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This article discusses the fracture modelling accuracy of strain-driven ductile fracture models when introducing damage of high strength sheet steel. Numerical modelling of well-known fracture mechanical tests was conducted using a failure and damage model to control damage and fracture evolution. A thorough validation of the simulation results was conducted against results from laboratory testing. Such validations show that the damage and failure model is suited for modelling of material failure and fracture evolution of specimens without damage. However, pre-damaged specimens show less correlation as the damage and failure model over-predicts the displacement at crack initiation with an average of 28%. Consequently, the results in this article show the need for an extension of the damage and failure model that accounts for the fracture mechanisms at the crack tip. Such extension would aid in the improvement of fracture mechanical testing procedures and the modelling of high strength sheet metal manufacturing, as several sheet manufacturing processes are defined by material fracture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Iron ore pellets are sintered, centimetre-sized spheres of ore with high iron content. Together with carbonized coal, iron ore pellets are used in the production of steel. In the transportation from the pelletizing plants to the customers, the iron ore pellets are exposed to different stresses, resulting in degradation of strength and in some cases fragmentation. For future reliable numerical simulations of the handling and transportation of iron ore pellets, knowledge about their mechanical properties is needed. This paper describes the experimental and numerical work to investigate the mechanical properties of blast furnace iron ore pellets. To study the load deformation behavior and the fracture of iron ore pellets, a number of point load tests are carried out and analyzed. Material parameters for an elastic–plastic constitutive model with linear hardening for iron ore pellets are derived and expressed in terms of statistical means and standard deviations. Two finite element models are developed for different purposes. For the material parameter determination, a perfectly spherical model is used. The constitutive model is validated with a finite element model based on a representative optically scanned iron ore pellet. The proposed constitutive model is capturing the force displacement relation for iron ore pellets in a two-point load test. A stress based fracture criterion which takes the triaxiality into account is suggested and calculated as the maximum equivalent effective stress dependent on the three principal stresses at fracture. The results of this study show that the equivalent effective stress in the vicinity of the centre of an irregular model of an iron ore pellet is very close to the results of a model of a perfectly spherical iron ore pellet. The proposed fracture criterion indicates fracture in the representative iron ore pellet model coincident with the location of the crack developed during the test of the optically scanned iron ore pellet. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Blast furnace iron ore pellets are sintered, centimetre-sized ore spheres with a high iron content. Together with carbonized coal, iron ore pellets are used in the production of steel. In transporting pellets from pelletizing plants to customers, iron ore pellets are exposed to different static and dynamic loading situations, resulting in strength degradation and, in some cases, fragmentation. This can lead to a reduced gas flow in the blast furnace, which causes reduced quality in steel production. Reliable numerical simulations that can predict the ability of the pellets to endure their handling are important tools for optimizing the design of equipment for iron ore handling. This paper describes the experimental and numerical work performed to investigate the impact fracture behaviour of iron ore pellets at different strain rates. A number of split Hopkinson pressure bar tests with different striker velocities are carried out and analysed to investigate the strain rate dependency of the fracture strength of iron ore pellets. Fracture data for iron ore pellets are derived and expressed in terms of statistical means and standard deviations. A stress based, strain-rate dependent fracture model that takes triaxiality into account is suggested. The fracture model is used and validated with impact tests of iron ore pellets. In the validation experiment, iron ore pellets are fired against a steel plate, and the percentage of fractured pellets at different impact velocities are measured. Finite element simulations of the experiment are carried out and the probability of pellets fracturing during impact are calculated and compared with the experimental results. The agreement between the experiments and numerical simulations shows the validity of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]