The Relationship Between Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Late 19th/Early 20th Century Wrought Iron Using the Generalized Method of Cells Model

Published

March 1, 2002

Author(s)

J J. Hooper, L Graham, Timothy J. Foecke, Timothy P. Weihs

Abstract

The discovery of the RMS Titanic has led to a number of scientific studies, one of which addresses the role that the structural materials played in the sinking of the ship. Chemical, microstructural, and mechanical analysis of the hull steel suggests that it was state-of-the-art for 1912 with adequate fracture toughness for the application. However, the quality of the wrought iron rivets may have been an important factor in the opening of the steel plates during flooding. Preliminary studies of Titanic wrought iron rivets revealed an orthotropic, inhomogeneous composite material composed of glassy iron silicate (slag) particles embedded in a ferrite matrix. To date, very little is understood about the properites of wrought iron from that period. Therefore, in order to assess the quality of the Titanic material, contemporary wrought iron was obtained from additional late 19th/early 20th century buildings, bridges, and ships for comparison. Image analysis completed on the Titanic wrought iron microstructure shows a high slag content that is very coarse and unevenly distributed. These results will be presented and compared with similar studies on additional period samples. To investigate how microstructure impacts the mechanical properites, and hence the quality of late 19th/early 20th century wrougth iron, a detailed analysis of the relationship between the microstructural features and the mechanical behavior will be completed. Here we present the first step in the process: the use of the Generalized Method of Cells (GMC) to predict the mechanical response of composites with variable microstructural properites. The GMC tool is used to generate the effective inelastic behavior of the composite from the individual constitutent properites.

Proceedings Title

Materials Issues in Art and Archeology VI, Symposium II | | Symposium II Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology VI | Materials Research Society

Volume

712

Conference Dates

November 26-30, 2001

Conference Location

Undefined

Conference Title

Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings

Pub Type

Conferences

Keywords

properties, wrought iron

Citation

Hooper, J. , Graham, L. , Foecke, T. and Weihs, T. (2002), The Relationship Between Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Late 19th/Early 20th Century Wrought Iron Using the Generalized Method of Cells Model, Materials Issues in Art and Archeology VI, Symposium II | | Symposium II Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology VI | Materials Research Society, Undefined (Accessed April 19, 2024)