Increase In Compressive Stress Research Articles

Experimental study on permeability of spun high strength concrete material during mechanical loading

The pretensioned spun high strength concrete pipe pile (PHC pipe pile) is widely applied in important infrastructures of off-shore zones due to its low permeability and high capacity. During the construction process and the whole service period of PHC pipe piles, the damage is inevitably caused by many reasons, which may eventually cause the early durability failure of piles. Many researches have been conducted to study the change in permeability of normal concrete due to mechanical damage. However, the relation between permeability and damage of spun high strength concrete (SHSC) is still not been studied. To quantitively investigate the change of permeability of SHSC, a series of specimens of PHC pipe piles were tested for the change of permeability during mechanical loading process in this study. As a result, the relation of stress and permeability of spun high strength concrete as well as the crack roughness of the SHSC is obtained for efficient application in engineering. Before the 40% stress ratio, the permeability of the SHSC is slightly decreased as the compressive stress increases. The mean value and standard deviation of the intrinsic permeability of the SHSC are increased as the compressive stress loading reaches the peak stress. The order of magnitude of the crack roughness ξ can be taken as 10- 4 for engineering application. Compared with the vibrate-casted concrete, the crack roughness ξ is smaller, indicating that the crack surface of SHSC is rougher than the vibrate-casted concrete.

Sputtering by inverted magnetrons: influence on the texture and residual stresses in four layer Ta/W/Ta/W coatings

The aim of the study is to examine the possibilities of sputtering of multilayer coatings at a high rate of deposition on products of complex shape using inverted magnetrons. The formation of texture and residual stresses in magnetron four-layer Ta/W/Ta/W coatings deposited at voltages from 0 to –200 V on cylindrical and flat copper substrates imitating elements of the surface of complex shape products was evaluated using the X-ray method of inverse pole figures and the sin2Ψ method. The patterns of texture formation in coatings depend mainly on the bias voltage on the substrate (Us), while at Us = –200 V they differ for W and Ta layers. At Us = –100 V, the epitaxial mechanism of texture formation is realized. In the case of a cylindrical substrate, this leads to intense texture (111) of all four layers. In the case of a flat substrate, this can lead to the formation of a single-crystal texture (111) in all layers with a texture maximum width of 12°–14°. The presence of a single-crystal (111) tantalum texture corresponds to the maximum Young moduli and, accordingly, the interatomic bonding forces normal to the coating plane. This suggests that multilayer coatings with an external Ta layer have high tribological characteristics. Increasing the voltage on a flat substrate from 0 to –200 V leads to an increase in residual compressive stresses from 0.5 to 2.7 GPa for the four-layer coating under study.

Understanding the influence of physical properties on the mechanical characteristics of Mg-doped GaN thin films

This study investigates the impact of Mg doping concentration in GaN thin films on their physical and mechanical properties, specifically on their conductivity transition, luminescence, hardness, Young's modulus, and creep behavior. Mg-doped GaN layers were grown on sapphire substrates using the MOCVD technique, with trimethylgallium (TMG) and bis(cyclopentadienyl) magnesium (Cp2Mg) as precursors for Ga and Mg, respectively. The TMG flow rate was set at 20 μmol/min, while the Mg flow rate was adjusted by tuning the temperature of the thermostatic bath of Cp2Mg. Three different Cp2Mg flow rates: 2, 7 and 9 μmol/min were utilized to explore their effects on the physical and mechanical properties of the grown epilayers. The results demonstrate that an increase in the Mg concentration leads to a conductivity transition from n-type to p-type, with the highest hole concentration (4.5 ± 0.2) × 1017 cm−3 and blue luminescence attained with Mg concentration equal to 2.1 × 1019 atoms/cm3. Moreover, the hardness, Young's modulus and the intensity of compressive stress increase with the Cp2Mg flow rate due to the evolution of pre-existing dislocation density and point defects incorporation. Additionally, this study evaluates the creep behavior of the Mg-doped GaN thin films. It shows that both the creep stress exponent and the maximal creep depth decrease with the increase of the Cp2Mg flow rate. This is attributed to dislocation glides and climbs governing the creep mechanism. Accordingly, this investigation highlights the importance of understanding the relationship between physical properties and mechanical characteristics of Mg-doped GaN thin films, which have potential implications for various technological applications.

