The Potential Scope of the Ultrasonic Surface Reflection Method Towards Mechanical Characterisation of Isotropic Materials. Part 2. Experimental Results

Background

This paper is Part 2 of a study on the scope of the ultrasonic Surface Reflection Method (SRM). Part 1 deals with the theoretical conditions for a satisfactory usage of this method.

Objective

This second part validates the practical feasibility and reliability of the SRM method by comparison with the conventional Transmission Method (TM) in cases where the latter is applicable.

Methods

Two experimental devices (one for SRM and one for TM) are developed and measurements of shear and bulk moduli are carried out at ultrasonic frequency (610 kHz) and at room temperature.

Results

The experimental conditions in terms of sample geometry, pulse characteristics and interfacial transmission required to obtain a given accuracy on the measurement are stated. The SRM is then validated against other experimental methods and is used to determine the shear modulus of a carbon black filled neoprene at ambient temperature (T?=?21 °C) and ultrasonic frequency.

Conclusions

The benefit brought by this method is well demonstrated: a unique measurement allows the determination of all the moduli of a highly damping isotropic material (carbon black filled neoprene) not achievable by other methods.

     

Some Remarks on Finite Element Approximations of Crack Problems and an Analysis of Hybrid Methods

Abstract

We discuss here several results on the convergence of finite element methods for problems with corners and cracks. We also derive some a priori estimates for a certain class of hybrid finite elements.     

Overview of High-temperature Deformation Measurement Using Digital Image Correlation

Background

Developments in digital image correlation (DIC) in the last decade have made it a practical and effective optical technique for displacement and strain measurement at high temperatures.

Objective

This overview aims to review the research progress, summarize the experience and provide valuable references for the high-temperature deformation measurement using DIC.

Methods

We comprehensively summarize challenges and recent advances in high-temperature DIC techniques.

Results

Fundamental principles of high-temperature DIC and various approaches to generate thermal environment or apply thermal loading are briefly introduced first. Then, the three primary challenges presented in performing high-temperature DIC measurements, i.e., 1). image saturation caused by intensified thermal radiation of heated sample and surrounding heating elements, 2) image contrast reduction due to surface oxidation of the heated sample and speckle pattern debonding, and 3) image distortion due to heat haze between the sample and the heating source, and corresponding countermeasures (i.e., the suppression of thermal radiation, fabrication of high-temperature speckle pattern and mitigation of heat haze) are discussed in detail. Next, typical applications of high-temperature DIC at various spatial scales are briefly described. Finally, remaining unsolved problems and future goals in high-temperature deformation measurements using DIC are also provided. 

Conclusions

We expect this review can guide to build a suitable DIC system for kinematic field measurements at high temperatures and solve the challenging problems that may be encountered during real tests.

     

Mechanical Stimuli for Left Ventricular Growth During Pressure Overload

Background

The mechanical stimulus (i.e., stress or stretch) for growth occurring in the pressure-overloaded left ventricle (LV) is not exactly known.

Objective

To address this issue, we investigate the correlation between local ventricular growth (indexed by local wall thickness) and the local acute changes in mechanical stimuli after aortic banding.

Methods

LV geometric data were extracted from 3D echo measurements at baseline and 2 weeks in the aortic banding swine model (n?=?4). We developed and calibrated animal-specific finite element (FE) model of LV mechanics against pressure and volume waveforms measured at baseline. After simulation of the acute effects of pressure-overload, the local changes of maximum, mean and minimum myocardial stretches and stresses in three orthogonal material directions (i.e., fiber, sheet and sheet-normal) over a cardiac cycle were quantified. Correlation between mechanical quantities and the corresponding measured local changes in wall thickness was quantified using the Pearson correlation number (PCN) and Spearman rank correlation number (SCN).

Results

At 2 weeks after banding, the average septum thickness decreased from 10.6?±?2.92 mm to 9.49?±?2.02 mm, whereas the LV free-wall thickness increased from 8.69?±?1.64 mm to 9.4?±?1.22 mm. The FE results show strong correlation of growth with the changes in maximum fiber stress (PCN?=?0.5471, SCN?=?0.5111) and changes in the mean sheet-normal stress (PCN?=?0.5266, SCN?=?0.5256). Myocardial stretches, however, do not have good correlation with growth.

