•Various types of FODs were created by cubical projectiles and damage mechanism was studied.•Influences of FODs on fatigue strength of S38C axles were explored.•Fatigue properties of S38C axle ...specimens with FODs were analyzed using K–T diagram.•Damage tolerance of S38C axles was assessed based on the damage depth.
Surface damages caused by the impact of flying objects are important factors responsible for fatigue performance degradation of high-speed railway axles, both qualitative and quantitative assessment of these damages are necessary for the maintenance of these axles. In this paper, cubical projectiles were used to reproduce actual damages on S38C axle specimens by a compressed-gas gun at varying velocities. Morphologies of simulated impact damages were characterized, and fatigue strengths of specimens under different impact damages were determined by the step-loading method. Results show that fatigue strength of impacted specimens reduces with the increase of damage depth; besides, other factors, including damage orientation, damage shape, and microstructural damage also exert their contributions. Finally, evaluation on fatigue strength reduction has been performed based on the damage tolerance philosophy.
This paper proposes a strain prediction method for wind turbine blades using genetic algorithm back propagation neural networks (GA-BPNNs) with applied loads, loading positions, and displacement as ...inputs, and the study can be used to provide more data for the wind turbine blades’ health assessment and life prediction. Among all parameters to be tested in full-scale static testing of wind turbine blades, strain is very important. The correlation between the blade strain and the applied loads, loading position, displacement, etc., is non-linear, and the number of input variables is too much, thus the calculation and prediction of the blade strain are very complex and difficult. Moreover, the number of measuring points on the blade is limited, so the full-scale blade static test cannot usually provide enough data and information for the improvement of the blade design. As a result of these concerns, this paper studies strain prediction methods for full-scale blade static testing by introducing GA-BPNN. The accuracy and usability of the GA-BPNN prediction model was verified by the comparison with BPNN model and the FEA results. The results show that BPNN can be effectively used to predict the strain of unmeasured points of wind turbine blades.
•Influences of three types of surface damage on fatigue strength of EA4T axles are explored.•FODs created by both tungsten steel balls and cubes are comparatively studied.•Fatigue properties of ...specimens with artificial defects are analyzed through a K–T diagram.•Fatigue strength of EA4T specimens under different defects are evaluated.
Foreign object damage (FOD) introduced in service, indentations, and nicks encountered during maintenance are typical defects leading to pre-scrap of high-speed railway axles. A comprehensive assessment of the influence of these defects on the structural integrity of axles is critical for ensuring their operation safety with low maintenance costs. Three types of defects were produced artificially on specimens extracted from EA4T axles, electronic discharge machine (EDM) crater, indentation via compressing balls, and FOD by tungsten steel balls and cubes. Rotating bending fatigue tests were performed for fatigue strength evaluation of smooth and defected specimens. Morphologies of defects and fracture surfaces were studied. EDM defect surface is rough and the secondary notches are the fatigue crack initiation sites, while fatigue crack of indented and impacted specimens initiates from the sharp point of defect rims. Fatigue strength of specimens with indentation or tungsten ball impact damage is superior to that of EDM specimens and cubical projectile impacted specimens under the same depth. A large dispersion was found in the shape of impact damages by cubic projectiles and scattered fatigue strength as a consequence. Except for the defect depth, other parameters including produce modes and shape of the defect, should be considered to give a reliable evaluation on the fatigue strength of defected specimens.
The use of higher strength steels allows the design of lighter, slenderer and simpler structures. Nevertheless, the increase of the yield strength of the steels does not correspond to a proportional ...increase of fatigue resistance, which makes the application of high strength steels on structures prone to fatigue, a major concern of the design. This paper presents a comparison of the fatigue behavior between the S355 mild steel and the S690 high strength steel grades, supported by an experimental program of fatigue tests of smooth specimens, performed under strain control, and fatigue crack propagation tests. Besides the cyclic elastoplastic characterization, the fatigue tests of smooth small size specimens allow the assessment of the fatigue crack initiation behavior of the materials. Results show that the S690 steel grade presents a higher resistance to fatigue crack initiation than the S355 steel. However, the resistance to fatigue crack propagation is lower for the S690 steel grade, which justifies an inverse dependence between static strength and fatigue life, for applications where fatigue crack propagation is the governing phenomenon. Consequently, the design of structural details with the S690 steel should avoid sharp notches that significantly reduce the fatigue crack initiation process.
