Evaluation Of Mechanical Properties Research Articles

EFFICIENT WASTEWATER TREATMENT THROUGH INTEGRATED WATER HYACINTH SYSTEMS: ADVANCES AND APPLICATIONS IN CONCRETE

This research focuses on enhancing water quality for concrete construction by utilizing treated wastewater from wetlands. The study employs a dual-stage treatment process involving charcoal and aggregate layers for primary treatment, followed by water hyacinths for secondary treatment. Investigating water hyacinths’ ability to absorb nutrients and contaminants from wastewater is a unique aspect of the study, offering a potential solution for soil and water remediation. Water hyacinths, especially stems and leaves, act as natural filters, effectively indicating heavy-metal pollution in tropical regions. The primary goal is heavy-metal removal from wastewater, allowing treated-water use in concrete production at varying proportions (20 %, 40 %, 60 %, 80 %, and 100 %). Silica fume at 15 % concentration is incorporated to enhance the concrete’s durability. Concrete specimens undergo thorough preparation and mechanical property evaluations, compared to conventional M20-grade concrete. The results reveal improvements in mechanical properties, particularly with 80 % treated wastewater in the mix. The dual-stage treatment process removes heavy metals, and the inclusion of silica fume enhances the concrete’s durability and resistance.

Influence of rice straw and wood fiber combination on physical and mechanical properties of rice straw pulverized composite board

The production of particleboards from various kinds of ligno cellulosic materials are successful on commercial scale in various parts of the country. However, much success is not seen in use of crop residues for particleboards. Rice straw and wheat straw are one such materials that are abundantly available in India that can be used to produce particleboard. The present work investigated the effect of Rice straw particles and wood fibers combination on physical and mechanical properties of the composite board. The pulverized rice straw composite boards were produced with three different composition of rice straw material (100 %, 70 %, 50 %) and wood Fibers (0 %, 30 %, 50 %). Melamine Urea Formaldehyde (MUF), Phenol Cardanol Formaldehyde (PCF), Blocked Isocyanate resin combined with PCF (BPCF), Blocked Isocyanate combined with Urea Melamine Formaldehyde (BUMF) and Blocked Isocyanate combined with PF (BPF) resins were synthesized. The resin system (10%,12%,14%) with requisite additive was admixed with rice straw and wood fibers. According to the resin system employed, the hot press temperature, specific pressure and curing time were worked out for compression of the boards. The boards were produced with 780 - 850 kg/m3 nominal density and prior to testing, the test specimens were exposed to an atmosphere maintained at a relative humidity of 65 ± 5 percent and at a temperature of 27 ± 2 °C until their masses are nearly constant. The boards made were subjected for evaluation of physical and mechanical properties according to IS 3087. It was found that the Rice Straw particles with Wood Fibers of 50-50 combination bonded with PCF and also with MUF adhesive of 12 % resin solids confirms to the requirement of physical and mechanical properties as per IS 3087 particleboards of wood and other lignocellulosic materials (medium density) for general purposes Specification. Comparison with resin for hybrid boards of rice straw particles with wood fiber, BPCF has shown excellent properties than BPF and BUMF. The study indicated that increasing the percentage replacement of wood fibers with rice straw particles by more than 50 % decreased the internal bond strength. It can be concluded that rice straw pulverized particleboard can be successfully made with the combination of 30 % - 50 % wood fibers using PCF resin or BPCF resin.

Metallurgical and mechanical properties evaluation of the activated flux tungsten inert gas weldments

The activated flux tungsten inert gas welding process is an attractive joining technique to increase the depth of penetration in a single pass. In the last two decades, the research on activated flux tungsten inert gas welding increased drastically. Despite enhanced weld penetration, activated flux tungsten inert gas is not frequently implemented in industries because of a lack of information about the process. However, research on activated flux tungsten inert gas welding has significantly increased in the last decade due to the widespread information related to the advancements in weld penetration and mechanical properties of the activated flux tungsten inert gas process. The activated flux tungsten inert gas welding process provides a high single pass depth of penetration along with good mechanical properties compared to the tungsten inert gas welding process. The current work offers an in-depth analysis of the activated flux tungsten inert gas welding process mechanism, advancement in activated flux tungsten inert gas methodology to improve weld bead geometry, and mechanical and corrosion behaviour of the weldments. The current work also highlights recent progress made in the field of dissimilar metal joining using the activated flux tungsten inert gas welding process.

