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At least 253 records · Page 14

Combined In-Plane and Through-the-Thickness Analysis for Failure Prediction of Bolted Composite Joints

Although two-dimensional methods provide accurate predictions of contact stresses and bolt load distribution in bolted composite joints with multiple bolts, they fail to capture the effect of thickness on the strength prediction. Typically, the plies close to the interface of laminates are expected to be the most highly loaded, due to bolt deformation, and they are usually the first to fail. This study presents an analysis method to account for the variation of stresses in the thickness direction by augmenting a two-dimensional analysis with a one-dimensional through the thickness analysis. The two-dimensional in-plane solution method based on the combined complex potential and variational formulation satisfies the equilibrium equations exactly, and satisfies the boundary conditions and constraints by minimizing the total potential. Under general loading conditions, this method addresses multiple bolt configurations without requiring symmetry conditions while accounting for the contact phenomenon and the interaction among the bolts explicitly. The through-the-thickness analysis is based on the model utilizing a beam on an elastic foundation. The bolt, represented as a short beam while accounting for bending and shear deformations, rests on springs, where the spring coefficients represent the resistance of the composite laminate to bolt deformation. The combined in-plane and through-the-thickness analysis produces the bolt/hole displacement in the thickness direction, as well as the stress state in each ply. The initial ply failure predicted by applying the average stress criterion is followed by a simple progressive failure. Application of the model is demonstrated by considering single- and double-lap joints of metal plates bolted to composite laminates.

Kradinov, V.↗

HAZARD ANALYSIS OF DIGITAL ENGINEERED SAFETY FEATURES ACTUATION SYSTEM IN ADVANCED NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS USING A REDUNDANCY-GUIDED APPROACH

Replacing the existing aging analog instrumentation and control (I&C) systems with modern safety control and protection digital technology offers one of the foremost means of performance improvements and cost reductions for the existing nuclear power plants (NPPs). However, the qualification of digital I&C systems remains a challenge, especially considering the issue of software common-cause failures (CCFs), which are difficult to address. With the application and upgrades of advanced digital I&C systems, software CCFs have become a potential threat to plant safety because most redundant designs use similar digital platforms or software in the operating and application systems. With complex designs of multilayer redundancy to meet the single-failure criterion, digital I&C safety systems (e.g., engineered safety-features actuation system [ESFAS]) are of a particular concern in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing procedures. This paper applies a modularized approach to conduct redundancy-guided systems-theoretic hazard analysis for an advanced digital ESFAS with multilevel redundancy designs. Systematic methods and risk-informed tools are incorporated to address both hardware and software CCFs, which provide guidance to eliminate the triggers of potential single points of failure in the design of digital safety systems in advanced plant designs.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Fracture Analysis of the FAA/NASA Wide Stiffened Panels

This paper presents the fracture analyses conducted on the FAA/NASA stiffened and unstiffened panels using the STAGS (STructural Analysis of General Shells) code with the critical crack-tip-opening angle (CTOA) fracture criterion. The STAGS code with the "plane-strain" core option was used in all analyses. Previous analyses of wide, flat panels have shown that the high-constraint conditions around a crack front, like plane strain, has to be modeled in order for the critical CTOA fracture criterion to predict wide panel failures from small laboratory tests. In the present study, the critical CTOA value was determined from a wide (unstiffened) panel with anti-buckling guides. The plane-strain core size was estimated from previous fracture analyses and was equal to about the sheet thickness. Rivet flexibility and stiffener failure was based on methods and criteria, like that currently used in industry. STAGS and the CTOA criterion were used to predict load-against-crack extension for the wide panels with a single crack and multiple-site damage cracking at many adjacent rivet holes. Analyses were able to predict stable crack growth and residual strength with a few percent (5%) of stiffened panel tests results but over predicted the buckling failure load on a unstiffened panel with a single crack by 10%.

Seshadri, B. R.↗

Fracture Analysis of the FAA/NASA Wide Stiffened Panels

This paper presents the fracture analyses conducted on the FAA/NASA stiffened and unstiffened panels using the STAGS (STructural Analysis of General Shells) code with the critical crack-tip-opening angle (CTOA) fracture criterion. The STAGS code with the "plane-strain" core option was used in all analyses. Previous analyses of wide, flat panels have shown that the high-constraint conditions around a crack front, like plane strain, has to be modeled in order for the critical CTOA fracture criterion to predict wide panel failures from small laboratory tests. In the present study, the critical CTOA value was determined from a wide (unstiffened) panel with anti-buckling guides. The plane-strain core size was estimated from previous fracture analyses and was equal to about the sheet thickness. Rivet flexibility and stiffener failure was based on methods and criteria, like that currently used in industry. STAGS and the CTOA criterion were used to predict load-against-crack extension for the wide panels with a single crack and multiple-site damage cracking at many adjacent rivet holes. Analyses were able to predict stable crack growth and residual strength within a few percent (5%) of stiffened panel tests results but over predicted the buckling failure load on an unstiffened panel with a single crack by 10%.

