Plastic Microstructure Research Articles

Quantitative characterisation of debris cloud-induced pitting damage in AL-Whipple shields of spacecraft using infrared thermography

ABSTRACT Quantitatively evaluating the debris cloud-induced pitting damage in the AL-Whipple structure of spacecraft, is still a challenge, let alone microstructural plastic deformation usually accompanied by geometric cratering defects, which may decrease material stress-carrying capacity and structural life. With this motivation, a dedicated modelling technique is proposed to gain an insight into various modalities (i.e., geometric and plastic defects) of pitting damage-induced thermal modulation for infrared inspection. Then, a sequence of infrared images is obtained and analysed using the gap smoothing algorithm and naive Bayes classification methods. On this basis, a quantitative characterization framework is proposed to characterize the damage modalities and their morphologies. This method is validated using a 3D numerical model which contains pitting damage acquired from the real-world structure. Modality classification and morphology evaluation results are well consistent with the artificial defects, in terms of the modality, diameter, and depth. Then they‘re experimentally corroborated, in which the severity and distribution of pitting damage are precisely characterized, in terms of the crater number and morphologies, as well as the size of plastic regions around these craters, which are consistent with the actual observations. This work proposes a non-destructive strategy for pitting damage evaluation, which is engineering-friendly.

Evolution mechanism of microstructure and microhardness of Ti–6Al–4V alloy during ultrasonic elliptical vibration assisted ultra-precise cutting

The ultra-precision Ti–6Al–4V alloy parts are growing used in medical and aerospace industries, and which always work in the extreme working conditions such as high temperature, high pressure, and variable load. Thus, the requirements for machining accuracy and surface quality of parts are getting higher and higher. The ultrasonic elliptical vibration assisted cutting (UEVC) technology has been proved to be an effective method for the ultra-precision machining of Ti–6Al–4V alloy. However, in the UEVC process, the evolution mechanism of microstructure and microhardness, which directly affect the service performance and life, is unrevealed. In this paper, the comprehensive investigations of microstructural plastic deformation, grain refinement, phase transformation and microhardness of machined surface layer under conventional cutting (CC) and UEVC processes are carried out. The experimental results indicated that, due to the effects of UEVC technology, the plastic deformation area show obvious compression deformation, the depth of plastic deformation is less than 10 μm, there is no obvious phase transformation on the machined surface layer material, and the hardening rate of machined surface is more than 20%. These findings show the UEVC technology has a unique influence on the microstructure and microhardness of Ti–6Al–4V alloy, which have important implications for the cutting parameter design of ultra-precision Ti–6Al–4V alloy parts.

Experimental investigation and crystal plasticity simulation for the fatigue crack initiation of the equiaxed Ti-6Al-4V alloy in the very high cycle regime

This work investigated the fatigue crack initiation mechanism of the equiaxed Ti-6Al-4V alloy in the very high cycle fatigue (VCHF) regime. Ultrasonic fatigue experiments were carried out on Ti-6Al-4V specimens and a detailed analysis of the failure mechanism was conducted by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The localized cyclic plastic response of the alloy was investigated using the crystal plasticity finite element (CPFE) method to further clarify the fatigue crack initiation process in the VHCF regime, and the CPFE models with varying transformed β(βt) phase volume fractions were presented to investigate the impact of βt phase on the VHCF behavior. The simulation results indicate that the proposed CPFE model can effectively captures the microstructural plastic deformation mechanisms, such as stress concentration near the phase boundaries and plastic accumulation. And the βt phase significantly affects the VHCF behavior of the alloy.

