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173
Additive manufacturing processes offer extensive advantages for the design freedom of structures through layer-by-layer production. This enables high weight savings as well as the integration of functions such as cooling channels. This technology thus offers great potential to contribute to a sustainable future. The pioneer among these manufacturing processes is the powder bed fusion of metals with laser beams (PBF-LB/M). This process is characterised by high laser scanning speeds and highly localised heat input, which have a strong effect on the microstructure and thus also on the mechanical properties. For example, the austenitic steel 316L exhibits a cellular structure at the subgrain level. This microstructure feature leads to higher yield strengths and comparable ductility to conventionally processed 316L. In addition to the traditional applications of 316L steel in the petrochemical and nuclear industries, this enables new applications such as medical stents or bipolar plates for fuel cells with proton exchange membranes. However, the layer-by-layer production with high scanning speeds and localised heat input induces cooling rates in the order of 106 K.s-1. The large temperature gradients and the shrinkage restraints of each weld bead and layer lead to the development of complex residual stress fields. These reduce the material performance and can even lead to premature failure. Thus, the fatigue properties are severely affected by rapid crack growth or prematurely developing cracks. Furthermore, specimens may warp during PBF-LB/M or immediately when the components are separated from the build plate. Therefore, residual stress is one of the main disadvantages of PBF-LB/M, making it difficult for this technology to be more widely accepted in the industry. Based on the current state of the literature, the procedure for determining residual stress employing diffraction methods, the influence of the component geometry, as well as the inter-layertime (ILT) on residual stress and, lastly, suitable heat treatment strategies for relaxing residual stress in PBF-LB/M/316L, were identified as insufficiently researched areas.
Determining residual stress is a major challenge. X-ray and neutron diffraction are particularly suitable for filigree structures, which can preferably be produced using PBF-LB/M. Here, the microscopic strain of the lattice planes is used to calculate the macroscopic residual stress. These methods are nondestructive and allow the spatial resolution of the bi-axial and tri-axial residual stress. In the present work, in-situ neutron diffraction tensile tests were performed to analyse the micromechanical behaviour of PBF-LB/M/316L. The suitability of the lattice planes for calculating the macroscopic residual stress was investigated. The (311) lattice plane was found to be the best option for determining the macroscopic residual stress in PBF-LB/M/316L. Furthermore, it was shown that the Kröner model can be used to calculate the X-ray diffraction constants despite the texture. Currently, both aspects are common practices in the determination of residual stress. The results presented here support the validity of this approach and increase the confidence in the experimentally determined residual stress, which has a positive effect on the assessment of quality concerning the safety of a component manufactured by PBF-LB/M.
The geometry of a structure manufactured by PBF-LB/M determines the component stiffness and influences the thermal gradients during manufacture and ultimately the residual stress. The effect of smaller or larger dimensions (larger than 10 mm) on the residual stress is rarely considered. To investigate this aspect, representative test specimens with different thicknesses and lengths were produced. Hence, the influence of the geometry i.e., component stiffness on the residual stress was evaluated. The residual stress was determined using X-ray and neutron diffraction. The analysis of the residual stress showed that an increase in thickness leads to overall higher residual stress. In addition, it was shown that increasing the sample dimension leads to smaller residual stress gradients. Above a threshold value of a few millimetres, no significant change in the residual stress was observed.
The ILT is inherent in every PBF-LB/M construction job and influences the thermal gradients during production and thus the residual stress. A change in wall thickness in a geometrically complex structure or a variation in the number of specimens in the construction process leads directly to a change in the ILT. To simulate this, specimens with different ILT were produced. The residual stress was determined by X-ray and neutron diffraction. The use of a short ILT resulted in higher surface residual stress, but lower volume residual stress. Here, the surface residual stress and the residual stress in the volume showed contrary behaviour. This was attributed to the complex heat conduction during the process, as shown by the thermographic measurements.
To avoid distortion of the specimens or real components upon separation from the build plate or during post-processing steps, stress relief annealing is usually performed after the PBF-LB/M process. Based on standards for heat treatment of welded austenitic steels, heat treatments were performed at low (450 °C for four hours) and high (800 °C and 900 °C for one hour) temperatures. The results show that the heat treatment at 450 °C relaxed the residual stress by only 5 %. This low relaxation is due to the stability of the cell structures. The high-temperature heat treatment showed that 900 °C is required to dissolve the cell structure and achieve a relaxation of about 85 %. This result is in good agreement with the standards for stress relief annealing of welded austenitic steels.
168
The current practice of operating and maintaining deteriorating structural systems ensures acceptable levels of structural reliability, but it is not clear how efficient it is. Changing the current prescriptive approach to a risk-based approach has great potential to enable a more efficient management of such systems. Risk-based optimization of operation and maintenance strategies identifies the strategy that optimally balances the cost for controlling deterioration in a structural system with the achieved risk reduction. Inspections and monitoring are essential parts of operation and maintenance strategies. They are typically performed to reduce the uncertainty in the structural condition and inform decisions on future operation and maintenance actions. In risk-based optimization of operation and maintenance strategies, Bayesian updating is used to include information contained in inspection and monitoring data in the prediction of the structural reliability. All computations need to be repeated many times for different potential inspection and monitoring outcomes. This motivates the development of robust and efficient approaches to this computationally challenging task.
The reliability of deteriorating structural systems is time-variant because the loads on them and their capacities change with time. In most practical applications, the reliability analysis of deteriorating structural systems can be approached by dividing their lifetime into discrete time intervals. The time-variant reliability problem can then be represented by a series of time-invariant reliability problems. Using this methodology as a starting point, this thesis proposes a novel approach to compute the time-variant reliability of deteriorating structural systems for which inspection and monitoring data are available. The problem is formulated in a nested way in which the prediction of the structural condition is separated from the computation of the structural reliability conditional on the structural condition. Information on the structural condition provided by inspections and monitoring is included in the reliability assessment through Bayesian updating of the system deterioration model employed to predict the structural condition. The updated system reliability is obtained by coupling the updated deterioration model with a probabilistic structural model utilized to calculate the failure probability conditional on the structural condition. This approach is the first main outcome of this thesis and termed nested reliability analysis (NRA) approach. It is demonstrated in two numerical examples considering inspected and monitored steel structures subject to high-cycle fatigue.
An alternative – recently developed – approach, which also follows the strategy of discretizing time, describes deteriorating structural systems with hierarchical dynamic Bayesian networks (DBN). DBN combined with approximate or exact inference algorithms also enable the computation of the time-variant reliability of deteriorating structural systems conditional on information provided by inspection and monitoring data. In this thesis – as a proof of concept – a software prototype is developed based on the DBN approach, which can be used to assess the reliability of a corroding concrete box girder for which half-cell potential measurements are available. This is the second main outcome of this thesis.
Both approaches presented in this thesis enable an integral reliability analysis of inspected and monitored structures that accounts for system effects arising from (a) the correlation among deterioration states of different structural elements, (b) the interaction between element deterioration and system failure, and (c) the indirect information gained on the condition of all unobserved structural elements from inspecting or monitoring the condition of some structural elements. Thus, both approaches enable a systemwide risk-based optimization of operation and maintenance strategies for deteriorating structural systems.
The NRA approach can be implemented relatively easily with subset simulation, which is a sequential Monte Carlo method suitable for estimating rare event probabilities. Subset simulation is robust and considerably more efficient than crude Monte Carlo simulation. It is, however, still sampling-based and its efficiency is thus a function of the number of inspection and monitoring outcomes, as well as the value of the simulated event probabilities. The current implementation of the NRA approach performs separate subset simulation runs to estimate the reliability at different points in time. The efficiency of the NRA approach with subset simulation can be significantly improved by exploiting the fact that failure events in different years are nested. The lifetime reliability of deteriorating structural systems can thus be computed in reverse chronological order in a single subset simulation run.
