Interlocking hexagons model for auxetic behaviour

A 2D ‘Rough Particle’ model consisting of interlocking hexagons is reported. Analytical expressions for the in-plane Poisson’s ratios and Young’s moduli due to particle translation along the geometrically matched male and female interlocks are derived for the model. The dependency of the mechanical properties on each of the model (geometrical and stiffness) parameters is provided, and it is shown that the assembly of interlocking hexagons deforming by particle translation along the interlocks displays auxetic (negative Poisson’s ratio) behaviour. The model predictions are compared with experimental mechanical properties for auxetic polypropylene (PP) films and fibres. The model predicts the experimental Poisson’s ratio values very well (model: ν_xy = −1.30, ν_yx = −0.77; experiment (PP films): ν_|| = −1.12, ). The model generally overestimates the Young’s moduli of the films, but is in reasonable agreement with the axial Young’s modulus of the fibres.     

Inclusion interaction and effective material properties in a particle-filled composite material system

This work presents a methodology implementing random packing of spheres combined with commercial finite element method (FEM) software to optimize the material properties, such as Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of two-phase materials used in electronic packaging. The methodology includes an implementation of a numerical algorithm of random packing of spheres and a technique for creating conformal FEM mesh of a large aggregate of particles embedded in a medium. We explored the random packing of spheres with different diameters using particle generation algorithms coded in MATLAB. The FEM meshes were generated using software MATLAB and TETGEN. After importing the databases of the nodes and elements into commercial FEM software ANSYS, the composite materials with spherical fillers and the polymer matrix were modeled using ANSYS. The effective Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, and CTE along different axes were calculated using ANSYS by applying proper loading and boundary conditions. It was found that the composite material was virtually isotropic. The Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio calculated by FEM models were compared to a number of analytical solutions in the literature. For low volume fraction of filler content, the FEM results and analytical solutions agree well. However, for high volume fraction of filler content, there is some discrepancy between FEM and analytical models and also among the analytical models themselves. The discrepancy is attributed to the multi-body interaction effect of the filler particles when they are getting close.     

Correlation between ultrasonic shear wave velocity and Poisson’s ratio for isotropic porous materials

A new correlation between ultrasonic shear wave velocity and Poisson’s ratio has been established for isotropic porous material based on physical acoustic theory. Poisson’s ratio may decrease, increase or remain unchanged with decrease in shear wave velocity depending on pore-shape and Poisson’s ratio of the bulk solid. In case of decreasing Poisson’s ratio with decreasing shear wave velocity, it passes through a minimum and then increases again to reach a limiting value of 0.5. It has been further demonstrated that the Poisson’s ratio versus porosity relation deduced from the proposed correlation agrees with the experimental data extremely well.

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Interfacial mechanical properties of TiN coating on steels by indentation

The elastic theory of indentation on nitride films/steel systems showed distribution of stresses (shear stress, radial stress and circumferential stress) near the interface and in the film. The difference in values for each stress along the distance to the load center increased with increasing Poisson’s ratios of steels. The shear stresses (σ_rz) had the maximum value at a distance to the load center and the difference became more significant with increasing Poisson’s ratios of steel substrates (from 0.2–0.3 of Poisson’s ratio for high-speed steels to 0.3–0.35 for stainless steels), which accounted for the large amount of cracks inside the indent cavity of nitride films/stainless steel in spite of the smoothness outside the cavity. The calculation of σ_r and σ_z showed that the differences in nitride films/steel stress increased with increasing Poisson’s ratios of steels, which also facilitated the formation of ring cracks in the film of nitride films/stainless steel composite. Indentation examination revealed the large amount of cracks inside the indent cavity of nitride film/stainless steel but smooth surface outside the cavity. These were formed under the high sinusoidal shear stress and circumferential radial stress due to the higher Poisson’s ratio of stainless steel and the plastic deformation due to the lower yield stress of stainless steel (SS), which induced more local residual stresses, whereas some cracks or spalling observed around the cavity and no cracks inside the cavity were attributed to the edge effect when the conical indenter strained the surface downward for nitride film/high-speed steel (HSS) system.     

Al/SiC composite coatings of steels by thermal spraying

Thermal spraying has been used to coat carbon steels (F112) and austenitic stainless steels (AISI 304) with aluminium matrix composites. Mixtures of aluminium powder and SiC particles were used as spraying material. A sol-gel silica coating was laid on SiC particles to reduce the porosity of the composite coatings and to inhibit the formation of aluminium carbide. The sol-gel silica coating acts as an active barrier enhancing the wettability of the reinforcement by molten aluminium. Coatings with a reinforcement volume fraction up to 30 vol.% were obtained with porosities of about 1.0 vol.%. The incorporation of sol-gel silica coated SiC particles reduces the coefficient of thermal expansion of the composite coating and enhances its adhesion to the substrates more than when uncoated SiC particles were used.     

