Browsing by Author "Mirzaeifar, Reza"

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    3-D Printing, Characterizing and Evaluating the Mechanical Properties of 316L Stainless Steel Materials with Gradient Microstructure
    Stephen, Juanita Peche (Virginia Tech, 2021-03-24)
    Making gradient in the microstructure of metals is proven to be a superior method for improving their mechanical properties. In this research, we 3D print, characterize and evaluate the mechanical properties of 316L Stainless Steel with a gradient in their microstructure. During 3D printing, the gradient in the microstructure is created by tailoring the processing parameters (hatch spacing, scanning speed, and laser power and scanning speed) of the Selective Laser Melting (SLM). The Materials with Graded Microstructure (MGMs) are characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Image processing framework is utilized to reveal the distribution of cells and melt pools shapes and sizes in the volume of the material when the processing parameters change. It is shown that the laser power, scanning speed and the hatch spacing have a more significant effect on the size and shape of cells and melt pools compared to the speed. Multiple Dog bones are 3D printed with a microstructure that has smaller features (cells and melt polls) at the edges of the structure compared to the center. Tensile and fatigue tests are performed and compared for samples with constant and graded microstructures.
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    Accurate Wheel-rail Dynamic Measurement using a Scaled Roller Rig
    Kothari, Karan (Virginia Tech, 2018-08-08)
    The primary purpose of this study is to perform accurate dynamic measurements on a scaled roller rig designed and constructed by Virginia Tech and the Federal Railroad Administration (VT-FRA Roller Rig). The study also aims at determining the effect of naturally generated third-body layer deposits (because of the wear of the wheel and/or roller) on creep or traction forces. The wheel-rail contact forces, also referred to as traction forces, are critical for all aspects of rail dynamics. These forces are quite complex and they have been the subject of several decades of research, both in experiments and modeling. The primary intent of the VT-FRA Roller Rig is to provide an experimental environment for more accurate testing and evaluation of some of the models currently in existence, as well as evaluate new hypothesis and theories that cannot be verified on other roller rigs available worldwide. The Rig consists of a wheel and roller in a vertical configuration that allows for closely replicating the boundary conditions of railroad wheel-rail contact via actively controlling all the wheel-rail interface degrees of freedom: angle of attack, cant angle, normal load and lateral displacement, including flanging. The Rig has two sophisticated independent drivelines to precisely control the rotational speed of the wheels, and therefore their relative slip or creepage. The Rig benefits from a novel force measurement system, suitable for steel on steel contact, to precisely measure the contact forces and moments at the wheel-rail contact. Experimental studies are conducted on the VT ��" FRA Roller Rig that involved varying the angle of attack, wheel and rail surface lubricity condition (i.e., wet vs. dry rail), and wheel wear, to study their effect on wheel-rail contact mechanics and dynamics. The wheel-rail contact is in between a one-fourth scale AAR-1B locomotive wheel and a roller machined to US-136 rail profile. A quantitative assessment of the creep-creepage measurements, which is an important metric to evaluate the wheel-rail contact mechanics and dynamics, is presented. A MATLAB routine is developed to generate the creep-creepage curves from measurements conducted as part of a broad experimental study. The shape of the contact patch and its pressure distribution have been discussed. An attempt is made to apply the results to full-scale wheels and flat rails. The research results will help in the development of better simulation models for non-Hertzian contact and non-linear creep theories for wheel-rail contact problems that require further research to more accurately represent the wheel-rail interaction.
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    Bioinspired design of flexible armor based on chiton scales
    Connors, Matthew; Yang, Ting; Hosny, Ahmed; Deng, Zhifei; Yazdandoost, Fatemeh; Massaadi, Hajar; Eernisse, Douglas; Mirzaeifar, Reza; Dean, Mason N.; Weaver, James C.; Ortiz, Christine; Li, Ling (Springer Nature, 2019-12-10)
    Man-made armors often rely on rigid structures for mechanical protection, which typically results in a trade-off with flexibility and maneuverability. Chitons, a group of marine mollusks, evolved scaled armors that address similar challenges. Many chiton species possess hundreds of small, mineralized scales arrayed on the soft girdle that surrounds their overlapping shell plates. Ensuring both flexibility for locomotion and protection of the underlying soft body, the scaled girdle is an excellent model for multifunctional armor design. Here we conduct a systematic study of the material composition, nanomechanical properties, three-dimensional geometry, and interspecific structural diversity of chiton girdle scales. Moreover, inspired by the tessellated organization of chiton scales, we fabricate a synthetic flexible scaled armor analogue using parametric computational modeling and multi-material 3D printing. This approach allows us to conduct a quantitative evaluation of our chiton-inspired armor to assess its orientation-dependent flexibility and protection capabilities.
