Microfracture and material removal in scratching of alumina

A bonded-interface sectioning technique is used to examine subsurface damage modes and to identify mechanisms of material removal in repeated single-point scratching of alumina as a function of grain size, load, and number of passes. In the fine grain alumina, the lateral and median crack system is observed, together with intergranular microcracks and intragrain twin/slip bands distributed within the plastic zone. The distributed form of damage, namely twin/slip bands and intergranular microcracks, are also observed in the coarse grain alumina; but no evidence is found for well-defined median and lateral cracks in this material. The mechanism of material removal in alumina is identified as grain dislodgement resulting from grain boundary microcracking, irrespective of the grain size. Extension of lateral cracks is found to contribute to the material removal process only in the fine grain alumina scratched under a large load and after several passes. A model for the microfracture-controlled material removal process is proposed that relates the volume of material removed to the applied load and material properties including grain size, elastic modulus, hardness, and short-crack toughness. Removal rate is shown to be proportional to grain sizeI ^1/2 and to loadP ². The model and the experimental results obtained in scratching are used to describe the action of an individual abrasive grit in grinding and other abrasive machining processes.Guest scientist, from Department of Mechnical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA     

Quantitative aspects of grain size measurement

Abstract

Grain size measurement is directly dependent on the ability of the microstructure to be revealed in a form that is representative of the material. A single phase, equiaxed ferritic steel was used throughout the present investigative work, this material being chosen because of the apparent simplicity of the microstructure. The lineal intercept, circular intercept, and planimetric measurement techniques were used. All the results are reported using the ASTM grain size number, G. Two aspects of grain size measurement are reported in the present paper. The first is the impact of missing boundaries on grain size measurements. The etching techniques established within industry to reveal microstructures often only partially reveal grain boundaries. An experiment is reported where the impact of missing grain boundaries on grain size measurements is assessed and hence the importance of revealing all grain boundaries is determined. An image analysis system was used to completely reconstruct the microstructure in a binary form, then to remove a known percentage of the boundaries, followed by measuring the grain size using the different techniques. The selection of the boundaries to be removed was done randomly to allow for any bias. The results reported show that, even with up to 20% missing boundaries, the impact on the grain size measurement was not significant, giving a difference of ～0.5 grain size units. Sampling is the second factor studied. In order for measurements to be representative the number of grains within a field of view from each specimen, the number of fields of view per specimen, and the number of specimens have to be considered. From an analysis of the results of the characterisation of the ferritic steel it was clear that the number of specimens used for measurement was the most important factor regarding microstructural representation.     

Preparation of high-density small grain size compacts of lead tin telluride

High-density compacts of lead tin telluride with grain sizes,L, in the range 25<L<60 µm, 10<L<25 µm, 5<L<10 µm andL<5 µm and with good mechanical properties have been prepared using a two-stage pressing technique. Preliminary measurements of the thermoelectric transport properties of cold-compacted and hot-pressed material are reported. The lattice thermal conductivity decreases with a reduction in grain size. In the cold-compacted material this reduction more than offsets the accompanying reduction in the electrical power factor and results in a significant improvement in the thermoelectric figure of merit.     

Nonsingular toughening and R-curve behavior in nominally pure alumina

Moire interferometry is employed to study toughening in medium to large grain size nominally pure alumina. The fracture scale length, which is characterized by the grain size of the alumina, is systematically varied from 35 to 102 m. R curves are derived from bulk mode I compliance calculations for the differing grain sizes and from the near tip moire fringes. The level of material toughening that arises from the nonsingular processes of crack bridging and grain boundary friction are found by comparing the bulk and near tip moire R curves.     

