FOUR 6061 AL SYSTEMS WERE PREPARED, INCLUDING THE CAST 6061 ALLOY BY TMT OR ECAP, THE PM 6061 ALLOY, AND THE MODIFIED PM 6061 ALLOY ADDED WITH 1 VOL% NANO-SIO2. THE MODIFIED 6061/1%NANO-SIO2 ALLOY POSSESSED A GRAIN SIZE~0.5 UM AND MAINTAINED FINE GRAIN SIZE UPON LOADING AT HIGH TEMPERATURE, RESULTING IN HSRS OVER 300% AT 550-590 OC AND 1-5X10-1 S-1. THE GRAIN BOUNDARY MISORIENTATION DISTRIBUTION IN THE MODIFIED 6061/1%NANO-SIO2 ALLOY WAS ALSO MOST RANDOM COMPARED WITH OTHER THREE UNMODIFIED 6061 ALLOYS. THE CURRENT RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THE ADDITION OF A SMALL AMOUNT OF CHEAPER SIO2 OR AL2O3 NANO-PARTICLES INTO COMMERCIAL AL ALLOYS CAN EFFECTIVELY SUPPRESS GRAIN GROWTH AT HIGH TEMPERATURES AND ENHANCE HSRS, SIMILAR TO THE EFFECTS BY ADDING 15-25VOL% MICRO-SIZED SIC OR SI3N4 REINFORCING PARTICULATES OR WHISKERS.

The mechanical properties of a polymer represent the critical characteristics to be considered when determining the applications for it. The same polymer processed with different methods can exhibit different mechanical properties. The purpose of this study is to investigate the difference in mechanical properties of the selected polymers caused by different processing techniques and conditions. Three polymers were studied, including low density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), and NEXPRENE® 1287A. Samples were processed with injection molding and compression molding under different processing condition. Tensile and DMA tests were performed on these samples. The acquired data of strain at break from the tensile tests and storage modulus from the DMA were utilized to calculate brittleness. Calculated brittleness values were used to perform analysis of variance (ANOVA) to investigate the statistical significance of the processing technique and condition. It was found that different processing techniques affect the brittleness significantly. The processing technique is the major factor affecting brittleness of PP and NEXPRENE, and the processing temperature is the major factor affecting brittleness of LDPE.

A new hydrophobic hybrid silica film was synthesized by introducing one silicon precursor (as modifiers) into another precursor (network former). Hybrid films have improved properties. Hydrolysis and condensation of dimethyldiethoxysilane (DMDES) (solvent (EtOH) to DMDES molar ratio R = 4, water to DMDES molar ratio r = 4, 0.01 N HCl catalyst) was analyzed using high-resolution liquid 29Si NMR. It was found that after several hours, DMDES hydrolyzed and condensed into linear and cyclic species. Films from triethoxyfluorosilane (TEFS) have been shown to be promising interlayer dielectric materials for future integrated circuit applications due to their low dielectric constant and high mechanical properties (i.e., Young's modulus (E) and hardness (H)). Co-condensing with TEFS, linear structures from DMDES hydrolysis and condensation reactions rendered hybrid films hydrophobic, and cyclic structures induced the formation of pores. Hydrophobicity characterized by contact angle, thermal stability by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), contact angle, and dynamic secondary ion mass spectroscopy (DSIMS), dielectric constant determined by impedance measurement, and mechanical properties (E and H) determined by nanoindentation of TEFS and TEFS + DMDES films were compared to study the effect of DMDES on the TEFS structure. Hybrid films were more hydrophobic and thermally stable. DMDES incorporation affected the dielectric constant, but showed little enhancement of mechanical properties.