Conclusion

These results suggest that fiber stress is the mechanical stimuli for LV growth in pressure-overload.

     

In Situ Observation of Adiabatic Shear Band Formation in Aluminum Alloys

We used high-speed X-ray phase contrast imaging and infrared thermal imaging techniques to study the formation processes of adiabatic shear bands in aluminum 7075-T6 and 6061-T6 alloys. A modified compression Kolsky bar setup was used to apply the dynamic loading. A flat hat-shaped specimen design was adopted for generating the shear bands at the designated locations. Experimental results show that 7075-T6 exhibits less ductility and a narrower shear band than 6061-T6. Maximum temperatures of 720 K and 770 K were locally determined within the shear band zones for 7075-T6 and 6061-T6 respectively. This local high temperature zone and the resulting thermal instability were found to relate to the shear band formation in these aluminum alloys.

     

Arterial Wall Stiffening in Caveolin-1 Deficiency-Induced Pulmonary Artery Hypertension in Mice

Background

Pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) is a complex disorder that can lead to right heart failure. The generation of caveolin-1 deficient mice (CAV-1^?/?) has provided an alternative genetic model to study the mechanisms of pulmonary hypertension. However, the vascular adaptations in these mice have not been characterized.

Objective

To determine the histological and functional changes in the pulmonary and carotid arteries in CAV-1^?/? induced PAH.

Methods

Pulmonary and carotid arteries of young (4–6 months old) and mature (9–12 months old) CAV-1^?/? mice were tested and compared to normal wild type mice.

Results

Artery stiffness increases in CAV-1^?/? mice, especially the circumferential stiffness of the pulmonary arteries. Increases in stiffness were quantified by a decrease in circumferential stretch and transition strain, increases in elastic moduli, and an increase in total strain energy at physiologic strains. Changes in mechanical properties for the pulmonary artery correlated with increased collagen content while changes in the carotid artery correlated with decreased elastin content.

Conclusions

We demonstrated that an increase in artery stiffness is associated with CAV-1 deficiency-induced pulmonary hypertension. These results improve our understanding of arterial remodeling in PAH.

     

Precision of Hole-Drilling Residual Stress Depth Profile Measurements and an Updated Uncertainty Estimator

Background

Measurement precision and uncertainty estimation are important factors for all residual stress measurement techniques. The values of these quantities can help to determine whether a particular measurement technique would be viable option.

Objective

This paper determines the precision of hole-drilling residual stress measurement using repeatability studies and develops an updated uncertainty estimator.

Methods

Two repeatability studies were performed on test specimens extracted from aluminum and titanium shot peened plates. Each repeatability study included 12 hole-drilling measurements performed using a bespoke automated milling machine. Repeatability standard deviations were determined for each population. The repeatability studies were replicated using a commercially available manual hole-drilling milling machine (RS-200, Micro-Measurements). An updated uncertainty estimator was developed and was assessed using an acceptance criterion. The acceptance criterion compared an expected percentage of points (68%) to the fraction of points in the stress versus depth profile where the measured stresses ± its total uncertainty contained the mean stress of the repeatability studies.

Results

Both repeatability studies showed larger repeatability standard deviations at the surface that decay quickly (over about 0.3 mm). The repeatability standard deviation was significantly smaller in the aluminum plate (max ≈ 15 MPa, RMS?≈?6.4 MPa) than in the titanium plate (max ≈ 60 MPa, RMS?≈?21.0 MPa). The repeatability standard deviations were significantly larger when using the manual milling machine in the aluminum plate (RMS?≈?21.7 MPa), and for the titanium plate (RMS?≈?18.9 MPa).

Conclusions

The single measurement uncertainty estimate met a defined acceptance criterion based on the confidence interval of the uncertainty estimate.

     

Rheological characterization of asphalt in a temperature-gradient combinatorial squeeze-flow setup

A new technique for parallel rheological characterization of asphalt in a combinatorial squeeze-flow array is described. The basis of the technique is a device that is capable of subjecting multiple samples simultaneously to constant volume (Type B) squeeze flow with application of a temperature gradient. The time-dependent sample dimensions, which are calculated from digital images taken through the transparent top plate, are used to derive the flow curves. The results obtained using the combinatorial setup compared favorably with those obtained using conventional parallel-plate torsional flow in a commercial rheometer. With the existing setup, the accessible shear rate range is limited to about one decade at a single temperature.

