Fracture Mechanisms And Size Effects Of Brittle Metallic Foams: In Situ Compression Tests Inside Sem

In situ compressive tests on specially designed small samples made from brittle metallic foams were accomplished in a loading device equipped in the scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Each of the small samples comprises only several cells in the effective test zone (ETZ), with one major cell in the middle. In such a system one can not only obtain sequential collapse-process images of a single cell and its cell walls with high resolution, but also correlate the detailed failure behaviour of the cell walls with the stress-strain response, therefore reveal the mechanisms of energy absorption in the mesoscopic scale. Meanwhile, the stress-strain behaviour is quite different from that of bulk foams in dimensions of enough large, indicating a strong size effect. According to the in situ observations, four failure modes in the cell-wall level were summarized, and these modes account for the mesoscopic mechanisms of energy absorption. Paralleled compression tests on bulk samples were also carried out, and it is found that both fracturing of a single cell and developing of fracture bands are defect-directed or weakness-directed processes. The mechanical properties of the brittle aluminum foams obtained from the present tests agree well with the size effect model for ductile cellular solids proposed by Onck et al. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ductile To Brittle Transition In Dynamic Fracture Of Brittle Bulk Metallic Glass

We report an unusual transition from a locally ductile to a pure brittle fracture in the dynamic fracture of brittle Mg65Cu20Gd10 bulk metallic glass. The fractographic evolution from a dimple structure to a periodic corrugation pattern and then to the mirror zone along the crack propagation direction during the dynamic fracture process is discussed within the framework of the meniscus instability of the fracture process zone. This work might provide an important clue in understanding of the energy dissipation mechanism for dynamic crack propagation in brittle glassy materials. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

A unified model for dislocation nucleation, dislocation emission and dislocation free zone

In this paper, a unified model for dislocation nucleation, emission and dislocation free zone is proposed based on the Peierls framework. Three regions are identified ahead of the crack tip. The emitted dislocations, located away from the crack tip in the form of an inverse pileup, define the plastic zone. Between that zone and the cohesive zone immediately ahead of the crack tip, there is a dislocation free zone. With the stress field and the dislocation density field in the cohesive zone and plastic zone being, respectively, expressed in the first and second Chebyshev polynomial series, and the opening and slip displacements in trigonometric series, a set of nonlinear algebraic equations can be obtained and solved with the Newton-Raphson Method. The results of calculations for pure shearing and combined tension and shear loading after dislocation emission are given in detail. An approximate treatment of the dynamic effects of the dislocation emission is also developed in this paper, and the calculation results are in good agreement with those of molecular dynamics simulations.

Complex stress functions and plastic zone sizes for notch cracks subjected to various loading conditions

In this paper, the conformal mapping method is used to solve the plane problem of an infinite plate containing a central lip-shaped notch subjected to biaxial loading at a remote boundary or a surface uniform pressure on the notch. The stress intensity factors KI and KII are obtained by the derived complex stress functions. The simple analytical expressions can be applied to the situation of cracks originating from a circular or an elliptical notch. The plastic zone sizes for such notch cracks are subsequently evaluated in light of the Dugdale strip yield concept. The results are consistent with available numerical data.

Mixed-mode fracture mechanisms near the fatigue threshold of aisi-316 stainless-steel

Near threshold, mixed mode (I and II), fatigue crack growth occurs mainly by two mechanisms, coplanar (or shear) mode and branch (or tensile) mode. For a constant ratio of ΔK_I/ΔK_II the shear mode growth shows a self-arrest character and it would only start again when ΔK_I and ΔK_II are increased. Both shear crack growth and the early stages of tensile crack growth, are of a crystallographic nature; the fatigue crack proceeds along slip planes or grain boundaries. The appearance of the fracture surfaces suggest that the mechanism of crack extension is by developing slip band microcracks which join up to form a macrocrack. This process is thought to be assisted by the nature of the plastic deformation within the reversed plastic zone where high back stresses are set up by dislocation pile-ups against grain boundaries. The interaction of the crack tip stress field with that of the dislocation pile-ups leads to the formation of slip band microcracks and subsequent crack extension. The change from shear mode to tensile mode growth probably occurs when the maximum tensile stress and the microcrack density in the maximum tensile plane direction attain critical values.

