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Soulami, Ayoub

Publications and source records attributed to Soulami, Ayoub.

At least 19 records

A comparative analysis of residual stresses from friction stir processing of aluminum cast 380 and wrought 7075 alloy sheets: experimental characterization and modeling

Residual stresses are often overlooked in friction stir processing (FSP), but their significant impact on fatigue performance necessitates their consideration in optimizing processing parameters. The first step in this effort is understanding how process conditions influence residual stress distributions, especially across different alloys. This study focuses on determining and explaining the through-thickness residual stress variations and the effect of process temperature on the residual stress magnitude in wrought AA7075 and cast AA380.0 alloys. Additionally, for AA380.0, the impact of a second FSP pass was investigated. To achieve this, hole-drilling electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) and the thermal pseudo-mechanical (TPM) model within finite element analysis were employed to study the 3D distributions of in-plane residual stresses in processed samples under various conditions. A key finding was the varying impact of process temperatures on residual stress magnitudes. Higher process temperatures reduced stresses in AA380.0 but increased them in AA7075. Additionally, the through-thickness stress distributions differed between the two alloys. Further analysis revealed that yield stresses are crucial in explaining these phenomena and the effects of additional FSP passes. Further, this fundamental understanding will be vital in guiding the efforts to mitigate residual stresses and assess their impact on the performance of FSP aluminum alloys.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Molecular dynamics study of interstitial He clusters in nickel

This study presents a molecular dynamics analysis focusing on the behavior of interstitial helium (He) clusters in nickel (Ni), examining their formation, stability, and migration energetics. Consistent with previous research, we found that the binding energies of interstitial helium within a helium cluster are positive and increase with the cluster size, indicating a preference for helium atoms to cluster together. However, our findings also reveal that while the formation energy increases monotonically with cluster size, the increase in binding energy is non-monotonic. Importantly, small He clusters were observed to be thermally unstable at reactor operational temperatures (approximately 600 K), with the He 2 cluster exhibiting instability even at room temperature. With a binding energy of 0.49 eV for a He 4 cluster, we hypothesize that for helium bubbles to form via homogeneous nucleation (i.e., through trap mutation) at reactor operating temperatures, the helium concentration must be high enough to facilitate the formation of helium clusters of at least size 4 or larger. As expected, interstitial helium and small helium clusters are highly mobile. This mobility was observed not only at room temperature but also at temperatures as low as approximately 200 K. Furthermore, the mean squared displacement method has been utilized to determine the migration barriers and the corresponding prefactors for clusters ranging from He 1 to He 6

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Exceptional strength and wear resistance in an AA7075/TiB 2 composite fabricated via friction consolidation

The friction consolidation method successfully reinforced aluminum 7075 alloy (AA7075) with high-volume fractions (12 and 24 vol%) of titanium diboride (TiB 2 ) by high pressure and severe plastic deformation at elevated temperatures. The consolidated AMCs have a uniform dispersion of submicron- and micron-sized TiB 2 particles in the AA7075 matrix, with significant refinement of the matrix grain size and the particles. The addition of TiB 2 significantly increases hardness by up to 50 %, Young’s modulus by up to 62 %, and ultimate tensile strength by up to 28 % to 672 MPa, while reducing ductility by 80 %. Wear resistance of 7075/24 vol% TiB 2 improves seven-fold compared to baseline, making it comparable to that of carburized steels. Microstructure-based finite element modeling provided a theoretical strength limit of ~730 MPa for the composites and indicated that high triaxiality in conjunction with severe equivalent plastic strain in a narrow area between the TiB 2 particles led to early fracture initiations, limiting the ductility.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Finite Element Analysis and Machine Learning Guided Design of Carbon Fiber Organosheet-Based Battery Enclosures for Crashworthiness

