Deformation Behavior Research Articles

In Situ Synchrotron Diffraction Assessment of Reversibility of the Martensitic Transformation in Single-Crystalline Co–Ni–Ga Shape Memory Alloy Under Torsion

AbstractHeusler-type Co–Ni–Ga shape memory alloys attracted significant attention due to their excellent functional properties in single-crystalline state under both compressive and tensile loading. The present study investigates the superelastic deformation behavior under torsion. Using a newly installed torsion testing setup, in situ synchrotron diffraction was carried out on single-crystalline material in order to investigate the martensitic phase transformation. Incremental deformation experiments reveal a fully reversible martensitic transformation under torsional loading at room temperature, leading to excellent strain recovery after deformation to 6.5% shear strain. Furthermore, relevant aspects towards the analysis of powder diffraction data obtained for single-crystalline material in transmission mode under torsional loading are presented and critically discussed.

Microstructure, mechanical and electrochemical behavior of magnetron-sputtered carbothermic reduced iron-boride ceramic coatings

In this study, magnetron sputtered carbothermic reduced iron boride (FeB) coatings were developed on grey cast iron (GCI) substrates at different substrate temperatures. The impact of substrate temperature on structural, mechanical, and corrosion behavior was examined for two FeB deposition scenarios: FeB coatings deposited at room temperature (RT) and at 500 °C substrate temperature. The evolution of phases and microstructure was studied using XRD and FESEM, respectively. The mechanical properties, creep, deformation behavior, and adhesion strength (scratch test) of the deposited coatings were investigated using nanoindentation at ambient temperature. The highest hardness and Young’s modulus of 16 GPa and 231 GPa respectively, were achieved at 500 °C due to microstructural enhancement. Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were used to evaluate the corrosion behavior of the coatings. The results show that substrate temperature strongly influences the surface morphology of the coatings, which in turn governs the mechanical and corrosion behavior of the FeB coating. The FeB-coated GCI at 500 °C substrate temperature showed higher resistance to scratching, better mechanical properties, and improved corrosion resistance which is attributed to the enhanced adhesive strength, refined microstructure, and formation of protective oxide layers of FeB on the surface of the coatings.

Operative slip systems and their critical resolved shear stresses in η-Fe2Al5 investigated by micropillar compression at room temperature

The plastic deformation behavior of single crystals of orthorhombic η-Fe2Al5 has been investigated by micropillar compression at room temperature as a function of crystal orientation and specimen size. Plastic flow is observed even at room temperature by the operation of six slip systems; (001)<010>, (001)<110>, (001)<130>, {22‾3}<110>, {311}<1‾03> and {301}<1‾03>. The CRSS values for the six identified slip systems are very high all in the range of 1.1∼1.5 GPa and do not vary much with specimen size. In the middle of the stereographic projection, the (001)<010>, (001)<110>, (001)<130> and {22‾3}[110] slip systems operate according to the relative Schmid factors with the similar CRSS values in the range of 1.08∼1.23 GPa. In orientations close to [001], the {311}<1‾03> slip system as well as the {301}<1‾03> slip system operate with a much higher CRSS values around 1.5 GPa, producing wavy slip traces due to the occurrence of frequent cross-slip among these slip planes. In orientations close to the [100]-[110]-[010] symmetry line, on the other hand, premature failure occurs without the operation of any slip systems, although, the Schmidt factor-wise, the {311}<1‾03> and {301}<1‾03> slip systems could operate. The selection of slip systems, their CRSS values and the possible dislocation dissociation modes are discussed based on the overlapped atomic volume that occurs during shear along the slip direction on the slip plane, taking into account the partial occupancies of Al atoms in the linear atomic chain along the orthorhombic c-axis direction.

Effects of the temperature, strain rate, and loading conditions on the deformation behaviors and mechanical properties of the Ni/Ni3Al superalloy.

Using the molecular dynamics method, we comprehensively studied the effects of temperature, strain rate, and loading conditions on the deformation behaviors and the mechanical properties of the Ni/Ni3Al superalloy. Our investigation revealed that, an increase of the deformation temperature led to a significant improvement of plastic deformation capacity of the system, but the tensile strength and elastic modulus decreased. And the tensile strength and plastic deformation capacity of the system drastically increased with the strain rate. At high deformation temperature and strain rate, the loading conditions had a large effect on the deformation behaviors and the mechanical properties of the system. The difference of the mechanical properties of the system was mainly due to the different deformation mechanism of the system under different deformation temperature, strain rate and loading conditions. Our study offered a theoretical framework for explaining the difference of the mechanical properties for the Ni/Ni3Al superalloy at different service conditions.

