Yanhua Zhao

Measurements of coating density using ultrasonic reflection coefficient phase spectrum

A nondestructive method to determine the density of coating has been proposed in this paper based on the ultrasonic reflection coefficient phase spectrum (URCPS). A model was set up first to represent the ultrasonic waves reflected from a coating system at normal incident, and the relation between the extremum of URCPS and the coating density was established to provide the principle of determining the density. The ultrasonic method was validated on a series of ZrO2-7wt.%Y2O3 (YSZ) coatings with various density. The specimens were prepared by electric beam physical vapor deposit (EB-PVD). After deposition, the specimens were irradiated using high-intensity pulsed ion beam (HIPIB) at different ion current density of 100 and 200A/cm2 to change coating density. The coating densities of as-deposited and post irradiation by HIPIB were derived to be 4940-5030, 5200-5320 and 5390-5470kg/m3, respectively. The relative error between the coating density measured by the ultrasonic method and Archimedean principle ranging from 2.53% to 6.11%, indicates that the proposed ultrasonic quantification method provides a reliable nondestructive way to determine coating density.

Determination of Fracture Parameters for Non-Standard Wedge Splitting Specimen of Concrete

The wedge splitting (WS) test is now a promising method to perform stable fracture mechanics tests on concrete-like quasi brittle materials. Fracture parameters, such as fracture toughness and critical crack opening displacement and et.al, are however not easy to determined since formulae available from stress intensity factor manual are restricted to standard specimen geometry. The paper attempts to compute expressions for commonly used fracture parameters for a general wedge splitting specimen. By means of finite element analysis program, test simulation was performed on non-standard wedge splitting specimen with different depth and initiation crack length, and thereafter expressions were proposed for stress intensity factor at the pre-cast tip and crack mouth opening displacement on the load line. Based on the work above, size effect on the unstable fracture toughness and crack extension were investigated, and the consistency of fracture toughness data for various specimen depth as well as initiation crack length is demonstrated. The crack extension is little sensitive to the initiation crack length, it increases with the depth of specimen, which can be explained by the boundary influence of the specimen.

Ultrasonic Characterization of EB-PVD Thermal Barrier Coatings Irradiated by HIPIB

High-intensity pulsed ion beam (HIPIB) irradiation at 300 A/cm2 with a shot number of 1, and 5 was performed on the coatings and caused the modification of properties. Porosity and rough surface of EB-PVD (Electron Beam-Physical Vapor Deposition) deposited ZrO2-7%Y2O3 coatings with the thickness of 150 μm on heat-resistant steel have been characterized using the ultrasonic reflection coefficient phase spectrum. With increasing the shot number, the surface remelting and ablating filled gaps and caves between columns, and induced more uniform and compact structure. The ultrasonic measurement was investigated using immersion focusing pulse echo method with a 10 MHz transducer. The ultrasonic reflection coefficient related to frequency, velocity and attenuation coefficient were analyzed based on the acoustic transmission model in a multi-layered structure. For the as-deposited coating and coatings irradiated by HIPIB with the shot number of 1 and 5, the ultrasonic velocity changed from 2950 to 3170, and 3255 m/s respectively. The relationship between the attenuation coefficient and the frequency has been deduced based on the numerical fitting of the phase spectrum. The corresponded expressions are 1.35 α = 0.105 f , 1.2 α = 0.045 f and 1.14 α = 0.035 f , which displays that the attenuation coefficient decreases with the increasing of shot number. The ultrasonic results are in agreement with SEM observations, which have indicated that the coatings became denser and uniform with increasing the shot number. From the velocity and attenuation coefficient, the density, porosity, and microcracks of the coatings can be nondestructively evaluated utilizing the method of this paper.

Study on fracture properties of self-compacting concrete using wedge splitting test

This paper reports fracture behavior study on four types of self-compacting concrete with compressive strength ranging from 40MPa to 150MPa. Basic fracture properties investigated for each type of self-compacting concrete are: the fracture toughness KIc, the fracture energy GF, the critical crack length extension ∆ac and brittle behavior. For achieving this aim, tests were conducted on wedge splitting specimens with initial notch length approximating 100mm. The results show that the fracture energy GF differs little for self-compacting concrete under consideration in the test, whereas the fracture toughness KIc increases with increasing compressive strength, which is the same as observed in conventional vibrated concrete. At the same time, with computed brittleness index it can be said for sure that as the self-compacting concrete raises its strength, it would fracture in a more brittle manner.

Influence of Growth Ring Orientation on the Interlaminar Fracture Toughness in Glued-Laminated Timber

AbstractIn glued-laminated timber (glulam), fracture may occur at the interface of two adjacent laminae that mostly have different growth ring orientations. The double cantilever beam (DCB) tests f...

