Relationship between fibre orientation and tensile strength of natural collagen membranes for heart valve leaflets

Heart valve prostheses are used to replace native heart valves which that are damaged because of congenital diseases or due to ageing. Biological prostheses made of bovine pericardium are similar to native valves and do not require any anticoagulation treatment, but are less durable than mechanical prostheses and usually fail by tearing. Researches are oriented in improving the resistance and durability of biological heart valve prostheses in order to increase their life expectancy. To understand the mechanical behaviour of bovine pericardium and relate it to its microstructure (mainly collagen fibres concentration and orientation) uniaxial tensile tests have been performed on a model material made of collagen fibres. Small Angle Light Scattering (SALS) has been also used to characterize the microstructure without damaging the material. Results with the model material allowed us to obtain the orientation of the fibres, relating the microstructure to mechanical performance

Characterization Of Friction Stir Welded Joints Of Aa 2024-T351 - Native Vs. Treated By Laser Shock Processing

The paper presents a consistent set of results showing the ability of Laser Shock Processing (LSP) in modifying the overall properties of the Friction Stir Welded (FSW) joints made of AA 2024-T351. Based on laser beam intensities above 109 W/cm2 with pulse energies of several Joules and pulses durations of nanoseconds, LSP is able of inducing a compression residual stress field, improving the wear and fatigue resistance by slowing crack propagation and stress corrosion cracking, but also improving the overall behaviour of the structure. After the FSW and LSP procedures are briefly presented, the results of micro-hardness measurements and of transverse tensile tests, together with the corrosion resistance of the native joints vs. LSP treated are discussed. The ability of LSP to generate compressive residual stresses and to improve the behaviour of the FSW joints is underscored.

Flow and fracture behaviour of FV535 steel at different triaxialities, strain rates and temperatures

The new generation jet engines operate at highly demanding working conditions. Such conditions need very precise design which implies an exhaustive study of the engine materials and behaviour in their extreme working conditions. With this purpose, this work intends to describe a numerically-based calibration of the widely-used Johnson–Cook fracture model, as well as its validation through high temperature ballistic impact tests. To do so, a widely-used turbine casing material is studied. This material is the Firth Vickers 535 martensitic stainless steel. Quasi-static tensile tests at various temperatures in a universal testing machine, as well as dynamic tests in a Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar, are carried out at different triaxialities. Using ABAQUS/Standard and LS-DYNA numerical codes, experimental data are matched. This method allows the researcher to obtain critical data of equivalent plastic strain and triaxility, which allows for more precise calibration of the Johnson–Cook fracture model. Such enhancement allows study of the fracture behaviour of the material across its usage temperature range.

Modelo de comportamiento plástico y rotura en aleaciones de solidificación direccional

Esta investigación presenta un modelo de material para aleaciones de solidificación direccional que poseen un comportamiento mecánico transversalmente isótropo. Se han realizado una serie de ensayos de tracción sobre probetas cilíndricas a varias velocidades de deformación y a varias temperaturas sobre la superaleación de base níquel de solidificación direccional MAR-M 247 con objeto de conocer su comportamiento mecánico. Los ensayos se realizaron sobre probetas cilíndricas cuya dirección longitudinal forma 0º y 90º con la de la orientación de crecimiento de los granos. Para representar el comportamiento plástico anisótropo se ha formulado una función de plastificación de forma no cuadrática basada en la transformación lineal de tensores. Con el propósito de simplificar en todo lo posible el modelo se ha considerado un endurecimiento isótropo. Para probar la validez del modelo propuesto se ha implementado el mismo como modelo de material definido por el usuario en el código no lineal de elementos finitos LS-DYNA. In this research a material model for directionally solidified alloys with transversely isotropic mechanic behavior is presented. In order to characterize the mechanical behavior of the Mar-M 247 directionally solidified nickel based superalloy, tensile tests of axisymmetric smooth specimens were performed at various strain rates and temperatures. The specimens were machined making sure that the longitudinal axis of them was forming 0º and 90º with the grain growth orientation. To represent the plastic flow, a non-quadratic anisotropic function based on linear transformation of tensors has been formulated. For the sake of simplicity isotropic strain hardening of the material has been considered. To prove the validity of the model, a material subroutine has been implemented in LS-DYNA non-linear finite element code as a user defined material model.