Elevated temperature tensile properties and thermal expansion of CNT/2009Al composites

1.5 vol.% and 4.5 vol.% carbon nanotubes reinforced 2009Al (CNT/2009Al) composites with homogeneously dispersed CNTs and refined matrix grains, were fabricated using powder metallurgy (PM) followed by 4-pass friction stir processing (FSP). Tensile properties of the composites between 293 and 573 K and the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) from 293 to 473 K were tested. It was indicated that load transfer mechanism still takes effect at temperatures elevated up to 573 K, thus the yield strength of the 1.5 vol.% CNT/2009Al composite at 423–573 K, was enhanced compared with the 2009Al matrix. However, for the 4.5 vol.% CNT/2009Al composite, the yield strength at 573 K was even lower than that for the matrix, due to the quicker softening of ultrafine-grained matrix. Compared with the 2009Al matrix, the CTEs of the composites were greatly reduced for the zero thermal expansion and high modulus of the CNTs and could be well predicted by the Schapery’s model.     

Crystalline rice husk silica reinforced AA7075 aluminium chips by cold compaction method

Aluminium matrix composite is highly demanded in various industries due to its low density and good mechanical properties as most commonly studied for metal matrix composite. The properties of the composite be improved with the addition of reinforcement significantly such as silicon carbide, aluminium oxide, and boron carbide that can be mixed easily to metal matrix composite. The study of crystalline rice husk silica reinforced AA7075 aluminium chips on mechanical properties were investigated. The rice husk ash was burned at 1200 °C and it was characterized in the crystalline phase by conducting x-ray diffraction test. The mechanical properties of aluminium matrix composite were obtained by microhardness and compression tests. Results of mechanical properties for the addition of rice husk silica up to 7.5 wt.% composition of crystalline rice husk silica showed increase value of microhardness and compression strength which are the highest value of 75.94 HV 0.1 and 443 MPa, respectively compared to another aluminium matrix composite. Hence, based on investigation to crystalline rice husk silica reinforced aluminium, it has good potential to improve the mechanical properties of aluminium matrix composite which were dependent to the composition of crystalline rice husk silica reinforcement in aluminium matrix composite.     

Low-temperature interface reaction in aluminium-silicon carbide particulate composites produced by mechanical alloying

An experimental investigation has been carried out on the reaction that takes place between 3 and 20 μm SiC particles and the aluminium alloy 1050 matrix of composite materials prepared by a mechanical alloying process. The work is different from that undertaken by other researchers in that the SiC-Al interface reaction has been studied in the temperature range 853–933 K, i.e., with the matrix initially in the solid state. Differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy all show that the SiC-Al reaction initiates in the solid state at temperatures as low as 883 K. The reaction produces Al4C3 and Si, the latter entering into solid solution in the aluminium matrix. At temperatures exceeding 903 K, the reaction produces a liquid phase and at this stage the speed of the interface reaction increases significantly. The results are discussed in terms of Al-Si-C metastable equilibrium and the kinetics of the reaction. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A new approach for estimation of Poisson’s ratio of porous powder compacts

A new correlation between Poisson’s ratio (ν) and ultrasonic longitudinal wave velocity (V _L) has been established and the resulting correlation has been shown to agree well with experimental data on ν versus V _L for a variety of porous powder compacts. Further, it has been demonstrated that ultrasonic longitudinal wave velocity can be used to estimate the elastic properties of sintered powder compacts.     

Influence of heat treatment on the tensile properties and fracture behaviour of an aluminium alloy-ceramic particle composite

The tensile deformation and fracture behaviour of aluminium alloy 2124 reinforced with different amounts of silicon carbide particulates was studied, in the as-extruded and heat-treated conditions, with the objective of investigating the influence of heat treatment and composite microstructural effects on tensile properties and quasi-static fracture behaviour. Results indicate that for a given microstructural condition, the elastic modulus and strength of the metal-matrix composite increased with reinforcement content in the metal matrix. For a given volume fraction of reinforcement, the heat-treated composite exhibited significantly improved modulus and strength-ductility relationships over the as-extruded counterpart. The increased strength of the Al-SiC composite is attributed to the competing and synergistic influence of strengthening precipitates in the matrix metal, residual stresses generated due to intrinsic differences in thermal expansion coefficients between components of the composite and strengthening from constrained plastic flow and triaxiality in the ductile matrix due to the presence of brittle reinforcement. Fracture on a microscopic scale is initiated by cracking of the individual or clusters of SiC particles present in the microstructure. Particle cracking was dominant for the as-extruded composite microstructure. For both the as-extruded and heat-treated conditions, particle cracking increased with reinforcement content in the matrix. Final fracture of the composite resulted from crack propagation through the matrix between clusters. Although these composites exhibited limited ductility on a macroscopic scale, on a microscopic scale the fracture mechanism revealed features reminiscent of ductile failure.     

