[pt] A falha mecânica conhecida como fadiga é caracterizada pela iniciação e/ou propagação de trincas, causada por forças variáveis. Suas metodologias tradicionais calculam uma tensão elástica uniaxial equivalente que atua no componente, a fim de compará-la com os dados experimentais de comportamento mecânico do material do componente sob cargas uniaxiais. Esta hipótese pode levar a resultados não conservativos, por considerar que o material é igualmente sensível a tensões normais e cisalhantes, o que é falso em várias aplicações práticas. Portanto, dados torcionais e multiaxiais são necessários para melhor prever a vida em fadiga dos componentes. Para executar estes experimentos, o presente trabalho propõe uma variedade de projetos de componentes e metodologias de montagem para que se possa usar em uma máquina de tração-torção Instron 8874 uma garra hidráulica originalmente projetada para uma máquina tração pura Instron 8501. É proposto um método simplificado para estimar, por controle de deslocamento, as propriedades de fadiga de baixo ciclo em cisalhamento (gama)N, evitando assim a necessidade de usar equipamentos caros e diferentes tipos de corpos de prova. Este método é usado para caracterização das ligas Aço SAE 1020 e Alumínio 6351-T6 e os dados levantados são comparados com as propriedades medidas de fadiga de baixo ciclo em tração (epsilon)N, identificando assim se o material é mais sensível a tensões normais ou cisalhantes. Um programa numérico é usado para ajustar as curvas (epsilon)N e (gama)N nos dados experimentais, e seus procedimentos de implementação são discutidos. Por fim, são propostos e calibrados modelos de fadiga multiaxial de plano crítico mais adequados para cada material testado, com base nos dados medidos. / [en] The mechanical failure known as fatigue is characterized by the formation and/or propagation of cracks caused by variable forces. Its traditional methodologies normally calculate an equivalent uniaxial tensile stress acting on the component, in order to compare it with the known experimental mechanical behavior data of the component s material measured under uniaxial loads. This assumption can lead to non-conservative results because it considers the material to be equally sensitive to shear and tensile stresses, which is not true in a wide range of practical applications. Therefore, torsional and multiaxial experimental data is necessary to better predict the fatigue life of components. To execute those experiments, the present work proposes a variety of component designs and assembly methodologies to use on an Instron 8874 axial-torsional testing machine a hydraulic grip originally designed for an Instron 8501 uniaxial testing machine. Furthermore, a simplified method to estimate shear (gamma)N low-cycle fatigue properties via displacement-controlled experiments is proposed to avoid the need of using expensive equipment and different specimen designs, and used for characterization of SAE 1020 Steel and 6351-T6 Aluminum alloys. This data is compared with the measured tensile (epsilon)N low-cycle fatigue properties to identify if these materials are tensile or shear sensitive under multiaxial loading conditions. A numerical computing code is used to fit (epsilon)N and (gamma)N curves to the experimental data, and its implementation procedures are discussed. Finally, the most suitable critical-plane multiaxial fatigue models are proposed and calibrated for each material tested, based on the measured data.

In the absence of a fusion neutron source, research on the structural integrity of materials in the fusion environment relies on current fission data and simulation methods. Through investigation of the Fe-Cr system, this detailed study explores the challenges and limitations in the use of currently available radiation sources for fusion materials research. An investigation of ion-irradiated Fe12%Cr using nanoindentation with a cube corner, Berkovich and spherical tip, and micro-cantilever testing with two different geometries, highlighted that the measurement of irradiation hardening was largely dependent on the type of test used. Selected methods were used for the comparison of Fe6%Cr irradiated by ions and neutrons to a dose of 1.7dpa at a temperature of 288°C. Micro-cantilever tests of the Fe6%Cr alloy with beam depths of 400 to 7000nm, identified that size effects may significantly obscure irradiation hardening and that these effects are dependent on radiation conditions. Irradiation hardening in the neutron-irradiated alloy was approximately double that of the ion-irradiated alloy and exhibited increased work hardening. Similar differences in hardening were observed in an Fe5%Cr alloy after ion-irradiation to a dose of 0.6dpa at 400°C and doses rates of 6 x 10^-4dpa/s and 3 x 10^-5dpa/s. Identified by APT, it was shown that increased irradiation hardening was likely to be caused by the enhanced segregation of Cr observed in the alloy irradiated with the lower dose rate. These observations have significant implications for future fusion materials research in terms of the simulation of fusion relevant radiation conditions and micro-mechanical testing.