Experimental full waveform inversion for elastic material characterization with accurate transducer modeling

For quality assurance and in-service safety, sufficient characterization of the materials is essential during the development, manufacture, and processing of a material in any industrial setting. Evaluation of elastic coefficients, material microstructures, morphological features, and related mechanical properties are all part of the process of characterizing a material. Ultrasonic signals are sensitive to material properties such as wave speeds, attenuation, diffusion backscattering, microstructural variation, and elastic characteristics (e.g., elastic modulus, hardness, etc.). Ultrasonic computed tomography (USCT) is an emerging imaging method that can be implemented to obtain a quantitative estimation of material properties. In this study, a source estimation technique was initially proposed to obtain the source time function for accurate forward modeling by constructing a linear inverse problem for the unknown transducer modeling. Finally, a material characterization approach was proposed with accurate source estimation to extract wave speed distribution from an elastic material by employing a wave-based method, known as full waveform inversion (FWI). Systematic performance analysis of the proposed FWI model with accurate source estimation was assessed using experimental and synthetic data obtained from a 6061 aluminum sample. Overall, the proposed FWI technique has successfully reconstructed the wave speed distribution, exhibiting the potential of the proposed method of material characterization in various engineering applications.

Ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation of w-GaSe at different temperatures

ABSTRACT The present work includes non-destructive evaluation of mechanical, thermal and ultrasonic properties of inorganic semiconducting wurtzite gallium selenide (w-GaSe) material using Lenard Jones’s potential approach at different temperatures. For elastic and mechanical properties, second-order elastic constants (SOECs), elastic moduli, anisotropy factors are estimated within the temperature range of 300-1500K. The ultrasonic and thermo-physical properties are calculated within the same temperature range utilising estimated SOECs, density and lattice parameters of the chosen material. The elastic, mechanical, and ultrasonic properties of the chosen semiconducting material have been found to decrease with an increase in temperature. The obtained results have been compared and analysed for justification and to explore the inherent properties of GaSe for semiconductor manufacturing industries.

An analytical model for liquefaction-induced manhole uplifting

Liquefaction-induced manhole uplifting typically occurs in urban areas. In some field surveys, the uplifting phenomenon may damage lifelines and obstruct the passage of rescue transportation. The mechanism of manhole uplifting has been proposed and developed to rapidly evaluate the extent of manhole uplifting using the limit equilibrium method. However, owing to the lack of an energy-dissipation process, this method can only predict the maximum uplifting displacement of the manholes in the final stage. This study aims to develop an analytical model to describe uplifting displacement and evolution during shaking. The analytical model based on the kinetic relationship plays a major role in the evaluation of the time-dependent mechanical properties of manholes, especially when we consider the viscous-damping force. Three series of centrifuge modeling tests to study the manhole uplifting behavior were conducted to validate the proposed model. The proposed analytical model shows promising potential to serve as an intermediate tool for evaluating manhole uplifting while maintaining simplicity in practical cases.

Utilization of Synthetic Near-Infrared Spectra via Generative Adversarial Network to Improve Wood Stiffness Prediction.

Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is widely used as a nondestructive evaluation (NDE) tool for predicting wood properties. When deploying NIR models, one faces challenges in ensuring representative training data, which large datasets can mitigate but often at a significant cost. Machine learning and deep learning NIR models are at an even greater disadvantage because they typically require higher sample sizes for training. In this study, NIR spectra were collected to predict the modulus of elasticity (MOE) of southern pine lumber (training set = 573 samples, testing set = 145 samples). To account for the limited size of the training data, this study employed a generative adversarial network (GAN) to generate synthetic NIR spectra. The training dataset was fed into a GAN to generate 313, 573, and 1000 synthetic spectra. The original and enhanced datasets were used to train artificial neural networks (ANNs), convolutional neural networks (CNNs), and light gradient boosting machines (LGBMs) for MOE prediction. Overall, results showed that data augmentation using GAN improved the coefficient of determination (R2) by up to 7.02% and reduced the error of predictions by up to 4.29%. ANNs and CNNs benefited more from synthetic spectra than LGBMs, which only yielded slight improvement. All models showed optimal performance when 313 synthetic spectra were added to the original training data; further additions did not improve model performance because the quality of the datapoints generated by GAN beyond a certain threshold is poor, and one of the main reasons for this can be the size of the initial training data fed into the GAN. LGBMs showed superior performances than ANNs and CNNs on both the original and enhanced training datasets, which highlights the significance of selecting an appropriate machine learning or deep learning model for NIR spectral-data analysis. The results highlighted the positive impact of GAN on the predictive performance of models utilizing NIR spectroscopy as an NDE technique and monitoring tool for wood mechanical-property evaluation. Further studies should investigate the impact of the initial size of training data, the optimal number of generated synthetic spectra, and machine learning or deep learning models that could benefit more from data augmentation using GANs.