Revisiting the method to obtain the mechanical properties of hydrided fuel cladding in the hoop direction

The method reported in the literature to calculate the stress–strain curve of nuclear fuel cladding from ring tensile test is revisited in this paper and a new alternative is presented. In the former method, two universal curves are introduced under the assumption of small strain. In this paper it is shown that these curves are not universal, but material-dependent if geometric nonlinearity is taken into account. The new method is valid beyond small strains, takes geometric nonlinearity into consideration and does not need universal curves. The stress–strain curves in the hoop direction are determined by combining numerical calculations with experimental results in a convergent loop. To this end, ring tensile tests were performed in unirradiated hydrogen-charged samples. The agreement among the simulations and the experimental results is excellent for the range of concentrations tested (up to 2000 wppm hydrogen). The calculated stress–strain curves show that the mechanical properties do not depend strongly on the hydrogen concentration, and that no noticeable strain hardening occurs. However, ductility decreases with the hydrogen concentration, especially beyond 500 wppm hydrogen. The fractographic results indicate that as-received samples fail in a ductile fashion, whereas quasicleavage is bserved in the hydrogen-charged samples.

Effect of the temperature, strain rate and microstructure on flow and fracture characteristics of Ti-45Al-2Nb-2Mn+0.8vol.% TiB2 XD alloy

A series of quasi-static and dynamic tensile tests at varying temperatures were carried out to determine the mechanical behaviour of Ti-45Al-2Nb-2Mn+0.8vol.% TiB2 XD as-HIPed alloy. The temperature for the tests ranged from room temperature to 850  ∘C. The effect of the temperature on the ultimate tensile strength, as expected, was almost negligible within the selected temperature range. Nevertheless, the plastic flow suffered some softening because of the temperature. This alloy presents a relatively low ductility; thus, a low tensile strain to failure. The dynamic tests were performed in a Split Hopkinson Tension Bar, showing an increase of the ultimate tensile strength due to the strain rate hardening effect. Johnson-Cook constitutive relation was used to model the plastic flow. A post-testing microstructural of the specimens revealed an inhomogeneous structure, consisting of lamellar α2 + γ structure and γ phase equiaxed grains in the centre, and a fully lamellar structure on the rest. The assessment of the duplex-fully lamellar area ratio showed a clear relationship between the microstructure and the fracture behaviour.

Detailed damage mechanisms assessment in composite materials by means of X-ray tomography

This research focused on the evaluation of damage formation on ±45º carbon fiber laminates subjected to tensile tests. The damage was evaluated by means of X-ray tomography. A high density of cracks developed during the plateau of the stress-strain curve and were qualitatively analyzed, showing that the inner plies eventually developed a higher crack concentration than the outer plies. Delamination started to occur in the outermost ply interface when the slope after the plateau of the stress-strain curve began to increase.

Effect of strain and magnetic field on the critical current and electric resistance of the joints between HTS coated conductors

Engineering of devices and systems such as magnets, fault current limiters or cables, based on High Temperature Superconducting wires requires a deep characterization of the possible degradation of their properties by handling at room temperature as well as during the service life thus establishing the limits for building up functional devices and systems. In the present work we report our study regarding the mechanical behavior of spliced joints between commercial HTS coated conductors based on YBCO at room temperature and service temperature, 77 K. Tensile tests under axial stress and the evolution of the critical current and the electric resistance of the joints have been measured. The complete strain contour for the tape and the joint has been obtained by using Digital Image Correlation. Also, tensile tests under external magnetic field have been performed and the effect of the applied field on the critical current and the electric resistance of the joints has been studied. Finally, a preliminary numerical study by means of Finite Element Method (FEM) of the mechanical behavior of the joints between commercial HTS is presented.