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    Computing Wall Thickness and Young's Modulus of Carbon Nanotubes with Atomistic Molecular Dynamics Simulations
    Ahmed, Tabassum (Virginia Tech, 2021-06-02)
    Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are tubular structure of a layer or layers of carbon atoms. CNTs serve as a prototypical nanomaterial holding great promises for various basic and applied research applications in the fields of electrical, thermal, and structural materials owing to their superlative mechanical, thermal, electrical, optical, and chemical properties. Since the discovery of CNTs by Iijima in 1991, numerous researches have been conducted to quantify and understand the atomic origin of their high strength, exceptional thermal conductivity, and unique electrical properties. CNTs are also widely used as nanofillers in composite materials to enhance their mechanical properties such as fracture toughness and to serve as sensing agents. There is thus an imperative need to deeply understand the physical properties of CNTs and their responses to various models of deformations such as stretching, bending, twisting, and combinations thereof. In this thesis, we apply all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to study in detail the behavior of several single-walled, armchair CNTs under stretching and bending deformations, realized by imposing appropriate boundary conditions on the CNTs. The simulation results reveal unique scaling properties of the stretching and bending stiffness with respect to the CNT radius and length, which indicate that a single-walled CNT is best modeled as a thin cylindrical shell with a cross-sectional radius equal to the CNT radius and a constant wall thickness much smaller than the CNT radius. By studying the thermal fluctuations of carbon atoms on the CNT wall, the wall thickness is determined to be about 0.45~AA~for all the single-walled CNTs studied in this thesis and correspondingly, Young's modulus is estimated to be about 8.78 TPa for these CNTs.
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    Correlation-Based Detection and Classification of Rail Wheel Defects using Air-coupled Ultrasonic Acoustic Emissions
    Nouri, Arash (Virginia Tech, 2016-04-29)
    Defected wheel are one the major reasons endangered state of railroad vehicles safety statue, due to vehicle derailment and worsen the quality of freight and passenger transportation. Therefore, timely defect detection for monitoring and detecting the state of defects is highly critical. This thesis presents a passive non-contact acoustic structural health monitoring approach using ultrasonic acoustic emissions (UAE) to detect certain defects on different structures, as well as, classifying the type of the defect on them. The acoustic emission signals used in this study are in the ultrasonic range (18-120 kHz), which is significantly higher than the majority of the research in this area thus far. For the proposed method, an impulse excitation, such as a hammer strike, is applied to the structure. In addition, ultrasound techniques have higher sensitivity to both surface and subsurface defects, which make the defect detection more accurate. Three structures considered for this study are: 1) a longitudinal beam, 2) a lifting weight, 3) an actual rail-wheel. A longitudinal beam was used at the first step for a better understanding of physics of the ultrasound propagation from the defect, as well, develop a method for extracting the signature response of the defect. Besides, the inherent directionality of the ultrasound microphone increases the signal to noise ratio (SNR) and could be useful in the noisy areas. Next, by considering the ultimate goal of the project, lifting weight was chosen, due to its similarity to the ultimate goal of this project that is a rail-wheel. A detection method and metric were developed by using the lifting weight and two type of synthetic defects were classified on this structure. Also, by using same extracted features, the same types of defects were detected and classified on an actual rail-wheel.
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    Crack Initiation Analysis in Residual Stress Zones with Finite Element Methods
    Brew, Patrick Joseph (Virginia Tech, 2018-08-10)
    This research explores the nearly untapped research area of the analysis of fracture mechanics in residual stress zones. This type of research has become more prevalent in the field in recent years due to the increase in prominence of residual stress producing processes. Such processes include additive manufacturing of metals and installation procedures that lead to loads outside the anticipated standard operating load envelope. Abaqus was used to generate models that iteratively advanced toward solving this problem using the compact tensile specimen geometry. The first model developed in this study is a two-dimensional fracture model which then led to the development of an improved three-dimensional fracture model. Both models used linear elastic fracture mechanics to determine the stress intensity factor (K) value. These two models were verified using closed-form equations from linear elastic fracture mechanics. The results of these two models validate the modeling techniques used for future model iterations. The final objective of this research is to develop an elastic-plastic fracture mechanics model. The first step in the development of an elastic-plastic fracture model is a three-dimensional quasi-static model that creates the global macroscale displacement field for the entire specimen geometry. The global model was then used to create a fracture submodel. The submodel utilized the displacement field to reduce the model volume, which allowed a higher mesh density to be applied to the part. The higher mesh density allowed more elements to be allocated to accurately represent the model behavior in the area local to the singularity. The techniques used to create this model were validated either by the linear elastic models or by supplementary dog bone prototype models. The prototype models were run to test model results, such as plastic stress-strain behavior, that were unable to be tested by just the linear elastic models. The elastic-plastic fracture mechanics global quasi-static model was verified using the plastic zone estimate and the fracture submodel resulted in a J-integral value. The two-dimensional linear elastic model was validated within 6% and the three-dimensional linear elastic model was validated within 0.57% of the closed-form solution for linear elastic fracture mechanics. These results validated the modeling techniques. The elastic-plastic fracture mechanics quasi-static global model formed a residual stress zone using a Load-Unload-Reload load sequence. The quasi-static global model had a plastic zone with only a 0.02-inch variation from the analytical estimate of the plastic zone diameter. The quasi-static global model was also verified to exceed the limits of linear elastic fracture mechanics due to the size of the plastic zone in relation to the size of the compact specimen geometry. The difference between the three-dimensional linear elastic fracture model J-integral and the elastic-plastic fracture submodel initial loading J-integral was 3.75%. The J-integral for the reload step was 18% larger than the J-integral for the initial loading step in the elastic-plastic fracture submodel.