Higher Order Entropies

Higher order entropies are kinetic entropy estimators for fluid models. These quantities are quadratic in the velocity and temperature derivatives and have temperature dependent coefficients. We investigate governing equations for higher order entropies and related a priori estimates in the natural situation where viscosity and thermal conductivity depend on temperature. We establish positivity of higher order derivative source terms in these governing equations provided that is small enough. The temperature factors renormalizing temperature and velocity derivatives then yield majorization of lower order convective terms only when the temperature dependence of transport coefficients is taken into account according to the kinetic theory. In this situation, we obtain entropic principles for higher order entropies of arbitrary order. As an application, we investigate a priori estimates and global existence of solutions when the initial values log(T ₀/T _∞) and are small enough in appropriate spaces.     

Adaptive Remodeling in the Elastase-Induced Rabbit Aneurysms

Background

Rupture of brain aneurysms is associated with high fatality and morbidity rates. Through remodeling of the collagen matrix, many aneurysms can remain unruptured for decades, despite an enlarging and evolving geometry.

Objective

Our objective was to explore this adaptive remodeling for the first time in an elastase induced aneurysm model in rabbits.

Methods

Saccular aneurysms were created in 22 New Zealand white rabbits and remodeling was assessed in tissue harvested 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks after creation.

Results

The intramural principal stress ratio doubled after aneurysm creation due to increased longitudinal loads, triggering a remodeling response. A distinct wall layer with multi-directional collagen fibers developed between the media and adventitia as early as 2 weeks, and in all cases by 4 weeks with an average thickness of 50.6?±?14.3 μm. Collagen fibers in this layer were multi-directional (AI?=?0.56?±?0.15) with low tortuosity (1.08?±?0.02) compared with adjacent circumferentially aligned medial fibers (AI?=?0.78?±?0.12) and highly tortuous adventitial fibers (1.22?±?0.03). A second phase of remodeling replaced circumferentially aligned fibers in the inner media with longitudinal fibers. A structurally motivated constitutive model with both remodeling modes was introduced along with methodology for determining material parameters from mechanical testing and multiphoton imaging.

Conclusions

A new mechanism was identified by which aneurysm walls can rapidly adapt to changes in load, ensuring the structural integrity of the aneurysm until a slower process of medial reorganization occurs. The rabbit model can be used to evaluate therapies to increase aneurysm wall stability.

     

Phase Behaviour,Fluid Properties and Recovery Efficiency of Immiscible and Miscible Condensate Displacements by SCCO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Injection: Experimental Investigation

This paper presents a quantitative investigation of the interfacial tension dependent relative permeability (IFT-DRP) and displacement efficiency of supercritical CO₂ injection into gas-condensate reservoirs. A high-pressure high-temperature experimental laboratory was established to simulate reservoir conditions and to perform relative permeability measurements on sandstone cores at a constant reservoir temperature of 95°C and displacement velocity of 10 cm/h. This investigation covers immiscible displacements (1100 and 2100 psi), near-miscible displacement (3000 psi) and miscible displacements (4500 and 5900 psi). The coreflooding results demonstrated that displacement pressure is a key factor governing the attainment of optimum sweep efficiency. The ultimate condensate recovery increased by almost threefold when CO₂ was injected at near-miscible conditions (i.e., 23.40% ultimate recovery at 1100 psi compared to 69.70% at 3000 psi). Miscible flooding was found to give the optimum condensate recovery (9% extra ultimate recovery compared to near-miscible injection). Besides improving the ultimate recovery, miscible floods provided better mobility ratios and delayed gas breakthrough (0.62 PV BT at 5900 psi compared to 0.21 PV BT at 1100 psi). In addition to the elimination of IFT forces in miscible displacements, favourable ratios of fluid properties and phase behaviour relationships between the SCCO₂ and condensate were believed to be the driving force for the improved recovery as they provided a stabilising effect on the displacement front and stimulated swelling of the condensate volume. This paper incorporates the theoretical aspects of phase behaviour and fluid properties that largely affect the microscopic displacement efficiency and serves as a practical guideline for operators to aid their project designs and enhance their recovery capabilities.     

