Study on Mechanical and Wear Behaviour of AA7075/TaC/Si3N4/Ti Hybrid Metal Matrix Composites

This research article focuses on the development of AA7075 alloy reinforced with different wt% of Tantalum Carbide (TaC), Silicon Nitride (Si3N4) and Titanium (Ti) particulates using stir casting. Mechanical characteristics like tensile, compression and microhardness of the developed composites were analysed. High temperature tribological properties of the hybrid MMCs were studied for various input control factors like sliding speed, load and temperature. Design analysis has been executed by Taguchi orthogonal array and ANOVA (Analysis of Variance). The incorporated reinforcements exhibited improved wear resistance at ambient temperature along with elevated temperatures. Monolithic dissemination of reinforcement’s in the prepared composites magnifies the mechanical and tribological characteristics for composites compared to matrix material. From the optimization technique, it was witnessed that Wear Rate and Frictional Coefficient are afflicted by temperature go after load & sliding speed. The optimal amalgamation of control parameters of distinct tribo-responses has been detected.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF TRI-LAYERED MATERIALS UNDER CONTACT LOAD

Various biomedical components, such as dental crowns and hip prostheses, data processing devices, and other numerous mechanical components that transmit load through a mechanical contact, may benefit from a tri-layer design. The coating may be optimized for wear protection and corrosion prevention, whereas the intermediate layer provides increased adhesion between the outer layer and the substrate, and confines the crack propagation. The solution to the contact problem involving tri-layered materials can be pursued numerically with the finite element or the boundary element methods, but semi-analytical techniques benefitting from the efficiency of the fast Fourier transform (FFT) technique have also been successfully applied. At the heart of the FFT-assisted approach lie the frequency response functions (FRFs), which are analytical solutions for fundamental problems of elasticity such as the Boussinesq and Cerruti problems, but expressed in the frequency domain. Considering recent efforts and results in application of FFT to convolution calculations in contact problems, the displacement arising in a tri-layer configuration is computed in the frequency domain, and the contact problem is subsequently solved in the space domain using a state-of-the-art algorithm based on the conjugate gradient method. The method relies on the FRFs derived in the literature for tri-layered materials, and the efficiency and accuracy of computations in the frequency domain is assured by using the Discrete Convolution Fast Fourier Technique (DCFFT) with influence coefficients derived from the FRFs. The computer program reproduces well-known results for bi-layered materials. Numerical simulations are performed for various configurations in which the elastic properties of the layers, as well as the frictional coefficient, are varied. By using the newly advanced simulation technique, design recommendations may be advanced for the optimal configuration of tri-layered materials under contact load.

Stress analysis on the irregular surface of visco-porous piezoelectric half-space subjected to a moving load

Response of moving load over a surface is an intriguing problem of mechanics to determine the stability and strength of a structure. Owing to this the present theoretical framework is devoted to find the stresses and electrical displacements of an irregular visco-porous piezoelectric half-space originated due to a uniformly moving line load. Expressions for normal stress, shear stress and electrical displacements have been derived in closed form. Effect of irregularity depth, irregularity factors and frictional coefficient on the stresses and electrical displacements are delineated graphically. Numerical demonstration of procured results is interpreted by means of graphs for two different materials, namely PZT-5A and PZT-7. A comparative study emphasising various irregularity (parabolic, rectangular and no irregularity) is among the salient features of the study.

Rus detachment in Dammam Dome, Eastern Saudi Arabia: a new soft-sediment structure as a ‘sensitive stress sensor’ for the Zagros collision

This paper describes in detail hydroplastic structures, which are ‘odd’ kinematic indicators in the basal part of the Eocene Middle Rus Formation. Such structures were previously ignored or falsely interpreted. These hydroplastic structures are found in the massive limestone exposures on the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) campus. They occur in relation to a principal displacement zone along the boundary/interface between the Lower/Middle Rus, which is referred to as the Rus soft-sediment detachment. The structures are fist-sized vugs associated with carrot- or comet-trail imprints (VCT structures) which were previously translated calcite geodes that have been weathered out. VCT structures show transport/slip towards the NNW (345°) and are found on flat to low-dipping surfaces classified as Y, R and P shears with respect to the orientation of the Rus detachment. Palaeostress analysis indicates an Andersonian transtension stress regime, though it does not facilitate the activation of the Rus soft-sediment detachment. Detachment activity occurred due to the negative effective principal stress σ3′ and the abnormally low frictional coefficient caused by fluid pressure. The soft-sediment Rus detachment can be considered a ‘sensitive stress sensor’ for the Zagros collision since it indicates the Arabian platform’s instability in the wider area of the Dammam Dome during the Late Eocene. This instability is attributed to the inception of the Zagros collision, which was previously considered to occur during the Oligocene based on the well-established pre-Neogene unconformity.

