THERMAL FRACTURE OF FUNCTIONALLY GRADED PLATE WITH PARALLEL SURFACE CRACKS

This work examines the fracture behavior of a functionally graded material （FGM） plate containing parallel surface cracks with alternating lengths subjected to a thermal shock. The thermal stress intensity factors （TSIFs） at the tips of long and short cracks are calculated using a singular integral equation technique. The critical thermal shock △Tc that causes crack initiation is calculated using a stress intensity factor criterion. Numerical examples of TSIFs and △Tc for an Al2O3/Si3N4 FGM plate are presented to illustrate the effects of thermal property gradation, crack spacing and crack length ratio on the TSIFs and △Tc. It is found that for a given crack length ratio, the TSIFs at the tips of both long and short cracks can be reduced significantly and △Tc can be enhanced by introducing appropriate material gradation. The TSIFs also decrease dramatically with a decrease in crack spacing. The TSIF at the tips of short cracks may be higher than that for the long cracks under certain crack geometry conditions. Hence, the short cracks instead of long cracks may first start to grow under the thermal shock loading.

Effect of reclaimed sand additions on mechanical properties and fracture behavior of furan no-bake resin sand

In this work, the effects of reclaimed sand additions on the microstructure characteristics, mechanical properties and fracture behavior of furan no-bake resin sand have been investigated systematically within the temperature range from 25 to 600 oC. The addition of 20%-100% reclaimed sand showed dramatic strength deterioration effect at the same temperature, which is associated with the formation of bonding bridges. Both the ultimate tensile strength(UTS) and compressive strength(CS) of the moulding sand initially increase with the increase of temperature, and then sharply decrease with the further increase of temperature, which is attributed to the thermal decomposition of furan resin. The addition amount of reclaimed sand has a remarkable effect on the room temperature fracture mode, i.e., with the addition of 0-20% reclaimed sand, the fracture mode was mainly cohesive fracture; the fracture mode converts to be mixture fracture mode as the addition of reclaimed sand increases to 35%-70%; further increasing the addition to 100% results in the fracture mode of typical adhesive fracture. The fracture surface of the bonding bridge changes from a semblance of cotton or holes to smooth with the increase of test temperature.

Fabrication and Thermal Structural Characteristics of Ultra-high Temperature Ceramic Struts in Scramjets

ZrB_2-SiC based ultra-high temperature ceramic（UHTC） struts were firstly proposed and fabricated with the potential application in the combustor of scramjets for fuel injection and flame-holding for their machinability and excellent oxidation/ablation resistance in the extreme harsh environment. The struts were machined with electrospark wire-electrode cutting techniques to form UHTC into the desired shape, and with laser drilling to drill tiny holes providing the channels for fuel injection. The integrated thermal-structural characteristic of the struts was evaluated in high-temperature combustion environment by the propane-oxygen free jet facility, subject to the heat flux of 1.5 MW/m^2 lasting for 300 seconds, and the struts maintained integrity during and after the first experiment. The experiments were repeated for verifying the reusability of the struts. Fracture occurred during the second repeated experiment with the crack propagating through the hole. Finite element analysis（FEA） was carried out to study the thermal stress distribution in the UHTC strut. The simulation results show a high thermal stress concentration occurs at the hole which is the crack initiation position. The phenomenon is in good agreement with the experimental results. The study shows that the thermal stress concentration is a practical key issue in the applications of the reusable UHTC strut for fuel injection structure in scramjets.

Fracture behavior and microstructure analysis of Al2O3–MgO–CaO castables for steel-ladle purging plugs

Three different castables based on the Al_2O_3–MgO –CaO system were prepared as steel-ladle purging plug refractories： corundum-based low-cement castable（C-LCC）, corundum-spinel-based low-cement castable（C-S-LCC）, and corundum-spinel no-cement castable（C-S-NCC）（hydratable alumina（ρ-Al_2O_3） bonded）. The fracture behavior at room temperature was tested by the method of ＂wedge-splitting＂ on samples pre-fired at different temperatures; the specific fracture energy G′f and notched tensile strength σNT were obtained from these tests. In addition, the Young＇s modulus E was measured by the method of resonance frequency of damping analysis（RFDA）. The thermal stress resistance parameter R′′′′ calculated using the values of G′f, σNT, and E was used to evaluate the thermal shock resistance of the materials. According to the microstructure analysis results, the sintering effect and the bonding type of the matrix material were different among these three castables, which explains their different fracture behaviors.

Transient thermal cracking associated with non-classical heat conduction in cylindrical coordinate system

This paper studies the fracture behavior of a thermoelastic cylinder subjected to a sudden temperature change on its outer surface within the framework of non-classical heat conduction.The heat conduction equation is solved by separation of variable technique.Closed form solution for the temperature field and the associated thermal stress are established.The critical parameter governing the level of the transient thermal stress is identified.Exact expression for the transient stress intensity factor is obtained for a crack in the cylinder.The difference between the non-classical solutions and the classical solution are discussed.It is found that the traditional classical heat conduction considerably underestimates the transient thermal stress and thermal stress intensity factor.

