Ionic and electronic conductivity in some simple lithium salts

The electrical conductivity () and thermoelectric power (S) of Li₃VO₄, Li₃PO₄ and Li₃BO₃ solidified melts are presented in the temperature range from 415 K to the melting point of each solid. The ionic ( _i,) and electronic ( _e) contributions to have been separated over the entire temperature range with the help of a time-dependence study of the d.c. electrical conductivity. Superionic phases in all three solids have been observed below their melting points in which the conductivity is almost purely ionic. The value of the phase transition temperature below which the solid transforms from superionic to normal phase has been obtained. It has been shown that in the normal phase, these solids are mixed conductors. Data for the temperature variations of both _i, and _e are also presented and discussed.     

Effect of magnesium content on the stress exponent and effective stress in the steady state creep of Al-Mg alloys

The stress exponent of steady state creep,n, and the internal ( _i) and effective stresses ( _e) have been determined using the strain transient dip test for a series of polycrystalline Al-Mg alloys creep tested at 300° C and compared with previously published data. The internal or dislocation back stress, _i, varied with applied stress,, but was insensitive to magnesium content of the alloy, being represented by the empirical equation _i=1.084 ^1.802. Such an applied stress dependence of _i can be explained by using an equation for _i of the form _i (dislocation density)^1/2 and published values for the stress dependence of dislocation density. Values of the friction stress, _f, derived using the equation _e/=(1–c) (1– _f/), indicate that _f is not dependent on the magnesium content. A constant value of _f can best be rationalized by postulating that the creep dislocation structure is relatively insensitive to the magnesium content of the alloy.On leave from Engineering Materials Department, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada.     

Experimental investigation of the effects of stress rate and stress level on fracture in polystyrene

The effects of stress rate and stress level on fatigue crack propagation in compression-moulded single-edge notched specimens (0.25 mm in thickness) of polystyrene are reported. Values of the stress rate are obtained from the formula = 2v(_max – _max),, wherev is the frequency and _max, _min are the maximum and minimum stresses of the fatigue cycle. Different levels of are achieved by changing the frequency while keeping _max, _min at fixed values. The effect of the stress level is investigated by keeping and _min constant and varying _max andv. The results show that when the kinetic data are plotted as l/t against the energy release rateG ₁, a relatively small effect of the stress rate is observed. If the same data are treated as l/N againstG ₁, a decrease in l/N with test frequency is seen. The increase in the level of _max results in a higher crack speed. The critical crack length is found to be practically the same for all stress-rate experiments. A decrease in the critical crack length is observed with the increase in stress level. Analysis of craze distribution around the crack path shows that the extent of crazing decreases with the increase in stress rate and increases with the increase in stress level. For all experimental conditions, the ratio of the second moment to the square root of the fourth moment of the histograms of craze density along directions normal to the crack path is found to be constant throughout the slow phase of crack propagation. This result supports a self-similarity hypothesis of damage evolution proposed in the crack layer model.     

On the measurement and physical meaning of the cleavage fracture stress in steel

Elastic-plastic two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) finite element models (FEM) are used to analyze the stress distributions ahead of notches of four-point bending (4PB) and three-point bending (3PB) specimens with various sizes of a C-Mn steel. By accurately measuring the location of the cleavage initiation sites, the local cleavage fracture stress _f and the macroscopic cleavage fracture stress _F is accurately measured. The _f and _F measured by 2D FEM are higher than that by 3D FEM. _f values are lower than the _F, and the _f values could be predicted by _f=(0.8––1.0)_F. With increasing specimen sizes (W,B and a) and specimen widths (B) and changing loading methods (4PB and 3PB), the fracture load P _f changes considerably, but the _F and _f remain nearly constant. The stable lower boundary _F and _f values could be obtained by using notched specimens with sizes larger than the Griffiths–Owen specimen. The local cleavage fracture stress _f could be accurately used in the analysis of fracture micromechanism, and to characterize intrinsic toughness of steel. The macroscopic cleavage fracture stress _F is suggested to be a potential engineering parameter which can be used to assess fracture toughness of steel and to design engineering structure.     

