Universal Stability and Temperature Dependent Phase Transformation in Group VIIIB-IB Transition Metal FCC Nanowires

Atomistic simulation of Ag, Al, Au, Cu, Ni, Pd, and Pt FCC metallic nanowires show a universal FCC -> HCP phase transformation below a critical cross-sectional size, which is reported for the first time in this paper. The newly observed HCP structure is also confirmed from previous experimental results. Above the critical cross-sectional size, initial < 100 >/{100} FCC metallic nanowires are found to be metastable. External thermal heating shows the transformation of metastable < 100 >/{100} FCC nanowires into < 110 >/{111} stable configuration. Size dependent metastability/instability is also correlated with initial residual stresses of the nanowire by use of molecular static simulation using the conjugant gradient method at a temperature of 0 K. It is found that a smaller cross-sectional dimension of an initial FCC nanowire shows instability due to higher initial residual stresses, and the nanowire is transformed into the novel HCP structure. The initial residual stress shows reduction with an increase in the cross-sectional size of the nanowires. A size dependent critical temperature is also reported for metastable FCC nanowires using molecular dynamic, to capture the < 110 >/{111} to < 100 >/{100} shape memory and pseudoelasticity.

Crack formation due to annealing of Al2O3 films grown on Si(100) by MOCVD

We report crack formation in alumina films grown on Si(100), caused by annealing in a controlled oxidizing ambient. The films were grown in a low-pressure CVD reactor, using aluminium acetylacetonate as precursor. High purity argon and nitrous oxide were employed as carrier and oxidizing gas, respectively. The films were characterized by optical microscopy and SEM/EDAX. The proportion and chemical nature of the heteroatoms, namely C and H, incorporated into the films from the precursor, were characterized by XPS, and FTIR. As-deposited films do not exhibit any cracks, while post-deposition annealing results in cracks. Apart from the delamination of the films, annealing in nitrous oxide ambient leads to an unusual crack geometry, which we term the “railway-track”. These twin cracks are very straight and run parallel to each other for as much as several millimeters. Often, two such linear tracks meet at exactly 90°. Between some of these tracks lie bullet-like structures with very sharp tips, oriented in a specific direction. As cracks are generally activated by residual stress, both thermal and intrinsic, the origins of the stresses that generate these linear cracks are discussed. The redistribution of stress, arising from the removal of C and H during annealing, will also be discussed. An attempt has been made to correlate the formation of cracks with the crystal structure of the film.

Study of non-local wave properties of nanotubes with surface effects

In macroscopic and even microscopic structural elements, surface effects can be neglected and classical theories are sufficient. As the structural size decreases towards the nanoscale regime, the surface-to-bulk energy ratio increases and surface effects must be taken into account. In the present work, the terahertz wave dispersion characteristics of a nanotube are studied with consideration of the surface effects as well as the non-local small scale effects. Non-local elasticity theory is used to derive the general governing differential equation based on equilibrium approach to include those scale effects. Scale and surface property dependent wave characteristic equations are obtained via spectral analysis. For the present study the material properties of an anodic alumina nanotube with crystallographic of < 111 > direction are considered. The present analysis shows that the effect of surface properties (surface integrated residual stress and surface integrated modulus) on the flexural wave characteristics of anodic nanotubes are more significant. It has been found that the flexural wavenumbers with surface effects are high as compared to that without surface effects. It has also been shown that, with consideration of surface effects the flexural wavenumbers are under compressive nature. The effect of the small scale and the size of the nanotube on wave dispersion properties are also captured in the present work. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bilinear tension softening diagrams of concrete mixes corresponding to their size-independent specific fracture energy

The study of the fracture behaviour of concrete structures using the fictitious crack model requires two fracture properties of the concrete mix, namely, the size-independent specific fracture energy G(F). and the corresponding tension softening relation sigma(w) between the residual stress carrying capacity sigma and the crack opening w in the fracture process zone ahead of a real crack. In this paper, bi-linear tension softening diagrams of three different concrete mixes, ranging in compressive strength from 57 to 122 MPa whose size-independent specific fracture energy has been previously determined, have been constructed in an inverse manner based on the concept of a non-linear hinge from the load-crack mouth opening plots of notched three-point bend beams. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Energy loss due to adhesion in longitudinal impact of elastic cylinders

