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155
High-strength steels are favoured materials in the industry for production of safe and sustainable structures. The main technology used for joining the components of such steel is fusion welding.
Steel alloy design concepts combined with advanced processing technologies have been extensively investigated during the development of High-Strength Low-Alloy (HSLA) steels. However, very few studies have addressed the issue of how various alloy designs, even with limited microalloy addition, can influence the properties of high-strength steel welds. In high-strength steel welding practices, the challenges regarding microstructure evolution and the resulting mechanical properties variation, are of great interest. The main focus is the debate regarding the role of microalloy elements on phase transformation and weld performance. Limited Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) softening and limited austenite grain coarsening are significant design essentials, but the primary goal is to ensure excellent toughness and tensile properties in the steel weld. To achieve this purpose, microalloy elements such as Ti, Nb, or V were intentionally added to modern high-strength steels. The focus of this work was to understand the mechanical properties of HSLA steels resulting from differences in alloy design after joining by modern welding processes.
To begin, three microalloyed S690QL steels (Nb, Ti, and Ti+V addition) were investigated. Optical microscopy confirmed that similar mixtures of tempered bainite and martensite predominated the parent microstructure in the three steels, different types of coarse microalloy precipitates were also visible. These precipitates were analysed by using a thermodynamic-based software and then identified by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Results of mechanical testing revealed that all three steels performed above the standard toughness and tensile strength values, but with varied yielding phenomena. During the welding operation, each of the three steels was joined by using the same filler material. The fused weld metal was influenced by the high dilution of microalloyed elements in the base metal, this was significantly pronounced during the modified spray arc welding technique. As a result, the Nb-containing steel exhibited sufficient amounts of alloy pick-up to transition the microstructure in the weld metal from acicular ferrite to bainite as cooling rate was increased, leading to reduced toughness. This was not observed with the other two steels.
A second focus was made on the microstructure Evolution and toughness properties of the coarse and fine grained HAZ as welding parameters changed. In order to characterise the microstructure and austenite grain growth behaviour, physical simulations were conducted. The microalloy precipitates were found to be a dominant factor restricting the austenite grain coarsening. The extent of Austenite coarsening in the HAZ is closely related to the type and volume fraction of each microalloy precipitate.
Among the three steels, the Ti-containing HAZ exhibited the smallest extent of grain growth due to the sufficient amount of stable Ti-rich precipitates. Microalloy Addition also markedly influenced the subsequent phase transformation in the HAZ. The formation of intragranular acicular ferrite was promoted by Ti-rich precipitate, acting as favourable nucleation sites of ferrite. This structure enhanced the HAZ toughness owing to fine, high-angle boundaries of ferrite plates. The synergistic effect of Nb and Mo elements was beneficial to improve the HAZ toughness at fast cooling rates by promoting fine lower bainite formation. At high heat input, large upper bainite was formed which caused reduced toughness.
The final set of experimental work was concentrated on understanding the HAZ softening mechanisms that influenced variations in the tensile properties of the welded joints. The tensile failure in the softened HAZ or base material depended on the welding parameters and the type of steel being joined. In Ti-containing steel, increased heat Input extended the softened zone width, which caused a significant decrease in hardness and then resulted in failure in this area. Therefore, limited heat Input was used to shift failure position to base material. But this was not observed in the other two steels.
Hence, small differences in microalloy addition exhibited large variation in tensile properties. Among the three steels, Ti-containing welds were found to have the most pronounced softening, followed by Ti+V-containing welds and finally Nb-containing welds. This varied softening phenomenon was related to two significant processes supported by the results of additional dilatometry simulation: phase transformation and tempering behaviour. In the Ti-containing steel, the phase Transformation product ferrite was large-sized, as a consequence of initial large austenite grains. This led to the decreased corresponding hardness of the Ti-containing steel. Furthermore, lower tempering resistance in Ti-containing steel as compared to Nb-containing steel, resulted in additional softening effect in the softened HAZ. Therefore, steel alloy identification and heat Input during welding were critical, proven by the experimentation within the same S690QL steel grade.
