Geopolymers (GPs) are a new class of inorganic polymers that have been considered as good candidate materials for many applications, including fire resistant and refractory panels, adhesives, and coatings, waste encapsulation material, etc. The aim of this study is to establish relationship between structural and mechanical properties of geopolymers with different chemical compositions. The metakaolin-based geopolymers were prepared by mechanically mixing metakaolin and alkaline silicate aqueous solutions to obtain samples with SiO2/Al2O3 molar ratio that ranges from 2.5 to 5, and Na/Al or K/Al atomic ratios equal to 1. Geopolymer samples were cured in a laboratory oven at 80°C and ambient pressure for different times in the sealed containers. Structural characterization of the samples with different chemical compositions was carried out using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Nuclear Magnetic-Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). The mechanical characterization included Micro-indentation, Vickers indentation and fracture toughness measurement, as well as compressive testing. It was found that structure and mechanical properties of GPs depend on their chemical composition. The Na-GPs with ratio 3 have a highest compressive strength and Young‘s modulus of 39 MPa and 7.9 GPa, respectively. The results of mechanical testing are discussed in more detail in this thesis and linked to structural properties of processed geopolymers.

A relatively new fracture toughness testing method called Straight Notched Disc Bending (SNDB) was used before for fracture testing of Ankara Andesite and Afyon Marble cores. In this work to investigate the applicability of the new method to other rock types. With a preliminary notch of 10 mm, straight notched disc type specimens with a diameter of 75 mm were loaded by three-point bending loads. Investigation of effect of specimen height on the stress intensity factor and fracture toughness was carried out. Specimen heights (B) between 18 &ndash / 67 mm were tried for andesite and marble cylindrical specimens. Loading span, that is span/radius (S/R) ratio was changed between 0.6 - 0.9 for andesite specimens. Stress intensity factor for specimens was computed with ABAQUS program. Stress intensity factor was found to increase with increasing specimen diameter for a fixed span/radius ratio. Stress intensity factor decreased with increasing specimen height. Changing span was found to have no significant effect on fracture toughness of andesite. Fracture toughness was significantly lower for specimens with smaller height. The suggested testing height interval for this type of specimens was between height/diameter ratios of 0.49 &ndash / 0.64. Results were compared to the results obtained by a well-known specimen geometry named semi-circular bend specimens (SCB) under three-point bending. SCB tests produced lower values for fracture toughness for both rock types. Fracture toughness was 0.99 MPa&amp / #8730 / m for Ankara Andesite and 0.70 MPa&amp / #8730 / m for Afyon Marble.

This paper describes the analytical work done by modelling and evaluating a thermal shock in a WWER-440 reactor pressure vessel due to an emergency case. An axial oriented semielliptical underclad/surface crack is assumed to be located in the core weld line. Threedimensional finite element models are used to compute the global transient temperature and stress-strain fields. By using a three-dimensional submodel, which includes the crack, the local crack stress-strain field is obtained. With a subsequent postprocessing using the j-integral technique the stress intensity factors KI along the crack front are obtained. The results for the underclad and surface crack are provided and compared, together with a critical discussion of the VERLIFE code.

The problems with the crack length determination by the unloading compliance method are well known for Charpy size specimens. The final crack lengths calculated for bent specimens do not fulfil ASTM 1820 accuracy requirements. Therefore some investigations have been performed to resolve this problem. In those studies it was considered that measured compliance should be corrected for various factors, but satisfying results were not attained. In the presented work the problem was attacked from the other side, the measured specimen compliance was taken as a correct value and what had to be adjusted was the calculation procedure. On the basis of experimentally obtained compliances of bent specimens and optically measured crack lengths the investigation was carried out. Finally, a calculation procedure enabling accurate crack length calculation up to 5mm of plastic deflection was developed. Applying the new procedure, out of investigated 238 measured crack lengths, more than 80% of the values fulfilled the ASTM 1820 accuracy requirements, while presently used procedure provided only about 30% of valid results. The newly proposed procedure can be also prospectively used in modified form for the specimens of different than Charpy size.

The primary focus of this research is to evaluate the time-dependent crack growth in rocks using lab tests and numerical modeling and its application to geologic hazard problems. This research utilized Coconino sandstone and Columbia granite as the study materials and produced the subcritical crack growth parameters in both mode I and II loadings using the rock materials. The mode I loading test employs three different types of fracture mechanics tests: the Double Torsion (DT), the Wedge Splitting (WS), and the Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) test. Each test measured the mode I crack velocity. The DT test indirectly measured the crack velocity using the load relaxation method. The WS and DCB tests directly measured the crack velocity by monitoring using a video recording. The different mode I subcritical crack growth parameters obtained from the three tests are discussed. For the mode II loading test, this study developed a new shear fracture toughness test called the modified Punch-Through Shear (MPTS). The MPTS test conducted at different loading rates produced the mode II subcritical crack growth parameters. These fracture mechanics tests were calibrated and simulated using the distinct element method (DEM) and the finite element method (FEM). DEM analysis employed the particle flow code (PFC) to simulate the mixed mode crack growth and to match with the failure strength envelop of the triaxial compressive tests. FEM analysis employed the Phase2 program to analyze the crack tip stress distribution and the FRANC2D program to calculate the modes I and II stress intensity factors. The fracture mechanics tests and numerical modeling showed well the dependency of the mode II subcritical crack growth parameters according to confining pressure, loading rate, and the mode II fracture toughness. Finally, the UDEC modeling based on DEM is utilized in this study to forecast the long-term stability of the Coconino rock slope, as one of geologic hazards. The fracture mechanics approach is implemented in the program using the modes I and II subcritical crack growth parameters obtained from the lab tests and numerical modeling. Considering the progressive failure of rock bridges due to subcritical crack growth, the UDEC results predicted the stable condition of the Coconino rock cliff over 10,000 years. This result was validated by comparing it with the previous planar failure case.

