Crack Problems Research Articles

Research on the Propagation Law of Temperature-Induced Reflective Cracks in Semi-Rigid Base Asphalt Pavement

In order to solve the problem of reflection cracks in semi-rigid base asphalt pavement, a study of temperature-type reflection crack expansion is carried out according to the typical climatic characteristics of Guilin, Guangxi Province. According to the theory of fatigue fracture mechanics, the stress intensity factor analysis at the crack tip is carried out, the reflection crack propagation life under single-factor and multi-factor changes is calculated using the Paris fatigue growth formula, and the prediction model of the propagation life of reflected crack under the action of a temperature gradient is established. The results show that the propagation life of temperature-type reflective cracks increases with an increase in the thickness of the middle course and bottom course, and decreases with an increase in the surface course modulus, base course modulus, base course thickness, and temperature decrease. The prediction model includes the factors that have a great influence on the reflection crack extension and provides a theoretical supplement and reference for the design and calculation of asphalt pavement structure in areas with large temperature differences.

Shear mode solutions to penny-shaped crack problems in two-dimensional hexagonal piezoelectric quasicrystal media

Shear mode solutions to penny-shaped crack problems in two-dimensional hexagonal piezoelectric quasicrystal media

Effect of lanthanum on inclusions and solidification structure of alloy 800H

Alloy 800H is commonly used in high temperatures and corrosive environments due to its exceptional strength and resistance to high temperatures, but the ingots are prone to longitudinal cracking during the hot working process because of its coarse solidification structure. Based on the heterogeneous nucleation effect of rare earth inclusions, a strategy is proposed to refine the solidification structure of alloy 800H by La treatment to solve the crack problem. In this study, four kinds of alloy 800H ingots (0, 120, 260 and 470 ppm La) were prepared to investigate the effect of La on the solidification structure. After adding La, the types of inclusion were changed, and the modification path of inclusions was Al2O3 (0 ppm La) → LaAlO3 (120 ppm La) → LaAlO3·La2O2S and La2O2S (260 ppm La) → La2O2S and La2O3 (470 ppm La). After adding La, the inclusion morphology tended to be more spherical and the average size smaller. The lattice misfit calculation indicated that La-containing inclusions can serve as heterogeneous nucleation cores, and the number of effective heterogeneous nucleation also increased with La content increased. The columnar to equiaxed transition occurred early with La treatment, the ratio of the equiaxed zone increased from 2.1% to 36.5%, and the average equiaxed grain size decreased from 2.56 to 0.43 μm with La content increased from 0 to 470 ppm. The solidification structure of alloy 800H was significantly refined by adding La, and can thus provide a new strategy to solve the crack problem.

Recent Advances in Additive Friction Stir Deposition: A Critical Review.

Additive friction stir deposition (AFSD) is a novel solid-state additive manufacturing method developed on the principle of stirring friction. Benefits from its solid-phase properties, compared with traditional additive manufacturing based on melting-solidification cycles, AFSD solves the problems of porosity, cracks, and residual stress caused by the melting-solidification process, and has a significant improvement in efficiency. In AFSD, the interaction between feedstocks and high-speed rotating print heads suffers severe plastic deformation at high temperatures below the melting point, ending up in fine, equiaxed recrystallized grains. The above characteristics make components by AFSD show similar mechanical behaviors to the forged ones. This article reviews the development of AFSD technology, elaborates on the basic principles, compares the macroscopic formability and material flow behavior of AFSD processes using different types of feedstocks, summarizes the microstructure and mechanical properties obtained from the AFSD of alloys with different compositions, and finally provides an outlook on the development trends, opportunities, and challenges to the researchers and industrial fields concerning AFSD.

Method of understanding for investigation of crack propagation trajectory and fracture aspects in dental cracks on view of fracture mechanics theories.

Current research introduces understanding of dental-cracks mechanistic with fundamental fracture behavior in natural-teeth and orthodontics including mode I crack under both tension and compression, mode II crack under both clockwise-shear and anticlockwise-shear and mixed-mode cracks under both compression-shear and tension-shear. It depends on experimental models of transparent-Plexiglas including pre-cracks of different orientations angle (b) based on fundamental theoretical fracture analysis with comparison. Problem-concept, cracking aspects of fracture-initiation, propagation-direction, fracture-increment length, critical external-load and fracture path are predicted experimentally and theoretically using directional fracture approach and directional strain-energy density theory. Tests are carried out for (36) samples for compression and tension in LEFM. Friction-resistance between crack-surfaces is considered with derivation of equations and charts. Negative stress-intensity factor (-KI) is developed for solving complicated problems of cracks under occlusal compression loads. The occlusal loads are compression and shear producing lateral tensile mixed mode cracks. The critical propagation angle (qc), critical propagation load (sc) and critical propagation envelope of stress intensity factors (KI-KII) are developed with respect to crack orientation angle (b) with comparisons. They are necessary to predict the fracture propagation early before teeth-failure. It helps for prevention and control of dental-cracks, correct-restoration, prosthodontics, orthodontics, and development of new dental-materials and technologies.

