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At least 127 records · Page 7

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NASA NTRS1994

Observations, models, and mechanisms of failure of surface rocks surrounding planetary surface loads

Geophysical models of flexural stresses in an elastic lithosphere due to an axisymmetric surface load typically predict a transition with increased distance from the center of the load of radial thrust faults to strike-slip faults to concentric normal faults. These model predictions are in conflict with the absence of annular zones of strike-slip faults around prominent loads such as lunar maria, Martian volcanoes, and the Martian Tharsis rise. We suggest that this paradox arises from difficulties in relating failure criteria for brittle rocks to the stress models. Indications that model stresses are inappropriate for use in fault-type prediction include (1) tensile principal stresses larger than realistic values of rock tensile strength, and/or (2) stress differences significantly larger than those allowed by rock-strength criteria. Predictions of surface faulting that are consistent with observations can be obtained instead by using tensile and shear failure criteria, along with calculated stress differences and trajectories, with model stress states not greatly in excess of the maximum allowed by rock fracture criteria.

Schultz, R. A.↗

NASA NTRS2013

Unit-Sphere Multiaxial Stochastic-Strength Model Applied to Anisotropic and Composite Materials

Models that predict the failure probability of brittle materials under multiaxial loading have been developed by authors such as Batdorf, Evans, and Matsuo. These "unit-sphere" models assume that the strength-controlling flaws are randomly oriented, noninteracting planar microcracks of specified geometry but of variable size. This methodology has been extended to predict the multiaxial strength response of transversely isotropic brittle materials, including polymer matrix composites (PMCs), by considering (1) flaw-orientation anisotropy, whereby a preexisting microcrack has a higher likelihood of being oriented in one direction over another direction, and (2) critical strength, or K (sub Ic) orientation anisotropy, whereby the level of critical strength or fracture toughness for mode I crack propagation, K (sub Ic), changes with regard to the orientation of the microstructure. In this report, results from finite element analysis of a fiber-reinforced-matrix unit cell were used with the unit-sphere model to predict the biaxial strength response of a unidirectional PMC previously reported from the World-Wide Failure Exercise. Results for nuclear-grade graphite materials under biaxial loading are also shown for comparison. This effort was successful in predicting the multiaxial strength response for the chosen problems. Findings regarding stress-state interactions and failure modes also are provided.

Nemeth, Noel, N.↗

DOE OSTI2021

Anisotropic thermal-conductivity degradation in the phase-field method accounting for crack directionality

Dynamic loads applied to metals may lead to brittle or ductile fracture depending on the imposed strain rates, material properties, and specimen geometry. With an increase in the applied velocity, brittle to ductile failure mode transition may also be observed. Furthermore, at high strain rates, ductile fracture may be preceded by shear bands, which are narrow bands of intense plastic deformation, typically accompanied by a significant rise in temperature. Reliable models are needed to predict the response of metals subject to dynamic loads. In particular, capturing the interplay between heat conduction and crack propagation using the phase-field fracture method is still an open research field. To accurately capture the heat transfer physics across crack surfaces, damage models degrading thermal-conductivity are necessary. While isotropic thermal-conductivity degradation models were proposed, they may lead to errors as they are indifferent to crack directionality. In our current work, a new anisotropic approach is proposed in which thermal-conductivity, which depends on the phase-field gradient, is degraded solely across the crack. Here, it is shown that this approach improves the near-field approximation of temperature and heat flux compared with isotropic degradation, when taking the discontinuous crack solutions as reference. Additionally, the anisotropic degradation approach is implemented in a unified dynamic fracture model and a couple of examples demonstrate the viability of this approach.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2026

Validated Reactive Force Field Quantifies MXene Interfacial Properties, Mechanics, and Thermal Transport

