Surface Displacement Profiles Research Articles

Parameters affecting performance of fully instrumented model testing of strip footings on geocell-reinforced soils

A thorough study was conducted to assess the performance of the strip footing reinforced with geocells in sand, focusing on understanding the enhancement effects and geocell reinforcement mechanisms. Critical factors such as geocell modulus, height, soil relative density and load eccentricity were examined through fully instrumented model tests. Measurements included surface displacement profiles, strains on the geocell layer, subsurface pressure distribution and other relevant parameters. Results revealed that the strip footing on geocell-reinforced sand beds exhibited better performance compared to those on unreinforced soil, characterized by increased load-carrying capacity and reduced settlements. Notably, stiffer geocells improved performance significantly, with a 40% higher modulus enhancing the bearing pressure by up to 25%, due to better confinement and anchorage effects. Conversely, geocells with a lower modulus demonstrated more effective vertical stress distribution. Furthermore, increased geocell height moderately enhanced footing performance by improving confinement, although wall buckling under eccentric loading limited major gains. Dense soils under centric loading exhibited up to a 20% better improvement in bearing pressure than loose soils due to higher strain mobilization within the geocell layer. These findings highlight the crucial role of geocell and soil properties, as well as loading conditions, in optimizing reinforcement effects for strip footings.

Performance of eccentrically loaded strip footings on geocell-reinforced soil

In this pioneering study, the performance of an eccentrically loaded strip footing on geocell-reinforced sand was assessed with instrumented laboratory model tests in terms of pressure-settlement response, surface displacement profiles, failure mechanisms and ultimate bearing capacity considering load eccentricity, geocell height, geocell material stiffness and the relative density of the soil. The results indicated that strip footings on the geocell-reinforced sand outperformed those on unreinforced soils, with up to a 6.5-fold increase in the bearing capacity and significant improvements in the initial slope of the pressure-settlement curve. Furthermore, the strip footing under centric loading on the geocell-reinforced loose and dense sand exhibited either only punching or local shear failure while load eccentricity on the strip footing could lead to the shear failures including punching, local and general. In this research, both a design chart for predicting failure modes of geocell-reinforced strip footings and a new interpretation method to evaluate ultimate bearing capacity were proposed. Increasing the relative density of the soil and material stiffness enhanced the ultimate bearing capacity of geocell-reinforced strip footings under both centric and eccentric loading conditions, with stiffer materials resulting up to 25% increase. However, increased geocell height had no significant impact on bearing capacity.

Mitigation of reverse faulting in foundation soils using geosynthetic-encased granular columns

In this study, a series of reduced model tests was conducted on soil foundations reinforced by Geosynthetic-Encased Granular Columns (GECs) placed across a reverse fault. These tests aimed at evaluating the effectiveness, reinforcing mechanism and optimal GEC horizontal spacing to mitigate the ground surface deformation associated with reverse faulting. For comparison, reduced model tests were also performed on unreinforced and Geosynthetic-Reinforced Soil (GRS) foundations. The reduced model tests were conducted to simulate a prototype 3-m-thick foundation layer subjected to a reverse fault displacement of 0.9 m. Digital Image Analysis (DIA) techniques were adopted to determine the surface displacement profile, angular distortion and shear rupture propagation considering various reverse fault offsets. Test results revealed that the GEC foundation can considerably reduce the fault-induced angular distortion at the ground surface. A reduction of 23.3% on the maximum angular distortion at the ground surface was observed as the fault displacement reached 30% of the foundation height (S/H = 30%), indicating the GEC foundation can mitigate the risk of surface fault hazards associated with large reverse fault movement. Two mechanisms, shear rupture diffusion and diversion effects, were identified for the GEC foundation, depending on the magnitude of the fault displacement and the system stiffness of the GEC foundation. Because of complex mechanisms between diversion and diffusion of the shear rupture in the GEC foundations, an optimal GEC spacing of Sh/dc = 3.3 was observed, which exhibited the most significant reduction in βmax at large fault offsets.

