Strength Degradation Behavior Research Articles

Characterization of engineering properties of deep-water soils in the South China Sea

The characterization of the geological and geotechnical properties of marine sediments is crucial for the exploration of subsea oil and gas resources. In this study, the engineering properties of deep-water soils recovered from the South China Sea (SCS) were in detail characterized via a series of laboratory tests to explore their physical, mechanical, mineralogical and microstructural behaviors. The results show that the index properties of deep-water soils are characterized by high natural water content, high void ratio, high Atterberg limits, but low density. The sensitivity of these soils is higher than 10, indicating their strong natural structure, which significantly controls the shear behavior and failure model. The intact samples show strain-softening to strain-hardening behavior with an increase in the confining pressure, while reconsolidated samples consistently show strain-hardening phenomenon under any level of confining pressure. The cyclic T-bar penetration tests show a dramatic strength degradation behavior of the intact samples. The compression curves of the intact samples always lie above the remoulded ones, and there is an obvious yielding phenomenon for the intact samples. The deep-water soils exhibit high thixotropy, as proposed by a criterion to evaluate the thixotropic capacity of soils. The mineralogy and microstructure analysis indicate that biogenic silica and an open flocculated structure might be the underlying reasons for the unique physical and mechanical properties of deep-water soils. The findings through this study provide essential parameters for related engineering applications and a deeper insight into understanding the unique properties of deep-water soils.

Hybrid physics-BP neural network-based strength degradation model of corroded reinforcements under the simulated colliery environment

This study proposes a hybrid physics-artificial neural network (ANN)-based framework for developing a physics-based strength degradation model of corroded reinforcements taken from deteriorating reinforced concrete (RC) beams respective under a single harsh colliery environment and coupled action of corrosive environment and sustained load. This proposed degradation model can well account for the impacts of random variables (e.g., the diameter of reinforcing steel bars) on the strength degradation behavior of corroded reinforcements. The main contributions of this study include the following aspects: Firstly, based on the experimental results, a BP-ANN surrogate model is established to substitute the experiment method for generating the residual yield and ultimate strengths of corroded reinforcements under different exposure conditions. In addition, a new data sample is formed with the experimental and simulated data obtained by this trained surrogate model. Applying the Bayes theorem, the physics-based strength degradation model respecting to corrosion degree and diameter of corroding reinforcements is constructed. The posterior probability distributions of unknown model parameters are developed, which is beneficial for representing the epistemic uncertainty in assessing the service reliability of deteriorating RC components and structures. Finally, a sample from experimental data is randomly selected to verify the accuracy of this physics-based strength degradation model. Analytical results indicate that the diameter of reinforcements as well as the coupled action of corrosive simulated colliery environment and sustained load have considerable influences on the strength degradation of corroded reinforcing steels. This study provides an effective approach to developing a physics-based strength degradation model of corroding reinforcements and highly improves the use efficiency of experimental results.

Physicochemical and biological evaluation of chondroitin sulphate calcium phosphate cements using tetracalcium phosphate nanorod and microparticle powders

Tetracalcium phosphate (TTCP) is one of the main powder components in self-setting calcium phosphate cements. In this study, two types of chondroitin sulphate calcium phosphate cements were prepared using nanoscale rod-like (R-TTCP) and conventional irregular shape (C-TTCP) microscale powders. R-TTCP and C-TTCP powders were synthesized by reverse microemulsion chemical process and conventional thermal method, respectively. Adequate analyses and experiments such as XRD, FE-SEM, setting time, porosity, compressive strength, degradation, bioactivity, cytotoxicity, and MG63 cell adhesion were conducted to illustrate physicochemical and resorbable cements specific properties. According to the results, both cements formed hydroxyapatite through the cementation process. The R-TTCP cement revealed a slightly longer initial but no difference in final setting time, less compressive strength, higher porosity and better degradation behaviour compared to C-TTCP one. Taking into consideration the initial porosity, the cement made from R-TTCP powder presented more aptness to participate in ion exchange in SBF resulting to fill the 15% more initial porosity via the precipitation of hydroxyapatite mineral. From the biological point of view, analysis of cytotoxicity and MG63 osteoblastic-cell behaviour proved that both the cements had good viability and proper cell adhesion and activity.

