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At least 181 records · Page 10

Excellent ballistic impact resistance of Al 0.3 CoCrFeNi multi-principal element alloy with unique bimodal microstructure

Multi-principal element alloys represent a new paradigm in structural alloy design with superior mechanical properties and promising ballistic performance. Here, the mechanical response of Al 0.3 CoCrFeNi alloy, with unique bimodal microstructure, was evaluated at quasistatic, dynamic, and ballistic strain rates. The microstructure after quasistatic deformation was dominated by highly deformed grains. High density of deformation bands was observed at dynamic strain rates but there was no indication of adiabatic shear bands, cracks, or twinning. The ballistic response was evaluated by impacting a 12 mm thick plate with 6.35 mm WC projectiles at velocities ranging from 1066 to 1465 m/s. The deformed microstructure after ballistic impact was dominated by adiabatic shear bands, shear band induced cracks, microbands, and dynamic recrystallization. The superior ballistic response of this alloy compared with similar Al x CoCrFeNi alloys was attributed to its bimodal microstructure, nano-scale L1 2 precipitation, and grain boundary B2 precipitates. Deformation mechanisms at quasistatic and dynamic strain rates were primarily characterized by extensive dislocation slip and low density of stacking faults. Deformation mechanisms at ballistic strain rates were characterized by grain rotation, disordering of the L1 2 phase, and high density of stacking faults.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Dynamic Tensile Characterization of Thin-Sheet Brittle Metallic Materials

Refractory metals are favorable materials in applications where high strength and ductility are needed at elevated temperatures. In some cases, operating temperatures may be near the melting point of the material. However, as temperature drops, refractory metals typically undergo a significant mechanical response change - ductile-to-brittle transition. These materials may be subjected to high strain rate loading at an ambient temperature state, such as an impact or crash. Knowledge of the high rate material properties are essential for design as well as simulation of impact events. The high rate stress-strain behavior of brittle metallic materials at ambient temperature is rarely studied because of experimental challenges, particularly when failure is involved. Failure typically occurs within the non-gage section of the material, which invalidates any collected stress-strain information. Here, a method to determine a specimen geometry which will produce failures in the gage section is presented. Pure tungsten in thin-sheet form was used as a trial material to select a specimen geometry for high rate Kolsky tension bar experiments. A finite element simulation was conducted to derive a strain correction for more accurate results. The room temperature stress-strain behavior of pure tungsten at a strain rate of 24 s –1 is presented. The outcome of this experimental technique can be applied to other brittle materials for dynamic tensile characterization.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Mechanical behavior and texture evolution of WE43 magnesium-rare earth alloy in Split-Hopkinson Pressure Bar and Taylor Impact Cylinder Testing

Mechanical behavior and texture evolution of Mg rare-earth alloy WE43 is investigated for strain-rates 10 -3 /s to upwards of 10 5 /s for the two material conditions - as-cast (AC) and T6 age hardened, rolled plate (RT6). The high strain-rate behavior is tested using both Taylor cylinder impact tests (TC) and split Hopkinson pressure bar tests (SHB) and bulk textures are obtained using neutron diffraction. Unlike the quasi-static strained material, AC and RT6 SHB retained high hardening rates throughout the test, even up to 30% true strain. Moreover, the high strain-rate data revealed that the RT6 material has a much higher strength than the AC material, but similar hardening rates despite significantly different initial texture. The flow stress near yield increased up to I 0% for RT6 and up to 30% for AC as the strain-rate increased six orders of magnitude from quasi-static rates 10 -3 /s to 10 3 /s. Neither material exhibited significant plastic anisotropy over the broad range of strain rates, despite the fact that the RT6 material had a moderately strong initial texture. In the TC tests, the geometric cross-sectional changes and texture along the cylinder from the cylindrical sample foot to head are measured and from the neutron diffraction texture analysis, upper-bound estimates of twin volume fraction are obtained as well as dislocation density from analyzing diffraction peak broadening. Recorded geometrical changes along several loading directions show that the material has deformed remarkably homogeneously under impact. Analysis of deformed textures indicates that {101¯2} extension deformation twinning occurred in the RT6 condition over the range of strain rates, with an upper bound estimate of 40% twin volume fraction for approximately 0.10-0.25 true strain. The peak texture components after the impact have their c-axes closely aligned with the impact direction. As a result, these observations are presented and rationalized in the paper.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Effects of particle size, shape and loading rate on the normal compaction of an advanced granular ceramic

