Trends in bulk compressibility of Mo2-xWxBC solid solutions

The Mo2-xWxBC system is of interest as a material with high hardness while maintaining moderate ductility. In this work, synchrotron diffraction experiments are performed on Mo2-xWxBC solid solutions, where x = 0, 0.5, and 0.75, upon hydrostatic compression to ~54 GPa, ~55 GPa, and ~60 GPa, respectively. Trends in bulk modulus, K0, are evaluated by fitting collected pressure-volume data with a third-order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state, finding K0 = 333(9) GPa for Mo2BC, K0 = 335(11) GPa for Mo1:5W0:5BC, and K0 = 343(8) GPa for Mo1:25W0:75BC. While K0 demonstrates a slight increase when Mo is substituted by W, calculated zero pressure unit cell volume, V0, exhibits the opposite trend. The decrease in V0 corresponds to an increase in valence electron density, hardness, and K0. Observations corroborate previously reported computational results and will inform future efforts to design sustainable materials with exceptional mechanical properties.

Mathematical simulation of elastoplastic deformation in cubic materials with an account of anisotropic bulk compressibility

It was shown for the first time that when modelling the deformation of materials with cubic symmetry (at full stress), the rotation of the computational axes leads to the identification of anisotropic volumetric compressibility. Loading of the materials with cubic symmetry of properties in the directions not coincided with the main directions (for example, 011) allows one to detect 75% cases of the auxetic single crystals (i.e. with negative Poisson’s ratio). In these cases, the negative volumetric compressibility has anisotropy, in contrast to the volumetric compressibility calculated along the crystallographic axes for cubic materials. Anisotropy of the volumetric compressibility leads to anisotropy of velocities of propagation of body waves. This paper considers several elastoplastic problems for a cubic material with different orientations of a coordinate system about its crystallographic axes. The behaviour of such a material under dynamic loads is modelled with an account of anisotropic bulk compressibility to provide the same anisotropy of bulk wave velocities in the elastic and plastic ranges and a uniform pressure function at the elastic-to-plastic strain transition. For each orientation of the coordinate system and respective planes, different values at the indicatrices of elastic constants are specified, and this specifies different deformation processes in cubic materials. Such an effect is demonstrated by solving three problems in three-dimensional (3D) statements approximating the following processes: (1) one-dimensional elastoplastic deformation in a thin target impacted by a thin plate; (2) uniform compression in a spherical body under pulsed hydrostatic pressure; and (3) 3D elastoplastic deformation in a cylindrical body striking a rigid target in view of anisotropic bulk compressibility. The problems were solved numerically using original programs based on the finite element method modified by GR Johnson for impact problems. Solving problems in a 3D formulation makes it possible to take into account the dependences of the direction of the elastic and plastic characteristics of the material, as well as the velocities of propagation of elastic and plastic waves from that direction. The simulation results suggest that for cubic materials, changing the orientation of two coordinate axes in a plane changes the strains along all three axes, including those perpendicular to this plane. It is concluded that anisotropic bulk compressibility in cubic materials should be allowed for by mathematical models of their elastic and plastic deformation. We demonstrate that the orientation of a computational coordinate system for cubic materials should be in those directions in which their deformation is analysed in each particular case.

Effects of Pressurizing Cryogenic Treatments on Physical and Mechanical Properties of Shale Core Samples—An Experimental Study

The technique of cryogenic treatments requires injecting extremely cold fluids such as liquid nitrogen (LN2) into formations to create fractures in addition to connecting pre-existing fracture networks. This study investigated the effects of implementing and pressurizing cryogenic treatment on the physical (porosity and permeability) and mechanical properties (Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, and bulk compressibility) of the Marcellus shale samples. Ten Marcellus core samples were inserted in a core holder and heated to 66 °C using an oven. Then, LN2 (−177 °C) was injected into the samples at approximately 0.14 MPa. Nitrogen was used to pressurize nine samples at injection pressures of 1.38, 2.76, and 4.14 MPa while the tenth core sample was not pressurized. Using a cryogenic pressure transducer and a T-type thermocouple, the pressure and temperature of the core holder were monitored and recorded during the test. The core samples were scanned using a computed tomography (CT) scanner, and their porosities, permeability, and ultrasonic velocities were measured both before and after conducting the cryogenic treatments. The analyses of CT scan results illustrated that conducting cryogenic treatments created new cracks inside all the samples. These cracks increased the pore volume, and as a result, the porosity, permeability, and bulk compressibility of the core samples increased. The creations of the new cracks also resulted in reductions in the compressional and shear velocities of the samples, and as a result, decreasing the Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio. Moreover, the results revealed that pressurizing the injected LN2 increased the alterations of aforementioned properties.