Papers by Author: Wolfgang Ludwig

Abstract: Within the last decade a number of x-ray diffraction methods have been presented for non-destructive 3D characterization of polycrystalline materials. 3DXRD [1] and Diffraction Contrast Tomography [2,3,4] are examples of such methods providing full spatial and crystallographic information of the individual grains. Both methods rely on specially designed high-resolution near-field detectors for acquire the shape of the illuminated grains, and therefore the spatial resolution is for both methods limited by the resolution of the detector, currently ~2 micrometers. Applying these methods using conventional far-field detectors provides information on centre of mass, crystallographic orientation and stress state of the individual grains [5], at the expense of high spatial resolution. However, far-field detectors have much higher efficiency than near-field detectors, and as such are suitable for dynamic studies requiring high temporal resolution and set-ups involving bulky sample environments (e.g. furnaces, stress-rigs etc.)

Abstract: Grain tracking is a term used to describe experiments that investigate polycrystalline materials in terms of the crystallites or grains from which they are composed, non-destructively and in three dimensions. The new German high brilliance synchrotron radiation source, Petra III, will become available to users in 2010 [1]. The GKSS research centre will operate two beamlines, including the high energy materials science beamline (HEMS) [2]. HEMS will feature an instrument dedicated to grain tracking, able to support a range of experiments of this kind. This paper describes the design and specification of this instrument, and gives examples of the types of experiments that will be possible.

Abstract: In this paper the authors describe a technique based on synchrotron x-ray diffraction which has been used to produce full 3D grain maps (both grain shapes and orientations) in annealed aluminium alloy and stainless steel samples containing around 500 grains. The procedure is termed diffraction contrast tomography (DCT), reflecting its similarities with conventional absorption contrast tomography. It is an extension of the 3D X-ray diffraction microscopy (3DXRD) concept, and has been developed in collaboration with its inventors. The specimen is illuminated using a monochromatic synchrotron x-ray beam, and grains imaged using the extinction contrast that appears in the transmitted beam when grains are aligned in the diffraction condition during rotation of the sample. The beams of radiation diffracted by the grains are captured simultaneously on the same detector as the direct beam image. The combination of diffraction and extinction information aids the grain indexing operation, in which pairs of diffraction and extinction images are assigned to grain sets. 3D grain shapes are determined by algebraic reconstruction from the limited number of extinction projections, while crystallographic orientation is found from the diffraction geometry. The non-destructive nature of the technique allows for in-situ studies of mapped samples. Research is in progress to extend the technique to allow the determination of the elastic strain and stress tensors on a grain-by-grain basis.

Abstract: In this paper we will present how it is possible to couple a 3D experimental technique with a 3D numerical method in order to calculate the stress intensity factors along the crack front taking into account the real shape of the crack. This approach is used to characterize microstructurally short fatigue cracks that exhibit a rather complicated 3D shape. The values of the stress intensity factors are calculated along the crack front at different stages of crack propagation and it can be seen that the crack shape irregularities introduce rather important fluctuations of the values of KI, KII and KIII along the crack front. The values of KI obtained taking into account the real shape of the crack are significantly different from the ones calculated using an approach based on a shape assumption

Abstract: This paper reports recent results on the characterisation and modelling of the three dimensional (3D) propagation of small fatigue cracks using high resolution synchrotron X ray micro-tomography. Three dimensional images of the growth of small fatigue cracks initiated in two Al alloys on natural or artificial defects are shown. Because of the small size of the investigated samples (millimetric size), fatigue cracks grown in conventional Al alloys with a grain size around 100 micrometers can be considered as microstructurally short cracks. A strong interaction of these cracks with the grain boundaries in the bulk of the material is shown, resulting in a tortuous crack path. In ultra fine grain alloys, the crack shapes tend to be more regular and the observed cracks tend to grow like ”microstructurally long cracks” despite having a small physical size. Finite Element meshes of the cracks can be generated from the reconstructed tomographic 3D images. Local values of the stress intensity factor K along the experimental crack fronts are computed using the Extended Finite Element method and correlated with the crack growth rate.

Abstract: This paper generally presents different techniques available to image the microstructure of materials in three dimensions (3D) at different scales. It then focuses on the use of the more versatile of these techniques for aluminum alloys : X-ray tomography. The paper describes the recent improvements (spatial and the temporal resolution, grain imaging). Electron tomography is also presented as a promising technique to improve the spatial resolution.

Abstract: In-situ fatigue tests monitored by Synchrotron Radiation X-ray microtomography were carried out in order to visualize the three dimensional (3D) shape and evolution of short cracks in the bulk of a cast Al alloy. After the in-situ fatigue test the sample has been infiltrated with liquid Gallium (Ga) in order to visualize the grain structure of the material. Irregularities of the crack advance along the crack front can clearly be correlated to the grain structure of the material.