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The present Ph.D. thesis provides a comprehensive experimental and theoretical study of the bulging-cracking relationship in laser beam welding of thick unalloyed steel sheets. It focuses on experimentally proving the existence of the bulging region and on developing a coupled multiphysics mathematical framework to analyze its influence on the three critical factors controlling the susceptibility to solidification cracking, namely the thermal, metallurgical, and mechanical factors.
The research employs a novel experimental setup, utilizing a combination of transparent quartz glass and thick unalloyed steel sheet, enabling real-time visualization of the weld pool geometry and confirming the existence of a distinctive bulging region. To deepen the understanding of these experimental insights, an extensive multiphysics mathematical framework was developed and rigorously verified and validated. This framework introduces an innovative approach using Lamé curves for accurately describing complex three-dimensional weld pool geometries, including the bulging region's characteristics. Through analytical solutions and numerical procedures, it facilitates the computation of solidification parameters, which are crucial for understanding the metallurgical aspects of crack formation. The framework also incorporates a mechanical model to assess and evaluate the local stress distribution within the bulging region.
The findings indicate that an elongated, sharply shaped bulging region significantly increases the susceptibility to solidification cracking. This is attributed to its adverse impact on the distribution and local dwell time of liquid metal residing at grain boundaries during solidification, combined with the localized tensile stresses identified in the bulging region.
In essence, this research contributes to the broader understanding of solidification cracking in laser beam welding of thick unalloyed steel sheets, with a particular focus on the bulging region. The insights and methodologies developed in this thesis are valuable for future research and advancements in the application of the laser beam welding technology for joining high-thickness unalloyed steel components.
Additive manufacturing (AM) offers significantly greater freedom of design compared to conventional manufacturing processes since the final parts are built layer by layer. This enables metal AM, also known as metal 3D printing, to be utilized for improving efficiency and functionality, for the production of parts with very complex geometries, and rapid prototyping. However, despite many technological advancements made in recent years, several challenges hinder the mass adoption of metal AM. One of these challenges is mechanical anisotropy which describes the dependency of material properties on the material orientation. Therefore, in this work, stainless steel 316L parts produced by laser-based powder bed fusion are used to isolate and understand the root cause of anisotropy in AM parts. Furthermore, an efficient and accurate multiscale numerical framework is presented for predicting the deformation behavior of actual AM parts on the macroscale undergoing large plastic deformations. Finally, a novel constitutive model for the plastic spin is formulated to capture the influence of the microstructure evolution on the material behavior on the macroscale.
Concrete is the most important human-made material because it serves as the basis of our built environment. Since the properties of concretes are dominated by their key compound, cement, devising a way to determine the cement’s origin, known as provenancing, is of great importance for answering different provenance-related questions. These questions range from liability issues when damage occurs to concrete-made structures, to forensic investigations where cement particles are found at crime scenes. This thesis showcases the use of isotope techniques to answer these provenance-related questions. Conventional 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd isotope and elemental ratios consisting of Ca, Sr, K, Mn, Mg, and Ti are used as fingerprints for ordinary Portland cement (OPC) provenancing. The first part of this thesis describes research previously conducted in fingerprinting cementitious materials, providing an overview of provenance studies of cement and the main approaches commonly used. In several studies, the origin of clinker for certain locations was determined via different approaches. However, clinker is an intermediate product, which is available only at the production site and therefore, the practical relevance is rather limited. Furthermore, the use of Sr and Nd isotope systems, together with elemental fingerprints are presented as state of the art in the field. Therein, the principal approach for the overall study is sketched. For the second part of the study, a sample preparation technique for Sr isotopes in Portland cement was developed. The aim was to find the most appropriate sample preparation procedure for cement provenancing and selection was realised by comparing the 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratios of differently treated OPCs with those of the corresponding clinkers. Based on these findings, the third part of the study focused on the measurements of Sr and Nd isotope ratios, together with elemental ratios, to establish a reliable technique for OPC provenancing. The outcomes of this final stage are then used to establish a procedure for fingerprinting cements. This becomes possible with the use of Sr and Nd isotope ratios and geochemical profiles. To perform isotope ratio measurements and obtain reliable data, it was necessary to establish a quality control procedure. Thus, an interlaboratory comparison (ILC) was organised to characterise 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratios in geological and industrial reference materials by applying the conventional method for 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratios. As reference material, four cements (VDZ 100a, VDZ 200a, VDZ 300a, IAG OPC-1), one limestone (IAG/CGL ML-3) and one slate (IAG OU-6) were selected, thus covering a wide range of Sr isotope signatures.