STUDY ON FATIGUE THRESHOLD BEHAVIOUR AND FATIGUE CRACK PROPAGATION IN A CAST Co-Cr-Mo ALLOY USED FOR SURGICAL IMPLANTS

Abstract— —Fatigue crack propagation rates (d a /d N ) and fatigue crack thresholds (Δ K _th) have been studied in a cast Co-Cr-Mo alloy used for surgical implants with various grain sizes. Results for materials with average grain sizes of about 400 and 60μm respectively are presented. Threshold values close to 10–15 MPam have been measured with decreasing values observed on increasing the grain size. Similar effects of grain size are found on the crack propagation behaviour at higher growth rates, where a coarse grain size material show a higher crack growth rate than a fine grain size material at the same Δ K levels. The effects of microstructure on fatigue properties of the cast Co-Cr-Mo alloy are caused not only by grain size variation but are also attributed to the microstructural differences: a coarse-grained material with a directionally grown dendritic structure vs a fine-grained material with an equiaxed grain structure.     

The effect of Cu substitution on the microstructure and magnetic properties of MnFe2O4 ferrite

The effect of compositional variation on grain size and porosity of Mn_{1 – x} Cu _x Fe₂O₄ ferrite, where x = 0.0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00, prepared by standard ceramic method are reported. From microstructure analysis it follows that porosity increases with the Cu concentration where as coercivity increases up to x = 0.50. Above x = 0.5 the decrease in coercivity is explained on the basis of Neel's mathematical model treating the demagnetizing influence of non-magnetic material in cubic crystals. The coercivity, varies inversely with the grain size upto x = 0.5. The decrease in coercivity above x = 0.5 with grain size can be correlated with the inter-granular domain wall movement because of large porosity.     

Fracture toughness and hardness of zinc sulphide as a function of grain size

The erosion properties of brittle materials depend upon plastic deformation and crack generation at an impact or indented site. Vickers indentations have been used to investigate the plastic processes and crack systems in chemical vapour deposited zinc sulphide of different grain sizes. The hardness,H, and the local fracture toughnessK _c, are dependent upon the grain size of the material. For small grain size material (<50 m) the Vickers hardness was found to increase with decreasing grain size in accord with the Petch mechanism, i.e.H=H ₀ +kd ^–1/2 wherek andH ₀ are constants andd is the grain diameter. A maximum hardness of ca. 4 GPa has been observed for material with an average 0.5 m grain diameter. In large grain size material, hardness anisotropy within the grains causes significant experimental scatter in the hardness measurements because the plastic impression formed by the indenter (load 10 N and 100 N) is smaller than the grain diameter. The values ofK _c obtained using an indentation technique show that for grain sizes less than 8 mK _c decreases with decreasing grain size. For materials with a grain size in the range 500 m to 8 m, well developed median cracks were not observed, however, the radius of the fracture zone was measured in order to estimate an effectiveK _c. The effectiveK _c was found to increase approximately linearly with the reciprocal root of the grain size. Consideration of the models for elastic/plastic impact and micromechanics of crack nucleation in conjuction with the variation ofK _c andH, indicate that zinc sulphide with a mean grain size of 8 m will give the optimum solid particle and rain erosion resistance.     

Grain size correction of welding residual stress measurement in a carbon steel plate using the critical refraction of longitudinal waves

In this, a method to measure welding residual stress in butt-welded joints of carbon steel plates using longitudinal critically refracted wave (L_cr wave) is proposed. Cross-correlation was employed to calculate the difference in time of flight between L_cr wave, and the optimal step length for the measurements is discussed. To determine L_cr wave acoustoelastic coefficient of the heat affected zone (HAZ), the relationship between the L_cr wave acoustoelastic coefficient and the grain size is established. The results show that one cycle is the optimal step length for the difference in the time-of-flight calculation, and with increasing grain size increase, L_cr wave acoustoelastic coefficient decreases in the form of a power function. In addition, grain size can be determined by using amplitude of the L_cr wave, so that the measured value of welding residual stress in HAZ can be corrected. The welding residual stress in melted zone (MZ) is corrected by calibrating acoustoelastic coefficient of the MZ. The acoustoelastic coefficient of the MZ is larger than that of parent material (PM). At last, welding residual stress in the butt-weld joint is measured and corrected with the L_cr wave technique. The results are verified by the hole drilling method.     

