Fracture toughness of thermal barrier coatings determined by micro cantilever bending tests

To investigate the local fracture toughness of thin coatings new small scale methods like FIB milling of micro cantilever are used. Webler et al. used this technique for measuring the fracture toughness of NiAl bond [1]. This method can also be used to investigate the local fracture toughness of thermal barrier coatings. The fracture toughness of ceramic coatings can be determined by different indentation techniques [2]. The drawback of these methods is the analysis of the KIc-value without the specific knowledge of the crack front propagation, which can only be determined after the experiment. By using micro-cantilever produced by ion beam milling it is possible to measure the local fracture toughness with freestanding micro-cantilever independent of the substrate. Therefore two yttrium stabilized zirconia (YSZ) top coats with a thickness of 250μm, which were deposited by suspension plasma spraying on a layer of Amdry 9954 bond coat and IN 738 substrate with different standoff distances of about 70 and 100 mm, were investigated. Figure 1. shows the micro-cantilever with the initial crack (a) before testing. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

A new method for microscale cyclic crack growth characterization from notched microcantilevers and application to single crystalline tungsten and a metallic glass

The lifetime of most metals is limited by cyclic loads, ending in fatigue failure. The progressive growth of cracks ends up in catastrophic failure. An advanced method is presented for the determination of cyclic crack growth on the microscale using a nanoindenter, which allows the characterization of > 10,000 loading cycles. It uses focused ion beam fabricated notched microcantilevers. The method has been validated by cyclic bending metallic glass and tungsten microcantilevers. The experiments reveal a stable crack growth during the lifetime of both samples. The metallic glass shows less plasticity due to the absence of dislocations, but shows shearing caused by the deformation. The crack growth rates determined in the tests follow Paris' power law relationship. The results are reliable, reproducible and comparable with macroscopic setups. Due to the flexibility of the method, it is suitable for the characterization of specific microstructural features, like single phases, grain boundaries or different grain orientations

Influence of microstructure on creep strength of MRI 230D Mg alloy

The low density of magnesium alloys makes them attractive for lightweight constructions. However, creep remains an important limitation of Mg alloys. To gain a more detailed understanding of the correlation between microstructure and creep properties in Mg alloys, creep tests have been performed on MRI 230D samples featuring various microstructures. For this purpose, the MRI 230D Mg alloy has been thixomolded into a plate with four steps of different height, which gives different microstructures in each step due to different cooling rates. With an increase in cooling rate (e.g., a decrease in step height) the interconnectivity of the eutectic phase increases at virtually constant volume fraction. The creep strength is found to decrease with decreasing interconnectivity of the eutectic phase. This implies that a eutectic phase morphology, which is highly interconnected, benefits the creep properties and should therefore be one goal in further developments for creep resistant Mg alloys

Nanomechanical behaviour of Al-Ti layered composites produced by accumulative roll bonding

In this study Ti-foils were roll bonded together with commercially pure aluminium AA1050. The laminates were produced by using two 1 mm thick AA1050 sheets at the outer side of the stack combined with 100 μm thick Ti-foils as an intermediate layer for each accumulative roll bonding process. The samples were rolled up to 4 ARB cycles. Subsequently the sheets were post-process heat treated at 180°C, 400°C or 600°C, respectively, for 24 hours. The local mechanical behaviour of the Al/Ti intermetallic interfaces have been investigated using nanoindentation experiments. A strong dependence between annealing-temperature, – time and deformation grade is detected. While a heat treatment at 180°C only leads to a weak bonding between Al and Ti with a preservation of the UFG structure, temperatures up to 600°C are causing a complete recrystallisation of the microstructure and formation of diffusion layers with different Al and Ti concentrations

The Importance of Diffusivity and Partitioning Behavior of Solid Solution Strengthening Elements for the High Temperature Creep Strength of Ni-Base Superalloys

Abstract The creep resistance of single-crystalline Ni-base superalloys at elevated temperatures depends among others on solid solution strengthening of the γ-matrix. To study the influence of various solid solution strengtheners on the mechanical properties, a series of Ni-base superalloys with the same content of different alloying elements (Ir, Mo, Re, Rh, Ru, W) or element combinations (MoW, ReMo, ReW) was investigated. Nanoindentation measurements were performed to correlate the partitioning behavior of the solid solution strengtheners with the hardness of the individual phases. The lowest γ′/γ-hardness ratio was observed for the Re-containing alloy with the strongest partitioning of Re to the γ-matrix. As a result of the creep experiments in the high-temperature/low-stress regime (1373 K (1100 °C)/140 MPa), it can be concluded that solid solution hardening in the γ-phase plays an essential role. The stronger the partitioning to the γ-phase and the lower the interdiffusion coefficient of the alloying element, the better the creep resistance. Therefore, the best creep behavior is found for alloys containing high contents of slow-diffusing elements that partition preferably to the γ-phase, particularly Re followed by W and Mo

