Browsing by Subject "aluminum"
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Item Mechanics of Light Weight Proppants: A Discrete Approach(2012-07-16) Kulkarni, MandarProppants are a specific application of granular materials used in oil/gas well stimulation. Employment of hard and soft particle mixtures is one of the many approaches availed by the industry to improve fracture resistance and the stability of the granular pack in the hydraulic fracture. Current industrial practices of proppant characterization involve long term and expensive conductivity tests. However, the mechanics governing the proppant pack response, in particular the effects due to material, shape and size of particles on the pack porosity, stiffness and particle fragmentation are not understood clearly. The present research embodies analytical and experimental approach to model hard (ceramic) and soft (walnut shell and/or pure aluminum) proppant mixtures by taking into account polydispersity in size, shape and material type of individual particles. The hydraulic fracture condition is represented through confined compression and flowback loads. The particle interactions clearly illustrate changes in pore space as a function of pressure, mixture composition and friction. Single particle compression tests on individual particles are carried out to obtain mechanical properties which are incorporated into the finite element models and are further correlated with the compression/crush response of the mixture. The proppant pack stiffness and particle fragmentation depends strongly on the mixture composition as illustrated in the models and experiments. The flowback models demonstrated that the formation of a stable arch is essential to pack stability. Additional variables that enhance flowback resistance are identified as: addition of softer particles to a pack, softer rock surfaces and higher inter-particle friction. The computational studies also led to the discovery of better, and more efficient pack compositions such as - short and thin pure Al needles/ceramic and the pistachio shells/ceramic mixtures. These analytical results have generated great interest and are engaged in the design of experiments to formulate future proppant pack mixtures at Baker Hughes Pressure Pumping, Tomball, TX.Item Micro Joining of Aluminum Graphite Composites(2012-07-16) Velamati, ManasaAdvanced aluminum graphite composites have unique thermal properties due to opposing coefficients of thermal expansion of aluminum and graphite. The thermal and mechanical properties of such composites are anisotropic due to directional properties of graphite fibers and their designed orientation. A joint with different fiber orientations would theoretically produce an isotropic material for thermal management. This paper presents results for welding and brazing of the composite using different joining techniques. Laser welding of Al-Gr composite showed that a power density above 30kW/mm2 gives a weld with microstructure defects. Also the laser beam melts the matrix and delaminates the graphite fibers. The molten aluminum reacts with graphite to form aluminum carbide (Al4C3). The joint strength is compromised when laser welding at optimal conditions to minimize the carbide formation. Also porosity and redistribution of graphite fibers is seen during laser welding. These defects prompt us to consider a low temperature joining. Brazing is considered since the low melting temperature of a filler material suppresses the formation of Al4C3 while minimizing pores and microstructural defects in the joint. Microstructural study and shear test are performed to analyze the joints. Shear strengths of brazed joints are determined to be 20-21MPa which is comparable to the composite shear strength (46.5MPa in x-y plane and 19MPa in z plane). The fracture surface is found to be mostly on the composite rather than in brazed material or along the interface. Also, the microstructural study showed no Al4C3 formation and minimal porosity in the brazed region. These results show a successful joining of the composite using laser brazing and resistance brazing methods.Item Modeling of Tool Wear and Tool Fracture in Micromilling(2012-02-14) Shiosaki, DominicMicromachining is the next generation of precision material removal at the micro scale level due to the increase in miniaturization of commercial products. The applications of this technology extend anywhere from electronics to micro scale medical implants. Micromilling has the potential to be the most cost effective and efficient material removal process due to ease of use and accessibility of the tools. This research analyzes vibration of a high speed spindle and then studies micromilling of aluminum and titanium. Finite element analysis and tool modeling compliment experimental data. Cumulative tool wear based on Taylor model shows decreasing tool life with increasing feed rate and increasing cutting speed on aluminum. Inconsistent results are seen when micromilling titanium due to premature chipping of tool noses. A significant nose wear plastically deforms a micromilled subsurface and is verified with microstructure study and microhardness measurements.Item Reduction of Perchlorate and Nitrate by Aluminum Activated by pH Change and Electrochemically Induced Pitting Corrosion.