MXenes combine rich surface chemistry, mechanical strength, and high conductivity for a multitude of emerging applications. Predictive modeling supports accelerated materials designs and has been limited by the absence of validated and transferable force fields. Here, we introduce an interpretable, reactive INTERFACE force field (IFF and IFF-R) for Ti 3 C 2 T x MXenes that is trained based on chemical knowledge and achieves quantitative agreement with experiments across lattice parameters (<0.5%), density (<0.2%), liquid contact angles, Raman spectra, and the in-plane elastic modulus (∼320 GPa). The models cover surface terminations from hydroxyl (−OH) to fluorine (−F) groups and are extensible to other chemistries. We introduce pH-resolved surface chemistry and identify dopamine adsorption mechanisms at MXene–aqueous interfaces supported by QCM-D and UV–Vis experiments. The data reveal coplanar and perpendicular binding modes and concentration-dependent multilayer assembly. We predict previously inaccessible properties, including termination-dependent cleavage energies, interlayer shear moduli and dynamic shear failure, nanoindentation and brittle fracture, anisotropic in-plane and out-of-plane thermal conductivities, including the role of defects. Agreement with available experimental data is consistently close and exceeds DFT accuracy across the benchmark properties examined. The IFF/IFF-R model is compatible with CHARMM, AMBER, OPLS, and CVFF force fields for simulations of MXenes with diverse surface terminations, electrolyte interfaces, biointerfaces, and polymer composites without additional parameters. Parameter sets, 3D models, and analysis scripts are provided for community use. The validated, reactive, and transferable IFF framework facilitates predictive design of MXene-based films, membranes, sensing interfaces, and composites.

MXene↗

DOE OSTI2020

Brittle-ductile transitions in a metallic glass

Recent computational and laboratory experiments have shown that brittle-ductile transitions in the notch toughnesses of metallic glasses such as Vitreloy 1 are strongly sensitive to the initial effective disorder (or “fictive”) temperature. Glasses with lower effective temperatures are weak and brittle; those with higher effective temperatures are strong and ductile. The analysis of this phenomenon presented here examines the onset of fracture at the tip of a notch as predicted by the shear-transformation-zone theory of spatially varying plastic deformation. The central ingredient of this analysis is an approximation for the dynamics of the plastic zone formed by stress concentration at the notch tip. As a result, this zone first shields the tip but then, with increasing stress, expands suddenly, producing a discontinuous transition between brittle and ductile failure in satisfactory agreement with the numerical and experimental observations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

NASA NTRS1973

The Cyclic Mechanical and Fatigue Properties of Ferroanelastic Beta Prime Gold Cadmium

The fatigue behavior of beta prime Au1.05Cd0.95 alloy was investigated and found to be exceptional for certain orientations with lives of 10,000 to 1,000,000 cycles at total strain amplitudes above 0.05 not uncommon. Fatigue lives were influenced principally by the stress level which controlled the amount of plastic deformation, and stress fatigue resistance was low compared with most metals. Failure always exhibited brittle characteristics. An algorithm was devised to predict mechanical behavior from the twin system orientations and was found in good agreement with experiment for longitudinal strains above 0.04. The cyclic mechanical properties were examined, and a model for the behavior was proposed utilizing previous theories of the restoring force and the Peierls-Nabarro stress for twinning and new concepts. Gold-cadmium was found to have certain strain fatigue resistant applications, particularly in electronics where the alloy's high electrical conductivity is utilized.

Karz, R. S.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Fracture of brittle solids

Upon completion of this experiment, the student should be able to give an elementary account of brittle versus ductile failure, conduct a three-point bend test on a tensile testing machine, and statistically analyze experimental data that exhibit inherently wide scatter. The experimental procedure is described.

