Mechanical Properties Degradation of Fiberglass Tubes during Biaxial Proportional Cyclic Loading

Composite structures during an operation are subjected to various types of external loading (impact, vibration, cyclic, etc.), which may lead to a decrease in mechanical properties. Previously, many experimental investigations of the mechanical behavior of composites under uniaxial cyclic loading were carried out. Acquisition of new data on the reduction of composite materials' mechanical characteristics under conditions of multiaxial cyclic loading, as well as verification of existing models for calculation of the residual properties, are relevant. Therefore, this work is devoted to the experimental investigation of the mechanical behavior of fiberglass tubes under proportional cyclic loading. Static and fatigue tests were carried out under tension with torsion conditions. Inhomogeneous strain fields were obtained using a non-contact optical video system VIC-3D. The structural damage accumulation processes were analyzed by an AMSY-6 acoustic emission signals recording system. Surface defects were determined using a DinoLite microscope. Residual dynamic elastic modules were calculated during fatigue tests, and fatigue sensitivity curves were built. Data was approximated using various models, and their high descriptive capability was revealed. Damage accumulation stages were determined. The dependence of the models' parameters on a stress state were observed. It was concluded that multiaxial cyclic loading leads to a significant decrease in mechanical properties, which should be taken into account in composite structure design.

Dynamic Response and Damage Accumulation of Laminated Composites under Repeated Low-Velocity Impacts

The mechanical response and damage accumulation of carbon-fiber-reinforced composite laminates subjected to repeated low-velocity impacts were experimentally investigated. The repeated impact tests were conducted on [90₂/-45₂/0₂/45₂]_S quasi-isotropic and [90₂/0₂]_2S cross-ply composite laminates under 16.8 J impact energy, respectively. For each impact, impact responses such as force-time, force-displacement and energy-time curves were recorded. The trends of peak force, maximum central displacement, energy absorption rate and bending stiffness with the increasing impact number were summarized, and the maximum number of repeated impacts corresponded to the occurrence of penetration events. The results showed that the delamination initiation, fiber breakage and penetration were the three typical characteristics describing the damage evolution of the repeated impacts. The damage accumulation of both the laminates was characterized by employing appropriate damage indices. By contrast, the quasi-isotropic laminates had higher impact resistance and damage tolerance, and their damage accumulation was relatively slower.

Microstructure-Based Computational Analysis of Deformation Stages of Rock-like Sandy-Cement Samples in Uniaxial Compression

This work presents a new finite-difference continuum damage mechanics approach for assessment of threshold stresses based on the mechanical response of a representative volume element of a sandy-cement rock-like material. An original experimental study allows validating the mathematical model. A new modification of the damage accumulation kinetic equation is proposed. Several approaches based on acoustic emission, instantaneous Poisson's ratio and reversal point method are employed to determine the threshold stresses. Relying on the numerical modeling of deformation and failure of model samples, the threshold stresses and the deformation stages are determined. The model predicts the crack initiation stress threshold with less than 10% error. The model prediction of the crack damage stress threshold corresponds to the upper boundary of the experimental range. The model predicts the peak stress threshold with less than 0.2% error in comparison with the average experimental peak stress. The results of numerical modeling are shown to correlate well with the available experimental and literature data and sufficiently complement them.

The Influence of Different Lay-Up Parameters on the Fatigue Response of Carbon/Epoxy Laminates under Internal Multiaxial Stress States

The inherent anisotropy of composites complicates their damage response. The influence of multiaxiality, particularly in carbon-based composites, is not thoroughly understood due to obstacles related to damage monitoring during loading. In this study, the response of different carbon/epoxy laminates under fatigue is examined through dedicated in situ microscopic observations. By varying the orientation of off-axis layers, the impact of multiaxiality on the mechanical and damage response is evaluated. Furthermore, balanced and unbalanced laminates are compared, considering the limited information for the latter. The influence of the number of off-axis layers is finally assessed leading to important conclusions about optimal fatigue response. The fatigue response is evaluated in all cases considering both the mechanical properties and the damage characteristics. Significant conclusions are drawn, especially for the benefits of unbalanced laminates and the impact of shear stresses, allowing for the utilization of the obtained data as important input for the establishment of reliable fatigue damage models.