The implementation of the DBN approach is much more demanding than the implementation of the NRA approach but it has two main advantages. Firstly, the graphical format of the DBN facilitates the presentation of the model and the underlying assumptions to stakeholders who are not experts in reliability analysis. Secondly, it can be combined with exact inference algorithms. In this case, its efficiency neither depends on the number of inspection and monitoring outcomes, nor on the value of the event probabilities to be calculated. However, in contrast to the NRA approach with subset simulation, the DBN approach with exact inference imposes restrictions on the number of random variables and the dependence structure that can be implemented in the model.
166
The present work is intended to make a contribution to the monitoring of civil engineering structures. The detection of damage to structures is based on the evaluation of spatially and temporally distributed hybrid measurements. The acquired data can be evaluated purely geometrically or physically. It is preferable to do the latter, since the cause of damage can be determined by means of geometrical-physical laws in order to be able to intervene in time and ensure the further use of the structures. For this reason, the continuum mechanical field equations in conjunction with the finite element method and hybrid measurements are combined into a single evaluation method by the adjustment calculation. This results in two challenges.
The first task deals with the relationship between the finite element method and the method of least squares. The finite element method solves certain problem classes, which are described by a system of elliptical partial differential equations. Whereas the method of least squares solves another class of problems, which is formulated as an overdetermined system of equations. The striking similarity between both methods is known since many decades. However, it remains unresolved why this resemblance exists. The contribution is to clarify this by examining the variational calculus, especially with regard to its methodological procedure. Although the well-known Gauss-Markov model within the method of least squares and the finite element method solve inherently different problem classes, it is shown that both methods can be derived by following the same methodological steps of the variational calculus. From a methodical viewpoint, this implies that both methods are not only similar, but actually the same. In addition, it is pointed out where a possible cross-connection to other methods exists.
The second task introduces a Measurement- and Model-based Structural Analysis (MeMoS) by integrating the finite element method into the adjustment calculation. It is shown in numerical examinations how this integrated analysis can be used for parameter identification of simple as well as arbitrarily shaped structural components. Based on this, it is examined with which observation types, with which precision and at which location of the structure these measurements must be carried out in order to determine the material parameters as precisely as possible. This serves to determine an optimal and economic measurement set-up. With this integrated analysis, a substitute model of a geometrically complex structure can also be determined. The issue of the detection and localisation of damage within a structure is studied by means of this structural analysis. The Measurement and Model-based Structural Analysis is validated using two different test setups, an aluminum model bridge and a bending beam.
160
For almost 150 years it is known that hydrogen has a deleterious effect on the mechanical properties of metallic components. Nowadays, the problem of hydrogen assisted degradation is highly relevant in energy related fields due to the massive use of steel as a structural component in these applications and its sensitivity to hydrogen. Since the discovery of hydrogen assisted cracking (HAC), researchers studied intensively and suggested possible explanations and mechanisms in order to define how hydrogen is affecting the material. In general, it is considered that hydrogen changes the mechanical properties more in terms of ductility (deformation capacities) than in strength (load capacities). Hydrogen concentration is one of three crucial factors in the degradation process, together with the microstructure of the material and the internal/external mechanical load. The relatively high concentration of hydrogen resulting in this loss of ductility can originate during production or before service (e.g. welding processes) and during service (i.e. catholically protected systems to eliminate corrosion processes in sour environments).
In parallel to the theoretical work, tremendous efforts were, and are still, invested in searching for a proper method to elucidate, map and quantify the hydrogen in the microstructure, which is the basis for this work. For steels, the focus is mainly on the observations of diffusion processes and the interaction of hydrogen with the microstructure
in regions with high local stresses/strains (for example around evolving cracks). The challenge for reaching this goal arises from the fact that accurate indication of hydrogen by means of position, unlike heavier atoms, can be made only by mass spectrometry or by interaction with another element (e.g. silver decoration, special coating and resonant nuclear reaction by nitrogen). In addition to this, the difficulty recording the hydrogen behavior while it rapidly diffuses through the material, leaving only the unpredicted failure, should be taken into account.
Although using powerful characterization methods, models and computational simulations, the key to defining the mechanisms behind HAC is still under debate and not fully understood. The relationship between material and hydrogen is determined by three factors, i.e., the material structure and microstructure – determining the physical properties, the mechanical load applied on the material and the hydrogen concentration. It is well known that in order to have a complete definition of HAC these three factors must be examined locally with the minimal scale and the maximal resolution reachable. The major gap is the lack in such a characterization method or a technique by which one has the ability to detect and observe the hydrogen in the metallic microstructure. The commonly used techniques nowadays are capable of characterization of the microstructure without the ability to observe the hydrogen distribution. Global hydrogen concentration and localized hydrogen observation are possible by some techniques which are incapable of indicating a change in the structure or microstructure therefore a comprehensive overview can be gained only by combining several methods.
In the presented research, secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) was adopted as the main tool to detect and locally map the hydrogen distribution in two types of duplex stainless steel grades: EN 1.4462 (standard 2205 duplex stainless steel) and EN 1.4162 (2101 lean duplex stainless steel). The term duplex stainless steel (DSS) refers to the austenitic-ferritic microstructure of the steel where the combination of physical and mechanical properties of the two phases is achieved. The DSS was selected as a case study for this work due to the wide use of this grade in many energy and the lack of knowledge on hydrogen behavior in two-phase containing microstructures. ToFSIMS was exploited in-situ and ex-situ in three experimental approaches during or following
an electrochemical charging procedure. This type of hydrogen charging was selected as it simulated a procedure of cathodic protection of most sub-water oil and gas extraction and delivery systems. The experimental procedures were:
1. Ex-situ charging followed by ToF-SIMS imaging for basic understanding of hydrogen distribution.
2. Ex-situ charging followed by in-situ mechanical loading to obtain information on hydrogen behavior around a propagating crack.
3. In-situ permeation of hydrogen through a steel membrane inside the ToF-SIMS to obtain information on diffusion behavior of hydrogen in a two-phase microstructure.
The comprehensive view of the effect of hydrogen on steel was gained by using supplementary methods, such as high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM), focused ion beam (FIB) and electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD). The state of the art in this work lies in applying both: in-situ experimental approaches and data treatment of the ToF-SIMS raw data. The data treatment includes the combination of data from several sources (data fusion).
The results for the ex-situ charging followed by static sample imaging and data fusion showed that when the analyzed surface is directly exposed to the electrolyte the degradation is pronounced differently in the ferrite, austenite and interface. The degradation mechanisms in the ferrite and austenite were reflected by the formation of cracks on the surface of both, where a high concentration of hydrogen was obtained. This result supports the assumption that hydrogen is attracted to highly deformed regions. The advantage of using in-situ charging/permeation in comparison to ex-situ charging is that the effect of hydrogen on the ferrite and austenite phases when the hydrogen is evolving from within the microstructure is realized, in comparison to when the analyzed surface is initially exposed directly to the electrolyte. In both experiments the ferrite was observed as a fast diffusion path for the hydrogen. The faster diffusion of hydrogen through the ferrite is expected due to the higher diffusion coefficient, however, a direct proof for the diffusion sequence in this scale was never shown. Most significant results were achieved by the ‘core’ experiments of this research. These experiments included the design of a novel dynamic mechanical loading device to apply an external load during SIMS imaging of a hydrogen precharged-notched sample. For the first time it was shown that plastic deformation induced by applying a mechanical load is resulting in a redistribution of hydrogen locally around the notch.
159
Safety evaluation of truss structures depends upon the determination of the axial forces and corresponding stresses in axially loaded members. Due to presence of damages, change in intended use, increase in service loads or accidental actions, structural assessment of existing truss structures is necessary. This applies particularly to iron and steel trusses that are still in use, including historic and heritage monuments. Precise identification of the stresses plays a crucial role for the preservation of historic trusses. The assessment measures require non–destructiveness, minimum intervention and practical applicability.
The axial forces in truss structures can be estimated by static calculations using the method of joints, method of sections or finite element method, if accurate information about parameters such as external loads, geometrical characteristics, mechanical properties, boundary conditions and joint connections are known. However, precise information about these parameters is difficult to be obtained in practice. Especially in the cases of historic constructions, reasonable assumptions about the uncertain parameters may not be acquired.
