Degradation mechanism of rock under impact loadings by integrated investigation on crack and damage development

Failure of rock under impact loadings involves complex micro-fracturing and progressive damage. Strength increase and splitting failure have been observed during dynamic tests of rock materials. However, the failure mechanism still remains unclear. In this work, based on laboratory tests, numerical simulations with the particle flow code(PFC) were carried out to reproduce the micro-fracturing process of granite specimens. Shear and tensile cracks were both recorded to investigate the failure mode of rocks under different loading conditions. At the same time, a dynamic damage model based on the Weibull distribution was established to predict the deformation and degradation behavior of specimens. It is found that micro-cracks play important roles in controlling the dynamic deformation and failure process of rock under impact loadings. The sharp increase in the number of cracks may be the reason for the strength increase of rock under high strain rates. Tensile cracks tend to be the key reason for splitting failure of specimens. Numerical simulation of crack propagation by PFC can give vivid description of the failure process. However, it is not enough for evaluation of material degradation. The dynamic damage model is able to predict the stress-strain relationship of specimens reasonably well, and can be used to explain the degradation of specimens under impact loadings at macro-scale. Crack and damage can describe material degradation at different scales and can be used together to reveal the failure mechanism of rocks.

DAMAGE TOLERANCE ANALYSIS ON HOLLOW AXLES OF HIGH SPEED MOTOR TRAINS

According to the rules of UIC515-3, the service loads of the axles are defined, which include some different loads cases as follows： the static loads; the impact loads resulted from running through the rail joints and unevenness rails; the loads through curves and from braking. Through the calculating and analysis, the stress distribution of the hollow axles is obtained for 200 km/h high speed motor trains used in China. At the same time, the fatigue crack growth of hollow axles is studied, and the initial surface cracks of 2 mm depth caused by hard objects strike or the other causes are discussed. On the basis of the linear elastic fracture mechanics theory, the stress intensity factor of the crack of the geometry transition outside the wheel seat is also studied. Associated with fatigue crack propagation equation and the corresponding crack propagation threshold, the crack propagation characteristics under different shapes are calculated. Then the running distances are educed with different shapes propagating to the critical length, and the estimation of the residual lives about hollow axles which are the reference values of examine and repair limit of the hollow axle is given.

Analysis of blasting damage in adjacent mining excavations

Following a small-scale wedge failure at Yukon Zinc＇s Wolverine Mine in Yukon, Canada, a vibration monitoring program was added to the existing rockbolt pull testing regime. The failure in the 1150 drift occurred after numerous successive blasts in an adjacent tunnel had loosened friction bolts passing through an unmapped fault. Analysis of blasting vibration revealed that support integrity is not compromised unless there is a geological structure to act as a failure plane. The peak particle velocity（PPV） rarely exceeded 250 mm/s with a frequency larger than 50 Hz. As expected, blasting more competent rock resulted in higher PPVs. In such cases, reducing the round length from 3.5 m to 2.0 m was an effective means of limiting potential rock mass and support damage.

Stochastic Analysis of Short-Term Structural Responses and Fatigue Damages of A Submerged Tension Leg Platform Wind Turbine in Wind and Waves

In connection with the design of floating wind turbines,stochastic dynamic analysis is a critical task considering nonlinear wind and wave forces.To study the random structural responses of a newly designed submerged tension leg platform(STLP)wind turbine,a set of dynamic simulations and comparison analysis with the MIT/NREL TLP wind turbine are carried out.The signal filter method is used to evaluate the mean and standard deviations of the structural response.Furthermore,the extreme responses are estimated by using the mean upcrossing rate method.The fatigue damages for blade root,tower,and mooring line are also studied according to the simulated time-series.The results and comparison analysis show that the STLP gives small surge and pitch motions and mooring line tensions in operational sea states due to the small water-plane area.Additionally,in severe sea states,the STLP gives lower extreme values of platform pitch,slightly larger surge and heave motions and better towerbase and mooring line fatigue performances than those of the MIT/NREL TLP.It is found that the STLP wind turbine has good performances in structural responses and could be a potential type for exploiting the wind resources located in deep waters.

FATIGUE RELIABILITY DESIGN AND ESTIMATION METHOD FOR VARIABLE LOADING

A method is presented for estimating fatigue reliability under variable loading, which isbased on load cycles-fatigue life interference theory as well as cumulative fatigue damageanalysis. The basic opinion is that for variable loading the increment of failure probability pro-duced by each load cycle is determined by the stress level as well as the damage state at whichthis load cycle applies Contrast to 'conditional reliability-equivalent life methodology'. this meth-od calculates the equivalent cycle numbers between different stress levels according to cumulativefatigue damage rule but not equivalent failure probability.

Influence of shock absorber condition on pavement fatigue using relative damage concept

Considering the importance of the road transportation nowadays, concerns related to pavement deterioration and maintenance have become relevant subjects. Especially for commercial vehicles, the vertical dynamic load （characterized by the tire-road interaction） is directly related to wear on the road surface. Given this, the main objective of this paper is to analyse effects of vertical loads applied on the flexible pavement, considering the variation of the condition of shock absorbers from a truck＇s front suspension. The mea- surements were performed on a rigid truck, with 2 steering front axles, in a durability test track located in Brazil. With a constant load of 6 tons on the front suspension （the maximum allowed load on front axles according to Brazilian legislation）, 3 different shock absorber conditions were evaluated： new, used and failed. By applying the relative damage concept, it is possible to conclude that the variation of the shock absorber conditions will significantly affect the vertical load applied on the pavement. Although the results clearly point to a dependent relationship between the load and the condition of the shock ab- sorbers, it is recommended to repeat the same methodology, in future to analyse the influence of other quarter car model variants （such as spring rate, mass and tire spring stiffness）.