Effect of loading rate on the compressive behaviour of twill woven carbon/polyamide laminate

This paper presents the experimental investigation on the strain rate effect on the longitudinal compressive behaviour of 2×2 twill woven carbon fibre reinforced polyamide 66. An original easy-to-use specific testing fixture was developed to perform material characterization using an electromechanical machine and a Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) system. The set-up was completed with a high speed camera used to monitor the deformation and failure process and to allow the strain field visualization via Digital Image Correlation (DIC). A particular attention was paid to the validity of the experiments: failure in the test specimen gauge section, stress equilibrium and strain homogeneity. The same testing fixture and specimen geometry were implemented from 1.5×10−5s−1 to 700 s−1. The results comparison shows a positive strain rate effect with a 60% increase in the longitudinal compressive failure stress.

A Phenomenological Study of Chromium Impurity Effects on Lattice Microstrains of SnO2 Nanoparticles Prepared Using Sol–Gel Technique

In this study, the effect of chromium impurities on the crystal structure and lattice microstrains of tin oxide nanoparticles was investigated. Pure SnO2 nanoparticles were synthesized and subjected to calcination at different temperatures. Additionally, various concentrations (5%, 8%, 10% and 15%) of Cr-doped SnO2 nanoparticles were prepared using the sol–gel technique and subsequently calcined at 550 °C. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were utilized to examine the structure and morphology of the doped nanoparticles. The XRD patterns of tin oxide nanoparticles with different percentages of chromium impurities showed a tetragonal structure without any additional phase. The TEM images of pure SnO2 nanoparticles showed a uniform distribution of size and shape, with relatively smaller sizes compared to Cr-doped nanoparticles. To investigate the peak broadening of Cr-doped SnO2 nanoparticles, the Halder–Wagner method and Williamson–Hall models were employed to examine the effects of crystallite sizes and lattice strain. The results showed that increasing the impurity has a dual effect on nanoparticle sizes. Increasing the chromium impurity up to 8% led to an increase in compressive stress caused by the substitution of Sn ions with Cr ions on the crystal structure of rutile, resulting in an increase in the magnitude of lattice strain. However, when the chromium impurity was increased up to 15%, interstitial doping was preferred over substitutional doping. The compressive stress was subsequently converted to tensile stress, requiring the system to spend some of its energy to overcome the compressive stress, with the remaining energy reflected in the form of tensile stress. Furthermore, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra were obtained for all of the samples, confirming the XRD analyses.

Effect of Residual Stresses on Fatigue Strength on the Smooth and Splined Parts of Spring Torsion Bars

The article discusses the effect of residual stresses on the fatigue strength of torsion bars by using the Dang Van fatigue criterion, at the stress concentration at the root of the tooth and at the smooth part of the torsion bar. Residual compressive stresses were induced on the surface during the technological processes by cold surface rolling and torsional pre-strain (pre-setting) to the plastic range, to increase the elastic linear range and to reduce the stress state during torsional loading. Normally, the stress reduction in the torsion bar at the mounting point is provided by the increased diameter of the splined part, compared to the smooth part of the torsion bar. In the case of a small difference between the diameter of the splined and the smooth parts of the torsion bar, a fatigue crack can be initiated in the notch, which causes the torsion bar to break during operation after a few hundred loading cycles. FEM stress analysis of a torsion bar was performed in the article. The actual residual stresses were measured by the non-destructive X-ray method at the place of stress concentration on the smooth and splined parts with a notch of the torsion bar, and Dang Van’s failure criterion was used to determine the fatigue behavior during torsional loading. Therefore, in the paper, the three methods were combined to determine the optimum lifetime of a torsion bar exposed to the required cyclic torque. The results of the analysis showed that the residual compressive stresses are useful up to a certain limit where the retarded fatigue crack initiation occurred, but a further increase of compressive stress caused an increase of the maximum shear stresses, which, in turn, caused the initiation of fatigue and failure at the splined part of the torsion bar before achieving the required number of cycles.

