Fabrication of dense nano-laminated tungsten carbide materials doped with Cr3C2/VC through two-step sintering

This work investigates the critical roles of two-step sintering (TSS) and laminated structure on the sintering behavior and mechanical properties of functionally graded WC-TiC-Al₂O₃ nanostructured composite materials doped with Cr₃C₂/VC. Results show that excellent mechanical properties are achieved for tailored TSS conditions with a hardness of 27.91?±?2.3?GPa and a flexural strength of 1423.3?±?23.5?MPa. The desirable mechanical properties are attributed to the suppressed grain growth without densification deterioration. TSS is more effective in facilitating the favorable dispersion of secondary phase toughening nano-particulates in a WC matrix than conventional sintering (CS). Cr₃C₂/VC dopant plays an important role in maximizing and shifting the temperature range of the kinetic window for WC-Al₂O₃ composites. Al₂O₃ crack deflection, transgranular Al₂O₃, microcracking, WC crack bridging and plate-like WC crack deflection are the major toughening mechanisms. Residual surface compressive stress induced by the graded structure is also an appreciated contribution to the improvement of mechanical properties.     

Finite element piezothermoelasticity analysis and the active control of FGM plates with integrated piezoelectric sensors and actuators

 An efficient finite element model is presented for the static and dynamic piezothermoelastic analysis and control of FGM plates under temperature gradient environments using integrated piezoelectric sensor/actuator layers. The properties of an FGM plate are functionally graded in the thickness direction according to a volume fraction power law distribution. A constant displacement-cum-velocity feedback control algorithm that couples the direct and inverse piezoelectric effects is applied to provide active feedback control of the integrated FGM plate in a closed loop system. Numerical results for the static and dynamic control are presented for the FGM plate, which consists of zirconia and aluminum. The effects of the constituent volume fractions and the influence of feedback control gain on the static and dynamic responses of the FGM plates are examined. Received: 13 March 2002 / Accepted: 5 March 2003 The work described in this paper was supported by a grant awarded by the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. CityU 1024/01E).     

Application of SiC-Si functionally gradient material to thermoelectric energy conversion device

Because of its high–temperature chemical stability, SiC ceramic is a promising material for high-temperature device applications such as thermoelectric energy converters. However, the electrical conductivity of SiC ceramic is too low for it to be used as a thermoelectric energy converter at the cold junction. Therefore, we propose a SiC-Si functionally gradient material (FGM) in order to improve the electrical conductivity of the SiC ceramic at the cold junction. An SiC rod was fired in a temperature gradient furnace. One end of the SiC rod was maintained at 2473 K and the other end was maintained at 1973 K for 30 min. After firing, the porous SiC edge fired at 1973 K was dipped into molten Si in order to infiltrate molten Si into the porous SiC. The microstructure of the FGM is classified into three regions: the SiC-Si composite material; the porous SiC ceramic; and the densified SiC ceramic. The electrical conductivity, the Seebeck coefficient and the thermal conductivity for each region of SiC-Si FGM was measured at 300 K; a figure of merit was calculated. The figure of merit of the SiC-Si FGM at the cold junction, at room temperature, was 10⁸ times higher than that of a nongradient SiC ceramic.     

T-stress in orthotropic functionally graded materials: Lekhnitskii and Stroh formalisms

A new interaction integral formulation is developed for evaluating the elastic T-stress for mixed-mode crack problems with arbitrarily oriented straight or curved cracks in orthotropic nonhomogeneous materials. The development includes both the Lekhnitskii and Stroh formalisms. The former is physical and relatively simple, and the latter is mathematically elegant. The gradation of orthotropic material properties is integrated into the element stiffness matrix using a “generalized isoparametric formulation” and (special) graded elements. The specific types of material gradation considered include exponential and hyperbolic-tangent functions, but micromechanics models can also be considered within the scope of the present formulation. This paper investigates several fracture problems to validate the proposed method and also provides numerical solutions, which can be used as benchmark results (e.g. investigation of fracture specimens). The accuracy of results is verified by comparison with analytical solutions.     