Non-Linear Probabilistic Modification of Miner's Rule for Damage Accumulation

A non-linear modification to Miner's rule for damage accumulation is proposed to reduce the scatter between experimental fatigue life and fatigue life predicted according to the original Miner's sum. Based on P-s-n probability distribution and design s-n curves, the modification satisfies the assumption of equality between the mean damage degree (at the critical level) and fatigue life random variables, which is not covered in the original formulation. The adopted formulation shows the discrepancies between the fatigue lives predicted according to the design s-n curves and the estimated probability distribution. It also proves that it is inappropriate to apply a normal distribution to fatigue life analysis and that the model becomes non-linear only for non-normal distributions. The predictions according to the established model were compared to the predictions obtained with Miner's rule.

Cyclic Damage Accumulation in the Femoral Constructs Made With Cephalomedullary Nails

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the risk of peri-prosthetic fracture of constructs made with cephalomedullary (CM) long and short nails. The nails were made with titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) and stainless steel (SS 316L).

Methods: Biomechanical evaluation of CM nail constructs was carried out with regard to post-primary healing to determine the risk of peri-implant/peri-prosthetic fractures. Therefore, this research comprised of, non-fractured, twenty-eight pairs of cadaveric femora that were randomized and implanted with four types of fixation CM nails resulting in four groups. These constructs were cyclically tested in bi-axial mode for up to 30,000 cycles. All the samples were then loaded to failure to measure failure loads. Three frameworks were carried out through this investigation, Michaelis–Menten, phenomenological, and probabilistic Monte Carlo simulation to model and predict damage accumulation.

Findings: Damage accumulation resulting from bi-axial cyclic loading in terms of construct stiffness was represented by Michaelis–Menten equation, and the statistical analysis demonstrated that one model can explain the damage accumulation during cyclic load for all four groups of constructs (P > 0.05). A two-stage stiffness drop was observed. The short stainless steel had a significantly higher average damage (0.94) than the short titanium nails (0.90, P < 0.05). Long titanium nail group did not differ substantially from the short stainless steel nails (P > 0.05). Results showed gender had a significant effect on load to failure in both torsional and bending tests (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001, respectively).

Interpretation: Kaplan–Meier survival analysis supports the use of short titanium CM nail. We recommend that clinical decisions should take age and gender into consideration in the selection of implants.

Experimental Investigation and Modeling of Damage Accumulation of EN-AW 2024 Aluminum Alloy under Creep Condition at Elevated Temperature

The paper is focused on creep-rupture tests of samples made of the 2024 alloy in the T3511 temper under uniaxial tensile stress conditions. The basic characteristics of the material at the temperatures of 100, 200 and 300 °C were determined, such as the Young’s modulus E, yield point σ_y, ultimate tensile strength σ_c and parameters K and n of the Ramberg–Osgood equation. Creep tests were performed for several different levels of nominal axial stress (load) at each temperature. It was observed that in the process of creep to failure at 200 and 300 °C, as the stress decreases, the creep time increases and, at the same time, the strain at rupture increases. However, such a regularity is maintained until a certain transition stress value σ_t is reached. Reducing the stress below this value results in a decreased value of the strain at rupture. A simple model of creep damage accumulation was proposed for the stress range above the transient value. In this model, the increase in the isotropic damage state variable was made dependent on the value of axial stress and the increase in plastic axial strain. Using the results of experimental creep-rupture tests and the failure condition, the parameters of the proposed model were determined. The surface of fractures obtained in the creep tests with the use of SEM technology was also analyzed.

