Michael R. Maughan

Nanomechanical testing technique for millimeter-sized and smaller molecular crystals

Large crystals are used as a control for the development of a mounting and nanoindentation testing technique for millimeter-sized and smaller molecular crystals. Indentation techniques causing either only elastic or elastic-plastic deformation produce similar results in assessing elastic modulus, however, the elastic indents are susceptible to surface angle and roughness effects necessitating larger sample sizes for similar confidence bounds. Elastic-plastic indentations give the most accurate results and could be used to determine the different elastic constants for anisotropic materials by indenting different crystal faces, but not by rotating the indenter about its axis and indenting the same face in a different location. The hardness of small and large crystals is similar, suggesting that defect content probed in this study is similar, and that small crystals can be compared directly to larger ones. The Youngs modulus and hardness of the model test material, griseofulvin, are given for the first time to be 11.5GPa and 0.4GPa respectively.

Dislocation Activity Under Nanoscale Contacts Prior to Discontinuous Yield

In nanoindentation, when stresses near the theoretical strength are reached, it is commonly assumed that the volume tested is dislocation free. This study examines the case where permanent deformation occurs prior to an apparent yield point. Force-modulated creep and quasi-static (QS) nanoindentation tests were conducted on Co, W, Ir, and Pt. Statistical comparisons show that the percentage of tests displaying creep correlates with the percentage of QS tests displaying plasticity prior to pop-in. This is evident that apparent plastic behavior prior to pop-in is due to dislocation motion, and permanent deformation can and does occur at extremely small indenter displacements before pop-in.

The effects of intrinsic properties and defect structures on the indentation size effect in metals

Abstract The indentation size effect has been linked to the generation of geometrically necessary dislocations that may be impacted by intrinsic materials properties, such as stacking fault energy, and extrinsic defects, such as statistically stored dislocations. Nanoindentation was carried out at room temperature and elevated temperatures on four different metals in a variety of microstructural conditions. A size effect parameter was determined for each material set combining the effects of temperature and existing dislocation structure. Extrinsic defects, particularly dislocation density, dominate the size effect parameter over those due to intrinsic properties such as stacking fault energy. A multi-mechanism description using a series of mechanisms, rather than a single mechanism, is presented as a phenomenological explanation for the observed size effect in these materials. In this description, the size effect begins with a volume scale dominated by sparse sources, next is controlled by the ability of dislocations to cross-slip and multiply, and then finally at larger length scales work hardening and recovery dominate the effect.

Discontinuous Yield Behaviors Under Various Pre-Strain Conditions in Metals with Different Crystal Structures

Instrumented indentation was performed to determine the statistics of discontinuous yield behavior of Co and Ni pre-strained to various levels. In both materials, increasing pre-strain decreases the frequency of indentations that exhibit discontinuous yield. Yield events in Co occurred at nominally the same stress independent of pre-strain, suggesting dislocation nucleation dominates during contact loading and that the existing dislocations are strongly pinned in Co. However, in Ni yield occurred at lower loads with increasing pre-strain, suggesting that dislocation activation, rather than true nucleation, dominates the yield mechanism. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Thermal Stresses Due to Laser Welding in Bridge-Wire Initiators

In ongoing research at the University of Idaho, potential failure mechanisms of airbag initiators are being investigated. Cracking of the cylindrical glass-to-metal seal (GTMS) present in these devices has been observed. These cracks could be a path for moist gas to diffuse into the initiator, potentially leading to bridge-wire degradation and late-fire or no-fire initiator failure. Previous research has shown that cracking may be caused by thermal stresses induced by the GTMS formation process. The goal of this research was to determine if welding of the output-can onto the initiator header could produce stresses in the glass great enough to cause cracking. A finite element analysis solution was chosen to model the transient heat transfer and temperature distribution in the initiator assembly during the welding process. The thermal stresses were calculated with a mechanical analysis once the temperature distribution was determined. Compressive stresses induced by pressing the header assembly into the output-can as part of the manufacturing process were also investigated with a closed-form mechanics of materials solution. The welding thermal stress model initially predicted radial stresses greater than the tangential stresses. This conflicts with observed radial cracks, which would be induced by tangential stresses. Subsequent investigations with an interface region stiffness model showed that when the stiffness of the bond at the pin-glass and glass-header interfaces is decreased, the maximum radial stress is greatly reduced and that the maximum tangential stress stays relatively constant. These predicted stresses were still in excess of the range of glass strengths reported in literature. However, superposition of the compressive stresses due to the press-fit and residual stresses created when the GTMS is formed with these thermal stresses results in the total radial and tangential stresses being on the same order as the reported strengths. It was determined that when initiators are overheated during welding, radial stresses due to thermal expansion cause the bond to fail and separation to occur over a portion of the pin-glass interface. Tangential stresses developed for the same reason are sufficient enough to cause radial cracking, where the bond is still intact.

Thermal Induced Stresses in Bridge-Wire Initiator Glass-to-Metal Seals

Cracks have been observed in the insulating glass of bridge-wire initiators that may allow moisture to penetrate the assembly, potentially leading to the corrosion and degradation of the bridge wire and the pyrotechnic material. Degradation of the pyrotechnic or the bridge wire may result in initiator failure or diminished performance. The goal of this research is to determine if the manufacturing processes could produce thermal stresses great enough to crack the glass. A parametric plane stress closed-form solution was used to determine the effects of changing material properties and dimensions of the initiator, and to determine potential stresses within the initiator from two different manufacturing scenarios. To verify and expand the plane stress closed-form solution, a two-dimensional axisymmetric finite element analysis was performed. To reproduce the two manufacturing scenarios, lumped models and models that included the effects of cooling the initiator were used. Both models showed that if the manufacturing process involves pouring molten glass into the initiator, the potential for cracking exists. Furthermore, if the surface of the initiator cools faster than the center, cracking is more likely.