Experimental analysis of the linear and nonlinear behaviour of composites with delaminations

An analysis of the linear and nonlinear vibration responses of composites with delaminations is presented. The effect of delamination size on the linear and nonlinear vibration response is studied. The composite material used in this paper is a glass fibre reinforced plastic (GFRP) having delaminations at the plies interfaces. The experimental procedure consists in inducing the specimen on its resonance flexural modes with different excitation levels (amplitudes) for six bending modes and for each delamination length. The presence of the nonlinearity introduced by the delamination was clearly identified by the variation of natural frequencies for increasing excitation levels. Then, nonlinear elastic parameters for progressive delamination length were determined and discussed for the first six bending modes. The linear and the nonlinear elastic parameters were compared in their sensitive modes.     

Feasibility study of a digital speckle pattern interferometry and bending test combined technique to investigate coating adhesion

This paper presents a feasibility study to assess whether digital speckle pattern interferometry could be used as a possible technique to investigate the adhesive performance of coatings. The approach is based on the measurement of the deflections produced by a pre-notched coated specimen subjected to a four-point bending test. When the bending load is increased, a delamination between the coating and the substrate is propagated with its length depending on the adhesion strength. Experiments carried out with specimens having simulated delaminations confirm that digital speckle pattern interferometry can be used to estimate the delamination length.     

Nonlocal shear deformable shell model for bending buckling of microtubules embedded in an elastic medium

A nonlocal shear deformable shell model is developed for buckling of microtubules embedded in an elastic matrix of cytoplasm under bending in thermal environments. The results reveal that the lateral constraint has a significant effect on the buckling moments of a microtubule when the foundation stiffness is sufficiently large.     

Theories of surface elasticity for nanoscale objects

The emergence of nanotechnology has driven recent interest in systems having surface atoms as a significant fraction of all atoms present, in particular nano-sheets (ultra-thin slabs), nano-wires, and nano-particles. In these systems, the bulk (i.e. non-surface region or interior) is typically strained in response to the stress of the surface. This elastic strain of the bulk in turn changes the surface lattice constants. Since the bulk and the surface are coupled, the problem must be solved self-consistently. Solving this problem requires a quantitative model of the surface elastic properties which are different from the bulk. In this paper we consider various models that have been proposed for surface elasticity. Our goal is to elucidate the relationship between two contrasting approaches: (1) the Shuttleworth equation which defines a surface stress based on the strain derivative of the surface energy and (2) the Gurtin-Murdoch (GM) theory which considers the surface layer as a membrane with residual strain and with elastic constants different from the bulk. The GM theory is analogous to the 2-D Frenkel-Kontorova (FK) model and can be used to obtain quantitative parameters for the FK model. We present an embedded atom method calculation of the surface elastic constants of Cu(1 1 1) using the GM theory with the surface represented by a membrane one atomic layer thick. This quantitative approach describes the elastic properties of surfaces in a physically appealing way. Just as the bulk elastic constants provide direct information regarding the stress/strain relationship in a bulk material, the surface elastic constants provide similar information for a surface monolayer. This theory will allow elasticity analysis and atomistic calculations of properties of nano-scale objects.     

Size effect in transverse mechanical behavior of one-dimensional nanostructures

This paper develops the classical strain gradient elasticity theory to investigate the scale-dependent mechanical behavior of one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures. A governing differential equation with two scale parameters is derived, where the curvature of the deflection and the higher-order bending moment are introduced as a pair of additional geometrical constraint and natural loading. Emphasis is placed on the analysis of bending deformation, free vibration and buckling of cantilever nanowires or free-standing nanocolumns. Obtained results are compared with experimental data of carbon nanotube ropes and nanowires available in the literature and they agree well, showing that transverse mechanical properties of nanowires such as bending stiffness are scale-dependent. The model proposed also indicates that the evaluated natural frequencies and critical buckling strains exhibit noticeable size effects. Bending stiffness, natural frequency and buckling load increase as the nanowire diameter drops down. The influence of rotary inertia of cross-section is also analyzed.     

弯曲增敏型光纤曲率传感器机理的研究

近年国外出现一种直接检测弯曲的低成本光纤曲率传感器,采用弯曲增敏技术提高光纤对弯曲的灵敏度。这种传感器的线性范围宽,能区分正向弯曲和负向弯曲,在测量较大弯曲变形的场合更具优势;并且适合埋入结构内部检测,通过转换还可测量轴向应变。然而其传感机理方面的研究仍处于探索阶段。通过分析光辐射度余弦定律理论、回音壁光线理论、沟槽角度理论等国内外对该传感器机理的研究成果,并基于平面波导的光散射损耗理论,提出了光纤曲率传感器的机理。指出弯曲引起光纤敏感区表面散射损耗的改变是导致光传输损耗改变的原因;推导出损耗与光纤弯曲半径、表面特性、光纤结构参量关系的数学模型,并通过实验验证了模型的有效性。     

