skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Simulations of creep in ductile-phase toughened Nb{sub 5}Si{sub 3}/Nb in-situ composites

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/161524· OSTI ID:161524
;  [1]; ;  [2]
  1. Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)
  2. UES, Inc., Dayton, OH (United States)

The primary and steady-state creep behavior of ductile-phase toughened Nb{sub 5}Si{sub 3}/Nb in-situ composites has been simulated using analytical and finite element (FE) continuum techniques. The microstructure of these composites is complex, consisting of large, elongated primary dendrites of the ductile (Nb) solid-solution phase in a eutectoid matrix with the silicide as the continuous phase. This microstructure has been idealized to facilitate the modeling; the effects of these idealizations on the predicted composite creep rates are discussed. Further, it has been assumed that the intrinsic creep behavior of each phase within the composite is the same as that of the corresponding bulk material. Thus, the experimentally measured creep properties of the bulk Nb{sub 5}Si{sub 3} and (Nb) phases have been analyzed to provide the required material constants in the creep constitutive equation. Model predictions of the steady-state composite creep rate have been compared with the experimental results for a Nb-10 at.% Si alloy. While accurate at low stress, the models under predict the composite creep rate at large stresses because the composite stress exponent is under predicted. In the case of primary creep, the models somewhat over predict the composite creep strain but are reasonably accurate given uncertainties in the primary creep data. Finally, FE predictions of the tensile stress distributions within the composites have been shown to be qualitatively consistent with the cracking observed experimentally during tertiary creep.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States); Department of Defense, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-48
OSTI ID:
161524
Report Number(s):
UCRL-JC-119224; CONF-941144-177; ON: DE96002655; CNN: Contract F33615-91-C-5663; TRN: AHC29601%%79
Resource Relation:
Conference: Fall meeting of the Materials Research Society (MRS), Boston, MA (United States), 28 Nov - 9 Dec 1994; Other Information: PBD: 28 Nov 1994
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English