Additive manufacturing processes offer extensive advantages for the design freedom of structures through layer-by-layer production. This enables high weight savings as well as the integration of functions such as cooling channels. This technology thus offers great potential to contribute to a sustainable future. The pioneer among these manufacturing processes is the powder bed fusion of metals with laser beams (PBF-LB/M). This process is characterised by high laser scanning speeds and highly localised heat input, which have a strong effect on the microstructure and thus also on the mechanical properties. For example, the austenitic steel 316L exhibits a cellular structure at the subgrain level. This microstructure feature leads to higher yield strengths and comparable ductility to conventionally processed 316L. In addition to the traditional applications of 316L steel in the petrochemical and nuclear industries, this enables new applications such as medical stents or bipolar plates for fuel cells with proton exchange membranes. However, the layer-by-layer production with high scanning speeds and localised heat input induces cooling rates in the order of 106 K.s-1. The large temperature gradients and the shrinkage restraints of each weld bead and layer lead to the development of complex residual stress fields. These reduce the material performance and can even lead to premature failure. Thus, the fatigue properties are severely affected by rapid crack growth or prematurely developing cracks. Furthermore, specimens may warp during PBF-LB/M or immediately when the components are separated from the build plate. Therefore, residual stress is one of the main disadvantages of PBF-LB/M, making it difficult for this technology to be more widely accepted in the industry. Based on the current state of the literature, the procedure for determining residual stress employing diffraction methods, the influence of the component geometry, as well as the inter-layertime (ILT) on residual stress and, lastly, suitable heat treatment strategies for relaxing residual stress in PBF-LB/M/316L, were identified as insufficiently researched areas.
Determining residual stress is a major challenge. X-ray and neutron diffraction are particularly suitable for filigree structures, which can preferably be produced using PBF-LB/M. Here, the microscopic strain of the lattice planes is used to calculate the macroscopic residual stress. These methods are nondestructive and allow the spatial resolution of the bi-axial and tri-axial residual stress. In the present work, in-situ neutron diffraction tensile tests were performed to analyse the micromechanical behaviour of PBF-LB/M/316L. The suitability of the lattice planes for calculating the macroscopic residual stress was investigated. The (311) lattice plane was found to be the best option for determining the macroscopic residual stress in PBF-LB/M/316L. Furthermore, it was shown that the Kröner model can be used to calculate the X-ray diffraction constants despite the texture. Currently, both aspects are common practices in the determination of residual stress. The results presented here support the validity of this approach and increase the confidence in the experimentally determined residual stress, which has a positive effect on the assessment of quality concerning the safety of a component manufactured by PBF-LB/M.
The geometry of a structure manufactured by PBF-LB/M determines the component stiffness and influences the thermal gradients during manufacture and ultimately the residual stress. The effect of smaller or larger dimensions (larger than 10 mm) on the residual stress is rarely considered. To investigate this aspect, representative test specimens with different thicknesses and lengths were produced. Hence, the influence of the geometry i.e., component stiffness on the residual stress was evaluated. The residual stress was determined using X-ray and neutron diffraction. The analysis of the residual stress showed that an increase in thickness leads to overall higher residual stress. In addition, it was shown that increasing the sample dimension leads to smaller residual stress gradients. Above a threshold value of a few millimetres, no significant change in the residual stress was observed.
The ILT is inherent in every PBF-LB/M construction job and influences the thermal gradients during production and thus the residual stress. A change in wall thickness in a geometrically complex structure or a variation in the number of specimens in the construction process leads directly to a change in the ILT. To simulate this, specimens with different ILT were produced. The residual stress was determined by X-ray and neutron diffraction. The use of a short ILT resulted in higher surface residual stress, but lower volume residual stress. Here, the surface residual stress and the residual stress in the volume showed contrary behaviour. This was attributed to the complex heat conduction during the process, as shown by the thermographic measurements.
To avoid distortion of the specimens or real components upon separation from the build plate or during post-processing steps, stress relief annealing is usually performed after the PBF-LB/M process. Based on standards for heat treatment of welded austenitic steels, heat treatments were performed at low (450 °C for four hours) and high (800 °C and 900 °C for one hour) temperatures. The results show that the heat treatment at 450 °C relaxed the residual stress by only 5 %. This low relaxation is due to the stability of the cell structures. The high-temperature heat treatment showed that 900 °C is required to dissolve the cell structure and achieve a relaxation of about 85 %. This result is in good agreement with the standards for stress relief annealing of welded austenitic steels.
