A study of directionality of latent hardening behavior in aluminium single crystals

By defining the yield stress in a latent hardening test as the first deviation from the elastic straight line, the yielding and hardening behavior on a latent system in the positive and negative slip direction was studied in aluminium single crystals. It is shown that the yield stresses on both the positive and negative latent systems are about equal to or a little lower than the maximum resolved shear stress in the primary test, but much higher than that of the active system. The influence of relative orientation and prestrain on latent hardening and initial work-hardening in the secondary test was also investigated, and it was found that there is a considerable effect on initial work-hardening, but none on latent hardening. With reasonable approximation, a hardening rule for single crystal could be proposed from the experimental results, that is, except for the yield stress on the system negative to the active system that is very low, hardening on the other systems is nearly the same as self-hardening.     

Design of aluminium boom and arm for an excavator

The aim of this work is to study the boom and the arm of an excavator in order to replace the material, which they are usually made of, with another material. In particular, the study wants to substitute the steel alloy for an aluminium alloy. This change lightens the components of the arm, allows to increase the load capacity of the bucket and so it is possible to increase the excavator productivity per hour.For this purpose many different load conditions have been studied numerically on the original excavator in order to estimate a safety factor and the deformability or flexibility of each component. These parameters have been used in order to design a new arm.The excavator which has been analyzed is composed of three elements and the load conditions assumed, in order to evaluate the stress, are five (lifting at the maximum and minimum distance from the axis of rotation, maximum load induced by hydraulic cylinders, spin of the arm of the excavator and collision with an obstacle, etc.).As regards to the safety factor and deformability in order to maintain the original value the new geometry of the arm involves an increase of the dimension and so the lightness is not correlate only to the variation of the material density.The weight of the final geometry of the aluminium arm is 1080 kg whereas the one of the steel arm is 2050 kg and consequently it has been possible to increase the capacity of bucket from 1 m³ to the 1.35 m³.With reference to the manufacturing cycle of the aluminium arm with the new pins, the price increased about € 2.500-3.000 and this aspect could be justified if we consider that the productivity per hour increased about 35%.     

Effects of large deformation and material nonlinearity on spherical indentation of hyperelastic soft materials

Up to now, the indentation of hyperelastic soft materials has not been completely understood. In this paper, the spherical indentation on hyperelastic soft solids was systematically investigated through theoretical analysis and finite element method (FEM). The validation and application of the Hertzian load-displacement relation for indentation of hyperelastic soft materials were clarified, the effects of large deformation and material nonlinearity on spherical indentation of hyperelastic soft materials were analyzed and discussed. It was found that the complicated indentation behaviors of hyperelastic soft solids mainly depended on the coupling interactions of large deformation and material nonlinearity. Besides, we proposed two new nonlinear elastic contact models to separate the effects of large deformation and material nonlinearity on spherical indentation responses of hyperelastic soft solids. Our efforts might help to enhance the understanding of hyperelastic indentation problems and provided necessary instructions for the mechanical characterization of hyperelastic soft materials.     

多孔泡沫铝压缩过程中微结构演化

本文采用SXR-CT技术研究金属多孔泡沫铝材料在压缩过程中内部微结构的演化。获得了泡沫铝试件的各个断层图像,以及各断层图像组装得到的三维结构图像,由此计算得到不同断层的孔隙率和压缩时各断层的位移量。并给出一系列相同位置、不同压缩量状态下垂直截面图像,通过这些图像可以直接地观察压缩过程中泡沫铝内部微结构的演化。这些研究结果将为泡沫铝制备工艺的改进和材料与结构的优化设计提供有益的参考,并为泡沫铝压缩破坏机理的构建提供科学依据。其中SXR-CT技术重建图像的分辨率约为10.9μm。     

An experimental study on the ratcheting behavior of pure aluminium under uniaxial cyclic stressing

An experimental study was carried out for the cyclic properties of pure aluminium subjected to uniaxial cyclic straining and stressing. For a material of pure aluminium the effects of the cyclic strain amplitude history and mean strain on the cyclic deformation behavior were investigated, and the influences of stress amplitude, mean stress and their histories on cyclic creep (i. e., ratcheting) were analyzed. It is shown that either uniaxial cyclic property under cyclic straining or ratcheting behavior under asymmetric uniaxial loading depends not only on the current loading, but also on the previous loading history. Some significant results were obtained.Financial support from NFSC is acknowledged.     