Motivated by the preservation of existing truss−type constructions composed of axially loaded slender members, the present work aims to develop a non–destructive methodology to identify the axial forces or corresponding stress states in iron and steel truss structures. The approach is based on vibration measurements and the finite element method combined with optimization techniques.
After a state of the art review, numerical and experimental studies were carried out on three partial systems of truss–type structures. The investigated systems included single bars, a two–bar truss−like system and a five–bar truss. They were developed step–by–step as built–up truss−type constructions that are constituted of individual members connecting at joints. The examined aspects included the effects of structural loading on the dynamic performance of truss structures, modelling of joint connections, mode pairing criteria, selection of updating parameters and definition of an objective function, as well as the use of different optimization techniques.
Concerning the axial force effects on the structural dynamic responses, the effects of the stress stiffening become more complicated for multiple–member truss systems with increasing complexity. The coexistence of both compressive and tensile forces in trusses has counteracting effects on the modal parameters. These effects cause variation of natural frequencies and interchange of modes when the loads or corresponding member forces are changed. To examine the axial force effects on the structures at different stress states, in the numerical study and laboratory experiments, loads were applied progressively to the investigated truss−like systems.
Regarding the modelling of joints for truss–type structures, the joint flexibility affects the structural dynamic responses. Therefore, the numerical models of truss−type structures include joint models with variable rotational springs to represent semi–rigid connections.
Considering the mode pairing criterion, the mode pairing is performed by adapting an enhanced modal assurance criterion with the calculation of the modal strain energy. The criterion allows the selection of desired clusters of degrees of freedom related to specific modes. With respect to the model updating strategies, the selection of updating parameters and the choice of an appropriate objective function are identified to be significantly important. In addition, three different optimization techniques were applied to compare their suitability for the inverse axial force identification and estimation of joint flexibility of truss structures. The results of the numerical study and laboratory tests show that nature–inspired optimization methods are considered as promising techniques.
A methodology consisted of a two–stage model updating procedure using optimization techniques was proposed for the determination of multiple member axial forces and estimation of the joint flexibility of truss–type structures. In the first stage optimization, the validation criterion is based on the experimentally identified global natural frequencies and mode shapes of the truss. Additionally, the axial forces in selected individual members of the truss are used. They are estimated from the natural frequencies and five amplitudes of the corresponding local mode shapes of the members using an analytically−based algorithm. Based on the results of the identified axial forces in the first stage, a second optimization procedure for the joint stiffnesses is performed. In this stage, the modal parameters of the global natural frequencies and mode shapes are used as validation criterion.
From the results of the laboratory experiments, the identified axial forces by the proposed methodology agree well with the experimentally measured axial forces of the investigated systems at different stress states. Moreover, based on the numerical verification, the identified joint stiffnesses indicate reasonably the joint flexibility in relation to the pinned or rigid conditions.
To assess the relevance of the proposed methodology on existing structures in real−life conditions, an in–situ experiment was carried out on a historic Wiegmann–Polonceau truss in the city of Potsdam. The in–situ experiment shows that uncertainties relating the mechanical and geometrical properties of historic trusses as well as the experimental sensor setup can influence the accuracy of the axial force identification. In the present work, recommendations are given for the development of a guideline of measuring concepts and assessment strategies applied to existing truss structures. The intention is to integrate the proposed methodology as part of the Structural Health Monitoring for historic truss–type constructions.
155
High-strength steels are favoured materials in the industry for production of safe and sustainable structures. The main technology used for joining the components of such steel is fusion welding.
Steel alloy design concepts combined with advanced processing technologies have been extensively investigated during the development of High-Strength Low-Alloy (HSLA) steels. However, very few studies have addressed the issue of how various alloy designs, even with limited microalloy addition, can influence the properties of high-strength steel welds. In high-strength steel welding practices, the challenges regarding microstructure evolution and the resulting mechanical properties variation, are of great interest. The main focus is the debate regarding the role of microalloy elements on phase transformation and weld performance. Limited Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) softening and limited austenite grain coarsening are significant design essentials, but the primary goal is to ensure excellent toughness and tensile properties in the steel weld. To achieve this purpose, microalloy elements such as Ti, Nb, or V were intentionally added to modern high-strength steels. The focus of this work was to understand the mechanical properties of HSLA steels resulting from differences in alloy design after joining by modern welding processes.
To begin, three microalloyed S690QL steels (Nb, Ti, and Ti+V addition) were investigated. Optical microscopy confirmed that similar mixtures of tempered bainite and martensite predominated the parent microstructure in the three steels, different types of coarse microalloy precipitates were also visible. These precipitates were analysed by using a thermodynamic-based software and then identified by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Results of mechanical testing revealed that all three steels performed above the standard toughness and tensile strength values, but with varied yielding phenomena. During the welding operation, each of the three steels was joined by using the same filler material. The fused weld metal was influenced by the high dilution of microalloyed elements in the base metal, this was significantly pronounced during the modified spray arc welding technique. As a result, the Nb-containing steel exhibited sufficient amounts of alloy pick-up to transition the microstructure in the weld metal from acicular ferrite to bainite as cooling rate was increased, leading to reduced toughness. This was not observed with the other two steels.
A second focus was made on the microstructure Evolution and toughness properties of the coarse and fine grained HAZ as welding parameters changed. In order to characterise the microstructure and austenite grain growth behaviour, physical simulations were conducted. The microalloy precipitates were found to be a dominant factor restricting the austenite grain coarsening. The extent of Austenite coarsening in the HAZ is closely related to the type and volume fraction of each microalloy precipitate.
Among the three steels, the Ti-containing HAZ exhibited the smallest extent of grain growth due to the sufficient amount of stable Ti-rich precipitates. Microalloy Addition also markedly influenced the subsequent phase transformation in the HAZ. The formation of intragranular acicular ferrite was promoted by Ti-rich precipitate, acting as favourable nucleation sites of ferrite. This structure enhanced the HAZ toughness owing to fine, high-angle boundaries of ferrite plates. The synergistic effect of Nb and Mo elements was beneficial to improve the HAZ toughness at fast cooling rates by promoting fine lower bainite formation. At high heat input, large upper bainite was formed which caused reduced toughness.
The final set of experimental work was concentrated on understanding the HAZ softening mechanisms that influenced variations in the tensile properties of the welded joints. The tensile failure in the softened HAZ or base material depended on the welding parameters and the type of steel being joined. In Ti-containing steel, increased heat Input extended the softened zone width, which caused a significant decrease in hardness and then resulted in failure in this area. Therefore, limited heat Input was used to shift failure position to base material. But this was not observed in the other two steels.
Hence, small differences in microalloy addition exhibited large variation in tensile properties. Among the three steels, Ti-containing welds were found to have the most pronounced softening, followed by Ti+V-containing welds and finally Nb-containing welds. This varied softening phenomenon was related to two significant processes supported by the results of additional dilatometry simulation: phase transformation and tempering behaviour. In the Ti-containing steel, the phase Transformation product ferrite was large-sized, as a consequence of initial large austenite grains. This led to the decreased corresponding hardness of the Ti-containing steel. Furthermore, lower tempering resistance in Ti-containing steel as compared to Nb-containing steel, resulted in additional softening effect in the softened HAZ. Therefore, steel alloy identification and heat Input during welding were critical, proven by the experimentation within the same S690QL steel grade.
This work emphasised the influence of microalloy elements on weld microstructure and mechanical properties in welded joints. Knowledge of this delicate balance between steel alloy design and appropriate welding parameters is critical for the end product. Thus, this work provides specific recommendations and results to ensure proper welding practice and steel design of microalloyed high-strength steels.
154
Pharmacologically active compounds are omnipresent in contemporary daily life, in our food and in our environment. The fast and easy quantification of those substances is becoming a subject of global importance. The fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) is a homogeneous mix-and-read format and a suitable tool for this purpose that offers a high sample throughput. Yet, the applicability to complex matrices can be limited by possible interaction of matrix compounds with antibodies or tracer.