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    Design and Development of Force Control and Automation System for the VT-FRA Roller Rig
    Dixit, Jay Kailash (Virginia Tech, 2018-08-13)
    This study discusses the design of a force control strategy for reducing force disturbances in the Virginia Tech – Federal Railroad Administration (VT-FRA) Roller Rig. The VT-FRA Roller Rig is a state-of-the-art roller Rig for studying contact mechanics. It consists of a 0.2m diameter wheel and a 1m diameter roller in vertical configuration, which replicates the wheel-rail contact in a 1/4th scale. The Rig has two 19.4 kW servo motors for powering the rotational bodies and six heavy-duty servo linear actuators that control other boundary conditions. The Rig was operationalized successfully with all degrees of freedom working in the default position feedback control. During the Rig's commissioning, this approach was found to result in vertical force fluctuations that are larger than desired. Since the vertical force affects the longitudinal and lateral traction between the wheel and roller, keeping the fluctuations to a minimum provides a better test condition. Testing and data analysis revealed the issue to be in the control method. The relative position of the wheel and roller was being controlled instead of controlling the forces between them. The latter is a far more challenging control setup because it requires a faster dynamic response and full knowledge of forces at the interface. Additionally, force control could result in dynamic instability more readily than position control. Multiple methods for force control are explored and documented. The most satisfactory solution is found in a cascaded loop force/position controller. The closed loop system is tested for stability and performance at various load, speed, and creepage conditions. The results indicate that the controller is able to reduce the standard deviation of vertical force fluctuations at the wheel-rail contact by a factor of four. In terms of power of the vertical force fluctuations, this corresponds to a 12 dB reduction with the force control when compared with the previous control method. This study also explores the possibility of automating the tests in order to enable running a larger number of tests in a shorter period of time. A multi-thread software is developed in C++ for executing a user-defined position, velocity, or force vs. time trajectory, and for recording the data automatically. The software also provides continuous monitoring, and performs a safe shutdown if a fault is detected. An intuitive GUI is provided for constant data polling and ease of user operation. The code is modular in order to accommodate future modifications and additions for various testing needs. The engineering upgrades included in this study, together with the baseline testing, complete the commissioning of the VT-FRA Roller Rig. With unparalleled parameter control and testing repeatability, the VT-FRA Roller Rig holds the promise of being used successfully for various contact mechanics needs that may arise in the railroad industry.
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    Design, Manufacturing, and Control of Soft and Soft/Rigid Hybrid Pneumatic Robotic Systems
    Yang, Hee Doo (Virginia Tech, 2019-04-29)
    Soft robotic systems have recently been considered as a new approach that is in principle better suited for tasks where safety and adaptability are important. That is because soft materials are inherently compliant and resilient in the event of collisions. They are also lightweight and can be low-cost; in general, soft robots have the potential to achieve many tasks that were not previously possible with traditional robotic systems. In this paper, we propose a new manufacturing process for creating multi-chambered pneumatic actuators and robots. We focus on using fabric as the primary structural material, but plastic films can be used instead of textiles as well. We introduce two different methods to create layered bellows actuators, which can be made with a heat press machine or in an oven. We also describe origami-like actuators with possible corner structures. Moreover, the fabrication process permits the creation of soft and soft/rigid hybrid robotic systems, and enables the easy integration of sensors into these robots. We analyze various textiles that are possibly used with this method, and model bellows actuators including operating force, restoring force, and estimated geometry with multiple bellows. We then demonstrate the process by showing a bellows actuator with an embedded sensor and other fabricated structures and robots. We next present a new design of a multi-DOF soft/rigid hybrid robotic manipulator. It contains a revolute actuator and several roll-pitch actuators which are arranged in series. To control the manipulator, we use a new variant of the piece-wise constant curvature (PCC) model. The robot can be controlled using forward and inverse kinematics with embedded inertial measurement units (IMUs). A bellows actuator, which is a subcomponent of the manipulator, is modeled with a variable-stiffness spring, and we use the model to predict the behavior of the actuator. With the model, the roll-pitch actuator stiffnesses are measured in all directions through applying forces and torques. The stiffness is used to predict the behavior of the end effector. The robotic system introduced achieved errors of less than 5% when compared to the models, and positioning accuracies of better than 1cm.
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    Development of a Progressive Failure Model for Notched Woven Composite Laminates
    Munden, Daniel Christopher (Virginia Tech, 2018-09-20)
    As part of the Composite Technology for Exploration (CTE) project at NASA, woven fabric composites are being investigated for their use in Space Launch System (SLS) hardware. Composites are more difficult to analyze than isotropic materials and require more complex methods for predicting failure. NASA is seeking a method for predicting the damage initiation and propagation of woven fabric composites in order to utilize these materials effectively in SLS hardware. This work focuses on notched woven fabric composites under tensile loading. An analytical model consisting of a macro-level failure criterion and damage propagation was developed and implemented in explicit finite element analysis to simulate woven composite materials. Several failure criteria and propagation models were investigated and compared. A response surface was used to better understand the effects of damage parameters on the failure load of a specimen. The model chosen to have best represented the physical specimen used the Tsai-Wu failure criterion. Additional physical tests are needed to further validate the model.
