Steady-state creep of metal-ceramic multilayered materials

Abstract

A general approach is presented for analyzing the steady-state creep response and its underlying mechanisms in metal-ceramic multilayers subjected to monotonic or cyclic variations in temperature. This approach combines the plate or beam theories of continuum mechanics with the mechanism-based classical constitutive equations for steady-state creep. The method is capable of predicting the evolution of overall curvature in the layered solid, the generation of thermal stresses within each layer, and the dominant deformation mechanisms at any through-thickness location of each layer at any instant of time or temperature for prescribed layer geometries, thermo-mechanical properties of the constituent layers, and the applied thermal history. Simulations are presented for AlAl 2O 3 bilayer and Al 2O 3AlAl 2O 3 trilayer model systems. The predicted results are compared with appropriate experimental measurements for the bilayers subjected to thermal cycling up to 450°C. It is found that the multilayer creep calculations capture the essential features of cyclic thermal response; the extent of stress relaxation in the Al layer, however, is somewhat overestimated, especially at higher temperatures. Possible reasons for such discrepancy are discussed, and the significance and limitations of the overall approach are highlighted. The effects of the rate of heating or cooling on deformation, and the correlations between the present creep analyses and rate-independent elastoplastic formulations for multilayers are also considered. The influence of layer thickness on the evolution of creep mechanisms is also examined from thick multilayers to the limiting case of a thin metallic film on a brittle substrate.