Microstructural model of intergranular fracture during tensile tests

A microstructural model of intergranular fracture in textured materials is presented. In this model, the material is represented by a two-dimensional microstructure with non-regular polygonal grains which represents material's texture and grain shape measured in experiments or calculated from Monte Carlo simulations. The grain boundary character, grain boundary energy, and fracture stress are assigned to each grain boundary according the grain boundary character distribution. Intergranular fracture susceptibility is analyzed by defining the probability of finding a continuous path along the grain boundaries which are intrinsically susceptible to fracture. In this analysis the orientations of the grain boundary with respect to the applied or residual tensile stress axis is considered. The probability of intergranular fracture for each grain boundary depends on the intergranular fracture resistance, the interface orientation relative to the stress axis, and a value of the tensile stress acting on the grain boundary. The crack arrest distance and the fracture toughness are calculated in terms of the frequency of low-energy grain boundaries, fracture stress of low-energy grain boundary, angle distribution of grain boundary interfaces, and anisotropy of grain shape. The results indicate that the fracture toughness increases and the crack arrest distance decreases dramatically with increasing the frequency of the low-energy grain boundaries. Lowering the grain boundary energy can improve the fracture toughness and decrease the crack arrest distance. The angle distribution of grain boundary interfaces and the grain shape factor are also very effective in controlling the fracture toughness. High fracture toughness of polycrystalline materials is related to the presence of a high frequency of low-energy boundaries which are resistant to fracture. The best fracture toughness for brittle materials can be achieved by controlling the frequencies of the low-energy grain boundaries, the grain boundary character, and the boundary inclination.     

In-situ crack propagation observation in fully lamellar Ti-49%Al alloy

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Fracture of ECAP-deformed iron and the role of extrinsic toughening mechanisms

The fracture behaviour of pure iron deformed by equal-channel angular pressing via route A was examined. The fracture toughness was determined for different specimen orientations and measured in terms of the critical plane strain fracture toughness, K_IC, the critical J integral, J_IC, and the crack opening displacement for crack initiation, COD_i. The results demonstrate that the crack plane orientation has a pronounced effect on the fracture toughness. Different crack plane orientations lead to either crack deflection or delamination, resulting in increased fracture resistance in comparison to one remarkably weak specimen orientation. The relation between the microstructure typical for the applied deformation route and the enormous differences in the fracture toughness depending on the crack plane orientation will be analyzed in this paper.     

有害杂质及Ce对8090合金薄板不同加载方向断裂特性的影响

测定了含不同浓度有害杂质及Ｃｅ的８０９０合金薄板不同方向力学性能及断裂性能．结果表明：Ｆｅ，Ｓｉ使各方向的断裂韧性下降，并使４５°方向上的裂纹启裂阻力下降，Ｎａ，Ｋ除对Ｔ－Ｌ方向的启裂阻力不造成明显损害外，能够损害各方向的断裂性能．在合金中添加０．０９％Ｃｅ即可显示有益的合金化作用；如果添加０．２８％Ｃｅ，可明显改善含一定量Ｆｅ，Ｓｉ的合金薄板各方向的断裂性能，其主要原因在于Ｃｅ可通过使再结晶组织均匀，细化晶粒，减少晶界析出相及改善断裂过程等机制抑制杂质对断裂性能的危害．     

Microstructural characterisation of fatigue crack growth fracture surfaces of lamellar Ti45Al2Mn2Nb1B

Investment cast Ti45Al2Mn2Nb1B with fine lamellar microstructures was subject to fatigue crack propagation testing at 650 °C and a stress ratio of R = 0.1. The fracture surfaces were examined under SEM and the observed features are correlated with both stress intensity range (ΔK) and lamellar orientation. Translamellar fracture is primary fracture mode for most of the lamellar orientations. Interlamellar fracture is influenced by a combination of the ΔK and lamellar orientation. At low ΔK only the lamellar colonies with their lamellar interfaces almost perpendicular to the stress axis fractured via interlamellar fracture mode. At high ΔK interlamellar fracture can occur in lamellar colonies with any orientations.     