The Effects of Impurity Content on Plastic Deformation and Microstructure Evolution in Niobium at Temperatures from 1473 K to 1773 K

The Effects of Impurity Content on Plastic Deformation and Microstructure Evolution in Niobium at Temperatures from 1473 K to 1773 K

Deformation and metasomatism recorded by single-grain apatite petrochronology

Abstract The timing and processes of ductile deformation and metasomatism can be documented using apatite petrochronology. We integrated microstructural, U-Pb, and geochemical analyses of apatite grains from an exhumed mylonitic shear zone in the St. Barthélémy Massif, Pyrenees, France, to understand how deformation and metasomatism are recorded by U-Pb dates and geochemical patterns. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analyses documents crystal plastic deformation characterized by low-angle boundaries (<5°) associated with dislocation creep and evidence of multiple slip systems. Laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) U-Pb maps indicate that dates in deformed grains reflect, and are governed by, low-angle dislocation boundaries. Apatite rare earth element (REE) and U-Pb behavior is decoupled in high-grade gneiss samples, suggesting REEs record higher-temperature processes than U-Pb isotopic systems. Apatite from (ultra)mylonitic portions of the shear zone showed evidence of metasomatism, and the youngest dates constrain the age of metasomatism. Collectively, these results demonstrate that crystal plastic microstructures and fluid interactions can markedly change apatite isotopic signatures, making single-grain apatite petrochronology a powerful tool for dating and characterizing the latest major deformation and/or fluid events, which are often not captured by higher-temperature chronometers.

High-efficient electromagnetic absorption and composites of carbon microspheres

Electromagnetic (EM) pollution is evolving into a widely concerned environmental problem raised by the extensive application of EM emitting mobile devices. Microwave absorption materials (MAMs), as functional media for the sustainable conversion of EM energy, have been intensively developed for EM pollution precaution in the past two decades. Carbon materials are always considered as one of the most promising candidates for high-performance MAMs due to their tunable dielectric property, good chemical stability, low density, and diverse forms. In particular, carbon microspheres receive much considerable attention, not only for their intrinsic characteristics from the nature of carbon materials but also for their unique advantages in high dispersity and microstructure plasticity. Therefore, the construction of high-performance MAMs based on carbon microspheres has become an active field of research for microwave absorption. This perspective paper offers the recent advances on the explorations of various highly efficient MAMs related to carbon microspheres. Literature review indicates that some unique microstructures, including porous, hollow, core-shell, yolk-shell configurations, and rational chemical composition, can reinforce the microwave absorption performance of carbon microsphere composites significantly through intensifying their loss capability and improving their impedance matching. Besides, the challenges and perspectives are also proposed in terms of current research progress to inspire the further developments of carbon microspheres.

Study on Microstructure Refinement Mechanism in Deeply Supercooled Solidification of Ni-25at.%Cu Alloys

Maximum undercooling degrees were obtained by glass purification and superheating. Rapid solidification in an undercooled alloy was systematically studied. As the undercooling increases, the solidification front appears randomly. The microstructure undergoes a transformation from coarse dendrite grains to granular grains to oriented dendrite to equiaxed crystal. The results show two grain refinement under high and low undercooling. No high strength textures are found under high undercooling conditions, and many grain boundaries of high angle nature are observed, which confirms recrystallization. In the TEM characterization of high undercooling, high density dislocation strain indicates that accumulated stress in the rapid solidification process induces microstructure plastic strain and promotes recrystallization. The results show that the grain boundary of refined grain is coarser at low undercooling, but narrower at high undercooling. Twins and subgrains observed at large undercooling indicate that the grain refinement mechanisms are very different.

In-situ investigation of plasticity in a Ti-Al-V-Fe (α+β) alloy: Slip mechanisms, strain localization, and partitioning

