Polyethylene terephthalate is one of the most important engineering thermal plastics used for fibers, films and bottles. Despite its wide applications and vast global market, PET has shortcomings, which limits it usage in many areas. PET has a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 80 DEGREE Celsius, this temperature is too low for certain applications. Increase in glass transition temperature, high temperature mechanical properties, and dimensional stability is of great importance to further expand the applications of PET. Significant research efforts have been made toward this goal, using a variety of approaches. In this work, we attempt to improve the properties of PET melt spun filament. Three strategies has been investigated (i) copolymerization of more rigid comonomer, 4, 4' bibenzoate unit into the PET structure, (ii) UV crosslinking of functionalized PET fiber, and (iii) Reinforcing PET matrix with carbon nanofibers.

Cartapip-treated pulps are evaluated for increased strength properties / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Institute of Paper Science and Technology, 1995.

This research focuses on a study of the material parameters of horse hoof. The study of the problem with the factors that affect to the fastening of the shoe is not performed. Three different tests are carried out to obtain the behavior of the horn wall of the horse hoof in different ways, under physiological conditions and variation of hydration level. The first one is a tensile test to obtain both the force/displacement relation and the stress/strain relation and the parameters derived from them. The second is a hardness test to determine how the material resists to several kinds of permanent-shape changes when a force is applied.Finally, a microscopic study is performed to analyze the fracture surface after testing the specimens. A meticulous analysis of the results and a broad comparison with several researches are performed. The end of the thesis work suggests future works needed to solve the problem.

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La conception de moteurs aéronautiques plus performants soumet les alliages de titane constitutifs des mâts-réacteurs à des contraintes thermiques et mécaniques plus sévères. Ces matériaux doivent d’une part être qualifiés en termes de tolérance aux dommages. D’autre part, l’exposition prolongée de ces alliages de titane à des températures élevées en service pose la question de leur vieillissement métallurgique. Le dimensionnement et la maintenance de telles aérostructures doit ainsi prendre en compte l’ensemble de ces deux problématiques cruciales.Dans ces travaux, le comportement cyclique ainsi que la résistance à la fissuration par fatigue d’alliages de titane de différentes nuances (TA6V, Ti 6242 et Ti 17) et de différentes microstructures, ont été étudiés en fonction du degré de vieillissement. L’effet du vieillissement se traduit essentiellement par une augmentation des vitesses de propagation à forte valeur du facteur d’intensité de contrainte, à température ambiante. Dans un second temps, une démarche de caractérisation poussée de ce phénomène mettant en œuvre des sollicitations variées, à différentes échelles et associées à des analyses fractographiques a été appliquée. Ceci a permis de proposer un scénario d’endommagement avant et après vieillissement pour l’alliage le plus affecté par l’exposition en température, le Ti 17. Ce scénario montre après vieillissement l’apparition d’un mode d’endommagement « statique » en lien avec un processus de rupture puis décohésion intralamellaire, sans modification notable du comportement cyclique. Enfin, une approche d’équivalence temps-température est proposée pour décrire la cinétique de dégradation des propriétés mécaniques consécutive au vieillissement. / The conception of more efficient aircraft engines induces increased stress and temperature levels on the titanium alloys constitutive of the engine pylon. On the one hand, these materials have to be qualified in terms of damage tolerance. On the other hand, the long term high temperature exposure of these titanium alloys gives also rise to the question of thermal aging and metallurgical stability. Hence, the dimensioning as well as the maintenance of such aerostructures need to be considered in the light of both these critical issues.In the present work, the cyclic behavior as well as the fatigue crack resistance of different titanium alloys (TA6V, Ti 6242 et Ti 17), with various microstructures were studied after different aging conditions. Aging induces mainly an increase in crack growth rates at high values of the stress intensity factor, at room temperature. Subsequently, a thorough characterization procedure of this phenomenon was undertaken,including various types of loadings, at different scales and associated with fractographic analyses. The results allowed to suggest a damage scenario before and after aging, in the case of the alloy most affected by aging: theTi 17 alloy. This scenario shows the occurrence of a « static » mode of failure, which is linked to a damage process associated with intralamellar fracture and decohesion, without noticeable changes in the cyclic behavior. Finally, a time-temperature equivalency approach was developed to describe the kinetics of degradation of the mechanical properties induced by aging.

