Investigation of cyclic thermal shock behaviour of fibre reinforced glass matrix composites using non-destructive forced resonance technique

Abstract

A non-destructive forced resonance technique was used to assess the damage development in SiC fibre reinforced glass matrix composite materials subjected to cyclic thermal shock. Both elastic modulus and internal friction measurements were conducted. The thermal shock tests involved quenching the specimens from high temperatures (590–710°C) to room temperature in a water bath. Damage in theform of matrix microcracks was induced by quenchingfrom 620 and 660°C, and the extent of damage increased with the number of thermal shock cycles. After a certain number of shocks, this damage was detected by a decrease in the Youngs modulus and a simultaneous increase in the internal friction. The non-destructive dynamic forced mechanical resonance technique employed was shown to be more sensitive than a destructive three point flexural technique for detecting crack development in the early stages of thermal shock damage. The technique was also used to confirm the occurrence of a crack healing process in the thermally shocked specimens: after an annealing heat treatment for 12 h at 550°C, the initial values of Young's modulus and internal friction were recovered. This was attributed to crack closure due to viscous flow of the glass matrix.     

The stiffness of unidirectionally reinforced CFRP as a function of strain rate,strain magnitude and temperature

The Young's modulus and shear modulus of a unidirectional carbon fibre-reinforced plastic composite were measured at −40°C, 20°C, 80°C and 120°C over the strain range 0–0.9%. Within the strain range 0.1%–0.9%, a non-linear increase of up to 20% was found in the Young's modulus, which was independent of strain rate. The shear modulus was sensitive to the viscoelastic properties of the matrix; its magnitude decreased with increasing temperature and increased with increasing strain rate. However, this latter change was not very apparent, particularly at strains beyond 0.6%.     

Fabrication of a nanocrystalline Cr–C layer with excellent anti-wear performance

Nanocrystalline Cr–C layers with excellent anti-wear performance were prepared by electrodeposition in Cr³⁺ bath and subsequent annealing. X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows that the crystalline structure of the Cr–C layer changed from amorphous to nanocrystalline when the annealing was conducted. The hardness, Young's modulus and wear rate of the Cr–C layer were measured. The results indicate that the 400 °C-annealed nanocrystalline Cr–C layer exhibits a high ratio of hardness to Young's modulus and excellent wear resistance. The excellent wear resistance can be attributed to the proper compromising of hardness and toughness. The friction tests reveal that the friction coefficient depends on the Young's modulus and the counterpart. Comparing wear with friction, no obvious connection can be found between them.     

Spark plasma reaction sintering of ZrO2–mullite composites from plasma spheroidized zircon/alumina powders

Mullite–zirconia ceramic composites are prepared by reaction sintering of plasma spheroidized (PS) zircon–alumina powders in a spark plasma sintering (SPS) system at 1000, 1100, 1200 and 1300 °C with duration of 10 and 30 min. At SPS temperature of 1000 °C, evidence of zircon decomposition is detected, while at 1200 °C, mullite formation dominates the process, resulting in significant increases in microhardness, Young's modulus and fracture toughness values. At SPS temperature of 1300 °C, due to re-crystallization, rapid grain growth, and intergranular micro cracking, there is a slight decrease of microhardness and Young's modulus values. Yet, fracture toughness as high as 11.2±1.1 MPa m^1/2 is obtained by the indentation technique. The results indicate that with optimized sintering parameters, a combination of PS and SPS is effective in preparing high performance mullite/ZrO₂ composites from zircon/alumina mixtures at a relatively low reaction sintering temperature.     

Micromorphology and nanomechanical characteristics of sputtered aluminum thin films

Micromorphology and nanoindentation properties of sputtered aluminum thin films are presented. The field emission scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and nanoindentation results are presented for films prepared at a substrate temperature ranging between 44.5 °C and 100 °C. A multifractal approach on the microstructure is presented to comprehend the micromorphology of the films. The roughness decreases, whereas fractal dimension increases as the temperature increases. The hardness and Young's modulus do not exhibit any predictable trend. Hardness and Young's modulus exhibit a linear relationship.     

Maximisation of the ratio of microhardness to the Young's modulus of Ti–12Mo–13Nb alloy through microstructure changes

Alloys for orthopaedic and dentistry applications require high mechanical strength and a low Young's modulus to avoid stress shielding. Metastable β titanium alloys appear to fulfil these requirements. This study investigated the correlation of phases precipitated in a Ti–12Mo–13Nb alloy with changes in hardness and the Young's modulus. The alloy was produced by arc melting under an argon atmosphere, after which, it was heat treated and cold forged. Two different routes of heat treatment were employed. Phase transformations were studied by employing X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Property characterisation was based on Vickers microhardness tests and Young's modulus measurements. The highest ratio of microhardness to the Young's modulus was obtained using thermomechanical treatment, which consists of heating at 1000 °C for 24 h, water quenching, cold forging to reduce 80% of the area, and ageing at 500 °C for 24 h, where the final microstructure consisted of an α phase dispersed in a β matrix. The α phase appeared in two different forms: as fine lamellas (with 240 ± 100 nm length) and massive particles of 200–500 nm size.     

