Lead-free piezoelectric system (Na0.5Bi0.5)TiO3-BaTiO3: Equilibrium structures and irreversible structural transformations driven by electric field and mechanical impact

The structure-property correlation in the lead-free piezoelectric (1 - x)(Na0.5Bi0.5)TiO3-(x)BaTiO3 has been systematically investigated in detail as a function of composition (0 < x <= 0.11), temperature, electric field, and mechanical impact by Raman scattering, ferroelectric, piezoelectric measurement, x-ray, and neutron powder diffraction methods. Although x-ray diffraction study revealed three distinct composition ranges characterizing different structural features in the equilibrium state at room temperature: (i) monoclinic (Cc) + rhombohedral (R3c) for the precritical compositions, 0 <= x <= 0.05, (ii) cubiclike for 0.06 <= x <= 0.0675, and (iii) morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) like for 0.07 <= x < 0.10, Raman and neutron powder diffraction studies revealed identical symmetry for the cubiclike and the MPB compositions. The cubiclike structure undergoes irreversible phase separation by electric poling as well as by pure mechanical impact. This cubiclike phase exhibits relaxor ferroelectricity in its equilibrium state. The short coherence length (similar to 50A degrees) of the out-of-phase octahedral tilts does not allow the normal ferroelectric state to develop below the dipolar freezing temperature, forcing the system to remain in a dipolar glass state at room temperature. Electric poling helps the dipolar glass state to transform to a normal ferroelectric state with a concomitant enhancement in the correlation length of the out-of-phase octahedral tilt.

Spark plasma sintering may lead to phase instability and inferior mechanical properties: A case study with TiB2

In contrast to the widely reported beneficial aspects of spark plasma sintering in developing materials with better properties, we report here two interesting aspects recorded with difficult-to-sinter titanium diboride: (a) in situ formation of second phase (TiB) and (b) inferior hardness (by similar to 30%) and elastic modulus (by similar to 20%) for spark plasma sintered TiB2, with respect to hot pressed TiB2. The formation of TiB is discussed with reference to the enhanced reaction kinetics in the presence of pulsed electric field. (C) 2013 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

GYROSONICS: SIGNATURE ANALYSIS AND REDUCED-ORDER MODELS

In this paper, the authors study the structure of a novel binaural sound with a certain phase and amplitude modulation and the response to this excitation when it is applied to natural rewarding circuit of human brain through auditory neural pathways. This novel excitation, also referred to as gyrosonic excitation in this work, has been found to have interesting effects such as stabilization effects on the left and right hemispheric brain signaling as captured by Galvanic Skin Resistance (GSR) measurements, control of cardiac rhythms (observed from ECG signals), mitigation of psychosomatic syndrome, and mitigation of migraine pain. Experimental data collected from human subjects are presented, and these data are examined to categorize the extent of systems disorder and reinforcement reward due to the gyrosonic stimulus. A multi-path reduced-order model has been developed to analyze the GSR signals. The filtered results are indicative of complicated reinforcing reward patterns due to the gyrosonic stimulation when it is used as a control input for patients with psychosomatic and cardiac disorders.

Effect of hybridizing micron-sized Ti with nano-sized SiC on the microstructural evolution and mechanical response of Mg-5.6Ti composite

In this work, the effect of hybridizing micro-Ti with nano-SiC particulates on the microstructural and the mechanical behaviour of Mg-5.6Ti composite were investigated. Mg materials containing micron-sized Ti particulates hybridized with different amounts of nano-size SiC particulates were synthesized using the disintegrated melt deposition method followed by hot extrusion. The microstructural and mechanical behaviour of the developed Mg hybrid composites were studied in comparison with Mg-5.6Ti. Microstructural characterization revealed grain refinement attributed to the presence of uniformly distributed micro-Ti particles embedded with nano-SiC particulates. Electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) analyses of Mg-(5.6Ti + 1.0SiC)(BM) hybrid composite showed relatively more localized recrystallized grains and lesser tensile twin fraction, when compared to Mg-5.6Ti. The evaluation of mechanical properties indicated that the best combination of strength and ductility was observed in the Mg-(5.6Ti + 1.0SiC)(BM) hybrid composites. The superior strength properties of the Mg-(5.6Ti + x-SiC)(BM) hybrid composites when compared to Mg-5.6Ti is attributed to the presence of nano-reinforcements, the uniform distribution of the hybridized particles and the better interfacial bonding between the matrix and the reinforcement particles, achieved by nano-SiC addition.