Wavefields in a cased hole surrounded by a formation with transverse isotropy caused by axial stresses

Understanding acoustic field characteristics in the cased hole accompanied by stress is important for acoustical logging. This study investigates the behavior of multipole wavefields of a cased hole with a perfect combination of casing, cement, and formation under the formation borehole-axial stress. The formation can be equivalent to a transversely isotropic medium when uniaxial stress acts on isotropic formation based on nonlinear elasticity theory. The effect of axial stress in the formation on multipole wavefields in cased hole is investigated. Numerical results show that the phase slowness of Stoneley, flexural, and screw waves decreases with an increase in axial compressive stress. With the increase of uniaxial stresses, the arrival times of the full waveforms decrease, and the amplitudes of the full waveforms increase. These characteristics are similar to that of the open hole. For cased holes in soft formations, the excitation curves of flexural and screw waves shift to low frequencies as the stress increases; and the dispersion curves corresponding to excitation curves also exhibit a similar shift, while open holes do not have this pattern. The wavefields excited by a dipole source and quadrupole source in the cased hole in soft formation have more prominent changes in the frequency spectra, and the changes in the integral amplitudes of the full waveforms are larger than those of the open hole. We found that responses of wavefields excited by dipole and quadrupole sources in cased holes in soft formation to the axial stress are more sensitive than those in the open hole.

Application of laser-shock-wave processing in additive technologies

The patterns of occurrence of residual stresses with the simultaneous use of additive technologies and lasershock-wave processing (LSWP) are studied. The mechanisms of thermal decrease and increase, mechanical decrease and increase of compressive residual stresses during layer-by-layer build-up of the material and LSWP are described. Keywords: additive technologies, laser-shock-wave processing, hybrid additive technology, finite element method, compressive residual stresses. sakhvadze@mail.ru

Toughness enhancement mechanism of Ni-doped Cr2N

In this paper, experiments combined with density functional theory (DFT) are used to investigate the toughness enhancement mechanism of Ni-doped Cr2N coatings. The deposited Cr2-xNixN (x = 0–4.5 at%) coating exhibits a single trigonal structure identified as a Cr2N-Ni solid solution. The columnar structure of the Cr2N coating, with a width of approximately 80 nm, does not change with the doping of Ni. With 2.0 at% Ni alloyed, the hardness increases from 27 GPa for Cr2N to the maximum of 34 GPa. which is mainly due to an increase in residual compressive stress and dislocation density resulting from Ni doping. Interestingly, the elastic modulus shows a linearly decreasing trend as the Ni doping content increases, which indicates that Ni alloying improves the ductility of the Cr2N coating. The sand erosion test shows that the erosion rate of the Cr2N coating is significantly reduced when the Ni doping content is 2.0 at%, decreasing from 0.42 µm·min−1 to 0.15 µm·min−1. DFT results reveal that the metallic d-d state density increases with increased d-electron concentration contributed by Ni atoms, enhancing metallic interaction along the Ni-Cr stacking plane under shear loading, which leads to the improved ductility of the Cr2-xNixN coating.

In Situ Nanofibrillar Polypropylene-Based Composite Microcellular Foams with Enhanced Mechanical and Flame-Retardant Performances

With the increasing demand for plastic components, the development of lightweight, high strength and functionalized polypropylene (PP) from a cost-effective and environmentally friendly process is critical for resource conservation. In situ fibrillation (INF) and supercritical CO2 (scCO2) foaming technology were combined in this work to fabricate PP foams. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and poly(diaryloxyphosphazene)(PDPP) particles were applied to fabricate in situ fibrillated PP/PET/PDPP composite foams with enhanced mechanical properties and favorable flame-retardant performance. The existence of PET nanofibrils with a diameter of 270 nm were uniformly dispersed in PP matrix and served multiple roles by tuning melt viscoelasticity for improving microcellular foaming behavior, enhancing crystallization of PP matrix and contributing to improving the uniformity of PDPP's dispersion in INF composite. Compared to pure PP foam, PP/PET(F)/PDPP foam exhibited refined cellular structures, thus the cell size of PP/PET(F)/PDPP foam was decreased from 69 to 23 μm, and the cell density increased from 5.4 × 106 to 1.8 × 108 cells/cm3. Furthermore, PP/PET(F)/PDPP foam showed remarkable mechanical properties, including a 975% increase in compressive stress, which was attributed to the physical entangled PET nanofibrils and refined cellular structure. Moreover, the presence of PET nanofibrils also improved the intrinsic flame-retardant nature of PDPP. The synergistical effect of the PET nanofibrillar network and low loading of PDPP additives inhibited the combustion process. These gathered advantages of PP/PET(F)/PDPP foam make it promising for lightweight, strong, and fire-retardant polymeric foams.

The influence of Ni on the composition, structure and properties of Ti-Cr-N coatings

The influence of nickel on the structure and properties of Ti-Cr-N ion-plasma coatings obtained by arc-PVD method has been studied. With a nickel content of up to 11.9 at. %, the coating consists of Cr2N, Ti1 – xCrxN, and metallic Ni. Upon further increase in Ni concentration in the coating, intermetallic compound Ni3Ti is formed. The structure of the coatings was studied using the transmission electron microscopy. The coatings of Ti-Cr-N system are characterized by a columnar structure, in the columns of which Ti1 - xCrxN and Ti1 - yCryN (x > y) sublayers, being several nanometers thick and containing variable concentration of titanium and chromium, as well as Cr2N sublayers of about 25 nm are formed due to the complete solubility of TiN and Cr2N and the planetary rotation of the substrates, resulting in layer-by-layer stacking of the components of the evaporated cathodes. This structure remains intact in coatings of Ti-Cr-N-Ni system with a low nickel concentration (on the order of tenths of at. %). However, upon that, the column size refinement and an increase in biaxial compressive stresses from 6.7 to 9.7 GPa are observed, which results in an increase in hardness from 30 to 42 GPa. The coatings with a high nickel content are characterized by a multilayer architecture with an equiaxed polycrystalline structure of nanograins in layers. As Ni concentration increases, the hardness of the coating decreases to 16.7 GPa, which is associated with an increase in the fraction of relatively soft nickel in the coating and a decrease in macrostresses to -0.6 GPa. Upon that, the wear intensity increases from 3·10-15 to 5·10-15 m3/(N·m). The studied coatings of Ti–Cr–N and Ti–Cr–N–Ni systems are resistant to adhesive and cohesive destruction. With an increase in the nickel content upon measuring scratching, the destruction of the coatings occurs exclusively due to the plastic deformation.

Investigation of the Microstructure Characteristics and Deformation Mechanisms of the Carbonaceous Slate under Hydromechanical Coupling

Carbonaceous slate inevitably possesses microscopic pores, microcracks, cleavages, and bedding planes in complex geoenvironment during the diagenesis processes. The microstructure of carbonaceous slate changes apparently under the effects of underground water infiltration, tectonic stress, and engineering disturbance, which induces the large deformation of rock mass and influences the stability of geotechnical engineering projects. To investigate the microstructure characteristics and reveal deformation mechanisms of carbonaceous slate under the influence of water pressure and stress, the variations of the pore size distribution(PSD), connectivity of pores, and porosity of samples during water injection and triaxial compression were studied using multiple methods. The results indicated that voids include plate-like micropores and microcracks, which are discontinuous without external stress. The micropores with a size of less than 1 μm dominate in number. The flaky particles were extruded and bent at a confining pressure, which caused the intermediate pores to form and altered the PSD of the samples. Hence, the connectivity dramatically improved and resulted in increased permeability. Water with dissolved clay minerals and small particles could move between micropores and microcracks during the water injection process. The elastic deformation of the particles recovered, and the intermediate pores disappeared when the imbalanced forces on two sides of the particles were narrowed. Pore water pressure affected the effective stress state and decreased the cohesion and stiffness of the rock. In the lower stress state, the porosity had a certain range of decrease (about 0.2%) mainly due to micropore compression, while the microcrack sprouted and expanded with the increase of compressive stress, resulting in the extension of porosity. The interaction of the stress and water seepage on the slate reduced the rock strength and favored the deformation, leading to a large macrodeformation of the soft rock in the long run.

