Mechanism of nucleation and precipitation in Li containing Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys

Investigations on the aging hardening behavior of four Al-Li-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys were carried out using differential scanning calorimetry, transmission electron microscopy and hardness measurement. It is shown that the addition of Li inhibits the formation of Zn-rich G.P. zones in Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys. The dominant aging hardening precipitates is delta'(Al3Li) phase. Coarse T ((AlZn)(49)Mg-32) phase, instead of MgZn2, precipitates primarily on grain boundaries, and provides little strengthening. The multi-stop aging involving plastic deformation introduces in the matrix a high concentration of structural defects. These defects play different role on the nucleation of Zn-rich G.P. zones in different alloys. For the Li free alloy, structural defects act as vacancy sinks and tend to suppress the homogeneous precipitation of G.P. zones, while for the Li containing alloys, these defects promote the heterogeneous nucleation of G.P. zones and metastable MgZn2. A significant aging hardening effect is attained in deformed Li containing alloys due to the extra precipitation of fine MgZn2 in the matrix combined with deformation hardening.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Representative Methods for Determining Young's Modulus and Hardness from Instrumented Indentation Data

The effectiveness of Oliver & Pharr's (O&P's) method, Cheng & Cheng's (C&C's) method, and a new method developed by our group for estimating Young's modulus and hardness based on instrumented indentation was evaluated for the case of yield stress to reduced Young's modulus ratio (sigma(y)/E-r) >= 4.55 x 10(-4) and hardening coefficient (n) <= 0.45. Dimensional theorem and finite element simulations were applied to produce reference results for this purpose. Both O&P's and C&C's methods overestimated the Young's modulus under some conditions, whereas the error can be controlled within +/- 16% if the formulation was modified with appropriate correction functions. Similar modification was not introduced to our method for determining Young's modulus, while the maximum error of results was around +/- 13%. The errors of hardness values obtained from all the three methods could be even larger and were irreducible with any correction scheme. It is therefore suggested that when hardness values of different materials are concerned, relative comparison of the data obtained from a single standard measurement technique would be more practically useful. It is noted that the ranges of error derived from the analysis could be different if different ranges of material parameters sigma(y)/E-r and n are considered.

An Instrumented Indentation Method for Young's Modulus Measurement with Accuracy Estimation

The relationships between indentation responses and Young's modulus of an indented material were investigated by employing dimensional analysis and finite element method. Three representative tip bluntness geometries were introduced to describe the shape of a real Berkovich indenter. It was demonstrated that for each of these bluntness geometries, a set of approximate indentation relationships correlating the ratio of nominal hardness/reduced Young's modulus H (n) /E (r) and the ratio of elastic work/total work W (e)/W can be derived. Consequently, a method for Young's modulus measurement combined with its accuracy estimation was established on basis of these relationships. The effectiveness of this approach was verified by performing nanoindentation tests on S45C carbon steel and 6061 aluminum alloy and microindentation tests on aluminum single crystal, GCr15 bearing steel and fused silica.

Factors Resulting In Micron Indentation Hardness Descending In Indentation Tests

Some factors that affect the experimental results in nanoindentation tests such as the contact depth, contact area, load and loading duration are analyzed in this article. Combining with the results of finite element numerical simulation, we find that the creep property of the tested material is one of the important factors causing the micron indentation hardness descending with the increase of indentation depth. The analysis of experimental results with different indentation depths demonstrates that the hardness decrease can be bated if the continuous stiffness measurement technique is not adopted; this indicates that the test method itself may also be one of the factors causing the hardness being descended.

Nano-hardness Techniques and Its Applications in Mechanical Property Measurements for Surface Engineering

结合纳米硬度技术测量各类薄膜和块体材料表层的纳米压痕硬度、弹性模量、断裂韧性、膜厚、微结构的弯曲变形,采用纳米划痕硬度技术测量各类薄膜和块体材料的粗糙度、临界附着力、摩擦系数、划痕横剖面.纳米硬度计是检测材料表层微米乃至几十纳米力学性能的先进仪器,可广泛应用于表面工程中的质量检测.

Thermal Properties Measurement of Micro-Electromechanical System Sensors by Digital Moire Method

The thermal properties of a micro-electromechanical system sensor were analysed by a novel digital moire method. A double-layer micro-cantilever sensor (60 mu m long, 10 mu m width and 2 mu dm thick) was prepared by focused ion beam milling. A grating with frequency of 5000 lines mm- I was etched on the cantilever. The sensor was placed into a scanning electron microscope system with a high temperature device. The observation and recording of the thermal deformation of the grating were realised in real-time as the temperature rose from room temperature to 300 degrees C at intervals of 50 degrees C. Digital moire was generated by interference of the deformed grating and a digital virtual grating. The thermal properties including strain distribution of the sensor and the linear expansion coefficient of polysilicon were accurately measured by the phase-shifted moire patterns.

Temperature measurement of reflected shock wave by using chemical indicator

This report describes a new method for measuring the temperature of the gas behind the reflected shock wave in shock tube, corresponding to the reservoir temperature of a shock tunnel, based on the chemical reaction of small amount of CF4 premixed in the test gas. The final product C2F4 is used as the temperature indicator, which is sampled and detected by a gas chromatography in the experiment. The detected concentration of C2F4 is correlated to the temperature of the reflected shock wave with the initial pressure P-1 and test time tau as parameters in the temperature range 3 300 K < T < 5 600 K, pressure range 5 kPa < P1 <12 kPa and tau similar or equal to 0.4 ms.

