Engineering Commons^™

Effect Of Hydriding On Nanoscale Plasticity Mechanisms In Nanocrystalline Palladium Thin Films, Behnam Amin Ahmadi, Hosni Idrissi, Marc Fivel, Ranaud Delmelle, Stuart Turner, Thomas Pardoen, Joris Proost, Dominique Schryvers

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

Thin palladium (Pd) membranes constitute an enabling material in hydrogen permeation and sensing applications. During hydriding of Pd, as long as the H/Pd (atomic ratio) stays below α_SSmax≈0.02, the α-Pd with face centered cubic (fcc) lattice will expand from 3.889 Å to 3.895 Å. When the ratio reaches 0.02 a β-phase, again fcc based, having a lattice constant near 4.025 Å appears which induces a 10% volume change. In the present work, nanoscale plasticity mechanisms activated in sputtered nanocrystalline (nc) Pd thin films subjected to hydriding at different hydrogen pressures have been investigated for the first time using …

Effect Of Hydrogen On The Nucleation And Motion Of Dislocations, Mohammad Zamanzade, Jorge Velayarce, Christian Motz, Oscar Torrents Abad, Afrooz Barnoush

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

Conventional mechanical tests are costly, time consuming, and due to their large scale, not very successful in obtaining mechanistic information. In contrast, the local method like nanoindentation, compression or bending test of micro pillars have comprehensive ranges of possibilities to achieve an essential understanding about the influence of substitutional atoms and/or interstitial atoms (e.g., hydrogen and nitrogen) on the mechanical properties like Young´s modulus, Gibbs free energy for homogeneous dislocation nucleation, dislocation line energy and also friction stress. These methods allow us to measure the mechanical behavior in simulated environments and atmospheres close to the routine industrial applications.

Nanoindentation was …

How To Perform Nanoindentation In Difficult Conditions? Applications To Ultra Soft Materials And Temperature Environment, Michel Fajfrowski, Vincent Jardret

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

Measuring ultra soft materials or materials in extreme temperature conditions lead to the same challenges. Both present difficulties related to visco elastic properties. It’s well known that in a dynamic regime, mechanical properties of such materials depend of the strain rate, excitation frequency and temperature. By using a transducer which is not adapted to specific criteria such as a low contact stiffness or ultimate stable thermal conditions, it’s very easy to neglect fundamental testing conditions which can generate significant inaccurate mechanical properties. This transducer does not rely only on the quality of his components and his design. The integration of …

In-Situ Observation Of The Onset Of Plastic Deformation By Prismatic Loop Emission, Sang Ho Oh

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

We report direct observations on the incipient plasticity of dislocation-free single crystal Au [110] nanowires by in situ transmission electron microscopy nanomechanical testing. The diameter of the tested nanowires ranged from ~ 80 nm to 350 nm and the length-to-diameter ratio was larger than 5. The top end of all [110]-oriented Au nanowires is bound by two inclined {111} faces in a wedge shape, on the other hand the side faces consist of four large {111} and two small {100} planes, resulting in a truncated rhombic cross-section. In our deformation setup where the wedge-shaped growth end of nanowire was compressed …

Igem Jamboree | Biological Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

The 2015 iGEM Giant Jamboree was an inspiring and enjoyable experience for members of Utah State’s iGEM team. Sara Gertsch, Chad Nielsen, Alex Torgesen, and Tom Overbeck traveled to Boston with Dr. Charles Miller for the 11th annual Jamboree from September 24th to September 28th and presented on this year’s team project, “LactoWare: Reprogramming Lactic Acid Bacteria to Fight Malicious Viruses.” The project was well received, and the judges awarded the team a silver medal.

When not involved in the oral presentation and two poster sessions, team members were able to attend presentations by other teams and workshops that provided …

Why Doesn't 25 Years Of An Evolving Energy Code Make More Of A Difference?, Florida Solar Energy Center, Charles Withers, Jr.

