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64
This thesis reports on the development of a system for distributed strain measurement in silica optical fibers. The system was developed to provide a solution for monitoring the structural health of river embankments with a measurement length > 5 km and a spatial resolution < 5 m. It is based on stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS), a nonlinear optical effect which converts the mechanical strain of an optical fiber into a frequency shift of the backscattered light of an optical signal. The measurement technique that is employed and significantly advanced within this work is the Brillouin optical frequency domain analysis (BOFDA). Prior to this work, this technique had been presented as a laboratory setup providing its proof of concept; however, at this development stage, the technique had been limited in performance, theoretical foundation, integrability and robustness for real-life applications when compared to the state-of-the-art Brillouin optical time domain analysis (BOTDA). The thesis comprises the theoretical background of the measurement system, advancements regarding its implementation into a practically applicable device – including the proposal of techniques for performance enhancements in signal processing – as well as the evaluation of the system performance in experimental studies. First, the physical nature of SBS in optical fibers is analyzed. Here, special focus is set on the frequency domain properties of the interaction between the optical signals, which provides a deep understanding of the system behaviour in the special case of distributed measurements in the frequency domain. The BOFDA technique is then presented with a thorough analysis from a system point of view and considerations on its implementation in a practical setup. The laboratory setup is presented with all components and different aspects of advancement in accuracy and efficiency over the state of development prior to this work, along with representative measurement results. As the major advancement regarding the system implementation, a digital approach to frequency domain measurements is presented, with a system description, a demonstrator setup and measurement results. A detailed analysis of the physical occurrences within the system that lead to a limitation of its spatial resolution is given, founding on the description of SBS earlier in the thesis. It comprises a novel point of view on the measurement artifacts that degrade frequency domain measurements of SBS; a connection to corresponding studies that apply to the BOTDA technique is made. From here, a novel approach to overcome the limitations by means of signal correction in post-processing is presented. Finally, the application of the measurement system in dike monitoring is presented. A method for integrating optical fibers into geotextiles is introduced, together with considerations on the coating material and handling on construction sites. By presenting several experimental tests in the laboratory and the field, the feasibility of the system for monitoring of the structural health of river embankments is confirmed. With the advancements achieved within this work, the BOFDA technique meets the specifications in accuracy and resolution of state-of-the-art BOTDA devices, while offering new perspectives in terms of dynamic range, robustness and cost efficiency.
63
Experimental investigation and CFD simulation of organic peroxide pool fires (TBPB and TBPEH)
(2010)