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    Development of Comprehensive Experimental, Analytical and, Numerical Methods for Predicting Rubber Friction and Wear under Thermomechanical Conditions
    Shams Kondori, Mehran (Virginia Tech, 2021-10-07)
    Viscoelastic materials have been used widely in different applications, such as constructing tires, artificial joints, shoe heels, and soles. A study on the different characteristics of viscoelastic materials has always been a matter of interest in order to improve their properties for various applications. In the automotive industry, rubber, as a viscoelastic material, has been used in several subsystems, such as vehicle interior, suspension, steering joints, and tires. The tire and terrain's contact characteristics are among the essential factors for assessing the performance of the tire and the vehicle in general. Friction and tread wear are two of these contact characteristics. Considering the tire's functionality, for most applications, it is desired to have higher friction to have better traction and a lower wear rate to minimize the material loss of the tread. The friction coefficient and the rubber's wear rate depend on various parameters such as rubber material properties, terrain characteristics, temperature (tread and the environment), and the load. To obtain the wear rate and friction of a viscoelastic material, three approaches have been used for this study: Experimental, Analytical, and Numerical. The results obtained using these approaches have been compared and validated. Several test setups have been designed and implemented to study the wear and friction of the rubber experimentally. Also, a new linear friction tester has been designed and manufactured by the author to achieve this project's objectives. The new test setup has several advantages over existing test setups in this field, such as covering a higher range of velocities while maintaining high precision. The designed Linear Friction tester and the modified dynamic friction tester at the CenTiRe laboratory at Virginia Tech were used to measure the rubber's friction and wear for different testing conditions such as different normal loads, different velocities, and various surfaces such asphalt and sandpaper. The data collected by the experiment will later be used for the validation of the developed models. In order to obtain the wear rate of the rubber using the analytical approach, the real contact area and friction of the rubber were calculated using Persson's model. The simulation has created the surface to obtain the friction coefficient and the real contact area. After obtaining the friction coefficient and the real contact area, the rubber's wear rate was calculated using a novel approach by combining the Persson Powdery Rubber Wear model with the Crack Propagation model. The results from the improved model compare well with the results from the original model. For the last step of this project, a Finite Element approach was used for modeling a tread block and round rubber sample. A new semi-empirical model for wear was developed by improving the Archard wear model. The novel approach was implemented to Abaqus by using the Umeshmotion subroutine and adaptive mesh motion (ALE) and subroutine UFric and UFric_Coef in two categories: The Node base method and the Ribbon base method. For finite element modeling, the visco-hyper elastic material model has been used to define the rubber's material properties.
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    Discrete Element Modeling of Railway Ballast for Studying Railroad Tamping Operation
    Dama, Nilesh Madhavji (Virginia Tech, 2019-09-24)
    The behavior of the ballast particles during their interaction with tamping tines in tamping operation is studied by developing a simulation model using the Discrete Element Model (DEM), with the aim of optimizing the railroad tamping operation. A comprehensive literature review is presented showcasing the applicability of DEM techniques in modeling ballast behavior and its feasibility in studying the fundamental mechanisms that influence the outcome of railroad tamping process is analyzed. The analysis shows that DEM is an excellent tool to study tamping operation as its important and unprecedented insights into the process, help not only to optimize the current tamping practices but also in the development of novel methods for achieving sustainable improvements in the track stability after tamping. The simulation model is developed using a commercially available DEM software called PFC3D (Particle Flow Code 3D). A detailed explanation is provided about how to set up the DEM model of railway ballast considering important parameters like selection and calibration of particle shapes, ballast mechanical properties, contact model, and parameters governing the contact force models. Tamping operation is incorporated into the simulation model using a half-track layout with a highly modular code that enables a high degree of adjustability to allow control of all process parameters for achieving optimized output. A parametric study is performed to find the best values of tine motion parameters to optimize the linear tamping efficiency and a performance comparison has been made between linear and elliptical tamping. It is found that squeeze and release velocity of the tines should be lesser for better compaction of the particles and linear tamping is better compared to elliptical tamping.
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    Discrete Element Modeling of Railway Ballast for Studying Railroad Tamping Operation
    Jain, Ashish (Virginia Tech, 2018-01-18)
    The development of Discrete Element Model (DEM) of railway ballast for the purpose of studying the behavior of ballast particles during tamping is addressed in a simulation study, with the goal of optimizing the railroad tamping operation. A comprehensive literature review of applicability of DEM techniques in modeling the behavior of railway ballast is presented and its feasibility in studying the fundamental mechanisms that influence the outcome of railroad tamping process is analyzed. A Discrete Element Model of railway ballast is also developed and implemented using a commercially available DEM package: PFC3D. Selection and calibration of ballast parameters, such as inter-particle contact force laws, ballast material properties, and selection of particle shape are represented in detail in the model. Finally, a complete tamping simulation model is constructed with high degree of adjustability to allow control of all process parameters for achieving realistic output. The analysis shows that DEM is a highly valuable tool for studying railroad tamping operation. It has the capability to provide crucial and unprecedented insights into the process, facilitating not only the optimization of current tamping practices, but also the development of novel methods for achieving sustainable improvements in track stability after tamping in the future. Different ways of modeling particle shapes have been evaluated and it has been shown that while using spheres to represent irregular ballast particles in DEM provides immense gains in computational efficiency, spheres cannot intently capture all properties of irregularly shaped particles, and therefore should not be used to model railway ballast particles. Inter-particle and wall-particle contact forces are calculated using Hertzian contact mechanics for determining ballast dynamics during tamping. The results indicate that the model is able to accurately predict properties of granular assemblies of the railway ballast in different test cases. The developed model for simulating tamping operation on a half-track layout is expected to be extended in future studies for evaluating rail track settlement and stability, optimization of tamping process, and performance of different ballast gradations.