Determination of Stress Intensity Factor for Cracked Brazilian Disc Using Weight Function

To reduce stress concentration near the loading point, Brazilian test, normally used for the indirect determination of tensile strength for rock or concrete quasi-brittle materials, is usually subjected to uniformly distributed pressure over finite width (or arc) of the Brazilian disc. As an extension, the same geometry, in which a central notch is introduced in the symmetrical plane of applied forces, can be used to determine fracture toughness of the materials. For this purpose, accurate expression for stress intensity factor (SIF) for central cracked Brazilian disc should be provided first. To this end, weight function method is used in this paper where weight function for central cracked disc is available in general SIF handbooks. Meanwhile, the exact stress solution in the intact Brazilian disc subjected to uniformly distributed pressure is derived by use of numerical method. In the end, some finite element analysis is carried out using the program package ABAQUS on the Brazilian disc, and the comparison results regarding the SIF between the weight function method and numerical method prove the validity of the proposed method.

On Crack Propagation of I-II Mixed Mode Fracture in Concrete by Means of Photoelastic Coatings

Investigation on crack propagation is important to understand mechanical behaviors and fracture mechanism in concrete. Till now substantial work has been done on crack propagation under mode-I loading, and mixed-mode fracture mechanics problems, however, are more common for actual crack growth. This study aims to systematically investigate the crack initiation, stable propagation and unstable failure of concrete under I-II mixed mode condition by using photoelasticity technique. For this purpose, reflective photoelastic coatings were applied to the surface of the four-point shearing notched concrete specimens with the maximum size of 2500mm×600mm×200mm. The resulting interference fringe on photoelastic coatings was recorded to reflect a complete crack propagation process. Based on the colored strain sequence, the strain profile around the crack tip could be determined and thereafter the load-crack extension curve. Then finite element analysis was performed to simulate the process of crack propagation and corresponding stress intensity factors were solved for every step. Experimental results show obvious stable crack propagation in concrete before unstable failure under I-II loading condition. The conventional failure criterion with the absence of this stable propagation quantity is therefore conservative. Besides, the fracture mode is ultimately I-mode even the specimen is subjected to I-II mixed mode loading condition, that is, the crack will extend in a direction perpendicular to the peak principal stress.

The Application of Ultrasonic Phase Spectrum of the Reflection Coefficient on Nondestructive Characterizing the Plasma Sprayed Coatings Irradiated by HIPIB

Ultrasonic phase spectrum of reflection coefficient has been used to nondestructively characterize the density, porosity, and microcracks of plasma sprayed Cr2O3 coatings irradiated by high-intensity pulsed ion beam (HIPIB). The ultrasonic measurement was investigated using immersion focusing pulse echo method with a 25 MHz transducer and the phase spectrum of reflection coefficient has been experimentally obtained. The relationship among velocity, density, attenuation coefficient and the phase spectrum was analyzed based on an acoustic transmission model in a multi-layered structure. The velocity relates to the harmonic frequency of the phase spectrum, and the density and attenuation coefficient play roles on the amplitude of the maximum and the shape of the spectrum. The effects of the three parameters (velocity, density and attenuation coefficient) on the amplitude of the maximum of the phase are similar. Some critical value exists which change the relationship between the individual parameter and the maximum of the phase spectrum. When one of the three parameters exceeds the corresponded critical value, the amplitude of the maximum decreases in the form of exp( ) n y = A Bx . For the as-sprayed and irradiated coatings with the thickness of 50 0m, the velocity calculated from the phase spectrum is 2522 and 2772 m/s, harmonic frequency corresponding to 12.61 and 13.86 MHz, respectively. These ultrasonic determinations demonstrated that the coating becomes more densified after irradiation by HIPIB, in agreement with SEM observations. Ultrasonic phase spectrum itself is a good indicator to reveal differences between density and microstructures of coating prepared with various conditions as well as to follow their evolution after HIPIB irradiation.

Boundary Effect on the True Specific Fracture Energy of Concrete

The apparent size effect of the specific fracture energy of concrete according to the RILEM procedure has been confirmed by numerous published works. The paper offers an explanation for this size effect by considering the specimen boundary influence on local fracture energy over the ligament length, which is closely associated with the measured fracture energy of concrete. To address this boundary influence, boundary affected length is introduced, over which local fracture energy is different from that in the bulk far away from the surface of the specimen. Based on previous work, a continuous smooth function is hypothesized to simulate the distribution of local fracture energy. At the same time, the model established was compared to the existing models, i.e. Perturbed Ligament Model (PLM) and Bilinear Model (BLM). Some test results from wedge splitting specimen in the literature were used to verify these three models. The results show that the true fracture energy of concrete, irrespective of the specimen size, could be obtained from the measured values directly from RILEM, and is less sensitive to determination approach. The predicted boundary affected length when the crack reaches the specimen surface is more close to the value of the perturbation length in PLM.