Showing papers on "Tensile testing published in 2015"

Additive manufacturing of carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites using fused deposition modeling

Abstract: Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies have been successfully applied in various applications. Fused deposition modeling (FDM), one of the most popular AM techniques, is the most widely used method for fabricating thermoplastic parts those are mainly used as rapid prototypes for functional testing with advantages of low cost, minimal wastage, and ease of material change. Due to the intrinsically limited mechanical properties of pure thermoplastic materials, there is a critical need to improve mechanical properties for FDM-fabricated pure thermoplastic parts. One of the possible methods is adding reinforced materials (such as carbon fibers) into plastic materials to form thermoplastic matrix carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) composites those could be directly used in the actual application areas, such as aerospace, automotive, and wind energy. This paper is going to present FDM of thermoplastic matrix CFRP composites and test if adding carbon fiber (different content and length) can improve the mechanical properties of FDM-fabricated parts. The CFRP feedstock filaments were fabricated from plastic pellets and carbon fiber powders for FDM process. After FDM fabrication, effects on the tensile properties (including tensile strength, Young's modulus, toughness, yield strength, and ductility) and flexural properties (including flexural stress, flexural modulus, flexural toughness, and flexural yield strength) of specimens were experimentally investigated. In order to explore the parts fracture reasons during tensile and flexural tests, fracture interface of CFRP composite specimens after tensile testing and flexural testing was observed and analyzed using SEM micrograph.

The impact of process parameters on mechanical properties of parts fabricated in PLA with an open-source 3-D printer

Abstract: Purpose – This study aims to quantify the ultimate tensile strength and the nominal strain at break (ɛf) of printed parts made from polylactic acid (PLA) with a Replicating Rapid prototyper (Rep-Rap) 3D printer, by varying three important process parameters: layer thickness, infill orientation and the number of shell perimeters. Little information is currently available about mechanical properties of parts printed using open-source, low-cost 3D printers. Design/methodology/approach – A computer-aided design model of a tensile test specimen was created, conforming to the ASTM:D638. Experiments were designed, based on a central composite design. A set of 60 specimens, obtained from combinations of selected parameters, was printed on a Rep-Rap Prusa I3 in PLA. Testing was performed using a JJ Instruments – T5002-type tensile testing machine and the load was measured using a load cell of 1,100 N. Findings – This study investigated the main impact of each process parameter on mechanical properties and the effe...

Study on the microstructure, mechanical property and residual stress of SLM Inconel-718 alloy manufactured by differing island scanning strategy

Abstract: Inconel-718 has received an extensive using in mold industry. The selective laser melting (SLM) is providing an ideal means for manufacturing mold insert with complex geometrical features and internal architecture. During the manufacturing of high quality mold inserts with conformal cooling channel, the parameters play a vital role in the SLM process. In the study, the Inconel-718 alloys were manufactured by SLM with 2×2 mm 2 , 3×3 mm 2 , 5×5 mm 2 , and 7×7 mm 2 island scanning strategies. The microstructure, mechanical property, and residual stress were investigated by optical microscope, tensile test and Vickers micro-indentation, respectively. It can be found that the relative density increased with enlarging the island size; the results on the microstructure indicated that the cracks and more pores were detected in the 22-specimen; whilst the microstructures of all specimens were composed of fine dendritic grains, cellular, and columnar structures; the tensile testing suggested that the ultimate tensile strength and yield strength of all samples was similar; while the outcome of the residual stress showed that the value of residual stress was ranked in the following sequence: 22-specimen

Effects of fiber orientation and anisotropy on tensile strength and elastic modulus of short fiber reinforced polymer composites

Abstract: An experimental study was conducted to investigate anisotropy effects on tensile properties of two short glass fiber reinforced thermoplastics. Tensile tests were performed in various mold flow directions and with two thicknesses. A shell–core morphology resulting from orientation distribution of fibers influenced the degree of anisotropy. Tensile strength and elastic modulus nonlinearly decreased with specimen angle and Tsai–Hill criterion was found to correlate variation of these properties with the fiber orientation. Variation of tensile toughness with fiber orientation and strain rate was evaluated and mechanisms of failure were identified based on fracture surface microscopic analysis and crack propagation paths. Fiber length, diameter, and orientation distribution mathematical models were also used along with analytical approaches to predict tensile strength and elastic modulus form tensile properties of constituent materials. Laminate analogy and modified Tsai–Hill criteria provided satisfactory predictions of elastic modulus and tensile strength, respectively.