Study on the elastic impact deformation behavior and damage mechanism during the polishing process of PS@CeO2 core-shell abrasive

Discrete element method simulations were carried out to investigate the elastic impact damage mechanism of PS@CeO2 core-shell abrasive (CSCAP). Aiming at understanding the deformation behavior and damage mechanism of CSCAP during the polishing process, effects of the impact velocity, impact angle on the rates of deformation and recovery deformation, stress distribution, the number of microcracks were systematically investigated, Tensile cracks formed owing to the CSCAP deformation was gradually increasing when impacting the workpiece downwards. After the CSCAP reached the maximum deformation, macroscopic cracks at the interface were extended gradually. Owing to the redistribution of the compressive force，the interface was observed to predominantly occur in shear cracks, while the shell layer was found to be distributed with tensile cracks. the number of microcracks increase with the increase in impact speed, the impact angle was within the range of 15° to 45°. This investigation enhances the comprehension of nanoscale deformation damage mechanism in CSCAP during ultra-precision machining processes.

In situ SEM fatigue testing technology for metallic materials: a review.

Fatigue failure is one of the most common fracture modes of structural materials in the industrial field. The study of material fatigue mechanisms and methods for predicting fatigue life has always been of significant interest to researchers due to the abrupt and catastrophic failure mode. In recent decades, the performance and functionality of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have been continuously improved and expanded. Based on this, the development of in situ fatigue testing in SEM has been rapidly developed. This technology plays a crucial role in providing insights into the deformation behavior of materials under fatigue. Keeping this in view, a comprehensive review of the development and application methods of in situ SEM fatigue testing technology is provided here. The development of in situ SEM fatigue testing devices is provided in brief overview, and the application and research progress of this technology in some representative metal structural materials (nickel-based single-crystal superalloys, steel, aluminum alloys and additive manufacturing materials) are analyzed in detail. Moreover, the perspectives on evaluating fatigue damage, particularly about small cracks and the plastic accumulations fatigue behavior, are presented in this study, utilizing the latest advancements in in situ SEM fatigue testing. Remarks about the present and outlook for future work to be done are then provided.

Achieving better strength-toughness synergy in heterogeneous Cu/Ni/graphene composites: A molecular dynamics simulation

The non-wetting nature of copper (Cu) and graphene, coupled with the brittle behavior of graphene, impedes the strength-toughness synergy in graphene-reinforced Cu matrix (Cu/graphene) composites, limiting their practical applications. Benefiting from interface modification engineering and heterogeneous structure strengthening effects, here a novel strengthening and toughening strategy for Cu/graphene composites by introducing a variable-thickness nickel (Ni) modification layer sandwiched between Cu and graphene (Cu/Ni/graphene) was proposed, and the influence of layer thickness-related structural heterogeneity on mechanical properties and underlying deformation mechanisms were investigated via molecular dynamics simulations. The results revealed that an optimal Ni thickness of 2.44nm within increased Ni layer thickness enhanced the strength-toughness synergy in the Cu/Ni/graphene composites. This was attributed to altered interface structure, stress distribution, and graphene fracture behaviors due to layer thickness-related deformation behavior. In addition to common strengthening mechanisms like graphene load-bearing effect, interface dislocation nucleation, and interface dislocation blockage strengthening, the layer thickness-dependent semi-coherent Cu/Ni and Ni/graphene heterogeneous interface stress strengthening contributed to extra strength enhancement. Furthermore, cooperative deformation behavior among heterogeneous components improved toughness. The interfacial engineering strategy, achieved by tailoring the modification layer thickness, may pave the way for producing nanostructured metallic composites with extraordinary mechanical properties.

Experimental investigation on mechanical behavior of natural soft clay by true triaxial tests

Laboratory tests on undisturbed and remolded Shanghai clay were conducted with a novel mixed boundary true triaxial apparatus. The strength and deformation behaviors of the structured soft clay at different Lode angles were carefully investigated. The relationship between the shear stress ratio and the dilatancy ratio of the clay in three different stress spaces, that is p–q space, TS stress space and tij modified stress space, are discussed in detail. In particular, the influences of the stress path and the structure of non–disturbed clay on the strength, deformation and failure criterion of Shanghai clay were quantitatively evaluated. The shear strength and dilatancy of undisturbed /remolded clay decreases with the increase of the Lode angle. It is also found that the shear strength and dilatancy of the undisturbed clay are larger than those of the remolded clay; while the influence of the structure on the dilatancy decreases with an increase in the Lode angle. In the π–plane, the maximum strength of Shanghai clay under different stress paths generally obeys the SMP failure criterion. The coincidence of the stress–dilatancy relationship given by the TS and tij stress spaces with the test results is much better than that given by p–q stress space. Furthermore, the linearity of the plastic potential curves of the undisturbed/remolded clay is more evident in tij stress space.

