The Effect of Grain Size on Deformation and Failure of Ti<Subscript>2</Subscript>AlC MAX Phase under Thermo-Mechanical Loading

An experimental investigation was performed to analyze the effects of grain size on the quasi-static and dynamic behavior of Ti₂AlC. High-density Ti₂AlC samples of three different grain sizes were densified using Spark Plasma Sintering and Pressureless sintering. A servo-hydraulic testing machine equipped with a vertical split furnace, and SiC pushrods, was used for the quasi-static experiments. Also, a Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) apparatus and an induction coil heating system were used for the dynamic experiments. A series of experiments were conducted at temperatures ranging from 25 °C to 1100 °C for strain rates of 10^?4 s^?1 and 400 s^?1. The results show that under quasi-static loading the specimens experience a brittle failure for temperatures below Brittle to Plastic Transition Temperature (BPTT) of 900–1000 °C and large deformation at temperatures above the BPTT. During dynamic experiments, the specimens exhibited brittle failure, with the failure transitioning from catastrophic failure at lower temperatures to graceful failure (softening while bearing load) at higher temperatures, and with the propensity for graceful failure increasing with increasing grain size. The compressive strengths of different grain sizes at a given temperature can be related to the grain length by a Hall-Petch type relation.     

The strain-rate effect and the incremental plastic wave in copper

An experimental investigation was conducted to determine the degree of sensitivity of commerically pure copper to strain rate and to note the effect of this sensitivity on the velocity of propagation of shearing strain in copper. Thin-walled cylindrical specimens of copper were loaded in torsion to eliminate the effects of radial inertia. All specimens were annealed and then cold worked in torsion to obtain necessary specimen uniformity. Quasi-static tests were performed on short-length specimens to determine the shearing stress-strain curve of copper at a very low strain rate. The strain-rate sensitivity of copper at low strain rates, from 3×10^?4/sec to 5/sec, was tested by loading short specimens at a very slow continuous rate and then suddenly increasing the strain rate. A quasi-static test was also performed to determine the effect of creep on prestressed copper. Dynamic tests involving strain rates up to 500/sec were performed on long specimens with a torsional impact machine. Specimens were tested under stress-free and prestressed initial conditions. The prestressed specimen was loaded at a slow, continuous rate before impact to avoid the undesirable effects of creep which would have occurred with a static preload. Results from the quasi-static tests showed that copper is noticeably sensitive to strain rate in the low strain-rate regions, but that the sensitivity becomes almost constant as the strain rate is increased. Results from the dynamic tests showed that large strains propagated at speeds which agreed well with speeds predicted by the strain-rate-independent theory of plastic-wave propagation. The lower-level strains in the prestressed specimen, however, propagated at much higher speeds than are predicted by the strain-rate independent. Because radial-inertia effects were not present, this discrepancy in measured and predicted speeds for low-level strains must be due to the strain-rate sensitivity of copper.     

Characterization of Anisotropic Polymeric Foam Under Static and Dynamic Loading

An orthotropic polymeric foam with transverse isotropy (Divinycell H250) used in composite sandwich structures was characterized at various strain rates. Uniaxial experiments were conducted along principal material axes as well as along off-axis directions under tension, compression, and shear to determine engineering constants, such as Young??s and shear moduli. Uniaxial strain experiments were conducted to determine mathematical stiffness constants, i. e., C _ij . An optimum specimen aspect ratio for these tests was selected by means of finite element analysis. Quasi-static and intermediate strain rate tests were conducted in a servo-hydraulic testing machine. High strain rate tests were conducted using a split Hopkinson Pressure Bar system built for the purpose using polymeric (polycarbonate) bars. The polycarbonate material has an impedance that is closer to that of foam than metals and results in lower noise to signal ratios and longer loading pulses. It was determined by analysis and verified experimentally that the loading pulses applied, propagated along the polycarbonate rods at nearly constant phase velocity with very low attenuation and dispersion. Material properties of the foam were obtained at three strain rates, quasi-static (10^?4 s^?1), intermediate (1 s^?1), and high (10³ s^?1) strain rates. A simple model proposed for the Young??s modulus of the foam was in very good agreement with the present and published experimental results.     