This work emphasised the influence of microalloy elements on weld microstructure and mechanical properties in welded joints. Knowledge of this delicate balance between steel alloy design and appropriate welding parameters is critical for the end product. Thus, this work provides specific recommendations and results to ensure proper welding practice and steel design of microalloyed high-strength steels.
117
Thermal and Dynamic Glass Transition in Ultrathin Films of Homopolymers and a Miscible Polymer Blend
(2014)
Nowadays nanoscale thin polymer films are widely used in many fields like coatings, membranes, sensors, electronic devices and so on. Meanwhile, a lot of research work has evidenced the fact that many physical properties (glass transition, crystallization, dewetting, physical aging, etc.) of ultrathin polymer films show strong deviations from their bulk behavior. Since the aforementioned properties of polymer are closely related to their application and functionality, the discrepancies motivated us to obtain a more complete understanding of how nanoscale confinement affects the physical properties of polymer. The research work presented in this thesis is focused on understanding how the free surface (air- polymer interface), the polymer-substrate interface and the film thickness influence the glass transition temperature (Tg) and the related segmental dynamics (α-relaxation process) in both homopolymers and miscible polymer blends of thin films. Complementary experimental techniques including Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Capacitive Scanning Dilatometry (CSD), Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy (BDS) and Specific Heat Spectroscopy (SHS) have been used to investigate the glass transition of thin polymer films from both the thermodynamic and the kinetic point of view. In the thesis the film thickness dependence of Tg and segmental dynamics of different thin polymer films have been investigated. For ultrathin polycarbonate (PC) films capped between two aluminum (Al) layers an increase of both the glass transition temperature (Tg) and Vogel temperature (T0) with decreasing film thickness (d) was observed when the thickness became lower than 20 nm. The segmental relaxation time at a fixed temperature was found to increase for the ultrathin PC film of 19 nm measured by BDS, whereas no thickness dependency of the segmental dynamics was detected within the experimental error limit for the PC films supported on silicon dioxide (SiO2) (10-192 nm) in the SHS measurements. These properties are discussed in terms of the thin film geometry and the relevant interfacial interaction between the polymer and the substrate. In the case of thin polystyrene (PS) films with high molecular weight (Mw), Tg is decreasing with reducing film thickness while the segmental dynamics is independent of film thickness. Moreover, the effects of the Mw and the annealing protocol performed on thin PS films on their Tg and segmental dynamics is studied. In the part of thin poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME) films, no thickness dependence of the segmental dynamics was observed in the SHS measurements. The last part of the thesis was concentrated on the thin films of a miscible polymer blend, PS/PVME with the weight fraction of 50/50. It was observed that the segmental dynamics became faster with reducing the film thickness. This phenomenon is explained in terms of surface enrichment of PVME in the polymer blend system where PVME has a lower surface energy than PS. The segmental dynamics of the PVME-enriched free surface layer are faster than the bulk dynamics. Such free surface effect becomes so predominant with reducing the film thickness that it affects the segmental dynamics of the whole films detected by SHS using differential AC chip-based calorimetry. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to probe the surface composition in order to confirm such surface enrichment phenomena.
77
The motivation of this study was to pursue effective eco-friendly and economical flame retarded polymer materials. With wide-ranging advantages such as improved fire and physical properties, halogen-free and relatively low cost, layered silicate / epoxy nanocomposite (EP_LS) was targeted for high efficiency of flame retardancy. One main goal of this study was to increase the understanding of the flame retardancy phenomenon in EP_LS by assessing the shielding effect of the protection layer experimentally and quantitatively. Another main goal of this study was to optimize the flame retardancy by the shielding effect in EP_LS.
166
The present work is intended to make a contribution to the monitoring of civil engineering structures. The detection of damage to structures is based on the evaluation of spatially and temporally distributed hybrid measurements. The acquired data can be evaluated purely geometrically or physically. It is preferable to do the latter, since the cause of damage can be determined by means of geometrical-physical laws in order to be able to intervene in time and ensure the further use of the structures. For this reason, the continuum mechanical field equations in conjunction with the finite element method and hybrid measurements are combined into a single evaluation method by the adjustment calculation. This results in two challenges.
