<p> The objective of this research was to characterize the seawater transport and its effect on the transverse tensile strength of a carbon/vinylester composite. The moisture contents of neat vinylester and unidirectional carbon/vinylester composite panels immersed in seawater were monitored until saturation. A model for moisture up-take was developed based on superposition of Fickian diffusion, and Darcy&rsquo;s law for capillary transport of water. Both the predicted and measured saturation times increased with increasing panel size, however the diffusion model predicts much longer times while the capillary model predicts shorter time than observed experimentally. It was also found that the saturation moisture content decreased with increasing panel size. Testing of macroscopic and miniature composite transverse tensile specimens, and SEM failure inspection revealed more fiber/matrix debonding in the seawater saturated composite than the dry composite, consistent with a slightly reduced transverse tensile strength. </p>

<p> The tensile strength of the fiber/matrix interface was determined through the development of an innovative test procedure. A miniature tensile coupon with a through-thickness oriented, embedded single fiber was designed. Tensile testing was conducted in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) while the failure process could be observed. Finite element stress analysis was conducted to determine the state of stress at the fiber/matrix interface in the tensile loaded specimen, and the strength of the interface. Test specimens consisting of dry E-glass/epoxy and dry and seawater saturated carbon/vinylester 510A were prepared and tested. The load at the onset of debonding was combined with the radial stress distribution near the free surface of the specimen to reduce the interfacial tensile strength (&sigma;<i>_i</i>). For glass/epoxy, &sigma;<i>_i</i> was 36.7&#129;&plusmn;8.8 MPa. For the dry and seawater saturated carbon/vinylester specimens the tensile strengths of the interface were 23.0&#129;&plusmn;6.6 and 25.2&#129;&plusmn;4.1 MPa, respectively. The difference is not significant.</p>

<p> For galvanized or galvannealed steels to be commercially successful, they must exhibit several attributes: (i) easy and inexpensive processing in the hot mill, cold mill and on the coating line, (ii) high strength with good formability and spot weldability, and (iii) good corrosion resistance. At the beginning of this thesis, compositions with a common base but containing various additions of V or Nb with or without high N were designed and subjected to Gleeble simulations of different galvanizing(GI), galvannealing(GA) and supercooling processing. The results revealed the phase balance was strongly influenced by the different microalloying additions, while the strengths of each phase were somewhat less affected. Our research revealed that the amount of austenite formed during intercritical annealing can be strongly influenced by the annealing temperature and the pre-annealing conditions of the hot band (coiling temperature) and cold band (% cold reduction). In the late part of this thesis, the base composition was a low carbon steel which would exhibit good spot weldability. To this steel were added two levels of Cr and Mo for strengthening the ferrite and increasing the hardenability of intercritically formed austenite. Also, these steels were produced with and without the addition of vanadium in an effort to further increase the strength. Since earlier studies revealed a relationship between the nature of the starting cold rolled microstructure and the response to CGL processing, the variables of hot band coiling temperature and level of cold reduction prior to annealing were also studied. Finally, in an effort to increase strength and ductility of both the final sheet (general formability) and the sheared edges of cold punched holes (local formability), a new thermal path was developed that replaced the conventional GI ferrite-martensite microstructure with a new ferrite-martensite-tempered martensite and retained austenite microstructure. The new microstructure exhibited a somewhat lower strength but much high general and local formabilities. In this thesis, both the physical and mechanical metallurgy of these steels and processes will be discussed. This research has shown that simple compositions and processes can result in DP steels with so-called Generation III properties. </p>

<p> In this work, beneficial effects of tensile mean strain on fatigue behavior and microstructure of superelastic NiTi (i.e. Nitinol) are studied. Most applications, such as endovascular stents made with NiTi, are subjected to a combination of constant and cyclic loading; thus, understanding the fatigue behavior of NiTi undergoing mean strain loading is necessary. Cyclic strain-controlled fatigue tests are designed to investigate the effects of tensile mean strain on fatigue of superelastic NiTi. Experimental observations show that combinations of large tensile mean strains and small strain amplitudes improve the fatigue life of superelastic NiTi. This behavior arises from reversible, stress-induced phase transformations. The phase transformations cause &ldquo;stress plateaus&rdquo; or strain ranges with no change in stress value. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the fracture surfaces of specimens revealed generally short crack growth. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) found the amount of residual martensite to be about ~8%, regardless of loading conditions.</p>

