Localization of Plastic Deformation in Ti-6Al-4V Alloy

This article investigated the mechanical behavior of Ti-6Al-4V alloy (VT6, an analog to Ti Grade 5) in the range of strain rates from 0.1 to 103 s−1. Tensile tests with various notch geometries were performed using the Instron VHS 40/50-20 servo hydraulic testing machine. The Digital Image Correlation (DIC) analysis was employed to investigate the local strain fields in the gauge section of the specimen. The Keyence VHX-600D digital microscope was used to characterize full-scale fracture surfaces in terms of fractal dimension. At high strain rates, the analysis of the local strain fields revealed the presence of stationary localized shear bands at the initial stages of strain hardening. The magnitude of plastic strain within the localization bands was significantly higher than those averaged over the gauge section. It was found that the ultimate strain to fracture in the zone of strain localization tended to increase with the strain rate. At the same time, the Ti-6Al-4V alloy demonstrated a tendency to embrittlement at high stress triaxialities.

3D characterisation of hydrogen environmentally assisted cracking during static loading of AA7449-T7651

In this investigation, synchrotron X-ray microtomography was used to perform 3D in situ observations of crack initiation and growth during hydrogen environmentally assisted cracking (HEAC) in tensile samples of AA7449-T7651. Two smooth tensile samples with a 1 mm diameter gauge section were held at a fixed displacement ($$\approx 30$$ ≈ 30 % of yield stress) in warm, moist air ($$\approx 76\,^\circ $$ ≈ 76 ∘ C, 73% relative humidity). The samples were then imaged repeatedly using X-ray tomography until they fractured completely. The tomograms showing the nucleation and evolution of intergranular cracks were correlated with electron microscopy fractographs. This enabled the identification of crack initiation sites and the characterisation of the crack growth behaviour relative to the microstructure. The samples were found to fracture within an environmental exposure time of 240 min. Some cracks in both samples nucleated within an exposure time of 80 min (33–40% of the total lifetime). Many cracks were found to nucleate both internally and at the sample surface. However, only superficial cracks contributed to the final fracture surface as they grew faster owing to the direct environmental exposure and the larger crack opening. HEAC occurred prominently via brittle intergranular cracking, and cracks were found to slow down when approaching grain boundary triple junctions. Additionally, crack shielding from nearby cracks and the presence of coarse Al–Cu–Fe particles at the grain boundaries were also found to temporarily reduce the crack growth rates. After prolonged crack growth, the HEAC cracks displayed ductile striations and transgranular fracture, revealing a change in the crack growth mechanism at higher stress intensity factors.

Analysis of Retrofitted Cold Formed Steel Multistory Building Frame

The cold formed steel section are increasingly used as a structural elements in low rise buildings in recent times, due to the advantages like economic production, easy transportation, low labor cost and high strength to weight ratio. In the current work a G+3 storied building frame is studied for seismic and wind load using Staad-pro software. Light gauge section is taken for beam and slab elements. The seismic analysis is carried out by Equivalent static method. After analysis the results such as story displacement, story drift, Base shear and time period are compared for different models. The building frame is also analyzed for wind load. In the current work cross bracing using Light gauge element used as a retrofitting technique. The retrofitted building frame is analyzed for wind and seismic loads and results obtained for time period, storey displacement, storey drift and base shear values are compared with the corresponding values of base frame. The results of retrofitted frame showed shortening in time period, storey displacement and story drift values in X&Z directions indicating the increased ductility, Stiffness and strength of structure. Hence the proposed retrofitting technique could be believed to achieve success results in increased strength and ductility values required by wind and seismic loading.

OPTIMIZATION OF TAB GEOMETRY TO MINIMIZE LONGITUDINAL STRESS CONCENTRATION DURING TENSILE TESTING OF UNIDIRECTIONAL CFRP

A uniaxial tensile test is a useful method for determination of material properties, especially longitudinal tensile strength. To accurately derive the longitudinal tensile strength, it is desired that the specimen fails in in the gauge section defined here as ‘working zone’. Unidirectional (UD) composites require use of end tabs during this tensile testing to avoid damage to the specimen due to grip serrations. The grip pressure, along with sudden geometry change at the edge of end tabs leads to longitudinal stress concentrations. The conventionally used rectangular and tapered end tabs suffer from these longitudinal stress concentrations under the edge of end tabs, causing premature failure of specimen outside of the working zone. In the present paper, a simulation study is performed for comparison of conventional end tabs with hybrid specimen geometry [1] and a novel arrow-shaped end tab geometry to determine the effect of end tab geometry on longitudinal stress concentrations. The study is focused on high modulus carbon fibre HS40/epoxy UD (0°) composite. The numerical model replicates the actual set-up for uniaxial tensile testing, including contact interactions between testing machine components. The simulation results are used to further optimise the geometry and provide recommendations to eliminate or minimise longitudinal stress concentrations.

