Enhancing High-Temperature Strength and Thermal Stability of Al_2O_3/Al Composites by High-Temperature Pre-treatment of Ultrafine Al Powders

Amorphous Al_2 O_3-reinforced Al composite(am-Al_2 O_3/Al) compacted from ultrafine Al powders for high-temperature usages confronts with drawbacks because crystallization of am-Al_2 O_3 at high temperatures will result in serious strength loss.Aiming at this unsolved problem,in this study,high-temperature Al materials with enhanced thermal stability were developed through introducing more thermally stable nano-sized particles via high-temperature pre-treatment of ultrafine A1 powders.It was found that the pre-treatment at ≤550℃ could introduce a few Al_2 O_3 in the Al matrix and increase the strength of the composites,but the strength was still below that of am-Al_2 O_3/Al because without being pinned firmly,grain boundaries(GBs) were softened at high temperature and intergranular fracture happened.When the pre-treatment was carried out at 600℃,nitridation and oxidation processes happened simultaneously,producing large numbers of intergranular(AlN+γ-Al_2 O_3) particles.GB sliding and intergranular fracture were suppressed;therefore,higher strength than that of am-Al_2 O_3/Al was realized.Furthermore,the(AIN+γ-Al_2 O_3)/Al exhibited more superior thermal stability compared to amAl_2 O_3/Al for annealing treatment at 580℃ for 8 h.Therefore,an effective way to fabricate high-temperature Al composite with enhanced thermal stability was developed in this study.     

Experimental study and CFD numerical simulation of an innovative vapor splitter in dividing wall column

The vapor split ratio (R_V) adjustment plays an important role on energy efficiency during dividing wall column (DWC) operation. In order to achieve active control of R_V, this aticle presents an innovative vapor splitter driven by hydraulics. The vapor flows into main tower from prefractionation section through the rectangle hole located at the end of the partition. Vapor splitting is implemented by the change of flow resistance at the rectangular hole caused by adjusting the liquid level on the bottom plate. This design makes full use of the hydraulic properties in DWC, employing simpler construction with single tunable parameter. Numerical simulations and laboratory tests were both carried out to validate its performance in the DWC with a diameter of 600 mm. The results demonstrate that the desired R_V can be handled effectively in the approximate range from 0.5 to 2, basically satisfying the industrial demand for the gas distribution.     

The grain-boundary resistance of CeO2 ceramics: A combined microscopy-spectroscopy-simulation study of a dilute solution

Weakly acceptor-doped ceria ceramics were characterized structurally and compositionally with advanced transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques and electrically with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The grain boundaries studied with TEM were found to be free of second phases. The impedance spectra, acquired in the range 703 ≤ T/K ≤ 893 in air, showed several arcs that were analyzed in terms of bulk, grain-boundary, and electrode responses. We ascribed the grain-boundary resistance to the presence of space-charge layers. Continuum-level simulations were used to calculate charge-carrier distributions (of acceptor cations, oxygen vacancies, and electrons) in these space-charge layers. The acceptor cations were assumed to be mobile at high (sintering) temperatures but immobile at the temperatures of the EIS measurements. Space-charge formation was assumed to be driven by the segregation of oxygen vacancies to the grain-boundary core. Comparisons of data from the simulations and from the EIS measurements yielded space-charge potentials and the segregation energy of vacancies to the grain-boundary core. The space-charge potentials from the simulations are compared with values obtained by applying the standard, analytical (Mott–Schottky and Gouy–Chapman) expressions. The importance of modelling space-charge layers from the thermodynamic level is demonstrated.     

Viscoelastic behaviors and drying kinetics of different aqueous gelcasting systems for large Nd: YAG laser ceramics rods

Large and nondeforming Nd: YAG ceramic prepared by wet forming is of great importance as gain medium to obtain high-power solid-state lasers. However, it is difficult to achieve high-quality laser ceramics due to insufficiency of the in-depth understanding of transformation mechanism of gels viscoelasticity and effective control means during drying process. In this work, the rheological behaviors, viscoelastic characteristics, and mechanical strengths in classical acrylamide (AM) and novel Isobam (PIBM) gelcastings were systematically compared to explore the suitable route for the large-sized 2% Nd: YAG transparent ceramics with high aspect ratio (>10). AM system exhibited a higher complex viscosity (1.82 × 10⁵ Pa s), a shorter gel time (92.9 seconds), and a higher flexural strength (about 24.46 MPa) than PIBM system, and especially its ability to quickly gel was beneficial to the homogeneity of green body. In addition, the order of drying rates of wet gels in four drying media was observed as follows: 55℃ hot air> ethanol> solid desiccant> PEG-11000 and the moisture diffusion coefficients were calculated and simulated to offer the deep consideration of drying kinetics. The “ethanol + 55℃ hot air” was regarded as an effective composite drying method to eliminate defect and to achieve φ8 mm × 160 mm Nd: YAG ceramic with the in-line transmittance of 83% @1064 nm. Therefore, not only the cognition of gel process, but also the defects control strategy is proposed. More importantly, this work greatly promotes the application of wet forming and laser ceramics in high-power lasers.     

Poly(vinyl alcohol)/carboxyl graphene mixed matrix membranes: High-power ultrasonic treatment for enhanced pervaporation performance

High-power ultrasonic treatment was conducted during the mixing process to obtain poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/carboxyl graphene (CG) mixed matrix membranes (MMMs). Results from X-ray photoelectron spectrometer and thermogravimetric analysis confirmed the enhanced esterification reaction. The increased amorphous region and free volume were investigated by wide-angle X-ray diffraction and positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope measurements suggested that ultrasonic could uniformly disperse CG in PVA polymer matrix. The mechanical properties and hydrophilicity of as-prepared membrane were enhanced due to ultrasonic treatment. The permeation flux and separation factor of PVA/CG-US membrane for 90 wt % ethanol aqueous solution were 0.79 kg m⁻² h⁻¹ and 860, respectively. For methanol (15 wt %)/methyl tert-butyl ether mixture, its permeation flux and separation factor were also increased significantly compared with membranes without ultrasonic treatment. Due to the simplicity of the ultrasonic process and the versatility of the inorganic fillers, this method may contribute to the design of various MMMs and extend the application of these membranes in different uses. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48526.     

Micro/nanocellular polyprolene/trans-1,4-polyisomprene (PP/TPI) blend foams by using supercritical nitrogen as blowing agent

Toughed polypropylene (PP) foams, with the combination of blending with trans-1,4-polyisoprene (TPI) and micro/nanocellular structure in the matrix, were prepared using a batch foaming process and N₂ as the blowing agent. The incorporation of TPI in the PP matrix induces the enhanced formability and the slightly improved ductility and toughness compared to the neat PP. The simultaneous existence of the TPI phase and micro/nanocellular structure makes the fracture behavior follow the shear yielding of a bundle of fibrils in the tensile load direction. The results of mechanical properties measurements show that the notched Izod impact strengths of foamed PP/TPI blend are two to three times larger than those of the unfoamed counterparts. The PP/TPI blend foam with 5phr TPI content shows the highest impact strength when the foaming temperature is 140°C, which is fivefold increase over that of the neat PP. The enhanced ductility and toughness of PP/TPI foams were found with the increasing foaming temperature. The insert of micro−/nanocellular in PP/TPI blends simultaneously makes the notched impact strength increase significantly, tensile strength decrease, and elongation at break increase obviously, which provides the possibility to combine the higher impact strength and toughness with the advantage of microcellular foaming. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 60:211–217, 2020. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers