Tension-compression Loading Research Articles

Crack propagation retardation behavior of shattered rim in the railway wheel

Shattered rim, known as “wheel cancer”, is a century-old problem that restricts the reliability of railway wheels. Crack propagation retardation of shattered rim in the railway wheel was investigated in this paper. First, a full-scale wheel-rail bench test rig was used to conduct wheel-rail tests on a wheelset with an interior rim crack taken from service. The interior rim crack did not propagate over the entire 50000 km distance. Cracks initiated from the two through-rim defects and propagated at a slow speed. Then, equivalent tests were conducted to investigate crack propagation behavior of the shattered rim. The crack growth rate increased with the increase of crack length for the specimen under tension–torsion loading, while that decreased with the increase of crack length for the specimens under pure-torsion and compression-tension loading. The crack propagation retardation is attributed to the compression and friction of the crack surfaces. Finally, a model was developed to describe crack propagation retardation in shattered rims. The effective stress intensity factor predicted by the model initially increases and then gradually decreases. The shattered rim has a critical size at different depths from the tread under constant amplitude load. The predicted critical size decreases with the increase of the depth.

A non-melting additive approach to structural repair of aluminum aircraft fastener holes

The damage to fastener holes in aerospace aluminum structures presents significant challenges for aircraft durability, and conventional bushing methods for repairing oversized holes often fall short due to the lack of metallurgical bonding and limited edge distance availability. This study investigates additive friction stir deposition, a non-melting additive process, as a viable alternative for the structural repair of aerospace fastener holes. The repair process, demonstrated on AA7050 (Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Zr) hole structures, involves filling oversized holes with new material and machining to restore the original hole size. The repaired hole coupons are defect-free and exhibit good fatigue performance under fully reversed tension-compression loading (R = -1). At a nominal stress amplitude of 123.5 MPa, the average number of cycles to failure is 12,666 for unrepaired baseline coupons and 17,372 for effectively repaired coupons. Restoring complex geometries without compromising fatigue performance has been difficult in aerospace applications; this study marks the first demonstration of additive repair that consistently outperforms the unrepaired baseline coupons. Notably, the result is achieved through a low-energy, cost-effective solution without the need for post-repair heat treatment. Except for a few outliers, the post-repair fatigue performance generally remains inferior to that of undamaged, pristine coupons, likely due to precipitate evolution in AA7050 caused by the thermomechanical processing nature of additive friction stir deposition. This evolution weakens the repair region and the adjacent base material, leading to faster crack initiation and growth compared to the properly aged base material, AA7050-T7451.

Using physics-informed neural networks to predict the lifetime of laser powder bed fusion processed 316L stainless steel under multiaxial low-cycle fatigue loading

Axial-torsional Low-Cycle Fatigue (LCF) tests were conducted under strain control on Additively Manufactured (AM) 316L stainless steel using laser powder bed fusion. The tests covered various strain amplitudes under tension-compression, proportional, and pure shear loading paths. The AM 316L stainless steel exhibited cyclic softening and transgranular cracking under all the investigated loading conditions. The presence of deposition defects, predominantly the lack of fusion type, was identified as the main factor influencing the crack initiation and propagation, as well as the scatter in the fatigue lifetime. Therefore, to account for the damaging effects of these deposition related defects on fatigue lifetime, a novel physics-informed neural network was proposed. Subsequently, this neural network was combined with the critical plane approach, based on the tensile mode of failure, in order to predict the lifetime of AM 316L stainless steel. The predicted data exhibited a good correlation with the experimental results.

Numerical analysis of plastic deformation mechanisms in polycrystalline copper under cyclic loading with different frequencies

The frequency of cyclic loading has a strong effect on the fatigue lifetime of materials. High loading frequencies allow reaching very high cycle fatigue regimes. The effects of cyclic loading with different frequencies are studied using the finite element method within the framework of crystal plasticity. The numerical study represents copper polycrystal that undergoes tension–compression loading with frequencies 80 Hz and 20 kHz respectively. The spatial distributions of stresses, strains, and plastic slip are used for estimation of volume fraction, morphology, and plasticity mechanism of persistent slip bands. The results show that at 80 Hz cyclic loading, plasticity in persistent slip band cells is dominated by the creation and annihilation of dislocations while at 20 kHz cyclic loading, plasticity is driven by the back-and-forth movement of dislocations inside the persistent slip band cells. The numerical study shows a correlation between amplitude and frequency of loading with spatial distribution and morphology of persistent slip bands that can be related to the fatigue lifetime.