Contactless mechanical stimulation of tissue engineered constructs: Development and validation of an air-pulse device

ObjectiveTissue engineering (TE) is the study and development of biological substitutes to restore, maintain or improve tissue function. Tissue engineered constructs (TECs) still present differences in mechanical and biological properties compared to native tissue. Mechanotransduction is the process through which mechanical stimulation triggers proliferation, apoptosis, and extracellular matrix synthesis, among other cell activities. Regarding that aspect, the effect of in vitro stimulations such as compression, stretching, bending or fluid shear stress loading modalities have been extensively studied. A fluid flow used to produce contactless mechanical stimulation induced by an air pulse could be easily achieved in vivo without altering the tissue integrity. MethodsA new air-pulse device for contactless and controlled mechanical simulation of a TECs was developed and validated in this study conducted in the following three phases: 1) conception of the controlled air-pulse device combined with a 3D printed bioreactor; 2) experimental and numerical mechanical characterization of the air-pulse impact by digital image correlation; and 3) achieving sterility and noncytotoxicity of the air-pulse and of the 3D printed bioreactor using a novel dedicated sterilization process. ResultsWe demonstrated that the treated PLA (polylactic acid) was noncytotoxic and did not influence cell proliferation. An ethanol/autoclaved sterilization protocol for 3D printed objects in PLA has been developed in this study, enabling the use of 3D printing in cell culture. A numerical twin of the device was developed and experimentally characterized by digital image correlation. It showed a coefficient of determination R2 = 0.98 between the numerical and averaged experimental surface displacement profiles of the TEC substitute. ConclusionThe results of the study assessed the noncytotoxicity of PLA for prototyping by 3D printing the homemade bioreactor. A novel sterilization process for PLA was developed in this study based on a thermochemical process. A numerical twin using fluid-structure interaction method has been developed to investigate the micromechanical effects of air pulses inside the TEC, which cannot all be measured experimentally, for instance, wave propagation generated during the air-pulse impact. The device could be used to study the cell response to contactless cyclic mechanical stimulation, particularly in TEC with fibroblasts, stromal cells and mesenchymal stem cells, which have been shown to be sensitive to the frequency and strain level at the air-liquid interface.

3D sandbox and numerical modeling of coseismic surface rupture induced by oblique-slip faulting and its interaction with embedded shallow foundation

A series of downscaled physical sandbox experiments are conducted to observe the evolution of the surface rupture induced by the oblique-slip faulting and estimate its impact on a rigid embedded shallow foundation. High-resolution orthoimages and digital surface model of the experiments are generated through the photogrammetry technique to quantify the ground deformation pattern.The distinct element model (DEM) is performed to validate the three-dimensional ground deformation pattern and the fault rupture-soil-foundation interaction (FR-SFI). The surface displacement profile reflects the fault-affected width being approximately 1.10 times the soil thickness. And the deformation gradients reveal the migration of the surface rupture on the ground surface. The distribution of accumulative strain in the numerical model shows the propagation of the fault rupture.The embedded rigid shallow foundation undergoes substantial displacement, inclination, and horizontal rotation with increasing oblique-slip faulting. However, the degrees of damage is strongly related to the spatial geometric relationship between the foundation and the fault rupture. The DEM simulation provides mechanical insights into the propagation of the fault rupture and shows the potential to elucidate the interaction between the shallow foundations and the coseismic surface rupture.

10 MHz Thin-Film PZT-Based Flexible PMUT Array: Finite Element Design and Characterization.

Piezoelectric micromachined ultrasound transducers (PMUT) incorporating lead zirconate titanate PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PZT) thin films were investigated for miniaturized high-frequency ultrasound systems. A recently developed process to remove a PMUT from an underlying silicon (Si) substrate has enabled curved arrays to be readily formed. This research aimed to improve the design of flexible PMUT arrays using PZFlex, a finite element method software package. A 10 MHz PMUT 2D array working in 3-1 mode was designed. A circular unit-cell was structured from the top, with concentric layers of platinum (Pt)/PZT/Pt/titanium (Ti) on a polyimide (PI) substrate. Pulse-echo and spectral response analyses predicted a center frequency of 10 MHz and bandwidth of 87% under water load and air backing. A 2D array, consisting of the 256 (16 × 16) unit-cells, was created and characterized in terms of pulse-echo and spectral responses, surface displacement profiles, crosstalk, and beam profiles. The 2D array showed: decreased bandwidth due to protracted oscillation decay and guided wave effects; mechanical focal length at 2.9 mm; 3.7 mm depth of field for -6 dB; and -55.6 dB crosstalk. Finite element-based virtual prototyping identified figures of merit—center frequency, bandwidth, depth of field, and crosstalk—that could be optimized to design robust, flexible PMUT arrays.

