Strengthening Steel Joint of Architectural Structure under Loading Condition

Through the comparative analysis of steel plate reinforced, ceramics reinforced and non- reinforced joints under loading condition, the feasibility of strengthening steel joint of architectural structure was studied. By using element birth and death technology simulation of the finite element software ANSYS, it is found that when the reinforced structure is 10 mm in thickness and using steel structure to reinforce the concemed areas, the equivalent stress in concerned regionals reduces by 31.1% compared with that when the structure is not reinforced. When reinforced with ceramics, the equivalent stress in concerned regionals reduces by 24.1% compared with that reinforced with steels; when the reinforced structure is 20 mm in thickness using steels to reinforce the concerned area, the equivalent stress in concerned regionals reduces by 39.4% compared with that when the structure is not reinforced. When using ceramics to reinforce the concerned areas, the eauivalent stress only decreases by 3.7% compared with that reinforced with steels.

The Sensing Principle of FBG and Its Experimental Application in Structure Strengthening Detection

Based on the basic theory of the fiber Bragg grating sensor,a kind of stickup FBG sensor is developed,which is applied in the structure strengthening.With the experiment of the FBG senor and the common electricity sensor stuck on the reinforced structure,the result shows that the FBG sensor not only has a high performance,but also can realize the control on the spot and on the line.

Introduction of a Japan Concrete Institute Guideline： Practical Guideline for Investigation, Repair and Strengthening of Cracked Concrete Structures

There are many cracked concrete structures worldwide. Although there have been numerous efforts to eliminate cracks, some cracks are very harmful and should be repaired as soon as possible. On the other hand, some cracks are almost harmless. So, a good guideline regarding how to deal with cracks in concrete structures is needed. In this guideline, the practical investigation, repair and strengthening method of cracked concrete structures is discussed. And the detecting subjects are cracks generated immediately after casting and during the service time. This guideline targets on the owners （including managers） of concrete structure and the engineers working for the maintenance of concrete structure. JCI （Japan Concrete Institute） published first version of ＂Practical Guideline for Investigation and Repair of Cracked Concrete Structures＂ in 1980, and then the fourth version titled ＂Practical Guideline for Investigation, Repair and Strengthening of Cracked Concrete Structures--2009＂ was published. This guideline is very practical when cracks are observed in existing concrete structures, in any other countries as well as in Japan. These three authors led the establishment of this guideline.

Interfacial structure and joint strengthening in arc brazed galvanized steels with copper based filler

Galvanized steel sheets were joined by tungsten inert gas(TIG) and metal inert gas(MIG) brazing process using copper based filler. The results show that the joint zone hardness is higher than that of the base material or copper filler from the microhardness tests of TIG brazing specimens, and the fracture spot is at the base materials zone from the tensile tests of MIG brazing specimens. Examination using energy dispersive X-ray analysis reveals the presence of intermetallic compound Fe5Si3(Cu) in the joint. The dispersal of fine Fe5Si3(Cu) particles is the main strengthening factor for the joint. The Fe5Si3(Cu) particles are determined to arise from three sources, namely, spot micro-melt, whisker-like fragmentation and dissolve-separation actions.

Introduction of a JCl Guideline： Practical Guideline for Investigation, Repair and Strengthening of Cracked Concrete Structures

There are many cracked concrete structures, although there have been numerous efforts to eliminate cracks. Some cracks are very harmful and should be repaired as soon as possible. On the other hand, the other cracks are almost harmless. So, a good guideline about how to deal with cracks in concrete structures had been needed. JCI （Japan Concrete Institute） published the first version of ＂Practical Guideline for Investigation and Repair of Cracked Concrete Structures＂ in 1980, the second version in 1987, the third version in 2003, and then the fourth version titled ＂Practical Guideline for Investigation, Repair and Strengthening of Cracked Concrete Structures-2009＂ was published. This Guideline is very practical, when cracks are observed in existed concrete structures, in any other countries as well as in Japan.

Strengthening Porous PVA with TiO_2 Structure by an Ice-Templating Method

A poly vinyl alcohol（PVA） scaffold with aligned porous is strengthened by in-situ combining with TiO2. The increased freezing rate can be used to further increase the strength of aligned porous materials. The strengthened porous PVA exhibits aligned interconnected porous structures and shows a significant enhancement in tensile testing and compression strength testing.

