L’essor de la demande actuelle pour des matériaux architecturés, en microélectronique par exemple, ou pour des matériaux de structure, nécessite le développement d’outils de caractérisation toujours plus performants. Dans cette optique, un instrument de caractérisation multifonctionnel basé sur un couplage mécanique / électrique, a été développé au laboratoire SIMaP. Le cœur de ce dispositif est un nanoindenteur in situ FEG-SEM (Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscope) couplé à des mesures électriques. Ce travail est porté par trois principales motivations: (1) L’étude du comportement mécanique d’objets petites échelles, (2) L’apport des données électriques à l’analyse quantitative du comportement mécanique pendant l’indentation, en particulier pour obtenir une meilleur estimation de l’aire de contact, (3) L’étude locale des propriétés électroniques d’empilements de films minces. L’intégration in situ SEM a été validée et permet un positionnement des indents avec une précision meilleure que 100 nm, autorisant ainsi l’étude des propriétés mécaniques à l’échelle submicrométrique. La rapidité des essais permet également des mesures statistiques. Des caractérisations mécaniques ont été menées aussi bien sur des échantillons composites massifs que sur des ilots d’or submicrométriques. Pour ce dernier cas, malgré la nature stochastique de leur comportement mécanique, une loi déterministe a pu être extraite des données mécaniques. Des mesures 3D-BCDI (Bragg Coherent Diffraction Imaging) au synchrotron ont été réalisées sur certains ilots avant et après chargement mécanique, révélant une germination de dislocations avant l’avalanche de grandes déformations plastiques. En parallèle de cette étude, des mesures électriques ont été réalisées pendant l’indentation de divers échantillons. Des mesures de nanoindentation résistive ont ainsi été effectuées sur des métaux nobles (Au) ou recouverts de leur oxyde natif (Cu, Al), soit à l’état de monocristal massif ou de film polycristallin. Les résultats quantitatifs soulignent l’importance de la présence d’une couche d’oxyde sur la réponse électrique. En présence d’un oxyde, l’interface pointe / échantillon semble être le lieu d’importantes réactions électrochimiques. En l’absence d’oxyde, la résistance mesurée peut être entièrement décrite par un modèle analytique. Dans ce cas, l’aire de contact électrique peut être prédite à partir des mesures de résistance. Enfin, des mesures capacitives ont été réalisées sur des structures MOS avec différentes épaisseurs d’oxyde. Les résultats expérimentaux sont parfaitement décrits par un modèle analytique, ce qui ouvre la voie à des mesures locales de permittivité diélectrique sous contrainte mécanique. / The increasing demand for multifunctional materials has become a recurrent challenge for a wide panel of application fields such as microelectronics and structural applications. Within the frame of this project, a multifunctional characterisation set-up has been developed at SIMaP lab, mainly based on the electrical / mechanical coupling. The heart of this device is an in situ FEG-SEM (Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscope) nanoindenter coupled with an electrical measurement apparatus. This work has threefold objectives: (1) The investigation of mechanical behavior of small scale systems, (2) The input of electrical data to the quantitative analysis of mechanical behavior during indentation, in particular to obtain a better estimation of the contact area (3) The local study of electronic properties of thin film stacks. SEM integration of the device has been validated and indent positioning with a precision better than 100 nm is successfully obtained. This performance allows the studies of mechanical properties at submicrometric length scale, with a high throughput allowing statistical measurements. Various bulk composite materials have been characterized as well as submicrometric gold islands on sapphire. In the latter case, despite the stochastic nature of their mechanical behavior, a deterministic law has been extracted. 3D-BCDI (Bragg Coherent Diffraction Imaging) experiments have been performed on a few islands at synchrotron facility to investigate the crystal state before and after mechanical loading. These experiments reveal initial dislocation nucleation prior to large deformation bursts. In parallel to this study, electrical measurements have been performed during indentation on various cases. Resistive-nanoindentations have been performed on noble metals (Au) and natively oxidized metals (Cu, Al), either as bulk single crystals or as polycrystalline thin films. Qualitative results emphasize the importance of the oxide layer on the electrical response. In the presence of an oxide layer, strong electrochemical reactions seem to occur at the tip-to-sample interface. When no oxide is involved, the measured resistance can be fully described by an analytical model and the computed electrical contact area is successfully validated with residual areas measurements. Finally, capacitive measurements have been performed on MOS structures with various oxide thicknesses. Experimental results have been well described by analytical modelling, which paves the way for quantitative local dielectric permittivity measurements under mechanical loading.