Adhesive interaction between impacting bodies can cause energy loss, even in an otherwise elastic impact. Adhesion force induces tensile stress in the bodies, which modifies the stress wave profile and influences the restitution behavior. We investigate this effect by developing a finite element framework, which incorporates a Lennard-Jones-type potential for modeling the adhesive interaction between volume elements. With this framework, the classical problems in contact mechanics can be revisited without the restrictive surface-force approximation. In this paper, we study the longitudinal impact of an elastic cylinder on a rigid half-space with adhesion. In the absence of adhesion, this problem reduces to the impact between two identical cylinders in which there is no energy loss. Adhesion causes a fraction of energy in the stress waves to remain in the cylinder as residual stress waves. This apparent loss in kinetic energy is shown to be a unique function of maximum tensile strain energy. We have developed a 1-D model in terms of interaction force parameters, velocity and material properties to estimate the tensile stain energy. We show that this model can be used to predict practically important phenomena like capture wherein the impacting bodies stick together. (C) 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Using heat treatment effects and EBSD analysis to tailor microstructure of hybrid Mg nanocomposite for enhanced overall mechanical response

In this study, a detailed investigation on the effect of heat treatment on the microstructural characteristics, texture evolution and mechanical properties of Mg-(5.6Ti+2.5B(4)C)(BM) hybrid nanocomposite is presented. Optimised heat treatment parameters, namely, heat treatment temperature and heat treatment time, were first identified through grain size and microhardness measurements. Initially, heat treatment of composites was conducted at temperature range between 100 and 300 degrees C for 1 h. Based on optical microscopic analysis and microhardness measurements, it was evident that significant grain growth and reduction in microhardness occurred for temperatures > 200 degrees C. The cutoff temperature that caused significant grain growth/matrix softening was thus identified. Second, at constant temperature (200 degrees C), the effect of variation of heat treatment time was carried out (ranging between 1 and 5 h) so as to identify the range wherein increase in average grain size and reduction in microhardness occurred. Furthering the study, the effect of optimised heat treatment parameters (200 degrees C, 5 h) on the microstructural texture evolution and hence, on the tensile and compressive properties of the Mg-(5.6Ti+2.5B(4)C)(BM) hybrid nanocomposite was carried out. From electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) analysis, it was identified that the optimised heat treatment resulted in recrystallisation and residual stress relaxation, as evident from the presence of similar to 87% strain free grains, when compared to that observed in the non-heat treated/as extruded condition (i.e. 2.2 times greater than in the as extruded condition). For the heat treated composite, under both tensile and compressive loads, a significant improvement in fracture strain values (similar to 60% increase) was observed when compared to that of the non-heat treated counterpart, with similar to 20% reduction in yield strength. Based on structure-property correlation, the change in mechanical characteristics is identified to be due to: (1) the presence of less stressed matrix/reinforcement interface due to the relief of residual stresses and (2) texture weakening due to matrix recrystallisation effects, both arising due to heat treatment.

A bottom-up approach for optimization of friction stir processing parameters; a study on aluminium 2024-T3 alloy

Friction stir processing (FSP) is emerging as one of the most competent severe plastic deformation (SPD) method for producing bulk ultra-fine grained materials with improved properties. Optimizing the process parameters for a defect free process is one of the challenging aspects of FSP to mark its commercial use. For the commercial aluminium alloy 2024-T3 plate of 6 mm thickness, a bottom-up approach has been attempted to optimize major independent parameters of the process such as plunge depth, tool rotation speed and traverse speed. Tensile properties of the optimum friction stir processed sample were correlated with the microstructural characterization done using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Electron Back-Scattered Diffraction (EBSD). Optimum parameters from the bottom-up approach have led to a defect free FSP having a maximum strength of 93% the base material strength. Micro tensile testing of the samples taken from the center of processed zone has shown an increased strength of 1.3 times the base material. Measured maximum longitudinal residual stress on the processed surface was only 30 MPa which was attributed to the solid state nature of FSP. Microstructural observation reveals significant grain refinement with less variation in the grain size across the thickness and a large amount of grain boundary precipitation compared to the base metal. The proposed experimental bottom-up approach can be applied as an effective method for optimizing parameters during FSP of aluminium alloys, which is otherwise difficult through analytical methods due to the complex interactions between work-piece, tool and process parameters. Precipitation mechanisms during FSP were responsible for the fine grained microstructure in the nugget zone that provided better mechanical properties than the base metal. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hydrogen-induced mechanical properties of amorphous silicon thin films

Mechanical properties of thin films such as residual stress and hardness are of paramount importance from the device fabrication point of view. Intrinsic stress in sputtered films can be tensile or compressive as decided by the number density and the energy of the plasma species striking the growing film. In the presence of hydrogen we analyzed the applicability of idealized stress reversal curve for amorphous silicon thin films deposited by DC, pulsed DC (PDC) and RF sputtering. We are successfully able to correlate the microstructure with the stress reversal and hardness. We observed a stress reversal from compressive to tensile with hydrogen incorporation. It was found that unlike in idealized stress reversal curve case, though the energy of plasma species is less in DC plasma, DC deposited films exhibit more compressive stress, followed by PDC and RF deposited films. A tendency towards tensile stress from compressive stress was observed at similar to 13, 18 and 23 at%H for DC, PDC and RF deposited films respectively, which is in exact agreement with the vacancy to void transition in the films. Regardless of the sputtering power mode, the hardness of a-Si:H films is found to be maximum at C-H similar to 10 at%H. Enhancement in hardness with C-H (up to C-H similar to 10 at%H) is attributed to increase of Si-H bonds. Beyond C-H similar to 10 at%H, hardness starts falling. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Numerical Analysis of Theoretical Model of the Rf MEMs Switches