Intermethod Comparison and Evaluation of Measured Near Surface Residual Stress in Milled Aluminum

Background

While near surface residual stress (NSRS) from milling is a driver for distortion in aluminum parts there are few studies that directly compare available techniques for NSRS measurement.

Objective

We report application and assessment of four different techniques for evaluating residual stress versus depth in milled aluminum parts.

Methods

The four techniques are: hole-drilling, slotting, cos(α) x-ray diffraction (XRD), and sin²(ψ) XRD, all including incremental material removal to produce a stress versus depth profile. The milled aluminum parts are cut from stress-relieved plate, AA7050-T7451, with a range of table and tool speeds used to mill a large flat surface in several samples. NSRS measurements are made at specified locations on each sample.

Results

Resulting data show that NSRS from three techniques are in general agreement: hole-drilling, slotting, and sin²(ψ) XRD. At shallow depths (<?0.03 mm), sin²(ψ) XRD data have the best repeatability (<?15 MPa), but at larger depths (>?0.04 mm) hole-drilling and slotting have the best repeatability (<?10 MPa). NSRS data from cos(α) XRD differ from data provided by other techniques and the data are less repeatable. NSRS data for different milling parameters show that the depth of NSRS increases with feed per tooth and is unaffected by cutting speed.

Conclusion

Hole-drilling, slotting, and sin²(ψ) XRD provided comparable results when assessing milling-induced near surface residual stress in aluminum. Combining a simple distortion test, comprising removal of a 1 mm thick wafer at the milled surface, with a companion stress analysis showed that NSRS data from hole-drilling are most consistent with milling-induced distortion.

     

On the Symmetry of Energy-Minimising Deformations in Nonlinear Elasticity I: Incompressible Materials

Let ${A=\{{\bf x} \in \mathbb{R}^n : a < |{\bf x}| < b\}, n \geqq 2, a > 0}Consider a homogeneous, isotropic, hyperelastic body occupying the region A = {x ? \mathbbRⁿ :  a <  |x |  < b }{A = \{{\bf x}\in\mathbb{R}^{n}\, : \,a <\,|{\bf x} |\,< b \}} in its reference state and subject to radially symmetric displacement, or mixed displacement/traction, boundary conditions. In Part I (Sivaloganathan and Spector in Arch Ration Mech Anal, 2009, in press) the authors restricted their attention to incompressible materials. For a large-class of polyconvex constitutive relations that grow sufficiently rapidly at infinity it was shown that to each nonradial isochoric deformation of A there corresponds a radial isochoric deformation that has strictly less elastic energy than the given deformation. In this paper that analysis is further developed and extended to the compressible case. The key ingredient is a new radial-symmetrisation procedure that is appropriate for problems where the symmetrised mapping must be one-to-one in order to prevent interpenetration of matter. For the pure displacement boundary-value problem, the radial symmetrisation of an orientation-preserving diffeomorphism u : A → A* between spherical shells A and A* is the deformation

