Influence of stochastic mesoscopic structure on macroscopic mechanical behavior of brittle material

A newly developed numerical code, MFPA(2D) (Material Failure Process Analysis), is applied to study the influence of stochastic mesoscopic structure on macroscopic mechanical behavior of rock-like materials. A set of uniaxial compression tests has been numerically studied with numerical specimens containing pre-existing crack-like flaw. The numerical results reveal the influence of random mesoscopic structure on failure process of brittle material, which indicates that the variation of failure mode is strongly sensitive to the local disorder feature of the specimen. And the patterns of the crack evolution in the specimens are very different from each other due to the random mesoscopic structure in material. The results give a good explanation for various kinds of fracture modes and peak strength variation observed in laboratory studies with specimens made from the same rock block being statistically homogenous in macro scale. In addition, the evolution of crack is more complicated in heterogeneous cases than in homogeneous cases.

The Effects of Grain Size Distribution and Structure on Mechanical Behavior of Silt

Abstract: In order to investigate the effects of the grain size distribution and the micro-structure of soils on the mechani- cal characteristics, some static triaxial compression tests were carried out, and then the relationship of stress-strain and the strength behavior of silty sand were compared among undisturbed samples with different grain size distribution, undis- turbed and remolded samples with the same grain size distribution, and reconstituted samples (or called mixed samples) with different grain size distribution. The effects of grain size distribution and structure on the mechanic behavior of silty sands were mainly analyzed. It is shown that the obvious differences of the mechanical characteristics between undis- turbed soils and remolded soils are caused by the differences of soil structures. Although the grain size distribution are different between two soil samples, their mechanical characteristics may be close to each other, or may have obvious differences because of the effects of micro-structure.

Structure, magnetization, and low-temperature spin dynamic behavior of zincblende Mn-rich Mn(Ga)As nanoclusters embedded in GaAs

We have fabricated a set of samples of zincblende Mn-rich Mn(Ga)As clusters embedded in GaAs matrices by annealing (Ga,Mn)As films with different nominal Mn content at 650 degrees C. For the samples with Mn content no more than 4.5%, the Curie temperature reaches nearly 360 K. However, when Mn content is higher than 5.4%, the samples exhibit a spin-glass-like behavior. We suggest that these different magnetic properties are caused by the competing result of dipolar and Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interaction among clusters. The low-temperature spin dynamic behavior, especially the relaxation effect, shows the extreme creeping effect which is reflected by the time constant tau of similar to 10(11) s at 10 K. We explain this phenomenon by the hierarchical model based on the mean-field approach. We also explain the memory effect by the relationship between the correlation function and the susceptibility.

Study on the Cell Structure and Compressive Behavior of Biodegradable Poly(epsilon-caprolactone) Foam

Biodegradable poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) foams with a series of controlled structures were prepared by using chemical foaming method. The cell morphology was detected by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The compressive behavior of the foams was investigated by uniaxial compression test. The effect of density and structural parameters on the foam compressive behavior was analyzed. It was found that the relative compressive modulus has a power law relationship with relative density. Increasing of both the cell wall thickness and the cell density lead to higher compressive modulus of the foam; however, the cell size has no distinct effect on compressive behavior.

The effect of Co-60 gamma-rays on the crystal structure, melting and crystallization behavior of poly(butylene succinate)

The results obtained for poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) after Co-60 gamma-ray irradiation, studied by wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and polarizing optical microscopy (POM), revealed that the degree of crystallinity, melting temperature and enthalpy decreased with increasing irradiation dose, but that the crystal structure of PBS did not vary when compared to non-irradiated PBS. By using Scherrer equation, small changes occurred in the crystal sizes of L-020, L-110 and L-111. The spherulitic morphology of PBS was strongly dependent on irradiation dose and changed significantly at higher irradiation dosages. The crystallization kinetics of PBS indicated that the Avrami exponent (n) for irradiated PBS was reduced to 2.3, when compared to non-irradiated PBS (3.3).

Relating the molecular structure and crystallization behavior of polypropylene

The crystallization behavior of two polypropylene (PP) resins as used for biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) and general injection mold applications, respectively, has been intensively investigated and compared by means of polarized light optical micrography (POM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), conventional transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). It is found that both molecular weight distribution and isotacticity of polypropylene strongly affect its crystallization characteristics, e.g., the number of crystal nuclei at the initial stage, crystallization dynamics, the morphology, size and perfection of crystals in the final product, and so on. The results indicate an appropriate molecular structure is vital in producing high-quality BOPP film.