A Study on the Mechanical Behavior of a Wind Turbine Foundation with a Constrained Structural Shear Connector

Aiming to solve the problems that a wind turbine foundation with a foundation pipe may suffer from grouting, where the concrete around the interface collapses and the interface disintegrates under a long-term wind load, a kind of wind turbine foundation with a constrained structural shear connector is proposed. In this article, the scaling model tests and a finite element simulation of a traditional stud foundation pipe, perforated steel shear connector foundation pipe, and three groups of constrained structural shear connector foundation pipes with different anchored depths are presented. The force transmission mechanism and damage mechanism of constrained structural shear connector wind turbine foundations are revealed, and the shear resistance of a constrained structural shear connector is analyzed. The influences of buried depth and other parameters on the mechanical properties of the shear connector are also investigated. The results show that the constrained structural shear connector has the advantages of stronger interfacial stiffness and significant force transfer and diffusion, and can more effectively connect the foundation pipe and concrete foundation to work together. It can give full play to the material advantages of concrete and reinforcements, and effectively improve the embedded stiffness and durability of concrete foundations. It can solve the problem of cracks in concrete caused by local pressure. At the same time, it is suggested that the diameter of the surrounding concrete should be in the range of 3 to 4 D, and the embedment depth of the stud should not be less than 0.4 D to give full play to the performance of the constrained structural shear connector.

Multiple edge cracks in a coated semi-infinite medium due to non-Fourier thermal shock

In this wok, based on the non-Fourier C-V model, the problem for multiple edge cracks is investigated for a coating-substrate pair subjected to a sudden temperature drop at the surface of coating. The temperature and resulting thermal stresses without cracks are obtained by the method of Laplace transform. By numerically solving the singular integral equations, the thermal stress intensity factors (SIFs) are evaluated. The results from the Fourier model and C-V heat conduction model are presented for comparison. Two dimensionless quantities are proposed to account for the coupling effects of heat conduction parameters (i.e., thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and thermal relaxation time). Numerical results are presented for the thermal SIF as a function of normalized quantities such as time, crack depth, material constants and crack spacing. The findings in this work are expected to provide references for maintaining the integrity of the coating-substrate pair in the extreme heat transfer applications.

Stress-constrained concurrent multiscale topological design of porous composites based on discrete material optimisation

Porous composites have attracted increasing attention in recent decades. This study develops a concurrent multiscale topology optimisation (CMTO) method under a prescribed stress constraint for designing porous composites with multi-domain microstructures. First, to address the difficulty of predicting local stress due to varying of microstructural type throughout the optimisation process, a continuous and differentiable stress measure is proposed to effectively approximate the local stress. Second, an inverse homogenisation method based on isogeometric analysis (IGA) is developed to improve the accuracy of stress prediction, and then it is integrated into a CMTO which is developed based on the discrete material optimisation (DMO) interpolation scheme. Third, a stress constraint which is differentiable with respect to both macro and micro design variables is proposed to enable the stress-constrained concurrent optimisation of the macrostructural configuration, microstructural configuration and distribution. Fourth, a novel post-processing approach is established to achieve smooth while volume preserving contour of unit cells with layouts. Finally, two benchmark design examples, namely l-bracket and Crack problems, are implemented using the presented CMTO under a global stress constraint to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The result indicates that the proposed method can effectively decrease the stress concentration via three design manners, i.e., the macrostructural configuration, microstructural configuration and distribution. Also, an “interface-enlarging” phenomenon was interestingly but reasonably found in those cases when subjected to stress-constraint considerations.

Research status of crack problem in laser brazing diamond

Research status of crack problem in laser brazing diamond

An in-depth analysis of the Radial Point Interpolation Method’s parameters in relation to the accuracy of fracture problem

The fracture problem has been modeled using Radial Point Interpolation Method (RPIM) to examine the effects of support domain size and shape parameter value on the calculation of Stress Intensity Factor (SIF). The study focuses on an edge crack problem subjected to normal load and shear loads, determining that the support domain size of ‘ α ≥ 3.5 and shape parameter value between ‘ n = 1.9 -2.1’ yield results of accuracy with error % ≤ 3 % . Additionally, research extended by varying the problem domain size and crack location to verify consistency. The findings indicate that selecting the optimal shape parameter value will ensure better accuracy over the enrichment techniques with lesser computational cost.

