Investigation on inductive heating of A356 alloy for thixo-forming

To meet the demands of continuous stream-line for component production in the thixo-forming industry, billet heating should be of high quality and in a controllable way. A 4-step inductive heating strategy for aluminum alloy A356 was performed. Thixotropic testing and microstructure analysis showed that a homogenous temperature distribution was achieved after temperature-power-time optimization. Theoretical analysis was given concerning the thermal conductivity and heat capacity of A356 between conventional and semisolid casting microstructures. The experimental results show that the optimized 4-step strategy could be the best strategy for billet heating during the thixo-forming of aluminum alloy A356.     

Bulk metallic glass rings prepared by a modified water quenching method

Bulk metallic glass rings have the potential applications as annular gasket and active solder in special fields. The bulk metallic glass ring of Zr_1.2Ti_13.8Cu_12.5Ni_10.0Be_22.5 with the outer diameter, the inner diameter, and the thickness of 38, 36, and 5 mm, respectively, was prepared by using a special shaped quartz tube water quenching method. The mechanical properties along the whole cross section were investigated by a nanoindentation method, and no evident variation of the Young's modulus and hardness was found, further indicating the single amorphous structure. Amorphous ring and tube-shape parts with different dimensions can be produced by this method.     

Intergranular corrosion behavior of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel

The intergranular corrosion (IGC) behavior of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel (HNSS) sensitization treated at 650-950℃ was investigated by the double loop electrochemical potentiodynamic reactivation (DL-EPR) method. The effects of the electrolytes, scan rate, sensitizing temperature on the susceptibility to IGC of HNSS were examined. The results show that the addi-tion of NaCl is an effective way to improve the formation of the cracking of a passive film in chromium-depleted zones during the reactivation scan. Decreasing the scan rate exhibits an obvious effect on the breakdown of the passive film. A solution with 2 mol/L H₂SO₄+1 mol/L NaCl+0.01 mol/L KSCN is suitable to check the susceptibility to IGC of HNSS at a sensitizing temperature of 650-950℃ at a suitable scan rate of 1.667 mV/s. Chromium depletion of HNSS is attributed to the precipitation of Cr₂N which results in the susceptibility to IGC. The synergistic effect of Mo and N is suggested to play an important role in stabilizing the passive film to prevent the attack of IGC.     

Numerical simulation on the rheo-diecasting of the semi-solid A356 aluminum alloy

The effect of injection pressure, piston velocity, and the forming temperature of semisolid slurry on the filling behavior of the semi-solid A356 aluminum alloy was investigated by simulation methods. The simulation results show that these processing parameters have an important effect on the filling behavior of the semi-solid A356 aluminum alloy. The slurry flows steadily in the cavity when the injection pressure, the piston velocity, and the forming temperature are low, but it is prone to turbulent flow when the injection pressure, the piston velocity, and the forming temperature are much higher. Therefore it is necessary to determine the appropriate processing parameters to get a steady flow of the slurry in the cavity.     

Characterization of Fe3Si-based coatings on low silicon steel by pulsed Nd:YAG laser cladding

The Fe₃Si based coating was produced on the Fe-1 Si steel surface by a pulsed Nd:YAG (yttrium aluminum garnet) laser. Its phase constitution and microstructure were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscope (OM), and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) with associated energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The hyperfine structure of the coating was studied by Mrssbauer spectra (MS) and the magnetic property was also measured at room temperature by a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The obtained coating is pore and crack-free with dense microstructure and high Si content. The metallurgical bonding between the coating and the substrate was realized. The microstructure of the coating is typical fine dendrites. The major phase was confirmed by XRD and TEM to be the ordering D0₃ structured Fe₃Si phase. In addition, there were smaller amounts of the Fe₅Si₃ phase and the γ-Fe phase in the coating. Compared with the substrate, the laser cladding coating has a lower saturation magnetization and a higher coercive force. The poor magnetic property might be because of rapid solidification microstructure and phase constitution in the coating.     

Assessment of wind energy potential in China

China wind atlas was made by numerical simulation and the wind energy potential in China was calculated. The model system for wind energy resource assessment was set up based on Canadian Wind Energy Simulating Toolkit （WEST） and the simulating method was as follows. First, the weather classes were obtained depend on meteorological data of 30 years. Then, driven by the initial meteorological field produced by each weather class, the meso-scale model ran for the distribution of wind energy resources according each weather class condition one by one. Finally, averaging all the modeling output weighted by the occurrence frequency of each weather class, the annual mean distribution of wind energy resources was worked out. Compared the simulated wind energy potential with other results from several activities and studies for wind energy resource assessment, it is found that the simulated wind energy potential in mainland of China is 3 times that from the second and the third investigations for wind energy resources by CMA, and is similar to the wind energy potential obtained by NREL in Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment （SWERA） project. The simulated offshore wind energy potential of China seems smaller than the true value. According to the simulated results of CMA and considering lots of limited factors to wind energy development, the final conclusion can be obtained that the wind energy availability in China is 700 - 1 200 GW, in which 600 - 1 000 GW is in mainland and 100 - 200 GW is on offshore, and wind power will become the important part of energy composition in future.     

The study on the evolution of real estate industry based on the theory of self organization

Based on some basic principles of self-organization theory including dissipation structure and synergy,the author analyzes the condition,dynamic and evolving route of the self-organization evolution of the real estate industry,and builds synergetic evolution model,calculates out the order parameter of the real estate industry. The paper supplies new methods and tools for further research of real estate industry and contributes to reference of the government for its direction of macro-control.     

Development of neutron moisture gauge in China

According to measuring mode （in-hopper, surface, transmitted and scattered neutron moisture gauge）, this paper introduced the development and application of neutron moisture gauge in China since 1970s.     

Study on structural system of Sutong Bridge

Sutong Bridge, whose layout is [ （100 ＋ 100 ＋300） ＋ 1 088 ＋ （300 ＋ 100 ＋ 100） ] m,marks the largest span of cable-stayed bridges in the world. The complex natural condition at the bridge site and the strict requirements for resistance of wind and seismic action make it crucial to choose a favorable structural system to assure the function and safety of the bridge. The comparison among several optional structural systems for Sutong Bridge is illustrated. After detailed analysis is carried out for viscous damper and hydraulic buffer, super liquid viscous damper with additional displacement limitation is designed for the first application in bridge engineering. The parameters for the damper is analyzed and studied and the dampers are installed successfully after quality tests.     

Effect of AlP master alloy on grain refinement of primary silicon in eutectic Al-Si alloys

To obtain the finer primary silicon crystals, the proprietary Al-P master alloy was adopted to modify the eutectic Al-Si alloys and the most suitable modification process was made in the experiments. The SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) and DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimeter) analysis indicate that the Al-P modifier has more advantages over Cu-P and Fe-P modifier in easily addition, no elemental alteration and less undercooling of primary silicon′s solidification, which suggests the Al-P master alloy is an effective modifier of eutectic Al-Si alloys.