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    Dynamics of smart materials in high intensity focused ultrasound field
    Bhargava, Aarushi (Virginia Tech, 2020-05-06)
    Smart materials are intelligent materials that change their structural, chemical, mechanical, or thermal properties in response to an external stimulus such as heat, light, and magnetic and electric fields. With the increase in usage of smart materials in many sensitive applications, the need for a remote, wireless, efficient, and biologically safe stimulus has become crucial. This dissertation addresses this requirement by using high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) as the external trigger. HIFU has a unique capability of maintaining both spatial and temporal control and propagating over long distances with reduced losses, to achieve the desired response of the smart material. Two categories of smart materials are investigated in this research; shape memory polymers (SMPs) and piezoelectric materials. SMPs have the ability to store a temporary shape and returning to their permanent or original shape when subjected to an external trigger. On the other hand, piezoelectric materials have the ability to convert mechanical energy to electrical energy and vice versa. Due to these extraordinary properties, these materials are being used in several industries including biomedical, robotic, noise-control, and aerospace. This work introduces two novel concepts: First, HIFU actuation of SMP-based drug delivery capsules as an alternative way of achieving controlled drug delivery. This concept exploits the pre-determined shape changing capabilities of SMPs under localized HIFU exposure to achieve the desired drug delivery rate. Second, solving the existing challenge of low efficiency by focusing the acoustic energy on piezoelectric receivers to transfer power wirelessly. The fundamental physics underlying these two concepts is explored by developing comprehensive mathematical models that provide an in-depth analysis of individual parameters affecting the HIFU-smart material systems, for the first time in literature. Many physical factors such as acoustic, material and dynamical nonlinearities, acoustic standing waves, and mechanical behavior of materials are explored to increase the developed models' accuracy. These mathematical frameworks are designed with the aim of serving as a basic groundwork for building more complex smart material-based systems under HIFU exposure.
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    Effects of Coarse Aggregate Morphological Characteristics on Mechanical Performance of Stone Matrix Asphalt
    Liu, Yufeng (Virginia Tech, 2017-07-26)
    This research focused on three main objectives: (1) quantify coarse aggregate morphological characteristics using an improved FTI (Fourier Transform Interferometry) image analysis system, (2) evaluate the effects of morphological characteristics of coarse aggregates of various mineral compositions on the mechanical performances of stone matrix asphalt (SMA) mixtures constituted; (3) investigate the relationship between the uncompacted void content of coarse aggregates and morphological characteristics. To achieve the first research objective, a Fourier Transform Interferometry (FTI) system was adopted to capture three-dimensional high-resolution images of aggregates. Based on these digital images, the FTI system uses the two-dimensional Fast Fourier Transform (FFT2) method to rapidly measure aggregate morphological characteristics, including sphericity, flatness ratio, elongation ratio, angularity, and surface texture. The computed shape characteristics of all aggregates were in good agreement with manual measurement results, demonstrating the accuracy and reliability of this image analysis system. For the second objective, a series of simple performance laboratory tests were performed on eight types of SMA mixtures with different morphological characteristics. Test included wheel-track loading, dynamic modulus, flow number, and beam fatigue. The wheel tracking test included asphalt pavement analyzer (APA) and Model mobile load simulator (MMLS). In the APA test, samples included eight types of SMA mixtures that consisted of aggregates of 22 fractions. In the MMLS test, six types of SMA mixture samples that consist of coarse aggregate of 15 fractions were tested. Regression analyses were then conducted between weighted mean morphological characteristics and performance parameters. The fatigue performance parameters include |E*|sin φ, where |E*| is complex modulus obtained from dynamic modulus test, the number of loading cycles to failure, and the seismic modulus difference. The rutting performance parameters include |E*|/sin φ, flow number, flow number slope, rut depth and creep slope. For the third objective, different coarse aggregate fractions from different quarries in Virginia were analyzed using the improved FTI system. Regression analyses were performed to investigate the correlation between morphological characteristics and uncompacted void content of coarse aggregates at the size ranges of 4.75-9.5mm and 9.5-12.5 mm, respectively. Aggregate morphological characteristics were found to play an important role in the mechanical performance of stone matrix asphalt mixture and the uncompacted air void content of the coarse aggregates. Both the experimental results and simulation results demonstrated that using more of equi-dimensional, less flaky and elongated coarse aggregates with angular and rougher-textured aggregates is favorable to the mechanical performances of SMA mixtures. Recommended values for each morphological characteristic are provided.