Effect of annealing on grain size and flaring limit of seamless SUS 304 stainless microtubes

Size effects make traditional macroforming generally ineffective for microforming. Although the microtube is one of the most important microparts, the effect of grain size on material behavior has seldom been studied. In this study, seamless SUS 304 stainless microtubes were annealed to investigate their grain growth and to analyze their mechanical properties, including yielding stress and strain-hardening coefficient, by conducting a tensile test. A nano-indentation system, Triboindenter, was employed to measure the reduced modulus and hardness of grain. A flaring system was developed to investigate the relationship between flaring limit and T/D (thickness/average grain size) ratio. The method of fabricating a conical micropunch is also described. The optimal T/D ratio, which enhances the flaring limit, is 9.9.     

The role of grain boundary sliding and reinforcement morphology on the creep deformation behaviour of discontinuously reinforced composites

In this study, the role of grain boundary sliding behaviour on the creep deformation characteristics of discontinuously reinforced composites is investigated numerically together with the other influencing parameters: reinforcement aspect ratio, grain size and interfacial behaviour between the reinforcement and the matrix. The results obtained for the composites are compared with results obtained for a polycrystalline matrix material having identical grain size and morphology. The results indicate that, with sliding grain boundaries, the stress enhancement factor for the composites is much higher than the one observed for the matrix material and its value increases with increasing reinforcement aspect ratio, reduction in the matrix grain size and sliding interfacial behaviour between the reinforcement and the matrix. In the composites, the contribution of the grain boundary sliding to overall steady state creep rates occurs in a larger stress range in comparison to the matrix material. Experimentally observed higher creep exponent values or stress dependent creep exponent values for the composites could not be explained solely by the mechanism of grain boundary sliding. However, experimentally observed large scale triple point grain boundary cavitation in the composites could occur due to large grain rotations resulting from grain boundary sliding.     

The effect of microstructure on the morphology of fatigue cracks in UDIMET® 720

The low cycle fatigue (LCF) behaviour of four variants of UDIMET^® 720 was investigated. The materials comprised a fine grained (approximately 10 μm), powder processed material with a fine bimodal distribution (～20 and 80 nm) of secondary γ′; the same material, but with enlarged secondary γ′ (～480 nm); a coarse grained powder processed material (grain size ～62 μm) and finally a cast and wrought material with a similar microstructural scale to the fine grained powder processed alloy, but with reduced interstitial element content. LCF testing was undertaken on corner notched square section specimens at 20, 300 and 600 °C with a frequency of 0.25 Hz, a cyclic stress range of 500 MPa and an R ratio of +0.1. At 20 and 600 °C fracture was found to be macroscopically flat for all materials. However, at 300 °C, significant shear fracture was observed in the two materials that had a fine grain size and a fine secondary γ′ size, leading to a characteristic ‘tear‐drop’ appearance. Only minor shear fracture was observed in the coarse grained and enlarged secondary γ′ materials. Tensile tests indicated that weak dynamic strain ageing occurred in all materials at 300 °C. The fine grained powder processed U720 also exhibited dynamic strain ageing at 600 °C, but this was not the case for the coarse grained or cast and wrought materials. The origin of the shear fracture are discussed and related to the microstructure.     

Compressive properties of Cu with different grain sizes: sub-micron to nanometer realm

High-quality ultra-fine grained (ufg) and nanocrystalline (nc) bulk Cu samples of proper sizes reliable for mechanical testing, with grain sizes (d) ranging from 720 down to 22 nm were prepared by means of room temperature ball-milling and consolidation processes. The specimens were subjected to compressive loading at the quasi-static strain rate of 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹ to large strains (ε = 50%). The specimens prepared from the 10-h-milled powder (d = 32 nm) were tested at a wide range of strain rates (10⁻⁴ to 1,860 s⁻¹), and the strain rate sensitivity (SRS) of the material was determined as a function of strain. The strength and work-hardening behavior were dramatically influenced by change in the grain size; the strength approached ∼900 MPa for the 30-h-milled Cu (d = 22 nm) at the strain level of ∼50%. The SRS increased several fold as the grain size was reduced to 32 nm. Further, the results obtained in this study were compared with those of other investigators on ufg and nc Cu, to gain insights into the effect of different processing routes on the investigated material properties.     