urad(x)=\fracr(R)Rx,     R=|x|,                        (0.1){\bf u}^{\rm rad}({\bf x})=\frac{r(R)}{R}{\bf x}, \quad R=|{\bf x}|,\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad(0.1)      14. Comparison Between Surface and Near-Surface Residual Stress Measurement Techniques Using a Standard Four-Point-Bend Specimen      Rahimi  S.  Violatos  I. 《Experimental Mechanics》2022,62(2):223-236 Background Determination of near-surface residual stresses is challenging for the available measurement techniques due to their limitations. These are often either beyond reach or associated with significant uncertainties. Objective This study describes a critical comparison between three methods of surface and near-surface residual stress measurements, including x-ray diffraction (XRD) and two incremental central hole-drilling techniques one based on strain-gauge rosette and the other based on electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI). Methods These measurements were performed on standard four-point-bend beams of steel loaded to known nominal stresses, according to the ASTM standard. These were to evaluate the sensitivity of different techniques to the variation in the nominal stress, and their associated uncertainties. Results The XRD data showed very good correlations with the surface nominal stress, and with superb repeatability and small uncertainties. The results of the ESPI based hole-drilling technique were also in a good agreement with the XRD data and the expected nominal stress. However, those obtained by the strain gauge rosette based hole-drilling technique were not matching well with the data obtained by the other techniques nor with the nominal stress. This was found to be due to the generation of extensive compressive residual stress during surface preparation for strain gauge installation. Conclusion The ESPI method is proven to be the most suitable hole-drilling technique for measuring near-surface residual stresses within distances close to the surface that are beyond the penetration depth of x-ray and below the resolution of the strain gauge rosette based hole-drilling method.       15. A Novel Method for In Vitro 3D Imaging of Dissecting Pressurized Arterial Segments Using X-Ray Microtomography      Brunet  J.  Pierrat  B.  Adrien  J.  Maire  E.  Curt  N.  Badel  P. 《Experimental Mechanics》2021,61(1):147-157       16. Heat-transfer characteristics of climbing film evaporation in a vertical tube      Luopeng Yang  Xue Chen  Shengqiang Shen 《Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science》2010,34(6):753-759 Heat-transfer characteristics of climbing film evaporation were experimentally investigated on a vertical climbing film evaporator heated by tube-outside hot water. The experimental setup was designed for determining the effect of the height of feed water inside a vertical tube and the range of temperature difference on local heat transfer coefficient inside a vertical tube (hi). In this setup, the height of feed water was successfully controlled and the polypropylene shell effectively impedes the heat loss to the ground. The results indicated that a reduction in the height of feed water contributed to a significant increase in hi if no dry patches around the wall of the heated tube appeared inside the tube. The height ratio of feed water Rh = 0.3 was proposed as the optimal one as dry patches destroyed the continuous climbing film when Rh is under 0.3. It was found that the minimum temperature difference driving climbing film evaporation is suggested as 5 °C due to a sharp reduction in hi for temperature difference below 5 °C. The experiment also showed that hi increased with an increase in temperature difference, which proved the superiority of climbing film evaporation in utilizing low-grade surplus heating source due to its wide range of driving temperature difference. The experimental results were compared with the previous literature and demonstrated a satisfactory agreement.      17. Micro-deformation Study of Stainless Steel Impacted by Ceramic Particle Using Electron Moiré Method      Lang  F. C.  Xing  Y. M.  Yang  S. T.  Zhao  Y. R.  Li  J. J. 《Experimental Mechanics》2021,61(6):1007-1015 Background High-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF)-sprayed metallic coating can be used to create a surface layer that plays a significant role in enhancing the overall strength, stiffness, and fatigue life of the treated material. The micro-deformation around a single impacted particle is a critical factor that must be considered for the optimization of the HVOF process. Objective In this study, the micro-deformation field of stainless steel impacted by a ceramic particle was characterized at the micro-scale. Method A grid with a frequency of 1200 lines/mm was fabricated on the surface of stainless steel specimen. The microscopic deformation field formed on the substreate surface, induced by the impact of micro-particles with a diameter of 18 µm, was determined using the electron moiré method and numerical simulations. Results The in-plane plastic strain around the impacted particle was found to be as high as 9.1%, and the value sharply decreased with the increase of the distance to the edge of the impacted particle. The diameter of the plastic area was about 40 µm, which was approximately 2.2 times larger than the particle size. The experimental results were compared with numerical simulation results, and good agreement between the results was found. Conclusions The electron moiré technique can be a useful tool for the measurement of the deformation field induced by an impacted particle in a very local area with a size on the order of microns.       