Carbon fiber composite can be a potential candidate for replacing metal-based battery enclosures of current electric vehicles (E.V.s) owing to its better strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance. However, the strength of carbon fiber-based structures depends on several parameters that should be carefully chosen. Here, in this work, we implemented high throughput finite element analysis (FEA) based thermoforming simulation to virtually manufacture the battery enclosure using different design and processing parameters. Subsequently, we performed virtual crash simulations to mimic a side pole crash to evaluate the crashworthiness of the battery enclosures. This high throughput crash simulation dataset was utilized to build predictive models to understand the crashworthiness of an unknown set. Our machine learning (ML) models showed excellent performance (R 2 > 0.97) in predicting the crashworthiness metrics, i.e., crush load efficiency, absorbed energy, intrusion, and maximum deceleration during a crash. We believe that this FEA-ML work framework will be helpful in down select process parameters for carbon fiber-based component design and can be transferrable to other manufacturing technologies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Meshfree Process Modeling and Experimental Validation of Friction Riveting of Aluminum 5052 to Aluminum 6061

Friction riveting (Fric-riveting) is an innovative, fast, and energy-efficient process for spot-joining metal-metal structures. Although fric-riveting has been studied experimentally in recent years, its process modeling is rarely found in the literature primarily because of the associated large material deformation, extreme thermomechanical conditions, and complex contact conditions. In this work, a mesh-free smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) framework that can well handle the abovementioned numerical challenges is used to simulate the fric-riveting of AA5052 to AA6061. Predicted material morphology, multi-point temperatures, and plunge force are thoroughly validated by experimental observations. The material severe plastic deformation zone in the vicinity of the riveting zone is further predicted by the SPH model, which indicates the material mixing and potential grain refinement zone. Based on the validated model, process parameters can be optimized which yields better performance over the baseline case.

Friction riveting (fric-riveting), Smoothed partic↗

Co-Extrusion of Dissimilar Aluminum Alloys via Shear-Assisted Processing and Extrusion

Bimetallic tubes are used when a component requires more than one performance requirement, for instance, strength/creep resistance and oxidation/corrosion resistance. Shear-assisted processing and extrusion (ShAPE) can be used to fabricate extrudates that are comparable or superior in performance relative to conventionally manufactured extrudates. For the first time, ShAPE has been successfully employed in producing bimetallic Al tubing consisting of 6061 and 7075 Al alloys. Both light and electron microscopy techniques were used to investigate the integrity of the tubes, especially the interface between the core and cladding of the bimetallic tubes. Void-free bimetallic tubes were produced using ShAPE. Quantification of tube integrity was carried out with tensile testing under as-extruded and post-aged conditions. All the bimetallic tubes in the as-extruded samples exhibited uniform elongation above 5% with good tensile strength. Key insights such as material flow during bimetallic tube extrusion were obtained from the characterization of remnant billet and simulation results from a smoothed particle hydrodynamics model.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Feasibility Evaluation of a Solid Phase Scalable HEA Cladding Manufacturing Route

First of a kind development result on two low-energy solid-phase processes applied on an irradiation-resistant alloy, NiCoFeCrCu 0.12 , are achieved and demonstrate moderate feasibility of successful tube fabrication using shear assisted processing and extrusion (ShAPE™) and friction stir layer deposition as a bulk manufacturing process. The scope of the work is performed in four phases: 1) direct tube manufacturing of the irradiation-resistant high-entropy alloy (HEA) composite with increased strength, 2) co-shear lining manufacturing process for the increased strength and corrosion-resistant, irradiation-tolerant HEAs, 3) ShAPE of the radially gradient corrosion resistance alloy, and 4) alloy development and fabrication enabled through friction stir additive manufacturing processes among others. This report describes the development activities from April to December 2023 to manufacture a direct customizable thin-walled tubular product from irradiation-tolerant composite high-entropy alloys (C-HEAs) while the overall project is continuing in 2024.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

COUPLING SMOOTHED PARTICLE HYDRODYNAMICS WITH FINITE ELEMENT METHOD TO SIMULATE RESIDUAL STRESSES FROM FRICTION STIR PROCESSING