(2011-08-08) Raut Desai, Aditya B.Highly oxidized species like perchlorate and nitrate that are released into the environment by anthropogenic activities are a source of concern as they have been known to contaminate groundwater. These species are extremely soluble in water and can migrate through aquifer systems, travelling substantial distances from the original site of contamination. Due to their high solubility, these oxy-anions cannot be treated using conventional treatment processes like filtration and sedimentation. Several treatment technologies are currently available to abate the human health risk due to exposure to perchlorate and nitrate. However, most of the existing treatment processes are expensive or have limitations, like generation of brines with high concentrations of perchlorate or nitrate. Aluminum can effectively reduce perchlorate and nitrate, if the protective oxide film that separates the thermodynamically reactive Al0 from most environments is removed. Aluminum was activated by pH change and electrochemically induced, pitting corrosion to remove the passivating oxide layer and expose the underlying, thermodynamically reactive, zero-valent aluminum. A partially oxidized species of aluminum, like monovalent aluminum, is believed to bring about the reduction of perchlorate and nitrate. This research studied the reduction of perchlorate and nitrate by aluminum that was activated by these two mechanisms. Results indicated that aluminum activated by pH change resulted in an instantaneous decrease in perchlorate concentration without any increase in chlorate or chloride concentrations, which suggests that the perchlorate might be adsorbed on the aluminum oxide surface. However, aluminum activated by electrochemically induced pitting corrosion can effectively reduce perchlorate to chlorate. Nitrate, on the other hand, was reduced completely to ammonia by both treatment mechanisms. The studies conducted in this dissertation suggest that aluminum can be effectively used as a reducing agent to develop a treatment process to reduce perchlorate and nitrate.Item Synthesis and Properites of Nanotwinned Silver and Aluminum(2013-07-31) Bufford, Daniel CRecent studies of fcc metals with dense twins (~10 nm spacing) have revealed impressive mechanical properties, along with improved ductility and electrical conductivity in comparison to nanocrystalline metals with similar feature sizes. Many important fcc metals could benefit from these ?nanotwinned? microstructures, however, not all fcc metals readily form such twins. The tendency of fcc metals to form twin boundaries is related to the twin boundary energy; those with low twin boundary energy, such as silver (Ag), easily form twins. Increasing twin boundary energy interferes with twin formation, to the point that in metals with high twin boundary energy, like aluminum (Al), twins are quite rare. This thesis focuses on the synthesis of nanotwinned Ag and Al via physical vapor deposition. Nanotwinned Ag is readily fabricated, however, a template approach had to be developed to induce twins in Al. The microstructures and their relationships to observed mechanical properties are also discussed. Grain boundaries interfere with dislocation transmission by posing a slip system discontinuity between grains. Twin boundaries are a special class of grain boundaries in which the grains on either side of the boundary are related by mirror symmetry. Twin boundaries inhibit dislocation transmission, providing strength in the same manner as grain boundaries. However, their symmetrical structure reduces the free volume and grain boundary energy. Accordingly, coherent twin boundaries are often more energetically stable than grain boundaries, and their coherency allows plasticity mechanisms to remain active under conditions where such mechanisms may be inhibited at grain boundaries. Hence, twin boundaries may provide a metal with unique combinations of high strength and good ductility, conductivity, and thermal stability.Item Viscoelastic Analysis of Sandwich Beams Having Aluminum and Fiber-reinforced Polymer Skins with a Polystyrene Foam Core(2010-07-14) Roberts-Tompkins, Altramese L.Sandwich beams are composite systems having high stiffness-to-weight and strength-to-weight ratios and are used as light weight load bearing components. The use of thin, strong skin sheets adhered to thicker, lightweight core materials has allowed industry to build strong, stiff, light, and durable structures. Due to the use of viscoelastic polymer constituents, sandwich beams can exhibit time-dependent behavior. This study examines and predicts the time-dependent behavior of sandwich beams driven by the viscoelastic foam core. Governing equations of the deformation of viscoelastic materials are often represented in differential form or hereditary integral form. A single integral constitutive equation is used to model linear viscoelastic materials by means of the Boltzmann superposition principle. Based on the strength of materials approach, the analytical solution for the deformation in a viscoelastic sandwich beam is determined based on the application of the Correspondence Principle and Laplace transform. Finite element (FE) method is used to analyze the overall transient responses of the sandwich systems subject to a concentrated point load at the midspan of the beam. A 2D plane strain element is used to generate meshes of the three-point bending beam. User material (UMAT) subroutine in ABAQUS FE code is utilized to incorporate the viscoelastic constitutive model for the foam core. Analytical models and experimental data available in the literature are used to verify the results obtained from the FE analysis. The stress, strain, and deformation fields during creep responses are analyzed. Parameters such as the viscosity of the foam core, the ratio of the skin and core thicknesses, the ratio of the skin and core moduli, and adhesive layers are varied and their effect on the timedependent behavior of the sandwich system is examined.