A new stochastic systems approach to structural integrity

This paper develops improved stochastic models for the description of a large variety of fatigue crack growth phenomena that occur in components of considerable importance to the functionality and reliability of complex engineering structures. In essence, the models are based on the McGill-Markov and Closure-Lognormal stochastic processes. Not only do these models have the capability of predicting the statistical dispersion of crack growth rates, they also, by incorporating the concept of crack closure, have the capability of transferring stochastic crack growth properties measured under ideal laboratory conditions to situations of industrial significance, such as those occurring under adverse loading and/or environmental conditions. The primary data required in order to be in a position to estimate the pertinent parameters of these stochastic models are obtained from a statistically significant number of replicate tests. In this paper, both the theory and the experimental technique are illustrated using a Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Finally, important structural integrity, reliability, availability and maintainability concepts are developed and illustrated

On the fatigue reliability assessment of Ti-6Al-4V

This thesis develops improved stochastic models for the description of a large variety of fatigue crack growth phenomena that occur in structural and mechanical components of fundamental importance to the functionality and reliability of complex and modern engineering structures. In essence, the models are based upon the recently available McGill-Markov and the newly developed Closure-Lognormal stochastic processes. These models have not only the capability of predicting the statistical dispersion of the crack growth rate, which is dependent on the inherent crack resistance characteristics of the material being examined, but also, by incorporating the concept of crack closure into the Paris-Erdogan law through the use of the effective stress intensity range factor, have the capability of transferring the stochastic properties of crack growth rates measured under ideal laboratory conditions to situations of industrial significance, such as those occurring under adverse loading and/or environmental conditions.The primary data required in order to be in a position to estimate the pertinent parameters of these stochastic models are obtained, as is fully discussed in this thesis, from a statistically significant number of replicate tests. The application of both the theory and the experimental technique are illustrated using a Ti-6Al-4V alloy of considerable importance to the aerospace industry.The application of these models for the assessment of component reliability is detailed in the latter stages of the investigation reported in this thesis. Important reliability, availability and maintainability concepts are developed and thoroughly illustrated. In this way, fundamental models developed during the course of this investigation will in the future, have the capability of predicting reliability and maintenance parameters of considerable significance to the assessment of component reliability

Numerical fatigue analysis of premolars restored by CAD/CAM ceramic crowns

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to estimate the fatigue life of premolars restored with two dental ceramics, lithium disilicate (LD) and polymer infiltrated ceramic (PIC) using the numerical method and compare it with the published in vitro data.Methods: A premolar restored with full-coverage crown was digitized. The volumetric shape of tooth tissues and crowns were created in Mimics®. They were transferred to IA-FEMesh for mesh generation and the model was analyzed with Abaqus. By combining the stress distribution results with fatigue stress-life (S-N) approach, the lifetime of restored premolars was predicted.Results: The predicted lifetime was 1,231,318 cycles for LD with fatigue load of 1400N, while the one for PIC was 475,063 cycles with the load of 870N. The peak value of maximum principal stress occurred at the contact area (LD: 172MPa and PIC: 96MPa) and central fossa (LD: 100MPa and PIC: 64MPa) for both ceramics which were the most seen failure areas in the experiment. In the adhesive layer, the maximum shear stress was observed at the shoulder area (LD: 53.6MPa and PIC: 29MPa).Significance: The fatigue life and failure modes of all-ceramic crown determined by the numerical method seem to correlate well with the previous experimental study.</p

Static and fatigue mechanical behavior of three dental CAD/CAM ceramics

Purpose: The aim of this study was to measure the mechanical properties and fatigue behavior of three contemporary used dental ceramics, zirconia Cercon(®) (ZC), lithium disilicate e.max(®) CAD (LD), and polymer-infiltrated ceramic Enamic(®) (PIC).Methods: Flexural strength of each CAD/CAM ceramic was measured by three point bending (n=15) followed by Weibull analysis. Elastic modulus was calculated from the load-displacement curve. For cyclic fatigue loading, sinusoidal loading with a frequency of 8Hz with minimum load 3N were applied to these ceramics (n=24) using three point bending from 10(3) to 10(6) cycles. Fatigue limits of these ceramics were predicted with S-N fatigue diagram. Fracture toughness and Vickers hardness of the ceramics were measured respectively by single edge V-notch beam (SEVNB) and microindentation (Hv 0.2) methods. Chemical compositions of the materials׳ surfaces were analyzed by EDS, and microstructural analysis was conducted on the fracture surfaces by SEM. One-way ANOVA was performed and the level of significance was set at 0.05 to analyze the numerical results.Results: The mean flexural strength of ZC, LD, and PIC was respectively 886.9, 356.7, and 135.8MPa. However, the highest Weibull modulus belonged to PIC with 19.7 and the lowest was found in LD with 7.0. The fatigue limit of maximum load for one million cycles of ZC, LD, and PIC was estimated to be 500.1, 168.4, and 73.8GPa. The mean fracture toughness of ZC, LD, and PIC was found to be respectively 6.6, 2.8, and 1.4MPam(1/2), while the mean Vickers hardness was 1641.7, 676.7, and 261.7Hv. Fracture surfaces followed fatigue loading appeared to be smoother than that after monotonic loading.Conclusions: Mechanical properties of ZC were substantially superior to the two other tested ceramics, but the scattering of data was the least in PIC. The fatigue limit was found to be approximately half of the mean flexural strength for all tested ceramics.</p

Effect of preparation design for all-ceramic restoration on maxillary premolar: a 3D finite element study

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate and quantify the effect of preparation design parameters on a premolar restored with two different CAD/CAM ceramic crowns by three-dimensional finite element analysis (FEA).METHODS: A restored human first premolar was digitized by a micro-CT scanner and a 3D model was created by a medical image processing software (Mimics). Following segmentation, dentine and ceramic were extracted by a surface meshing software (3-matic). Models with different preparation designs with three convergence angles (6°, 12° and 20°) and two preparation heights (3.1mm and 4.1mm) were produced. Mesh generation for models was performed in IA-FEMesh software with a lithium disilicate glass ceramic (LD, E=95.9GPa) and a polymer-infiltrated ceramic (PIC, E=30.1GPa) as the restorative materials. A 5-mm diameter stainless steel hemisphere was employed as an indenter. Twelve models were analyzed numerically in Abaqus™.RESULTS: The results indicated that preparation height was found to be a major factor affecting stress distribution in different components. In all models, the maximum principal stress of the ceramic crowns was found in contact area against the indenter. This stress was lesser in the longer abutment than the shorter one and it was greater for LD ceramic. Convergence angle had limited effect on stress distribution of ceramic crown in all models.CONCLUSIONS: The preparation height appeared to play a more important role in the stress distribution of ceramic crown than the convergence angle.</p