Collapse Mechanism of Single-Layer Cylindrical Latticed Shell under Severe Earthquake

In this paper, the results of finite element analyses of a single-layer cylindrical latticed shell under severe earthquake are presented. A 3D Finite Element model using fiber beam elements is used to investigate the collapse mechanism of this type of shell. The failure criteria of structural members are simulated based on the theory of damage accumulation. Severe earthquakes with peak ground acceleration (PGA) values of 0.5 g are applied to the shell. The stress and deformation of the shell are studied in detail. A three-stage collapse mechanism "double-diagonal -members-failure-belt" of this type of structure is discovered. Based on the analysis results, measures to mitigate the collapse of this type of structure are recommended.

Evolution of ageing as a tangle of trade-offs: energy versus function

Despite tremendous progress in recent years, our understanding of the evolution of ageing is still incomplete. A dominant paradigm maintains that ageing evolves due to the competing energy demands of reproduction and somatic maintenance leading to slow accumulation of unrepaired cellular damage with age. However, the centrality of energy trade-offs in ageing has been increasingly challenged as studies in different organisms have uncoupled the trade-off between reproduction and longevity. An emerging theory is that ageing instead is caused by biological processes that are optimized for early-life function but become harmful when they continue to run-on unabated in late life. This idea builds on the realization that early-life regulation of gene expression can break down in late life because natural selection is too weak to optimize it. Empirical evidence increasingly supports the hypothesis that suboptimal gene expression in adulthood can result in physiological malfunction leading to organismal senescence. We argue that the current state of the art in the study of ageing contradicts the widely held view that energy trade-offs between growth, reproduction, and longevity are the universal underpinning of senescence. Future research should focus on understanding the relative contribution of energy and function trade-offs to the evolution and expression of ageing.

Damage-Fitness Model: the missing piece in integrative stress models

Over the last decade, several theoretical models have been put forth to describe how animals respond to adverse environments and how this response changes under different physiological demands across life history stages. These models capture the context- and condition-dependent nature of stress responses. Yet, application of the models has been limited thus far in part because each model addresses different aspects of the problems facing the field of stress biology. Thus, there is a need for a unifying theoretical model that incorporates changes in physiological demand with life history stages and age, intricate relationships among physiological systems, and biphasic nature of stress responses. Here, I propose a new integrative framework, the Damage-Fitness Model. In this model, regulators, such as DNA repair mechanisms and glucocorticoids, work together as anti-damage mechanisms to minimize damage at both the cellular and organismal level. When the anti-damage regulators are insufficient or inappropriate, persistent damage accumulates. Previous studies indicate that these damage directly impact reproductive performance, disease risk, and survival. The types of regulators, the threshold at which they are initiated, and the magnitude of the responses are shaped by developmental and current environments. This model unites existing theoretical models by shifting our focus from physiological responses to downstream consequences of the stress responses, circumventing context specificity. Discussions include (1) how the proposed model relates to existing models, (2) steps to test the new model, and (3) how this model can be used to better assess the health of individuals and a population. Lay summary The field of stress physiology faces a challenge of characterizing dynamic cellular, physiological, and behavioral responses when animals encounter a stressor. This paper proposes a new theoretical model which links stress avoidance, damage repair and accumulation, and fitness components.

A Combined High and Low Cycle Fatigue Model for Life Prediction of Turbine Blades

Combined high and low cycle fatigue (CCF) generally induces the failure of aircraft gas turbine attachments. Based on the aero-engine load spectrum, accurate assessment of fatigue damage due to the interaction of high cycle fatigue (HCF) resulting from high frequency vibrations and low cycle fatigue (LCF) from ground-air-ground engine cycles is of critical importance for ensuring structural integrity of engine components, like turbine blades. In this paper, the influence of combined damage accumulation on the expected CCF life are investigated for turbine blades. The CCF behavior of a turbine blade is usually studied by testing with four load-controlled parameters, including high cycle stress amplitude and frequency, and low cycle stress amplitude and frequency. According to this, a new damage accumulation model is proposed based on Miner's rule to consider the coupled damage due to HCF-LCF interaction by introducing the four load parameters. Five experimental datasets of turbine blade alloys and turbine blades were introduced for model validation and comparison between the proposed Miner, Manson-Halford, and Trufyakov-Kovalchuk models. Results show that the proposed model provides more accurate predictions than others with lower mean and standard deviation values of model prediction errors.