How to characterise the anisotropy of laser powder bed fusion-processed parts? Towards a surrogate, non-destructive indentation-based approach

This work proposes a non-destructive indentation (NDI)-based surrogate mechanical testing framework for anisotropy and mechanical property evaluation of LPBF processed Inconel 718 superalloy. A Knoop-hardness tester was employed to develop the surrogate framework. Further post-heat treatments (PHTs) were performed at various cooling rates. The as-printed and PHT (SA, SB, SC, and SD) samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) techniques. The yield locus plots show strong anisotropy for the as-printed sample. The IPF maps and pole figures for the as-printed samples showed elongated columnar grains with strong fiber texture along the (001) plane parallel to the build direction. They corroborated sufficiently with XRD, grain boundary map (GBM), and Kernel average misorientation (KAM) analysis. The yield locus shape of samples subjected to homogenization treatment becomes a nearly uniform ellipse with a reduction in the difference between σx and σy values, which can be attributed to the recrystallization of grains as observed by the transition from low-angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) to high angle grain boundaries (HAGBs). The PHT samples show a further increase in yield loci size due to the precipitation of γ’ and γ” strengthening phases due to aging treatment and corroborated with higher Taylor factor and dislocation density than the as-printed samples. The yield loci were sensitive to the PHT's cooling rates. Notably, among PHT ones, ‘SA’ samples exhibited a strong correlation (R2 ≈ 97.5 %) between the Taylor factor and yield locus. It was attributed to slower cooling rates (furnace cooled) with noticeably enhanced precipitation of strengthening phases, an increase in the volume fraction of recrystallized grains (from grain orientation spread (GOS) map), corroborating with higher dislocation density due to local strain as inferred from EBSD analysis. The proposed NDI surrogate approach was initially validated on an as-printed Inconel 718 stator blade. The yield locus showed a strong correlation between the stator blade and the as-printed sample, indicating the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.

Evaluation of mechanical properties and Fick’s diffusion behaviour of aluminum-DMEM reinforced with hemp/bamboo/basalt woven fiber metal laminates (WFML) under different stacking sequences

This work examines the mechanical properties and structural aspects of Al-Hybrid fibre metal laminates (HFMLs) reinforced with fibres from basalt, hemp, and bamboo, including commercial-grade Al6061 alloy mesh (Al-DMEM). Compression moulding of sustainable fibres into various stacking configurations, such as BAlB, BHAlHB, and BBbAlBbB, was required for fabrication. Using cutting-edge methods like SEM and EDX for microstructure investigation, extensive testing was carried out, including tensile, flexural, impact, interlaminar shear, hardness, and water absorption tests. Basalt/Bamboo/Aluminum/Basalt (BBbAlBbB) was the FML configuration with the best mechanical parameters, showing Vickers hardness (24.23 MPa), tensile strength (44.537 MPa), flexural strength (218.24 MPa), and impact resistance (2.01 J) (59.982 HV). In addition, BAlB showed 83.9 % Vickers hardness, 41.7 % flexural strength, and 90.4 % tensile strength of BBbAlBbB samples. BHAlHB displayed 92.9 % of the flexural strength, 65.3 % of the tensile strength, and 93.7 % of the Vickers hardness of BBbAlBbB. Bamboo is hydrophobic by nature, so adding bamboo fibres to BBbAlBbB significantly boosted its resistance to moisture. This study highlights the potential of hybrid FMLs as high-performance, eco friendly materials that are particularly well-suited for applications in interior and exterior panels for micro-mobility (E-vehicles), with AL-DMEM reinforcement offering significant benefits like improved fibre bonding and structural integrity.