THE EFFECT OF GRAIN SIZE, STRAIN AND TEMPERATURE ON THE MONOTONIC STRESS-STRAIN BEHAVIOUR OF POLYCRYSTALLINE ALUMINIUM AND AL ALLOYS

Abstract The tensile yield and flow stresses of aluminium, A1-2.63Mg alloy and A1-2.07Li alloy at room temperature are shown to depend on the inverse square root of the polycrystal grain size and are described empirically by the Hall-Petch relation. The same relation describes the flow stress-grain size dependence for A1-2.07Li alloy at temperatures ranging from - 196°C to 400°C. The strain hardening in the friction stress of each material at 20°C is independent of the grain size, is approximately parabolic and is greatest for the precipitation strengthened A1-2.07Li alloy. The grain size contribution to the tensile flow stress is dependent on both the tensile strain and composition. The friction stress, σ₀, and slip band stress intensity parameter, k_ε, at yield, k_y, are both dependent on temperature. Low temperature suppresses dislocation annihilation and recovery processes, leading to planar pile-ups at grain boundaries and a hardening that is linear with strain. Weak hardening is observed at 250°C and 400°C due to extensive annihilation and recovery. The value of k_ε, at all temperatures falls following initial yielding with the generation of freshly unlocked sources.     

Grain size and porosity dependence of ceramic fracture energy and toughness at 22 °C

A review of the fracture energy and toughness data for dense ceramics at 22 °C shows maxima commonly occurring as a function of grain size. Such maxima are most pronounced for non-cubic materials, where they are often associated with microcracking and R-curve effects, especially in oxides, but often also occur at too fine a grain size for association with microcracking. The maxima are usually much more limited, but frequently definitive, for cubic materials. In a few cases only a decrease with increasing grain size at larger grain size, or no dependence on grain size is found, but the extent to which these reflect lack of sufficient data is uncertain. In porous ceramics fracture toughness and especially fracture energy commonly show less porosity dependence than strength and Young's modulus. In some cases little, or no, decrease, or possibly a temporary increase in fracture energy or toughness are seen with increasing porosity at low or intermediate levels of porosity in contrast to continuous decreases for strength and Young's modulus. It is suggested that such (widely neglected) variations reflect bridging in porous bodies. The above maxima as a function of grain size and reduced decreases with increased porosity are less pronounced for fracture toughness as opposed to fracture energy, since the former reflects effects of the latter and Young's modulus, which usually has no dependence on grain size, but substantial dependence on porosity. In general, tests with cracks closer to the natural flaw size give results more consistent with strength behaviour. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

The grain size dependence of fracture toughness in an Al-6.0% Zn-2.5% Mg alloy

The grain size dependence of the fracture toughness (K _IC) of an aged Al-6.0% Zn-2.5% Mg alloy was studied experimentally. K _IC depended strongly upon grain size (L _G) in two ways. In the small grain size region K _IC decreased with increasing average grain size. In contrast, K _IC increased with increasing average grain size for large grain sizes. The increase in K _IC with increasing grain size arose as a result of the presence of abnormally large grains compared to the average grain size in the large-grained specimens.     

A microstructural approach to flaw size dependence of strength in engineering ceramics

In this work, microstructural effects on the flaw size dependence of ceramic strength were investigated from aspects of stress analysis in the grain just ahead of the crack tip and also R-curve behaviour. In the analysis, it was assumed that the stress averaged in one grain just ahead of the crack tip, in ceramics, might control the fracture from a flaw. A microstructurally modified fracture criterion using the averaged stress was established by introducing the R-curve due to the grain bridging effect for longer cracks. A new R-curve of an exponential type was proposed for the fracture criterion. The criterion could adequately express the central trend in the dispersal of experimental results in the strength versus flaw size relation. To explain the scatter of results, the size distribution and the crystallographic anisotropy of the grain ahead of the crack tip were examined as dominant factors. The lower bound of strength scatter was estimated from the largest grain size, and the strength dispersion was reduced by decreasing the range of grain size variation. In FEM simulations, each element was regarded as one grain with a different crystallographic orientation, which was randomly selected by using a series of quasi-uniform random numbers. It was revealed that the scatter of strength due to crystallographic variations was smaller than the strength dispersion caused by a distributed grain size.     