Texture, anisotropy in microstructure and mechanical properties of IN738LC alloy processed by selective laser melting (SLM)

Abstract: Nickel-based IN738LC samples were built by selective laser melting (SLM). To evaluate the anisotropic mechanical behavior of IN738LC material due to layer-wise build up, specimens were built with their cylinder axis (loading direction) oriented either parallel to the building direction, or perpendicular to the building direction and at 45° to the laser scanning direction. After building up the specimens by SLM, they were investigated either under the ‘as-built’ condition or after heat treatment and compared to IN738LC cast material. The analysis of microstructural anisotropy in SLM made IN738LC specimens was done by using EBSD, EDX and X-ray texture analysis methods, and then correlated with anisotropic material behavior observed during tensile and creep testing at room temperature and 850 °C. All SLM samples possess the same general texture, with the majority of grains forming one single component of a cube texture with one of the cubic axes parallel to the building direction, and another cubic axis parallel to the laser scanning direction. The Young׳s modulus determined during tensile testing is significantly lower parallel to the building direction than perpendicular to the building direction, with the values for cast IN738LC material in between. Creep behavior of specimens with loading parallel to the building direction is superior compared to specimens with loading axis normal to the building direction. The anisotropy of Young׳s modulus was modeled based on the single crystal elastic tensor and the measured crystallographic preferred orientations, and compares well with the data from tensile tests.

Characterizing the effect of additives to ABS on the mechanical property anisotropy of specimens fabricated by material extrusion 3D printing

Abstract: Material extrusion 3D printing (ME3DP), based on fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology is currently the most widely available 3D printing platform. As is the case with other 3D printing methods, parts fabricated from ME3DP will exhibit physical property anisotropy where build direction has an effect on the mechanical properties of a given part. The work presented in this paper analyzes the effect of physical property-altering additives to acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) on mechanical property anisotropy. A total of six ABS-based polymer matrix composites and four polymer blends were created and evaluated. Tensile test specimens were printed in two build orientations and the differences in ultimate tensile strength and % elongation at break were compared between the two test sample versions. Fracture surface analysis was performed via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) which gave insight to the failure modes and rheology of the novel material systems as compared to specimens fabricated from the same ABS base resin. Here it was found that a ternary blend of ABS combined with styrene ethylene butadiene styrene (SEBS) and ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) lowered the mechanical property anisotropy in terms of relative UTS to a difference of 22 ± 2.07% as compared to 47 ± 7.23% for samples printed from ABS. The work here demonstrates the mitigation of a problem associated with 3D printing as a whole through novel materials development and analyzes the effects of adding a wide variety of materials on the physical properties of a thermoplastic base resin.

Mechanical and Microstructural Investigation of Nickel-Based Superalloy IN718 Manufactured by Selective Laser Melting (SLM)

Abstract: Selective laser melting, a quite new layer-wise manufacturing process for metals, is used for processing the nickel-based superalloy IN718 The objective of this work is to compare the microstructure and the mechanical properties of the produced specimens, directly after the manufacturing process and additionally after two diverse heat treatments subsequent to the manufacturing process As the resulting microstructure and properties for specimens manufactured by selective laser melting are directional, all investigations are made for specimens oriented vertically and horizontally Optical, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy are carried out in order to characterize the microstructure explicitly For investigating the texture of the material, additional EBSD measurements are undertaken Mechanical tests include tensile testing at room temperature and at elevated temperatures and hardness measurements The investigations reveal a very good quality of the SLM-produced specimens Nonetheless, differences in the grain sizes, the orientation, and especially in the precipitation behavior could be found

Tensile ductility of an AlCoCrFeNi multi-phase high-entropy alloy through hot isostatic pressing (HIP) and homogenization

Abstract: The microstructure and phase composition of an AlCoCrFeNi high-entropy alloy (HEA) were studied in as-cast (AlCoCrFeNi-AC, AC represents as-cast) and homogenized (AlCoCrFeNi-HP, HP signifies hot isostatic pressed and homogenized) conditions. The AlCoCrFeNi-AC ally has a dendritric structure in the consisting primarily of a nano-lamellar mixture of A2 (disordered body-centered-cubic (BCC)) and B2 (ordered BCC) phases, formed by an eutectic reaction. The homogenization heat treatment, consisting of hot isostatic pressed for 1 h at 1100 °C, 207 MPa and annealing at 1150 °C for 50 h, resulted in an increase in the volume fraction of the A1 phase and formation of a Sigma (σ) phase. Tensile properties in as-cast and homogenized conditions are reported at 700 °C. The ultimate tensile strength was virtually unaffected by heat treatment, and was 396±4 MPa at 700 °C. However, homogenization produced a noticeable increase in ductility. The AlCoCrFeNi-AC alloy showed a tensile elongation of only 1.0%, while after the heat-treatment, the elongation of AlCoCrFeNi-HP was 11.7%. Thermodynamic modeling of non-equilibrium and equilibrium phase diagrams for the AlCoCrFeNi HEA gave good agreement with the experimental observations of the phase contents in the AlCoCrFeNi-AC and AlCoCrFeNi-HP. The reasons for the improvement of ductility after the heat treatment and the crack initiation subjected to tensile loading were discussed.

