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The modified compact tension test (MCT) may represent a new test configuration for the performance of static and other kinds of fatigue tests on concrete-like materials. Core drilling can be employed to obtain specimens which are cylindrical in shape and have a standard diameter of 150 mm, this being appropriate for the determination of the residual life of structures. This contribution focuses on the evaluation of MCT specimen fracture behavior during static tests. Cracks evolution are simulated numerically using ATENA finite element (FE) software, while the results are represented as L-COD diagrams, i.e. load vs. crack opening displacement measured on the loading axis. After numerical calculations, the results for two different fixtures are compared and the advantages or drawbacks for each solution are discussed.

The peculiar geometrical shape and working conditions of crankshafts make fatigue becoming responsible for most of the failure cases in such components. Therefore, improvement of crankshaft performance requires enhancing its fatigue life. In this work, the fatigue behavior of a D38MSV5S steel, used for crankshafts in compact vehicles, is investigated according to two traditional ways of analysis, namely the stress based and the fracture mechanics based approaches, though using advanced design models: On the one side, a probabilistic Weibull regression S-N model is assessed for experimental results obtained from fatigue resonance tests. On the other side, the crack growth rate curve is calculated from crack growth tests, carried out on SENB specimens, using a normalizing procedure. Specific Matlab programs are developed to facilitate the evaluation process. The information gained from both models will contribute to provide a probabilistic interpretation to the Kitagawa-Takahashi diagram.

Mechanical complications in implant-supported fixed dental prostheses are often related to implant and prosthetic design. Although the current ISO 14801 provides a framework for the evaluation of dental implant mechanical reliability, strict adherence to it may be difficult to achieve due to the large number of test specimens which it requires as well as the fact that it does not offer any probabilistic reference for determining the endurance limit. In order to address these issues, a new software program called ProFatigue is presented as a potentially powerful tool to optimize fatigue testing of implant-supported prostheses. The present work provides a brief description of some concepts such as load, fatigue and stress-number of cycles to failure curves (S-N curves), before subsequently describing the current regulatory situation. After analyzing the two most recent versions of the ISO recommendation (from 2008 and 2016), some limitations inherent to the experimental methods which they propose are highlighted. Finally, the main advantages and instructions for the correct implementation of the ProFatigue free software are given. This software will contribute to improving the performance of fatigue testing in a more accurate and optimized way, helping researchers to gain a better understanding of the behavior of dental implants in this type of mechanical test.

Several structures are completely or partially manufactured in a factory and then transported to the final situation where they are going to be located. An accurate methodology to check the serviceability of the structure in the factory, previously to the transportation and final assembly, will diminish significantly the costs of validation of its dynamic behavior. The structural dynamic modification (SDM) can be used to predict the modal parameters of a supported structure from the experimental modal parameters corresponding to the same structure but tested in a configuration easy to reproduce in a factory, such as the free-free condition. However, the accuracy obtained with this technique depends on how well the boundary conditions modelled with the SDM replicate the real support conditions. In this paper the SDM theory is used to predict the modal parameters of a pinned-free beam, a cantilever beam, and a 3D steel beam structure from the experimental natural frequencies and mode shapes of the same structures tested in free-free configuration. The predictions provided by the SDM theory are validated by operational modal testing on the supported structures. It is shown how the aforementioned boundary conditions can be modelled with the SDM, and the accuracy provided by the technique is investigated.

El vidrio y la cerámica presentan un comportamiento frágil, lo que implica una gran dispersión en los resultados de ensayos. Esta dispersión se debe principalmente a la inevitable presencia de microfisuras superficiales, defectos de borde o defectos internos, que deben tenerse en cuenta mediante criterios de fallo apropiados no deterministas, sino probabilistas. Entre las distribuciones de probabilidad existentes, generalmente se utiliza la distribución de Weibull bi o triparamétrica en el ajuste de resultados de resistencia de materiales. En primer lugar se realiza un amplio programa experimental utilizando probetas planas de vidrio recocido de distintas dimensiones bajo flexión a 4 puntos y flexión con anillos concéntricos dobles. Seguidamente se presentan los modelos de elementos finitos realizados para cada tipo de ensayo, así como el ajuste de los parámetros de la función de distribución (fdd) triparamétrica de Weibull (λ: localización; β: forma; δ: escala) para un criterio de fallo determinado y el cálculo de las áreas efectivas a partir de la fdd determinada. Con todo ello, el trabajo pretende generalizar la utilización de la fdd triparamétrica de Weibull en elementos de vidrio estructural con distribuciones de carga no descritas analíticamente, permitiendo aplicar el modelo probabilista propuesto a distribuciones generales de solicitación.