Caffeine is one of the most frequently consumed pharmacologically active compounds and is present in a large variety of consumer products, including beverages and cosmetics. Adverse health effects of high caffeine concentrations especially for pregnant women are under discussion. Therefore, and due to legal regulations, caffeine should be monitored. Automated FPIA measurements enabled the precise and accurate quantification of caffeine in beverages and cosmetics within 2 min. Samples could be highly diluted before analysis due to high assay sensitivity in the low μg/L range. Therefore, no matrix effects were observed.
The antiepileptic drug carbamazepine (CBZ) is discussed as a marker for the elimination efficiency of wastewater treatment plants and the dispersion of their respective effluents in surface water. The development of a FPIA for CBZ included the synthesis and evaluation of different tracers. Using the optimum tracer CBZ-triglycine-5-(aminoacetamido) fluorescein, CBZ concentrations in surface waters could be measured on different platforms: one sample within 4 min in tubes or 24 samples within 20 min on microtiter plates (MTPs). For this study, a commercially available antibody was used, which led to overestimations with recovery rates up to 140% due to high cross-reactivities towards CBZ metabolites and other pharmaceuticals.
For more accurate CBZ determination, a new monoclonal antibody was produced. In this attempt, methods for improving the monitoring during the production process were successfully applied, including feces screening and cell culture supernatant screening with FPIA. The new monoclonal antibody is highly specific for CBZ and showed mostly negligible cross-reactivities towards environmentally relevant compounds. Measurements at non-equilibrium state improved the sensitivity and selectivity of the developed FPIA due to slow binding kinetics of the new antibody. Additionally, this measure enables for CBZ determination over a measurement range of almost three orders of magnitude. The comprehensively characterized antibody was successfully applied for the development of sensitive homogeneous and heterogeneous immunoassays.
The new antibody made the development of an on-site measurement system for the determination of CBZ in wastewater possible. After comprehensive optimization, this automated FPIA platform allows the precise quantification of CBZ in wastewater samples only pre-treated by filtration within 16 min. Recovery rates of 61 to 104% were observed. Measurements in the low μg/L range are possible without the application of tedious sample preparation techniques.
Different FPIA platforms including MTPs, cuvettes and tubes were successfully applied. For the choice of the right format, the application field should be considered, e.g. desired sample throughput, usage for optimization or characterization of antibodies or if a set-up for routine measurements is sought for. For high sample throughput and optimization, FPIA performance on MTPs is advantageous. The best results for the application to real samples were obtained using kinetic FP measurements in cuvettes.
152
Trans-Zearalenone(ZEN)is a non-steroidal estrogenic mycotoxin which frequently contaminates cereal grains worldwide. Ingestion of food and feed containing ZEN causes numerous mycotoxicoses in animals and possibly humans with pronounced estrogenic effects. Due to the trans-configurated double bond, ZEN isomerizes to the cis-configuration upon the influence of light. This work investigates the instrumental analysis, metabolism and toxicity of ZEN and cis- ZEN. The first part focused on the determination of ZEN in edible oils. Due to a maximum level of 400 µg/kg ZEN in the European Union (EU), reliable analytical methods are needed. A comprehensive method comparison proved dynamic covalent hydrazine chemistry (DCHC) to be the most suitable approach. Thus, an automated solid phase extraction (SPE) coupled online to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was developed with the novelty of a covalent SPE step comprising the DCHC principle. The automated online system allows an accurate, selective and reliable quantification of ZEN in edible oils in compliance with EU performance criteria while significantly reducing workload and thereby personnel costs. In contrast to ZEN, reference standards and analytical methods are missing for cis- ZEN which causes a lack of data on the occurrence, fate and risks of cis-ZEN. Therefore, a native and an isotopically labeled cis-ZEN standard were synthesized and implemented in an existing stable isotope dilution analysis HPLC tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method. Using this method, a large extent of cis-ZEN formation was observed for ZEN contaminated maize germ oils when exposed to daylight which confirms that cis-ZEN can be a relevant food contaminant and should be considered in the analysis of food and feed. Furthermore, this work investigated the in vitro phase I metabolism of ZEN and cis-ZEN in rat and human liver microsomes by using HPLC-MS and -MS/MS analyses. The metabolic pathways of cis-ZEN were found to be essentially similar to ZEN including reduction and oxidation reactions generating α- and β-cis- zearalenol as well as 13- and 15-OH-cis-ZEN. A previously unidentified oxidative metabolic pathway for both isomers of ZEN results in the formation of cis-ZEN-11,12-oxide and ZEN-11,12-oxide in human liver microsomes. The estrogenicity of cis-ZEN and its reductive metabolites was assessed using the E-Screen assay. cis-ZEN proved to be slightly more estrogenic than ZEN. Biotransformation of cis-ZEN to β-cis-ZEL corresponds to a detoxification, whereas metabolism to α-cis-ZEL resembles a metabolic activation as its estrogenicity considerably exceeds that of cis-ZEN. The catecholic metabolites can be expected to show a decreased estrogenicity as demonstrated for 15-OH- ZEN. Independent of the estrogenic effects, the catecholic and epoxidic metabolites identified in this work can be expected to act genotoxic and carcinogenic. The epoxides in particular could fundamentally change the widely accepted view of ZEN causing adverse effects exclusively through endocrine disrupting actions.
148
Low-alloyed heat-resistant steels have a fundamental contribution to the currently applied steel grades in pressurized and temperature loaded components like membrane walls(water walls)or pressure vessels. Here, the main advantages of the low-alloy concept can be used in terms of superior high temperature mechanical properties, workability and decreased amounts of expensive alloy elements. The main challenge for the future is to further increase the power plant thermal efficiency independent of the type of power plant concept, i.e. fossil-fired or nuclear power plant, where the material selection can directly affect reduction of CO2 emissions.
In power plant design, welding is the most applied manufacturing technique in component construction. The necessary weld heat input causes metallurgical changes and phase transitions in the heat affected zone (HAZ) of the base materials and in the deposited weld metal. The weld joint can absorb hydrogen during welding or in later service - This absorption can cause degradation of mechanical properties of the materials, and in certain loading conditions, hydrogen-assisted cold cracks can occur. This cracking phenomenon can appear time delayed due to the temperature dependency of the hydrogen diffusion and
the presence of a “critical” hydrogen concentration. Additionally, each specific weld microstructure shows a certain hydrogen diffusion and solubility that contribute to susceptibility of the cracking phenomenon. Therefore hydrogen cannot be neglected as possible failure effect, which was identified recently in the case of T24 creep-resistant tubeto-tube weld joints. It is necessary to identify and assess the hydrogen effect in weld joints of low-alloyed steel grades for to improve further early detection of possible failures.
For each specific weld joint microstructure, it is necessary to separate the interdependencies between mechanical load and the hydrogen concentration. The
diffusivity and solubility must be considered to identify hydrogen quantities in the material at any given time. In this case, the effects of mechanical loading were dealt with independently. For the characterization of the mechanical properties, hydrogen charged tensile specimens were investigated for the base materials and thermally simulated HAZ
microstructures. The hydrogen diffusion was characterized with the permeation technique at room temperature and at elevated temperature ranges up to 400°C - It was investigated by interpreting the hydrogen effusion behavior with carrier gas hot extraction technique (CGHE). For realistic determination of the hydrogen diffusion coefficients, an improved
method was developed encompassing accelerated specimen heating and hydrogen determination via mass spectrometer (MS). Simultaneously, the corresponding temperature
dependent trapped and total hydrogen concentrations were determined.
The determined experimental results showed increased susceptibility to the hydrogen affected
degradation of the HAZ compared to the base material, which is independent of the investigated alloy composition. In particular, the martensitic coarse grain HAZ is the most susceptible microstructure to hydrogen-affected degradation. The results of the tensile
tests allowed the definition of consistent microstructure specific failure criteria (envelope curves) versus quantified hydrogen concentrations for the reactor pressure vessel 16MND5 steel (20MnMoNi-5-5) and the creep-resistant T24 steel (7CrMoVTiB10-10). The procedure of quantifying hydrogen concentrations in HAZ microstructures is novel and supports a new method of analysis for hydrogen degradation effects. Further investigations with the T22
steel (10CrMo9-10), as compared to the creep-resistant T24 steel (7CrMoVTiB10-10),
confirmed the beneficial effect of Vanadium as an alloying element to improve the resistance to degradation. In general, Mn-Mo-Ni base material grades show a higher resistance compared to Cr-Mo steels that do not include Vanadium alloying.
