Evolution Of Material Properties Research Articles

Displacement damage and transmutations in metals under neutron and proton irradiation

The knowledge of the defect and impurity generation rates, as well as the defect spatial distribution, is the corner stone for the understanding of the evolution of material properties under irradiation. This knowledge is also an essential element for comprehensive experimental simulations of the behavior of irradiated materials. In this article the interaction of neutron and proton irradiation with metals is discussed with respect to displacement damage production. Charged particle irradiation is also briefly illustrated. After discussion of the primary interaction of projectiles (neutrons, charged particles in general, and protons in particular) with target atoms/nuclei, we describe the interaction of a recoil atom with other target atoms resulting in the slowing down of the projectile, displacement damage, impurity atom production due to nuclear reactions, and the creation of atomic displacement cascades. Then the further evolution of defect structure is discussed. The next section, devoted to subcascade formation, is divided into two parts. The first experimental evidence of subcascade formation under neutron and charged particle irradiation is presented. Then the models of subcascade formation are described. Finally we review the models for the calculation of displacement damage and show how these models can be applied to displacement damage calculation under neutron irradiation with a demonstration of a real application of the methods discussed to several nuclear facilities. To cite this article: P. Vladimirov, S. Bouffard, C. R. Physique 9 (2008).

Powder metallurgical processing of NiTi shape memory alloys with elevated transformation temperatures

The production of high quality powder metallurgical NiTi alloys with elevated phase transformation temperatures is challenging. During processing, an unavoidable pickup of impurity elements (especially oxygen and carbon) results in a decrease of phase transition temperatures and in the formation of brittle secondary phases. We introduce a processing route including melting, gas atomization and hot isostatic pressing for binary NiTi shape memory alloys which minimizes these problems. We demonstrate that the microstructure of the Ti-rich NiTi alloy contains precipitates of Ti 2Ni type which can be exploited to dissolve oxygen picked up during later process stages. In this study, three powder fractions with different grain sizes and impurity contents were subjected to hot isostatic pressing. The evolution of microstructures and material properties was studied by chemical analysis, microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and mechanical testing. Exploiting the solubility of oxygen in Ti 2Ni, the processing route presented in the present paper succeeds in producing powder metallurgical NiTi shape memory alloys with good structural and functional properties.

A multi-length scale sensitivity analysis for the control of texture-dependent properties in deformation processing

Material property evolution during processing is governed by the evolution of the underlying microstructure. We present an efficient technique for tailoring texture development and thus, optimizing properties in forming processes involving polycrystalline materials. The deformation process simulator allows simulation of texture formation using a continuum representation of the orientation distribution function. An efficient multi-scale sensitivity analysis technique is then introduced that allows computation of the sensitivity of microstructure field variables such as slip resistances and texture with respect to perturbations in macro-scale forming parameters such as forging rates, die shapes and preform shapes. These sensitivities are used within a gradient-based optimization framework for computational design of material property distribution during metal forming processes. Effectiveness of the developed computational scheme is demonstrated through computationally intensive examples that address control of properties such as Young’s modulus, strength and magnetic hysteresis loss in finished products.

High-resolution Imaging of Fault Zone Structures with Seismic Fault Zone Waves

Large fault zone (FZ) structures with damaged rocks and material discontinuity interfaces can generate several indicative wave propagation signals. High crack density may produce prominent scattering and non-linear effects. A preferred crack orientation can lead to shear wave splitting. A lithology contrast can produce FZ head waves that propagate along the material interface with the velocity and motion polarity of the faster medium. A coherent low velocity layer may generate FZ trapped waves. These signals can be used to obtain high resolution imaging of the subsurface structure of fault zones, and to track possible temporal evolution of FZ material properties. Several results have emerged from recent systematic analyses of such signals. The trapped waves are generated typically by ~100-m-widem-wide-widewide layers that extend only to ~3–4 km depth and are characterized by 30�–�0� velocity reduction and strong attenu�–�0� velocity reduction and strong attenu–�0� velocity reduction and strong attenu

Spider capture silk: performance implications of variation in an exceptional biomaterial