Experimental and numerical investigation on post-fire seismic performance of light weight aggregate reinforced concrete beams

The stringent demand for designing fire-resistant structures in recent years has triggered a good deal of effort into theoretical and experimental studies. Structures may be exposed to seismic loading after a fire in the course of their lifetime, resulting in the reduction of their integrity. This study examines the seismic performance of damaged light weight aggregate reinforced concrete beams by exposure them to elevated temperatures. Accordingly, a set of 8 light weight and normal weight concrete prisms were cast and tested under quasi-static reversed cyclic loading after exposure to temperatures of 25, 250, 500 and 750 °C. The stress-strain relationship, residual deformations, strength and stiffness degradation, energy dissipation capacity and cracking pattern of light weight beams were compared to those of the normal weight counterparts. The experimental results revealed that the light weight beams, although with lower compressive strength at ambient temperatures, show better seismic performance when exposed to elevated temperatures as compared to their normal weight companions. On this account, the residual deformations of the entire set of beams decreased with increasing the thermal exposure level. However, this was less pronounced in the case of lightweight prisms. In addition, the energy dissipation capacity of normal weight prisms was higher than that of the lightweight beam specimens at ambient temperature. Nonetheless, the dissipated energy in lightweight concrete overtook that of normal weight concrete as the temperature was increased. Moreover, the beams under investigation were numerically modeled in OpenSees through fiber section models in order to verify the obtained experimental results. The fire effect was applied in the compressive strength reduction of the beam specimens based on experimental results, such that each heat-exposure level relatively decreased the compressive strength of prisms. The results confirmed that the numerical responses obtained from material models in OpenSees could provide the characteristics of the beam capacity as well as the strength and stiffness degradation behavior in good accord with the experimental results.

Mechanical and functional properties of HfH2-decorated NiTi shape memory alloy fabricated by laser powder-bed fusion

Laser powder-bed fusion has been widely utilized to produce complex NiTi devices because of relatively better surface finish and geometrical accuracy. However, NiTi alloys fabricated by laser powder-bed fusion suffer from strength degradation and unstable shape recovery behavior induced by the formation of pore defects and the variation of martensitic transformation, respectively. In this work, the mechanical and functional properties of HfH 2 -decorated NiTi shape memory alloy fabricated by laser powder-bed fusion have been investigated. Through careful clarification of the effects of microstructure characteristics on mechanical and functional properties, it is concluded that the addition of Hf (<5 at%) efficiently strengthens the NiTi matrix and thus eliminates strength degradation induced by pore defect formation. Moreover, the addition of Hf (<5 at%) into the NiTi matrix weakens martensitic transformation variation through improvement of the critical stress to induce martensitic transformation, resulting in stability enhancement of shape recovery behavior. • Microstructure characteristics vary as fabricating parameters change. • Hf addition eliminates strength degradation induced by pore defect. • Hf addition increases recovery stability by weakening transformation variation.

Blending with transition metals improves bioresorbable zinc as better medical implants.

Zinc (Zn) is a new class of bioresorbable metal that has potential for cardiovascular stent material, orthopedic implants, wound closure devices, etc. However, pure Zn is not ideal for these applications due to its low mechanical strength and localized degradation behavior. Alloying is the most common/effective way to overcome this limitation. Still, the choice of alloying element is crucial to ensure the resulting alloy possesses sufficient mechanical strength, suitable degradation rate, and acceptable biocompatibility. Hereby, we proposed to blend selective transition metals (i.e., vanadium-V, chromium-Cr, and zirconium-Zr) to improve Zn's properties. These selected transition metals have similar properties to Zn and thus are beneficial for the metallurgy process and mechanical property. Furthermore, the biosafety of these elements is of less concern as they all have been used as regulatory approved medical implants or a component of an implant such as Ti6Al4V, CoCr, or Zr-based dental implants. Our study showed the first evidence that blending with transition metals V, Cr, or Zr can improve Zn's properties as bioresorbable medical implants. In addition, three in vivo implantation models were explored in rats: subcutaneous, aorta, and femoral implantations, to target the potential clinical applications of bioresorbable Zn implants.