<p>Moving boundary problems such as solidification, crack propagation, multi-body contact or shape optimal design represent an important class of engineering problems. Common to these problems are one or more moving interfaces or boundaries. One of the main challenges associated with boundary evolution is the difficulty that arises when the topology of the geometry changes. Other geometric issues such as distance to the boundary, projected point on the boundary and intersection between surfaces are also important and need to be efficiently solved. In general, the present thesis is concerned with the geometric arrangement and behavioral analysis of evolving parametric boundaries immersed in a domain. </p> <p>The first problem addressed in this thesis is the packing of ellipsoidal fillers in a regular domain and to estimate their effective physical behavior. Particle packing problem arises when one generates simulated microstructures of particulate composites. Such particulate composites used as thermal interface materials (TIMs) motivates this work. The collision detection and distance calculation between ellipsoids is much more difficult than other regular shapes such as spheres or polyhedra.  While many existing methods address the spherical packing problems, few appear to achieve volume loading exceeding 60%. The packing of ellipsoidal particles is even more difficult than that of spherical particles due to the need to detect contact between the particles. In this thesis, an efficient and robust ultra-packing algorithm termed Modified Drop-Fall-Shake is developed. The algorithm is used to simulate the real mixing process when manufacturing TIMs with hundreds of thousands ellipsoidal particles. The effective thermal conductivity of the particulate system is evaluated using an algorithm based on Random Network Model. </p> <p><br></p> <p>In problems where general free-form parametric surfaces (as opposed to the ellipsoidal fillers) need to be evolved inside a regular domain, the geometric distance from a point in the domain to the boundary is necessary to determine the influence of the moving boundary on the underlying domain approximation. Furthermore, during analysis, since the driving force behind interface evolution depends on locally computed curvatures and normals, it is ideal if the parametric entity is not approximated as piecewise-linear. To address this challenge,  an algebraic procedure is presented here to find the level sets of rational parametric surfaces commonly utilized by commercial CAD systems. The developed technique utilizes the resultant theory to construct implicit forms of parametric Bezier patches, level sets of which are termed algebraic level sets (ALS). Boolean compositions of the algebraic level sets are carried out using the theory of R-functions. The algebraic level sets and their gradients at a given point on the domain can also be used to project the point onto the immersed boundary. Beginning with a first-order algorithm, sequentially refined procedures culminating in a second-order projection algorithm are described for NURBS curves and surfaces. Examples are presented to illustrate the efficiency and robustness of the developed method. More importantly, the method is shown to be robust and able to generate valid solutions even for curves and surfaces with high local curvature or G₀ continuity---problems where the Newton--Raphson method fails due to discontinuity in the projected points or because the numerical iterations fail to converge to a solution, respectively. </p> <p><br></p> <p>Next, ALS is also extended for boundary representation (B-rep) models that are popularly used in CAD systems for modeling solids. B-rep model generally contains multiple NURBS patches due to the trimming feature used to construct such models, and as a result are not ``watertight" or mathematically compatible at patch edges. A time consuming geometry clean-up procedure is needed to preprocess geometry prior to finite element mesh generation using a B-rep model, which can take up to 70% of total analysis time according to literature. To avoid the need to clean up geometry and directly provide link between CAD and CAE integration,  signed algebraic level sets using novel inner/outer bounding box strategy is proposed for point classification of B-rep model. Several geometric examples are demonstrated, showing that this technique naturally models single patch NURBS geometry as well, and can deal with multiple patches involving planar trimming feature and Boolean operation. During the investigation of algebraic level sets, a complex self-intersection problem is also reported, especially for three-dimensional surface. The self-intersection may occur within an interval of interest during implicitization of a curve or surface since the implicitized curve or surface is not trimmed and extends to infinity. Although there is no robust and universal solution the problem, two potential solutions are provided and discussed in this thesis.