The incorporation of waste tyre rubber into thermoplastics to develop a class of polymer composites with both elastomeric and thermoplastic behaviour has gained a lot of attention and is becoming one of the most straightforward and preferred options to achieve the valorisation of waste tyres. In view of the unique properties rubber possesses and the rapid expansion and versatile application of wood plastic composites (WPC) materials, the inclusion of tyre rubber as raw material into WPC to develop an entirely new generation of WPC, namely rubber-wood-plastic composites (RubWPC), was presumed to be another highly promising solution to turn waste tyres into value-added materials. This research starts with the interfacial optimisation of Rubber-PE composites and WPC by the use of maleated and silane coupling agents, aiming at addressing their poor constituent compatibility and interfacial bonding, thus enabling the optimal design of RubWPC. Chemical, physical and mechanical bonding scenarios of both untreated and treated composites were revealed by conducting ATR-FTIR, NMR, SEM and FM analyses. The contribution of the optimised interface to the bulk mechanical property of the composites were assessed by carrying out DMA and tensile property analysis. The influence of the coupling agent treatments on the in situ mechanical property of WPC was first determined by nanoindentation analysis, which led to a thorough understanding of the interfacial characteristics and the correlation between in situ and bulk mechanical properties. This research focuses on the novel formulation of RubWPC and the understanding of bonding mechanism. Chemical bonding and interface structure studies revealed that interdiffusion, molecular attractions, chemical reactions, and mechanical interlocking were mutually responsible for the enhancement of the interfacial adhesion and bonding of the coupling agent treated RubWPC. The improved interface gave rise to the increase of bulk mechanical properties, while the continuous addition of rubber particle exerted an opposite influence on the property of RubWPC. The composite with optimised interface possessed superior nanomechanical properties due to the resin penetration into cell lumens and vessels and the reaction between cell walls and coupling agents.

Molecular dynamics simulations is performed to investigate the structural properties of the PMMA (poly(methyl methacrylate)) thin film on an Au (111) surface. According to model the MMA (methyl methacrylate) thin film on an Au (111) surface, we found that there is a significant effect on the density profile near the interface between the thin film and Au substrate. Moreover, the density clearly decreases in this region as the temperature increases. Next, we calculated and examined the relationships among the stress, surface tension, average potential energy, orientation, and formation energy. In order to investigate the material properties of MMA nano-thin films of different thicknesses on the Au (111) surface, the simulation for the nano-indentation process is used to obtain the material properties of MMA nano-thin films. And the deformation mechan- ism of the MMA thin films during the course of the indentation is also discussed in this study, completely. Furthermore, Molecular dynamics simulations were employed to investigate chain-length effect on conformations of methyl methacrylate (MMA)-oligomer thin films on an Au (111) substrate. For short chain films, there is a sharp peak in the density profile of the MMA monomers for the adsorption region and the thin films exhibit a flattened conformation in the adsorption and the surface regions. For long chain films, however, there is no sharp peak in the whole density profiles and a snake-like conformation appears in the adsorption region, which shrinks and convolutes gradually in the bulk region and even more in the surface region of the thin film.

In this dissertation, the ternary Mg-based amorphous ribbons are characterized and analyzed first. Among the three Mg65Cu25Y10, Mg65Cu25Gd10 and Mg65Ni25Gd10 amorphous ribbons, the Mg65Cu25Gd10 amorphous ribbon exhibits the best thermal properties in terms of the glass forming ability (GFA) indexes, such as 68 K of the supercooled liquid region (£GTx), 29 K of the liquidus region (£GTl), 0.582 of the reduced glass transition temperature (Trg), 0.427 of the £^ value and 0.768 of the £^m value. In spite that the Mg65Cu25Gd10 amorphous ribbons do not show the best performance in mechanical properties, such as micro-hardness value of 231 Hv (2.26 GPa), nano-hardness value is 3.24 GPa (300 Hv) and modulus from nano-indentation of 62.4 GPa, this composition is close to the two prediction compositions of Mg62Cu27Gd11 (the e/a-variant criterion) and Mg67Cu23Gd10 (the binary eutectic clusters criterion). However, among a series of ternary of Mg-Cu-Gd amorphous ribbons, the better overall thermal properties are seen in the Mg54Cu32Gd14 and Mg54Cu31Gd15 amorphous ribbons. In terms of the bulk Mg65Cu25Gd10 amorphous alloys, the 6 mm bulk metallic glass (BMG) rod can be fabricated successfully with minimum porosity. In order to improve the brittle properties of the Mg65Cu25Gd10 BMG rod, there are two methods applied in this study, namely, the intrinsic toughening method by heat treatment and the extrinsic toughening method of adding reinforcements. For the heat treated Mg65Cu25Gd10 BMG rod, both of the one-step and two-steps BMG rods show no distinct plastic deformation in the engineering stress-strain curves, while the micro-hardness and compressive stress are increased from 270 Hv to higher than 300 Hv and from 804 to 830 MPa. But, for the ductile metal-reinforced Mg-based BMG rods, the brittle properties are improved. For the Nb-reinforced Mg65Cu25Gd10 BMG rods, the compressive stress decreases from 804 to 595 MPa and the plastic strain increases from 0 to 0.48% with increasing volume fraction from 0 to 17.3%. But, for Mg65Cu25Gd10 BMG rod reinforced by 21.6% porous Mo, the compressive stress and plastic strain are 821 MPa and 1.63%, respectively. Moreover, for the porous Mo-reinforced Mg58Cu28.5Gd11Ag2.5 BMG rods, the compressive stress increases from 827 to 1111 MPa and the plastic strain increases from 0 to 7.84% with increasing volume fraction from 0 to 25.4%.

