Effective Constitutive Response of Sustainable Next Generation Infrastructure Materials through High-Fidelity Experiments and Numerical Simulation

Design of novel infrastructure materials requires a proper understanding of the influence of microstructure on the desired performance. The priority is to seek new and innovative ways to develop sustainable infrastructure materials using natural resources and industrial solid wastes in a manner that is ecologically sustainable and yet economically viable. Structural materials are invariably designed based on mechanical performance. Accurate prediction of effective constitutive behavior of highly heterogeneous novel structural materials with multiple microstructural phases is a challenging task. This necessitates reliable classification and characterization of constituent phases in terms of their volume fractions, size distributions and intrinsic elastic properties, coupled with numerical homogenization technique. This paper explores a microstructure-guided numerical framework that derives inputs from nanoindentation and synchrotron x-ray tomography towards the prediction of effective constitutive response of novel sustainable structural materials so as to enable microstructure-guided design

High-Frequency Fatigue Behavior of Woven-Fiber-Fabric-Reinforced Polymer-Derived Ceramic-Matrix Composites

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66379/1/j.1151-2916.1998.tb02472.x.pd

The high frequency fatigue behavior of continuous-fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composites.

Many potential applications for continuous fiber ceramic matrix composites (CFCMCs), such as gas turbines and heat exchangers, will involve high frequency cyclic loading (75 Hz or higher). While most of the work in the area of fatigue of CFCMCs has concentrated on low frequency behavior, it has been shown that fatigue at high frequencies can exacerbate the accumulation of microstructural damage and significantly decrease fatigue life. Soft matrix composites with strong interface bonding provided superior resistance to high frequency fatigue damage. Nicalon/SiCON composites with strong interfacial bonding between the fibers and matrix exhibited very little internal heating during high frequency fatigue loading. This composite system exhibited excellent fatigue life, with fatigue runout at 10\sp7 cycles occurring for stresses close to 80% of the ultimate strength (at a loading frequency of 100 Hz). Thick fiber coatings may be more effective in reducing the amount of fiber wear and damage which occur during high frequency fatigue. More effective lubrication at the fiber/matrix interface was achieved with thicker carbon coatings in Nicalon/C/SiC composites subjected to high frequency fatigue loading. Composites with thicker coatings exhibited substantially lower frictional heating and had much higher fatigue lives. The effect of laminate stacking sequence had a significant effect on the high frequency fatigue behavior of CFCMCs. In SCS-6/Si\rm\sb3N\sb4 composites, frictional heating in angle-ply laminates ($\pm$45) was substantially higher than that in cross-ply laminates (0/90). Since the angle-ply had a lower stiffness, matrix microcracking in this composite was more predominant. Finally, preliminary fatigue damage mechanism maps for CFCMCs were developed. These maps provided a means to identify which fatigue mechanisms were operating at a given stress level and number of cycles.Ph.D.Applied SciencesEngineering, Materials scienceMaterials scienceMechanical engineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/130443/2/9732053.pd

Note: design and construction of a multi-scale, high-resolution, tube-generated x-ray computed-tomography system for three-dimensional (3D) imaging

The design and construction of a high resolution modular x-ray computed tomography (XCT) system is described. The approach for meeting a specified set of performance goals tailored toward experimental versatility is highlighted. The instrument is unique in its detector and x-ray source configuration, both of which enable elevated optimization of spatial and temporal resolution. The process for component selection is provided. The selected components are specified, the custom component design discussed, and the integration of both into a fully functional XCT instrument is outlined. The novelty of this design is a new lab-scale detector and imaging optimization through x-ray source and detector modularity