Effects of strain rate and moisture content on the behaviour of sand under one-dimensional compression

The influence of strain rate and moisture content on the behaviour of a quartz sand was assessed using high-pressure quasi-static (10^?3 s^?1) and high-strain rate (10³ s^?1) experiments under uniaxial strain. Quasi-static compression to axial stresses of 800 MPa was carried out alongside split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) experiments to 400 MPa, where in each case lateral deformation of the specimen was prevented using a steel test box or ring, and lateral stresses were recorded. A significant increase in constrained modulus was observed between strain rates of 10^?3s^?1 and 10³s^?1, however a consistently lower Poisson’s ratio in the dynamic tests minimised changes in bulk modulus. The reduction in Poissons ratio suggests that the stiffening of the sand in the SHPB tests is due to additional inertial confinement rather than an inherent strain-rate dependence. In the quasi-static tests the specimens behaved less stiffly with increasing moisture content, while in the dynamic tests the addition of water had little effect on the overall stiffness, causing the quasi-static and dynamic series to diverge with increasing moisture content.     

准三维针刺C_f/SiC复合材料室温层向动态压缩力学行为的实验研究

为了研究应变率对准三维针刺碳纤维增韧的碳化硅复合材料(Cf/SiC)层向压缩力学性能的影响,本文利用分离式Hopkinson压杆装置对三维针刺Cf/SiC复合材料进行了应变率为10-4至6.5×103s-1的单轴压缩力学性能测试。实验结果表明,由于材料缺陷,其动态压缩强度分布遵循Weibull分布。破坏时,材料并未表现出典型的脆性破坏,而是在应力达到压缩强度后经历了较大的伪塑性变形才最终破坏。这表明三维针刺Cf/SiC复合材料沿厚度方向针刺的碳纤维有助于提高材料的韧性。同时,材料的压缩强度随应变率的升高显著增大,并与对数应变率近似成线性关系。借助光学显微镜和扫描电镜对压缩断口的观察表明:材料的失效模式随着应变率变化而发生改变。在准静态下,材料主要表现为剪切和分层破坏,而在高应变率下,则主要表现为劈裂。     

Tailoring turbulence with an active grid

Using an active grid in a wind tunnel, we generate homogeneous shear turbulence and initiate turbulent boundary layers with adjustable properties. Homogeneous shear turbulence is characterized by a constant gradient of the mean velocity and a constant turbulence intensity. It is the simplest anisotropic turbulent flow thinkable, and it is generated traditionally by equipping a wind tunnel with screens which have a varying transparency and flow straighteners. This is not done easily, and the reachable turbulence levels are modest. We describe a new technique for generating homogeneous shear turbulence using an active grid only. Our active grid consists of a grid of rods with attached vanes which can be rotated by servo motors. We control the grid by prescribing the time-dependent angle of each axis. We tune the vertical transparency profile of the grid by setting appropriate angles of each rod such as to generate a uniform velocity gradient, and set the rods in flapping motion around these angles to tailor the turbulence intensity. The Taylor Reynolds number reached was R _λ = 870, the shear rate S = ∂U/∂y = 9.2 s⁻¹, the nondimensional shear parameter S ^*≡ Sq ²/ε = 12 and u = 1.4 ms⁻¹. As a further application of this idea we demonstrate the generation of a simulated atmospheric boundary layer in a wind tunnel which has tunable properties. This method offers a great advantage over the traditional one, in which vortex-generating structures need to be placed in the wind tunnel to initiate a fat boundary layer.     

Electrical Response of Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Nanocomposites Under Static and Dynamic Loading

An experimental investigation was conducted to study the effect of quasi-static and dynamic compressive loading on the electrical response of multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) reinforced epoxy nanocomposites. An in-situ polymerization process using both a shear mixer and an ultrasonic processor were employed to fabricate the nanocomposite material. The fabrication process parameters and the optimum weight fraction of MWCNTs for generating a well-dispersed percolation network were first determined. Absolute resistance values were measured with a high-resolution four-point probe method for both quasi-static and dynamic loading. In addition to measuring the percentage change in electrical resistance, real-time damage was captured using high-speed photography. The real-time damage was correlated to both load and percentage change in resistance profiles. The experimental findings indicate that the bulk electrical resistance of the nanocomposites under both quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions initially decreased between 40%–60% during compression and then increased as damage initiated and propagated.     

