Papers by Author: Peng Cheng Zhai

Abstract: The shear property of the thermoelectric material Bi₂Te₃ is inextricably linked with its layer structure. By the molecular dynamics method, the mechanism of shearing deformation was studied in this paper. In the simulation, cubic single-crystal simulation cells with different layer directions inside were adopted, ensuring that the c axis of crystal lattice can be along, across and 45^o deviated from the shear stress. Compared with all the calculation models, the results show that when the shear stress increases, slip occurs along the Te1-Te1 adjacent layers which are connected by the weak van der Waals bonding, and ultimately leads to structural fracture. Furthermore, size effect and loading modes can also impact the behavior of shearing deformation, however, in very different ways. Future efforts should be focused on the influence of the creation and motion of defects during the deformation as well as temperature effect and strain rate effect.

Abstract: In this article, the thermo-mechanical responses of ceramic/metal functionally graded thermal barrier coating(TBC) in work environment are analyzed by a finite element method. Both the crack-tip field and the stress intensity factor of functionally graded TBC are analyzed and calculated. It is discussed that the effect of crack length on mechanical properties of functionally graded TBC in the condition creep and no creep of pure metal. The numerical results indicate that the effect of crack length(a/t) is negligible to temperature distributions and the maximum displacements of whole model but remarkable to the 1st principal stress and stress intensity factor of crack region. Moreover, creep phenomenon of pure metal can relax the value of displacement, stress and stress intensity factor but do not alter their distribution.

Abstract: The small punch creep (SP-C) test technique is a new method which is applied to evaluate the high temperature creep properties of materials by using miniature specimen. In the present paper, the Finite Element Method (FEM) is employed to simulate the SP-C test in order to investigate the effects of test parameters on testing results of the SP-C test. In this attempt, we perform systematic numerical simulations of SP-C tests by changing friction coefficient, specimen thickness, the diameter of punch ball and the inner diameter of lower die, and discuss the effects of the variation of test parameters on test results in detail. The resulting regression equations for assessing the effects of testing parameters on test results are obtained. It is found that the test results are influenced significantly by the specimen thickness, the diameter of punch ball and the inner diameter of lower die. However, the effects of friction coefficient on the results of the SP-C test can be neglected.

Abstract: Creep behavior of SUS304 stainless steel is studied by small punch creep (SP-C) test. Series of SP-C testing for SUS304 stainless steel are carried out at 600°C. The time dependence of the central deflection is obtained by the SP-C testing at different load level and the creep deflection curves are quantitatively similar to those observed in conventional uniaxial creep testing. In this paper, an analytic approach based on Chakrebarty’s membrane-stretch model is used to interpret the SP-C test method. The relationship between specimen central deflection and equivalent strain is deduced, and the relationship between load and equivalent stress are established. The creep stress exponent of SUS304 stainless steel is determined by the theory formula and the data obtained in the SP-C testing. Comparison of the creep stress exponent of the Norton equations in SP-C testing and conventional creep testing is performed. The results show that the creep stress exponent is well consistent with conventional experimental results.

Abstract: This paper studies the effective thermal conductivity of multiphase composite in which a thermal boundary resistance exists at constituent interfaces. Based on the theoretical framework of conductivity for binary system composites in the presence of a thermal contact resistance between matrix and inclusion given by Y. Benveniste and T. Miloh (1986), the fundamental concept is generalized for the case of multiphase composites with imperfect contact which permits a temperature discontinuity between matrix and inclusions of different phases. A micromechanics model, the “generalized self-consistent scheme (GSCS)” based on a particle-matrix embedding in the effective medium, is generalized to evaluate the effective conductivity of multiphase medium with imperfect thermal contact at constituent interfaces. Numerical results are given for three-phase particulate composites with spherical particles to illustrate the effect of imperfect interfaces on the effective thermal conductivity of multiphase composites.

