Biomedical subjects

James W McCauley

Publications and source records attributed to James W McCauley.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Behavior of disordered boron carbide under stress.

Gibbs free-energy calculations based on density functional theory have been used to determine the possible source of failure of boron carbide just above the Hugoniot elastic limit (HEL). A range of B4C polytypes is found to be stable at room pressure. The energetic barrier for shock amorphization of boron carbide is by far the lowest for the B12(CCC) polytype, requiring only 6 GPa approximately = P(HEL) for collapse under hydrostatic conditions. The results clearly demonstrate that the collapse of the B12(CCC) phase leads to segregation of B12 and amorphous carbon in the form of 2-3 nm bands along the (113) lattice direction, in excellent agreement with recent transmission electron microscopy results.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

Shock-induced localized amorphization in boron carbide.

High-resolution electron microscope observations of shock-loaded boron carbide have revealed the formation of nanoscale intragranular amorphous bands that occur parallel to specific crystallographic planes and contiguously with apparent cleaved fracture surfaces. This damage mechanism explains the measured, but not previously understood, decrease in the ballistic performance of boron carbide at high impact rates and pressures. The formation of these amorphous bands is also an example of how shock loading can result in the synthesis of novel structures and materials with substantially altered properties.

Journal Article↗