Analysis of the diametral compression method for determining the tensile strength of transparent magnesium aluminate spinel

Attempts were made to determine the inherent tensile strength of a coarse-grained, hot-pressed magnesium aluminate spinel (MgAl₂O₄) using the diametral compression test. Thick (9.6 mm) disk specimens were machined from a large (356 mm square) plate of spinel. Two pairs of tungsten carbide (WC) platens, one with flat surfaces and the other with a 20° half-arc and radius matched to the disk diameter, were used to transfer the applied load. Specimens tested using the platens with the matched radius had strength values almost 50% higher than those tested using flat platens. Images of the fracture process captured using a high-speed camera showed that irrespective of the type of platens used, fracture consistently initiated at the loading interface, resulting in an invalid test. These results show that the diametral compression test method is not appropriate for determining the tensile strength of this spinel and it raises concerns about the applicability of the method for any advanced ceramic.     

Reliability-based bond design for GFRP-reinforced concrete

Most of proposed models available so far associated with the evaluation of design embedded length of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) rods in concrete are not reliability-based. This paper made an attempt, from the probabilistic standpoint, to determine the design embedded length of a glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) rod in the case of splitting bond failure from concrete. The mathematical model put forward by Orangun et al. for evaluating the average bond strength of reinforcing bars in concrete for splitting failure has been adopted to develop the nonlinear limit state function corresponding to GFRP’s splitting bond failure in which five independent random variables, i.e. concrete strength, GFRP tensile strength, embedded length, GFRP diameter and computational uncertainty factor, are included. As the result of the probabilistic calibration procedures using the Rackwitz–Fiessler method, a non-dimensional factor K associated closely with the design embedded length of a GFRP rod in concrete is proposed to be 0.0306 with the suggested additional target reliability index of 1.10. The effects of some factors on GFRP’s design embedded length have been identified through the following parametric study. Although the calibration process is case-dependent to some extent, the proposed formula is thought to be acceptable for general bond design purposes of GFRP-reinforced concrete components.     

A goodness-of-fit test for copula densities

We consider the problem of testing hypotheses on the copula density from a two-dimensional random sample. We test the null hypothesis of a parametric class against a composite nonparametric alternative. Each density under the alternative is separated in the L ₂-norm from any density lying in the null hypothesis. The copula densities under consideration are assumed to belong to a range of Besov balls. According to the minimax approach, the testing problem is solved in an adaptive framework: it leads to a log log  loss term in the minimax rate of testing in comparison with the non-adaptive case. A smoothness-free test statistic that achieves the minimax rate is proposed. The lower bound is also proved.     

Subsampling weakly dependent time series and application to extremes

This paper provides extensions of the work on subsampling by Bertail et al. in J. Econ. 120:295–326 (2004) for strongly mixing case to weakly dependent case by application of the results of Doukhan and Louhichi in Stoch. Proc. Appl. 84:313–342 (1999). We investigate properties of smooth and rough subsampling estimators for sampling distributions of converging and extreme statistics when the underlying time series is η- or λ-weakly dependent.     

Nonparametric inference based on panel count data

Panel count data usually refer to data arising from studies on recurrent events in which the subjects under study are followed or observed only periodically rather than continuously. In such situations, an objective of interest is about the occurrence of some events that can occur multiple times or repeatedly and the studies resulting in this type of information are often referred to as event history studies. There are many fields such as medical studies, reliability experiments and social sciences wherein panel count data are encountered commonly. This article reviews basic concepts about panel count data, some common issues and questions of interest regarding them as well as the corresponding statistical procedures that are suitable for their analysis. In particular, we will discuss an estimation of the mean function of the underlying counting process characterizing the occurrence of the events, comparison of several processes and analysis of multiple state panel count data. Some discussion is also presented of situations involving dependent or informative observation processes.     

Stability analysis of undrained adiabatic shearing of a rock layer with Cosserat microstructure

