Dielectric Response and Broadband Microwave Absorption Properties of Three-Layer Graded ZnO Nanowhisker/Polyester Composites

We design and prepare three-layer graded ZnO nanowhisker/polyester composites. The dispersion configuration of ZnO nanowhiskers in the polyester is investigated, and their microwave reflectivity curves are also measured. Experimental results have shown that the graded dispersion with ZnO nanowhiskers contributes to broadband microwave absorption. In other words, the absorption band depends on the graded dispersion configuration of ZnO nanowhiskers in polyester matrix.     

Investigation of the effects of tensile strain on optical properties of ZnO nanowire

In this paper, the effects of mechanical tensile strain on optical properties of ZnO nanowire before and after embedding ZnS nanowire were investigated by simulation. Finite element modeling (FEM) software package ABAQUS and three-dimensional (3D) finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) methods were furnished to analyze the problems numerically, including the nonlinear mechanical behavior and optical properties of the sample, respectively. The physical deformation model was imported into the FDTD to investigate optical properties of ZnO nanowire under mechanical tensile strain. Besides, the stress-strain curve via tensile experimental was compared with stress-strain curve that was obtained from finite element modeling. The results disclosed that the mechanical strain was demonstrated to play an important role in determining the optical properties of ZnO nanowire such as absorption coefficient and optical density.     

Enhanced mechanical behaviour of lead zirconate titanate piezoelectric composites incorporating zinc oxide nanowhiskers

This paper reports that the lead zirconate titanate （PZT） piezoelectric composites incorporating zinc oxide nanowhiskers （ZnOw） were prepared by the conventional solid state processing. The whisker-dispersed PZT composites （PZT/ZnOw） presented a significant enhancement in the mechanical properties such as Young＇s modulus, tensile strength and compressive strength. Especially, the compressive strength increased from 153 MPa for the PZT to 228 MPa for the PZT/ZnOw composites. The reinforcement mechanism in strength of the composites was discussed. The me- chanical quality factors of the PZT/ZnOw composites increased considerably, while the piezoelectric constants and electromechanical coupling coefficient decreased slightly. The composites with good electrical and excellent mechanical properties are promising for further applications.     

Transverse tensile properties of spun-type carbon fabric/phenolic composites

The transverse tensile properties of phenolic composites reinforced with spun-type carbon fabrics (spun C/P composites) have been investigated in order to evaluate the adherent failure behavior of composites in the transverse (90°) direction due to tension. The transverse tensile strength of the spun C/P composite is about 3.4 times higher than that of the conventional composite reinforced with filament type carbon fabrics (filament C/P composites). It is found from stress–strain curve of composites that it exhibits above 4 times higher failure strain than the filament C/P composite. However, the transverse tensile modulus of the spun C/P composite is similar to that of the filament C/P composite. The results indicate that the protruded fibers of spun yarns between the interlaminar layers in the spun C/P composite play an important role in improving the transverse tensile properties by the effects of fiber bridging. Consequently, this result suggests that use of spun yarn type carbon fabrics as reinforcement in a phenolic composite may significantly contribute to improving the interfacial properties of carbon/phenolic composites.     

Effect of annealing on the structural, optical and electrical properties of ZnO thin films by spray pyrolysis

Zinc oxide thin films have been deposited on glass substrates at a substrate temperature of 673 K by spray pyrolysis. The samples are annealed in ambient atmosphere at various temperatures. The effect of annealing on structural, electrical, and optical properties of ZnO films has been investigated. X-ray diffraction patterns show that crystallinity of the ZnO films has been improved after annealing. The morphology of ZnO thin films is studied by atomic force microscopy. The tensile strain (compressive stress) is found to decrease with increase in annealing temperature which indicates the relaxation of tensile strain in ZnO thin films. A decrease in energy band gap is observed with increase of annealing temperature. The mechanism of blue-green luminescence of ZnO thin film has been analyzed. The resistivity is found to decrease with annealing temperature.     