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    Electromechanical Design and Development of the Virginia Tech Roller Rig Testing Facility for Wheel-rail Contact Mechanics and Dynamics
    Hosseinipour, Milad (Virginia Tech, 2016-09-28)
    The electromechanical design and development of a sophisticated roller rig testing facility at the Railway Technologies Laboratory (RTL) of Virginia Polytechnic and State University (VT) is presented. The VT Roller Rig is intended for studying the complex dynamics and mechanics at the wheel-rail interface of railway vehicles in a controlled laboratory environment. Such measurements require excellent powering and driving architecture, high-performance motion control, accurate measurements, and relatively noise-free data acquisition systems. It is critical to accurately control the relative dynamics and positioning of rotating bodies to emulate field conditions. To measure the contact forces and moments, special care must be taken to ensure any noise, such as mechanical vibration, electrical crosstalk, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) are kept to a minimum. This document describes the steps towards design and development of all electromechanical subsystems of the VT Roller Rig, including the powertrain, power electronics, motion control systems, sensors, data acquisition units, safety and monitoring circuits, and general practices followed for satisfying the local and international codes of practice. The VT Roller Rig is comprised of a wheel and a roller in a vertical configuration that simulate the single-wheel/rail interaction in one-fourth scale. The roller is five times larger than the scaled wheel to keep the contact patch distortion that is inevitable with a roller rig to a minimum. This setup is driven by two independent AC servo motors that control the velocity of the wheel and roller using state-of-the-art motion control technologies. Six linear actuators allow for adjusting the simulated load, wheel angle of attack, rail cant, and lateral position of the wheel on the rail. All motion controls are performed using digital servo drives, manufactured by Kollmorgen, VA, USA. A number of sensors measure the contact patch parameters including force, torque, displacement, rotation, speed, acceleration, and contact patch geometry. A unified communication protocol between the actuators and sensors minimizes data conversion time, which allows for servo update rates of up to 48kHz. This provides an unmatched bandwidth for performing various dynamics, vibrations, and transient tests, as well as static steady-state conditions. The VT Roller Rig has been debugged and commissioned successfully. The hardware and software components are tested both individually and within the system. The VT Roller Rig can control the creepage within 0.3RPM of the commanded value, while actively controlling the relative position of the rotating bodies with an unprecedented level of accuracy, no more than 16nm of the target location. The contact force measurement dynamometers can dynamically capture the contact forces to within 13.6N accuracy, for up to 10kN. The instantaneous torque in each driveline can be measured with better than 6.1Nm resolution. The VT Roller Rig Motion Programming Interface (MPI) is highly flexible for both programmers and non-programmers. All common motion control algorithms in the servo motion industry have been successfully implemented on the Rig. The VT Roller Rig MPI accepts third party motion algorithms in C, C++, and any .Net language. It successfully communicates with other design and analytics software such as Matlab, Simulink, and LabVIEW for performing custom-designed routines. It also provides the infrastructure for linking the Rig's hardware with commercial multibody dynamics software such as Simpack, NUCARS, and Vampire, which is a milestone for hardware-in-the-loop testing of railroad systems.
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    Enabling New Material and Process Capabilities for Ultraviolet-Assisted Direct Ink Write Additive Manufacturing via Exploration of Material Rheology and Reactivity
    Rau, Daniel Andrew (Virginia Tech, 2022-05-24)
    Ultraviolet-Assisted Direct Ink Write (UV-DIW) is a material extrusion additive manufacturing (AM) technology in which a viscous ink, often at room temperature, is selectively extruded through a translating nozzle to selectively deposit material. The extruded ink is solidified via UV irradiation (photocuring) and three-dimensional parts are created by repeating the process in a layer-by-layer fashion. UV-DIW is an attractive AM technology due to its ability to (1) extrude highly viscous inks (i.e. >10,000 Pa·s if ink exhibits shearthinning behavior) (2) the promise of leveraging the broad photopolymer material library and chemistries established for other AM technologies capable of processing photopolymers and (3) the promise of processing a wide range of inks, which enables the fabrication of metal, ceramic, polymer, bio-based, and multi-material parts. Currently, the technology faces a few shortcomings including (1) limited material selection for UV-DIW due to requirement for inks to be photocurable and limited mechanical properties of photocurable materials (2) lack of feature resolution and topological complexity of printed parts and (3) lack of material screening models providing robust definition of the material requirements (e.g., viscosity, cure time, strength) for successful UV-DIW printing. To address these shortcomings, the goal of this work is to gain a fundamental understanding of the rheological and reactive properties required for successful Ultraviolet-Assisted Direct Ink Write (UV-DIW). The first approach to answering the fundamental research question is establishing the existing rheology experiments used to characterize DIW inks and the relationships between rheology and printability. An in-depth literature review of the techniques and relationships was compiled to better understand ink requirements for successful printing (Chapter 2). This broad survey is not limited to only UV-DIW, but includes all variations of DIW. The first part of the review provides a summary of the rheological experiments that have been used to characterize a wide variety of DIW inks. The second part of this review focuses on the connections between rheology and printability. This survey helps identify the required rheological properties for successful printing that is then used throughout the rest of this work. Additionally, this review identifies shortcomings in current work and proposes areas for future work. From this exhaustive literature review, a systematic roadmap was developed that investigators can follow to quickly characterize the printability of new inks, independent of that ink's specific attributes (Chapter 3). The roadmap simplifies the trends identified in literature into a brief and intuitive guide to the rheology experiments relevant to DIW printing and the relationship between those experiment