On the method for determining the true strength of inorganic glasses

The possibility of determining the true structural strength of glass by bending of glass fibers with a defect-free surface is considered. Two methods are compared, viz., the method of transverse three-point bending in which the breaking stress (strength) is determined, and the method of two-point bending in which the breaking strain is determined. In the latter case, the dependence of the elastic modulus on strain is required for determining the breaking stress (strength). The strength measured in three-point bending is compared with the strength calculated from the breaking strain measured in two-point bending. It is shown that the measurements based on these two methods give close values of strength for defect-free silica fibers used as optical waveguides. The observed difference of ～12% in the values of strength is explained by the difference in the loading rates obtained using these two methods. The advantages and disadvantages of these two techniques are analyzed.     

Infrared thermography and its application in the NDT of sandwich structures

Thermographic nondestructive testing (NDT) based on the thermal resistance effect of defects is developed for the inspection of delaminated and sandwiched defects embedded in composite structures. The resolution is examined for artificial delaminated defects in carbon-fiber honeycomb structures using conventional infrared radiation heating. The experimental results have demonstrated that radiation heating is effective for revealing defects in the composite structures.An experimental and computational hybrid system is developed for detecting defects in various composite structures. The system consists of an infrared thermal video system which measures the surface temperature distribution of the structure, a computer with a PIP-1024B image board which performs image processing of thermograms, and a HP ink jet XL printer. It is found that this system is readily applicable to the detection of defects located at the interface of the core and skin in honeycomb structures and delaminations in composite materials.     

Switching mechanics with chemistry: a model for the bending stiffness of amphiphilic bilayers with interacting headgroups in crystalline order

Bilayer structures in catanionic systems experimentally showed peculiar mechanical behavior. The observed increase in the bending stiffness is supposedly connected to additional hydrogen bonds forming between anionic headgroups. With a simple model, we can explain the extreme sensitivity of the bending stiffness of the membrane on the molar ratio of the charged molecules. This effect is further amplified by the sandwichlike structure of the membrane, where the apolar core separating the headgroups acts via a kind of lever-arm principle. As a consequence of these combined effects, the model membrane changes from a soft behavior with bending rigidities on the order of 10k(B)T to an extremely stiff membrane with a bending stiffness more than 2 orders of magnitude larger where most of this change occurs within a molar ratio interval smaller than 0.1.     

Thermodynamics of membrane elasticity – A molecular level approach to one- and two-component fluid amphiphilic membranes,Part II: Applications

The theoretical framework developed in the accompanying publication is applied to a number of experimentally relevant amphiphilic systems. These include the influence of thermodynamic conditions and non-ideal mixing on bending elasticity, ellipsoidal modes of microemulsions and vesicles, hydrocarbon chain coupling in bilayers and the effect of osmotic and hydrostatic pressure on inverse hexagonal (H II) phases. It is found that the bending moduli at constant surface tension and constant chemical potentials are markedly different only for two-component membranes and non-ideal mixing with a tendency towards phase separation. The results indicate that non-ideal mixing is the main reason behind the experimentally observed strong compositional dependence of membrane elasticity. It is generally recommended to prefer the bending elastic moduli at constant chemical potentials to those at constant surface tension. A comparison between the area-difference-elasticity (ADE) model and explicit free energy calculations using a molecular model shows a good qualitative agreement for the sphere-to-ellipsoid transition of vesicles. Results for different free energy models of the hydrocarbon chains of amphiphilic molecules suggest that monolayer-monolayer chain coupling is responsible for the relatively higher bending stiffness of bilayers compared to single monolayers. For H II-phases an instability at negative pressure differences is predicted.     

Determination of the axial force on stay cables accounting for their bending stiffness and rotational end restraints by free vibration tests

Determination of the axial force in terms of its natural frequencies may be significantly influenced by the bending stiffness of the cable and the rotational elastic restraints at the ends, depending on the geometrical and mechanical parameters of the cable and its supports and restraints, particularly in cement-grouted parallel-bundle wire cables. The paper presents an explicit analytical expression for the natural frequencies taking into account both the bending stiffness of the cable and the rotational restraint at the ends that may be used to determine the axial force. While the bending stiffness of the cable and the axial force are selected as variables to attain an optimal match between analytical and experimental data, the rotational stiffness at the ends is treated as a known parameter in that process. The degree of rotational restraint at the ends cannot be accurately inferred from the sequence of the experimentally determined natural frequencies, since this parameter does not appreciably affect the progression of their values. Techniques are discussed that allow approximate determination of the rotational stiffness at the ends for the most common arrangements of anchors and cables with, and without, intermediate supports provided by deviators located near the ends. The axial force and the bending stiffness of the cable are both simultaneously adjusted by matching the natural frequencies of the analytical model with the experimental values. The proposed approach leads to a reduction of the error in the estimation of the axial force for short cables with relatively high bending stiffness such as those typical of cement-grouted parallel-bundle wire cables often used as cable stays for bridges until the early 1990s.     