Experimental investigation on seismic behavior of steel welded connections considering the influence of structural forms

The traditional welded connections of steel moment frames are prone to brittle fracture in earthquakes due to the high stress concentration at the beam end, which significantly affects the seismic performance of steel frame structures. A novel type of steel connection with local structural forms is proposed to avoid brittle fracture. The proposed connection is developed by both of cover plate strengthened at the beam flange and the opening weakened at the beam web. The quasi-static tests of 8 welded steel connections were carried out to investigate and validate the proposed connection. The failure mode, hysteretic behavior, strength and cyclic degradation behavior, ductility and rotation behavior, stiffness behavior, and energy dissipation behavior of 8 connections were analyzed and further discussed. Moreover, the effects of different local structural forms, such as length of cover plate and diameter of web opening, on the proposed connection were experimentally investigated in detail. Also, the seismic performance of the proposed connection was comprehensively compared with the traditional connection. The results show that the proposed connection can achieve the plastic hinge away from the face of the column, thereby avoiding the brittle failure at the beam end, exhibiting excellent seismic performance. The comparisons demonstrate that the proposed connection presents a satisfactory ductility and plastic rotation behavior. A good cumulative plastic rotation and cumulative energy consumption can be observed in the proposed connection. However, the traditional connection shows a poor energy dissipation behavior. In addition, the strength and stiffness behavior of the proposed connection are not much different from the traditional connection, but the hysteretic, ductility, plastic rotation, and energy dissipation behavior can be considerably improved. The results confirm that the proposed connection is verified for seismic behavior and can be considered as a reasonable steel welded connection. Consequently, the proposed connection can be recommended to be directly adopted in the beam-to-column connection for steel frame structures under seismic design.

Experimental study on seismic performance of prefabricated replaceable beam-column connectors using double-sided angle steel

An innovative performance-reparability beam-column connection was proposed in this paper. Based on quasi-static test of two specimens without replaceable angle steel, five specimens with double-side angle steels and one specimen with one-side replaceable angle steel, the seismic performance of this new type of beam-column connector was analyzed. Through the analyses of destruction form, hysteretic loops, skeleton curves, cumulative dissipated energy, strength and stiffness degradation, residual deformation and re-centering behavior as well as the measured strains results of the beam-column connector, the effects of setting angle steel, initial prestressing, different flange thickness of the connector and replacement of angle steel on the seismic performance of the prefabricated beam-column connectors were examined. The results indicated that the seismic performance of this new type connector shown an excellent seismic behavior. Setting replaceable angle steel and increase the number of angle steel could effectively improve the seismic performance; The seismic performance repair could be achieved quickly by using of thicker angle steel after replacement; Reasonable initial prestress could effectively increase the ultimate load, initial stiffness, re-centering ability and the energy consumption of the specimens; Increasing the flange thickness of the connector could reduce the expansion degree of the flange. The mechanism of "elastic in the minor earthquake, self-centering in the moderate earthquake and replaceable in the major earthquake" could be realized well by rational design, and the repair of structure after earthquake can be solved easily by different very low-cost solutions. Based on the test results, a moment calculation method, which could distinguish the gap opening was proposed, and the calculated results agreed well with the experimental results.

Improved mechanical, degradation, and biological performances of Zn-Fe alloys as bioresorbable implants.

Zinc (Zn) is a promising bioresorbable implant material with more moderate degradation rate compared to magnesium (Mg) and iron (Fe). However, the low mechanical strength and localized degradation behavior of pure Zn limit its clinical applications. Alloying is one of the most effective ways to overcome these limitations. After screening the alloying element candidates regarding their potentials for improvement on the degradation and biocompatibility, we proposed Fe as the alloying element for Zn, and investigated the in vitro and in vivo performances of these alloys in both subcutaneous and femoral tissues. Results showed that the uniformly distributed secondary phase in Zn–Fe alloys significantly improved the mechanical property and facilitated uniform degradation, which thus enhanced their biocompatibility, especially the Zn-0.4Fe alloy. Moreover, these Zn–Fe alloys showed outstanding antibacterial property. Taken together, Zn–Fe alloys could be promising candidates as bioresorbable medical implants for various cardiovascular, wound closure, and orthopedic applications.

Experimental study and numerical simulation analysis on seismic performance of corrugated steel-plate shear wall with replaceable bottom corner dampers

In this study, an innovative corrugated steel plate shear wall with additional dampers is proposed, in which dampers exhibiting excellent energy dissipation performance are installed at the bottom plastic hinge areas of the shear wall. Seismic performance of the innovative corrugated steel shear walls is compared to that of traditional ones. The failure mode, hysteretic behaviour, strength and cyclic degradation behavior, ductility and stiffness behavior, and energy dissipation behavior of the shear walls are analyzed and further discussed. Then, 3D finite element models are implemented to investigate the energy distribution mechanism of the innovative shear wall. The results demonstrate that the installation of the dampers significantly increases the lateral stiffness and energy dissipation performance of the innovative wall compared to the traditional wall. In addition, the energy dissipation matching model between the corrugated steel plate and the dampers is established through numerical simulation analysis. Finally, the traditional shear capacity equation is supplemented to consider the contribution of the embedded corrugated steel plate separately from that of the frame with dampers.

