“Wheels vs. tracks” – A fundamental evaluation from the traction perspective

The issue of wheeled vehicles vs. tracked vehicles for off-road operations has been a subject of debate for a long period of time. Recent interest in the development of vehicles for the rapid deployment of armed forces has given a new impetus to this debate. While a number of experimental studies in comparing the performances of specific wheeled vehicles with those of tracked vehicles under selected operating environments have been performed, it appears that relatively little fundamental analysis on this subject has been published in the open literature, including the Journal of Terramechanics. This paper is aimed at evaluating the tractive performance of wheeled and tracked vehicles from the standpoint of the mechanics of vehicle–terrain interaction. The differences between a tire and a track in generating thrust are elucidated. The basic factors that affect the gross traction of wheeled and tracked vehicles are identified. A general comparison of the thrust developed by a multi-axle wheeled vehicle with that of a tracked vehicle is made, based on certain simplifying assumptions. As the interaction between an off-road vehicle and unprepared terrain is very complex, to compare the performance of a wheeled vehicle with that of a tracked vehicle realistically, comprehensive computer simulation models are required. Two computer simulation models, one for wheeled vehicles, known as NWVPM, and the other for tracked vehicles, known as NTVPM, are described. As an example of the applications of these two computer simulation models, the mobility of an 8 × 8 wheeled vehicle, similar to a light armoured vehicle (LAV), is compared with that of a tracked vehicle, similar to an armoured personnel carrier (APC). It is hoped that this study will illustrate the fundamental factors that limit the traction of wheeled vehicles in comparison with that of tracked vehicles, hence contributing to a better understanding of the issue of wheels vs. tracks.     

Dynamic crack propagation in a magneto-electro-elastic solid subjected to mixed loads: Transient Mode-III problem

The transient response of a Mode-III crack propagating in a magneto-electro-elastic solid subjected to mixed loads is investigated through solving the corresponding boundary-initial-value problem in both the cracked solid region and the interior fluid region with treatment of electro-magnetically permeable and impermeable crack face conditions in a unified way. The closed-form results for the dynamic field intensity factors are used to evaluate the dynamic energy release rate through the crack-tip dynamic contour integral. The permeability of the interior fluid region relative to the cracked solid region significantly affects the magneto-electro-mechanical coupling coefficient in the Bleustein–Gulyaev wave function and, consequently, the horizontal shear surface wave speed, the dynamic field intensity factors and the dynamic energy release rate. It is revealed from dynamic fracture mechanics analysis that the dynamic energy release rate thus obtained has an odd dependence on the dynamic electric displacement intensity factor and the dynamic magnetic induction intensity factor. It is also found that the horizontal shear surface wave speed provides the limiting velocity for the propagation of a Mode-III crack in a magneto-electro-elastic solid when there is only applied traction loading.     

Impact response of an interface crack in a hybrid piezoelectric laminate

Summary  In a hybrid laminate containing an interfacial crack between piezoelectric and orthotropic layers, the dynamic field intensity factors and energy release rates are obtained for electro-mechanical impact loading. The analysis is performed within the framework of linear piezoelectricity. By using integral transform techniques, the problem is reduced to the solution of a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind, which is obtained from one pair of dual integral equations. Numerical results for the dynamic stress intensity factor show the influence of the geometry and electric field. Received 29 June 2001; accepted for publication 3 December 2001     

Linear coupled bending and extension of an unbalanced bonded repair

An unbalanced repair is a composite patch bonded to one side of a cracked structure for the purpose of preventing or reducing damage growth in the substrate. A single-sided repair offsets the load path within the structure, inducing out-of-plane bending. This bending increases the stress intensity in the underlying crack and causes adhesive peel stresses and bending of the repair which can, relative to a repair that is restrained against bending, lead to early failure. In this article the authors correct the analysis of Wang and Rose [Wang, C.H., Rose, L.R.F., 1997. On the design of bonded patches for one-sided repair. In: Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Composite materials, Gold Coast, Australia, vol. 5, pp. 347–356] developed by using an energy analysis of a single-sided or unbalanced repair applied to a very long-crack, to comply with Maxwell’s reciprocal theorem and to account for transverse normal and shear stresses at the crack tip and the accompanying shear deflections. The authors then develop closed-form equations useful for bonded composite repair design and damage tolerance assessment of cracks of arbitrary length by developing a new method for interpolation between this long-crack limit and a short-crack limit based on the stress intensity and crack face displacements for an unreinforced crack. The interpolation method is then tested against an advanced line-spring model that has been created by using a 6th order generalized plane strain plate formulation in extension and a new 8th order formulation in bending, thus allowing for the inclusion of transverse shear and normal stresses. The closed-form equations are found to be accurate when compared to the line-spring model, and to provide reasonable results when compared to a three-dimensional finite element model of a bonded repair. Inaccuracies are shown to exist principally in the determination of the nominal stresses in the vicinity of the crack.     