Reliability of fiber Bragg grating sensors embedded in textile composites

The reliability of the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors embedded in textile composites with both dual-end and single-end is studied in this paper. The effects of debonding of the interfaces of the fiber/coating and coating/resin on the reliability are considered. Measurement error induced by the deviation of the location of sensors after embedding into a composite has been analyzed for the three-point bending experiments. The analysis indicates that the determination of the precise location of FBG sensors would be a key problem when the sensors are embedded in a large gradient strain field. The experimental results show that the debonding at the interfaces has great effect on the reliability of single-ended FBG sensors and little effect on that of dual-ended sensors. It is suggested that FBG sensors be calibrated before they are imbedded into composite, which will help to improve the precision of the measurement and avoid damage to sensors to ensure the sensor's strength while the composite is under loading.     

Stripping voltammetry of Pb and Cu using a microcantilever electrode

Microfabricated silicon microcantilevers coated with gold on one side have been used as working electrode in a three-electrode electrochemical arrangement. In addition to electrochemical current, cantilever bending has been used as a signal for monitoring electrode reactions on the cantilever surface. The microcantilever bending was measured by an optical beam deflection method as the surface potential was scanned and electrochemical reactions occurred on the surface. The microcantilever bending due to differential surface stress was used to sense Pb and Cu using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep stripping voltammetry (LSSV).     

Effect of enhancement of interface performance on mechanical properties of shape memory alloy hybrid composites

Effect of enhancement of interface performance on mechanical properties of shape memory alloy hybrid composites (SMAHCs) was investigated in this work. Composite laminates without Ni-Ti shape memory alloy (SMA) fibers, with Ni-Ti SMA fibers polished, corroded and modified by silane coupling agent KH550 were taken into comparison to investigate the effect of surface treatments. Surface morphology of Ni-Ti fibers under different treatments were observed with scanning electron microscope. The mechanical performance of specimens without Ni-Ti fibers and with Ni-Ti fibers under different treatments were investigated through tensile, three-point bending and low-velocity experiments. The morphology and micromorphology were observed to study the effect of different surface treatment methods. The conclusion shows that embedded Ni-Ti SMA fibers can enhance the mechanical performance of composite laminates. However, the performance of Ni-Ti SMA fibers was restrained by the poor interface performance. After surface treatments, SMAHCs illustrate better mechanical performance owing to the enhanced interface performance. Among all the surface treatment methods, modification with silane coupling agent KH550 shows the best effect.     

Dynamics of multicomponent vesicles in a viscous fluid

We develop and investigate numerically a thermodynamically consistent model of two-dimensional multicomponent vesicles in an incompressible viscous fluid. The model is derived using an energy variation approach that accounts for different lipid surface phases, the excess energy (line energy) associated with surface phase domain boundaries, bending energy, spontaneous curvature, local inextensibility and fluid flow via the Stokes equations. The equations are high-order (fourth order) nonlinear and nonlocal due to incompressibility of the fluid and the local inextensibility of the vesicle membrane. To solve the equations numerically, we develop a nonstiff, pseudo-spectral boundary integral method that relies on an analysis of the equations at small scales. The algorithm is closely related to that developed very recently by Veerapaneni et al. [81] for homogeneous vesicles although we use a different and more efficient time stepping algorithm and a reformulation of the inextensibility equation. We present simulations of multicomponent vesicles in an initially quiescent fluid and investigate the effect of varying the average surface concentration of an initially unstable mixture of lipid phases. The phases then redistribute and alter the morphology of the vesicle and its dynamics. When an applied shear is introduced, an initially elliptical vesicle tank-treads and attains a steady shape and surface phase distribution. A sufficiently elongated vesicle tumbles and the presence of different surface phases with different bending stiffnesses and spontaneous curvatures yields a complex evolution of the vesicle morphology as the vesicle bends in regions where the bending stiffness and spontaneous curvature are small.     