18. Fast Tracking of Fluid Invasion Using Time-Resolved Neutron Tomography      C. Jailin  M. Etxegarai  E. Tudisco  S. A. Hall  S. Roux 《Transport in Porous Media》2018,124(1):117-135 Water flow in a sandstone sample is studied during an experiment in situ in a neutron tomography setup. In this paper, a projection-based methodology for fast tracking of the imbibition front in 3D is presented. The procedure exploits each individual neutron 2D radiograph, instead of the tomographic-reconstructed images, to identify the 4D (space and time) saturation field, offering a much higher time resolution than more standard reconstruction-based methods. Based on strong space and time regularizations of the fluid flow, with an a priori defined space and time shape functions, the front shape is identified at each projection time step. This procedure aiming at a fast tracking the fluid advance is explored through two examples. The first one shows that the fluid motion that occurs during one single 180\(^{^{\circ }}\) scan can be resolved at 5 Hz with a sub-pixel accuracy whereas it cannot be unraveled with plain tomographic reconstruction. The second example is composed of 42 radiographs acquired all along a complete fluid invasion in the sample. This experiment uses the very same approach with the additional difficulty of large fluid displacement in between two projections. As compared to the classical approach based on full reconstructions at each invasion stage, the proposed methodology in the studied examples is roughly 300 times faster offering an enhanced time resolution.      19. The Association Between Curvature and Rupture in a Murine Model of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm and Dissection      Lane  B.A.  Uline  M.J.  Wang  X.  Shazly  T.  Vyavahare  N.R.  Eberth  J.F. 《Experimental Mechanics》2021,61(1):203-216 Background Mouse models of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and dissection have proven to be invaluable in the advancement of diagnostics and therapeutics by providing a platform to decipher response variables that are elusive in human populations. One such model involves systemic Angiotensin II (Ang-II) infusion into low density-lipoprotein receptor-deficient (LDLr?/?) mice leading to intramural thrombus formation, inflammation, matrix degradation, dilation, and dissection. Despite its effectiveness, considerable experimental variability has been observed in AAAs taken from our Ang-II infused LDLr?/? mice (n?=?12) with obvious dissection occurring in 3 samples, outer bulge radii ranging from 0.73 to 2.12 mm, burst pressures ranging from 155 to 540 mmHg, and rupture location occurring 0.05 to 2.53 mm from the peak bulge location. Objective We hypothesized that surface curvature, a fundamental measure of shape, could serve as a useful predictor of AAA failure at supra-physiological inflation pressures. Methods To test this hypothesis, we fit well-known biquadratic surface patches to 360o micro-mechanical test data and used Spearman’s rank correlation (rho) to identify relationships between failure metrics and curvature indices. Results We found the strongest associations between burst pressure and the maximum value of the first principal curvature (rho?=??0.591, p-val?=?0.061), the maximum value of Mean curvature (rho?=??0.545, p-val?=?0.087), and local values of Mean curvature at the burst location (rho?=??0.864, p-val?=?0.001) with only the latter significant after Bonferroni correction. Additionally, the surface profile at failure was predominantly convex and hyperbolic (saddle-shaped) as indicated by a negative sign in the Gaussian curvature. Findings reiterate the importance of shape in experimental models of AAA.       20. Hard-material Adhesion: Which Scales of Roughness Matter?      Thimons  L. A.  Gujrati  A.  Sanner  A.  Pastewka  L.  Jacobs  T. D. B. 《Experimental Mechanics》2021,61(7):1109-1120 Background Surface topography strongly modifies adhesion of hard-material contacts, yet roughness of real surfaces typically exists over many length scales, and it is not clear which of these scales has the strongest effect. Objective: This investigation aims to determine which scales of topography have the strongest effect on macroscopic adhesion. Methods Adhesion measurements were performed on technology-relevant diamond coatings of varying roughness using spherical ruby probes that are large enough (0.5-mm-diameter) to sample all length scales of topography. For each material, more than 2000 measurements of pull-off force were performed in order to investigate the magnitude and statistical distribution of adhesion. Using sphere-contact models, the roughness-dependent effective values of work of adhesion were measured, ranging from 0.08 to 7.15 mJ/m2 across the four surfaces. The data was more accurately fit using numerical analysis, where an interaction potential was integrated over the AFM-measured topography of all contacting surfaces. Results These calculations revealed that consideration of nanometer-scale plasticity in the materials was crucial for a good quantitative fit of the measurements, and the presence of such plasticity was confirmed with AFM measurements of the probe after testing. This analysis enabled the extraction of geometry-independent material parameters; the intrinsic work of adhesion between ruby and diamond was determined to be 46.3 mJ/m2. The range of adhesion was 5.6 nm, which is longer than is typically assumed for atomic interactions, but is in agreement with other recent investigations. Finally, the numerical analysis was repeated for the same surfaces but this time with different length-scales of roughness included or filtered out. Conclusions The results demonstrate a critical band of length-scales—between 43 nm and 1.8 µm in lateral size—that has the strongest effect on the total adhesive force for these hard, rough contacts.