Predicting the Dynamic Compressive Strength of Carbonate Rocks from Quasi-Static Properties

In this study, the split Hopkinson pressure bar testing method was used to quantify the dynamic strength characteristics of rocks with short cylindrical specimens. Seventy dynamic compression tests were conducted on 10 different carbonate rocks with the split Hopkinson pressure bar apparatus. Experimental procedure for testing dynamic compressive strength and elastic behaviour of rock material at high strain rate loading is presented in the paper. Pulse-shaper technique was adopted to obtain dynamic stress equilibrium at the ends of the sample and to provide nearly a constant strain rate during the dynamic loading. In addition to dynamic tests, the physical properties covering bulk density, effective porosity, P-wave velocity and Schmidt hardness of rocks, and mechanical properties such as quasi-static compressive strength and tensile strength were determined through standard testing methods. Multiple linear regression analyses were carried out to investigate the variation of dynamic compressive strength depending on physical and mechanical properties of rocks and loading rate. A three parameter model was found to be simple and provided the best surface fit to data. It was found that dynamic compressive strength of rocks increases with increase in loading rate and/or increase in rock property values except porosity. Statistical tests of regression results showed that quasi-static compressive strength and Schmidt hardness are most significant rock properties to adequately predict the dynamic compressive strength value among the other properties. However, P-wave velocity, quasi-static tensile strength of rocks could also be used to estimate the dynamic compressive strength value of rocks, as well, except the bulk density and effective porosity.     

A Novel Method for Dynamic Short-Beam Shear Testing of 3D Woven Composites

A new test method for performing dynamic short-beam shear tests using a momentum trapped Hopkinson pressure bar is proposed. Angle-interlock 3D woven composite specimens were tested under quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions to determine the effect of loading rate on damage evolution. The equilibrium condition in the composite specimen under dynamic loads was verified using finite element analysis of the experiment. A high speed camera was used to capture delamination initiation and propagation during both quasi-static and dynamic experiments. Analysis of the load-deflection curves and the high speed images revealed a good correlation between the modes of damage initiation and propagation with the features in the loading response. The apparent inter-laminar shear strength and the bending stiffness increased with rate of loading. While the damage was observed to propagate at a relative steady rate during quasi-static loading, the high rate of energy input during dynamic loading resulted in a rapid propagation of damage and a subsequent loss of stiffness in the composite as noted in the load-deflection curve.     

Dynamic crushing of sandwich panels with prismatic lattice cores

The dynamic out-of-plane compressive response of stainless steel corrugated and Y-frame sandwich cores have been investigated for impact velocities ranging from quasi-static to 200 ms⁻¹. Laboratory-scale sandwich cores of relative density 2.5% were manufactured and the stresses on the front and rear faces of the dynamically compressed sandwich cores were measured using a direct impact Kolsky bar. Direct observational evidence is provided for micro-inertial stabilisation of both topologies against elastic buckling at impact velocities below 30 ms⁻¹. At higher impact velocities, plastic waves within the core members result in the front face stresses increasing with increasing velocity while the rear face stresses remain approximately constant. While the finite element calculations predict the rear face stresses and dynamic deformation modes to reasonable accuracy, the relatively slow response time of the measurement apparatus results in poor agreement between the measured and predicted front face stresses. The finite element calculations also demonstrate that material strain-rate effects have a negligible effect upon the dynamic compressive response of laboratory-scale and full-scale sandwich cores.     

The dependence of crack velocity on the critical stress in fracture

The constant velocity of crack propagation in PMMA is investigated in terms of the fracture stress for both continuously increasing loading (strain rate ?=0.59×10^?4 s^?1) and dynamic loading (strain rate ?=0.35 s^?1). It was found that the constant crack velocity increases with increasing fracture stress and that it depends on the loading conditions (continuously increasing or dynamic loading). In particular, it was found that the increase of the constant velocity for the static loading case is higher than for the dynamic one. However, in both cases, the constant velocity reaches a limiting value for stresses higher than a certain level.     

Subsonic interfacial fracture using strain gages in isotropic–orthotropic bimaterial

An experimental study has been conducted in which strain fields were used to investigate the behavior of subsonic crack propagation along the interface of an isotropic–orthotropic bimaterial system. Strain field equations were developed from available field equations and critically evaluated in a parametric study to identify optimum strain gage location and orientation. Bimaterial specimens were prepared with PSM-1 polycarbonate and Scotchply^® 1002 unidirectional, glass-fiber-reinforced, epoxy composite. Dynamic experiments were conducted using these specimens with strain gages mounted on the composite half to obtain values of the dynamic complex stress intensity factor, K=K₁+iK₂, in the region of the crack tip while photoelasticity was used on the PSM-1 half. Results show that the trend and magnitude of K obtained using strain gages compare favorably with those obtained using photoelasticity.     

