Aero-engine Blade Fatigue Analysis Based on Nonlinear Continuum Damage Model Using Neural Networks

Fatigue life and reliability of aero-engine blade are always of important significance to flight safety.The establishment of damage model is one of the key factors in blade fatigue research.Conventional linear Miner＇s sum method is not suitable for aero-engine because of its low accuracy.A back propagation neutral network（BPNN） based on the combination of Levenberg-Marquardt（LM） and finite element method（FEM） is used to describe process of nonlinear damage accumulation behavior in material and predict fatigue life of the blade.Fatigue tests of standard specimen made from TC4 are carried out to obtain material fatigue parameters and S-N curve.A nonlinear continuum damage model（CDM）,based on the BPNN with one hidden layer and ten neurons,is built to investigate the nonlinear damage accumulation behavior,in which the results from the tests are used as training set.Comparing with linear models and previous nonlinear models,BPNN has the lowest calculation error in full load range.It has significant accuracy when the load is below 500 MPa.Especially,when the load is 350 MPa,the calculation error of the BPNN is only 0.4%.The accurate model of the blade is built by using 3D coordinate measurement technology.The loading cycle in fatigue analysis is defined from takeoff to cruise in 10 min,and the load history is obtained from finite element analysis（FEA）.Then the fatigue life of the compressor blade is predicted by using the BPNN model.The final fatigue life of the aero-engine blade is 6.55 104 cycles（10 916 h） based on the BPNN model,which is effective for the virtual design of aero-engine blade.

A model of continuum damage mechanics for high cycle fatigue of metallic materials

A non-linear continuum damage model was presented based on the irreversible thermodynamics framework developed by LEMAITRE and CHABOCHE. The proposed model was formulated by taking into account the influence of loading frequency on fatigue life. The parameters H and c are constants for frequency-independent materials, but functions of cyclic frequency for frequency-dependent materials. In addition, the expression of the model was discussed in detail at different stress ratios （R）. Fatigue test data of AlZnMgCu1.5 aluminium alloy and AMg6N alloy were used to verify the proposed model. The results showed that the model possesses a good ability of predicting fatigue life at different loading frequencies and stress ratios.

THE ZONAL DISINTEGRATION MECHANISM OF SURROUNDING ROCK AROUND DEEP SPHERICAL TUNNELS UNDER HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE CONDITION: A NON-EUCLIDEAN CONTINUUM DAMAGE MODEL

A new non-Euclidean continuum damage model is proposed to investigate the zonal disintegration phenomenon of the surrounding rocks around deep spherical tunnels under hydrostatic pressure condition as well as the total elastic stress field distributions.The elastic stress fields of the surrounding rocks around deep spherical tunnels under hydrostatic pressure condition axe obtained.If the elastic stresses of the surrounding rocks satisfy the strength criterion of the deep rock masses,the number,size and location of fractured and nonfractured zones are determined.The effect of physico-mechanical parameters of the surrounding rocks on the zonal disintegration phenomenon is studied and numerical computation is carried out.It is found from numerical results that the number,size and location of fractured and non-fractured zones are sensitive to the physico-mechanical parameters of the surrounding rocks.

Physico-mechanical properties of granite after cyclic thermal shock

Understanding rock mechanical behaviors after thermal shock is critically important for practical engineering application.In this context,physico-mechanical properties of Beishan granite,Gansu Province,China after cyclic thermal shock were studied using digital image correlation(DIC),acoustic emission(AE)monitoring,and microscopic observation.The results show that the peak strength and elastic modulus decreased gradually with increase in thermal shock cycle.However,the above two parameters showed no further changes after 10 thermal shock cycles.The loading stress ratio(i.e.the ratio of the current loading stress level to the peak stress in this state)corresponding to the occurrence of the uneven principal strain field and the local strain concentration zone on the surface of the granite specimen decreased with increase in thermal shock cycle.Three transformation forms of the standard deviation curves of the surface principal strain were found.For granite with fewer thermal shock cycles(e.g.no more than 2 cycles),the standard deviation curves exhibited approximately exponential growth in exponential form.With increase in thermal shock cycle,the S-shaped curve was dominant.After 10 thermal shock cycles,an approximate ladder-shaped curve was observed.It is displayed that AE activity was mainly concentrated around the peak strength zone of the granite specimen when the rock samples underwent fewer thermal shock cycles.With increase in thermal shock cycle,AE activity could occur at low loading stress levels.Microscopic observation further confirmed these scenarios,which showed that more microcracks were induced with increase in thermal shock cycle.The number of induced microcracks at the edge location of the granite specimen was significantly larger than that at the interior location.Finally,a continuum damage model was proposed to describe the damage evolution of the granite specimen after cyclic thermal shock during loading.