Ti-6Al-4V Additively Manufactured by Selective Laser Melting with Superior Mechanical Properties

Abstract: The Achilles’ heel of additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V by selective laser melting (SLM) is its inferior mechanical properties compared with its wrought (forged) counterparts. Acicular α′ martensite resulted from rapid cooling by SLM is primarily responsible for high strength but inadequate tensile ductility achieved in the as-fabricated state. This study presents a solution to eliminating the adverse effect of the nonequilibrium α′ martensite. This is achieved by enabling in situ martensite decomposition into a novel ultrafine (200–300 nm) lamellar (α + β) microstructure via the selection of an array of processing variables including the layer thickness, energy density, and focal offset distance. The resulting tensile elongation reached 11.4% while the yield strength was kept above 1100 MPa. These properties compare favorably with those of mill-annealed Ti-6Al-4V consisting of globular α and β. The fatigue life of SLM-fabricated Ti-6Al-4V with an ultrafine lamellar (α + β) structure has approached that of the mill-annealed counterparts and is much superior to that of SLM-fabricated Ti-6Al-4V with α′ martensite.

Strain rate and anisotropy effects on the tensile failure characteristics of human skin.

Abstract: The anisotropic failure characteristics of human skin are relatively unknown at strain rates typical in impact biomechanics. This study reports the results of an experimental protocol to quantify the effect of dynamic strain rates and the effect of sample orientation with respect to the Langer lines. Uniaxial tensile tests were carried out at three strain rates (0.06 s−1, 53 s−1, and 167 s−1) on 33 test samples excised from the back of a fresh cadaver. The mean ultimate tensile stress , mean elastic modulus and mean strain energy increased with increasing strain rates. While the stretch ratio at ultimate tensile stress was not affected by the strain rate, it was influenced by the orientation of the samples (parallel and perpendicular to the Langer lines. The orientation of the sample also had a strong influence on the ultimate tensile stress, with a mean value of 28.0±5.7 MPa for parallel samples, and 15.6±5.2 MPa for perpendicular samples, and on the elastic modulus, with corresponding mean values of 160.8 MPa±53.2 MPa and 70.6 MPa±59.5 MPa. The study also pointed out the difficulties in controlling the effective applied strain rate in dynamic characterization of soft tissue and the resulting abnormal stress–strain relationships. Finally, data collected in this study can be used to develop constitutive models where high loading rates are of primary interest.

The effect of location on the microstructure and mechanical properties of titanium aluminides produced by additive layer manufacturing using in-situ alloying and gas tungsten arc welding

Abstract: An innovative and low cost additive layer manufacturing (ALM) process is used to produce γ-TiAl based alloy wall components. Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) provides the heat source for this new approach, combined with in-situ alloying through separate feeding of commercially pure Ti and Al wires into the weld pool. This paper investigates the morphology, microstructure and mechanical properties of the additively manufactured TiAl material, and how these are affected by the location within the manufactured component. The typical additively layer manufactured morphology exhibits epitaxial growth of columnar grains and several layer bands. The fabricated γ-TiAl based alloy consists of comparatively large α 2 grains in the near-substrate region, fully lamellar colonies with various sizes and interdendritic γ structure in the intermediate layer bands, followed by fine dendrites and interdendritic γ phases in the top region. Microhardness measurements and tensile testing results indicated relatively homogeneous mechanical characteristics throughout the deposited material. The exception to this homogeneity occurs in the near-substrate region immediately adjacent to the pure Ti substrate used in these experiments, where the alloying process is not as well controlled as in the higher regions. The tensile properties are also different for the vertical (build) direction and horizontal (travel) direction because of the differing microstructure in each direction. The microstructure variation and strengthening mechanisms resulting from the new manufacturing approach are analysed in detail. The results demonstrate the potential to produce full density titanium aluminide components directly using the new additive layer manufacturing method.

Microstructural Characterization and Mechanical Performance of Hot Work Tool Steel Processed by Selective Laser Melting

Abstract: Microstructural characterization of hot work tool steel processed by selective laser melting was carried out. The findings shed light on the interrelationship between processing parameters and the microstructural evolution. It was found that the microstructure after layer-wise processing partially consists of metastable-retained austenite which transforms to martensite in a subsequent tensile test. This improves the mechanical properties of the hot work tool steel enabling direct application.

Nanodomained Nickel Unite Nanocrystal Strength with Coarse-Grain Ductility

Abstract: Conventional metals are routinely hardened by grain refinement or by cold working with the expense of their ductility. Recent nanostructuring strategies have attempted to evade this strength versus ductility trade-off, but the paradox persists. It has never been possible to combine the strength reachable in nanocrystalline metals with the large uniform tensile elongation characteristic of coarse-grained metals. Here a defect engineering strategy on the nanoscale is architected to approach this ultimate combination. For Nickel, spread-out nanoscale domains (average 7 nm in diameter) were produced during electrodeposition, occupying only ~2.4% of the total volume. Yet the resulting Ni achieves a yield strength approaching 1.3 GPa, on par with the strength for nanocrystalline Ni with uniform grains. Simultaneously, the material exhibits a uniform elongation as large as ~30%, at the same level of ductile face-centered-cubic metals. Electron microscopy observations and molecular dynamics simulations demonstrate that the nanoscale domains effectively block dislocations, akin to the role of precipitates for Orowan hardening. In the meantime, the abundant domain boundaries provide dislocation sources and trapping sites of running dislocations for dislocation multiplication, and the ample space in the grain interior allows dislocation storage; a pronounced strain-hardening rate is therefore sustained to enable large uniform elongation.