The purpose and scope of the viga span tables project for Rachel Wood Consulting (RWC) is focused on producing tabulated beam span tables for three species of wood vigas commonly used in New Mexico to allow producers, designers and builders to incorporate vigas into their building designs in a prescriptive manner similar to the span tables for sawn lumber incorporated into the International Residential Code (IRC) or the International Log Builders Association (ILBA) publication. The information provided in this report and the associated viga span tables also attempts to address and clarify questions raised by RWC during their review of the 2018 Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) New Mexico Small Business Assistance (NMSBA) program report by August Mosimann pertaining to span lengths, loading, deflection calculations, and log grading certification prior to submitting the span tables to the Construction Industries Division (CID) of New Mexico.
This study details a complimentary testing and finite element analysis effort to model threaded fasteners subjected to multiple loadings and loading rates while identifying modeling sensitivities that impact this process. NAS1352-06-6P fasteners were tested in tension at quasistatic loading rates and tension and shear at dynamic loading rates. The quasistatic tension tests provided calibration and validation data for constitutive model fitting, but this process was complicated by the difference in the conventional (global) and novel (local) displacement measurements. The consequences of these differences are investigated in detail by obtaining calibrated models from both displacement measurements and assessing their performance when extended to the dynamic tension and shear applications. Common quantities of interest are explored, including failure load, time-to-failure, and displacement-at-failure. Finally, the mesh sensitivities of both dynamic analysis models are investigated to assess robustness and inform modeling fidelity. This study is performed in the context of applying these fastener models into large-scale, full system finite element analyses of complex structures, and therefore the models chosen are relatively basic to accommodate this desire and reflect typical modeling approaches. The quasistatic tension results reveal the sensitivity and importance of displacement measurement techniques in the testing procedure, especially when performing experiments involving multiple components that inhibit local specimen measurements. Additional compliance from test fixturing and load frames have an increasingly significant effect on displacement data as the measurement becomes more global, and models must necessarily capture these effects to accurately reproduce the test data. Analysis difficulties were also discovered in the modeling of shear loadings, as the results were very sensitive to mesh discretization, further complicating the ability to analyze joints subjected to diverse loadings. These variables can significantly contribute to the error and uncertainty associated with the model, and this study begins to quantify this behavior and provide guidance on mitigating these effects. When attempting to capture multiple loadings and loading rates in fasteners through simulation, it becomes necessary to thoroughly exercise and explore test and analysis procedures to ensure the final model is appropriate for the desired application.
Ductile failure of structural metals is relevant to a wide range of engineering scenarios. Computational methods are employed to anticipate the critical conditions of failure, yet they sometimes provide inaccurate and misleading predictions. Challenge scenarios, such as the one presented in the current work, provide an opportunity to assess the blind, quantitative predictive ability of simulation methods against a previously unseen failure problem. Rather than evaluate the predictions of a single simulation approach, the Sandia Fracture Challenge relies on numerous volunteer teams with expertise in computational mechanics to apply a broad range of computational methods, numerical algorithms, and constitutive models to the challenge. This exercise is intended to evaluate the state of health of technologies available for failure prediction. In the first Sandia Fracture Challenge, a wide range of issues were raised in ductile failure modeling, including a lack of consistency in failure models, the importance of shear calibration data, and difficulties in quantifying the uncertainty of prediction [see Boyce et al. (Int J Fract 186:5–68, 2014) for details of these observations]. This second Sandia Fracture Challenge investigated the ductile rupture of a Ti–6Al–4V sheet under both quasi-static and modest-rate dynamic loading (failure in (Formula presented.) 0.1 s). Like the previous challenge, the sheet had an unusual arrangement of notches and holes that added geometric complexity and fostered a competition between tensile- and shear-dominated failure modes. The teams were asked to predict the fracture path and quantitative far-field failure metrics such as the peak force and displacement to cause crack initiation. Fourteen teams contributed blind predictions, and the experimental outcomes were quantified in three independent test labs. Additional shortcomings were revealed in this second challenge such as inconsistency in the application of appropriate boundary conditions, need for a thermomechanical treatment of the heat generation in the dynamic loading condition, and further difficulties in model calibration based on limited real-world engineering data. As with the prior challenge, this work not only documents the ‘state-of-the-art’ in computational failure prediction of ductile tearing scenarios, but also provides a detailed dataset for non-blind assessment of alternative methods.
Evermore sophisticated ductile plasticity and failure models demand experimental material characterization of shear behavior; yet, the mechanics community lacks a widely accepted, standard test method for shear-dominated deformation and failure of ductile metals. We investigated the use of the V-notched rail test, borrowed from the ASTM D7078 standard for shear testing of composites, for shear testing of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy sheet material, considering sheet rolling direction and quasi-static and transient load rates. In this paper, we discuss practical aspects of testing, modifications to the specimen geometry, and the experimental shear behavior of Ti-6Al-4V. Specimen installation, machine compliance, specimen-grip slip during testing, and specimen V-notched geometry all influenced the measured specimen behavior such that repeatable shear-dominated behavior was initially difficult to obtain. We will discuss the careful experimental procedure and set of measurements necessary to extract meaningful shear information for Ti-6Al-4V. We also evaluate the merits and deficiencies, including practicality of testing for engineering applications and quality of results, of the V-notched rail test for characterization of ductile shear behavior.
The 2014 WSEAT X-Prize is modeled as a double blind study to challenge the computational and material mechanics communities methodologies to develop better capabilities in modeling and experimentation to predict the failure in ductile metals. The challenge is presented as a distinct, yet relatively, simple geometry with all reported modeling predictions blind to each of the modeling teams. The experimental testing is validated by two independent test labs to confirm the experimentally observed behavior and results are unbiased and repeatable. The WSEAT X-Prize was issued to both external participants and internal participants as the Sandia Fracture Challenge 2 (SFC2) on May 30, 2014. A Challenge Supplemental Information Packet was sent to participants on August 13, 2014 to Prior years SFCs focused on the ability to predict failures under a quasi-static loading condition that focused on either a shear or tensile-dominated failure mode. This year’s challenge focuses on a geometry with a shear and/or tensile-dominated failure mode influenced by a moderate strain-rate ductile fracture in a metallic alloy.
Structural Considerations for Solar Installers provides a comprehensive outline of structural considerations associated with simplified solar installations and recommends a set of best practices installers can follow when assessing such considerations. Information in the manual comes from engineering and solar experts as well as case studies. The objectives of the manual are to ensure safety and structural durability for rooftop solar installations and to potentially accelerate the permitting process by identifying and remedying structural issues prior to installation. The purpose of this document is to provide tools and guidelines for installers to help ensure that residential photovoltaic (PV) power systems are properly specified and installed with respect to the continuing structural integrity of the building.