Strength,toughness, and stiffness of wrought and directly sintered T6 high-speed steel at 20–600°C

Abstract

The mechanical properties of directly sintered T6 high-speed steel in the temperature range 20–600°C were generally comparable to those of concurrently heat-treated wrought material of similar composition. For the hardness range 860–940 HV30 macroscopic ductility was detected at 200°C and 450°C in the wrought and sintered materials, respectively; failure strains, however, did not exceed 2%. The value of Young's modulus dropped from ~240 to ~120 GNm^?2 as the temperature was raised to 600°C, yield strength dropped from 2·2 to 1·0 GNm^?2, but the fracture strengths showed a maximum, ~2·1 GNm^?2 at ~400°C for the wrought steel and ~1·4 GNm^?2 at ~450°C for the sintered steel. Microcracking preceded yielding and/or failure and was mainly through carbides, which were generally below the critical size to cause catastrophic fracture. The second stage of the failure process involved the linking through the matrix of such microcracks until conditions for fast fracture were satisfied (stage three). A quantitative model for carbide cracking in high-speed steels is absent as is the correlation of fracture strength with fracture toughness via the critical defect size, since, for example, the failure originating zones in wrought samples identified by scanning electron microscopy were generally larger than those predicted by linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM). It is suggested that there may be some analogies between failure in monotonic loading of high-speed steels and of ceramics with small defects; the behaviour in fatigue of short cracks in alloys and microscopic crack growth in delayed fracture of ceramics where LEFM analyses developed as a result of studying artificial long cracks appear not to hold.

MST/606     

Thermophysikalische Eigenschaften des hochwarmfesten Werkstoffes NiCr 22 Co 12 Mo (INCONEL 617)

Thermophysical Properties of the High Temperature Material NiCr 22 Co 12 Mo (INCONEL 617) The following thermophysical properties were measured on nine specimens of four heats between 20 and 1000°C: Density, Young's modulus, Poission's ratio, thermal expansion, specific heat capacity, electrical resistivity, thermal conductivity, and thermal diffusivity. The reversible anomalies near to 600°C in the temperature dependence of thermal expansion and resistivity are caused by fine, ordered and coherent precipitates of the composition Ni₃ Cr, or possibly Ni₃ Fe or Ni₃Mo.     

Elastic moduli measurements of some cubic transition metal carbides and alloyed carbides

Polycrystalline elastic moduli have been determined for TiC, TiC-26% VC, VC-22% TiC and VC using a composite resonator. Carbon to metal ratios were in all cases close to 0.84. Room temperature moduli variations with alloy composition are discussed and by comparison with other data the order of magnitude of modulus variation with carbon content is determined for TiC. The temperature dependence of Young's modulus for TiC and VC are determined in the range 20 to 1600° C. Correlations are sought with hardness data.     

Thermoschockbeständigkeit und das Verhalten von SiC-faserverstärkten Glas-Matrix-Verbundwerkstoffen bei einer thermischen Wechselbeanspruchung

The damage evolution of commercially available SiC-Nicalon? fiber-reinforced glass matrix composites under thermal shock and thermal cycling conditions in oxidizing atmospheres was investigated. The thermal shock tests involved quenching the samples from high temperatures (590–710°C) to room temperature in a water bath. For the thermal cycling tests the samples were quickly alternated between high temperature (T=700°C) and room temperature air for different number of cycles. Both destructive and non-destructive techniques were employed to characterize the samples and to detect differences in behavior for the various thermal loading conditions. In thermally shocked samples, damage in the form of matrix microcracks was induced by quenching from intermediate temperatures, e.g. 660°C. The extent of damage increased with the number of thermal shock cycles, as detected by a decrease in the Young’s modulus and a simultaneous increase in the internal friction measured non-destructively be a mechanical force resonance technique. In thermally cycled samples, material degradation was ascribed to porosity formation in the matrix as a consequence of the extended exposures at high temperatures. With increasing number of cycles, also interfacial oxidation was detected. An attempt was made also to explore the possibility of healing the induced microcracks in thermally shocked samples by an optimized post-thermal shock heat-treatment (annealing) schedule, exploiting the viscous flow of the glass matrix.     