Phase behavior of BaLn(2)Mn(2)O(7) (Ln = rare earth) with a layered perovskite structure

Many phases appear in BaLn(2)Mn(2)O(7) family (Ln = rare earth) belonging to one of the Ruddlesden-Popper type compounds, depending upon the experimental conditions such as heating conditions when prepared and composition. Some of these phases were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction method using Rietveld analysis. These phases have only a little difference in crystal structure which has fundamentally K2NiF4 type structure, although the X-ray diffraction patterns are clearly different: a little deformation or tilting of the oxygen octahedron surrounding a central manganese ion composing the main frame of this structure induce these different diffraction patterns. Phase behavior of these compounds, mainly the detailed relation between various phases in BaTb2Mn2O7, was refined including the data of high temperature X-ray diffractometry.

Synthesis, structure and norbornene polymerization behavior of nickel complexes bearing two beta-ketoiminato chelate ligands

A series of nickel(II) complexes bearing two nonsymmetric bidentate beta-ketoiminato chelate ligands have been prepared, and the structures of complexes [(2,6-Me2C6H3)NC(CH3)C(H)C(Ph)O](2)Ni (4a) and [(2,6-Me2C6H3)NC(CH3)C(H)C(CF3)O](2)Ni (4c) have been confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analysis. These nickel(II) complexes were investigated as catalysts for the vinylic polymerization of norbornene. Using modified methylaluminoxane (MMAO) as a cocatalyst, these complexes display very high activities and produce high molecular weight polymers. Catalytic activity of up to 1.16 x 10(4) kg/mol(Ni) .h and the viscosity-average molecular 9 weight of polymer of up to 870 kg/mol were observed. Catalyst activity, polymer yield, and polymer molecular weight could be controlled over a wide range by the variation of the reaction parameters such as Al/Ni molar ratio, norbornene/catalyst molar ratio, monomer concentration, polymerization reaction temperature and time.

Synthesis, structure and norbornene polymerization behavior of neutral palladium complexes

A series of neutral palladium(II) complexes bearing non-symmetric bidentate pyrrole-iminato or salicylaldiminato chelate ligands have been synthesized, and the structure of representative complexes (3a, 4a, and 5a) have been confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analysis. These palladium complexes have been investigated as catalysts for the polymerization of norbornene. Using modified methylaluminoxane (MMAO) as a cocatalyst, these complexes display high activities and produce vinyl-addition polynorborenes. Catalytic activity of up to 8.52 x 10(3) kg/mol(Pd) h has been observed. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) has been used to investigate the polymer microstructure and it has been found that they are non-crystalline.

Syntheses, structure and ethylene polymerization behavior of beta-diiminato titanium complexes

A series of new titanium complexes bearing beta-diiminato ligands [(Ph)NC(R-1)CHC(R-2)N(Ph)](2)TiCl2 (4a: R-1 = R-2 = CH3; 4b: R-1 = R-2 = CF3; 4c: R-1 = Ph, R-2 = CH3; 4d: R-1 = Ph, R-2 = CF3) has been synthesized and characterized. X-ray crystal structures reveal that complexes 4a and 4c adopt distorted octahedral geometry around the titanium center. With modified methylaluminoxane (MMAO) as a cocatalyst, complexes 4a-d are active catalysts for ethylene polymerization, and produce high molecular weight polyethylenes. Catalyst activities and the molecular weights of polymers are considerably influenced by the steric and electronic effects of substituents on the catalyst backbone under the same polymerization condition. With the strong electron-withdrawing groups (CF3) at R-1 or/and R-2 position, complexes 4b and 4d show higher activities than complexes 4a and 4c, respectively.

