Inverse analysis determining interfacial properties between metal film and ceramic substrate with an adhesive layer

In the present study, peel tests and inverse analysis were performed to determine the interracial mechanical parameters for the metal film/ceramic system with an epoxy interface layer between film and ceramic. Al films with a series of thicknesses between 20 and 250 μm and three peel angles of 90°, 135° and 180° were considered. A finite element model with the cohesive zone elements was used to simulate the peeling process. The finite element results were taken as the training data of a neural network in the inverse analysis. The interracial cohesive energy and the separation strength can be determined based on the inverse analysis and peel experimental result     

Nonlinear analyses of wrinkles in a film bonded to a compliant substrate

Subject to a compressive membrane force, a film bonded to a compliant substrate often forms a pattern of wrinkles. This paper studies such wrinkles in a layered structure used in several recent experiments. The structure comprises a stiff film bonded to a compliant substrate, which in turn is bonded to a rigid support. Two types of analyses are performed. First, for sinusoidal wrinkles, by minimizing energy, we obtain the wavelength and the amplitude of the wrinkles for substrates of various moduli and thicknesses. Second, we develop a method to simultaneously evolve the two-dimensional pattern in the film and the three-dimensional elastic field in the substrate. The simulations show that the wrinkles can evolve into stripes, labyrinths, or herringbones, depending on the anisotropy of the membrane forces. Statistical averages of the amplitude and wavelength of wrinkles of various patterns correlate well with the analytical solution of the sinusoidal wrinkles.     

On the dynamic electromechanical loading of dielectric elastomer membranes

Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) have received considerable attention recently due to large voltage-induced strains, which can be over 100%. Previously, a large deformation quasi-static model that describes the out-of-plane deformations of clamped diaphragms was derived. The numerical model results compare well with quasi-static experimental results for the same configuration. With relevance to dynamic applications, the time-varying response of initially planar dielectric elastomer membranes configured for out-of-plane deformations has not been reported until now. In this paper, an experimental investigation and analysis of the dynamic response of a dielectric elastomer membrane is reported. The experiments were conducted with prestretched DEAs fabricated from 0.5 mm thick polyacrylate films and carbon grease electrodes. The experiments covered the electromechanical spectrum by investigating membrane response due to (i) a time-varying voltage input and (ii) a time-varying pressure input, resulting in a combined electromechanical loading state in both cases. For the time-varying voltage experiments, the membrane had a prestretch of three and was passively inflated to various predetermined states, and then actuated. The pole strains incurred during the inflation were as high as 25.6%, corresponding to slightly less than a hemispherical state. On actuation, the membrane would inflate further, causing a maximum additional strain of 9.5%. For the time-varying pressure experiments, the prestretched membrane was inflated and deflated mechanically while a constant voltage was applied. The membrane was cycled between various predetermined inflation states, the largest of which was nearly hemispherical, which with an applied constant voltage of 3 kV corresponded to a maximum polar strain of 28%. The results from these experiments reveal that the response of the membrane is a departure from the classical dynamic response of continuum membrane structures. The dynamic response of the membrane is that of a damped system with specific deformation shapes reminiscent of the classical membrane mode shapes but without same-phase oscillation, that is to say all parts of the system do not pass through the equilibrium configuration at the same time. Of particular interest is the ability to excite these deformations through a varying electrical load at constant mechanical pressure.     

Fracture-mode map of brittle coatings: Theoretical development and experimental verification

Brittle coatings, upon sufficiently high indentation load, tend to fracture through either ring cracking or radial cracking. In this paper, we systematically study the factors determining the fracture modes of bilayer material under indentation. By analyzing the stress field developed in a coating/substrate bilayer under indentation in combination with the application of the maximum-tensile-stress fracture criterion, we show that the fracture mode of brittle coatings due to indentation is determined synergistically by two dimensionless parameters being functions of the mechanical properties of coating and substrate, coating thickness and indenter tip radius. Such dependence can be graphically depicted by a diagram called ‘fracture-mode map’, whereby the fracture modes can be directly predicated based on these two dimensionless parameters. Experimental verification of the fracture-mode map is carried out by examining the fracture modes of fused quartz/cement bilayer materials under indentation. The experimental observation exhibits good agreement with the prediction by the fracture-mode map. Our finding in this paper may not only shed light on the mechanics accounting for the fracture modes of brittle coatings in bilayer structures but also pave a new avenue to combating catastrophic damage through fracture mode control.     