Comparison Between Surface and Near-Surface Residual Stress Measurement Techniques Using a Standard Four-Point-Bend Specimen

Background

Determination of near-surface residual stresses is challenging for the available measurement techniques due to their limitations. These are often either beyond reach or associated with significant uncertainties.

Objective

This study describes a critical comparison between three methods of surface and near-surface residual stress measurements, including x-ray diffraction (XRD) and two incremental central hole-drilling techniques one based on strain-gauge rosette and the other based on electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI).

Methods

These measurements were performed on standard four-point-bend beams of steel loaded to known nominal stresses, according to the ASTM standard. These were to evaluate the sensitivity of different techniques to the variation in the nominal stress, and their associated uncertainties.

Results

The XRD data showed very good correlations with the surface nominal stress, and with superb repeatability and small uncertainties. The results of the ESPI based hole-drilling technique were also in a good agreement with the XRD data and the expected nominal stress. However, those obtained by the strain gauge rosette based hole-drilling technique were not matching well with the data obtained by the other techniques nor with the nominal stress. This was found to be due to the generation of extensive compressive residual stress during surface preparation for strain gauge installation.

Conclusion

The ESPI method is proven to be the most suitable hole-drilling technique for measuring near-surface residual stresses within distances close to the surface that are beyond the penetration depth of x-ray and below the resolution of the strain gauge rosette based hole-drilling method.

     

Heat-transfer characteristics of climbing film evaporation in a vertical tube

Heat-transfer characteristics of climbing film evaporation were experimentally investigated on a vertical climbing film evaporator heated by tube-outside hot water. The experimental setup was designed for determining the effect of the height of feed water inside a vertical tube and the range of temperature difference on local heat transfer coefficient inside a vertical tube (h_i). In this setup, the height of feed water was successfully controlled and the polypropylene shell effectively impedes the heat loss to the ground. The results indicated that a reduction in the height of feed water contributed to a significant increase in h_i if no dry patches around the wall of the heated tube appeared inside the tube. The height ratio of feed water R_h = 0.3 was proposed as the optimal one as dry patches destroyed the continuous climbing film when R_h is under 0.3. It was found that the minimum temperature difference driving climbing film evaporation is suggested as 5 °C due to a sharp reduction in h_i for temperature difference below 5 °C. The experiment also showed that h_i increased with an increase in temperature difference, which proved the superiority of climbing film evaporation in utilizing low-grade surplus heating source due to its wide range of driving temperature difference. The experimental results were compared with the previous literature and demonstrated a satisfactory agreement.     

Micro-deformation Study of Stainless Steel Impacted by Ceramic Particle Using Electron Moiré Method

Background

High-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF)-sprayed metallic coating can be used to create a surface layer that plays a significant role in enhancing the overall strength, stiffness, and fatigue life of the treated material. The micro-deformation around a single impacted particle is a critical factor that must be considered for the optimization of the HVOF process.

Objective

In this study, the micro-deformation field of stainless steel impacted by a ceramic particle was characterized at the micro-scale.

Method

A grid with a frequency of 1200 lines/mm was fabricated on the surface of stainless steel specimen. The microscopic deformation field formed on the substreate surface, induced by the impact of micro-particles with a diameter of 18 µm, was determined using the electron moiré method and numerical simulations.

Results

The in-plane plastic strain around the impacted particle was found to be as high as 9.1%, and the value sharply decreased with the increase of the distance to the edge of the impacted particle. The diameter of the plastic area was about 40 µm, which was approximately 2.2 times larger than the particle size. The experimental results were compared with numerical simulation results, and good agreement between the results was found.

Conclusions

The electron moiré technique can be a useful tool for the measurement of the deformation field induced by an impacted particle in a very local area with a size on the order of microns.