Design and Optimization of Steel Car Body Structures via Local Laser-Strengthening

Continuously rising demands of legislators require a significant reduction of CO2-emission and thus fuel consumption across all vehicle classes. In this context, lightweight construction materials and designs become a single most important factor. The main engineering challenge is to precisely adapt the material and component properties to the specific load situation. However, metallic car body structures using “Tailored blanks” or “Patchwork structures” meet these requirements only insufficiently, especially for complex load situations (like crash). An innovative approach has been developed to use laser beams to locally strengthen steel crash structures used in vehicle bodies. The method tailors the workpiece hardness and thus strength at selected locations to adjust the material properties for the expected load distribution. As a result, free designable 3D-strengthening-patterns surrounded by softer base metal zones can be realized by high power laser beams at high processing speed. The paper gives an overview of the realizable process window for different laser treatment modes using current high brilliant laser types. Furthermore, an efficient calculation model for determining the laser track properties (depth/width and flow curve) is shown. Based on that information, simultaneous FE modelling can be efficiently performed. Chassis components are both statically and cyclically loaded. Especially for these components, a modulation of the fatigue behavior by laser-treated structures has been investigated. Simulation and experimental results of optimized crash and deep drawing components with up to 55% improved level of performance are also illustrated.

High-temperature Resistance Performance of An Inorganic Adhesive for Concrete Structures Strengthened with CFRP Sheets

Organic epoxy matrices have been widely used in the FRP reinforcing technique, but they have serious disadvantages of poor high-temperature resistance. An inorganic adhesive is invented to replace the organic adhesive. For the inorganic adhesive at normal temperature and different high temperatures, the microstructure and phase composition are investigated by means of X-ray diffraction （XRD） and SEM respectively. Results show that inorganic adhesive can resist at least 600 ℃ high temperature. Fire-resistance performance of inorganic adhesive can meet the requirements of fiber reinforced polymer （FRP） strengthened RC structures.

A review of the strengthening–toughening behavior and mechanisms of advanced structural materials by multifield coupling treatment

The application of an external field is a promising method to control the microstructure of materials, leading to their improved performance. In the present paper, the strengthening and toughening behavior of some typical high-performance structural materials subjected to multifield coupling treatment, including electrostatic field, electro-pulse current, thermal field, and stress field, are reviewed in detail. In addition to the general observation that the plasticity of materials could be increased by multi-external fields, strength enhancement can be achieved by controlling atomic diffusion or phase transformations. The paper is not limited to the strengthening and toughening mechanisms of the multifield coupling effects on different types of structural materials but is intended to provide a generic method to improve both the strength and ductility of the materials. Finally, the prospects of the applications of multi-external fields have also been proposed based on current works.

Effect of Plastic Deformation on Microstructure and Properties of Cu-(1 wt%-6 wt%) Ag Alloy

In the present study,the Cu-(1 wt%-6 wt%)Ag alloys were prepared by melting,forging and wire drawing.The effects of plastic deformation on microstructure evolution and properties of the alloys were investigated.The results show that non-equilibrium eutectic colonies exist in the Cu-(3 wt%-6 wt%)Ag alloy and no eutectic colonies in the 1 wt%-2 wt%Ag containing alloys.These eutectic colonies are aligned along the drawing direction and refined with the increase of draw ratio.Attributed to the refinement of eutectic colonies,the Cu-Ag alloy exhibits higher strength with the increase of draw ratio.The Cu-6Ag alloy exhibits excellent comprehensive properties with a strength of 930 MPa and a conductivity of 82%IACS when the draw ratio reaches 5.7.

Disbond detection with piezoelectric wafer active sensors in RC structures strengthened with FRP composite overlays

The capability of embedded piezoelectric wafer active sensors(PWAS)to perform in-situ nondestructive evaluation(NDE)for structural health monitoring(SHM)of reinforced concrete(RC)structures strengthened with fiber reinforced polymer(FRP)composite overlays is explored.First,the disbond detection method were developed on coupon specimens consisting of concrete blocks covered with an FRP composite layer.It was found that the presence of a disbond crack drastically changes the electromecfianical(E/M)impedance spectrum lneasurcd at the PWAS terlninals.The spectral changes depend on the distance between the PWAS and the crack tip.Second,large scale experiments were conducted on a RC beam strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced polymer(CFRP)composite overlay.The beam was subject to an accelerated fatigue load regime in a three-point bending configuration up to a total of 807,415 cycles.During these fatigue tests,the CFRP overlay experienced disbonding beginning at about 500,000 cycles.The PWAS were able to detect the disbonding before it could be reliably seen by visual inspection.Good correlation between the PWAS readings and the position and extent of disbond damage was observed.These preliminary results demonstrate the potential of PWAS technology for SHM of RC structures strengthened with FRP composite overlays.