Unique damage process in micro-sized copper single crystal with double-slip orientation in response to near-[112] tension-compression fatigue

In order to clarify the fatigue process for a micro-sized copper (Cu) single crystal with a double-slip orientation, a tension-compression cyclic loading test was carried out with in situ FE-SEM observation. Although the primary slip system B4 finally brought about a crack from eminent intrusions, the process was complex due to characteristic interactions among multiple slip systems. The process was approximately divided into three stages; early slipping, cave-in and damaging. In the early stage, two slip systems with high Schmid factor (SF), B4 and C1, worked at first, however both immediately stopped working. Extrusions/intrusions were caused by the survived slip system B5 (third-highest SF). In the second stage, a triangular depression was brought about by the cross-slip from B5 to C5 and localized wavy undulation was formed by the continuous cross slips. In the final stage, though both of B4 and B5 worked, the slip system with the highest SF, B4, dominated to form the eminent extrusions/intrusions, resulting in the fatigue cracking. The applied resolved shear stress amplitude was a few megapascals, indicating significantly lower fatigue strength than that of the bulk counterpart while it was in same range for that of micro-sized Cu with a single slip orientation. The complex fatigue damage morphology of the specimen was explained by accounting for the interaction of dislocations between the slip systems.

Experimental response characterization and comparative seismic performance assessment of a long-stroke shape memory alloy bridge restrainer

In this study, a long-stroke SMA Restrainer (LSR) device was fabricated and its response was characterized through experimental testing. The LSR consists of a long SMA bar encased in a steel tube to prevent its buckling. First, an optimal heat treatment procedure was identified to obtain superelastic response for SMA bars. Subsequently, the LSR underwent testing using an increasing amplitude tension-compression loading protocol and its mechanical properties such as equivalent stiffness and equivalent viscous damping ratio were computed. Based on the experimental findings, a high-fidelity 3D finite element model of LSRs was developed, which then used to design a full-scale LSR and verify its performance. Nonlinear time history analyses were conducted to assess the seismic performance of the proposed restrainers when used in a four-span simply supported bridge structure. The response of a case-study bridge equipped with steel cable restrainers, SMA bar restrainers, or LSRs were comparatively evaluated using a set of 40 near-fault ground motion records. Both SMA bar restrainers and LSRs were able to effectively limit the displacement response and provide the re-centering capabilities, while LSRs producing similar moments on piers compared to steel cable restrainers. In addition, compared to tension-only SMA bar restrainers, the LSRs require about only a quarter of SMA materials used in SMA bar restrainers.

Cyclic behaviour of circular CFT-SG columns under axial tension-compression: Novel FE modelling and design methods

The ultra-high concrete-filled steel tubular (CFT) power transmission tower is popularly applied in engineering practice, which may be under a typical cyclic axial tension-compression loading condition due to the dynamic wind load. Nonetheless, the CFT columns of the tower may be accompanied by significant gap defects due to the influence of structural feature, material property, and service environment. Hence, to figure out the performance of circular CFT columns with spherical-cap gaps (CFT-SG) subjected to cyclic axial tension-compression, this paper investigates a constitutive relationship for the gapped core concrete, which is verified by several existing experiments. A novel numerical modelling approach for simulating the irregular cross-section of the circular CFT-SG columns under cyclic axial load was following established based on the triangulation method and code programming. The influence of important parameters such as gap ratio, material strength, and diameter to thickness ratio on the hysteresis characteristics, load-bearing capacity, elastic stiffness, energy dissipation and ductility of circular CFT-SG columns under cyclic axial tension-compression force is studied. Moreover, the restoring force model of the circular CFT-SG columns under cyclic axial tension-compression is finally presented. Research results declare that the compressive bearing capacity, stiffness, ductility, and energy dissipation of circular CFT-SG columns under cyclic axial tension-compression are gradually weakened with the increment in the gap ratio. The numerical modelling approach and restoring force model proposed in this article can accurately evaluate the hysteresis performance of circular CFT-SG columns subjected to cyclic axial tension-compression.