Time averaged mass burning rate (m˙′′f ), flame length (H), temperature (T ), irradi- ance (E) and surface emissive power (SEP ) of TBPB (tert -butyl peroxybenzoate) and TBPEH (tert-butyl peroxy-2-ethylhexanoate) pool fires are measured for six pool di- ameters (d = 0.059 m, 0.107 m, 0.18 m, 0.5 m, 1 m and 3.4 m) at BAM in house and outside test facility. The measured heats of combustion (–Δhc) of TBPB and TBPEH are 30113 kJ/kg and 34455 kJ/kg and the specific heat capacities at constant pressure (cp) are 1.8 kJ/(kg K) and 2.1 kJ/(kg K) respectively. The measured m˙′′f of TBPB and TBPEH pool fires are in the range of 0.37 kg/(m2 s)≤ m˙ ′′ f ≤ 0.83 kg/(m2 s) and show little dependence on the pool diameter d, and are four to sixty times higher (for d = 1 m) than that of hydrocarbon pool fires. It is shown that the mass burning rates of the investigated organic peroxides can be represented as an exponential function of the self-accelerating decomposition temperature (SADT). Low SADT implies that the organic peroxide pool fires burn at a much higher m˙′′f than hydrocarbon pool fires. Fuel Froude numbers (Frf) of TBPB and TBPEH are 5 to 100 times (depending on d) higher than for hydrocarbon pool fires. Due to higher Frf the H of TBPB and TBPEH (measured with a S-VHS Videocamera) are found to be two times larger (d = 1 m) than corresponding pool fires of hydrocarbons. Heskestads flame length correlation predicts the Hd (d = 3.4 m) of TBPB and TBPEH pool fires much better than Thomas and Fay correlations. The measured time averaged flame temperatures T (d = 3.4 m) for TBPB and TBPEH pool fires are in the range of 1400 K ≤ T ≤ 1500 K and are 200 K to 300 K higher than for JP-4, kerosene and gasoline. The irradiances of the TBPB and TBPEH pool fires measured by radiometers are E (Δy/d = 0.3) = 45 kW/m2 and E = 98 kW/m2 which are two to ten times higher in comparison to the corresponding n-pentane, super gasoline and diesel pool fires. So the thermal safety distances for organic peroxide pool fires are larger by a factor four in comparison to the hydrocarbon pool fires. An infrared thermography system is used for the determination of SEP of TBPB and TBPEH pool fires. The values of surface emissive power for TBPB and TBPEH are SEP (d = 3.4 m) = 196 kW/m2 and SEP = 258 kW/m2 and thus the SEP are by a factor of approximately two higher than for hydrocarbon pool fires. A self-sustained pulsating Hd (’W’-Effect) is found in TBPB pool flames and is further analysed to explain the reason of occurance on the basis of chemical structure of the fuel and discontinuous heat flux back from flame to the liquid pool. CFD simulations of TBPB and TBPEH pool fires at d = 0.18 m, 0.5 m, 1 m, 3.4 m and 8 m are carried out using the Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (URANS) equa- tions. The three-dimensional geometries have been discritized with unstructured hybrid grids, with the number of cells in the range of 1 million. Depending on the grid resolu- tion and the pool diameter time steps of 0.0001 s ≤ Δt ≤ 0.01 s for the CFD simulations are used. For solving the discritized equations a finite volume based implicit solver AN- SYS CFX has been used. For modelling the combustion, stoichiometric combustion for both peroxides are assumed. The temperature dependence of the reaction rate has been determined by the Arrhenius approach. For modelling the combustion eddy dissipation concept (EDC) model has been used. For turbulence buoyancy modified k- � and SAS (Scale Adaptive Simulation) turbulence models are used. For the thermal radiation and soot mass fraction discrete transfer radiation model and Magnusson soot model have been used. A new method is suggested for the prediction of mass burning rate (m˙′′f ) by CFD simula- tion. Both peroxide pool fires show approximately constant mass burning rate indepen- dent of d whereas m˙′′f of TBPEH are under predicted at the beginning but show relatively good agreement with measurements for large pool diameters (d = 1 m). In case of TBPB the CFD simulation over predicts the mass burning rate m˙′′f of small TBPB pool fires and shows a continuous decrease with d. CFD predicts the flame length H close to the measured data provided that the constants in Thomas equation are modified. The CFD predicted time averaged surface emission flame temperatures of TBPB and TBPEH pool fires (d = 3.4 m, 1437 K and 1542 K) are in good agreement with the measured time averaged flame temperatures. The CFD predicted SEP for TBPB and TBPEH pool fires (d = 3.4 m, 217 kW/m2 and 288 kW/m2) are also in agreement with the measured values. From the CFD predicted irradiance ECFD it is possible to determine the thermal safety distances from large pool fires of hydrocarbons and organic peroxides.