A Model of BGA Thermal Fatigue Life Prediction Considering Load Sequence Effects

Accurate testing history data is necessary for all fatigue life prediction approaches, but such data is always deficient especially for the microelectronic devices. Additionally, the sequence of the individual load cycle plays an important role in physical fatigue damage. However, most of the existing models based on the linear damage accumulation rule ignore the sequence effects. This paper proposes a thermal fatigue life prediction model for ball grid array (BGA) packages to take into consideration the load sequence effects. For the purpose of improving the availability and accessibility of testing data, a new failure criterion is discussed and verified by simulation and experimentation. The consequences for the fatigue underlying sequence load conditions are shown.

Self-Sensing of Damage Progression in Unidirectional Multiscale Hierarchical Composites Subjected to Cyclic Tensile Loading

The electrical sensitivity of glass fiber/multiwall carbon nanotube/vinyl ester hierarchical composites containing a tailored electrically-percolated network to self-sense accumulation of structural damage when subjected to cyclic tensile loading-unloading is investigated. The hierarchical composites were designed to contain two architectures differentiated by the location of the multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), viz. MWCNTs deposited on the fibers and MWCNTs dispersed within the matrix. The changes in electrical resistance of the hierarchical composites are associated to their structural damage and correlated to acoustic emissions. The results show that such tailored hierarchical composites are able to self-sense damage onset and accumulation upon tensile loading-unloading cycles by means of their electrical response, and that the electrical response depends on the MWCNT location.

Microstructural aspects of fatigue in Ni-base superalloys

Nickel-base superalloys are primarily used as components in jet engines and land-based turbines. While compositionally complex, they are microstructurally simple, consisting of small (50-1000 nm diameter), ordered, coherent Ni(3)(Al,Ti)-type L1(2) or Ni(3)Nb-type DO(22) precipitates (called γ(') and γ(''), respectively) embedded in an FCC substitutional solid solution consisting primarily of Ni and other elements which confer desired properties depending upon the application. The grain size may vary from as small as 2 μm for powder metallurgy alloys used in discs to single crystals the actual size of the component for turbine blades. The fatigue behaviour depends upon the microstructure, deformation mode, environment and cycle time. In many cases, it can be controlled or modified through small changes in composition which may dramatically change the mechanism of damage accumulation and the fatigue life. In this paper, the fundamental microstructural, compositional, environmental and deformation mode factors which affect fatigue behaviour are critically reviewed. Connections are made across a range of studies to provide more insight. Modern approaches are pointed out in which the wealth of available microstructural, deformation and damage information is used for computerized life prediction. The paper ends with a discussion of the very important and highly practical subject of thermo-mechanical fatigue (TMF). It is shown that physics-based modelling leads to significantly improved life prediction. Suggestions are made for moving forward on the critical subject of TMF life prediction in notched components.

Temporal effect of in vivo tendon fatigue loading on the apoptotic response explained in the context of number of fatigue loading cycles and initial damage parameters

Accumulation of damage is a leading factor in the development of tendinopathy. Apoptosis has been implicated in tendinopathy, but the biological mechanisms responsible for initiation and progression of these injuries are poorly understood. We assessed the relationship between initial induced damage and apoptotic activity 3 and 7 days after fatigue loading. We hypothesized that greater apoptotic activity (i) will be associated with greater induced damage and higher number of fatigue loading cycles, and (ii) will be higher at 7 than at 3 days after loading. Left patellar tendons were fatigue loaded for either 100 or 7,200 cycles. Diagnostic tests were applied before and after fatigue loading to determine the effect of fatigue loading on hysteresis, elongation, and loading and unloading stiffness (damage parameters). Cleaved Caspase-3 staining was used to identify and calculate the percent apoptosis in the patellar tendon. While no difference in apoptotic activity occurred between the 100 and 7,200 cycle groups, greater apoptotic activity was associated with greater induced damage. Apoptotic activity was higher at 7 than 3 days after loading. We expect that the decreasing number of healthy cells that can repair the induced damage in the tendon predispose it to further injury.