L’un des principaux enjeux des acteurs aéronautiques est l’allègement des structures afin de réduire la consommation de carburant et donc les coûts de fonctionnement. A cette fin, les alliages de titane sont de plus en plus utilisés du fait de leurs très bonnes propriétés mécaniques notamment à hautes températures, pour une densité relativement faible. C’est dans ce contexte que s’inscrivent les travaux de cette thèse. L’alliage étudié est le Ti-21S, utilisé actuellement dans la fabrication des systèmes d’éjection des gaz des moteurs d’avions. La problématique de la thèse est d’évaluer les potentialités du Ti-21S, au-delà des limites conventionnelles. Pour cela, des vieillissements thermiques sous air à différentes températures (450°C - 700°C) pendant diverses durées (500h - 10000h) sont réalisés. La microstructure avant et après vieillissement est caractérisée afin de déterminer l’impact du vieillissement thermique. Ces observations montrent que les évolutions microstructurales sont directement liées à la température de vieillissement, et l’impact de la durée de vieillissement n’est pas identique pour toutes les températures de vieillissement. L’enjeu suivant de cette thèse est d’étudier le comportement mécanique en traction et en fatigue à température ambiante et à 550°C après vieillissement. Le comportement mécanique en traction est très dépendant des conditions de traitement thermique, et de ce fait de la microstructure de l’alliage. De plus, les comportements mécaniques sont également très dépendants de la température d’essai. Un autre enjeu est la compréhension des phénomènes d’oxydation sur cette plage de températures de vieillissement. La diffusion de l’oxygène dans le matériau entraîne des modifications microstructurales en proche surface, et impacte fortement la tenue mécanique de l’alliage en fragilisant le matériau. Un lien entre paramètres microstructuraux et teneur en oxygène a été mis en évidence. De même, la résistance mécanique en traction a été reliée à la microstructure. / One of the main issues of the aeronautic industry is to decrease the weight of structures in order to reduce fuel consumption. Titanium alloys are more and more used due to their good mechanical properties at high temperatures, with a low density. Ti-21S, currently used in the manufacturing of nozzles, was investigated. The aim of this work is to study the potential of this alloy beyond conventional limits. Thermal treatments on air are carried out at different temperatures (450°C - 700°C) for various durations (500h - 10000h). The microstructure is characterized before and after aging in order to determine the impact of aging thermal. The observations show that microstructural evolutions are related to aging temperature, and impact of time aging is not the same for all temperatures. Another aim is to study the mechanical behavior with tensile and fatigue tests at room temperature and 550°C after aging. Mechanical tensile behavior depends on the aging temperature and the microstructure of the alloy. Moreover, mechanical behavior depends on test temperature. Another issue is the understanding of oxidation phenomena over the range of temperatures, and to determine the effects of oxidation on both microstructure and mechanical behavior. The diffusion of oxygen in the material leads to the microstructural evolution near the surface, and impacts mechanical strength by weakening the material. A link between microstructure and oxygen content is demonstrated. Similarly, the tensile strength is connected to microstructure.

The present Master thesis deals with location of aluminium castings in the heat treatment furnace and its influence on mechanical properties. As testing samples for the experimental part, tensile bars were used; they were cast from the subeutetic silumin AlSi7Mg0,6. These samples were placed in the furnace in the locations where temperatures were calibrated by the furnace supplier. Then, tensile tests were performed to evaluate the resulting mechanical properties of the samples. The experiment was carried out in the foundry of non-ferrous metals, MESIT foundry Ltd., Uherské Hradiště.

Student Number : 9800022T - PhD thesis - School of Mechanical, Industrial and Aeronautical Engineering - Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment / For many applications, it may be useful to be able to estimate creep properties of a material from simpler testing procedures such as tensile tests than the conventional creep testing procedures. Most alloys used for creep service conditions are in a hardened condition and thus tertiary creep, controlled by micro structural degradation, is dominant. The object of the study was to investigate a reasonably simple method for estimating the creep behavior of a low alloy 1% Cr, 0.25 % Mo steel from tensile yield data. The study involved performing of series of investigations, including age hardening, tensile and creep tests. Microstructural degradation was monitored from specimens held in a furnace for different times and temperatures, which were then tested in tension at room temperatures. Tensile tests were carried out at different temperatures and strain rates and the data used to determine material parameters for use in kinetic equations describing deformation. For comparison, creep curves were obtained from both creep tests and tensile tests results. Tests on furnace aged specimens were used to quantify softening due to material degradation and formulate a structure evolution and kinetic expressions used to determine creep curves. The modified equation by Dorn was used to determine the material parameters and to predict flow characteristics. Two sets of mechanisms were observed. At low temperature and high stress (above 550MPa) dislocation by glide mechanism was investigated. At higher temperatures and low stress (below 550MPa), some form of power law creep was observed. Glide mechanism was investigated and material parameters σ ) , n and activation volume v, were calculated. The calculated value of σ ) was assumed for both plastic deformation and the softening kinetics. A reasonably good estimate of the creep behavior of the low alloy steel used in this investigation in which tertiary creep dominates can be calculated from tensile yield stress values. Furthermore, the creep rate and recovery have similar stress dependences, with the stress and temperature dependence similar to that predicted by recovery theory. The value of activation energy observed for creep for this alloy is in line with the processes which could be related to self diffusion. In order to justify the significance of this study, four existing empirical models are discussed, highlighting their merits and demerits with respect to the models used in this study. These are θ-Projection, Damage Mechanics, Estrin-Mecking and the Internal Stress Methods. Generally, in this class of alloys, recovery process occurs under an effective stress (i.e. an applied stress less the internal stress). Thus the possibility of using tensile data obtained in this study in the internals stress model was explored. The model could replicate the one used in this study if the change in internal stress value o σ is assumed to be negligible. This could be assumed to be true for tensile data at high stresses and low temperature especially during secondary creep rate when the internal stress approximates to the applied stress and at short test durations.