FSEC Energy Research Center®

This paper was presented at the 2015 Behavior, Energy and Climate Change Conference (BECC). New and more stringent building energy codes are implemented with the assumption and expectation that significant energy conservation will occur. While simulation and various analysis methodologies may be reasonably sound at estimating the energy impact, the actual impact is largely dependent upon new code enforcement and occupant behavior. This work is based upon the research question: Do homes built to a newer energy code deliver measurable energy savings compared to homes built to a much earlier energy code? This residential research study was focused on comparing …

Modified Atmosphere Packaging: A Progressive Technology For Shelf-Life Extension Of Fruits And Vegetables, Mahmoud Soltani, Reza Alimardani, Hossein Mobli, Seyed Saeid Mohtasebi

Journal of Applied Packaging Research

Packaging and storage are the final phases in the food industry. Quality preservation, improving safety and reduction of postharvest losses waste are some objectives of the packaging engineering. One of techniques that widely used in packaging of fruits and vegetables are modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). In MAP for fresh fruits and vegetable the air of packaging headspace replaces with a predetermined atmospheric gases different in proportion from that of air. Oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen are the main gases used in MAP for injection to the headspace of pack. The choice and ratio of gases are very dependent upon the …

Variable Temperature Ultra-Nanoindentation System: Elevated And Cryogenic Temperature Measurements, M. Conte, B. Bellaton, D. Ciani, N.X. Randall, P. Kempe, G. Moharty, J. Schwiedrzik, J. Michler

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

One of the primary motivations for development of instrumented indentation was to measure the mechanical properties of thin films. Characterization of thin film mechanical properties as a function of temperature is of immense industrial and scientific interest. The major bottlenecks in variable temperature measurements have been thermal drift, signal stability (noise) and oxidation of/condensation on the surface. Thermal drift is a measurement artifact that arises due to thermal expansion/contraction of indenter tip and loading column. This gets superimposed on the mechanical behavior data precluding accurate extraction of mechanical properties of the sample at elevated/cryogenic temperatures [1]. Reliable load-displacement measurements up …

Nanowire Cds-Cdte Solar Cells With Molybdenum Oxide As Contact, Hongmei Dang, Vijay P. Singh

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Using a 10 nm thick molybdenum oxide (MoO_3-x) layer as a transparent and low barrier contact to p-CdTe, we demonstrate nanowire CdS-CdTe solar cells with a power conversion efficiency of 11% under front side illumination. Annealing the as-deposited MoO₃ film in N₂ resulted in a reduction of the cell's series resistance, from 9.97 Ω/cm² to 7.69 Ω/cm², and increase in efficiency from 9.9% to 11%. Under illumination from the back, the MoO_3-x/Au side, the nanowire solar cells yielded J_sc of 21 mA/cm² and efficiency of 8.67%. Our results demonstrate …

Revealing Dislocation Structure Around And Underneath Indentations In (001) Strontium Titanate Single Crystals At Room Temperature And 350o C, Farhan Javaid, Kurl Johanns, Karen Durst

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

Many crystalline materials exhibit an indentation size effect, i.e., an intrinsic change in hardness with changes in sampled material volume. During indentation testing, the material underneath the indenter is heavily deformed, introducing high local dislocation densities and density gradients. In the present work, dislocation structures around and underneath the Vickers and Berkovich indentations performed at room temperature and 350^oC have been resolved in (001) oriented strontium titanate (STO) single crystal via a sequential polishing, etching, and imaging technique. Laser and atomic force microscopy were used to image dislocation etch-pit patterns which were then digitized for calculating dislocation densities, …

About The Plastic Response Of Silicate Glasses At The Micronscale, Guillaume Kermouche, D. Tumbajoy, P. Gangster, B. Mantisi, G. Molnar, A. Tanguy, R. Lacroix, V. Pukhkava, J. Teisseire, G. Guillonneau, J. Michler, E. Barthel

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

Despite their brittleness, silicate glasses undergo plastic deformation at the micron scale. Mechanical contact and indentation are the most common situations of interest. The plasticity of glasses is characterized not only by shear flow but also by a permanent densification process.

We present novel observations of the deformation and fracture of amorphous silica micropillars of various sizes using In Situ SEM Micro-Compression (Fig 1), that can help better understand the mechanisms occurring prior to its fracture [1]. Exhibiting one of the highest ratios of shear stress on shear modulus, fused silica thus further distinguishes itself from other amorphous materials. Moreover, …

An Improved Micromechanical Method For Investigating The Mechanical Properties Of Poly-Silicon Membranes, Holger Pfaff, John Brickner, Ellen Auerswald, Dietmar Vogel, Sven Rzepka, Alfons Dehe

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

Freestanding poly-silicon membranes are of increasing importance for designing MEMS devices such as pressure sensors, microphones and gyroscopes. It is crucial to accurately determine the mechanical properties of such membranes not only to access parameters for designing new devices but also for assuring proper performance and quality in service. Classically, microscopic tensile tests [1-3] or bulge tests [4] were conducted to obtain Young’s modulus and strength of the membrane material. These methods however are prone to artifacts due to crack initiation at edge defects (e.g. predefined notches in tensile specimens [3] or slits in bulge test samples [4]). In search …