Adaptive hysteretic model for reinforced concrete columns including variations in axial force and shear span length

AbstractIn this study, a hysteretic model is developed for simulating the nonlinear response of reinforced concrete columns with strength degradation behavior under cyclic loading. During analysis, the proposed model exhibits the ability to adjust the model parameters assigned to the model continually, based on the monitored element boundary conditions. A semi‐empirical relationship between model parameters and boundary conditions is formulated from experimental evidence, which is used to adjust the model parameters. The boundary conditions that are monitored include the axial load acting on the column section and shear span length; these are known to have a significant effect on capacity in terms of strength and ductility. The developed model was implemented in the widely used research‐oriented structural analysis software, OpenSees. To simulate the nonlinear response of the columns, model parameter predictive equations composed of input parameters such as material strength, reinforcement layout, and specimen geometry were developed using lasso regression. As an application of the proposed column model, an eight‐story code‐conforming frame building was selected to perform incremental dynamic analyses based on 44 far‐field ground motions. The numerical results showed that, without the model parameter adaptation feature, the median collapse capacity and residual story drift can be significantly overestimated.

Metallurgical Characteristics, Compressive Strength, and Chemical Degradation Behavior of Aluminum-Cenosphere Composite Foam Developed by Spray Forming Route

In the present study, the microstructural characteristics, compressive strength, and corrosion behavior of aluminum-cenosphere composite foam (CF) developed by spray forming route (processed with 5 Psi (3.45 × 104 N/m2) and 10 Psi (6.90 × 104 N/m2) hydrogen pressure) has been undertaken. The microstructure of the spray-formed coupon consists of hollow cenosphere particles distributed uniformly in aluminum matrix. Compressive yield strength (YS) of the aluminum-cenosphere foam (CF) is different from commercially pure aluminum (cp-Al). It is found that the YS of the foam processed with 5 Psi is 83.62 MPa and for the foam processed at 10 Psi is 113.32 MPa as compared to 104.42 MPa for cp-Al. A detailed study of corrosion behavior through electrochemical measurements indicates that CF exhibits a reduced corrosion rate from 0.092 (for cp-Al) to 0.056 mm/year and 0.080 mm/year for the samples processed with 10 and 5 Psi, respectively. Through a detailed analysis of Nyquist and Bode plots derived from EIS measurements, it is concluded that mostly localized corrosion occurs in all the samples. The post-corrosion microstructural study confirms that interface of aluminum and cenosphere is the potential area for initiation of corrosion.

Quasi-static cyclic performance of RC exterior beam-column joint assemblages strengthened with geosynthetic materials

The beam-column joints are the most critical and vulnerable part of the RC framed structures when subjected to earthquake load. The objective of the present study is to investigate the cyclic behaviour of seismic and non-seismic exterior reinforced concrete (RC) beam-column joints strengthened with innovative polymeric based geosynthetic materials. Two variants of geosynthetic material named geogrid and geotextile were used for strengthening the beam-column joints in the experimental program. In this strengthening protocol, two different types of strengthening patterns were used in which one was horizontal U-shaped pattern, and the other one was the diagonal cross (X-shaped) pattern. All the beam-column specimens were tested under the quasi-static cyclic loading with controlled amplitude to explore the cyclic performance on the parameters such as failure modes, hysteresis loops, load-deformation envelope curves, ductility, energy dissipation capacity, stiffness and strength degradation behaviour, pinching width ratio, damage index and joint distortion. The test results showed that the adopted strengthening schemes with geotextile and geogrid materials could successfully alter the failure of beam-column joints from shear to flexural and improved the ductile behaviour of the strengthened specimens. The load-carrying capacity and ductility-factor of the geosynthetic strengthened specimens significantly increased up to 48.4% and 37.8%, respectively when compared to the non-seismic control specimen, and it was highest in geogrid strengthened BCJs, especially in diagonal X-shape bonded specimen. The significant increment of energy dissipation capacity was also observed as 2.08 to 3.73 times for the strengthened specimens. Furthermore, the post-elastic performance and the joint shear strength of strengthened RC beam-column joints was also improved in comparison to the non-seismic control specimen. In addition, an analytical study was carried out to predict the shear strength contributions of externally bonded strengthening materials in the RC beam-column joint, which was compared with experimental findings. A good agreement was observed between the analytical and experimental results. Hence, the experimental and analytical study of the strengthened beam-column joints using geotextile and geogrid have confirmed that the appropriate bonding of these materials to the concrete can improve the seismic performance of the non-seismic exterior RC beam-column joints.