The aim of the thesis was to study the susceptibility for brittle failures and the fracture process of duplex stainless steels at sub-zero temperatures (°C). In the first part of the thesis plates of hot-rolled duplex stainless steel with various thicknesses were used to study the influence of delamination (also known as splits) on the fracture toughness. The methods used were impact and fracture toughness testing. Light optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to investigate the microstructure and fracture surfaces. It was concluded that the delaminations caused a loss of constraint along the crack front which resulted in a stable fracture process despite the presence of cleavage cracks. These delaminations occurred when cleavage cracks are constrained by the elongated austenite lamellae. The pop-in phenomenon which is frequently observed in duplex stainless steels during fracture toughness testing was shown to occur due to these delaminations. The susceptibility for pop-in behaviour during testing increased with decreasing plate thickness. The toughness anisotropy was also explained by the delamination phenomenon.In the second part of the thesis duplex stainless steel weld metals from lean duplex and super duplex were investigated. For the lean duplex weldments with different nickel contents, tensile, impact and fracture toughness testing were conducted from room temperature to sub-zero temperatures. The result showed that increased nickel content decreased the susceptibility for critical cleavage initiation at sub-zero temperatures. The super duplex stainless steel weldment was post weld heat treated. The fracture sequence at low temperature was critical cleavage fracture initiation after minor crack-tip blunting and ductile fracture. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy investigation of the weld metals showed that substitutional element partitioning is small in the weld metal. However, for the post weld heat treated weldments element partitioning occurred which resulted in decreased nickel content in the ferrite. / <p>QC 20131108</p>

ABSTRACT PRODUCTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF RESOL TYPE PHENOLIC RESIN / LAYERED SILICATE NANOCOMPOSITES TaSan, Cemal Cem M.S., Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Supervisor: Assoc.Prof. Cevdet Kaynak April 2005 133 Pages Polymer / layered silicate (P/LS) nanocomposites belong to one of the most promising group of materials of the past few decades and most probably for the near future. Combining two of the most widely studied topics of material science: composite materials and nanotechnology / P/LS research have drawn great attention starting with the pioneering works of Toyota Research Group in 1980&rsquo / s. The research is now being carried out world wide / since the excellent properties of these new materials, which is achieved by using very low amounts of a cheap reinforcement material (clay), increases the interest on these materials everyday after. In this present study, the object was to investigate the production parameters of phenol formaldehyde based layered silicate nanocomposites. For this purpose, 14 different specimen groups were produced / using two different resol type phenolic resins (PF76 and PF76TD) as the matrix / and 9 different montmorillonite clays (Rheospan, Resadiye, Cloisite Na+, 10A, 15A, 20A, 25A, 30B, 94A) as the reinforcement phase. Initially the curing schedules for the available resins were experimentally determined. Then, a short and effective mixing procedure for the thermosetting resin and the montmorillonite clay was developed. The effects of several processing parameters / such as clay type, clay source, clay content, clay modification, resin type, resin cure type, cure cycle and mixing cycle were determined by X-ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy and Mechanical Tests. Then, Transmission Electron Microscopy was used to investigate the level of intercalation and/or exfoliation of the layered silicates. Finally, Differential Scanning Calorimetry was also carried out to analyse thermal properties of the specimens. It was concluded that, a partially intercalated and/or exfoliated structure could be obtained in resol type phenolic resin based systems at very low clay contents (such as 0,5%) leading to remarkable increases in mechanical properties (e.g. 66% increase in fracture toughness).

No description available.

