Measurements of fatigue failure strength of laser-cracked fused silica in air at room temperature for different numbers of laser shots and laser fluences are presented. The failure-strength variability is found to be due mainly to the spectrum of crack depths. Agreement with theory suggests the incorporation of a residual term into the failure–strength equation. Due to its sign, the residual stress is of mouth-opening displacement nature at the crack. Analysis of the residual stress data shows a linear proportionality with crack depth, whereas the failure–strength is inversely proportional to the square root of the crack depth.

The sol-gel technique was applied to the preparation of Eu3+ ion–doped films, which showed persistent spectral hole burning. A gel film of ∼3500-nm thickness was prepared by dip-coating of the solution synthesized from Si(OC2H5)4, CH3Si(OC2H5)3, Eu(NO3)3 · 6H2O, and hydropropyl-cellulose. The spectral hole was burned in the 7F0 → 5D0 transition band of the Eu3+ ions at 7 K, the depth of which was 24% of the total fluorescence intensity and decreased as the heat-treatment temperature of film increased. It was found that the hole was thermally filled and erased above ∼170 K; the temperature at which the hole was erased was lower for the film heated at high temperature.

This paper describes experimental measurements of the linear viscoelastic behavior of the surface of low-density (LD) polyethylene in contact with a pyramidal Berkovich diamond indenter. The experiments were carried out at two different temperatures, 15.9 and 27.2 °C, between frequencies of 0.1 and 800 Hz. Using the shift of the loss tangent between the two temperatures at frequencies lower than 20 Hz and an Arrhenius equation, an activation energy of 105 ± 2 kJ/mol was obtained. This value is in good agreement with the bulk value of the a relaxation of LD polyethylene reported in the literature.

Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and the method of contrast variation were used to measure porosity and crystallite surface area in the energetic system octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX) and to gauge the effects of mechanical deformation on the pore-size distribution and crystallite surface area. The crystallite surface area and the presence of voids (pores) in a high explosive system are known to affect its behavior and overall performance. Measures of these two quantities after an insult, resulting from various process and accident scenarios, can be used to predict the performance of an explosive system after process- and accident-related mechanical deformation. The contrast variation technique allows us to discriminate between internal pores and features that are on or contiguous with the crystallite surface. Measurements were conducted on loose powders of HMX (261 and 10 mm, volume averaged mean particle diameters) and pellets made by uniaxial consolidation to 7 and 10 vol% porosity, respectively. Analysis of the SANS data indicates significant alteration of the intragranular pore structure and systematic shifts in the surface area that are dependent upon mechanical deformation.

In this paper we derive an analytical expression for the indentation load–depth relation during loading in an indentation experiment, namely . The advantage over previously used expressions is that no additional empirical constants are necessary. A comparison between the new expression and results from finite element calculations shows excellent agreement.

The structural deviation of boron-doped vapor-grown carbon fibers (VGCFs) with diameters around 10 μm relative to their undoped counterparts was investigated by polarized microprobe Raman spectroscopy and field-omission scanning electron microscopy as a function of heat-treatment temperature (HTT). Boron doping induces the formation of dislocation loops in the surface, which combine into larger loops with increasing HTT. The depolarization ratio, Dp, of the E2g2 mode for VGCFs increases gradually with increasing HTT, and finally approaches the value of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite, which is consistent with the asymmetric shape of the peak at ∼2725 cm−1 in the second-order Raman spectra. On the other hand, the Dp ratios of the E2g2 mode for boron-doped VGCFs show no deviations up to an HTT of 2100 °C, as compared to that of VGCFs, and decrease with increasing HTT, whereas the Dp ratios of the D peak show a maximum value at 2100 °C, and decrease gradually with increasing HTT. Consistent with these Raman results, boron atoms in the graphite lattice introduce a decreased d002 spacing (accelerating graphitization), but also hinder two-dimensional structural development and increase the amount of disorder. This is done by introducing tilt boundaries and vacancies, which make the Dp ratio of the E2g2 mode lower than the value for polycrystalline graphite, even though the fibers are heat treated at 2800 °C.