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.

Numerical Simulation of Fretting Fatigue Damage Evolution of Cable Wires Considering Corrosion and Wear Effects

In this paper,a numerical model of fretting fatigue analysis of cablewire and the fretting fatigue damage constitutive model considering the multi-axis effect were established,and the user material subroutine UMAT was written.Then,the constitutive model of wear morphology evolution of cable wire and the constitutive model of pitting evolution considering the mechanical-electrochemical effect were established,respectively.The corresponding subroutines UMESHMOTION_Wear and UMESHMOTION_Wear_Corrosion were written,and the fretting fatigue lifewas further predicted.The results showthat the numerical simulation life obtained by the programin this paper has the same trend as the tested one;the error is only about 0.7%in the medium life area;When the normal contact force increases from 120 to 240 N,the fretting life of cable wire decreases by 25%;When the evolution of wear morphology and corrosion effect are considered simultaneously,the depth of the wear zone exceeds 0.08mm after 600,000 loads,which ismuch larger than 0.04 mmwhen only the evolution of wear morphology is considered.When the evolution of wear morphology and corrosion morphology is considered simultaneously,the damage covers the whole contact surface after 300,000 loads,and the penetrating damage zone forms after 450,000 loads,which is obviously faster than that when only the wearmorphology evolution is considered.Themethod proposed in this paper can provide a feasible numerical simulation scheme for the visualization of the damage process and accurate life prediction of cable-supported bridges.

Analysis of Temperature Rise Characteristics and Fatigue Damage Degree of ACSR Broken Strand

In this paper,the research on ACSR temperature of broken strand and fatigue damage after broken strand is carried out.Conduct modeling and Analysis on the conductor through AnsoftMaxwell software.The distribution of magnetic force lines in the cross section of the conductor after strand breaking and the temperature change law of the conductor with the number of broken strands are analyzed.A model based on electromagnetic theory is established to analyze the distribution of magnetic lines of force in the cross section of the conductor after strand breaking and the temperature variation law of the conductor with the number of broken strands.The finite element analysis results show that with the increase in the number of broken strands,the cross-sectional area of the conductor decreases,the magnetic line of force of the inner conductor at the broken strand becomes denser and denser,and the electromagnetic loss of the conductor becomes larger and larger.Therefore,the temperature of the conductor at the broken strand becomes higher and higher.Then,the current carrying experiment of conductor is carried out for LGJ-240/30 conductor.It is found that the temperature rise at the junction of inner and outer layers at the broken strand is particularly obvious,and the temperature of inner aluminumconductor at the broken strand also increases with the increase of broken strand.According to the analysis of experimental data,with the increase of broken strands,the antivibration ability and service life of the conductor decrease.At the same time,under certain conditions of broken strand,the fatigue life of conductor increases with the increase of temperature.

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.

Frequency Domain Fatigue Evaluation on SCR Girth-Weld Based on Structural Stress

The Steel Catenary Riser(SCR)is a vital component for transporting oil and gas from the seabed to the floating platform.The harsh environmental conditions and complex platform motion make the SCR’s girth-weld prone to fatigue failure.The structural stress fatigue theory and Master S-N curve method provide accurate predictions for the fatigue damage on the welded joints,which demonstrate significant potential and compatibility in multi-axial and random fatigue evaluation.Here,we propose a new frequency fatigue model subjected to welded joints of SCR under multiaxial stress,which fully integrates the mesh-insensitive structural stress and frequency domain random process and transforms the conventional welding fatigue technique of SCR into a spectrum analysis technique utilizing structural stress.Besides,a full-scale FE model of SCR with welds is established to obtain the modal structural stress of the girth weld and the frequency response function(FRF)of modal coordinate,and a biaxial fatigue evaluation about the girth weld of the SCR can be achieved by taking the effects of multi-load correlation and pipe-soil interaction into account.The research results indicate that the frequency-domain fatigue results are aligned with the time-domain results,meeting the fatigue evaluation requirements of the SCR.

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.

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.

Influence of railway wheel tread damage on wheel-rail impact loads and the durability of wheelsets

Dynamic wheel-rail contact forces induced by a severe form of wheel tread damage have been measured by a wheel impact load detector during full-scale field tests at different vehicle speeds.Based on laser scanning,the measured three-dimensional damage geometry is employed in simulations of dynamic vehicle-track interaction to calibrate and verify a simulation model.The relation between the magnitude of the impact load and various operational parameters,such as vehicle speed,lateral position of wheel-rail contact,track stiffness and position of impact within a sleeper bay,is investigated.The calibrated model is later employed in simulations featuring other forms of tread damage;their effects on impact load and subsequent fatigue impact on bearings,wheel webs and subsurface initiated rolling contact fatigue of the wheel tread are assessed.The results quantify the effects of wheel tread defects and are valuable in a shift towards condition-based maintenance of running gear,and for general assessment of the severity of different types of railway wheel tread damage.

A critical review of wheel/rail high frequency vibration-induced vibration fatigue of railway bogie in China

Purpose–This review aims to give a critical view of the wheel/rail high frequency vibration-induced vibration fatigue in railway bogie.Design/methodology/approach–Vibration fatigue of railway bogie arising from the wheel/rail high frequency vibration has become the main concern of railway operators.Previous reviews usually focused on the formation mechanism of wheel/rail high frequency vibration.This paper thus gives a critical review of the vibration fatigue of railway bogie owing to the short-pitch irregularities-induced high frequency vibration,including a brief introduction of short-pitch irregularities,associated high frequency vibration in railway bogie,typical vibration fatigue failure cases of railway bogie and methodologies used for the assessment of vibration fatigue and research gaps.Findings–The results showed that the resulting excitation frequencies of short-pitch irregularity vary substantially due to different track types and formation mechanisms.The axle box-mounted components are much more vulnerable to vibration fatigue compared with other components.The wheel polygonal wear and rail corrugation-induced high frequency vibration is the main driving force of fatigue failure,and the fatigue crack usually initiates from the defect of the weld seam.Vibration spectrum for attachments of railway bogie defined in the standard underestimates the vibration level arising from the short-pitch irregularities.The current investigations on vibration fatigue mainly focus on the methods to improve the accuracy of fatigue damage assessment,and a systematical design method for vibration fatigue remains a huge gap to improve the survival probability when the rail vehicle is subjected to vibration fatigue.Originality/value–The research can facilitate the development of a new methodology to improve the fatigue life of railway vehicles when subjected to wheel/rail high frequency vibration.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Fatigue crack propagation in a helicopter component subjected to impact damage

Damage tolerant methodology is increasingly used in aeronautical components,especially due the fact that the Aviation Regulation requires such an assessment in case an accidental damage occurs.At present,there is a strong and actual interest in applying such procedures to helicopter components that are subjected to high frequency cyclic loads.In this paper,an investigation on a damaged transmission shaft for a tail rotor transmission of an actual helicopter has been carried out focusing on the fatigue crack propagation.A complete sequence of experimental tests was performed in order to create an actual ballistic damage and to subsequently check the damage tolerant behaviour.The shaft was damaged by oblique ballistic impact and was subsequently subjected to torsional fatigue loading.During the fatigue cycles several cracks propagated from the ballistic damages.Both of these steps(impact and fatigue loading)were also simulated by a complex modelling approach based on Finite Element Models and fracture mechanics theory.The comparison between the experimental and numerical results shows a good agreement but it underlines the need for a very refined modelling technique capable to replicate all the features associated with the damage in order to reliably simulate the subsequent propagation phase.