An improved electromechanical model of the RF MEMS (radio frequency microelectromechanical systems) switches is introduced, in which the effects of intrinsic residual stress from fabrication processes, axial stress due to stretching of beam, and fringing field are taken into account. Four dimensionless numbers are derived from the governing equation of the developed model. A semi-analytical method is developed to calculate the behavior of the RF MEMS switches. Subsequently the influence of the material and geometry parameters on the behavior of the structure is analyzed and compared, and the corresponding analysis with the dimensionless numbers is conducted too. The quantitative relationship between the presented parameters and the critical pull-in voltage is obtained, and the relative importance of those parameters is given.

Application of laser cladding technology to improve the interface of thermal barrier coatings

The present study is focused on improvement of the adhesion properties of the interface between plasma-sprayed coatings and substrates by laser cladding technology (LCT), Within the laser-clad layer there is a gradient distribution in chemical composition and mechanical properties that has been confirmed by SEM observation and microhardness measurement. The residual stress due to mismatches in thermal and mechanical properties between coatings and substrates can be markedly reduced and smoothed out. To examine the changes of microstructure and crack propagation in the coating and interface during loading, the three-point bending test has been carried out in SEM with a loading device. Analysis of the distribution of shear stress near the interface under loading has been made using the FEM code ANSYS, The experimental results show clearly that the interface adhesion can be improved with LCT pretreatment, and the capability of the interface to withstand the shear stress as well as to resist microcracking has been enhanced.

A Quantitative Analysis of the Effect of Laser Transformation Hardening on Crack Driving Force in Steels

A mechanical model of a laser transformation hardening specimen with a crack in the middle of the hardened layer is developed to quantify the effects of the residual stress and hardness gradient on crack driving force in terms of J-integral. It is assumed

Electromechanical Model of RF MEMS Switches

With the recent rapid growth of Radio Frequency Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (RF MEMS) switches, there has developed an emergent requirement for more accurate theoretical models to predict their electromechanical behaviors. Many parameters exist in the analysis of the behavior of the switch, and it is inconvenient for further study. In this paper, an improved model is introduced, considering simultaneously axial stress, residual stress, and fringing-field effect of the fixed-fixed bridge structure. To avoid any unnecessary repetitive model tests and numerical simulation for RF MEMS switches, some dimensionless numbers are derived by making governing equation dimensionless. The electromechanical behavior of the fixed-fixed bridge structure of RF MEMS switches is totally determined by these dimensionless numbers.

热障涂层界面形貌尺寸与残余应力的关系

利用ANSYS有限元分析软件对热障涂层中的残余应力进行了模拟分析，得出了界面形貌尺寸与残余应力之间的关系。模拟结果表明，热障涂层中的残余应力是界面形貌尺寸的函数。这些结论为提高涂层界面结合强度的热障涂层界面造形提供了理论支持，也为热障涂层界面的优化提供了指导意见。

Effect of a laser pre-quenched steel substrate surface on the crack driving force in a coating-steel substrate system

A mechanical model of a coating/laser pre-quenched steel substrate specimen with a crack oriented perpendicular to the interface between the coating and the hardened layer is developed to quantify the effects of the residual stress and hardness gradient on the crack driving force in terms of the J-integral. It is assumed that the crack tip is in the middle of the hardened layer of the pre-quenched steel substrate. Using a composite double cantilever beam model, analytical solutions can be derived, and these can be used to quantify the effects of the residual stress and the hardness gradient resulting from the pre-quenched steel substrate surface on the crack driving force. A numerical example is presented to investigate how the residual compressive stress, the coefficient linking microhardness and yield strength and the Young's modulus ratio of the hardened layer to the coating influence the crack driving force for a given crack length. (C) 2007 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On the initial unloading slope in indentation of elastic-plastic solids by an indenter with an axisymmetric smooth profile

A simple relationship between the initial unloading slope, the contact area, and the elastic modulus is derived for indentation in elastic-plastic solids by an indenter with an arbitrary axisymmetric smooth profile. Although the same expression was known to hold for elastic solids, the new derivation shows that it is also true for elastic-plastic solids with or without work hardening and residual stress. These results should provide a sound basis for the use of the relationship for mechanical property determination using indentation techniques. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.