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To understand the relationship between the damage mechanism of sapphire and the anisotropic characteristic of its crystal structure, in-situ scratch tests under the confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) were performed along different directions of C-plane sapphire wafer. The relation between in-situ images and normal/lateral forces was established. Craters in front of the contact region (CR) between the indenter and the material, and subsurface special cracks separated from CR were observed. As the scratch direction changed, these special cracks and craters initiated and propagated on the left front, front, and right front of the CR, respectively. The scratch phenomena in different scratch directions exhibited triple symmetric characteristic around the c-axis. The probability of slip/twinning activation and the theoretical stress field in front of the indenter were calculated to investigate the fracture mechanism of sapphire. Craters and those special cracks appeared in the region with the highest probability of rhombohedral twinning and basal twinning activation, respectively. According to the theoretical stress field, the material ahead of the indenter axis was separated into regions I and II. Craters in front of the CR and those special cracks separated from the CR appeared in these two regions, respectively.

Numerical modeling of aircraft composites dynamic failure is a relevant and wide subject. This research concentrates on the barely visible impact damage that is caused by a low-velocity impact with a steel striker. The one-side crack model is verified on experimental data for short energy pulse on glass. An impact of steel striker and unidirectional composite rib was modeled, several sizes of striker and values of impact energy from to are considered. Several failure criteria were considered: Tsai–Hill, Tsai–Wu, Drucker–Prager, Hashin, Puck, LaRC03, LaRC04. Analysis of crack directions for the largest principal stress criterion and the Puck criterion was conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a brake cylinder coating comprising composite material of Fe3Al and Cr3C2 mixed powder was prepared by laser cladding onto carbon structural steel. The microstructure of the cladding materials was investigated through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The influence mechanism of the Cr3C2 content and process parameters on crack generation of Fe3Al/Cr3C2 composites were studied. The crack is mainly caused by the mismatch between the plastic phase of Fe2AlCr, the brittle phase of Fe3Al, and Cr7C3 in the cladding layer. With the increase in Cr3C2 content, Fe2AlCr and Cr7C3 in the cladding layer increased, while Fe3Al decreased. When the content of Cr7C3 is low, the cladding layer mainly reflects the plastic increase brought by Fe2AlCr; when the content of Cr7C3 is too much, the property of the cladding layer is reflected as the brittleness of Cr7C3. The number of cracks reached the lowest value at 15 wt.%. The process parameters mainly affect the dilution rate of the cladding layer and thus affect the content of Fe2AlCr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Control of rock failure under stress wave loading is challenging but important to mitigate the negative impacts of underground excavation on the environment (e.g., rock overbreak and ground vibration). This study reports that dynamically amplified expansion pressure from expansive mortar is an effective and efficient solution to promote the dynamic failure of brittle rock. Our experimental and numerical results reveal that the expansion pressure amplified by stress wave loading facilitates the dynamic failure surrounding the expansive mortar, accompanied by the generation of tangential and radial cracks and the attenuation of stress wave. Our data also show that the dynamically amplified expansion pressure is larger than the radial inertia stress and dominates crack generation in the unconfined rock, but the pressurization capacity of expansive mortar should be improved for the rock fracturing application in confined rock. The application of expansive mortar fundamentally modifies the brittleness of surrounding rock under stress wave loading, resulting in changes in failure mode. However, the application of expansive mortar to control rock dynamic failure should be further investigated in field studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crack resistance performance by oxidation must be considered in rubber product development because cracks are the starting point for fracture. When rubber is stretched extensively, mechanical stresses can break apart its molecular chains, generating radicals and promoting mechanochemical oxidation. This reaction is one of the causes of cracking. However, it is not fully understood how cracks are formed in vulcanized rubber with an inhomogeneous crosslinking structure. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanomechanics has been utilized to observe vulcanized butadiene rubber in an elongated state. It was shown that crack generation is related to mechanochemical oxidation, and that the cracks could be clearly visualized as stress-concentrated regions at the nanoscale. Additionally, crack formation is accelerated with increasing elongation of the rubber. This demonstrates that AFM nanomechanics is an effective tool for observation of the generation of cracks associated with mechanochemical oxidation in rubber materials. [Display omitted] • Crack generation was investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanomechanics. • Cracks were generated from stress-concentrated regions in the nanoscale. • Elongation and oxygen in the air cause crack generation. • Crack generation was accelerated with an increasing elongation ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improvement in the efficiency of diamond tools is inextricably linked with the use of high-strength heat-resistant diamond grains for tooling. Hence, study of the effect exerted by heat treatment on changes in the mechanical characteristics of diamonds produced in various growth systems is a relevant task. The effect of heat treatment (in an inert atmosphere) of diamond powders produced in growth systems using ferroalloys to dissolve carbon and promote the conversion of graphite into diamond on the mechanical characteristics of diamonds and elemental composition of inclusions formed on the crystal surfaces during heat treatment is examined. Following heat treatment in the range 700–1100°C, inclusions are observed on the crystal surfaces in diamonds produced in the Fe–Co–C and Fe–Ni–C growth systems. In our opinion, the effect results from ejection of the liquid metal phase to the surface by capillary forces. In crystals with a higher content of inclusions, the phenomenon of capillary ejection is manifested at lower temperatures than the melting of carbon solvent alloys in the diamond growth process. This is confirmed by a sharp change in the specific magnetic susceptibility shown by the samples with a high content of intracrystalline inclusions in the temperature range 400–800°C. For diamonds with a high content of intracrystalline inclusions, with increase in the heat treatment temperature in the range 700–1100°C, the precipitation of the solvent alloy on the surface of diamond crystals leads to crack generation and decreases the strength of diamond crystals. For diamond samples with a low content of inclusions, when the heat treatment temperature increases to 800°C, the specific magnetic susceptibility and strength hardly change (taking into account the relative error of the data obtained). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most existing freight railway tunnels have experienced basement cracking, damage, and even mud-pumping after a certain period of operation. For heavy-haul railway tunnels with high traffic densities, large capacities, and large axle loads, this situation will be more serious. This paper establishes a simplified model of a single-track heavy-haul railway tunnel using the two-dimensional particle discrete element method. The meso-evolution process of the concrete structure and surrounding rock void at the bottom of the tunnel is studied in the later stages of repeated loading by heavy-haul trains. The difference in the base void between waterless and water-saturated bases is compared. The cracks in the surrounding rock are first generated at the lowest position of the invert center, and run from the middle to the sides and from the top to the bottom. The terminal cracks return to the free surface, exhibiting a parabolic shape that opens upward. There are more cracks in the middle and fewer at the sides. The asynchronous deformation of the surrounding rock and the inverted arch is positively correlated with the number of cracks. The voiding process under water-saturated conditions is similar to that without water, but the depth and width over which the rock mass is crushed and the range of voiding increase exponentially in the water-saturated case, and the void appears earlier. It is anticipated that these research results will contribute to the structural design and operational safety of heavy-haul railway tunnels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The change in resistance upon bending in metal films as thick as 1 mm used for underpanel force touch applications is limited by the low sensitivity, thus requiring high-performance readout circuitry. In this paper, we report inkjet-printed silver thin films having crack-inducing underlayers, which further increases the sensitivity of their resistance changes under deformation. This allows for detecting weak vertical forces even through the plates (force-receiving layer), such as 0.4 or 1.2 mm thick polyethylene terephthalate or 0.4 mm thick glass. The underplate sensors will detect a force level as low as 10 gf, which corresponds to the amount of force required for fingerprint recognition. Furthermore, such highly sensitive strain sensors can potentially solve the inaccuracy issue of wearable devices, which can occur when misplaced sensors detect relatively weak biosignals, such as heart rate and blood pressure. The sensor detects the accurate pulse patterns of the wrist artery even though it is off-centered from the artery by 6 mm or larger. The crack-based strain sensor and its usage as a hidden underplate force sensing device will create various wearable and user-machine interface applications.