Phase structure and transition behavior of a liquid crystal 5-{[(4 '-heptoxy-4-biphenylyl)oxy]carbonyl}-1-pentyne

The phase structures and transition behaviors of a novel liquid crystal compound containing biphenylyl mesogen, 5-{[(4'-heptoxy-4-biphenytyl) oxy]carbonyl}-1-pentyne (A3E'O7), have been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarizing optical microscopy (POM) and wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). In contrast to the published compound 5- {[(4'-heptoxy-4-biphenyl-yl)carbonyl]oxy}-1-pentyne (A3EO7), in which the ester bridge between the mesogenic core and the flexible spacer has different linkage order, A3E'O7 shows strikingly different phase structure and transition behaviors. Overall, A3E'O7 has better packing order and higher transition temperatures. It undergoes three enantiotropic stable liquid crystalline phases which are associated to smectic A (S-A) phase (100.2-98.2 degrees C), smectic C (S-C) phase (98.2-87.2 degrees C) and highly ordered smectic X (S-X) phase (87.2-63.3 degrees C), respectively, till eventual crystallization takes place upon cooling from isotropic state to room temperature. However, A3EO7 only shows monotropic SA (72.4-53.6 degrees C) phase and the metastable monotropic S-C phase provided that the same thermal treatment is applied.

ELECTROCHEMICAL-BEHAVIOR OF BIS(2 /17-ARSENOTUNGSTATE) LANTHANATES AND THEIR ELECTROCATALYTIC REDUCTION FOR NITRITE

A series of new catalysts, K-14[Ln(As2W17O61)(2)]. xH(2)O (Ln = La, Pr, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Tm and Yb) which can electrocatalyze reduction of nitrite are presented and their electrochemical behavior is described in this paper. Bis(2:17-arsenotungstate) lanthanates which are monovacant Dawson derivatives, exhibit two 2-electron and one 1-electron waves, attributed to electron addition and removal from the tungsten-oxide framework that comprises each anion structure. The formal potentials of redox couples are dependent on solution pH. Double-hump principle of formal potentials takes effect with increasing atomic number of lanthanide elements following their special electronic shell structure. The third waves of all the heteropolyanions have good electrocatalytic activities for nitrite reduction at pH 5.0.

Tensile and compressive mechanical behavior of twinned silicon carbide nanowires

Molecular dynamics simulations with the Tersoff potential were used to study the response of twinned SiC nanowires under tensile and compressive strain. The critical strain of the twinned nanowires can be enhanced by twin stacking faults, and their critical strains are larger than those of perfect nanowires with the same diameters. Under axial tensile strain, the bonds of the nanowires are stretched just before failure. The failure behavior is found to depend on the twin segment thickness and the diameter of the nanowires. An atomic chain is observed for thin nanowires with small twin segment thickness under tension strain. Under axial compressive strain, the collapse of twinned SiC nanowires exhibits two different failure modes, depending on the length and diameter of the nanowires, i.e., shell buckling for short nanowires and columnar buckling for longer nanowires.

Atomistic Simulations of the Mechanical Behavior of Fivefold Twinned Nanowires

Atomistic simulations are used to investigate the mechanical behavior of metal nanowire with fivefold twinned structure. The twinned nanowires were reported in recent experiments [B. Wu et al., Nano Lett. 6, 468 (2006)]. In the present paper, we find that the yield strength of the fivefold twinned Cu nanowire is 1.3 GPa higher than that of the face-centered-cubic (fcc) < 110 > single crystalline Cu nanowire without fivefold twinned structure, and the microstructure-hardened mechanism is primarily due to the twinned boundaries which act as the barriers for the dislocation emission and propagation. However, we also find that the fivefold twinned Cu nanowire has lower ductility than that of fcc < 110 > single crystalline Cu nanowire without the twinned structure, and this is mainly attributed to the scarcity and low mobility of dislocations. In addition, in our simulations the effect of preexisting stacking faults and dislocations on strength of the fivefold twinned nanowires is investigated.

Novel Mechanical Behavior Of Zno Nanorods

A novel stress-strain relation with two stages of linear elastic deformation is observed in [0 0 0 1]-oriented ZnO nanorods under uniaxial tensile loading. This phenomenon results from a phase transformation from wurtzite (WZ, P6(3)mc space group) to a body-centered tetragonal structure with four-atom rings (denoted as BCT-4) belonging to the P4(2)/mnm space group. The analysis here focuses on the effects of nanorod size and temperature on the phase transformation and the associated mechanical behavior. It is found that as size is increased from 19.5 to 45.5 angstrom, the critical stress for nucleation of the transformation decreases by 25% from 21.90 to 16.50 GPa and the elastic moduli of the WZ- and BCT-4-structured nanorods decrease by 24% (from 299.49 to 227.51 GPa) and 38% (from 269.29 to 166.86 GPa), respectively. A significant temperature effect is also observed, with the critical stress for transformation initiation decreasing 87.8% from 17.89 to 2.19 GPa as temperature increases from 300 to 1500 K. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.