ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.
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- All Subjects: Concrete--Cracking.
- All Subjects: Microstructural Evolution
- Creators: Mobasher, Barzin
Description
Early-age cracks in fresh concrete occur mainly due to high rate of surface evaporation and restraint offered by the contracting solid phase. Available test methods that simulate severe drying conditions, however, were not originally designed to focus on evaporation and transport characteristics of the liquid-gas phases in a hydrating cementitious microstructure. Therefore, these tests lack accurate measurement of the drying rate and data interpretation based on the principles of transport properties is limited. A vacuum-based test method capable of simulating early-age cracks in 2-D cement paste is developed which continuously monitors the weight loss and changes to the surface characteristics. 2-D crack evolution is documented using time-lapse photography. Effects of sample size, w/c ratio, initial curing and fiber content are studied. In the subsequent analysis, the cement paste phase is considered as a porous medium and moisture transport is described based on surface mass transfer and internal moisture transport characteristics. Results indicate that drying occurs in two stages: constant drying rate period (stage I), followed by a falling drying rate period (stage II). Vapor diffusion in stage I and unsaturated flow within porous medium in stage II determine the overall rate of evaporation. The mass loss results are analyzed using diffusion-based models. Results show that moisture diffusivity in stage I is higher than its value in stage II by more than one order of magnitude. The drying model is used in conjunction with a shrinkage model to predict the development of capillary pressures. Similar approach is implemented in drying restrained ring specimens to predict 1-D crack width development. An analytical approach relates diffusion, shrinkage, creep, tensile and fracture properties to interpret the experimental data. Evaporation potential is introduced based on the boundary layer concept, mass transfer, and a driving force consisting of the concentration gradient. Effect of wind velocity is reflected on Reynolds number which affects the boundary layer on sample surface. This parameter along with Schmidt and Sherwood numbers are used for prediction of mass transfer coefficient. Concentration gradient is shown to be a strong function of temperature and relative humidity and used to predict the evaporation potential. Results of modeling efforts are compared with a variety of test results reported in the literature. Diffusivity data and results of 1-D and 2-D image analyses indicate significant effects of fibers on controlling early-age cracks. Presented models are capable of predicting evaporation rates and moisture flow through hydrating cement-based materials during early-age drying and shrinkage conditions.
ContributorsBakhshi, Mehdi (Author) / Mobasher, Barzin (Thesis advisor) / Rajan, Subramaniam D. (Committee member) / Zapata, Claudia E. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Concrete design has recently seen a shift in focus from prescriptive specifications to performance based specifications with increasing demands for sustainable products. Fiber reinforced composites (FRC) provides unique properties to a material that is very weak under tensile loads. The addition of fibers to a concrete mix provides additional ductility and reduces the propagation of cracks in the concrete structure. It is the fibers that bridge the crack and dissipate the incurred strain energy in the form of a fiber-pullout mechanism. The addition of fibers plays an important role in tunnel lining systems and in reducing shrinkage cracking in high performance concretes. The interest in most design situations is the load where cracking first takes place. Typically the post crack response will exhibit either a load bearing increase as deflection continues, or a load bearing decrease as deflection continues. These behaviors are referred to as strain hardening and strain softening respectively. A strain softening or hardening response is used to model the behavior of different types of fiber reinforced concrete and simulate the experimental flexural response. Closed form equations for moment-curvature response of rectangular beams under four and three point loading in conjunction with crack localization rules are utilized. As a result, the stress distribution that considers a shifting neutral axis can be simulated which provides a more accurate representation of the residual strength of the fiber cement composites. The use of typical residual strength parameters by standards organizations ASTM, JCI and RILEM are examined to be incorrect in their linear elastic assumption of FRC behavior. Finite element models were implemented to study the effects and simulate the load defection response of fiber reinforced shotcrete round discrete panels (RDP's) tested in accordance with ASTM C-1550. The back-calculated material properties from the flexural tests were used as a basis for the FEM material models. Further development of FEM beams were also used to provide additional comparisons in residual strengths of early age samples. A correlation between the RDP and flexural beam test was generated based a relationship between normalized toughness with respect to the newly generated crack surfaces. A set of design equations are proposed using a residual strength correction factor generated by the model and produce the design moment based on specified concrete slab geometry.
ContributorsBarsby, Christopher (Author) / Mobasher, Barzin (Thesis advisor) / Rajan, Subramaniam D. (Committee member) / Neithalath, Narayanan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
High-temperature mechanical behaviors of metal alloys and underlying microstructural variations responsible for such behaviors are essential areas of interest for many industries, particularly for applications such as jet engines. Anisotropic grain structures, change of preferred grain orientation, and other transformations of grains occur both during metal powder bed fusion additive manufacturing processes, due to variation of thermal gradient and cooling rates, and afterward during different thermomechanical loads, which parts experience in their specific applications, could also impact its mechanical properties both at room and high temperatures. In this study, an in-depth analysis of how different microstructural features, such as crystallographic texture, grain size, grain boundary misorientation angles, and inherent defects, as byproducts of electron beam powder bed fusion (EB-PBF) AM process, impact its anisotropic mechanical behaviors and softening behaviors due to interacting mechanisms. Mechanical testing is conducted for EB-PBF Ti6Al4V parts made at different build orientations up to 600°C temperature. Microstructural analysis using electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) is conducted on samples before and after mechanical testing to understand the interacting impact that temperature and mechanical load have on the activation of certain mechanisms. The vertical samples showed larger grain sizes, with an average of 6.6 µm, a lower average misorientation angle, and subsequently lower strength values than the other two horizontal samples. Among the three strong preferred grain orientations of the α phases, <1 1 2 ̅ 1> and <1 1 2 ̅ 0> were dominant in horizontally built samples, whereas the <0 0 0 1> was dominant in vertically built samples. Thus, strong microstructural variation, as observed among different EB-PBF Ti6Al4V samples, mainly resulted in anisotropic behaviors. Furthermore, alpha grain showed a significant increase in average grain size for all samples with the increasing test temperature, especially from 400°C to 600°C, indicating grain growth and coarsening as potential softening mechanisms along with temperature-induced possible dislocation motion. The severity of internal and external defects on fatigue strength has been evaluated non-destructively using quantitative methods, i.e., Murakami’s square root of area parameter model and Basquin’s model, and the external surface defects were rendered to be more critical as potential crack initiation sites.
ContributorsMian, Md Jamal (Author) / Ladani, Leila (Thesis advisor) / Razmi, Jafar (Committee member) / Shuaib, Abdelrahman (Committee member) / Mobasher, Barzin (Committee member) / Nian, Qiong (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022