Cracking simulation of a tubesheet under different loadings

For shell-and-tube heat exchangers, tubesheet cracking is a major failure form. Owing to complicated structures, loadings and environments, mechanisms for the crack nucleation and propagation often puzzle engineers and as a result, it is hard to take effective measures to prevent this kind of failure from happening again. In this paper, three dimensional finite element models were established to investigate a real tubesheet cracking with the emphasis on the driving forces for the crack propagation from a fracture mechanics point of view. Three different loadings, namely residual expansion stress, crack face pressure and transverse pressure, and three crack growth patterns were considered. In order to obtain the residual stresses, the hydraulic expanding process of tube-to-tubesheet joint was simulated. Residual contact pressures between the tube and tubesheet and the induced residual stress distributions in the tubesheet were computed. The possibility for crack propagation in the tubesheet under the action of the different loadings was investigated in terms of the strain energy density factor. Results show that surface crack propagation may be driven by all the three loadings especially the transverse pressure. But when surface cracks come into the interior of the tubesheet along the thickness, as acted along the whole tubesheet thickness, the residual expansion stress would play key roles in crack propagation.     

Modeling of progressive delamination in a thin film driven by diffusion-induced stresses

A semi-analytical method based on the cohesive model has been developed to investigate the progressive growth of interface delamination in an axisymmetric thin film electrode driven by diffusion-induced stresses under the assumption that the electrode remains elastic during the Li-ion diffusion process. The evolutions of the cohesive zone and debonding zone with respect to charging time have been predicted. The cohesive zone propagates in an accelerating manner and the debonding zone advances in a slowing down manner. The key parameters that control the interfacial stresses and delamination have been identified from the obtained governing equations. And according to the discussions on the key parameters, design insights into the geometry, charging velocity and material properties of the electrode have been provided.     

Numerical simulations of stress generation and evolution in Volmer–Weber thin films

We present a detailed model of the stresses and shape changes that occur in polycrystalline thin films during Volmer–Weber growth. Our model tracks the shape of an array of islands as they grow and coalesce into a continuous film. The islands change shape as a result of the deposition flux, as well as surface and grain boundary diffusion. Stress is generated in the film as a result of forces exerted between neighboring islands as they meet to form a grain boundary. The internal stresses in the islands and the diffusive changes on their surfaces and grain boundaries are computed using a coupled finite element scheme. Interactions between neighboring islands are modeled using a cohesive zone law. Our model predicts stress-thickness vs. thickness behavior that is in excellent agreement with experiments. Specifically, we observe a three-stage growth process consisting of a stress-free pre-coalescence stage, a rapid tensile rise at coalescence, and an eventual transition to a steady-state. The steady-state stress may be tensile or compressive, depending on the deposition rate, the grain size, and the properties of the film. Detailed parametric studies are conducted to establish the influence of material properties and growth conditions on the stress history, and the results are compared with experimental observations and previous models.     

Research progress in degradation mechanism of silicon anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

硅负极材料由于具有非常高的理论比容量,使之成为锂离子电池极具前景的负极替代材料,然而,硅负极材料在充放电过程中会发生非常大的体积变形,这会引起活性材料的破坏失效,严重影响其电化学循环性能,成为制约其在锂离子电池领域广泛应用的最大瓶颈,本文介绍了硅负极材料的不同结构形态及其在充放电过程中电化学性能的退化机理,并综述了充放电过程中的力学性能演化、相关理论分析、数值模拟计算等方面的最新国际研究进展,展望了硅负极材料力学失效方面的研究重点,     

A method for reconstruction of residual stress fields from measurements made in an incompatible region

A method is introduced by which the complete state of residual stress in an elastic body may be inferred from a limited set of experimental measurements. Two techniques for carrying out this reconstruction using finite element analysis are compared and it is shown that for exact reconstruction of the stress field via this method, the stress field must be measured over all eigenstrain-containing regions of the object. The effects of error and incompleteness in the measured part of the stress field on the subsequent analysis are investigated in a series of numerical experiments using synthetic measurement data based on the NeT TG1 round-robin weld specimen. It is hence shown that accurate residual stress field reconstruction is possible using measurement data of a quality achievable using current experimental techniques.     

Thermal analysis of the roll in the strip casting process

Coiled strip can be directly produced through the twin-roll strip casting process from the melt by incorporating casting and hot rolling together into a single step. In this unique process, the strip formation from the molten metal critically relies upon the casting rolls. Thus, the design of the rolls is extremely essential. The coupled heat transfer and deformation analysis of the casting roll is carried out in a two-dimensional numerical model, using a finite element program (MARC) to examine the thermal stress and displacement. The effects of several factors such as the nickel overlay thickness on the roll surface, the casting speed, and the roll diameter on thermal characteristics are investigated.     

Fracture Mechanics of Corrosion Cracking in Concrete by Acoustic Emission

Nucleation of microcracks can be detected and analyzed by acoustic emission (AE), by which crack kinematics of locations, types and rientations are quantitatively estimated. The procedure was applied to clarify mechanisms of corrosion cracking. Based on fracture mechanics, numerical analysis was conducted by the boundary element method (BEM). Relations between the stress intensity factors and crack types were investigated by BEM solutions. In experiments, four types of crack patterns were nucleated by employing expansive agent. Following the surface crack, the diagonal crack and/or the horizontal crack propagated. The internal crack extended after the surface crack was terminated. Depending on the crack types, contributions of mode-I and mode-II were varied. According to AE results, four crack patterns observed differently consisted of tensile, mixed-mode and shear cracks. It is demonstrated that mechanisms of corrosion cracking in concrete are dominantly of mode-I failure along with a minor contribution of mixed-mode and mode-II.     

Residual stress effect on fatigue striation spacing in a cold-worked rivet hole

The residual stress effect due to cold-working is studied in relation to fatigue striation spacing. Cold-working introduces a compressive stress field around the hole reducing the tendency for fatigue cracks to initiate and grow under cyclic mechanical loading. It is known that fatigue lifetime assessment requires a detailed knowledge of the residual stress profile. X-ray diffraction and 3D finite element analysis (FEA) can be used to determine the residual stress profile. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements were performed for measuring the striation spacing.     

A centrally cracked thin circular disk, Part I: 3D Elastic–plastic finite element analysis

A full field solution, based on small deformation, three-dimensional elastic–plastic finite element analysis of the centrally cracked thin disk under mode I loading has been performed. The solution for the stresses under small-scale yielding and lo!cally fully plastic state has been compared with the HRR plane stress solution. At the outside of the 3D zone, within a distance of rσ_o/J=18, HRR dominance is maintained in the presence of a significant amount of compressive stress along the crack flanks. Ahead of this region, the HRR field overestimate the stresses. These results demonstrate a completely reversed state of stress in the near crack front compared to that in the plane strain case. The combined effect of geometry and finite thickness of the specimen on elastic–plastic crack tip stress field has been explored. To the best of our knowledge, such an attempt in the published literature has not been made yet. For the qualitative assessment of the results some of the field parameters have been compared to the available experimental results of K, gives a fair estimate of the crack opening stress near the crack front at a distance of order 10⁻² in. On the basis of this analysis, the Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics approach has been adopted in analyzing the fatigue crack extension experiments performed in the disk (Part II).