Application Analysis of Strengthened Story in Frame-Core Structures

Lateral deflection formulas are presented for analysis of the strengthened story applied to flame-core structures. For the framecore structures with top outriggers and with middle outriggers, the relationship between stiffness characteristic parameters of frame and outriggers and the top drift of structures under different loads is analyzed. It is indicated that when stiffness characteristic parameter of frame is large, outrigger efficiency for top drift reduction is low, and the mutation of internal forces occurs; when the stiffness characteristic parameter of frame is less than 3, installing the strengthened story is advantageous to frame-core structures.

Effect of Ce on the cleanliness, microstructure and mechanical properties of high strength low alloy steel Q690E in industrial production process

In order to improve the strength and toughness of Q690 E steel sheets,the effect of rare earth element Ce on the strength and toughness of Q690 E steel was studied by means of transmission electron microscopy,scanning electron microscopy,and metallographic microscope.The results showed that the addition of Ce in steel limited the combination of S with Mn and Ca,transformed Al2O3 inclusion into spherical CeAlO3 inclusion,and modified the precipitate form of some composite inclusions of TiN and sulfide oxides into TiN precipitation alone.The inclusions were spheroidizing.The size of inclusions was decreased from 3–5μm to 1–2μm,and the distribution was dispersed.Ce played a role in purifying molten steel through desulphurization and deoxidization.Meanwhile,the addition of Ce in steel effectively increased the nucleation particles in the liquid phase,improved the nucleation rate,enlarged the equiaxed grain refinement area,and limited the development of columnar crystals.The average grain size of slab decreased from 45.76 to 35.25μm,and the proportion of large grain size(>50μm)decreased from 40.41%to 23.74%.The macrostructural examination of slab was improved from B0.5 to C2.0,which realized the refinement of the solidified structure and reduced the banded structure of hot rolled plate.In addition,due to the inheritance of refined structure in the upstream,the recrystallization of deformed austenite and the growth of grain after recrystallization were restrained,and a refined tempered sorbite structure was obtained.When rare earth element Ce was added,the width of the martensite lath bundle was narrowed from about 500 nm to about 200 nm,which realized a remarkable grain refinement strengthening and toughening effect.Mechanical properties such as tensile,yield,and low-temperature impact toughness were significantly improved.

Review on long-period stacking-ordered structures in Mg-Zn-RE alloys

The recent development of high-strength magnesium alloys is focused on the role of the strengthening phases with a novel long-period stacking-ordered (LPSO) structure. This review detailed the main factors influencing the formation of LPSO phases, including alloying ele-ments, preparation methods, and heat treatments. Furthermore, process control in structure types, formation and transformation behavior, strengthening and toughening mechanisms of the LPSO phase were discussed. Finally, the current problems and development trends of high-strength Mg-Zn-RE alloys were also put forward.

Yielding and fracture behaviors of coarse-grain/ultrafine-grain heterogeneous-structured copper with transitional interface

Heterogeneous-structured Cu samples composed of coarse-grained(CG) and ultrafine-grained(UFG) domains with a transitional interface were fabricated by friction stir processing, in order to investigate the effect of interface constraint on the yielding and fracture behaviors. Tensile test revealed that the synergetic strengthening induced by elastic/plastic interaction between incompatible domains increases with increasing the area of constraint interface. The strain distribution near interface and the fracture morphology were characterized using digital image correlation technique and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. Fracture dimples preferentially formed at the interface, possibly due to extremely high triaxial stress and strain accumulation near the interface. Surprisingly, the CG domain was fractured by pure shear instead of the expected voids growth caused by tensile stress.

Unique microstructure and excellent mechanical properties of ADI

Amongst the cast iron family, ADI has a unique microstructure and an excellent, optimised combination of mechanical properties. The main microstructure of ADI is ausferrite, which is a mixture of extremely fine acicular ferrite and stable, high carbon austenite. There are two types of austenite in ADI: (1) the coarser and more equiaxed blocks of austenite between non-parallel acicular structures, which exist mainly in the last solidified area, and (2) the thin films of austenite between the individual ferrite platelets in the acicular structure. It is this unique microstructure, which gives ADI its excellent static and dynamic properties, and good low temperature impact toughness. The effect of microstructure on the mechanical properties is explained in more detail by examining the microstructure at the atomic scale. Considering the nanometer grain sizes, the unique microstructure, the excellent mechanical properties, good castability, (which enables near net shape components to be produced economically and in large volumes), and the fact that it can be 100% recycled, it is not overemphasized to call ADI a high-tech, nanometer and “green” material. ADI still has the potential to be further improved and its production and the number of applications for ADI will continue to grow, driven by the resultant cost savings over alternative materials.

