Projects
Characterization of the fatigue behaviour of fibre-reinforced plastics through accelerated fatigue tests of composite beams and plates with electromagnetic shakers Ghent University
In recent years, the interest for fatigue testing of fibre-reinforced plastics has strongly increased, because composite materials are used more and more in structural load-carrying components. In such components, fatigue life time is much more an issue than in secondary, non-critical components. On the other hand, lab-scale fatigue tests show a lot of limitations and it takes a very long time to characterize the fatigue behaviour of one ...
A physics-based computationally efficient multi-scale model for prediction of damage mechanisms in composite laminates under multi-axial fatigue loads considering the effects of thermal residual stresses and manufacturing defects Ghent University
Multidirectional laminates made of unidirectional Fiber-Reinforced Plastic (FRP) composite materials have been widely used in primary fatigue load bearing structures of different industrial sectors. To reduce the time-to-market for new products and the costs associated with experimental testing, developing modeling tools with acceptable run time for prediction of fatigue behavior of FRP laminates is a crucial technological demand. Developing ...
Effect of forming process on fatigue fracture behaviour of high strength steel. KU Leuven
In modern society, the application of High Strength Steels (HSS) has been proven to be highly versatile. Small as well as large scale constructions benefit from the enhanced mechanical properties of these metals. Through a high strength-to-weight ratio, substantial weight reductions can be achieved, whilst maintaining overall performance and safety. Additionally, a higher strength contributes to an increased maximum payload and structural ...
Extraction optimisation for and hygroscopic behaviour of flax fibres in composite applications KU Leuven
Flax fibres (Linum Usitatissimum) combine excellent mechanical properties with a very low density. In terms of specific stiffness they can compete with E-glass fibres. This is why they are currently used in lightweight applications such as composites. However, there are two main factors inhibiting their breakthrough in this market:
1. The cost of flax fibres compared to glass fibres remains high due to the energy and ...
Fatigue Behaviour of Bolted Connections in Moderately Thick High Strength Steels (HSS) KU Leuven
High strength steels (HSS) offer a unique opportunity to reduce weight in heavy-duty machinery such as trucks, trailers and agricultural machinery. These types of applications require significant fatigue resistance. It is well known that fatigue failure typically originates at stress concentrations caused by the joining procedures. Without taking proper care of the welding process, HSS welded joints have only similar fatigue resistance as ...
Experimental and Numerical Study on Fretting Fatigue Behaviour of Additively Manufactured Metal Parts KU Leuven
Additive manufacturing (AM) is becoming a game-changing technology withenormous potential impact on the range of available designs, enabling newcomponent capabilities that cannot be realized with any other technology andreducing lead-times, storage and transportation costs. Among different available AM technologies, Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is a powder-bed basedtechnique which is very popular. The successful construction of additively ...
Multiscale and in-situ study of mechanical and fracture behaviour of materials. KU Leuven
In recent years there has been an increasing interest in using micromechanical testing methods to study the properties of materials at the microscale. The proposed research program will focus on applying existing techniques and developing new methodologies in this field in order to investigate mechanical and fracture behaviour at small scales. This will help to bridge the gap towards understanding macroscale behaviour and will help to further ...
Effect of Liquid Metal Environment on Nucleation and Propagation of Fatigue Cracks KU Leuven
The new Generation IV of nuclear reactors is being designed with the goal to provide clean, efficient, and safe energy that is economically competitive. Liquid metals are being proposed as reactor coolants for these advanced nuclear systems due to the several advantages that they provide to efficiency and safety. However, one of the main challenges for heavy liquid metal coolants is establishing their compatibility with the candidate ...
Validation and Prediction of Fatigue Damage and Life of Unidirectional Composites KU Leuven
The main goal of this thesis is to develop and validate a model to predict the tension-tension fatigue behavior of UD composites incorporating all the relevant micromechanisms. Reaching this goal requires developing both a model to simulate the behavior of UD composites and improving experimental methods to reliably validate the results of the model.