Sharif Digital Repository

A336 Al matrix composites containing different volume fraction and mean mass particle size of SiC particles as the reinforcing phase were synthesised by evaporative pattern casting (EPC) route. The process consisted of fabricating of EPS/SiCp composite pattern followed by EPC of A336 Al alloy. The EPS/SiCp pattern was made by blending SiC particles with expandable polystyrene (EPS) beads and placing them in expanding mould heating with steam until EPS beads expand completely. Uniform distributed SiC particles around the EPS beads and locally movement of them during pouring and degradation leads to homogenous distribution of particles in final Al/SiCp composite. Higher modulus, strength and... 

In this study, the failure analysis of a shaft of a unit, which had been failed during the service, was studied. This shaft was welded to the blades, and their chemical compositions were determined by spectroscopy method. In order to determine the root cause of failure and contribution factors, different investigation methods including visual examination, optical microscopy and scanning electron microscope analysis, and hardness test were carried out. It was concluded that the shaft was failed due to fatigue. The failure was caused by improper welding of blades to the shaft. At the end, in order to prevent or decelerate such failure, some recommended remedies were suggested  

Based on the results of recent studies, comprehensive characterization of the behavior of infilled rock fractures under saturated and unsaturated conditions requires knowledge of morphological details of fracture surface, as well as state of stress of infill materials and their initial innate conditions (e.g., void ratio, water content, degree of saturation and dry density). This paper describes a semi-empirical equation to interpret the effects of wall-roughed nature of the fractures and presence of partially saturated fine materials within the fractures on the behavior of infilled rock fractures during shear. The proposed equation incorporates the soil-water retention curve parameters as... 

In this paper, the shear deformation behavior of A286 Iron-based superalloy was studied with an emphasis on the influence of η phase on shear strength. The η (Ni3Ti phase precipitates at high temperature heat treatment or during services at the expense of gamma prime phase. According to the microstructural features, no evidences of η phase were found at 650 and 720°C. η phase precipitated at 780 and 840°C and the amount of it increased with an increase the time and temperature. Because of using the alloy as fasteners, investigation of shear properties and the influence of η phase on it are indispensable. The shear strength of the alloy with different volume fractions of η was examined. It... 

To improve both strength and toughness of AISI 4340 steel three microstructures, full bainite, bainite-ferrite and tempered bainite-ferrite, were produced by heat treatment of this steel. Tensile, impact and hardness properties of these microstructures were compared. The results showed that with tempering of bainite-34% ferrite dual phase steel, elongation and charpy impact energy increased significantly in comparison to bainite and bainite-ferrite microstructures. Also ductile-brittle transition temperatures of bainite-ferrite and tempered bainite-ferrite steels were measured and confirmed superior toughness properties of this microstructure. Fracture surface analysis of charpy specimens... 

Flow stress and ductility behaviors of the annealed and severely deformed Al were investigated at warm deformation temperatures. Constrained groove pressing (CGP) method as a severe plastic deformation process was used. The tensile test was carried out at the temperature range of the 298-573 K and strain rate range of 0.001-0.1 s−1 to present the elevated temperature deformation behavior utilizing hyperbolic sine constitutive equation. The flow stress of the CGPed sample is increased with the number of CGP passes and decreased with temperature. Dynamic recovery and strain softening are found as main restoration mechanisms. Flow stress amounts are not remarkably affected by the strain rate.... 

Highly cold worked (HCW) low carbon steel sheets with cellular structure in the range of 200 to 300 nm are fabricated via constrained groove pressing process. Joining of the sheets is carried out by resistance spot welding process at different welding currents and times. Thereafter, failure behavior of these welded samples during tensile-shear test is investigated. Considered concepts include; failure load, fusion zone size, failure mode, ultimate shear stress, failure absorbed energy, and fracture surface. The results show that HCW low carbon steel spot welds have higher failure peak load with respect to the as-received one at different welding currents and times. Also, current limits for... 

This work was carried out to investigate the effect of different Ti concentrations as a modifying agent on the microstructure and tensile properties of an in-situ Al-15 pctMg2Si composite. Cast, modified, homogenized small ingots were extruded at 753 K (480°C) at the extrusion ratio of 18:1 and ram speed of 1 mm/s. Various techniques including metallography, tensile testing, scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the mechanical behavior, microstructural observations, fracture mechanisms of this composite. The results showed that 0.5 pctTi addition and homogenizing treatment were highly effective in modifying Mg2Si particles. The results also exhibited that the addition of Ti... 

Ferrite-bainite-martensite triple phase (TP) microstructures with different volume fractions of martensite were obtained by changing heat treatment time during austempering at 300 C. Room temperature impact properties of TP steels with different martensite volume fractions (VM) were determined by means of Charpy impact testing. The effects of test temperature on impact properties were also investigated for two selected microstructures containing 0 (the DP steel) and 8.5 vol.% martensite. Test results showed reduction in toughness with increasing VM in TP steels. Fracture toughness values for the DP and TP steels with 8.5 vol.% martensite were obtained from correlation between fracture... 