Effect of Pore Size on the Mechanical Properties and Deformation Behavior of Porous ZrO2(Y2O3) Ceramics Under Axial Compression

Effect of Pore Size on the Mechanical Properties and Deformation Behavior of Porous ZrO2(Y2O3) Ceramics Under Axial Compression

Deformation Analysis of Existing Buildings Affected by Shield Tunnels Based on Intelligent Inversion and Measured Data

In the construction of urban underground shield tunnels, uneven deformation can easily occur when the shield passes through soft soil and other poor strata. Such deformation has a significant impact on surface settlement and may cause potential safety hazards to the surrounding existing buildings, directly affecting the safety of urban operation. When simulating and predicting surface settlements, the small-strain soil hardening model can more accurately characterize the mechanical parameters of soil. Nevertheless, its parameters are numerous and complicated to determine accurately, so parameter inversion is needed to determine the accurate parameters of the soft soil layer in order to more accurately predict the surface settlement. This study uses the EFAST method to analyse the sensitivity of the HSS model parameters of soft soil strata. It is determined that the parameters that have the most significant impact on the surface settlement are the reference tangent modulus, rebound modulus, and effective cohesion. Then, XGBoost’s fast calculation speed and high precision of SSA inversion are used to inverse and optimize the parameters with high sensitivity. Finally, according to the parameters of the soft soil layer obtained from inversion and measured data, the settlement deformation and safety behaviour of existing buildings are analysed. Combined with the actual shield tunnel project in a city along a river, the inversion calculation shows that the overall average error of the transverse monitoring section is 1.04 mm, and the average maximum error of each monitoring point in the overall shield process is 2.87 mm. The prediction effect is significantly improved compared with the original parameters. The accuracy of the inversion of soil layer parameters is verified from the perspective of time and space. The average settlement of the river embankment foundation is 2.5 mm. Compared with the original parameter data, the prediction results have been greatly improved, and the settlement deformation results are more consistent with the measured data.

Effect of Kevlar and Carbon Fiber Face Sheet on the Deformation Behavior of Aluminum Hybrid Composite Foam Core Sandwich Panel under Flexural Loading

Effect of Kevlar and Carbon Fiber Face Sheet on the Deformation Behavior of Aluminum Hybrid Composite Foam Core Sandwich Panel under Flexural Loading

Structural-Mechanical Modification of Amorphous Polyethylene Terephthalate and Hybrid Nanocomposite Materials Based on It

Hybrid nanocomposite materials based on polyethylene terephthalate and inorganic flame-retardant diammonium phosphate were prepared according to the fundamental strategy of environmental crazing of polymers. Structural-mechanical modification of the initial amorphous polyethylene terephthalate and the resultant nanocomposite polyethylene terephthalate-based was carried out by rolling at room temperature. The effect of preliminary rolling on the deformation behavior of polyethylene terephthalate during subsequent stretching in air and in physically active liquid media was established.

Deformation and failure behavior of 2024-T42 sheet under impact loading

The deformation and failure behavior of 2024-T42 aluminum alloy sheet was investigated through a combined experimental-numerical method. Nine types of specimens were designed to cover a wide range of stress triaxialities and strain rates. Quasi-static and dynamic tests were carried out by electronic testing machine and split Hopkinson tensile bar respectively, and digital image correlation (DIC) method was introduced to measure the deformation. The phenomenological damage model GISSMO (generalized incremental stress state dependent damage model) and Johnson-Cook model were adopted to simulate all of the above tests and the load-displacement curves through numerical simulation were derived. An optimization method was developed to obtain all the model parameters by matching the load-displacement curves from simulation with those from tests by LS-OPT. Finally, drop weight tests and tensile tests of the central-hole plate were conducted. The applicability and accuracy of the damage models were verified by comparing the simulation results with the experiments, which indicates that GISSMO model predicts better the tests than the Johnson-Cook failure model.