60
Slip-rolling resistance of novel Zr(C,N) thin film coatings under high Hertzian contact pressures
(2010)
The present work was carried out within the framework of my four years activities as a scientific co-worker in the Working Group Tribological Optimization; Failure Analysis; Extreme Exposure in the division Tribology and Wear protection (VI.2) of the BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and testing in Berlin, Germany and generously funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG WO521/6-1). First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor Dr.-Ing. Mathias Woydt, head of the aforementioned working group, who gave me the opportunity to start my professional development, initiated and intensively supported this PhD work as well as accepted to take part in thesis committee. Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Walter Reimers, Chairman of the Institute for Materials Science and Technology of the Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin), is also gratefully thanked for his interest in the thesis subject, for helpful comments and suggestions as well as for agreeing to participate in the referee of this work. I would like to thank also Prof. Dr.-Ing. Claudia Fleck, Chairman of the Material Engineering Department (Fachgebiet Werkstofftechnik) of the Technical University Berlin (TU Berlin), for assuming the chairmanship of the thesis committee. All the staff of the tribology division is also greatly acknowledged for bringing a pleasant working environment. Dr. Dirk Spaltmann is particularly thanked for the helpful discussions as well as for his assistance in English formulation. Dipl.-Ing. Manuel Reichelt and my bureau colleague Dr.-Ing. Géraldine Theiler will find here my many thanks for promoting constantly a good working atmosphere. Sigrid Binkowski and Dipl.-Ing. Norbert Kelling are also gratefully acknowledged for their constant and helpful technical support. André Otto is also thanked for his substantial administrative support. My sincere thanks go to Dr. rer. nat. (and “by the way” world and olympic champion in eights rowing) Ilona Dörfel (BAM V.1, Composition and Microstructure of Engineering Materials) for performing the highly relevant TEM investigations as also Heidemarie Rooch, and Ing. Wolfgang Gesatzke for the specific preparation of the samples. Furthermore, I greatly appreciate the contributions of Dr.-Ing. Vasile-Dan Hodoroaba, Birgid Strauß, Sigrid Benemann and Dipl.-Phys. Thomas Wirth (BAM VI.4) for their valuable contributions in microscopy analysis and to Dr.-Ing. Eric Wild (TU Berlin) for the substantial residual stress analysis of the coatings. Acknowledgement is also due to Dr. Thomas Chudoba from ASMEC GmbH for performing hardness measurements with his QCSM module. Thanks are surely extended to Fundación Tekniker, specifically Josu Goikoetxea and Dr. Javier Barriga for the manufacturing of the coatings in industrial deposition chambers and to the machining shop BAM Z.5 for the specimens preparation. Last, but by no means the least, I would like to thank all my friends for their support and to all the people who helped me directly or indirectly in my doctoral work and/or for my pleasant German adaptation. My very special thanks (du fond du coeur) go to my beloved parents Marie-Hélène (What is Tribology?) and Gérard (I miss you so much) and “of course” to my bright (and sometimes nerve-racking) sister Sophie, for everlasting encouragement and plenty of good advices in a wide range of domains. Ania, especially for your contribution in the decision of pursuing my “German experiment”.
59
Plasma chemical methods are well suited for introducing functional groups to the surface of chemically inert polymers such as polyolefins. However, a broad variety of functional groups is often formed. Unfortunately, for further chemical processing such as grafting of molecules for advanced applications a highly dense and monotype functionalized polyolefin surface is needed. Therefore, the main task was to develop a selective surface functionalization process, which forms preferably one type of functional groups at the surface in high and variable concentration. Amongst the novel plasma methods, the under-water plasma process (UWP) is one of most attractive to solve the problem of monotype functionalization. Such plasma is an efficient source of ions, electrons, UV-radiation, high frequency shock waves, radicals such as hydroxyl radical and reactive neutral molecules such as hydrogen peroxide, hydrogen and oxygen. It was found that underwater plasma and the closely related glow discharge electrolysis are interesting new methods for polymer surface functionalization. An effective modification into the topmost surface chemistry of polymer layer was observed by the collective effect of wet-chemistry, electrochemistry, atmospheric gas discharges, irradiation, and shock waves. Underwater capillary discharge was seen more effective in -OH functionalization and was largely seen as a flow dominated process because of the shock wave turbulences. Using such water-based plasma a fraction of 25-40% of all O-functional groups was produced as OH-groups in comparison to <10% OH produced in the oxygen low- pressure plasma. The exact concentration of the OH functionality was studied by TFAA gas phase derivatization and measuring the respective fluorine concentration by photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In contrast to established gas phase glow discharge processes, the water phase absorbs and therefore limits the particle and radiation energy and thus the energy input into the