Compressive stress induces spinal vertebral growth plate chondrocytes apoptosis via Piezo1.

Many clinical studies have indicated an association between biomechanical factors and the incidence and pathological progression of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). However, at present, the research on AIS is mainly focused on the etiology, and there are few studies reporting the causes of progressive aggravation of AIS. In the present study, we aim to investigate the role of Piezo1 in compressive stress-induced mouse spinal vertebral growth plate chondrocytes apoptosis. First, a scoliosis mouse model was established, and the expression of Piezo1 as well as the degree of apoptosis were investigated. We found that the expression of Piezo1 and the degree of apoptosis were significantly higher on the concave sides than that on the convex sides of the vertebral growth plate in mice with scoliosis. Spinal vertebral growth plate chondrocytes were further isolated and treated with Yoda1 to mimic Piezo1 overload. Excess Piezo1 significantly promoted apoptosis of spinal vertebral growth plate chondrocytes. Moreover, static gas compressive stress was used to simulate the increased concave compressive stress in the process of scoliosis with or without GsMTx4, a Piezo inhibitor. It was observed that with the increase of static compressive stress, the expression of Piezo1 increased, and the chondrocytes of vertebral growth plate treated with Piezo1 inhibitor GsMTx4 weakened the above phenomena. In conclusion, our results indicated that compressive stress is strongly associated with the different degrees of apoptosis on both sides on the convex and concave sides of the vertebral growth plate in scoliosis via inducing different expressions of Piezo1. Reducing the expression of Piezo1 in the concave side of the vertebral growth plate and inhibiting the apoptosis of chondrocytes in the bilateral vertebral growth plate caused by asymmetric stress on both sides of the concave vertebral body may be a promising treatment strategy for AIS.

Effect of tension and compression on dynamic alveolar histomorphometry

Here, we tested the hypothesis that tensile and compressive stresses generated in the alveolar bone proper regulate site-specific cellular and functional changes in osteoclasts and osteoblasts. Thirty-two 13-week-old male mice were randomly divided into four groups: two experimental groups with vertical loading obliquely from the palatal side to the buccal side of the maxillary molar (0.9 N) 30 min per day for 8 or 15 days and unloaded controls (n = 8). Calcein and alizarin were administered 8 and 2 days before euthanization, respectively, to detect the time of bone formation. Undecalcified sections parallel to the occlusal plane were prepared on the palatal root and the surrounding alveolar bone in the middle of the root length. The alveolar perimeter was divided into 12 equal regions for site analysis, and the bone histomorphometric parameters were obtained for each region. Data from in vivo microfocus computed tomography were used to construct animal-specific finite element models. 2D stress distribution images were overlain on histology images obtained from the same location. Significant differences in the total perimeter between groups and between loading and unloading in each region were statistically analyzed (α = 0.05). Osteoclast counts and the alizarin label ratio were significantly higher in the loaded group than in the unloaded group in regions where the maximum von Mises and principal tensile stresses were the highest along the perimeter. The label ratio of calcein was significantly lower in the 8-day loaded group than in the unloaded group, indicating that the calcein-labeled surface was resorbed by osteoclasts that appeared during the loading period. The effect of loading was mitigated by an increase in the maximum principal compressive stress. We conclude that bone resorption and bone formation are functions of site-specific tension and compression in the alveolar bone proper, confirming our hypothesis. This finding is critical for the advancement of diagnosis and treatment planning in clinical dentistry.