Fatigue deformation behavior and fracture mechanism of high fatigue-resistant laser directed energy deposition fabricated titanium alloy: Effect of multi-scale microstructure

The application of the laser directed energy deposition (LDED) titanium (Ti) alloys has been severely impeded by their poor low cycle fatigue (LCF) properties in aerospace industry. Herein, we propose to improve the LCF properties of LDED-ed Ti6Al4V alloys via microstructure adjustment. A solid solution aging 850AA treatment is made to regulate the microstructure into a multi-scale composition dominated by discontinuous αGB and coarsened αP+(αS+β) phases. The LCF properties of LDED-ed Ti6Al4V with a multi-scale microstructure even outperform the wrought Ti6Al4V at high strain amplitudes. Furthermore, this multi-scale microstructure has special local plastic deformation behavior and dislocation activities under cyclic stress loading, which strongly affects the internal stress evolution and crack propagation. The fatigue softening behavior is attributed to the combined effect of back stress and friction stress. Fatigue cracks are deflected by the α/β boundary when the angle (φ) between the long axis of α lamellae and the crack direction is less than 35°. The transgranular fracture occurs when φ is close to 90° (70°-90°). Meanwhile, the fatigue crack usually propagates along the basal or prismatic planes with high Schmid factors. These findings provide novel insights into the microstructure design of LDED-ed Ti alloys with high fatigue damage tolerance.

Excellent high temperature mechanical properties of Fe2Ni2CrAlx (x= 0.9 to 1.3) multi-principal elements alloys

The high temperature mechanical properties of a family of Fe2Ni2CrAlx (x=0.9, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 in molar ratio) multi-principal element alloys (MPEAs) were determined. The initial microstructure and grain size of Fe2Ni2CrAlx MPEAs were characterized. Effect of Al on the density, melting point and mechanical properties at elevated temperature were investigated. Fe2Ni2CrAl1.3 MPEA exhibit the lowest density of 6.78 g/cm3 and highest melting point of (1337.7 ∼ 1392.6 °C). The as-cast Fe2Ni2CrAl1.3 MPEA showed an excellent combination of strength and plasticity at elevated temperatures. Fe2Ni2CrAl1.3 MPEA showed high strength of 2119 MPa and 1722 MPa at 200 °C and 400 °C, respectively. The Fe2Ni2CrAlx alloys exhibited exceptional high-temperature plasticity, no fracture occurred even at a compressive strain above 70%. Recrystallization softening appeared at above 600 °C, the transformation of coarse equiaxed grains into sub grains were captured during plastic deformation. Significantly, the specific yield strength of the Fe2Ni2CrAl1.3 MPEA was comparable with traditional Ti based alloys and Ni-based superalloy. The fracture mechanism of Fe2Ni2CrAlx MPEAs was a combination of cleavage and slip separation. Deformation behavior and work hardening ability at elevated temperature were discussed. Finally, finite element method (FEM) was performed to capture the evolution of stress and strain under high-temperature compression.

Comparison study of creep constitutive laws in compaction of porous stainless steel 316 L

Modeling Powder Metallurgy Hot Isostatic Pressing (PM-HIP) is of paramount importance due to its critical role in modern manufacturing. Accurate modeling of PM-HIP and understanding the associated deformation behavior are essential for optimizing the process and advancing the design and production of high-performance materials in critical applications. To accurately simulate the deformation behavior during PM-HIP, this paper presents a comprehensive investigation of modeling PM-HIP processes using various creep models incorporating rate-dependent plasticity embedded into Finite Element Analysis (FEA). This study experimentally and computationally compares four distinct creep models: Kuhn McMeeking, power law creep, unified creep law, the rate-dependent creep that was modified by Abouaf et al. and with modification of Van Nguyen et al. for density dependency. The results showed the modified Abouaf's Model, uniquely designed to account for both primary and secondary creep, consistently exhibits the closest alignment with experimental outcomes compared to the other three creep models tested.

In-Plane Compression Properties of Continuous Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Composite Hybrid Lattice Structures by Additive Manufacturing.