Mechanical Properties of Post-Filling Coarse Aggregate Concrete under Biaxial Tension–Compression

Post-filling coarse aggregate concrete (PFCC) is a new type of concrete that achieves energy-saving and emission-reduction goals through optimizing material proportions. The post-filled coarse aggregates can save the amount of cement material used, improve the strength and elastic modulus, prolong the service life of the material, and reduce expenses. We conducted a biaxial tension–compression test on PFCC cubic specimens, analyzed the strength and stress–strain curve regularity under different post-filling ratios (PFRs) and stress ratios, and proposed a new failure criterion suitable for PFCC. The results demonstrated that the tensile strength and compressive strength of each post-filling ratio concrete specimen under biaxial tension–compression action are lower than its uniaxial tensile and uniaxial compressive strength under the same post-filling ratio. Under the same stress ratio, the variation pattern of the post-filling ratio was the same as that under uniaxial stress, with the maximum value occurring at a PFR of 20%. The strength change rule was affected by both the stress ratio and the post-filling ratio. From the stress–strain curve, it can be seen that the presence of tensile stress significantly reduces the stiffness and ductility of PFCC under biaxial tensile and compressive loading. The strain corresponding to the peak strength of the σ3/fc-ε3 curve was much smaller than the peak strain under uniaxial compression. For example, at a stress ratio of (0.05:1), the strain ε3 in the compression direction was on average about 50% to 60% of the uniaxial compression strain under the same PFR. The stress–strain curve of PFCC under biaxial tensile and compressive loading was approximately linear throughout the loading process. A failure criterion for PFCC under biaxial tension–compression loading was established, and the calculated values agreed well with the test values. This paper provides references and research data for the study of PFCC under complex stress conditions.

Акустические свойства мартенситно-стареющей стали XM-12 после энергетических воздействий

The study of the acoustic properties of maraging steels operated under various energy force and temperature actions is a critical task, since it is the method of acoustic structuroscopy that provides the most reliable connection with the structure, stress-strain state and mechanical properties of steels. The paper is devoted to research of the acoustic properties of the 15-5 PH maraging steel samples under various types of heat treatment under the conditions of mechanical tensile and cyclic loads. Samples of the 15-5 PH maraging steel were studied in three structural states: solid solution annealing and subsequent aging at 470 and 565 °C; during tensile tests; during cyclic tension-compression loading. The research used a unique scientific installation “Information-measuring complex for investigation of acoustic properties of materials and products”. It implements the acoustic mirror-shadow multiple reflections method using electromagnetic-acoustic and piezoelectric transducers based on polyvinylidene fluoride film to excite and receive waves and allows determining the velocity of wave propagation with an error of no more than 2 m/s. The acoustic (wave velocity, elastic moduli, electromagnetic-acoustical (EMA) transformation coefficients, acoustic anisotropy coefficients, acoustoelastic coupling coefficients) and electromagnetic (coercive force and electrical conductivity) characteristics of the samples were examined. The samples were studied in the initial state (before loading); stepwise in the process of tensile loads and subsequent unloading; after tensile tests; during cyclic tension-compression loading. It was revealed that the following acoustic parameters of 15-5 PH steel samples are the greatest structural sensitivity to mechanical tensile load and cyclic loading: transverse wave velocity, Poisson’s ratio, double EMA-transformation coefficient, and acoustic anisotropy coefficient.