► Fatigue behaviors of S355 mild steel and S690 high strength steel are compared. ► Fatigue tests on smooth specimens as well as fatigue crack propagation tests are used. ► S690 high strength steel shows a higher fatigue crack initiation resistance. ► S355 mild steel exhibits a higher fatigue crack propagation resistance.
•A fatigue analysis of a type of fillet welded joint is presented.•Four welded joint series for evaluating the fatigue performance were produced.•The fatigue behaviour combines an experimental ...campaign and numerical analysis.•In this fatigue analysis two main numerical tools – FEM and XFEM – were used.•Fatigue predictions based on crack initiation and propagation phases were made.
This paper presents a fatigue analysis of a type of fillet welded joint representative of one main joint of the steel box girder of the Alcácer do Sal railway bridge. From previous studies, it was found that the welded joint between the box girder diagonal and the central hanger gusset is one of the most stressed details of the bridge. This welded joint was not fully manufactured according to current construction procedures, as regards the fillet weld end configuration. In order to assess the fatigue behaviour of such welded joint, the present study combines an experimental campaign and numerical analysis. A total of four welded joint series were produced in order to allow the comparison of the fatigue performance of similar type of welded joint of the Alcácer do Sal bridge with welded joints produced according to existing recommendations, such as EC3. Since scale-down specimens were considered, two different thicknesses were included in this study for each joint configuration, to allow the verification of any thickness effect. Concerning the numerical analyses, two main numerical tools were used: the standard Finite Element Method (FEM) with ANSYS and the eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM) with ABAQUS. Fatigue life predictions were performed including both fatigue crack initiation and fatigue crack propagation phases. The number of cycles to initiate a fatigue crack was computed using local notch strain-life approaches, and the number of cycles for fatigue crack propagation was computed by integrating the Paris fatigue crack growth law with stress intensity factors computed with ANSYS (virtual crack closure technique) and ABAQUS (contour integral method, 3D XFEM model). Experimental tests demonstrated little influence of fillet weld end geometry on fatigue behaviour of welded joints and plate thickness effects were also reduced as also confirmed by the similar fatigue crack propagation rates. Both numerical simulations provided very accurate predictions of the experimental S-N curves, however the XFEM modelling opens new possibilities for mix-mode fatigue crack propagation simulations.
A thorough control of the machining operations is essential to ensure the successful post-processing of additively manufactured components, which can be assessed through machinability tests endowed ...with numerical simulation of the metal cutting process. However, to accurately depict the complex metal cutting mechanism, it is not only necessary to develop robust numerical models but also to properly characterize the material behavior, which can be a long-winded process, especially for state-of-stress sensitive materials. In this paper, an efficient mechanical characterization methodology has been developed through the usage of both direct and inverse calibration procedures. Apart from the typical axisymmetric specimens (such as those used in compression and tensile tests), plane strain specimens have been applied in the constitutive law calibration accounting for plastic and damage behaviors. Orthogonal cutting experiments allowed the validation of the implemented numerical model for simulation of the metal cutting processes. Moreover, the numerical simulation of an industrial machining operation (longitudinal cylindrical turning) revealed a very reasonably prediction of cutting forces and chip morphology, which is crucial for the identification of favorable cutting scenarios for difficult-to-cut materials.
•Transient hot-spot stresses obtained on the basis of modal superposition technique.•Fatigue life of a bridge welded detail effectively evaluated for the NSM and the HSM.•A fatigue local approach ...plus vehicle dynamic interaction and pavement deterioration.•Influence of global and local structural behavior on fatigue damage clearly captured.