Seshadri, B. R.↗

Axisymmetric micromechanics of elastic-perfectly plastic fibrous composites under uniaxial tension loading

The uniaxial response of a continuous fiber elastic-perfectly plastic composite is modeled herein as a two-element composite cylinder. An axisymmetric analytical micromechanics solution is obtained for the rate-independent elastic-plastic response of the two-element composite cylinder subjected to tensile loading in the fiber direction for the case wherein the core fiber is assumed to be a transversely isotropic elastic-plastic material obeying the Tsai-Hill yield criterion, with yielding simulating fiber failure. The matrix is assumed to be an isotropic elastic-plastic material obeying the Tresca yield criterion. It is found that there are three different circumstances that depend on the fiber and matrix properties: fiber yield, followed by matrix yielding; complete matrix yield, followed by fiber yielding; and partial matrix yield, followed by fiber yielding, followed by complete matrix yield. The order in which these phenomena occur is shown to have a pronounced effect on the predicted uniaxial effective composite response.

Lee, Jong-Won↗

A Review of the CTOA/CTOD Fracture Criterion: Why it Works

The CTOA/CTOD fracture criterion is one of the oldest fracture criteria applied to fracture of metallic materials with cracks. During the past two decades, the use of elastic-plastic finite-element analyses to simulate fracture of laboratory specimens and structural components using the CTOA criterion has expanded rapidly. But the early applications were restricted to two-dimensional analyses, assuming either plane-stress or plane-strain behavior, which lead to generally non-constant values of CTOA, especially in the early stages crack extension. Later, the non-constant CTOA values were traced to inappropriate state-of-stress (or constraint) assumptions in the crack-front region and severe crack tunneling in thin-sheet materials. More recently, the CTOA fracture criterion has been used with three-dimensional analyses to study constraint effects, crack tunneling, and the fracture process. The constant CTOA criterion (from crack initiation to failure) has been successfully applied to numerous structural applications, such as aircraft fuselages and pipelines. But why does the "constant CTOA" fracture criterion work so well? This paper reviews the results from several studies, discusses the issues of why CTOA works, and discusses its limitations.

Newman, J. C., Jr.↗

Non-steady state cracking in ceramic matrix composites

A micromechanics analytical model based on the consistent shear lag theory is developed for predicting the failure modes in a fiber-reinforced unidirectional ceramic matrix composite. The model accounts for the relatively large matrix stiffness. The fiber and matrix stresses are established as functions of the applied stress, crack geometry, and most importantly, the microstructural properties of the constituents. From the predicted stress, the mode of failure is established based on the point stress criterion. The role of the microstructural properties on the failure mode and ultimate strength is assessed.

Dharani, L. R.↗

Human versus automation in responding to failures: an expected-value analysis

A simple analytical criterion is provided for deciding whether a human or automation is best for a failure detection task. The method is based on expected-value decision theory in much the same way as is signal detection. It requires specification of the probabilities of misses (false negatives) and false alarms (false positives) for both human and automation being considered, as well as factors independent of the choice--namely, costs and benefits of incorrect and correct decisions as well as the prior probability of failure. The method can also serve as a basis for comparing different modes of automation. Some limiting cases of application are discussed, as are some decision criteria other than expected value. Actual or potential applications include the design and evaluation of any system in which either humans or automation are being considered.