The investigations showed the decreased diffusion coefficient of the HAZ microstructure compared to the base material microstructure. This is caused by the stronger trapping effects that are present which simultaneously increase the hydrogen solubility as well. In
general, trapping effects above 100°C are negligible. It is noted that after testing the T24 grade, these trapping effects were observed above 100°C and must be considered. At elevated temperatures, the calculated hydrogen diffusion coefficients are sometimes greater than those in literature. This is primarily due to the unique applied specimen heating procedure resulting in a varied hydrogen effusion from the specimen.
The significance of the obtained results can be characterized in three perspectives. First, the direct comparison of the degradation was possible in terms of microstructure-specific hydrogen effects on the mechanical properties. Second, consistent failure criteria were established to quantify degradation vs. the hydrogen concentration. Third, the determination of more accurate hydrogen diffusion coefficients is now available.
From a scientific point of view, important contributions were made to further interpret the hydrogen effects on the macroscopic mechanical properties, with respect to the alloy composition and the microstructure. From a procedural standpoint, the mentioned deviation in the elevated temperature diffusion coefficients can be caused by the calculation method. This can be an explanation for the reported data scatter in the references.
In terms of an economic view, the presented experimental results contribute to a safe and reliable weld workability of the steel grades. Thus, the identified temperature levels of hydrogen trapping can be applied in the definition of minimum preheat, interpass or postheat temperatures. In addition, recommendations for suitable dehydrogenation heat treatment (DHT) procedures, with accurate temperature values and holding times, can be derived from these results. In the future, the application of the mechanical and diffusion data is intended to support numerical analysis methods to provide an improved prediction of hydrogen effects on material degradation in weld microstructures.
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Non-destructive testing (NDT) is regarded as one of the key elements in ensuring quality of engineering systems and their safe use. A failure of NDT to detect critical defects in safetyrelevant components, such as those in the nuclear industry, may lead to catastrophic consequences for the environment and the people. Therefore, ensuring that NDT methods are capable of detecting all critical defects, i.e. that they are reliable, is of utmost importance. Reliability of NDT is affected by human factors, which have thus far received the least amount of attention in the reliability assessments. With increased use of automation, in terms of mechanised testing (automation-assisted inspection and the corresponding evaluation of data), higher reliability standards are believed to have been achieved. However, human inspectors, and thus human factors, still play an important role throughout this process, and the risks involved in this application are unknown. The overall aim of the work presented in this dissertation was to explore for the first time the risks associated with mechanised NDT and find ways of mitigating their effects on the inspection performance. Hence, the objectives were to (1) identify and analyse potential risks in mechanised NDT, (2) devise measures against them, (3) critically address the preventive measures with respect to new potential risks, and (4) suggest ways for the implementation of the preventive measures. To address the first two objectives a risk assessment in form of a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) was conducted (Study 1). This analysis revealed potential for failure during both the acquisition and evaluation of NDT data that could be assigned to human, technology, and organisation. Since the existing preventive measures are insufficient to defend the system from identified failures, new preventive measures were suggested. The conclusion of the study was that those preventive measures need to be carefully considered with respect to new potential risks, before they can be implemented, thus serving as a starting point for further empirical studies. To address the final two objectives, two preventive measures, i.e. human redundancy and the use of automated aids in the evaluation of NDT data, were critically assessed with regard to potential downfalls arising from the social interaction between redundant individuals and the belief in the high reliability of automated aids. The second study was concerned with the potential withdrawal of effort in sequential redundant teams when working collectively as opposed to working alone, when independence between the two redundant individuals is not present. The results revealed that the first redundant inspector, led to believe someone else will conduct the same task afterwards, invested the same amount of effort as when working alone. The redundant checker was not affected by the information about the superior experience of his predecessor and—instead of expected withdrawal of effort—exhibited better performance in the task. Both results were in contradiction to the hypotheses, the explanations for which can be found in the social loafing and social compensation effects and in the methodological limitations. The third study examined inappropriate use of the aid measured in terms of (a) agreement with the errors of the aid in connection to the frequency of verifying its results and in terms of (b) the overall performance in the task. The results showed that the information about the high reliability of the aid did not affect the perception of that aid’s performance and, hence, no differences in the actual use of the aid were to be expected. However, the participants did not use the aid appropriately: They misused it, i.e. agreed with the errors committed by the aid and disused it, i.e. disagreed with the correct information provided by the aid, thereby reducing the overall reliability of the aid in terms of sizing ability. Whereas aid’s misuse could be assigned to low propensity to take risks and reduced verification behaviour because of a bias towards automation, the disuse was assigned to the possible misunderstanding of the task. The results of these studies raised the awareness that methods used to increase reliability and safety, such as automation and human redundancy, can backfire if their implementation is not carefully considered with respect to new potential risks arising from the interaction between individuals and complex systems. In an attempt to minimise this risk, suggestions for their implementation in the NDT practice were provided.
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This thesis addresses numerical simulations of self-compacting concrete (SCC) castings and suggests a novel modelling approach that treats reinforcement zones in a formwork as porous media.
As a relatively new field in concrete technology, numerical simulations of fresh concrete flow can be a promising aid to optimise casting processes and to avoid on-site casting incidents by predicting the flow behaviour of concrete during the casting process. The simulations of fresh concrete flow generally involve complex mathematical modelling and time-consuming computations. In case of a casting prediction, the simulation time is additionally significantly increased because each reinforcement bar occurring in succession has to be considered one by one. This is particularly problematic when simulating SCC casting, since this type of concrete is typically used for heavily reinforced structural members. However, the wide use of numerical tools for casting prediction in practice is possible only if the tools are user-friendly and simulations are time-saving.
In order to shorten simulation time and to come closer to a practical tool for casting prediction, instead to model steel bars one by one, this thesis suggests to model zones with arrays of steel bars as porous media. Consequently, one models the flow of SCC through a reinforcement zone as a free-surface flow of a non-Newtonian fluid, propagating through the medium. By defining characteristic parameters of the porous medium, the influence on the flow and the changed (apparent) behaviour of concrete in the porous matrix can be predicted. This enables modelling of any reinforcement network as a porous zone and thus significantly simplifies and fastens simulations of reinforced components’ castings.
Within the thesis, a computational model for SCC flow through reinforced sections was developed. This model couples a fluid dynamics model for fresh concrete and the macroscopic approach for the influence of the porous medium (formed by the rebars) on the flow. The model is implemented into a Computational Fluid Dynamics software and validated on numerical and experimental studies, among which is a large-scale laboratory casting of a highly reinforced beam. The apparent rheology of concrete within the arrays of steel bars is studied and a methodology to determine unknown input parameters for the porous medium is suggested. Normative tables defining characteristic porous medium parameters as a function of the topology of the rebar zone for different reinforcement cases are generated. Finally, the major contribution of this work is the resulting numerical package, consisting of the numerical solver and the parameter library. The thesis concludes on the ability of the porous medium analogy technique to reliably predict the concrete casting behaviour, while being significantly easier to use and far less time consuming than existing tools.
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In order to meet the goal of reducing CO2 emissions, automotive industry places significant importance on downsizing components to achieve greater efficiency through lower weight and reduced friction. As friction reductions are associated with energy efficiency and wear protection with resource conservation, ever greater attention has been given to adamantine carbon-
based coatings and high-alloyed steels. Such applications are, however, associated with high production costs and energy expenditures, as well as many technical difficulties. Therefore a key issue in meeting the goals of friction reduction, wear protection and development of comprehensive lightweight strategies is whether or not the functional profiles of state-of-the art alloys can be enhanced by affordable solutions.
The running-in phase of mechanical systems is inevitable and, from a tribological standpoint, critical for the lifetime of such systems, though receives little attention and is poorly understood.