and printing results. The roadmap was demonstrated by evaluating the printability of two inks: (1) a silicone ink with both yield-stress and reactive curing behavior and (2) urethane acrylate inks with photocuring behavior. Experimental printing studies were used to support the conclusions on printability made in the roadmap. The second main approach focuses on the development of three novel UV-DIW inks to address the current limited material selection for UV-DIW and help better understand the rheological and reactive properties required for successful printing. For the three novel UVDIW inks, the iterative process of ink synthesis, analysis of ink rheology, and printability evaluation was detailed. Data from the development process contributed to gaining a fundamental understanding of how rheology and reactivity affect printability. The three inks each had novel rheological properties that impacted their printing behavior: (1) photocuring (2) yield-stress behavior + photocuring and (3) photocuring + thermal curing. Additionally, each ink had unique properties that expands material selection for UV-DIW including (1) an all-aromatic polyimide possessing a storage modulus above 1 GP a up to 400 °C (Chapter 4), (2) a styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) nanocomposite with elongation at break exceeding 300 % (Chapter 5), and (3) a dual-cure ink enabling the printing of inks containing over 60 vol% highly opaque solids (Chapter 6). The third approach details the development of two UV-DIW process models to better understand the process physics of the UV-DIW process and give insight to the properties of a successful ink. The first process model uses data from photorheology experiments to model how a photocurable ink spreads upon deposition from the nozzle, accounting for transient UV curing behavior (Chapter 7). This model allows for the rapid evaluation of an ink's behavior during the solidification sub-function of UV-DIW solely based on its rheology, without the time-consuming process of trial-and-error printing or complex computer simulations. The second process model combines modeling with a novel experimental method that uses a UV photorheometer to accurately characterize the relationship between cure depth and UV exposure for a wide range of photopolymers (Chapter 8). This model helps understand an inks photocuring behavior and ensure a sufficient cure depth is produced to adhere to the previous layer in UV-DIW printing. Lastly, two UV-DIW process modifications are introduced to address research gaps of printing high resolution features and limited material selection. A hybrid DIW + Vat Photopolymerization system is presented to improve the feature size and topographical complexities of parts, while still retaining UV-DIW's ability to print with very high viscosity photoresins (Chapter 9). A high temperature Heated-DIW system is presented to heat inks to over 300 °C and ultimately enable printing of poly(phenylene sulfide) aerogels (Chapter 10). In enabling the DIW of poly(phenylene sulfide) aerogels, the production of ultra-lightweight thermally insulating components for applications in harsh environments is enabled. With the use of additive manufacturing, hierarchical porosity on the macroscale is enabled in addition to the meso-scale porosity inherent to the aerogels.
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    Experimental Evaluation of Wheel-Rail Interaction
    Radmehr, Ahmad (Virginia Tech, 2021-01-14)
    This study provides a detailed experimental evaluation of wheel-rail interaction for railroad vehicles, using the Virginia Tech Federal Railroad Administration (VT-FRA) Roller Rig. Various contact dynamics that emulate field application of railroad wheels on tracks are set up on the rig under precise, highly-controlled and repeatable conditions. For each setup, the longitudinal and lateral traction (creep) forces are measured for different percent creepages, wheel loads, and angles of attack. The tests are performed using quarter-scaled wheels with different profiles, one cylindrical and the other AAR-1B with a 1:20 taper. Beyond the contact forces, the wheel wear and the deposition of worn materials are measured and estimated as a function of time using a micron-precision laser optics measurement device. The change in traction versus amount of worn material at the contact surface is analyzed and related to wheel-rail friction. It is determined that the accumulation of the worn material at the contact surface, which appears as a fine gray powder, acts as a friction modifier that increases friction. The friction (traction) increase occurs asymptotically. Initially, it increases rapidly with time (and worn material accumulation) and eventually reaches a plateau that defines the maximum friction (traction) at a stable rate. It is estimated that the maximum is reached when the running surface is saturated with the worn material. Prior to the saturation, the friction increases directly with an increasing amount of deposited material. The material that accumulates naturally at the surface—hence, referred to as "natural third-body layer"—is estimated to be a ferrous oxide. It has an opposite effect from the Top of Rail (ToR) friction modifiers that are deposited onto the rail surface to reduce friction in a controlled manner. Additionally, the results of the study indicate that longitudinal traction decreases nonlinearly with increasing angle of attack (AoA), while lateral traction increases, also nonlinearly. The AoA is varied from -2.0 to 2.0 degrees, representing a right- and left-hand curve. Lateral traction increases at a high rate with increasing AoA between 0.0 – 0.5 degrees, and increases at a slow rate beyond 0.5 degree. Similarly, longitudinal traction reduces at a high rate for smaller AoA and at a slower rate for larger AoA. For the tapered wheel, an offset in lateral forces is observed for a right-hand curve versus a left-hand curve. The wheel taper generates a lateral traction that is present at all times. In one direction, it adds to the lateral traction due to the AoA, while in the opposite direction, it subtracts from it, resulting in unequal lateral traction for the same AoA in a right-hand versus a left-hand curve. The change in traction with changing wheel load is nearly linear under steady state conditions. Increasing the wheel load increases both longitudinal and lateral tractions linearly. This is attributed to the friction-like behavior of longitudinal and lateral tractions. An attempt is made to measure the contact shape with wheel load using pressure-sensitive films with various degrees of sensitivity. Additionally, the mathematical modeling of the wheel-roller contact in both pure steel-to-steel contact and in the presence of pressure-sensitive films is presented. The modeling results are in good agreement with the measurements, indicating that the pressure-sensitive films have a measurable effect on the shape and contact patch pressure distribution, as compared with steel-to-steel.