NASA Discipline Space Human Factors↗

Finite-element analysis of initiation, stable crack growth and instability using a crack-tip-opening displacement criterion

An elastic-plastic (incremental and small strain) finite element analysis was used with a crack growth criterion to study crack initiation, stable crack growth, and instability under monotonic loading to failure of metallic materials. The crack growth criterion was a critical crack-tip-opening displacement (CTOD) at a specified distance from the crack tip, or equivalently, a critical crack-tip-opening angle (CTOA). Whenever the CTOD (or CTOA) equaled or exceeded a critical value, the crack was assumed to grow. Single values of critical CTOD were used in the analysis to model crack initiation, stable crack growth, and instability for 7075-T651 and 2024-T351 aluminum alloy compact specimens. Calculated and experimentally measured CTOD values at initiation agreed well for both aluminum alloys. These critical CTOD values were also used to predict failure loads on center-crack tension specimens and a specially-designed three-hole-crack tension specimen made of the two aluminum alloys and of 304 stainless steel. All specimens were 12.7 mm thick. Predicted failure loads for 7075-T651 aluminum alloy and 304 stainless steel specimens were generally within + or - 15 percent of experimental failure loads, whereas the predicted failure loads for 2024-T351 aluminum alloy specimens were generally within + or - 5 percent of the experimental loads.

Newman, J. C., Jr.↗

Predicting failure of specimens with either surface cracks or corner cracks at holes

A previously developed fracture criterion was applied to fracture data for surface-cracked specimens subjected to remote tensile loading and for specimens with a corner crack (or cracks) emanating from a circular hole subjected to either remote tensile loading or pin loading in the hole. The failure stresses calculated from this criterion were consistent with experimental failure stresses for both surface and corner cracks for a wide range of crack shapes and crack sizes in specimens of aluminum alloy, titanium alloy, and steel. Empirical equations for the elastic stress-intensity factors for a surface crack and for a corner crack (or cracks) emanating from a circular hole in a finite-thickness and finite-width specimen were also developed.

Newman, J. C., Jr.↗

Effect of dropped plies on the strength of graphite-epoxy laminates

The reduction in the compressive and tensile strengths of graphite-epoxy laminates with thickness discontinuities due to dropped plies was studied by experiment and analysis. The specimens were fabricated with all the dropped plies lumped together in the center of a sixteen-ply quasi-isotropic layup, such that one surface was flat and the slope of the opposite surface changed abruptly at the dropped ply location to accommodate the thickness change. Even though the thick and thin sections are symmetrically laminated, there exists bending-extension coupling due to the geometric eccentricity of the middle planes of the thick and thin sections. Experiments were conducted on fifty-four specimens that differed in the configuration of the dropped plies only. The strength of a laminate with dropped plies is less than the strength of its thin section, and the compressive strength of a laminate with dropped plies is less than its tensile strength. The reduction in strength is directly related to the axial stiffness change between the thick and thin sections. To examine the mechanism of failure, the three-dimensional state of stress in the dropped ply region was evaluated by the finite element method. A tensile interlaminar criterion predicted the correct location of failure, but underestimated the failure load.

Curry, James M.↗

Some Investigations of the General Instability of Stiffened Metal Cylinders IX : Criterions for the Design of Stiffened Metal Cylinders Subject to General Instability Failures

Results are presented of an experimental investigation of the general instability of reinforced thin-walled metal cylinders subjected to pure bending and pure torsion over a range of geometrical quantities and structural sectional characteristics. Based on the experimental results and an existing theory of unstiffened metal cylinders, parameters were evolved which make possible an estimate of the stress at which general instability will occur for any given stiffened metal structure of circular cross section. (author)

STRESSED SKIN - CYLINDERS, METAL↗

Fracture analysis of ductile materials

In the present paper, Newman's (1973) two-parameter fracture criterion is used to analyze failure of single-edge-crack tension specimens made of bolting steel and rotor steel, with thicknesses and widths of the same order. It is shown that for width-to-thickness ratios of roughly unity, the plastic-collapse stress is strongly influenced by the state of stress on the net section and the collapse stress is closer to the plane-strain value.

Newman, J. C., Jr.↗

A prediction model of failure threshold for shear deformation in a Zr-based bulk metallic glass

The failure of bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) during plastic deformation at room temperature is abrupt and instantaneous, while the analysis of precursor information based on avalanche events helps predict catastrophic failure. An acoustic emission (AE) signal can provide accurate precursor information for material failure, due to its sensitive and high fast calculation ability. In the current study, AE monitoring tests are carried out during uniaxial compression tests of BMGs at different strain rates. The AE experimental failure threshold, E max , is proposed on the basis of AE cumulative energy, which reflects the intensity of damage evolution at different loading conditions. Compared with the critical shear band velocity (CSBV) associated with stick-slip dynamics of serrated flow, E max is a more sensitive failure parameter since it is connected with the local microscopic changes that occur during the material response process. Here, the E max is obtained prior to reaching the CSBV since the calculation of these two avalanches analysis focuses on the different stages of shear band growth. In particular, AE events are related to the “dry” friction process in the first stage, however, the CSBV is responsible for the “viscous” glide in the second stage. Therefore, Emax is not affected by the complex interactions between the shear bands during the stick-slip process. The maximum avalanche of serrated flow, S max , is proposed as the experimental failure threshold, which depends on the applied strain rate as S max ~ $\dot{ε}$ –λ . According to the relationship of E max and S max , the theoretical failure threshold, E max , follows a criterion E max = 2545$\dot{ε}$ –λ - 4468, where λ is equivalent to 0.15 for this work. Finally, combining the different calculations and AE measurements, this model gives new insights to predict the deformation failure behavior of Zr-based BMGs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