The Effect of Layer Orientation on the Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of a Polymer

Rapid Prototyping (RP) is a method used everywhere from the entertainment industry to healthcare. Layer orientation is an important aspect of the final product. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of layer orientation on the mechanical strength and toughness of a polymer. The polymer used was a combination of two materials, ZP 130 and ZB 58, fused together in the Z Corporation Spectrum Z510 Rapid Prototyping Machine. ZP 130 is a powder composed of vinyl polymer (2-20%), sulfate salt (0-5%), and plaster that contains <1% crystalline silica (50-95%). ZB 58 is a liquid composed of glycerol (1-10%), preservative (sorbic acid salt) (0-2%), surfactant (<1%), pigment (<1%), and water (85-95%). After removal from the machine the samples were sealed with Z bond 101 which is Beta-methoxyethyl cyanoacrylate (60-100%). The layer orientations studied were the crack arrestor, crack divider, and short transverse with various combinations of the three, for a total of seven orientations. The mechanical strength was evaluated using tensile testing and three-point bend testing. The toughness was evaluated by Izod impact testing. Five samples for tensile testing and three-point bend testing as well as 15 samples for the Izod impact test for each of the seven orientations were made. The total number of samples was 175. The crack arrestor orientation was the strongest main orientation for the tensile and three-point bend test. Weibull analysis was done on the Izod impact testing due to high variation in the results for the crack arrestor and short transverse directions. It was found that the layer orientation and surface roughness played a significant role in the penetration of the Z bond 101 coating and in the overall strength of the samples.     

Crack propagation behavior in TiAl–Nb single and Bi-PST crystals

The fracture toughness of directional solidified Ti–(45,47)Al–3Nb, Ti–(45,47)Al–3Nb–0.2Si–0.1C, Ti–(45,47)Al–3Nb–0.3Si–0.2C type I alloys and their contribution to crack growth resistance of TiAl–Nb alloys were studied using PST (polysynthetically twinned) crystals produced by directional solidification in FZ (floating zone) furnace. Lamellar orientations in the individual colonies are described using two angles defined with respect to the notch orientation: an in-plane kink angle and a through-thickness twist angle. Therefore, lamellar misorientation across an individual colony boundary is quantified as differences in these angles across the boundary. Crack growth resistance in colony boundary was identified by three-point bend test and crack advance was monitored by interrupted in situ test. From three-point bend test, it was found that the colony boundary could offer significant resistance to crack growth under large twist angle difference. Fracture toughness of type I specimens (in which crack propagates against lamellae boundaries) of the alloys decreased slightly with increasing Si and C contents and increased rapidly with decreasing Al content. The toughness for type I specimens was controlled by α₂–α₂ spacing in which the delamination-type separation occurred. Compared to 47Al alloys, α₂–α₂ spacing in 45Al alloys increased by decreasing Al content, therefore, fracture toughness increased rapidly. These results are discussed and the ability to improve toughness by changing Al content, Si and C addition in TiAl–Nb alloys produced by directional solidification is suggested.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of WC–10Co cemented carbide containing VC or (Ta,Nb)C and fracture toughness evaluation using different models

This article describes a study on WC–10Co cemented carbides with different percent of grain growth inhibitors. Samples were prepared by the conventional powder metallurgy method, using WC and Co powder and different concentrations of VC and (Ta, Nb)C powder. All samples were processed using a hot isostatic press (HIP) and the effect of grain growth inhibitors on the microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated. Additionally, microstructure and powder particle morphology were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The specimen's microstructure proved that the addition of VC is more effective at suppressing grain growth than (Ta, Nb)C. Besides the microstructure observations, hardness, transverse rupture strength (TRS) and indentation fracture toughness (IFT) were evaluated. Due to the brittleness of the cemented carbides, fracture toughness was evaluated using different IFT models. The IFT values were determined by measuring the lengths of the cracks generated at the corners of a Vicker's indentation.     