Steel and composite steel-concrete bridges are subjected to random traffic loads along their life cycle which generate significant dynamic impacts. The road-roughness of asphalt pavements is one of the most important aspects that contributes to the significant increase of the stress amplitudes and hence to serious load-induced fatigue concerns. In this context, welded joints are well known as the weakest points in bridges, since they are prone to stress concentrations leading to initiation of fatigue cracks being in current design codes evaluated using primarily the nominal stress method (NSM). However, a more accurate stress definition, which considers the complexity of the stress field at the welds, becomes necessary mainly in old roadway steel bridges that are often subjected to out-of-plane stresses. In this paper, the hot-spot stress method (HSM) is used to evaluate the fatigue life of a welded joint subjected to distortion induced-fatigue, considering the vehicle speeds and a progressive deterioration model for the road pavement. The welded joint was modelled by solid elements and was integrated with a 3D dynamic bridge model using the sub modelling technique. Besides the importance of considering the bridge-vehicle dynamic interactions with the pavement road-roughness, the dynamic amplification effects on local stresses and the relatively high scatter found in the fatigue lives considering global and local approaches show that a detailed local stress definition is fundamental to evaluate the fatigue performance of existing roadway bridges. The effects of the annual traffic increase rate on the fatigue life are also discussed.
Inconel 718 is a highly valued material in the aerospace and nuclear industries due to the fact of its exceptional properties. However, the processing of this material is quite difficult, especially ...through machining processes. Machining this material results in rapid tool wear, even when low material removal rates are considered. In this study, instrumented turning experiments were employed to evaluate the machinability of Inconel 718 alloy using PCBN tools while assessing the usage of two distinct binder phases, TiN and TiC, for those cutting tools. It was found that the tool life was highly sensitive to the cutting speeds but also affected by the workpiece mechanical properties. At lower cutting speeds, notch wear significantly impacted the tool integrity, whereas at higher cutting speeds, flank wear was the primary failure mode of the tool. The flank wear of the tools with TiN-based binder outperformed TiC by almost 30%, presenting a more consistent behavior when machining.
The paper summarises an experimental study on the fatigue crack propagation and cracks paths in ancient steel—19th-century puddle iron from the Eiffel bridge. The tests were performed with the load ...R-ratio equal to 0.05 and 0.5. All tests were performed under different notch inclinations (mode I + II). The fatigue crack growth rate in the tested material is significantly higher than its “modern” equivalent—low carbon mild steel. The crack closure phenomenon occurs in specimens during the process of crack growth. Understanding this aspect is crucial for the examination of a stress R-ratio influence on kinetic fatigue fracture diagram (KFFD) description. Both the experimental and numerical approach, using the HP VEE environment, has been applied to the crack closure as well as the crack opening forces’ estimation. These analyses are based on the deformation of the hysteresis loop. The algorithm that was implemented in the numerical environment is promising when it comes to describing the kinetics of fatigue crack growth (taking into consideration the crack closure effect) in old metallic materials.
•A procedure to generate probabilistic S–N fatigue fields is proposed.•Fatigue crack initiation and propagation are integrated in an unified approach.•Fatigue crack propagation is a process of ...continuous crack re-initializations.•Experimental data shows the accuracy of the proposed P–S–N fields.
Traditionally, fatigue crack initiation has been modelled based on strain-life relations whereas fatigue crack propagation has been modelled using fracture mechanics concepts. Recently, new fatigue crack growth models, based on elastic–plastic stress–strain histories at the crack tip region, along with strain-life damage models have been proposed, which constitutes a class of local fatigue crack propagation models. Therefore, a unified local approach is feasible to model both crack initiation and crack propagation. An application of such a unified local approach to fatigue is presented in this paper. In particular, a notched rectangular plate, made of P355NL1 steel is modelled in order to generate S–N curves for distinct stress R-ratios. The predictions are compared with available experimental data. The required strain-life data of the P355NL1 steel is also presented in the paper, in a probabilistic form, using adequate fatigue damage parameters. Finally, the probabilistic S–N field is proposed for the notched detail and a good correlation of the available experimental data is observed.
PDF
