Thermal analysis and design of a volumetric solar absorber depending on the porosity

The thermal evaluation of different absorber configurations for a volumetric solar receiver designed for a solar furnace has been carried out by means of commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software in a 2D numerical model. Simulation results for proposed configurations depending on the porosity are discussed and compared to find the optimum configuration for which flow instabilities and thermal stresses are minimized and higher efficiencies are reached. The results obtained from the comparison of air velocity and thermal profiles at the absorber outlet propose a gradual-porosity configuration as an alternative to a previous design of a porous silicon-carbide honeycomb structure in order to heat an air stream up to temperatures suited for several high-temperature industrial processes.     

Microstructure characterization of W-Ni-Fe heavy alloys with optimized metallographic preparation method

Tungsten heavy alloys (WHA) have been widely adopted in many engineering applications due to their excellent physicochemical properties. Microstructure characterization is a very powerful method ranging from testing materials properties to detecting material failures and defects. However, the microstructure of WHA was not well characterized with the sample prepared by conventional method of etching with strong acids, bases or oxidant after polishing for the coarse surface. To solve the problem, the exact characterization of W-Ni-Fe heavy alloys microstructure was conducted using the sample prepared by optimized polishing method. A series of experiments were conducted to find the suitable polishing conditions including polishing pad, abrasive slurry and slurry pH. The results show that a smooth and clear microstructure sample was obtained by polishing with alkaline colloidal silica and IC polishing pad, which contained few defects compared with that obtained by conventional method of etching after polishing. The microstructure of W-Ni-Fe heavy alloys was analyzed by XRD, EDS tests and EPMA detection. The slipping phenomenon was observed in nanoindentation test using the prepared sample for the first time and the mechanism of satisfactory microstructure sample preparation was illustrated.     

Physicochemical and thermo physical characterization of CaO–CaF2–SiO2 and CaO–TiO2–SiO2 based electrode coating for offshore welds

This paper investigates the physicochemical and thermo-physical properties of CaO–CaF₂–SiO₂ and CaO–TiO₂–SiO₂ based electrode coating for welding offshore structures. Twenty-one electrode coating compositions have been formulated using extreme vertices design method. The coating was crushed to powder form. The powder was characterized for weight loss, density, specific heat, enthalpy, thermal conductivity, diffusivity, and specific heat. Coating's structural analysis was done using X-Ray Diffraction and Fourier transformation. X-Ray Fluorescence, Thermogravimetric Analyzer, and Hot disc have been used to characterize the coating mixture. The regression analysis has been used to study the effect of individual constituents and their binary, tertiary interactions on the properties. The obtained output of properties has been optimized using multi-response optimization.     

Effect of swaging on microstructure and mechanical properties of liquid-phase sintered 93W-4.9(Ni,Co)-2.1Fe alloy

The effect of swaging on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 93W-4.9Ni-2.1Fe alloy was investigated. The alloy was prepared by liquid-phase sintering under hydrogen atmosphere followed by vacuum heat treatment and swaging at 600 °C with different area reductions (ranging from 15.0% to 84.8%). The as-swaged alloy with area reduction 84.8% exhibits the highest ultimate tensile strength (about 1490 MPa) and the lowest elongation (about 2.5%), which has been attributed to higher fraction of tungsten cleavage. For the as-sintered alloys, the fracture modes are a combination of the ductile rupture of W-Ni-Fe-Co matrix, transgranular cleavage of the tungsten particles, W-W interfacial segregation and W-M interfacial debonding, whereas transgranular cleavage of the tungsten particles is the main characteristic in the as-swaged alloy. Transmission electron microscopy images indicate that tungsten grains and W-Ni-Fe-Co matrix phase are composed of high-density dislocations. Based on the results, when running the swaging of 93W-4.9(Ni, Co)-2.1Fe alloy at 600 °C, the strengthening mechanism can be mainly due to the working-hardening.     

