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Although concussions can result in persistent neurological post-concussion symptoms, they are typically invisible on routine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Our study aimed to investigate the use of ultra-high-field diffusion tensor imaging (UHF-DTI) in discerning severity-dependent microstructural changes in the mouse brain following a concussion. Twenty-three C57BL/6 mice were randomly allocated into three groups: the low concussive (LC, n  = 9) injury group, the high concussive (HC, n  = 6) injury group, and the sham control (SC, n  = 7) group. Mice were perfused on day 2 post-injury, and the brains were scanned on a 16.4T MRI scanner with UHF-DTI and neurite orientation dispersion imaging (NODDI). Finite element analysis (FEA) was performed to determine the pattern and extent of the physical impact on the brain tissue. MRI findings were correlated with histopathological analysis in a subset of mice. In the LC group, increased fractional anisotropy (FA) and decreased orientation dispersion index (ODI) but limited neurite density index (NDI) changes were found in the gray matter, and minimal changes to white matter (WM) were observed. The HC group presented increased mean diffusivity (MD), decreased NDI, and decreased ODI in the WM and gray matter (GM); decreased FA was also found in a small area of the WM. WM changes were associated with WM degeneration and neuroinflammation. FEA showed varying region-dependent degrees of stress, in line with the different imaging findings. This study provides evidence that UHF-DTI combined with NODDI can detect concussions of variable intensities. This has significant implications for the diagnosis of concussion in humans.

This paper investigated the role of longitudinal reverse bending stress on the initiation of reverse transverse defects. The longitudinal reverse bending stress occurs due to the reverse bending of the rail between two-wheel passage leading to the generation of tensile bending stress at the railhead and the lower head areas. The longitudinal bending stress was investigated as part of a parametric study on the rail cant angle, rail stiffness, lateral-to-vertical load ratio, and rail profile. A finite element model was created by using ABAQUS to analyze the extent of reverse bending in rails with respect to the chosen set of parameters. Under different lateral-to-vertical load ratios of 0, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7, the maximum stress at the rail lower gauge corner was found to vary between 14.57MPa and 15.47MPa under the reverse bending condition. Similarly, low values of tensile stress under the reverse bending scenario were observed with changes in the rail cant angle and axle spacing with respect to different coal and iron ore wagons. The results revealed that the magnitude of the bending stress under different conditions of reverse bending was not significant enough to initiate a crack at the lower gauge corner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The finite element method was used to simulate indentation tests on a particle embedded in a matrix, to investigate the influence of the properties of the particle and the matrix, and the indentation depth on the measured hardness. The particle’s work-hardening exponent and the mismatch in particle and matrix yield strength have a significant influence on the measured hardness. A particle-dominated indentation depth was identified, within which the measured nanoindentation hardness agrees very well with the true hardness of the particle material. Numerical results from the simulations of a wide range of material properties determined that the measured hardness is within 5% difference of the particle’s true hardness when the indentation depth is less than 13.5% of the particle’s radius. The results can be used in practice as a guideline to measure the hardness of a particle embedded in a matrix and provides the theoretical basis to develop a particle-embedded method to measure the hardness of individual particles. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: This paper directly examines the contact sliding distance experienced during a typical sheet metal stamping process—an area that has largely been neglected in the literature. A method to numerically quantify the sliding distance is proposed. The sliding distance predicted from this method, and the contact pressure obtained from numerical simulation, allow the recently identified time-dependent contact conditions on the die and blank surfaces to be completely characterized. Consequently, a new insight into the wear/galling that occurs at the die radius in sheet metal stamping is gained. The results show that the region close to zero degrees on the die radius is likely to experience the most wear, with the identified transient stage contributing to a large proportion of the total wear. Additionally, the region on the blank surface often observed to be heavily burnished – the die impact line – is estimated to experience the highest wear severity due to the transient contact conditions. The proposed method to numerically quantify the sliding contact conditions can be applied as a general approach to study any other two-body sliding contact situations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: For a given sheet metal forming process, an accurate determination of the contact pressure distribution is an essential step towards the estimation of tool life. This investigation utilizes finite element (FE) analysis to model and explain the evolution and distribution of contact pressure over the die radius, throughout the duration of a channel forming process. It was found that a typical two-peak steady-state contact pressure response exists for the majority of the process. However, this was preceded by an initial transient response, characterized by extremely large and localized contact pressures, which were more than double the magnitude of the steady-state peak pressure. The validity of the predicted contact pressure behavior was assessed via detailed numerical analysis and by examining the wear response of an experimental stamping operation. The experimental results revealed that the high contact pressure zones of the transient response corresponded to a severe galling wear mechanism. Therefore, the transient response may be of primary significance to the tool wear response; thus questioning the applicability of traditional bending-under-tension wear tests for sheet metal stamping processes. Finally, a parametric study was conducted, examining the influence of the major process parameters on the steady-state and peak transient contact pressures, using the developed FE model. It was found that the bend ratio and the blank material ultimate tensile strength had the most influence on the peak contact pressures. The main process-related parameters, friction coefficient and blank holder force, were found to have only a minor influence. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• A ratcheting mechanism-based numerical model was applied to predict damage initiation in twin-disc tests of premium rail steels. • Wear- and RCF-dominated damages are distinguished by the depth of the ratcheting mechanism-based damage initiation locations. • A higher creepage results in a shallower damage initiation location and a shorter damage initiation life. • The initial wear rate increases with a higher creepage for wear-dominated damage. • HE2 rail steel presents the longest damage initiation life and the lowest initial wear rate compared to HE1 and LAHT. This work presents a ratcheting mechanism-based numerical model to study the initiation location and initiation life of rolling contact fatigue (RCF) or wear damage and the initial wear rate of premium rail steels under the laboratory twin-disc test conditions. Twin-disc tests are widely used in the studies of rail steels due to their ability to reproduce critical aspects of full-scale wheel-on-rail contact under controlled conditions and a relatively short test period compared to field tests. This study introduces a computational model to simulate the cyclic rolling contact for three premium rail steels (HE1, HE2, and LAHT) against wheel steel AAR Class-C under twin-disc test conditions. The cyclic rolling contact is achieved by repeatedly moving a non-Hertzian distribution of contact pressure and the calculated longitudinal surface traction upon a segment of the circumferential surface of the lower disc until a stabilized maximum ratcheting strain rate is reached. The RCF or wear damage initiation location is determined by the location showing the stabilized maximum ratcheting strain rate, and the damage initiation life is estimated by applying the ratcheting failure mechanism. Wear and RCF damages are distinguished by the depth of the damage initiation location. Wear damage is dominant when the location is near the surface. Otherwise, the damage will be RCF-dominated. The initial wear rate due to wear-dominated damage is estimated by identifying a critical profile and affected volume of worn material within the ratcheting strain rate field. The predicted initial wear rate is compared with the experimental result of the examined contact pair. This research can assist in a more profound understanding of the experiment results of a twin-disc test and provide a numerical basis for an experimental twin-disc test design. Furthermore, it may provide significant references for choosing rail steels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 3D intralaminar continuum damage mechanics based material model, combining damage mode interaction and material nonlinearity, was developed to predict the damage response of composite structures undergoing crush loading. This model captures the structural response without the need for calibration of experimentally determined material parameters. When used in the design of energy absorbing composite structures, it can reduce the dependence on physical testing. This paper validates this model against experimental data obtained from the literature and in-house testing. Results show that the model can predict the force response of the crushed composite structures with good accuracy. The simulated energy absorption in each test case was within 12% of the experimental value. Post-crush deformation and the damage morphologies, such as ply splitting, splaying and breakage, were also accurately reproduced. This study establishes the capability of this damage model for predicting the responses of composite structures under crushing loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper details the theory and implementation of a composite damage model, addressing damage within a ply (intralaminar) and delamination (interlaminar), for the simulation of crushing of laminated composite structures. It includes a more accurate determination of the characteristic length to achieve mesh objectivity in capturing intralaminar damage consisting of matrix cracking and fibre failure, a load-history dependent material response, an isotropic hardening nonlinear matrix response, as well as a more physically-based interactive matrix-dominated damage mechanism. The developed damage model requires a set of material parameters obtained from a combination of standard and non-standard material characterisation tests. The fidelity of the model mitigates the need to manipulate, or “calibrate”, the input data to achieve good agreement with experimental results. The intralaminar damage model was implemented as a VUMAT subroutine, and used in conjunction with an existing interlaminar damage model, in Abaqus/Explicit. This approach was validated through the simulation of the crushing of a cross-ply composite tube with a tulip-shaped trigger, loaded in uniaxial compression. Despite the complexity of the chosen geometry, excellent correlation was achieved with experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive study was carried out to numerically evaluate the ratcheting performance of three high strength pearlitic rail steels under different wheel–rail cyclic rolling contact conditions, i.e. free rolling, partial slip, and full slip conditions, different friction coefficients and different axle loads. The wheel–rail cyclic rolling contact was simulated by repeatedly passing a distributed contact pressure and a distributed tangential traction on the rail surface. This study combined the non-Hertzian contact pressure from finite element analysis with the longitudinal tangential traction from Carter’s theory to simulate the wheel–rail cyclic rolling contact problems. A cyclic