Multiscale Characterization Of The Micromechanics Of Pure Mg, Jon Molina-Aldareguia, Raul Sanchez-Martin, Carmen Cepeda-Jimenez, Teresa Perez-Prado

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

An important limitation of wrought (rolled and extruded) Mg alloys is their inherent strong mechanical anisotropy, a consequence of their hexagonal closed- packed (hcp) lattice. Several reasons contribute to this effect. First, at room temperature, the critical resolved shear stresses (CRSSs) of basal and non-basal slip systems have very different values, spanning several orders of magnitude; second, twinning, a very common deformation mechanism in these materials, exhibits a pronounced polarity, i.e. its activation is dependent on the relative orientation between the c-axis and the applied stress; finally, both hot and cold deformation processing textures are often quite sharp and the …

Size Effects And Deformation Mechanisms In Diamond And Silicon, Jeffrey Wheeler, R. Raghavan, J. Rabier, J. Wehrs, J. Michler

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

At ambient temperature and pressure, most of the semiconductor materials are brittle. Traditionally, use of confining pressure via indentation or a hydrostatic confining medium [1, 2] has been required to study the plasticity of such brittle materials. In the case of group IV semiconductors (Diamond, Silicon, and Germanium) the situation is further complicated by pressure-induced phase transformations occurring underneath the indentations. However, previous work has demonstrated that sample miniaturization can also prevent the onset of cracking and allow plastic deformation [3]. Recent advances in in situ instrumentation have enabled micro-compression techniques to extract temperature- and …

Toward The Understanding Of The Brittle To Ductile Transition At Low Size In Silicon: Experiments And Simulations, Firas El Nabi, Laurent Pizzagalli, Sandrine Brochard, Cristophe Tromas, Ludovic Thilly, Julien Godet, Michael Texier, Olivier Thomas

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

While bulk silicon is brittle at temperatures below 600-700K, the compression of nanopillars has shown that a decrease of the diameter below few hundreds of nanometers could change the silicon behavior from brittle to ductile [1,2]. This size effect cannot be explained by the initial defect density like in metals, because pristine silicon nano-objects do not contain residual defects. In these conditions the cracks and/or the dislocations nucleation should take origin at the surface. The identification of the parameters governing the brittle to ductile transition in size and the understanding of the mechanisms are the key points to further develop …

Thermally Activated Processes In Materials Probed By Nanoindentation - Challenges, Solutions, And Insights, Verena Maier, Alexander Leitner, Sandra Korte-Kerzel, Karsten Durst, Reinhard Pippan, Daniel Kiener

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

Nanoindentation experiments are widely used for assessing the local mechanical properties of materials. In recent years some new exciting developments were established for also analyzing thermally activated processes during deformation using indentation based techniques, namely nanoindentation strain rate jump and nanoindentation long term creep tests. For these different methods, control of the indenter tip movement as well as determination of the correct contact conditions are hugely important to assure reliable data. In fact, long term nanoindentation tests are prone to be strongly influenced by thermal drift, starting at room temperature but even more intensified for elevated temperatures.

This talk will …

Boundary Motion Coupled With Tensile And Compressive Deformation: Tem Observation Of Twinning-Like Lattice Reorientation In Mg Micropillars, Evan Ma, Bo-Yu Liu, Zhi Shan

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

For magnesium and some other hexagonal-close-packed metals, twinning on the plane is a common mode of plastic deformation. Recently, we have used in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to monitor the deformation of submicron-sized single-crystal magnesium, in quantitative compression and tension tests (B-Y. Liu et al., Nature Commun. 2014). We have observed the reorientation of the parent lattice to a “twin” lattice, producing an orientational relationship akin to that of the conventional twinning. However, aberration-corrected TEM observations reveal that the boundary between the parent lattice and the “twin” lattice is composed of many segments of semi-coherent basal-prismatic (B-P) interfaces, …

High Temperature Indentation Creep And Nanoindentation Testing Of Superalloys And Tial Alloys, Mathias Goken, Markus Kolb, Doris Amberger, Steffen Neumeier, Jeff Wheeler, Johann Michler