Influence of Abaca Fiber Inclusion on the Unconfined Compressive Strength of Reconstituted Sandy Silts

The present investigation determines the influence of abaca (Musa textilis) fiber inclusion on the simple compressive strength of reconstituted sandy silt specimens. For this purpose, fibers of different lengths (5, 10 and 15 mm) and quantities (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0% of soil dry weight) are added to produce the reconstituted specimens. Subsequently, the physical and mechanical behavior of soil–fiber mixtures were evaluated through compaction and unconfined compression tests. The experimental results showed that increases in fiber content or length, or both, led to a 1235.1% increase in maximum compression stress (compared to the fiber-free soil). Compression failure occurred at a greater axial strain when 10 and 15 mm fibers were added at 1% dosage or in percentages equal to or greater than 1.5% regardless of fiber length. A series of linear mixed models identified statistically significant effects of fiber length and percentage on the level of effort and on the unitary deformation.

Impact of Cooling Rate during High-Pressure Gas Quenching on Fatigue Performance of Low Pressure Carburized Gears

The impact of cooling rate during high-pressure gas quenching on the fatigue performance of low-pressure carburized spur gears was studied for steel grades 20MnCr5 and 17NiCrMo6-4. The results show an increased fatigue limit by 10 to 11% when applying a slower cooling rate for both steel grades. Moreover, for 20MnCr5 the slower cooled gears show an increase in compressive residual stresses by 130 MPa compared to the faster cooling, although no significant difference was observed for 17NiCrMo6-4. It is also seen that the cooling rate affects the core hardness for both steel grades, while other properties like surface hardness, case-hardness depth and martensite variant pairing were unaffected. The results for the retained austenite content and average martensite unit size show no clear effect of the cooling rate. The possible influence of different carbon distributions after quenching for the two used cooling rates on the carbide precipitation and fatigue limit is discussed.

Mechanical, microstructural and in-situ neutron diffraction investigations of equi-biaxial Bauschinger effects in an interstitial-free DC06 steel

Bauschinger effects typically describe a reduction of yield strength after a load path change under uniaxial loading conditions. Here, we use in-plane loading to investigate, for the first time, Bauschinger effects in the sheet metal DC06 under well-defined equi-biaxial loading conditions: We first performed equi-biaxial tensile tests with cruciform specimens up to different maximum tensile strains. Then, smaller specimens were prepared from the equi-biaxially deformed inner part of the cruciform specimens and subjected to equi-biaxial compression. The mechanical results show that the material exhibits distinct Bauschinger effects when subjected to equi-biaxial load path changes, which differ from similar observations under uniaxial loading. Specifically, biaxial Bauschinger effect factors quickly reach a level of saturation, whereas the uniaxial Bauschinger effect factors keep decreasing. These Bauschinger effects can be rationalized by considering the results of TEM and EBSD investigations at the different stages of biaxial loading, particularly by considering the evolution of dislocation densities and the formation of substructures, which are related to intergranular and intragranular stresses. Furthermore, residual stress measurements by XRD and in-situ neutron diffraction show an increase of compressive residual stresses after equi-biaxial tensile deformation and unloading. These residual stresses facilitate yielding during subsequent equi-biaxial compression and therefore also clearly contribute to the observed Bauschinger effects.

Low-Cost Fiber Chopped Strand Mat Composites for Compressive Stress and Strain Enhancement of Concrete Made with Brick Waste Aggregates

