Strain Hardening and Fracture of Austenitic Steel Single Crystals with High Concentration of Interstitial Atoms

Stages in the flow curves, mechanisms of deformation (slip or twinning), evolution of the dislocation structure and fracture are studied in austenitic stainless steel single crystals alloyed with nitrogen (C _N = 0–0.7 wt. %) and Hadfield steel in relation to the orientation of the crystal axis of tension, test temperature, and atomic concentrations of nitrogen and carbon. The dislocation-structure pattern (cellular or planar) and deformation mechanisms (slip or twinning) are shown to depend on the matrix stacking-fault energy _sf, friction forces due to solid-solution hardening by interstitial atoms, and crystal orientation. An interrelation between the stages in the flow curves and the type of dislocation structure is found. The contribution of mechanical twinning to the plastic flow of steel crystals is shown to increase with increase in nitrogen and carbon concentrations. The mechanical twinning develops in the early stages of deformation and determines the strain-hardening coefficient and fracture of crystals in high-strength states for interstitial atomic concentration C 0.5–0.7 wt. %. High deforming stresses due to solid-solution strain hardening by interstitial atoms of nitrogen and carbon in combination with low _sf are found to result in twinning in the <001> orientations. The values of _sf in Hadfield steel single crystals and in austenitic stainless steel single crystals are found experimentally depending on the concentration of nitrogen atoms and test temperature.     

A new apparatus for studying mechanical behavior under pressure

Using a servohydraulic intensifier, a servohydraulic universal test machine and a novel test chamber, pressures of 750 MPa and axial stresses of almost any magnitude are simultaneously generated and applied to the gage section of a solid, cylindrical specimen. Under combined axial-stress/external-pressure loadings, a solid specimen experiences a truly three-dimensional, homogeneous stress state in which the axial stress equals σ₁ and the radial and circumferential stresses equal the negative of the pressure, —P. Through independent computer control of the pressure and axial stress, amterial behavior under monotonically and cyclically applied multiaxial stresses are investigated. This paper describes the experimental details of the test chamber design, high-pressure fluid production and sealing, load and strain measurement under high pressure, computer control and data acquisition. Experimental results obtained from triaxial monotonic tests on low alloy steel and triaxial cyclic tests on a Ni-Ti alloy using this unique apparatus are presented.     

The role of grain boundaries on fatigue crack initiation - An energy approach

In this paper, we construct a model for prediction of fatigue crack initiation based on the material’s microstructure. In order to do so, the energy of a persistent slip band (PSB) is monitored and an energy balance approach is taken, in which cracks initiate and the material fails due to stress concentration from a PSB (with respect to dislocation motion). These PSBs are able to traverse low-angle grain boundaries (GB), thus belonging to clusters of grains. As a consequence of the ongoing cyclic slip process, the PSBs evolve and interact with high-angle GBs, the result of which leads to dislocation pile-ups, static extrusions in the form of ledges/steps at the GB, stress concentration, and ultimately crack initiation. Hence, this fatigue model is driven by the microstructure, i.e. grain orientations, widely distributed grain sizes, precipitates, PSB-GB interactions, as well as the affect of neighboring grains. The results predict that cracks initiate near twin boundaries from PSBs spanning a single large grain with a favorable orientation or multiple grains connected by low-angle GBs. Excellent agreement is shown between model predictions and experimental data.     

Multiscale strain measurements of plastically deforming polycrystalline titanium: Role of deformation heterogeneities

The purpose of this work was to characterize the spatial distribution of residual deformation at the mesoscale (a few grains) and at the macroscale (hundreds of grains) in titanium subjected to cyclic tensile loading. Using ex situ digital image correlation, we compared the axial residual strain fields obtained at optical magnifications ranging from 3.2× to 50×. To compare the results obtained at different optical magnifications, numerous images at higher magnification had to be assembled to encompass the same field-of-view observed at lower magnifications. The strain fields at the highest optical magnification revealed deformation patterns that were not detectable at lower magnifications. These deformation patterns appeared as inclined slip bands near grain boundaries and grain boundary triple points, with the bands sometimes crossing into neighboring grain interiors. Measurements made at optical magnifications greater than 10× captured an underlying deformation pattern, however, considerably more detail within grains was obtained at 50× magnification. The strain fields obtained at 10× and 50× magnifications were subsequently used to estimate the length scale of a representative volume element (RVE) based on the standard deviation of the average residual strain. The estimated RVE length scale was nearly three times the average grain diameter if extracted from the 50× results. The estimate of the RVE length scale was smaller at lower magnification which was due to a homogenizing effect caused by the low measurement resolution. Thus, care must be taken when experimentally obtaining RVE length scale estimates.     

Objective and Subjective Evaluation of Voice Quality in Multiple Sclerosis

The aim of this comparative, controlled, cross-sectional study is to evaluate the voice quality in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) by subjective and objective methods. Female patients with MS (n=27) and age- and sex-matched healthy controls (n=27) were included in this study. Vocal functions were evaluated by a multidimensional set composed of videolaryngostroboscopic examination, acoustic analysis, and subjective measurements (GRBAS and "Voice Handicap Index"). Jitter percent, shimmer percent, and soft phonation index (SPI) values were higher in MS patients compared to controls (Jitt, P=0.001; Shim, P=0.033; SPI P<0.0001). Maximum phonation time was significantly shorter for MS patients compared to controls (P<0.0001). Stroboscopic examination revealed that 16 out of 27 MS patients have a "posterior chink" as glottic closure pattern with higher SPI values (40%). Noise to harmonic ratio (NHR) and mean fundamental frequency (F0) values were similar for MS and control groups (NHR, P=0.737; F0, P=0.976). In this study, most of the MS patients had dysphonia due to weakness of voice. MS tends to worsen acoustic parameters including fundamental frequency, SPI, and jitter values. These results are consistent with the more asthenic voice quality observed in MS group.