Simultaneous measurement of mechanical and electrical contact resistances during nanoindentation of NiTi shape memory alloys

The nanoindentation technique can be employed in shape memory alloys (SMAs) to discern the transformation temperatures as well as to characterize their mechanical behavior. In this paper, we use it with simultaneous measurements of the mechanical and the electrical contact resistances (ECR) at room temperature to probe two SMAs: austenite (RTA) and martensite (RTM). Two different types of indenter tips - Berkovich and spherical - are employed to examine the SMAs' indentation responses as a function of the representative strain, epsilon(R). In Berkovich indentation, because of the sharp nature of the tip, and in consequence the high levels of strain imposed, discerning the two SMAs on the basis of the indentation response alone is difficult. In the case of the spherical tip, epsilon(R) is systematically varied and its effect on the depth recovery ratio, eta(d), is examined. Results indicate that RTA has higher eta(d) than RTM, but the difference decreases with increasing epsilon(R) such that eta(d) values for both the alloys would be similar in the fully plastic regime. The experimental trends in eta(d) vs. epsilon(R) for both the alloys could be described well with a eta(d) proportional to (epsilon(R))(-1) type equation, which is developed on the basis of a phenomenological model. This fit, in turn, directs us to the maximum epsilon(R), below which plasticity underneath the indenter would not mask the differences in the two SMAs. It was demonstrated that the ECR measurements complement the mechanical measurements in demarcating the reverse transformation from martensite to austenite during unloading of RTA, wherein a marked increase in the voltage was noted. A correlation between recovery due to reverse transformation during unloading and increase in voltage (and hence the electrical resistance) was found. (C) 2013 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of electro-mechanical coupling on actuation behavior of a carbon nanotube cellular structure

We demonstrate the effect of mechanical strain on the electrostrictive behavior of catalytically grown cellular structure of carbon nanotube (CNT). In the small strain regime, where the stress-strain behavior of the material is linear, application of an electric-field along the mechanical loading direction induces an instantaneous increase in the stress and causes an increase in the apparent Young's modulus. The instantaneous increase in the stress shows a cubic-polynomial dependence on the electric-field, which is attributed to the non-linear coupling of the mechanical strain and the electric-field induced polarization of the CNT. The electrostriction induced actuation becomes >100 times larger if the CNT sample is pre-deformed to a small strain. However, in the non-linear stress-strain regime, although a sharp increase in the apparent Young's modulus is observed upon application of an electric-field, no instantaneous increase in the stress occurs. This characteristic suggests that the softening due to the buckling of individual CNT compensates for any instantaneous rise in the electrostriction induced stress at the higher strains. We also present an analytical model to elucidate the experimental observations. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A model of coupled thermal, mechanical, and electrostatic field effects in III-N thin film heterostructures

A one-dimensional coupled multi-physics based model has been developed to accurately compute the effects of electrostatic, mechanical, and thermal field interactions on the electronic energy band structure in group III-nitrides thin film heterostructures. Earlier models reported in published literature assumes electro-mechanical field with uniform temperature thus neglecting self-heating. Also, the effects of diffused interface on the energy band structure were not studied. We include these effects in a self-consistent manner wherein the transport equation is introduced along with the electro-mechanical models, and the lattice structural variation as observed in experiments are introduced at the interface. Due to these effects, the electrostatic potential distribution in the heterostructure is altered. The electron and hole ground state energies decrease by 5% and 9%, respectively, at a relative temperature of 700 K, when compared with the results obtained from the previously reported electro-mechanical model assuming constant and uniform temperature distribution. A diffused interface decreases the ground state energy of electrons and holes by about 11% and 9%, respectively, at a relative temperature of 700 K when compared with the predictions based on uniform temperature based electro-mechanical model. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

Microstructural and mechanical behavior study of suction cast Nb-Si binary alloys

The solidification pathways of Nb rich Nb-Si alloys when processed under non-equilibrium conditions require understanding. Continuing with our earlier work on alloying additions in single eutectic composition 1,2], we report a detailed characterization of the microstructures of Nb-Si binary alloys with wide composition range (10-25 at% Si). The alloys are processed using chilled copper mould suction casting. This has allowed us to correlate the evolution of microstructure and phases with different possible solidification pathways. Finally these are correlated with mechanical properties through studies on deformation using mechanical testing under indentation and compressive loads. It is shown that microstructure modification can significantly influence the plasticity of these alloys.