Abstract: This paper is aimed to numerically evaluate the effective thermal conductivity of randomly distributed spherical particle composite with imperfect interface between the constituents. A numerical homogenization technique based on the finite element method (FEM) with representative volume element (RVE) was used to evaluate the effective properties with periodic boundary conditions. Modified random sequential adsorption algorithm (RSA) is applied to generate the three dimensional RVE models of randomly distributed spheres of identical size with the volume fractions up to 50%. Several investigations have been conducted to estimate the influence of the imperfect interfaces on the effective conductivity of particulate composite. Numerical results reveal that for the given composite, due to the existence of an interfacial thermal barrier resistance, the effective thermal conductivity depends not only on the volume fractions of the particle but on the particle size.

Abstract: The dynamic compressive behavior of Al2O3 (10% vol.) / TiB2 ceramic composite had been tested by using a split Hopkinson pressure bar in this paper. The results show that the main failure modes of the ceramic composite include crushed failure and split fracture along the loading direction. The former is the typical compressive failure of brittle materials. The later is tensile failure along the flaws produced during the composite manufacturing. The numerical simulation was also used to study the effect of the diameter/length ratio of the samples on the experimental results. The effect of the deformation in the bars’ ends, which contacted with the samples, was also studied in the numerical models.

Abstract: In this paper, the effect of imperfect inner interface on the stress fields in the coated inclusion composite is investigated, the spring-layer of vanishing thickness model is introduced to simulate the imperfect interface, assuming that across the interface between the inclusion and the coating the interfacial traction is continuous while displacement discontinuities are permitted through interfacial traction-displacement jump relations. Numerical examples corresponding to the composites containing single coated spherical and fibrous inclusion, respectively, under shear loading at infinity, are calculated, which indicate that the imperfect inner interfaces have significant effect on stress fields of the composites.

Abstract: In this paper, a new micromechanical method, the Weighted Residual Self-consistent Scheme (WRSCS), is developed for the prediction of the effective thermal conductivity of particulate composites with arbitrary configurations. The method is based on the concept of the traditional Self-consistent Scheme (SCS). For some special configurations of inclusions, such as spherical or ellipsoidal, the effective conductivity of the composite can be solved without much difficulty using SCS. But for the composite with inclusion of arbitrary geometry, such as polygon or other irregular configurations, it is difficult to get an analytic solution. In the WRSCS, the arbitrary inclusion configuration is modeled by applying collocation points at interface. Based on SCS micromechanical model, the local fields inside the inclusion can be evaluated by using the solution of a single inclusion in an infinite matrix and inclusion interaction is taken into account through the yet unknown average equivalent medium. The solution for calculating the potential field inside the inclusion is obtained by means of Weighted Residual Method (WRM). Using the WRSCS, the effective thermal conductivities for composites with different inclusion’s geometry are calculated. For the case of spherical inclusion, the results from the WRSCS show good agreements with the one from traditional SCS [7, 8]. Examining results corresponding to different inclusion’s geometry, it shows that the effective thermal conductivity depends not only on the volume fractions and the properties of components, but also on the inclusion’s configuration.

Abstract: The Small Punch Creep Tests (SP-C tests) are simulated by a Finite Element Method (FEM). The objective of the present study is to establish a foundation for the SP-C test method by investigating the deformation and stress state of the SP-C test specimen. The emphasis is placed on the dependence relation of the creep strain and the stress on the measurable quantities, such as applied loads and the central deflections. Simulation works are conducted for two different materials, one is the tungsten-alloyed 9% Cr ferritic steel and the other is 12Cr1MoV steel. The numerical results for the central deflection versus time curves are quantitatively similar to the experimental results obtained on tungsten-alloyed 9% Cr ferritic steels. From the numerical results, the relationship between the central deflection and the equivalent creep strain is approximately independent of load, temperature, and material properties. The magnitude of the equivalent stress in the central region of the SP-C specimen shows no significant change with respect to time at the secondary creep stage, an approximate equation is proposed for the assessment of the equivalent stress in the SP-C specimen. As a farther result, the high temperature creep properties of the 12Cr1MoV steel and tungsten-alloyed 9% Cr ferritic steel are appraised by numerical simulation. The results are in good agreement with the results from the standard test method. The results indicate that the small punch test technique is an effective method for the evaluation of the high-temperature creep properties of materials.