Abstract Fatigue properties of Al7075-T6 alloy joined by temperature gradient transient liquid phase (TGTLP) diffusion bonding using liquid gallium interlayer was investigated. The fatigue specimen was jointed at 460 °C under 10 MPa pressure for 10 min. The TLP bonded samples were homogenized at 465 °C for 2 h and then T6-heat treated. The fatigue life of Al7075-T6 alloy was determined as 107 cycles under 90 MPa while the fatigue life of TLP bonded sample under this stress amplitude was 1.2×106 cycles, which is about 10% of the total Al7075 alloy fatigue life. The fatigue fracture surfaces of Al7075 sample and TGTLP bonded sample were studied using scanning electron microscope to... 

Architectural modification of aluminum matrix composites is considered as an efficient method to improve fracture toughness. Al-DRA (Al-Al/SiC/20 p) composites were fabricated via "powder extrusion-casting- ingot extrusion" route with structures similar to that of reinforced concrete, so that DRA rods were surrounded by unreinforced aluminum. The effects of variation in shape, size, and number of DRA rods on fracture behavior of Al-DRA composites were investigated. Composites containing DRA rods with hexagonal cross-section exhibited higher resistance to crack initiation and growth, in comparison to those containing circular rods. In the case of hexagonal rods, increasing the number of rods... 

A new refill friction spot welding process called Threaded Hole Friction Spot Welding (THFSW) was introduced to join AA5052 aluminum to short-carbon-fiber-reinforced polypropylene (PP-SCF) composite sheets. The process was based on filling of the pre-threaded hole by melted and re-solidified polymer. The results showed that THFSW was successful to join aluminum to polymer sheets and the hole was completely filled with melted polymer. Formation of a reaction layer composed mostly of Al, C and O as well as interlocking between the threaded hole and the re-solidified polymer were recognized as main bonding mechanisms. Maximum shear-tensile strength of the joints reached to ∼80 percent of the... 

Travel speeds between 25–300 mm/min and tool rotational speeds of 800 and 1250 rpm were employed for this study. The microstructure, mechanical properties and fracture surfaces of the joints were studied. Underwater environment and an increase in travel speed significantly increase the precipitates’ volume fraction, reduce the average grain and precipitate sizes of the weld nugget zones. A critical travel speed of 150 mm/min is attained in underwater welds beyond which the average grain sizes remain relatively the same. Average grain and precipitate sizes have linear relationships with the tool rotational and travel speed ratio. Optimum weld strengths of 396 and 360 MPa were obtained in the... 

According to previous studies on the fracture surface morphologies of bulk metallic glasses, the stable crack growth region width and vein pattern size increase with the plasticity at room temperature. In the present work, the fracture surface morphologies of Ti- and Zr-based bulk metallic glasses bent over a wide temperature range (0.1–0.8 glass transition temperature) are systematically analyzed. According to our finding, the stable crack growth region width increases while the vein pattern size decreases as the ductility improves by varying temperature. This observation is in contrast to the common thought that the ductility is proportional to the stable crack growth region width and vein... 

A near fully dense mullite-TiB2-CNTs hybrid composite was prepared successfully trough spark plasma sintering. 1 wt%CNT and 10 wt%TiB2 were mixed with nano-sized mullite powders using a high energy mixer mill. Spark plasma sintering was carried out at 1350 °C under the primary and final pressure of 10 MPa and 30 MPa, respectively. XRD results showed mullite and TiB2 as dominant crystalline phases accompanied by tiny peaks of alumina. The microstructure of prepared composites demonstrated uniform distribution of TiB2 reinforcements in mullite matrix without any pores and porosities as a result of near fully densified spark plasma sintered composite. The fracture surface of composite revealed... 

In the present work, the fracture toughness data generated on the QE22 magnesium alloy as the matrix alloy and SiC particles reinforced composites using the short rod standard specimens. The short rod specimens of 18 mm diameter were prepared from the extruded rods in the extrusion direction. The fracture toughness values are primarily evaluated experimentally and then analytically by using mathematical methods. The suitability of these methods to predict this property was also discussed. Results showed that the incorporation of the SiC particles with three different shapes (i.e. sharp, blocky and round) decreases in general the fracture toughness of the QE22 Mg-alloy. This effect is... 

Double cantilever beam (DCB) specimens were prepared according to standard surface mount technology (SMT). The samples were stored inside an environmental chamber at two different relative humidity values (i.e. 40 or 100%) for either 2 or 4 h. Then they were aged at 25 °C, 75 °C or 125℃ for the same time. Finally, after being cooled to room temperature, fracture tests were performed under mode-I loading conditions at a strain rate of 0.03 s−1 at room temperature. Storage time did not have a significant effect on the fracture behavior. The fracture load and energy of the solder joints decreased significantly when the temperature was increased from 25 to 75℃. By further increase in the...