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

Measuring of the high temperature mechanical behaviour of materials by local testing has become a key task in the field of nanomechanics. However, gaining access to the application temperature of many metallic high temperature materials, which is in the range of 600°C - 1100°C, is quite difficult. In addition, creep parameters can only be determined by long time measurements, where drift influences become a severe challenge. Here we present a new approach of indentation creep testing with a flat punch indenter. For this, a thermo mechanical analyzer with very precise temperature control is used, which allows testing at temperatures up …

From Micro-Cantilever Testing To Deformation Patterning In Hcp Polycrystals, Angus Wilkinson, Jicheng Gong, T Ben Britton, Ed Tarleton, Daniel Balint, Micth Cudihy, Fionn Dunne

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

For several years now we have been using micro-scale cantilever bend tests to probe the considerable anisotropy of elastic and plastic deformation behaviour in the hexagonal packed metals Ti and Zr [1-3]. The wider aim of the work has been understanding and modeling the heterogeneous patterns of stress, strain and dislocation density that develop during deformation of HCP polycrystals. Crystal plasticity finite element analysis (CP-FEA) of representative volumes are used to simulate these deformation fields and enable modelling of representative volume elements to aid understanding of in-service component performance. Critical resolved shear stress (CRSS) values for the important slip systems …

Understanding Rate Sensitivity In Dual Phase Titanium Alloys – A Combined Experimental And Computational Micro-Pillar Study, Tea Sung Jun, Zhen Zhang, Fion Dunne, Ben Britton

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

Titanium alloys are used as structural load bearing components in aeroengines. In service, these alloys are subjected to significant cyclic loading, with high thrust (i.e. stress) excursions during take-off, a load-hold during flight and unloading on landing. The load-hold has been shown to have a significant effect on the fatigue life performance of many dual phase titanium alloys, where a significant hold at maximum load can reduce the number of cycles to failure by an order of magnitude or more when compared with simple ‘saw-tooth’ load-unload fatigue cycle. This is known as the dwell debit.

Recently, it has been demonstrated …

Nanoindentation Cartography In Al/Al-Cu-Fe Composites: Correlation Between Chemical Heterogeneities And Mechanical Properties, Christophe Tromas, Aurelie Joseph, Veronique Gauthier, Anne Joulain, Sylvain Dubois, Joel Bonneville, Dominique Evidi, Jean-Phillippe Monchoux

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

During the last two decades, nanoindentation testing has become a commonly used technique for measuring surface mechanical properties such as hardness or elastic modulus. With devices equipped with a motorized X-Y table, it is now possible to perform large regular nanoindentation arrays in order to make an accurate statistics of the mechanical properties. This method is particularly interesting to study heterogeneous materials. The statistical analysis, associated to mathematical deconvolution methods allows identifying the properties of each individual phase. Furthermore, hardness or elastic modulus maps can be then established and compared to other local properties such as microstructure, crystallographic orientation or …

Mechanisms Of Plastic Deformation Of Magnesium Matrix Nanocomposites Elaborated By Friction Stir Processing, Camilla Mallman, Aude Simar, Emilie Derrie, Marc Fivel, Erica Lilleodden

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

Magnesium based composites have attracted much attention over the past few years as a promising solution to lightweighting, energy saving and emission reduction, especially for automotive and aerospace applications. With a specific weight as low as 1.74 g.cm-3, magnesium is the lightest of all structural metals. However, the strength of Mg needs to be improved in order to compete with other light metals such as Al or Ti. The present study focuses on Mg reinforced by Y₂O₃ nanoparticles. The aim of the work is to investigate the single crystalline plastic behavior of Mg strengthened by oxide dispersed …

High-Temperature Small-Scale Fracture Mechanics And Plasticity Of A Hardcoating System, James Best, Johannes Zechner, Juri Wehrs, Johann Michler, Jeffrey Wheeler, Marcus Morstein

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

Forging and cutting tools for high-temperature applications are often protected using hard nanostructured ceramic coatings. While a moderate amount of knowledge exists for material properties at room temperatures, significantly less is known about the system constituents at the elevated temperatures generated during service. For rational engineering design of such systems, it is therefore important to have methodologies for testing these materials to understand their properties under such conditions. Additionally, small-scale mechanical testing is of inherent importance for thin-films systems and materials subject to surface modification or treatment as for plasma nitrided steels.