The growth of micro-cracks accelerates premature material failure and wear during this phase of heightened friction. With this in mind, the ultimate goal of this current work is to transfer the running-in phase into the final step of the mechanical finishing process through the targeted pre-conditioning of novel, high toughness steel bearings without thermo-chemical treatments and compare these to conventional, case-hardened steels. Two mechanisms were
investigated:
a. Cold work hardening and
b. Chemical tribofilm formation.
Steels that showed a tendency toward work hardening and tribofilm formation in previous testing were chosen for this investigation. Thorough characterization of the chosen Steels was carried out before any pre-conditioning techniques were applied. The widely used 20MnCr5, seen as a reference gear steel, underwent case-hardening and subsequent deep freezing treatments in an attempt to yield discrete sample groups with respect to residual austenite.
This allowed for a more thorough investigation into the effects of residual austenite on the properties of this material. The high-performance alternative steels, 36NiCrMoV1-5-7 (hot working steel) and 45SiCrMo6 (spring steel), were heat treated as recommended by their respective manufacturers, and were not case-hardened. The selection of materials with and materials without case-hardening allows for an investigation into whether or not case-hardening is even necessary to deliver acceptable friction behaviour and wear performance. Elemental
analyses were conducted by multiple methods to ensure accurate results. Residual Austenite contents of the steels and the depth profiles of residual stresses were determined by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), for 20MnCr5 ranging from approximately 6 – 14 vol.%, and under 2 vol.% for
the alternative alloys. Hardness profiles were taken from the testing surfaces into the material core. The carburization of 20MnCr5 led to higher hardness and the greater concentration of carbon in the carburization zone more representative of a hardened SAE E52100, or
100Cr6/102Cr6, than of a non-case-hardened 20MnCr5. Residual stresses from machining and case-hardening were measured directly at the sample surface. The high-performance Steels fulfilled manufacturer expectations in terms of elemental content, with hardness values between
50 – 55 HRC and strongly martensitic microstructure character. With characterization of the chosen materials complete, the materials could then be subjected to pre-conditioning.
The first pre-conditioning method involved targeted generation of cold work hardening as induced boundary layers to protect the contact zone against wear. Work hardening was identified both by variations in residual stress profiles, i.e. the introduction of beneficial compressive residual stresses, and hardness increases in the contact zone, providing enhanced wear resistance. Parameters for work hardening were further optimized to reduce damage to the surface substrates of the treated materials. The second pre-conditioning method involved
the targeted generation of chemically reactive tribolayers (tribofilms) on twin disk testing rigs.
The lubrication strategies were based on:
a. CaCO3, which is predominant in engine oils, and
b. MoDTC, which is commonly used in engine and gear oils.
The films generated in pre-conditioning were analyzed by SEM-EDX with Element-Mapping, Raman spectroscopy, and XPS to elucidate their molecular composition and concentration on the sample surfaces. The combination of these methods of analysis gave a clear indication that 104 cycles were sufficient to generate stable and lasting tribofilms. CaO and CaCO3 were the main components of the tribofilm from the first lubricant package, while MoS2, MoO2 and MoO3
were the main components from the second lubricant package.
Finally, slip-rolling endurance testing (T = +120 °C, 107 cycles, approximately 19 days in
a factory fill engine oil) was carried out on all materials. It was shown that both pre-conditioning methods could achieve significant reductions in friction and wear during testing at up to and including P0Mean =1.94 GPa (P0Max = 2.91 GPa, FN = 2,000 N). Ultimately, this research showed that:
1. non-case-hardened high-performance steels offer competitive wear performance and better friction behaviour than the case-hardened 20MnCr5.
2. pre-conditioning led to COF reductions to under 7/10 and wear coefficient reductions to an astonishing 1/10 of the original values for the untreated steels under mixed/boundary lubrication.
3. the observed improvements to friction behaviour and wear performance are indicative of
a technically simple, cost- and energy-efficient pre-conditioning strategy that may prove
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The aim of this thesis was the development of switchable information carriers based on shape memory polymers (SMPs) and the investigation of their durability. Deployed as a new kind of security label, such technology may be an effective tool to prevent counterfeiting and product piracy.
Thermoplastic as well as thermoset SMPs turned out to be applicable as a specific substrate for the fabrication of switchable information carriers. In particular, a physically cross-linked and semi-crystalline poly(ester urethane) (PEU), and a chemically cross-linked epoxy-based polymer were investigated. Both SMPs were able to undergo distinct changes in shape upon triggering, which is commonly known as the shape memory effect (SME).
A key step for the fabrication of switchable information carriers was the development of a suitable technique for a surface-specific coloring of the polymeric base material. In particular, it was necessary to have a thin coat of paint in order to assure sufficient surface contrasts within the subsequently laser-engraved barcodes (e.g. quick response (QR) codes). In detail, coloring was conducted by diffusion of staining solutions, based on organic dyes, into the polymeric matrix. As a result of properly selected exposure times, homogenous layers of paint having thicknesses of about 100 μm, could be produced.
In order to obtain room temperature stable, temporary shapes with non-decipherable code information, various programming procedures were applied to the information carriers. These were either based on tensile or on compressive deformation. For instance, when using plane steel plates in the course of compressive deformation, code areas were randomly distorted. By contrast, selective distortions could be achieved using a steel ball type indenter. However, the triggering of the SME resulted in almost complete shape recoveries. As a result, the information carriers could reliably be switched back to readable states.
Before the developed information carriers can be brought onto the market, it is important to evaluate their durability against various environmental impacts. Artificial weathering was conducted exemplarily on blue and black colored QR code carriers based on PEU. Various scenarios were selected: exposure to UVA irradiation and aging in aqueous solution. In both cases, the durability was investigated at temperatures below and above the switching temperature of the employed SMP. It turned out, that the limiting factor for the usage of switchable information carriers was a lack of contrast and thus was dye-related. In the case of UV irradiation, the color of the dyes started fading, culminating in unreadable QR codes. For hydrolytic degradation, the non-colored code regions were stained in the course of aging. This originates from the fact that the organic dyes used for coloring were soluble in water. As a consequence, they were able to diffuse easily in and out of the swollen polymeric matrix. For both scenarios, aging at elevated temperature caused acceleration of the observed effects. However, the shape memory properties of the PEU were only slightly influenced by the applied aging scenarios.
Next, an additional thermo-responsive security feature was added to the information carriers. Therefore, thermochromic pigments (T-PIGs) were embedded into a PEU matrix. However, in contrast to the organic dyes, the size of the thermochromics microcapsules was too large to diffuse into the polymeric matrix. Thus, another procedure for a surface-specific coloring of the PEU was developed. This mainly included the preparation of a PEU-paste doped with T-PIG by solution mixing. The thermochromic paste was deposited by means of a solvent casting technique as thin layer atop the PEU plaque. After solvent evaporation, tightly connected PEU/PEU-T-PIG laminates were obtained. Beyond that, the layer thickness was adjustable by using a doctor blade for the paste deposition. Subsequent laser ablation finalized the QR code carriers. These were readable at room temperature, but unreadable above the color switching temperature of the employed T-PIGs due to a lack of contrast. Hence, the obtained multifunctional information carriers were characterized by distinct shape memory properties and tunable color switching performances. Furthermore, the combination of several T-PIGs having different colors and switching temperatures resulted in surfaces with multiple and unique temperature-dependent changes in color. Besides that, information carriers with temporarily concealed information could be obtained by covering the QR code with an additional layer doped with T-PIG.