Even though we often do not knowingly recognize them, nanoparticles are present these days in most areas of our daily life, including food and its packaging, medicine, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, pigments as well as electronic products, such as computer screens. The majority of these particles exhibits a core-shell morphology either intendedly or unintendedly. For the purpose of practicability, this core-shell nanoparticle (CSNP) morphology is often assumed to be ideal, namely a spherical core fully encapsulated by a shell of homogeneous thickness with a sharp interface between core and shell material. It is furthermore widely presumed that all nanoparticles in the sample possess the same shell thickness. As a matter of fact, most real CSNPs deviate in several ways from this ideal model with quite often severe impact on how efficiently they perform in a specific application.
The topic of this cumulative PhD thesis is the accurate characterization of the actual morphology of CSNPs by advanced X-ray analytical techniques, namely X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM). A special focus is on CSNPs which deviate from an ideal core-shell morphology. In the paper from 2019 nanoparticle shell thicknesses are extracted from the elastic-peak intensities in an XPS spectrum based on an ideal particle morphology. This happens for a series of CSNP samples comprising a poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) core and either a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) or polystyrene (PS) shell. The same paper as well as the paper from 2020 demonstrate for the first time, that the analysis of the inelastic background in an XPS spectrum of CSNPs can identify and quantify the heterogeneity of the shell and the incomplete encapsulation of the core.
The result from an XPS experiment is always an average across a large nanoparticle ensemble. Deviations from an ideal morphology within a single particle of the sample cannot be assessed separately. As opposed to that, a spatial resolution of 35 nm enables STXM to visualize the interior of single CSNPs which exhibit a sufficient X-ray absorption contrast between core and shell material. In the paper from 2018 a STXM analysis is demonstrated based on the example of the PTFE-PS CSNP samples already mentioned in the previous paragraph.
In the publication from 2021 (Ca/Sr)F₂ core-shell like nanoparticle ensembles for the practical use in, among others, antireflective coatings are investigated. These nanoparticles do not possess a sharp interface between core and shell material, which is why a shell thickness determination as described in the second paragraph is inappropriate. Instead, in-depth profiles of the chemical composition are obtained by XPS experiments based on synchrotron radiation with variable X-ray photon energy to elucidate the internal morphology of the particles. Additionally, theoretical in-depth profiles of Ca and Sr XPS peak intensities are simulated, in order to facilitate the interpretation of the experiments. Thus, an enrichment of CaF₂ at the particle surface was determined, which could hardly have been assessed by any other analytical technique. Because this kind of non-destructive depth profiling by XPS is very demanding, more than usual effort is spent on gapless documentation of the experiments to ensure full reproducibility.
Due to the vast diversity of nanoparticles differing in material, composition and shape, a measurement procedure cannot unalteredly be transferred from one sample to another. Nevertheless, because the papers in this thesis present a greater depth of reporting on the experiments than comparable publications, they constitute an important guidance for other scientists on how to obtain meaningful information about CSNPs from surface analysis.
Additive manufacturing technologies provide unique possibilities in the production of topologically optimized, near-net shape components. The main limiting factors affecting the structural integrity of Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) parts are manufacturing defects and residual stress (RS) because both of them are virtually inevitable. Taking into account the complex thermal history of LPBF materials, a prediction of the material behavior is not possible without experimental data on the microstructure, defect distribution, and RS fields. Therefore, this thesis aims to understand the factors that influence the LPBF Ti-6Al-4V material performance the most, covering both the production and the post-processing steps of manufacturing.
Indeed, a parametric study on the influence of manufacturing process and post-processing on RS, defects and microstructure was performed. It was found that the volumetric energy Density (EV), commonly used for the LPBF process optimization, does neither consider the pore shapes and distribution, nor the influence of individual parameters on the volume fraction of pores.
Therefore, it was recommended not to use EV without great care. It was shown that the Position on the base plate has a great impact on the amount of RS in the part.
The micromechanical behavior of LPBF Ti-6Al-4V was also studied using in-situ Synchrotron X-ray diffraction during tensile and compression tests. Diffraction elastic constants (DEC), connecting macroscopic stress and (micro) strain, of the LPBF Ti-6Al-4V showed a difference
from the DEC of conventionally manufactured alloy. This fact was attributed to the peculiar microstructure and crystallographic texture. It was therefore recommended to determine experimentally DECs whenever possible.
Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF) tests at a chosen operating temperature were performed to evaluate the effect of post-treatment on the mechanical performance. Through the information on the microstructure, the mesostructure, and the RS, the LCF behavior was (indirectly) correlated to the process parameters. It was found that the fatigue performance of LPBF samples subjected to hot isostatic pressing is similar to that of hot-formed Ti-6Al-4V. The tensile RS found at the
surface of LPBF as-built samples decreased the fatigue life compared to the heat-treated samples. The modification of the microstructure (by heat treatment) did not affect the Fatigue performance in the elastic regime. This shows that in the absence of tensile RS, the manufacturing defects solely control the failure of LPBF components and densification has the strongest effect on the improvement of the mechanical performance.
In this work, two X-ray refraction based imaging methods, namely, synchrotron X-ray refraction radiography (SXRR) and synchrotron X-ray refraction computed tomography (SXRCT), are applied to analyze quantitatively cracks and porosity in metallic materials.
SXRR and SXRCT make use of the refraction of X-rays at inner surfaces of the material, e.g., the surfaces of cracks and pores, for image contrast. Both methods are, therefore, sensitive to smaller defects than their absorption based counterparts X-ray radiography and computed tomography. They can detect defects of nanometric size.
So far the methods have been applied to the analysis of ceramic materials and fiber reinforced plastics. The analysis of metallic materials requires higher photon energies to achieve sufficient X-ray transmission due to their higher density. This causes smaller refraction angles and, thus, lower image contrast because the refraction index depends on the photon energy. Here, for the first time, a conclusive study is presented exploring the possibility to apply SXRR and SXRCT to metallic materials. It is shown that both methods can be optimized to overcome the reduced contrast due to smaller refraction angles. Hence, the only remaining limitation is the achievable X-ray Transmission which is common to all X-ray imaging methods. Further, a model for the quantitative analysis of the inner surfaces is presented and verified.
For this purpose four case studies are conducted each posing a specific challenge to the imaging task. Case study A investigates cracks in a coupon taken from an aluminum weld seam. This case study primarily serves to verify the model for quantitative analysis and prove the sensitivity to sub-resolution features. In case study B, the
damage evolution in an aluminum-based particle reinforced metal-matrix composite is analyzed. Here, the accuracy and repeatability of subsequent SXRR measurements is investigated showing that measurement errors of less than 3% can be achieved. Further, case study B marks the fist application of SXRR in combination with in-situ tensile loading. Case study C is out of the highly topical field of additive manufacturing. Here, porosity in additively manufactured Ti-Al6-V4 is analyzed with a special interest in the pore morphology. A classification scheme based on SXRR measurements is devised which allows to distinguish binding defects from keyhole pores even if the defects cannot be spatially resolved. In case study D, SXRCT is applied to the analysis of hydrogen assisted cracking in steel. Due to the high X-ray attenuation of steel a comparatively high photonenergy of 50 keV is required here. This causes increased noise and lower contrast in the data compared to the other case studies. However, despite the lower data quality a quantitative analysis of the occurance of cracks in dependence of hydrogen content and applied mechanical load is possible.
Additive Manufacturing (AM) in terms of laser powder-bed fusion (L-PBF) offers new prospects regarding the design of parts and enables therefore the production of lattice structures. These lattice structures shall be implemented in various industrial applications (e.g. gas turbines) for reasons of material savings or cooling
channels. However, internal defects, residual stress, and structural deviations from the nominal geometry are unavoidable.
In this work, the structural integrity of lattice structures manufactured by means of L-PBF was non-destructively investigated on a multiscale approach.
A workflow for quantitative 3D powder analysis in terms of particle size, particle shape, particle porosity, inter-particle distance and packing density was established.
Synchrotron computed tomography (CT) was used to correlate the packing
density with the particle size and particle shape. It was also observed that at least about 50% of the powder porosity was released during production of the struts.
Struts are the component of lattice structures and were investigated by means of laboratory CT. The focus was on the influence of the build angle on part porosity and surface quality. The surface topography analysis was advanced by the quantitative characterisation of re-entrant surface features. This characterisation was compared with conventional surface parameters showing their complementary
information, but also the need for AM specific surface parameters.
