Ambient-Temperature Indentation Creep of Shape Memory NiTi Alloys: Additively Manufactured versus Cast

In this study, depth-sensing indentation creep response of cast and additively manufactured (laser powder bed fusion) NiTi alloys in heat-treated conditions have been investigated at ambient temperature. Indentation creep tests were evaluated with the help of a dual-stage approach comprising a loading segment with a subsequent constant load-holding stage and an unloading phase afterward. The investigation was carried out at a maximum load of 50 mN along with a holding time of 600 s. Different creep parameters comprising indentation creep displacement, creep strain rate, creep stress exponent as well as the indentation size effect have been analyzed quantitatively for the employed materials. In addition, microstructural analysis has been performed to ascertain the processing–microstructure–creep property correlations. A substantial indentation size effect was seen for both cast and printed NiTi samples in heat-treated conditions. According to the creep stress exponent measurements, the dominant mechanism of rate-dependent plastic deformation for all NiTi samples at ambient temperature is attributed to the dislocation movement (i.e., glide/climb). The outcome of this investigation will act as a framework to understand the underlying mechanisms of ambient-temperature indentation creep of the cast and printed NiTi alloy in conjunction with heat-treated conditions.

On the identification of power-law creep parameters from conical indentation

Load and hold conical indentation responses calculated for materials having creep stress exponents of 1.15, 3.59 and 6.60 are regarded as input ‘experimental’ responses. A Bayesian-type statistical approach (Zhang et al. 2019 J. Appl. Mech. 86 , 011002 ( doi:10.1115/1.4041352 )) is used to infer power-law creep parameters, the creep exponent and the associated pre-exponential factor, from noise-free as well as noise-contaminated indentation data. A database for the Bayesian-type analysis is created using finite-element calculations for a coarse set of parameter values with interpolation used to create the refined database used for parameter identification. Uniaxial creep and stress relaxation responses using the identified creep parameters provide a very good approximation to those of the ‘experimental’ materials with stress exponents of 1.15 and 3.59. The sensitivity to noise increases with increasing stress exponent. The uniaxial creep response is more sensitive to the accuracy of the predictions than the uniaxial stress relaxation response. Good agreement with the indentation response does not guarantee good agreement with the uniaxial response. If the noise level is sufficiently small, the model of Bower et al. (1993 Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 441 , 97–124 ()) provides a good fit to the ‘experimental’ data for all values of creep stress exponent considered, while the model of Ginder et al. (2018 J. Mech. Phys. Solids 112 , 552–562 ()) provides a good fit for a creep stress exponent of 1.15.

A Numerical Procedure to Obtain the Creep Parameters of the Thermal Barrier Coating

Three-point bending creep test was used to understand the creep behavior of typical thin film/substrate systems—thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems. Firstly, a simplified model, which does not consider the local effect, has been set up to get an analytical relationship. The important result is that creep stress exponent of materials is equal to the creep load exponent of the steady-state deflection rate of BC specimens. Secondly, in order to consider the local effect of bending, the finite element method (FEM) has been carried out. FEM calculation shows that there is a steady stage of the creep deflection under a constant applied load. And the exponent of the steady-state creep deflection rate to the applied load is found to be equal to the creep stress exponent of materials. The creep constant of the materials can be obtained by a set of trials with assumed creep constants of materials and can be finally determined by the best fit method. Finally, the finite element results show that the influences of the friction, the thickness of TBCs, and the modulus ratio of TBC to the substrate on stress distribution are important.

Effect of Aging on Impression Creep Behavior of Pb-Free Solders

During service and/or storage, Sn-Ag-Cu (SAC) solder alloys are subjected to temperatures ranging from 0.4 to 0.8 Tm (where Tm is the melting temperature of SAC alloys), making them highly prone to significant microstructural coarsening. The microstructures of these low melting point alloys continuously evolve during service. This results in evolution of creep properties of the joint over time, thereby influencing the long-term reliability of microelectronic packages. Here, we study microstructure evolution and creep behavior of two Sn-Ag-Cu (SAC) alloys, namely Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu and Sn-1.0Cu-0.5Cu, isothermally aged at 150°C for various lengths of time. Creep behavior of the two SAC solders after different aging durations was systematically studied using impression creep technique. The key microstructural features that evolve during aging are Ag3Sn particle size and inter-particle spacing. Creep results indicate that the creep rate increases considerably with increasing inter-particle spacing although the creep stress exponent and creep activation energy are independent of the aging history.

Inverse Hall-Petch Effect of Hardness in Nanocrystalline Ta Films

Hardness and creep property of nanocrystalline Ta films were studied by nanoindentation tests. Experimental results suggested that hardness decreases with the decrement of grain size, which exhibits an inverse Hall-Petch effect. A remarkable room temperature creep behavior of nanocrystalline Ta films was revealed during indentation response. Creep stress exponent decreases with the decrement of feature scale, such as grain size and indent displacement. Grain boundary (GB) mediated process involving atomic diffusion and the emission of dislocation at GB is believed to be the dominant deformation mechanism.

Time-dependent deformation behavior of interfacial intermetallic compound layers in electronic solder joints

Using nanoindentation, this study develops the criteria to evaluate the creep performance of the intermetallic compounds (IMCs) formed at the interface of microelectronic solder joints. Regardless of crystal structure and melting point, the creep stress exponent (X), one of the parameters determining creep resistance, is in good agreement with tendencies of the work-hardening exponent (n) and also the ratio of yield stress (Y) to Young's modulus (E), which reveals the ability against plastic deformation.

Creep Properties of SUS304 Steel by Small Punch Creep Tests

Creep behavior of SUS304 stainless steel is studied by small punch creep (SP-C) test. Series of SP-C testing for SUS304 stainless steel are carried out at 600°C. The time dependence of the central deflection is obtained by the SP-C testing at different load level and the creep deflection curves are quantitatively similar to those observed in conventional uniaxial creep testing. In this paper, an analytic approach based on Chakrebarty’s membrane-stretch model is used to interpret the SP-C test method. The relationship between specimen central deflection and equivalent strain is deduced, and the relationship between load and equivalent stress are established. The creep stress exponent of SUS304 stainless steel is determined by the theory formula and the data obtained in the SP-C testing. Comparison of the creep stress exponent of the Norton equations in SP-C testing and conventional creep testing is performed. The results show that the creep stress exponent is well consistent with conventional experimental results.

Measurement of Press Creep Stress Exponent of ZM6 Alloy at Room Temperature

Nano-indentation technique was used to survey creep stress exponent of ZM6 (Mg-2.8Nd-0.7Zn-0.6Zr) alloy at room temperature. The results showed that average press creep stress exponent of ZM6 alloy was about 89.75, and independent of strain rate and hardness, which has been verified by linear relationship of the double logarithmic plots between strain rate ( ε& ) and hardness (H ) measured by a nano-indentation equipment with constant load of 500mN.