Any composite material is made up from two or more materials and therefore contains interfaces, which usually represent planes of weakness. Interfacial fractures are effectively constrained to propagate along these interfaces as mixed-mode fractures with all three opening, shearing and tearing actions (i.e. mode I, mode II and mode III), instead of kinking to maintain pure-mode-I conditions at the advancing crack front, as would typically happen in an isotropic material. This is significant because mixed-mode fracture toughness is load-dependent and not a purely intrinsic material property (although clearly the pure mode fracture toughnesses are indeed intrinsic material properties that can be determined experimentally). Therefore, in order to know the fracture toughness under general loading conditions, it is necessary to know both the interface failure criterion (that describes the fracture toughness as a function of the mode mixity), and the mode mixity of the crack under the specified loading conditions. This is a complex problem that has occupied researchers in the fracture mechanics community for decades. Consequently, the literature contains a large number of different mixed-mode partition theories. This work appears to show that, of all the partition theories assessed, Wang and Harvey s (2012a) Euler beam partition theory is able to most accurately predict the fracture toughness of a mixed-mode delamination in a fibre-reinforced polymer composite laminate. This statement is based on the outcomes of three separate studies: The first study uses data reported in the literature from a thorough programme of mixed-mode fracture testing of unidirectional and multi-directional laminates. The Euler beam partition theory is able to accurately predict the fracture toughness in all cases. Furthermore, the Euler beam partition theory, which is completely analytical, closely agrees over a large domain with Davidson et al. s (2000) independently-derived non-singular field partition theory, which was derived with the aid of experimental test results. In general, the singular-field approach based on 2D elasticity and the finite element method give poor predictions. In the second study, an original programme of mixed-mode fracture testing is carried out, which incorporates several novel aspects including new test apparatus and a methodology for testing with a wide range of applied pure bending moments. Eighty five fracture tests are performed on unidirectional glass/epoxy laminates to determine the initiation and propagation fracture toughnesses. Although the second study was inconclusive with respect to the correctness of any particular partition theory, the development of the test apparatus and test methodology are considered to be major contributions that will be useful for both design engineers and academic researchers, not only working with fibre-reinforced polymer composite laminates, but also working with other composite materials containing interfacial cracks. The third study uses digital image correlation to investigate the near-crack tip strain fields of mixed-mode delaminations to try to discover the underlying mechanics that govern the selection of a mixed-mode partition theory. The new testing apparatus is used again, and another novel testing methodology is developed. The work appears to confirm (with some caveats) that two sets of pure modes exist, that is, two pure mode I modes, and two pure mode II modes, with their numerical values roughly corresponding to those from Wang and Harvey s (2012a) Euler beam partition theory. It should be noted that, as far as the author s knowledge is concerned, Euler beam partition theory is the only one in the literature to predict the existence of two sets of pure modes. Although this work set out to conclusively determine which mixed-mode partition theory is able to most accurately predict the fracture toughness of a mixed-mode delamination in a fibre-reinforced polymer composite laminate, and also, to discover why, the outcomes cannot truly be called conclusions . Rather, they only offer strong support for Wang and Harvey s (2012a) Euler beam partition theory for predicting the fracture toughness fibre-reinforced polymer composite laminates against delamination. Despite this, the work makes major contributions that will be useful for both design engineers and academic researchers in the field, as described in the above.

The investigation of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) material from the decommissioned Greifswald nuclear power plant representing the first generation of Russian-type WWER-440/V-230 reactors offers the opportunity to evaluate the real toughness response. The Greifswald RPVs of 4 units represent different material conditions as follows: • Irradiated (Unit 4), • irradiated and recovery annealed (Units 2 and 3), and • irradiated, recovery annealed and re-irradiated (Unit1). The recovery annealing of the RPV was performed at a temperature of 475° for about 152 hours and included a region covering ±0.70 m above and below the core beltline welding seam. Material samples of a diameter of 119 mm called trepans were extracted from the RPV walls. The research program is focused on the characterisation of the RPV steels (base and weld metal) across the thickness of the RPV wall. This report presents test results measured on the trepans from the beltline welding seam No. SN0.1.4. and forged base metal ring No. 0.3.1. of the Units 1 2 and 4 RPVs. The key part of the testing is focussed on the determination of the reference temperature T0 of the Master Curve (MC) approach following the ASTM standard E1921 to determine the facture toughness, and how it degrades under neutron irradiation and is recovered by thermal annealing. Other than that the mentioned test results include Charpy-V and tensile test results. Following results have been determined: • The mitigation of the neutron embrittlement of the weld and base metal by recovery annealing could be confirmed. • KJc values of the weld metals generally followed the course of the MC though with a large scatter. • There was a large variation in the T0 values evaluated across the thickness of the multilayered welding seams. • The T0 measured on T-S oriented SE(B) specimens from different thickness locations of the welding seams strongly depended on the intrinsic structure along the crack front. • The reference temperature RT0 determined according to the “Unified Procedure for Lifetime Assessment of Components and Piping in WWER NPPs - VERLIFE” and the fracture toughness lower bound curve based thereon are applicable on the investigated weld metals. • A strong scatter of the fracture toughness KJc values of the recovery annealed and re-irradiated and the irradiated base metal of Unit 1 and 4, respectively is observed with clearly more than 2% of the values below the MC for 2% fracture probability. The application of the multimodal MC-based approach was more suitable and described the temperature dependence of the KJc values in a satisfactory manner. • It was demonstrated that T0 evaluated according to the SINTAP MC extension represented the brittle fraction of the data sets and is therefore suitable for the nonhomogeneous base metal. • The efficiency of the large-scale thermal annealing of the Greifswald WWER 440/V230 Unit 1 and 2 RPVs could be confirmed.