Shear transformation zone volume determining ductile–brittle transition of bulk metallic glasses

Three-point bending experiments were performed on as-cast and annealed samples of Zr52.5Cu17.9Ni14.6Al10Ti5 (Vit105) bulk metallic glasses over a wide range of temperatures varying from room temperature (293 K) to liquid nitrogen temperature (77 K). The results demonstrated that the free volume decrease due to annealing and/or cryogenic temperature can reduce the propensity for the formation of multiple shear bands and hence deteriorate plastic deformation ability. We clearly observed a sharp ductile-to-brittle transition (DBT), across which microscopic fracture feature transfers from micro-scale vein patterns to nano-scale periodic corrugations. Macroscopically, the corresponding fracture mode changes from ductile shear fracture to brittle tensile fracture. The shear transformation zone volume, taking into account free volume, temperature and strain rate, is proposed to quantitatively characterize the DBT behavior in fracture of metallic glasses.

Effects of rubber content and temperature on unstable fracture behavior in ABS materials with different particle sizes

The fracture behavior of ABS materials with a particle diameter of 110 nm and of 330 nm was studied using instrumented Charpy impact tests. The effects of rubber content and temperature on fracture behavior, deformation mode, stable crack extension, plastic zone size, J-integral value, and crack opening displacement were investigated. In the case of a particle size of 110 nm, the material was found to break in a brittle manner, and the dominant crack mechanism was unstable crack propagation. Fracture toughness increases with increasing rubber content. In the case of a particle size of 330 nm, brittle-to-tough transition was observed. The J-integral value first increases with rubber content, then levels off after the rubber content is greater than 16 wt %. The J-integral value of a particle diameter of 330 nm was found to be much greater than that of 110 nm. The J-integral value of both series first increased with increasing temperature until reaching the maximum value, after which it decreased with further increasing temperature. The conclusion is that a particle diameter of 330 nm is more efficient than that of 110 nm in toughening, but for both series the effectiveness of rubber modification decreases with increasing temperatures higher than 40 degreesC because of intrinsic craze formation in the SAN matrix at temperatures near the glass transition of SAN. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Plastic zone in front of mode I crack in phenolphthalein polyether ketone

The plastic zone size and crack opening displacement of phenolphthalein polyether ketone (PEK-C) at various conditions were investigated. Both of them increase with increasing temperature (decreasing strain rate), i.e. yield stress steadily falls. Thus, the mechanism increasing the yield stress leads to increased constraint in the crack tip and a corresponding reduction in the crack opening displacement and the plastic deformation zone. The effect of the plastic deformation on the fracture toughness is also discussed.

TEMPERATURE AND STRAIN-RATE DEPENDENCE OF FRACTURE-TOUGHNESS OF PHENOLPHTHALEIN POLYETHER KETONE

A strong strain-rate and temperature dependence was observed for the fracture toughness of phenolphthalein polyether ketone (PEK-C). Two separate crack-blunting mechanisms have been proposed to account for the fracture-toughness data. The first mechanism involves thermal blunting due to adiabatic heating at the crack tip for the high temperatures studied. In the high-temperature range, thermal blunting increases the fracture toughness corresponding to an effectively higher test temperature. However, in the low-temperature range, the adiabatic temperature rise is insufficient to cause softening and Jic increases with increasing temperature owing to viscoelastic losses associated with the p-relaxation there. The second mechanism involves plastic blunting due to shear yield/flow processes at the crack tip and this takes place at slow strain testing of the single-edge notched bending (SENB) samples. The temperature and strain-rate dependence of the plastic zone size may also be responsible for the temperature and strain-rate dependence of fracture toughness.

Geophysical evaluation methods for buried hill reservoirs in the Jiyang superdepression of the Bohai Bay basin, eastern China

The Jiyang superdepression is one of the richest hydrocarbon accumulations in the Bohai Bay basin, eastern China. Comprehensive seismic methods have been used in buried hill exploration in Jiyang to describe these fractured reservoirs better. Accurate seismic stratigraphic demarcation and variable-velocity mapping were applied to reveal the inner structure of the buried hills and determine the nature of the structural traps more precisely. Based on the analysis of rock properties and the characteristics of well-developed buried hill reservoirs, we have successfully linked the geology and seismic response by applying seismic forward technology. Log-constrained inversion, absorption coefficient analysis and tectonic forward-inversion with FMI loggings were applied to analyse and evaluate the buried hill reservoirs and gave satisfying results. The reservoir prediction was successful, which confirmed that the comprehensive utilization of these methods can be helpful in the exploration of buried hill reservoirs.