A portable articulated dynamometer for ankle dorsiflexion and plantar flexion strength measurement: a design, validation, and user experience study

Monitoring ankle strength is crucial for assessing daily activities, functional ability, and preventing lower extremity injuries. However, the current methods for measuring ankle strength are often unreliable or not easily portable to be used in clinical settings. Therefore, this study proposes a portable dynamometer with high reliability capable of measuring ankle dorsiflexion and plantar flexion. The proposed portable dynamometer comprised plates made of aluminum alloy 6061 and a miniature tension–compression load cell. A total of 41 healthy adult participants applied maximal isometric dorsiflexor and plantar flexor forces on a Lafayette Handheld Dynamometer (HHD) and the portable dynamometer. The results were cross-validated, using change in mean, and two independent examiners evaluated the inter-rater and test–retest reliabilities in separate sessions using intraclass correlation coefficients, standard error of measurement, and minimal detectable change. Both dorsiflexion and plantar flexion measurements demonstrated a strong correlation with the HHD (r = 0.827; r = 0.973) and showed high inter-rater and test–retest reliabilities. Additionally, the participant responses to the user experience questionnaire survey indicated vastly superior positive experiences with the portable dynamometer. The study findings suggest that the designed portable dynamometer can provide accurate and reliable measurements of ankle strengths, making it a potential alternative to current methods in clinical settings.

Experimental study of shape memory alloy plates under cyclic tension–compression loading scenarios

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) have garnered significant attention for their potential in earthquake-resistant structures, primarily due to their superelastic effect and exceptional self-centring capabilities. However, the mechanical properties of SMA plates, especially under cyclic tension–compression loading, remain underexplored. This research aims to bridge this gap by designing and testing 33 SMA plates equipped with buckling-restrained devices. The study varied parameters such as specimen thickness (4 mm, 6 mm, and 8 mm), loading protocols (seven in total), and test temperatures (25 °C and 0 °C). The findings reveal that the stress–strain curves under cyclic tension–compression loading exhibited asymmetric characteristics. For instance, at 25℃, a 4 mm thick specimen at 4% strain had a compressive peak stress that was 22.2% higher than its tensile counterpart, and its compressive residual strain exceeded the tensile residual strain by 99.0%. Furthermore, when compared to SMA plates under cyclic tension-release loading, those under cyclic tension–compression loading had reduced tensile residual strains. At 0 °C, the peak stress saw a decrease ranging from 2.4 to 43.1%, while the residual strain surged by 11.9–591.4% compared to the tests at 25℃. This study provides novel insights into the behavior of SMA plates under varied conditions, emphasizing their potential for seismic applications.

Fatigue Resistance of an Anodized and Hardanodized 6082 Aluminum Alloy Depending on the Coating Thickness in the High Cycle Regime

In this study, the high cycle fatigue behavior of an anodized 6082 aluminum alloy is investigated. Main focus is on the most relevant influencing factors for crack initiation and propagation under cyclic loading and damage mechanisms considering coating type, thickness, and residual stresses. The bare substrate is compared to anodized and hardanodized specimens with three coating thicknesses, for each coating type, in the range from 20 to 70 μm. Coating hardness and microstructure as well as residual stresses are analyzed. Fatigue and fracture behavior under alternating tension–compression loading is determined. Dependent on the coating thickness, the fatigue strength is reduced by 8%–50% after anodizing and by 50%–62% after hardanodizing. As the coating thickness is equal to the initial crack length from a fracture mechanical point of view, stress intensities at the crack tips are higher for thicker coatings respectively longer initial crack lengths. Therefore, propagation of fatigue‐induced cracks from the coating into the substrate is promoted for a higher coating thickness resulting in premature failure. A significant correlation between the coating thickness and tensile residual stresses induced by both coatings in the subjacent substrate is not found and residual stress influence on the overall fatigue strength is only minor.

Quantitative investigation on the {10–12} twinning-detwinning behavior and twinning transfer of an extruded Mg-2.8Y sheet during compression-tension loading via quasi-in-situ EBSD observation