Comparative simulation study of the structure of the plastic zone produced by nanoindentation

Using molecular-dynamics simulation, we study nanoindentation in fcc (Cu and Al) and bcc (Fe and Ta) metals by a spherical indenter and investigate the size of the plastic zone generated. We find that while it does not strongly depend on crystal structure, surface orientation, and indentation parameters, the extent of the plastic zone is substantially larger before the retraction of the indenter. After retraction, the results are in good agreement with available published data. Plasticity develops by the generation, propagation and reaction of dislocations; they fall into two groups, those that adhere to the indentation pit, and those that have been emitted either into the substrate interior or glide along the surface. The total length of the dislocation network generated roughly follows available geometrical estimates; results for individual surface orientations may, however, differ quite strongly. The radial distribution of the dislocations attached to the indentation pit is computed; as a rule it shows a maximum at some depth below the indentation pit.     

基体材料对铝蜂窝动态强化特性的影响

为了明确基体材料对铝蜂窝动态强化行为的影响,首先从铝蜂窝结构中取出蜂窝壁,制成小试样并对其进行了力学性能测试,然后对几何参数相同而基体材料不同的2种铝蜂窝材料分别进行了单轴面外静态和动态压缩实验。实验结果表明, 2种铝蜂窝均存在明显的动态强化现象,但动态强化率存在显著差异。横向惯性理论可以解释蜂窝的动态强化行为和强化率的差异:基体材料应变硬化率高的铝蜂窝,其面外方向的动态强化现象相对更显著。     

Plastic deformation and fracture of polycrystalline Ni–Ti with stress concentrators of different scales

Stress concentrators of different scales inherent in polycrystals tend to form mesosubstructures under load. Television-optical images of displacements are obtained for the Ni–Ti alloy to study the deformation and fracture behavior. Discussed are similarity laws in connection with the formation of dissipative structures at the micro- and macro-scale level.     

Behaviour of uniaxially preloaded aluminium plates subjected to high-velocity impact

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the behaviour of structural thin plates made of 7075-T6 aluminium alloy under normal impact of spherical steel projectiles, when they are subjected to uniaxial in-plane tensile preload. Also, nonloaded plates were tested under high-velocity impact. The impact and residual velocity were measured in all tests. From the relationships between the impact and residual velocities, the ballistic limit was estimated by a least-squares method. No significant differences were found between the ballistic limits under the two loaded conditions. Above the ballistic limit in the preloaded plates, unstable cracks that can generate the catastrophic failure of the plate were observed. At similar velocities, this phenomenon was not observed in nonloaded plates.     

Toughness and failure of heat resistant steel before and after hydrogenation

Fracture toughness of heat-resistant steel can be increased by a preliminary thermomechanical loading called warm pre-stressing (WPS). The procedure creates a plastic deformed area around the crack tip and hence allows larger service loads to be tolerated by the cracked specimen. It is shown that a hydrogenation in the preloading stage decreases the fracture toughness of material.Investigations are also presented of the applicability of physical and mechanical approaches for the prediction of cleavage stress of materials after preliminary plastic deformation (PPD) effects and hydrogenation. Different schemes of the plastic deformation and influence of hydrogenation are considered in the preloading stage to provide different levels cleavage stress of steel 15Kh2MFA.     