Low endurance fatigue in metals and polymers

The fatigue behaviour of commercially pure aluminium and of nylon under sequentially varying strain amplitudes is compared with a damage law of the type suggested by Miner. Aluminium obeys such a law for both cyclic and uniaxial prestrains but the behaviour of nylon is significantly affected by microcracking, which produces a marked effect of loading sequence.Appendix N Number of strain cycles at a given time - N _f Value of N at failure - True tensile stress - True stress range for a strain cycled specimen - _h Value of at half the life of the specimen - True tensile strain - Total true strain range - _p True plastic strain range (= the breadth of the hysteresis loop at = 0) - _d True diametral strain range - E Young's modulus - Linear strain hardening rate when tested at a particular value of _p - D Damage due to cycling - D _p Damage due to prestrain - _p Prestrain. C, K, K₁, , are constants     

Interfacial debonding and fibre pull-out stresses

Based on a theoretical model developed previously by the authors in Part II of this series for a single fibre pull-out test, a methodology for the evaluation of interfacial properties of fibre-matrix composites is presented to determine the interfacial fracture toughness G _c, the friction coefficient , the radial residual clamping stress q _o and the critical bonded fibre length z _max. An important parameter, the stress drop , which is defined as the difference between the maximum debond stress _d ^* and the initial frictional pull-out stress _fr, is introduced to characterize the interfacial debonding and fibre pull-out behaviour. The maximum logarithmic stress drop, In(), is obtained when the embedded fibre length L is equal to the critical bonded fibre length z _max. The slope of the In()-L curve for L bigger than z _max is found to be a constant that is related to the interfacial friction coefficient . The effect of fibre anisotropy on fibre debonding and fibre pull-out is also included in this analysis. Published experimental data for several fibre-matrix composites are chosen to evaluate their interfacial properties by using the present methodology.On leave at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong.     

Deformation of a carbon-epoxy composite under hydrostatic pressure

This paper describes the behaviour of a carbon-fibre reinforced epoxy composite when deformed in compression under high hydrostatic confining pressures. The composite consisted of 36% by volume of continuous fibres of Modmur Type II embedded in Epikote 828 epoxy resin. When deformed under pressures of less than 100 MPa the composite failed by longitudinal splitting, but splitting was suppressed at higher pressures (up to 500 MPa) and failure was by kinking. The failure strength of the composite increased rapidly with increasing confining pressure, though the elastic modulus remained constant. This suggests that the pressure effects were introduced by fracture processes. Microscopical examination of the kinked structures showed that the carbon fibres in the kink bands were broken into many fairly uniform short lengths. A model for kinking in the composite is suggested which involves the buckling and fracture of the carbon fibres.List of symbols d diameter of fibre - E _f elastic modulus of fibre - E _m elastic modulus of epoxy - G _m shear modulus of epoxy - k radius of gyration of fibre section - l length of buckle in fibre - P confining pressure (= ₂ = ₃) - R radius of bent fibre - V _f volume fraction of fibres in composite - _t, _c bending strains in fibres - angle between the plane of fracture and ₁ - ₁ principal stress - ₃ confining pressure - _c strength of composite - _f strength of fibre in buckling mode - _n normal stress on a fracture plane - _m strength of epoxy matrix - shear stress - tangent slope of Mohr envelope - slope of pressure versus strength curves in Figs. 3 and 4.     