Electric field-induced surface transformations and experimental dynamic characteristics of dielectric elastomer membranes

Acute and tunable surface transformations of a monolithic structure by application of an electric field have immediate significance for adaptive structures, morphing concepts and optical applications. Dielectric elastomer (DE) membranes are electric field-responsive materials typically employed as large strain electrostatic actuators. In this paper, it is demonstrated that an electric field will generate several symmetric surface shapes analogous to the mode shapes in the classical drumhead or stretched membrane problem. In a previous experimental study, a single surface transformation creating ripples or waves on an initially smooth surface was observed for an electrically excited DE membrane. The unexpected result led to the development of an experimental setup that would facilitate extensive characterization of the dynamic surface transformations of dielectric elastomer membranes. The new results clearly show that the electric field can be used to tune the patterns of the DE surface. Furthermore, the membrane will go through resonance when a periodic electric field is applied if the system conditions are favorable, which has not been observed before now. This presents a unique opportunity to increase the output displacement of DE membranes without electrically overloading the membrane. The experiments show that increasing the size of the chamber onto which the membrane is clamped will increase the peak deformation as well as cause the membrane's resonance peaks to shift and change in number. For DE membranes driven at 1.5 kV, at the smallest chamber volume, the maximum actuation displacement is 81 μm; while at the largest chamber volume, the maximum actuation displacement is 1431 μm. This corresponds to a 1767% increase in maximum pole displacement. The dependence on chamber volume suggests that under dynamic conditions a systems level analysis is needed for DE actuators. The effect of voltage offset as a means of modulating the dynamic deformation response is also reported in this study.     

Analysis of delamination in thin film electrodes under galvanostatic and potentiostatic operations with Li-ion diffusion from edge

Progressive delamination driven by Li-ion diffusion in elastic disk-like thin film electrodes of Li-ion batteries is modeled based on the cohesive model. Axisymmetric diffusion model is considered under both galvanostatic and potentiostatic operations. The effect of edge diffusion on the delamination process is evaluated. It is found that the diffusion from edge leads to an earlier delamination initiation. The edge effect is significant for active disks with a small aspect ratio, but negligible for the case of large aspect ratio. The edge diffusion is weaker in the potentiostatic operation than in the galvanostatic operation.     

Spherical indentation of freestanding circular thin films in the membrane regime

We present theoretical and experimental results to describe the mechanics of indentation of a clamped circular membrane with a frictionless spherical indenter. Analytical expressions and numerical simulations are presented for the relationships between contact radius, finite indentation strains (and stresses), pre-stretch, loads and deflection. These closed-form solutions are contrasted with point-load models that neglect the contact size (i.e. classical Schwerin-type solutions), and lead to important differences in the indentation strain and load-deflection response. The accuracy of these closed form expressions is illustrated by comparisons with detailed numerical results and experiments on thin elastomer films. We show that the closed-form solutions can be used to extract mechanical properties from indentation testing of freestanding films, with important implications for developing new tests on nanoscale films and/or compliant materials such as polymers and biological substances.     

Modeling the plastic response of thin metal membranes

Using a dislocations-based model of slip and crystal plasticity, we show by illustrative examples that the experimentally observed increase in the yield stress of very thin metallic membranes most likely is due to the variation of grain orientations through the thickness of the membrane, as well as the surface hardness due to oxidation or contamination, both of which generally are insignificant when there is a sufficient number of interior crystals through the membrane thickness; the overall effect may well be produced by a combination of these two causes. We show that crystal plasticity models can account for such size effects without a need for resorting to phenomenological strain-gradient models. We illustrate this using Nemat-Nasser's dislocations-based slip-induced crystal plasticity model that inherently includes length scales, although other rate-dependent slip models, e.g., the classical power-law slip model, most likely would qualitatively produce similar results. Our numerical results, based on the experimentally supported dislocation-induced slip model and the values of the model parameters given in Nemat-Nasser and Li [1998. Flow stress of F.C.C. polycrystals with application to OFHC Cu. Acta Mater. 46, 565-577], correlate well, both qualitatively and quantitatively, with the experimental results reported by Hommel and Kraft [2001. Deformation behavior of thin copper films on deformable substrates. Acta Mater. 49, 3935-3947] and Espinosa et al. [2004. Plasticity size effect in free-standing submicron polycrystalline FCC films subjected to pure tension. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 52, 667-689] for thin copper membranes, suggesting that, for submicron-sized samples, the classical crystal plasticity with slip models, does qualitatively account well for the small-size effects, and that quantitative predictions are obtained when, in addition, a physics-based dislocation model that includes length scales, is used. It is thus concluded that the length-scale effect and the size effect are two separate issues in metal plasticity, both of which are nicely accounted for by physics-based dislocation models of crystal plasticity without a need to include the plastic strain gradient.     