For the application of advanced hydrogel-based artificial muscle systems, conventional polymeric hydrogels usually suffer from various limitations such as structural inhomogeneity and poor mechanical strengths. Thus, improving the mechanical strength of a specific hydrogel system while maintaining its other useful properties become increasingly important. In this project, three different approaches were employed to improve the mechanical properties of hydrogels though microstructural control, including physical cross-links, copolymerisation, and interpenetrating systems. Analytical tools such as FTIR and XRD were used to confirm the success of sample preparation. Morphological SEM characterisations were applied to reveal direct graphic information on hydrogels microstructures. Equilibrium water swelling tests as well as uniaxial compression measurements were conducted to evaluate the influences of various experimental parameters on the hydrogels water-holding and mechanical properties. The physical cross-linker approach was proved to be successful since comparable swelling capacities and dramatically enhanced mechanical strength were achieved in nanocomposite systems in comparison with conventional chemically cross-linked gel systems, due to the presence of flexible cross-linking points and the multifunctional cross-linker role played by clay. The copolymerisation approach, both between two neutral monomers and between one neutral and the other ionic monomer, was unsuccessful in terms of mechanical property enhancement due to the low cross-linking density as a result of the dominate competition of copolymerisation rather than cross-lining kinetics. The interpenetrating approach was concluded as successful since hugely improved mechanical toughness and slightly reduced swelling capacities were observed in most IPN gel systems.

The thesis studies the sintering behaviours and mechanical properties of perovskite-structured Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-δ (BSCF) ceramics. The sintering behaviours of BSCF are studied by sintering BSCF powder using a series of sintering temperatures and dwell times. Under all circumstances, only a cubic perovskite structure is identified in as-sintered samples. The relative density of BSCF increases with increasing sintering temperature and dwell time, but shows a more significant increase with increasing temperature. While the grain size increases with increasing sintering temperature and dwell time, it is found that the increasing temperature contributes much more significantly than increasing dwell time in grain growth. The shape of grain size distribution profile is independent of sintering temperature and dwell time, but the profile shifts with different sintering conditions. The grain maintains an aspect ratio of 1.8 irrespective of sintering conditions. Similar findings are also made on the Ni-doped BSCF, but it is found that Ni doping inhibits the grain growth and retards the densification of BSCF while it has little influence on the grain size distributions and grain aspect ratio distributions. The grain growth exponent (n) and apparent activation energy (Q) are also systematically studied. It is found that grain boundary diffusion is the dominant controlling mechanism for BSCF while both grain boundary and lattice diffusions are the equally dominant controlling mechanisms for BSCF-Ni8. The fracture stress of BSCF is measured by both three-point and ring-on-ring bending tests at room and high temperatures. The fracture stress determined by three-point bending tests is consistently higher than that value measured by ring-on-ring tests for a given temperature. By utilising Weibull statistics a close prediction is made of the three-point values from the ring-on-ring values. Compared with the Young’s modulus of BSCF obtained from three-point bending tests between RT and 800 °C, the values determined from ring-on-ring tests shows a fairly good agreement. However, the Young’s modulus measured by both bending tests is lower than that value determined by micro-indentation tests. Hardness and fracture toughness are independent of grain size and grain orientation. Porosity is the dominant factor in Young’s modulus, hardness and fracture toughness of BSCF. The intrinsic hardness, intrinsic Young’s modulus and intrinsic fracture toughness of BSCF are also determined. The subcritical crack growth (SCG) of BSCF is also studied using constant load method at RT and constant stress rate method at 800 °C. It is found that that BSCF is not susceptible to SCG at RT but becomes relatively sensitive to SCG at 800 °C. The results are subsequently used as a basis for a strength–probability–time (SPT) lifetime prediction. Ni doping increases the Young’s modulus, hardness and fracture toughness of BSCF determined micro-indentation tests at RT. Both hardness and Young’s modulus show a non-monotonic trend with Ni doping content, which is attributed to the porosity and secondary phase. The intrinsic hardness, intrinsic Young’s modulus and intrinsic fracture toughness of 8 mol% Ni-doped BSCF are determined. Dopants have little influence on grain orientation and the distribution of grain boundary misorientation angles of BSCF.