An Experimental Investigation on Durability Properties of Fiber Reinforced Concrete for M25 Grade

In modern years Fibre reinforced concrete is cement based composite material has been developed. It has been successfully used in construction with its outstanding flexural tensile strength, resistance to splitting, impact resistance and outstanding permeability and frost resistance. It is a successful way to raise toughness, shock resistance and resistance to plastic shrinkage cracking of the mortar. Fibre is added as a reinforcing material possessing certain characteristic properties. Concrete is the most extensively used structural material in the world with an yearly production of over seven billion tons. For a multiplicity of reasons, much of this concrete is cracked. The reason for concrete to undergo cracking may be endorsed to structural, ecological or economic factors, but most of the cracks are formed due to the natural weakness of the material to resist tensile forces. Concrete normally shrinks and force crack when it is controlled. It is now well-known that steel fibre reinforcement offers a solution to the problem of cracking by making concrete tougher and more yielding. It has also been proved by wide investigation and field tests carried out over the past three decades. The present investigation focuses on introduction of steel, glass, carbon fibres, Polyvinyalcohol (PVA) fibres, of polypropylene fibres at the time of mixing and production improves a number of properties of concrete, particularly those related to strength, performance and durability. This review paper is an evaluative report of studies established in the recent years. It describes and gives an Experimental basis for the research.

Thermoelastic fracture of two-dimensional hexagonal quasicrystal media weakened by a penny-shaped crack subjected to uniformly antisymmetric heat fluxes

This study focuses on the thermoelastic fracture behavior of quasicrystals, a class of solids that exhibit unique properties between traditional crystals and amorphous materials. The complex atomic structure of quasicrystals poses challenges in understanding their fracture mechanisms under thermoelastic loading conditions. Central to our investigation is an analytical examination of a penny-shaped crack in an infinite three-dimensional body composed of two-dimensional hexagonal quasicrystals, where the upper and lower crack surfaces are applied to a pair of uniformly antisymmetric heat fluxes. This crack problem requires simultaneous consideration of thermal-phason-phonon multiple field coupling. According to the symmetry of field variables with respect to the crack plane, the thermal-phason-phonon coupled crack problem is transformed into a mixed boundary value problem in the upper half space. The extended displacement discontinuities, encompassing both phonon and phason displacement discontinuities, as well as the temperature discontinuity, are chosen as the basic unknown variables to construct the boundary integral-differential equations governing the mixed boundary value problem. Based on these boundary governing equations and Fabrikant's potential theory method, the problem with the crack surface subjected to uniform antisymmetric heat fluxes is solved. The solutions of thermal-phason-phonon fields on the crack plane, and in the full space are given in closed-form. Numerical results are employed to validate the obtained analytical solutions and visually illustrate the spatial distribution of thermal-phonon-phason coupling fields in the vicinity of the crack. The study provides fundamental insights into the behavior of cracks in quasicrystals under thermal loading, with potential implications for the design of new materials and structures.

Full field crack solutions in anti-plane flexoelectricity

In flexoelectric materials, strain gradients can induce electrical polarization. However, internal defects such as cracks profoundly affect the electromechanical coupling properties of flexoelectric solids. In particular, anti-plane cracks involve less physical fields, which are easier to study. In this study, we present a comprehensive and innovative investigation of the anti-plane crack problems in flexoelectric materials, including semi-infinite and finite-length anti-plane cracks. For the first time, we formulate a full-field solution for semi-infinite anti-plane cracks in flexoelectric media by applying the Wiener–Hopf technique. Furthermore, the collocation method and the Chebyshev polynomial expansion are used for the first time to derive the full-field hypersingular integral equation solution for finite-length anti-plane cracks in flexoelectric solids. In addition, a comparative analysis between the full-field and asymptotic solutions for semi-infinite cracks is performed, shedding light on the discrepancies in the representation of the electromechanical coupling behavior near the crack tip. The mixed finite element method is used to compare with the full-field solutions of finite-length cracks. The agreement between the numerical results and the full-field solutions demonstrates the rigor of our study. This research advances the knowledge of defects in flexoelectricity and provides significant insight into relevant failure mechanisms.

