the boundary element method, coupled with an explicit finite element model of the intergranular hydrogen diffusion. The intergranular interaction between contiguous grains in the aggregate is modelled through extrinsic cohesive-frictional traction-separation laws, whose parameters depend on the concentration of intergranular hydrogen, which diffuses over the interface according to the Fick’s second law, inducing the weakening of the i…
Multiphysical modeling of dissimilar welding via interlayer
2011
Abstract A multiphysical finite element modeling of dissimilar welding via interlayer material was proposed. A 2D model including heat transfer, fluid flow and level set problems allowed to simulate the morphology and the composition of melted zone in horizontal plane. The calculated thickness of melted interlayer was used as a main criterion for the choice of optimal welding conditions, when the chemical interaction between the joined materials must be avoided. A 1D diffusion model at the limit of melted zone allowed estimating the length and the composition of diffusion layer between one of the materials and the interlayer basing on previously calculated local temperature gradient. The si…
Parameters influencing the stiffness of composites reinforced by carbon nanotubes – A numerical–analytical approach
2014
Abstract Due to their high stiffness and strength, as well as their electrical conductivity, carbon nanotubes are under intense investigation as fillers in polymer matrix composites. The nature of the carbon nanotube/polymer bonding and the curvature of the carbon nanotubes may strongly reduce the reinforcing effect of the carbon nanotubes when added to a matrix to create composites. Here the effects of carbon nanotube waviness and the interaction with the matrix on the stiffness of the composite are investigated. Using a mixed numerical–analytical model, a parametric study of the waviness and volume fraction influence of CNTs on the elastic behavior of the nanocomposite is presented. The m…
Thermal optimization of the Helium-Cooled Lithium Lead breeding zone layout design regarding TBR enhancement
2017
Abstract Within the framework of EUROfusion R&D activities, CEA-Saclay has carried out an investigation of the thermal and mechanical performances of alternative designs intended to enhance the Tritium Breeding Ratio (TBR) of the Helium-Cooled Lithium Lead (HCLL) Breeding Blanket (BB) for DEMO. Neutronic calculations performed on the 2014 DEMO HCLL baseline predicted a value of TBR equal to 1.07, lower than the required value of 1.1, necessary to ensure the tritium self-sufficiency of the breeding blanket taking into account uncertainties. In order to reach the TBR target, the strategy of the steel amount reduction inside the HCLL module breeding zone (BZ) has been followed by suppressing s…
On the effect of stiffening plates configuration on the DEMO Water Cooled Lithium Lead Breeding Blanket module thermo-mechanical behaviour
2019
Abstract Within the framework of the pre-conceptual design of the EU-DEMO Breeding Blanket (BB) supported by EUROfusion action, results of the research activities carried out in the last years have highlighted that changes in the proposed Water Cooled Lithium Lead (WCLL) BB design have to be considered, especially as to the liquid breeder circulation path within the BB module. Therefore, in view of the definition of a final WCLL BB module layout, a parametric campaign of numerical analyses has been carried out at the University of Palermo in order to assess the impact of different SPs configurations on the module thermo-mechanical performances. To this purpose, attention has been focussed o…
Start-up and shutdown thermomechanical transient analyses of the IFMIF European lithium target system
2014
In the framework of the current IFMIF Engineering Validation and Engineering Design Activities (IFMIF/EVEDA) phase, ENEA is responsible for the design of the European concept of the IFMIF lithium target system which foresees the possibility to periodically replace only the most irradiated and thus critical component (i.e., the backplate) while continuing to operate the rest of the target for a longer period (bayonet backplate concept). With the objective of evaluating the performances of the system in terms of temperature, stress and displacement fields evolution during start-up and shutdown phases, an uncoupled thermomechanical transient analysis has been performed in close collaboration w…