Electromagnetic jigsaw: metal-cutting by combining electromagnetic and mechanical Forces

The magnetic saw effect, induced by the Lorentz force generated due to the application of a series of electromagnetic ( EM) pulses, can be utilized to cut a metallic component containing a pre-existing cut or crack. By combining a mechanical force with the Lorentz force, the cut can be propagated along any arbitrary direction in a controlled fashion, thus producing an `electromagnetic jigsaw', yielding a novel tool-less, free-formed manufacturing process, particularly suitable for hard-to-cut metals. This paper presents validation of the above concept based on a simple analytical model, along with experiments on two materials - Pb foil and steel plate. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Professor Bert Lauwers

The Role of Weak Interactions in the Phase Transition and Distinct Mechanical Behavior of Two Structurally Similar Caffeine Co-crystal Polymorphs Studied by Nanoindentation

Although weak interactions, such as C-H center dot center dot center dot O and pi-stacking, are generally considered to be insignificant, it is their reorganization that holds the key for many a solid-state phenomenon, such as phase transitions, plastic deformation, elastic flexibility, and mechanochromic luminescence in solid-state fluorophores. Despite this, the role of weak interactions in these dynamic phenomena is poorly understood. In this study, we investigate two co-crystal polymorphs of caffeine:4-chloro-3-nitrobenzoic acid, which have close structural similarity (2D layered structures), but surprisingly show distinct mechanical behavior. Form I is brittle, but shows shear-induced phase instability and, upon grinding, converts to Form II, which is soft and plastically shearable. This observation is in contrast to those reported in earlier studies on aspirin, wherein the metastable drug forms are softer and convert to stable and harder forms upon stressing To establish a molecular level understanding, have investigated the two co-crystal polymorphs I and II by single crystal X-ray diffraction, nanoindentation to quantify mechanical properties, and theoretical calculations. The lower hardness (from nanoindentation) and smooth potential surfaces (from theoretical studies) for shearing of layers in Form II allowed us to rationalize the role of stronger intralayer (sp(2))C-H center dot center dot center dot O and nonspecific interlayer pi-stacking interactions in the structure of II. Although the Form I also possesses the same type of interactions, its strength is clearly opposite, that is, weaker intralayer (sp(3))C-H center dot center dot center dot O and specific interlayer pi-stacking interactions. Hence, Form I is harder than Form IL Theoretical calculations and indentation on (111) of Form I suggested the low resistance of this face to mechanical stress; thus, Form I converts to II upon mechanical action. Hence, our approach demonstrates the usefulness of multiple techniques for establishing the role of weak noncovalent interactions in solid-state dynamic phenomena, such as stress induced phase transformation, and hence is important in the context of solid-state pharmaceutical chemistry and crystal engineering.

Small-scale mechanical testing of materials

Small-scale mechanical testing of materials has gained prominence in the last decade or so due to the continuous miniaturization of components and devices in everyday application. This review describes the various micro-fabrication processes associated with the preparation of miniaturized specimens, geometries of test specimens and the small scale testing techniques used to determine the mechanical behaviour of materials at the length scales of a few hundred micro-meters and below. This is followed by illustrative examples in a selected class of materials. The choice of the case studies is based on the relevance of the materials used in today's world: evaluation of mechanical properties of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs), applied for enhanced high temperature protection of advanced gas turbine engine components, is essential since its failure by fracture leads to the collapse of the engine system. Si-based substrates, though brittle, are indispensible for MEMS/NEMS applications. Biological specimens, whose response to mechanical loads is important to ascertain their role in diseases and to mimic their structure for attaining high fracture toughness and impact resistance. An insight into the mechanisms behind the observed size effects in metallic systems can be exploited to achieve excellent strength at the nano-scale. A future outlook of where all this is heading is also presented.

