Microstructure and corrosion behavior of NiTi shape memory alloys sintered in the SPS process

NiTi shape memory alloys (SMAs) was developed using the spark-plasma sintering (SPS) process with different average particle size (45 µm and 10 µm) under various temperature. The influence of particle size and temperature on the density, microstructure, and corrosion behavior of the NiTi in simulated body fluid was examined. The porosity decreased with increasing sintering temperature and decreasing particle size, which resulted in an increase in density of the alloy. Increasing the sintering temperature led to the formation of Ni- and Ti-rich intermetallic such as Ni₃Ti and NiTi₂. The formation of these secondary phases influenced the corrosion behavior of NiTi by changing its chemical composition. The planar structure of NiTi was transformed into a dendritic structure at 900℃, which resulted in the formation of uniform oxide and phosphate layers on the entire surface. A high corrosion potential and low corrosion current density were achieved with NiTi prepared with 10 µm particles at 900℃, which exhibited superior corrosion resistance.     

Kinetic characteristics of liquid phase sintering of mechanically activated W-15wt% Cu powder

The kinetic characteristics of W grain growth operated by diffusion controlled Oswald ripening (DOR) during liquid phase sintering were studied. A liquid phase sintering of W-15wt%Cu was carried out by pushing compacts into a furnace at the moment when the temperature increased to 1340°C for different sintering times. The results show that liquid phase sintering produces the compacts with considerably low relative density and inversely, rather high homogeneity. On the basis of the data extracted from the SEM images, the kinetic equation of W grain growth, Gn = G₀n+ kt, is determined in which the grain growth exponent n is 3 and the grain growth rate constant k is 0.15 μm3/s. The cumulative normalized grain size distributions produced by different sintering times show self-similar. The cumulative distribution function is extracted from the curves by non-linear fitting. In addition, the sintering kinetic characteristics of W-15wt%Cu compacts were also investigated.     

Preparation of aluminum borate whisker reinforced aluminum phosphate wave-transparent materials

Aluminum borate whisker/aluminum phosphates composites were prepared with normal pressure sintering, It was found that the aluminum borate whisker was effective to suppress the crystallization of aluminum phosphates in the aluminum borate whisker/aluminum phosphates composites and contributed to the improvement of the mechanical properties. After sintered at 1050℃ for 1 h, the flexural strength of the composites with 30 vol% aluminum borate whisker addition reached 215.3 MPa. The dielectric constant and loss tangent of the composites were 4.23 and 0.0024 at 10 GHz.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Cr doped WCoB based cermets by spark plasma sintering and first principle calculation

WCoB based cermet is a potential hard alloy to replace WC-Co cermets with high hardness and corrosion resistance. WCoB based cermets with different Cr doping contents were fabricated by spark plasma sintering in liquid phase sintering stage. The densification behavior, phase composition, microstructure and mechanical properties of Cr doped WCoB cermets were investigated by XRD, EDS and SEM. Due to the lower density of Cr,the density of WCoB cermets decreased with the increasing of Cr doping content. The phase composition consisted of Cr doped WCoB, unreacted W, Co–Cr binary binder phase. When the doping content exceeded11.736 wt%, the Cr enrichment zones appeared, which was harmful to the TRS. The increasing of Cr doping content contributed to the increase of unreacted W phases content and the formation of pores. The maximum value of Vickers hardness was 1751 Hv0.5 at 9.356 wt% Cr doping content. The variation trend was explained by first principle calculation, which is consistent with Hv-Zhou hardness model.     

Effect of B2O3 on the aqueous tape casting and microwave properties of Li2O–Nb2O5–TiO2 ceramics

The effect of B2O3 addition on the aqueous tape casting, sintering, microstructure and microwave dielectric properties of Li2O-Nb2O5-TiO2 ceramics has been investigated. The tape casting slurries exhibit a typical shear-thinning behavior without thixotropy, but the addition of B2O3 increases the viscosity of the slurries significantly. It was found that doping of B2O3 can decrease the tensile strength, strain to failure and density of the green tapes. The sintering temperature could be lowed down to 900℃ with the addition of 2 wt% B2O3 due to the liquid phase effect. No secondary phase is observed. The addition of B2O3 does not induce much degradation on the microwave dielectric properties. Optimum microwave dielectric properties of εr 67, Q×f 6560 GHz are obtained for Li2O-Nb2O5-TiO2 ceramics containing 2 wt% B2O3 sintered at 900 1C. It represents that the ceramics could be promising for multilayer low-temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) application.     

