Field Static Load Test on Kao-Ping-Hsi Cable-Stayed Bridge

Field load testing is an effective method for understanding the behavior and fundamental characteristics of a cable-stayed bridge. This paper presents the results of field static load tests on the Kao-Ping-Hsi cable-stayed bridge, the longest cable-stayed bridge in Taiwan, before it was open to traffic. A total of 40 loading cases, including the unit and distributed bending and torsion loading effects, were conducted to investigate the bridge behavior. The atmospheric temperature effect on the variations of the main girder deflections was also monitored. The results of static load testing include the main girder deflections, the flexural strains of the prestressed concrete girder, and the variations of the cable forces. A three-dimensional finite-element model was developed. The results show that the bridge under the planned load test conditions has linear superposition characteristics and the analytical model shows a very good agreement with the bridge responses. Further discussion of deflection and cable forces of the design specifications for a cable-stayed bridge is also presented.     

Computational analysis of thin coating layer failure using a cohesive model and gradient plasticity

Thermal barrier coatings (TBC) are widely used to prevent transient high temperature attack and allow components high durability. Due to strong inhomogeneous material properties the TBC failure often initiates near the interface between the brittle oxide layer and the ductile substrate. A reliable prediction of the TBC failure requires detailed information about the crack tip field and the consequent fracture criteria. In the present paper both cohesive model and gradient plasticity are used to simulate the failure process and to study interdependence of the interface stress distribution with the specific fracture energies. Computations confirm that combination of the two models is able to simulate different failure mechanisms in the TBC system. The computational model has the potential to give a realistic prediction of the crack propagation process.     

XC气田烃类渗漏的生态环境问题探讨

利用中子活化法对四川盆地XC气田的天然气进行分析，发现其中含有20多种金属元素。通过剖面和观察点的观察分析，发现XC气田烃类渗漏，尤其是天然气泄漏对生态环境造成了较大的负面影响：改变浅表生态环境，造成植物生长发育异常，农作牧减产；降低土壤pH值，增加金属元素的水溶态，从而增加植物对其的吸收消化；同时，植物还能从天然气中直接吸收消化一些金属元素。因此，天然气泄漏使农作物吸收消化过多的有毒有害金属，损害农产品品质，应当引起严重关注。     

高压对气井套管接头螺纹接触应力的影响研究

高温高压气井对螺纹密封性的要求要比油井更为严格。对于高压气井中的整个管柱,每一段处于不同的力学环境中,发生泄漏的可能性也不同,因此研究压力对气井套管接头螺纹接触应力的影响,对高压气井套管的合理使用尤为重要。利用弹塑性有限元分析方法,建立了API偏梯型螺纹套管接头的有限元模型,分析了气井压力对套管接头接触应力的影响,提供了研究压力对套管接头螺纹接触应力影响的方法。对于井口压力或井底压力超过34MPa的高压气井,应选用气密性良好的特殊螺纹接头,建议采用金属对金属的螺纹接头套管,以加强螺纹部位的连接强度和密封性能。     

起升中四腿落地式K型井架及底座的应力分析

针对在用四腿落地式K型井架在起升中井架与底座存在的问题,文章以JJ162/42-K型井架为例,采用I-DEAS有限元软件对起升过程中处于各角度时的井架及底座做了应力分析,并将其结果与两腿落地式K型井架进行了比较。分析表明,四腿落地式K型井架及底座在井架刚起升时,应力值较大,存在安全隐患。为了增强在井架起升过程中底座的安全性,建议在底座上井架2个铰支座之间加焊加强钢板,并加大井架前立柱铰支座的尺寸。     

Finite element piezothermoelasticity analysis and the active control of FGM plates with integrated piezoelectric sensors and actuators

 An efficient finite element model is presented for the static and dynamic piezothermoelastic analysis and control of FGM plates under temperature gradient environments using integrated piezoelectric sensor/actuator layers. The properties of an FGM plate are functionally graded in the thickness direction according to a volume fraction power law distribution. A constant displacement-cum-velocity feedback control algorithm that couples the direct and inverse piezoelectric effects is applied to provide active feedback control of the integrated FGM plate in a closed loop system. Numerical results for the static and dynamic control are presented for the FGM plate, which consists of zirconia and aluminum. The effects of the constituent volume fractions and the influence of feedback control gain on the static and dynamic responses of the FGM plates are examined. Received: 13 March 2002 / Accepted: 5 March 2003 The work described in this paper was supported by a grant awarded by the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. CityU 1024/01E).     

The influence of plastic properties on chip formation

A two-dimensional finite-element model of the chip formation process is used to study the influence of the material law determining plastic flow on chip formation of titanium alloys at high cutting speeds. For simplicity, friction and thermo-mechanical properties of the tool are neglected in the simulations. Titanium chips are strongly segmented and therefore especially suitable to study the role of segmentation for the cutting force and other cutting parameters. Of special interest is the influence of the thermal softening parameter in the material law. Increasing thermal softening leads to a drastic decrease in the cutting force and a corresponding increase in chip segmentation. A variation of the hardening exponent is also performed. It is shown that the simulation results can be understood by using adiabatic flow stress curves. The variation of the hardening exponent leads to strongly differing chip shapes, although the cutting force stays nearly constant. This shows that mean cutting forces should not be used as simulation verification parameters.     

Numerical Study of Finite Element Method Based Solutions for Propagation of Wetting Fronts in Unsaturated Soil

The accurate prediction of the propagation of a wetting front in an unsaturated soil subjected to surficial infiltration is of practical importance to many geotechnical and geoenvironmental problems. The finite element method is the most common solution technique as the hydraulic soil properties are highly nonlinear. Two important issues are often found to create difficulties in such analyses. First, numerical oscillations are usually observed in the calculated pore pressures at the wetting front. Second, when a reasonable mesh size and time step are used, the elevation of the wetting front may be seriously overpredicted. This paper is focused on the second issue. The under-relaxation (UR) technique used in the iterative process within each time step is found to have a serious impact on rate of convergence with refinement in mesh size and time step. Two different techniques are typically used; the first evaluates the hydraulic conductivity using an average of heads calculated from the preceding time node and the most recent iteration of the current time node (UR1), and the second evaluates the hydraulic conductivity using the average of heads calculated from the two most recent iterations of the current time nodes (UR2). The study shows that UR1, which is adopted in programs such as SEEP/W, ensures that the solution converges rapidly to a stable solution within a time step, but may converge to the wrong wetting front at a given elapsed time unless a sufficiently refined mesh is used. UR2 converges much more slowly within a time step, but the error in the wetting front is smaller than that generated by UR1.     

Finite element analysis of femoral components paper III – hip joints

Finite element analysis of the hip implant is conducted in this paper for representative femoral cross-section geometries and development of stress in the presence of bone cement is elucidated. Differences in cement stresses generated by varying implant cross-sections were compared with conventional features derived from representative implants. The analysis was performed under idealized implant assemblies by constraining the implant movement in the assembly. The cross-sections and implant geometries used are generic and intended to be representative of available geometries. This paper is a part of student research projects, prepared from a series of activities in biomedical implant research currently underway at Ohio Northern and Arkansas Tech Universities.