</p> <p><br></p> <p>In order to improve the computational efficiency of analysis in immersed boundary problems, an efficient local refinement technique for both mesh and quadrature  using the kd-tree data structure is further proposed. The kd-tree sub-division is theoretically proved to be more efficient against traditional quad-/oct-tree subdivision methods. In addition, an efficient local refinement strategy based on signed algebraic level sets is proposed to divide the cells. The efficiency of kd-tree based mesh refinement and adaptive quadrature is later shown through numerical examples comparing with oct-tree subdivision, revealing significant reduction of degrees of freedom and quadrature points.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Towards analysis of moving boundaries problems, an explicit interface tracking method termed enriched isogeometric analysis (EIGA) is adopted in this thesis. EIGA utilizes NURBS shape function for both geometry representation and field approximation. The behavior field is modeled by a weighted blending of the underlying domain approximation and enriching field, allowing high order continuity naturally. Since interface is explicitly represented, EIGA provides direct geometric information such as normals and curvatures. In addition, the blending procedure ensures strong enforced boundary conditions. An important moving boundary problem, namely, reaction-diffusion problem, is investigated using EIGA. In reaction-diffusion problems, the phase interfaces evolve due to chemical reaction and diffusion under multi-physics driven forces, such as mechanical, electrical, thermal, etc. Typical failure phenomenon due to reaction-diffusion problems include void formation and intermetallic compound (IMC) growth. EIGA is applied to study factors and behavior patterns in these failure phenomenon, including void size, current direction, current density, etc. A full joint simulation is also conducted to study the degradation of solder joint under thermal aging and electromigration. </p>

<p>Highly loaded airfoils in low-pressure turbines (LPTs) suffer from laminar flow separation from the suction side of the airfoils aft of the throat of the passages. This separation harms the performance of the engine by reducing the power extraction from the turning air and ultimately reduces the overall turbine efficiency. Flow control techniques have been investigated to eliminate flow separation in aerodynamic surfaces to abate the losses associated with it. This Master of Science Thesis investigates the design, implementation and testing of pulsated injection actuation in a low-Reynolds flow over a wall-mounted hump.</p> <p>Furthermore, this Thesis expands on the existing expertise in the infrared (IR) thermography measurement technique at the Purdue Experimental Turbine Aerothermal Lab. This is done through an investigation of the factors affecting the IR measurement technique and the development of an optical instrument (borescope) to implement in an annular cascade wind tunnel. IR thermography is used on the wall-mounted hump blowdown tests to detect the separation point in the boundary layer using two techniques: by an investigation of the surface temperature distribution and an investigation of the heat transfer behavior at the surface. Finally, the borescope is commissioned through the first testing campaign of the LPT airfoils, and are processed to thermally investigate the passage.</p> <p>This thesis succeeds in expanding the IR capabilities within PETAL, and at demonstrating pulsated injection as an effective method to eliminate flow separation. Furthermore, IR successfully detects flow separation on the wall-mounted hump through the two methods presented, as well as detecting the boundary layer reattachment caused by the flow control technique. The limitations of the thermal methodology, as well as those of the optical probe are addressed, and the uncertainties in the measurements are quantified. Finally, steps to continue the studies are suggested at the end of each methodology chapter, including the potential redesign of the IR borescope to improve the quality of measurements. </p>

Since their introduction in the late 20th century, lithium-ion batteries have become the leading battery technology for portable devices and electric vehicles due to their high energy density and rechargeability. However, the increasing demand for a longer battery life span is hindered by the fading of the battery’s charge capacity over prolonged use. This reduction in charge capacity stems from electrochemical and mechanical degradation of the battery cells. The main research focus in the literature has been on the chemical degradation of battery cells. However, the mechanical degradation also substantially contributes to the battery’s capacity degradation. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the mechanical properties of the battery cells to be able to mitigate mechanical degradation. The battery’s mechanical degradation stems from the electrode layers’ constituents. This thesis aims to model the positive electrode’s mechanical properties by recreating its granular microstructure using the discrete element method. In Papers 1 and 2, a discrete element method modelling framework is developed, which can reconstruct a positive electrode layer of a lithium-ion battery, simulate manufacturing processing steps, and determine the mechanical properties of the electrode layer. The framework uses two contact models, representing the positive electrode material in the form of particles and a binder agent, which gives the electrode layer its structural integrity. The framework is used to link the mechanical behaviour of the electrode particles and the binder agent to the mechanical behaviour of the entire electrode layer. The framework is able to capture the layer’s pressure sensitivity and relaxation behaviour, properties which have been displayed in the literature through experimental testing. / Sedan de introducerades i slutet av 1900-talet har litiumjonbatterier blivit den ledande batteriteknologin för portabla enheter samt elfordon på grund av deras höga energidensitet och återladdningförmåga. Den ökade efterfrågan på utökade batterilivslängder är dock hämmad av reduceringen av uppladdningskapacitet över längre användningstider. Denna reducering av laddningskapacitet kommer från elektrokemisk och mekanisk degradering av battericellerna. Det största forskningsintresset i litteraturen har varit på den kemiska degraderingen av battericellerna. Dock ger den mekaniska degraderingen ett betydande bidrag till batteriets kapacitetsdegradering. Därför är det viktigt att förstå battericellens mekaniska egenskaper för att kunna förhindra mekaniskdegradering. Batteriets mekaniska degradering beror på elektrodlagrets beståndsdelar. Denna avhandlings målsättning är att modellera den positiva elektrodens mekaniska egenskaper genom att återskapa dess granulära mikrostruktur med hjälp av diskret elementmetodik. I Artikel 1 och 2 utvecklades ett ramverk för modellering med användning av diskreta elementmetoden, vilket kan återskapa det aktiva lagret för en positiv elektrod, simulera tillverkningsprocesser, samt fastställa elektrodlagrets mekaniska egenskaper. Ramverket använder två kontaktmodeller som representerar det positiva elektrodmaterialet i form av partiklar samt ett bindemedel, som ger elektrodlagret dess strukturella integritet. Ramverket används för att undersöka hur de mekaniska egenskaperna för det hela elektrodlagret beror på egenskaperna för de aktiva partiklarna samt bindemedlet. Ramverket kan fånga lagrets tryckkänslighet samt dess relaxering, egenskaper som har påvisats i litteraturen genom experimentell provning. / <p>Qc240322</p>

<p>The objectives of this investigation were to experimentally and numerically assess the performance of a ball bearing supported turbocharger (TC). Turbochargers are mechanical devices used to improve the efficiency of modern engines. Using ball bearings improves the TC efficiency, and represents one of many evolving high-speed applications for ball bearings.</p> <p>The experimental objectives of this investigation were to design and develop a turbocharger test rig (TTR) to measure the shaft whirl of the rotating assembly and the axial and frictional loads experienced by the bearing cartridge. The TTR contains a ball bearing TC which was instrumented and operated under a variety of test conditions including rotational speeds up to 55,000 rpm. In order to measure the axial loads on the compressor and turbine sides, customized sensors were designed, fabricated and integrated into the TC housing. The anti-rotation (AR) pin, which normally prevents the bearing cartridge from rotating, was replaced with a custom-made sensor to measure frictional losses in the bearing cartridge.  These sensors were designed to minimally affect the operation of the TC. Proximity probes were initially installed on the compressor side and later on the turbine side to monitor shaft whirl using targets attached to the ends of the impellers. An assembly to record axial shaft motion with a proximity probe was also developed. Axial load and motion results indicated that the compressor side bears most of the axial load. As the backpressure or the speed of the TC increased the axial load also increased. Frictional measurements from the AR pin sensor demonstrated low power losses in the ball bearing cartridge. For certain shaft speed ranges, the data from the sensors illustrated periodic trends in response to subsynchronous whirl of the shaft.</p> <p>The numerical modeling objectives of this investigation were to characterize the dynamics of the ball bearing supported TC. In this TC, the compressor, turbine and shaft are supported by a bearing cartridge composed of back-to-back angular contact ball bearings. The cartridge is supported by squeeze film dampers (SFDs) and is prevented from rotation by the AR pin. To achieve the objectives, first an equivalent bearing model was developed to investigate the bearing dynamics and whirl of the TC rotating assembly. The TC bearing cartridge was modeled with a single deep groove ball bearing (DGBB) using the discrete element method. The SFD which supports the bearing was modeled with a bilinear spring and damper. A DGBB was used because it can support axial load in both directions. This model was then extended to include a flexible shaft represented by tetrahedral finite elements and supported by an ACBB cartridge. After this model was used to reproduce the whirl from the test rig, the bearing internal geometry and SFD properties were adjusted to determine their effect on shaft whirl. Wear and damage criteria were also developed to evaluate the simulation results. The best simulation result was obtained with a small clearance in the bearing and with a stiffer SFD. The clearance was necessary as the shaft and bearing deform at high speeds, preloading the bearing.