polymer. Extensive oxidation, degradation, cross-linking and radical formation in the polymer is more limited than under gas plasma exposure because of the liquid water environment, which moderates high energetic plasma species. The variety of plasma produced species in the water phase is also much smaller because of the limited reaction possibilities of the plasma with water. The possibility to admix a broad variety of chemical additives makes underwater plasma additionally highly attractive for the chemist. At last, the water removes all low-molecular weight oxidized products formed by plasma-induced polymer degradation. Hydrogen peroxide and the catalyst (Fe-ZSM5) should influence or increase the equilibrium concentration of OH radicals in the underwater process. It was supposed that these radicals play the most important role for OH functionalization of polyolefin surfaces. Hydrogen peroxide was believed to be the most prominent precursor for OH group formation in the UWP. The catalyst should modulate the steady state of OH group formation and recombination, and thus accelerate the functionalization. This was confirmed by an increased oxidation rate. Owing to the detection limit of XPS the C-O bond selectivity was defined as clearly resolvable subpeak within the C1s signal assigned to C-OH, C-O-C and other singly C-O bonded species. This bondamounts 47 C-O bonds/100 O atoms with pure UWP system and enhances to a maximum of the 81 C-O bonds/100 O atoms using the Fe-ZSM5 catalyst system. Therefore, this method exhibits a great progress for a start. However, after TFAA derivatization the fraction of desired OH groups could not be significantly increased. In the continuation acetic acid, acrylic acid, maleic and itaconic acid were used as additive monomers. The chemical selectivity in -COOH bond formation using bi-carboxylic additives was seen inferior. Acetic acid is not a chemically polymerizing monomer but it could polymerize by monomer/molecular fragmentation and recombination to a cross linked layer. The other monomers form preferably water-soluble polymers on a preferred chemical way. Only the fragmented fraction of these monomers could form an insoluble coating by cross linking to substrate. The XPS analysis was used to track the alterations in COO- bond percentage on the PP surface. To identify the -COOH groups on substrate surface unambiguously, which have survived the plasma polymerization process, the gas phase derivatization with trifluoroethanol was performed. A much higher yield in COOH groups was achieved using the glow discharge electrolysis and acrylic acid.
49
With increasing environmental awareness and the general need to economise on the use of fossil fuels, there is growing pressure for industry to produce lighter, more efficient, gas turbine engines. One such material that will help to achieve these improvements is the intermetallic gamma titanium aluminide (γ-TiAl) alloy. At only half the density of current nickel-based superalloys its weight saving capability is highly desirable, however, its mechanical properties have not yet been fully explored especially, when it is to be considered for structural components in aeronautical gas turbine engines. Critical components in these engines typically experience large variations in temperatures and multiaxial states of stress under non-isothermal conditions. These stress states are known as tri-axial thermo-mechanical fatigue (TMF). The work presented here investigates the effects these multi-axial stresses, have on a γ- TiAl, (Ti-45Al-5Nb-0.2B-0.2C) alloy under TMF conditions. The uniaxial, torsional and xialtorsional TMF behaviour of this γ-TiAl alloy have been examined at 400 – 800oC with strain amplitudes ranging from 0.15% to 0.7%. The tests were conducted at both thermomechanical in-phase (IP) and out-of-phase (OP). Selected tests additionally contained a 180 seconds hold period. Fatigue lifetimes are strongly influenced by the strain amplitude, a small increase in amplitude reduces the lifetime considerably. The uniaxial IP tests showed significantly longer fatigue lifetimes than of all the tests performed. Torsional loading although have shorter fatigue lifetimes than the uniaxial IP loading they have longer fatigue lifetimes than the uniaxial OP loading. The non-proportional axial-torsional 90 degree OP test is most damaging which resulted in a shorter lifetime than the uniaxial OP test with the same Mises equivalent mechanical strain amplitude. A hold period at maximum temperatures reduced the lifetime for all tests regardless of the temperature-strain history. The effects of TMF on the microstructure were also investigated. For all types of tests intergranular fracture is predominant. Failure is strongly influenced by environmental conditions. This study compares TMF results of TiAl with previous TMF investigations on the nickelbased alloys IN 738 and Nimonic 90. IN 738 shows similar TMF behaviour to γ-TiAl in that uniaxial IP loading has the longest fatigue lifetimes. Nimonic 90 shows the opposite behaviour to both of these alloys. A lifetime model developed for this near-γ-TiAl alloy, successfully describes all temperaturestrain TMF loading conditions over the test temperature range, with the use of a single loading parameter. The loading parameter is based on the plastic work per cycle, and is not only dependant on the mean tensile stress but also on the maximum principal stress. The loading parameter responds to various strain-temperature-paths differently. It describes the lifetime relation between uniaxial IP and OP loading, axial and torsional loading and the hold period effect.
