Papers by Author: Werner Riehemann

Abstract: Aluminium-Matrix-Nanoparticle-Composites were produced by ball milling of micro scale Aluminium powder with various nanoscales ceramic powders like Silicon Carbide, Alumina and Boron Nitride with subsequent consolidation by hot extruding. The composites were investigated by amplitude dependent damping tests, tensile tests at elevated temperatures, hardness measurements, imaging methods and electric conductivity tests. All tested samples were machined out of hot extruded rods. The Amplitude dependent damping of bending samples was determined by measuring the strain dependent logarithmic decrement of free decaying vibrations of bending beams at room temperature. These tests were done after successive step by step isochronal heat treatments. Some samples show substantial improvement of the mechanical properties due to dispersion hardening or grain refinement. It can be concluded that the results are mainly influenced by dislocation effects like Orowan-effect, work-hardening, grain-size-hardening, recrystallization, and creation of dislocations at ceramic particles due to thermal mismatch. Moreover some results can be attributed to fatigue during mechanical cycling namely crack nucleation, crack growth and fraction. The electric conductivity was measured indirectly by permeability tests with a digital hysteresis recording devise. The results show the low influence of nano-particle dispersion hardening to conductivity in comparison of work-hardening.

Abstract: The behavior of internal friction Q^-1 and dynamic shear modulus has been studied in polypropylene charged with either different volume fraction or size of magnetite (Fe₃O₄) particles, as a function of the applied magnetic field at 318 K. An increase of the alternating (AC) magnetic field oscillating with 50 Hz, leads to an increase of the internal friction. In addition, during the subsequently decreasing alternating magnetic field, the internal friction decreases, but a hysteretic behavior appeared. In fact, the internal friction of the decreasing part of magnetic field amplitude is found to be smaller than during the previously increasing amplitude part of the treatment with the alternating magnetic field. Subsequent magnetic treatment cycles, lead to successively decreasing internal friction. In contrast, during the increase of a direct (DC) magnetic field, the internal friction decreases and the elastic modulus increases. The behavior of the internal friction and the elastic modulus during the application of an oscillating magnetic field (AC) is discussed on the basis of the development of both, a new zone with different rheological characteristics than the matrix but of the same material (self-inclusion), and/or a deteriorated or damaged zone (chain’s cuts) of the polymer matrix in the neighborhood of the magnetite inclusion. These effects are promoted by the movement or small relative rotation of the magnetite particles related to the surrounding matrix controlled by the oscillating field. The behavior of the internal friction and elastic modulus during the application of a direct (DC) magnetic field is discussed on the basis of the increase of the internal stresses into the polymer matrix due to the promotion of the magnetomechanical stresses.

Abstract: Aluminum-matrix-nanoparticle-composites were produced by ball milling of micro scale aluminum powder in air atmosphere with subsequent consolidation by hot extrusion and also additional hot swaging. They were investigated in this condition after step by step isochronal annealing with successive increasing annealing temperature and quenching into water to room temperature. The material was investigated by amplitude dependent damping, hardness and density measurements, all at room temperature. For all measured amplitude dependent internal friction (ADIF) curves the damping increases with increasing strain amplitude. After some annealing treatments a knee occurs in the medium strain amplitude region of these curves. Moreover between annealing temperatures from 360°C to 480°C the strain dependent damping becomes a maximum, i.e. a peak in the ADIF curves occurs. Other ADIF curves of quenched and fatigued material show characteristic peaks that can be attributed to individual single cracks. It is shown that all these effects are due to the formation, opening and compression of cracks present in the sample or created by thermally exerted stresses.

Abstract: The annealing behaviour of temperature-dependent mechanical spectra (vibrating-reed technique) was studied on electrodeposited ultrafine-grained nickel as well as on Ni nanocomposites with small (7 nm) SiO₂ or larger (25 nm) Al₂O₃ nanoparticles. From the response of the different phenomena involved – Young’s modulus, high-temperature damping background, dislocation-and hydrogen-induced low-temperature loss peaks, and magnetomechanical effects – information is obtained on processes such as recovery, grain growth, hydrogen trapping, and dislocation generation by thermal stresses, which are influenced by both kinds of nanoparticles in different ways.

Abstract: The amplitude dependent damping of two bending beam samples of magnesium alloy AJ91 (9 wt.% Al, 1 wt.% Sr) was measured at room temperature in as cast condition, after quenching from high temperatures into water of room temperature and after various bending cycles to fatigue. Some measurements were performed successively with about 33 Hz and 100 Hz resonant frequency. The measurements show typical dislocation damping in as cast condition, after heat treatment at temperatures lower than 420°C, and cycle numbers lower then 50.000. For higher quenching temperatures the damping increases over the whole measured strain range with increasing quenching temperature and number of cycles to fatigue. After quenching from temperatures higher than 478°C the crack damping becomes dominant. The effects of damping seem to increase with increasing frequency. In one sample damping of individual cracks could be identified in the amplitude dependent damping curves by their characteristic course very similar to the ones postulated in an earlier publication by a simple rheological model [4]. The extending of crack length leads to a shift of the damping to lower strains.