Effect of thermal aging on the fatigue crack growth behavior of cast duplex stainless steels

The effect of thermal aging on the fatigue crack growth（FCG） behavior of Z3CN20？09M cast duplex stainless steel with low ferrite content was investigated in this study. The crack surfaces and crack growth paths were analyzed to clarify the FCG mechanisms. The microstructure and micromechanical properties before and after thermal aging were also studied. Spinodal decomposition in the aged ferrite phase led to an increase in the hardness and a decrease in the plastic deformation capacity, whereas the hardness and plastic deformation capacity of the austenite phase were almost unchanged after thermal aging. The aged material exhibited a better FCG resistance than the unaged material in the near-threshold regime because of the increased roughness-induced crack closure associated with the tortuous crack path and rougher fracture surface; however, the tendency was reversed in the Paris regime because of the cleavage fracture in the aged ferrite phases.

Geothermal data analysis at the high-temperature hydrothermal area in Western Sichuan

The western Sichuan hydrothermal area is located at the northeastern margin of the eastern syntaxis of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which is also the eastern end of the Mediterranean-Himalayan geothermal activity zone. There are 248 warm or hot springs in this area, and 11 have temperatures beyond the local boiling temperature. Most of these hot springs are distributed along the Jinshajiang, Dege-Xiangcheng, Ganzi-Litang, and Xianshuihe faults, forming a NW-SE hydrothermal belt. A geothermal analysis of this high-temperature hydrothermal area is an important basis for understanding the deep geodynamic process of the eastern syntaxis of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In addition, this study offers an a priori view to utilize geothermal resources, which is important in both scientific research and application. We use gravity, magnetic, seismic, and helium isotope data to analyze the crust-mantle heat flow ratio and deep geothermal structure. The results show that the background terrestrial heat flow descends from southwest to northeast. The crustal heat ratio is not more than 60%. The high temperature hydrothermal active is related to crustal dynamics processes. Along the Batang-Litang-Kangding line, the Moho depth increases eastward, which is consistent with the changing Qc/Qm(crustal/mantle heat flow) ratio trend. The geoid in the hydrothermal zone is 4–6 km higher than the surroundings, forming a local "platform". The NW-SE striking local tensile stress zone and uplift structure in the upper and middle crust corresponds with the surface hydrothermal active zone. There is an average Curie Point Depth(CPD) of 19.5–22.5 km in Batang, Litang, and Kangding. The local shear-wave(S-wave) velocity is relatively low in the middle and lower crust. The S-wave shows a low velocity trap(Vs<3.2 km s.1) at 15–30 km, which is considered a high-temperature partial melting magma, the crustal source of the hydrothermal active zone. We conclude that the hydrothermal system in this area can be divided into Batang-type and Kangding-type, both of which rely on a crustal heating cycle of atmospheric precipitation and surface water along the fracture zone. The heat is derived from the middle and lower crust: groundwater penetrates the deep faults bringing geothermal energy back to the surface and forming high-temperature springs.

A fully coupled finite element framework for thermal fracturing simulation in subsurface cold CO2 injection

Thermal fracturing could occur during cold CO2 injection into subsurface warm rock formations.It can be seen in a variety of fields such as carbon geo-sequestration,unconventional gas development,enhanced oil recovery,geothermal energy extraction,and energy geological storage systems.In CO2 geosequestion,limited degree of thermal fracturing due to the cooling effects of cold CO2 injection will enhance well injectivity,especially for those storage formations of low permeability.Thermal fracturing can therefore potentially enhance the injection efficiency and make positive impact on commercialization of CO2 geological storage.However,excessively developed fractures could break down the caprock and cause potential CO2 leakage into overlying rock formations.Risk analysis has to be done based on thermal fracturing simulation in order to maintain caprock integrity.Simulation of thermal fracturing during cold CO2 injection involves the coupled processes of heat transfer,mass transport,rock deforming as well as fracture propagation.To model such a complex coupled system,a fully coupled finite element framework for thermal fracturing simulation is presented.This framework is based on the theory of non-isothermal multiphase flow in fracturing porous media.It takes advantage of recent advances in stabilized finite element and extended finite element methods.The stabilized finite element method overcomes the numerical instability encountered when the traditional finite element method is used to solve the convection dominated heat transfer equation,while the extended finite element method overcomes the limitation with traditional finite element method that a model has to be remeshed when a fracture is initiated or propagating and fracturing paths have to be aligned with element boundaries.

CO_2 permeability of fractured coal subject to confining pressures and elevated temperature: Experiments and modeling

The CO_2 permeability of fractured coal is of great significance to both coalbed gas extraction and CO_2 storage in coal seams, but the effects of high confining pressure, high injection pressure and elevated temperature on the CO_2 permeability of fractured coal with different fracture extents have not been investigated thoroughly. In this paper, the CO_2 permeability of fractured coals sampled from a Pingdingshan coal mine in China and artificially fractured to a certain extent is investigated through undrained triaxial tests. The CO_2 permeability is measured under the confining pressure with a range of 10–25 MPa, injection pressure with a range of 6–12 MPa and elevated temperature with a range of 25–70°C. A mechanistic model is then proposed to characterize the CO_2 permeability of the fractured coals. The effects of thermal expansion, temperature-induced reduction of adsorption capacity, and thermal micro-cracking on the CO_2 permeability are explored. The test results show that the CO_2 permeability of naturally fractured coal saliently increases with increasing injection pressure. The increase of confining pressure reduces the permeability of both naturally fractured coal and secondarily fractured coal. It is also observed that initial fracturing by external loads can enhance the permeability, but further fracturing reduces the permeability. The CO_2 permeability decreases with the elevation of temperature if the temperature is lower than 44°C, but the permeability increases with temperature once the temperature is beyond 44°C. The mechanistic model well describes these compaction mechanisms induced by confining pressure, injection pressure and the complex effects induced by elevated temperature.