Assessment of digital image correlation measurement accuracy in the ultimate error regime: main results of a collaborative benchmark

We report on the main results of a collaborative work devoted to the study of the uncertainties associated with Digital image correlation techniques (DIC). More specifically, the dependence of displacement measurement uncertainties with both image characteristics and DIC parameters is emphasised. A previous work [Bornert et al. (2009) Assessment of digital image correlation measurement errors: methodology and results. Exp. Mech. 49, 353-370] dedicated to situations with spatially fluctuating displacement fields demonstrated the existence of an ultimate error' regime, insensitive to the mismatch between the shape function and the real displacement field. The present work is focused on this ultimate error. To ensure that there is no mismatch error, synthetic images of in-plane rigid body translation have been analysed. Several DIC softwares developed by or in use in the French community have been used to explore the effects of a large number of settings. The discrepancies between DIC evaluated displacements and prescribed ones have been statistically analysed in terms of random errors and systematic bias, in correlation with the fractional part of the displacement component expressed in pixels. Main results are as follows: (i) bias amplitude is almost always insensitive to subset size, (ii) standard deviation of random error increases with noise level and decreases with subset size and (iii) DIC formulations can be split up into two main families regarding bias sensitivity to noise. For the first one, bias amplitude increases with noise while it remains nearly constant for the second one. In addition, for the first family, a strong dependence of random error with is observed for noisy images

About Nonlinear Behavior of Unidirectional Plant Fibre Composite

International audienceAt room condition and standard strain rate, unidirectional glass fiber reinforced organic polymers show linear behavior under longitudinal loading (the same with carbon fiber). Oppositely, plant-based reinforced organic polymers show often nonlinear behavior. We describe a viscoelastoplastic model based on eight independent parameters dedicated to simulation of plant fiber composite mechanical behavior. This model has been previously validated with flax twisted yarn/epoxy composite at room condition. We analyse now an unidirectional flax/epoxy composite at different strain rates to promote a mechanical behaviour with ‘three apparent regions’ visible in case of longitudinal loading. We show that adding of a strengthening phenomenon is a good solution to improve phenomenological model of plant fibre composite

Digital holographic nondestructive testing of laminate composite

International audienceOptical digital holographic techniques can be used for nondestructive testing of materials. Digital holographic nondestructive testing essentially measures deformations on the surface of the object. However, there is sufficient sensitivity to detect subsurface and internal defects in metallic and composite specimens. We investigate and discuss the vibration analysis of laminated composite glass-epoxy using time averaging in digital Fresnel holography to visualize the modes of vibration and to test the integrity of the structures of studied materials

Impact of Retting and Process Parameters on the Physical and Mechanical Properties of Flax Fiber Biobased Composites

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Multi Scale Analysis of the Retting and Process Effect on the Properties of Flax Bio-Based Composites

International audienceThis research aimed to evaluate, at different scales (technical flax fiber, fiber band and flax composites, bio-based composites), the effect of retting and processing parameters on the biochemical, microstructural, and mechanical properties of flax-epoxy bio-based materials. On the technical flax fiber scale, a biochemical alteration of the fiber was observed as the retting increased (a decrease of the soluble fraction from 10.4 ± 0.2 to 4.5 ± 1.2% and an increase of the holocellulose fractions). This finding was associated with the degradation of the middle lamella, favoring the individualization of the flax fibers observed at retting (+). A direct link was established between the biochemical alteration of technical flax fibers and their associated mechanical properties (decrease of the ultimate modulus 69.9 to 43.6 GPa and maximum stress from 702 to 328 MPa). On the flax band scale, the mechanical properties are driven by the interface quality between the technical fibers. The highest maximum stresses were reached at level retting (0) with 26.68 MPa, which is lower compared to technical fiber. On the bio-based composites scale, setup 3 (T = 160 ∘C) and the high retting level (+) are the most relevant for a better mechanical response of flax bio-based materials

Metrological Analysis of the DIC Ultimate Error Regime

International audienceIn DIC, the “ultimate error regime” corresponds to situations for which the shape function used to describe the material transformation perfectly matches the actual one. We propose to confront results obtained from numerically-shifted images with the predictions of theoretical models developed in the literature to describe bias and random error evolutions with respect to the imposed displacement. Results show the overall good predictions of these models but small deviations arise, mainly around integer values of imposed displacements for noisy images. These deviations are interpreted as the unrepresentativeness of the underlying hypotheses of the theoretical models in these particular cases

How Retting Could Affect the Mechanical Behavior of Flax/Epoxy Biocomposite Materials?

This study focuses on the retting effect on the mechanical properties of flax biobased materials. For the technical fiber, a direct link was established between the biochemical alteration of technical flax and their mechanical properties. In function of the retting level, technical fibers appeared smoother and more individualized; nevertheless, a decrease in the ultimate modulus and maximum stress was recorded. A biochemical alteration was observed as the retting increased (a decrease in the soluble fraction from 10.4 ± 0.2 to 4.5 ± 1.2% and an increase in the holocellulose fractions). Regarding the mechanical behavior of biocomposites manufactured by thermocompression, a non-elastic behavior was observed for the tested samples. Young moduli (E1 and E2) gradually increased with retting. The retting effect was more pronounced when a normalization was performed (according to the fiber volume and porosity). A 40% increase in elastic modulus could be observed between under-retting (−) and over-retting (+). Moreover, the porosity content (Vp) increased overall with fiber content. Setup 3, with optimized processing parameters, was the most desirable processing protocol because it allowed the highest fiber fraction (Vf) for the lowest Vp

Performance of rapid diagnostic tests for imported malaria in clinical practice: results of a national multicenter study.

We compared the performance of four rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for imported malaria, and particularly Plasmodium falciparum infection, using thick and thin blood smears as the gold standard. All the tests are designed to detect at least one protein specific to P. falciparum (Plasmodium histidine-rich protein 2 (PfHRP2) or Plasmodium LDH (PfLDH)) and one pan-Plasmodium protein (aldolase or Plasmodium LDH (pLDH)). 1,311 consecutive patients presenting to 9 French hospitals with suspected malaria were included in this prospective study between April 2006 and September 2008. Blood smears revealed malaria parasites in 374 cases (29%). For the diagnosis of P. falciparum infection, the three tests detecting PfHRP2 showed high and similar sensitivity (96%), positive predictive value (PPV) (90%) and negative predictive value (NPV) (98%). The PfLDH test showed lower sensitivity (83%) and NPV (80%), despite good PPV (98%). For the diagnosis of non-falciparum species, the PPV and NPV of tests targeting pLDH or aldolase were 94-99% and 52-64%, respectively. PfHRP2-based RDTs are thus an acceptable alternative to routine microscopy for diagnosing P. falciparum malaria. However, as malaria may be misdiagnosed with RDTs, all negative results must be confirmed by the reference diagnostic method when clinical, biological or other factors are highly suggestive of malaria

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