Fabrication and properties of pressure-sintered reaction-bonded Si3N4 ceramics with addition of Eu2O3–MgO–Y2O3

Dense pressure-sintered reaction-bonded Si₃N₄ (PSRBSN) ceramics were obtained by a hot-press sintering method. Precursor Si powders were prepared with Eu₂O₃–MgO–Y₂O₃ sintering additive. The addition of Eu₂O₃–MgO–Y₂O₃ was shown to promote full nitridation of the Si powder. The nitrided Si₃N₄ particles had an equiaxial morphology, without whisker formation, after the Si powders doped with Eu₂O₃–MgO–Y₂O₃ were nitrided at 1400 °C for 2 h. After hot pressing, the relative density, Vickers hardness, flexural strength, and fracture toughness of the PSRBSN ceramics, with 5 wt% Eu₂O₃ doping, were 98.3 ± 0.2%, 17.8 ± 0.8 GPa, 697.0 ± 67.0 MPa, and 7.3 ± 0.3 MPa m^1/2, respectively. The thermal conductivity was 73.6 ± 0.2 W m^?1 K^?1, significantly higher than the counterpart without Eu₂O₃ doping, or with ZrO₂ doping by conventional methods.     

Re-examination of phase relations between solid solutions in R4Al2O9-R4Si2N2O7-R4Si2O10 (R=Y,Gd, Yb) systems

Samples in Si–Al-R-O-N (R = Y, Gd, Yb) systems were prepared by solid-state reactions using R₂O₃, Al₂O₃, SiO₂ and Si₃N₄ powders as starting materials. X-ray diffraction was done to investigate RAM-J(R) solid solutions [RAM = R₄Al₂O₉, J(R) = R₄Si₂N₂O₇] formation and their equilibrium with RSO (R₄Si₂O₁₀). Phase relations between RAM, J(R) and RSO at 1700 °C were summarized in a phase diagram. It was determined that a limited solid solution of RAM and RSO could be formed along RAM-RSO tie-line, while RAM and J(R) form a continuous solid solution along RAM-J(R) tie-line. In RAM-J(R)-RSO ternary systems, the RAM-J(R) tie-lines were extended towards the RSO corner to form a continuous solid solution area of JRAMss (R = Y, Gd, Yb). The established phase relations in the Si–Al-R-O-N (R = Y, Gd, Yb) systems may facilitate compositional selections for developing JRAMss as monolithic ceramics or for SiC/Si₃N₄ based composites using the solid-solutions as a second refractory phase.     

Pseudocapacitive contributions to electrochemical kinetics in NiOx electrochromic anodes

Because of its ability to change optical absorption dynamically by applied electric field, nickel oxide (NiO) is a promising anodic material in smart windows, which can improve energy conversion efficiency in construction buildings. Although many works have achieved high electrochromic performance with different method. The underlying mechanism is still not fully investigated. In this article, we prepared the NiO films with large specific surface area and high stability by electron beam evaporation. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to figure out the surface morphology and composition of as-deposited films. Afterwards, the electrochemical properties and optical performance of the prepared NiO films were investigated. On this basis, the origin of surface charge was fully analyzed by cyclic voltammetry and diffusion coefficient test. These experimental and theoretical results firmly confirm that both the surface reaction and capacitive effect bring about the excellent EC performance in NiO films. These results not only provide clear evidence about electrochemical kinetics in NiO films, but also offer some useful guidelines for the design of EC materials with higher performance and longer stability.     

Spectral radiance reconstruction from trichromatic camera responses based on orthogonal test and regularized algorithm

Reconstruction of spectral information based on multi‐channel image system is a significant problem in color reproduction, detection, and recognition. A spectral radiance reconstruction from trichromatic digital camera responses is researched in this article. The mapping relationship between the trichromatic imaging system response and the incident spectral radiance is analyzed. Then, in order to remove the ill‐posedness of the problem, a regularized constraint solution model of spectral radiance reconstruction matrix is established. And the spectral radiance can be reconstructed by spectral radiance reconstruction matrices and trichromatic imaging system response. Finally, the spectral radiance reconstruction matrix is estimated by the system radiometric calibration experiment. The input radiance is offered by a LCD display. A 3‐factor and 9‐level orthogonal test is designed for the calibration experiment, and a test set of 24 colors is used for precision analysis. The results show that the average relative mean error of our method is 8.69%, it is lower than that of Wiener filtering method by 2.84%. The method can reconstruct spectral radiance information effectively.     