Compaction behavior of granular materials is influenced by strain rate, particle size, and shape. In this report, boron carbide powders with different particle sizes under uni-axial strain conditions are studied using quasi-static compression, dynamic Kolsky bar experiments and normal plate impact. A rounded powder is compacted to investigate the effect of particle shape. The normal plate impact technique is an excellent tool in characterization of powder compaction behavior up to strain rates of ~10 5 s -1 . From our experiments, granular boron carbide shows a highly compressible behavior with significant volume compaction. Constitutive responses are obtained for four powders. Particle fracture is identified as key deformation mechanism. Dynamic loading introduces more particle fragmentation than quasi-static loading. Morphological characterization of particle shapes shows that the deformation from powder compaction alters the particle shape distribution, which is also rate-dependent. Particle size, shape and strain rate effects on the normal stress are discussed accordingly.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Deformation Behaviors in Single BCC‐Phase Refractory Multi‐Principal Element Alloys under Dynamic Conditions

The mechanical behavior and microstructural evolution of a BCC-phase NbTaTiV refractory multi-principal element alloy (RMPEA) is studied over a wide range of strain rates (10 −3 to 10 3 s −1 ) and temperatures (room temperature to 850 °C). The mechanical property of present RMPEA shows less strain-rate dependence and strong resistance to softening at high temperatures. Under high strain-rate loading, the formation of thin type-I twins is observed, which could lead to an increase in strain-hardening rates. However, this hardening mechanism competes with adiabatic heating effects, resulting in the deterrence of strain-hardening behaviors. In contrast, substantial strain-hardening occurs at cryogenic temperatures due to the formation of twins, which act as stronger barriers to dislocation motion and interact with each other. To further understand the different strain-hardening behaviors, density functional theory (DFT) calculations predict relatively low stacking fault energies and high twinning stress for the NbTaTiV RMPEA.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Integrated modeling of cracking during deep penetration laser welding of nickel alloys

During deep penetration laser welding of nickel alloys, interactions between composition and processing conditions can lead to the formation of defects. Inconel 740H, for example, has demonstrated a susceptibility to horizontal fusion zone cracking at locations between 70% and 80% of the weld depth during laser welding at powers above 5 kW. Coupling three-dimensional heat transfer, fluid flow, and stress modeling tools allowed that both the strain rate and stress normal to the solidification direction to be calculated. In the Inconel 740H welds, cracks formed at locations where the strain rate and stress simultaneously reached critical levels. No cracking was observed in the Inconel 690 welds, since the strain rate and stress did not simultaneously reach these critical levels.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

AA2024/SiC metal matrix composites simultaneously improve ductility and cracking resistance during elevated temperature deformation

Here this study uses the stir-casting technique to combine a semi-solid AA2024 alloy directly with finely-sized β-SiC p embedded as a powder or with mechanically alloyed granules as a delivery agent. Liquid-state primary fabrication tends to form agglomerates of reinforcement particles, whereas rolling better distributes the composite constituents. Sub-micron reinforcements of low volume fractions do not significantly increase the hardness of the composite materials. Uniaxial tensile testing at elevated temperatures over a wide range of strain rates showed simultaneous increases in the ductility and crack resistance of AA2024 + SiC p granules embedded as a powder when compared to the non-reinforced control material at lower strain rates, with the same toughness as the control material. The maximum engineering strain of 252.7 ± 19.2% was observed in AA2024/SiCp at a strain rate of 10 -4 s -1 . This improvement in properties is attributed to grain refinement in the MMCs, leading to pinning events during the straining and ductility increases. The resultant impediments to grain growth and crack propagation allow the fine-sized reinforcements to control dynamic microstructural changes during fatigue. Cube {001}<100> is a dominant texture component in AA2024, whereas the Goss {011}<100> and S {123}<634> components mainly represent the texture of the discontinuously reinforced aluminum matrix.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Interseismic Strain Accumulation between the Colorado Plateau and the Eastern California Shear Zone: Implications for the Seismic Hazard near Las Vegas, Nevada

ABSTRACT Crustal deformation in the central Basin and Range between the Colorado plateau and the Eastern California Shear Zone is active but slow, making it a challenge to assess how strain is distributed and crustal motion transferred. However, knowledge of strain rates is very important, particularly for addressing the seismic hazard for both the Las Vegas urban area and the site of the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, in southern Nevada. Global Positioning System (GPS) data provide important constraints, particularly now that the GPS network in the area has substantially expanded in recent years. However, because deformation is slow, it is important to mitigate any transient tectonic and nontectonic signals to obtain the most accurate long-term interseismic motion and robust estimation of strain rates. We use data from all GPS stations in the region including both long-running continuous and semicontinuous stations. We model and remove postseismic displacements at these stations using source parameters for 41 events, dating back to the 1700 Cascadia megathrust earthquake, which contribute significantly to the deformation field within the central Basin and Range. We also remove correlated noise from the time series with the common-mode component imaging technique. We find that removal of both the postseismic transients and common-mode noise substantially reduces the uncertainties and spatial variation in the velocities. We find east–west extension across the Las Vegas Valley of 0.5–0.6 mm/yr. The interseismic strain rate field, calculated with the final velocities, reveals higher strain rates through southern Nevada than in previous studies, with rates within Las Vegas Valley of 8.5±2.4×10−9 yr−1. Our results also confirm shear along the Pahranagat shear zone, but the estimated amplitude is strongly affected by postseismic relaxation.

