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.

Microstructure-texture-mechanical properties relationship in multi-pass warm rolled Ti-6Al-4V Alloy

In the present study, high strength bulk ultrafine-grained titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V bars were successfully processed using multi-pass warm rolling. Ti-6Al-4V bars of 12 mm diameter and several metres long were processed by multi-pass warm rolling at 650 degrees C, 700 degrees C and 750 degrees C. The highest achieved mechanical properties for Ti-6Al-4V in as rolled condition were yield strength 1191 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 1299 MPa having an elongation of 10% when the rolling temperature was 650 degrees C. The concurrent evolution of microstructure and texture has been studied using optical microscopy, electron back scattered diffraction and x-ray diffraction. The significant improvement in mechanical properties has been attributed to the ultrafine-grained microstructure as well as the morphology of alpha and beta phases in the warm rolled specimens. The warm rolling of Ti-6Al-4V leads to formation of < 10 (1) over bar0 >alpha//RD fibre texture. This study shows that multi-pass warm rolling has potential to eliminate the costly and time consuming heat treatment steps for small diameter bar products, as the solution treated and aged (STA) properties are achievable in the as rolled condition itself. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mechanical and electronic properties of pristine and Ni-doped Si, Ge, and Sn sheets

Silicene, a graphene analogue of silicon, has been generating immense interest due to its potential for applications in miniaturized devices. Unlike planar graphene, silicene prefers a buckled structure. Here we explore the possibility of stabilizing the planar form of silicene by Ni doping using first principles density functional theory based calculations. It is found that planar as well as buckled structure is stable for Ni-doped silicene, but the buckled sheet has slightly lower total energy. The planar silicene sheet has unstable phonon modes. A comparative study of the mechanical properties reveals that the in-plane stiffness of both the pristine and the doped planar silicene is higher compared to that of the buckled silicene. This suggests that planar silicene is mechanically more robust. Electronic structure calculations of the planar and buckled Ni-doped silicene show that the energy bands at the Dirac point transform from linear behavior to parabolic dispersion. Furthermore, we extend our study to Ge and Sn sheets that are also stable and the trends of comparable mechanical stability of the planar and buckled phases remain the same.

Mechanical properties of glasses and TiO2 nanocrystal glass composites in BaO-TiO2-B2O3 system

Glasses and glass-nanocrystal (anatase TiO2) composites in BaO-TiO2-B2O3 system were fabricated by conventional melt-quenching technique and controlled heat treatment respectively. Poisson's ratio and Young's moduli were predicted through Makishima-Mackenzie theoretical equation for the as-quenched glasses by taking the four and three coordinated borons into account. Mechanical properties of the glasses and glass-nanocrystal composites were investigated in detail through nanoindentation and microindentation studies. Predicted Young's moduli of glasses were found to be in reasonable agreement with nanoindentation Measurements. Hardness and Young's modulus were enhanced with increasing volume fraction of nanocrystallites of TiO2 in glass matrix whereas fracture toughness was found susceptible to the surface features. The results were correlated to the structural units and nanocrystals present in the glasses. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hydro-mechanical characterization of Barmer 1 bentonite from Rajasthan, India

The conceptual model for deep geological disposal of high level nuclear waste (HLW) is based on multiple barrier system consisting of natural and engineered barriers. Buffer/backfill material is regarded as the most important engineered barrier in HLW repositories. Due to large swelling ability, cation adsorption capacity, and low permeability bentonite is considered as suitable buffer material in HLW repositories. Japan has identified Kunigel VI bentonite, South Korea - Kyungju bentonite, China - GMZ bentonite, Belgium - FoCa clay, Sweden - MX-80 bentonite, Spain - FEBEX bentonite and Canada - Avonseal bentonite as candidate bentonite buffer for deep geological repository program. An earlier study on Indian bentonites by one of the authors suggested that bentonite from Barmer district of Rajasthan (termed Barmer 1 bentonite), India is suited for use as buffer material in deep geological repositories. However, the hydro-mechanical properties of the Barmer 1 bentonite are unavailable. This paper characterizes Barmer 1 bentonite for hydro-mechanical properties, such as, swell pressure, saturated permeability, soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) and unconfined compression strength at different dry densities. The properties of Barmer 1 bentonite were compared with bentonite buffers reported in literature and equations for designing swell pressure and saturated permeability coefficient of bentonite buffers were arrived at. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Kinematic and Mechanical Profile of the Self-Actuation of Thermosalient Crystal Twins of 1,2,4,5-Tetrabromobenzene: A Molecular Crystalline Analogue of a Bimetallic Strip

A paradigm shift from hard to flexible, organic-based optoelectronics requires fast and reversible mechanical response from actuating materials that are used for conversion of heat or light into mechanical motion. As the limits in the response times of polymer-based actuating materials are reached, which are inherent to the less-than-optimal coupling between the light/heat and mechanical energy in them, 1 a conceptually new approach to mechanical actuation is required to leapfrog the performance of organic actuators. Herein, we explore single crystals of 1,2,4,5-tetrabromobenzene (TBB) as actuating elements and establish relations between their kinematic profile and mechanical properties. Centimeter-size acicular crystals of TBB are the only naturally twinned crystals out of about a dozen known materials that exhibit the thermosalient effect-an extremely rare and visually impressive crystal locomotion. When taken over a phase transition, crystals of this material store mechanical strain and are rapidly self-actuated to sudden jumps to release the internal strain, leaping up to several centimeters. To establish the structural basis for this colossal crystal motility, we investigated the mechanical profile of the crystals from macroscale, in response to externally induced deformation under microscope, to nanoscale, by using nanoindentation. Kinematic analysis based on high-speed recordings of over 200 twinned TBB crystals exposed to directional or nondirectional heating unraveled that the crystal locomotion is a kinematically complex phenomenon that includes at least six kinematic effects. The nanoscale tests confirm the highly elastic nature, with an elastic deformation recovery (60%) that is far superior to those of molecular crystals reported earlier. This property appears to be critical for accumulation of stress required for crystal jumping. Twinned crystals of TBB exposed to moderate directional heating behave as all-organic analogue of a bimetallic `strip, where the lattice misfit between the two crystal components drives reveriible deformation of the crystal.

Correlations between mechanical and photoluminescence properties in Eu doped sodium bismuth titanate

Nanoindentation technique is utilized to examine mechanical property variation in Eu doped Na0.5Bi0.5 TiO3 (NBT). Doping levels of Eu in NBT is systematically varied. Dilute doping results in a linear reduction in both modulus and hardness. At higher concentrations, a recovery of the mechanical properties (to undoped NBT values) is observed. These experimental trends mirror variations in the optical emission intensities with Eu concentration. Observed trends are rationalized on the basis of a model, which hypothesizes phase segregation beyond a critical Eu doping level. Such segregation leads to the formation of pure NBT, nano-Eu saturated NBT, and nano-mixed Eu oxides in the microstructure. Pure NBT is optically inactive, while saturated Eu:NBT is a much better emitter when compared to europium oxide. Hence beyond the critical concentration, luminescence signal comes primarily from the saturated Eu:NBT phase. The model presented is supported by nanoindentation, and spectroscopic results. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.