Young's modulus of electroplated Ni thin film for MEMS applications

The Young's modulus of an electroplated nickel (Ni) thin film suitable for microelectromechanical applications has been investigated as a function of process variables: the plating temperature and current density. It was found that the Young's modulus is approximately 205 GPa at plating temperatures less than 60 °C, close to that of bulk Ni, but drastically drops to approximately 100 GPa at 80 °C. The inclusion of ammonium and sulphate ions by hydrolysis is believed to be responsible for the sharp drop. The Young's modulus of 205 GPa is for a Ni film plated at J=2 mA/cm² and it decreases to 85 GPa as the plating current density is increased to 30 mA/cm². The results imply that at low current density, the plating speed is slow and there is sufficient time for the as-plated Ni atoms to rearrange to form a dense coating. At high currents, the plating speed is high, and the limited mass transport of Ni ions leads to a less dense coating.     

Healable and Mechanically Super‐Strong Polymeric Composites Derived from Hydrogen‐Bonded Polymeric Complexes

It is challenging to fabricate mechanically super‐strong polymer composites with excellent healing capacity because of the significantly limited mobility of polymer chains. The fabrication of mechanically super‐strong polymer composites with excellent healing capacity by complexing polyacrylic acid (PAA) with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVPON) in aqueous solution followed by molding into desired shapes is presented. The coiled PVPON can complex with PAA in water via hydrogen‐bonding interactions to produce transparent PAA–PVPON composites homogenously dispersed with nanoparticles of PAA–PVPON complexes. As healable materials, the PAA–PVPON composite materials with a glass transition temperature of ≈107.9 °C exhibit a super‐high mechanical strength, with a tensile strength of ≈81 MPa and a Young's modulus of ≈4.5 GPa. The PAA–PVPON composites are stable in water because of the hydrophobic interactions among pyrrolidone groups. The super‐high mechanical strength of the PAA–PVPON composite materials originates from the highly dense hydrogen bonds between PAA and PVPON and the reinforcement of in situ formed PAA–PVPON nanoparticles. The reversibility of the relatively weak but dense hydrogen bonds enables convenient healing of the mechanically strong PAA–PVPON composite materials from physical damage to restore their original mechanical strength.     

Fabrication of hydrothermal ageing resistant of 3 mol % yttria-stabilised tetragonal zirconia polycrystalline via microwave sintering

The influence of microwave sintering on the densification, mechanical performances, microstructure evolution and hydrothermal ageing behaviour of pure 3 mol % yttria-stabilised tetragonal zirconia polycrystalline (3Y-TZP) ceramics was compared with conventional sintered samples. Green bodies were sintered via conventional pressure-less and microwave sintering method between 1200 °C to 1400 °C with dwelling time and firing rate at 120 min, 10 °C/min and 1 min, 20 °C/min. Result showed that reduced processing temperature and holding time is possible with microwave sintering technique for fabricating good resistant zirconia sample with bulk density, Young's modulus, and Vicker's hardness that are comparable to samples sintered with conventional method. However, the microwave sintered samples suffered from hydrothermal ageing where their average grain size is above critical size. The enhancement of hydrothermal ageing resistance of the sintered samples is associated with the decreasing grain size of the sintered samples instead of sintering method.     

Critical Assessment 18: elastic and thermal properties of porous materials – rigorous bounds and cross-property relations

A critical assessment of model relations describing the porosity dependence of elastic properties (Young's modulus) and thermal properties (thermal conductivity) is given. It is shown that there are essentially five types of admissible predictive model relations for the relative Young's modulus and thermal conductivity of isotropic porous materials. The cross-property relations resulting from the complete analogy between the model relations for the elastic moduli and thermal conductivity of isotropic porous materials are reviewed and compared. Finally, it is shown that the fact that relative Young's moduli are not equal to relative thermal conductivities except for materials with translational symmetry, i.e. the mere existence and necessity of non-trivial cross-property relations, proves so-called minimum solid area models to be wrong.     

Anisotropy of Young's Modulus of DD6 from 25 to 1200 °C Based on Nondestructive Dynamic Method

The Young's modulus is an essential factor for improving turbine blade design. The present study aims to obtain the flexural frequencies (f₁) and corresponding dynamic Young's modulus (E_d) of Ni-based single-crystal DD6 across a temperature range of 25–1200 °C using a nondestructive dynamic testing method. The relationship between the elastic constants and various crystal orientations is derived by employing the transformation of the elastic matrix. In addition, finite element (FE) simulation is conducted to calculate the flexural frequency (f₁) of the [001] crystal orientation. The findings indicate that the dynamic Young's modulus (E_d) decreases as the temperature increases within the range of 25–1200 °C. Furthermore, the E_d values for different crystal orientations follow the trend: E_d[1] < E_d[11] < E_d[111]. This suggests significant anisotropy in the material. The normalized model, matrix transformation calculation method, and finite element method demonstrate high accuracy in predicting the elastic modulus of DD6, as evidenced by the good correspondence between the fitting curves obtained using the normalization method and the test results. These results have practical applications in engineering, particularly in turbine blade design and other applications, and serve as valuable references for mechanical property testing and finite element simulations.     