Geochemistry & Geophysics↗

A continuum damage mechanics (CDM) based Wilshire model for creep deformation, damage, and rupture prediction

In this report, a new constitutive model is derived that combines the Wilshire equations with continuum damage mechanics (CDM) to enable the long-term prediction of creep deformation, damage, and rupture. The Wilshire equations have been demonstrated to accurately extrapolate the stress-rupture, minimum-creep-strain-rate, and time-to-strain of various alloys across decade of life. Recently, the time-to-creep-strain equation has been rearranged to predict creep deformation curves; however, the resulting equation is difficult to calibrate and does not track damage. The CDM-based Sinh constitutive model accurately predicts creep deformation, damage, and stress-rupture for a variety of alloys; however, it lacks an explicit description of stress and temperature co-dependence which limits interpolation and extrapolation ability. In this study, the Wilshire and the CDM-based Sinh equations are combined to create the “WCS” model. The WCS model combines the best features of each model while eliminating their deficiencies. Experimental data for alloy P91 is gathered and the WCS model is calibrated to the data. The WCS model accurately predicts the stress rupture, minimum-creep-strain-rate, creep deformation, and damage of alloy P91 across the experimental stress and temperature range as well as consistency in parametric simulations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Relation Between the Defect Interactions and the Serration Dynamics in a Zr-Based Bulk Metallic Glass

For this study, the effects of thermal annealing and compressive strain rate on the complexity of the serration behavior in a Zr-based bulk metallic glass (BMG) was investigated. Here, as-cast and thermally-annealed (300 °C, 1 week) Zr 52.5 Cu 17.9 Ni 14.6 Al 10 Ti 5 BMG underwent room-temperature compression tests in the unconstrained condition at strain rates of 2 × 10 -5 s -1 and 2 × 10 -4 s -1 . The complexity of the serrated flow was determined, using the refined composite multiscale entropy technique. Nanoindentation testing and X-ray diffraction characterization were performed to assess the changes in the microstructure and mechanical properties of the BMG that occurred during annealing. The results indicated that the BMG did not crystallize during annealing in the prescribed heating condition. Nanoindentation tests revealed that annealing led to a significant increase in the depth-dependent nanoindentation hardness and Young’s modulus, which were attributed to the structural relaxation in the glass. Furthermore, both annealing and an increased strain rate resulted in a marked enhancement in the complexity of the serrated flow during compression. It was concluded that the increase in the sample entropy with increasing strain rate is related to an increase in the number of defect interactions during the serrated flow.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Transition in helium bubble strengthening of copper from quasi-static to dynamic deformation

Damage from low-temperature irradiation and the subsequent degradation of materials performance pose significant challenges for the storage of radioactive materials and for peripheral components in some nuclear reactor designs. Fully understanding the mechanical behavior of such materials requires test data for strain rates in both the quasi-static (< 10/s) and dynamic (>> 10/s) regimes. While dynamic testing has generally been avoided in the past for neutron irradiated (contamination concerns) and ion irradiated (insufficient volume) materials, surface-sensitive Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI) tests were used in the present work to overcome these limitations. Here, nanopillar compression, nanoindentation, and RMI testing data from a helium implanted surface layer (~10 µm thick) were compiled to explore the effects of helium bubbles on the materials strength of high-purity copper at strain rates of 0.001/s – 10 8 /s. While nano-mechanical testing revealed increases in yield strength and hardness with increasing helium dose from 1000 to 4000 appm He, RMI indicated no significant changes in strength as compared to unimplanted copper. Here, this discrepancy in behavior was rationalized through a combination of recent literature and follow-on molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, leading to the conclusion that the nanoscale helium bubbles acting as dispersed barriers to dislocation motion at quasi-static strain rates collapse under shock loading and cease to be effective barriers at high strain rates.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A large deformation multiphase continuum mechanics model for shock loading of soft porous materials