The first task deals with the relationship between the finite element method and the method of least squares. The finite element method solves certain problem classes, which are described by a system of elliptical partial differential equations. Whereas the method of least squares solves another class of problems, which is formulated as an overdetermined system of equations. The striking similarity between both methods is known since many decades. However, it remains unresolved why this resemblance exists. The contribution is to clarify this by examining the variational calculus, especially with regard to its methodological procedure. Although the well-known Gauss-Markov model within the method of least squares and the finite element method solve inherently different problem classes, it is shown that both methods can be derived by following the same methodological steps of the variational calculus. From a methodical viewpoint, this implies that both methods are not only similar, but actually the same. In addition, it is pointed out where a possible cross-connection to other methods exists.
The second task introduces a Measurement- and Model-based Structural Analysis (MeMoS) by integrating the finite element method into the adjustment calculation. It is shown in numerical examinations how this integrated analysis can be used for parameter identification of simple as well as arbitrarily shaped structural components. Based on this, it is examined with which observation types, with which precision and at which location of the structure these measurements must be carried out in order to determine the material parameters as precisely as possible. This serves to determine an optimal and economic measurement set-up. With this integrated analysis, a substitute model of a geometrically complex structure can also be determined. The issue of the detection and localisation of damage within a structure is studied by means of this structural analysis. The Measurement and Model-based Structural Analysis is validated using two different test setups, an aluminum model bridge and a bending beam.
36
Most of the research on Hydrogen Assisted Cold Cracking (HACC) in high strength steel welds conducted over the last several decades has focused on single-pass welds, especially considering materials with yield strengths of about 700 MPa. Most of the weld procedure specifications, guidelines and standards targeted at HACC avoidance recommend preheating procedures. Application of such regulations to multi-pass welds of modern high strength structural steels with yield strengths of up to 1300 MPa is very limited. Actually there is no decent knowledge and only an empirical experience how to weld such joints in real components subjected to a respective shrinkage restraint. Consequently, an increasing number of failure cases, partly of catastrophic dimensions, have been reported in the present decade. The present contribution is targeted to close this knowledge gap by elucidating the principal effects of various inhomogeneous Hydrogen Removal Heat Treatment (HRHT) procedures on the HACC avoidance in high strength structural steel welds. As a typical representative in the upper yield strength range of this category of materials, a S 1100 QL weld using UNION X96 filler wire has been chosen. The results were achieved by indirectly coupled thermal, structural and hydrogen diffusion finite element modeling of HACC in single-layer and five-layer welded V-bevelled butt joints with plate thicknesses of 20.0 mm and 12.0 mm, respectively, at realistic restraint conditions and have been partly been confirmed by respective Instrumented Restraint Cracking (IRC) Tests. The numerical simulations are based on the interacting three local effects on HACC, i.e. local microstructure, local mechanical load and local hydrogen concentration. HACC has thus been regarded as a cracking phenomenon occurring, if the local mechanical load in a specific microstructure exceeds the limit for the respective hydrogen concentration. The various heat treatments proposed in literature, guidelines, specifications and standards, i.e. sole preheating, controlled interpass temperature, combined preheating and controlled interpass temperature application as well as postheating have been investigated with respect to their effects on the mechanical loading of the butt joints in terms of stresses and strains as well as on the hydrogen removal capabilities. As a particular item, a numerical model for Hydrogen Assisted Stress Corrosion Cracking (HASCC) has been developed further that it can be applied to HACC, in order to study, how such heat treatments influence crack initiation and propagation. By such modeling procedures as the most important results have been achieved: I. Further development and adaptation of a model for hydrogen assisted cracking to HACC and usage validation of the model for this material. II. Evaluation of the effects of pre- and postheating as well as interpass temperature on the stress-strain distribution in multi-pass welds. III. Clarification of the difference between single- and multi-pass welding with respect to stress-strain and hydrogen distribution as well as to HACC initiation and propagation. IV. Establishment of practical hydrogen removal heat treatment diagrams. V. Assessment of the effects of the amount of hydrogen picked up during welding on crack location and propagation.
