Experimental investigations of welding induced temperature gradients and distortions in a segment of an OSD

Orthotropic bridge decks are susceptible to fatigue cracks which are influenced by the thickness of their components, welding procedure, type of the weld, the position of the considered detail in relation to the local loading condition and by residual stresses due to welding. The above-mentioned parameters determine the detail category for...

Erickson’s practice for crews: What about coping to the situation with zen?

Hypnosis has already been used in very long flights by Bertrand Piccard, one of the two Solar Impulse pilots, to manage fatigue and rest periods. It is also used by navigators like Armel Le Cléac’h during solo races. For this reason we consider it is worth to look at such technics to cope with the constraints of long flights. A study was done in...

Fatigue life of postbuckled structures with indentation damage

The fatigue life of composite stiffened panels with indentation damage was investigated experimentally using single stringer compression specimens. Indentation damage was induced on one of the two flanges of the stringer. The experiments were conducted using advanced instrumentation, including digital image correlation, passive thermography, and...

In-situ fatigue damage assessment of carbon-fibre reinforced polymer structures using advanced experimental techniques

This study focused on the in-situ fatigue damage assessment of open-hole carbon/epoxy coupons using Acoustic Emission (AE) and Digital Image Correlation (DIC) techniques. Constant amplitude fatigue tests were performed and the main objective was to investigate the damage process, the degradation process of the fatigue modules and to identify...

A thick level set interface model for simulating fatigue-drive delamination in composites

This paper presents a new damage model for simulating fatigue-driven delamination in composite laminates. This model is developed based on the Thick Level Set approach (TLS) and provides a favorable link between damage mechanics and fracture mechanics through the non-local evaluation of the energy release rate. Previously, this approach has been...

Test method to assess membrane layers fatigue response on orthotropic steel bridge decks

In order to adequately characterize the fatigue response of the various membranes with surrounding multilayer surfacing layers on orthotropic steel decks and collect the necessary parameters for FE modeling, the details of the cyclic Membrane Adhesion Tester (MAT) are introduced. The fatigue damage in membrane interface is related to the amount...

Dynamically loaded beam failure under corroded conditions

De-icing salts, used on roads in heavy winters, may enter reinforced concrete (RC) structures via its capillary pore system or via cracks, initiating reinforcement corrosion and reducing its remaining service-life. Vehicles passing real bridges exert a dynamic impact action that might activate a fatigue failure mechanism. In order to generate...

Substantial Fatigue Similarity of a New Small-Scale Test Rig to Actual Wheel-Rail System

The substantial similarity of fatigue mechanism in a new test rig for rolling contact fatigue (RCF) has been investigated. A new reduced-scale test rig is designed to perform controlled RCF tests in wheel-rail materials. The fatigue mechanism of the rig is evaluated in this study using a combined finite element-fatigue prediction approach. The...

Static and fatigue performance of thick laminates test design and experimental compression results

Experimental study of membrane fatigue response for asphalt multisurfacing systems on orthotropic steel deck bridges

In order to adequately characterize the fatigue response of the various membranes with surrounding multilayer surfacing layers on orthotropic steel decks and collect the necessary parameters for FE modeling, the details of the cyclic Membrane Adhesion Tester (MAT) are introduced. The fatigue damage in membrane interface is related to the amount...

Preliminary design of offshore wind turbine support structures: The importance of proper mode shape estimation

Offshore wind turbines are highly exposed to timevarying loads. For support structures, estimation of the fatigue damage during the lifetime of the structure is an essential design aspect. This already applies for the preliminary design stage. In determining the dynamic amplification in the frequency domain, modal analysis is a common tool. This...

Towards an Accurate Stress Dependant Time & Frequency Domain VE Response Model for Bituminous Binders

Linear viscoelastic properties of bituminous binders for short loading times are analyzed using dynamic mechanical analysis methods. Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR) test with parallel plate (PP) configuration is widely used for this purpose. Due to the complex stress distribution over the cross-section of the test sample, application of this setup...