In this work, we present results on both …

Highly Selective Hydrogenation And Hydrogenolysis Using A Copper-Doped Porous Metal Oxide Catalyst, Laurene Petitjean, Raphael Gagne, Evan Beach, Dequan Xiao, Paul Anastas

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Faculty Publications

A copper-doped porous metal oxide catalyst in combination with hydrogen shows selective and quantitative hydrogenolysis of benzyl ketones and aldehydes, and hydrogenation of alkenes. The approach provides an alternative to noble-metal catalysed reductions and stoichiometric Wolff-Kishner and Clemmensen methods.

Effects Of Magnetic Fields On Magnetohydrodynamic Cylindrical And Spherical Richtmyer-Meshkov Instability, Wouter Mostert, Vincent Wheatley, Ravi Samtaney, Dale I. Pullin

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The effects of seed magnetic fields on the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability driven by converging cylindrical and spherical implosions in ideal magnetohydrodynamics are investigated. Two different seed field configurations at various strengths are applied over a cylindrical or spherical density interface which has a single-dominant-mode perturbation. The shocks that excite the instability are generated with appropriate Riemann problems in a numerical formulation and the effect of the seed field on the growth rate and symmetry of the perturbations on the density interface is examined. We find reduced perturbation growth for both field configurations and all tested strengths. The extent of growth suppression …

Ash Formation And Deposition During Oxy-Coal Combustion In A 100 Kw Laboratory Combustor With Various Flue Gas Recycle Options, Zhonghua Zhan, Andrew R. Fry, Danxi Yu, Minghou Xu, Jost O.L. Wendt

Faculty Publications

Fouling and slagging processes are important in oxy-coal combustion processes because they greatly influence heat transfer and boiler performance. Ash partitioning processes are precursors to deposition processes and so in order to predict the latter one must have a good understanding of the former. This work involves a 100 kW rated down-fired oxy-fuel combustor outfitted with sophisticated ash aerosol and ash deposit sampling equipment. The work differs from that previously published, in that here we focus on the effects of changes in the composition and amounts of actual recycled flue gas (RFG) streams used in oxy-coal combustion, not using once …

Probing Grain Boundary Mechanisms By In-Situ Tem, Frederic Mompiou

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

In small grained metals, specific elementary deformation mechanisms such as GB sliding, dislocation emission from GB, shear coupled GB migration, grain rotation are expected to be active. However, their relative preponderance and activation during the overall plastic deformation is still difficult to assess, mainly because identifying these mechanisms in small crystallite at the appropriate time scale is a challenge.

To that respect, in-situ TEM experiments have proven to be an adequate tool to probe the dynamics of these mechanisms.

In this talk, I would like to report observations obtained during several in-situ straining TEM experiments in small grained Al (grain …

Can It Be Measured - Fracture Toughness From Repetitive Nano-Impacts Test?, Emilio Frutos, J.L Gonzalez Carrasco, T Polcar

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

The design of coatings in the field of engineering applications aims at a progressive shift to the development of “hard but tough” coatings. The difficulty in assessing their mechanical behaviour by conventional methods is behind the growing relevance of “in situ” experiments using instrumented microindentation technique. This technique is one of the few able to investigate the mechanical properties along of whatever length range, i.e. from small volume to bulk material. Information from the load-depth curve of indentation has proven to be abundant and varied and it can be used to determine several mechanical properties such as: hardness, Young’s modulus, …

Size Effect On Fracture Toughness Of Gold Thin Films Studied By Bulge Testing, Eva Preisb, Benoit Merle, Mathias Goken

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

A versatile bulge test setup was used to perform mechanical tests on rectangular gold membranes with thicknesses ranging from 100 nm to 350nm. It can be used in a conventional way to calculate stress-strain curves and determine parameters such as residual stress and plane-strain modulus. Alternatively, the setup in Erlangen can be inserted into an atomic force microscope (AFM) which allows in-situ imaging of the topography of the deforming membrane.

In order to determine the fracture toughness K_IC of thin films, narrow crack-like slits of 10 µm length were milled into the center of the membranes by focused ion …

Mechanical And Optical Properties Of Silicon Nitride Thin Films On Glass, Lukas Simurka, Selen Erkam, Tuncay Turutoglu

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

Optical thin films have been widely used in glass coating industry for various energy saving applications such as solar control and low emissivity glasses. However, handling and processing of these systems can lead into various mechanical defects decreasing its lifetime and optical performance. Therefore, understanding and control of the mechanical properties plays an important role in thin films production. Silicon nitride is one of the most commonly used materials in the optical systems. Its high refractive index and good mechanical properties provide different functionalities. It can be used as a buffer layer for tuning of the optical performance or as …