Wet abrasive wear behavior of WC-based cermet coatings prepared by HVOF spraying

In this study, three kinds of WC-based cermet coatings including WC–CoCr coating, WC–Ni coating and WC–Cr₃C₂–Ni coating were prepared by the high-velocity oxygen-fuel (HVOF) spraying process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS) and Vickers hardness tester were used to analyze the microstructure and mechanical properties of these coatings. The WC–CoCr coating presented the highest average microhardness of 1205 HV_0.3, and then followed by the WC–Cr₃C₂–Ni coating (1188 HV_0.3) and the WC–Ni coating (1105 HV_0.3). The abrasive wear behavior of the WC-based coatings under the conditions of different applied loads and sediment concentrations were studied by a wet sand-rubber wheel tester. The results indicated that the abrasive wear loss rates of all the coatings increased with the increment of applied load or sediment concentration. In addition, the coatings with higher microhardness appeared to have higher abrasive wear resistance. The abrasive wear resistance of the WC-based coatings was 4–90 times higher than that of AISI 304 stainless steel under the same testing condition. The abrasive wear mechanism of the WC-based coatings was deduced to be the extrusion and removal of binder phases, as well as the fragmentation and peel-off of hard phases.     

SiC nanoparticles incorporation in electroless NiP-Graphene oxide nanocomposite coatings

The presence of SiC nanoparticles within the Graphene oxide (GO) incorporated electroless deposited NiP layers (NiP-GO) on carbon steel substrate was studied in this work. The effect of co-deposition of GO nanoplatelets and/or SiC nanoparticles on the morphology and structure of the heat-treated NiP coatings were investigated by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction, respectively. The results revealed that the heat-treated NiP and NiP–SiC coatings consisted of Ni and Ni₃P phases, whereas the NiP-GO also contains the intermediated Ni₂P and Ni₁₂P₅ metastable phases due to the incomplete precipitation of Ni₃P. Such metastable phases are significantly decreased by the incorporation of SiC nanoparticles in NiP-GO coatings. The mechanical properties of the coatings were characterized by microhardness measurement and “pin on disk” wear test. The corrosion tests were conducted in aqueous 3.5 %wt NaCl using electrochemical measurement for Ni–P, NiP-GO, NiP–SiC, and NiP-GO-xSiC coatings. By co-deposition of SiC nanoparticles, the hardness of NiP-GO is significantly increased and the wear loss is reduced, especially at a high sliding distance during the wear test. The corrosion behavior of the NiP-GO coatings containing different amounts of SiC nanoparticles has been investigated.     

Interplay of the phase and the chemical composition of the powder feedstock on the properties of porous 8YSZ thermal barrier coatings

Some chemical impurities enhance sintering kinetics of ceramic Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBCs) which can cause their premature failure during operation in gas turbine engine by causing reduction in coating’s strain compliance as well as faster bond-coat oxidation due to increased thermal conductivity. Certain chemical impurities are also believed to suppress resistance to tetragonal to monoclinic phase transformation in 8YSZ, which can also be an important factor regarding TBC’s performance. Most of the impurities and some of the monoclinic phase present in the powder feedstocks can survive into the as-sprayed coating. Therefore, there is a general trend towards OEMs requiring the lowest amounts of chemical impurities and the lowest amounts of monoclinic phase in the powder feedstocks. This paper presents a comprehensive investigation aimed at understanding the role and the relative importance of the chemical and phase purities of the powder feedstock for the properties and performance of thick 8YSZ TBCs.     

Effect of functionally graded structure design on durability and thermal insulation capacity of plasma-sprayed thick thermal barrier coating

This paper aimed to design and optimize the structure of a thick thermal barrier coating by adding graded layers to achieve a balance between high thermal insulation capacity and durability. To this end, conventional TBC, conventional TTBC, and functionally graded TTBCs were deposited on the superalloy substrate by air plasma spraying. To determine the quality of the bond strength of the coatings, the bonding strength was measured. The durability of coatings was evaluated by isothermal oxidation and thermal shock tests. Then, at a temperature of 1000 °C, the thermal insulation capacity of the coatings was carried out. The microstructure of the coatings was characterized by a scanning electron microscope. The results showed that the thickness of the TGO layer formed on the bond coat in the conventional TBC and TTBC under the oxidation test at 1000 °C after 150 h was 2.79 and 2.11 μm, respectively, whereas, in the functionally graded TTBC samples, no continuous TGO layer was observed as a result of internal oxidation. The functionally graded TTBC presented higher durability than conventional TTBC due to improved bonding strength, thermal shock resistance, and the lack of a TGO layer at the bond/top coat interface. Also, the thermal insulation capacity of the functionally graded TTBC (with 1000 μm thickness of YSZ coating) was better than TTBC.     