</p> <p>The best simulation result was found to have reduced sliding and limited variation in contact force, which should lead to reduced friction and improved overall life. This study demonstrates the importance of taking the bearing system into account while designing a TC or other high speed mechanical system, as the bearing and SFD properties can have a significant impact on the system performance.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Approximately 95% of global steel production relies on continuous casting, there is a need for a practical, cost-effective, and accurate method to guide real-world production. A successful integration of three individual CFD models – spray cooling model, solidification model, and carbon segregation model – was accomplished. To understand the heat transfer behavior on a heated surface, a three-dimensional model was used to simulate the interaction of liquid droplets with a heated surface during the secondary cooling process, employing air-mist nozzles. The real nozzle layout, as employed in a full-scale continuous caster to provide HTC data on slab surface. For solidification model, enthalpy-porosity methods were applied to estimate the metallurgical length and surface temperatures. Carbon transport within the continuous caster was considered, revealing a phenomenon of positive segregation at the center of the slab. Building upon this foundation, further investigations were carried out to assess the implications of nozzle clogging. These effects encompass surface temperature, metallurgical length, and carbon concentration. Commercial software ANSYS Fluent 2021 R2 and Simcenter STAR-CCM+ 2302 are chosen for their exceptional computational performance. MATLAB and Python play key roles in both pre and post processing, including mapping HTC profiles, visualizing shell growth, and extracting temperature and cooling profiles.</p>

<p dir="ltr">A fast model of a Rotating Detonation Combustor (RDC) is developed based on the Method of Characteristics (MOC). The model provides a CFD-like solution of an unwrapped 2D RDC flow field in under 10 seconds with similar fidelity as 2D Reacting URANS simulations. Parametric studies are conducted using the simplified model, and the trends are analyzed to gain insight into the underlying physics of rotating detonation combustors. A methodology to assess the performance of operation with multiple waves is presented. The main effect of increasing waves is found to be the increase in the exit Mach number of the combustion chamber. The design process of a mixer component is also presented. The mixer lies downstream of a channel-cooled RDC with subsonic exit and upstream of a Rolls-Royce M250 helicopter engine in open-loop configuration. The mixer dilutes the RDC exhaust with approximately 250% air to condition the flow for the M250 turbine at steady state operation, while also acting as an isolator with a choked throat to prevent back propagation of pressure waves. The mixer aerodynamic design was completed using 2D axisymmetric RANS simulations, and the mechanical design was evaluated using Ansys Mechanical FEA and was found to be able to survive the high thermal stresses present both during the transient heating and steady state operating condition.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Nanocrystalline materials have unique properties such as high ultimate strength and superior hardness. However, they also exhibit some disadvantages, such as low thermal stability. An effective strategy to address this issue is alloying with other materials. Grain boundaries play a pivotal role in property prediction due to their orientation between grains and the complexity of their structure. The prediction of structure-property relationships for GBs with microstructural complexity represents a difficult challenge.</p><p dir="ltr">To understand the effects of dopants on the material properties of grain boundaries, we constructed some bicrystal models for Al and Mg-doped Al (Al-Mg) alloys. Findings from shearing simulations of these GBs indicate that the GB structure and dopant distribution can influence GB migration. Dopants inhibit GB migration at certain GBs, effectively reinforcing these GBs. Shear-coupled GB migration in pure Al, as well as dopant inhibition of GB Al-Mg alloys, both contribute to the mechanisms of GB migration.