INNOVATIVE DEVICE FOR TENSILE STRENGTH TESTING OF WELDED JOINTS: 3D MODELLING, FEM SIMULATION AND EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION OF TEST RIG – A CASE STUDY

This work shows a case study into 3D modelling, numerical simulations, and preliminary research of self-designed test rig dedicated for uniaxial tensile testing using pillar press. Innovative device was CAD modelled, FEM optimized, build-up according to the technological documentations. Then, the device utilization for tensile testing was validated via preliminary research. 3D model of the device was designed and FEM-analyzed using Solid Edge 2020 software. The set of FEM simulations for device components made of structural steel and stainless steel and at a workload equal 20 kN were conducted. This made it possible to optimize dimensions and selection of material used for individual parts of the device structure. Elaborated technical documentation allows for a build-up of a device prototype which was fixed into the pillar press. After that, the comparative preliminary experiments regarding tensile strength tests of X5CrNi18-10 (AISI 304) specimens were carried out. Tests were done using the commercial tensile strength machine and obtained results were compared with those received from an invented device. The ultimate tensile strength of X5CrNi18-10 steel, estimated using the commercial device (634 MPa) and results obtained from the patented device (620 MPa), were in the range of the standardized values. Findings confirm the utilization of the invented device for tensile strength testing

Ocena wpływu międzywarstwy austenitycznej na właściwości napoin stellitowych utwardzonych udarowo

Stellites (Co-Cr-W-C) are the specific group of coating materials used for surface modification of the engineering materials and for remanufacturing. The aim of the paper was to research the influence of austenitic (308LSi) interlayer on hardening rate of stellite 1 and stellite 6 after impact hardening. The samples have been cladded by TIG welding method with interlayer and without. Before impact hardening the samples have been visually and penetrant non-destructive tested. The samples after impact hardening have been tested by metallographic and Vickers hardness methods. The highest impact hardening effect have been revealed for coatings deposited with interlayer. The highest impact hardening effect was achieved for the padding welds produced with the interlayer, i.e. for stellite 1 (increased by 29.8%) and stellite 6 (increased by 42.7%). The hardening of the coating samples deposited without interlayer was lower and amounted to stellite 1 (increased by 13.7%) and stellite 6 (increased by 29.8%) respectively. The highest hardness values were obtained for impact-hardened cladded welds without the use of an interlayer (stellite 1; 790 HV0.1 and stellite 6; 732 HV0.1). The use of an interlayer reduces the hardness of the stellite coating while increasing the susceptibility to hardening and plastic deformation of the produced coating.Stellity (Co-Cr-W-C) stanowią grupę materiałów stosowanych do napawania produkcyjnego i regeneracyjnego. Celem pracy było zbadanie wpływu międzywarstwy austenitycznej (308LSi) na stopień umocnienia się napoin stellitowych (stellit 1 i stellit 6), poddanych działaniu obciążeń udarowych. Próbki napawano metodą TIG z zastosowaniem międzywarstwy oraz bez udziału międzywarstwy. Po przeprowadzeniu badań wizualnych i penetracyjnych próbki zostały poddane utwardzeniu udarowemu. Wykonano badania metalograficzne oraz badania mikrotwardości sposobem Vickersa. Największe utwardzenie udarowe uzyskano dla napoin wytworzonych z międzywarstwą, tj. dla stellitu 1: 29.8% i stellitu 6: 42.7%. Utwardzenie próbek napawanych bez międzywarstwy było niższe i wynosiło kolejno dla stellitu 1: 13.7% i stellitu 6: 29.8%. Najwyższe wartości twardości uzyskano dla napoin utwardzanych udarowo bez zastosowania międzywarstwy (stellit 1; 790 HV0,1 i stellit 6; 732 HV0,1). Zastosowanie międzywarstwy obniża mikrotwardość powłoki stellitowej jednocześnie zwiększając podatność do umocnienia i odkształcenia plastycznego wytworzonej powłoki

Competing risk events in antimalarial drug trials in uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria: A WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network individual participant data meta-analysis

Background: Therapeutic efficacy studies in uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria are confounded by new infections, which constitute competing risk events since they can potentially preclude/pre-empt the detection of subsequent recrudescence of persistent, sub-microscopic primary infections. Methods: Antimalarial studies typically report the risk of recrudescence derived using the Kaplan-Meier (K-M) method, which considers new infections acquired during the follow-up period as censored. Cumulative Incidence Function (CIF) provides an alternative approach for handling new infections, which accounts for them as a competing risk event. The complement of the estimate derived using the K-M method (1 minus K-M), and the CIF were used to derive the risk of recrudescence at the end of the follow-up period using data from studies collated in the WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network data repository. Absolute differences in the failure estimates derived using these two methods were quantified. In comparative studies, the equality of two K-M curves was assessed using the log-rank test, and the equality of CIFs using Gray's k-sample test (both at 5% level of significance). Two different regression modelling strategies for recrudescence were considered: cause-specific Cox model and Fine and Gray's sub-distributional hazard model. Results: Data were available from 92 studies (233 treatment arms, 31,379 patients) conducted between 1996 and 2014. At the end of follow-up, the median absolute overestimation in the estimated risk of cumulative recrudescence by using 1 minus K-M approach was 0.04% (interquartile range (IQR): 0.00-0.27%, Range: 0.00-3.60%). The overestimation was correlated positively with the proportion of patients with recrudescence [Pearson's correlation coefficient (ρ): 0.38, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.30-0.46] or new infection [ρ: 0.43; 95% CI 0.35-0.54]. In three study arms, the point estimates of failure were greater than 10% (the WHO threshold for withdrawing antimalarials) when the K-M method was used, but remained below 10% when using the CIF approach, but the 95% confidence interval included this threshold. Conclusions: The 1 minus K-M method resulted in a marginal overestimation of recrudescence that became increasingly pronounced as antimalarial efficacy declined, particularly when the observed proportion of new infection was high. The CIF approach provides an alternative approach for derivation of failure estimates in antimalarial trials, particularly in high transmission settings