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In this thesis, an alternative approach to the well-known optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR) technique is presented. A thorough analysis regarding distributed backscatter measurement in optical fibres is provided and its prospects for optical fibre sensing applications are demonstrated and discussed. The measurement approach is referred to as incoherent optical frequency domain reflectometry (I-OFDR): the frequency response of the fibre under test is measured and transferred into its time domain equivalent using inverse Fourier transform. This general technique has been studied and used for the measurement of nonlinear scattering effects in optical fibres. The requirements, limitations and prospects for general backscatter measurement, however, are different and have not been studied in detail prior to this work. Distributed sensing using Rayleigh scattering and reflective events in the fibre is first demonstrated using I-OFDR with remarkable measurement resolution. The incoherent detection technique allows for measuring singlemode fibres as well as multimode fibres. The first part of this work deals with the theoretical analysis and optimized implementation of the frequency domain approach. Necessary signal processing and its impact on the time domain response are presented. Sources of deviation from the linearity of the I-OFDR system are identified and an optimized laboratory setup is introduced; the crucial impact of the source coherence is thoroughly discussed. Suitable system parameters for the I-OFDR approach are defined: the system dynamic range and sensitivity are determined. A technique to suppress the dynamic range-limiting signal originating from strong reflections in the fibre is suggested. It is demonstrated that the I-OFDR technique has advantages over OTDR in terms of implementation for high-resolution measurement, measurement accuracy and signal stability. These advantages and measurement possibilities specific to the frequency domain approach are utilized for spatially resolved sensing applications in the second part of this work: A low optical loss polymer optical fibre (POF) is for the first time studied and analyzed for distributed strain sensing. The backscatter level dependence on strain in the fibre can be used to detect and locate strained fibre sections. Also, a correlation algorithm is proposed and demonstrated to measure length changes along the fibre with mm-resolution by correlating the typical backscatter signature of this fibre type. The fibre type is analyzed in detail regarding cross-sensitivities to temperature, relative humidity as well as mode propagation influences. The proposed sensing principles in combination with the highresolution I-OFDR allow for promising distributed sensing applications. Special interest is expressed by the structural health monitoring (SHM) sector since the fibre can measure strain values exceeding 100 %. Another sensing technique, specific to I-OFDR, is proposed for quasi-distributed and dynamic measurement of length changes and optical power changes at reflective events along the fibre. Precise calculation of the positions and reflected powers of multiple reflections can be conducted in parallel from the measurement of a few sampling points of the complex-valued frequency response. That allows for measuring with an increased repetition rate up to 2 kHz or at μm-scale length changes resolution at lower measurement frequencies. The approach is demonstrated in the laboratory and in a field application by measuring the deformation of a masonry building on a seismic shaking table. The I-OFDR exhibits competitive performance for general high-resolution backscatter measurement and the proposed optical fibre sensor principles may have promising prospects in the structural health monitoring (SHM) sector.
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A new safety characteristic named “dustiness” according to the German guideline VDI 2263 – part 9 is investigated. Dustiness describes the tendency of a powder to form airborne dust by a prescribed mechanical stimulus. Dusts often behave differently in a dust/air mixture or in the case of a dust explosion, even if they have comparable physical properties such as particle size and density. In order to look into the effects of dustiness on dust cloud Formation and explosion properties experiments and simulations in a 75 L vertical dust Dispersion glass tube apparatus were carried out. In a second step industrial-scale experiments were carried out in a 50 m³ silo.
Experiments showed that particle size and density are not the only factors which influence dustiness, since the chosen dusts with comparable densities and particle size distributions showed very different behavior in the flow. Other dust properties such as particle shape, specific surface area, humidity and agglomeration processes have an influence which can outweigh size and density. Preliminary explosion experiments showed that dustiness has an influence on the reduced explosion pressure and pressure rise in a vented 75 L test apparatus. In order to verify the results for applications in the process industries further tests with different settings were carried out in industrial-scale experiments. First dust concentration
measurements were done in order to evaluate the reproducibility of filling processes.
Experiments showed that single tests differed by 30 % and more from the average depending on dust sample and filling method. First explosion experiments with a worst-case
scenario in terms of high turbulence and homogenous dust distribution showed that the maximum reduced explosion pressures were well below the calculated values. Reduced
explosion pressures and rates of pressure rise of the hree tested dust were as their Explosion characteristics pmax and KSt let suggest.
The Euler/Lagrange and the Euler/Euler approaches were compared simulating dust/air mixtures. Especially sedimentation and the ability of the approaches to simulate the tendency of dust to stay airborne were investigated. The Euler/Lagrange approach is better
suited for simulating local dust concentrations, particle size distributions and particle forces.
With the Euler/Euler method it is possible to achieve fast solutions for one specified diameter.
The computational fluid dynamics code ANSYS CFX R14 was used for all simulations.
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Shape memory polymers (SMPs) can change their shape on application of a suitable stimulus. To enable such behavior, a ‘programming’ procedure fixes a deformation, yielding a stable temporary shape. In thermoresponsive SMPs, subsequent heating triggers entropy-elastic recovery of the initial shape. An additional shape change on cooling, i.e. thermoreversible two-way actuation, can be stimulated by a crystallization phenomenon. In this thesis, cyclic thermomechanical measurements systematically determined (1) the shape memory and (2) the actuation behavior under constant load as well as under stress-free conditions. Chemically cross-linked, star-shaped polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane polyurethane (SPOSS-PU) hybrid polymer networks and physically cross-linked poly(ester urethane) (PEU) block copolymers were investigated around the melting and crystallization temperatures of their polyester soft segments. (1) The SPOSS-PUs showed excellent shape fixities and recoverabilities of almost 100% at high cross-linking density, while PEUs exhibited pronounced shape memory properties at increased soft segment content. Furthermore, two-fold programmed SPOSS-PU specimens were able to recover their initial shape in two thermally separated events. Even a neck, which formed during deformation of SPOSS-PUs with high soft segment content, was reversed. (2) In PEUs, globally oriented crystallization on cooling drove expansion of the sample, in particular at high soft segment content and after application of a strong deformation. Melting reversed that orientation; the PEU sample contracted and thereby completed the thermoreversible actuation cycle. Under load, multiple polymorphic phase transitions enabled two successive expansion and contraction steps, while under stress-free conditions various geometric shape changes, including the increase and decrease of PEU sample length and thickness as well as twisting and untwisting could be experimentally witnessed. Such actuation technology allows for entirely new applications, enabling mimicry of reversible, bidirectional and repeated organic movements.
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A novel optical detection method for partial discharge in HV/EHV cable terminations has been proposed. Optical sensor fibres integrated into the HV equipment provide high sensitivity as well as immunity to electromagnetic interference and enable therefore on-line monitoring in electromagnetically noisy environment. The availability of optically transparent silicone rubbers that meet strict dielectric and mechanical criteria is a crucial prerequisite for the implementation of this method. The optically transparent silicone rubbers can be applied for the fabrication of a modern rubber stress cone as well as for the development of a new optical sensing element sensitive to PD activities. In this thesis, AC dielectric strength behaviour and mechanical properties of three types of commercially available silicone rubbers were investigated. One of the characterized silicone rubbers was a translucent type whereas the two others were optically transparent types, however with different chemical curing reactions. The measurements of tensile strength and elongation at break were carried out according to the ISO 37 standard. For investigation of the dielectric strength Eb behaviour of the virgin and modified silicone rubbers, a new methodology was developed. It is, at the same time, highly reliable and efficient, saves time and reduces material consumption in comparison to previously reported methodologies. The key component of this methodology is a specifically developed test facility. Furthermore, the methodology comprises determinations for easy preparation and handling of high-quality test specimens. This test method provides various advantages over other methods that have previously been used for measurement of the fundamental quantity Eb value of silicone rubbers. Both technical and economic demands are satisfied. The new facility also enables cost-effective routine tests in material research laboratories. The high quality of the obtained test results was verified by statistical analysis based on the 2-parameter Weibull distribution function. The investigations revealed that the virgin translucent silicone rubber has a large elastic region with an acceptable plastic deformation and also provides an AC 50 Hz dielectric strength of approximately 24 kV/mm for 0.5 mm thickness. These values enable considering the tested translucent silicone as replacement material for an opaque elastomer that is currently used for a rubber stress cone of HV cable accessories Unfortunately, its optical transmittance is poor compared to optically clear transparent silicone rubbers. On the other hand, the mechanical properties of virgin transparent silicone rubbers do not comply with those demanded from push-on stress cones. In particular, their elongation at break is considered too low for that application. However they provide the AC dielectric strength values in either 28 kV/mm or 29 kV/mm for 0.5 mm thickness, which are higher than those of the translucent type. Moreover, it was found that the post-curing process does not provide a positive impact on the ultimate elongation of silicone rubbers. Hence, the elongation at break of virgin transparent silicone rubbers must be improved before they can be used as insulating material for a rubber stress cone. In addition, the influence of mechanical tensile stress on the dielectric strength of the virgin translucent silicone rubber was investigated. The results show that mechanical tensile stress does not negatively influence on dielectric strength of such silicone rubber, so it can be well-operated under combined electrical and mechanical stresses. Beside the improvement of optical PD detection performance in the translucent silicone insulation materials, the influence of fluorescent dye’s modification was investigated. The results indicate that the commercially available fluorescent dyes of 0.02 wt. % mixed into the translucent silicone polymer do not negatively influence on the Eb value of such silicone material. So an optically compatible silicone rubber is perfectly suitable for the fabrication of novel fluorescent silicone optical fibres, which can be integrated into the modified transparent rubber stress cones of HV cable terminations. The final outcomes of this investigation are experimentally substantiated recommendations for future revision of IEC 60243-1, especially the chapter dealing with the determination of AC dielectric strength of silicone rubbers. Recommendations and suggestions for further investigations are addressed in the final chapter of this thesis.
