Effects of Young’s modulus on response of railway sleeper

As a main part of a railroad system, sleepers have important duty in conveying the load from rails to the ballast. The different situations in which the sleepers should function necessitate making them from different materials, such as various types of wood, reinforced concrete and even steel. In this work, the effects of Young’s modulus on response of railway sleeper are evaluated. As a main consideration, Winkler’s theorem is used to model the behavior of the elastic foundation. First, the response of a sleeper on a Winkler’s foundation is found. To evaluate the results of the closed form solution, a finite element model is used. Good agreement between the results of the closed form solution and the finite element model proves the validity of the results. In the next stage, the Young’s modulus is considered as a variable and the fundamental diagrams of the beam are plotted based on the variation of Young’s modulus.     

Finite-element investigation of the stress-strain state of an inhomogeneous rectangular plate

With the use of the finite-element method, the generalized plane stressed state of a rectangle of isotropic functionally gradient materials under the action of normal load is investigated. A finite-element model is constructed by the Bubnov–Galerkin method. The domain of the body is split into rectangular gradient elements that take into account dependences of Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratios on coordinates. Numerical calculations are performed for the case where Young’s modulus is a polynomial function. The influence of the material gradientness and the sizes of the rectangle on its stress-strain state is analyzed.     

The vibration and stability of non-homogeneous orthotropic conical shells with clamped edges subjected to uniform external pressures

In this paper an analytical procedure is given to study the free vibration and stability characteristics of homogeneous and non-homogeneous orthotropic truncated and complete conical shells with clamped edges under uniform external pressures. The non-homogeneous orthotropic material properties of conical shells vary continuously in the thickness direction. The governing equations according to the Donnell’s theory are solved by Galerkin’s method and critical hydrostatic and lateral pressures and fundamental natural frequencies have been found analytically. The appropriate formulas for homogeneous orthotropic and isotropic conical shells and for cylindrical shells made of homogeneous and non-homogeneous, orthotropic and isotropic materials are found as a special case. Several examples are presented to show the accuracy and efficiency of the formulation. The closed-form solutions are verified by accurate different solutions. Finally, the influences of the non-homogeneity, orthotropy and the variations of conical shells characteristics on the critical lateral and hydrostatic pressures and natural frequencies are investigated, when Young’s moduli and density vary together and separately. The results obtained for homogeneous cases are compared with their counterparts in the literature.     

Investigation of the relation between the depth of penetration and indentation diameter in polymer hardness measurements

It has been experimentally demonstrated that for polymeric materials the area of the indentation should not be calculated from the depth of penetration of the spherical indenter, since this gives hardness values that are too low. It is shown that when the surface of a polymeric specimen is indented by a rigid ball, the effect of the spherical stress tensor on the yield point is important; the average stress on the contact area at the beginning for forced high-elastic deformation is close to the compressive yield stress of the polymeric material and considerably higher than its tensile yield stress.Institute of Polymer Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Riga. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 6, pp. 995–998, November–December, 1971.     

Analysis of nanoindentation experiments by means of atomic force microscopy

Nanoindentation is quite a common method for local material characterization. Values for hardness and Young's modulus can be determined directly from the recorded data. Essential for the correct determination of the material parameters is the precise measurement of the actual indentation depth of the indenter. The indenter measures the current depth by means of a Wheatstone bridge which correlates the indentation depth to a change in voltage. A possible tool for the verification of the recorded indentation depths is Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). AFM is able to scan an area of indents for almost any surface. The deflection of the tip is measured by a laser spot reflected from the surface of the cantilever. The difference in height between the surface and the indent can directly be read off from the plotted image. However, using an AFM only allows us to measure the depth of the permanent indentation depth after unloading the indenter. Nevertheless, correlation between the remaining indentation depths measured by the explained methods allows for a first assessment of the correctness of the online recorded depth-data by the nanoindenter. (© 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Strain gradient solutions of half-space and half-plane contact problems