Preliminary Design of a High-Frequency Phased-Array Acoustic Microscope Probe for Nondestructive Evaluation of Pressure Vessel and Piping Materials

In pressure vessel and pipe inspection, ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation plays a pivotal role in both in-situ and laboratory examinations. Scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) has been a well-recognized laboratory tool for both visualization and quantitative evaluation of pressure vessel and piping materials at the microscale since its invention in 1974. While there have been multiple advances in SAM over the past four decades, some issues still remain to be addressed. First, the measurement speed is limited by the mechanical movement of the acoustic lens and the sample stage. Second, a single-element transducer with an acoustic lens forms a predetermined beam pattern for a fixed focal length and incident angle, thereby limiting control of the inspection beam. Here, we propose to develop a phased-array probe as an alternative to overcome these issues. Preliminary studies to design a practical high-frequency phased-array acoustic microscope probe were explored. A linear phased-array, comprising 32 elements and operating at 5 MHz, was modeled using PZFlex, a finite element method software. This phased-array system was characterized in terms of electrical input impedance response, pulse-echo and impulse response, surface displacement profiles, mode shapes, and beam profiles. Details of the construction of the model and the results are presented in this paper. Development of a phased-array acoustic microscope probe will significantly enhance scanning acoustic microscopy techniques for detecting surface and subsurface defects and microstructural changes in laboratory samples of pressure vessel and piping materials.

Anisotropic Mechanical Properties of Living Cells Revealed by Integrated Spinning Disk Confocal and Atomic Force Microscopy

Recent developments in fluorescent live-cell imaging and biophysical methods have significantly advanced our understanding of the dynamic biochemical and mechanical processes underlying cellular functions such as cell migration. One of most frequently used techniques for assessment of cell mechanical properties is the indentation experiments conducted with the atomic force microscope (AFM), due primarily to AFM's relative ease of operation, its high precision of force measurement, and high spatial resolution. We used the AFM in conjunction with a spinning disk confocal (SDC) microscope to directly visualize AFM indentation of living cells with high spatial and temporal resolution. With novel live cell imaging probes to fluorescently label F-actin, microtubules, and membrane, we were able to directly observe structural changes during the indentation process of a living cell (NIH 3T3 fibroblasts) with a spherical indenter. The most notable observation was a deformation of single apical stress fibers (ASF) under the action of the probe. The presence of ASF (also known as perinuclear actin cap) correlated with low cell height and high stiffness. Moreover, the presence of ASF caused an anisotropic indentation geometry as observed from surface displacement profiles calculated from the SDC images. Isotropic indentation profile was found in cells without ASF: cancerous cells MDA-MB-231 which are naturally lacking actin cap and NIH 3T3 cells in which ASF were disrupted by latrunculin A. Anisotropic indentation behavior suggests an anisotropic deformability and stiffness of the cell. We performed finite element simulations to extract anisotropic properties from the surface displacement data. Simulations suggest a very strong level of anisotropy in cells which role should be further elucidated.

Behaviour of square footing on sand reinforced with coir geocell

The use of geosynthetics as a ground improvement technique offers the advantages such as space saving, environmental sensitivity, material availability, technical superiority, higher cost savings and less construction time. Coir geotextiles can be considered as an efficient replacement to its synthetic counterparts due to its economy and excellent engineering properties. The present study aims at exploring the possibilities of utilising coir geocells as a potential reinforcement material for shallow foundations and thereby increasing the load carrying capacity of soil. Geocells were fabricated from coir geotextiles with the aim of providing an additional confinement to the soil. An enumerated parametric study was conducted by varying the relative density, depth of the first layer, width and height of coir geocell. The surface displacement profiles of the non-reinforced and coir geocell-reinforced soil indicate that the footing rotation and heave are considerably reduced with the provision of geocell. The results of the relative density study indicate that bearing capacity characteristics increase with denseness of the soil sample. It was also observed that geocell arrangement and configuration play a pivotal role in the performance characteristics of reinforced soil.