Effect of sintering temperature on the preparation of Cu–Ti3SiC2 metal matrix composite

Ti3SiC2 has the potential to replace graphite as reinforcing particles in Cu matrix composites for applications in brush,electrical contacts and electrode materials.In this paper the fabrication of Cu-Ti3SiC2 metal matrix composites prepared by warm compaction powder metallurgy forming and spark plasma sintering(SPS) was studied.The stability of Ti3SiC2 at different sintering temperatures was also studied.The present experimental results indicate that the reinforcing particles in Cu-Ti3SiC2 composites are not stable at and above 800℃.The decomposition of Ti3SiC2 will lead to the formation of TiC and/or other carbides and TiSi2.If purity is the major concern,the processing and servicing temperatures of the Cu-Ti3SiC2 composite should be limited to 750℃ or lower.The composites prepared by warm compaction forming and SPS sintering at 750℃ have lower density when compared with the composites prepared by SPS sintering at 950℃,but their electrical resistivity values are very close to each other and even lower.     

Sintering Behavior and Microstructure of diphasic β-Sialon/Al2O3 Composites

Six compositions with different ratio of β-Sialon/Al₂O₃ were synthesized from Al₂O₃, Si₃N₄ and SiO₂ by sintering with 3%Y₂O₃(mass fraction) as addition under the cover with powders of SiC+C and at nitrogen atmosphere. Theeffects of atmosphere, sintering temperature and composition on the sintering behavior were studied. The results showedthat the composites reached the best sintering behavior with the highest density about 92% at 1 650℃ under the weakreduction atmosphere. Finally the relative density of diphasic β-Sialon and β-Sialon/Al₂O₃ composites were studied andpredicted using ANN (Artificial Neural Networks) method and the results were experimental examined by fore randomsamples.     

Low-temperature densification sintering and properties of CaAl_2Si_2O_8 ceramics with MeO·2B_2O_3(Me=Ca,Sr,Ba)

Dense CaAl2Si2O8 ceramics were prepared via a two-step sintering process at temperatures below 1000°C. First, pre-sintered Ca Al2Si2O8 powders containing small amounts of other crystal phases were obtained by sintering a mixture of calcium hydroxide and kaolin powders at 950°C for 6 h. Subsequently, the combination of the pre-sintered ceramic powders with Me O·2B2O3(Me = Ca, Sr, Ba) flux agents enabled the low-temperature densification sintering of the CaAl2Si2O8 ceramics at 950°C. The sintering behavior and phase formation of the CaAl2Si2O8 ceramics were investigated in terms of the addition of the three MeO·2B2O3 flux agents. Furthermore, alumina and quartz were introduced into the three flux agents to investigate the sintering behaviors, phase evolvements, microstructures, and physical properties of the resulting CaAl2Si2O8 ceramics. The results showed that, because of their low-melting characteristics, the MeO·2B2O3(Me = Ca, Sr, Ba) flux agents facilitated the formation of the CaAl2Si2O8 ceramics with a dense microstructure via liquid-phase sintering. The addition of alumina and quartz to the flux agents also strongly affected the microstructures, phase formation, and physical properties of the CaAl2Si2O8 ceramics.     

Load reduction sintering for increasing productivity and decreasing fuel consumption

The technical and economical indexes and the physical properties of load reduction sintering processes with the supporting stands of installation at different height levels (300, 350, and 400 mm) in a sintering bed were studied under the same conditions of raw material, bed height, and sintering parameters. Sintering pot tests with different bed heights and fuel ratios of the mixture with or without supporting stands were performed to decrease the fuel consumption. The airflow rate through the sintering bed was measured with an anemoscope fixed on the bed surface to reveal the effects of supporting stands. The utilization of load reduction sintering can improve the permeability of the sintering bed, and the airflow rate through the sintering bed is increased. When the stand height is half of the sintering bed, the productivity increases by 27.9%, and the drum index slightly decreases. Keeping at the same productivity level with normal sintering, the utilization of load reduction sintering can decrease the solid fuel consumption by 9.2%.     