Continuous-fiber-reinforced composite lattice structures (CFRCLSs) have garnered attention due to their lightweight and high-strength characteristics. Over the past two decades, many different topological structures including triangular, square, hexagonal, and circular units were investigated, and the basic mechanical responses of honeycomb structures under various load conditions, including tension, compression, buckling, shear, and fatigue were studied. To further improve the performance of the honeycombs, appropriate optimizations were also carried out. However, the mechanical properties of a single lattice often struggle to exceed the upper limit of its structure. This paper investigates the effect of permutation and hybrid mode on the mechanical properties of CFRCLSs by comparing five structures: rhomboid (R-type), octagon orthogonal array (OOA-type), octagon hypotenuse array (OHA-type), octagon nested array (ONA-type), and rhomboid circle (RC-type), with the conventional hexagonal structure (H-type). CFRCLS samples are fabricated using fused filament fabrication (FFF), with carbon-fiber-reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) as the matrix. The in-plane compression properties, energy absorption characteristics, and deformation behaviors of the hybrid structures were studied by experimental tests. The results demonstrate that different permutation and hybrid modes alter the deformation behaviors and mechanical properties of the structures. Taking elastic modulus as an example, the values of H-type, R-type, OOA-type, OHA-type, ONA-type, and RC-type are, respectively, 6.08 MPa, 5.76 MPa, 19.0 MPa, 10.3 MPa, 31.7 MPa, and 73.2 MPa, while the ratio of their masses is 1:1:1.10:1.52:1.66. Furthermore, hybrid lattice structures exhibit significantly improved mechanical properties compared to single lattice structures. Compared to the single structure R-type, the RC-type increases elastic modulus, yield strength, and energy absorption, respectively, by 12.7 times, 5.4 times, and 4.4 times.

Research on deformation behaviors at different temperatures of lean duplex stainless steel S32101 produced by direct cold rolling process

In this paper, the mechanical properties, work hardening characteristics and deformation mechanism of lean duplex stainless steel (LDSS) S32101 produced by direct cold rolling were studied under different temperature conditions. The yield strength (YS) and tensile strength (TS) of S32101 decreased with the increase of deformation temperature, while the elongation increased first and then decreased. The TS of S32101 at −70 °C was 1052.6 MPa, the elongation remained 57.2%, and the product of strength and elongation (PSE) was as high as 60.2 GPa·%, which was mainly due to the synergistic strengthening of transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) and twinning-induced plasticity (TWIP) effects in austenite at cryogenic temperatures. The efficiency of grain refinement at cryogenic temperature was improved by TRIP effect and deformation twins (DTs), indicating that it had the potential to be applied at low temperature (−70 ∼ −30°C). Moreover, the high density nanotwins and the strong interaction between the dislocation and nanotwin bundles also contributed to strain hardening at low temperatures and thus better comprehensive mechanical properties could be achieved.

Deformation behavior and microstructure evolution of graphene/copper laminated composites

The strength and electrical conductivity of copper-based conductors are always contradictory, while graphene/copper (Gr-Cu) composites are expected to meet the strict requirements of high strength, high conductivity, and even high thermal stability conductors’ materials. In this work, hot compression and cold rolling behaviors of Gr-Cu composites were investigated. The results indicate that graphene at the Gr-Cu interface in the composites can inhibit dislocations movement and grain boundary migration thus affecting dynamic recovery and recrystallization during hot compression. The pinning effects of dispersed graphene on grain boundaries were gradually weakened, leading to the coarsening of grains at 850 °C. Moreover, the thermal processing maps were plotted and the optional thermal processing parameters of 650-850 °C and 0.03-0.35 s-1 were determined. In addition, laminated Cu grains were refined to nanoscale after 98% rolling reduction owing to inhibiting restoration by the dispersed graphene. The Gr-Cu interface in the composites assisted deformation and induced nanotwins resulting in pronounced Brass type texture after 50% rolling reduction. Furthermore, the dispersed graphene enhanced the thermal stability and nanotwins were remained stable at 1073 K for 1h.

Comparison study of creep constitutive laws in compaction of porous stainless steel 316 L

Modeling Powder Metallurgy Hot Isostatic Pressing (PM-HIP) is of paramount importance due to its critical role in modern manufacturing. Accurate modeling of PM-HIP and understanding the associated deformation behavior are essential for optimizing the process and advancing the design and production of high-performance materials in critical applications. To accurately simulate the deformation behavior during PM-HIP, this paper presents a comprehensive investigation of modeling PM-HIP processes using various creep models incorporating rate-dependent plasticity embedded into Finite Element Analysis (FEA). This study experimentally and computationally compares four distinct creep models: Kuhn McMeeking, power law creep, unified creep law, the rate-dependent creep that was modified by Abouaf et al. and with modification of Van Nguyen et al. for density dependency. The results showed the modified Abouaf's Model, uniquely designed to account for both primary and secondary creep, consistently exhibits the closest alignment with experimental outcomes compared to the other three creep models tested.