Tunable Terahertz Source Based on Optics Pumped Nonlinear Crystals

Recent progresses about optical pumped tunable terahertz （THz） sources are interviewed, including THz parametric oscillation （TPO） and difference frequency generation （DFG）. We develop high efficiency and high power surface-emitted TPO, as well as DFG with nonlinear crystals. A novel scheme for the high efficiency DFG source based on the Cherenkov phase-matching technology is comprehensively investigated in both bulk crystals. The widely tunable optical THz radiation is also researched based on the organic nonlinear 4-N,N-dimethylamino-4＇-N＇- methylstilbazolium 2,4,6-trimethylbenzenesulfonate （DSTMS） crystal.     

工艺参数设置和厚度对电子束熔融加工Ti-6Al-4V合金微观结构的影响

研究了试件尺寸和工艺参数(电子束强度,扫描速度,焦点偏移量和扫描长度)对电子束熔融(EBM)加工Ti-6Al-4V合金微观结构的影响。结果表明,可以观察到EBM加工的Ti-6Al-4V合金的微观结构由原始β相的柱状晶粒组成。在柱状晶粒内部观察到典型的(α+β)结构,即魏氏体α片和在细小的α晶粒的界面上形成的杆状β相。还发现沿原始β柱状晶粒的晶界形成的α层晶界。随着试件厚度、电子束能量密度和扫描长度的增加,先前的β柱状晶粒的直径增大,并且生长的方向与加工方向一致。同时,柱状晶粒直径随着试件高度的增加而减小。随着试件厚度和电子束能量密度的增加,α片会变得更粗大。     

Enhancement of Strength–Ductility Balance of the Laser Melting Deposited 12CrNi2 Alloy Steel Via Multi-step Quenching Treatment

A ferrite–austenite 12CrNi2 alloy steel additively manufactured by laser melting deposition(LMD) was heat treated by direct quenching(DQ) and tempering inter-critical quenching(TIQ) at 800 ℃ for enhancing its strength–ductility balance. Both heat-treated alloy steels have the martensite–ferrite dual-phase(DP) microstructures. The volume fractions of martensite in the two treated alloy steels are nearly similar(～ 85 vol%), while the sizes of the prior austenitic grain for martensite are different. The martensite-dominated DP microstructure resulted in an obvious improvement in strength–ductility balance of the alloy steel. Compared with the DQ treatment, the multi-step TIQ treatment caused the strength–ductility balance of the alloy steel to be enhanced due to its higher total elongation. The better ductility of the TIQ-treated alloy steel can be attributed to the optimization of the microstructure. The preferred orientation of ferritic grain in the as-deposited alloy steel which was adverse to plastic deformation through dislocation slip was eliminated via the multi-step TIQ treatment. Moreover, the TIQ treatment promoted the formation of finer-grained martensite with larger areas of grain boundaries and twinning boundaries which resulted in the enhancement of the coordinated deformability of the martensite with the ferrite.     

Synthesis of Metal Oxides@C (Metal =Ni,Fe) Based Prussian Blue Analogs as a High-performance Anode Material for Lithium-ion Battery

Ni3[Fe(CN)6]2 nano-cubic precursors were prepared by chemical coprecipitation at room temperature with nickel acetate and potassium ferricyanide as raw materials.The corresponding NiFe2O4-NiO@C composites with excellent crystallization were prepared by two-stage oxidation at low temperature.The microstructure and electrochemical behavior of the materials showed that the Prussian blue analog was transformed into metal oxide while the carbon coating was maintained in the two-stage oxidation at low temperature.The existence of the carbon coating reduces the charge transfer impedance to 31.5 Ω.At the current density of 500 mA/g,the reversible capacity of 632.7 mAh/g is maintained after 500 cycles.At the same time,carbon cladding can also enhance the role of pseudocapacitance in the material.At the scanning rate of 0.1 mV/s,the pseudocapacitance account for 54.4％ of the total discharge capacity,which is significantly higher than that of uncoated materials.     

Glass formation in Fe-Cr-Zr-B-Mo alloys by tuning Nb addition

Fe-based bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) with high boron content have potential application as a coating material used in the framework for storing spent nuclear fuels to support their safe long-term disposal. The high glass forming ability (GFA) and large supercooled liquid region are therefore required for such Fe-based BMGs in either the glassy powder fabrication or the subsequent coating spraying. In order to meet these requirements, the influence of Nb content on the GFA of Fe₅₇Cr₁₀Zr₈B₁₈Mo_7−xNb_x (x=1–5, at.%) alloys was investigated, as Nb has positive roles in GFA and thermal stability of BMGs. The results indicate that a fully amorphous phase in the as-cast samples with 3 mm in diameter is obtained for both the Fe₅₇Cr₁₀Zr₈B₁₈Mo₅Nb₂ and Fe₅₇Cr₁₀Zr₈B₁₈Mo₄Nb₃ alloys. The corresponding supercooled liquid regions of the two BMGs are 78 K and 71 K, respectively. The mechanism for improving their GFA was analyzed based on the principle of metal solidification, the parameters for glass formation and thermal properties of the alloys. The compression strength and Vicker’s hardness of the two BMGs are 1,950 MPa and 1,310 HV, 2,062 MPa and 1,180 HV, respectively. The developed BMGs with high B content, good GFA, and very high hardness can be used as coating materials to the framework for spent nuclear fuels.