Effect of SiO2 addition on the dielectric properties and microstructure of BaTiO3-based ceramics in reducing sintering

The effect of SiO₂ doping on the sintering behavior, microstructure, and dielectric properties of BaTiO₃-based ceramics has been investigated. Silica was added to the BaTiO₃-based powder prepared by the solid state method with 0.075mol%, 0.15mol%, and 0.3mol%, respectively. The SiO₂-doped BaTiO₃-based ceramic with high density and uniform grain size were obtained, which were sintered in reducing atmosphere. A scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, and LCR meter were used to determine the microstructure as well as the dielectric properties. SiO₂ can form a liquid phase belonging to the ternary system of BaO-TiO₂-SiO₂, leading to the formation of BaTiO₃ ceramics with high density at a lower sintering temperature. The SiO₂-doped BaTiO₃-based ceramics can be sintered to a theoretical density higher than 95% at 1220℃ with a soaking time of 2 h. The dielectric constants of the sample with 0.15mol% SiO₂ addition sintered at 1220℃ is about 9000. Doping with a small amount of silica can improve the sintering and dielectric properties of BaTiO₃-based ceramics.     

Thermal behavior of zirconia-dop ed mullite gel fibers

The zirconia-doped mullite gel fibers were prepared via a sol-gel method.The thermal behaviors of the gel fibers during pyrolysis were investigated by means of thermal gravitydifferential scanning calo...     

Phase stability and thermal conductivity of ytterbia and yttria co-doped zirconia

Rare earth oxides doping has been extensively investigated as one of the effective methods to lower thermal conductivity of 4.55 mol% Y2O3stabilized ZrO2(YSZ) thermal barrier coatings(TBCs).In the present work,5–6 mol% Yb2O3and Y2O3co-doped ZrO2ceramics were synthesized by solid reaction sintering at 1600 1C.The phase stability of the samples after heat treatment at 1500 1C was investigated.Yb2O3and Y2O3co-doped zirconia,especially when Yb2O3/Y2O3≥1,contained less monoclinic phase than single Yb2O3or Y2O3phase doped zirconia,indicating that co-doped zirconia was more stable at high temperature than YSZ.The thermal conductivity of the 3 mol% Yb2O3+3 mol% Y2O3co-doped ZrO2was 1.8 W m 1K 1at 1000 1C,which was more than 20% lower than that of YSZ.     

Effect of CuO addition on the sintering temperature and microwave dielectric properties of CaSiO3– Al2O3 ceramics

CuO-doped CaSiO3–1 wt% Al2O3 ceramics were synthesized via a traditional solid-state reaction method, and their sintering behavior,microstructure and microwave dielectric properties were investigated. The results showed that appropriate CuO addition could accelerate the sintering process and assist the densification of CaSiO3–1 wt% Al2O3 ceramics, which could effectively lower the densification temperature from1250 1C to 1050 1C. However, the addition of CuO undermined the microwave dielectric properties. The optimal amount of CuO addition was found to be 0.8 wt%, and the derived CaSiO3–Al2O3ceramic sintered at 1100 1C presented good microwave dielectric properties of εr?7.27,Q f?16,850 GHz and τf? 39.53 ppm/1C, which is much better than those of pure CaSiO3 ceramic sintered at 1340oC(Q f?13,109 GHz).The chemical compatibility of the above ceramic with 30 Pd/70 Ag during the cofiring process has also been investigated, and the result showed that there was no chemical reaction between palladium–silver alloys and ceramics.& 2014 Chinese Materials Research Society. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.     

Effect of Co addition on crystallization and magnetic properties of FeSiBPCu alloy

The effects of Co addition on the microstructure,crystallization processes and soft magnetic properties of(Fe1 xCox)83Si4B8P4Cu1(x?0.35,0.5,0.65)alloys were investigated.The experimental results demonstrated that the addition of Co decreased the thermal stability against crystallization of the amorphous phase,and thus improved the heat treatment temperature of this alloy.Fe Co Si BPCu nanocrystalline alloys with a dispersedα0-Fe Co phase were obtained by appropriately annealing the as-quenched ribbons at 763 K for 10 min.Theα0-Fe Co with grains size ranging from 9 to 28 nm was identified in primary crystallization.The coercivity(Hc)markedly increased with increasing x and exhibited a minimum value at x0.35,while the saturation magnetic flux density(Bs)shows a slight decrease.The(Fe0.65Co0.35)83Si4B8P4Cu1nanocrystalline alloy exhibited a high saturation magnetic flux density Bsof 1.68 T,a low coercivity,Hcof 5.4 A/m and a high effective permeability meof 29,000 at 1 k Hz.     