The mechanical behaviour of the lattice structure was investigated with in-situ CT under compression and successive digital volume correlation (DVC). The Deformation was found to be knot-dominated, and therefore the lattice folds unit cell layer wise.
The residual stress was determined experimentally for the first time in such lattice structures. Neutron diffraction was used for the non-destructive 3D stress investigation. The principal stress directions and values were determined in dependence of the number of measured directions. While a significant uni-axial stress state was found in the strut, a more hydrostatic stress state was found in the knot. In both cases, strut and knot, seven directions were at least needed to
find reliable principal stress directions.
Polyaniline/Silicon Dioxide Composite-Based Coating for Corrosion Protection in Geothermal Systems
(2020)
Geothermal energy is one of the cleanest renewable alternatives to reduce the dependency on fossil fuel [1, 2]. Despite its promising future, its implementation faces various challenges, one of them being corrosion processes. To implement this energy, hot fluids are pumped from a geothermal well. These hot fluids originate from deep within the earth, so consist of different ionic species and gases in a wide range of temperatures, which lead to their corrosive nature. In terms of geothermal energy resources, Indonesia is at the forefront, with the highest preserved geothermal energy in the world of about 29 GWe and 312 potential geothermal locations [3]. Geothermal wells in Sibayak (North Sumatera), Indonesia, belong to young stratovolcanoes and have operating temperatures varying from 36 °C at the near ground surface to 310 °C at the bottom of the well, which is liquid-dominated with acidic and saline properties [4, 5]. Therefore, this geothermal fluid creates an aggressive environment that is conducive to corrosion of the powerplant infrastructure.
Parts of the geothermal powerplant infrastructure, such as pipelines and heat exchangers, are commonly made of metals, e.g. carbon steel and stainless steel. Consequently, they may undergo corrosion and scaling when exposed to the geothermal fluid, especially for carbon steel. To ensure the safety and longevity of a geothermal powerplant, the infrastructure is constructed of expensive corrosion resistant alloys [6–10], e.g., titanium and Ni-Cr based alloys, or carbon steel which needs to be protected by coatings or inhibitors.
To address the corrosion of carbon steel in the geothermal environment, artificial geothermal water was used to simulate a geothermal well in Sibayak, Indonesia, with pH 4 and a saline composition of 1,500 mg/l Cl-, 20 mg/l SO42-, 15 mg/l HCO3-, 200 mg/l Ca2+, 250 mg/l K+, and 600 mg/l Na+. Carbon steel underwent the most severe corrosion at 150°C in an oxygen-containing solution with a corrosion rate of 0.34 mm/year, which is approximately ten times higher than that in the absence of dissolved oxygen. In all conditions, pitting corrosion was observed, which necessitate a protection strategy on carbon steel. In order to promote a cost effective and locally available option, this work focused on an easily applicable coating which utilized local resources.
Toward developing such protective coating based on the locally available resources in Indonesia which can yield good corrosion resistance and thermal stability in geothermal environment, two additional components, i.e. polyaniline (PANI) and silicon dioxide, were used to modify an alkyd-based commercial coating. The selection of the alkyd-based coating as a matrix focused on the industrial convenience basis, where the coating application procedure should be simple and easy to apply within reasonable costs. The alkyd-based coating underwent severe blistering when exposed to the artificial geothermal water at 70 and 150°C due to the reaction between CaCO3 (as one of its components) and the artificial geothermal water, as well as a possible alkyd hydrolysis in the initial stage of exposure. In the oxygen-free solution, the degradation was controlled by chemical and thermal reactions, whereas in the aerated condition, oxidization at the coating surface further accelerated polymer degradation.
PANI was chosen as one of the anticorrosion pigments which was widely developed over the past decades. To investigate the interaction between PANI and the artificial geothermal water, PANI film was electrochemically deposited on the carbon steel surface and exposed to the artificial geothermal water. Electrochemically synthesized oxalate-doped PANI was protective against corrosion of carbon steel in artificial geothermal water at room temperature. The mechanism involved an exchange of electroactive species within the coating layer, as confirmed by electrochemical impedance spectra. Interaction of ionic species, such as Cl-, Na+, Ca2+ from the artificial geothermal water, with the outer layer of PANI is suggested both at 25°C and 150°C, based on the EDX spectra of the coating surface after exposure to the artificial geothermal water. Thus, the protection mechanism of PANI is not solely based on the physical barrier layer properties, but rather associated with the redox mediated properties of PANI, which selectively allow ionic species intrusion from the electrolyte into the PANI layer. Although PANI is a promising candidate as an anticorrosion coating, its morphological characterization reveals that electrochemically deposited PANI is not stable for an application at 150°C. Therefore, another approach was used to promote better protective behavior of PANI by dispersing chemically synthesized PANI in the alkyd-based coating.
