Papers by Keyword: Mechanical Spectroscopy

Abstract: The advantages of the OMI algorithm to compute the logarithmic decrement and the resonant frequency from free decaying oscillations is reported. The OMI algorithm is proved to be the best solution in the computation of the logarithmic decrement and the resonant frequency for high damping levels.

Abstract: The composite SmBa2Cu3O7-δ (Sm-123), obtained by the substitution of the ion Y for Sm in the very well known and studied YBa2Cu3O7-δ (Y-123), is potentially attractive for better understanding superconductivity mechanisms and for its applications as electronic devices. Sm-123 samples show higher critical temperatures than Y-123 ones do and a larger solubility of Sm in Ba-Cu-O solvent, which makes their growth process faster. When oxygen is present interstitially, it strongly affects the physical properties of the material. The dynamics of oxygen can be investigated by anelastic spectroscopy measurements, a powerful technique for the precise determination of the oscillation frequency and the internal friction when atomic jumps are possible. Anelastic spectroscopy allows determining the elasticity modulus (related to the oscillation frequency) and the elastic energy loss (related to the internal friction) as a function of the temperature. The sample was also investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), and electric resistivity. The results obtained show a thermally activated relaxation structure composed by at least 3 relaxation processes. These processes may be attributed to the jumps of oxygen atoms present of the Cu-O plane in the orthorhombic phase.

Abstract: A new algorithm OMI (Optimization in Multiple Intervals) for the computation of the logarithmic decrement from exponentially damped harmonic oscillations is described. This method is shown to be effective and computationally compact for high damping materials. A comparison between the OMI algorithm and the four classical methods usually used in the computation of the logarithmic decrement is reported. The OMI algorithm yields high precision in the computation of the logarithmic decrement and the smallest dispersion of experimental points on the plots of mechanical loss spectra. The effect of the acquisition parameters and the experimental conditions on the results of computations of the logarithmic decrement and the relative error is discussed.

Abstract: The on-line control unit is used to ensure high-accuracy computations of the logarithmic decrement. It is shown that the excitation process should be on-line low level real-time controlled during mechanical loss measurements to obtain high precision of the computations and to ensure a short-time excitation process.

Abstract: Extrinsic resonance effects observed in a low-frequency subresonant mechanical spectrometer are reported. High resolution of the mechanical spectrometer enables precise measurement of small values of the mechanical loss tangent ( tanϕ = 1- 2 × 10-4) and the apparent high values of the loss tangent detected for extrinsic resonance effects in the vicinity of the eigen frequencies of the spectrometer. Forced oscillations can be used as a ‘signal quality test’ to validate the quality of exponentially damped harmonic oscillations in the resonant mode.

Abstract: The concept of the ‘zero-point drift’, ZPD, is introduced and analyzed on the basis of mechanical loss measurements carried out in a low-frequency mechanical spectrometer – inverted torsion pendulum. It is demonstrated that the ZPD, which modifies damped harmonic oscillations leads to false values of the logarithmic decrement computed from several widely accepted algorithms.

Abstract: The mechanical loss spectra obtained in metallic samples covered with various thin films of arachis oils containing different sulphur concentrations, different consistency, and different oil fractions are observed in the low-temperature range from 180 K to 300 K. The observed mechanical loss spectra are identified as the surface induced mechanical loss phenomena. It is demonstrated that mechanical loss spectra are induced by the presence of oil films on metallic substrates. It is shown that the shape, the peak location, and the generation of the constituent low-temperature peaks can be controlled by the state of the arachis oil films.

Abstract: By means of the vibrating reed technique, measurements of internal friction have been performed in the temperature range of 120 K < T < Tg (= glass temperature) on two amorphous alloys, each produced as ribbon and bulk material. The different contents of free volume result in an only slight shift of the onset of irreversible structural relaxation to lower temperatures (i.e., lower activation energies) for the ribbons, while considerably different amounts of structural relaxation occur. After correcting for the thermoelastic effect, the reversible structural relaxation, i.e., an approximately exponential increase of damping with rising temperature, is well described by KWW kinetics (β ≈ 0.3). For the Zr-based alloy only, a clear relaxation peak occurs in the range from 270 K to 320 K (for the first flexural vibration mode between 100 Hz and 400 Hz) induced by hydrogenation. In addition, the effect of plastic deformation on the damping behavior by cold rolling of the bulk materials has been examined.

Abstract: In spite of numerous works, the relaxation phenomena observed at high temperature (between room temperature and the melting temperature TM) are still under discussion. Because relaxation peaks were observed in single crystals, it is generally considered that the basis of the relaxation mechanism is linked to the dislocation network. The main difficulty for high temperature damping measurements is the great sensitivity of internal friction with several experimental parameters: the heating/cooling rate, maximal applied strain amplitude, sample purity, thermomechanical history of the sample, microstructure, etc. This sensitivity can explain the large scatter in experimental results published by various authors. Moreover, internal friction (IF) measurements performed during continuous heating or cooling and using an apparatus working at a quasi-static frequency, do not allow to completely describe the relaxation phenomena. On the contrary, isothermal mechanical spectroscopy (measurements of internal friction in a large frequency, temperature and maximal strain amplitude ranges) improves the experiments or evidences new relaxation effects. This is illustrated in this paper for various examples: slightly cold worked single crystals, polycrystals after a large cold work and recrystallization, non thermally activated peaks observed in metallic alloys, and relaxation peaks at very high temperature (above 0.9 TM).