A Gaussian damage function combined with sliced finite-element meshing for damage detection

in Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring (2022)

Bridges are among the most important components of transportation systems. Timely damage detection of these structures not only ensures reliability but also prevents catastrophic failures. This paper ... [more ▼]

Bridges are among the most important components of transportation systems. Timely damage detection of these structures not only ensures reliability but also prevents catastrophic failures. This paper addresses the damage assessment of bridges based on model updating techniques. Artificial damage was introduced to a beam that was a part of a real prestressed concrete bridge. The magnitude of the damage was increased stepwise, and static loading experiments were conducted in each step. A linear Finite-Element (FE) model with solid elements that were clustered into slices was utilised. A Gaussian bell-shaped curve was used as a damage function to describe the crack location using only three parameters. The experiments focused on sagging under dead load. Damage identification was performed in two steps using a coarse and a refined model. Initially, the FE model with a coarse mesh was updated to approximately localise the damage. Then, the FE model is refined in the vicinity of the approximately localised damage, and damage identification was accurately achieved. The results show that after the second step, the maximum error value of damage localisation is less than 0.5%. This approach could be later used to detect small damages that are not visible. [less ▲]

Analysis of residual stress relaxation of aluminum alloys EN AW 6061/-82 T6 under cyclic loading

in Fatigue and Fracture of Engineering Materials and Structures (2021)

Stress relaxation describes the reduction of stress under static or cyclic loading at a constant strain level. Several processes induce intentionally residual stresses, for example, autofrettage of thick ... [more ▼]

Stress relaxation describes the reduction of stress under static or cyclic loading at a constant strain level. Several processes induce intentionally residual stresses, for example, autofrettage of thick-walled pressurized tubes to improve their fatigue life. This well-known process induces residual compressive stresses at the critical inner surface by using a single static but controlled over- loading internal pressure. Relaxation of residual stresses due to cyclic loading in service would endanger the effectiveness of autofrettage and could finally lead to unexpected fatigue failure. In this study, strain-controlled experiments up to 500,000 load cycles and amending nonlinear finite element simulations were done for the aluminum alloys EN AW 6061 T6 and EN AW 6082 T6 to study potential cyclic stress relaxation in four-point bending tests after con- trolled single static plasticization for residual stress generation. This analysis identifies almost stable residual stresses for both materials under different cyclic strain-controlled load levels. [less ▲]

Numerical determination and experimental verification of the optimum autofrettage pressure for a complex aluminium high-pressure valve to foster crack closure

in Fatigue and Fracture of Engineering Materials and Structures (2020)

Determination of the optimum autofrettage pressure for a complex aluminum valve body

Scientific Conference (2018)

Model updating for structural health monitoring using static and dynamic measurements

in Procedia Engineering (2017), 199

Structural health monitoring is tracking static or dynamic characteristics of a structure to identify and localize stiffness reductions for damage detection. Different damage indicators are used and any ... [more ▼]

Structural health monitoring is tracking static or dynamic characteristics of a structure to identify and localize stiffness reductions for damage detection. Different damage indicators are used and any indicator presents advantages and drawbacks. Hence the idea comes up to combine them in a model-updating procedure using a finite element model. In a first step, a model is fit to match the healthy reference state of the examined structure. Therefore it relies on minimizing a special objective function adding and weighting the differences between measured and calculated static and dynamic structural characteristics. For doing structural health monitoring the measurements are repeated in distinct time intervals and the finite element model is updated again, using the same objective function and minimization procedure. Damage can be identified and localized by highlighting reductions in the stiffness matrix of the model compared to the initial model. The efficiency of the method is illustrated by in-situ tests, where a single beam is examined that was part of a real prestressed concrete bridge. For static tests, 8 displacement transducers were disposed along the length of 40m, while the beam was mass-loaded and the deflection line is analyzed. Modal analysis was performed with swept sine excitation with constant force amplitude to identify eigenfrequencies and mode shapes. Stepwise artificial damage was provoked by cutting multiple prestressed tendons inside the concrete beam. A finite element model with a mapped mesh was created, allowing a variation of Young’s modulus in grouped sections. On real bridges temperature is neither homogenous nor constant over time, which often has a considerable influence on measured static and dynamic characteristics as the stiffness of asphalt and/or bearings can be affected. The proposed methods show their efficiency when temperature effects were excluded or compensated after measurement, which is a topic on its own and not discussed here. [less ▲]

Static load testing with temperature compensation for structural health monitoring of bridges

in Engineering Structures (2016), 127(2016), 700-718

The paper presents a series of repeated static loading tests on a prestressed concrete beam, which was originally part of a real bridge and then subjected to stepwise artificial damage. The tests were ... [more ▼]