General solutions for the problems of an elastic half-space and an elastic half-plane, respectively, subjected to a symmetrically distributed normal force of arbitrary profile are analytically derived using a simplified strain gradient elasticity theory (SSGET) that contains one material length scale parameter. Mindlin’s potential function method and Fourier transforms are employed in the formulation, and the half-space and half-plane contact problems are solved in a unified manner. The specific solutions for the problems of a half-space/plane subjected to a concentrated normal force or a uniformly distributed normal force are obtained by directly applying the general solutions, which recover the existing classical elasticity-based solutions of the Flamant and Boussinesq problems as special cases. In addition, the indentation problems of an elastic half-space indented by a flat-ended cylindrical punch, a spherical punch, and a conical punch, respectively, are solved using the general solutions, leading to hardness formulas that are indentation size- and material microstructure-dependent. Numerical results reveal that the displacement and stress fields in a half-space/plane given by the current SSGET-based solutions are smoother than those predicted by the classical elasticity-based solutions and do not exhibit the discontinuity and/or singularity displayed by the latter. Also, the indentation hardness values based on the newly obtained half-space solution are found to increase with decreasing indentation radius and increasing material length scale parameter, thereby explaining the microstructure-dependent indentation size effect.     

Physico-mechanical properties of polymer materials and the friction problem

Aspects of the friction behavior of polymer materials associated with their molecular structure and responsible for the relatively small value of the modulus of elasticity as compared with the ultimate strength are examined. It is shown that, in view of the important influence of hydrostatic pressure on the mechanical properties of polymer materials, the mechanical characteristics obtained from uniaxial testing cannot be used in calculating the contact area and the forces of friction. Formulas are presented for calculating the mechanical characteristics under these conditions. The results of indentation experiments designed to simulate contact processes are discussed. It is shown that the resistance to deformation of the asperities on the surface of polymer materials is of the order of the yield stress, and not two or three times greater, as with metals. The results of contact creep studies are described and evaluated. The results of investigations of the mechanical and antifriction properties of filled polymer materials show that the forces of friction are inversely proportional to the modulus of elasticity, while the thermophysical characteristics are a function not only of the thermophysical characteristics of the filler and the base, but also depend to a great extent on the shape of the filler particles; thus, when a fibrous filler with a low coefficient of linear expansion is used, the thermal stability of the friction material can be considerably improved. The results of a study of the adhesion interaction of polymer materials under conditions of omnidirectional nonuniform compression and simultaneous deformation are presented. It is shown that the adhesion interaction is strong even at room temperature. Aspects of the mechanical properties of lubricants that determine their effectiveness in polymer friction are considered.Institute of Polymer Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Riga. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 303–314, March–April, 1969.     

The indentation of a spherical punch into an ideally plastic half-space when there is contact friction

Calculations are presented of the indentation of a spherical punch into an ideally plastic half-space under condition of complete plasticity and taking account of contact friction, which is modelled according to Prandtl and Coulomb. Friction leads to the formation of a rigid zone at the centre of the punch when there is slipping of the material on the remaining part of the contact boundary. Limit values of the friction coefficients are obtained for which the rigid zone extends over the whole of the contact boundary. The dependence of the indentation force on the radius of the plastic area is in good agreement with experimental data.     

Stresses in elastic conical tubes of transversely isotropic materials with spherical anisotropies under temperature and force loadings

Analytic solutions are proposed for a number of new problems on determining the state of stress of a transversely-isotropic hollow cone with spherical anisotropy. An exact solution of the problem of the axisymmetric deformation of a long conical tube (or continuous cone) from an elastic transversely-isotropic material with spherical anisotropy subjected to an axial force is obtained in a spherical coordinate system R, , θ, the material axis of symmetry is directed along the spherical radius R. A rigorous solution is given of the problem of the uniform heating of a conical tube of transversely-isotropic material with spherical anisotropy for particular values of Poisson's ratios; the material axis of symmetry is directed along the θ-axis. For arbitrary Poisson's ratios an asymptotic solution is found for the temperature problem for a tube with small conicity.     