Experimental and extended finite element simulations for tensile fracture phenomenon of cryorolled aluminium alloy 5754

In present work, cryorolling is performed to obtain the higher mechanical strength of the received material. Close to 50% and 30% increments in tensile and yield strengths of the material are observed for 40% thickness reduction. However, limited ductility has been obtained for cryorolled samples. Post annealing heat treatment is performed on cryorolled samples to obtain combined enhancement in strength and ductility of the alloy. Difference in the ductile fracture along with crack initiation and its advancement with plastic straining is also compared for cryorolled and annealed cryorolled samples. Fracture angle and crack propagation behavior at vicinity of gauge section is evaluated by using extended finite element method (XFEM) and compared with experimental tested work piece. XFEM has been adopted to simulate the crack growth behavior from nucleation till fracture of the investigated alloy. Triaxial stress contour plots are also captured by XFEM near to the crack initiation zone.

Calculated Shoulder to Gauge Ratio of Fatigue Specimens in PWR Environment

A ratio of shoulder to gauge displacements (S2G) is calculated for three different fatigue specimens in a pressurized water environment. This ratio needs to be known beforehand to determine the applied shoulder displacements during the experiment that would result in the desired strain amplitude in the gauge section. Significant impact of both the applied constitutive law and specimen geometry on the S2G is observed. The calculation using the fully elastic constitutive law results in the highest S2G values and compares very well with the analytical values. However, this approach disregards the plastic deformation within the specimens that mostly develops in the gauge section. Using the constitutive laws derived from actual fatigue curves captures the material behaviour under cyclic loading better and results in lower S2G values compared to the ones obtained with the fully elastic constitutive law. Calculating S2G values using elastic–plastic constitutive law based on the monotonic uniaxial tensile test should be avoided as they are significantly lower compared to the ones computed with elastic–plastic laws derived from hysteresis loops at half-life.

Effects of Build Direction on the Mechanical Properties of a Martensitic Stainless Steel Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting

Mechanical properties and microstructure are investigated for a martensitic stainless steel (AISI 420) fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) in three build directions. The tensile specimens built by SLM are classified into three groups. Group A is horizontally built in the thickness direction, Group B is horizontally built in the width direction, and Group C is vertically built in the length direction. The loading direction in tensile test is parallel to the build direction of Group C, but perpendicular to that of Groups A and B. Experimental results indicate build direction has significant effects on the residual stress, hardness, and tensile properties of SLM builds. Microstructural analyses indicate the as-fabricated SLM AISI 420 builds exhibit elongated cells and acicular structures which are composed of martensite and retained austenite phases growing along the build direction. Such anisotropy in the microstructure leads to anisotropic mechanical properties as Group C specimens (length direction) exhibit greater yield stress, ultimate tensile stress, and elongation than the specimens of Groups A (thickness direction) and B (width direction). The residual compressive stress in the gauge section also contributes to the superior tensile properties of Group C (length direction), as compared to Groups A (thickness direction) and B (width direction), which exhibit residual tensile stress in the gauge section.

SEM Imaging of In Situ Tensile Testing of 27CrNiMoV Steel

In-situ tensile testing of a 27CrNiMoV alloy which is used for steam turbine rotors was carried out using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Deformation and crack formation and propagation were examined with this test. Small (45 × 10 × 1.5 mm, with gauge length of 20 mm), flat samples based on dog-bone shape were prepared from the steel. The material in its initial state contained high number of defects in form of microcracks. A comparison of behaviour at tensile tests of samples without visible defect and with crack in the gauge section was performed. Apparently, the presence of defect in the initial state showed direct influence on properties like lower tensile strength. The sample, its necking and propagated crack is displayed at different stages of the tensile load. In-situ testing reveals differences in the sample deformation. The defect-free sample is affected in its whole body and regular necking can be observed, whereas the presence of the crack in the defect samples concentrates stress to a smaller area and also changed the shape of the stress-strain curve.

Effect of Loading Rate and Pipe Wall Thickness on the Strength and Toughness of Welded and Unwelded Polyethylene Pipes

The primary objective of this paper is to depict the mechanical behavior of welded and unwelded high-density polyethylene (HDPE), pipes to provide the designer with reliable design data relevant to practical applications. Therefore, it is necessary to study the effect of strain rate and specimen configuration on the mechanical behavior of welded and unwelded pipes made from HDPE. Tensile tests are conducted on specimens longitudinally cut from the pipe with thickness (10 and 30 mm), at different crosshead speeds (5–500 mm/min), and different gauge lengths (20, 25, and 50 mm) to investigate the mechanical properties of welded and unwelded specimens. All tests are performed at room temperature (Ta = 23 °C). Butt fusion, BF, welding method is used to join the different parts of HDPE pipes. The present results showed that the mechanical characteristics of welded specimens are lower than those of unwelded specimens. In the case of test specimens taken from unwelded pipe, the results of mechanical characteristics revealed that a necking phenomenon before failure appears at different locations along the gauge section. On the other hand, the fracture of welded specimens almost occurs at the fusion zone. It is found that the crosshead speed and specimen configurations have a significant effect on the mechanical behavior of both welded and unwelded specimens.