Enhancing the interfacial strength of glass/epoxy composites using ZnO nanowires

This paper investigated the application of ZnO nanowires (ZnO NW) to enhance the interfacial strength of glass/epoxy composites. ZnO NW were grown on glass fibers by hydrothermal method, tensile properties of bare and ZnO NW coated fibers were measured by single fiber tensile testing, wettability of fiber with resin was studied by contact angle measurements and finally the interfacial strength and mechanisms were determined by single fiber fragmentation testing of glass/epoxy composites. The surface coverage of ZnO NW on glass fibers was fairly uniform without formation of major clusters. The coating of ZnO NW slightly reduced the tensile strength and improved the tensile modulus of fibers. Wettability tests showed reduction in contact angles for ZnO NW coated fibers because of enhanced wetting and infiltration of epoxy resin into nanowires. In fragmentation testing of microcomposites, smaller and concentrated interfacial debonding zones for ZnO NW coated fibers indicated good stress transfer and strong interfacial adhesion. A new form of crossed and closely spaced stress patterns were observed for nanowires of high aspect ratios. The interfacial strength of ZnO NW coated fibers increased by at least 109% and by 430% on average, which was attributed to the increased surface area and mechanical interlocking provided by ZnO NW.     

The mechanical property of single-walled carbon nanotube under combined electromechanical loading

The mechanical properties and failure process of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) under combined electric field and tensile loading are investigated using the semi-empirical quantum mechanical method. The local and global structural deformation and variation of mechanical properties of SWCNT under different directions and intensity of external electric field are discussed systematically. It is shown that the electric field induced deformation in the radial and axial directions of the SWCNT are strongly dependent on the direction of electric field. The analysis of mechanical properties shows that the structure stiffness, tensile strength and failure strain of the SWCNT all decrease with the increase of the field intensity, which is particularly evident under the longitudinal electric field. The Young's modulus of SWCNTs vary with the tube diameter and are affected by the electric field. The increase of the length of the tubes intensifies the charge concentration at the tube ends under the electric field and lead to the decrease of mechanical properties of SWCNTs. The failure process of SWCNTs under the coupling effect of electric field and tensile loading is found to be controlled by the field strength and also affected by the electric charge accumulation.     

Effect of interfacial debonding and matrix cracking on mechanical properties of multidirectional composites

In composites, debonding at the fiber–matrix interface and matrix cracking due to loading or residual stresses can effect the mechanical properties. Here three different architectures — 3-directional orthogonal, 3-directional 8-harness satin weave and 4-directional in-plane multidirectional composites — are investigated and their effective properties are determined for different volume fractions using unit cell modeling with appropriate periodic boundary conditions. A cohesive zone model (CZM) has been used to simulate the interfacial debonding, and an octahedral shear stress failure criterion is used for the matrix cracking. The debonding and matrix cracking have significant effect on the mechanical properties of the composite. As strain increases, debonding increases, which produces a significant reduction in all the moduli of the composite. In the presence of residual stresses, debonding and resulting deterioration in properties occurs at much lower strains. Debonding accompanied with matrix cracking leads to further deterioration in the properties. The interfacial strength has a significant effect on debonding initiation and mechanical properties in the absence of residual stresses, whereas, in the presence of residual stresses, there is no effect on mechanical properties. A comparison of predicted results with experimental results shows that, while the tensile moduli E ₁₁, E ₃₃and shear modulus G ₁₂ match well, the predicted shear modulus G ₁₃ is much lower.     

Low-field transport properties of (1−x)La0.7Ca0.2 Sr0.1MnO3+x(ZnO) composites

Composite samples (1−x)La_0.7Ca_0.2Sr_0.1MnO₃(LCSMO)+x(ZnO) with different ZnO doping levels x have been investigated systematically. The structure and morphology of the composites have been studied by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). The XRD and SEM results indicate that no reaction occurs between LCSMO and ZnO grains, and that ZnO segregates mostly at the grain boundaries of LCSMO. The magnetic properties reveal that the ferromagnetic order of LCSMO is weakened by addition of ZnO. The results also show that ZnO has a direct effect on the resistance of LCSMO/ZnO composites, especially on the low-temperature resistance. With increase of the ZnO doping level, T_P shifts to a lower temperature and the resistance increases. It is interesting to note that an enhanced magnetoresisitance (MR) effect for the composites is found over a wide temperature range from low temperature to room temperature in an applied magnetic field of 3 kOe. The maximum MR appears at x=0.1. The low field magnetoresistance (LFMR) results from spin-polarized tunneling. However, around room temperature, the enhanced MR of the composites is caused by magnetic disorder.     