     

Additive manufacturing and foundry innovation

Additive manufacturing is expected to transform and upgrade the traditional foundry industry to realize the integrated manufacturing and rapid and low-cost development of high-performance components with complex shapes. The additive manufacturing technology commonly applied in casting mold preparation (fusible molds, sand molds/cores and ceramic cores) mainly includes selective laser sintering (SLS) and binder injection three-dimensional printing (3DP). In this work, the research status of SLS/3DP-casting processes on material preparation, equipment development, process optimization, simulation and application cases in aerospace, automotive and other fields were elaborated. Finally, the developing trends of the additive manufacturing technology in the future of foundry field are introduced, including multi-material sand molds (metal core included), ceramic core-shell integration and die-casting dies with conformal cooling runners.     

Motion planning and tracking control of a four-wheel independently driven steered mobile robot with multiple maneuvering modes

Frontiers of Mechanical Engineering - Safe and effective autonomous navigation in dynamic environments is challenging for four-wheel independently driven steered mobile robots (FWIDSMRs) due to the...     

A Comparative Study on Asperity Peak Modeling Methods

The peak identification scheme based method(three-point definition) and the spectral moments based method(spectral moment approach) are both widely used for asperity peak modeling in tribology. To discover the differences between the two methods, a great number of rough surface profile samples with various statistical distributions are first randomly generated using FFT. Then the distribution parameters of asperity peaks are calculated for the generated samples with both methods. The obtained results are compared and verified by experiment. The variation rules of the differences between the two methods with statistical characteristics of rough surfaces are investigated. To explain for the discovered differences, the assumptions by spectral moment approach that the joint distribution of surface height, slope and curvature is normal and that the height distribution of asperities is Gaussian, are examined. The results show that it is unreasonable to assume a joint normal distribution without inspecting the correlation pattern of [z], [z′] and [z′′], and that the height distribution of asperities is not exactly Gaussian before correlation length of rough surface increases to a certain extent, 20 for instance.     

Fatigue Resistance and Failure Behavior of Penetration and Non-Penetration Laser Welded Lap Joints

Penetration and non-penetration lap laser welding is the joining method for assembling side facade panels of railway passenger cars,while their fatigue performances and the difference between them are not completely understood.In this study,the fatigue resistance and failure behavior of penetration 1.5+0.8-P and non-penetration 0.8+1.5-N laser welded lap joints prepared with 0.8 mm and 1.5 mm cold-rolled 301L plates were investigated.The weld beads showed a solidification microstructure of primary ferrite with good thermal cracking resistance,and their hardness was lower than that of the plates.The 1.5+0.8-P joint exhibited better fatigue resistance to low stress amplitudes,whereas the 0.8+1.5-N joint showed greater resistance to high stress amplitudes.The failure modes of 0.8+1.5-N and 1.5+0.8-P joints were 1.5 mm and 0.8 mm lower lap plate fracture,respectively,and the primary cracks were initiated at welding fusion lines on the lap surface.There were long plastic ribs on the penetration plate fracture,but not on the non-penetration plate fracture.The fatigue resistance stresses in the crack initiation area of the penetration and non-penetration plates calculated based on the mean fatigue limits are 408 MPa and 326 MPa,respectively,which can be used as reference stress for the fatigue design of the laser welded structures.The main reason for the difference in fatigue performance between the two laser welded joints was that the asymmetrical heating in the non-penetration plate thickness resulted in higher residual stress near the welding fusion line.     

Mechanical Properties of a Low-thermal-expansion Aluminum/Silicon Composite Produced by Powder Metallurgy

Al matrix composite containing high volume fraction silicon has been promising candidate for lightweight and low-thermal-expansion components.Whereas,optimization of its mechanical properties still is an open challenge.In this article,a flexile powder metallurgy processing was used to produce a fully dense Al—4.0Cu(wt%) alloy composite reinforced with 65 vol.%Si particles.In this composite,Si particles were homogenously distributed,and the particle size was refined to the range of 3—15 μm.Tensile and flexural strength of the composite were 282 and 455 MPa,respectively,about 100%and 50%higher than the best properties reported in literature.The measured fracture toughness of the composite was 4.90 MPa m~(1/2).The improved strength of 65%Si/AI was attributed to the optimized particle characteristics and matrix properties.This investigation is expected to provide a primary understanding of the mechanical behaviors of Si/AI composites,and also promote the structural applications of this low-thermal-expansion material.