Stress relaxation in hot-drawn low density polyethylene

The tensile stress relaxation behaviour of hot-drawn low density polyethylene, (LDPE), has been investigated at room temperature at various draw ratios. The drawing was performed at 85° C. The main result was an increase in relaxation rate in the draw direction, especially at low draw ratios when compared to the relaxation behaviour of the isotropic material. This is attributed to a lowering of the internal stress. The position of the relaxation curves along the log time axis was also changed as a result of the drawing, corresponding to a shift to shorter times. The activation volume, , varied with the initial effective stress ₀ ^* according to ₀ ^* 10kT, where ₀ ^* =₀ — _i, is the difference between the applied initial stress, ₀, and the internal stress _i. This result supports earlier findings relating to similarities in the stress relaxation behaviour of different solids.     

The tensile strength and ductility of continuous fibre composites

The plastic instability approach has been applied to the tensile behaviour of a continuous fibre composite. It is shown that the combination of two components with different strengths and degrees of work-hardening produces a new material with a new degree of work-hardening, which may be determined by the present analysis. Expressions for the elongation at rupture and the strength of a composite have been obtained and the results of the calculation are compared with some experimental data.List of symbols V _f volume fraction of fibres in composite - , , true strain of fibre, matrix and composite - s true stress - , , nominal stress on fibre, matrix and composite - _*, _*, _* critical stress of fibre, matrix and composite (ultimate tensile strength) - _*, _* critical strain of separate fibre and matrix - _* critical strain of composite - Q external load - A cross-sectional area - A ₀ initial value of area     

Theory of the Surface Tension Maximum of Liquid 3He

Recently Matsumoto et al. performed very precise measurements of the surface tension of liquid ³He, (T), at low temperatures and found that (T) exhibits a small maximum at about 100 mK. Existing theories are unable to explain this anomaly. On the basis of a local approximation for the entropy in which the Fermi liquid effect is included, we can evaluate the variation of (T), (T)=(T)–(0), as a function of T and of the number density (or the interaction strength). It is found that (T) consists of two terms; a T² term and T⁴ ln T term. We predict that, for the density of real liquid ³He, exhibits a tiny minimum and a small but relatively larger maximum. This prediction explains qualitatively and quantitatively all salient features of the observed (T).     

The dielectric behaviour of single-crystal MgO,Fe/MgO and Cr/MgO

The dielectric constants and loss factors,, for pure single-crystal MgO and for Fe-and Cr-doped crystals have been measured at frequencies, , from 500 Hz to 500 kHz at room temperature. For pure MgO at 1 kHz the values of and the loss tangent, tan , (9.62 and 2.16×10^–3, respectively) agree well with the data of Von Hippel; the conductivity, , varies as ⁿ withn=0.98±0.02. In Fe-doped crystals increases with Fe-concentration (at any given frequency); for a crystal doped with 12800 ppm Fe, was about four times the value for pure MgO. At all concentrations the variation of log with log was linear andn=0.98±0.02. A decrease in with increasing Fe-concentration was also observed. A similar, although less pronounced, behaviour was found in Cr-doped crystals. The effects are discussed in terms of hopping mechanisms.     

Experimental and numerical studies in model composites Part II: Numerical results

A numerical approach using the boundary element method for strength and toughness of a composite with long aligned fibers is reported. The three-dimensional problem is reduced to a two-dimensional one by substituting the rows of fibers with layers of appropriate width and elastic constants. The configuration examined in this work is a compact tension specimen similar to that used in the experimental studies (Part I, [1]). The experimental results on strength and apparent fracture toughness are compared with the numerical results. For the particular geometry and fiber spacing, the numerical simulations are in good agreement with the experimental findings, i.e. the composite's strength _A , scales with the fiber spacing , in the form of _A . Using the numerical formalism a number of different geometries was examined. The simulations suggested that if the external specimen characteristics remain the same and the fiber spacing in the direction of crack advance is changed, then the strength of the composite specimen can be expressed _A . If the fiber spacing varies in both directions simultaneously, for a certain range of , it can be considered that the composite's strength _A , is proportional to _A .     