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Black fungi are recently described microorganisms and amongst the most stress-tolerant eukaryotes currently known. They are a taxonomically diverse, but morphologically similar group of filamentous fungi that share two distinct signature characteristics, i.e. melanisation of the cell wall and compact colony morphology, which confer them passive, constituent extremotolerance. Albeit morphologically undifferentiated, black fungi show extensive phylogenetic and ecological diversity. Due to their persistence in unfavourable niches, they are ubiquitous on deserts and in glaciers and are permanent settlers of rock and other atmosphere-exposed material surfaces as well as man-made environments like salterns, humidifiers and dishwashers, and thus widespread in temperate regions worldwide. Some members are devastating opportunistic pathogens of invertebrates or vertebrates, including humans; others show symbiotic potentials with co-occurring microorganisms in extreme ecosystems. Beside their interest for fundamental biology, black fungi are important for several applied applications, e.g. in biotechnology, astrobiology, bioremediation and material preservation. Despite recent advances in the study of these fungi, many biological questions remain to be clarified regarding the molecular mechanisms underlying persistence, their physiology and nutritional modes, and their specific interactions with putative symbiotic partners. Models for pathogenic and halotolerant black fungi are established; however, no model was yet available for rock- and material-inhabiting ones. This thesis introduces the strain Knufia petricola A95 as a suitable model to study rockinhabiting lifestyle. For this purpose, the strain was characterised at the physiological and molecular levels by phenotype microarrays, growth experiments and genome analyses as well as further methods. Cell- wall mutants of K. petricola A95 isolated during the course of this study were described and included in the comparative analysis to investigate effect of melanisation on physiology and stress tolerance. Direct comparisons were also performed between the model strain and the phylogenetically distant but ecologically, biogeographically and morphologically highly similar rock inhabitant Coniosporium apollinis. Preliminary observations of a model biofilm of K. petricola A95 and the photosynthetic cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme ATCC 29133 are introduced to study symbiotic interactions of rock-inhabiting microorganisms. Data presented here are a contribution to the understanding of ecophysiology and extremotolerance of rock-inhabiting black fungi.
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Thermal and Dynamic Glass Transition in Ultrathin Films of Homopolymers and a Miscible Polymer Blend
(2014)
Nowadays nanoscale thin polymer films are widely used in many fields like coatings, membranes, sensors, electronic devices and so on. Meanwhile, a lot of research work has evidenced the fact that many physical properties (glass transition, crystallization, dewetting, physical aging, etc.) of ultrathin polymer films show strong deviations from their bulk behavior. Since the aforementioned properties of polymer are closely related to their application and functionality, the discrepancies motivated us to obtain a more complete understanding of how nanoscale confinement affects the physical properties of polymer. The research work presented in this thesis is focused on understanding how the free surface (air- polymer interface), the polymer-substrate interface and the film thickness influence the glass transition temperature (Tg) and the related segmental dynamics (α-relaxation process) in both homopolymers and miscible polymer blends of thin films. Complementary experimental techniques including Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Capacitive Scanning Dilatometry (CSD), Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy (BDS) and Specific Heat Spectroscopy (SHS) have been used to investigate the glass transition of thin polymer films from both the thermodynamic and the kinetic point of view. In the thesis the film thickness dependence of Tg and segmental dynamics of different thin polymer films have been investigated. For ultrathin polycarbonate (PC) films capped between two aluminum (Al) layers an increase of both the glass transition temperature (Tg) and Vogel temperature (T0) with decreasing film thickness (d) was observed when the thickness became lower than 20 nm. The segmental relaxation time at a fixed temperature was found to increase for the ultrathin PC film of 19 nm measured by BDS, whereas no thickness dependency of the segmental dynamics was detected within the experimental error limit for the PC films supported on silicon dioxide (SiO2) (10-192 nm) in the SHS measurements. These properties are discussed in terms of the thin film geometry and the relevant interfacial interaction between the polymer and the substrate. In the case of thin polystyrene (PS) films with high molecular weight (Mw), Tg is decreasing with reducing film thickness while the segmental dynamics is independent of film thickness. Moreover, the effects of the Mw and the annealing protocol performed on thin PS films on their Tg and segmental dynamics is studied. In the part of thin poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME) films, no thickness dependence of the segmental dynamics was observed in the SHS measurements. The last part of the thesis was concentrated on the thin films of a miscible polymer blend, PS/PVME with the weight fraction of 50/50. It was observed that the segmental dynamics became faster with reducing the film thickness. This phenomenon is explained in terms of surface enrichment of PVME in the polymer blend system where PVME has a lower surface energy than PS. The segmental dynamics of the PVME-enriched free surface layer are faster than the bulk dynamics. Such free surface effect becomes so predominant with reducing the film thickness that it affects the segmental dynamics of the whole films detected by SHS using differential AC chip-based calorimetry. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to probe the surface composition in order to confirm such surface enrichment phenomena.
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Ultrasonic guided waves offer a wide range of applications in fields such as non-destructive testing, structural health monitoring or material characterization. They can be excited in thin-walled structures and propagate over comparably long distances. Due to their complex and dispersive propagation behavior, numerical methods are often required in order to analyze the guided wave modes that can be excited in a given structure and to simulate their interaction with defects. In the work presented in this thesis, highly efficient numerical methods have been developed that are specifically optimized for guided wave problems. The formulation is based on the Scaled Boundary Finite Element Method (SBFEM). The SBFEM is a semi-analytical method which evolved from the concept of Finite Elements but requires the discretization of the boundary of the computational domain only. To compute dispersion curves and mode shapes of guided waves, only the cross-section of the waveguide is discretized in the Finite Element sense, while the direction of propagation is described analytically. The wavenumbers of guided wave modes and the corresponding mode shapes are obtained as the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a frequency-dependent Hamiltonian matrix. For the discretization, higher-order spectral elements are employed, leading to very low computational costs compared to traditional Finite Elements. Particular formulations are presented for plate structures as well as axisymmetric waveguides, where only the throughthickness direction has to be discretized. For the cases where the waveguide is embedded in or coupled to a quasi-infinite medium, a dashpot boundary condition is proposed in order to account for the effect of waves being transmitted into the surrounding medium. Though this approach is not exact, it leads to sufficiently accurate results for practical applications, while the computational costs are typically reduced by several orders of magnitude compared to other Finite Element based approaches. As a particular application, an experimental set-up for material characterization is discussed, where the elastic constants of the waveguide’s material are obtained from the analysis of waves propagating through the waveguide. A novel solution procedure is proposed in this work, where each mode of interest is traced over the required frequency range. The solutions are obtained by means of inverse iteration. To demonstrate the potential of the SBFEM for non-destructive testing applications, the interaction of guided wave modes with cracks in plates is simulated in the time domain for several examples. Particularly for the modeling of cracked structures, the SBFEM is very well suited, since the side-faces of the crack do not require discretization and the stress-singularity at the crack tip does not introduce additional difficulties. Hence, the computational costs can be reduced by typically a factor 100 compared to traditional Finite Elements and the meshing is straightforward.