Effect of strain and magnetic field on the critical current and electric resistance of the joints between HTS coated conductors

Engineering of devices and systems such as magnets, fault current limiters or cables, based on High Temperature Superconducting wires requires a deep characterization of the possible degradation of their properties by handling at room temperature as well as during the service life thus establishing the limits for building up functional devices and systems. In the present work we report our study regarding the mechanical behavior of spliced joints between commercial HTS coated conductors based on YBCO at room temperature and service temperature, 77 K. Tensile tests under axial stress and the evolution of the critical current and the electric resistance of the joints have been measured. The complete strain contour for the tape and the joints has been obtained by using Digital Image Correlation. Also, tensile tests under external magnetic field have been performed and the effect of the applied field on the critical current and the electric resistance of the joints has been studied. Additionally, fatigue tests under constant cyclic stress and loading-unloading ramps have been carried out in order to evaluate the electromechanical behavior of the joints and the effect of maximum applied stress on the critical current. Finally, a preliminary numerical study by means of the Finite Element Method (FEM) of the electromechanical behavior of the joints between commercial HTS is presented.

Mechanical characterization of GdBCO/Ag and YBCO single grains fabricated by top-seeded melt growth at 77 and 300 K

YBaCuO and GdBaCuO + 15 wt% Ag large, single-grain, bulk superconductors have been fabricated via the top-seeded, melt-growth (TSMG) process using a generic NdBCO seed. The mechanical behavior of both materials has been investigated by means of three-point bending (TPB) and transversal tensile tests at 77 and 300 K. The strength, fracture toughness and hardness of the samples were studied for two directions of applied load to obtain comprehensive information about the effect of microstructural anisotropy on the macroscopic and microscopic mechanical properties of these technologically important materials. Splitting (Brazilian) tests were carried out on as-melt-processed cylindrical samples following a standard oxygenation process and with the load applied parallel to the growth-facet lines characteristic of the TSMG process. In addition, the elastic modulus of each material was measured by three different techniques and related to the microstructure of each sample using optical microscopy. The results show that both the mechanical properties and the elastic modulus of both YBCO and GdBCP/Ag are improved at 77 K. However, the GdBCO/Ag samples are less anisotropic and exhibit better mechanical behavior due to the presence of silver particles in the bulk, superconducting matrix. The splitting tensile strength was determined at 77 K and both materials were found to exhibit similar behavior, independently of their differences in microstructure.

Multiscale modeling of the plastic behaviour in single crystal tungsten: from atomistic to crystal plasticity simulations

En una planta de fusión, los materiales en contacto con el plasma así como los materiales de primera pared experimentan condiciones particularmente hostiles al estar expuestos a altos flujos de partículas, neutrones y grandes cargas térmicas. Como consecuencia de estas diferentes y complejas condiciones de trabajo, el estudio, desarrollo y diseño de estos materiales es uno de los más importantes retos que ha surgido en los últimos años para la comunidad científica en el campo de los materiales y la energía. Debido a su baja tasa de erosión, alta resistencia al sputtering, alta conductividad térmica, muy alto punto de fusión y baja retención de tritio, el tungsteno (wolframio) es un importante candidato como material de primera pared y como posible material estructural avanzado en fusión por confinamiento magnético e inercial. Sin embargo, el tiempo de vida del tungsteno viene controlado por diversos factores como son su respuesta termo-mecánica en la superficie, la posibilidad de fusión y el fallo por acumulación de helio. Es por ello que el tiempo de vida limitado por la respuesta mecánica del tungsteno (W), y en particular su fragilidad, sean dos importantes aspectos que tienes que ser investigados. El comportamiento plástico en materiales refractarios con estructura cristalina cúbica centrada en las caras (bcc) como el tungsteno está gobernado por las dislocaciones de tipo tornillo a escala atómica y por conjuntos e interacciones de dislocaciones a escalas más grandes. El modelado de este complejo comportamiento requiere la aplicación de métodos capaces de resolver de forma rigurosa cada una de las escalas. El trabajo que se presenta en esta tesis propone un modelado multiescala que es capaz de dar respuestas ingenieriles a las solicitudes técnicas del tungsteno, y que a su vez está apoyado por la rigurosa física subyacente a extensas simulaciones atomísticas. En primer lugar, las propiedades estáticas y dinámicas de las dislocaciones de tipo tornillo en cinco potenciales interatómicos de tungsteno son comparadas, determinando cuáles de ellos garantizan una mayor fidelidad física y eficiencia computacional. Las grandes tasas de deformación asociadas a las técnicas de dinámica molecular hacen que las funciones de movilidad de las dislocaciones obtenidas no puedan ser utilizadas en los siguientes pasos del modelado multiescala. En este trabajo, proponemos dos métodos alternativos para obtener las funciones de movilidad de las dislocaciones: un modelo Monte Cario cinético y expresiones analíticas. El conjunto de parámetros necesarios para formular el modelo de Monte Cario cinético y la ley de movilidad analítica son calculados atomísticamente. Estos parámetros incluyen, pero no se limitan a: la determinación de las entalpias y energías de formación de las parejas de escalones que forman las dislocaciones, la parametrización de los efectos de no Schmid característicos en materiales bcc,etc. Conociendo la ley de movilidad de las dislocaciones en función del esfuerzo aplicado y la temperatura, se introduce esta relación como ecuación de flujo dentro de un modelo de plasticidad cristalina. La predicción del modelo sobre la dependencia del límite de fluencia con la temperatura es validada experimentalmente con ensayos uniaxiales en tungsteno monocristalino. A continuación, se calcula el límite de fluencia al aplicar ensayos uniaxiales de tensión para un conjunto de orientaciones cristalográticas dentro del triángulo estándar variando la tasa de deformación y la temperatura de los ensayos. Finalmente, y con el objetivo de ser capaces de predecir una respuesta más dúctil del tungsteno para una variedad de estados de carga, se realizan ensayos biaxiales de tensión sobre algunas de las orientaciones cristalográficas ya estudiadas en función de la temperatura.-------------------------------------------------------------------------ABSTRACT ----------------------------------------------------------Tungsten and tungsten alloys are being considered as leading candidates for structural and functional materials in future fusion energy devices. The most attractive properties of tungsten for the design of magnetic and inertial fusion energy reactors are its high melting point, high thermal conductivity, low sputtering yield and low longterm disposal radioactive footprint. However, tungsten also presents a very low fracture toughness, mostly associated with inter-granular failure and bulk plasticity, that limits its applications. As a result of these various and complex conditions of work, the study, development and design of these materials is one of the most important challenges that have emerged in recent years to the scientific community in the field of materials for energy applications. The plastic behavior of body-centered cubic (bcc) refractory metals like tungsten is governed by the kink-pair mediated thermally activated motion of h¿ (\1 11)i screw dislocations on the atomistic scale and by ensembles and interactions of dislocations at larger scales. Modeling this complex behavior requires the application of methods capable of resolving rigorously each relevant scale. The work presented in this thesis proposes a multiscale model approach that gives engineering-level responses to the technical specifications required for the use of tungsten in fusion energy reactors, and it is also supported by the rigorous underlying physics of extensive atomistic simulations. First, the static and dynamic properties of screw dislocations in five interatomic potentials for tungsten are compared, determining which of these ensure greater physical fidelity and computational efficiency. The large strain rates associated with molecular dynamics techniques make the dislocation mobility functions obtained not suitable to be used in the next steps of the multiscale model. Therefore, it is necessary to employ mobility laws obtained from a different method. In this work, we suggest two alternative methods to get the dislocation mobility functions: a kinetic Monte Carlo model and analytical expressions. The set of parameters needed to formulate the kinetic Monte Carlo model and the analytical mobility law are calculated atomistically. These parameters include, but are not limited to: enthalpy and energy barriers of kink-pairs as a function of the stress, width of the kink-pairs, non-Schmid effects ( both twinning-antitwinning asymmetry and non-glide stresses), etc. The function relating dislocation velocity with applied stress and temperature is used as the main source of constitutive information into a dislocation-based crystal plasticity framework. We validate the dependence of the yield strength with the temperature predicted by the model against existing experimental data of tensile tests in singlecrystal tungsten, with excellent agreement between the simulations and the measured data. We then extend the model to a number of crystallographic orientations uniformly distributed in the standard triangle and study the effects of temperature and strain rate. Finally, we perform biaxial tensile tests and provide the yield surface as a function of the temperature for some of the crystallographic orientations explored in the uniaxial tensile tests.