Synthesis of nanopowders with low agglomeration by elaborating Φ values for producing Gd2O3-MgO nanocomposites with extremely fine grain sizes and high mid-infrared transparency

Refining ceramic microstructures to the nanometric range to minimize light scattering provides an interesting methodology for developing novel optical ceramic materials. In this work, we reported the fabrication and properties of a new nanocomposite optical ceramic of Gd₂O₃-MgO. The citric acid sol-gel combustion method was adopted to fabricate Gd₂O₃-MgO nanocomposites with fine-grain sizes, dense microstructures and homogeneous phase domains. Nanopowders with low agglomeration and improved sinterability can be obtained by elaborating Φ values. Further refining of the microstructure of the nanocomposites was achieved by elaborating the hot-pressing conditions. The sample sintered at 65 MPa and 1300 °C showed a quite high hardness value of 14.3 ± 0.2 GPa, a high transmittance of 80.3 %–84.7 % over the 3?6 μm wavelength range, due mainly to its extremely fine-grain size of Gd₂O₃ and MgO (93 and 78 nm, respectively) and high density.     

Densification mechanism and microstructure characteristics of nano- and micro- crystalline alumina by high-pressure and low temperature sintering

Fully dense ceramics with retarded grain growth can be attained effectively at relatively low temperatures using a high-pressure sintering method. However, there is a paucity of in-depth research on the densification mechanism, grain growth process, grain boundary characterization, and residual stress. Using a strong, reliable die made from a carbon-fiber-reinforced carbon (C_f/C) composite for spark plasma sintering, two kinds of commercially pure α-Al₂O₃ powders, with average particle sizes of 220 nm and 3 μm, were sintered at relatively low temperatures and under high pressures of up to 200 MPa. The sintering densification temperature and the starting threshold temperature of grain growth (T_sg) were determined by the applied pressure and the surface energy relative to grain size, as they were both observed to increase with grain size and to decrease with applied pressure. Densification with limited grain coarsening occurred under an applied pressure of 200 MPa at 1050 °C for the 220 nm Al₂O₃ powder and 1400 °C for the 3 μm Al₂O₃ powder. The grain boundary energy, residual stress, and dislocation density of the ceramics sintered under high pressure and low temperature were higher than those of the samples sintered without additional pressure. Plastic deformation occurring at the contact area of the adjacent particles was proved to be the dominant mechanism for sintering under high pressure, and a mathematical model based on the plasticity mechanics and close packing of equal spheres was established. Based on the mathematical model, the predicted relative density of an Al₂O₃ compact can reach ～80 % via the plastic deformation mechanism, which fits well with experimental observations. The densification kinetics were investigated from the sintering parameters, i.e., the holding temperature, dwell time, and applied pressure. Diffusion, grain boundary sliding, and dislocation motion were assistant mechanisms in the final stage of sintering, as indicated by the stress exponent and the microstructural evolution. During the sintering of the 220 nm alumina at 1125 °C and 100 MPa, the deformation tends to increase defects and vacancies generation, both of which accelerate lattice diffusion and thus enhance grain growth.     

Matrix Manipulation of Directly-Synthesized PbS Quantum Dot Inks Enabled by Coordination Engineering

The direct-synthesis of conductive PbS quantum dot (QD) ink is facile, scalable, and low-cost, boosting the future commercialization of optoelectronics based on colloidal QDs. However, manipulating the QD matrix structures still is a challenge, which limits the corresponding QD solar cell performance. Here, for the first time a coordination-engineering strategy to finely adjust the matrix thickness around the QDs is presented, in which halogen salts are introduced into the reaction to convert the excessive insulating lead iodide into soluble iodoplumbate species. As a result, the obtained QD film exhibits shrunk insulating shells, leading to higher charge carrier transport and superior surface passivation compared to the control devices. A significantly improved power-conversion efficiency from 10.52% to 12.12% can be achieved after the matrix engineering. Therefore, the work shows high significance in promoting the practical application of directly synthesized PbS QD inks in large-area low-cost optoelectronic devices.     

BS960E高强钢激光-电弧复合焊接头氢脆行为研究

氢脆具有很强的微观组织敏感性,威胁着各类高强结构材料的安全服役.采用激光-电弧复合焊工艺对BS960E型高强钢进行焊接,并对接头在原位电化学充氢的条件下进行慢应变速率(10-5s-1)拉伸试验,结合微观组织和断裂特征进行分析并对接头的氢脆行为进行研究.结果 表明,焊接热循环所形成的富马氏体中的细晶区可以使接头表现出一定的氢脆敏感性,马氏体较大的氢扩散系数和较低的氢溶解度以及氢在晶界上的快速扩散是引起接头对氢脆敏感的主要原因,通过控制焊接工艺参数可抑制焊接热循环所引起的马氏体转变量,能够降低BS960E型高强钢激光-电弧复合焊接头的氢脆敏感性.     

Performance analysis of bit error rate of data link system under pulse LFM interference in time-varying rayleigh channel

Wireless Networks - In such mobile platforms as ships and aircraft, the detection and reconnaissance devices are near to the communication facilities. When working at the same time, they will...