Given the excessive demolition of structures each year, the issues related to the generated structural waste are striking. Bricks being a major constituent in the construction industry, also hold a significant proportion of the construction waste generated annually. The reuse of this brick waste in new constructions is an optimal solution considering cost-effectiveness and sustainability. However, the problems related to the substandard peak stress and ultimate strain of concrete constructed with recycled brick aggregates (CRAs) limit its use in non-structural applications. The present study intends to improve the unsatisfactory mechanical characteristics of CRAs by utilizing low-cost glass fiber chopped strand mat (FCSM) sheets. The efficacy of FCSM sheets was assessed by wrapping them around CRA specimens constructed with different concrete strengths. A remarkable increase in the peak compressive stress and the ultimate strain of the CRA specimens were observed. For low, medium, and high strength CRAs, the ultimate strain improved by up to 320%, 308%, and 294%, respectively, as compared to the respective control specimens. Several existing analytical models were utilized to predict the peak compressive stress and ultimate strain of the CRAs strengthened using FCSM sheets. None of the considered models reproduced experimental results accurately. Therefore, equations were formulated using regression predicting the peak stress and ultimate strain of the CRAs confined with FCSM sheets. The predicted values were found to correlate well with the experimental values.

Altered microstructure characteristics and enhanced corrosion resistance of UNS S32750 duplex stainless steel via ultrasonic surface rolling process

The UNS S32750 duplex stainless steel was treated by ultrasonic surface rolling process (USRP), and effects of the plastic deformation on microstructure evolution and corrosion behavior were investigated. Results demonstrated that grain refinement, a considerable increase of the fraction of low-angle grain boundaries (LAGBs, <10°), high density of dislocations and high surface compressive residual stress were produced by the USRP. In particular, the intensity of the evolution was inhomogeneous and it was higher for austenite than ferrite phase. What’s more, an evolution toward <001> of crystallographic orientation, a decrease in intensity of texture in α phase while increase in γ phase were found for the surface deformation layer. In addition, a small amount of deformation twins in γ phase were induced on account of the USRP treatment. Taking advantages of the microstructure evolution, the corrosion potential and critical pitting potential increased, while the passive current density and metastable pitting susceptibility decreased significantly for the USRP sample. The refined grains, high-density of dislocations and high surface compressive residual stress synergistically promoted the enrichment of Cr 2 O 3 in the passive film on the deformation layer. The Cr/Fe ratio increased from 0.73 to 0.94 with the help of USRP, revealing a less defective and more stable passive film. Therefore, USRP is a promising and effective surface strengthening technique for DSS to improve the corrosion resistance in aggressive environments. • The USRP caused inhomogeneous microstructure evolution for γ and α phase of UNSS32750 DSS. • The increase of surface compressive residual stress induced by USRP was higherin γ than α phase. • The USRP decreased the metastable pitting susceptibility, while improved thecorrosion resistance of the DSS. • The ratios of Cr 2 O 3 /Cr(OH) 3 and Cr/Fe in passivefilm were increased with the assistant of USRP.

The Gap test – Effects of crack parallel compression on fracture in carbon fiber composites

This paper explores the global Mode I fracture energy of a carbon fiber composite subject to a biaxial stress state at the crack tip, specifically in which one stress component is compressive and parallel to the crack. Based on an experimental technique previously coined as The Gap Test and Bažant’s Type II Size Effect Law, it is found that there is a monotonic decrease in the Mode I fracture energy as the crack parallel compressive stress increases. Compared to the nominal value of fracture energy, where no crack parallel compression is applied, the fracture energy is observed to decrease by up to 37% for a compressive stress equal to 44% of the compressive failure limit of the composite. This weakening effect is attributed to splitting cracks that are induced at the crack tip due to the crack parallel compression, which are identified via crack tip photomicroscopy. This is a novel result that challenges the century old hypothesis of fracture energy being a constant material property and further, shows for the first time that crack parallel compression leads to a composite structure being dangerously weaker than expected.The experimental campaign is also buttressed with a computational campaign that provides a framework capable of capturing the effects of crack parallel compression. Through the use of the crack band model, which correctly characterizes the fracture process zone tensorially, coupled with a fully tensorial damage law, the simulated results provide satisfactory agreement with the experimental data. Conversely, when a reduced tensorial damage law defines the crack band it is shown that the structural strength and fracture energy are dangerously overpredicted. This emphasizes the importance of using a crack band model coupled with a fully tensorial damage law to accurately predict fracture in composites.