As one of the representative characteristics of plastic deformation, microstructural plastic strain inhomogeneity has triggered a broad interest in uncovering the corresponding deformation micro-mechanisms. (α+β) titanium alloys enable fruitful mechanistic explorations of this dependency, since: (i) the plastic anisotropy of the α-phase drives distinctive dislocation gliding and/or mechanical twinning modes for plastic strain accommodation; and (ii) deformation transferability between α/β phase boundaries strongly relies on both microstructural and structural parameters. The present work carried out in a Ti-Al-V-Fe (α+β) alloy is an in-situ mechanistic study, aiming to elucidate the critical deformation micro-mechanisms that are responsible for strain localization, partitioning, as well as damage inception processes. It is revealed through statistical analysis of the in-situ strain mapping results that a moderate partitioning trend exists between α- and β-phases, and that the present alloy is characterized by the eminent strain localization bands that develop at the early stage of plastic straining. Deformation micro-mechanisms including texture-facilitated prismatic 〈a〉 slip activation together with the near-ideal slip transfer conditions across the α/β phase boundaries are found to be predominant in the strain localization regions. The combination of postmortem and in-situ damage analyses confirm the dominant role of these long-range strain localization bands in expediting surface cracking events.

Highly Efficient Double-Layer Diffraction Microstructures Based on New Plastics and Molded Glasses

Within the framework of rigorous diffraction theory, the maximum possible incidence angles of radiation on two-layer sawtooth relief-phase microstructures in the visible (0.4 ≤ λ ≤ 0.7 μm) spectral range are compared. Optical materials for the layers of these microstructures are selected from a database of 47 plastics and 165 molded glasses. It is shown that when the ratio of the spatial period of the microstructure to the effective depth of the relief is greater than 20, the achievable angles within which the diffraction efficiency exceeds 0.95 lie in a wide range from 18.5° to 40.5° for single-relief structures and 7.5° to 22.3° for structures with two internal reliefs. The best results for purely plastic microstructures are obtained when the plastic CMT and the indium tin oxide nanocomposite in polymethylmethacrylate are used.

Acute stress reveals different impacts in male and female Zdhhc7-deficient mice

Numerous processes of neuronal development and synaptic plasticity in the brain rely on the palmitoyl acyltransferase ZDHHC7, as it palmitoylates various synaptic and extrasynaptic proteins such as neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) or gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABAA) receptors. In addition, ZDHHC7 palmitoylates sex steroid hormone receptors and is, therefore, indirectly linked to mental disorders that often occur because of or in conjunction with stress. In this work, we investigated how ZDHHC7 affects stress responses in mice. For this purpose, genetically modified mice with a knockout of the Zdhhc7 gene (KO) and wild-type (WT) littermates of both sexes were exposed to acute stressors or control conditions and examined with regard to their behavior, brain microstructure, gene expression, and synaptic plasticity. While no behavioral effects of acute stress were found, we did find that acute stress caused reduced mRNA levels of Esr1 and Esr2 coding for estrogen receptor α and β in the medial prefrontal cortex of male WT and KO mice. Strikingly, after acute stress only male KO mice showed reduced mean fiber lengths of the medioventral hippocampus. Furthermore, Zdhhc7-deficiency impaired synaptic plasticity in mice of both sexes, while acute stress improved it in females, but not in male mice. Taken together, our findings suggest that ZDHHC7 plays a modulatory role in the brain that leads to sex-specific stress responses, possibly due to estrogen receptor-mediated signaling pathways.

Slip-twinning interdependent activation across phase boundaries: An in-situ investigation of a Ti-Al-V-Fe (α+β) alloy

Microstructural plastic strain distribution evolution is highly heterogeneous even in single-phase alloys. One of the important factors that govern this heterogeneity is slip/twinning transfer across grain/phase boundaries. In this regard, the fundamentals of transfer across grain boundaries have drawn significant attention in the literature, while the understanding of phase boundaries remains comparatively limited. (α+β) titanium alloys provide a profound platform to explore these phenomena, since: (i) both of the present phases can exhibit plastic deformation at similar microscopic strain levels; and (ii) both dislocation slip and mechanical twinning can be triggered to accommodate plastic strain. In the present work, we evidenced a deformation transfer unit involving dislocation slip in the β-phase and {101¯2}-mechanical twin in the α-phase. We revealed by crystallographic calculations that the combination of Schmid factor and the Luster-Morris compatibility factor enables a rational quantification for the inception propensity of the slip-twinning transfer event. Our in-situ strain mapping approach verified that this sort of transfer activity can plausibly alleviate strain incompatibility/localization, demonstrating the potential to facilitate deformation homogeneity.