Friction stir processing (FSP) is a solid-state material processing technique that locally modifies the microstructure but also induces undesirable residual stresses. A robust numerical model for the FSP can help in mitigating these residual stresses. Heat source models within a finite element method (FEM) framework suffer from inaccuracies. In contrast, smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) model that explicitly captures the material flow near the tool and the associated heat generation are accurate. However, the computational expense of SPH simulations can be prohibitive. In this work, we propose a coupled SPH-FEM framework. SPH is used to model the heat generation accurately near the tool and which is then inserted into to the FEM model as a heat source. To verify this proposed coupling approach, a test case is set up with typical FSP conditions and it is modeled in both SPH and SPH-FEM. The temperatures profiles were compared after the simulations have reached steady-state temperatures. The similarity of the temperature profiles from SPH-FEA and SPH validated the proposed coupling approach. This proposed approach achieves the accuracy of the SPH method while potentially retaining the low computational expense of FEM.

smoothed particle hydrodynamics, Finite Element Me↗

Room Temperature Stamping of High-Strength Aluminum for Lightweight Structural Automotive Components

The use of aluminum (Al) 7xxx series in automobile structural applications is limited by factors such as its low room-temperature formability in T6 temper and the need for off-line artificial aging to regain high strength if it is formed in soft temper. In this study, two tempers were established that enable Al 7075 blanks to be room temperature stamped to create side impact beams that achieve near-T6 strength without post-forming artificial aging. It is shown that natural aging at room temperature, after solution treatment and before stamping, provides an alternative to high temperature pre-aging and hot stamping techniques in 7xxx alloys. Both tempers enabled room temperature stamping of the beams without cracking, indicating good formability. The Al beams were ~38% lighter than the benchmark boron steel beam. Further, the hardness in the low-deformation regions of the stamped Al beams were within 88% of a conventional 7075-T6 sheet. Paint-bake treatment of the beams appeared to cause over aging, lowering the ultimate tensile strength and ductility. Finite element three point bending simulations of the beams showed higher bending force and energy absorption before failure for the Al 7075 showing good promise for 7xxx series Al as a light-weight alternative to steel beams.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Qualification Framework Evaluations, Status Quo, and Recommendations

The Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technology (AMMT) program develops cross-cutting technologies in support of a broad range of nuclear reactor technologies and maintains U.S. leadership in materials and manufacturing technologies for nuclear energy applications. The overarching vision of AMMT is to accelerate the development, qualification, demonstration, and deployment of advanced materials and manufacturing technologies to enable reliable and economical nuclear energy. The acceleration of qualification processes is one of the key aspects and qualification processes for the nuclear industry is not necessarily equivalent or benchmarked against other industries.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

MDDC Multi-Length Scale Data Architecture Contribution Report – PNNL, INL, ANL, LANL and ORNL

This report offers a comprehensive view of data streams currently generated at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory set to integrate into the evolving Multi-Dimensional Data Correlation framework at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Developed by the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies program, the Multi-Dimensional Data Correlation framework serves as a cutting-edge software to manage data relevant to advanced manufacturing and material behavior in advanced reactors. The report defines data streams, highlights their generation methods and visualization methods both for experimental and computational aspects relevant to the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies project. A logical next step for this work is to integrate the MDDC framework into PNNL’s, INL’s, ANL’s, LANL’s and ORNL’s fabrication, experimentation, and modelling workflows. This would require setting up the MDDC framework at PNNL, INL, ANL, and LANL and integrating it into the data collection and storage for these different activities.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Microstructural evolution in shear-punch tests: A comparative study of pure Cu and Cu-Cr alloy

