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Assessing static and dynamic response variability due to parametric uncertainty on fibre-reinforced composites

Publication . Carvalho, Alda; Silva, Tiago A. N.; Loja, M.A.R.

Composite structures are known for their ability to be tailored according to specific operating requisites. Therefore, when modelling these types of structures or components, it is important to account for their response variability, which is mainly due to significant parametric uncertainty compared to traditional materials. The possibility of manufacturing a material according to certain needs provides greater flexibility in design but it also introduces additional sources of uncertainty. Regardless of the origin of the material and/or geometrical variabilities, they will influence the structural responses. Therefore, it is important to anticipate and quantify these uncertainties as much as possible. With the present work, we intend to assess the influence of uncertain material and geometrical parameters on the responses of composite structures. Behind this characterization, linear static and free vibration analyses are performed considering that several material properties, the thickness of each layer and the fibre orientation angles are deemed to be uncertain. In this study, multivariable linear regression models are used to model the maximum transverse deflection and fundamental frequency for a given set of plates, aiming at characterizing the contribution of each modelling parameter to the explanation of the response variability. A set of simulations and numerical results are presented and discussed.

2018-02-01Journal article

Open access

Fatigue damage assessment under random and variable amplitude multiaxial loading conditions in structural steels

Publication . Anes, Vitor; Caxias, J.; Freitas, M.; Reis, L.

Fatigue damage assessment of multiaxial random loadings is a complex issue and a subject of actual interest in mechanical design. In this work, the performance of the stress scale factor (SSF) criterion is evaluated under variable amplitude loading conditions, and damage accumulation approaches. This evaluation is performed by taking into account two types of loading spectra, namely the loading block spectra (where the loading pattern is well identified and repeated until rupture), and the random loading spectra (where the stochastic behaviour of the axial and shear loading components do not allow a direct identification of the loading pattern). Moreover, the validity of the hypothesis in which the SSF damage map remains valid for any high strength steel under variable amplitude loading conditions is also inspected by analysing fatigue life correlation of the 1050 QT steel and the 304L stainless steel under a multiaxial loading block.

2017-07Journal article

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Assessing the influence of material and geometrical uncertainty on the mechanical behavior of functionally graded material plates

Publication . Carvalho, Alda; Silva, Tiago; Loja, Amélia; Damásio, Fábio Raimundo

Composite materials possessing a functional gradient are becoming strong candidates to enhance the performance of structures when severe operating conditions are a reality. These types of conditions may, for example, range from situations where a high thermal gradient is present to others where it is imperative to minimize abrupt stresses transitions between material interfaces. The manufacturing achievement of the gradients determined for a specific application may in practice face some limitations, which can be due, among other factors, to technological process constraints, eventual operating condition deterioration of production stages, or to nonconforming raw materials. Regardless of the origin of such limitations, the reality is that the uncertainty is always present to some extent; this is clearly reflected in the scattering of material and geometrical properties of these composites. The understanding that deterministic analyses are not enough to provide a complete prediction of the composite structures’ behavior emphasizes the crucial need to identify the effects that the variability in material and geometrical parameters will produce in the structural response.With the presentwork, one intends to study the influence of this variability in the static and free vibrations behavior of functionally graded plates. It is also an objective of this study to use regression models to predict these responses and to characterize the contribution of each model parameter to the explanation of the response variability. To this purpose, a set of numerical results is presented and discussed.

2016-11-03Journal article

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A new risk prioritization model for failure mode and effects analysis

Publication . Anes, Vitor; Henriques, Elsa; de Freitas, M.; Reis, Luis

Failure modes and effects analysis is a framework that has been widely used to improve reliability by prioritizing failures modes using the so‐called risk priority number. However, the risk priority number has some problems frequently pointed out in literature, namely its non‐injectivity, non‐surjectivity, and the impossibility to give weights to risk variables. Despite these disadvantages, the risk priority number continues to be widely used due to its higher simplicity when compared with other alternatives found in literature. In this paper, we propose a novel risk prioritization model to overcome the major drawbacks of the risk priority number. The model contains 2 functions, the risk isosurface function that prioritizes 3 risk variables considering their order of importance in a given risk scenario, and the risk prioritization index function which prioritizes 3 risk variables considering their weights. The novelty of the proposed model is its injectivity, surjectivity, and ease of use in failure modes prioritization. The performance of the proposed model was analyzed using some examples typically used to discuss the conventional risk priority number shortcomings. The model was applied to a case study and its performance correlated with other risk prioritization models. Results show that the failure modes prioritization reached with the proposed model agrees with the expectations made for the risk scenario.

2018-06Journal article

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Multiobjective optimization of cold-formed steel columns

Publication . Madeira, JFA; Dias, Joaquim; Silvestre, Nuno

The optimal design of cold-formed steel columns is addressed in this paper, with two objectives: maximize the local-global buckling strength and maximize the distortional buckling strength. The design variables of the problem are the angles of orientation of cross-section wall elements the thickness and width of the steel sheet that forms the cross-section are fixed. The elastic local, distortional and global buckling loads are determined using Finite Strip Method (CUFSM) and the strength of cold-formed steel columns (with given length) is calculated using the Direct Strength Method (DSM). The bi-objective optimization problem is solved using the Direct MultiSearch (DMS) method, which does not use any derivatives of the objective functions. Trade-off Pareto optimal fronts are obtained separately for symmetric and anti-symmetric cross-section shapes. The results are analyzed and further discussed, and some interesting conclusions about the individual strengths (local-global and distortional) are found.

2015-11Journal article

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