Fracture toughness of the molten zone of resistance spot welds
A methodology for measuring the fracture toughness at crack initiation and the crack extension resistance of the molten zone of resistance spot welds under Mode I loading has been developed. The cross tensile test of U-shaped specimens was modified by crack growth monitoring and stress intensity factor determination. The resulting values of fracture toughness at crack initiation are independent of the nugget diameter and of the base material mechanical properties. The crack extension resistance seems to depend on base material mechanical properties and nugget diameter. Mixed cleavage + ductile mode associated to medium values of fracture toughness (54–90 $$\text{ MPa }\,\text{ m }^{0.5}$$) suggested a ductile to brittle transition behaviour. The relatively low fracture toughness (55–59 $$\text{ MPa } \,\text{ m }^{0.5}$$) associated to full interfacial ductile failure was quantitatively related to the high number density of small particles in the molten zone. This study opens the possibility to apply the local approach to fracture under monotonic loading to interfacial failure of resistance spot welds.
Understanding the factors controlling the interfacial failure strength of advanced high-strength steel resistance spot welds: hardness vs. fracture toughness
ABSTRACT The failure of advanced high-strength steels’ spot welds is a critical issue for automotive crashworthiness. This paper deals with understanding the underlying factors of the tensile-shear strength of automotive steels’ resistance spot welds during interfacial failure. It was found that the ratio of the fracture toughness to the hardness of the fusion zone is the critical factor governing the interfacial failure mechanism: ductile shear failure (controlled by the fusion zone hardness) vs. cleavage crack propagation (controlled by the fracture toughness). This clarification could pave the way for more accurate modelling of interfacial failure of advanced steel resistance spot welds and shed light on the design of proper post-weld heat treatment for improving the weld mechanical performance.
Selective etching of InP in NaF solution
Abstract The crossing porous structure of InP has been obtained by electrochemical etching in NaF solutions. The behavior of the periodic oscillation occurs at different potential ranges for the different concentrations of solutions, and it will disappear with the concentration of the solution decreased. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) image shows that the pores have two directions on the surface and are perpendicular to each other. The two directions are assigned to [0 1 1] and [ 0 1 ¯ 1 ], respectively. The SEM image of the cross-section also shows that the two directions are assigned to [1 1 1]B and [ 1 1 ¯ 1 ¯ ]B. Both are due to the selective etching of F− ions. The crossing porous structure of InP is a very promising feature for the three-dimensional structure of III–V compound semiconductors for photonic band gap materials.