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Non-Newtonian fluid models such as the Bingham and Herschel-Bulkley models are used to characterize the flow behavior of many complex fluids and soft solids. The three parameter Herschel-Bulkley model captures the yield stress behavior and the nonlinear power law behavior. In this thesis, the semi-analytical solution of Herschel-Bulkley fluids provided by Covey and Stanmore is used to experimentally characterize the squeeze flow behavior. A ‘Squeeze Flow and Thermal Resistance Tester’ was custom designed to perform velocity controlled squeeze flow experiments. The tester has an additional capability of performing thermal resistance characterization adhering to the ASTM-D5470 standard. A novel framework is described for characterizing the three Herschel-Bulkley parameters (τy, n and ηHB) using the developed tester. </p><p dir="ltr">Thermal Interface Materials (TIMs) are used to efficiently dissipate heat from a heat generating component to a heat sink in an electronic package. Thermal grease is a type of TIM comprising of a base material (e.g. polymer) loaded with highly conducting filler particles (e.g, boron nitride, alumina or sometimes conducting metals such as aluminum or silver). These greases are expected to exhibit Herschel-Bulkley flow behavior. Hence, thermal greases are used as candidate materials for squeeze flow characterization. In addition to the flow characterization, the thermal resistance across these thermal greases are also characterized using the custom designed tester. Characterization of mechanical and thermal behavior of TIMs is crucial to predicting their long-term reliability. </p><p dir="ltr">The effect of in-situ isothermal baking duration and test temperature on flow behavior is studied. The increase in duration of isothermal baking at test temperature of 55◦C showed that the material tends to stiffen with baking duration. The increase in test temperature from 5◦C to 100◦C resulted in a decrease in the power law index n and viscosity ηHB. </p><p dir="ltr">Finally, a numerical simulation strategy for performing squeeze flow simulations is described. The characterized flow parameters from the squeeze flow experiments were used as input material parameters for a dynamic mesh-based numerical simulation of squeeze flow between parallel surfaces. The results of the experimental force response and numerical simulation results were compared and found to be in close agreement. In order to simulate flow of thermal greases in a package undergoing deformation, a non-flat test setup was fabricated and squeeze experiments were performed. Numerical simulations were subsequently performed for the non-flat surface using material parameters extracted from previous experiments and the results were compared. The results from both experiments and numerical simulations showed that the force response of thermal greases under non-flat surfaces was significantly higher than the planar case.</p>

<p><a href="">This work investigates the effect of surface features such as roughness, pits, and cracks on the tribological and fatigue behavior of machine components. It comprises of three main investigations: (i) effect of roughness on non-contacting fatigue, (ii) lubricated contact fluid structure interaction (FSI) behavior in presence of surface cracks, and (iii) the equivalence between non-contacting and contacting fatigue and the effect of roughness.</a></p><p>For the first investigation, a novel microstructure-based approach was developed to model surface roughness. It used a finite element fatigue damage model to predict the effects of roughness on tensile fatigue. AISI 4130 steel specimens with different surface finishes were fabricated and tested in axial fatigue using an MTS machine. The experimental results demonstrated the detrimental effect of roughness on fatigue lives, which was predicted by the model accurately.</p><p>In the second investigation, a partitioned CFD-FEM based FSI solver was developed using Ansys Multiphysics software to model and investigate elastohydrodynamically lubricated contacts typical in gears and cylindrical roller bearings. The FSI model relaxes Reynolds assumptions, and uses Navier-Stokes equations to determine the lubricant flow and utilizes finite element method to model the structural response. The FSI model was evaluated for robustness under various operating conditions. The effect of material plasticity, subsurface features, etc. were also investigated. The model was then extended to investigate the effects of surface cracks in rolling/sliding EHL line contacts. Using CFD based approach enabled the investigation of surface cracks with inclined geometries, overcoming the limitations of standard Reynolds-based solvers. The effects of crack geometry parameters such as crack location, crack length, crack width, crack tip radius and crack orientation on fluid pressure distribution were studied. This investigation identified the crack geometries that affect the contact fatigue behavior by predicting the location and severity of stress concentrations in the material.</p><p>Finally, the relationship between contacting fatigue and non-contacting fatigue was investigated. A test rig was designed and developed to simulate rolling contact fatigue (RCF) surface damage. Experimental investigation revealed that the RCF surface damage stress-life (SN) results can be predicted using torsional fatigue results 10 times faster. A computational contact mechanics model was developed to incorporate the effect of roughness in this prediction, and corroborated against experimental RCF results at different roughness levels.</p>