Ductile–brittle transitions in the fracture of plastically-deforming,adhesively-bonded structures. Part I: Experimental studies

Rate effects for adhesively-bonded joints in steel sheets failing by mode-I fracture and plastic deformation were examined. Three types of test geometries were used to provide a range of crack velocities between 0.1 and 5000 mm/s: a DCB geometry under displacement control, a wedge geometry under displacement control, and a wedge geometry loaded under impact conditions. Two fracture modes were observed: quasi-static crack growth and dynamic crack growth. The quasi-static crack growth was associated with a toughened mode of failure; the dynamic crack growth was associated with a more brittle mode of failure. The experiments indicated that the fracture parameters for the quasi-static crack growth were rate independent, and that quasi-static crack growth could occur even at the highest crack velocities. Effects of rate appeared to be limited to the ease with which a transition to dynamic fracture could be triggered. This transition appeared to be stochastic in nature, it did not appear to be associated with the attainment of any critical value for crack velocity or loading rate. While the mode-I quasi-static fracture behavior appeared to be rate independent, an increase in the tendency for dynamic fracture to be triggered as the crack velocity increased did have the effect of decreasing the average energy dissipated during fracture at higher loading rates.     

脆性PMMA带板中的动态裂纹传播实验

设计了一种研究裂纹在脆性带板(Strip)中传播行为的实验装置。将矩形无预制裂纹的脆性有机玻璃(PMMA)试件上下边固支,在万能试验机上施加拉伸载荷直到给定幅值,然后在试件侧边中央部位开启一个尖锐裂纹。由于预加的拉伸载荷作用,新开启的裂纹将沿试件中部快速传播,导致整个平板试件断裂。采用印刷在试件表面的导电断裂丝记录裂纹的动态传播历史。设计了一种逻辑电路,可将多达128路电阻丝的断裂信号转换为1路输出信号,使用高速波形记录仪测量该信号,得到裂纹传播距离与时间关系。对不同形状的试件施加不同幅度的预加载荷,完成断裂实验,确定了裂纹的稳定传播速度。通过大量实验,获得了材料中稳定裂纹速度v0与动态裂纹传播能Gc之间的关系。测试结果表明:PMMA的传播能Gc是传播速度v0的递增函数;当裂纹平均的稳定速度超过某一临界值时,出现明显的速度振荡。     

Annular Pulse Shaping Technique for Large-Diameter Kolsky Bar Experiments on Concrete

The goal of this study is to design a novel annular pulse shaping technique for large-diameter Kolsky bars for investigating the dynamic compressive response of concretes. The purpose of implementing an annular pulse shaper design is to alleviate inertia-induced stresses in the pulse shaper material that would otherwise superpose unwanted oscillations on the incident wave. This newly developed pulse shaping technique led to well-controlled testing conditions enabling dynamic stress equilibrium, uniform deformation, and constant strain-rate in the testing of a chosen concrete material. The observed dynamic deformation rate of the concrete is highly consistent (8 % variation) with the stress in the specimen well equilibrated confirming the validity of this new technique. Experimental results at both quasi-static (10^?4 s^?1) and dynamic (100 s^?1, 240 s^?1) strain rates showed that the failure strength of this concrete is rate-sensitive.     

Experiments on entrainment in an annulus with and without velocity gradient across the density interface

The entrainment process in a two layer density stratified fluid column was studied experimentally by imposing external shear stress on one or both layers. The experiments have been conducted in an annular tank containing two water layers of different salt concentration and the shear stress was applied by means of rotating screens. The following quantities were measured: the screen velocity (which was kept constant during each experiment), the stress at the upper screen, and vertical profiles of circumferential velocity and density at different radial locations. When equal stress was imposed at the surface of the upper layer and at the bottom of the lower layer, entrainment took place from the two sides of the density interface at equal rate so that the interface was stationary in the central position between the two screens and there was no velocity gradient across the interface. The dependence of the entrainment coefficient on Richardson number obtained in these experiments was similar in form to that obtained in the shear-free experiments with an oscillating grid (e.g. Nokes 1988). When a shear stress was applied at the upper surface only, the upper layer depth increased with time and a velocity gradient existed at the interface. The influence of the interfacial velocity gradient on the entrainment rate was studied by comparing the rates obtained with and without this velocity gradient. The entrainment rates were approximately the same for high values of the Richardson number while at low Richardson number the entrainment rate was much larger when a velocity gradient existed across the interface. The main results of this work are as follows:

1. Despite the curved geometry of the annular system, the dependence of the entrainment coefficient on Richardson number for shear-free interface experiments was found to be similar in form to that obtained for oscillating grid experiments.
2. The entrainment across the interface is due to turbulent energy generated at some distance from the interface by an external source (i.e. shear stress induced by a screen) and due to turbulence produced locally at the interface by a velocity gradient. The relative contribution of each turbulence source to the total entrainment was found to depend on the stability of the interface.