Doherty, R. D.↗

NASA NTRS1994

The Large Impact Process Inferred from the Geology of Lunar Multiring Basins

The study of the geology of multiring impact basins on the Moon over the past ten years has given us a rudimentary understanding of how these large structures have formed and evolved on the Moon and other bodies. Two-ring basins on the Moon begin to form at diameters of about 300 km; the transition diameter at which more than two rings appear is uncertain, but it appears to be between 400 and 500 km in diameter. Inner rings tend to be made up of clusters or aligned segments of massifs and are arranged into a crudely concentric pattern; scarp-like elements may or may not be present. Outer rings are much more scarp-like and massifs are rare to absent. Basins display textured deposits, interpreted as ejecta, extending roughly an apparent basin radius exterior to the main topographic rim. Ejecta may have various morphologies, ranging from wormy and hummocky deposits to knobby surfaces; the causes of these variations are not known, but may be related to the energy regime in which the ejecta are deposited. Outside the limits of the textured ejecta are found both fields of satellitic craters (secondaries) and light plains deposits. Impact melt sheets are observed on the floors of relatively unflooded basins. Samples of impact melts from lunar basins have basaltic major-element chemistry, characterized by K, rare-earth elements (REE), P, and other trace elements of varying concentration (KREEP); ages are between 3.8 and 3.9 Ga. These lithologies cannot be produced through the fusion of known pristine (plutonic) rock types, suggesting the occurrence of unknown lithologies within the Moon. These melts were probably generated at middle to lower crustal levels. Ejecta compositions, preservation of pre-basin topography, and deposit morphologies all indicate that the excavation cavity of multiring basins is between about 0.4 and 0.6 times the diameter of the apparent crater diameter. Basin depths of excavation can be inferred from the composition of basin ejecta. A variety of mechanisms has been proposed to account for the formation of basin rings but none of them are entirely plausible. Mechanisms can be divided into two broad groups: (1) forcible uplift due to fluidization of the target; (2) concentric, brittle, fracturing and failure of the target, on regional (megaterraces) to global scales (lithospheric fracturing). Most basin rings are spaced at a constant factor on all planets. Evidence supports divergent ringforming models, so it may be that the ring-locating mechanism differs from the ring-forming mechanism. Thus, large-scale crustal foundering (megaterracing) could occur along concentric zones of weakness created by some type of resonant wave mechanism (fluidization and uplift); such immediate crustal adjustment could then be followed by long-term adjustment of the fractured lithosphere.

Spudis, Paul D.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Mechanisms of compressive failure in 3D composites

The present study of angle-interlock woven polymer matrix composite behavior under uniaxial monotonic compression notes these materials to be macroscopically ductile, with compressive strains in failure that can exceed 15 percent. Some of the tests conducted on stitched laminates indicated brittle behavior. Woven composite failure mechanisms have been studied by a combination of optical microscopy, moire interferometry, stereoscopy, and digital image comparisons; the critical failure event was in all cases a kink band formation in the primary load-bearing axial rows.

Cox, B. N.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Nicalon/siliconoxycarbide ceramic composites

A series of silsesquioxane copolymers was synthesized by acid hydrolysis and condensation of trimethoxysilanes of the form RSi(OCH3)3, where R = methyl or phenyl. By varying pH, water/methoxy and methyl/phenyl ratios, the molecular structure, polymer rheology and ceramic composition can be controlled. The polymers form an amorphous siliconoxycarbide on pyrolysis. Composites of Nicalon/siliconoxycarbide were fractured in four-point flexure and in tension to evaluate the influence of matrix composition, final fabrication temperature and use of filler on composite mode of failure, modulus, strain capability and strength. Incorporation of filler was found to increase matrix compressive strength. Employment of processing temperatures of 1375 to 1400 C enhanced strain to failure and reduced the tendency toward brittle fracture. Mixed mode (compression/shear and tension/shear) failures were observed in flexural samples processed to the higher temperatures, giving rise to nonlinear stress-strain curves. Tensile samples pyrolyzed to 1400 C showed linear-elastic behavior and failed by fracture of fiber bundles. Matrix material was found to be adherent to the fiber surface after failure. These results demonstrate the need for tensile testing to establish composite behavior.

Hurwitz, Frances I.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Geomechanical characterization of Rock Valley carbonates