The electro-mechanical response of highly compliant substrates and thin stiff films with periodic cracks

We present results that describe the mechanical response of highly compliant substrates coated with ultra-thin stiff films, with thickness and elastic moduli differences spanning four orders of magnitude. Dimensional analysis based on shear-lag models of cracked films is used to identify key parameters that control the effective elastic properties of the cracked multi-layer, crack opening displacements, and the steady-state energy release rate for channeling crack formation. Analytical forms that describe multi-layer response in terms of film properties and crack spacing are presented and corroborated with numerical models for linear elastic materials. A key result is that the energy release rate scales with 1/(1 − α), where α is one of the Dundurs’ parameters describing elastic mismatch. The results can also be used to evaluate the performance of electrostrictive actuators comprised of cracked blanket electrodes and elastomer dielectrics. In this scenario, an interesting result is that ultra-thin cracked films can continue to distribute charge, since crack openings may be small enough to allow breakdown in air at typical operating voltages.     

Influence of the capillarity on a creeping film flow down an inclined plane with an edge

Summary In creeping flows of thin films, the capillarity can play a dominant role. In this paper, the creeping film flow down an inclined plane with an edge is considered. The influence of the capillarity on the velocity and the film surface is studied analytically, numerically and experimentally. Received 12 April 1999; accepted for publication 9 May 1999     

Weakly nonlinear stability analysis of a falling film with countercurrent gas flow

Weakly nonlinear stability analysis of a falling film with countercurrent gas–liquid flow has been investigated. A normal mode approach and the method of multiple scales are employed to carry out the linear and nonlinear stability solutions for the film flow system. The results show that both supercritical stability and subcritical instability are possible for a film flow system when the gas flows in the countercurrent direction. The stability characteristics of the film flow system are strongly influenced by the effects of interfacial shear stress when the gas flows in the countercurrent direction. The effect of countercurrent gas flow in a falling film is to stabilize the film flow system.     

Morphology of Liquid Drops and thin Films on a Solid Surface with Sinusoidal Microstructures

Surface microstructures of solid materials play a significant role in various wetting and dewetting phenomena. In the present paper, the effect of micro- and nano-structures of a substrate surface on the morphology and evolution of liquid droplets and thin films is examined. The governing equations satisfied by droplets and films on a sinusoidal surface are derived by considering van der Waals force, surface tension, gravity and hydrostatic pressure. The morphologies of both liquid droplets and thin films are numerically simulated under various characteristic sizes of roughness. It is found that the droplet shapes show a significant dependence upon the characteristic sizes of substrate microstructures. A thin liquid film on a hydrophilic substrate may have a horizontal surface or replicate the substrate morphology, depending on the wavelength of roughness.The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10525210, 10121202) and the Ministry of Education of China.The English text was polished by Keren Wang.     

Large deformation adhesive contact mechanics of circular membranes with a flat rigid substrate

We study the large deformation mechanics of contact and adhesion between an inflated hyperelastic membrane and a rigid substrate. The initial configuration of the membrane is flat and circular and is clamped at the edge. Two types of friction conditions between the membrane and the substrate are considered: frictionless and no-slip contact. We derive an exact expression for the energy release rate in terms of local variables at the contact edge, thus linking adhesion to the contact angle. Our model can account for the effects of fluid pressure for experiments performed in solution. We also extend our formulation to include surface tension. Numerical simulations for a neo-Hookean membrane are carried out to study the relation between applied pressure and contact area.     

Problem of Low-frequency Localized Oscillations in a Thin Film with Growing Islands

Influence of localization waves to islands growing on a thin film is investigated. The film is modelled as a fluid layer covered by an inertial surface with the variable density of mass and surface tension. Mathematically, the problem is reduces to analysis of a system of non-linear equations describing the growth of island nuclei and wave propagation in the films. The existence of trapped modes for the corresponding frequency-domain problem is established. We show that for large time wave localization near islands gives some contribution in the increase of the velocity of island growth.     

The numerical solution of the thin film flow surrounding a horizontal cylinder resulting from a vertical cylindrical jet

The numerical solution of the thin film flow surrounding a horizontal cylinder resulting from a single vertical cylindrical jet is obtained. This is effected by transforming the domain of the flow, which contains a free surface, onto a rectangular parallelepiped and using a marching strategy to solve the ensuing parabolic equations. The flow terminates at a finite distance along the cylinder, its position depending on the velocity and mass flux of the jet. A comparison with the usual two-dimensional model in which the jet is replaced by a vertical sheet shows that such a representation is valid provided the overall width of the flow is not too large. In particular, the differences in heat transfer characteristics amount to a few per cent, thus validating the use of the two-dimensional model when applied to heat exchanger tubes. A comparison with the more usual multicolumn case is also considered.     

