The thermal fatigue resistance of vermicular cast iron coupling with H13 steel units by cast-in process

This paper focuses on improving the thermal fatigue resistance on the surface of vermicular cast iron coupling with inserted H13 steel blocks that had different cross sections, by cast-in processing. The microstructure of bionic units was examined by scanning electron microscope. Micro-hardness and thermal fatigue resistance of bionic samples with varied cross sections and spacings were investigated, respectively. Results show that a marked metallurgical bonding zone was produced at interface between the inserted H13 steel block and the parent material - a unique feature of the bionic structure in the vermicular cast iron samples. The micro-hardness of the bionic samples has been significantly improved. Thermal resistance of the samples with the circular cross section was the highest and the bionics sample with spacing of 2 mm spacing had a much longer thermal fatigue life, thus resulting in the improvement for the thermal fatigue life of the bionic samples, due to the efficient preclusion for the generation and propagation of crack at the interface of H13 block and the matrix. Crown Copyright (c) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fatigue crack-growth rate in ferrite martensite dual-phase steel

An empirical study is made on the fatigue crack growth rate in ferrite-martensite dual-phase (FMDP) steel. Particular attention is given to the effect of ferrite content in the range of 24.2% to 41.5% where good fatigue resistance was found at 33.8%. Variations in ferrite content did not affect the crack growth rate when plotted against the effective stress intensity factor range  which was assumed to follow a linear relation with the crack tip stress intensity factor range ΔK. A high  corresponds to uniformly distributed small size ferrite and martensite. No other appreciable correlation could be ralated to the microstructure morphology of the FMDP steel. The closure stress intensity factor , however, is affected by the ferrite content with  reaching a maximum value of 0.7. In general, crack growth followed the interphase between the martensite and ferrite.

Dividing the fatigue crack growth process into Stage I and II where the former would be highly sensitive to changes in ΔK and the latter would increase with ΔK depending on the  ratio. The same data when correlated with the strain energy density factor range ΔS showed negligible dependence on mean stress or R ratio for Stage I crack growth. A parameter α involving the ratio of ultimate stress to yield stress, percent reduction of area and R is introduced for Stage II crack growth so that the  data for different R would collapse onto a single curve with a narrow scatter band when plotted against αΔS.

Photochromic fulgide for holographic recording

(N-4'-methoxy-2-methyl-5-phenyl)-3-pyrryl-ethylidene (isopropylidene) succinic anhydride fulgide, doped in PMMA matrix, exhibits photochromic behavior. The fatigue resistance experiment shows no photodegradation is detected after more than 450 writing-erasing cycles. Study of fulgide material for holographic recording media shows the optimal exposure and the diffraction efficiency is 1047 mJ/cm(2) and 2.26%, respectively, with 10 mum thickness polymer film. Holographic grating with 1680 lines/mm at writing angle theta = 30degrees is also obtained. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The main factor influencing the tensile properties of surface nano-crystallized graded materials

The improved mechanical properties of surface nano-crystallized graded materials produced by surface severe plastic deformation ((SPD)-P-2) are generally owing to the effects of the refined structure, work-hardened region and compressive residual stress. However, during the (SPD)-P-2 process, residual stress is produced simultaneously with work-hardened region, the individual contribution of these two factors to the improved mechanical properties remains unclear. Numerical simulations are carried out in order to answer this question. It is found that work hardening predominates in improving the yield strength and the ultimate tensile strength of the surface nano-crystallized graded materials, while the influence of the residual stress mainly emerges at the initial stage of deformation and decreases the apparent elastic modulus of the surface nano-crystallized graded materials, which agrees well with the experimental results. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of processing medium on frictional wear properties of ball bearing steel prepared by laser surface melting coupled with bionic principles

Coupling with bionic principles, an attempt to improve the wear resistance of ball bearing steel (GCr15) with biomimetic units on the surface was made using a pulsed Nd: YAG laser. Air and water film was employed as processing medium, respectively. The microstructures of biomimeitc units were examined by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction was used to describe the microstructure and identify the phases as functions of different mediums as well as water film with different thicknesses. The results indicated that the microstructure zones in the biomimetic specimens processed with water film were more refined and had better wear resistance increased by 55.8% in comparison with that processed in air; a significant improvement in microhardness was achieved by laser surface melting. The application of water film provided considerable microstructural changes and much more regular grain shape in biomimetic units, which played a key role in improving the wear resistance of ball bearing steel. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Microstructure and wear resistance of in situ TiCp composite coating by laser cladding

A new in situ method was realized by one step laser cladding to produce Ni-base alloy composite coating reinforced by in situ reacted and gradiently distributed TiCp particles. The submicron TiCp particles were formed and uniformly distributed because of the in situ reaction and trapping effect under the rapid solidification condition. And, TiCp particles were of gradient distribution on a macro scale and their volume fraction increased from 1.86% at the layer/substrate interface to a maximum 38.4% at the surface of the layer. Furthermore, the in situ generated TiCp/gamma-Ni interfaces were free from deleterious surface reactions. Additionally, the clad coating also revealed a high microhardness of gradient variation with the layer depth and the superior abrasive wear resistance.

Application of Electrical Resistance Tomography System to Monitor Gas/Liquid Two-Phase Flow in a Horizontal Pipe

The Electrical Resistance Tomography (ERT) technique possesses great potential in monitoring widely exiting industrial two/multi-phase flow. For vertical pipe flow and inclined pipe flow, some application studies with exciting results have been reported, but there is rarely a paper regarding the application of ERT to horizontal gas/liquid pipe flow. This paper addresses this issue and proposes a smart method, Liquid Level Detection method, to conventional ERT system. The enhanced ERT system using the new method can monitor horizontal pipe flow effectively and its application is no longer restricted by the flow conditions. Some experimental results from monitoring an air/water slug pipe flow are presented.