A Comparison Study of Composite Laminated Plates with Holes under Tension A study was conducted to quantify the accuracy of numerical approximations to deem sufficiency in validating structural composite design, thus minimizing, or even eliminating the need for experimental test. Error values for stress and strain were compared between Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and analytical (Classical Laminated Plate Theory), and FEA and experimental tensile test for two composite plate designs under tension: a cross-ply composite plate design of [(0/90)4]s, and a quasi-isotropic layup design of [02/+45/-45/902]s, each with a single, centered hole of 1/8” diameter, and 1/4" diameter (four sets total). The intent of adding variability to the ply sequences and hole configurations was to gauge the sensitivity and confidence of the FEA results and to study whether introducing enough variability would, indeed, produce greater discrepancies between numerical and experimental results, thus necessitating a physical test. A shell element numerical approximation method through ABAQUS was used for the FEA. Mitsubishi Rayon Carbon Fiber and Composites (formerly Newport Composites) unidirectional pre-preg NCT301-2G150/108 was utilized for manufacturing—which was conducted and tested to conform to ASTM D3039/D3039M standards. A global seed size of 0.020, or a node count on the order of magnitude of 30,000 nodes per substrate, was utilized for its sub-3% error with efficiency in run-time. The average error rate for FEA strain from analytical strain at a point load of 1000lbf was 2%, while the FEA-to-experimental strains averaged an error of 4%; FEA-to-analytical and FEA-to-tensile test stress values at 1000lbf point load both averaged an error value of 6%. Suffice to say, many of these strain values were accurate up to ten-thousandths and hundred-thousandths of an in/in, and the larger stress/strain errors between FEA and test may have been attributed to the natural variables introduced from conducting a tensile test: strain gauge application methods, tolerance stacks from load cells and strain gauge readings. Despite the variables, it was determined that numerical analysis could, indeed, replace experimental testing. It was observed through this thesis that a denser, more intricate mesh design could provide a greater level of accuracy for numerical solutions, which proves the notion that if lower error rates were necessitated, continued research with a more powerful processor should be able to provide the granularity and accuracy in output that would further minimize error rates between FEA and experimental. Additionally, design margins and factors of safety would generally cover the error rates expected from numerical analysis. Future work may involve utilizing different types of pre-preg and further varied hole dimensions to better understand how the FEA correlates with analytical and tensile test results. Other load types, such as bending, may also provide insight into how these materials behave under loading, thus furthering the conversation of whether numerical approximations may one day replace testing all together.

<p>Carbon-fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs) are often used in the aerospace and automotive  industries for their high strength-to-weight ratios and corrosion resistance. A new class of  composites – known as Prepreg Platelet Molded Composites (PPMCs) – offers further  advantageous such as high forming capabilities with modest compromises in strength and stiffness.  One such property of PPMCs that have garnered interest over the years is their apparent  insensitivity to notches. Previous studies have researched the effect of specimen size and platelet  length on its effect on the open-hole performance of PPMCs. Research however has focused on  thinner samples with smaller hole sizes and neglected thicker samples with larger holes.  Additionally, while platelet sizes have been investigated for unnotched samples, platelet width on  notched samples is less clear from the literature. The present thesis offers some investigations to  aid in filling this knowledge gap. </p> <p><br></p> <p>The objective of this work is to study two parameters that could influence the performance of PPMCs under open-hole tension. First, thick (7.6 mm) specimens are subjected to large hole  sizes (up to 19.08 mm) to investigate their behavior in comparison to the smaller sample sizes  previously investigated in the literature. Through-thickness DIC measurements are taken to  investigate strain gradients in these thicker specimens. Second, various platelet widths are tested  to research their influence on notch insensitivity of open-hole tensile PPMC specimens. Lastly, a  finite element based continuum damage mechanics model is implemented to predict macro-level  structural properties using only material properties of the parent prepreg. It is found that large holes  in thick samples increase notch sensitivity compared to other samples of similar diameter-to-width  ratios. Narrower platelets were found to produce higher unnotched strengths, while wider platelets  offered more notch insensitivity. Lastly, the finite element model developed was found to  qualitatively replicate features and failure modes that are exhibited by PPMCs, though strength  predictions became inaccurate at larger specimen sizes. Recommendations are made for future  work on the basis of these findings.   </p>