Effect of surface morphology on the mechanical properties of ZnO nanowires

Although studies of ZnO nanostructured materials have concentrated on the electric, optical, and magnetic properties, applicational devices with nanoscale moving parts usually suffer mechanical fatigue and failure for reasons that are less understood. Here, differing from vertical bending and tension measurements, conventional three-point bending tests are employed to study the elastic modulus and bending strength of ZnO nanowires (NWs) in an atomic force microscopy system. To shed new light on the extensive disagreement regarding the mechanical behavior of ZnO NWs, the effect of the surface morphology of the prepared NWs is mainly investigated. An average Young’s modulus of 148 GPa close to that of the bulk ZnO materials is obtained, and the size dependence is found to be unaffected by the detailed micro and macro surface morphology. On the other hand, the bending strain of 0.2–0.7% is one order of magnitude lower than that reported in the literature. It indicates that an irregular surface such as cracks, flaws, curved and neck-like surface, and body defects dominates the fracture properties of ZnO NWs, rather than the elastic behavior.     

Morphology,mechanical, rheological,and thermal properties study on the PTT/ABS/SCF composites

In order to improve the mechanical properties of the poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT), both maleinized acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) and short carbon fiber (SCF) were melt-blended with PTT to prepare the composites and their morphology and properties were investigated in detail. When ABS content is fixed at 5?wt.% in composites, SCF can significantly improve the tensile and flexural strength as well as the impact strength of the matrix. The SCF has good interface adherence with the matrix. At glassy state, the storage modulus increases much with increasing SCF content. At rubbery state, the composites have larger cold-crystallization rate. At molten state, SCF first serves as lubricants and then as viscosity reinforcing agent for the matrix with increasing SCF. The composites melt exhibits increasing elastic behaviors with SCF. The composites have larger crystallization rate, but this accelerating effect decreases with excessive SCF content. The crystals formed in different composites are quite different in size or perfection.     

Discontinuous basalt and glass fiber reinforced PP composites from textile prefabricates: effects of interfacial modification on the mechanical performance

Spun and blown basalt fibers and their PP matrix composites were investigated. The composites were manufactured by hot pressing technology from carded and needle punched prefabricate using PP fiber as matrix material. Glass and blown basalt fibers were treated with reaction product of maleic acid-anhydride and sunflower oil while spun basalt fibers had a surface coating of silane coupling agent. Fibers were investigated with tensile tests while composites were subjected to static and dynamic mechanical tests. The results show that blown basalt fibers have relatively poor mechanical properties, while spun basalt fibers are comparable with glass fibers regarding geometry and mechanical performance. The static and dynamic mechanical properties of glass and spun basalt fiber reinforced composites are similar and are higher than blown basalt fiber reinforced composites. Results were supported with SEM micrographs.     

G50钢与G31钢动态力学性能的对比试验研究

采用拉伸、冲击、霍普金森杆压缩及所设计的爆轰加载试验方法,对比研究了G50钢与G31钢在准静态、动态及爆轰加载条件下的力学性能。试验结果表明:G50钢和G31钢在准静态、10^3 s^?1应变率下的动态力学性能相近;在爆轰加载条件下,G50钢和G31钢试样发生了近乎相同的破坏形态,说明在超高压及超高应变率条件下两种材料具有相近的屈服强度和抗拉强度。研究结果表明,G31钢与G50钢有相似的力学性能,在侵彻战斗部壳体方面可做进一步的应用尝试。     

Mechanical Properties of Ni-Coated Single Graphene Sheet and Their Embedded Aluminum Matrix Composites

The effects of Ni coating on the mechanical behaviors of single graphene sheet and their embedded Al matrix composites under axial tensionare investigated using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation method. Theresults show that the Young's moduli and tensile strength of grapheneobviously decrease after Ni coating. The results also show that the mechanical properties of Al matrix can be obviously increased by embedding asingle graphene sheet. From the simulation, we also find that the Young'smodulus and tensile strength of the Ni-coated graphene/Al composite isobviously larger than those of the uncoated graphene/Al composite. Theincreased magnitude of the Young's modulus and tensile strength ofgraphene/Al composite are 52.27 and 32.32 at 0.01 K, respectively,due to Ni coating. By exploring the effects of temperature on the mechanicalproperties of single graphene sheet and their embedded Al matrix composites, it is found that the higher temperature leads to the lower critical strain and tensile strength.     