A large deformation, coupled finite-element (FE) model is developed to simulate the multiphase response of soft porous materials subjected to high strain-rate loading. The approach is based on the theory of porous media (TPM) at large deformations. Simplifications to the one-dimensional regime studied in the numerical simulations follow. An overview of several different time integration schemes is presented for the purpose of solving the nonlinear dynamic coupled balance of momenta (mixture and fluid) and balance of mass of the mixture equations. Numerical examples are presented for (i) verification against closed-form analytical solutions assuming small loads, (ii) demonstrating large deformation effects at high strain-rate, and (iii) showing differences in deformations between a single-phase elastodynamics model with occluded compressible pore fluid and a multiphase poroelastodynamics model at high strain-rate. The multiphase model shows that the relative motion of the pore fluid significantly dampens the deformation response of the solid skeleton as compared to the single-phase model, and makes it possible to extract quantitative values for the stresses of the different constituents, thereby allowing one to form preliminary conclusions about the onset of damage in the solid skeleton. The novelty of the current work is developing a multiphase, large deformation, mixture theory numerical model for high strain-rate loading of soft porous materials. It was discovered that explicit, adaptive time-stepping Runge–Kutta schemes offer high accuracy at relatively low cost when compared to traditional implicit or explicit central difference time-stepping schemes for shock-like loadings. Here, shock viscosity is added to the mixture momentum balance equation to regularize the shock front, and a stabilization term is added to the mixture mass balance equation to stabilize equal order interpolation finite elements for the coupled finite element solution of multiphase materials.

Engineering↗

Quasi-static to Dynamic Response and Microstructure Development of Tantalum-Tungsten Alloys

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has a need to understand the quasi-static to dynamic mechanical response and microstructure evolution of tantalum-tungsten (Ta-W) alloys made by conventional wrought processing and additive manufacturing (AM). This two-year work scope will be performed at the Colorado School of Mines (Mines) and will include quasi-static (e.g., 10 -3 s -1 ) mechanical testing in tension and compression, along with high strain rate (Kolsky) pressure bar testing in tension and compression (e.g., 10 3 s -1 ), without and with temperature variations. Gas gun experiments at higher strain rates (e.g., over 10 3 s -1 ) will also be pursued. Complementary microstructure characterization will be performed on undeformed and deformed samples to fundamentally understand the role of processing on the microstructure characteristics and resulting deformation mechanisms that dictate the mechanical response of these alloys with variations in strain rate, temperature, and strain state. Alloys of interest will be Ta-based, containing up to 10 wt.% W. LLNL will supply initial wrought-processed material for sample machining. LLNL will also supply samples built by AM during the project for testing. Arc melting and casting may also be performed at Mines to produce small quantities of different alloys for machining and exploratory testing on an as-needed basis. This project will support multiple postdocs and graduate students at Mines, training them with the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to study materials under extreme conditions of interest to the National Nuclear Security Agency.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Characterization of Tri-lab β-Tin (Sn)

This report documents details of the microstructure and mechanical properties of -tin (Sn), that is used in the Tri-lab (Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL)) collaboration project on Multi-phase Tin Strength. We report microstructural features detailing the crystallographic texture and grain morphology of as-received -tin from electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD). Temperature and strain rate dependent mechanical behavior was investigated by multiple compression tests at temperatures of 200K to 400K and strain rates of 0.0001 /s to 100 /s. Tri-lab tin showed significant temperature and strain rate dependent strength with no significant plastic anisotropy. A sample to sample material variation was observed from duplicate compression tests and texture measurements. Compression data was used to calibrate model parameters for temperature and rate dependent strength models, Johnson-Cook (JC), Zerilli-Armstrong (ZA) and Preston-Tonks-Wallace (PTW) strength models.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DEM analysis of the effect of interface transition zone on dynamic splitting tensile behavior of high-strength concrete based on multi-phase model

