The experimental evaluation of friction coefficient is a common laboratory procedure; however, the corresponding measurement uncertainty is not widely discussed. This manuscript examines the experimental uncertainty associated with friction measurements by following the guidelines prescribed in international standards. The uncertainty contributors identified in this analysis include load cell calibration, load cell voltage measurement, and instrument geometry. A series of 20 tests, carried out under nominally identical conditions, was performed using a reciprocating pin-on-disk tribometer. A comparison between the experimental standard deviation and uncertainty analysis results is provided.
Wear due to relative motion between component surfaces is one of the primary modes of failure for many engineered systems. Unfortunately, it is difficult to accurately predict component life due to wear as reported wear rates generally exhibit large scatter. This paper analyzes a reciprocating tribometer in an attempt to understand the instrument-related sources of the scatter in measured wear rates. To accomplish this, an uncertainty analysis is completed for wear-rate testing of a commercially available virgin polytetrafluoroethylene pin on 347 stainless steel counterface. It is found that, for the conditions selected in this study, the variance in the experimental data can be traced primarily to the experimental apparatus and procedure. Namely, the principal uncertainty sources were found to be associated with the sample mass measurement and volume determination.
Finite element simulations of three laminates in open-hole and unnotched configurations subjected to tension and compression quasi-static loading are investigated as part of the Damage Tolerant Design Principles program organized by the Air Force Research Laboratory. The coupons are made from unidirectional IM7/977-3 plies, which are a composite material composed of intermediate modulus carbon fibers and a toughened epoxy matrix. Blind simulations of coupon stiffness, nominal coupon stress at failure and damage evolution are benchmarked against experimental measurements and X-rays. The blind simulations are followed by a second round of simulations where the modeling strategy is modified to improve agreement between the simulations and experiments. In the present article, the commercial software Autodesk Helius PFA is used to model the non-linear response of the composite material. Within Helius PFA, failure is evaluated at the constituent level by extracting the fiber and matrix volume average stress state from the homogenized composite stress state. The relationships between the composite and constituents are developed using multicontinuum theory and a high-fidelity micromechanics model.
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