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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Description
The main objective of this study is to develop an innovative system in the form of a sandwich panel type composite with textile reinforced skins and aerated concrete core. Existing theoretical concepts along with extensive experimental investigations were utilized to characterize the behavior of cement based systems in the presence

The main objective of this study is to develop an innovative system in the form of a sandwich panel type composite with textile reinforced skins and aerated concrete core. Existing theoretical concepts along with extensive experimental investigations were utilized to characterize the behavior of cement based systems in the presence of individual fibers and textile yarns. Part of this thesis is based on a material model developed here in Arizona State University to simulate experimental flexural response and back calculate tensile response. This concept is based on a constitutive law consisting of a tri-linear tension model with residual strength and a bilinear elastic perfectly plastic compression stress strain model. This parametric model was used to characterize Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC) with aramid, carbon, alkali resistant glass, polypropylene TRC and hybrid systems of aramid and polypropylene. The same material model was also used to characterize long term durability issues with glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC). Historical data associated with effect of temperature dependency in aging of GFRC composites were used. An experimental study was conducted to understand the behavior of aerated concrete systems under high stain rate impact loading. Test setup was modeled on a free fall drop of an instrumented hammer using three point bending configuration. Two types of aerated concrete: autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) and polymeric fiber-reinforced aerated concrete (FRAC) were tested and compared in terms of their impact behavior. The effect of impact energy on the mechanical properties was investigated for various drop heights and different specimen sizes. Both materials showed similar flexural load carrying capacity under impact, however, flexural toughness of fiber-reinforced aerated concrete was proved to be several degrees higher in magnitude than that provided by plain autoclaved aerated concrete. Effect of specimen size and drop height on the impact response of AAC and FRAC was studied and discussed. Results obtained were compared to the performance of sandwich beams with AR glass textile skins with aerated concrete core under similar impact conditions. After this extensive study it was concluded that this type of sandwich composite could be effectively used in low cost sustainable infrastructure projects.
ContributorsDey, Vikram (Author) / Mobasher, Barzin (Thesis advisor) / Rajan, Subramaniam D. (Committee member) / Neithalath, Narayanan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
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Description
The main objective of this study is to investigate the mechanical behaviour of cementitious based composites subjected dynamic tensile loading, with effects of strain rate, temperature, addition of short fibres etc. Fabric pullout model and tension stiffening model based on finite difference model, previously developed at Arizona State University were

The main objective of this study is to investigate the mechanical behaviour of cementitious based composites subjected dynamic tensile loading, with effects of strain rate, temperature, addition of short fibres etc. Fabric pullout model and tension stiffening model based on finite difference model, previously developed at Arizona State University were used to help study the bonding mechanism between fibre and matrix, and the phenomenon of tension stiffening due to the addition of fibres and textiles. Uniaxial tension tests were conducted on strain-hardening cement-based composites (SHCC), textile reinforced concrete (TRC) with and without addition of short fibres, at the strain rates ranging from 25 s-1 to 100 s-1. Historical data on quasi-static tests of same materials were used to demonstrate the effects including increases in average tensile strength, strain capacity, work-to-fracture due to high strain rate. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), glass, polypropylene were employed as reinforcements of concrete. A state-of-the-art phantom v7 high speed camera was setup to record the video at frame rate of 10,000 fps. Random speckle pattern of texture style was made on the surface of specimens for image analysis. An optical non-contacting deformation measurement technique referred to as digital image correlation (DIC) method was used to conduct the image analysis by means of tracking the displacement field through comparison between the reference image and deformed images. DIC successfully obtained full-filed strain distribution, strain versus time responses, demonstrated the bonding mechanism from perspective of strain field, and corrected the stress-strain responses.
ContributorsYao, Yiming (Author) / Barzin, Mobasher (Thesis advisor) / Rajan, Subramaniam D. (Committee member) / Neithalath, Narayanan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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Description
This study focuses on implementing probabilistic nature of material properties (Kevlar® 49) to the existing deterministic finite element analysis (FEA) of fabric based engine containment system through Monte Carlo simulations (MCS) and implementation of probabilistic analysis in engineering designs through Reliability Based Design Optimization (RBDO). First, the emphasis is on