Hardness of polymers

Hardness was measured on a Rockwell type instrument modified to measure the depth of the unrecovered indentation. The indentors were balls of various diameters and cones with various vertex angles. The hardness of the following materials was investigated: aminoplast (amino resin), K-17-2, FKP-1, polymethylmethacrylate (plexiglas), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene, and teflon. The hardness is related to the strength and elastic characteristics.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 337–349, 1966     

Temperature dependence of the actual contact area and friction force of high-elasticity materials

An investigation of the temperature dependence of the actual contact area (under static conditions and during friction at a given sliding speed) of materials based on butadienenitrile rubber in a wide temperature interval is described. Measurements of the friction force were also made. It was established that the temperature dependence of the contact area is associated with corresponding changes in the elasticity modulus (nonequilibrium static modulus for contacts at rest and dynamic modulus for nonstationary contacts). The friction constant c decreases linearly with rising temperature and does not depend on the applied load.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 726–729, 1967     

An elastoplastic energy model for predicting the deformation behaviors of various structural components

Elastoplastic load-displacement relation is widely concerned in material testing. For isotropic-homogeneous and power-law hardening ductile materials, an elastoplastic energy model (EEM) correlating energy, load, displacement and uniaxial constitutive parameters is derived based on equivalent energy principle. An elastoplastic factor λ for engineering superposition of elastic displacement and plastic displacement is introduced and discussed, which makes the model applicable with more structural components (SCs). The model is verified with thirteen SCs used in materials testing and the results show a good agreement between model predictions and calculations from finite element analysis (FEA) under linear elastic, fully plastic and elastoplastic conditions. Some experimental results for ring-compression, spherical indentation and funnel tension are conducted to verify the model and a valid accordance is presented. Additionally, an explicit J-integral – load relation for classic cracked SCs is also derived based on the EEM and a good coincidence is observed during a comparison with results directly from FEA.     

Polytetramethylene glycol-modified polycyanurate matrices reinforced with nanoclays: synthesis and thermomechanical performance

The outstanding improvement in the physical properties of cyanate esters (CEs) compared with those of competitor resins, such as epoxies, has attracted appreciable attention recently. Cyanate esters undergo thermal polycyclotrimerization to give polycyanurates (PCNs). However, like most thermo setting resins, the main draw back of CEs is brittleness. To over come this disadvan tage, CEs can be toughened by the introduction of polytetramethylene glycol (PTMG), a hydroxyl-terminated polyether. How ever, PTMG has a detrimental impact on Young’s modulus. To simultaneously enhance both the ductility and the stiffness of CE, we added PTMG and an organoclay (mont morillonite, MMT) to it. A series of PCN/PTMG/MMT nanocomposites with a constant PTMG weight ratio was pre pared, and the resulting nanophase morphology, i.e., the degree of filler dispersion and distribution in the composite and the thermomechanical properties, in terms of glass-transition behaviour, Young’s modulus, tensile strength, and elongation at break, were examined using the scanning elec tron micros copy (SEM), a dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and stress–strain measurements, re spectively. It was found that, at a content of MMT below 2 wt.%, MMT nanoparticles were distributed uniformly in the matrix, suggesting a lower degree of agglomeration for these materials. In the glassy state, the significant increase in the storage modulus revealed a great stiffening effect of MMT due to its high Young’s modulus. The modification with PTMG led to a 233% greater elongation at break compared with that of neat PCN. The nanocomposites exhibited an invariably higher Young’s modulus than PCN/PTMG for all the volume factors of organoclay examined, with the 2 wt.% material displaying the most pronounced in crease in the modulus, in agreement with micros copy results. Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 255–268, March–April, 2009.     

Friction of polymeric materials

The dry friction between a polymeric and a metallic surface is considered on the assumption that the friction power is such that heating of the surfaces can be neglected. The effect of the dimensionless specific load (ratio of nominal stress to elastic hardness of the polymer) on the friction process of elastomers and rigid polymers is analyzed and expressions are given for calculating the coefficients of friction of these materials at large values of the nominal stress.

