Singular Integral Equations. By N.I. Muskhelishvili. Translated fromthe 2nd Russian edition by J.R.M. Radok. Pp. 447. F1. 28.50. 1953. (Noordhoff, Groningen)

An overview of the extended/generalized finite element method (GEFM/XFEM) with emphasis on methodological issues is presented. This method enables the accurate approximation of solutions that involve jumps, kinks, singularities, and other locally non-smooth features within elements. This is achieved by enriching the polynomial approximation space of the classical finite element method. The GEFM/XFEM has shown its potential in a variety of applications that involve non-smooth solutions near interfaces: Among them are the simulation of cracks, shear bands, dislocations, solidification, and multi-field problems. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The extended/generalized finite element method: An overview of the method and its applications

Support materials for PEMFC and DMFC electrocatalysts—A review

Micromechanisms of rock failure (axial splitting and shear failure) are examined in light of simple mathematical models motivated by microscopic observations. The elasticity boundary value problem associated with cracks growing from the tips of a model flaw is solved. It is shown that under axial compression, tension cracks nucleate at the tips of the preexisting model flaw, grow with increasing compression, and become parallel to the direction of the maximum far-field compression. When a lateral compression also exists, the crack growth is stable and stops at some finite crack length. With a small lateral tension, on the other hand, the crack growth becomes unstable after a certain crack length is attained. This is considered to be the fundamental mechanism of axial splitting observed in uniaxially compressed rock specimens. To model the mechanism of shear failure, a row of suitably oriented model flaws is considered and the elasticity boundary value problem associated with the out-of-plane crack growth from the tips of the flaws is solved. It is shown that for a certain overall orientation of the flaws the growth of the out-of-plane cracks may become unstable, leading to possible macroscopic faulting. On the basis of this model the variations of the “ultimate strength” and the orientation of the overall fault plane with confining pressure are estimated, and the results are compared with published experimental data. In addition, the results of a set of model experiments on plates of Columbia resin CR39 containing preexisting flaws are reported. These experiments are specifically designed in order to show the effect of confining pressure on the crack growth regime. The experiments seem to support qualitatively the analytical results.

Compression-induced microcrack growth in brittle solids: Axial splitting and shear failure

Materials with prescribed constitutive parameters: An inverse homogenization problem

The fundamental framework of micromechanical procedure is generalized to take into account the surface/interface stress effect at the nano-scale. This framework is applied to the derivation of the effective moduli of solids containing nano-inhomogeneities in conjunction with the composite spheres assemblage model, the Mori–Tanaka method and the generalized self-consistent method. Closed-form expressions are given for the bulk and shear moduli, which are shown to be functions of the interface properties and the size of the inhomogeneities. The dependence of the elastic moduli on the size of the inhomogeneities highlights the importance of the surface/interface in analysing the deformation of nano-scale structures. The present results are applicable to analysis of the properties of nano-composites and foam structures.

Size-dependent effective elastic constants of solids containing nano-inhomogeneities with interface stress

Volume 1: Structural integrity assessment - examples and case studies, (I. Milne et al). Volume 2: Fundamental theories and mechanisms of failure, (B. Karihaloo, W.G. Knauss). Volume 3: Numerical and computational methods, (R. de Borst, H.A Mang). Volume 4: Cyclic loading and fatigue, (R.O. Ritchie, Y. Murakami). Volume 5: Creep and high-temperature failure, (A. Saxena, H.K.D.H. Bhadeshia). Volume 6: Environmentally-assisted fracture, (J. Petit, P. Scott). Volume 7: Practical failure assessment methods, (R.A. Ainsworth, K-H Schwalbe). Volume 8: Interfacial and nanoscale failure, (W. Gerberich, W. Yang). Volume 9: Bioengineering, (Y-W Mai, S-H Teoh). Volume 10: Index volume.

Comprehensive structural integrity

Linear elastic fracture mechanics application of LEFM to concrete nonlinear fracture theories for concrete approximate nonlinear fracture models test methods for the determination of fracture parameters brittleness and size effect of concrete structures determination of the tension softening response of concrete application to plain concrete structures application to reinforced concrete structures application to high performance cementitious materials.

Fracture mechanics and structural concrete

We have shown in a series of recent papers that the classical theory of elasticity can be extended to the nanoscale by supplementing the equations of elasticity for the bulk material with the generalized Young–Laplace equations of surface elasticity. This review article shows how this has been done in order to capture the often unusual mechanical and physical properties of nanostructured particulate and porous materials. It begins with a description of the generalized Young–Laplace equations. It then generalizes the classical Eshelby formalism for nano-inhomogeneities; the Eshelby tensor now depends on the size of the inhomogeneity and the location of the material point in it. Then the stress concentration factor of a spherical nanovoid is calculated, as well as the strain fields in quantum dots (QDs) with multi-shell structures and in alloyed QDs induced by the mismatch in the lattice constants of the atomic species. This is followed by a generalization of the micromechanical framework for determining the effective elastic properties and effective coefficients of thermal expansion of heterogeneous solids containing nano-inhomogeneities. It is shown, for example, that the elastic constants of nanochannel-array materials with a large surface area can be made to exceed those of the nonporous matrices through pore surface modification or coating. Finally, the scaling laws governing the properties of nanostructured materials are derived. The underlying cause of the size dependence of these properties at the nanoscale is the competition between surface and bulk energies. These laws provide a yardstick for checking the accuracy of experimentally measured or numerically computed properties of nanostructured materials over a broad size range and can thus help replace repeated and exhaustive testing by one or a few tests.

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Theory of Elasticity at the Nanoscale

The Eshelby formalism for inclusion/inhomogeneity problems is extended to the nano-scale at which surface/interface effects become important. The interior and exterior Eshelby tensors for a spherical inhomogeneous inclusion with the interface stress effect subjected to an arbitrary uniform eigenstrain embedded in an infinite alien matrix, and the stress concentration tensors for a spherical inhomogeneity subjected to an arbitrary remote uniform stress field are obtained. Unlike their counterparts at the macro-scale, the Eshelby and stress concentration tensors are, in general, not uniform inside the inhomogeneity but are position-dependent. They have the property of radial transverse isotropy. It is also shown that the size-dependence of the Eshelby tensors and the stress concentration tensors follow very simple scaling laws. Finally, the Eshelby formula to calculate the strain energy in the presence of the interface effect is given.

Bhushan Lal Karihaloo

Papers

Size-dependent effective elastic constants of solids containing nano-inhomogeneities with interface stress

Comprehensive structural integrity

Fracture mechanics and structural concrete

Theory of Elasticity at the Nanoscale

Eshelby formalism for nano-inhomogeneities