Towards understanding the influence of porosity on mechanical and fracture behaviour of quasi-brittle materials:experiments and modelling

In this work, porosity-property relationships of quasi-brittle materials are explored through a combined experimental and numerical approach. In the experimental part, hemihyrate gypsum plaster powder (CaSO 4 ⋅1/2H 2 O CaSO4⋅1/2H2O) and expanded spherical polystyrene beads (1.5–2.0 mm dia.) have been mixed to form a model material with controlled additions of porosity. The expanded polystyrene beads represent pores within the bulk due to their light weight and low strength compared with plaster. Varying the addition of infill allows the production of a material with different percentages of porosity: 0, 10, 20, 30 and 31 vol%. The size and location of these pores have been characterised by 3D X-ray computed tomography. Beams of the size of 20×20×150 20×20×150 mm were cast and loaded under four-point bending to obtain the mechanical characteristics of each porosity level. The elastic modulus and flexural strength are found to decrease with increased porosity. Fractography studies have been undertaken to identify the role of the pores on the fracture path. Based on the known porosity, a 3D model of each microstructure has been built and the deformation and fracture was computed using a lattice-based multi-scale finite element model. This model predicted similar trends as the experimental results and was able to quantify the fractured sites. The results from this model material experimental data and the lattice model predictions are discussed with respect to the role of porosity on the deformation and fracture of quasi-brittle materials

Towards understanding the influence of porosity on mechanical and fracture behaviour of quasi-brittle materials:experiments and modelling

In this work, porosity-property relationships of quasi-brittle materials are explored through a combined experimental and numerical approach. In the experimental part, hemihyrate gypsum plaster powder (CaSO 4 ⋅1/2H 2 O CaSO4⋅1/2H2O) and expanded spherical polystyrene beads (1.5–2.0 mm dia.) have been mixed to form a model material with controlled additions of porosity. The expanded polystyrene beads represent pores within the bulk due to their light weight and low strength compared with plaster. Varying the addition of infill allows the production of a material with different percentages of porosity: 0, 10, 20, 30 and 31 vol%. The size and location of these pores have been characterised by 3D X-ray computed tomography. Beams of the size of 20×20×150 20×20×150 mm were cast and loaded under four-point bending to obtain the mechanical characteristics of each porosity level. The elastic modulus and flexural strength are found to decrease with increased porosity. Fractography studies have been undertaken to identify the role of the pores on the fracture path. Based on the known porosity, a 3D model of each microstructure has been built and the deformation and fracture was computed using a lattice-based multi-scale finite element model. This model predicted similar trends as the experimental results and was able to quantify the fractured sites. The results from this model material experimental data and the lattice model predictions are discussed with respect to the role of porosity on the deformation and fracture of quasi-brittle materials

Calibration of Raman Spectroscopy in the Stress Measurement of Air-Plasma-Sprayed Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia

Thermal barrier coatings (TBC) are used widely on a range of components that operate at high temperatures. We report measurement of the factor that is required to convert the Raman shift to stress for air plasma sprayed yttria (7 wt %) stabilized tetragonal zirconia (ZrO2) (YSZ) thermal barrier coatings. The factor is evaluated for the as-coated condition and also following a heat treatment at 1000 °C for 1050 h. Two Raman bands at 608 cm−1 and 640 cm−1 have been investigated in a diamond anvil cell under hydrostatic pressure up to ∼24 GPa. In the range of zero to ∼1.6 GPa, a linear behavior was observed in terms of the shifts of these two Raman bands with a gradient similar to dense bulk tetragonal ZrO2. From these measurements the factors to convert wavenumber shift to stress have been derived. The application of these conversion factors to stress measurement in TBC coated test specimens and components is discussed

Creep deformation and stress relaxation of a martensitic P92 steel at 650 °C

This paper develops methods to predict creep stress relaxation in the presence of combined boundary conditions and explores the influence of primary-secondary stress dependent creep properties on predictions for a martensitic P92 steel at temperature of 650 °C. A series of forward creep and elastic follow-up experiments have been conducted. A summary is provided of empirical creep equations for forward creep and creep stress relaxation (elastic follow-up) tests, including the link to the experimental procedure. The creep stress relaxation tests have been performed with two rigs to give elastic follow-up factors of 1.17 and 1.7. Both time hardening and strain hardening approaches have been considered where the strain hardening model provided more accurate predictions compared to time hardening; except at relatively low stress levels. The difference between stress relaxations predicted using strain hardening and time hardening approaches are considerable. The model predicts the creep stress relaxation accurately in the early stage of relaxation, indicating that the majority of stress relaxation occurs where primary creep needs to be taken into account. This study highlights the importance of stress dependent creep model to predict stress relaxation, especially with high level of initial residual stresses