Acoustical breakdown of materials by focusing of laser-generated Rayleigh surface waves

Focusing of high-amplitude surface acoustic waves leading to material damage is visualized in an all-optical experiment. The optical setup includes a lens and an axicon that focuses an intense picosecond excitation pulse into a ring-shaped pattern at the surface of a gold-coated glass substrate. Optical excitation induces a surface acoustic wave (SAW) that propagates in the plane of the sample and converges toward the center. The evolution of the SAW profile is monitored using interferometry with a femtosecond probe pulse at variable time delays. The quantitative analysis of the full-field images provides direct information about the surface displacement profiles, which are compared to calculations. The high stress at the focal point leads to the removal of the gold coating and, at higher excitation energies, to damage of the glass substrate. The results open the prospect for testing material strength on the microscale using laser-generated SAWs.

Spall behavior of copper under ultra-high strain rate loading

The spall behavior of copper at ultra-high strain rate is studied by molecular dynamics simulation combined with an experimental analysis of laser ablation of a bulk copper target by femtosecond laser pulses. In the molecular dynamics simulation, two-temperature model is used, shock wave and spallation characteristics of copper shock-loaded by femtosecond laser are analyzed in detail. It is concluded that the evolution of pressure indicates a triangular waveform of the shock wave, and the spall strength of copper is about 19 GPa at strain rates ranging from 109 s-1 to 1010 s-1, while higher pressure would melt the sample and the spall strength decreases to 14.89 GPa. Normally, the spallation is characterized by the sample free-surface undergoing alternately acceleration and deceleration, and the spallation mechanism could be explained by void nucleation, growth, coalescence that leads to the final fracture. An experiment is conducted to achieve high strain rate load on copper. The driving laser has a pulse width of 25 fs and central wavelength of 800 nm, the thickness values of the shocked copper foils are (5025) nm, fabricated by electron beam sputtering deposition onto 180 upm cover slip substrates. The driving laser beam with maximum intensity 5.51013 W/cm2, is focused on the front surface of the copper through the transparent substrate. Movements of the free rear surfaces of the copper foils are detected by chirped pulse spectral interferometry, and the theoretical time resolution is 1.3 ps. As a result, the free surface displacement and velocity evolution profile of the shocked area are obtained in a single measurement, and the results directly show that the maximum free surface velocity is 0.43 km/s and no alternately acceleration and deceleration appears. According to the shock wave relations, the maximum pressure near free-surface is 8.18 GPa. Meanwhile, derived from the velocity evolution profile, the strain rate is 7.3109 s-1. Combining with the above molecular dynamics simulation results, it is concluded that there is no spallation in the copper foil. Furthermore, we recover the sample targets and observe the microstructures by using scanning electron microscope. The copper foils are peeled off, but no spall scab is observed, indicating that the internal stress is between the copper spall strength and the bonding strength of copper foil with the transparent substrate. Ripple structure on copper surface demonstrates the femtosecond pulsed laser has ablated the copper film, and the propagation of the shock in fs regime is sensitive to microscopic defects.

Simulating Solitary Wave Generation Using Incompressible SPH

The current study examines the generation and propagation of a Third order solitary water wave along the channel. Surface displacement and wave profile prediction challenges are interesting subjects in the field of marine engineering and many researchers have tried to investigate these parameters.

The effect of laser shock peening on hardness and microstructure in a welded marine steel

Residual stress is generally considered as the main criterion in laser shock peening for enhancement of fatigue life. However, changes in material hardness, microstructure and surface roughness can also affect component performance. These three aspects are investigated in this paper for welded marine steel samples subjected to laser peening. After laser peening an increase in hardness was seen across the weld and parent metal, with the local hardness dependent upon the initial hardness of the region before peening. The increase was relatively higher for the weld metal which had lower initial hardness. The local surface displacement profiles reflected the number of laser peening layers applied, and the peening also affected the distortion of the specimen after welding.