Abundant {10–12} twins appeared in an extruded Mg-2.8Y (wt. %) sheet with rare-earth (RE) texture under compression along the transverse direction (TD). Twinning-detwinning behavior during compression-tension loading was quantitatively investigated via quasi-in-situ EBSD observation. The evolution of deformation mechanisms was quantitatively studied by calculation of the plastic strain fraction of twinning, detwinning, and dislocation slip. Twinning and detwinning were the dominant deformation modes in compression and reverse tension, respectively, owing to their relatively higher Schmid factors (SF) and lowest activation stresses (τ). Twin variants with SF ranking 1st and 2nd were activated preferentially while detwinning with low SF ranking showed high activation. The impact of texture and load path on variant selection was systematically discussed. Moreover, short twin chains only passing through two or three grains caused by twinning transfer were observed. Grain boundary misorientation angle (GBMA) and geometric compatibility factor (m’) were introduced to analyze the crystallographic characteristics of twinning transfer. GBMA ≤34.5° or m’ ≥ 0.80 is a necessary condition for most twinning transfer events. RE texture as well as the nearly uniform distribution of GBMA gave rise to short twin chains and restricted the formation of long twin bands. The relationship between GBMA and m’ was also discussed.

Mechanical properties and constitutive models of shape memory alloy for structural engineering: A review

Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) are an innovative material with the unique features of superelasticity and energy dissipation capabilities under extreme loads. Due to their unique features, they have a great potential to be employed in structural engineering applications under different conditions. However, in order to effectively use SMAs in civil engineering structures and model their behaviors accurately in Finite Element (FE) packages, it is crucial for structural engineers to comprehend the mechanical properties and cyclic behavior of different SMA compositions under varying loading conditions. While previous studies have focused mainly on the cyclic behavior of SMAs under tensile loading, it is important to evaluate their fatigue behavior under cyclic tension-compression loading for seismic applications. This literature review aims to discuss the current gaps in the existing literature on the behavior of SMA rebars under low-cycle fatigue (LCF). The review provides a comprehensive overview of the primary characteristics of SMAs, summarizes the mechanical properties of SMAs presented in the literature and the parameters that affect them, and critically evaluates the effects of cyclic loading and LCF on SMAs. The review also provides a summary of the different constitutive models of SMAs and compares their advantages and limitations, which helps structural engineers to employ an appropriate constitutive model for predicting the accurate behavior of SMAs in FE software.

Experimental test and simulation calculation of fatigue properties of aluminum–titanium-steel explosive welded connector under tension-compression cyclic loading

The three-layer clad plate (aluminum alloy layer/commercial pure titanium layer/CCSB steel layer) was prepared by explosive welding as marine transition connector. The fatigue properties of clad plate were studied by experiment and finite element simulation. The fatigue limit and S–N curve were obtained by axial high-cycle fatigue test under tension-compression loading. The up-and-down method and group method were used respectively. Combining Static Structural module and DesignLife module based on the ANSYS Workbench Platform, the stress distribution, safety factor and fatigue life of clad plate under different loads were calculated. The results show that fatigue limit of Al–Ti-steel clad plate is 55 MPa, and the fatigue fracture mainly occurs in the 104∼106 cycles period in the stress range of 65 MPa∼100 MPa. The maximum relative error of fatigue life is 7.05%, and the relative error of fatigue limit is 0.45% between model and test fitting values. The results of finite element simulation have good agreement with the results of experimental method, which proves the feasibility and reliability of finite element simulation to analyze and forecast fatigue property of explosive welded clad plate. The position of the stress concentration is at the connection part between steel and pure titanium, while fatigue fracture occurs in the 3003 aluminum alloy layer because of the low tensile strength. Improving the tensile strength of Al-steel joint material is a key measure for solving the fracture problem of hull foundation.

A macro-mesoscopic method for forced vibration behavior of SiCf/Ti composite cantilever beam

In this article, we use a macro-mesoscopic method to analyze the forced vibration behavior of the SiCf/Ti cantilever beam. The shear-lag model was applied to determine the stress-strain relationship of SiCf/Ti composites with matrix cracking, interface debonding, wear, and failure damages under tension-compression loading. We established the cyclic tension-compression constitutive model of SiCf/Ti composites by considering the evolution laws followed by three injury patterns. From a macroscopic perspective, we use the cyclic tension-compression constitutive model to obtain the stiffness reduction at different stress levels and reduce the stiffness at different stress levels. Finally, we use Ansys software to reveal the forced vibration properties of the SiCf/Ti cantilever beam under different acceleration amplitudes.