This study focuses on implementing probabilistic nature of material properties (Kevlar® 49) to the existing deterministic finite element analysis (FEA) of fabric based engine containment system through Monte Carlo simulations (MCS) and implementation of probabilistic analysis in engineering designs through Reliability Based Design Optimization (RBDO). First, the emphasis is on experimental data analysis focusing on probabilistic distribution models which characterize the randomness associated with the experimental data. The material properties of Kevlar® 49 are modeled using experimental data analysis and implemented along with an existing spiral modeling scheme (SMS) and user defined constitutive model (UMAT) for fabric based engine containment simulations in LS-DYNA. MCS of the model are performed to observe the failure pattern and exit velocities of the models. Then the solutions are compared with NASA experimental tests and deterministic results. MCS with probabilistic material data give a good prospective on results rather than a single deterministic simulation results. The next part of research is to implement the probabilistic material properties in engineering designs. The main aim of structural design is to obtain optimal solutions. In any case, in a deterministic optimization problem even though the structures are cost effective, it becomes highly unreliable if the uncertainty that may be associated with the system (material properties, loading etc.) is not represented or considered in the solution process. Reliable and optimal solution can be obtained by performing reliability optimization along with the deterministic optimization, which is RBDO. In RBDO problem formulation, in addition to structural performance constraints, reliability constraints are also considered. This part of research starts with introduction to reliability analysis such as first order reliability analysis, second order reliability analysis followed by simulation technique that are performed to obtain probability of failure and reliability of structures. Next, decoupled RBDO procedure is proposed with a new reliability analysis formulation with sensitivity analysis, which is performed to remove the highly reliable constraints in the RBDO, thereby reducing the computational time and function evaluations. Followed by implementation of the reliability analysis concepts and RBDO in finite element 2D truss problems and a planar beam problem are presented and discussed.
ContributorsDeivanayagam, Arumugam (Author) / Rajan, Subramaniam D. (Thesis advisor) / Mobasher, Barzin (Committee member) / Neithalath, Narayanan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
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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

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
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Description
Ultra-concealable multi-threat body armor used by law-enforcement is a multi-purpose armor that protects against attacks from knife, spikes, and small caliber rounds. The design of this type of armor involves fiber-resin composite materials that are flexible, light, are not unduly affected by environmental conditions, and perform as required. The National

Ultra-concealable multi-threat body armor used by law-enforcement is a multi-purpose armor that protects against attacks from knife, spikes, and small caliber rounds. The design of this type of armor involves fiber-resin composite materials that are flexible, light, are not unduly affected by environmental conditions, and perform as required. The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) characterizes this type of armor as low-level protection armor. NIJ also specifies the geometry of the knife and spike as well as the strike energy levels required for this level of protection. The biggest challenges are to design a thin, lightweight and ultra-concealable armor that can be worn under street clothes. In this study, several fundamental tasks involved in the design of such armor are addressed. First, the roles of design of experiments and regression analysis in experimental testing and finite element analysis are presented. Second, off-the-shelf materials available from international material manufacturers are characterized via laboratory experiments. Third, the calibration process required for a constitutive model is explained through the use of experimental data and computer software. Various material models in LS-DYNA for use in the finite element model are discussed. Numerical results are generated via finite element simulations and are compared against experimental data thus establishing the foundation for optimizing the design.
ContributorsVokshi, Erblina (Author) / Rajan, Subramaniam D. (Thesis advisor) / Neithalath, Narayanan (Committee member) / Mobasher, Barzin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
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Description
An orthotropic elasto-plastic damage material model (OEPDMM) suitable for impact simulations has been developed through a joint research project funded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Development of the model includes derivation of the theoretical details, implementation of the theory into LS-DYNA®,

An orthotropic elasto-plastic damage material model (OEPDMM) suitable for impact simulations has been developed through a joint research project funded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Development of the model includes derivation of the theoretical details, implementation of the theory into LS-DYNA®, a commercially available nonlinear transient dynamic finite element code, as material model MAT 213, and verification and validation of the model. The material model is comprised of three major components: deformation, damage, and failure. The deformation sub-model is used to capture both linear and nonlinear deformations through a classical plasticity formulation. The damage sub-model is used to account for the reduction of elastic stiffness of the material as the degree of plastic strain is increased. Finally, the failure sub-model is used to predict the onset of loss of load carrying capacity in the material. OEPDMM is driven completely by tabulated experimental data obtained through physically meaningful material characterization tests, through high fidelity virtual tests, or both. The tabulated data includes stress-strain curves at different temperatures and strain rates to drive the deformation sub-model, damage parameter-total strain curves to drive the damage sub-model, and the failure sub-model can be driven by the data required for different failure theories implemented in the computer code. The work presented herein focuses on the experiments used to obtain the data necessary to drive as well as validate the material model, development and implementation of the damage model, verification of the deformation and damage models through single element (SE) and multi-element (ME) finite element simulations, development and implementation of experimental procedure for modeling delamination, and finally validation of the material model through low speed impact simulations and high speed impact simulations.
ContributorsKhaled, Bilal Marwan (Author) / Rajan, Subramaniam D. (Thesis advisor) / Mobasher, Barzin (Committee member) / Neithalath, Narayanan (Committee member) / Liu, Yongming (Committee member) / Goldberg, Robert K. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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Description
The motivation of this work is based on development of new construction products with strain hardening cementitious composites (SHCC) geared towards sustainable residential applications. The proposed research has three main objectives: automation of existing manufacturing systems for SHCC laminates; multi-level characterization of mechanical properties of fiber, matrix, interface and composites