The paper presents a series of repeated static loading tests on a prestressed concrete beam, which was originally part of a real bridge and then subjected to stepwise artificial damage. The tests were done during a one-month period that four levels of damage were introduced by cutting tendons until visible cracking occurred. The deflection line was measured by means of several displacement sensors and the retrieved information is used in different ways for damage detection. At first, the sensor spacing requirement is analyzed with respect to measurement accuracy as well as necessary resolution for the numerical derivations of the deflection line to obtain the rotational angle and the curvature of the beam. These derived quantities may be used as damage indicators in addition to the deflection. Damage of concrete goes very often along with non-linear phenomena like cracking of concrete and plastic strain of reinforcement steel. These effects are discussed and their influence on the repeated loading tests as well the test procedure for condition monitoring is deployed. Progressive damage goes along with progressive sagging of the bridge due to gravity, which can also be used as damage indicator. Finally, the effect of varying outdoor temperatures are discussed and assessed. Though these effects can be reduced by choosing cloudy days without high temperature changes and without high solar irradiation, the outdoor temperature is never constant. Hence, a compensation algorithm is proposed which reflects the measured data according to a reference temperature. This compensation visibly improved the regularity of data. [less ▲]

Structural health monitoring based on static measurements with temperature compensation

in QUALITY SPECIFICATIONS FOR ROADWAY BRIDGES, STANDARDIZATION AT A EUROPEAN LEVEL (2016)

The paper presents the main results from static tests in a prestressed concrete beam taken out from a real bridge. The tests were achieved during about one month with several scenarios of damage that ... [more ▼]

The paper presents the main results from static tests in a prestressed concrete beam taken out from a real bridge. The tests were achieved during about one month with several scenarios of damage that loaded and unloaded states were monitored for each scenario. Damages in 4 levels were simulated by cutting prestressed tendons. There were 8 transducers distributed along the length’s beam to measure displacements. Deflection lines resulted from the static measurements from every state allow discovering the location of damages. Moreover, the calculation of slope and curvature lines leads also to very interesting issues for damage localization. [less ▲]

Design rules for autofrettage of an aluminium valve body

in Fatigue and Fracture of Engineering Materials and Structures (2015)

The following paper is intended to improve the fatigue behaviour of a complex aluminium valve geometry under high internal cyclic pres sure loading. The autofrettage process helps to increase the f atigue ... [more ▼]

The following paper is intended to improve the fatigue behaviour of a complex aluminium valve geometry under high internal cyclic pres sure loading. The autofrettage process helps to increase the f atigue durability and a simple, but efficient design method for this proces s is deployed. Based o n non-linear material’s behaviour, fin ite eleme nt simulations of t he crack-free geometry help to determine the minimum and maximum autofrettage pressure to be used, without iterative crack simulations , which would require higher computational effort. Material tests under inverse plastifications were performed in order to determine the correct material model. The derived design method was validated with simplified specimens subjected to different autofrettage pressure levels and su bsequent cyclic fatigue tests. [less ▲]

Design, Repeatability, and Comparison to Literature Data of a New Noninvasive Device Called "Rotameter" to Measure Rotational Knee Laxity

in International Scholarly Research Notices Orthopedics (2015), Volume 2015, Article ID 439095

The present paper deals with the design, the repeatability, and the comparison to literature data of a new measuring device called “Rotameter” to characterize the rotational knee laxity or the tibia ... [more ▼]

The present paper deals with the design, the repeatability, and the comparison to literature data of a new measuring device called “Rotameter” to characterize the rotational knee laxity or the tibia-femoral rotation (TFR). The initial prototype P1 of the Rotameter is shortly introduced and then modified according to trials carried out on a prosthetic leg and on five healthy volunteers, leading therefore to an improved prototype P2. A comparison of results obtained from P1 and P2 with the same male subject shows the enhancements of P2. Intertester and intratester repeatability of this new device were shown and it was observed that rotational laxities of left and right knees are the same for a healthy subject. Moreover, a literature review showed that measurements with P2 presented lower TFR values than other noninvasive devices.The measured TFR versus torque characteristic was quite similar to other invasive devices, which are more difficult to use and harmful to the patient. Hence, our prototype P2 proved to be an easy-to-use and suitable device for quantifying rotational knee laxity. A forthcoming study will validate the Rotameter thanks to an approach based on computed tomography in order to evaluate its precision. [less ▲]

Simulated and experimental results on heat recovery from hot steel beams in a cooling bed applying modified solar absorbers

in Journal of Cleaner Production (2014), (68), 261-271

In recent years, the steel industry has undertaken efforts to increase energy efficiency by reducing energy consumption and recover otherwise lost heat. About 60% of the energy consumed in a steel plant ... [more ▼]

In recent years, the steel industry has undertaken efforts to increase energy efficiency by reducing energy consumption and recover otherwise lost heat. About 60% of the energy consumed in a steel plant is lost in cooling beds where the hot steel beams are cooled down by natural convection and radiation. In this paper, the potential of heat recovery by radiation in a cooling bed was determined. Firstly, numerical simulations of the heat flux were done and validated with experimental measures. Secondly, a pilot test to recover the heat with modified solar absorbers was installed at the side of the cooling bed. The standard solar panels were painted with high absorption paint in the wavelength range of the hot beams. The results showed that up to 1 kW/m2 could be recovered with a temperature of 70°C at the side of the cooling bed, with a thermal efficiency of approximately 40%. As the experimental results were promising, further research is suggested to find an adequate selective coating and glazing. This would maximize the absorption at the wavelength range of the hot beams and minimize the emissivity at operational temperature of the absorber (100°C). Additionally, it would be of interest to find the optimum position for the absorbers in the cooling bed, which maximizes the heat recovery and does not interfere in the production process. [less ▲]