     

Fast Tracking of Fluid Invasion Using Time-Resolved Neutron Tomography

Water flow in a sandstone sample is studied during an experiment in situ in a neutron tomography setup. In this paper, a projection-based methodology for fast tracking of the imbibition front in 3D is presented. The procedure exploits each individual neutron 2D radiograph, instead of the tomographic-reconstructed images, to identify the 4D (space and time) saturation field, offering a much higher time resolution than more standard reconstruction-based methods. Based on strong space and time regularizations of the fluid flow, with an a priori defined space and time shape functions, the front shape is identified at each projection time step. This procedure aiming at a fast tracking the fluid advance is explored through two examples. The first one shows that the fluid motion that occurs during one single 180\(^{^{\circ }}\) scan can be resolved at 5 Hz with a sub-pixel accuracy whereas it cannot be unraveled with plain tomographic reconstruction. The second example is composed of 42 radiographs acquired all along a complete fluid invasion in the sample. This experiment uses the very same approach with the additional difficulty of large fluid displacement in between two projections. As compared to the classical approach based on full reconstructions at each invasion stage, the proposed methodology in the studied examples is roughly 300 times faster offering an enhanced time resolution.     

The Association Between Curvature and Rupture in a Murine Model of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm and Dissection

Background

Mouse models of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and dissection have proven to be invaluable in the advancement of diagnostics and therapeutics by providing a platform to decipher response variables that are elusive in human populations. One such model involves systemic Angiotensin II (Ang-II) infusion into low density-lipoprotein receptor-deficient (LDLr?/?) mice leading to intramural thrombus formation, inflammation, matrix degradation, dilation, and dissection. Despite its effectiveness, considerable experimental variability has been observed in AAAs taken from our Ang-II infused LDLr?/? mice (n?=?12) with obvious dissection occurring in 3 samples, outer bulge radii ranging from 0.73 to 2.12 mm, burst pressures ranging from 155 to 540 mmHg, and rupture location occurring 0.05 to 2.53 mm from the peak bulge location.

Objective

We hypothesized that surface curvature, a fundamental measure of shape, could serve as a useful predictor of AAA failure at supra-physiological inflation pressures.

Methods

To test this hypothesis, we fit well-known biquadratic surface patches to 360^o micro-mechanical test data and used Spearman’s rank correlation (rho) to identify relationships between failure metrics and curvature indices.

Results

We found the strongest associations between burst pressure and the maximum value of the first principal curvature (rho?=??0.591, p-val?=?0.061), the maximum value of Mean curvature (rho?=??0.545, p-val?=?0.087), and local values of Mean curvature at the burst location (rho?=??0.864, p-val?=?0.001) with only the latter significant after Bonferroni correction. Additionally, the surface profile at failure was predominantly convex and hyperbolic (saddle-shaped) as indicated by a negative sign in the Gaussian curvature. Findings reiterate the importance of shape in experimental models of AAA.

     

Hard-material Adhesion: Which Scales of Roughness Matter?

Background

Surface topography strongly modifies adhesion of hard-material contacts, yet roughness of real surfaces typically exists over many length scales, and it is not clear which of these scales has the strongest effect. Objective: This investigation aims to determine which scales of topography have the strongest effect on macroscopic adhesion.

Methods

Adhesion measurements were performed on technology-relevant diamond coatings of varying roughness using spherical ruby probes that are large enough (0.5-mm-diameter) to sample all length scales of topography. For each material, more than 2000 measurements of pull-off force were performed in order to investigate the magnitude and statistical distribution of adhesion. Using sphere-contact models, the roughness-dependent effective values of work of adhesion were measured, ranging from 0.08 to 7.15 mJ/m² across the four surfaces. The data was more accurately fit using numerical analysis, where an interaction potential was integrated over the AFM-measured topography of all contacting surfaces.

Results

These calculations revealed that consideration of nanometer-scale plasticity in the materials was crucial for a good quantitative fit of the measurements, and the presence of such plasticity was confirmed with AFM measurements of the probe after testing. This analysis enabled the extraction of geometry-independent material parameters; the intrinsic work of adhesion between ruby and diamond was determined to be 46.3 mJ/m². The range of adhesion was 5.6 nm, which is longer than is typically assumed for atomic interactions, but is in agreement with other recent investigations. Finally, the numerical analysis was repeated for the same surfaces but this time with different length-scales of roughness included or filtered out.

Conclusions

The results demonstrate a critical band of length-scales—between 43 nm and 1.8 µm in lateral size—that has the strongest effect on the total adhesive force for these hard, rough contacts.