Flux creep through the surface barrier and columnar defects in HTSC

The rate of flux creep over the surface barrier in clean HTSC samples is found. This rate proves to be significantly different for the cases of vortex entry and escape (relaxation “in” and “out”, respectively). Since a flat surface is topologically similar to the artificial columnar defects, their comparison is useful. The vortex creep over the surface is equivalent to that over the cylinder defect of radius r > λ, whereas the radii of real defects obtained so far are of order . We discuss the effect of the smallness of defect radius on the creep process, which results in very small activation energies U at large critical current J_c. The importance of the increase of the defect radius is predicted.     

Electron paramagnetic resonance investigation of molecular bond rupture due to ozone in deformed rubber

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) provides a sensitive tool by which microscopic bond rupture can be monitored simultaneously with observations of macroscopic deformation and failure. Past techniques for studying fracture in semicrystalline polymers have been extended to investigate degradation of unfilled ruber in the presence of ozone. It was found that the rate of free radical production was linearly proportional to stretch ratio and ozone concentration and that stress relaxation and creep were not directly proportional to this production rate. The latter behavior was attributed to the particular dependence of crack density and growth on stress. It was concluded that at low strains, comparatively few surface cracks form; however, at higher strains, many more crack centers become active. Although many more surface cracks are present, they do not progress into the material as rapidly. Therefore, although more bonds were broken at higher strains and stresses, the stress relaxation rate and creep rates were not significantly increased.     

Free volume and finite-size effects in a polymer glass under stress

Molecular dynamics simulations of the nonlinear creep response of a polymer glass under tension and compression have been performed at the glass transition temperature. The dynamics were measured as the deformation proceeds using the bond autocorrelation function, and the relaxation times measured as the system is compressed or elongated exhibit a universal response. In tension, the volume increases with strain rate and the relaxation times decrease. In compression, however, the volume decreases by approximately the same amount for all of the applied stresses. Thus, decreases in free volume take place alongside a decrease of the relaxation times by over a factor of 100. We find direct evidence that a characteristic length scale exists below which the deformation of the system exhibits distinct anomalies.     

Effect of chirality on the dynamics of domain walls in the molecular ferrimagnet [MnII(HL-pn)(H2O)][MnIII(CN)6] · 2H2O

The contributions from modes of switching, sliding, creep, and Debye relaxation of pinned domain walls to the low-frequency magnetic properties of the chiral and racemic molecular ferrimagnets [Mn^II(HL-pn)(H₂O)][Mn^III(CN)₆] · 2H₂O have been separated. It has been found that the chirality of the atomic and spin structures affects the temperatures of the transitions from the sliding mode to the creep mode and from the creep mode to the mode of Debye relaxation. In the chiral crystals, transitions to the creep and Debye relaxation modes have been observed at temperatures T = 7 and 5 K, respectively. In the racemic crystals, these transitions have been observed at temperatures T = 13 and 9 K, respectively, all other factors being equal.     

Observation of zero creep in piezoelectric actuators

Piezoelectric actuators are frequently used nowadays in a wide variety of positioning devices. Although very suitable for small displacements in the range of nm to several hundreds of μm, the actuators always suffer from hysteresis and creep between the input voltage and resulting displacements. In scanning applications, the input voltage is often used as an indicator of the induced displacement. This procedure can result in a large position error depending on the amount of hysteresis and creep. In order to describe and control hysteretic systems various models for hysteresis have been published but little is known about relaxation and creep in piezo materials. In this paper we present detailed studies of the hysteretic behavior and piezo relaxation and creep. We have identified certain locations on the hysteresis loop that exhibit zero creep. From this observation, a more fundamental relation between the amount of creep and the local slope of the hysteresis loop and the virgin curve is presented. This observation could be useful in both open-loop and closed-loop position control, since it allows quantification of the creep. Futhermore, the experimentally observed relation between the creep and the hysteresis suggests a reduction of the creep for non-hysteretic transfers. First measurements on a system with reduced hysteresis support this hypothesis. Received: 15 February 1999 / Accepted: 16 February 1999 / Published online: 28 April 1999     

Experimental study of room-temperature indentation viscoplastic ‘creep’ in zirconium

In this paper we have studied the mechanisms of so-called ‘indentation creep’ in a zirconium alloy. Nanoindentation was used to obtain strain rate data as the sample was indented at room temperature, at a homologous temperature below that for which creep behaviour would be expected for this material. A high value of strain rate was obtained, consistent with previous work on indentation creep. In order to elucidate the mechanism of time-dependent deformation, a load relaxation experiment was performed by uniaxial loading of a sample of the same alloy. By allowing relaxation of the sample from a peak load in the tensile test machine, a similar stress exponent was obtained to that seen in the nanoindentation creep test. We conclude that for metals, at temperatures below that at which conventional creep will occur, nanoindentation ‘creep’ proceeds through deformation on active slip systems that were initiated by prior loading beyond the plastic limit. It is therefore more appropriate to describe it as a viscoplastic process, and not as creep deformation.     