FATIGUE CRACK INITIATION AND PROPAGATION IN A LOW-CARBON STEEL OF TWO DIFFERENT GRAIN SIZES

Rotary bending fatigue tests were carried out using both plain and notched specimens of a low-carbon steel with two different grain sizes (15 and 50 μm). The process of early crack development was observed by the replication method. The effect of grain size on crack development was studied. The main conclusions were as follows. (1) Fatigue resistance, in terms of the relative positions of the S-N curves, increases with decreasing grain size. This phenomenon is related to the number of cycles to propagate a crack to failure and the condition for the non-propagation of a fatigue crack. (2) The size of a non-propagating crack, which initiates below the fatigue limit, tends to become larger as grain size increases. (3) The difference in fatigue behaviour between small (15μm) and large (50μm) grain sized specimens is due both to a decrease in crack propagation rate and a smaller non-propagating crack limit in the finer grained material.     

Creep behaviour of AZ61 magnesium alloy at low stresses and intermediate temperatures

Abstract

Tensile creep response was investigated for AZ61 alloy (Mg - 6.4Al - 0.9Zn - 0.2Mn, wt-%) of mean linear intercept grain size ~ 25 μm at stresses in the range 0.9 - 4 MPa over the temperature range 250 - 346°C. Bingham behaviour is obtained with strain rate ? under stress σ given by ?∝σ - σ_o with a threshold stress σ_o decreasing from 1.25 MPa at 210°C to ~ 0.5 MPa at 346°C, which is similar to earlier work on pure magnesium. The corresponding Arrhenius plot of log (Td?/d σ) versus T^-1 indicates an activation energy comparable with that expected for the grain boundary self-diffusion coefficient D _B, and values of D _Bδ (where δ is the effective grain boundary thickness) derived from the Coble equation are also similar to those for pure magnesium. Grain elongation in the direction of the tensile stress is also consistent with the key indicative feature of diffusional creep: deposition of material at grain boundaries nearly transverse to the axis of tensile stressing. Strain rates versus stress are shown to be continuous with published results for superplastic flow of AZ61 at comparable temperatures but higher stresses.     

Microstructure and brittle behaviour of fine grain calcite (micrite)

Micrites are natural materials formed by sedimentation in ancient seas. They are generally characterized by a fine grain size and a high compactness. Electron microscopy observations reveal many coincidence boundaries between adjacent grains which allow one to propose a more precise mechanism for the genesis of this material, especially for its high compactness. Moreover, compression tests at various temperatures indicate that micrites are very brittle forT < 300° C. The fracture propagation mechanisms are discussed with the help of the observed microstructure.     

Buckling characteristics of nanocrystalline nano-beams

The buckling and the postbuckling characteristics of nanocrystalline nano-beams with/without surface stress residuals are investigated. A hybrid model is proposed where a non-classical beam model is incorporated with a size-dependent micromechanical model. The micromechanical model has the merit of accounting for the beam material structure effects, i.e. the grain size and the grain boundary effects. To account for the beam size effects, the couple stress theory is implemented where some measures are added to capture the grain rigid rotation effects. The proposed hybrid model is harnessed to derive the governing equations of a nano-beam subjected to an axial compressive load accounting for the mid-plane stretching according to von-Karman kinematics and the surface stress residuals. Analytical solutions for the prebuckling and postbuckling configurations and natural frequencies as functions of the applied compressive axial load are derived. The effects of the beam material structure and the beam size on the beam’s prebuckling characteristics and the postbuckling configurations and natural frequencies are studied. The obtained results reveal that both the size and the material structure of nanobeams have great impacts on their buckling characteristics.