Natural Frequency and Modes of the Longitudinal and Torsional Vibrations in the Bars with Variable Cross Section

The paper is focused on the problem of natural frequencies and modes determination based on perturbation theory for longitudinal and torsional vibrations in bars with variable cross section. The mechanical properties and cross section geometry of the bar are changing small from the average value with regard to longitudinal coordinate. Based on the theory of small perturbations the analytical solution is obtained for natural frequencies and modes of the stationary harmonic vibrations in bars. The efficiency of the proposed method is supported by comparison and good agreement of the obtain results with a sharp solution for a given cross section profiles. It was established that the approximate solution is working good up to the ratio 2.5–3 between maximum and minimum diameter of cross section. The results of numerical simulations are aimed to estimate the geometry and elastic behavior of the metallic specimens for very high cycle fatigue experimental investigation under axial tension-compression and torsion loadings. The piezoelectric fatigue testing system and procedure is based on stationary vibration excitation in the metallic specimen at the first mode natural frequency.

General Reference and Design S–N Curves Obtained for 1.2709 Tool Steel

At present, due to advanced fatigue calculation models, it is becoming more crucial to find a reliable source for design S-N curves, especially in the case of new 3D-printed materials. Such obtained steel components are becoming very popular and are often used for important parts of dynamically loaded structures. One of the commonly used printing steels is EN 1.2709 tool steel, which has good strength properties and high abrasion resistance, and can be hardened. The research shows, however, that its fatigue strength may differ depending on the printing method, and may be characterized by a wide scatter of the fatigue life. This paper presents selected S-N curves for EN 1.2709 steel after printing with the selective laser melting method. The characteristics are compared, and conclusions are presented regarding the resistance of this material to fatigue loading, especially in the tension-compression state. A combined general mean reference and design fatigue curve is presented, which incorporates our own experimental results as well as those from the literature for the tension-compression loading state. The design curve may be implemented in the finite element method by engineers and scientists in order to calculate the fatigue life.

Molecular dynamics simulation of reinforcement mechanism of graphene/aluminum composites and microstructure evolution

Graphene/Aluminum (Gr/Al) composites with different graphene chirality and distribution patterns were established. The contribution of graphene interfaces to the mechanical properties of composites was investigated by using molecular dynamics methods. The composites strengthen about 10% of Young's modulus and 5% of tensile yield strength compared with aluminum. Influenced by the chiral structures of graphene, the fracture strain of zigzag composite is larger, and the yield stress of armchair composite is higher. Folding deformation of graphene promotes the yielding of the composites under compressive loading. Even if the graphene breaks, the graphene interface can effectively limit the dislocation motion, and the twins can only expand around the graphene. The results of both tensile and compressive tests showed that the uniform distribution of graphene was beneficial to enhance the mechanical properties of the composites. Graphene hinders the motion of pre-dislocations more than pinning dislocations. Therefore, the Bauschinger effect of composite is lower than that of pure aluminum under tension-compression loading.

切削摩擦加工材の疲労特性に及ぼす負荷形式の影響

Aiming for a result to improve fatigue strength, “cutting and rubbing process” which is a kind of surface treatment was used for forming a round-bar smooth-specimen, showing drastically enhanced rotating-bending fatigue strength. On the other hand, actual machine components and structures invariably contain geometrical irregularities, such as fillets, keyways, screw threads, and holes. Fatigue cracks initiated from such stress raisers, indicating that the validity of the cutting and rubbing process on fatigue strength of specimen with a stress raiser should be examined. In this study, fatigue tests of smooth and notched specimens finished by the cutting and rubbing process were conducted under some loading types including rotating-bending, tension-compression and torsion loading. Results showed that fatigue strength of notched specimens was significantly enhanced compared to that of smooth specimens under rotating-bending and tension-compression loads. In other words, the cutting and rubbing processing was more effective in stress raisers than the smooth surface. The physical background on the effect of loading type on the fatigue strength of the cutting and rubbing processed specimen was discussed based on the fracture origin, microstructure in the surface layer, stress gradient caused by both loading type and notch.