Understanding the mechanisms behind microstructural evolution during shear deformation has been a long-standing area of interest. However, establishing a connection between microstructure, mechanical properties, and extent of shear deformation is challenging and requires refined experimental approaches. Shear-punch testing (SPT) provides a controlled method to introduce shear into small volumes of material that later can be subjected to detailed microstructural characterization. In this study, we utilize an SPT device to induce shear deformation to pure copper and a binary copper-chromium alloy. Electron backscatter diffraction and transmission electron microscopy were used to study the mechanisms of plastic deformation after SPT. Our results indicate that shear deformation of pure Cu produces a dense network of intercepting microshear bands upon sustained deformation. Twin boundaries undergo degradation into high angle grain boundaries due to simultaneous deviation from the axis-angle pair condition of 60° misorientation on [111] direction. The presence of 50% volume Cr particles in the soft Cu matrix fundamentally altered the shear deformation mechanism. Preferential deformation of the Cu matrix led to accelerated shear-induced formation of low and high angle grain boundaries, and subsequent grain refinement. Comparatively, no grain refinement occurred in pure Cu at a strain ~10 times larger (ϵ = 4.73) than that of the copper-chromium case (ϵ = 0.42). Overall, our study sheds light on the microstructural evolution during shear deformation and highlights the significant influence of particle reinforcements on the shear deformation mechanisms of metals.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Influence of processing on secondary phase formation and microstructural evolution at U-10Mo alloy and Zr interlayer interfaces

Thermo-mechanical processing of uranium-10 wt. % molybdenum (U-10Mo) fuel plates leads to microstructure changes at the U-10Mo/Zr interfaces. Secondary phases formed at this interface are particularly important to interfacial bond strength, process optimization, and maintaining structural integrity of the U-10Mo fuel plates during irradiation. In this work, we determined the phases and phase transformation products occurring at the interface of the U-10Mo fuel and Zr interlayer when the fuel plate is subjected to short and long hot isostatic pressure times. Interfacial morphology, structure and composition of phases formed, and relative hardness across the U-10Mo/Zr interfaces were studied using a multi-length scale, multi-modal characterization approach involving electron microscopy, atom probe tomography, and atomic force microscopy. Here, results highlight that the extent of phase transformations, secondary phase formation, and hardness variability across interfaces can be controlled by modifying processing parameters. Phase diagram construction and thermodynamic calculations were performed using the Thermocalc software to identify expected phases formed at interfaces during the maximum hold temperature of 560 °C experienced during HIP.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Preliminary HEA Solid Phase Processing Development Report

The development of high temperature fuel cladding materials to withstand a variety of extreme environments have received much attention. Several potential materials systems that have been identified for the fuel systems and core structural materials application in advanced reactor systems are ferritic/martensitic steel (e.g., HT9), austenitic stainless steels (e.g., 316 LN), oxide-dispersion strengthened steels (e.g., 12 YWT), Ni-based alloys and ceramic-based composites depending on the type of the reactors. Though these material systems have promising properties conducive for radiation-resistant performance, they suffer beyond the design-limit from one or more damage processes such as void swelling, radiation embrittlement, phase instability, corrosion, and limited creep life.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Solid Phase Processing at the Extreme

The effective application of high-flow-stress materials in the realm of Solid Phase Processing frequently necessitates operating at elevated temperatures and substantially high force. These rigorous processing conditions give rise to intricate predicaments concerning the durability of the tools and dies involved, as well as the efficient utilization of process energy. This project is centered on the investigation of the fundamental scientific aspects inherent to these challenges. We aim to delve into the details of how materials react when subjected to intense shear forces at die interfaces, determine the metallurgical interactions occurring at the interfaces with the dies, and investigate the consequences of extreme temperatures on material flow, microstructural evolution, and resultant properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Material flow behavior and microstructural refinement of AA6061 alloy during friction extrusion

In this work we used friction extrusion (FE), a solid phase processing technique, to produce dense, fully consolidated 5?mm rods of aluminum alloy 6061 (AA6061). The combination of large shear stresses and high temperatures at the tool-billet interface during extrusion produced equiaxed, dynamically recrystallized grains and finely distributed precipitates. Texture and microstructure evolution during extrusion was investigated in detail using scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. Smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulation was performed to study complex material flow during extrusion. Simulation results suggest spiral material flow during extrusion which corroborated experimental results. Advantages of friction extruded microstructure over conventionally extruded counterparts are also explored using flash annealing for solution treatment followed by artificial aging. Mechanical properties of the as-friction extruded, and the artificially aged specimens were evaluated using tensile testing and compared with conventional extruded material properties.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