Search

Environment effects in plasticity and fracture of metals, well studied for several decades, still pose many unanswered questions. A micro-mechanics explanation of how dislocation activity is influenced by the material surface state, that can answer these questions, has been elusive. We build on a recently discovered effect in metal cutting – organic monolayer embrittlement (OME) – wherein metal surfaces are rendered brittle by long-chain organic adsorbates, to explore how material state variables influence surface plasticity and fracture. In particular, cutting experiments with Al containing Self Assembled Monolayers (SAMs), show that the OME is controlled by surface stress (f) induced by the adsorbates. This is contrary to many instances of environment-assisted fracture which are usually attributed to surface energy changes, and wherein f is largely ignored. Other contributions include (a) a cantilever technique to measure surface stress, (b) demonstration of strong effect of SAM molecule chain length on f, (c) characterization of how dislocation activity at crack-tips is affected by adsorbate-induced f, and (d) large improvements in machining processes enabled by controlled environment-assisted fracture. We make the case that surface stress, due to adsorbates, likely influences all environmentally assisted cracking (EAC) phenomena, warranting a revisit of extant models of EAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel, hand-held Reference Point Indentation (RPI) instrument, measures how well the bone of living patients and large animals resists indentation. The results presented here are reported in terms of Bone Material Strength, which is a normalized measure of how well the bone resists indentation, and is inversely related to the indentation distance into the bone. We present examples of the instrument's use in: (1) laboratory experiments on bone, including experiments through a layer of soft tissue, (2) three human clinical trials, two ongoing in Barcelona and at the Mayo Clinic, and one completed in Portland, OR, and (3) two ongoing horse clinical trials, one at Purdue University and another at Alamo Pintado Stables in California. The instrument is capable of measuring consistent values when testing through soft tissue such as skin and periosteum, and does so handheld, an improvement over previous Reference Point Indentation instruments. Measurements conducted on horses showed reproducible results when testing the horse through tissue or on bare bone. In the human clinical trials, reasonable and consistent values were obtained, suggesting the Osteoprobe® is capable of measuring Bone Material Strength in vivo, but larger studies are needed to determine the efficacy of the instrument's use in medical diagnosis.

We have proposed a self-stabilizing algorithm to synchronize multiple digital clocks in a distributed system; whenever any of the clock values gets out of synchronization for any reason, the algorithm is automatically invoked and the system is brought back to a legitimate state in finite time. Key Words: Self-stabilization, distributed system, digital clocks, synchronization, symmetric graph.

Modulation-assisted machining (MAM) superimposes a controlled, low-frequency oscillation in the feed direction of conventional machining (CM). The process transforms the otherwise continuous cutting into a series of interrupted cutting events. As a result, the tool is subject to time-varying temperature field in MAM. This paper proposes an analytical model for predicting the transient tool temperature in MAM. Chip formation during MAM is studied to investigate the time-varying undeformed chip thickness. The heat flux in MAM is determined based on a non-equal distance shear zone model. A reduction in specific energy due to modulation is also considered. Then, the tool is modeled as a semi-infinite rectangular corner, and a Green's function approach is applied for calculating the temperature. The analytical results are compared with finite element modeling (FEM). A set of cylindrical turning experiments is carried out with and without modulation, showing the discrete chip formation in MAM and related reduction in tool temperature. The analytical model provides a framework for characterizing the effect of the process parameters on applications for modulation-assisted machining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Annealed metals are surprisingly difficult to cut, involving high forces and an unusually thick "chip." This anomaly has long been explained, based on ex situ observations, using a model of smooth plastic flow with uniform shear to describe material removal by chip formation. Here we show that this phenomenon is actually the result of a fundamentally different collective deformation mode--sinuous flow. Using in situ imaging, we find that chip formation occurs via large-amplitude folding, triggered by surface undulations of a characteristic size. The resulting fold patterns resemble those observed in geophysics and complex fluids. Our observations establish sinuous flow as another mesoscopic deformation mode, alongside mechanisms such as kinking and shear banding. Additionally, by suppressing the triggering surface undulations, sinuous flow can be eliminated, resulting in a drastic reduction of cutting forces. We demonstrate this suppression quite simply by the application of common marking ink on the free surface of the workpiece material before the cutting. Alternatively, prehardening a thin surface layer of the workpiece material shows similar results. Besides obvious implications to industrialmachining and surface generation processes, our results also help unify a number of disparate observations in the cutting of metals, including the so-called Rehbinder effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]