全层状TiAl基合金断裂机理原位观察

通过对裂纹与晶内片层和晶界的交互作用的原位观察,研究了全层状组织TiAl基合金的断裂机制。结果表明：裂纹萌发和扩展方式不仅依赖于片层与拉伸轴的相对取向,还受晶界取向的制约。当片层与拉伸轴成较大角度时,沿片层裂纹扩展是通过主裂纹与沿片层微裂纹的连接及剪切的过程;而当拉伸轴近乎平行片层时,跨片层裂纹依靠对界面分离和跨片层微裂纹这两种形式的微裂纹的连接进行扩展的,纵向交叉晶界有利于断裂韧性的提高,而横向晶界则不利于材料断裂韧性。     

Resistance-curve and fracture behavior of Ti–Al3Ti metallic–intermetallic laminate (MIL) composites

The R-curve and fracture toughness behavior of single-edge notch beams of Ti–Al₃Ti metallic–intermetallic laminate (MIL) composites has been investigated. Composites with 14, 20, and 35% volume fraction Ti, with a corresponding intermetallic layer thickness of ~540, ~440, and ~300 microns, respectively, were tested in crack arrester and crack divider orientations. In the arrester orientation, the R-curve could not be determined for the two highest Ti volume fraction compositions as the main crack could not be grown through the test samples. In the divider orientation, R-curves were determined for all three Ti volume fractions tested. The laminate composites were found to exhibit more than an order of magnitude improvement in fracture toughness over monolithic Al₃Ti. Crack bridging and crack deflection by the Ti layers were primarily responsible for the large-scale bridging conditions leading to the R-curve behavior and enhanced fracture toughness. Estimates of steady-state toughness under small-scale bridging conditions were in close agreement with experimental results.     

TC18合金大型锻棒冲击韧性的横纵向差异研究

针对TC18合金大型锻棒冲击韧性的横纵向差异及其内在原因进行了系统研究。夏比冲击实验显示,锻棒头部、中部和尾部3处C-L试样的冲击韧性均高于C-R试样。示波冲击实验发现,抵抗裂纹萌生的能力是决定合金冲击韧性的关键因素,C-L试样的裂纹萌生功明显大于C-R试样。断裂形貌分析表明,裂纹以微孔聚集方式萌生,主要起源于试样缺口附近的强化相界面处(如晶界α相)。C-L样品中微观组织的拉长方向和开裂方向平行,但和微孔萌生后聚集生长的方向垂直,裂纹不易生长至临界尺寸进行纵深扩展,因而消耗的裂纹萌生功较高,表现出较好的冲击韧性;相反,C-R样品的初生α相(包括晶界α相)和裂纹萌生的方向相同,裂纹容易顺着强化相界面生长至临界尺寸而失稳扩展,从而导致较低的冲击韧性。     

In situ micro-cantilever tests to study fracture properties of NiAl single crystals

In situ micro-cantilever tests were carried out to determine the anisotropic fracture toughness of NiAl single crystals. Notched micro-cantilever beams with a beam length of 8 μm, 1.5 μm thickness and 1.8 μm width were milled in so-called “hard” and “soft” orientations of NiAl using a focused ion beam. These cantilevers were loaded in situ with the help of a cantilever-based nanoindenter mounted inside a scanning electron microscope. A fracture toughness of 3.52 ± 0.29 MPa m^1/2 was obtained for the “soft” orientation and 5.12 ± 0.50 MPa m^1/2 for the “hard” orientation, which is in good agreement with literature values on the fracture toughness of macroscopic NiAl specimens. Furthermore, nanoindentations were performed for studying the size effects occurring at small length scales for both orientations. The applicability of the small sample geometries for testing the fracture toughness is finally discussed in terms of size effects in the flow stress of the material due to dislocation nucleation and strain gradients at the crack tip.     