Highlights: • Crushable aggregates with the real geometry shape are generated by using clump-cluster method. • Flat-Joint Model is adopted as the constitutive law. • The tensile strength is almost not affected by ITZ strength when its strength exceeds 0.8 times that of mortar. • A modified formula that can reflect the functional relationship between the ITZ strength and the TDIF is proposed. The tensile strength is one of the main parameters in the design of concrete structures and has an important influence on the cracking performance and durability of concrete materials. As the weak region in concrete, the strength of the interface transition zone (ITZ) directly affects the dynamic mechanical response of concrete. Meanwhile, considering that the tensile performance of concrete is far weaker than its compressive performance, the study of the strength of ITZ is of great significance to the dynamic tensile fracture characteristics and mechanical properties of concrete. In this paper, a method combining 3D scanning technology and Clump-Cluster was proposed to generate a real geometry shape model of crushable aggregate. On this basis, the 3D discrete element model (DEM) of high-strength concrete was constructed using the Flat-Joint Model (FJM). The effects of the ITZ strength on the failure mode, number of microcracks, tensile strength and strain rate effect of high-strength concrete under strain rates from 0.01/s to 100/s were studied by splitting tensile test. The simulation results indicate that the number of microcracks generated decreases with the increase of ITZ strength, and the proportion of ITZ cracks decreases obviously. When the ITZ strength exceeds the critical value of 0.8 times that of mortar, the tensile strength is almost not affected by ITZ strength. In addition, based on the numerical simulation results, a modified formula that can reflect the functional relationship between the ITZ strength and the dynamic increasing factor of the concrete tensile strength (TDIF) is proposed, and the rationality of the TDIF modified formula is verified.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Large eddy simulation of lean blow-off in swirl-stabilized flame with the subgrid dissipation concept

The lean blow-off mechanism of the premixed swirl flame is numerically investigated by large eddy simulation (LES) with the subgrid dissipation concept (SDC) combustion model. Three simulated cases cover stable, near blow-off, and transient conditions. Compared with the experiment, the LES-SDC approach captures the flow and combustion features for stable and near blow-off conditions. More importantly, the predictions of the blowoff procedure and duration agree satisfactorily with the experiment, indicating that the LES-SDC approach is a promising tool for predicting strong, unsteady turbulent combustion processes. Further, the numerical results are used to investigate the blow-off mechanism. Two stages in the blow-off procedure are specified. The first is the necking and extinction of the downstream flame surface, and the second is the shrinking of the upstream flame surface. The blow-off mechanism is well explained by the theory of stretched flame extinction. At the end of the recirculation zone, the large negative radial velocity pushes the flame to the central line. The combustion process here can be abstracted as the stretched counter-flame of the reactant-reactant configuration. The excessive flame stretch dominates the flame extinction and triggers the blow-off event. The upstream flame resists the intense stretch with the help of hot product recirculation, and the combustion here can be idealized as the counter-flame of the reactant-product configuration. The alignment of the temperature gradient and flow velocity, together with the excessive stretch, clearly indicates the tendency of flame local extinction. A Damköhler number-based blow-off criterion is raised from the mean flow strain rate and laminar flame bulk extinction strain rate.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Rate-Dependent Dynamic Cylindrical Cavity Expansion Equations for Conical- and Ogival-Nosed Projectiles

The dynamic cylindrical cavity expansion of rate-dependent materials was previously derived by Warren to examine the effects of strain-rate sensitivity on the radial stress acting on a perforating projectile. However, the equations presented were largely analytical and were not further applied to predict the ballistic performance of ductile target plates. The current work expands on Warren’s derivation to model the dynamics of conical and ogival geometries, and the rate-dependent model is compared to prior experimental results of 7.62-mm APM2 rounds impacting 6061-T6511 aluminum alloy plates. The results show that including rate effects improves the ballistic performance prediction, even for a marginally strain-rate sensitive material such as Al6061-T651. However, existing semi-empirical variations of the cavity expansion model can provide the same degree of accuracy if target material rate-sensitivity parameters are not readily available.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Accounting for the effect of dislocation climb-mediated flow on the anisotropy and texture evolution of Mg alloy, AZ31B

The current study explores the role that dislocation climb has in mediating plasticity a Mg alloy at moderately elevated temperatures. Interrupted tensile tests were performed on samples of Mg alloy, AZ31B, sheet in the O temper condition over a range of strain rates (10 -5 to 10 -1 s -1 ) and temperatures (20–350°C) along the rolling and transverse directions. Experimental measurements of the resulting strain anisotropy and texture evolution were used as constraints during a parametric study employing a new crystal plasticity model (VPSC-CLIMB), which explicitly accounts for the kinematics of dislocation climb. The results reveal that the climb of basal (a) dislocations is not only important for dislocation recovery, but also demonstrate that climb accommodates a significant fraction of the strain in conditions where a power-law creep-type constitutive response prevails. This work does not discredit the notion that non-basal slip of (a) and (c+a) dislocations is important over a wide range of temperatures and strain rates. However, it demonstrates that the activation of dislocation climb as the mechanistic change within the power law regime provides an explanation for a wide range of observations, including the simultaneous reduction in strain anisotropy, slowed texture evolution, and rapid increase in strain rate sensitivity. Finally, it is hypothesized that these conclusions may even apply to cases in which grain boundary sliding and/or dynamic recrystallization are observed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