Acoustic emission behavior of steel fibre reinforced concrete under bending

The present paper describes the acoustic emission (AE) behavior of concrete under four-point bending. Steel fibres of varying content were used as reinforcement in concrete slabs and their influence on the fracture process and the acoustic activity was investigated. The total acoustic emission (AE) activity was found to be directly proportional to the fibre content. Analysis revealed that particular AE parameters change monotonically with the progress of damage and can be used for the characterization of the failure process

Thermoelectric energy harvesting from single-walled carbon nanotube alkali-activated nanocomposites produced from industrial waste materials

A waste-originated one-part alkali-activated nanocomposite is introduced herein as a novel thermoelectric material. For this purpose, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were utilized as nanoinclusions to create an electrically conductive network within the investigated alkali-activated construction material. Thermoelectric and microstructure characteristics of SWCNT-alkali-activated nanocomposites were assessed after 28 days. Nanocomposites with 1.0 wt.% SWCNTs exhibited a multifunctional behavior, a combination of structural load-bearing, electrical conductivity, and thermoelectric response. These nanocomposites (1.0 wt.%) achieved the highest thermoelectric performance in terms of power factor (PF), compared to the lower SWCNTs’ incorporations, namely 0.1 and 0.5 wt.%. The measured electrical conductivity (σ) and Seebeck coefficient (S) were 1660 S·m−1 and 15.8 µV·K−1, respectively, which led to a power factor of 0.414 µW·m−1·K−2 . Consequently, they have been utilized as the building block of a thermoelectric generator (TEG) device, which demon-strated a maximum power output (Pout ) of 0.695 µW, with a power density (PD) of 372 nW·m−2, upon exposure to a temperature gradient of 60 K. The presented SWCNT-alkali-activated nanocomposites could establish the pathway towards waste thermal energy harvesting and future sustainable civil engineering structures

Acoustic emission behavior of steel fibre reinforced concrete under bending

a b s t r a c t The present paper describes the acoustic emission (AE) behavior of concrete under four-point bending. Steel fibres of varying content were used as reinforcement in concrete slabs and their influence on the fracture process and the acoustic activity was investigated. The total acoustic emission (AE) activity was found to be directly proportional to the fibre content. Analysis revealed that particular AE parameters change monotonically with the progress of damage and can be used for the characterization of the failure process

Thermoelectric energy harvesting from single-walled carbon nanotube alkali-activated nanocomposites produced from industrial waste materials

A waste-originated one-part alkali-activated nanocomposite is introduced herein as a novel thermoelectric material. For this purpose, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were utilized as nanoinclusions to create an electrically conductive network within the investigated alkali-activated construction material. Thermoelectric and microstructure characteristics of SWCNT-alkali-activated nanocomposites were assessed after 28 days. Nanocomposites with 1.0 wt.% SWCNTs exhibited a multifunctional behavior, a combination of structural load-bearing, electrical conductivity, and thermoelectric response. These nanocomposites (1.0 wt.%) achieved the highest thermoelectric performance in terms of power factor (PF), compared to the lower SWCNTs’ incorporations, namely 0.1 and 0.5 wt.%. The measured electrical conductivity (σ) and Seebeck coefficient (S) were 1660 S·m−1 and 15.8 µV·K−1, respectively, which led to a power factor of 0.414 μW·m−1·K−2. Consequently, they have been utilized as the building block of a thermoelectric generator (TEG) device, which demonstrated a maximum power output (Pout) of 0.695 µW, with a power density (PD) of 372 nW·m−2, upon exposure to a temperature gradient of 60 K. The presented SWCNT-alkali-activated nanocomposites could establish the pathway towards waste thermal energy harvesting and future sustainable civil engineering structures

On the fatigue response of a bonded repaired aerospace composite using thermography

Lock-in thermography was employed to investigate the repair efficiency of a bonded repaired aerospace composite subjected to step-wise cycling mechanical loading. The studied component (substrate) was artificially damaged with a 5 mm circular notch and subsequently repaired with a tapered bonded patch. Critical and sub-critical damage of the repaired component was monitored via thermography during 5 Hz tension–tension fatigue. The examination of the acquired thermographs enabled the identification of the patch debonding propagation as well as the quantification of the stress magnification at the patch ends and the locus of the circular notch. It was found that fatigue mechanical loading yields both thermoelastic and hysterestic phenomena with the latter being more prominent prior to the failure of the studied repaired component

On the fatigue life prediction of CFRP laminates using the Electrical Resistance Change method

International audienceThe electromechanical response (Electrical Resistance Change method) as a damage index of quasi-isotropic Carbon Fiber Reinforced (CFRPs) laminates under fatigue loading was investigated. The effect of dispersed Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNT) into the epoxy matrix was additionally evaluated and compared with neat epoxy CFRPs. The longitudinal resistance change of the specimens was monitored throughout the fatigue experiment. Three different stress levels were tested. The frequency and the ratio (R) of the minimum applied load (stress) to the maximum applied load (stress) were kept constant for the different stress levels. The temperature of the specimen was also monitored throughout the process in order to deduce its effect on the electrical resistance of the specimen. The electrical behavior of the quasi-isotropic CFRP deviated from the commonly observed electrical response of unidirectional or cross-ply CFRPs due to the presence of the 45 layers. During initial stages of loading the resistance drops and afterwards it follows a positive slope up to final fracture. This repeatable pattern was observed for both the neat and the CNT-doped specimens, with the latter having smoother electrical recordings. The effect of temperature was calculated to be limited for the specific material and test/measurement configuration. The electromechanical response was correlated to stiffness degradation and acoustic emission findings enabling the identification of the specific regions during the fatigue life referring to specific mechanisms of damage accumulation. More specifically the experimental results revealed that the occurrence of the initial drop of the electrical resistance is linked with the occurrence of the Characteristic Damage State (CDS), associated with a specific percentage of stiffness reduction. This finding was used in order to predict the remaining life independently from the applied stress level with a high degree of confidence, assuming a constant stress level throughout the whole lifetime. The remaining life prediction for the CNT-doped specimens had higher coefficient of confidence (R)