Strain and chirality effects on the mechanical and electronic properties of silicene and silicane under uniaxial tension

We present first principles theory calculations on the mechanical and electronic properties of silicene and silicane structure under uniaxial tensile strain along different directions. Chirality effect is more significant in the mechanical properties of silicene than those of silicane. Different failure mechanisms are identified. A small band gap (up to 0.8 eV) is developed from zero with silicene structure under uniaxial tension and vanishes before the structure reaches its in-plane ultimate strength. However, a pre-existing band gap (2.39 eV) exists with silicane structure and decreases to zero with the increasing tensile strain without chirality effects.     

Effects of Radius and Orientation of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes on Their Nonlinear Tensile Deformation Behaviour

By capturing the atomic information and reflecting the behaviour governed by a nonlinear potential function, an analytical molecular mechanics approach is applied to establish the constitutive relation for single-walled carbon nanotubes （SWCNTs）. The nonlinear tensile deformation curves of zigzag and armchair nanotubes with different radii are predicted, and the elastic properties of these SWCNTs are obtained. A conclusion is made that the nanotube radius has little effect on the mechanical behaviour of SWCNTs subject to simple tension, while the nanotube orientation has larger influence.     

Growth of zinc oxide nanostructures

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowhiskers have been prepared using a multilayer ZnO(50 nm)/Zn(20 nm)/ZnO(2μm) structure on a polished stainless steel (SS) substrate by high rate magnetron sputtering. The formation of uniformly distributed ZnO nanowhiskers with about 20 nm dia. and 2 to 5 μm length was observed after a postdeposition annealing of the prepared structure at 300–400° C. An array of highlyc-axis oriented ZnO columns (70–300 nm in dia. and up to 10 μm long) were grown on Si substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) at a high pressure (1 Torr), and Raman studies showed the activation of surface phonon modes. The nanosized powder (15–20 nm) and nanoparticle ZnO films on glass substrate were also prepared by a chemical route. Nanowhiskers showed enhanced UV light detection characteristics, and the chemically prepared ZnO nanoparticle films exhibited good sensing properties for alcohol     

块体非晶合金的韧塑化

块体非晶合金因其独特的原子结构而具有许多优异的力学性能,成为近年来材料领域的研究热点之一,但是由于其在变形过程中的室温脆性和应变软化等关键问题一直制约着其实际工程应用.为解决此问题,块体非晶合金领域的研究者们提出了多种方案,包括通过在非晶合金中调控其内禀特性如弹性常数、结构不均匀性,通过外加手段改变其应力及缺陷状态,通过外加和内生的方法在非晶基体中引入晶态增强相等方式,获得了一系列力学性能优异的块体非晶合金及其复合材料.特别是利用"相变诱导塑性"(transformation-induced plasticity,TRIP)概念研制出的块体非晶合金复合材料,同时具有大的拉伸塑性和加工硬化能力.本文围绕块体非晶合金的韧塑化这个关键科学问题,对单相非晶及非晶复合材料的韧塑化方案及机理进行了综述,着重介绍了TRIP韧塑化块体非晶合金复合材料的制备、性能、组织调控及韧塑化机理等,并对此领域的未来发展进行了展望.     

Effect of strain on the structural and optical properties of Cu-N co-doped ZnO thin films

Polycrystalline ZnO thin films co-doped with Cu and N have been obtained by chemical bath deposition. Introduction of Cu and N causes the change of strained stress in ZnO films, which subsequently affects the structural and optical properties. The dependence of structural and optical properties of the ZnO films on lattice strained stress is investigated by XRD measurement, SEM, PL spectrum, optical reflection and Raman spectrum. The result of photoluminescence of Cu-N co-doped ZnO films indicates that the UV emission peaks shift slightly towards higher energy side with decrease in tensile strain and vise versa. The blue-shift of the absorption edge and up-shift of E2 (high) mode of the films can be observed in the optical reflection and Raman spectra.     

层厚度和应变率对铜-金复合纳米线力学性能影响的模拟研究

采用分子动力学模拟方法, 研究了层厚度和应变率对铜-金多层复合纳米线在均匀拉伸载荷下力学性能的影响, 并分析了铜-金位错成核机理. 研究结果表明, 随着铜-金层厚度的增加, 复合材料的屈服强度也随之增大; 高应变率时复合材料的力学性能比低应变率时要强, 低应变率的塑性形变主要是位错运动和孪晶形变, 而高应变率主要以单原子运动为主, 表现出了非晶化. 该研究对制备高性能的多层复合材料提供了一定的理论依据.