Mixed finite element implementation of plane crack problems within strain gradient elasticity

AbstractAn approach is proposed and applied to solve boundary value problems within the strain gradient elasticity theory. A mixed variation formulation of the finite element method is used, where stresses, strains, and displacements are considered as independent variables. This significantly simplifies the pre‐requirement for approximating functions and allows one to use the simplest triangular finite elements with a linear approximation of displacements. Global unknowns in a discrete problem are nodal displacements, while the strains and stresses in nodes are treated as local unknowns. This discrete problem is solved by a modified iteration procedure, where the global stiffness matrix for classical elasticity problems is treated as a preconditioning matrix with fictitious elastic moduli. The modeling plane crack problem (tension of a square plate with a central crack) is solved. The obtained solution agrees with the results available in the literature. Good convergence is achieved by refining the mesh for all scale parameters.

Multi-objective optimization design for anti-fatigue lightweight of dump truck carriage combined with machine learning

As urbanization continues to accelerate, dump trucks assume an increasingly important role in the transportation and construction of infrastructure. The carriage represents a critical structural assembly of dump trucks. One of the primary failure modes of the carriage is weld fatigue failure, which frequently gives rise to the problem of weld fatigue cracking during transportation. To increase the fatigue life of welds and enhance the degree of structural lightweight of a heavy dump truck carriage, a method for anti-fatigue lightweight design based on machine learning and multi-objective optimization is proposed. A high-fidelity finite element model of the carriage is established for static simulation analysis of the typical conditions. Based on the virtual reliability simulation test of the dump truck and the equivalent structural stress method, the fatigue life of the critical welds in the carriage is calculated. The important part thicknesses are selected as design variables through the comprehensive contribution analysis method. The maximum displacement and maximum stress under the dangerous condition are considered as constraints. The mass of the carriage and the minimum fatigue life of the critical welds are considered as optimization objectives. The GA-XGBoost machine learning approximation models (GA-XGBoost-MLAM) and NSGA-II algorithm are employed for multi-objective optimization design of the carriage. The entropy weighted TOPSIS method is utilized for multi-objective decision-making of Pareto solutions. The design after optimization and decision-making shows that, while satisfying the requirements of static structural performance, the minimum fatigue life mileage of the critical welds of the carriage is increased by 157,570 km, representing an increase of 36.58%. Additionally, the mass of the carriage is reduced by 295.69 kg, representing a decrease of 9.47%. Therefore, the proposed design method achieves a good effect in the anti-fatigue lightweight of dump truck carriage.

Properties and hydration mechanism of slow-setting and expansive cement based on CFB ash and slag

Aiming at the problems of long construction time and easy shrinkage cracking of pavement base, the slow-setting and expansive cement (SEC) was prepared using circulating fluidized bed ash and slag (CFBA and CFBS), S95 ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), and silica fume (SF) as supplementary cementitious material in this paper. By adjusting the content of supplementary cementitious material, the ratio of ash and slag, the performance of SEC was evaluated by the indexes of water consumption of standard consistency, setting time, flexural and compressive strength. The hydration products of mortar samples and the influence mechanism were studied by means of XRD, TG-DTG, FTIR, and SEM-EDS. The results showed that when the SF content was 6 %, the compressive strength of the mortar specimens reached its maximum (35.19 MPa) at 28 days, which increased by 23.04 % compared to the control group. Meanwhile, the free calcium oxide and gypsum in CFBA reacted under alkaline conditions to form ettringite (AFt) and C-S-H gel, which caused the volume expansion of cement and led to a decrease in shrinkage within the cement system. SEC has higher mechanical properties and much smaller shrinkage cracks than ordinary cement. Therefore, replacing part of the cement by solid waste such as CFBS to prepare SEC to compensate for the shrinkage of the pavement base is an effective way to reduce pavement cracking.

Analytical solutions to Mode I penny-shaped crack problems in two-dimensional hexagonal quasicrystals with piezoelectric effect

The paper studies a penny-shaped crack in an infinite three-dimensional body of two-dimensional hexagonal quasicrystal media with piezoelectric effect. The crack surfaces are applied combined electric and normal phonon loadings. Such a Model I crack problem is transformed into a mixed boundary value problem in the upper half-space, which is analytically solved using Fabrikant's potential theory method. The boundary integral-differential equations governing Model I crack problems are presented for two-dimensional hexagonal piezoelectric quasicrystals. The normal phonon displacement discontinuity and electric potential discontinuity across crack surfaces are taken as the unknown variables of boundary governing equations. Analytical solutions of all field variables are derived not only for the crack plane but also for the full space. Solutions in integral form are provided for the penny-shaped crack under arbitrarily distributed electric and normal phonon loadings. Closed-form solutions in terms of elementary functions are given for concentrated point loadings and uniformly distributed loadings, respectively. Key fracture mechanics parameters, such as crack surface extended displacements (i.e., normal phonon displacement, electric potential), crack tip extended stresses (i.e., normal phonon stress, electric displacement) distribution, and corresponding extended stress intensity factors, are clearly derived. Numerical results are utilized to verify the present analytical solutions and graphically illustrate the distribution of phonon-phason-electric coupling fields around the crack. The present solution can serve as a benchmark for both experimental and numerical investigations.

