Intermittent in-situ high-resolution X-ray microscopy of 400-nm porous glass under uniaxial compression: study of pore changes and crack formation

• Published in: Acta materialia
• Main Authors: Schafer, Sebastian, Willot, François, Norouzi Rad, Mansoureh, Kelly, Stephen T., Enke, Dirk, Martins de Souza E Silva, Juliana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2023
• Subjects: Mechanics; Mechanics of materials; Physics
• ISSN: 1359-6454

The properties of porous glasses and their field of application strongly depend on thecharacteristics of the void space. Understanding the relationship between their porous structureand failure behaviour can contribute to the development of porous glasses with long-termreliability optimized for specific applications. In the present work, we used X-ray computedtomography with nanometric resolution (nano-CT) to image a controlled pore glass (CPG) with400 nm-sized pores whilst undergoing uniaxial compression in-situ to emulate a stress process.Our results show that in-situ nano-CT provides an ideal platform for identifying themechanisms of damage within glass with pores of 400 nm, as it allowed the tracking of thepores and struts change of shape during compression until specimen failure. We have alsoapplied computational tools to quantify the microstructural changes within the CPG sample bymapping the displacements and strain fields, and to numerically simulate the behaviour of theCPG using a Fast Fourier Transform/phase-field method. Both experimental and numericaldata show local shear deformation, organized along bands, consistent with the appearance andpropagation of ± 45 degrees cracks.