Abstract

Testing at the structural and sub-structural scale enables the assessment of representative structural members with complex geometries subjected to realistic multiaxial loading conditions that induce complex deformation fields and failure modes, whilst accounting for structural and material properties scaling effects. Full-field imaging techniques such as Digital Image Correlation (DIC) are attractive for deployment in substructure testing, as high spatial resolution data can be obtained. The high-resolution full-field data provides a route for validation and confidence in new high-fidelity modelling tools necessary for virtual testing. The application of full-field imaging techniques to large structures tests and the integration with validation processes poses new challenges due to the uncertainties associated with the large measurement space, complex specimen shapes, and large displacements. Hence, a new approach to incorporating the ‘measurement space’ into a virtual testing environment is presented and demonstrated. A multi-camera full-field imaging approach that enables the assessment complex components is described, utilizing the demonstration case of a wind turbine blade spar cap to web T-joint subcomponent. The work provides the first stage implementation of a data fusion approach to evaluate substructural performance and a potential route to more efficient certification.

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Biography

Janice Dulieu-Barton is a Professor of Experimental Mechanics in the Bristol Composites Institute at the University of Bristol, where she is the Director of the Centre for Doctoral Training in Innovation for Sustainable Composites Engineering  and the Industrial Doctorate Centre in Composites Manufacture. Janice received her PhD in 1993 from Manchester University researching the topic now known as ‘thermoelastic stress analysis’. She has published around 500 papers with >150 in archival journals. Janice’s expertise is in imaging for data rich material characterizations and structural integrity assessments, with a focus on creating new measurement methodologies using Infra-Red (IR) imaging.  She has won numerous grants that have allowed her to develop novel approaches in experimental mechanics, most recently focusing on data fusion and the creation of virtual experiments that capture real-world uncertainties in imaging.