<p> Carbon-fiber composites are increasingly employed in the Aerospace and Automotive industries owing to their lightweight and excellent mechanical properties. However, this class of material, when subjected to out-of-plane loads, is often susceptible to an internal damage in the form of delamination that can severely reduce its load bearing capacity. Several toughening methods including the implementation of thermoplastic materials are used to increase the damage tolerance of the polymer-matrix composites. In particular, non-woven thermoplastic veils, when used as interleaving materials between the plies in a composite structure, is extremely efficient at improving the interlaminar (delamination) fracture toughness and impact-resistance of composites. In addition, the toughening of the polymer matrix, if not adversely affecting the manufacturing process, can result in an increase in the toughness-related properties of composite laminates such as the resistance to micro-cracking under thermal-cycling conditions. </p><p> In this study, the effects of matrix toughening and interleaving of the composite with non-woven Polyamide (PA) veils on the Interlaminar Fracture Toughness (ILFT) of Carbon-fiber/Benzoxazine composites are investigated. Formulated Benzoxazine (BZ) resins in non-toughened and toughened variants along with several non-woven PA veils with different melt temperatures are used to manufacture composite laminates through the Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM) process. The ILFT of composites is measured by obtaining the resistance to crack propagation in the interlayer under tensile forces (Mode-I ILFT) or shear forces (Mode-II ILFT). The critical strain energy release rate (Gc) recorded during interlaminar fracture gives a measure of the ILFT of a composite. </p><p> The laminates interleaved with the PA veils show an increase of nearly 50% for the Mode-I crack initiation (GIc initiation), regardless of the melt temperature of the PA veils. The Mode-I crack propagation (GIc propagation) of the laminate increases by using the PA veils with melt temperatures lower than the cure temperature of the BZ resin. </p><p> In the Mode-II ILFT (GIIc) tests, the laminates interleaved with the PA veils show a significant impact on the GIIc values, as increases of nearly 170% are observed. A strong correlation between PA melt temperatures and the GIIc values is noted. The greatest GIIc values are noted when the melt temperature of the PA veil is greater than the cure temperature of the BZ resin. </p><p> The matrix toughness plays a significant role in affecting the GIc values. The laminates manufactured with the toughened BZ resin result in the greatest increase in the GIc values. In contrary, the use of the toughened BZ resin does not result in an improvement in the GIIc values.</p>

<p> Nanoparticles on a substrate have numerous applications in nanotechnology, from enhancements to solar cell efficiency to improvements in carbon nanotube growth. Producing nanoparticles in a cheap fashion with some control over size and spacing is difficult to do, but desired. This work presents a novel method for altering the radius and pitch distributions of nickel and gold nanoparticles in a scalable fashion. The introduction of alumina capping layers to thin nickel films during a pulsed laser-induced dewetting process has yielded reductions in the mean and standard deviation of radii and pitch for dewet nanoparticles. Carbon nanotube mats grown on these samples show a much thicker mat for the capped case. The same capping layers have produced an opposite effect of increased nanoparticle size and spacing during a solid state dewetting process of a gold film. These results also show a decrease in the magnitude of the effect as the capping layer thickness increases. Since the subject of research interest for using these nanoparticles has shifted towards producing ordered arrays with size and spacing control, the uncertainty in the values of these distributions needs to be quantified for any form of meaningful comparison to be made between fabrication methods. Presented here is a first step in the uncertainty analysis of such samples via synthetic images producing error distributions.</p>

<p> Three dimensional fiber reinforced foam cores (3DFRFC) can have improved mechanical properties under specific strain rates and fiber volumes. This study explored different manufacturing techniques for the 3DFRFC and tested the specimens at dynamic loading rates of 69&ndash;10³ s^&ndash;1. Flexural bend test showed that glass fibers made the samples stronger yet more brittle while quasi-static compression tests showed a decrease in performance with 3DFRFC. High strain impact tests validated previously published studies by showing an 18&ndash;20% reduction in the maximum force experienced by the fiber reinforced core and its ability to dissipate the impact force in the foam core sandwich panel. The results show potential for the cost-effective manufacturing method used in this study to produce an improved composite foam core sandwich panel for armored applications where high strain rates are present and reduce the overall weight of vehicles while maintaining the desired strength performance.</p><p>