plasticity material model considering the non-proportionally loading effect developed recently by the authors was applied to simulate the ratcheting behaviour of rail steels. The ratcheting performance of the rail steels was evaluated by the crack initiation life which was determined from the stabilized ratcheting strain rate and the ductility limit of the rail materials. The numerical results indicate that the crack initiation life decreases with the increase of the normalized tangential traction, the friction coefficient and the axle load for all three rail steels. Among the three rail steels, the hypereutectoid rail steel grade with a lower carbon content provides the best ratcheting performance under higher axle loads such as those used railway transport of mineral products in Australia. Furthermore, the numerical results obtained in this study are in reasonable agreement with the in-service performance of the three rail steels. This indicates that the developed approach has the capacity to evaluate the ratcheting performance of other rail steels under service loading conditions. The outcomes can provide useful information to the development and application of rail steels and the development of effective rail maintenance strategies in order to mitigate rail degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A first approach to evaluate ratcheting performance of rail flash butt welds is presented. • The numerical study combined a dynamic wheel–rail weld rolling contact simulation, multiple quasi-static wheel–rail weld contact simulations and a cyclic loading simulation. • The weld region was divided into 23 zones due to various mechanical properties across the rail weld. • The region with the lowest hardness in the softened zone has the shortest RCF initiation life. • RCF is likely to initiate more deeply in the softened zone than the parent rail and the region around the bond line. The ratcheting performance of a new R400HT rail flash butt weld was numerically evaluated under a typical heavy haul in-service condition. Due to varying mechanical properties across the rail weld, the weld region was divided into 23 zones in the numerical study. A dynamic finite element simulation of wheel–rail weld rolling contact was first carried out to obtain the total vertical contact force and its variation along rolling distance. Multiple quasi-static wheel–rail weld contact simulations were then performed by applying the total vertical contact force to determine the non-Hertzian contact pressure distribution when the wheel was located at different positions across the weld in the rolling direction. Based on each normal contact pressure distribution, the Haines and Ollerton's strip theory and Carter's theory were employed to estimate the corresponding longitudinal surface tangential traction distribution. Finally, a cyclic loading simulation was conducted to evaluate the ratcheting performance of the rail weld in terms of RCF initiation life by repeatedly translating these normal contact pressure and longitudinal tangential traction distributions on the running surface. The results reveal that the subzone with the lowest hardness in the softened zone has the shortest RCF initiation life among the weld region, followed by the region around the bond line. The parent rail provides the longest RCF initiation life and therefore has the best resistance to RCF. Additionally, the existence of the softened zone can shorten the RCF initiation life of the parent rail and the bond line section, particularly the regions located adjacent to the softened zone. The possible location of RCF initiation in the softened zone of the rail head can reach deeper than those in the parent rail and the region around the bond line. The results can help us understand the failure of flash butt rail welds in heavy haul operations and the numerical method can be applied to study different rail welds and rail welds under different conditions such as in a curved track. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ratcheting performance of heavy haul rails in curved tracks under different in-service loading conditions was numerically evaluated by using a recently developed approach. The wheel–high rail cyclic rolling contact was simulated by translating the non-Hertzian contact pressure distribution and the estimated longitudinal tangential traction repeatedly on the running surface of the high rail. The maximum ratcheting strain rate of the rail target section was obtained in each loading cycle. Based on the known ductility limit of the rail steel and the obtained maximum stabilized ratcheting strain rate, the crack initiation life of the rail was predicted in each case. The results indicate that the crack initiation life for all the three rail steel grades investigated decreases with the increase of the tangential traction coefficient, the friction coefficient, the ratio of lateral/vertical load and the axle load. Under the same in-service loading conditions, the ratcheting performance of the rails in curved tracks is worse than the one in tangent tracks. For instance, the crack initiation life of the low alloy heat-treated steel installed in the high rails is reduced by approximately 80% with the axle load of 35 t, the lateral/vertical load ratio of 0.3, the friction coefficient of 0.4 and the tangential traction coefficient of 0.5. The hypereutectoid steel rail with a lower carbon content always shows the best ratcheting performance and is likely to be the most reliable choice for the high rails in curved tracks. Moreover, the crack is predicted to initiate around 1 mm beneath from the top initial contact point. As the traction conditions become more severe, the location of crack initiation will shift from the subsurface to the running surface. The results can provide valuable information to assist rail operators in the selection of rail steel grades and the development of rail maintenance strategies. • The ratcheting performance of high strength rail steels installed in high rails is worse than that in tangent tracks. • Initiation of RCF may shift from the sub-surface to the surface of high rail gauge corner with severer loading conditions. • The hypereutectoid steel with a lower carbon content shows the best ratcheting performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]