Crack propagation arrest by the Joule heating in micro/nano-sized structures

The Joule heating technique is utilized to arrest the crack propagation so to protect some important structures being further damaged. In this approach there are created compression stresses at the crack tip vicinity due to a specific temperature distribution induced by the electric current. The Joule heating is amulti-physical problem which is applied here to micro/nano-sized structures. The size-effects are considered for description of both the elastic and the thermal fields. The heat conduction can’t be well described by classical Fourier’s law in nano-sized structures. A novel gradient theory is developed in such structures adopting the size effect of heat conduction. Besides, the strain gradients and double stresses are introduced into the constitutive laws. Then, the governing equations are given by partial differential equations with order of derivatives being higher than in classical theory. The principle of virtual work is the base of weak formulation and derivation of the discretized finite element equations for ageneral 2d boundary value problem with cracks. The collocation mixed FEM with large strain gradients is developed for numerical solution, where the C0 continuous approximation is applied independently to displacements and strains and also to temperature and temperature gradients. Kinematic constraints between strains and displacements are satisfied by the collocation method at selected interior points. The collocation mixed FEM is applied to solve 2D crack problems with Joule heating.

Numerical solution for the interior electric displacement of the moving DBY‐PS model for semi‐permeable cracked piezoelectric material

AbstractIn this study, we analysed a moving crack at the interface of an infinitely long piezoelectric bilayer using the Dugdale–Barenblatt yield (DBY) model and the polarisation saturation (PS) model. To model the moving crack problem, a Yoffe‐type crack moves at a constant subsonic speed on the interface of an infinitely long piezoelectric bilayer. The crack faces are assumed to be semi‐permeable, and at the boundary of the bilayer, in‐plane electrical and out‐of‐plane mechanical stresses are applied. Due to the application of electro‐mechanical loads, cracks propagate, mechanical yielding zones and electric saturation zones are developed. To arrest the crack from further propagation, mechanical yield stress and saturation electric displacement are applied at the developed zones. To address this problem analytically and numerically, the mixed boundary value problem is transformed into a set of coupled Fredholm integral equations (FIEs) of the second kind using the Fourier transform and the Copson method. The closed‐form analytical expressions for the length of the electrical saturation zone (ESZ), whether longer, shorter or equal to the mechanical yielding zone (MYZ), show dependence on external electro‐mechanical loads under semi‐permeable crack conditions. The algorithm to solve the electric crack condition parameter (ECCP) has been defined using numerical discretization and the bisection method. Illustrative examples demonstrate the proposed technique's effectiveness and suitability for Yoffe‐type moving cracks. The numerical results show the convergence of the ECCP. Furthermore, the numerical results show how mechanical and electrical zone lengths and energy release rate (ERR) are affected by electrical and mechanical loads, strip thickness and crack velocity. In addition, the size of the mechanical yielding zone is consistently promoted by electrical load, while the promotion or prevention of the electrical saturation zone by mechanical load depends on the relative sizes of the nonlinear zones.

Does the capacitor analogy model in fracture mechanics of elastic dielectrics constitute an appropriate approximation?

The analytical solution of an elliptic dielectric cavity in an infinite dielectric plate is taken as basis to investigate a Griffith crack problem which is obtained by letting the semi-minor axis tend towards zero. In the course of this, an erroneous conformal mapping, commonly employed in literature and correctly reproducing the electric field only in a part of the physical space, is rectified. Interpreting the elliptic interface as faces of a mechanically opened crack which is exposed to an oblique remote electric field, surface charges and electrostatic tractions are calculated. In contrast to the established capacitor analogy model, approximately yielding electric charge densities and Coulombic tractions from displacements and electric potentials in the undeformed crack configuration, the work at hand provides exact solutions accounting for different implications of the crack curvature and for the inclination of the electric field. Crack weight functions are finally used to calculate stress and electric displacement intensity factors. As turns out, the surface charges of the capacitor analogy represent an excellent substitute for the exact electric boundary conditions within a relevant range of parameters, whereas inaccurate Coulombic tractions in the vicinity of crack tips may lead to a significantly overestimated mode I stress intensity factor.