87
Saprotrophic basidiomycetes decompose wood in aerobic environments and can cause economic damage. The availability of nitrogen is determining for decomposition, and diazotrophic bacteria might enhance the nitrogen availability by fixation of atmospheric N2. Simultaneous decomposition by basidiomycetes and diazotrophs may intensify decomposition, because N2 fixation requires ATP, which could be provided during cellulose decomposition. In this study, the interaction was analysed by measurements of the nitrogen content and the δ15N values in biomass. Besides, the activity of basidiomycetes, influenced by different nitrogen sources, was determined. The analysis of the nitrogen content in biomass of Oligoporus placenta and Trametes versicolor proved the efficient uptake of organic nitrogen by wood-decomposing fungi even if only traces were available. In the presence of urea and ammonium chloride, the growth of T. versicolor was intensified. At cultivations in a 15N2/O2 atmosphere, the diazotrophic bacteria Azotobacter croococcum, Beijerinckia acida and Novosphingobium nitrogenifigens covered 1 to 13% of the nitrogen in their biomass by N2 fixation. If basidiomycetes and diazotrophs were co-cultivated, only B. acida fixed N2 and transferred it to both fungi. A. croococcum and N. nitrogenifigens did not coexist with the fungi. The effects of the nitrogen sources, i.e., organic nitrogen in the medium, organic nitrogen in sapwood and N2 from air, on the biomass of the mentioned basidiomycetes were determined in experiments according to full-factorial experimental plans. Organic nitrogen in the medium increased the growth of both basidiomycetes significantly. In additional experiments, the nitrogen source in the medium was replaced by an inoculum of B. acida. Then, atmospheric N2 supported the bacterial growth, which caused a significant decrease of basidiomycetal biomass compared to N2-free conditions. The presence of B. acida increased the biomass of T. versicolor to a low extent, but had no effect on the biomass of O. placenta. In contrast to the previously mentioned organisms, Hypholoma fasciculare and proteobacteria occur together in nature. In experiments, the growth of biomass of H. fasciculare and proteobacteria was supported by organic nitrogen, urea and ammonium chloride. The N2 fixation of the bacteria was significant but amounted to a low extent and was therefore explained by adsorption and not by nitrogenase activity. Competition between H. fasciculare and proteobacteria for the same nitrogen sources appeared more probable than N enrichment by diazotrophic activity.
102
Novel routes in flame retardancy of bisphenol A polycarbonate/impact modifier/aryl phosphate blends
(2013)
The massive use of electronic engineering products accompanied by high demands on fire safety has led to increasing interest in environmentally friendly flame retardancy of bisphenol A polycarbonate (PC) based materials. In this work, novel routes for enhancing the flame retardancy of PC/Impact Modifier/Aryl phosphate were studied with respect to pyrolysis (TG, TG-FTIR, ATR-FTIR, NMR), flammability (LOI and UL 94) and fire behavior (cone calorimeter at different irradiations). To improve charring of PC/ABSPTFE+Aryl phosphate, the exchange of bisphenol A bis(diphenyl phosphate) (BDP) with novel aryl phosphates was proposed. Two novel flame retardants were synthesized: 3,3,5-trimethylcyclohexylbisphenol-bis(diphenyl phosphate) (TMC-BDP) and bisphenol A- bis(diethylphosphate) (BEP). TMC-BDP was more stable than BDP, thus gave a potential to increase the chemical reactions between the components of the PC/ABSPTFE+Aryl phosphate, whereas more reactive BEP was expected to increase the cross linking activity with the polymer matrix. Nevertheless, the corresponding blends did not enhance the flame retardancy compared to PC/ABSPTFE+BDP. BEP in PC/ABSPTFE preferred to cross-link with itself instead of with PC, thus it showed poor fire protection performance. TMC-BDP gave as good results as BDP in PC/ABSPTFE material. The results delivered evidence that BDP possesses a high degree of optimization in PC/ABSPTFE system. To provide a novel impact modifier improving not only mechanical properties but also the fire retardancy of PC/BDP material, the replacement of highly flammable acrylonitrilebutadiene- styrene (ABS) with silicon acrylate rubber (SiR) with high content of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was studied. In PC/SiRPTFE/BDP the replacement of ABS is beneficial, but PDMS worsened the BDP gas phase and condensed phase action. PDMS reacted also with PC during combustion. PDMS-PC and PDMS-BDP interactions led to silicon dioxide. In fact, the inorganic residue of PC/SiRPTFE/BDP contributed to fire residue