Phase diagram for flux creep in Bi-2223 Ag-sheathed tapes

From magnetic relaxation measurements on monocore Ag-sheathed Bi-2223 tapes a phase diagram for flux creep is proposed. With increasing field and temperature a phase transition from 2D single vortex creep to 2D collective vortex creep is found. Both the phase transition and the irreversibility line are shifted to higher temperatures for samples with higher transport critical current density.     

Kinetics of isothermal creep in metallic glasses including the statistical distribution of activation parameters

A generalized theoretical model is proposed for the structural relaxation of metallic glasses under load. Structural relaxation is treated as a set of irreversible, uncorrelated, two-stage atomic displacements in some regions of the structure, the “relaxation centers.” In loaded samples structural relaxation acquires a directional character, leading to the buildup of plastic deformation in accordance with the magnitude and orientation of the applied mechanical stress. General equations are obtained for creep kinetics including a continuous statistical distribution of the principal activation parameters. These equations are compared with the results of a special experiment. The model is found to provide an adequate interpretation of the observed creep kinetics, except for the first 10¹–10² seconds after loading. It is argued that the initial stage of creep is determined by reversible atomic realignments in relaxation centers having symmetric two-well potential. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 2008–2015 (November 1997)     

Slow Vortex Creep Induced by Strong Grain Boundary Pinning in Advanced Ba122 Superconducting Tapes

We report the temperature, magnetic field and time dependences of magnetization in advanced Ba122 superconducting tapes. The sample exhibits peculiar vortex creep behavior. Below 10 K, the normalized magnetization relaxation rate S = d ln(-M)/d ln(t) shows a temperature-insensitive plateau with a value comparable to that of low-temperature superconductors, which can be explained within the framework of collective creep theory. It then enters into a second collective creep regime when the temperature increases. Interestingly, the relaxation rate below 20 K tends to reach saturation with increasing the field. However, it changes to a power law dependence on the field at a higher temperature. A vortex phase diagram composed of the collective and the plastic creep regions is shown. Benefiting from the strong grain boundary pinning, the advanced Bal22 superconducting tape has potential to be applied not only in liquid helium but also in liquid hydrogen or at temperatures accessible with cryocoolers.     

Correlation of Cooperatively Localized Rearrangement on the “Fluidized Domain”of Polymers to Their Nonexponentially Viscoelastic Behavior and Lifetime at Double Aging Processes II: Estimation of Long-term Mechanical Behavior and Lifetime of Polymeric Mate

以四种不同类型高聚物(半晶聚丙烯、聚甲基烯酸甲酯、交联环氧树酯和炭黑填充丁苯橡胶)的短时标应力松弛和蠕变测试实验数据作为实例,按照两套应力松弛模量和蠕变柔量普适对比态方程,从理论组合主直线上直线外推了四种高聚物的长时标力学行为和寿命,并将其外推预测值同理论计算值和实测值进行了对比. 结果证实四种高聚物的外推预测值均同理论计算值和实测值很好地符合. 又讨论了它们的尺寸稳定性、负荷承载性,失效寿命和失效形变量等对老化时间的依赖性. 最终证实该从理论组合主直线上来直线外推长时标力学行为和寿命的方法是有效可行的.     

Dislocation jamming and andrade creep

We simulate the glide motion of an assembly of interacting dislocations under the action of an external shear stress and show that the associated plastic creep relaxation follows Andrade's law. Our results indicate that Andrade creep in plastically deforming crystals involves the correlated motion of dislocation structures near a dynamic transition separating a flowing from a jammed phase. Simulations in the presence of dislocation multiplication and noise confirm the robustness of this finding and highlight the importance of metastable structure formation for the relaxation process.     

Flux relaxation phenomena in the presence of weak AC magnetic fields

Relaxation of flux profile and magnetisation due to non-linear vortex diffusion in a superconducting slab settled in a parallel-to-the-surface DC and superimposed weak AC magnetic fields is studied for several kinds of the non-linear vortex diffusivity, corresponding to different possible shapes of the current–voltage characteristics of the superconductor. The evolution of the dynamic vortex response on applied weak AC field due to flux relaxation process is studied and relaxation characteristics of the AC magnetic susceptibility are calculated. The flux creep rate and magnetisation decay are shown to be enhanced significantly in the case of strongly non-linear regime of vortex diffusion if even rather weak AC magnetic field is applied. The possibility of ‘dynamical melting' of the vortex lattice occurring at rather high levels of the induced current density (j>j_c) is also demonstrated.     