Modelado de fractura dúctil sobre aceros modificados superficialmente 545-A

Históricamente la fractura ha sido considerada siempre como un efecto indeseado entre los materiales, dado que su aparición supone un cese del material en servicio, puesto que un material fracturado carece de importancia desde el punto de vista comercial. Consecuentemente, la Mecánica de Fractura ha experimentado un desarrollo importante en las últimas décadas como no lo hizo en toda la historia de los materiales. El desarrollo de nuevos campos a nivel científico y técnico han estado de la mano con el desarrollo de nuevos materiales que satisfagan las necesidades particulares de cada sector o aplicación. Este requerimiento se ve acentuado cuando se incorpora el aspecto económico, dado que, así como se necesitan materiales con mayor resistencia a la fractura, corrosión etc, también se necesita que su precio en el mercado sea accesible y que permita una aplicación rentable. En los últimos 70 años, desde los requerimientos de nuevos materiales resistentes a la fractura con los buques Liberty hasta el boom petrolero, pasando por las aplicaciones aeroespaciales se han desarrollado diversas teorías que explican el comportamiento de los materiales, en cuando a la tenacidad a la fractura en distintas temperaturas, composiciones químicas, materiales compuestos etc. Uno de los sectores que más ha demandado un desarrollo, por su amplitud en cuanto a requerimientos y consumo global, así como su impacto en la economía mundial, es el sector de gas, petróleo y petroquímica. Muchos de los proyectos que se intentaron desarrollar hasta hace menos de 25 años eran inviables por su elevado coste de ejecución y su bajo retorno de inversión debido a la caída de los precios del petróleo. Con una demanda creciente a nivel mundial y unos precios que apuntan hacia la estabilización o alza moderada, nuevos sistemas de trasporte por tuberías han sido necesarios desarrollar, desde el punto de vista de ingeniería, con el menos coste posible y de un modo seguro. Muchas de estas aplicaciones se vieron incrementadas cuando nuevos requerimientos en cuanto a resistencia a la corrosión fueron necesarios: demanda de materiales que no se corroan, con prestaciones seguras a nivel mecánico y un bajo coste. Esta nueva etapa se conoce como Aleaciones Resistentes a la Corrosión (CRA´s por sus siglas en inglés) en las cuales uno de los factores de diseño seguro recaían indiscutiblemente en la mecánica de fractura. Por estas razones era necesario entender como influía en la resistencia a la fractura las aportaciones que podrían hacerse sobre una superficie metálica. Al realizar el presente estudio se comenzó analizando la influencia que tenían modificaciones en el rango iónico sobre aceros al carbono. Estudios previos sobre láminas de acero ferrítico usadas en reactores de fisión nuclear demostraron que aportes de iones, en este particular el Helio, influían en el comportamiento de la tenacidad a la fractura en función de la temperatura. De este modo, un primer análisis fue hecho sobre la influencia de iones de nitrógeno aportados sobre superficies de acero al carbono y como modificaban su tenacidad a la fractura. Este primer análisis sirvió para comprobar el impacto que tenían pequeñas dosis de iones de nitrógeno en la tenacidad a la fractura. Otro desarrollo con una mayor aplicación industrial fue hecho sobre superficies de acero al carbono con aporte por soldadura de los materiales más usados para evitar la corrosión. El análisis se centró fundamentalmente en la influencia que tenían distintos materiales aportados como el MONEL 400, DUPLEX 928, INCONEL 625 y STAINLESS-STEEL 316 en referencia a características de diseño como la tensión elástica y la tensión a la rotura. Este análisis permitió conocer el impacto de los materiales aportados en los ensayos de tracción en probetas de acero al carbono. Una explicación acerca del comportamiento fue soportada por el análisis macrofractográfico de los perfiles fracturados y las macro deformaciones en la superficie de las probetas. Un posterior desarrollo teórico permitió modelar matemáticamente la fractura de las probetas aportadas por soldadura en la región elástica por medio de la Ley de Hooke, así como la teoría de Plasticidad de Hill para la región de deformación plástica. ABSTRACT Fracture mechanics has been extensively studied in the last 70 years by the constant requirements of new materials with low costs. These requirements have allowed surface modified welded materials in which it is necessary to know the influence of design fundamentals with the material surface welded. Several specimens have been studied for ductile fracture in longitudinal tensile tests for carbon steel surface-modified by weld overlay MONEL 400, DUPLEX 928, INCONEL 625 and STAINLESS-STEEL 316. Similarly of macro photographic analyzes to level the fractured surfaces that explain the behavior curves obtained in Tensile – displacement charts. The contribution of weld overlay material shows a significant impact on the yield and tensile stress of the specimens which was modeled according to Hooke's law for elastic area and Hill´s theory of plasticity to the plastic one.