40
The objective of the present thesis is to make advancements in understanding solidification crack formation in aluminum welds, by investigating in particular the aluminium 6060/4043 system. Alloy 6060 is typical of a family of Al-Mg-Si extrusion alloys, which are considered weldable only when using an appropriate filler alloy such as 4043 (Al-5Si). The effect of 4043 filler dilution (i.e. weld metal silicon content) on cracking sensitivity and solidification path of Alloy 6060 welds are investigated. Afterwards, cracking models are developed to propose mechanisms for solidification crack initiation and growth. Cracking Sensitivity. Building upon the concept that silicon improves weldability and that weldability can be defined by a critical strain rate, strain rate-composition combinations required for solidification crack formation in the Al- 6060/4043 system were determined using the newly developed Controlled Tensile Weldability (CTW) test utilizing local strain extensometer measurements. Results, presented in a critical strain rate – dilution map, show a crack – no crack boundary which reveals that higher local strain rates require higher 4043 filler dilution to avoid solidification cracking when arc welding Alloy 6060. Using the established crack - no crack boundary as a line of reference, additional parameters were examined and their influence on cracking characterized. These parameter influences have included studies of weld travel speed, weld pool contaminants (Fe, O, and H), and grain refiner additions (TiAl3 + Boron). Each parameter has been independently varied and its effect on cracking susceptibility quantified in terms of strain rate – composition combinations. Solidification Path. Solidification path of the Al-6060/4043 system was characterized using thermal analysis and phase identification. Increasing 4043 filler dilution from 0 to 16% in Alloy 6060 arc welds resulted in little effect on thermal arrests and microstructure, no effect on solidification range, refinement in grain size from 63 to 51 μm, centerline columnar grains disappearance, and decreased cooling rate from 113 to 89 °C/s. Moreover, in order to make direct comparison with literature, castings of controlled mixtures of alloys 6060 and 4043 were also investigated, thereby simulating weld metal composition under controlled cooling conditions. Castings showed a different trend than welds with small increases in silicon content (i.e. increase in 4043 filler dilution) resulting in huge effect on microstructure, no effect on liquidus temperature, drop in solidus temperature from 577°C to 509°C, increase in quantity of interdendritic constituent from 2% to 14%, and different phase formation. Binary β-Al5FeSi, Mg2Si, and Si phases are replaced with ternary β-Al5FeSi, π−Al8FeMg3Si6, and a low melting quaternary eutectic involving Mg2Si, π, and Si. Also, variation of the cooling conditions in castings revealed the existence of a critical cooling rate, above which the solidification path and microstructure undergo a major change. Cracking Model. Implementing the critical conditions for cracking into the Rappaz-Drezet-Gremaud (RDG) model revealed a pressure drop in the interdendritic liquid on the order of 10-1 atm, originating primarily from straining conditions. Since, according to literature, a minimum of 1,760 atm is required to fracture pure aluminum liquid (theoretical), this demonstrates that cavitation as a liquid fracture mechanism is not likely to occur, even when accounting for dissolved hydrogen gas. Instead, a porosity-based crack initiation model has been developed based upon pore stability criteria, assuming that gas pores expand from pre-existing nuclei. Crack initiation is taken to occur when stable pores form within the coherent dendrite region, critical to crack initiation being weld metal hydrogen content. Following initiation, a mass-balance approach developed by Braccini et al. (2000) revealed that crack growth is controlled by local strain rate conditions. Finally, a simplified strain partition model provides a link between critical strain rates measured across the weld and predicted at grain boundaries within the mushy zone. Although based on simplified assumptions, predicted and measured critical strain rate values are of the same order of magnitude. However, because of a longer mushy zone experienced at higher 4043 filler dilution related to a reduction in cooling rate, these models predict a lower weldability with increasing filler dilution, in contradiction with experimental observations. Combining the crack initiation and growth models suggests that hydrogen and strain rate, respectively, determine crack formation. An hypothetical hydrogen – strain rate map defines conceptually the conditions for cracking, suggesting better weldability at low weld metal hydrogen content. With the aid of the modified varestraint test (MVT) and a controlled hydrogen contamination system, results, presented in the form of ram speed – hydrogen map, revealed that hydrogen has little effect on crack growth, providing support to the proposed cracking models. However, a drop in weldability corresponding to the peak in weld metal hydrogen supersaturation suggests a different solidification cracking mechanism, where cavitation supports crack growth.
