Damage Evolution of Ballastless Track Concrete Exposed to Flexural Fatigue Loads:The Application of Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity,Impact-echo and Surface Electrical Resistance Method

In order to clarify the fatigue damage evolution of concrete exposed to flexural fatigue loads,ultrasonic pulse velocity(UPV),impact-echo technology and surface electrical resistance(SR) method were used.Damage variable based on the change of velocity of ultrasonic pulse(Du) and impact elastic wave(Di)were defined according to the classical damage theory.The influences of stress level,loading frequency and concrete strength on damage variable were measured.The experimental results show that Du and Di both present a three-stages trend for concrete exposed to fatigue loads.Since impact elastic wave is more sensitive to the microstructure damage in stage Ⅲ,the critical damage variable,i e,the damage variable before the final fracture of concrete of Di is slightly higher than that of Du.Meanwhile,the evolution of SR of concrete exposed to fatigue loads were analyzed and the relationship between SR and Du,SR and Di of concrete exposed to fatigue loads were established.It is found that the SR of concrete was decreased with the increasing fatigue cycles,indicating that surface electrical resistance method can also be applied to describe the damage of ballastless track concrete exposed to fatigue loads.

Research on Fatigue Damage Behavior of Main Beam Sub-Structure of Composite Wind Turbine Blade

Given the difficulty in accurately evaluating the fatigue performance of large composite wind turbine blades(referred to as blades),this paper takes the main beam structure of the blade with a rectangular cross-sectionas the simulation object and establishes a composite laminate rectangular beam structure that simultaneouslyincludes the flange,web,and adhesive layer,referred to as the blade main beam sub-structure specimen,throughthe definition of blade sub-structures.This paper examines the progressive damage evolution law of the compositelaminate rectangular beam utilizing an improved 3D Hashin failure criterion,cohesive zone model,B-K failurecriterion,and computer simulation technology.Under static loading,the layup angle of the anti-shear web hasa close relationship with the static load-carrying capacity of the composite laminate rectangular beam;under fatigueloading,the fatigue damage will first occur in the lower flange adhesive area of the whole composite laminaterectangular beam and ultimately result in the fracture failure of the entire structure.These results provide a theoreticalreference and foundation for evaluating and predicting the fatigue performance of the blade main beamstructure and even the full-size blade.

Impact of Zika virus non-structural protein mutations on hippocampal damage

The Zika virus(ZIKV),a member of the Flaviviridae family,attracted worldwide attention for its connection to severe neurological effects,notably microcephaly in newborns,first reported during the 2015 epidemic in Brazil.Yet,its impact goes beyond fetal and neonatal abnormalities,also affecting the central nervous system(CNS)in both children and adults,leading to enduring cognitive and behavioral impairments.

Numerical study of fatigue damage of asphalt concrete using cohesive zone model

In order to investigate the fatigue behavior of asphalt concrete, a new numerical approach based on a bi-linear cohesive zone model （CZM） is developed. Integrated with the CZM, a fatigue damage evolution model is established to indicate the gradual degradation of cohesive properties of asphalt concrete under cyclic loading. Then the model is implemented in the finite element software ABAQUS through a user-defined subroutine. Based on the proposed model, an indirect tensile fatigue test is finally simulated. The fatigue lives obtained through numerical analysis show good agreement with laboratory results. Fatigue damage accumulates in a nonlinear manner during the cyclic loading process and damage initiation phase is the major part of fatigue failure. As the stress ratio increases, the time of the steady damage growth stage decreases significantly. It is found that the proposed fatigue damage evolution model can serve as an accurate and efficient tool for the prediction of fatigue damage of asphalt concrete.

Nonlinear ultrasonic characterizing online fatigue damage and in situ microscopic observation

A robust experimental procedure was developed, by which the evolution of fatigue damage in AZ31 magnesium alloy was tracked online with the ultrasonic nonlinearity parameter β. β values of three sets of samples under different stress levels were measured. Microstructures of specimens at different fatigue stages were observed in situ by optical microscopy. The experimental results show that there is a significant increase in β linked to the accumulation of persistent slip bands （PSBs） and micro-cracks at the early stages of fatigue life and reaches the maximum, about 55% of fatigue life. Ultrasonic attenuation coefficient increases with the expanding of micro-cracks and leads to β decrease slightly after 55% of fatigue life. The variation of β with fatigue cycles is in good agreement with the growth of PSBs and micro-cracks. In addition, it has no significant effect on the experimental results for the changes of low- and high-cycle fatigue and the fatigue mode with tension-tension and tension-compression.