Large-scale soil–structure physical model (1g) – assessment of structure damages

The paper presents a new large small-scale physical model (6 m3) for studying the damage to structures owing to underground movements: settlement, subsidence and sinkhole. The aim of the research is to study the soil–structure interaction effect of large vertical displacement owing to underground mines. The soil used in the physical model is Fontainebleau sand. The simple masonry structure was built using different materials: polycarbonate, silicone, wood and sugar. The vertical displacement was applied by an electric jack. The physical model is used to reproduce ground surface displacement profiles and the displacement measurement system is based on digital image correlation. Image processing was carried out to analyse the soil and structure displacements. The model allowed comparing the behaviour of soil and structure under different conditions: greenfield and with structure (different positions). Tension cracks appear when the applied subsidence reaches the structure's bearing capacity. The structure damage (cracks) depends on the structure position and the transfer of soil movement to the structure. These results also highlight the importance of the structure position in the development of cracks and damage to the masonry structure. The physical model presents an excellent tool for understanding the behaviour of real buildings and facilities.

Reconstructing surface wave profiles from reflected acoustic pulses

Surface wave shapes are determined by analyzing underwater reflected acoustic signals. The acoustic signals (of nominal frequency 200 kHz) are forward scattered from the underside of surface waves that are generated in a wave tank and scaled to model smooth ocean swell. An inverse processing algorithm is designed and implemented to reconstruct the surface displacement profiles of the waves over one complete period. The inverse processing uses the surface scattered pulses collected at the receiver, an initial wave profile (two are considered), and a broadband forward scattering model based on Kirchhoff's diffraction formula to iteratively adjust the surface until it is considered optimized or reconstructed. Two physical length scales over which information can be known about the surface are confirmed. An outer length scale, the Fresnel zone surrounding each specular reflection point, is the only region where optimized surfaces resulting from each initial profile converge within a resolution set by the inner length scale, a quarter-wavelength of the acoustic pulse. The statistical confidence of each optimized surface is also highest within a Fresnel zone. Future design considerations are suggested such as an array of receivers that increases the region of surface reconstruction by a factor of 2 to 3.

Reconstructing surface wave profiles from reflected acoustic pulses

Surface wave shapes are determined by analyzing underwater reflected acoustic signals. The acoustic signals (of nominal frequency 200 kHz) are forward scattered from the underside of surface waves that are generated in a wave tank and scaled to model smooth ocean swell. An inverse processing algorithm is designed and implemented to reconstruct the surface displacement profiles of the waves over one complete period. The inverse processing uses the surface scattered pulses collected at the receiver, an initial wave profile (two are considered), and a broadband forward scattering model based on Kirchhoff’s diffraction formula to iteratively adjust the surface until it is considered optimized or reconstructed. Two physical length scales over which information can be known about the surface are confirmed. An outer length scale, the Fresnel zone surrounding each specular reflection point, is the only region where optimized surfaces resulting from each initial profile converge within a resolution set by the inner length scale, a quarter-wavelength of the acoustic pulse. The statistical confidence of each optimized surface is also highest within a Fresnel zone. Future design considerations are suggested such as an array of receivers that increases the region of surface reconstruction by a factor of 2 to 3.

3‐D DYNAMIC OPTICAL TECHNIQUES TO MODEL FOOD MECHANICAL DEFORMATION

ABSTRACT Finding new instrumental rheological parameters that better describe sensory textures can improve correlation between rheological and sensory measurements of food. Two optical three‐dimensional (3‐D) techniques commonly used in mechanical engineering field were studied. These techniques have never been used in food science. Digital image correlation and Breuckmann scanning systems were successful to distinguish gelatin gels and soft cheeses varying in firmness and viscoelastic properties. These two systems were coupled with a universal testing machine to provide information regarding 3‐D displacements and surface deformation of sample. Mathematical models were developed to determine surface displacement profiles of samples from their firmness and viscoelastic properties. Three parameters were obtained to describe surface displacement profiles linked to samples textural properties. These parameters may be useful to develop models predicting accurately food sensory texture from instrumental measurements. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSFinding new instrumental rheological parameters that better describe sensory textures to improve correlation between rheological and sensory measurements of food.

Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers with piston-shaped membranes: fabrication and experimental characterization

Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs) featuring piston-shaped membranes (piston CMUTs) were developed to improve device performance in terms of transmission efficiency, reception sensitivity, and fractional bandwidth (FBW). A piston CMUT has a relatively flat active moving surface whose membrane motion is closer to ideal piston-type motion compared with a CMUT with uniformly thick membranes (classical CMUT). Piston CMUTs with a more uniform surface displacement profile can achieve high output pressure with a relatively small electrode separation. The improved device capacitance and gap uniformity also enhance detection sensitivity. By adding a center mass to the membrane, a large ratio of second-order resonant frequency to first-order resonant frequency was achieved. This improved the FBW. Piston CMUTs featuring membranes of different geometric shapes were designed and fabricated using wafer bonding. Fabricating piston CMUTs is a more complex process than fabricating CMUTs with uniformly thick membranes. However, no yield loss was observed. These devices achieved ~100% improvement in transduction performance (transmission and reception) over classical CMUTs. For CMUTs with square and rectangular membranes, the FBW increased from ~110% to ~150% and from ~140% to ~175%, respectively, compared with classical CMUTs. The new devices produced a maximum output pressure exceeding 1 MPa at the transducer surface. Performance optimization using geometric membrane shape configurations was the same in both piston CMUTs and classical CMUTs.

Determination of lamb wave dispersion data in lossy anisotropic plates using time domain finite element analysis. Part II: application to 2-2 and 1-3 piezoelectric composite transducer arrays

The use of finite element modeling, combined with optical generation and detection of Lamb waves in plate structures, was extended to encompass periodic ceramic-polymer materials typical of those encountered in 1-3 and 2-2 piezoelectric composite array transducers. The resultant dispersion data was employed to predict the occurrence of Lamb wave-induced cross talk in composite monolithic arrays. The finite element modeling method was then used to simulate the dispersion behavior of two array structures that were subsequently manufactured: a 1-D 45% volume fraction linear array coupon and a 2-D 35% volume fraction array coupon. Excellent agreement between theory and experiment was obtained using impedance measurements and laser scans of the surface displacement profile at selected frequencies. Regions of strong inter-element cross-coupling were identified and these are shown to correlate very well with the dispersion data obtained for the dual-phase plate material. This work is considered to provide a useful basis for the design of wideband monolithic composite arrays and minimization of guided wave propagation along the array substrate.

Investigation into the effects of modification of the passive phase for improved manufacture of 1-3 connectivity piezocomposite transducers

The 1-3 connectivity composite transducers comprise active piezoceramic pillars within a passive polymer matrix. The first stage in manufacturing the 1-3 material is to produce a bristle block (comprising a solid stock of active material with protruding pillars) by injection moulding or by dicing a piece of ceramic using precision sawing equipment. The bristle block is filled with a reactive polymer liquid that produces the passive polymer phase, and the filled block is machined to the desired dimensions. For optimum performance, the polymer phase should have complementary interaction with the ceramic phase as well as imparting dimensional stability. Epoxy-based polymers are the most usual passive materials because of their low viscosity in the uncured state and solvent resistance, coupled with their excellent adhesive, mechanical, and electrical properties. However, the curing of epoxy resins results in shrinkage of the polymer matrix and internal stress within the passive phase. This can lead to prestressing of the active ceramic material, distortion of pillars, reduction in the parallelism between the sides of pillars, acid, in certain circumstances, warpage of transducers. This is particularly evident when the solid stock in the bristle block is relatively thin. This paper reports the in situ modification of epoxy in the bristle block by UV-based low temperature polymerization of acrylate monomers within the epoxy matrix prior to polymerization of the epoxy resin. Internal stress measurements are presented to quantify the influence of this modification via a reduction of internal stress within the polymer matrix. Results from finite element analysis emphasise the conclusions of the experimental work, and examples of manufactured devices are presented. Composite transducer performance is assessed by laser measurement of surface displacement profiles, and a 50% improvement in surface displacement magnitude was observed for the modified devices.