Papers by Author: Shu Yan Zhang

Abstract: Friction welding processes, such as friction stir welding (FSW) and inertia friction welding (IFW) are popular candidate procedures for joining engineering materials (including dissimilar pairs) for advanced applications. The advantages of friction welding include lack of large scale material melting, ability to join dissimilar materials, and relatively low propensity to introduce defects into the weld joint. For these reasons FSW and IFW have become the subjects of a number of studies aimed at optimising the joining operations to obtain improved joint strength and reduce distortion and residual stress. In the present study we used the diffraction of high energy polychromatic synchrotron X-rays to measure interplanar lattice spacings and deduce nominal elastic strains in friction stir welds between dissimilar aluminium alloys AA5083 and AA6082, and in coupons from inertia friction welds between dissimilar nickel-base superalloys IN718 and RR1000. Energy-dispersive diffraction profiles were collected by two detectors mounted in the horizontal and vertical diffraction planes, providing information about lattice strains in two nearly perpendicular directions lying almost in the plane of the plate samples mounted perpendicularly to the incident beam. Two-dimensional maps of residual stresses in friction-welded joints were constructed. Apart from the 2D mapping technique, the sin2ψ method (transmission) was also used in the case of inertia friction-welded joint between nickel alloys. Comparison between the two results allowed the variation of the lattice parameter with the distance from the bond line to be deduced. It was found that friction welding of two dissimilar materials with significant strength mismatch may lead to the creation of a region of compressive stress in the vicinity of the bond line, in contrast with the behaviour observed for joints between similar materials.

Abstract: A traditional approach to increasing fatigue resistance of many assemblies involves the creation of regions of compressive residual stress. For example, riveting holes used in modern passenger aircraft are currently subjected to cold expansion using split mandrel tools. The method is relatively expensive and not entirely problem-free. In the present study we consider a method of creating residual stresses around drilled holes referred to as ‘dimpling’, that itself is a variation of a novel technique known as the StressWaveTM process. An experimental procedure is described for the creation of localised regions of significant plastic deformation and residual stress by ‘dimpling’, allowing the production of cold-worked and residually-stressed specimens. The overall aims of this study were to determine thickness-average residual stresses by two different techniques, namely, one destructive technique (Sachs boring) and one non-destructive (high energy X-ray diffraction); and to compare the results. In Sachs boring experiments the variation of strain gauge readings with increasing diameter of the central hole was recorded. A classical elastic-ideally plastic axisymmetric model for plane stress conditions was used in the analysis. Energy dispersive synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments were performed for non-destructive assessment of residual elastic strains. The two different stress evaluation techniques used in this project led to consistent results. Good correlation was found between the stresses obtained from X-ray diffraction results and those deduced from Sachs boring experiments.

Abstract: The aim of the study presented here was to evaluate the residual stresses present in a bar of aluminium alloy 2124-T1 matrix composite (MMC) reinforced with 25vol% particulate silicon carbide (SiCp) using X-ray diffraction and 3D profilometry (curvature measurement using Mitutoyo/Renishaw coordinate measurement machine) and comparing these results with numerical models of residual strain and stress profiles obtained by a simple inelastic bending model and Finite Element Analysis (FEA). The residual strain distribution was introduced into the test piece by plastic deformation in the 4-point bending configuration. At the first stage of this study the elasticplastic behaviour of the MMC was characterized under static and cyclic loading to obtain the material parameters, hardening proprieties and cyclic hysteresis loops. Subsequently, synchrotron Xray diffraction and CMM curvature measurements were performed to deduce the residual stress profile in the central section of the bar. The experimental data obtained from these measurements were used in the inelastic bending and FEA simulations. The specimens were then subjected to incremental slitting using EDM (electric discharge machining) with continuous back and front face strain gauge monitoring. The X-ray diffraction and incremental slitting results were then analysed using direct and inverse eigenstrain methods. Residual stresses plots obtained by different methods show good agreement with each other.

Abstract: Most models based on continuum mechanics do not account for inhomogeneities at the micro-scale. This can be achieved by considering a representative volume of material and using (poly)crystal elasto-plastic deformation theory to model the effects of grain morphology and crystallographic orientation. In this way, the relationship between the macroscopic stress state and the stress state at the grain level can be investigated in detail. In addition, this approach enables the determination of the inhomogeneous fields of plastic strain, the identification of regions of localised plasticity (persistent slip bands), grain level shakedown, and the prediction of fatigue crack initiation using energy dissipation at the micro-scale. Elastic anisotropy is known to promote earlier onset of yielding, and to increase the magnitude of intergranular residual stresses. The effect of hardening behaviour of different slip systems on intergranular residual stresses is more subtle, as discussed in the text. The present study focuses on the analysis average intergranular residual strains and stresses that arise within the polycrystal aggregate following the application of single or cyclic external loading. These residual strains can also be evaluated experimentally using diffraction of penetrating radiation, e.g. neutrons or high energy X-rays, allowing comparisons with the model predictions to be made.

Abstract: This paper presents a study of the residual strain field within a high pressure die cast (HPDC) AZ91 Mg alloy bar subjected to four point bending. The technique employed for this purpose is high energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Strain scanning using polychromatic X-ray beam allows the collection of multiple peak diffraction patterns and monitoring of small peak shifts as a function of beam position. These shifts allow collective interpretation in terms of the equivalent macroscopic residual elastic strain. Residual elastic strain distributions were studied in the sections subjected to pure bending and also in sections of contact between the sample and the rollers. These experimental results are compared with the predictions from a finite element analysis of contact and deformation. Good agreement is found between the modelled and measured results. It is hoped that these results help improved understanding of complex deformation behaviour of thin-walled HPDC AZ91 components and provide useful background information for lifing assessment of such structures.

Abstract: Diffraction of penetrating radiation such as neutrons or high energy X-rays provides a powerful non-destructive method for the evaluation of residual stresses in engineering components. In particular, strain scanning using synchrotron energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction has been shown to offer a fast and highly spatially resolving measurement technique. Synchrotron beamlines provide best available instruments in terms of flux and low beam divergence, and hence spatial and measurement resolution and data collection rate. However, despite the rapidly growing number of facilities becoming available in Europe and across the world, access to synchrotron beamlines for routine industrial and research use remains regulated, comparatively slow and expensive. A laboratory high energy X-ray diffractometer for bulk residual strain evaluation (HEXameter) has been developed and built at Oxford University. It uses a twin-detector setup first proposed by one of the authors in the energy dispersive X-ray diffraction mode and allows simultaneous determination of macroscopic and microscopic strains in two mutually orthogonal directions that lie approximately within the plane normal to the incident beam. A careful procedure for detector response calibration is used in order to facilitate accurate determination of lattice parameters by pattern refinement. The results of HEXameter measurements are compared with synchrotron X-ray data for several samples e.g. made from a titanium alloy and a particulate composite with an aluminium alloy matrix. Experimental results are found to be consistent with synchrotron measurements and strain resolution close to 2×10-4 is routinely achieved by the new instrument.

Abstract: The kinetics of plastic deformation and microstructural evolution, and the residual stress in particular, were investigated on the steel plates (SABS 1431) bent by laser beam. The steel plates were bent by different number of laser scans and therefore, each was bent to a different extent. The stress results obtained by x-ray diffraction (sin2ψ-method) show a higher compressive stress along the laser path than in the transverse direction. It was also found that stress relaxation occurs during multi-scan laser forming process and most importantly, that the stress is not significantly different in comparison to the stress, which initially existed in rolled steel plates. The metallographic analyses show that phase transformation, dynamic recovery and recrystallization processes occur during laser forming.