Abstract: The ductility of Cu – Al – Mn shape memory alloys at room temperature depends on the aluminium content. High aluminium contents make Cu – Al – Mn very brittle and unsuitable for plastic shaping. Two Cu – Al – Mn shape memory alloys were investigated. The ductile alloy CuAl7.8Mn9.5 (all contents in wt. %) could be easily cold rolled by 86 %. The alloy CuAl12Mn4.3 could be cold rolled by only 12 - 14 %. The amplitude dependence of damping of austenitic specimens increased with increasing degree of cold work, whereas the damping of martensiticaustenitic specimens decreased. These observations can be explained by the creation of stress induced martensite and therefore by new moveable interfaces like phase- and twin boundaries, which contribute to damping. Plastic deformation increases the dislocation density, too. Both the increase of dislocation density and the increase of martensite content can lead to a decrease of damping mainly for high deformation degrees. Same shape memory alloys have shown negligible hardness increase during cold rolling, too. This behaviour, untypical for metals, can be explained by the generation of new martensite and by the fact that the hardness of martensite is smaller than the hardness of austenite. Some aging effects of the specimen after cold rolling, which lead to decrease of damping, were detected. This can be explained by pinning of moveable interfaces by point defects and/or retransformation of martensite into austenite.

Abstract: The mechanical and fatigue properties of Cu - Al - Mn shape memory alloys with different phase fractions at room temperature were investigated. The specimens with different chemical compositions (Al: 8.9 - 12.5 wt. % and Mn: 3.3 - 9.3 wt. %) were tensile loaded with 10-3 s-1 tensile strain rate. Austenitic specimens have the highest tensile strength and fracture strain. Yield strength, tensile strength and elongation of martensitic alloys were lower compared with austenitic alloys. Fracture strain of martensitic alloys depend only little on the chemical composition. Specimens of martensitic, austenitic and three different multiple phase specimens were tested in the high cycle fatigue range at room temperature. The Woehler curves for multiple specimens depend on the phase fraction at testing temperatures. Different elements as Co, Ni, Fe and Si were alloyed to CuAl11.6Mn5. All decreased the ductility of the specimens, and their fatigue properties. Maxima could be detected in the strain amplitude dependence of damping for multiple phase specimen. These maximum are shifted to lower damping and to higher strains with increasing number of mechanical cycles, compared to the as cast condition for not cycled specimen. The strain amplitude dependence of damping in martensitic and austenitic Cu – Al – Mn shape memory alloys does not change much during mechanical cycling.

Abstract: The influence of thermal cycling between - 196 °C and 200 °C and equivalent heat treatment at 200 °C on the amplitude dependence of internal friction at room temperature has been studied in as cast Cu – Al - Mn shape memory alloys with different chemical compositions. Using X-ray diffraction one composition was found to be austenitic and two others martensitic with two martensite types (2H and 18R) at room temperature. All specimens were thermally cycled for 100 times. During one thermal cycle the specimen underwent altogether two phase transformations one in each direction. Thermal cycling causes microstructural changes in the specimens due to atomic reordering, thermal stresses, which are generated in the martensitic state due to the anisotropy of thermal expansion, or due to the nucleation and propagation of interphase cracks in parent phase. During repeated thermal cycling the transition peaks obtained in mechanical spectroscopy became narrower due to an enduring change of the microstructure and annealing effect at 200 °C. To compare between the effects of thermal cycling and heat treatment one martensitic specimen was annealed at 200 °C. For selected cycle numbers and heat treatment times the amplitude dependence of damping was measured at room temperature. The influence of thermal cycling of martensitic specimens on the damping level was found to be similar to the influence of heat treatment at 200 °C. It is most likely that the highest heat treatment temperature is more important for the amplitude dependence of damping than the temperature change during thermal cycling. Cracks due to thermal cycling were found in all cycled specimens. They have no significant effect on the amplitude dependence of damping of the martensitic samples, whereas some small influence could be observed in austenitic samples at room temperature.

Abstract: The influence of heat treatment on the amplitude dependence of internal friction in Fe - 11 at. % Al alloys with carbon contents in the range 0.005 - 0.2 at. % has been studied using an inverted torsion pendulum in the temperature range 300 – 950 K and a vibrating reed apparatus at room temperature. The specimens were annealed at 1273 K in vacuum and cooled down with different cooling rates in order to obtain different degrees of order. It was found that ordering is hardly avoidable in Fe - Al alloys with Al contents > 11 at. %. Ordered alloys are characterised by lower damping capacity due to higher coercivity caused by additional pinning of magnetic domain walls by antiphase boundaries. X-ray diffraction investigations indicate that water-cooling suppresses ordering in Fe - 11 at. % Al alloys while cooling in air or in furnace provokes D03–type ordering. Slowly cooled specimens are characterised by higher damping capacity due to lower coercivity than water cooled or plastically deformed specimens. The amplitude dependent magneto-mechanical damping was determined as the difference between amplitude dependent damping without and with saturating magnetic field (~ 20 kA/m). Magneto-mechanical damping was found to be proportional to the strain where the amplitude dependent damping is maximum and reciprocal to the coercivity and saturation polarisation. Cold rolling increases the coercivity and therefore decreases the magneto-mechanical damping. An increase of the grain size in the investigated samples by heat treatment leads to a qualitatively expected decrease of coercivity and therefore to an increase of magneto-mechanical damping.

Abstract: The strain amplitude dependent internal friction at room temperature and the transition temperatures of CuAlMn-shape memory alloys with Al contents from 8.9 wt.% to 12.7 wt.% and Mn contents from 4.7 wt.% to 9.3 wt.% were investigated. The investigated strain range was 10-6 - 10-3. Rods of various compositions were die cast and machined to single clamped damping bars. Their transition temperatures and amplitude dependent damping was determined in as cast and homogenized state. The damping in the investigated shape memory alloys was found to be generally much higher than in metals without martensitic transition. In as cast state some alloys exceeded the damping of a Sonoston type alloy measured in comparison for strains higher than 3 x 10-5. The influence of grain size on damping was investigated by additional sand casting and the use of Boron for grain refinement. It was found that only the material with the biggest grains had a noticeable higher damping over the whole measured strain range. Homogenization heat treatment can still extremely increase the damping of CuAlMn alloys. After homogenization this extremely high damping decreases slowly to medium values in the order of as cast alloys.