The Effect of Microstructure and Welding-Induced Plasticity on the Strength of Ni–Mo–Cr Alloy Welds

The mechanical performance of a Ni–Mo–Cr (GH3535) alloy weldment, produced using a matching filler metal, was assessed and compared to the surrounding parent metal. Ambient-temperature mechanical characterisation included hardness testing, small punch testing and uniaxial tensile testing, while a crystal plasticity finite element model was used to assess the impact of crystallographic texture on the mechanical properties. Despite the similar chemical composition, the weld metal exhibited superior strength and ductility to that of the parent metal. The higher strength was primarily attributed to the high dislocation density in the weld metal imbued by the welding-induced thermo-mechanical loading. In contrast, the ductility difference was attributed to M6C carbide stringers in the parent metal that initiated fracture at lower strains than for the weld metal, with the latter containing much finer, well-dispersed M6C carbides.

Mechanical and dielectric response within and beyond the linear regime

In this work a comparison of dielectric and mechanical data is presented based on experiments within the linear response limit and beyond that limit. The linear dynamic and shear-mechanical response is discussed in terms of the molecular supercooled liquid tetramethyl-tetraphenyl-trisiloxane. As the dynamics measured by the two methods depict the same temperature-dependence, the underlying cause for the observed responses is assumed to be identical for both methods, namely structural relaxation. The comparison of dielectric and mechanical measurements under high excitation amplitudes reveals that this cannot be assumed for the nonlinear response: Mechanical experiments on metallic glasses suggest that involved energies are clearly beyond kBT, with observed nonlinear effects based on the activation of microstructural plastic rearrangements. In contrast, nonlinear dielectric measurements on another molecular glass-former involve energies clearly below kBT, so that nonlinear dielectric effects occur due to energy uptake from the electric field or entropy-based changes in the dynamics, but are very unlikely connected to the triggering of plastic rearrangements by the applied electric field.

Plastic Deformation, Microstructure, and Residual Stress in Metal Joining for Light Weighting

Plastic Deformation, Microstructure, and Residual Stress in Metal Joining for Light Weighting

Migration of heavy metal in electronic waste plastics during simulated recycling on a laboratory scale.

Recycling is the primary method to handle electronic waste plastics, however, little attention has been paid to the risk posed by heavy metal migration in waste plastic products. The effect of multistage recycling processes on heavy metal migration and the environmental risk posed by heavy metals during recycling processes were investigated by: (1) Recycling waste plastics and determining the heavy metal contents in secondary products; (2) Using toxic leaching experiments to assess environmental risks of heavy metal migration in secondary products; and (3) Evaluating the effect of recycling processes on the mechanical properties and microstructure of plastics. Results showed that the contents of some harmful heavy metals in processed products exceeded the Safety of Toys Standard. Toxic leaching tests showed that Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, and Sb migrated outward during secondary products use. With increased recycling times, concentrations of migrated Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, and Sb increased, and the leached concentrations exceeded the limits stipulated in the Groundwater Quality Standard. Increased recycling times also accelerated waste plastics aging and caused the deterioration of mechanical properties. Furthermore, adhesion between layers decreased, stratification and cracking in polymers appeared, and adhesion of waste plastics to additives decreased. Therefore, the environmental risks of waste plastic recycling should be carefully considered.

Influence of Inter-Pass Cooling on Microstructural Evolution and Plastic Deformation of Heavy EH47 Plates.