<p>Abundant experimental analyses and theoretical computational analyses that had been performed on metals to understand anisotropy and its evolution and its dependence on initial orientation of grains have failed to provide theories that can be used in macro-scale plasticity. Ductile metals fracture after going through a large amount of plastic deformation, during which the anisotropy of the material changes significantly. Processed metal sheets or slabs possess anisotropy due to textures produced by metal forming processes (such as drawing, bending and press braking). Metals that were initially isotropic possess anisotropy after undergoing forming processes, <i>i.e</i>., through texture formation due to large amount of plastic deformation before fracture. It is therefore essential to consider the effect of anisotropy to predict the characteristics of fracture and plastic flow performances in the simulation of ductile fracture and plastic flow of materials. Crystal plasticity simulations carried out on grains at the meso-scale level with different initial orientations (ensembles) help to derive the evolution of anisotropy at the macro-scale level and its dependence on initial orientation of grains. This paper investigates the evolution of anisotropy in BCC and FCC metals and its dependence on grain orientation using crystal plasticity simulations and texture analysis to reveal the mechanics behind the evolution of anisotropy. A comparison of anisotropy evolution between BCC and FCC metals is made through the simulation, which can be used to propose the theory of anisotropy evolution in macro-scale plasticity. </p><p> <i>Keywords</i>: ensembles; grains; initial orientation; anisotropy; evolution of anisotropy; crystal plasticity; textures; homogeneity; isotropy; inelastic; equivalent strain </p>

<p> Adhesive bonding is a common, robust, and inexpensive method of joining materials. Of particular interest is the behavior under shear loading, where adhesive bonding excels compared to alternative joining methods. However, while the quasi-static response of these joints is well understood, the dynamic behavior is largely unknown. </p><p> To this end, a series of experiments were devised and performed where two bars are adhesively bonded using a simple lap joint and subjected to a high-speed impact from a steel slug. These tests were configured to, as much as possible, isolate the type of wave that generates adhesive shear and minimize the effect of reflected and induced waves. While keeping the overall geometry constant, the adhesive material, substrate material, and projectile velocity were varied. </p><p> The wave behavior was recorded using surface-mounted strain gages. Also, digital image correlation techniques were developed to analyze high-speed video of the impact event. From these experiments, a number of useful measures can be extracted, including the critical input (projectile) kinetic energy and the specific energy absorbed by the adhesive. </p><p> The techniques developed in this thesis allow for the suitability of different substrate/adhesive combinations under ballistic shear impact to be quantitatively evaluated. </p><p> Additionally, dynamic plate theory is used to derive an analytical model of the substrate/adhesive system. Several solutions to this model which were solved using a Finite Difference approach are included. These solutions were then compared to the strain histories recorded in the physical experiments. </p><p>

<p> Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) thin film photovoltaic technology has shown favorable progress due to inexpensive and efficient processing techniques. However, efficiencies have yet to reach the overall projected CdTe device efficiency, with the back contact being a main source of CdTe performance limitations. Tellurium (Te) applied as a back contact has led to significant increases in fill factor and an overall progress in device efficiency. Devices deposited with Te show significant improvement in uniformity, even without intentional Cu doping, when compared to devices without Te. In current - density measurements, Te shows stability even at low temperatures, which is indicative of a low barrier developed at the CdTe/Te interface. X-ray and ultra-violet photoelectron spectroscopy were carried out to examine the valence band offset at the CdTe/Te back contact interface. The valence band offset was shown to be highly dependent on the Te thickness and was largely affected by oxidation and contamination at the surface. Capacitance measurements were carried out to study the effect Te has on the absorber depletion width. Data indicate a decreased depletion width with Te applied at the back of thin film CdTe devices, which agrees with increased device performance. Te thickness was varied in all studies to understand the effect of application thickness on device performance and material characteristics. With a thicker Te layer leading to overall improvement in device performance and favorable device characteristics. </p><p>