Residual Strength of Stiffened LY12CZ Aluminum Alloy Panels with Widespread Fatigue Damage

Experimental and analytical investigations on the residual strength of the stiffened LY12CZ aluminum alloy panels with widespread fatigue damage （WFD） are conducted. Nine stiffened LY12CZ aluminum alloy panels with three different types of damage are tested for residual strength. Each specimen is pre-cracked at rivet holes by saw cuts and subjected to a monotonically increasing tensile load until failure is occurred and the failure load is recorded. The stress intensity factors at the tips of the lead crack and the adjacent WFD cracks of the stiffened aluminum alloy panels are calculated by compounding approach and finite element method （FEM） respectively. The residual strength of the stiffened panels with WFD is evaluated by the engineering method with plastic zone linkup criterion and the FEM with apparent fracture toughness criterion respectively. The predicted residual strength agrees well with the experiment results. It indicates that in engineering practice these methods can be used for residual strength evaluation with the acceptable accuracy. It can be seen from this research that WFD can significantly reduce the residual strength and the critical crack length of the stiffened panels with WFD. The effect of WFD crack length on residual strength is also studied.

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.

An Investigation on Low Frequency Fatigue Damage of Mooring Lines Applied in a Semi-Submersible Platform

Assessing the fatigue life of mooring systems is important for deep water structures. In this paper, a comprehensive fatigue analysis is conducted on the mooring lines applied in a semi-submersible platform with special focus on the low frequency(LF) fatigue damage. Several influential factors, including water depth, wave spectral parameters, and riser system, are considered. Numerical simulation of a semi-submersible platform with the mooring/riser system is executed under different conditions, and the fatigue damage of mooring lines is assessed by using the time domain analysis method as a benchmark. The effects of these factors on the mooring line tension and the fatigue damage are investigated and discussed in detail. Research results indicate that the LF fatigue damage only accounts for a very small portion of the total damage, although the LF components dominate the global motion response and the mooring line tension of the semi-submersible platform. However, it is demonstrated that the LF fatigue damage is clearly affected by the influential factors. The increase in water depth and spectral peak periods, and the existence of risers can weaken the contribution of the LF components to the mooring line fatigue damage, while the fatigue damage due to the LF components increases with the increase of significant wave height.

Bearing characteristics and fatigue damage mechanism of multi-pillar system subjected to different cyclic loads

Aiming to investigate the fatigue damage mechanism and bearing characteristics of multi-pillar system under cyclic loading,a series of axial cyclic loading tests with different cyclic amplitudes were carried out on triple-pillar marble specimens.The acoustic emission(AE)and digital image correlation(DIC)were jointly applied to monitoring and recording damage evolution and failure behavior of each pillar,which reproduced the cataclysmic instability process of underground pillar groups.Experimental results indicated that the cyclic amplitude exceeding the threshold of damage initiation weakened the resistance to deformation,resulting in obvious release of dissipated energy and the reduction of bearing capacity.Conversely,after low-amplitude cyclic loading,both the pre-peak bearing capacity and the post-peak ductility of the pillar system increased due to the compaction of initial defects,indicating that the peak bearing capacity was closely related to the extent of pre-peak fatigue damage.The axial strain of each pillar was measured by DIC virtual extensometer to present the damage extent during cyclic loading phase.Meanwhile,fracture evolution of typical load drop points was also characterized by transverse strain fields(εxx),and observations showed that the damage extent of key pillar undergoing high-amplitude cyclic loads was more serious and violent,accompanied by the ejection of rock debris and loud noises.

A CUMULATIVE FATIGUE DAMAGE RULE UNDER THE ALTERNATIVE OF CORROSION OR CYCLIC LOADING

Fatigue damage increases with the applied loading cycles in a cumulative manner and the material deteriorates with the corrosion time. A cumulative fatigue damage rule under the alternative of corrosion or cyclic loading was proposed. The specimens of aluminum alloy LY12-CZ soaked in corrosive liquid for different times were tested under the constant amplitude cyclic loading to obtain S-N curves. The test was carried out to verify the proposed cumulative fatigue damage rule under the different combinations among corrosion time, loading level, and the cycle numbers. It was shown that the predicted residual fatigue lives showed a good agreement with the experimental results and the proposed rule was simple and can be easily adopted.

