Papers by Author: Mark Hoffman

Abstract: The microstructure, fatigue crack growth behaviour and hardness of ultra fine grained 6061 aluminium alloy obtained by equal angle channel processing was studied. ECAP resulted in significant grain refinement down to the sub micron level and corresponding increase in hardness. Results point to a similar fatigue threshold stress intensity range and fatigue crack growth rates for 1, 2, 4 and 6 passes of ECAP.

Abstract: The cyclic fatigue threshold value (Kth) of PVC materials with (PVC-M) and without (PVC-U) impact modifier was determined and compared in air and water environments. The PVCM specimens contain 6 pphr of chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) impact modifier. The testing was undertaken at a stress ratio of R=0.1 and fatigue threshold was evaluated at 3 different frequencies: 1Hz, 7Hz and 20Hz. Frequency noticeably affected the fatigue threshold value; regardless of the testing environment; at low frequency the fatigue threshold of PVC-M was below PVC-U, however, this difference gradually decreased with increasing frequency as Kth of PVC-M increased but Kth of PVC-U remained constant. This trend was accelerated in water where a higher of fatigue threshold, Kth, was also observed. A lower fatigue threshold of PVC-M than PVC-U is associated with the presence of CPE particles. The absorption of water into the PVC matrix was evident with the formation of nodular structures observed on the fracture surface. The presence of the nodular structures (at regions close to the threshold) has retarded the fibrillation of crazes, which then blunted the crack propagation.

Abstract: In recent years there has been a considerable amount of research into the deformation behaviour of metallic foams. The majority of this research has only addressed size-independent bulk material properties, obtained through uniaxial compression and indentation tests of thick blocks. There is little information in the literature on the indentation response of thin panels, which has motivated the current study. Thin panels of ALPORAS closed-cell foam of ~ 0.25 g/cm3 density were tested in uniaxial compression, and were indented with long flat-plate punches and long cylindrical punches. Cross-sectioning of the samples following interrupted testing revealed the plastic strain evolution process. The deformation was attributed to the progressive crushing of the cell bands, and the combined action of shearing and tearing resistance. Based on energy formalism, a model was developed to estimate the crushing force. By fitting the experimental loaddisplacement curves, the foam ligament tearing energy was deduced for all types of indentation. The absorbed energy was also calculated for the uniaxial compression and indentation experiments.

Abstract: The wear behaviour of Ca a-sialon ceramics of two distinct microstructures, fine equiaxed grains (EQ) and large elongated grains (EL), with the same chemical composition was investigated as a function of apparent contact pressure and sliding speed, using ball-on-disc type tribometers at room temperature and at 600°C. For room temperature tests, the EL microstructure exhibited a lower wear rate than EQ in the severe wear regime due to a greater resistance to large crack-induced material removal. As the apparent contact pressure decreased, mild wear appeared for both microstructures. The mechanism that dominated the material removal in EQ was grain pullout. In contrast, the controlling mechanism for EL was transgranular fracture. Therefore, EL had a lower wear rate than EQ in the mild wear regime. For wear tests at 600°C, crack-induced severe wear occurs in both EQ and EL samples for all contact pressures. EL had a slightly lower wear rate than EQ. Wear particles were generated on the wear track, but no tribofilm was observed and no oxidation products were detected. Wear models revealed that the grain aspect ratio plays a more important role than grain diameter in influencing the crack propagation during severe wear and grain pull-out during mild wear.

Abstract: The propagation of cracks in graded materials under monotonic and cyclic loading was investigated via experiment and simulation. Graded alumina/epoxy composite specimens exhibiting a variation in composition from 5% to 65% epoxy, representing a twenty-fold variation in Young’s modulus, across a region of width between 6 and 20 mm, were produced by a multistep infiltration technique. Crack initiation and propagation under monotonic and cyclic four-point bend loading was monitored and crack trajectories and growth rates were measured. Initial crack deflection was observed, in agreement with theoretical and computational predictions in the literature. Cracks exhibited further deviation as they traversed the graded region. Higher deflection angles were observed for specimens with steeper gradients, and for those with cracks initially located closer to the compliant side of the gradient. Homogeneous specimens in the composition range 5% to 55% epoxy were also produced to investigate the composition dependence of mechanical, fracture and fatigue properties for aluminaepoxy composites. Crack propagation resistance appeared to differ between monotonic and cyclic loading, though an increase with crack extension was observed in both cases. The significant variation in measured crack-propagation resistance, for cracks in graded specimens, was accordingly interpreted as a combination of crack-extension effect and spatial variation of both intrinsic and extrinsic crack-growth resistance. A finite element model has been developed to simulate the propagation process, with particular attention paid to crack propagation and deflection criteria. Results from homogeneous specimens were utilised for estimating spatial property distribution and crack-extension effects in the graded specimens. Experimental results for crack path and crack-growth resistance profile show good agreement with modeling predictions.