Bifunctional nano-catalyst produced from palm kernel shell via hydrothermal-assisted carbonization for biodiesel production from waste cooking oil

A highly mesoporous activated carbon derived from palm kernel shell was successfully prepared by hydrothermal-assisted carbonization (HTC) by improving the degradation of lignocellulosic composition and increase the porous texture of carbon structure. Additional NaOH treatment increased the surface area of the catalyst which enhanced the loading of the active site. Further impregnation of HTC based activated carbon with K2CO3 and CuO via wet impregnation provided bifunctional characteristics suitable for simultaneous esterification and transesterification processes. The physicochemical properties of the prepared catalysts were conducted through the state-of-the-art techniques including N2 adsorption-desorption analysis, functional group determination, surface morphology study, electron dispersive x-ray mapping, elemental distribution analysis, amount of basicity and acidity strength and thermal degradation behavior analysis. The investigation found that the chemical treatment with NaOH significantly increased the surface area from 3.57 to 3368.60 m2/g and impregnation with K2CO3 and CuO offered higher amount of basicity of 5.73 mmol/g and acidity of 1.48 mmol/g, respectively. These properties enhanced the simultaneous esterification-transesterification of waste cooking oil to biodiesel. The catalytic study produced 95.36 ± 1.4% of biodiesel over 4 wt% of PKSHAC-K2CO3(20%)CuO(5%) catalyst, 12:1 of methanol to oil molar ratio, reaction temperature of 70 °C for duration of 2 h. Meanwhile, the catalyst can be employed for five subsequent reaction cycles with FAME yield of 82.5 ± 2.5%. Thus, the synthesized bifunctional nanocatalyst supported on the HTC based activated carbon has been validated as an efficient catalyst for biodiesel production.

The in-situ testing and modeling on sealing strength deterioration of lithium-ion pouch cell

The pouch cell is of great potential application among a variety of power batteries, because of its higher energy density and lower weight. Due to the existence of internal gas generation in the long lifetime of the pouch cell, the slowly increasing internal gas pressure will cause a time-dependent fracture in its package sealing edge. This process significantly affects the remaining useful life and reliability. In this paper, an in-situ experiment was performed and a modified cohesive zone model (CZM) was proposed to describe the seal strength degradation behavior. Firstly, the in-situ tensile test was conducted to measure the sealing strength curve, and the exponential CZM was used to characterize the constitutive relation of the sealing area based on the load-displacement data. Secondly, constant stress accelerated degradation tests (CSADT) were carried out to simulate the degradation process, where the action of gas pressure on sealing area was converted to accelerated tensile load. Then, the exponential CZM was modified to account for the strength degradation behavior with the effect of constant load duration, based on the traction-separation relationship. The fracture energy was calculated by area integral under the load-displacement curve, whose reduction represented the degradation phenomenon. Finally, the proposed model was validated by the testing data, and a good agreement was observed.

Role of Multi-Scale Microstructure in the Degradation of Al Wire for Power Transmission

As common conductive materials, Al wires are used on overhead transmission lines under long-term heating conditions. In this study, the strength degradation behavior and the strength-electrical conductivity relation of the commercially pure Al wires (CPAWs) and the Al-Fe wires (AFWs) annealed at various temperatures were investigated based on the microstructure evolution. The strength degradation rate of the AFW is always higher than that of the CPAW. A linear trade-off relation between strength and electrical conductivity for the annealed Al wires are clarified. The results reveal that the mechanisms behind the trade-off relation between the strength and the electrical conductivity for the annealed CPAWs and the annealed AFWs are the recovery of dislocations and the obvious increase of grain width, which leads to the decrease of strength and the increase of electrical conductivity. The coalescence of precipitate in the AFW leads to the obvious decrease of strength, which results in the higher strength degradation rate for the AFW as compared with that for the CPAW. Consequently, the principle of microstructure design for anti-degradation of Al wire is presented.