Creep,relaxation and viscosity properties for basic fractional models in rheology

The purpose of this paper is twofold: from one side we provide a general survey to the viscoelastic models constructed via fractional calculus and from the other side we intend to analyze the basic fractional models as far as their creep, relaxation and viscosity properties are considered. The basic models are those that generalize via derivatives of fractional order the classical mechanical models characterized by two, three and four parameters, that we refer to as Kelvin–Voigt, Maxwell, Zener, anti–Zener and Burgers. For each fractional model we provide plots of the creep compliance, relaxation modulus and effective viscosity in non dimensional form in terms of a suitable time scale for different values of the order of fractional derivative. We also discuss the role of the order of fractional derivative in modifying the properties of the classical models.     

Fluctuations and viscoelasticity

Viscoelasticity is exhibited by polymers, metals undergoing diffusion creep, etc. The strain is a linear functional of the stress, but there is no unique equilibrium relationship between them. Under a constant stress, the strain does not saturate to an equilibrium value. This divergence is the main difficulty facing a first-principles theory of viscoelasticity, in contrast to anelasticity which has already been understood as a relaxation process in terms of response theory, fluctuations and related concepts. We now present such a theory, based on the recognition that viscoelasticity occurs whenever the spontaneous fluctuations of the strainrate, butnot of the strain, form a stationary random process. We give fundamental formulas for the creep function and the complex compliance, in terms of the spontaneous fluctuations of the strain rate, that apply to both viscoelasticity and anelasticity. A detailed stochastic analysis of the basic viscoelastic network equation corroborates and complements these results. The unphysical instantaneous response of the network is eliminated, and the network parameters are related to internal fluctuations. A certain functional form of the creep function is derived that is common to several physical situations, a few of which are mentioned. Detailed applications will be taken up elsewhere.     

Isothermal creep of bulk glassy Zr52.5Ti5Cu17.9Ni14.6Al10 below T g

The results of an isothermal creep investigation of Zr_52.5Ti₅Cu_17.9Ni_14.6Al₁₀ bulk metallic glass at temperatures below the glass transition temperature are presented. The long-time (t > (2–4) × 10³?s) creep regularities were found to be the same as those known for ribbon metallic glasses, in spite of the pronounced difference in the production quenching rates. It is argued that creep behaviour of bulk metallic glass is determined by the rate of irreversible structural relaxation. The apparent activation energy spectrum reconstructed from isothermal creep measurements agrees well with that determined from linear heating creep data.     

Z箍缩靶用聚合物丝的弛豫特性

 聚苯乙烯（PS）,聚乙烯（PE）及其的氘代物是Z箍缩驱动惯性约束聚变（ICF）实验中的重要固体燃料容器材料,针对物理实验对其形状的特殊要求,利用高压毛细管流变仪及HAUL-OFF熔体拉伸测试单元进行熔融纺丝,制备出直径为30～100 μm的聚合物丝样品。通过对PS,PE以及氘代聚苯乙烯（DPS）丝的力学弛豫性质研究发现：在相同的恒定应力下,实验用PS丝的蠕变量明显小于PE丝,PS丝表现出更好的尺寸稳定性;当定伸长为1％时,PS丝的松弛率明显小于PE丝;DPS丝的蠕变及应力松弛行为与PS丝具有相同的变化趋势。     

高温超导体中磁通涡旋的量子隧道效应——TlBaCaCuO化合物磁弛豫的实验研究

本文报道了ＴｌＢａＣａＣｕＯ超导体（２２１２,２２２３单相,多晶及薄膜材料）中磁弛豫现象的实验结果。从实验上证实了通量运动由热激活到非热激活机制的转变。实验中得到的与温度无关的磁弛豫速率与由通量运动量子隧道效应理论计算结果相一致。同时讨论了各向异性和磁场对磁通的量子漂移速率的影响     

高压下 MgB2 超导的涡旋动力学研究*

我们首次通过磁弛豫的方法系统研究了高压下 MgB2 样品的磁通钉扎以及涡旋动力学, 测量了其在不同温度和磁场下的磁化强度 M 随时间t 的衰变, 即 M(t) . 根据集体蠕动理论, 明确了高压效应在低磁场时抑制了磁衰变速率, 但在高场下大大的加快了磁衰变. 高压降低了临界电流密度J c 和钉扎能. 另外, 在 MgB2 样品里低场下没有观测到弹性蠕变向塑性蠕变的转变.     

Surface versus bulk pinning in a HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+x ceramics

Flux creep measurements on a HgBa₂Ca₂Cu₃O_8+x ceramics are reported. The results of the magnetic relaxation measurements are analyzed both by assuming that the pinning is due to the existence of a surface barrier or exclusively caused by bulk pinning. The action of both the surface and the bulk barriers is evidenced. At 70 K, a very high critical current density of the surface currents is determined, which is higher than the critical current density of the bulk. The field and temperature dependence of the pinning behaviour reflects mainly bulk pinning in 2D. The measurements were repeated after 4 and 12 months to investigate the influence of aging. A destruction of the superconducting properties of the grain boundaries accompanied by a degradation of the surfaces of the grains with time is proved.