Publications related to Lowering the global warming impact of bridge rehabilitations by using Ultra High Performance Fibre Reinforced Concretes

Influence of model uncertainty and long term deformations in action effects calculation in reinforced concrete structures

Most codes of practice adopt a semi probabilistic design approach for the dimensioning and assessment of structures. Accordingly, structural safety is ensured by performing limit state verifications using design values determined with adequately calibrated ...

EPFL2024

Water weakening and the compressive brittle strength of carbonates: Influence of fracture toughness and static friction

Marie Estelle Solange Violay, Barnaby Padraig Fryer, Corentin Jean-Marie Rémi Noël

Water is ubiquitous within the pore space of rocks and has been shown to affect their physical and mechanical behaviour. Indeed, water can act on the rock strength via mechanical (i.e., reducing the effective stresses) or chemical effects (e.g., mineral di ...

2024

Insights from an extensive triaxial testing campaign on a shale for comparative site characterization of a deep geological repository

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari, Eleonora Crisci

Several boreholes were drilled for site comparison of a deep geological repository (DGR) in Northern Switzerland. The main target of the exploration program was the >100m thick Opalinus Clay, the designated host rock encountered at approximately 450 to 100 ...

Elsevier2024

Micro modeling of irregular stone masonry walls using mathematical programming

Katrin Beyer, Qianqing Wang, Ketson Roberto Maximiano Dos Santos

While understanding the shear strength of stone masonry structures is important for the design and the mainte- nance, we still lack computational tools for predicting the strength as a function of the stone layout. Here we implement an end-to-end image bas ...

Springer2024

Short-term behavior of glass fiber-polymer composite bending-active elastica beam under service load application

Thomas Keller, Landolf-Giosef-Anastasios Rhode-Barbarigos, Tara Habibi

Bending-active elastica beam is a structural configuration that is based on the elastic deformation of an initially straight beam. This deformation occurs when horizontal displacements are applied to a sliding support, causing the beam to bend into an arch ...

2024

Additive Manufacturing of Bioinspired Mineral-Based Composites

Ran Zhao

Biominerals are used by natural organisms for example as structural supports and optical sensors. They are produced from a limited number of elements and under ambient conditions. Nevertheless, they often possess excellent mechanical properties and sometim ...

EPFL2024

Incorporation of Lignin in Bio-Based Resins for Potential Application in Fiber-Polymer Composites

Mário Alexandre De Jesus Garrido, Mateus De Assunção Hofmann

Bio-based resins, obtained from renewable raw materials, are a more sustainable alternative to oil-based resins for fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. The incorporation of lignin in those resins has the potential to enhance their performance. This ...

MDPI2023

Multi-scale characterization and modeling of notched strength and translaminar fracture in hybrid thin-ply composites based on different carbon fiber grades

Guillaume Clément Broggi

Owing to their high specific stiffness and strength, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composites (CFRP) are ideal candidates for the development of lightweight high-performance structures. Within this family, thin-ply composites allow for wider design freedom and p ...

EPFL2023

Process development of pre-impregnated hybrid thin-ply composites

Alexios Argyropoulos

Thin-ply composites, obtained with recently developed fiber spreading techniques, rapidly gained industrial interest because they offer a large composite design freedom, and lead to a composite tensile strength that is close to that of the individual fiber ...

EPFL2023

Energy dissipation in fiber-polymer composites adhesive joints under cyclic loading

Ghazaleh Eslami

Sustainable development has emerged as a paramount consideration in various fields of industry, including construction, to preserve the environment and its finite resources. Lightweight structures, such as fiber-polymer composite structures, address both s ...

EPFL2023

Role of Minimum Adhesive Wear Particle Size in Third-Body Layer Properties

Jean-François Molinari, Son-Jonathan Pham-Ba

We employ a novel discrete element method (DEM) force formulation to simulate adhesive wear and assess the effects of material and loading parameters on the properties of the third-body layer (TBL) formed during sliding motion. The study emphasizes the rol ...

2023

Simultaneous strength and ductility enhancement of wire-arc directed energy deposited Al-Cu alloy by interlayer laser shock peening

Ke Huang, Yandong Jing

Wire-arc directed energy deposition (wire-arc DED), recognized for its ability to produce large-scale parts, has gained considerable attention. However, a critical issue with this method is the high prevalence of internal porosity defects found in the manu ...

Elsevier Science Sa2023

Equivalent Frame Models for FRP-Strengthened Masonry Buildings

Fibre-reinforced polymers (FRP) strengthening can be applied to decrease the seismic vulnerability of existing masonry buildings, both with regard to in-plane and out-of-plane failure mechanisms. Experimentally, the impact of strengthening solutions has be ...

Proceedings of the 2nd Croatian Conference on Earthquake Eng2023

Influence of Low- to Medium-Kaolinite Clay on the Durability of Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) Concrete

Karen Scrivener, Matea Flegar

The kaolinite content is principally responsible for the durability performance of Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3), which calls into question its global applicability. The clay supply has a significant impact on the LC3 system's reduced carbon footpri ...

MDPI2023

The strength of surgical knots involves a critical interplay between friction and elastoplasticity

Paul Grandgeorge, Pedro Miguel Nunes Pereira de Almeida Reis, Paul Johanns, Changyeob Baek

Knots are the weakest link in surgical sutures, serving as mechanical ligatures between filaments. Exceeding their safe operational limits can cause fatal complications. The empirical nature of present guidelines calls for a predictive understanding of the ...

AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE2023

The influence of water-saturation on the strength of volcanic rocks and the stability of lava domes

Marie Estelle Solange Violay, Michael Heap

The rocks forming a volcanic edifice or dome are typically saturated or partially-saturated with water. However, most experiments aimed at better understanding the mechanical behaviour of volcanic rocks have been performed on dry samples, and therefore mos ...

2023

Iron Reduction in Profundal Sediments of Ultraoligotrophic Lake Tahoe under Oxygen-Limited Conditions

Meret Aeppli

Increased periods of bottom water anoxia in deep temperate lakes due to decreasing frequency and depth of water column mixing in a warming climate may result in the reductive dissolution of iron minerals and increased flux of nutrients from the sediment in ...

2023

Strong silicon oxide inclusions in iron

Andreas Mortensen, Léa Deillon, Alejandra Inés Slagter, Joris Pierre Everaerts

Oxide inclusions are ubiquitous in steel and are known to affect, generally in a negative sense, the mechanical performance of steel products. Micromechanical properties of those phases are therefore important, yet they have remained largely unexplored. We ...

2022

Thermophysical and thermomechanical properties of basalt-phenolic FRP rebars under high temperature

Thomas Keller, Hongwei Zhu, Ting Li, Jiahui Shen

An experimental investigation was conducted on the thermophysical and thermomechanical properties of phenolic-basalt fiber-reinforced polymer (P-BFRP) rebars subjected to high temperature. As a comparison, vinylBFRP (V-BFRP) and epoxy-BFRP (E-BFRP) rebars ...

ELSEVIER SCI LTD2022

Postbuckling behavior and imperfection sensitivity of elastic-plastic periodic plate-lattice materials

Fani Derveni

Advances in additive manufacturing have enabled a new generation of materials with advantageous properties inherent to their architecture. Recently, architected materials with periodic arrangements of plates, called plate-lattice materials, have been devel ...

ELSEVIER2022