The Development of a Methodology to Understand Climate-induced Damage in Decorated Oak Wood Panels

Climate-induced damage in decorated oak wood panels is considered to be a high risk for pre-eminent museum collections. To advise museums on the development of sustainable future preservation strategies and rational guidelines for indoor climate specifications, the risk of this type of damage – physical and mechanical is analysed in full depth in this research. A comprehensive methodology is required that meets the requests of the conservation community and also helps to bridge the gap between scientists and conservators. Therefore, this research couples an extensive examination of empirical data obtained from naturally aged museum objects, i.e. a collection analysis, with numerical modelling and experimental testing. A multidisciplinary collaboration has been initiated, whereby conservators and scientists are working together to fulfil the common objectives of sustainable and low-risk preservation of valuable museum collections. In this paper, the methodology is outlined and some results are presented

A classification of higher-order strain gradient models - linear analysis

The use of higher-order strain-gradient models in mechanics is studied. First, existing second-gradient models from the literature are investigated analytically. In general, two classes of second-order strain-gradient models can be distinguished: one class of models has a direct link with the underlying microstructure, but reveals instability for deformation patterns of a relatively short wave length, while the other class of models does not have a direct link with the microstructure, but stability is unconditionally guaranteed. To combine the advantageous properties of the two classes of second-gradient models, a new, fourth-order strain-gradient model, which is unconditionally stable, is derived from a discrete microstructure. The fourth-gradient model and the second-gradient models are compared under static and dynamic loading conditions. A numerical approach is followed, whereby the element-free Galerkin method is used. For the second-gradient model that has been derived from the microstructure, it is found that the model becomes unstable for a limited number of wave lengths, while in dynamics, instabilities are encountered for all shorter wave lengths. Contrarily, the second-gradient model without a direct link to the microstructure behaves in a stable manner, although physically unrealistic results are obtained in dynamics. The fourth-gradient model, with a microstructural basis, gives stable and realistic results in statics as well as in dynamics

Asymptotic equivalence of homogenisation procedures and fine-tuning of continuum theories

Long-wave models obtained in the process of asymptotic homogenisation of structures with a characteristic length scale are known to be non-unique. The term non-uniqueness is used here in the sense that various homogenisation strategies may lead to distinct governing equations that usually, for a given order of the governing equation, approximate the original problem with the same asymptotic accuracy. A constructive procedure presented in this paper generates a class of asymptotically equivalent long-wave models from an original homogenised theory. The described non-uniqueness manifests itself in the occurrence of additional parameters characterising the model. A simple problem of long-wave propagation in a regular one-dimensional lattice structure is used to illustrate important criteria for selecting these parameters. The procedure is then applied to derive a class of continuum theories for a two-dimensional square array of particles. Applications to asymptotic structural theories are also discussed. In particular, we demonstrate how to improve the governing equation for the Rayleigh-Love rod and explain the reasons for the well-known numerical accuracy of the Mindlin plate theory

Influence of Rotations on the Critical State of Soil Mechanics

The ability of grains to rotate can play a crucial role on the collective behavior of granular media. It has been observed in computer simulations that imposing a torque at the contacts modifies the force chains, making support chains less important. In this work we investigate the effect of a gradual hindering of the grains rotations on the so-called critical state of soil mechanics. The critical state is an asymptotic state independent of the initial solid fraction where deformations occur at a constant shear strength and compactness. We quantify the difficulty to rotate by a friction coefficient at the level of particles, acting like a threshold. We explore the effect of this particle-level friction coefficient on the critical state by means of molecular dynamics simulations of a simple shear test on a poly-disperse sphere packing. We found that the larger the difficulty to rotate, the larger the final shear strength of the sample. Other micro-mechanical variables, like the structural anisotropy and the distribution of forces, are also influenced by the threshold. These results reveal the key role of rotations on the critical behavior of soils and suggest the inclusion of rotational variables into their constitutive equations.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, Accepted for publication in Computer Physics Communication

Solid behavior of anisotropic rigid frictionless bead assemblies

We investigate the structure and mechanical behavior of assemblies of frictionless, nearly rigid equal-sized beads, in the quasistatic limit, by numerical simulation. Three different loading paths are explored: triaxial compression, triaxial extension and simple shear. Generalizing recent results [1], we show that the material, despite rather strong finite sample size effects, is able to sustain a finite deviator stress in the macroscopic limit, along all three paths, without dilatancy. The shape of the yield surface is adequately described by a Lade-Duncan (rather than Mohr-Coulomb) criterion. While scalar state variables keep the same values as in isotropic systems, fabric and force anisotropies are each characterized by one parameter and are in one-to-one correspondence with principal stress ratio along all three loading paths.The anisotropy of the pair correlation function extends to a distance between bead surfaces on the order of 10% of the diameter. The tensor of elastic moduli is shown to possess a nearly singular, uniaxial structure related to stress anisotropy. Possible stress-strain relations in monotonic loading paths are also discussed

Frictionless bead packs have macroscopic friction, but no dilatancy

The statement of the title is shown by numerical simulation of homogeneously sheared packings of frictionless, nearly rigid beads in the quasistatic limit. Results coincide for steady flows at constant shear rate γ in the limit of small γ and static approaches, in which packings are equilibrated under growing deviator stresses. The internal friction angle ϕ, equal to 5.76 $\pm$ 0.22 degrees in simple shear, is independent on the average pressure P in the rigid limit. It is shown to stem from the ability of stable frictionless contact networks to form stress-induced anisotropic fabrics. No enduring strain localization is observed. Dissipation at the macroscopic level results from repeated network rearrangements, like the effective friction of a frictionless slider on a bumpy surface. Solid fraction Φ remains equal to the random close packing value ≃ 0.64 in slowly or statically sheared systems. Fluctuations of stresses and volume are observed to regress in the large system limit, and we conclude that the same friction law for simple shear applies in the large psystem limit if normal stress or density is externally controlled. Defining the inertia number as I = γ m/(aP), with m the grain mass and a its diameter, both internal friction coefficient $\mu$∗ = tan ϕ and volume 1/Φ increase as powers of I in the quasistatic limit of vanishing I, in which all mechanical properties are determined by contact network geometry. The microstructure of the sheared material is characterized with a suitable parametrization of the fabric tensor and measurements of connectivity and coordination numbers associated with contacts and near neighbors.Comment: 19 pages. Additional technical details may be found in v

Computational multiscale modeling of steels assisted by transformation-induced plasticity

The contribution of the martensitic transformation to the overall stress-strain response of a multiphase steel assisted by a transformation- induced plasticity effect is analyzed in detail. A recently-developed multiscale transformation model is combined with a plasticity model to simulate the response of a three-dimensional grain of retained austenite embedded in a ferrite-based matrix. Results show that the effective hardening behavior of the material depends strongly on the grain orientation and, to a lesser extent, on the grain size