Micromechanical analysis of nonlinear thermal deformation of filamentary metal matrix composites

A micromechanical model was developed to predict the thermomechanical deformation of unidirectional filamentary metal matrix composites. The composite is represented by two concentric cylinders, the inner one simulating the fiber and the outer one the matrix. Both elastic and elastic-plastic analyses were performed. In the model the fiber was assumed to be linear-elastic and the matrix a work-hardening elastoplastic material. The elastoplastic analysis was based on the deformation theory of plasticity in conjunction with the von Mises yield criterion. The matrix cylinder in the model was divided into a number (N) of concentric layers with each layer having different values of tangent modulus and Poisson's ratio depending on the amount of plastic deformation. An elastic analysis of a composite cylinder with (N+1) layers was then performed and served as a subroutine for a computer program.The computer program was applied to the study of thermal deformation in the longitudinal and transverse directions of a filamentary silicon carbide/aluminum composite subjected to thermal cycling up to 177°C (350°F). Longitudinal and transverse thermal strains were measured using strain gages. The critical temperature at which the strain-temperature curves become nonlinear was experimentally determined and predicted by the model. Above this critical temperature the longitudinal thermal expansion coefficient decreases while the transverse one increases. The complete three-dimensional state of stress in the fiber and the matrix was computed. It was determined that in addition to the longitudinal stresses high transverse stresses were also developed in the matrix. The experimental thermal strain curves verified the theoretical predictions.     

Effect of pressure rolling on the residual stress state of a particulate-reinforced metal matrix composite

The large difference between the coefficients of thermal expansion of the matrix alloy and the particle in a metal matrix composite gives rise to residual stresses in the material. In the present work, the effect of pressure rolling on the residual stress state of a silicon carbide particle-reinforced 2014 aluminium alloy has been investigated. The three-dimensional stress state measured in both phases-matrix and reinforcement-has been determined using an X-ray diffraction technique. A twofold effect of pressure rolling on the residual stresses was observed. On the one hand, compressive macrostresses as large as - 250 MPa were induced. On the other hand a significant reduction in pseudo-macrostresses was measured where the plastic deformation reaches a maximum. A modified Eshelby model was used to predict quantitatively and qualitatively the residual microstresses after heat treatment and pressure rolling respectively.     

Physicomechanical and thermophysical properties of SiC-based ceramics

Fine-grain SiC-based ceramics have been produced via infiltration of molten silicon into preforms fabricated from SiC and graphite powders, with a phenol-formaldehyde resin as a binder. The materials thus prepared have a density of 2.70–3.15 g/cm³, dynamic modulus of elasticity from 200 to 400 GPa, compressive strength from 800 to 1900 MPa, bending strength from 150 to 315 MPa, thermal expansion coefficient (KTE) of 4.1 × 10⁻⁶ K⁻¹, and thermal conductivity of 140–150 W/(m K). Their properties are compared to those of known silicon carbide materials fabricated by other processes. The results indicate that the density and physicomechanical properties of the silicon carbide ceramics depend little on the fabrication process and are determined primarily by the SiC content. Increasing the SiC content from 20 to 99.5 wt % increases the density of the ceramics from 2.2 to 3.15 g/cm³ and leads to an exponential rise in their physicomechanical parameters: an increase in modulus of elasticity from 95 to 430 GPa, in compressive strength from 120 to 4200 MPa, and in bending strength from 70 to 410 MPa. The thermal conductivity of the ceramics depends very little on the fabrication process, falling in the range 100–150 W/(m K) over the entire range of SiC concentrations. Their KTE decreases slightly, from 4.3 × 10⁻⁶ to 2.4 × 10⁻⁶ K⁻¹, as the SiC content increases to 99–100 wt %.     

High-strength silicon carbide fibre-reinforced glass-matrix composites

Silicon carbide fibre-reinforced glass-matrix composites have been fabricated and tested. Two fibre forms, a 140 μm diameter monofilament and a 10 μm diameter filamentary yarn, were incorporated into a matrix of borosilicate glass. The hot-pressing fabrication procedure resulted in fully dense unidirectionally reinforced specimens with excellent flexural strength and fracture toughness over the temperature range 22 to 700° C. In addition, composite thermal expansion was found to be nearly independent of fibre orientation indicating that multiaxially reinforced composites should be readily fabricable without the occurrence of extensive cracking.     

