Optimizing HVOF Spray Parameters to Maximize Bonding Strength of WC-CrC-Ni Coatings on AISI 304L Stainless Steel

High velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF)-sprayed cermet coatings are extensively used to combat erosion-corrosion in naval applications and in slurry environments. HVOF spray parameters such as oxygen flow rate, fuel flow rate, powder feed rate, carrier gas flow rate, and spray distance have significant influence on coating characteristics like adhesion bond strength and shear strength. This paper presents the use of statistical techniques in particular response surface methodology (RSM), analysis of variance, and regression analysis to develop empirical relationships to predict adhesion bond strength and lap shear bond strength of HVOF-sprayed WC-CrC-Ni coatings. The developed empirical relationships can be effectively used to predict adhesion bond strength and lap shear bond strength of HVOF-sprayed WC-CrC-Ni coatings at 95% confidence level. Response graphs and contour plots were constructed to identify the optimum HVOF spray parameters to attain maximum bond strength in WC-CrC-Ni coatings.     

Sliding Wear Characteristics of Friction Stir Processed CAST ZK60 Magnesium Alloy Under Different Applied Loads

Wear resistance and poor friction are the two main draw backs of magnesium alloys that restricts structural applications. Therefore it is essential to enhance the tribological properties of magnesium alloys with the help of surface engineering without causing significant antagonistic effects on the properties of the base metal. Friction stir processing (FSP) is one of the promising thermo-mechanical processing techniques that alters the micro-structural and tribological properties of the material with low production at less period of time. Hence, this investigation enable us to study an effect of friction stir processing on wear characteristics of cast ZK60 magnesium alloy. A pin-on-disc wear testing machine was used to evaluate the wear resistance of surface modified ZK60 magnesium alloy. The result shows that the surface modification by FSP resulted in 26% increase in hardness compared to parent metal. The formation of finer grains and subsequent increase in hardness are the main reasons to improve wear resistance of FSPed ZK60 magnesium alloy.     

Optimization of friction stir spot welding process parameters of dissimilar Al 5083 and C 10100 joints using response surface methodology

Using response surface methodology, optimization of friction stir spot welding process parameters of dissimilar Al 5083 and C 10100 joints were experimented. The predominant requirement was to obtain reduced interface hardness and increased tensile shear failure load. For specification of experimental conditions, central composite design matrix was used, with three factors and five levels. With Al 5083 alloy and C 10100 copper twenty joints were made. Experimentally, tensile shear failure load and interface hardness were measured. Significant main parameters and interaction process parameters were evaluated using analysis of variance (ANOVA) method. Regression analysis was used for development of empirical relationship. Design expert software was used for optimization of friction stir spot welding process parameters by using response graphs and constructing contour plots. At 95% confidence level, prediction of tensile shear failure load and interface hardness of the dissimilar Al 5083—C 10100 joints were done using the empirical relations that were developed. The optimum conditions of Al 5083—C 10100 joints by friction stir spot welding process were evaluated using contour plots.     

Model driven middleware: A new paradigm for developing distributed real-time and embedded systems

Distributed real-time and embedded (DRE) systems have become critical in domains such as avionics (e.g., flight mission computers), telecommunications (e.g., wireless phone services), tele-medicine (e.g., robotic surgery), and defense applications (e.g., total ship computing environments). These types of system are increasingly interconnected via wireless and wireline networks to form systems of systems. A challenging requirement for these DRE systems involves supporting a diverse set of quality of service (QoS) properties, such as predictable latency/jitter, throughput guarantees, scalability, 24x7 availability, dependability, and security that must be satisfied simultaneously in real-time. Although increasing portions of DRE systems are based on QoS-enabled commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and software components, the complexity of managing long lifecycles (often ∼15-30 years) remains a key challenge for DRE developers and system integrators. For example, substantial time and effort is spent retrofitting DRE applications when the underlying COTS technology infrastructure changes.This paper provides two contributions that help improve the development, validation, and integration of DRE systems throughout their lifecycles. First, we illustrate the challenges in creating and deploying QoS-enabled component middleware-based DRE applications and describe our approach to resolving these challenges based on a new software paradigm called Model Driven Middleware (MDM), which combines model-based software development techniques with QoS-enabled component middleware to address key challenges faced by developers of DRE systems — particularly composition, integration, and assured QoS for end-to-end operations. Second, we describe the structure and functionality of CoSMIC (Component Synthesis using Model Integrated Computing), which is an MDM toolsuite that addresses key DRE application and middleware lifecycle challenges, including partitioning the components to use distributed resources effectively, validating software configurations, assuring multiple simultaneous QoS properties in real-time, and safeguarding against rapidly changing technology.     