Molecular dynamics studies on the local disordering of Σ3 and Σ11 grain boundaries in aluminium bicrystal

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using Morse interaction potential are performed in studies of [110] symmetrical tilt grain boundary (GB) structures with mis-orientation angles 50.5°(Σ11), 129.5°(Σ11), 70.5°(Σ3) and 109.5°(Σ3) at various tempratures. The GB structures are found to start local disordering at about 0.5T _m (T _m is the melting point of aluminium) for 50.5°(Σ11), 0.32T _m for 129.5° (Σ11) and 0.38T _m for 70.5°(Σ3), respectively. These results agree with conclusions deduced from the anelastic measurements. But, for twin-boundary structure 109.5°(Σ3), this disordering has not been found even when temperature increases up to 0.9T _m . The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and Laboratory for Non-linear Mechanics of Continuous Media, Institute of Mechanics, Academia Sinica.     

胶层吸湿对单搭接接头影响的数值模拟

在建立胶桔剂吸涅本构模型的基础上,用弹塑性有限元法研究了聚丙烯酸酯胶层吸涅程度对单搭接接头上胶层中应力分布的影响.结果表明:随着胶层吸湿程度增加,单搭接接头上胶瘤处的峰值应力显著降低.对水分从搭接区两侧渗入胶层的总宽度变化时胶层中的应力分布作了研究,发现随渗入总宽度的增加,胶层中的等效应力Seqv峰值下降.因水分渗入后引起胶层溶胀,在胶瘤过渡到中间胶层的拐角处会产生严重变形,可能导致该处发生脱粘.     

On physical foundations of plasticity

Complexity of plastic response is caused by the fact that plastically deformed solids are composites with a changing structure. At the mesoscale (m) a pattern of high and low dislocation density regions is spontaneously formed. The evolution of the composite structures is treated as a consequence of the structuralization process governed by four types of mechanisms: (i) the overproduction of dislocation, (ii) the screening of their elastic fields, (iii) the formation of dipolar dislocation patterns, (iv) the instability transition leading to the formation of subgrain boundaries, dislocation grids, microshear bands, or persistent slip bands. The proposed theoretical model consists of the balance law for the dislocation density of stored dislocations, the relations which determine the average shape of glide dislocations, and the continuum mechanics equations for stress and strain. To demonstrate the capacity of the model some available solutions simulating the mesoscale structure evolution are briefly reviewed.

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Sommario La complessità della risposta plastica è dovuta al fatto che i solidi soggetti a deformazioni plastiche sono corpi compositi di struttura variabile. A mesoscala (m) si forma spontaneamente un insieme di regioni di alta e bassa densità di dislocazioni. Si tratta il comportamento delle strutture composite come conseguenza di un processo di strutturalizzazione governato da quattro tipi di meccanismi: (1) sovrapproduzione di dislocazioni; (2) la schermatura del loro campo elastico;(3) la formazione di tipi di dislocazioni dipolari;(4) transizione di instabilità. Il modello teorico proposto è composto dalle equazioni di bilancio per la densità di dislocazione delle dislocazioni immagazzinate, dalle relazioni che determinano l'andamento medio delle dislocazioni di scorrimento e dalle equazioni della meccanica dei continui per sforzi e deformazioni. Per controllare la validità del modello, si riesaminano brevemente alcune soluzioni conosciute che simulano l'evoluzione della struttura a mesoscala.

     

镁合金弹丸10km/s撞击铝靶成坑特性实验

为获得10 km/s超高速撞击成坑特性,采用内爆发射器开展了长径比l/d_p为1/2、直径d_p为0.8 cm的镁合金弹丸撞击厚5 cm铝靶的超高速撞击实验,获得了铝靶的撞击成坑尺寸和形貌特性,结合文献数据,分析了成坑形貌与8 km/s以下速度撞击坑的差异和弹丸长径比、速度、动能对成坑尺寸的影响。结果表明:典型的撞击坑不仅包含中心成坑区,还包含了破坏区,成坑区近似半球形弹坑,破坏区为自由表面剥落形成的浅坑;坑深P_c/d_p为1.5～2.0,坑径d_c/d_p为3～3.5,坑形系数P_c/d_c为0.50,成坑效率E/V_c均值为3.74 kJ/cm3;对于l/d_p≤1的弹丸,采用等效直径对坑深进行归一化,归一化后坑深与长径比无关,与速度的2/3次幂成线性关系。     