Spiders and their silk are an excellent system for connecting the properties of biological materials to organismal ecology. Orb-weaving spiders spin sticky capture threads that are moderately strong but exceptionally extensible, resulting in fibers that can absorb remarkable amounts of energy. These tough fibers are thought to be adapted for arresting flying insects. Using tensile testing, we ask whether patterns can be discerned in the evolution of silk material properties and the ecological uses of spider capture fibers. Here, we present a large comparative data set that allows examination of capture silk properties across orb-weaving spider species. We find that material properties vary greatly across species. Notably, extensibility, strength, and toughness all vary approximately sixfold across species. These material differences, along with variation in fiber size, dictate that the mechanical performance of capture threads, the energy and force required to break fibers, varies by more than an order of magnitude across species. Furthermore, some material and mechanical properties are evolutionarily correlated. For example, species that spin small diameter fibers tend to have tougher silk, suggesting compensation to maintain breaking energy. There is also a negative correlation between strength and extensibility across species, indicating a potential evolutionary trade-off. The different properties of these capture silks should lead to differences in the performance of orb webs during prey capture and help to define feeding niches in spiders.

An Approach to Prediction of Evolution of Material Properties in the Vicinity of Frictional Interfaces in Metal Forming

The quality of surface of the product of metal forming processes depends on physical processes in the vicinity of frictional interfaces between the material and tool. It is well known that material properties in a narrow layer in the vicinity of such interfaces are usually quite different from the properties in the bulk. It is therefore necessary to develop a special approach to account for this feature of the distribution of material properties. A possible approach is proposed in the present paper. It is based on the concept of strain rate intensity factor.

Identification of Material Properties Using FEMU: Application to the Open Hole Tensile Test

This article presents an application of identification via finite elements model update (FEMU) to experimental fields of a plate with a hole using stereo correlation. The presentation includes the evolution of material properties during a tension test, and a first approach in estimating statistical confidence intervals from a single experimental field. These are accomplished by characterizing the material at different load cases, and by repeating the identification multiple times for random samplings of the full field and for random redistributions of noise.

Antler stiffness in moose (Alces alces): Correlated evolution of bone function and material properties?

The material properties of bone can vary considerably among skeletal elements from different parts of the body that serve different functions. However, functional demands placed on a specific type of skeletal element also can vary at a variety of scales, such as between different parts of the element, among individuals of a species, and across species. Variation in bone material properties might be correlated with differing functional demands at any of these scales. In this study we performed three-point bending tests on bone specimens extracted from antlers of moose (Alces alces) to test for three types of variation in bone material stiffness (Young's modulus): within the antler structure, between populations of moose, and between moose and other deer species. Because superficial portions of the antler are exposed to greater bending stress and strain than deeper portions, and because the antler beam (the basal shaft that attaches to the skull) is subjected to greater bending moments than more distal parts of the antler, we predicted that superficial bone and bone from the beam would be stiffer than bone from other parts of the antler. Instead, we identified no significant differences in these comparisons. There were also no significant differences in antler stiffness between moose from Michigan and the Yukon, even though the rapid growth required of antlers from northern latitudes like the Yukon has the potential to compromise bone material properties. However, moose have significantly stiffer antlers (11.6 +/- 0.45 GPa, mean +/- SE) than any other deer in the odocoileine lineage. Moreover, phylogenetic reconstructions of the evolution of antler stiffness in deer indicate a strong potential that high antler stiffness is a derived feature of moose. The unusual palmate shape of moose antlers likely subjects their antler beams to higher bending moments than found in other odocoileines, a factor that may have contributed to the evolutionary divergence of moose antler stiffness from that of other members of this clade. Although similarities in the mineral composition of bone across species likely limit the overall range of phylogenetic variation in bone material properties, our results demonstrate that evolutionary diversity in bone material properties can show correspondence with phylogenetic differences in mechanical or ecological demands on skeletal elements.

Mobility of grain boundaries in stress fields

Abstract The mobility of grain boundaries under certain conditions is a key factor for the evolution of polycrystalline microstructures and material properties. In recent experiments it was shown that grain boundaries can interact with mechanical stress fields and that the motion of planar grain boundaries, low angle as well as high angle grain boundaries, could be induced by an external mechanical stress field [1,2]. Therefore the current study was performed to investigate the details of grain boundary motion and interactions between definite, planar grain boundaries and the mechanical stress field during high temperature low cycle deformation of high purity aluminium bicrystals. The grain boundary planes were in all cases perpendicular to the loading axis. Experiments were made with large as well as small stresses at different temperatures and numbers of cycles. The displacement of grain boundaries was measured by using optical microscopy, and the microstructural features, as well as orientations of individual grains were recorded by the electron backscatter diffraction technique (EBSD) after each deformation experiment.