STUDY ON FATIGUE DAMAGE BELOW THE FATIGUE LIMIT AND THE COAXING EFFECTS

Rotary bending fatigue tests were carried out for smooth specimens of a mediumcarbon steel with two different grain sizes near the fatigue limit. The process of fatigue damagewas observed by replication method, and the effects of grain size,stress level and microstructure on surface damage were studied. The effect of following cycle stress level on the coaxing effects was also discussed. The fatigue limit is the maximum stress at which the short fatigue crack initiates and becomes a non-propagating crack.. The length of non-propagating crack is related to grain sizes and stress level. The coaxing effects disappear when the following stress level is greater than the critical value.

Revised damage evolution equation for high cycle fatigue life prediction of aluminum alloy LC4 under uniaxial loading

The fatigue life prediction for components is a difficult task since many factors can affect the final fatigue life. Based on the damage evolution equation of Lemaitre and Desmorat, a revised two-scale damage evolution equation for high cycle fatigue is presented according to the experimental data, in which factors such as the stress amplitude and mean stress are taken into account. Then, a method is proposed to obtain the material parameters of the revised equation from the present fatigue experimental data. Finally, with the utilization of the ANSYS parametric design language （APDL） on the ANSYS platform, the coupling effect between the fatigue damage of materials and the stress distribution in structures is taken into account, and the fatigue life of specimens is predicted. The outcome shows that the numerical prediction is in accord with the experimental results, indicating that the revised two-scale damage evolution model can be well applied for the high cycle fatigue life prediction under uniaxial loading.

Cross-Flow VIV-Induced Fatigue Damage of Deepwater Steel Catenary Riser at Touch-Down Point

A prediction model of the deepwater steel catenary riser VIV is proposed based on the forced oscillation test data, taking into account the riser-seafloor interaction for the cross-flow VIV-induced fatigue damage at touch-down point （TDP）. The model will give more reasonable simulation of SCR response near TDP than the previous pinned truncation model. In the present model, the hysteretic riser-soil interaction model is simplified as the linear spring and damper to simulate the seafloor, and the damping is obtained according to the dissipative power during one periodic riser-soil interaction. In order to validate the model, the comparison with the field measurement and the results predicted by Shear 7 program of a full-scale steel catenary riser is carried out. The main induced modes, mode frequencies and response amplitude are in a good agreement. Furthermore, the parametric studies are carried out to broaden the understanding of the fatigue damage sensitivity to the upper end in-plane offset and seabed characteristics. In addition, the fatigue stress comparison at TDP between the truncation riser model and the present full riser model shows that the existence of touch-down zones is very important for the fatigue damage assessment of steel catenary riser at TDP.

A fatigue damage model for rock salt considering the effects of loading frequency and amplitude

With the large-scale construction of underground gas storage in salt deposit, much more efforts have been made to assess the fatigue properties of rock salt. The fatigue damage processes the primary, steady,and accelerated phases, which is similar to the axial irrecoverable deformation compiled from the loci of the loading cycles of rock salt. The cumulative fatigue damage increases with a decrease in the loading frequency and with an increase in the stress amplitude within the range tested. To take into account the effects of loading frequency and amplitude on the fatigue behavior of rock salt subjected to cyclic loading, a low cycle fatigue damage model was exclusively established combined with the Manson–Coffin formula. The proposed damage evolution equation was validated with experimental results and proved to be efficient in the prediction of fatigue damage tendency of rock salt under different loading frequencies and amplitudes.

Reliability Analysis Based on a Nonlinear Fatigue Damage Accumulation Model

A modified nonlinear fatigue damage accumulation model based on the Manson-Halford theory was presented,and the new model was developed for fatigue life prediction under constant and variable amplitude loading, which took the effects of the load interactions and the phenomenon of material's strength degradation into account. The experimental data of the 30 Cr Mn Si A and the LY-12 cz from literature were used to verify the proposed model. And from the good agreement between the experimental data and predicted results,we can see it clear that the proposed method can be applied to predicting fatigue life under different loadings.

Probabilistic Analysis and Fatigue Damage Assessment of Offshore Mooring System due to Non-Gaussian Bimodal Tension Processes

Both wave-frequency(WF) and low-frequency(LF) components of mooring tension are in principle non-Gaussian due to nonlinearities in the dynamic system.This paper conducts a comprehensive investigation of applicable probability density functions(PDFs) of mooring tension amplitudes used to assess mooring-line fatigue damage via the spectral method.Short-term statistical characteristics of mooring-line tension responses are firstly investigated,in which the discrepancy arising from Gaussian approximation is revealed by comparing kurtosis and skewness coefficients.Several distribution functions based on present analytical spectral methods are selected to express the statistical distribution of the mooring-line tension amplitudes.Results indicate that the Gamma-type distribution and a linear combination of Dirlik and Tovo-Benasciutti formulas are suitable for separate WF and LF mooring tension components.A novel parametric method based on nonlinear transformations and stochastic optimization is then proposed to increase the effectiveness of mooring-line fatigue assessment due to non-Gaussian bimodal tension responses.Using time domain simulation as a benchmark,its accuracy is further validated using a numerical case study of a moored semi-submersible platform.