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.
35
The behavior of amorphous polymers in contact with gas atmospheres is still an area of both fundamental scientific and applied industrial research. Applications range from the use as barrier materials or protective coatings to active layers in sensor applications (‘artificial nose’) and the large field of gas separation membranes. In all these applications, high concentrations of small penetrant molecules may lead to a plasticization of the polymer. This effect is utilized in processing applications, where supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) can be used as a plasticizer.4 The phenomenon of penetrant induced plasticization of glassy polymers is also observed in gas separation membranes.5 In the process of natural gas sweetening, the CO2 content of the gas mixture is reduced by separation of the CO2 from the fuel gas methane (CH4) to avoid corrosion of pipelines and to enhance the fuel value. Solubility and diffusivity of the respective gas determine the separation performance of the membrane material, i.e., the permselectivity. Both parameters are connected to the internal structure of the polymer and its free volume. To achieve high throughputs, e.g. to enhance costeffectiveness, it is desirable to increase the CO2 solubility and mobility. However, the observed plasticization and the associated relaxations in the polymer matrix change its structure and free volume, and thereby affect the selectivity of the material.6 In addition, other properties of the polymer are influenced, e.g. a reduction of glass transition temperature,7 yield stress8 and creep compliance9 have been observed. The origin and mechanism of these structural relaxations are poorly understood, as are the factors that influence solubility and mobility of the plasticizing penetrant. This lack of knowledge leads to a development of new or optimized materials, which is in part determined by trial and error. A deeper understanding of the phenomena that accompany gas sorption on the molecular level is therefore needed to control material properties and enable a targeted design of functional materials. Therefore, in this work, laboratory experiments are combined with detailed atomistic molecular simulations. Modelling. In detailed atomistic molecular modeling, the interactions of an assembly of atoms, e.g. a polymer molecule, are calculated according to known physical laws. Several established analysis methods allow an indirect determination of certain properties of such assemblies, others can even be directly calculated.10 However, CPU-power limits both the size and the simulation time of such assemblies. The size of the simulated packing models used in this work (_ 5000 atoms) ranges among the larger models found in the literature. Forcefield based Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations are calculated in femtosecond steps, but reliable results are usually not obtained until a nanosecond of net simulation time has been performed. Millions of interactions need to be calculated, making the time effort for these ‘virtual experiments’ comparable to laboratory experiments. However, increasing speed of single processors and the possibility of parallel processing will further reduce the evaluation times for such simulations in the future. The goal of computer simulations is therefore to establish reliable methods to predict material properties. Properties of new materials could then be assessed by simulations first and only the most promising materials need to be synthesized for further testing, reducing the expense of trial and error. Although some methods already exist to predict polymer/gas properties from simulations, which show well agreeing results in ideal circumstances, they frequently fail when applied to less moderate conditions, e.g., high penetrant concentrations, long time scales, large penetrants etc. The aforementioned gas induced plasticization of polymers presents such a case where the gap of time scales between experiment and available simulation time amounts to several orders of magnitude. The time scale of simulations is limited to a few nanoseconds and therefore it is not possible to directly simulate relaxations of the glassy matrix as they are observed experimentally. Experiments, on the other hand, yield results of the real macroscopic system, and though molecular details cannot be observed individually, the accumulated effects permit the analysis through models on a statistical or phenomenological basis. It is the aim of this work to survey new approaches of a combined analysis of experimental and modelling results and to establish, where possible, a convergence of boundary conditions or, alternatively, an identification and isolation of comparable aspects of these seemingly incompatible methods of research. To this effect, phenomenological models are utilized as a means of interpretation of experimental data as well as to construe modelling results.