On the Precipitation-Strengthening Contribution of the Ta-Containing Co3(Al,W)-Phase to the Creep Properties of γ/γ′ Cobalt-Base Superalloys

Abstract The creep strength of single-crystalline Co-based superalloys was found to be comparable to first-generation Ni-base superalloys. However, considerable shearing of the γ′ precipitates was observed in the early creep stages. To determine the strengthening contribution of the Ta-containing γ′-Co3(Al,W) precipitates, the creep strength of several single-crystalline Co-Al-W-Ta superalloys was determined as a function of the γ′ volume fraction at 1223 K (950 °C) and stress levels between 25 and 600 MPa. Employing a Lagneborg–Bergman–Reppich (LBR) approach, it is found that the strengthening contribution of the γ′ precipitates increases significantly with increasing γ′ volume fraction. In a Co-base superalloy that exhibits a precipitate volume fraction of about 70 pct, the γ′-strengthening contribution calculated with the LBR approach ranges between the ones observed in first-generation Ni-base superalloy CMSX-6 and second-generation Ni-base superalloy CMSX-4

Nanoscaled eutectic NiAl-(Cr,Mo) composites with exceptional mechanical properties processed by electron beam melting

Eutectic NiAl-(Cr,Mo) composites are promising high temperature materials due to their high melting point, excellent oxidation behavior and low density. To enhance the strength, hardness and fracture toughness, high cooling rates are beneficial to obtain a fine cellular-lamellar microstructure. This can be provided by the additive process of selective electron beam melting. The very high temperature gradient achieved in this process leads to the formation of the finest microstructure that has ever been reported for NiAl-(Cr,Mo) in-situ composites. A very high hardness and fracture toughening mechanisms were observed. This represents a feasibility study towards additive manufacturing of eutectic NiAl-(Cr,Mo) in-situ composites by selective electron beam melting

Nanostructuring of Nb-Si-Cr Alloys by Electron Beam Melting to Improve the Mechanical Properties and the Oxidation Behavior

Materials processed by additive manufacturing often exhibit a very fine-scaled microstructures due to high cooling rates in the process. In this study, single-layer surface electron beam melting is used to create very high cooling rates similar to additive manufacturing processes to investigate the resulting microstructure. In the case of Nb-Si-Cr in-situ composites, a nano-scaled eutectic microstructure is beneficial for improving the mechanical and oxidational properties. Fast solidification results in the formation of supersaturated phases of Nbss and Cr2Nb with phase diameters down to 10 nm as well as in the stabilization of the metastable Nb9(Cr,Si)5 phase at room temperature. After processing with different solidification rates, the decomposition of the Nb9(Cr,Si)5 phase has been studied in detail with atom probe microscopy. The stabilization of mixed silicide phases by electron beam melting shows a new pathway for improving hardness and enhancing oxidation resistance of nanostructured eutectic in-situ composites, by which the inherent weaknesses of Nb-Si-Cr can be overcome without further alloying elements

Applicability of focused Ion beam (FIB) milling with gallium, neon, and xenon to the fracture toughness characterization of gold thin films

Abstract Focused ion beam (FIB) milling is an increasingly popular technique for fabricating micro-sized samples for nanomechanical characterization. Previous investigations have cautioned that exposure to a gallium ion beam can significantly alter the mechanical behavior of materials. In the present study, the effects of gallium, neon, and xenon ions are scrutinized. We demonstrate that fracture toughness measurements on freestanding gold thin films are unaffected by the choice of the ion species and milling parameters. This is likely because the crack initiation is controlled by the local microstructure and grain boundaries at the notch, rather than by the damaged area introduced by FIB milling. Additionally, gold is not susceptible to chemical embrittlement by common FIB ion species. This confirms the validity of microscale fracture measurements based on similar experimental designs

Исследование закономерностей модификации стали 12Х18Н10Т высокоинтенсивной имплантацией ионов азота

В данной работе представлены результаты по изучению формирования пучков ионов азота и их воздействие на поверхность стали 12Х18Н10Т в условиях компенсации распыления. Также было изучено формирование высокоинтенсивных пучков ионов титана. Впервые описан метод измерения глубины легированной примеси при помощи прибора CALOTEST.This paper presents the results of studying the formation of nitrogen ion beams and their effect on the surface of 12X18H10T steel under conditions of sputtering compensation. The formation of high-intensity beams of titanium ions was also studied. For the first time, a method for measuring the depth of an alloyed impurity using the CALOTEST device is described