Transport property and battery discharge characteristic studies on 1−x(0.75Agl∶0.25AgCl)∶ xAl2O3 composite electrolyte system

Various experimental studies on a new fast Ag⁺ ion-conducting composite electrolyte system: (1–x) (0.75Agl0.25AgCl)xAl₂O₃ are reported. Undried Al₂O₃ particles of size <10 m were used. The conventional matrix material Agl has been replaced by a new mixed 0.75Agl0.25AgCl quenched and/or annealed host compound. Conductivity enhancements 10 from the annealed host and 3 times from the quenched host obtained for the composition 0.7(0.75Agl0.25AgCl)0.3Al₂O₃, can be explained on the basis of the space charge interface mechanism. Direct measurements of ionic mobility as function of temperature together with the conductivity were carried out for the best composition. Subsequently, the mobile ion concentration n values were calculated from and a data. The value of heat of ion transport q* obtained from the plot of thermoelectric power versus 1/T supports Rice and Roth's free ion theory for superionic conductors. Using the best composition as an electrolyte various solid state batteries were fabricated and studied at room temperature with different cathode preparations and load conditions.     

Optimal design of a thick-walled pipeline cross-section against creep rupture

Summary Cylinder under combined loadings (pressure, bending, axial force) is subject to non-linear creep described by Norton-Odqvist creep law. In view of bending a circularly-symmetric cross-section is no longer optimal in this case. Hence we optimize the shape of the cross-section; minimal area being the design objective under the constraint of creep rupture. Kachanov-Sdobyrev hypothesis of brittle creep rupture is applied. The solution is based on the perturbation method (expansions into double series of small parameters), adjusted to optimization problems.Notation A cross-sectional area - C, , creep rupture constants - K, n, _C , _C creep constants - F dimensionless creep modulus - M bending moment - N axial force - a(),b() internal and external radii of the cross-section - j creep modulus - p internal pressure - r, ,z cylindrical coordinates - s _r ,s ,s _z ,t _r dimensionless stresses - t _R time to rupture - stress function - , () dimensionless internal and external radii - _e effective strain rate - _kl strain rates - rate of curvature - rate of elongation of the central axis - dimensionless radius - _e effective stress - _I maximal principal stress - _S Sdobyrev's reduced stress - _r , , _z , _r components of the stress tensor - measure of material continuity - measure of deterioration With 7 Figures     

The influence of antimony-additions on the creep behaviour of a 25wt% Cr-20wt% Ni austenitic stainless steel

The effect of antimony on the creep behaviour (dislocation creep) of a 25 wt% Cr-20 wt% Ni stainless steel with ~ 0.005 wt% C was studied with a view to assessing the segregation effect. The antimony content of the steel was varied up to 4000 ppm. The test temperature range was 1153 to 1193 K, the stress range, 9.8 to 49.0 MPa, and the grain-size range, 40 to 600m. The steady state creep rate, , decreases with increasing antimony content, especially in the range of intermediate grain sizes (100 to 300m). Stress drop tests were performed in the secondary creep stages and the results indicate that antimony causes dislocations in the substructure to be immobile, probably by segregating to them, reducing the driving stress for creep.Nomenclature _a Creep stress in a constant load creep test without stress-drop - _A Initial applied stress in stress-drop tests - Stress decrement - ( _A-) Applied stress after a stress decrement, - t _i Incubation time after stress drop (by the positive creep) - _C Strain-arrest stress - _i Internal stress - _{s s}-component (= _i- _c) - Steady state creep rate (average value) in a constant load creep test - Strain rate at time,t, in a constant load creep test - New steady state creep rate (average value) after stress drop from _A to ( _A-) - Strain rate at time,t, after stress drop.     

Electrical conductivity,thermoelectric power and dielectric constant of NiWO4

The a.c. electrical conductivity ( _ac), thermoelectric power () and dielectric constant () of antiferromagnetic NiWO₄ are presented. _ac and have been measured in the temperature range 300 to 1000 K and in the temperature range 600 to 1000 K. Conductivity data are interpreted in the light of band theory of solids. The compound obeys the exponential law of conductivity = ₀ exp (–W/kT). Activation energy has been estimated as 0.75eV. The conductivity result is summarized in the following equation =2.86 exp (–0.75 eV/kT)^–1 cm^–1 in the intrinsic region. The material is p-type below 660 K and above 950 K, and is n-type between 660 and 950 K.     