Continuum damage mechanics for sintered powder metals

Sintered metals are characterized by the high porosity(8%)and voids/micro-cracks in microns.Inelastic behavior of the materials is coupled with micro-crack propagation and coalescence of open voids.In the present work the damage evolution of the sintered iron under multi-axial monotonic loading conditions was investigated experimentally and computationally.The tests indicated that damage of the sintered iron initiated already at a stress level much lower than the macroscopic yield stress.The damage process can be divided into the stress-dominated elastic damage and the plastic damage described by the plastic strain.Based on the uniaxial tensile tests an elastic-plastic continuum damage model was developed which predicts both elastic damage and plastic damage in the sintered iron under general multi-axial monotonic loading conditions.Computational predictions agree with experiments with different multi-axial loading paths.A phenomenological continuum damage model for the sintered metal is developed based on the experimental observations to predict the inelastic behavior and damage process to failure under multi-axial loading conditions.The proposed damage model is experimentally verified under different loading conditions.

High Cycle Fatigue Life Prediction and Reliability Analysis of Aeroengine Blades

Based on the nonlinear continuum damage model （CDM） developed by Chaboehe, a modified model for high cycle fatigue of TC4 alloy was proposed. Unsymmetrical cycle fatigue tests were conducted on rod specimens at room temperature. Then the material parameters needed in the CDM were obtained by the fatigue tests, and the stress distribution of the specimen was calculated by FE method. Compared with the linear damage model （LDM）, the dam- age results and the life prediction of the CDM show a better agreement with the test and they are more precise than the LDM. By applying the CDM developed in this study to the life prediction of aeroengine blades, it is concluded that the root is the most dangerous region of the whole blade and the shortest life is 58 211 cycles. Finally, the Cox propor- tional hazard model of survival analysis was applied to the analysis of the fatigue reliability. The Cox model takes the covariates into consideration, which include diameter, weight, mean stress and tensile strength. The result shows that the mean stress is the only factor that accelerates the fracture process.

A critical review of the fatigue life prediction of asphalt mixtures and pavements

New pavement construction techniques and the increased use of recycled materials have led to unexpected and premature pavement failure in recent years.The pavement’s exposure to daily and seasonal extreme temperature and repeated vehicular loads accumulate damage.Pavement cracking occurs once the cumulative damage surpasses the material’s cracking threshold.Fatigue crack is the most common pavement cracking type.Over the past four decades,researchers have carried out numerous experiments and analyses to understand pavement cracking.This paper aims to provide an overview of fatigue cracking and discuss various fatigue test methods for characterizing asphalt concrete mixtures.The article also discusses the most common phenomenological and mechanistic models for predicting the fatigue life of asphalt concrete pavements based on different fatigue test results.The paper details the implementation of the commonly used numerical models found in numerical simulation software and their prediction ability for the fatigue life of a pavement structure.Two major flaws in current evaluation methods are the sensitivity of experimental results and the lack of reliability of some predictive models.Multiscale asphalt material characterization is the ongoing practice for determining the most appropriate performance evaluation tool.However,proceeding with future research objectives is unrealistic until the accuracy of the tests and reliability of the predictions can be verified against actual field results.This critical review of the fatigue life predictions of asphalt mixtures and pavements should help to refine or redefine the right course of action for future research.