Evaluation of strength degradation behavior and fatigue life prediction of plain-woven carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic laminates immersed in seawater

The effect of long-term seawater immersion on the mechanical properties and fatigue life of plain-woven carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminates was investigated. Under tension loading, the static strength and low-cycle fatigue strength of the CRFP laminates greatly decreased owing to the rapid growth of interface debonding and delamination. However, under compression loading, the fatigue strength of the CRFP laminates dramatically decreased in the entire fatigue region as fiber buckling was likely to occur. These findings indicate that the fatigue strength degradation differed depending on the stress ratio and deterioration of the fiber/matrix interface strength. In addition, the fatigue life after seawater immersion was predicted using Epaarachchi and Clausen’s model and constant life diagrams. These models were shown to accurately reflect the decrease in fatigue strength resulting from seawater immersion and can thus be used for fatigue life prediction of CFRPs after long-term immersion in seawater.

Mechanical behavior of AL/CFRP single-lap joint subjected to combined thermal and constant loading

ABSTRACT This research aimed to investigate the effect of constant loading coupled with elevated temperature on the mechanical behavior of single-lap joints (SLJs) with aluminum alloy (AL) and carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP). The aging tests of adhesive and AL/CFRP SLJs were completed under the combined thermal and constant loading environment. Then, the quasi-static axial tensile tests were accomplished. The results showed the insignificant effect of temperature condition on the strength degradation behavior of SLJ; whereas constant loading coupled with temperature condition exhibited a significant influence. Meanwhile, the results also showed that the adhesive and SLJ had the same trend in strength degradation: the failure strength increased with the prolonged aging time under the temperature-only condition, whereas the failure strength increased first and then decreased with prolonged aging time under the combined thermal and constant loading environment.

Effect of different size of joint enlargement on seismic behavior of gravity load designed RC beam‐column connections

SummaryEffect of different size of planer joint enlargement as a noninvasive and practical strategy for seismic retrofit of gravity load designed external reinforced concrete beam‐column connections was experimentally investigated. The joint region was enlarged using steel angles that are mounted using prestressed cross‐ties. Reverse cyclic load tests on five half‐scale control and retrofitted external RC beam‐column connections were conducted. Three different size of planer joint enlargement being 180, 140, and 90 mm were considered for retrofitted specimens. The performance of the retrofitted specimens is compared with that of the control gravity load designed beam‐column connections, in terms of load–displacement hysteresis curve, energy dissipation and ductility capacities, and global strength and stiffness degradation behavior. The experimental results showed that increasing the size of planer joint enlargement significantly enhances the seismic capacity of the retrofitted connections, in terms of strength, stiffness, energy dissipation, and ductility capacity and also planer joint enlargement can relocate beam plastic hinges to outside the joint panel.

Effect of nano-Al2O3 addition on mechanical durability of nickel-yttria stabilized zirconia anode support of solid oxide fuel cells

For anode supported solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), the strength and durability of the porous cermet support during long-term operation is critical for the reliability of the cells and stacks. The effect of adding nano-Al2O3 on the long-term durability of the mechanical strength of nickel-yttria stabilized zirconia (Ni-YSZ) based SOFC anode supports was investigated in this study. The SOFC anode support materials, Ni-3YSZ (3 mol% YSZ), Ni-8YSZ (8 mol% YSZ), and nano-Al2O3 added Ni-YSZ composites, were subjected to a long-term degradation test at 900 °C and 30% humidity in an H2 environment and after 1000 h exposure, the flexural strength, phase, and microstructural changes were analyzed. The results suggest that the addition of nano-Al2O3 to Ni-3YSZ improves the long-term strength and durability of the cermet while its addition to Ni-8YSZ cermet did not show any significant changes in the strength degradation behavior of the Ni-8YSZ based anode support. Further analysis by SEM and XRD shows that the tetragonal to monoclinic phase transformation in partially stabilized zirconia was suppressed due to the addition of nano-Al2O3 in Ni-3YSZ resulting in improved long-term stability and higher mechanical strength. Replacing the Ni-8YSZ anode support with nano-Al2O3 added Ni-3YSZ might significantly reduce the material cost of SOFCs without compromising long-term strength durability, thus bringing SOFCs a step closer to commercialization.