The Mexican hat effect on the delamination buckling of a compressed thin film

Because of the interaction between film and substrate,the film buckling stress can vary significantly,depending on the delamination geometry,the film and substrate mechanical properties.The Mexican hat effect indicates such interaction.An analytical method is presented,and related dimensional analysis shows that a single dimensionless parameter can effectively evaluate the effect.     

Transient dynamic response of a coated piezoelectric strip with a vertical crack

In this study, the dynamic response of a coated piezoelectric strip containing a crack vertical to the interfaces under normal impact load is considered. Based on the superposition principle and the integral transform techniques, the solution in the Laplace transformed plane is obtained in terms of a singular integral equation. The order of stress singularity around the tip of the terminated crack is also obtained. The singular integral equation is solved by using the Gauss–Jacobi integration formula, and the numerical Laplace inversion is then carried out to obtain the resulting dynamic stress and electric displacement intensities. The effects of the material properties and the geometric parameters on the dynamic stress intensity factor and the dynamic energy density factors are shown graphically.     

Constitutive analysis of thin biological membranes with application to radial stretching of a hollow circular membrane

The constitutive analysis of the mechanical response of thin elastic membranes under inplane deformation is presented by using the multiplicative decomposition of the deformation gradient into its areal and distortional parts. Specific results are obtained for the Evans-Skalak form of the strain energy function. The solution to the problem of radial stretching of a hollow circular membrane obeying this constitutive model is then derived. The stress concentration factor is determined as a function of the relative hole size and the magnitude of the applied tension. The tension boundary is identified above which no compressive stress appears in the membrane. The limit boundary is introduced below which the membrane cannot support the applied loading without unstable wrinkling. For the loading between the tension and the limit boundary, nonuniformly distributed infinitesimal wrinkles appear within the inner portion of the membrane, carrying radial tension but no circumferential stress (tension field). The specific form of the strain energy function is used to describe this behavior, and to calculate the amount of the membrane area absorbed by infinitesimal wrinkles. The wrinkled portion is surrounded by the outer portion of the membrane carrying both radial and circumferential stresses. The limit boundary is reached when wrinkles spread throughout the membrane. It is shown that for a sufficiently large tension at the outer boundary, the wrinkling does not spread throughout the membrane no matter how large the applied tension at the inner boundary of the membrane is, provided that no rupture takes place. The limiting extent of the tension field in such cases is calculated. The linearized version of the analysis is characterized by a closed form solution.     

The effects of micro-defects and crack on the mechanical properties of metal fiber sintered sheets

The effects of three types of defect (i.e., two micro defects—broken fibers and separation of fiber joints and one macro defect—crack) on the mechanical properties of porous metal fiber sintered sheets (MFSSs) are investigated by a combination of numerical simulation, analytical modeling, and experimental test. All simulations are based upon the previously developed micromechanics random beam model (Jin et al., 2013). Broken fibers are realized by removing cell edges (i.e., fibers between two joints) in an otherwise perfect model. Their induced decreases in the elastic moduli and strengths are found to be much lower than those of two dimensional (2D) foams and Kagome grids. For the defect in the form of separation of fiber joints, both analytical and numerical models are developed. The predicted linear decreases in the moduli and strengths (except for the compressive strength) with increasing number of separated fiber joints indicate that MFSSs be insensitive to the defect of joint separation. To explore the effect of crack, fracture toughness of MFSSs is measured and is found to be significantly higher than that of metal foams of the same relative density (i.e., volume fraction of the constituent solid material). The underlying ductile mechanism of MFSSs is further investigated by numerical simulations, showing that plastic deformation spreads all over the fibers in ligament rather than concentrates around crack tip. This study shows that MFSSs are superior in view of their resistance to the considered micro-defects and crack.     

Continuum theory of swelling material surfaces with applications to thermo-responsive gel membranes and surface mass transport

Soft membranes are commonly employed in shape-morphing applications, where the material is programmed to achieve a target shape upon activation by an external trigger, and as coating layers that alter the surface characteristics of bulk materials, such as the properties of spreading and absorption of liquids. In particular, polymer gel membranes experience swelling or shrinking when their solvent content change, and the non-homogeneous swelling field may be exploited to control their shape. Here, we develop a theory of swelling material surfaces to model polymer gel membranes and demonstrate its features by numerically studying applications in the contexts of biomedicine, micro-motility, and coating technology. We also specialize the theory to thermo-responsive gels, which are made of polymers that change their affinity with a solvent when temperature varies.