Carbide-free bainitic (CFB) steels have gained increasing attention in recent years because of their excellent mechanical properties. The excellent combination of strength, ductility and toughness achieved in these steels is only matched by that of Maraging steels which cost 10 to 100 more than the carbide-free bainitic steels. The excellent mechanical behavior of CFB steel is mainly due its complex microstructure (bainitic ferrite, retained austenite and martensite) consisting of a high strength phase (ultra fine bainitic ferrite) and TRIP effect from retained austenite. Carbide formation is avoided due to high silicon content which suppresses cementite precipitation from austenite. The effect of bainitic transformation time on the microstructure and mechanical properties was investigated in a steel containing 0.4%C-2.8%Mn-1.8%Si. The microstructure was characterized using optical and transmission electron microscopy; it consisted of bainitic ferrite, martensite and retained austenite. This microstructure exhibited an extended elasto-plastic transition leading to very high initial work hardening rates. The work-hardening behavior was investigated in detail using strain-path reversals to measure the back-stresses. These measurements point to a kinematic hardening due to the mechanical contrast between the microstructural constituents. The strain aging effect at room temperature on the CFB steel was also been analyzed in great detail. The static strain aging effect at room temperature can not be overlooked in the carbide free bainitic steel. After isothermal bainite heat treatment, the yield strength of the material is increased by about 80MPa, and the ultimate tensile strength is improved by more than 100MPa after aging at room temperature for one week. This phenomenum could be related to the interactions between carbon atoms and the dislocations, grain boundaries and the redisual stresses. Examination of the fracture surfaces indicated that the prior austenite grain boundaries play an important role in the fracture process. A set of experiments were designed to study the effect of ausforming on the microstructure and mechanical properties of CFB steels. Based on its mechanical behavior under tensile tests and microstructural analysis by EBSD, the TRIP effect was contributing to the work hardening behavior. The changes in morphology and variant selection of the bainitic ferrite lath in the ausformed carbide free bainitic steel were also observed. A new set of chemistry was design with reduced carbon and manganese content to further improve the weldability and the reproducibility of the carbide free bainitic steel. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Twin roll casting (TRC) offers a promising route for the economic production of Mg sheet, but unfortunately, it produces strip with coarse and non-uniform microstructures and severe centre line segregation. Recently, a novel magnesium strip casting process termed melt conditioned twin roll casting (MC-TRC) was developed that, compared with the conventional TRC process, emphasizes solidification control at the casting stage rather than hot rolling. This was achieved by melt conditioning under intensive forced convection prior to twin roll casting resulting in enhanced heterogeneous nucleation followed by equiaxed growth. In this study the development of TRC and MC-TRC processes and a microstructural comparison of the MC-TRC Mg-alloy strip with that of conventional TRC strip, have been investigated. Emphasis has been focused on the solidification behaviour of the intensively sheared liquid metal, and on the mechanisms for microstructural refinement and compositional uniformity in the MCTRC process. The results of the process development indicate that the MC-TRC process reduces considerably or eliminates defects such as the centre line segregation, voids and cracks at or near the strip surface that are always present in conventional TRC strip. The newly-designed homogenization treatment investigated for TRC and MC-TRC magnesium alloy strips was based on microstructural evolution obtained during heat treatment. The results of the MC-TRC strips showed a much faster recrystallization rate with finer recrystallized grains, which are due to more homogeneous and a finer grain size of the as-cast MC-TRC strips compared with the as-cast TRC strips. During down-stream processing, the effects of MC-TRC process on microstructural evolution of hot-rolled magnesium strips have been understood thoroughly by accurate control of the hot-rolling procedure during each step of strip thickness reduction. This study indicates that the MC-TRC strip requires fewer rolling steps when compared to TRC strip, thus offering reduced processing cost and carbon footprint. Mechanical properties at room temperature of MC-TRC as-cast and rolled sheets are much improved when compared with the conventional TRC as-cast and rolled sheets which can result in a higher quality of final components. The mechanical properties at elevated temperature shows for the first time that the higher elongation and lower yield strength of MC-TRC as-cast strips at a temperature close to its optimised hot-rolling temperature results in better ability for rolling and higher ductility of MC-TRC Mg strip compared with the TRC Mg strip.