The motivation of this work is based on development of new construction products with strain hardening cementitious composites (SHCC) geared towards sustainable residential applications. The proposed research has three main objectives: automation of existing manufacturing systems for SHCC laminates; multi-level characterization of mechanical properties of fiber, matrix, interface and composites phases using servo-hydraulic and digital image correlation techniques. Structural behavior of these systems were predicted using ductility based design procedures using classical laminate theory and structural mechanics. SHCC sections are made up of thin sections of matrix with Portland cement based binder and fine aggregates impregnating continuous one-dimensional fibers in individual or bundle form or two/three dimensional woven, bonded or knitted textiles. Traditional fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) use random dispersed chopped fibers in the matrix at a low volume fractions, typically 1-2% to avoid to avoid fiber agglomeration and balling. In conventional FRC, fracture localization occurs immediately after the first crack, resulting in only minor improvement in toughness and tensile strength. However in SHCC systems, distribution of cracking throughout the specimen is facilitated by the fiber bridging mechanism. Influence of material properties of yarn, composition, geometry and weave patterns of textile in the behavior of laminated SHCC skin composites were investigated. Contribution of the cementitious matrix in the early age and long-term performance of laminated composites was studied with supplementary cementitious materials such as fly ash, silica fume, and wollastonite. A closed form model with classical laminate theory and ply discount method, coupled with a damage evolution model was utilized to simulate the non-linear tensile response of these composite materials. A constitutive material model developed earlier in the group was utilized to characterize and correlate the behavior of these structural composites under uniaxial tension and flexural loading responses. Development and use of analytical models enables optimal design for application of these materials in structural applications. Another area of immediate focus is the development of new construction products from SHCC laminates such as angles, channels, hat sections, closed sections with optimized cross sections. Sandwich composites with stress skin-cellular core concept were also developed to utilize strength and ductility of fabric reinforced skin in addition to thickness, ductility, and thermal benefits of cellular core materials. The proposed structurally efficient and durable sections promise to compete with wood and light gage steel based sections for lightweight construction and panel application
ContributorsDey, Vikram (Author) / Mobasher, Barzin (Thesis advisor) / Rajan, Subramaniam D. (Committee member) / Neithalath, Narayanan (Committee member) / Underwood, Benjamin (Committee member) / Liu, Yongming (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
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Description
Composite materials are widely used in various structural applications, including within the automotive and aerospace industries. Unidirectional composite layups have replaced other materials such as metals due to composites’ high strength-to-weight ratio and durability. Finite-element (FE) models are actively being developed to model response of composite systems subjected to a

Composite materials are widely used in various structural applications, including within the automotive and aerospace industries. Unidirectional composite layups have replaced other materials such as metals due to composites’ high strength-to-weight ratio and durability. Finite-element (FE) models are actively being developed to model response of composite systems subjected to a variety of loads including impact loads. These FE models rely on an array of measured material properties as input for accuracy. This work focuses on an orthotropic plasticity constitutive model that has three components – deformation, damage and failure. The model relies on the material properties of the composite such as Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, stress-strain curves in the principal and off-axis material directions, etc. This thesis focuses on two areas important to the development of the FE model – tabbing of the test specimens and data processing of the tests used to generate the required stress-strain curves. A comparative study has been performed on three candidate adhesives using double lap-shear testing to determine their effectiveness in composite specimen tabbing. These tests determined the 3M DP460 epoxy performs best in shear. The Loctite Superglue with 80% the ultimate stress of the 3M DP460 epoxy is acceptable when test specimens have to be ready for testing within a few hours. JB KwikWeld is not suitable for tabbing. In addition, the Experimental Data Processing (EDP) program has been improved for use in post-processing raw data from composites test. EDP has improved to allow for complete processing with the implementation of new weighted least squares smoothing options, curve averaging techniques, and new functionality for data manipulation.
ContributorsSchmidt, Nathan William (Author) / Rajan, Subramaniam D. (Thesis advisor) / Neithalath, Narayanan (Committee member) / Mobasher, Barzin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
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Description
Tall building developments are spreading across the globe at an ever-increasing rate (www.ctbuh.org). In 1982, the number of ‘tall buildings’ in North America was merely 1,701. This number rose to 26,053, in 2006. The global number of buildings, 200m or more in height, has risen from 286 to 602 in