Heterogeneous object modeling: A review

A review on the recent development in heterogeneous object modeling is provided in this paper. General problems and prevalent solutions to the modeling of heterogeneous objects are investigated. Vigorous heterogeneous object representations are roughly classified into three major categories: evaluated models, unevaluated models and composite models. We reveal their similarities and study their strengths and weaknesses in terms of the representational capacities, intuitiveness, exactness, compactness, efficiency and other criteria. Different design paradigms are briefly reviewed to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art in heterogeneous object design. Finally, open problems and possible future directions are discussed.     

离心铸造法制备Al3Ti/Al原位自生功能梯度复合材料

采用离心铸造法，用TiO2粉末与纯铝熔液原位反应生成Al3Ti颗粒增强相，获得了组织和性能在径向上呈梯度分布的Al3Ti/Al功能梯度复合材料。考察了材料的显微组织和硬度，Al3Ti颗粒和材料硬度在径向上由外向内呈梯度分布。研究分析了离心和转速、TiO2加入量和激冷强度对复合材料组织和硬度的分布梯度的影响。结果表明，这些因素对复合材料组织和性能分布梯度的影响较大。     

位移边界对2D-FGM板热应力影响研究

考虑不同的位移边界条件,建立了常物性2D-FGM板研究模型,并采用有限元法,得到其冷却瞬态热应力场分布图形。位移边界条件对常物性2D-FGM平面区域冷却瞬态热应力分布影响颇大,在简支和一端固定情况下,2D-FGM板自由边界上的热应力σx=0;两端固定情况下,其左右两边界均形成上中下三个应力聚集,应力分布形状和数值都发生了巨大的变化;将四周均设置呈固定约束后,热应力数值增长幅度较两端固定情况时更为明显。此结果为该材料的设计、制备提供了准确的理论计算依据。     

边界不同恒温时功能梯度板平面稳态温度场

假设热导率沿功能梯度板高呈指数函数形式分布,基于该板的平面稳态热传导基本方程,用分离变量法,导出边界不同恒温时该板的平面稳态温度场的级数解析解,与有限元解对比,两种方法的最大节点温度误差0.86％.通过数值计算,获得了该板的平面稳态温度场分布,研究了板的梯度参数和几何组成对温度场的影响.主要结果表明:板内的温度场分布对称于过形心的y轴;随着梯度参数值的增加,板内的高温区向左右两边界和下边界逐步扩展;随着板高的递减,板内中下部的温度分布趋于平缓.因此,可选择适合的梯度参数和几何组成来满足设计、应用和热应力分析的需要,所获得的解析解可作为检验其他近似方法的参考标准.     

梯度材料三维稳态温度场的改进分层计算方法

针对每层热传导系数为常数的分层计算模型，采用功能梯度材料（FGM）每层热传导系数为指数变化规律，对原计算模型进行改造，消除了每层热传导系数跳跃性，得到稳态温度场的温度分布计算公式。计算结果表明，精度相同时，热传导系数为指数变化规律分层计算模型收敛速度是热传导系数为常数的分层计算模型的3倍多，精度越高，收敛速度越快。     

J resistance behavior in functionally graded materials using cohesive zone and modified boundary layer models

This paper describes elastic–plastic crack growth resistance simulation in a ceramic/metal functionally graded material (FGM) under mode I loading conditions using cohesive zone and modified boundary layer (MBL) models. For this purpose, we first explore the applicability of two existing, phenomenological cohesive zone models for FGMs. Based on these investigations, we propose a new cohesive zone model. Then, we perform crack growth simulations for TiB/Ti FGM SE(B) and SE(T) specimens using the three cohesive zone models mentioned above. The crack growth resistance of the FGM is characterized by the J-integral. These results show that the two existing cohesive zone models overestimate the actual J value, whereas the model proposed in the present study closely captures the actual fracture and crack growth behaviors of the FGM. Finally, the cohesive zone models are employed in conjunction with the MBL model. The two existing cohesive zone models fail to produce the desired K–T stress field for the MBL model. On the other hand, the proposed cohesive zone model yields the desired K–T stress field for the MBL model, and thus yields J _R curves that match the ones obtained from the SE(B) and SE(T) specimens. These results verify the application of the MBL model to simulate crack growth resistance in FGMs.