In Rock Valley, Nevada, the USA, past earthquake sequences and shallow faulting in Paleozoic carbonates remain poorly understood. Carbonates are typically more ductile rocks that do not experience large stress drops or fracture coalescence, which contradicts previous observations in the region. As part of the Source Physics Experiment, an effort has been made to experimentally characterize the petrophysical and geomechanical properties of carbonates from Rock Valley. Well core and outcrop samples were used to determine the difference between shallow-buried Tertiary limestones and deeply buried Paleozoic limestones and dolostones. The carbonates possessed porosities between 3 and 9%, with V P and V S in the Tertiary carbonates around 2700 and 1800 m/s, respectively, and 6000 and 3100 m/s, respectively, in the Paleozoic carbonates. Microstructural characterization revealed that the Paleozoic carbonates contained significantly more pre-existing damage and alteration than the Tertiary carbonates, though the deformation varies from localized to diffuse. Unconfined Brazilian tests and triaxial tests with confining pressures between 0 and 50 MPa showed that, although samples all experienced failure, the dolostones typically failed at greater stresses and possessed greater E/ν ratios than the limestones. Furthermore, the Hoek–Brown failure criterion was used to construct failure envelopes with the compressive and tensile failure tests. Velocity, density, and porosity measurements were used to construct a hypothetical velocity-depth profile and compare the results with the theoretical petrophysical measurements. Using brittleness analysis, the likely failure conditions were determined to be low-porosity dolomitic rock for fault nucleation in the Paleozoic basement.

Brittleness↗

NASA NTRS2019

Failure of Nd:YVO4 Amplifier Crystals

Brittle single crystals are used in NASA applications ranging from lenses to centrally heated laser slabs. Despite standard procedures to design such components, unexpected failures occasionally occur. The ICEsat-2 (Ices,Cloud, and Elevation satellite-2) employs Yttrium orthovanadate single crystals in laser amplifiers and oscillators. Although the systems are currently flying and successfully operating, some unexpected crystal fractures occurred just prior to flight. The failures were traced to poor crystal quality along with time-dependent chemical reaction within the system assembly that increased stress beyond expectations and promoted both fast fracture and stress corrosion. This presentation will discuss failure analysis of the crystals and the chemical reactions that promoted failures, along with corrective actions taken to reduce likelihood of fracture over the three-year mission. Re-designed lasers were stored for 12 months and operated for a total of 1,000 hours without signs of degradation.

Design↗

NASA NTRS2019

Failure of Nd:YVO4 Amplifier Crystals

Brittle single crystals are used in NASA applications ranging from lenses to centrally heated laser slabs. Despite standard procedures to design such components, unexpected failures occasionally occur. The ICEsat-2 (Ices, cloud, and elevation satellite) employs Yttrium orthovanadate single crystals in laser amplifiers and oscillators. Although the systems are currently flying and successfully operating, some unexpected crystal fractures occurred just prior to flight. The failures were traced to poor crystal quality along with time depend chemical reaction within the system assembly that increased stress beyond expectations and promoted both fast fracture and stress corrosion. This presentation will discuss failure analysis of the crystals and the chemical reactions that promoted failures, along with corrective actions taken to reduce likelihood of fracture over the three year mission. Re-designed lasers were stored for 12 months and operated for a total of 1,000 hours without signs of degradation.

Salem, Jon↗

NASA NTRS2020

Analysis of Open Hole Compression Specimens Using the CompDam Continuum Damage Mechanics Model

This report documents a validation study on the standard Open Hole Compression (OHC) laminate test specimen conducted as part of the NASA Advanced Composites Project (ACP). Tests were conducted on OHC specimens with hard, quasi-isotropic, and soft layups using digital image correlation and X-Ray computed tomography to capture the structural response and damage evolution. Progressive damage models were constructed for use with the CompDam continuum damage mechanics code following the best practices established during the ACP. Detailed interrogation of the analysis results and comparison with experimental measurements provide a basis for assessing the capability of the modeling approach for OHC. The structural response is found to be captured well, with strengths predicted within 3\% of the experimental values for hard and quasi-isotropic laminates. In the soft laminate, the model predicts failure to be more brittle than the nonlinear, ductile response that was measured. Damage states extracted from the models at the same load level as test measurements are overlaid to show directly the similarities and differences between test and analysis results. Studying the damage evolution predicted by the analysis reveals that the failure process is a competition between fiber damage and delamination/sub-laminate buckling, with fiber damage dominating the collapse in the hard laminate and sub-laminate buckling governing in the soft laminate. Finally, a series of parametric studies varying numerical solution parameters (mesh size, mass scaling) and physical properties (fiber direction compressive strength and toughness) reveal sensitivities and deficiencies of the model. To the authors' knowledge, this study is the first for OHC specimens to include detailed evaluation of damage mode interactions, direct overlay of predicted and measured damage states, and sensitivity of the predicted results to difficult-to-measure fiber direction material properties.