晶粒尺寸对纳晶双峰材料断裂韧性的影响

为了描述由纳晶基体和粗晶颗粒组成的纳晶双峰材料的断裂韧性,通过建立一个粘聚力模型来研究纳晶双峰材料的临界应力强度因子K_(IC)(表征材料断裂韧性)。考虑到纳晶双峰材料的一个典型情况:裂纹位于2个纳晶颗粒的交界面处,裂纹尖端与粗晶粒的晶界相交,假设粘聚区的尺寸等于纳晶颗粒的尺寸d。裂纹的钝化和扩展过程受位错和粘聚力的共同影响,刃型位错是从粘聚力裂纹的尖端发射,该过程对裂纹产生屏蔽效应。模型计算结果显示:当粗晶颗粒尺寸D确定时,K_(IC)随着纳晶材料晶粒尺寸d的增大而增大;当纳晶材料晶粒尺寸d确定时,K_(IC)随着粗晶材料晶粒尺寸D的增大而增大;相对于纳晶颗粒的尺寸,断裂韧性对粗晶晶粒的尺寸更加敏感。     

脆性材料断裂韧性测试及表现断裂韧性的估算

用２种测试技术测试了脆性材料的断裂韧韧性,一种是利用楔入法在悬臂梁试件预裂出自然裂纹;另一种是用研磨法在三点弯曲试件上作出微米级的尖缺口裂纹。分别测试了３种材料的断裂韧性,并用提出的模型分别评估了多晶和非晶脆性材料的断裂韧性。     

Effect of microstructure on tensile properties and fracture behavior of intermetallic Ti2AlNb alloys

The tensile properties and fracture behaviors of Ti-22Al-27Nb and Ti-22Al-20Nb-7Ta alloys were investigated in the temperature range of 25-800℃ Three typical microstructures were obtained by ifferent thermomechanical processing techniques.The results indicate that the duplex microstructure has an optimum combination of tensile yield strength and ductility both at room and elevated temperatures.Adding Ta to Ti2AlNb alloy can improve the yield strength,especially at high temperature while retain a good ductility.The study on crack initiation and propagation in dedformed microstructure of Ti2AlNb alloys indicates that microstructure has ikmportant effect on the tensile fracture mechanism of the alloys.The cracks initiate within primary O/α2 grains along O/B2 boundaries or O phase laths in B2 matrix,and propagate along primary B2 grain boundaries for the duplex microstructure.The fracture mode is transgranular with ductile dimples for the duplex and the equiaxed microstructures,but intergranular for the lath microstructure.     

Effects of test orientation on fracture and fatigue crack growth behavior of third generation as-cast Ti–48Al–2Nb–2Cr

The effects of changes in test orientation and load ratio on the room temperature fracture and fatigue crack growth behavior of as-cast Ti–48Al–2Nb–2Cr titanium aluminide was investigated to determine the presence of any anisotropy in mechanical properties. As-cast samples were tested in the longitudinal and transverse directions to the casting direction at room temperature in air. Load ratios ranging from R = 0.1 to R = 0.9 were used in the fatigue tests in order to determine its effects on the threshold for fatigue cracking, the Paris law slope, and fatigue crack instability toughness, K_c, in addition to determining both notched and fatigue-precracked values for toughness. Optical metallography and SEM fractography were used to document the effects of orientation on the fracture path and morphology. Significant effects of changes in load ratio were obtained on the fatigue threshold and Paris law slope, while its effects on K_c and the effects of sample orientation were found to be minimal. These are rationalized by considering microstructural effects on the properties measured and are compared to similar materials processed via different techniques.     