An analysis on overall crack-number-density of short-fatigue-cracks

The evolution of dispersed short-fatigue-cracks is analysed based on the equilibrium of crack-number-density (CND). By separating the mean value and the stochastic fluctuation of local CND, the equilibrium equation of overall CND is derived. Comparing with the mean-field equilibrium equation, the equilibrium equation of overall CND has different forms in the expression of crack-nucleation-rate or crack-growth-rate. The simulation results are compared with experimental measurements showing the stochastic analyses provide consistent tendency with experiments. The discrepancy in simulation results between overall CND and mean-field CND is discussed.

An analysis of collective damage for short fatigue cracks based on equilibrium of crack numerical density

Collective damage of short fatigue cracks was analyzed in the light of equilibrium of crack numerical density. With the estimation of crack growth rate and crack nucleation rate, the solution of the equilibrium equation was studied to reveal the distinct feature of saturation distribution for crack numerical density. The critical time that characterized the transition of short and long-crack regimes was estimated, in which the influences of grain size and grain-boundary obstacle effect were investigated. Furthermore, the total number of cracks and the first order of damage moment were discussed.

Simulations and Experiments of Stochastic Characteristics for Collective Short Fatigue Cracks in Steels

Stochastic characteristics prevail in the process of short fatigue crack progression. This paper presents a method taking into account the balance of crack number density to describe the stochastic behaviour of short crack collective evolution. The results from the simulation illustrate the stochastic development of short cracks. The experiments on two types of steels show the random distribution for collective short cracks with the number of cracks and the maximum crack length as a function of different locations on specimen surface. The experiments also give the variation of total number of short cracks with fatigue cycles. The test results are consistent with numerical simulations.

Characterization of Air-Water Two-Phase Vertical Flow by Using Electrical Resistance Imaging

The characterization of air-water two-phase vertical flow in a 12 m flow loop with 1.5 m of vertical section is studied by using electrical resistance tomography (ERT). By applying a fast data collection to a dual-plane ERT sensor and an iterative image reconstruction algorithm, relevant information is gathered for implementation of flow characteristics, particularly for flow regime recognition. A cross-correlation method is also used to interpret the velocity distribution of the gas phase on the cross section. The paper demonstrates that ERT can now be deployed routinely for velocity measurements and this capability will increase as faster measurement systems evolve.

Ice induced low temperature fatigue crack propagation in offshore structural steel A131

To investigate the low temperature fatigue crack propagation behavior of offshore structural steel A131 under random ice loading, three ice failure modes that are commonly present in the Bohai Gulf are simulated according to the vibration stress responses induced by real ice loading. The test data are processed by a universal software FCPUSL developed on the basis of the theory of fatigue crack propagation and statistics. The fundamental parameter controlling the fatigue crack propagation induced by random ice loading is determined to be the amplitude root mean square stress intensity factor K-arm. The test results are presented on the crack propagation diagram where the crack growth rate da/dN is described as the function of K-arm. It is evident that the ice failure modes have great influence on the fatigue crack propagation behavior of the steel in ice-induced vibration. However, some of the experimental phenomena and test results are hard to be physically explained at present. The work in this paper is an initial attempt to investigate the cause of collapse of offshore structures due to ice loading.

The Evolution of Fatigue bocks in Aluminum Alloy LY-12 under Shock beading

对LY12铝合金在低周疲劳条件下的裂纹情况和随后进行的动态拉伸条件下裂纹的发展给予了观察和统计分析。发现裂纹的累积数密度分布在损伤演化过程中保持指数形式,用NAG模型对实验结果进行分析,得出该材料裂纹演化发展方程的各种参数。

Effect of diffusion on coating microstructure and oxidation resistance of aluminizing steel

The effect of diffuse treatment on coating microstructure and oxidation resistance at high-temperature of hot-dip aluminum were studied by means of TEM, SEM and XRD. The results show that, the diffusion temperature has significant effect on structure of coatings and its oxidation resistance. After diffusion at 750 degreesC, the coating consists of thick outer surface layer (Fe2Al5+ FeAl2), thin internal layer (FeAl + stripe FeAl2), and its oxidation resistance is poor. After diffusion at 950 degreesC, the outer surface layer is composed of single FeAl2 phase, the internal layer is composed of FeAl phase, and its oxidation resistance declines due to the occurrence of early stage internal oxidation cracks in the coating. After diffusion at 850 degreesC, the outer surface layer becomes thinner and consists of FeAl2 Fe2Al5(small amount), the internal layer becomes thicker and consists of FeAl+spherical FeAl2, and the spheroidized FeAl2 phase in the internal layer and its existing in FeAl phase steadily improve the oxidation resistance of the coating.

A probabilistic model for fatigue crack propagation analysis

A simple probabilistic model for predicting crack growth behavior under random loading is presented. In the model, the parameters c and m in the Paris-Erdogan Equation are taken as random variables, and their stochastic characteristic values are obtained through fatigue crack propagation tests on an offshore structural steel under constant amplitude loading. Furthermore, by using the Monte Carlo simulation technique, the fatigue crack propagation life to reach a given crack length is predicted. The tests are conducted to verify the applicability of the theoretical prediction of the fatigue crack propagation.