     

Lp-approach to steady flows of viscous compressible fluids in exterior domains

We investigate steady compressible flows in three-dimensional exterior domains for small data and for both zero and nonzero (but constant) velocity at infinity. We prove existence and uniqueness of solutions in L ^p -spaces, p>3, and study their regularity as well as their decay at infinity.     

Rotating Fluids with Self-Gravitation in Bounded Domains

In this paper, we study the steady solutions of Euler-Poisson equations in bounded domains with prescribed angular velocity. This models a rotating Newtonian star consisting of a compressible perfect fluid with given equation of state P=e^S. When the domain is a ball and the angular velocity is constant, we obtain both existence and non-existence theorems, depending on the adiabatic gas constant . In addition we obtain some interesting properties of the solutions; e.g., monotonicity of the radius of the star with both angular velocity and central density. We also prove that the radius of a rotating spherically symmetric star, with given constant angular velocity and constant entropy, is uniformly bounded independent of the central density. This is physically striking and in sharp contrast to the case of the non-rotating star. For general domains and variable angular velocities, both an existence result for the isentropic equations of state and non-existence result for the non-isentropic equation of state are also obtained.Part of this work was completed when Tao Luo was an assistant professor at the University of Michigan. Joel Smoller was supported in part by the NSF, contract number DMS-010-3998. We are grateful to the referee for his very interesting remarks and comments, which enabled a new section, Section 6, to be added in the final version of the paper.     

Strain-Rate-Dependent Failure of a Toughened Matrix Composite

The strain-rate-dependent behavior of a toughened matrix composite (IM7/8552) was characterized under quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions. Unidirectional and off-axis composite specimens were tested at strain rates ranging from 10^?4 to 10³ s^?1 using a servo-hydraulic testing machine and split Hopkinson pressure bar apparatus. The nonlinear response and failure were analyzed and evaluated based on classical failure criteria and the Northwestern (NU) failure theory. The predictive NU theory was shown to be in excellent agreement with experimental results and to accurately predict the strain-rate-dependent failure of the composite system based on measured average lamina properties.     

Vortex shedding from two finite circular cylinders in a staggered configuration

Wind tunnel experiments were conducted to measure the vortex shedding frequencies for two circular cylinders of finite height arranged in a staggered configuration. The cylinders were mounted normal to a ground plane and were partially immersed in a flat-plate turbulent boundary layer. The Reynolds number based on the cylinder diameter was Re_D=2.4×10⁴, the cylinder aspect ratio was AR=9, the boundary layer thickness relative to the cylinder height was δ/H=0.4, the centre-to-centre pitch ratio was varied from P/D=1.125 to 5, and the incidence angle was incremented in small steps from α=0° to 90°. The Strouhal numbers were obtained behind the upstream and downstream cylinders using hot-wire anemometry. From the behaviour of the Strouhal number data obtained at the mid-height position, the staggered configuration could be broadly classified by the pitch ratio as closely spaced (P/D<1.5), moderately spaced (1.5?P/D?3), or widely spaced (P/D>3). The closely spaced staggered finite cylinders were characterized by the same Strouhal number measured behind both cylinders, an indication of single bluff-body behaviour. Moderately spaced staggered finite cylinders were characterized by two Strouhal numbers at most incidence angles. Widely spaced staggered cylinders were characterized by a single Strouhal number for both cylinders, indicative of synchronized vortex shedding from both cylinders at all incidence angles. For selected staggered configurations representative of closely spaced, moderately spaced, or widely spaced behaviour, Strouhal number measurements were also made along the vertical lengths of the cylinders, from the ground plane to the free end. The power spectra showed that for certain cylinder arrangements, because of the influences of the cylinder–wall junction and free-end flow fields, the Strouhal numbers and flow patterns change along the cylinder.