On modelling the residual strength of impact damaged, compression loaded laminates

A methodology is presented to predict the residual compression strength of impact damaged composite laminates by considering the competing failure modes of local delamination buckling and compression failure. The minimum delamination buckling load and the location of the first local region to buckle are determined by a Rayleigh-Ritz analysis. The Rayleigh-Ritz analysis is formulated to account for the multiple delamination locations, Poisson's ratio mismatch between sublaminates and possible bending-stretching coupling behavior of the delaminated regions. The compression failure load is determined by a modified maximum strain criterion applied in the delaminated region. The minimum delamination buckling and compression failure loads may be compared to the global buckling load to predict initial failure. For non-catastrophic failures, failure sequences are predicted in an iterative manner. Analytical predictions for sequential failure modes and loads are shown to correlate well with experimental results. A comparative evaluation of various delamination buckling models and their accuracy in predicting experimental results is also presented.

Davidson, B. D.↗

The strength of Miranda's lithosphere

In attempting to understand the endogenic processes which have shaped the surface of an icy satellite, it is desirable to quantify the failure strength of the satellite's lithosphere. In a crust that is fractured on a large scale, frictional sliding along pre-existing fractures occurs in response to lower differential stresses than required to initiate fracture of pristine rock, thus governing failure of a brittle lithosphere. Failure is predicted along favorably oriented fracture planes; if fractures of all orientations are assumed to be present in the crust (as is expected of a heavily cratered lithosphere), frictional failure relations are directly applicable. The Coulomb criterion predicts that the shear stress (sigma sub t) and normal stress (sigma sub n) components on a fracture plane at failure are related as sigma sub t = mu-sigma sub n + S sub o, where S sub o is the cohesion and mu is the coefficient of friction. At moderate to high pressures, the frictional sliding strength of most materials is found to be sigma sub t = 0.85 sigma sub n.

Pappalardo, Robert↗

Compression failure of angle-ply laminates

Test results from the compression loading of (+ or - Theta/ - or + Theta)(sub 6s) angle-ply IM7-8551-7a specimens, 0 less than or = Theta less than or = 90 degs, are presented. The observed failure strengths and modes are discussed, and typical stress-strain relations shown. Using classical lamination theory and the maximum stress criterion, an attempt is made to predict failure stress as a function of Theta. This attempt results in poor correlation with test results and thus a more advanced model is used. The model, which is based on a geometrically nonlinear theory, and which was taken from previous work, includes the influence of observed layer waviness. The waviness is described by the wave length and the wave amplitude. The theory is briefly described and results from the theory are correlated with test results. It is shown that by using levels of waviness observed in the specimens, the correlation between predictions and observations is good.

Peel, L. D.↗

Evaluation of a Linear Cumulative Damage Failure Model for Epoxy Adhesive

Recently a significant amount of work has been conducted to provide more complex and accurate material models for use in the evaluation of adhesive bondlines. Some of this has been prompted by recent studies into the effects of residual stresses on the integrity of bondlines. Several techniques have been developed for the analysis of bondline residual stresses. Key to these analyses is the criterion that is used for predicting failure. Residual stress loading of an adhesive bondline can occur over the life of the component. For many bonded systems, this can be several years. It is impractical to directly characterize failure of adhesive bondlines under a constant load for several years. Therefore, alternative approaches for predictions of bondline failures are required. In the past, cumulative damage failure models have been developed. These models have ranged from very simple to very complex. This paper documents the generation and evaluation of some of the most simple linear damage accumulation tensile failure models for an epoxy adhesive. This paper shows how several variations on the failure model were generated and presents an evaluation of the accuracy of these failure models in predicting creep failure of the adhesive. The paper shows that a simple failure model can be generated from short-term failure data for accurate predictions of long-term adhesive performance.

Richardson, David E.↗