Search Results (5)

Based on a combination of hexagonal honeycomb and re-entrant honeycomb cells, the concept of novel hybrid cell structures was developed. Experimental studies and numerical analyses of the behaviour of the analysed structures under in-plane compression in two compression directions were carried out. Explicit finite element analyses with an explicit integration scheme, incorporating plastic deformation and ductile damage evolution models, were employed to analyse the entire deformation process, including plastic and damage stages. Good agreement was obtained between the results of the numerical analyses and the experimental studies. Full article

The experience of recent military missions clearly shows the importance of protecting vehicles and the people they carry from mines and IEDs. This protection can be achieved in many ways, using both active and passive solutions. One of the most popular solutions is using energy deflectors, which, thanks to their appropriately selected shape, can dissipate the energy from the detonation of an explosive charge, thus reducing the blast wave loading on the protected structure. The article presents the research results on two innovative groups of deflectors—double-bend and semi-spherical, characterized by a better ability to disperse energy than traditionally used V-shaped deflectors. Several possible geometric shapes differing in critical dimensions were selected, and both experimental studies and numerical analyses were carried out. A ballistic pendulum was used to measure individual deflectors’ performances. The tests proved the tested solutions’ increased effectiveness compared with V-shaped deflectors. Full article

The influence of the thermo-oxidative aging semi-crystalline polyethylene terephthalate process on the thermal and mechanical properties was analysed in the article. For this purpose, PET was aged at 140 °C for 21, 35 and 56 days. The research showed that as a result of aging, the amount of the crystalline phase increases by about 8%, which translates into the properties of the aged material. The glass transition and melt temperature of lamellar crystals formed during first and second crystallisation increase with aging. The mechanical properties of the material were analysed in the temperature range of 25 to 75 °C. The tests were showing an increase in Young’s modulus and a decrease in elongation at the break as a result of aging. This phenomenon was particularly visible during tests at 75 °C and during the morphological observation of the fracture surface, where the fracture character of the material changes from ductile to brittle. In the case of the material aged for the longest time, the temperature has a negligible influence on the elongation at break. Full article

The mechanical properties and microstructure evolution caused by dynamic loads of 316L stainless steel, fabricated using the Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS) technique and hot forging method were studied. Full-density samples, without cracks made of 316L stainless steel alloy powder by using the LENS technique, are characterized by an untypical bi-modal microstructure consisting of macro-grains, which form sub-grains with a similar crystallographic orientation. Wrought stainless steel 316L has an initial equiaxed and one-phase structure, which is formed by austenite grains. The electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) technique was used to illustrate changes in the microstructure of SS316L after it was subjected to dynamic loads, and it was revealed that for both samples, the grain refinement increases as the deformation rate increases. However, in the case of SS316L samples made by LENS, the share of low-angle boundaries (sub-grains) decreases, and the share of high-angle boundaries (grains of austenite) increases. Dynamically deformed wrought SS316L is characterized by the reverse trend: a decrease in the share of high-angle boundaries and an increase in the share of low-angle boundaries. Moreover, additively manufactured SS316L is characterized by lower plastic flow stresses compared with hot-forged steel, which is caused by the finer microstructure of wrought samples relative to that of additive samples. In the case of additively manufactured 316L steel samples subjected to a dynamic load, plastic deformation occurs predominantly through dislocation slip, in contrast to the wrought samples, in which the dominant mechanism of deformation is twinning, which is favored by a high deformation speed and low stacking fault energy (SFE) for austenite. Full article

The effect of using a pulse shaper technique, such as rounding a striker or applying a pulse shaper on the signals recorded with the split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) technique, when the striker and the input bar are in an imperfect position, was investigated. Two of the most common cases have been analyzed: an offset of the symmetry axes of the striker and the input bar; and an inclination angle between the striker and the input bar. LS-Dyna software was used to examine this problem numerically. The inclination angle imperfection has a significant impact on signal disturbances, whereas the use of a rounded striker significantly affects the limitation of the vibration flexural modes. In all considered cases, a slight imperfection causes a reduction in the high-frequency Pochhammer–Chree oscillations. Full article