Kaiting Wang

Novel in situ device for investigating the tensile and fatigue behaviors of bulk materials

For investigating the static tensile and dynamic fatigue behaviors of bulk materials, a miniaturized device with separate modular tensile and fatigue actuators was developed. The fatigue actuator presented good compatibility with the tensile actuator and mainly consisted of a special flexure hinge and piezoelectric stack. In situ fatigue tests under scanning electron microscope or metallographic microscope could be carried out due to the miniaturized dimensions of the device. A displacement correction method of tensile actuator based on load sensor compliance was investigated, and the feasibility of the method was verified by the comparison tests with a commercial tensile instrument. The application of testing the storage and loss modulus as a function of frequency was explained, and the temperature rises of both the piezoelectric stack and specimen were obtained as a function of frequency. Output characteristics of the fatigue actuator were also investigated. Additionally, the discharge performance of piezoelectric stack based on various initial voltages and fatigue tests on C11000 copper was carried out. This paper shows a modularized example that combines a servo motor with a piezoelectric actuator attached to the specimen grip to realize the in situ fatigue tests.

Note: investigation on the influences of gripping methods on elastic modulus by a miniature tensile device and in situ verification.

In this paper, by gripping the specimen on various positions, including the gripping section, stress concentration transition section, and gauge length section, theoretical analysis on the influences of gripping methods on tensile elastic modulus calculation was investigated with a group of equations. Then, an image-based displacement measurement system was implemented, and the experimental verification via in situ tensile testing was carried out to verify the feasibility of the theoretical analysis by a miniature tensile device integrated with a metallographic microscope. The stress-strain curves of 2026 aluminum alloy were also obtained by gripping the specimens on various positions to illustrate the influences of gripping methods. The influence of gripping methods on elongation measurement was also investigated. This paper showed a modular calculation method of elastic modulus for the tensile testing of typical plate specimens.

Novel correction methods on a miniature tensile device based on a modular non-standard layout

A novel in situ tensile device with a large output load–volume ratio was developed for testing the mechanical properties of bulk materials. A major characteristic of the device was the modular non-standard layout, as the specimen was placed on the top plane of the device to approach the lens of an optical microscope or the electron gun of a scanning electron microscope. Accordingly, to investigate the effects of non-standard layout on tensile properties, displacement and load correction methods were given by formulas based on theoretical calculations to describe the specimens actual tensile displacement and load. Based on in situ observation, the feasibility of the correction method was verified by comparing it with the data from metallographic microscope images. The bending effects on the specimens vertical displacements and tensile load due to the installation mode were also discussed. This paper presents a modularized correction method for a horizontal-type tensile device with a non-standard layout design.

A novel tensile device for in situ scanning electron microscope mechanical testing

To facilitate the study of deformation mechanisms and mechanical properties of bulk materials with feature size of centimeter level, a novel tensile device compatible with scanning electron microscope (SEM) was designed and built. Integrating the servo motor and three-stage reducer, the device could realize quasistatic loading mode with a loading speed of 10 nm/s. The device also presents broad compatibility with various types of SEMs due to its miniaturized dimensions and larger volume–output load ratio compared with existing and commercial tensile instruments. A small lead precise ball screw with left- and right-hand thread was adopted to keep the center of the specimen remain stationary without moving during the tensile testing. A novel gripping method was carefully taken into account to guarantee the alignment issues. The closed-loop control mode of the tensile process was developed. The displacement resolution of 40 nm was tested to verify the driving performance of the device. Furthermore, correction method on testing displacement was investigated based on the calibration experiments of the load sensor and displacement sensor, and the comparison tests based on stress–strain curve were carried out between the self-made device and the commercial tensile instrument (Instron 3345) to verify the feasibility and universality of the correction method.