Evaluation of physical, mechanical and thermal properties of epoxy composites filled with bio-fiber derived from Bambara nut shell filler

Evaluation of physical, mechanical and thermal properties of epoxy composites filled with bio-fiber derived from Bambara nut shell filler

Fixation method of a single muscle fiber by magnetic force for stretching, transportation, and evaluation of mechanical properties

Engineered muscle fibers are attracting interest in bio-actuator research as they can contribute to the fabrication of actuators with a high power/size ratio for micro-robots. These fibers require to be stretched during culture for functional regulation as actuators and require a fixation on a rigid substrate for stretching in culture and evaluation of mechanical properties, such as Young’s modulus and contraction force. However, the conventional fixation methods for muscle fibers have many restrictions as they are not repeatable and the connection between fixation part and the muscle fibers detaches during culture; therefore, the fixation becomes weak during culture, and direct measurement of the muscle fibers’ mechanical properties by a force sensor is difficult. Therefore, we propose a facile and repeatable fixation method for muscle fibers by mixing magnetite nanoparticles at both ends of the muscle fibers to fabricate magnetic ends. The fiber can be easily attached and detached repeatedly by manipulating a magnet that applies a magnetic force larger than 3 mN to the magnetic ends. Thus, the muscle fiber can be stretched fiber during culture for functional regulation, transported between the culture dish and measurement system, and directly connected to the force sensor for measurement with magnetic ends. The muscle fiber connected with magnetic ends have a long lifetime (∼4 weeks) and the cells inside had the morphology of a skeletal muscle. Moreover, the muscle fiber showed a contraction (specific force of 1.02 mN mm−2) synchronized with electrical stimulation, confirming the muscle fiber fabricated and cultured using our method had similar morphology and function as bio-actuators in previous research. This research demonstrates the advantages of the fixation method using muscle fibers with magnetic ends; the fibers are stretched during culture, and the transportation and force measurement of weak and tiny muscle fibers could be finished in 1 min.

A multidisciplinary engineering-based approach for tunnelling strengthening with a new fibre reinforced shotcrete technology

This paper describes the relevant research activities that are being carried out on the development of a novel shotcrete technology capable of applying, autonomously and in real time, fibre reinforced shotcrete (FRS) with tailored properties regarding the optimum structural strengthening of railway tunnels (RT). This technique allows to apply fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) of strain softening (SSFRC) and strain hardening (SHFRC) according to a multi-level advanced numerical simulation that considers the relevant nonlinear features of these FRC, as well as their interaction with the surrounding soil, for an intended strengthening performance of the RT. Building information modelling (BIM) is used for assisting on the development of data files of the involved design software, integrating geometric assessment of a RT, damages from inspection and diagnosis, and the characteristics of the FRS strengthening solution. A dedicated computational tool was developed to design FRC with target properties. The preliminary experimental results on the evaluation of the relevant mechanical properties of the FRS are presented and discussed, as well as the experimental tests on the bond between FRS and current substrates found in RT. Representative numerical simulations were performed to demonstrate the structural performance of the proposed FRS-based strengthening technique. Computational tools capable of assuring, in real time, the aimed thickness of the layers forming the FRS strengthening shell were also developed. The first generation of a mechanical device for controlling the amount of fibres to be added, in real time, to the FRS mixture was conceived, built and tested. A mechanism is also being developed to improve the fibre distribution during its introduction through the mechanical device to avoid fibre balling. This work describes the relevant achievements already attained, as introduces the planned future initiatives in the scope of this project.