34
Bone diseases, such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, are the second most prevalent health problem worldwide. In Germany approximately 5 millions people are affected by arthritis. Investigating biomineralization processes and bone molecular structure is of key importance for developing new drugs for preventing and healing bone diseases. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) [2] was the primary technique used due to its advantages in characterising poorly ordered and disordered materials [3]. Compared to all the diffraction techniques that widely applied in structural investigations, the usefulness of NMR is independent of long range molecular order. This makes NMR an outstanding technique for studies of complex/amorphous materials. Conventional NMR experiments (single pulse, spin-echo, cross polarization (CP) [4], etc.) as well as their modifications and high-end techniques (2D HETCOR [5], REDOR [6], etc.) were used in this work. Combining the contributions from different techniques enhances the information content of the investigations and can increase the precision of the overall conclusions. Also XRD, TEM and FTIR were applied to different extent in order to get a general idea of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite crystallite structure. Results: - A new approach named “Solid-state NMR spectroscopy using the lost I spin magnetization in polarization transfer experiments” [7] has been developed for measuring the transferred I spin magnetization from abundant nuclei, which is normally lost when detecting the S spin magnetization. - A detailed investigation of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite core was made to prove that proton environment of the phosphates units and phosphorus environment of hydroxyl units are the same as in highly crystalline hydroxyapatite sample. - Using XRD it was found that the surface of the hydroxyapatite nanocrystals is not completely disordered, as it was suggested before, but resembles the hydroxyapatite structure with HPO4 2-(and some CO3 2-) groups instead of PO4 3- groups and water instead of OH- groups. - The organic-mineral interface of bone was studied in order to clarify which organic molecules are in the closest spatial proximity to the bone mineral phase and to investigate the influence of the organic matrix on the mineral formation. It was found that most probably these molecules are glycosaminoglycan rather than a protein.
31
The objective of this work is to demonstrate the practical application and sensitivity of ultrasound as a high frequency Dynamic Mechanical Analysis DMA technique for the characterisation of polymers. Conventional DMA techniques are used to determine thermo mechanical behaviour of polymers by typically employing dynamic shear or tensile loading modes at defined frequencies between 0.1 and 50 Hz. Sound waves may also be employed for DMA applications and depending on type of wave propagated, shear G´, G´´ and longitudinal L´, L´´ storage or loss modulus and tan (δ) may be determined from the measured acoustic parameters sound velocity and amplitude. The primary advantage of ultrasound DMA is that due to the compact sensor size it can easily be integrated into most manufacturing processes. To demonstrate the sensitivity of ultrasound to variations in the viscoelastic properties of polymers, the acoustic properties of a cured epoxy with an observed glass transition temperature of 86 °C (tan(δ) peak, 1Hz) were monitored in a temperature range from 20 to 200 °C and compared to conventional DMA results. The influence of measurement frequency, dispersion, hysteresis, reflections at material boundaries, and changes in material density on the measured sound velocity and amplitude were taken into account. To support conclusions a wide range of experimental data was evaluated using sensors operating in the frequency ranges 400 to 800 kHz and 3 to 6 MHz. The ultrasound results are compared to the tensile moduli E´, E´´ and tan(δ) measured using a conventional DMA technique operating at 0.1 to 33 Hz. Using different evaluation strategies such as the Williams Landel Ferry WLF equation it was possible to study the sensitivity of wave propagation to variations in the viscoelastic behaviour of a polymer. Taking advantage of this background knowledge, further experimental results are presented with the aim of demonstrating the sensitivity of this technique for cure monitoring applications and to the material transformations: gelation and vitrification. For this purpose an epoxy resin was cured at a range of constant temperatures whereby the curing reaction and the corresponding change in viscoelastic properties were monitored. Analysis techniques employed included ultrasound at 3 to 6 MHz, Differential Scanning Calorimeter DSC and Rheometry at 1 Hz. All results were summarised and presented graphically. Additionally an Arrhenius relationship was employed enabling direct comparison of results obtained from analysis techniques based on different working principles. Using this information, it was possible to demonstrate the practical application and the sensitivity of this technique to even small changes in viscoelastic properties of polymers.