Microstructures and mechanical properties of BP/7A04 Al matrix composites

The microstructures and interface structures of basalt particle reinforced 7A04 Al matrix composites (BP/7A04 Al) were analyzed by using OM, TEM, SEM and EDS, and the mechanical properties of 7A04 Al alloy were compared with those of BP/7A04 Al matrix composites. The results show that the basalt particles are dispersed in the Al matrix and form a strong bonding interface with the Al matrix. SiO2 at the edge of the basalt particles is continuously replaced by Al2O3 formed in the reaction, forming a high-temperature reaction layer with a thickness of several tens of nanometers, and Al2O3 strengthens the bonding interface between basalt particles and Al matrix. The dispersed basalt particles promote the dislocation multiplication, vacancy formation and precipitation of the matrix, and the precipitated phases mainly consist of plate-like η(MgZn2) phase and bright white band-shaped or ellipsoidal T (Al2Mg3Zn3) phase. The bonding interface, high dislocation density and dispersion strengthening phase significantly improve the mechanical properties of the composites. The yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of BP/7A04 Al matrix composites are up to 665 and 699 MPa, which increase by 11.4% and 10.9% respectively compared with 7A04 Al alloy without basalt particles.

STRENGTHENING MECHANISMSIN TiAl BASED ALLOYS

The influence of heat treatment and of thermomechanical processing on the structure and properties of a range of TiAl based alloys has been assessed and in agreement with other reports it has been found that increased refinement of the microstructure leads to improved mechanical strength at room temperature, both for the lamellar and the duplex structures. In the case of alloys cooled rapidly from the alpha phase field the increased refinement in lamellar spacing leads to significant increases in room temperature strength but thermomechanical processing can lead to far greater increases. The origin of this increase in strength in samples with a lamellar structure has been assessed in terms of the ability of dislocations to cross gamma/gamma and gamma/alpha 2 lamellar interfaces. It was concluded that the alpha 2 gamma interfaces and the alpha itself are important factors in strengthening the lamellar alloys. The stability of the various structures developed either by appropriate heat treatments or by thermomechanical processing has been investigated by exposing samples for a range of times at temperatures between 700 and 1 000 ℃. It has been found that the yield strength and the ultimate tensile strength generally decreased by about 20% during high temperature exposure at 700 ℃ for 3 000 h. The detailed behaviour on exposure at 700 ℃ has been found to be a function of alloy composition, with complex precipitates being formed in some alloys, but in all cases the amount of alpha 2 decreased with increased heat treatment time. It has been found that during exposure the alpha 2 lamellae decomposed to gamma phase by a mechanism that can involve the formation of thin gamma lamellae within the original alpha 2 lamellae.

EFFECTS AND MECHANISMS OF EXTRINSIC STRENGTHENING DURING AGING FOR AL ALLOY 2090+Ce

The influence of aging temperature and time on fracture feature of monotonic tensile samples of alumi-num-Iithium alloy 2090+Ce was investigated.The effects and mechanisms of extrinsic strengthening during aging for this alloy with a flat unrecrystallized structure were discussed.The mechanisms were analysed from four aspects.The theory of extrinsic strengthening from the delamination strengthening was presented.The results in this research show that the strength and ductility of aluminum-lithium alloy with a flat unrecrystallized structure are superior to those with recrystallized structure.Several reasons have been advanced for the ductility improvement effect of flat uncrystallized structure,including wedging action between flat grain,action of short-transverse delamination on impeding the growth of main crack,action on the reduction in the detrimental influence of weak grain boundaries and action on impeding the intergranular fracture on main fracture surface.The strengthening effect of flat uncrystallized structure is attributed to the extrinsic strengthening derived from delamination strengthening.From underage to peakage,the fracture mode of this alloy is transgranular fracture plus short-transverse delamination.The tendency of short-transverse delamination in creases with aging,thereby enhancing the delamination strengtheniag effect.Under overaging condition,the fracture mode is predominately intersubgranular,which results in the loss of delamination strengthening.

MICROSTRUCTURE AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF Fe_3Al BASED ALLOYS

The promise for industrial applications offered by iron aluminides is today restricted by insufficient ductility at room temperature and mediocre strength and creep resistance at high temperatures. The tendency to embrittlement in the presence of hydrogen or water vapour limits the ductility even more. The atomic arrangements in binary and alloyed variants are examined here and related to the difficulties of dislocation propagation at room and at high temperatures. In this way the influence of intrinsic structure and alloying modifications on mechanical behaviour can be understood. Possibilities for further improving properties through structure control are considered.