Tall building developments are spreading across the globe at an ever-increasing rate (www.ctbuh.org). In 1982, the number of ‘tall buildings’ in North America was merely 1,701. This number rose to 26,053, in 2006. The global number of buildings, 200m or more in height, has risen from 286 to 602 in the last decade alone. This dissertation concentrates on design optimization of such, about-to-be modular, structures by implementing AISC 2010 design requirements. Along with a discussion on and classification of lateral load resisting systems, a few design optimization cases are also being studied. The design optimization results of full scale three dimensional buildings subject to multiple design criteria including stress, serviceability and dynamic response are discussed. The tool being used for optimization is GS-USA Frame3D© (henceforth referred to as Frame3D). Types of analyses being verified against a strong baseline of Abaqus 6.11-1, are stress analysis, modal analysis and buckling analysis.

The provisions in AISC 2010 allows us to bypass the limit state of flexural buckling in compression checks with a satisfactory buckling analysis. This grants us relief from the long and tedious effective length factor computations. Besides all the AISC design checks, an empirical equation to check beams with high shear and flexure is also being enforced.

In this study, we present the details of a tool that can be useful in design optimization - finite element modeling, translating AISC 2010 design code requirements into components of the FE and design optimization models. A comparative study of designs based on AISC 2010 and fixed allowable stresses, (regardless of the shape of cross section) is also being carried out.
ContributorsUnde, Yogesh (Author) / Rajan, Subramaniam D. (Thesis advisor) / Neithalath, Narayanan (Committee member) / Mobasher, Barzin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
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Description
As the demand of sustainable construction materials increases, use of fibers and textiles as partial or full reinforcement in concrete members present a tremendous opportunity. Proper characterization techniques and design guides for hybrid materials are therefore needed. This dissertation presents a comprehensive study on serviceability-based design of strain softening and

As the demand of sustainable construction materials increases, use of fibers and textiles as partial or full reinforcement in concrete members present a tremendous opportunity. Proper characterization techniques and design guides for hybrid materials are therefore needed. This dissertation presents a comprehensive study on serviceability-based design of strain softening and strain hardening materials. Multiple experimental procedures are developed to document the nature of single crack localization and multiple cracking mechanisms in various fiber and fabric reinforced cement-based composites. In addition, strain rate effects on the mechanical properties are examined using a high speed servo-hydraulic tension test equipment.

Significant hardening and degradation parameters such as stiffness, crack spacing, crack width, localized zone size are obtained from tensile tests using digital image correlation (DIC) technique. A tension stiffening model is used to simulate the tensile response that addresses the cracking and localization mechanisms. The model is also modified to simulate the sequential cracking in joint-free slabs on grade reinforced by steel fibers, where the lateral stiffness of slab and grade interface and stress-crack width response are the most important model parameters.

Parametric tensile and compressive material models are used to formulate generalized analytical solutions for flexural behaviors of hybrid reinforced concrete (HRC) that contains both rebars and fibers. Design recommendations on moment capacity, minimum reinforcement ratio etc. are obtained using analytical equations. The role of fiber in reducing the amount of conventional reinforcement is revealed. The approach is extended to T-sections and used to model Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) beams and girders.

The analytical models are extended to structural members subjected to combined axial and bending actions. Analytical equations to address the P-M diagrams are derived. Closed-form equations that generate the interaction diagram of HRC section are presented which may be used in the design of multiple types of applications.

The theoretical models are verified by independent experimental results from literature. Reliability analysis using Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) is conducted for few design problems on ultimate state design. The proposed methodologies enable one to simulate the experiments to obtain material parameters and design structural members using generalized formulations.
ContributorsYao, Yiming (Author) / Mobasher, Barzin (Thesis advisor) / Underwood, Benjamin (Committee member) / Neithalath, Narayanan (Committee member) / Rajan, Subramaniam D. (Committee member) / Liu, Yongming (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016