     

The stress state of an elastic composite cone with centre of rotation at the apex

The torsion of a composite cone that has a centre of rotation at its apex is investigated in a spherical system of coordinates. A composite cone is a cone with one shear modulus, inserted into a conical funnel having another shear modulus and with ideal mechanical contact between its surface and the inner surface of the conical funnel. The auxiliary problem of a composite cone with its apex truncated by a spherical surface is considered first. The outer surface of such a conical body is not loaded, but a load that reduces to a torque is applied to its spherical surface. The auxiliary problem is reduced to a one-dimensional discontinuous boundary-value problem using a specially constructed integral transformation. The exact solution of this boundary-value problem is constructed. The limit is then taken in the solution obtained as the radius of the spherical surface tends to zero for the purpose of obtaining an exact solution of the problem of the torsion of a composite cone that has a centre of rotation at the apex.     

On rotating circular disks with varying material properties

Taking Young’s modulus, thermal expansion coefficient and density to be the functions of the radial coordinate, a closed form solution of rotating circular disks made of functionally graded materials subjected to a constant angular velocity and a uniform temperature change is proposed in this paper. Excellent agreement with the solution from Mathematica 5.0 indicates the correctness of the proposed closed form solution. Distributions of the radial displacement and stresses in the disks are determined with the proposed approach and how material properties, temperature change, geometric size and different material coefficients affect deformations and stresses is investigated.     

On rotating circular disks with varying material properties

Taking Young’s modulus, thermal expansion coefficient and density to be the functions of the radial coordinate, a closed form solution of rotating circular disks made of functionally graded materials subjected to a constant angular velocity and a uniform temperature change is proposed in this paper. Excellent agreement with the solution from Mathematica 5.0 indicates the correctness of the proposed closed form solution. Distributions of the radial displacement and stresses in the disks are determined with the proposed approach and how material properties, temperature change, geometric size and different material coefficients affect deformations and stresses is investigated.     

Investigation of the contact area of a rigid spherical indenter and a polymeric surface at various pressures,temperatures, and contact times

The effect of temperature and normal load on the variation with time of the indentation depth of a rigid spherical indenter in polymeric materials has been investigated with the object of obtaining the dependence of the contact area on the principal parameters of the process. Plexiglas, PVC and polyformaldehyde were selected for study. It is shown that at a given temperature the ratio _m/(a/R)^n–2=A is a function of time only and almost independent of the applied load. It is established that the time-temperature superposition principle can be used for investigating metal-thermoplastic contact phenomena. An expression is obtained for calculating the contact area at various temperatures and loading times.Institute of Polymer Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Riga. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 3, pp. 457–464, May–June, 1971.     

Solutions of half-space and half-plane contact problems based on surface elasticity

Analytical solutions for the problems of an elastic half-space and an elastic half-plane subjected to a distributed normal force are derived in a unified manner using the general form of the linearized surface elasticity theory of Gurtin and Murdoch. The Papkovitch–Neuber potential functions, Fourier transforms and Bessel functions are utilized in the formulation. The newly obtained solutions are general and reduce to the solutions for the half-space and half-plane contact problems based on classical linear elasticity when the surface effects are not considered. Also, existing solutions for the half-space and half-plane contact problems based on simplified versions of Gurtin and Murdoch’s surface elasticity theory are recovered as special cases of the current solutions. By applying the new solutions directly, Boussinesq’s flat-ended punch problem, Hertz’s spherical punch problem and a conical punch problem are solved, which lead to depth-dependent hardness formulas different from those based on classical elasticity. The numerical results reveal that smoother elastic fields and smaller displacements are predicted by the current solutions than those given by the classical elasticity-based solutions. Also, it is shown that the out-of-plane displacement and stress components strongly depend on the residual surface stress. In addition, it is found that the new solutions based on the surface elasticity theory predict larger values of the indentation hardness than the solutions based on classical elasticity.     

由压痕蠕变试验确定材料的蠕变性能参数

研究由平头压痕蠕变试验来确定受压材料蠕变性能参数的可行性。利用有限元蠕变分析确定在定压痕应力下的压痕蠕变率,重点放在稳定压痕蠕变率和受压材料蠕变性能参数的关系上。详细地研究了压头形状、大小和宏观约束对压痕蠕变响应的影响:当压头的尺寸和受压材料为同一数量级时,宏观约束将有十分明显的影响。提出两种方法来由压痕蠕变试验来确定受压材料蠕变性能参数,并给出了算例,结果有利于准确认识平头压痕蠕变试验,从而拓宽其应用范围。