Materials Science Forum Vol. 772

Abstract: We investigated the plastic strain of GlidCop^TM, copper that is dispersion strengthened with aluminum oxide, by X-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation. The purpose of this study is to verify the accuracy of the elastic-plastic analysis, which has been employed to predict the fatigue life of GlidCop. As a result, the plastic strain was estimated to be 0.7- 1.3% at any number of cycles, which is slightly smaller than the analytic solutions.

Abstract: TRIP-steels offer a good combination between strength and ductility. Therefore TRIP-steels are widely used in the automobile industries. The aim of this work is to study the stability of involved phases during heating and to identify the kinetics of the occuring phase transformations. For that purpose, in-situ diffraction measurements, using high energy synchrotron radiation were conducted. The analysis revealed the decomposition of the metastable austenitic phase into carbide and ferrite along the heating process and the regeneration of the austenite by further heating of the sample.

Abstract: The aim of the present study was to study the interface implant-bone by synchrotron radiation, the implant has two faces the first one coated with hydroxyapatite and the second uncoated. In orthopaedic surgery, Titanium (Ti-Al-4V) implants are currently coated with hydroxyapatite (HAp), Ca10 (PO4)6 (OH)2, in order to obtain a stable and functional direct connection between the bone and the implant. At the implant-bone interface, the new bone reconstituted after two months of implantation must have the same properties like the natural bone in order to accept the implant. Therefore we studied the residuals stresses and texture of the new bone crystals reconstituted at the interface using synchrotron radiation on ID15 at ESRF in Grenoble, France.

Abstract: The geometry based on the multireflection grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (called the MGIXD method) can be applied to measure residual stresses. Using this method, it is possible to perform a non-destructive analysis of the heterogeneous stresses for different and well defined volumes below the surface of the sample (range of several mm). As the result the average values of stresses weighted by absorption of X-ray radiation are measured. In this work the stress profile as a function of depth for mechanically polished Ti and Al samples were calculated from MGIXD data using inverse Laplace transform.

Abstract: The effect of processing atmosphere on the microstructure and residual stresses are studied for laser surface hardening on steel samples of grade AISI 4140. Samples were hardened in air, vacuum and inert gas atmosphere (Helium) by means of a stationary laser beam. A high-power diode laser (HPDL) system was used in combination with a custom-designed process chamber. Residual stress distributions in lateral and in depth direction were analysed after laser processing by means of X-ray diffraction according to the well known sin² - method. X-ray residual stress analyses were supplemented by microscopic investigations of the local microstructure. The results indicate a widening of the compressive stressed region in lateral as well as in depth direction by surface hardening in inert gas atmosphere compared to laser surface hardening in air or vacuum atmosphere. This is due to the local heating flux distribution during the laser assisted heat treatment which is strongly affected by the processing atmosphere an leads to an extension of the hardening zone when using helium as inert gas.

Abstract: Cold spray technology is used to produce metal coatings with a variety of functions, including surface corrosion protection, improvement of wear resistance, etc. Cold sprayed materials exhibit a wide range of behaviours resulting in large variation of spraying efficiency, coating properties, quality and performance in service. Residual stress, being a result and attribute of the deposition process, can be studied to test whether the coating is in tension/compression stress state and also to provide information about the thermo-mechanical history of the material during the deposition process. Residual stress distributions in a variety of coating materials have been studied by neutron diffraction. Through-thickness residual stress profiles show that the stress magnitude varies significantly and depends mainly on the mechanical properties of the coating material.

Abstract: Investigations of interaction residual stresses between thin WC-Co surface coated layers on thick mild steel substrates have successfully been performed with neutron diffraction. This systematic approach was conducted on the reference grit-blasted substrates and their HVOF coated WC-Co products. Using a sub-millimeter gauge volume, precisely positioned, the stress gradient through the coated and non-coated substrates were determined and used to derive the coating stress condition prevailing in the thin coating by applying the stress balance (Stoney) approach. In addition, the average stress in each 200 μm thick coating was measured directly with very good agreement obtained between the calculated and measured stress values. Investigations were extended to determine the thermal nature of the residual stresses by studying the annealed counterpart samples as well to follow the evolution of the residual stress upon annealing.

Abstract: Residual stress measurements are very challenging in thin aluminium plates. Rolling-induced crystallographic texture can lead to an S-shape fit when using the sin²ψ method for surface X-ray diffraction. Peak broadening and missing peaks can also be observed for synchrotron X-ray diffraction with conventional θ/2θ scanning due to texture. In addition, when measuring near the plate surfaces, partially-filled gauge volumes in diffraction experiments will lead to “pseudo-strains”, an apparent shift between measured and actual positions for the diffraction peak. Obtaining a meaningful value of d0 for strain calculations is another issue for diffraction experiments in thin plates. The low thickness also offers challenges for destructive methods including incremental hole drilling, i.e. there is no defined ASTM standard for measuring non-uniform residual stress profile for thin plates. In this work, 2-mm-thick Al2024-T351 plate was investigated for residual stress fields due to laser peening. Neutron diffraction measurements were carried out at POLDI (Pulse Overlap time-of-flight Diffractometer) in PSI, Switzerland and the results are compared with incremental hole drilling.

Abstract: A hollow cylinder specimen of Cr-Mo steel with 0.20 mass% C was used as a model which simplified a motor cycle transmission gear. The specimen was carburized in carrier gas and quenched in oil bath. After quenching, the internal residual strain distributions in the radial, axial and hoop directions were mapped nondestructively by neutron strain scanning, and were compared with results of elastoplastic finite element analysis. The carbon content and hardness gradients were also measured to determine the case depth. Residual strain was calculated from lattice spacing change. In this study, unstressed lattice spacing was determined experimentally by measuring diffraction angle of coupons that were cut from the interior of the same carburized cylinder specimen. As a result, the carbon content and hardness distributions were almost accorded with finite element analysis results. On the other hand, the measured strains in some measuring points discorded with the analyzed weighted average strains. The peak widths in the interior of specimen equaled to that of unstressed coupons. Internal residual strain distributions were complicated and found to be elastic strains that were balanced with equivalent plastic strains due to transformation plasticity of case layer.

Abstract: In this work, autogenous laser welding was used to join thin plates of low carbon ferritic and austenitic stainless steel. Due to the differences in the thermo-physical properties of base metals, this kind of welds exhibit a complex microstructure, which frequently leads to an overall loss of joint quality. Four welded samples were prepared by using different sets of processing parameters, with the aim of minimizing the induced residual stress field. Microstructural characterization and residual strain scanning (by neutron diffraction) were used to assess the joints’ features.