Methodology to Evaluate Fatigue Damage of High-Speed Train Welded Bogie Frames Based on On-Track Dynamic Stress Test Data

The current method of estimating the fatigue life of railway structures is to calculating the equivalent stress amplitude based on the measured stress data. However, the random of the measured data is not considered. In this paper, a new method was established to compute the equivalent stress amplitude to evaluate the fatigue damage based on the measurable randomness, since the equivalent stress is the key parameter for assessment of structure fatigue life and load derivation. The equivalent stress amplitude of a high-speed train welded bogie frame was found to obey normal distribution under uniform operation route that verified by on-track dynamic stress data, and the proposed model is, in effect, an improved version of the mathematical model used to calculate the equivalent stress amplitude. The data of a long-term, on-track dynamic stress test program was analyzed to find that the normal distribution parameters of equivalent stress amplitude values differ across different operation route. Thus, the fatigue damage of the high-speed train welded bogie frame can be evaluated by the proposed method if the running schedule of the train is known a priori. The results also showed that the equivalent stress amplitude of the region connected to the power system is more random than in other regions of the bogie frame.

Fatigue damage reliability analysis for Nanjing Yangtze river bridge using structural health monitoring data

To evaluate the fatigue damage reliability of critical members of the Nanjing Yangtze river bridge, according to the stress-number curve and Miner’s rule, the corresponding expressions for calculating the structural fatigue damage reliability were derived. Fatigue damage reliability analysis of some critical members of the Nanjing Yangtze river bridge was carried out by using the strain-time histories measured by the structural health monitoring system of the bridge. The corresponding stress spectra were obtained by the real-time rain-flow counting method. Results of fatigue damage were calculated respectively by the reliability method at different reliability and compared with Miner’s rule. The results show that the fatigue damage of critical members of the Nanjing Yangtze river bridge is very small due to its low live-load stress level.

A Fatigue Damage Model for FRP Composite Laminate Systems Based on Stiffness Reduction

This paper introduces a stiffness reduction based model developed by the authors to characterize accumulative fatigue damage in unidirectional plies and(0/θ/0)composite laminates in fiber reinforced polymer(FRP)composite laminates.The proposed damage detection model is developed based on a damage evolution mechanism,including crack initiation and crack damage progress in matrix,matrix-fiber interface and fibers.Research result demonstrates that the corresponding stiffness of unidirectional composite laminates is reduced as the number of loading cycles progresses.First,three common models in literatures are presented and compared.Tensile viscosity,Young’s modulus and ultimate tensile stress of composites are incorporated as key factors in this model and are modified in accordance with temperature.Four types of FRP composite property parameters,including Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer(CFRP),Aramid Fiber Reinforced Polymer(AFRP),Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer(GFRP),and Basalt Fiber Reinforced Polymer(BFRP),are considered in this research,and a comparative parameter study of FRP unidirectional composite laminates with different off-angle plies using control variate method are discussed.It is concluded that the relationship between the drop in stiffness and the number of cycles also shows three different regions,following the mechanism of damage of FRP composites and the matrix is the dominant factor determined by temperature,while fiber strength is the dominant factor that determine the reliability of composite.

New approach based on continuum damage mechanics with simple parameter identification to fretting fatigue life prediction

A new continuum damage mechanics model for fretting fatigue life prediction is established. In this model, the damage evolution rate is described by two kinds of quantities. One is associated with the cyclic stress characteristics obtained by the finite element （FE） analysis, and the other is associated with the material fatigue property identified from the fatigue test data of standard specimens. The wear is modeled by the energy wear law to simulate the contact geometry evolution. A two-dimensional （2D） plane strain FE implementation of the damage mechanics model and the energy wear model is presented in the platform of ABAQUS to simulate the evolutions of the fatigue damage and the wear scar. The effect of the specimen thickness is also investigated. The predicted results of the crack initiation site and the fretting fatigue life agree well with available experimental data. Comparisons are made with the critical plane Smith- Watson-Topper （SWT） method.