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    Finite Element Analysis of Defects in Cord-Rubber Composites and Hyperelastic Materials
    Behroozinia, Pooya (Virginia Tech, 2017-08-24)
    In recent years, composite materials have been widely used in several applications due to their superior mechanical properties including high strength, high stiffness, and low density. Despite the remarkable advancements in theoretical and computational methods for analyzing composites, investigating the effect of lamina properties and lay-up configurations on the strength of composites still remains an active field of research. Finite Element Method (FEM) and Extended Finite Element Method (XFEM) are powerful tools for solving the boundary value problems. One of the objectives of this work is to employ XFEM as a defect identification tool for predicting the crack initiation and propagation in composites. Another major objective of this study is to investigate the damage development in hyperelastic materials. Two Finite Element models are adopted to study this phenomenon: multiscale modeling of the cord-rubber composites in tires and modeling of intelligent tires for evaluating the feasibility of the proposed defect detection technique. A new three-dimensional finite element approach based on the multiscale progressive failure analysis is employed to provide the theoretical predictions for damage development in the cord-rubber composites in tires. This new three-dimensional model of the cord-rubber composite is proposed to predict the different types of damage including matrix cracking, delamination, and fiber failure based on the micro-scale analysis. This process is iterative and data is shared between the finite element and multiscale progressive failure analysis. It is shown that the proposed cord-rubber composite model solves the problems corresponding to embedding the rebar elements to the solid elements and also increases the fidelity of numerical analysis of composite parts since the laminate characteristic variables are determined from the microscopic parameters. A tire rolling analysis is then conducted to evaluate the effects of different variables corresponding to the cord-rubber composite on the performance of tires. Tires operate on the principle of safe life and are the only parts of the vehicle which are in contact with the road surface. Establishing a computational method for defect detection in tire structures will help manufacturers to fix and develop more reliable tire designs. A Finite Element model of a tire with a tri-axial accelerometer attached to its inner-liner was developed and the effects of changing the normal load, longitudinal velocity and tire-road contact friction on the acceleration signal were investigated. Additionally, using the model, the acceleration signals obtained from several accelerometers placed in different locations around the inner-liner of the intelligent tire were analyzed and the defected areas were successfully identified. Using the new intelligent tire model, the lengths, locations, and the minimum number of accelerometers in damage detection in tires are determined. Comparing the acceleration signals obtained from the damaged and original tire models results in detecting defects in tire structures.
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    Flow Characterization and Redesign of Load-Leveling Valves for Improving Transient Dynamics of Heavy Truck Air Suspensions
    Zhu, Zebo (Virginia Tech, 2016-12-08)
    This research provides a thorough flow characterization study to compare the functionality of two types of load-leveling valves that are commonly used for air suspension systems of commercial trucks. The first valve features a simple disk/slot design and is relatively compact for installation. The second type is larger and has a sophisticated, chambered design, which allows for considerably quicker fill and exhaust response times in the transient region. A new approach is introduced to estimate the transient mass flow rate of a load-leveling valve under different suspension pressures, without requiring a mass flow meter. An extensive series of dynamic tests are conducted to characterize and compare the two load-leveling valves. A generic heavy-truck pneumatic suspension, consisting of load-leveling valves, airspring, air tank, and air-hose fittings, is configured for testing. The test setup is used to evaluate the transient performance of each type of load-leveling valve in a typical truck suspension. The flow behavior of the system is validated by the force/pressure responses of the air spring due to various displacement excitations. The experimental results describe the detailed flow behavior of both valves. The flow characterization results can be incorporated as one of the most critical parameters for future model development of pneumatic systems. The tests indicate that the leveling valve with chambered design has a far faster transient flow response than the disk valve, although it is more complicated in its mechanical design and therefore costs more. To take advantage of the design simplicity of the disk valve, while also enabling it to have a faster transient response (compared with the chambered design), it is re-designed with larger flow openings and other elements to match the performance of the chambered valve for transient flow. A comparison of the experimental results and simulations validates that the re-designed rotary disk valve performs nearly the same as the chambered valve, but is simpler and costs less. The study's results are directly applicable to improving the transient dynamics of heavy truck air suspensions by providing a better understanding of how load-leveling valves can be used not only to provide ride-height control, but also to influence the roll and pitch dynamics of heavy trucks.
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    Focused ultrasound actuation of shape memory polymers; acoustic-thermoelastic modeling and testing
    Bhargava, Aarushi; Peng, Kaiyuan; Stieg, Jerry; Mirzaeifar, Reza; Shahab, Shima (The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2017-09-18)
    Controlled drug delivery (CDD) technologies have received extensive attention recently. Despite recent efforts, drug releasing systems still face major challenges in practice, including low efficiency in releasing the pharmaceutical compounds at the targeted location with a controlled time rate. We present an experimentally-validated acoustic-thermoelastic mathematical framework for modeling the focused ultrasound (FU)-induced thermal actuation of shape memory polymers (SMPs). This paper also investigates the feasibility of using SMPs stimulated by FU for designing CDD systems. SMPs represent a new class of materials that have gained increased attention for designing biocompatible devices. These polymers have the ability of storing a temporary shape and returning to their permanent or original shape when subjected to external stimuli such as heat. In this work, FU is used as a trigger for noninvasively stimulating SMP-based systems. FU has a superior capability to localize the heating effect, thus initiating the shape recovery process only in selected parts of the polymer. The multiphysics model optimizes the design of a SMP-based CDD system through analysis of a filament as a constituting basestructure and quantifies its activation under FU. Experimental validations are performed using a SMP filament submerged in water coupled with the acoustic waves generated by a FU transducer. The modeling results are used to examine and optimize parameters such as medium properties, input power and frequency, location, geometry and chemical composition of the SMP to achieve favorable shape recovery of a potential drug delivery system.