The majority of UK’s intermediate level radioactive waste is currently stored in 316L and 304L austenitic stainless steel containers in interim storage facilities for permanent disposal until a geological disposal facility has become available. The structural integrity of stainless steel canisters is required to persevere against environmental degradation for up to 500 years to assure a safe storage and disposal scheme. Hitherto existing severe localised corrosion observances on real waste storage containers after 10 years of exposure to an ambient atmosphere in an in-land warehouse in Culham at Oxfordshire, however, questioned the likelihood occurrence of stress corrosion cracking that may harm the canister’s functionality during long-term storage. The more corrosion resistant duplex stainless steel grade 2205, therefore, has been started to be manufactured as a replacement for the austenitic grades. Over decades, the threshold stress corrosion cracking temperature of austenitic stainless steels has been believed to be 50-60°C, but lab- and field-based research has shown that 304L and 316L may suffer from atmospheric stress corrosion cracking at ambient temperatures. Such an issue has not been reported to occur for the 2205 duplex steel, and its atmospheric stress corrosion cracking behaviour at low temperatures (40-50°C) has been sparsely studied which requires detailed investigations in this respect. Low temperature atmospheric stress corrosion cracking investigations on 2205 duplex stainless steel formed the framework of this PhD thesis with respect to the waste storage context. Long-term surface magnesium chloride deposition exposures at 50°C and 30% relative humidity for up to 15 months exhibited the occurrence of stress corrosion cracks, showing stress corrosion susceptibility of 2205 duplex stainless steel at 50°C.The amount of cold work increased the cracking susceptibility, with bending deformation being the most critical type of deformation mode among tensile and rolling type of cold work. The orientation of the microstructure deformation direction, i.e. whether the deformation occurred in transverse or rolling direction, played vital role in corrosion and cracking behaviour, as such that bending in transverse direction showed almost 3-times larger corrosion and stress corrosion cracking propensity. Welding simulation treatments by ageing processes at 750°C and 475°C exhibited substantial influences on the corrosion properties. It was shown that sensitisation ageing at 750°C can render the material enhanced susceptible to stress corrosion cracking at even low chloride deposition densities of ≤145 µm/cm². However, it could be shown that short-term heat treatments at 475°C can decrease corrosion and stress corrosion cracking susceptibility which may be used to improve the materials performance. Mechanistic understanding of stress corrosion cracking phenomena in light of a comprehensive microstructure characterisation was the main focus of this thesis.

<p dir="ltr">Additive manufacturing (AM) of gun propellants is an emerging and promising field which addresses the limitations of conventional manufacturing techniques. Overall, this thesis is a body of work which serves to bridge the gap between fundamental research and application of additively manufactured gun propellants.</p>

<p>There are no commercially available wearable shoe in-sole sensors that are capable of measuring and distinguishing between shear and compression forces. Companies have already developed shoe sensors that simply measure pressure and make general inferences on the collected data with elaborate software [2, 3, 4, 5]. Researchers have also attempted making sensors that are capable of measuring shear forces, but they are not well suited for biomedical applications [61, 62, 63, 64]. This work focuses on the development of a novel wearable sensor system that is capable of identifying and measuring shear and compression forces through the use of capacitive sensing. Custom hardware and software tools such as materials test systems and capacitive measurement systems were developed during this work. Numerous sensor prototypes were developed, characterized, and optimized during the scope of this project. Upon analysis of the data, the best capacitive measurement system developed in this work utilized the CAV444 IC chip, whereas the use of the Arduino-derived measurement system required data filtering using median and Butterworth zero phase low pass filters. The highest dielectric constant reported from optimization experiments yielded 9.7034 (+/- 0.0801 STD) through the use of 60.2% by weight calcium copper titanate and ReoFlex-60 silicone. The experiments suggest certain sensors developed in this work feasibly measure and distinguish between shear and compressional forces. Applications for such technology focus on improving quality of life in areas such as managing diabetic ulcer formation, preventing injuries, optimizing performance for athletes and military personnel, and augmenting the scope of motion capture in biomechanical studies.</p>