Stability of undrained shearing in a classical Cauchy continuum has been first analyzed by Rice (J Geophys Res 80(11):1531–1536, 1975) who showed that instability occurs when the underlying drained deformation becomes unstable (i.e. in the softening regime of the corresponding drained stress-strain curve). However Vardoulakis (Int J Numer Anal Methods Geomech 9:339–414, 1985; Int J Numer Anal Methods Geomech 10:177–190, 1986) has shown that Rice’s linear stability analysis, if performed at the state of maximum deviator, leads to a sharp transition from infinitely stable to infinitely unstable behaviour, which indicates that the solution of the considered initial-value problem does not exist and consequently that the corresponding problem is mathematically ill-posed. Vardoulakis (Géotechnique 46(3):441–456, 1996; Géotechnique 46(3):457–472, 1996) proposed a regularization of the ill-posed problem in the softening regime by resorting to a second grade extension of plasticity theory. In this paper, the kinetics of a granular material is described by a Cosserat continuum as first suggested by Mühlhaus and Vardoulakis (Géotechnique 37:271–283, 1987) and we incorporate the effect of shear heating due to the dissipation of the frictional work. The undrained adiabatic limit is applicable as soon as the slip event is sufficiently rapid and the shear zone broad enough to effectively preclude heat or fluid transfer as it is the case during an earthquake or a landslide. It is shown that shear heating has a destabilizing effect and that instability can occur in the hardening regime if the amount of dilatant strengthening is not sufficient as compared to the effect of thermal pressurization of the pore fluid. It is shown that the linear stability analysis with macro and micro inertia terms leads to the selection of a preferred wave length of the instability mode corresponding to the instability mode with fastest (but finite) growth coefficient.     

Failure mechanisms in granular media: a discrete element analysis

This paper attempts to numerically validate the concept of diffuse failure using a discrete element method. First, the theoretical background is reviewed, and it is shown how the kinetic energy of a system, initially at rest after a loading history, is likely to abruptly increase under the effect of disturbances. The vanishing of the second-order work thus constitutes a basic ingredient, related to both the pioneering work of Hill (J Mech Phys Solids (6):236–249, 1958) and the notion of bifurcation applied to geomechanics (Vardoulakis and Sulem in Bifurcation analysis in geomechanics, Chapman & Hall Publisher, London, 1995). Discrete numerical simulations were performed on homogeneous three-dimensional specimens, and the three basic conditions that must be satisfied in order to observe a failure mechanism are numerically checked. Finally, this work illustrates the phenomena that are likely to affect in situ slopes, for instance, when the loading (due to weather conditions or human activities) meets the three basic conditions for a failure mechanism to develop.     

Failure Analysis of a Cylindrical Roller Bearing from a Rolling Mill

Premature failure of a cylindrical roller bearing of a gear box input shaft from a hot strip mill has been investigated. The pins of the cylindrical rollers of the bearing broke from the welded joints at their ends on the cage ring. Investigations were carried out on the failed roller pin and the welded joint. The investigation consists of visual observation, chemical analysis, characterization of macro- and microstructures, measurement of hardness profile, fractography, and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The fracture surface of the roller pins exhibits beach marks. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the fracture surfaces reveals striations suggesting fatigue failure. The measured hardness profile along the welded joint shows very high hardness due to the presence of untempered martensite at the fusion boundary as revealed by the microstructural examination. Analyses of the results infer that the roller pins failed by the initiation of fatigue cracks from the welded joint because of the presence of untempered martensite originated due to improper welding process.     

Analysis on the Latest Assessment Criteria of ASME B31G-2009 for the Remaining Strength of Corroded Pipelines

ASME B31G provides the most basic and widespread method in assessing the remaining strength of corroded pipelines. The third edition B31G (ASME B31G-2009) is the latest revision issued by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and is used as the basis for this study. This article discusses the development process of ASME B31G, and presents the comparative analysis of ASME B31G, RSTRENG, and DNV RP-F101. The predicted failure pressures are calculated by each standard mentioned above, based on 35 groups of data for full-size pipe tests collected from the literature. The deviations between the predicted values and the actual experiment results are discussed. Finally, practical applications are compared among the assessment methods. The investigation showed that predictions based on ASME B31G-2009 are much more accurate than predictions based on the previous editions of B31G. The applications of ASME B31G-2009 and RSTRENG 0.85 dL effectively improve the pipe’s conveying efficiency and optimize the cost of managing the piping system. However, they both are applicable only for evaluating the medium- and low-strength pipe steels. In contrast, DNV RP-F101 is applicable to the medium- and high-strength pipe steels, but its results are often not safe for application to the lower-strength pipe steels.     

Multilayer Transitions in Spin-3/2 Blume–Capel Model with RKKY Interaction in a Transverse Field

Using mean-field theory, we have studied the effect of quantum transverse field on the magnetic properties and multilayer transitions in the spin-3/2 Blume–Capel model with RKKY interaction. The system is formed by two magnetic multilayer materials, of different thicknesses, separated by a non magnetic spacer of thickness M. It is found that there exist critical transverse fields above which the multilayer transitions occur. This critical value decreases when increasing the thickness of the nonmagnetic spacer M. Phase diagram is established in different plane of space parameter.