Molecular response of the patellar tendon to fatigue loading explained in the context of the initial induced damage and number of fatigue loading cycles

Accumulation of sub-rupture fatigue damage has been implicated in the development of tendinopathy. We previously developed an in vivo model of damage accumulation using the rat patellar tendon. Our model allows us to control the input loading parameters to induce fatigue damage in the tendon. Despite this precise control, the resulting induced damage could vary among animals because of differences in size or strength among their patellar tendons. In this study, we used number of applied cycles and initial (day-0) parameters that are indicative of induced damage to assess the molecular response 7 days after fatigue loading. We hypothesized that day-0 hysteresis, elongation, and stiffness of the loading and unloading load-displacement curves would be predictive of the 7-day molecular response. Results showed correlations between the 7-day molecular response and both day-0 elongation and unloading stiffness. Additionally, loading resulted in upregulation of several extracellular matrix genes that suggest adaptation; however, several of these genes (Col-I, -XII, MMP 2, and TIMP 3) shut down after a high level of damage was induced. We showed that evaluating the 7-day molecular profile in light of day-0 elongation provides important insight that is lost from comparing number of fatigue loading cycles only. Our data showed that loading generally results in an adaptive response. However, the tendon's ability to effectively respond deteriorates as greater damage is induced.

Tendon fatigue in response to mechanical loading

Tendinopathies are commonly attributable to accumulation of sub-rupture fatigue damage from repetitive use. Data is limited to late stage disease from patients undergoing surgery, motivating development of animal models, such as ones utilizing treadmill running or repetitive reaching, to investigate the progression of tendinopathies. We developed an in vivo model using the rat patellar tendon that allows control of the loading directly applied to the tendon. This manuscript discusses the response of tendons to fatigue loading and applications of our model. Briefly, the fatigue life of the tendon was used to define low, moderate and high levels of fatigue loading. Morphological assessment showed a progression from mild kinks to fiber disruption, for low to high level fatigue loading. Collagen expression, 1 and 3 days post loading, showed more modest changes for low and moderate than high level fatigue loading. Protein and mRNA expression of Ineterleukin-1β and MMP-13 were upregulated for moderate but not low level fatigue loading. Moderate level (7200 cycles) and 100 cycles of fatigue loading resulted in a catabolic and anabolic molecular profile respectively, at both 1 and 7 days post loading. Results suggest unique mechanisms for different levels of fatigue loading that are distinct from laceration.

Subrupture tendon fatigue damage

The mechanical and microstructural bases of tendon fatigue, by which damage accumulates and contributes to degradation, are poorly understood. To investigate the tendon fatigue process, rat flexor digitorum longus tendons were cyclically loaded (1-16 N) until reaching one of three levels of fatigue damage, defined as peak clamp-to-clamp strain magnitudes representing key intervals in the fatigue life: i) Low (6.0%-7.0%); ii) Moderate (8.5%-9.5%); and iii) High (11.0%-12.0%). Stiffness, hysteresis, and clamp-to-clamp strain were assessed diagnostically (by cyclic loading at 1-8 N) before and after fatigue loading and following an unloaded recovery period to identify mechanical parameters as measures of damage. Results showed that tendon clamp-to-clamp strain increased from pre- to post-fatigue loading significantly and progressively with the fatigue damage level (p <or= 0.010). In contrast, changes in both stiffness and hysteresis were significant only at the High fatigue level (p <or= 0.043). Correlative microstructural analyses showed that Low level of fatigue was characterized by isolated, transverse patterns of kinked fiber deformations. At higher fatigue levels, tendons exhibited fiber dissociation and localized ruptures of the fibers. Histomorphometric analysis showed that damage area fraction increased significantly with fatigue level (p <or= 0.048). The current findings characterized the sequential, microstructural events that underlie the tendon fatigue process and indicate that tendon deformation can be used to accurately assess the progression of damage accumulation in tendons.