Papers by Keyword: Neutron Diffraction

Abstract: Neutron diffraction and finite element method were combined to analyze the through-thickness residual stresses in the thick weld plate considering back chipping. Large residual stresses were generated near the surface. Furthermore, the effect of back chipping width, the heat input of the back weld after back chipping, interpass temperature and plate thickness on the residual stresses were conducted by finite element method. The results showed that larger back chipping width could be helpful to decrease the risk of stress corrosion crack. With the decrease of heat input, the stress variation becomes more obvious. The interpass temperature has an obvious effect on the longitudinal residual stresses but little effect on the transverse residual stresses. Nevertheless, the plate thickness has little influence on the residual stress distribution law. Based on the finite element method results, a formula focused on the 10-40 mm thick plates was fitted to calculate residual stresses with the change of depth through thickness, which was verified by neutron diffraction measurement.

Abstract: Mercury Marine has used a new alloy, Mercalloy A362, for the manufacturing of a re-designed lower unit transmission gearcase. The enhanced strength of the alloy allowed for a substantial weight reduction in the new design. The purpose of this study was to examine and determine why cracking may develop in the gear casing during in service testing. Two types of material states, (i) as cast and (ii) heat treated were compared. Metallography and neutron diffraction analysis was carried out at locations identified as being areas of high stress by Magma software – which was performed in a separate study. Microstructural characterization at these locations revealed microstructural and the compositional differences. Differences in the porosity, eutectic phase, and volume fraction of the precipitates were observed at various locations of interest in each material state. The residual stress analysis was performed with application of neutron diffraction and revealed that the stresses in the as-cast component reached a maximum value of 120 MPa, which is below the yield strength of the alloy. The heat treatment applied to the castings reduced the stress by approximately 50 MPa. Based on the microstructure and neutron diffraction results, it is likely that performing a heat treatment process extends the lifetime of the component, however, it may not completely eliminate the cracking problem. Farther studies are currently nearing completion, targeting the mass production of the redesigned gearcase.

Abstract: In this study, the occurrence of cold cracking in high strength steel welds were investigated in terms of residual stress and hydrogen diffusion behavior. The y-groove weld cracking test of TS780MPa grade steel plate was conducted with intentionally introducing hydrogen into the shielding gas during the gas-metal arc welding (GMAW). Since local stress is one of the most important factors for the cold cracking, residual stress distribution in the weld joint was measured by the neutron diffraction using TAKUMI in J-PARC. The root region, which is usually the crack initiation site in the y-groove cold cracking test, was under a multi-axial stress state and showed highest tensile residual stress in the transverse direction. It was considered that hydrogen diffusion and accumulation could be enhanced in the high stressed root region, resulting in cold cracking. Therefore, hydrogen diffusion behavior and stress distribution in the y-groove weld joint was investigated by a coupled thermo elastic plastic and hydrogen diffusion analyses. Hydrogen accumulation occurred in the root region where showed highest hydrostatic stress. The point where showed the hydrogen accumulation was well corresponded to the crack initiation site. It was indicated that local hydrogen concentration after welding was another important key factor for the cold cracking. From these investigations, it was essential to take the combination of local hydrogen concentration and residual stress distribution near the root region into account for the highly precise estimation of cold cracking.

Abstract: In recent time, interest to ferrite magnetic nanomaterials has considerably grown mainly due to their much promising medical and biological applications. The spinel ferrite powder samples having high heat generation ability in AC magnetic field was studied for application to hyperthermia treatment of cancer tumor. These properties of ferrites are strongly depending on their chemical composition, ion distribution, spin orientation and method of preparation in general and crystal structure in particular nature of the material. In this study, several samples of ferrite magnetic structures were investigated by neutron diffraction. The explanation of the mechanism to occurs the heat generation ability in the magnetic materials and the electronic and magnetic states of ferrite-spinel – type structures were theoretically defined by the first-principles calculations within the framework of DFT.