Effect of La0.8Sr0.2Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ morphology on the performance of composite cathodes

In the present work,one dimensional La0.8Sr0.2Co0.2Fe0.8O3 δ(LSCF) nanofibers with the mean diameter of about 100 nm prepared by electrospinning were deposited on Gd0.2Ce0.8O1.9(GDC) electrolyte followed by sintering to form one dimensional LSCF nanofiber cathode. And LSCF/GDC composite cathodes were formed by introducing GDC phases into LSCF nanofiber scaffold using infiltration method. The polarization resistances for the composite cathode with an optimal LSCF/GDC mass ratio of 1/0.56 are 0.27,0.14 and 0.07 Ω cm2at 650,700 and750 1C,respectively,which are obviously smaller than 2.26,0.78 and 0.29 Ω cm2of pure LSCF nanofiber cathode. And the activation energy is1.194 eV,which is much lower than that of pure LSCF nanofiber cathode(1.684 eV). These results demonstrate that the infiltration of GDC into LSCF nanofiber scaffold is an effective approach to achieve high performance cathode for solid oxide fuel cells(SOFCs). In addition,the performance of composite cathode in this work was also compared with that of our previous nanorod structured LSCF/GDC composite cathode.     

Epoxy/α-alumina nanocomposite with high electrical insulation performance

An experimental study was conducted to improve the electrical insulation of epoxy resin. The effects of boehmite, γ-alumina and α-alumina nanoparticles on the volume resistivity, dielectric strength and glass transition temperature of epoxy nanocomposites were investigated. The results showed that α-alumina nanoparticles displayed obvious advantages in enhancing electrical insulation performance of epoxy nanocomposites, compared to boehmite and γ-alumina nanoparticles. The direct current volume resistivity and breakdown strength of epoxy nanocomposite with 2.0 wt% α-alumina nanoparticles was improved to 2.2 × 10~(18)Ω cm and76.1 kV mm~(-1) respectively. And these improved values of electrical insulation properties are much higher than these of epoxy nanocomposites reported in previous studies. The main reason of these improvements may be that the epoxy/α-alumina interaction zone was enhanced by crosslink.     

Microstructure, mechanical and thermo-physical properties of hot-pressed Al2O3-GdAlO3-ZrO2 ceramics with eutectic composition

A low cost chemical co-precipitation method was employed to fabricate nanoscale Al_2O_3-GdAlO_3-ZrO_2 powder with eutectic composition. A careful control of reaction conditions was required during the preparation. The synthesized nanopowders exhibited a particle size of 20-200 nm, and were highly dispersive and uniform. The results showed that calcination temperature had an important influence on the phase constituents of the nanopowders. With increasing the calcination temperature, a phase transformation from θ-Al_2O_3 to α-Al_2O_3 and a thermal decomposition from Gd_3 Al_5O_(12)(GdAG) to GdAlO_3 and α-Al_2O_3 occurred in sequence. A calcination temperature of 1300 ℃ was needed for the crystallization of α-Al_2 O_3. These nanosized powders were consolidated via hot pressing to produce a fully densified ceramic composite with eutectic composition. The Al_2O_3-GdAlO_3-ZrO_2 ceramic hot-pressed at 1500 ℃ exhibited a relative density of 99.4%, a flexural strength of 485 MPa and a fracture toughness of 6.5 MPa m~(1/2). The ceramic had a thermal conductivity of 1.9 W m K~(-1) at 1200 ℃ and a thermal expansion coefficient of 9.49 ×10~(-6) K~(-1) at 1100 ℃.     

Mn0.8Zn0.2Fe2O4 nanoparticulates spinel ferrites:An approach to enhance the antenna field strength for improved magnitude versus offset（MVO）

Electromagnetic signals in deep reservoir are very weak so that it is difficult to predict about the presence of hydrocarbon in seabed logging(SBL) environment.In the present work,Mn0.8Zn0.2Fe2O4 nanoferrites were prepared by a sol–gel technique at different sintering temperatures of450 °C,650 °C and 850 °C to increase the strength of electromagnetic(EM) antenna.XRD,FESEM,Raman spectroscopy and HRTEM were used to analyze the phase,surface morphology and size of the nanoferrites.Magnetic properties of the nanoferrites were also measured using an impedance network analyzer.However,nanoferrites sintered at 850 °C with initial permeability of 200 and Q factor of 50 were used as magnetic feeders with the EM antenna.Lab scale experiments were performed to investigate the effect of magnetic field strength in scale tank.SPSS and MATLAB softwares were also used to confirm the oil presence in scale tank.It was observed that the magnitude of the EM waves for the antenna was increased up to 233%.Finally,the correlation values also show 208% increase in the magnetic field strength with the presence of the oil.Therefore,antenna with Mn0.8Zn0.2Fe2O4 nanoferrites based magnetic feeders can be used for deep water and deep target hydrocarbon exploration.