Numerical analysis for a crack in piezoelectric material under impact

In this paper, a numerical analysis of impact interfacial fracture for a piezoelectric bimaterial is provided. Starting from the basic equilibrium equation, a dynamic electro-mechanical FEM formulation is briefly presented. Then, the path-independent separated dynamic J integral is extended to piezoelectric bimaterials. Based on the relationship of the path-independent dynamic J integral and the stress and electric displacement intensity factors, the component separation method is used to calculate the stress and electric displacement intensity factors for piezoelectric bimaterials in this finite-element analysis. The response curves of the dynamic J integral, the stress and electric displacement intensity factors are obtained for both homogeneous material (PZT-4 and CdSe) and CdSe/PZT-4 bimaterial. The influences of the piezoelectricity and the electro-mechanical coupling factor on these responses are discussed. The effects of an applied electric field are also discussed.     

Low-density layer formation and “lifting force” effect at micro- and meso-scale levels

The processes at various scale levels in the contact area of interacting objects under high-energy action will be examined from the viewpoint of mesomechanics. Modeling of contact area at atomic- and meso-scale levels was carried out on the base of discrete computational approach (method of particles). Molecular dynamic method was used at the micro-scale level; movable cellular automata method—at the meso-scale level. The gradient of velocity in areas near the surface leads to formation of low density and fragmented areas. This effect is accompanied by the failure of crystal lattice stability and intensive mixing process at the atomic level. The mechanisms of mass transfer in contact area were discussed. The results allow us to explain a host of experimental data of mechanochemistry such as phase formation at friction surface, alloy formation due to contact interaction under “pressure + shear” loading conditions.     

半空间双相压电介质垂直边界附近圆孔对SH波的散射

利用“Green函数法”和“镜像法”对垂直边界附近含圆孔的半空间双相压电介质对SH波的散射问题进行分析,得到其稳态解。利用镜像法得到满足水平边界应力自由与电位移自由的波函数解析表达式。根据垂直边界连续性条件,利用“契合法”建立第一类Fredholm型积分方程组,得到圆孔周边的动应力集中系数与电场强度集中系数解析表达式。数值算例分析了入射波频率、入射角度、介质参数等对动应力集中系数与电场强度集中系数的影响,并与已有文献进行比较。计算表明,高频SH波垂直入射危害较大。     

Electromechanical impact of a crack in a functionally graded piezoelectric medium

The Mode-I transient response of a functionally graded piezoelectric medium is solved for a through crack under the in-plane mechanical and electric impact. Integral transforms and dislocation density functions are employed to reduce the problem to singular integral equations. Numerical results display the effects of the loading combination parameter λ and the material parameter βa on the dynamic stress intensity factor and electric displacement intensity factor. The energy density factor criterion is applied to obtain the maximum of the minimum energy density factor and the direction of crack initiation.     

Turbulent pipe flow of a drag-reducing rigid “rod-like” polymer solution

Fully developed turbulent pipe flow of an aqueous solution of a rigid “rod-like” polymer, scleroglucan, at concentrations of 0.005% (w/w) and 0.01% (w/w) has been investigated experimentally. Fanning friction factors were determined from pressure-drop measurements for the Newtonian solvent (water) and the polymer solutions and so levels of drag reduction for the latter. Mean axial velocity u and complete Reynolds normal stress data, i.e. u′, v′ and w′, were measured by means of a laser Doppler anemometer at three different Reynolds numbers for each fluid. The measurements indicate that the effectiveness of scleroglucan as a drag-reducing agent is only mildly dependent on Reynolds number. The turbulence structure essentially resembles that of flexible polymer solutions which also lead to low levels of drag reduction.     

Normal compression wave scattering by a permeable crack in a fluid-saturated poroelastic solid

A mathematical formulation is presented for the dynamic stress intensity factor (mode I) of a finite permeable crack subjected to a time-harmonic propagating longitudi-nal wave in an infinite poroelastic solid. In particular, the effect of the wave-induced fluid flow due to the presence of a liquid-saturated crack on the dynamic stress intensity fac-tor is analyzed. Fourier sine and cosine integral transforms in conjunction with Helmholtz potential theory are used to formulate the mixed boundary-value problem as dual inte-gral equations in the frequency domain. The dual integral equations are reduced to a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind. It is found that the stress intensity factor mono-tonically decreases with increasing frequency, decreasing the fastest when the crack width and the slow wave wavelength are of the same order. The characteristic frequency at which the stress intensity factor decays the fastest shifts to higher frequency values when the crack width decreases.     

Brittle fracture dynamics with arbitrary paths. II. Dynamic crack branching under general antiplane loading

The dynamic propagation of a bifurcated crack under antiplane loading is considered. The dependence of the stress intensity factor just after branching is given as a function of the stress intensity factor just before branching, the branching angle and the instantaneous velocity of the crack tip. The jump in the dynamic energy release rate due to the branching process is also computed. Similar to the single crack case, a growth criterion for a branched crack is applied. It is based on the equality between the energy flux into each propagating tip and the surface energy which is added as a result of this propagation. It is shown that the minimum speed of the initial single crack which allows branching is equal to 0.39c, where c is the shear wave speed. At the branching threshold, the corresponding bifurcated cracks start their propagation at a vanishing speed with a branching angle of approximately 40°.     

Torsional impact response of a penny-shaped crack in a functional graded strip

The torsional impact response of a penny-shaped crack in a nonhomogeneous strip is considered. The shear modulus is assumed to be functionally graded such that the mathematics is tractable. Laplace and Hankel transforms were used to reduce the problem to solving a Fredholm integral equation. The crack tip stress field is obtained by considering the asymptotic behavior of Bessel function. Explicit expressions of both the dynamic stress intensity factor and the energy density factor were derived. And it is shown that, as crack driving force, they are equivalent for the present crack problem. Investigated are the effects of material nonhomogeneity and strip‘s highness on the dynamic fracture behavior.Numerical results reveal that the peak of the dynamic stress intensity factor can be suppressed by increasing the nonhomogeneity parameter of the shear modulus, and that the dynamic behavior varies little with the adjusting of the strip‘ s highness.     

Brittle fracture dynamics with arbitrary paths I. Kinking of a dynamic crack in general antiplane loading

We present a new method for determining the elasto-dynamic stress fields associated with the propagation of anti-plane kinked or branched cracks. Our approach allows the exact calculation of the corresponding dynamic stress intensity factors. The latter are very important quantities in dynamic brittle fracture mechanics, since they determine the crack path and eventual branching instabilities. As a first illustration, we consider a semi-infinite anti-plane straight crack, initially propagating at a given time-dependent velocity, that changes instantaneously both its direction and its speed of propagation. We will give the explicit dependence of the stress intensity factor just after kinking as a function of the stress intensity factor just before kinking, the kinking angle and the instantaneous velocity of the crack tip.     

A “quasi-elastic” affine formulation for the homogenised behaviour of nonlinear viscoelastic polycrystals and composites

The derivation of the overall behaviour of nonlinear viscoelastic (or rate-dependent elastoplastic) heterogeneous materials requires a linearisation of the constitutive equations around uniform per phase stress (or strain) histories. The resulting Linear Comparison Material (LCM) has to be linear thermoviscoelastic to fully retain the viscoelastic nature of phase interactions. Instead of the exact treatment of this LCM (i.e., correspondence principle and inverse Laplace transforms) as proposed by the “classical” affine formulation, an approximate treatment is proposed here. First considering Maxwellian behaviour, comparisons for a single phase as well as for two-phase materials (with “parallel” and disordered morphologies) show that the “direct inversion method” of Laplace transforms, initially proposed by Schapery (1962), has to be adapted to fit correctly exact responses to creep loading while a more general method is proposed for other loading paths. When applied to nonlinear viscoelastic heterogeneous materials, this approximate inversion method gives rise to a new formulation which is consistent with the classical affine one for the steady-state regimes. In the transient regime, it leads to a significantly more efficient numerical resolution, the LCM associated to the step by step procedure being no more thermoviscoelastic but thermoelastic. Various comparisons for nonlinear viscoelastic polycrystals responses to creep as well as relaxation loadings show that this “quasi-elastic” formulation yields results very close to classical affine ones, even for high contrasts.     