Continuum damage mechanics↗

DOE OSTI2024

A General Model for the Ductility of Intermetallics Applied to Fe-Co Alloys

The mechanical properties, specifically ductility, of high performing soft magnets such as Fe-Co alloys are a limiting factor to their broader use in a number of systems. The understanding of the mechanical robustness in these materials is currently insufficient to be able to support the growing interest in applications such as magnetic shielding or electric motors. Fe-Co alloys provide the highest commercially available magnetic saturation and high magnetic permeability but have very poor ductility. The addition of vanadium to these alloys has allowed for significant commercialization and some ductility improvements, but the fundamental reasons for the observed improvements are not well understood. In most published work on mechanical properties in these alloys, the precise chemistry of the alloys investigated, often a critical aspect of intermetallics, is not reported or controlled and thermal history is unclear. This work creates a ductility model that is sensitive to changes in chemistry and can predict relative strain to failure as well as brittle fracture mode for intermetallics and is applied to Fe-Co alloys. Through the application of density functional theory (DFT), this model identifies defect stabilities, anti-phase boundary (APB) energies, the energy necessary to cross-slip, and cleavage energies and combines them through energetic competition to determine a relative failure strain. The model correctly predicts ductility improvements with the addition of vanadium as well as the transition from intergranular to transgranular cleavage, though more precise experiments are necessary to appropriately validate the various improvements observed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

NASA NTRS1988

Loading rate sensitivity of open hole composites in compression

The results are reported of an experimental study on the compressive, time-dependent behavior of graphite fiber reinforced polymer composite laminates with open holes. The effect of loading rate on compressive strength was determined for six material systems ranging from brittle epoxies to thermoplastics at both 75 F and 220 F. Specimens were loaded to failure using different loading rates. The slope of the strength versus elapsed time-to-failure curve was used to rank the materials' loading rate sensitivity. All of the materials had greater strength at 75 F than at 220 F. All the materials showed loading rate effects in the form of reduced failure strength for longer elapsed-time-to-failure. Loading rate sensitivity was less at 220 F than the same material at 70 F. However, C12000/ULTEM and IM7/8551-7 were more sensitive to loading rate than the other materials at 220 F. AS4/APC2 laminates with 24, 32, and 48 plies and 1/16 and 1/4 inch diameter holes were tested. The sensitivity to loading rate was less for either increasing number of plies or larger hole size. The failure of the specimens made from brittle resins was accompanied by extensive delaminations while the failure of the roughened systems was predominantly by shear crippling. Fewer delamination failures were observed at the higher temperature.

Lubowinski, Steve J.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Loading rate sensitivity of open-hole composite specimens in compression

Lubowinski, S. J.↗

DOE OSTI2024

Real-Time Observation of Nanoscale Kink Band Mediated Plasticity in Ion-Irradiated Graphite: An In Situ TEM Study

Graphite IG-110 is a synthetic polycrystalline material used as a neutron moderator in reactors. Graphite is inherently brittle and is known to exhibit a further increase in brittleness due to radiation damage at room temperature. To understand the irradiation effects on pre-existing defects and their overall influence on external load, micropillar compression tests were performed using in situ nanoindentation in the Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) for both pristine and ion-irradiated samples. While pristine specimens showed brittle and subsequent catastrophic failure, the 2.8 MeV Au2+ ion (fluence of 4.378 × 1014 cm−2) irradiated specimens sustained extensive plasticity at room temperature without failure. In situ TEM characterization showed nucleation of nanoscale kink band structures at numerous sites, where the localized plasticity appeared to close the defects and cracks while allowing large average strain. We propose that compressive mechanical stress due to dimensional change during ion irradiation transforms buckled basal layers in graphite into kink bands. The externally applied load during the micropillar tests proliferates the nucleation and motion of kink bands to accommodate the large plastic strain. The inherent non-uniformity of graphite microstructure promotes such strain localization, making kink bands the predominant mechanism behind unprecedented toughness in an otherwise brittle material.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