Dynamic Young's modulus and glass transition temperature of selected tropical wood species

Abstract

Dynamic Young's modulus (E _d) of selected tropical wood species, namely Dyera polyphylla, Endospermum diadenum, Cratoxylum arborecens, Alstonia pneumatophora, Macaranga gigantea and Commersonia bartramia, used for the study was measured using the free–free flexural vibration method. Young's modulus from three point bending (E _3pb) and compression parallel to grain (E _cp) was also studied. The results show that the relationship between E _d and E _3pb for all wood species is very significant with the mean value of E _d consistently larger than or sometime equal to E _3pb. Surprisingly, the relationship between E _d and E _cp is not significant except for Alstonia pneumatophora. The dynamic mechanical thermal properties were also investigated using the dynamic mechanical thermal analyser (DMTA). The results showed that the storage modulus of the wood species at –90°C is in the range of 1·48–4·09 GPa with a glass transition temperature ranging from 50 to 70°C.     

Mechanical properties of squeeze-cast zinc alloy matrix composites containing α-alumina fibres

α-Alumina fibre-reinforced ZA12 alloy matrix composites, with fibre volume fractions ranging from 7.5 to 30%, were manufactured by squeeze casting. The alumina fibres were homogeneously distributed in the matrix and had a planar-random orientation. Mechanical properties of the composites such as hardness, tensile strength, Young's modulus, elongation and wear resistance were measured and the effect of fibre volume fraction on these properties was investigated. At room temperature the hardness, Young's modulus and wear resistance increased with increasing volume fraction of alumina fibres, but the other properties were inferior. At elevated temperature (above 80°C) the tensile strengths of the composites were higher than that of the matrix alloy.     

Ultrastiff,Strong, and Highly Thermally Conductive Crystalline Graphitic Films with Mixed Stacking Order

A macroscopic film (2.5 cm × 2.5 cm) made by layer‐by‐layer assembly of 100 single‐layer polycrystalline graphene films is reported. The graphene layers are transferred and stacked one by one using a wet process that leads to layer defects and interstitial contamination. Heat‐treatment of the sample up to 2800 °C results in the removal of interstitial contaminants and the healing of graphene layer defects. The resulting stacked graphene sample is a freestanding film with near‐perfect in‐plane crystallinity but a mixed stacking order through the thickness, which separates it from all existing carbon materials. Macroscale tensile tests yields maximum values of 62 GPa for the Young's modulus and 0.70 GPa for the fracture strength, significantly higher than has been reported for any other macroscale carbon films; microscale tensile tests yield maximum values of 290 GPa for the Young's modulus and 5.8 GPa for the fracture strength. The measured in‐plane thermal conductivity is exceptionally high, 2292 ± 159 W m^?1 K^?1 while in‐plane electrical conductivity is 2.2 × 10⁵ S m^?1. The high performance of these films is attributed to the combination of the high in‐plane crystalline order and unique stacking configuration through the thickness.     

Einfluß der Korngröße auf mechanische Eigenschaften und den ungeschmierten reversierenden Gleitverschleiß von Al2O3-Keramik

Influence of grain size on mechanical properties and dry oscillating sliding wear of Al₂O₃-ceramics Specimens with average grain sizes varying between about 0.8 μm and 12 μm were produced by cold isostatic pressing of high purity Al₂O₃-powder followed by sintering between 1300°C and 1700°C. Hardness, Young's modulus, bending strength and fracture toughness were measured as a function of average grain sizes. Tribological tests were carried out on the different microstructures at normal laboratory air and room temperature by using a ring-on-block tribometer. Experimental results showed the dependence of mechanical properties on grain size, hardness and bending strength obeying a Hall-Petch type relation, approximately. Coefficient of friction was relatively independent of grain size under the test conditions used. However, wear intensity increased substantially if a critical grain size was surpassed. This was due to a change in mechanisms of material removal which was confirmed by scanning electron microscopical studies of the worn surfaces.     

Structural investigations of thermotropic hydroxypropylcellulose

Abstract

The tensile properties of hydroxypropylcellulose sheets which were formed by means of hot compression at temperatures between 150° and 220°C were examined at room temperature. The marked increase of elongation at breaking and the decrease of the Young's modulus over temperatures of 210°C agreed well with the phase transition observed by the polarized light microscope. These phenomena have been explained by X‐ray and SEM studies.