Mo effect on the phase stability and room-temperature fracture toughness of Nb/Nb_5Si_3 in-situ composites

Nb/Nb5Si3 in-situ composites are very attractive structural materials because these materials perform a good balance in mechanical properties, including high strength at high temperature (>1000℃) and reasonably high fracture toughness at room temperature. Metastable phase Nb3Si plays an important role in the properties of     

Crack tip process zone domain switching in a soft lead zirconate titanate ceramic

Non-180° domain switching leads to fracture toughness enhancement in ferroelastic materials. Using a high-energy synchrotron X-ray source and a two-dimensional detector in transmission geometry, non-180° domain switching and crystallographic lattice strains were measured in situ around a crack tip in a soft tetragonal lead zirconate titanate ceramic. At K_I = 0.71 MPa m^1/2 and below the initiation toughness, the process zone size, spatial distribution of preferred domain orientations, and lattice strains near the crack tip are a strong function of direction within the plane of the compact tension specimen. Deviatoric stresses and strains calculated using a finite element model and projected to the same directions measured in diffraction correlate with the measured spatial distributions and directional dependencies. Some preferred orientations remain in the crack wake after the crack has propagated; within the crack wake, the tetragonal 0 0 1 axis has a preferred orientation both perpendicular to the crack face and toward the crack front.     

Fracture of a textured anisotropic ceramic

The role of crystallographic texture in determining the fracture behavior of a highly anisotropic ceramic, iron titanate, has been examined. By exploiting the anisotropy in its single crystal magnetic susceptibility, crystallographically textured and untextured iron titanate microstructures were formed by gelcasting in the presence and absence of a strong magnetic field, respectively. The magnetic field-assisted processing imparted a fiber-like texture to the processed ceramic material in which the crystallographic b-axes of the grains aligned parallel to the applied field. Triaxial residual stress and lattice parameter measurements showed that both the untextured and textured materials had undergone significant stress–relaxation, presumably due to spontaneous microcracking. Further, ‘aggregates’ of non-textured material were discovered within textured material that led to a population of meso-scale cracks (meso-cracks) in the microstructure oriented normal to the direction of alignment. Both crack populations were examined using a finite element simulation and confirmed by small angle neutron scattering measurements, and for meso-cracks, by X-ray tomography. Bend strength and R-curve behavior were evaluated as a function of texture and orientation in the magnetically processed materials. Strengths remained within 20% of that of the control material, except for one orientation, for which the strength decreased with increasing degree of texture due to favorably oriented meso-cracks. The R-curve behavior was highly anisotropic, with the peak fracture toughness of the magnetically processed material ranging from approximately equal to 2.5 times that of the control material. Additionally, the peak fracture toughness of each orientation increased with the degree of texture. Anisotropic fracture properties were related to interactions between the test crack and the population of meso-cracks.     

Micromechanism of Cleavage Fracture of Weld MetalsEI北大核心CSCD

Cleavage fracture is the most dangerous form of fracture. Cleavage fracture usually happens well before general yielding at low nominal fracture stress and strain. Cleavage fracture is often spurred by low temperature and determines the toughness in the lower shelf temperature region. This paper describes a new framework for the micromechanism of cleavage fracture of high strength low alloy (HSLA) steel weld metals. Cleavage fracture not only determines the impact toughness in the lower shelf but also plays a decisive role on the impact toughness in the transition temperature region. The toughness is determined by the extending length of a preceding fibrous crack which is terminated by cleavage fracture. Three non-stop successive stages, i.e. crack nucleation, propagation of a second phase particle-sized crack across the particle/grain boundary, propagation of a grain-sized crack across the grain/grain boundary are explained. The "critical event" of cleavage fracture is emphasized which offers the greatest difficulty during crack formation and controls the cleavage process. The critical event indicates the weakest microstructural component and its critical size which specifies the local cleavage fracture stress sigma(f) for cleavage fracture. In toughness-study it is paramount important to reveal the critical events for various test specimens. Three criteria for crack nucleation, for preventing crack nucleus from blunting and for crack propagation are testified. An active region specified by these criteria is suggested where the combined stress and strain are sufficient to trigger the cleavage fracture. It can be used in statistical analyses. A case study, using the new framework of micromechanism for analyzing toughness of 8% Ni steel welding metals is presented to analyze the experimental results.