This work is devoted to the experimental investigation of the effect of laser shock peening (LSP) on the thermo-mechanical properties of metals. ARMCO iron was chosen as the model material for the study. Samples were subjected to LSP, and were tested following the procedure of the self-heating (Risitano) technique. To investigate the damage that was induced by heating, the fatigue tests were coupled with infrared thermography measurements. The results of the study showed that the LSP procedure qualitatively changes the temperature evolution in ARMCO iron during cyclic loading. The heating (energy dissipation) of the LSP treated specimen was several times higher than that of the specimen in the initial state. To explain the structural mechanisms of energy dissipation, the microstructure of the specimens was examined using transmission (TEM) and scanning (SEM) electron microscopy, as well as electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD). The results of the structural investigation confirm the qualitative change of defect evolution caused by LSP treatment.

Исследование особенностей неравновесного фазового перехода во флюидонасыщенном грунте

An intensive development of infrastructure in the far North and application of the artificial ground freezing technology for construction of civil and industrial buildings require an accurate description of frost heave caused by freezing of pore water in soils. It is important to understand this processes at the developing stage for the aim of safety exploitation of constructions. The present work is devoted to an experimental and theoretical study of the frost heave in laboratory samples of water saturated sand. Artificial freezing of the sample is performed in a chest freezer. During freezing measurements of temperature and strain are carried out by a control system consisting of a set of thermocouples and fiber optic sensors based on Bragg gratings. To analyze the obtained experimental data, a thermo-hydro-mechanical model has been developed. Water saturated soil is supposed to be three phase porous media consisting of a drained skeleton, water and ice. The model includes the energy conservation equation, the mass balance equations for moisture and ice content, the equilibrium equation and the constitutive relations taking into account an influence of the phase transition of water on heat and mass transfer and the additional volumetric strain. The numerical solution of the nonlinear partial differential equations of the model is performed by the finite element method. The feature of the model is a possibility to take into account the crystallization kinetics on the frost heave of the freezing saturated soil. As a result of the study, a good qualitative and quantitative agreement between a temperature measurement in the volume of the sample and the results of the simulation has been obtained. A comparison of the fiber-optic sensors readings with the results of the numerical simulation has shown that the calculated values are slightly deviated from the experimental ones. On the basis of the measurements analysis and the numerical results it can be concluded that the frost heave proceeds in a long time after the phase transition starts within the temperature range below the temperature of water freezing.

This paper presents an algorithm for isolating a useful acoustic signal (corresponding to damage accumulation) against the background of a signal used to model the performance of an industrial rotary equipment. Acoustic emission signals induced by deformation and fracture were studied using a uniaxial tensile test on woven laminate samples cut along the fiber and weft directions. The background signal is a random composition of acoustic pulses used to model the performance of an industrial rotary equipment. A comparison of useful and noise signals enables us to develop two algorithms based on frequency filtering of a signal and its decomposition into empirical modes. These algorithms can be used to isolate useful AE pulses against the background of all signal intensities under consideration.

Background: In this paper the mechanical properties of armco-iron are studied experimentally. The ultrasonic testing machine USF-2000 was used to carry out fatigue tests involving 10⁶–10¹⁰ loading cycles. The frequency of loading is 19.5 ± 0.5 kHz. Based on the experimental data, the Wöhler curve was obtained. Methods: For the analysis of physical condition, two new sensors were designed, one of which measured the electric resistance of the sample and the other measured the magnetic permeability. Second measuring method can be applied to ferromagnetic materials only, though it may be useful for studying the mechanical properties of metals in general. Results: It was shown that the significant changes in physical processes accompanying the evolution of structural defects in the material were observed in the final stages of the experiment. Conclusions: The applied measurement techniques allowed us to exactly determine the time of fatigue crack initiation below the surface the material, which cannot be monitored by the standard optic methods.