Analysing the microscopic creep characteristics of carbonate rocks using nanoindentation experiments

ABSTRACT In recent years, the depth of oil drilling has exceeded 9000 m, and the testing and evaluation of mechanical properties of ultra-deep rocks face great challenges. Obtaining complete core samples has lots of serious problems through ultra-deep drilling, so it is difficult to process standard rock samples for general tests to obtain the mechanical properties. In order to study the creep behaviour of deep rocks, we conducted continuous step holding nanoindentation creep experiments on carbonate rocks from the Tarim Oilfield in Xinjiang, China. We first investigated the effects of load and holding time on the creep behaviour; Furthermore, by calculating the stress exponent, the deformation mechanism is revealed; At last, four traditional creep models and fractional order Maxwell model were used for regression to explore the applicability of models in describing the creep behaviour. The results show the creep displacement is positively correlated with the load and holding time. Creep curves with different shapes were obtained in nanoindentation (named A1 and A2 respectively). The Burgers and the two-dashpot Kelvin model are in good agreement with experimental data under long holding time. The stress exponents of A2 are greater than 3, indicating that the creep mechanism of A2 is dislocation creep.

INVBSTIGATION OF SINGLE FILLET WELD FOR BUILT-UPMEMBERS

The main purpose of this study is to investigated the single fillet weld design for built-up membersby using ftision welding and find the effects of welding power input on that design for member. Inthis work, investigation of welding metal for Low carbon steel plate type St.52-3, thickness 6-8rnm, which is to ensure good mechanical properties under high stresses for ( Welding metal , heataffected Zone (HAZ) and base metal ). Also it can be explain, that the effects of welding processeson the deformation and changes in mechanical and metallurgical properties due to high thermalenergy, results from welding process. This study involved: weld design, selection of suitableelectrode, evaluation of mechanical and metallurgical properties, the maximum allowable value ofsweep of welded mamber after ( fabrication and erection ) has been calculated, also leg and throughlength have been calculated for the welded Zone. The main results of this study are :- The value of sweep which occur before the erection and tightening is ( 29 mm. ).- The leg and through length of welding metal which welded by electrode type( E 7018 = OKUS ), its found equal to ( 4 mm. ).The study results can ensure good mechanical and metallurgical properties for signal filled weld( Built-up members ).' i

Evaluation of mechanical properties of anatomically customized fiber posts using E-glass short fiber-reinforced composite to restore weakened endodontically treated premolars

ObjectiveThis study was conducted to assess the influence of combining different forms of fiber-reinforced composites (FRC) on the mechanical behavior and bond strength of compromised endodontically treated teeth (ETT).Materials and methodsEighty extracted human premolar teeth were randomly divided into five experimental groups according to the type of intra-radicular restoration and the canal preparation design which was either non-flared (Group 1), flared (Groups 2–5), closed-apex (Groups 1,3,5) or open-apex (Groups 2,4). Standard prefabricated fiber posts were used as intra-radicular restoration for Groups 1–3 while Groups 4–5 were restored with anatomically customized relined fiber posts. After composite core fabrication, all samples were sent for an artificial aging process. Fracture resistance and push-out bond strength tests were then carried out through a universal testing machine followed by mode of failure analysis via a stereomicroscope and scanning electron microscope.ResultsPairwise Log-Rank comparisons revealed that the survival rate of Group 2 and Group 3 was significantly lower than all other groups after artificial aging. The highest fracture resistance value (1796 N) was recorded in Group 5 and was significantly higher than that of the other groups (p < 0.05), while Group 2 exhibited the lowest fracture resistance (758 N), which was significantly lower compared to the other groups. Group 5 and Group 4 demonstrated a significantly higher push-out bond strength, at all root thirds, than Group 3, Group 2, and Group 1 (p < 0.05). The most frequently observed failure mode in the tested groups occurred between the resin cement and radicular dentin.ConclusionThe use of short fiber-reinforced composite (SFRC) to reline the prefabricated FRC post has been proven to have superior fracture resistance with favorable failure patterns and increased push-out bond strength values compared to standard prefabricated FRC posts.