Approach to an FE simulation of coating damage on bulk metal forming tools

This paper describes the numerical simulation of failure mechanisms of coated forming tools and explains the procedure of a finite element analysis (FEA) of the coating - substrate - system.The development of a static failure model is explained using the examples of thermally sprayed and amorphous carbon coatings. Furthermore, its implementation into the FE model is demonstrated. Sprayed thick coatings are used initially, the developed methods are then transferred to amorphous thin coatings. Necessary thermomechanical material properties, especially in the case of thin coatings, as well as system characteristics such as adhesion strength are insufficiently known. Together with FEA several techniques are employed to determine applicable model parameters using parameter identification. The paper only considers monolayers. In a first approximation both substrate and coating are considered homogeneous and isotropic.     

Crystallization and thermal expansion behavior of lithium zinc silicate sealing glass

Effect of heat treatment schedule on the crystallization and thermal expansion behavior of a lithium zinc silicate glass system was investigated by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), X-ray diffraction, and linear thermal expansion test. Two well-defined crystallization exothermic peaks were observed from the DSC trace. According to the apparent activation energies and avrami parameter values calculated from the two crystallization exothermal peaks, the first crystallization exothermal peak was attributed to a combining surface and internal crystallization behavior, while the second one was found to be internal crystallization. Additionally, the phase evolution and the thermal expansion behavior with increasing heat treatment temperature were found to be closely related. Interestingly, it was found in comparison with previous reports that addition of CaO varies the phase composition of the resulting glass–ceramic in an opposite way to K₂O and the deep rooted reason has been discussed which may cast light on the modulation of properties of glass–ceramic involved crystalline phase of quartz or cristobalite. At last, average thermal expansion coefficient of 7.99–15.38×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ in the temperature range of 25–400 °C has been obtained with different heat treatment schedules.     

Co3O4 microtubules derived from a biotemplated method for improved lithium storage performance

A simple and effective biotemplated method is applied to fabricate porous microtubular cobalt oxide by infiltration of cotton fiber with a cobalt nitrate solution, followed by annealing at 500 °C in air. The as-obtained Co₃O₄ have been characterized by: X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), N₂ adsorption and desorption measurements, and thermal analysis (TG). According to these results, the as-prepared Co₃O₄ display a perfect tubular morphology and mesoporous features. The electrochemical performance of the as-obtained sample was studied for use as a lithium-ion battery anode material by cyclic voltammetry (CV), and charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (ESI) measurements. Compared to bulk Co₃O₄ and previously reported nanostructured Co₃O₄ electrodes, mesoporous microtubular Co₃O₄ show an improved lithium storage properties, which can be attributed to their unique morphology, large specific surface area and mesoporous feature.     

微小型五轴数控机床的研制

为了满足微小复杂结构件的加工需要和机床误差补偿技术的研究,研制了一台微小型五轴数控机床实验平台,本体尺寸为580 mm×450 mm×570 mm。机床实验平台为卧式双转台结构,布局紧凑,空间利用率高,各轴采用了直线电机、直驱马达、丝杠滑台驱动方式。分析了机床的主要薄弱环节,并进行了受力分析和优化设计,仿真结果表明机床变形量由原来的69.323μm减小为2.686μm,得到了显著的改善。对机床进行了模态仿真,分析机床前四阶振型变形规律,为机床弱刚度变形误差补偿提供了参考依据。对加工刀路进行了规划和模拟,完成了铝合金棒料的加工实验。实验结果表明机床具有较好的加工能力,并验证了加工刀路规划的正确性。     

30CrMnSi/Cu/V/TC4电子束焊接试验研究

使用Cu/V中间层实现了30CrMnSi合金钢与TC4钛合金的电子束焊接,探究了接头组织和性能特征。结果表明,通过添加Cu/V过渡层金属可以避免Ti-Fe元素的直接混合反应生成脆硬的金属间化合物。焊缝不同区域分布着不同组分及性能的特征相,靠近钢侧焊缝为偏聚形成的富Fe相与富Cu相,靠近钛侧焊缝在形成Ti-V固溶体的同时也形成了少量Ti-Cu金属间化合物。接头的抗拉强度最高为418 MPa,接头失效于焊缝与30CrMnSi母材界面处的熔合线位置。