DPIV and Interferometry Technique for Velocity Field and Concentration Fields Measurement in Crystal Growth

The property of crystal depends seriously on the solution concentration distribution near the growth surface of a crystal. However, the concentration distributions are affected by the diffusion and convection of the solution. In the present experiment, the two methods of optical measurement are used to obtained velocity field and concentration field of NaClO₃ solution. The convection patterns in sodium chlorate (NaClO₃) crystal growth are measured by Digital Particle image Velocimetry (DPIV) technology. The 2-dimentional velocity distributions in the solution of NaClO3 are obtained from experiments. And concentration field are obtained by a Mach-Zehnder interferometer with a phase shift servo system. Interference patterns were recorded directly by a computer via a CCD camera. The evolution of velocity field and concentration field from dissolution to crystallization are visualized clearly. The structures of velocity fields were compared with that of concentration field.

Interferometric Measurement of Density in Nonstationary Shock Wave Reflection Flow and Comparison with CFD

We present density measurements from the application of interferometry and Fourier transform fringe analysis to the problem of nonstationary shock wave reflection over a semicircular cylinder and compare our experimental measurements to theoretical results from a CFD simulation of the same problem. The experimental results demonstrate our ability to resolve detailed structure in this complex shock wave reflection problem, allowing visualization of multiple shocks in the vicinity of the triple point, plus visualization of the shear layer and an associated vortical structure. Comparison between CFD and experiment show significant discrepancies with experiment producing a double Mach Reflection when CFD predicts a transitional Mach reflection.

Nano-Hardness Tester and its Application in MEMS

微机电系统(MEMS)技术的迅速崛起,推动了对其所用材料和结构的力学性能研究。简要介绍纳米硬度技术的发展展、理论模型和MTS公司的Nano Indenter XP系统的配置、测量原理及功能。并根据我们的一些研究结果,说明它在微机电系统中的应用。

Experimental Studies of the Material Properties of the Forewing of Cicada (Homoptera, Cicadidae)

Detailed investigations on the structural and mechanical properties of the forewing of the cicada were carried out. Measurement of the structures of the wings showed that the thickness of the membrane of each cell and the diameter of each vein were non-uniform in both the longitudinal and transverse directions, and their means were approximately 12.2 and 133.3 mum, respectively. However, the aspect ratios of the wings and the bodies were quite uniform and were approximately equal to 2.98 and 2.13, respectively. Based on the measured thickness, mass and area of the membranes of the cells, the mean density and the mean area density of the wing were approximately 2.3 g cm(-3) and 2.8 x 10(-3) g cm(-2), respectively. In addition, the diameters of the veins of the wings, including the diameters of the holes in the vein of the leading edge, were examined. The mechanical properties of the wing were investigated separately by nanoindentation and tensile testing. The results indicated that the mean Young's modulus, hardness and yield stress of the membranes of the wings were approximately 3.7 Gpa, 0.2 Gpa and 29 Mpa, respectively, and the mean Young's modulus and strength of the veins along the direction of the venation of wings were approximately 1.9 Gpa and 52 Mpa, respectively. Finally, the relevant results were briefly analyzed and discussed, providing a guideline to the biomimetic design of the aerofoil materials of micro air vehicles.

Relationships between hardness, elastic modulus, and the work of indentation

The work done during indentation is examined using dimensional analysis and finite element calculations for conical indentation in elastic-plastic solids with work hardening. An approximate relationship between the ratio of hardness to elastic modulus and the ratio of irreversible work to total work in indentation is found. Consequently, the ratio of hardness to elastic modulus may be obtained directly from measuring the work of indentation. Together with a well-known relationship between elastic modulus, initial unloading slope, and contact area, a new method is then suggested for estimating the hardness and modulus of solids using instrumented indentation with conical or pyramidal indenters.

Real-Time Measurement on Deformation Fields of Hole-Excavated Samples under Impact Tension

In this paper, the real-time deformation fields are observed in two different kinds of hole-excavated dog-bone samples loaded by an SHTB, including single hole sample and dual holes sample with the aperture size of 0.8mm. The testing system consists of a high-speed camera, a He-Ne laser, a frame grabber and a synchronization device with the controlling accuracy of I microsecond. Both the single hole expanding process and the interaction of the two holes are recorded with the time interval of 10 mu s. The observed images on the sample surface are analyzed by newly developed software based on digital correlation theory and a modified image processing method. The 2-D displacement fields in plane are obtained with a resolution of 50 mu m and an accuracy of 0.5 mu m. Experimental results obtained in this paper are proofed, by compared with FEM numerical simulations.

Measurement of Mechanical Properties of MEMS Materials

微电子机械系统（MEMS）技术的迅速崛起,推动了所用材料微尺度力学性能测试技术的发展.首先按作用方式将实验分成压痕/划痕、弯曲、拉伸、扭转四大类,系统介绍检测MEMS材料微尺度力学性能的微型试样、测试方法及其实验结果.测试材料主要有硅、氧化硅、氮化硅和一些金属.实验结果主要包括基本的力学性能参数如弹性模量、残余应力、屈服强度、断裂强度和疲劳强度等.最后,简要分析了未来的发展需求.