A class of fatigue crack growth models based on elastic–plastic stress–strain histories at the crack tip region and local strain-life damage models have been proposed in literature. The fatigue crack growth is regarded as a process of continuous crack initializations over successive elementary material blocks, which may be governed by smooth strain-life damage data. Some approaches account for the residual stresses developing at the crack tip in the actual crack driving force assessment, allowing mean stresses and loading sequential effects to be modelled. An extension of the fatigue crack propagation model originally proposed by Noroozi et al. (2005) to derive probabilistic fatigue crack propagation data is proposed, in particular concerning the derivation of probabilistic da/dN-ΔK-R fields. The elastic-plastic stresses at the vicinity of the crack tip, computed using simplified formulae, are compared with the stresses computed using an elasticplastic finite element analyses for specimens considered in the experimental program proposed to derive the fatigue crack propagation data. Using probabilistic strain-life data available for the S355 structural mild steel, probabilistic crack propagation fields are generated, for several stress ratios, and compared with experimental fatigue crack propagation data. A satisfactory agreement between the predicted probabilistic fields and experimental data is observed.

The modified compact tension (MCT) test, though not yet recognized as a valid test for determining fracture energy of concrete, is believed to represent a plausible and suitable alternative versus other well established procedures, such as the wedge-splitting test (WST) and the three point (3PB) or four point bending (4PB) tests, due to its simplicity and low cost. The aim of the paper is twofold: Firstly, to demonstrate the necessary correspondence between the experimental MCT test setup and finite element simulations and secondly, to initiate the way of establishing the desirable conversion between the fracture energy parameter values resulting from the MCT test and the standard conventional procedures. MCT tests are carried out and compared with the numerical results from 2-D and 3-D finite element calculations using the commercial codes ABAQUS and ATENA, the latter being specifically developed for applications on concrete structures and elements. In this way, the usability of the modified compact tension test for practical purposes is confirmed.

The Miner number M, used as a tool for lifetime prediction of mechanical and structural components in most of the standards related to fatigue design, is generally accepted as representing a damage stage resulting from a linear progression of damage accumulation. Nonetheless, the fatigue and damage approach proposed by Castillo and Fernández-Canteli, permits us to reject this conventional cliché by relating M to the normalized variable V, which represents percentile curves in the S-N field unequivocally associated to probability of failure. This approach, allowing a probabilistic interpretation of the Miner rule, can be applied to fatigue design of mechanical and structural components subjected to variable amplitude loading. The results of an extensive test program on concrete specimens under compressive constant and load spectra, carried out elsewhere, are used. A parallel calculation of the normalized variable V and the Miner number M is performed throughout the damage progression due to loading allowing probabilities of failure to be assigned to any value of the current Miner number. It is found that significant probabilities of failure, say P=0.05, are attained for even low values of M, thus evidencing the necessity of a new definition of the safety coefficient of structural or machine components when the Miner rule is considered. The experimental and analytical probability distributions of the resulting Miner numbers are compared and discussed, the latter still providing a nonconservative prediction in spite of the enhancement. A possible correction is analyzed.

The influence of in- and out- of plane constraints on the behaviour of a crack under mode I loading conditions is studied. The independence of the stress intensity tensor, with respect to the specimen thickness B shows that under loss of constraint conditions higher order members of the Williams’ tensor expansion must be considered if the experimental results for increasing apparent fracture toughness resulting from decreasing specimen thickness are to be explained. This is achieved using the constraint curves that define the intensity field tensor along the crack propagation direction and can be alternative to the T-stress approach. This approach is then applied to crack instability assessment for program compact tension (CT — positive values of T-stress) and three point bending (3PB— from negative to positive values of T-stress) specimens with different thicknesses. The theoretical results are compared with experimental ones obtained from the research program on aluminium alloy 2024.

STRATEGY CCUS (Strategic Planning of Regions and Territories in Europe for Low‐Carbon Energy and Industry through CCUS) is a 3‐year project (2019‐2022) funded by the European Commission to support the development of low‐carbon energy and industry in eight regions of Southern and Eastern Europe by 2050. Among the three most promising regions selected was Ebro Basin (Spain) where local development plans (or scenarios) were defined for CO2 capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies implementation based on an industrial cluster approach. Potential regional impact analysis of these CCUS implementation plans was carried out based on the environmental impact assessment, social‐economics factors, social acceptance and in‐depth techno‐economic analysis. The Ebro Basin region is located at the north‐east (NE) of Spain and was selected based on its level of CO2 industrial emissions, estimated geological storage capacity and well‐defined transport network (pipelines, roads, rail and ports). The base scenario presented was built with the aim of covering the most extensive CO2 network but limited by the storage possibilities in the area. It covers the 15 largest emitters in the region, 3 storage sites and a complete transportation network including trucks, pipelines and ships. An alternative scenario was also proposed considering only those industries where CCUS technologies are already included in their decarbonisation strategy. The economic analysis of proposed scenarios is presented as an in‐depth set of key performance indicators (KPIs), as cost per tonne of CO2 avoided, allowing an effective comparison of the scenarios, understanding the real potential for CCUS implementation in the area and pointing out key needs for making it possible. © 2022 The Authors. Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]