The influence of grain size on the creep of uranium dioxide

The creep of uranium dioxide has been investigated as a function of grain size. At high stresses, when creep is controlled by dislocation movement, grain boundaries exert a strengthening effect and this strengthening is correlated with the Hall-Petch equation. The degree of strengthening diminishes with increases in temperature. At lower stresses, when creep is controlled by mass transport, grain boundaries exert a weakening effect owing to the reduction in diffusion path length as grain size is reduced. In this range behaviour is correlated with the Nabarro-Herring equation with stress replaced by an effective stress _E=–₀ where ₀ is a threshold stress for diffusional creep associated with the limitation of the ability of boundaries to emit and absorb vacancies. ₀ appears to decrease as grain size is increased.     

Residual thermal stresses in the pull-out specimen: A finite element calculation

The residual thermal stress field in the pull-out specimen is calculated in the case of a high properties thermoset system (carbon-bismaleimide). The calculation is performed within the framework of the linear theory of elasticity by means of a finite element method. The specimen is modelled as a three-phase composite (holder-fibre-matrix). The meniscus which forms at the fibre entry is taken into account in order to provide a realistic stress concentration. The latter is far higher than the matrix strength. Evidence that fibre debonding propagates from the fibre end during cooling is then produced.Nomenclature T thermal load - L _e embedded length - r _f fibre radius - _c curvature radius of the meniscus (fibre entry) - r _c radial dimension of the finite element mesh - E _m,E _h matrix and holder moduli - E _A,E _T fibre axial and transverse moduli - _m, _h matrix and holder thermal expansion coefficients - _A, _T fibre axial and transverse thermal expansion coefficients - _rr, , _zz, _rz non-zero components of the residual stress field - _rr ⁱ , ^im , _zz ^im , _rz ⁱ stresses at the interface in the matrix (r=r _f + ) - _rr ⁱ , ^if , _zz ^if , _rz ⁱ stresses at the interface in the fibre (r=r _f–) - _p1 maximum principal stress - _zz ^f mean axial stress over the fibre section - _rupt ^m matrix strength - u _r ,u _z non-zero components of the displacement field     

Steady-state creep in a 25 wt % Cr-20 wt % Ni austenitic stainless steel

Steady-state creep behaviour of a 25 wt % Cr-20 wt % Ni stainless steel without precipitates was studied in the stress range 9.8 to 39.2 MPa at temperatures between 1133 and 1193 K. The results of stress-drop tests indicate that, in the steady-state creep region, diffusion-controlled recovery creep is dominant. Such recovery creep can be accounted for in terms of the composition of the internal stress, _i=_s+_c, except in the case of fine-grained specimens where d<80 m, whered is the mean grain diameter, _s is possible to reduce easily and is comparable to the driving stress for creep, and _c is the persistent stress field due to metastable substructure. In the fine-grained specimens, it is suggested that the steady-state creep is dominantly controlled by grain boundaries.     

Fracture stress difference of notched polycarbonate between atmospheric pressure and a hydrostatic pressure

Experimental data on fracture stress of polycarbonate (PC) with and without various artificial notches have been obtained at atmospheric pressure and a high hydrostatic pressure (400 MPa). The difference in fracture stress, _F, between both pressures was directly proportional to the intensity of pressure,P, and was inversely proportional to the stress concentration factor of the notch,K _n such that _F following the form of the Kaieda-Oguchi formula, _F. By using the combined stress concentration factor,K _nc, of superposed notch and craze, and by considering the change in elastic modulus due to pressure, the experimental data agreed with the modified Kaieda-Oguchi formula. The stress concentration factor of the craze was calculated by using the Dugdale model.