Exact solutions for anti-plane problem of two asymmetrical edge cracks emanating from an elliptical hole in a piezoelectric material

Based on the complex variable method and the technique of conformal mapping, the anti-plane problem of two asymmetrical edge cracks emanating from an elliptical hole in a piezoelectric material is studied. The exact solutions of field intensity factors and energy release rate are presented in closed-form with the assumption that the surfaces of the cracks and the elliptical hole are electrically impermeable. With the variation of the hole-size and the crack length, the present results can be reduced to the cases of two symmetrical edge cracks and a single edge crack emanating from a circular hole given by Wang and Gao [Wang, Y.J., Gao, C.F., 2008. The mode III cracks originating from the edge of a circular hole in a piezoelectric solid. International Journal of Solids and Structures 45, 4590–4599]. Moreover, new models used for simulating more practical defects in a piezoelectric solid are obtained, such as two symmetrical edge cracks and a single edge crack emanating from an elliptical hole, two asymmetrical edge cracks emanating from a circular hole, T-shaped crack, cross-shaped crack and semi-infinite plane with an edge crack. Numerical examples are then conducted to reveal the effects of the hole-size and the crack length on the field intensity factors and the energy release rate.     

Analytical model of thermal striping for a micro-cracked solid

Using the formal asymptotic approximation of the Mode I stress intensity factor for an edge crack in a thermoelastic half plane containing several small voids obtained in [Nieves, M.J., Movchan, A.B., and Jones, I.S., 2011. Asymptotic study of a thermoelastic problem in a semi-infinite body containing a surface-breaking crack and small perforations. QJMAM 64 (3), 349–369] we investigate the effect of micro-cracks on this stress intensity factor. In numerical examples, we show how the behaviour of the stress intensity factor as a function of crack depth is affected by micro-cracks of different orientations occurring in the half space.     

Transient response of a cracked piezoelectric strip under arbitrary electro-mechanical impact

By using the well-developed integral transform methodology, the dynamic response of stress and electric displacement around a finite crack in an infinite piezoelectric strip are investigated under arbitrary dynamic anti-plane loads. The dynamic stress intensity factors and electric displacement are obtained analytically. It is shown that the dynamic crack-tip stress and electric field still have a square-root singularity. Numerical computations for the dynamic stress intensity factor show that the electric load has a significant influence on the dynamic response of stress field. The higher the ratio of the crack length to the width of the strip, the higher the peak value of the dynamic stress intensity factor is. On the other hand, the dynamic response of the electric field is determined solely by the applied electric load. The electric field will promote or retard the propagation of the crack depending on the time elapse since the application of the external electro-mechanical loads. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Post-Doctor Science Foundation of China     

三点弯曲试样应力强度的动态响应

采用振动理论分析了三点弯曲试样的动态响应,得到了一个计及冲击速度影响的动态应力强度因子计算公式。当不考虑冲击速度影响时,本文给出的计算模型可退化成经典的K.Kishimoto模型。数值计算的结果表明,无论是在阶跃载荷作用下,还是在周期载荷作用下,冲击速度对三点弯曲试样应力强度因子的动态响应都有明显的影响。     

On the Ohno–Wang kinematic hardening rules for multiaxial ratcheting modeling of medium carbon steel

This paper evaluates the performance of four Ohno–Wang type constitutive models in predicting ratcheting responses of medium carbon steel S45C for a set of axial/torsional loading paths. Suggestions are also made for further modification. The four models are the Ohno–Wang model, the McDowell model, the Jiang–Sehitoglu model and the AbdelKarim–Ohno model. It is shown that the Ohno–Wang model and the McDowell model overestimate the multiaxial ratcheting. Whereas, the Jiang–Sehitoglu model yields good predictions for most loading conditions used in this study with an appropriate modification of the dynamic recovery term. The AbdelKarim–Ohno model gives acceptable predictions for all considered multiaxial conditions when used with an evolution function for μ_i, but gives poor predictions of uniaxial ratcheting if the parameter μ_i is determined from a multiaxial ratcheting response. A new modified Ohno–Wang hardening rule is proposed for better adaptability under diverse situations by multiplying a factor to the dynamic recovery term, which is dependent on noncoaxiality of the plastic strain rate and back stress. This new model predicts ratcheting strain reasonably well for the test cases.