Creep and microstructure in powder metallurgy 15 vol.% SiC<Subscript>p</Subscript>–2009 Al composite

The creep behavior and microstructure of powder metallurgy (PM) 15 vol.% silicon particulate-reinforced 2009 aluminum alloy (SiCp–2009 Al composite) and its matrix PM 2009 Al were investigated over six orders of magnitude of strain rate and at temperatures in the range 618–678 K. The results show that the creep behavior of PM 15% SiC_p–2009 Al composite resembles that of PM 2009 Al with regard to (a) the variations in both the apparent stress exponent and the apparent activation energy for creep due to applied stress, (b) the value of the true stress exponent, (c) the value of the true activation energy for creep, (d) the interpretation of creep in terms of a threshold stress, and (e) the temperature dependence of threshold stress. This resemblance implies that deformation in the matrix governs deformation in the composite. Analysis of the creep data in terms of creep rate against an effective stress shows that the creep behaviors of the composite and unreinforced alloy are consistent with the operation of viscous glide creep at low stresses. A comparison between the creep data of the composite and those of the unreinforced matrix revealed that the composite exhibited more creep-resistant characteristics than its matrix over the entire range of applied stresses.     

Thermal deformation of carbon-carbon composite materials with different schemes of reinforcement under thermal cycling conditions

We study the results of experimental investigation of the thermal deformation of carbonized carbon fiber-reinforced plastics used as a heat-shielding material for aircrafts and shuttle spacecrafts. It is shown that, in the process of thermal cycling of laminated carbon-carbon composite materials with chaotic or three-dimensional reinforcement, the degree of thermal expansion increases independently of the gaseous environment of testing up to a certain number (4–5) of heating cycles. As the number of thermal cycles increases, the thermal strains induced in the materials gradually decrease due to the structural changes in the matrix, fiber, and at the interfaces of materials in the composite. __________ Translated from Problemy Prochnosti, No. 3, pp. 118–133, May–June, 2007.     

Thermal expansion of an E-glass/vinyl ester composite from 4 to 293 K

We have measured the thermal expansion of the three principal orthogonal directions of an E-glass/vinyl ester structural composite from liquid helium temperature, 4.2 K, to room temperature, 293 K. The linear thermal expansion at 4.2 K ranged from −0.23 to −0.71%, referenced to zero expansion at 293 K. We fitted the linear thermal expansion data from 4.2 to 293 K with a cubic polynomial for each of the three principal orthogonal directions.     

Microstructure,tensile properties and fracture behaviour of Al2O3 particulate-reinforced aluminium alloy metal matrix composites

The tensile deformation and fracture behaviour of aluminium alloy 2014 discontinuously-reinforced with particulates of Al₂O₃ was studied with the primary objective of understanding the influence of reinforcement content on composite microstructure, tensile properties and quasi-static fracture behaviour. Results reveal that elastic modulus and strength of the metal-matrix composite increased with reinforcement content in the metal matrix. With increase in test temperature the elastic modulus showed a marginal decrease while the ductility exhibited significant improvement. The improved strength of the Al-Al₂O₃ composite is ascribed to the concurrent and mutually interactive influences of residual stresses generated due to intrinsic differences in thermal expansion coefficients between constituents of the composite, constrained plastic flow and triaxiality in the soft and ductile aluminium alloy matrix due to the presence of hard and brittle particulate reinforcements. Fracture on a microscopic scale initiated by cracking of the individual or agglomerates of Al₂O₃ particulates in the metal matrix and decohesion at the matrix-particle interfaces. Failure through cracking and decohesion at the interfaces increased with reinforcement content in the matrix. The kinetics of the fracture process is discussed in terms of applied far-field stress and intrinsic composite microstructural effects.     

Kinematical studies on rotation-based semi-auxetics

Auxetic materials are those which exhibit negative Poisson’s ratio, i.e. these solids expand transversely when stretched longitudinally. In recent years the concept of semi-auxetics has been examined for cellular solids based on combination of re-entrant and hexagonal microstructures. In this paper we identify a type of rotating unit that gives positive Poisson’s ratio so that a study can be made on rotating sub-structures that exhibit both positive and negative Poisson’s ratio characteristics. A second type of rotating geometry, whose Poisson’s ratio shifts from negative to positive as stretching increases, has also been identified. Based on kinematical studies we explore the relationship between the on-axis Poisson’s ratios in terms of novel lattice geometry and the magnitude of deformation.