PREDICTION AND MEASUREMENT OF SOME DYNAMIC PROPERTIES OF SANDWICH STRUCTURES WITH HONEYCOMB AND FOAM CORES

Some dynamical properties of sandwich beams and plates are discussed. The types of elements investigated are three-layered structures with lightweight honeycomb or foam cores with thin laminates bonded to each side of the core. A six order differential equation governing the apparent bending of sandwich beams is derived using Hamilton's principle. Bending, shear and rotation are considered. Boundary conditions for free, clamped and simply supported beams are formulated. The apparent bending stiffness of sandwich beams is found to depend on the frequency and the boundary conditions for the structure. Simple measurements on sandwich beams are used to determine the bending stiffness of the entire structure and at the same time the bending stiffness of the laminates as well as the shear stiffness of the core. A method for the prediction of eigenfrequencies and modes of vibration are presented. Eigenfrequencies for rectangular and orthotropic sandwich plates are calculated using the Rayleigh-Ritz technique assuming frequency dependent material parameters. Predicted and measured results are compared.     

弯曲光纤布拉格光栅靶式流量传感器的研究

设计了一种基于光纤布拉格光栅(FBG)的弯曲靶式流量传感器,采用COMSOL软件仿真了弯曲靶臂受力时的应变分布规律,并将两支FBGs分别粘贴于靶臂的外侧和内侧进行应力测试,仿真与实验结果表明在外力作用下靶臂外侧和内侧分别产生拉应变和压应变,FBGs反射中心波长产生红移和蓝移。同时,测试了该结构的温度特性,在20 ℃~40 ℃两支FBGs反射中心波长均与温度呈线性关系,从而可消除温度对测量结果的影响。随后搭建了弯曲靶式FBG流量传感器测量装置,在0~800 L/H范围内的测量结果表明,两支FBGs反射中心波长与水流量呈较好的线性关系,其流量灵敏度为48 L/H。     

Effect of surface morphology on the mechanical properties of ZnO nanowires

Although studies of ZnO nanostructured materials have concentrated on the electric, optical, and magnetic properties, applicational devices with nanoscale moving parts usually suffer mechanical fatigue and failure for reasons that are less understood. Here, differing from vertical bending and tension measurements, conventional three-point bending tests are employed to study the elastic modulus and bending strength of ZnO nanowires (NWs) in an atomic force microscopy system. To shed new light on the extensive disagreement regarding the mechanical behavior of ZnO NWs, the effect of the surface morphology of the prepared NWs is mainly investigated. An average Young’s modulus of 148 GPa close to that of the bulk ZnO materials is obtained, and the size dependence is found to be unaffected by the detailed micro and macro surface morphology. On the other hand, the bending strain of 0.2–0.7% is one order of magnitude lower than that reported in the literature. It indicates that an irregular surface such as cracks, flaws, curved and neck-like surface, and body defects dominates the fracture properties of ZnO NWs, rather than the elastic behavior.     

A molecular dynamics study on interfacial heat transport of alkanethiol surfactant coated nanofluids-effect of chain length and stiffness

The thermal transport across the alkanethiol surfactant layer at the nanoparticle/base fluid interface in nanofluids was investigated by molecular dynamics simulation, with consideration of the conformation of the surfactant layer with different surfactant chain lengths and backbone stiffness. The variation of temperature drop at nanoparticle-surfactant interface reveals that the interfacial thermal conductance was mediated by the chain length, possibly due to the difference in the adsorption density of surfactant on the surface of the nanoparticles, because of the blocking effect from the bending of the long alkyl chains. The intrinsic thermal conductivity of the surfactant layer increased with decreasing chain length and increasing chain stiffness because of the phonon scattering effect from the bending and cross-linking of the alkyl chains. We quantified the modes of heat flow across the surfactant layer and found that the contribution of intramolecular bonded interaction was much higher than that of atomic translation and nonbonded interaction separately. By analysing the variation of bonded interaction contrition with chain length and stiffness, it is demonstrated that the increased thermal conductivities benefited from the enhanced thermal transfer through the covalent bonds of surfactant molecules. The results can provide insights into the design of thermally conductive surfactants.     

Elastic fields induced by non-elastic eigenstrains in a plane elliptical inhomogeneity existing in orthotropic media under uniform tension at infinity

This paper presents an analytical solution for the elastic fields induced by non-elastic eigenstrains in a plane elliptical inhomogeneity embedded in the orthotropic matrix under tension at infinity and inclined at any angle. The conformal transformation and complex function method for the anisotropic elastic material were used to determine the strain energies in the inhomogeneity and matrix, which were expressed by four undetermined coefficients characterizing the equilibrium boundary of the inhomogeneity due to the acting eigenstrains and external load. The use of the principle of the minimum potential energy led to analytical expressions for these coefficients and thus generated a closed-form solution for the elastic strain/stress fields. The resulting stress field in the inhomogeneity was examined and verified by checking the continuity conditions for the normal and shear stresses on the interior boundary of the matrix. Supported by the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in Universities (NCET) of the Ministry of Education of China (Grant No. NCET-04-0373) and the Program for Shanghai Pujiang Talents (Grant No. 05PJ14092)