Nanoindentation for probing the mechanical behavior of molecular crystals-a review of the technique and how to use it

Nanoindentation is a technique which can be used to measure the mechanical properties of materials with high precision, even when they are only available in small quantities. As a result of this, nanoindentation has gained the attention of the crystal engineering community, who are not only interested in measuring the properties of single crystals of organic, inorganic and hybrid structures, but also wish to correlate the measured responses with the underlying structural features and intermolecular interactions. Keeping this emerging interest in view, a brief overview of the technique, with particular emphasis on the procedures for conducting experiments and analyzing the resulting data, is presented in this Tutorial style Highlight. The precautions that need to be taken and the properties that one can measure using nanoindentation are highlighted. This paper ends with a brief summary of the recent additional features that have been added to this technique and an outlook for nanoindentation within the context of crystal engineering.

Glycidyl azide polymer crosslinked through triazoles by click chemistry: curing, mechanical and thermal properties

Glycidyl azide polymer (GAP) was cured through click chemistry by reaction of the azide group with bispropargyl succinate (BPS) through a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction to form 1,2,3-triazole network. The properties of GAP-based triazole networks are compared with the urethane cured GAP-systems. The glass transition temperature (T-g), tensile strength, and modulus of the system increased with crosslink density, controlled by the azide to propargyl ratio. The triazole incorporation has a higher T-g in comparison to the GAP-urethane system (T-g-20 degrees C) and the networks exhibit biphasic transitions at 61 and 88 degrees C. The triazole curing was studied using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and the related kinetic parameters were helpful for predicting the cure profile at a given temperature. Density functional theory (DFT)-based theoretical calculations implied marginal preference for 1,5-addition over 1,4-addition for the cycloaddition between azide and propargyl group. Thermogravimetic analysis (TG) showed better thermal stability for the GAP-triazole and the mechanism of decomposition was elucidated using pyrolysis GC-MS studies. The higher heat of exothermic decomposition of triazole adduct (418kJmol(-1)) against that of azide (317kJmol(-1)) and better mechanical properties of the GAP-triazole renders it a better propellant binder than the GAP-urethane system.

Physical realizations: transforming into physical embodiments of concepts in the design of mechanical movements

Conceptual design involves identification of required functions of the intended design, generation of concepts to fulfill these functions, and evaluation of these concepts to select the most promising ones for further development. The focus of this paper is the second phase-concept generation, in which a challenge has been to develop possible physical embodiments to offer designers for exploration and evaluation. This paper investigates the issue of how to transform and thus synthesise possible generic physical embodiments and reports an implemented method that could automatically generate these embodiments. In this paper, a method is proposed to transform a variety of possible initial solutions to a design problem into a set of physical solutions that are described in terms of abstraction of mechanical movements. The underlying principle of this method is to make it possible to link common attributes between a specific abstract representation and its possible physical objects. For a given input, this method can produce a set of concepts in terms of their generic physical embodiments. The method can be used to support designers to start with a given input-output function and systematically search for physical objects for design consideration in terms of simplified functional, spatial, and mechanical movement requirements.

Friction Stir-Welded Dissimilar Aluminum Alloys: Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, and Physical State

A356 and 6061 aluminum alloys were joined by friction stir welding at constant tool rotational rate with different tool-traversing speeds. Thermomechanical data of welding showed that increment in tool speed reduced the pseudo heat index and temperature at weld nugget (WN). On the other hand, volume of material within extrusion zone, strain rate, and Zenner Hollomon parameter were reduced with decrease in tool speed. Optical microstructure of WN exhibited nearly uniform dispersion of Si-rich particles, fine grain size of 6061 Al alloy, and disappearance of second phase within 6061 Al alloy. With enhancement in welding speed, matrix grain size became finer, yet size of Si-rich particles did not reduce incessantly. Size of Si-rich particles was governed by interaction time between tool and substrate. Mechanical property of WN was evaluated. It has been found that the maximum joint efficiency of 116% with respect to that of 6061 alloy was obtained at an intermediate tool-traversing speed, where matrix grain size was significantly fine and those of Si-rich particles were substantially small.