Evaluation of mechanical and erosive wear properties of hybrid nano composites basalt/E-glass fiber + MWCNTs/SiO2

The extensive study conducted has revealed that the mechanical and other characteristics of hybrid composites are greatly influenced by several aspects, such as the kind of fibre reinforcement, nanofillers, matrix materials, and the manufacturing methods employed. In the context of structural applications, the incorporation of Multi-wall Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs) as fillers in E-Glass fibres had a significant impact on the rapid alteration of mechanical properties, particularly strength, in the composites. This study aimed to create hybrid nanocomposites by including multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) as filler materials, Basalt/E-glass as fibres, and epoxy with hardener as the matrix. This study utilises statistical methods, specifically the Taguchi L16 Orthogonal Array (OA), to analyse the impact of various operating factors. The parameters selected for this study include MWCNTs/SiO2 fillers at varying weight percentages (0 %, 1 %, 2.9 %, and 3 %), an epoxy matrix with decreasing weight percentages (40 %, 39 %, 38 %, and 37 %), compression pressures ranging from 5 MPa to 35 MPa, and moulding temperatures ranging from 40 °C to 100 °C. The mechanical parameters being examined are the tensile strength and erosive wear. The utilisation of the hand layup and compression moulding technique achieved the development of these composites. By optimising the moulding temperature, significant improvements were achieved in the tensile strength, which reached 184.38 MPa. Similarly, reducing the percentage of fillers resulted in a substantial decrease in erosive wear, with a value of 95.06 mg/kg.

Evaluation of Microstructural and Mechanical Properties of Tribaloy based Composite Cladding by Microwave Heating

Evaluation of Microstructural and Mechanical Properties of Tribaloy based Composite Cladding by Microwave Heating

Development of Hydroxyapatite/Polycaprolactone Composite Biomaterials for Laser Powder Bed Fusion: Evaluation of Powder Characteristics, Mechanical Properties and Biocompatibility.

Hydroxyapatite/polycaprolactone (HA/PCL) composites have been extensively explored in laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) for bone tissue engineering. However, conventional mechanical mixing methods for preparing composite powders often yield inhomogeneous compositions and suboptimal flowability. In this study, HA/PCL powders were prepared and optimized for L-PBF using the modified emulsion solvent evaporation method. The morphology, flowability and thermal and rheological properties of the powders were systematically investigated, along with the mechanical and biological properties of the fabricated specimens. The HA/PCL powders exhibited spherical morphologies with a homogeneous distribution of HA within the particles. The addition of small amounts of HA (5 wt% and 10 wt%) enhanced the processability and increased the maximum values of the elastic modulus and yield strength of the specimens from 129.8 MPa to 166.2 MPa and 20.2 MPa to 25.1 MPa, respectively, while also improving their biocompatibility. However, excessive addition resulted in compromised sinterability, thereby affecting both mechanical and biological properties.

Evaluation of Damage Stress Thresholds and Mechanical Properties of Granite: New Insights from Digital Image Correlation and GB-FDEM

We employed a novel combination of digital image correlation (DIC) and grain-based hybrid finite–discrete element method (GB-FDEM) to improve the comprehension of the relationships between microstructural features and the mechanical properties of granitic rocks. DIC and numerical results showed that macrocracks initiated and propagated along grain boundaries among different minerals driven by the high stiffness contrast between the compliant biotite and the stiffer feldspar/quartz grains. Surface deformation analyses revealed that tensile-dominated macrocracks open at monotonically increased rates before the crack damage threshold, and the opening accelerated afterwards with the increased shear component. The onset of the acceleration of the opening rate of macrocracks can be used to infer the crack damage threshold. Both strain and acoustic emission were used to infer damage stress thresholds in the synthetic numerical samples. Numerical results showed that the damage stress thresholds and uniaxial compressive strength decrease with increasing grain size following log-linear relations. Coarse-grained samples tend to fail by axial splitting, while fine-grained samples fail by shear zone formation. Biotite and quartz contents significantly affect mechanical properties, while quartz to feldspar ratio is positively related to the mechanical properties. Our study demonstrates the capacities of DIC and GB-FDEM in inferring damage conditions in granitic rocks and clarifies the microstructural control of the macroscopic mechanical behaviors. Our results also provide a comprehensive understanding of the systematics of strain localization, crack development, and acoustic emission during the rock progressive failure process.

Evaluation of strength and mechanical properties of Disang sandstone from Tertiary formation in Indian Himalaya under complete and incomplete uniaxial cyclic loading conditions

Evaluation of strength and mechanical properties of Disang sandstone from Tertiary formation in Indian Himalaya under complete and incomplete uniaxial cyclic loading conditions