To enhance the thermal stability of the coating, silicon dioxide (SiO2) was added, which was able to prolong the sustainability of coated metals until 28 days compared to the unmodified alkyd-based coating, which underwent a change in color to brown/orange only within 7 days of exposure. This improvement might be associated with the role of SiO2 to proportionate the thermal expansion coefficient of the coating system to be compatible with that of carbon steel. Although the coating is thermally enhanced, the electrolyte might still intrude through the coating resulting in the change of coating color after 28 days of exposure in the artificial geothermal water. When PANI was added, the coating system provided an active corrosion protection on the carbon steel surface. The chemical and morphological characterization of the PANI-alkyd and SiO2-alkyd coating system showed that coatings were improved, and no blisters were observed, albeit the degradation continued. Based on the results of exposure tests, the combined coating system was further investigated.
The combinational coating of PANI/SiO2-alkyd was used with 2 wt% of PANI and 15 wt% of SiO2. Electrochemical tests indicated cathodic protection at 150°C, as the Ecorr of PANI/SiO2 remained approximately 400 mV lower than the carbon steel potential. The impedance spectra of the combinational coating of PANI/SiO2 showed a continuous decrease in the absolute impedance value over time. A significant decrease was observed within one day of exposure, followed by a slow gradual decrease, which might be associated with water absorption in the coating. FTIR spectra revealed that several peaks associated with the organic portion of the coatings were reduced after the specimens were exposed for 6 months. However, the absorption peaks related to the inorganic portion of the coatings remained stable until 6 months. Morphological characterization of the combinational coating of PANI/SiO2 showed that there were no blisters or significant discoloration of coatings after long-term exposure for 6 months in artificial geothermal water at 150°C, indicating that the chemical degradation does not significantly affect the functionality of the coating. This clearly shows the durability of PANI/SiO2 coating in the geothermal condition, suggesting that this coating can be used for such geothermal application. However, further testing of this coating should be conducted in a real geothermal environment on-site to ensure safety and viability.
Environmental Stress Cracking (ESC) and Slow Crack Growth (SCG) of PE-HD induced by external fluids
(2020)
High-density polyethylene (PE-HD) is widely used as a packaging material. Typical applications are pipes and containers for storage and transport of dangerous goods. For these applications, the understanding of the craze-crack damage mechanisms slow crack growth (SCG) and environmental stress cracking (ESC) is of importance. Since these mechanisms are considered to be the major causes of failure, their understanding is essential for inspection and release of those materials.
A well-established test method for the assessment of these damage mechanisms is the full-notch creep test (FNCT). It is used in this study for a detailed investigation of crack propagation phenomena in PE-HD container materials under the influence of different fluids such as air, water and aqueous detergent solutions (Arkopal N 100) as well as biodiesel and diesel. Based on the results of the FNCT, a classification scheme of different fluids is proposed, which allows for an assignment of the respective damage mechanisms. Hereby, it is differentiated between (i) inert, (ii) purely surface-active and (iii) additionally sorptive, bulk-active fluids with respect to SCG. If the test fluid changes the intrinsic properties (at the surface or in the bulk), the damage mechanism is addressed to ESC behavior.
In FNCT investigations, stress, temperature and specimen geometry were varied systematically. In addition to the time to failure as common measure for the resistance of a PE-HD type against crack propagation, specimen elongation was considered in detail.
Several imaging techniques were applied for fracture surface analysis of specimens tested in FNCT to gain novel information on SCG and ESC behavior. From height profiles obtained by laser scanning microscopy (LSM) and information on surface structures from scanning electron microscopy (SEM), indicators for the differentiation of the crack propagation mechanisms could be derived. Based on the LSM data, an algorithm for the distinction between ductile shear deformation and brittle crack growth as dominating failure mechanism was developed. Imaging techniques were also used for determination of crack propagation rates, which were related to time-resolved FNCT elongation data. From the time-resolved determination of crack lengths of partly damaged FNCT specimens, an increasing length of craze zone with a progressively propagating crack was revealed for the first time. This relation of crack and craze zones was specified by fracture mechanical considerations.