and greatly improved the LOI of about 10 % in comparison to PC/ABSPTFE+BDP system. Thus, the use of SiR with high PDMS content is proposed as replacement of ABS in PC/Impact Modifier/BDP blend. To enhance the fire protection, the PC/SiRPTFE/BDP was combined with several adjuvants: (i) layered fillers: talc and organically modified layered silicate (LS), (ii) metal hydroxides: magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)2) and boehmite (AlO(OH)), (iii) metal oxides and carbonate: magnesium oxide (MgO) and silicium dioxide (SiO2) and calcium carbonate (CaCO3) as well as (iiii) hydrated metal borates: zinc borate (ZnB), calcium borate (CaB) and magnesium borate (MgB). It was demonstrated that the blend PC/SiRPTFE/BDP+filler is very sensitive to chemical (e.g. hydrolysis) and physical (e.g. viscosity) effects. Additionally,the large deformations of PC/SiRPTFE/BDP materials make difficult to optimize the char. Overall, the ZnB, MgB and CaB are proposed for enhancing the flame retardancy of PC/SiR/BDP with respect to flammability results, reduction of fire hazard and maximum of heat release rate. The results of this work enable the understanding of various mechanisms controlling the fire behavior and thus effective selection of the most appropriate flame retardant, impact modifier and inorganic fillers for producing fire resistant PC based polymers.
4
Replacement of expensive duplex stainless steel and conventional carbon steel by a new generation of supermartensitic stainless steel has been taken into account since the last decade corresponding to the "Fitness for Purpose" concept in order to meet the technical- economical challenge for transportation flowlines of unprocessed oil and gas products in offshore technology, in particular. Supermartensitic stainless steels can provide appropriate material properties such as: improved strength-to-weight ratio, enhanced useful corrosion resistance as well as application at relatively low cost. With decreased carbon content and increased molybdenum content compared to traditional martensitic stainless steel, hydrogen assisted stress corrosion cracking (HASCC) problems have been found during service caused by hydrogen being taken up during from sour service environments by cathodic protection. Hydrogen assisted cold cracking in supermartensitic stainless steel can also occur during fabrication welding with hydrogen picked up during welding, since this steel is relatively crack-susceptible by hydrogen. Therefore, effects of hydrogen assisted cracking (HAC), i.e. HASCC and HACC, on characteristic susceptibility of girth welds of supermartensitic stainless steel pipelines are studied in the present thesis by numerical modelling, which is developed using a available commercial finite element program. Firstly, numerical modelling for simulation of HASCC based on the NACE-TM 0177-96 approach is carried out for providing a basic understanding of the crack propagation behaviour. Secondly, a two dimensional finite element according to the gauge length cross-section of the orbitally welded pipeline is created for numerical modelling in order to calculate the time to failure of welded the component exposed to the NACE electrolyte solution with various H2S saturation. Externally applied loads of a series of constant strain rates and of the load history of full scale testing are also taken into account. Finally, numerical modelling is carried out under three specific aspects, i.e. thermal analysis, structural analysis, and hydrogen diffusion analysis, in order to simulate HACC in supermartensitic stainless steel pipelines welded orbitally by four layers of matching filler wires with an interpass temperature of 40°C.
144
This thesis addresses numerical simulations of self-compacting concrete (SCC) castings and suggests a novel modelling approach that treats reinforcement zones in a formwork as porous media.
As a relatively new field in concrete technology, numerical simulations of fresh concrete flow can be a promising aid to optimise casting processes and to avoid on-site casting incidents by predicting the flow behaviour of concrete during the casting process. The simulations of fresh concrete flow generally involve complex mathematical modelling and time-consuming computations. In case of a casting prediction, the simulation time is additionally significantly increased because each reinforcement bar occurring in succession has to be considered one by one. This is particularly problematic when simulating SCC casting, since this type of concrete is typically used for heavily reinforced structural members. However, the wide use of numerical tools for casting prediction in practice is possible only if the tools are user-friendly and simulations are time-saving.