高邮凹陷陈堡及陈堡东地区油气成藏规律研究

With the development of petroleum exploration in Gaoyou Depression, both old and new areas have been the active exploration targets, so the study of petroleum accumulation is significant to the petroleum exploration in the study area and the integrated oil and gas accumulation theory. Based on hydrocarbon accumulation theory and systematical research methods and combined with the structural characteristics of Gaoyou Depression, Chenbao and East of Chenbao were selected as the study areas in this dissertation, oil and gas migration pathways, accumulation periods, as well as accumulation models were studied, and favorable exploration targets were proposed. There develop three sets source rocks, which are Tai-2 Member, Fu-2 Member and Fu-4 Member respectively. Tai-2 Member is the predominant source rock in the eastern part. Fu-2 Member mainly occurs in the northern slope, while Fu-4 Member develops in the deep depression. In the study area, oil mainly comes from Fu-2 Member of Liuwushe subsag. The lower limit of TOC is 0.4%, and active source rock mostly distributed in the south fault-step zone. The source rock in Liuwushe subsag began to generate hydrocarbon in the late of Dainan depositional stage and the threshold was 2300m. The macro and micro characteristics of reservoirs and the reservoir heterogeneity characteristics of the Fu-1 Member were studied systematicly. The results show that Fu-1 Member, which has better reservoir properties, are medium porosity-medium permeability reservoir. The reservoir permeability has good correlation with porosity connectivity. The reservoirs have strong dissolution, pores are mainly thin to medium throat, and throat radii are distributed concentratedly, the sorting is good and pore structures are homogeneous. Sandstone reservoirs whether in the plan view, interlayer or in layers have a certain degree of heterogeneity, in particular, the heterogeneity in layers directly affect and control the oil and gas migration and accumulation. By analyzing the lithology correlation of the fault walls, shale smear, cross section stress, the configuration of fracture active periods and hydrocarbon generation and expulsion periods and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation, the main faults sealing were evaluated. The results show that the faults in Chenbao and East of Chenbao had poor sealing properties in Sanduo period and could be used as the migration pathways at that time. After Sanduo period, the tectonic stress fields in the area changed largely, and, consequently, the fault properties converted from tensional shear to compressive shear, the faults changed progressively from close to open, so the faults sealing became better and were conducive to the preservation of oil and gas reservoirs. According to the seismic event suspension modes and profile configurations above and under the unconformities, combined with tectonic evolutions of the study areas, the unconformity types can be classified into truncation unconformity, overlapped unconformity and parallel unconformity and the distribution characteristics of unconformities in the plan view was also studied. The unconformity structure was divided into basal conglomerate, weathered clay and semi-weathered layer vertically in the study area and this kind of structure make unconformities to be effective oil and gas migration pathways and is significant to hydrocarbon accumulation in a parts of areas. With the analyses of typical oil and gas reservoirs in the study area, combined with the research results of pathway systems, hydrocarbon accumulation models were established and the oil and gas accumulation laws in Chenbao and East of Chenbao analyzed. The oil and gas came from Liuwushe subsag and Liuliushe subsag. The oil and gas from Liuwushe subsag mainly migrated from the structural high parts into the fault-step zone along strata in northeast direction, a part of them migrated upward into the fault-step zone and the Wubao low uplift along Wu-1 Fault in northeast direction. The oil and gas from Liuliushe subsag mainly migrated into the upper reservoirs through Wu-2 fault, and lesser oil and gas migrated into the fault-step zone because of the controls of cross-section orientation, depression center and the hydrocarbon formation tendency. The favorable exploration targets in Chenbao and East of Chenbao have been concluded: the southern fault-step zone is a favorable oil and gas accumulation zone of Liuwushe subsag, and they are fault block reservoirs where fault acted as the barriers, the main target intervals are Fu-1 Member and Fu-3 Member in palaeocene; Oil and gas in the middle and northern fault-step zone mainly laterally migrated from the south areas, and the main target interval is Fu-3 Member in palaeocene; Fu-1 Member and the reserviors above the Wubao subsag are still the focuses in future explorations. The results of this study have important guiding significance for the future oil and gas exploration.