Viscoelastic Properties of Silica Compounds During Curing Process

Curing is the final step in rubber goods manufacturing, built from rubber layers, and formed to the desired profile shape in a heated press. The curing process has a strong effect on the final product quality and therefore the curing.cycle should be determined to obtain the required material properties. A model was developed to predict the mechanical properties of a typical silica compound vulcanized in non-isothermal curing conditions. Model parameters were determined by isothermal experiments. A non-isothermal curing process was used to validate the model proposed. Results show that the model is able to accurately predict the evolution of material properties, such as modules, tensile stress and abrasion, during non-isothermal vulcanization. The simplicity of the model allows one to implement it in simulation software to optimize the curing cycle in rubber manufacturing.

Pseudoelastic fatigue of CuZnAl single crystals: the effect of concomitant diffusional processes

Experiments have been performed in CuZnAl single crystals in order to further understand the evolution of material properties after continuous pseudoelastic cycling. In a fatigue experiment of this type, permanent and recoverable effects are observed for temperatures above 273 K. Experiments in the stress–strain–time space have been designed in order to separate both contributions. The occurrence of recoverable changes can be related to the ordering of the beta-phase and to the stabilization of the martensite, both depending in turn on the atomic diffusion phenomena in these alloys above 273 K. The kinetics of these processes show a considerable increase of the associated time constant after the pseudoelastic cycling procedure. The relation of these changes with the microstructural evolution of the material is analyzed and a discussion is offered on the role that each mechanism, either diffusive or due to microstructural changes, plays on fatigue. The relevance of defining a reference state in order to determine the consequences of pseudoelastic cycling is shown. A model which considers the stabilization of martensite and the beta recovery has been used to reproduce the stress deformation behavior after cycling. An enhancement of stabilization kinetics during fatigue has allowed us to obtain a closer fit with the experimental results.

Microwave and optical properties of soluble conducting polymers

Conducting polymers soluble in the doped (sulfonic acids doped polyaniline) or undoped state (poly(3-alkyl thiophenes) can easily be processed and mixed with insulating polymers using classical techniques such as spin-coating, moulding or extrusion. The properties obtained depend on structural characteristics of the conducting polymer (defects content, chain length, crystallinity) but also on the details of processing techniques. As an extension of previous works we have investigated the potentialities of soluble conductive polymers for the design of a new generation of microwave absorbing materials. An other important point when dealing with applications is'the evolution of materials properties over time. The stability of conducting polymer based materials is also influenced by structural parameters of the polymer and the processing routes.

Fluorescence intermittency in single cadmium selenide nanocrystals

SEMICONDUCTOR nanocrystals offer the opportunity to study the evolution of bulk materials properties as the size of a system increases from the molecular scale1,2. In addition, their strongly size-dependent optical properties render them attractive candidates as tunable light absorbers and emitters in optoelectronic devices such as light-emitting diodes3,4 and quantum-dot lasers5,6, and as optical probes of biological systems7. Here we show that light emission from single fluorescing nanocrystals of cadmium selenide under continuous excitation turns on and off intermittently with a characteristic timescale of about 0.5 seconds. This intermittency is not apparent from ensemble measurements on many nanocrystals. The dependence on excitation intensity and the change in on/off times when a passivating, high-bandgap shell of zinc sulphide encapsulates the nanocrystal8,9 suggests that the abrupt turning off of luminescence is caused by photo-ionization of the nanocrystal. Thus spectroscopic measurements on single nanocrystals can reveal hitherto unknown aspects of their photophysics.

The evolution of material properties during physical aging

AbstractAging experiments using the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) torsional dilatometer have been performed in which the temperature of an isothermally equilibrated epoxy glass was abruptly changed to a new temperature T0 and the evolution of the volume and torsional relaxation responses recorded. The results of down‐jump and up‐jump experiments were found to differ dramatically. Not only is the normal asymmetry of volume approach to equilibrium found, but the mechanical responses are found to evolve differently from the volume response, contrary to simple free volume models of the physical aging process. It is found that the torsional modulus changes with increasing time after the T‐jump. In the case of the down‐jump the evolution of the modulus ceases prior to that of the volume of the sample. In the up‐jump experiment, the contrary is true, viz., the modulus continues to evolve after the volume has attained its equilibrium value. The implications of this for the description of material behavior are discussed.