Elastoplastic constitutive behavior and strain localization of a low-porosity sandstone during brittle fracturing

We investigated the elastoplastic behavior and strain localization of the Zigong sandstone (porosity: 6.5%) during brittle fracturing based on two series of axisymmetric compression experiments. The experiments were conducted under various confining pressures (σ3 = 0 ~ 80 MPa). For each confining pressure, the sandstone specimens were deformed under constant axial and circumferential strain rates, respectively. When σ3 < 60 MPa, the sandstone first undergoes stable deformation in the post-peak stage and then loses its stability. Before the emergence of instability, the mechanical behavior is hardly affected by the controlling method. When the confining is larger, the sandstone manifests a stable failure process during the whole loading stage. The observed elastoplastic behavior was described by a two-yield surface constitutive model established in the framework of generalized plastic mechanics. The proposed constitutive model incorporates two quadratic yield functions, as well as two linearly independent plastic potential functions, to honor the shear yield and volumetric dilatancy, respectively. Via the return mapping algorithm, the proposed constitutive model was verified by comparing the numerical results with experimental results. In addition, the two-yield surface constitutive model, which is equivalent to the model proposed by Rudnicki and Rice,1 was applied to localization analysis. Assuming that the onset of localization occurs at peak stress, frictional coefficient μ and dilatancy factor β were determined from experimental data. The variations of both plastic parameters predict the transition of localization mode from pure dilation bands under uniaxial compression to pure shear bands at high confining pressures, which is consistent with the experimental observations.

Tribological Behavior of Novel CNTs-Based Lubricant Grease in Steady-State and Fretting Sliding Conditions

The tribological behavior of novel 7.5 wt% carbon nanotube-based lubricant greases in PAO (polyalphaolefin) oil with and without 1.0 wt% MoS2, together with several other commercial greases such as calcium, lithium, were studied. The test results showed a marked reduction of frictional coefficient achieved by the CNTs based grease samples with an average benefit of around 30% compared to conventional greases. The steady state test under 1.00 GPa average contact pressure in a mixed lubrication regime and the fretting test showed the best results in terms of friction reduction obtained by CNTs greases. Steady state tests at higher average contact pressure of 1.67 GPa proved to have a lower friction coefficient for CNTs grease containing MoS2; otherwise CNTs grease without MoS2 showed an average value of CoF comparable to calcium and lithium greases, both in a boundary and a mixed regime. The protection against wear, a considerable decrease (−60%) of reference parameter was measured with CNTs grease with MoS2 (NLGI 2) in comparison with the worst conventional grease and −22% in comparison with the best conventional grease. The data indicated that our novel carbon nanotube greases show superior tribological properties and will have promising applications in the corresponding industry.

A Significant Solar Energy Note on Powell-Eyring Nanofluid with Thermal Jump Conditions: Implementing Cattaneo-Christov Heat Flux Model

PTSCs (parabolic trough solar collectors) are widely employed in solar-thermal applications to attain high temperatures. The purpose of this study is to determine how much entropy is created when Powell-Eyring nanofluid (P-ENF) flows across porous media on a horizontal plane under thermal jump circumstances. The flow in PTSC was generated by nonlinear surface stretching, thermal radiation, and Cattaneo-Christov heat flux, which was utilized to compute heat flux in the thermal boundary layer. Using a similarity transformation approach, partial differential equations were converted into ordinary differential equations with boundary constraints. Then, the boundary restrictions and partial differential equations were merged to form a single set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. To obtain approximate solutions to ordinary differential equations, the Keller-Box approach is utilized. Nanofluids derived from silver- and copper-based engine oil (EO) has been employed as working fluids. The researchers observed that changing the permeability parameter reduced the Nusselt number while increasing the skin frictional coefficient. Total entropy variation was also calculated using the Brinkman number for flow rates with Reynolds number and viscosity changes. The key result is that thermal efficiency is inversely proportional to particular entropy production. For example, using Cu-EO nanofluid instead of Ag-EO nanofluid increased the heat transport rate efficiency to 15–36%.

Low Reynolds Number Swimming Near Interfaces in Multi-Fluid Media

Microorganisms often swim within heterogeneous fluid media composed of multiple materials with very different properties. The swimming speed is greatly affected by the composition and rheology of the fluidic environment. In addition, biological locomotions are also strongly influenced by the presence of phase boundaries and free interfaces, across which physical properties of the fluid media may vary significantly. Using a two-fluid immersed boundary method, we investigate the classical Taylor’s swimming sheet problem near interfaces within multi-fluid media. The accuracy of the methodology is illustrated through comparisons with analytical solutions. Our simulation results indicate that the interface dynamics and phase separation in the multi-fluid mixture are closely coupled with the movement of the swimmer. Depending on the interface location, the frictional coefficient, and the multi-fluid composition, the swimmer can move faster or slower than that in a single phase fluid.