Abstract: The structure of partly desorbed and quenched samples of MgH₂ has been investigated by the neutron diffraction method. In ambient conditions a partly desorbed sample demonstrates high stability, while the same sample quenched at low temperature decomposed into Mg after several days. Obtained neutron data showed that all studied samples contain coexisting Mg and MgH₂ phases. Hydrogen distribution for both quenched and non-quenched samples is similar. Hydrogen atoms occupied sites predominantly in the MgH₂ lattice, whereas Mg lattice is free of the hydrogen.

Abstract: A theoretical and experimental study was carry out to investigate deformation mechanisms in a textured titanium alloy. In situ neutron diffraction measurements were performed to analyze different {hk.l} family planes ({10.0}, {10.1}, {11.0} and {00.2}) and determine the corresponding internal strain pole figures. This method was applied to a pure titanium (a-Ti) submitted to a uniaxial tensile load up to 2 %. The experimental data was then used to validate the EPSC model in order to predict the distribution of lattice strains determined by neutron diffraction for various diffraction vector directions. This comparison reveals that the model results were in good agreement with the experimental data and the simulations reproduced the lattice strain development observed on the strain pole figures determined by neutron diffraction.

Abstract: Granular materials demonstrate unique mechanical properties stemming from their discrete nature. At large length scales granular assemblies are often viewed from the perspective of continuum theory where they show complex behaviour such as elastic and plastic anisotropy related to the load and deformation history. This complex behaviour is inextricably linked to the micromechanics of load sharing and force transmission at the particle level. At these scales, bulk stress is not shared homogeneously between particles, but rather by a network of `force chains' that form a skeleton supporting the vast majority of the applied load. The formation and failure of these structures govern much of the bulk behaviour of these materials. Neutron diffraction techniques are now providing a window into the mechanics of granular materials at both bulk and particle scales. Through a combination of tomographic neutron imaging and diffraction based strain measurement it is now possible to directly examine the stress within individual particles in granular assemblies. Results of these experiments in two and three dimensions are presented and the outlook for this approach to studying the mechanics of granular materials is discussed.

Abstract: Neutron diffraction and curvature measurements were conducted to investigate the residual stresses associated with Plasma Transferred Arc Cladding (PTA) of Ti-6Al-4V on a substrate of the same material. The wire-feed PTA coupled with 3-axis CNC machine was used as an Additive Manufacturing (AM) technique to build parts. A combination of the process parameters was chosen to investigate their effects on residual stress evolution. Neutron Diffraction (ND) measurements of residual strains were performed on the SALSA instrument at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), Grenoble, France. Longitudinal stresses were also inferred by using a Coordinate Measurement Machine (CMM) and Euler-Bernoulli beam theorem. Furthermore, Optical Microscopy (OM) of the cross section of the parts was used to analyse the microstructural evolution. The results show the effect of shorter and longer ‘dwell time’ between layers on the evolution of residual stresses.

Abstract: The TOF neutron diffraction measurements were done for Al/SiC_p metal–matrix composite (17% of SiC) subjected to T6 thermal treatment. Using three separated diffraction peaks of SiC phase and four peaks of Al phase, the lattice strains were measured for both phases independently during in situ tensile test. The experimental results were presented in comparison with elastoplastic model, which allows to find the values of parameters determining plastic deformation of Al matrix (critical resolved shear stress and hardening parameter). Additionally, the results of TOF method were compared with those which were obtained with monochromatic neutron radiation (LLB, Saclay). In the latter experiment Al/SiC_p composite containing 25% of SiC was measured. It was shown that after elastoplastic deformation the mismatch stresses determined for both phases relax during tensile deformation.

Abstract: This study is an experimental comparison of in-depth X-ray diffraction residual stress measurements with neutron diffraction measurements. The goal is to evaluate the relevance of the Savaria-Bridier-Bocher [1] stress relaxation correction method. Neutron diffraction are performed on a bent notched specimen. Destructive X-ray diffraction is performed until 5.25mm below the surface by polishing the material. This polishing induces stress relaxation and X-ray diffraction results have to be corrected. For that purpose, a finite element analysis is realised and show good correlation with neutron measurements results. The application of the stress correction method improves the X-ray measurements especially after 2 mm below the surface. The differences between measured and corrected residual stresses from both diffraction techniques are analyzed and discussed.