In order to shorten simulation time and to come closer to a practical tool for casting prediction, instead to model steel bars one by one, this thesis suggests to model zones with arrays of steel bars as porous media. Consequently, one models the flow of SCC through a reinforcement zone as a free-surface flow of a non-Newtonian fluid, propagating through the medium. By defining characteristic parameters of the porous medium, the influence on the flow and the changed (apparent) behaviour of concrete in the porous matrix can be predicted. This enables modelling of any reinforcement network as a porous zone and thus significantly simplifies and fastens simulations of reinforced components’ castings.
Within the thesis, a computational model for SCC flow through reinforced sections was developed. This model couples a fluid dynamics model for fresh concrete and the macroscopic approach for the influence of the porous medium (formed by the rebars) on the flow. The model is implemented into a Computational Fluid Dynamics software and validated on numerical and experimental studies, among which is a large-scale laboratory casting of a highly reinforced beam. The apparent rheology of concrete within the arrays of steel bars is studied and a methodology to determine unknown input parameters for the porous medium is suggested. Normative tables defining characteristic porous medium parameters as a function of the topology of the rebar zone for different reinforcement cases are generated. Finally, the major contribution of this work is the resulting numerical package, consisting of the numerical solver and the parameter library. The thesis concludes on the ability of the porous medium analogy technique to reliably predict the concrete casting behaviour, while being significantly easier to use and far less time consuming than existing tools.
14
Many new technologies are based on applications in extreme conditions, such as at low temperatures or in hydrogen environment. This involves new requirements on material properties, in particular regarding their operability and reliability. To fulfil this demand, the tribological behaviour of PTFE- and PEEK-matrix composites filled with carbon fibres were investigated at cryogenic temperatures and in hydrogen by means of surface analyses. For a better understanding of the tribological behaviour, and because of the temperature-dependent characteristics of polymer materials, thermal and mechanical properties of selected composites were initially investigated at low temperatures. Thermal shock experiments as well as cryo- and hydrogen treatments were carried out. Different coefficients of thermal expansion within the composite lead to debondings of particles, particularly in the case of PTFE materials. Tensile tests indicate that the YOUNG'S modulus increases at T= 77 K compared to room temperature. However, this improvement at low temperatures is moderate for PEEK composite which is already under its glass transition at room temperature. In the main investigation, tribological experiments were carried out at first at T= 77 K to observe the influence of the matrix, fillers and fibres on the material behaviour comparing to room temperature. The reduction of the friction coefficient and wear at low temperatures has been attributed to the low temperature properties of the polymer in particular due to the higher YOUNG'S modulus at T= 77 K. Whereas at room temperature friction and wear depend strongly of the CF content, the quantity of fillers and fibres does not have a significant effect on the tribological behaviour at low temperatures. At T= 77 K, the tribological behaviour of PTFE and PEEK composites is mainly influenced by the matrix. PEEK composites have a better tribological performance than PTFE materials especially regarding the wear resistance. Furthermore, the influence of the cryogenic medium was determined with experiments carried out in LN2 (T= 77 K), LH2 (T= 20 K) and LHe (T= 4.2 K), as well as in helium at T= 77 K and hydrogen at room temperature. The thermal properties of the cryogenic medium have a significant influence on the tribological performances of the composites. Due to the lower frictional heat at low sliding speed, the effect of low temperatures on the tribological behaviour of these composites was more clearly detected in this case, with a change in wear mechanism from mainly adhesive to more abrasive. Experiments in LN2 give the best friction and wear performance at low as well as at high sliding speed. The behaviour of these composites in LHe does not benefit from the low temperature properties of polymers due to the low heat of evaporation of LHe. The influence of hydrogen was particularly seen after the tribological experiments performed in LH2 on the surface of the disc. The reduction effect of hydrogen may have an influence on the tribochemical reactions which appear during sliding, enhancing the formation of iron fluorides, but no influence of the metal fluorides on the tribological performance could be determined in this study.