The role of plastic deformation on the impact behaviour of high aspect ratio aluminium foam-filled sections

The main objective of this work is to investigate the role of the plastic deformation of metal foams on the dynamic behaviour of aluminium foam-filled columns with respect to their energy absorbing capabilities. The influence of the cross-section shape as well as other parameters is thoroughly studied. A comparison with correspondent hollow-sections is performed concerning the dissipation of kinetic energy and the obtained deformed profiles. For this particular purpose, three-dimensional finite element modelling dynamic analyses are carried out using ABAQUS/Explicit in order to achieve an in-depth study of the structural crash behaviour, during which energy needs to be absorbed in a controlled manner. A comprehensive numerical study of the crush behaviour of aluminium foam-filled sections undergoing axial compressive loading is performed. The results obtained are also analysed with respect to the reduction in the length of the structural element and impact time, the effect of friction between the foam and the outer skin, the energy decomposition, the role of plastic deformation, the influence of the skin material and impact velocity, and the influence of the shape of the cross-section on the impact behaviour. A comparison with existing analytical expressions is made in order to corroborate the numerical results.     

不同应变率下泡沫铝的形变和力学性能

对低密度泡沫铝在不同变形率下的形变和力学性能进行了系统的试验研究。结果表明:（1）沿剪切方向骨架首先塌陷,即变形的局部化是低应变率下块体泡沫铝的主要变形特征;（2）在不同应变率下泡沫铝表现出体积应变基本上随工程应变呈线性变化,在低应变率下泊松比随轴向应变呈幂次关系增加,但在高应变率下泊松比随塑性应变增加,从一峰值降低并趋于稳定;（3）低应变率下泡沫铝材料塑性变形均匀,而高应变率下剪切变形较大;（4）泡沫铝材料的强度对应变率不很明显,但随塑性应变增加,它的率敏感性增加。     

Yield stress strengthening in ultrafine-grained metals: A two-dimensional simulation of dislocation dynamics

The effect of grain size on the tensile plastic deformation of ultrafine-grained copper polycrystals is investigated using a two-dimensional simulation of dislocation dynamics. Emphasis is put on the elementary mechanisms governing the yield stress in multislip conditions. Whatever the grain size, the yield stress is found to follow a Hall-Petch law. However, the elementary mechanism controlling slip transmission through the grain boundaries at yield is observed to change with the grain size. For the larger grain sizes, the stress concentrations due to dislocations piled-up at grain boundaries are responsible for the activation of plastic activity in the poorly stressed grains. For the smaller grain sizes, the pile-ups contain less dislocations and are less numerous, but the strain incompatibilities between grains become significant. They induce high internal stresses and favor multislip conditions in all grains. Based on these results, simple interpretations are proposed for the strengthening of the yield stress in ultrafine grained metals.     

A first-principles measure for the twinnability of FCC metals

Twinnability is the property describing the ease with which a metal plastically deforms by twinning relative to deforming by dislocation-mediated slip. In this paper a theoretical measure for twinnability in face-centered-cubic (fcc) metals is obtained through homogenization of a recently introduced criterion for deformation twinning (DT) at a crack tip in a single crystal. The DT criterion quantifies the competition between slip and twinning at the crack tip as a function of crack orientation and applied loading. The twinnability of bulk material is obtained by constructing a representative volume element of the material as a polycrystal containing a distribution of microcracks and integrating the DT criterion over all possible grain and microcrack orientations. The resulting integral expression depends weakly on Poisson's ratio and significantly on three interfacial energies: the stacking-fault energy, the unstable-stacking energy and the unstable-twinning energy. All these four quantities can be computed from first principles. The weak dependence on Poisson's ratio is exploited to derive a simple and accurate closed-form approximation for twinnability which clarifies its dependence on the remaining material parameters. To validate the new measure, the twinnability of eight pure fcc metals is computed using parameters obtained from quantum-mechanical tight-binding calculations. The ranking of these materials according to their theoretical twinnability agrees with the available experimental evidence, including the low incidence of DT in Al, and predicts that Pd should twin as easily as Cu.