Herein, the influence of inter-pass cooling (IC) and conventional two-stage rolling (CTR), on microstructural evolution and plastic deformation behavior of ultra-heavy EH47 plates, is demonstrated. It is reported that the deformation amount and deformation rate, in every deformation pass during rough rolling, at 1/4- and 1/2-thickness of IC steel were higher than the CTR steel. The volume fraction of ferrite and acicular ferrite was 45% and 18%, at 1/4-thickness, and 35% and 50% at 1/2-thickness of IC steel, respectively, whereas the sum of both ferrite phases was smaller than 25% in the CTR steel. The austenite grain boundary area and high-angle grain boundary fraction in the IC steel were higher than the CTR steel. The high density of fine and shapeless pearlite has been observed in IC steel, whereas large-size carbides, with hexagonal structure, have been observed in CTR steel. Compared to the CTR steel, the density of precipitates was apparently lower in IC steel. Two kinds of Nb containing precipitates, such as (Ti, Nb)(C, N) and (Nb, Ti)C, were observed in the tested steels. Total ductility and uniform elongation of the IC steel were higher than the CTR steel. During the tensile process, the crack initiation energy and crack propagation energy of the IC steel were higher than the CTR steel. Moreover, the volume fraction of retained austenite (FCC) was reduced from 7.71% to 0.42% near the tensile fracture in IC steel at 1/4-thickness. In additon, the strain of synergetic plastic deformation of the IC steel was higher than the CTR steel. Meanwhile, compared to the CTR steel, the synergetic plastic deformation of the IC steel occurred at low stress after the yield point, which can be ascribed to the presence of fewer microcracks in the IC steel. Hence, a delayed fracture has been observed in the IC steel plate.

Enhanced wear resistance by combined ultrasonic impact and electro-spark melting

ABSTRACTA novel surface modification method coupling surface melting and ultrasonic impact treatment (UIT) was developed to improve the wear resistance of S355 steel. The principle of ultrasonic impact electro-spark melting treatment (UIEMT) was presented, and the microstructure and surface plastic deformation layer were characterised by scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The obtained results revealed that UIEMT has more advantage than the UIT method. For UIEMT sample, fine microstructure with the average grain size of less than 2 μm was obtained, and the hardening layer was about 2.75 times deeper than the UIT one. The microhardness profile and residual compressive stress distribution showed a good correlation with the microstructural transition. In addition, no martensite transformation can be found by XRD. It was concluded that UIEMT can significantly improve the wear resistance without changing the chemical composition of the material.

전자기주조법으로 제조된 Al-12Si계 합금의 미세조직 및 고온 소성변형 거동

전자기주조법으로 제조된 Al-12Si계 합금의 미세조직 및 고온 소성변형 거동

Effect of cold rolling on plastic deformation and microstructure of bearing ring

Bearing ring blanks of the high-speed rail bearings, machine tool spindle bearings and wind power bearings have been manufactured through the ring rolling technology. Yet, the microstructure evolution of bearing ring in cold ring rolling remains unclear. In this work, the plastic strain distribution of the rolled ring is first simulated. Then, the microstructure of bearing ring is studied by the electron backscatter diffraction technique. Furthermore, the microstructure changes in cold ring rolling are investigated through band contrast images, and the texture evolutions after various deformation ratios are analysed by the technique of 3D-Euler space distribution. This work provides valuable guidelines for enhanced understanding the role of the cold ring rolling technology on the microstructure evolution of bearing rings.

The sequential addition and migration method to generate representative volume elements for the homogenization of short fiber reinforced plastics

We present an algorithm for generating volume elements of short fiber reinforced plastic microstructures for prescribed fourth order fiber orientation tensor, fiber aspect ratio and solid volume fraction. The algorithm inserts fibers randomly into an existing microstructure, and removes the resulting overlap systematically based on a gradient descent method. In contrast to existing methods, large fiber aspect ratios (up to 150) and large volume fractions (60 vol% for isotropic orientation and aspect ratio of 33) can be reached. We study the effective linear elastic properties of the resulting microstructures, depending on fiber orientation, volume fraction as well as aspect ratio, and examine the size of a corresponding representative volume element.