Fabrication and morphological control of three-dimensional cage type mesoporous titanosilicate with extremely high Ti content

TiSBA-1 materials with extremely high Ti content, up to silicon to titanium ratio (n_Si/n_Ti) of 2.4, have been successfully prepared through direct synthesis method by controlling the molar ratio of hydrochloric acid to silicon (n_HCl/n_Si). It has been found that the amount of Ti content and the structure of the TiSBA-1 can easily be controlled by the simple adjustment of n_HCl/n_Si ratio. X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) of the obtained materials revealed that the materials are highly ordered and possess cubic three-dimensional cage type structure with open windows. N₂ adsorption–desorption measurement confirmed the narrow pore size distribution, high specific surface area (1317–1491 m² g⁻¹), and large specific pore volume (0.68–0.75 cm³ g⁻¹) for all the samples. UV–vis DR spectra of the prepared materials confirmed that Ti atoms are exclusively incorporated within silica framework and occupy the tetrahedral position while the presence of isolated bulk titania could be negligible. Morphologies of the TiSBA-1 materials have been also controlled by simply adjusting the n_Si/n_Ti ratio. With the appropriate Ti content, TiSBA-1 materials can be obtained as regular fine spheres. Moreover, the detailed mechanism on the morphological and phase transition control, and the incorporation of high amount of Ti in the framework of TiSBA-1 materials has been also discussed in detail.     

Fatigue Performance of Gas Tungsten Arc, Electron Beam, and Laser Beam Welded Ti-6Al-4V Alloy Joints

Titanium alloys have been successfully applied for aerospace, ship, and chemical industries because they possess many good characteristics such as high strength to weight ratio, superior corrosion resistance, and excellent high temperature resistance. Though these alloys show reasonable weldability characteristics, the joint properties are greatly influenced by the welding processes. The evaluation and prediction of fatigue life are very important for the welded joints to avoid catastrophic failure particularly in titanium alloys. This article compares the fatigue performance of Ti-6Al-4V alloy fabricated by gas tungsten arc welding, laser beam welding, and electron beam welding processes. The resultant fatigue properties of the welded joints are correlated with the tensile properties and microstructural characteristics. Of the three processes considered the joint welded by laser beam welding exhibits higher fatigue limit when compared with the other two processes due to the presence of fine lamellar microstructure in the weld metal region.     

Role of substrate temperature on the structural,optoelectronic and morphological properties of (400) oriented indium tin oxide thin films deposited using RF sputtering technique

RF sputtering process has been used to deposit highly transparent and conducting films of tin-doped indium oxide onto quartz substrates keeping the RF power constant at 250 W. The electrical, optical and structural properties have been investigated as a function of substrate temperature. XRD has shown that deposited films are polycrystalline and have (400) preferred orientation. Indium tin oxide layers with low resistivity values and high transmittance in the visible region have been deposited. Detailed Analyses based on X-ray diffraction, optical and electrical results are attempted to gain more insight into the factors that are governed by the influence of varying substrate temperature in this investigation. AFM pictures showed uniform surface morphology with very low surface roughness values. It has been observed that ITO films deposited in this study, keeping the substrate temperature at 150 °C, can provide the required optimum electrical and optical properties rendering them useful for developing many optoelectronic devices at a moderate temperature.