Fracture mode transitions during indentation of columnar TiN coatings on metal

Pyramidal indentations and focused-ion-beam machining have been used to study the damage during contact loading of textured columnar titanium nitride hard coatings on three steels and aluminium. The influence of the substrate hardness and coating thickness on the type and extent of fracture have been examined. In particular, the primary mechanism of deformation is shown to undergo a change from inter-columnar shear to other forms of subsurface damage. A physical model is proposed to explain this transition in the fracture mode. The implications of such behaviour for coating design are discussed.     

Kinetics and mechanism of chlorination of p-aminobenzoic acid by chloramine-B

The chlorination of p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) by chloramine-B (CAB) in HCl medium at 303 K indicates simultaneous catalysis by H⁺ and Cl^–. The reaction is first order in [CAB] and [HCl], but fractional order in [PABA]. The observed solvent isotope effect is 1.52. A suitable mechanism is proposed.

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- (PABA) -B (CAB) HCl 303 H⁺ Cl^–. [PABA]. 1,52. .

     

s-Prime elements in multiplicative lattices

Let be aC-lattice which is strong join principally generated. In this paper, we consider prime elements of for which every semiprimary element is primary. We show, for example, that a compact nonmaximal primep with this property is principal. We also show that if every primepm has this property, then is either a one dimensional domain or a primary lattice. It follows that if every primep satisfies the property, and if there are only a finite number of minimal primes in , then is the finite direct product of one-dimensional domains and primary lattices.     

Almost π-Lattices

In this paper we establish some conditions for an almost -domain to be a -domain. Next -lattices satisfying the union condition on primes are characterized. Using these results, some new characterizations are given for -rings.     

From fluid relaxations to practical algorithms for job shop scheduling: the makespan objective

We design an algorithm, called the fluid synchronization algorithm (FSA), for the job shop scheduling problem with the objective of minimizing the makespan. We round an optimal solution to a fluid relaxation, in which we replace discrete jobs with the flow of a continuous fluid, and use ideas from fair queueing in the area of communication networks in order to ensure that the discrete schedule is close to the one implied by the fluid relaxation. FSA produces a schedule with makespan at most C _max+(I+2)P _max J _max, where C _max is the lower bound provided by the fluid relaxation, I is the number of distinct job types, J _max is the maximum number of stages of any job-type, and P _max is the maximum processing time over all tasks. We report computational results based on all benchmark instances chosen from the OR library when N jobs from each job-type are present. The results suggest that FSA has a relative error of about 10% for N=10, 1% for N=100, 0.01% for N=1000. In comparison to eight different dispatch rules that have similar running times as FSA, FSA clearly dominates them. In comparison to the shifting bottleneck heuristic whose running time and memory requirements are several orders of magnitude larger than FSA, the shifting bottleneck heuristic produces better schedules for small N (up to 10), but fails to provide a solution for larger values of N. Received: September 1999 / Accepted: September 2001?Published online March 14, 2002     

Decompositions of complete graphs and complete bipartite graphs into isomorphic supersubdivision graphs

A graph H is called a supersubdivison of a graph G if H is obtained from G by replacing every edge uv of G by a complete bipartite graph K_2,m (m may vary for each edge) by identifying u and v with the two vertices in K_2,m that form one of the two partite sets. We denote the set of all such supersubdivision graphs by SS(G). Then, we prove the following results.

1. Each non-trivial connected graph G and each supersubdivision graph HSS(G) admits an α-valuation. Consequently, due to the results of Rosa (in: Theory of Graphs, International Symposium, Rome, July 1966, Gordon and Breach, New York, Dunod, Paris, 1967, p. 349) and El-Zanati and Vanden Eynden (J. Combin. Designs 4 (1996) 51), it follows that complete graphs K_2cq+1 and complete bipartite graphs K_mq,nq can be decomposed into edge disjoined copies of HSS(G), for all positive integers m,n and c, where q=|E(H)|.

2. Each connected graph G and each supersubdivision graph in SS(G) is strongly n-elegant, where n=|V(G)| and felicitous.

3. Each supersubdivision graph in EASS(G), the set of all even arbitrary supersubdivision graphs of any graph G, is cordial.

Further, we discuss a related open problem.     

Stiffness based technique to probe cyclic damage accumulation in micro-structurally graded bond coats via micro-beam bending tests

This paper highlights a novel technique to delineate the fatigue response of different regions within thin microstructurally graded platinum nickel aluminide bond coats. Notched clamped beam structures fabricated from distinct microstructural zones of these coatings are subjected to programmed cyclic bending using the nano-indentation system. A methodical approach is established herein to quantify the cyclic damage preceding crack pop-in by using the cyclic stiffness of the beam as an indicator to mark failure. Preliminary results from these tests show that there is a characteristic change in the stiffness of the beam before a crack pop-in event occurs and different regions within the coating show different stiffening characteristics. Factors affecting the measured stiffness such as offsets in the loading position and blunting of the notch tip have been estimated using the finite element method. A graded flow stress model has been proposed and implemented in FEM to quantify the local flow stress changes accompanying the measured rise in stiffness. Electron transparent foils lifted off from the notched region of the beam post-testing suggests that the cyclic stiffening of the beams occurs due to dislocation hardening in the plastically deformed region close to the notch tip. Toughening mechanisms active in the crack wake have thus been investigated and correlated to the measured cyclic stiffness.     

A finite strain model of stress, diffusion, plastic flow, and electrochemical reactions in a lithium-ion half-cell

We formulate the continuum field equations and constitutive equations that govern deformation, stress, and electric current flow in a Li-ion half-cell. The model considers mass transport through the system, deformation and stress in the anode and cathode, electrostatic fields, as well as the electrochemical reactions at the electrode/electrolyte interfaces. It extends existing analyses by accounting for the effects of finite strains and plastic flow in the electrodes, and by exploring in detail the role of stress in the electrochemical reactions at the electrode-electrolyte interfaces. In particular, we find that that stress directly influences the rest potential at the interface, so that a term involving stress must be added to the Nernst equation if the stress in the solid is significant. The model is used to predict the variation of stress and electric potential in a model 1-D half-cell, consisting of a thin film of Si on a rigid substrate, a fluid electrolyte layer, and a solid Li cathode. The predicted cycles of stress and potential are shown to be in good agreement with experimental observations.