High‐resolution X‐ray tomographic workflow to investigate the stress distribution in vitreous enamel steels

Abstract

Vitreous enamel steels (VES) are a class of metal-ceramic composite materials realized with a low carbon steel basement coated by an enamel layer. During the firing phase to adhere the enamel to the metal, several gas bubbles remain entrapped inside the enamel volume modifying its internal structure. In this work high-resolution X-ray computed tomography (micro-CT) was used to investigate these composite materials.The micro-CT reconstructions enabled a detailed investigation of VES minimizing the metal artifacts. The tomograms were used to develop finite element models (FEM) of VES by means of a representative volume element (RVE) to evaluate the thermal residual stresses caused by the manufacturing process, as well as the effect of the 3D bubbles distribution on the internal stress patterns after the thermic gradient. The promising results from this study have the potential to inform further research on such composite materials by optimizing manufacturing processes for targeted applications.

Preface to ToScA 2019 and ToScA 2020 special issue

“…Another advantage in the use of high-resolution XCT resulted in the development of a workflow (Figure 1) to obtain a detailed distribution of bubbles in enamel coatings of vitreous enamel steel. This was then used to generate subject-specific finite element models to investigate residual thermal stress distribution, which could ultimately improve manufacturing of such composite materials for targeted applications (Sensini et al, 2020). Moving to life sciences, Karali et al (2020) reported on the use of in situ XCT mechanics and digital volume correlation to investigate the strain distribution and load-bearing capacity in a regenerating bone fracture of a rodent model stabilised by external fixation, contributing to the understanding of bone regenerative ability.…”

“…It is hoped the papers will provide an insight into recent advancements in the field of tomography. Sensini et al, 2020] et al…”