Research and prospect of ceramics for automotive disc-brakes

This article mainly discusses the research status and development trends of ceramics for automotive disc-brakes. According to the ceramic disc-brakes, various properties and characteristics, including fracture toughness, strength, compactness, corrosion resistance, wear resistance, micro-morphology, and thermal stabilities are analyzed. In the field of disc-brakes research, the research directions of the ceramics, including high-temperature performance, bionic structure, layered structure, porous structure, eutectic performance, superhard structure, and machinability are analyzed. The analysis of ceramics is expected to find disc-brake materials in line with the future development trends.     

The crosslinking directing dynamic behavior of polymer latex under the investigation toward waterborne damping coatings

Latex polymers with precisely designed dynamic mechanical behavior are the key for waterborne damping coatings, which are widely desired in noise and vibration reduction with additional environmental benefits. In this work, we synthesized series of polymer latexes with various crosslinking agents (CA) and network distributions through the control on emulsion polymerization processes. We have revealed that the variation on crosslinking can significantly direct the latex behavior under dynamic conditions as well as its films. The variables involve the CA composition, the functionality, the crosslinking manner, the hydrophilic-hydrophobic feature as well as the feeding method. Although all the latex films showed the damping peaks locating in the range from −10 to 70°C, their damping behaviors were quite different. Suggested by the empirical parameters of LA and TA, the product from sequential monomer feeding method tended to give good extensional damping performance. Especially when the crosslinking of diacetone acrylamide (DAAM)/adipic dihydrazide was applied, there was a linear increase on LA with the increasing dosage of DAAM from 0 to 10 mmol in the final monomer addition batch. Meanwhile, good constrained layer damping is expected on the products from the power monomer feeding method with the maximum CA dosage shown below 7.5 mmol. The best TA was achieved when the CA of divinylbenzene was used in the dosage of 5 mmol. These results would be valuable to be referenced in the engineering on organic damping materials toward modern industrial and vehicles applications.     

Modeling unaccounted-for gas among residential natural gas consumers using a comprehensive fuzzy cognitive map

Residential natural gas consumption depends on several factors. Available tools and methods to identify, categorize, and validate effective factors have some limitations, making consumption modeling more complex. Once a comprehensive model of effective consumption factors is developed for residential gas consumers, it can predict consumption. In addition, such a model could be used to verify the accuracy of measuring devices in order to reduce unaccounted for gas (UFG). The key factors affecting residential gas consumption were identified based on previous studies and their mutual effects were analyzed using a fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM) method. The most significant factors and their effects on natural gas consumption in the residential sector were determined. In this study, for the first time, the expected consumption for each consumer was estimated using a consumption index. Generally, if the estimated consumption is significantly different from the amount recorded by the meter, it could suggest a potential source of UFG. The proposed method was applied to the data collected from the residential gas consumers of a small region in Iran (Dasht-e Arjan region, Fars province), and the results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Superhydrophobic PES/PDA/ODTS fibrous mat prepared by electrospinning and silanization modification for oil/water separation

With polydopamine (PDA) acting as interlayer, combined with electrospinning technology and a silanization method, here a versatile method for fabricating a superhydrophobic PES/PDA/ODTS fibrous mat is reported. Scanning electron microscopy, attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and contact angle measurements were applied to characterize the morphologies and chemical composition changes of the prepared fibrous mats. Their separation ability for oil/water mixtures was measured by self‐made instruments. The results show that the fabricated PES/PDA/ODTS fibrous mat displays a water contact angle too large to be assessed by the ordinary amount of water applied in a conventional measurement. In other words, a water drop of less than 10 μL adheres to the syringe needle and leaves with it during the measurement. The prepared PES/PDA/ODTS fibrous mat also shows a threshold sliding angle no more than 2.5°. At the same time, this kind of material exhibits superoleophilicity for organic solvents, such as n‐hexane, gasoline, toluene, and chloroform. The experimental contact angles were also analyzed using the Cassie–Baxter model to gain insights into the fundamental microstructure–wetting property relationship. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 45923.