Preparation of a CeO2–ZrO2 based nano-composite with enhanced thermal stability by a novel chelating precipitation method

In this study, a chelating agent is introduced to prepare CeO₂–ZrO₂ nano-composite through a precipitation process. The physicochemical properties of the oxide precursors, nano composite materials are strongly dependent on the preparation method and whether a chelating agent is used. Adding an appropriate quantity of chelating agent SO₄²⁻ can facilitate thermal stability and phase structure uniformity of CeO₂–ZrO₂ mixed oxides. The calculation results showed that the Gibbs free energy of chelating complex of [ZrSO₄]²⁺ (ΔG = −127.2469 kJ/mol) is higher than the [Ce(III)SO₄]⁺ (ΔG = -29.8279 kJ/mol). The precipitation chemical potential of Zr⁴⁺ moves close to the precipitation chemical potential of Ce³⁺. The novel and low-cost chelating precipitation method can modify the homogeneity of the compounds at the atomic scale, which can offer a powerful opportunity for, and provide direction in, the design of materials with exceptional properties.     

Thermodynamic calculation of S−Sb system and Cu−S−Sb system

Sb₂S₃ and CuSbS₂ have been proposed as alternative earth-abundant absorber materials for thin-film solar cells. However, no thermodynamic study of the S−Sb binary system and the Cu−S−Sb ternary system were investigated. In this paper, The S−Sb system and the Cu−S−Sb system are calculated utilizing the so-called CALPHAD (CALculation of PHAse Diagrams) technique. Using TEM-EDS and XRD, Cu_0.9Sb₁S₂ is experimentally confirmed at the Cu₁Sb₁S₂ and Sb₂S₃ two-phases region in the isothermal section at 673 K of the Cu−S−Sb ternary system. Given the asymmetric shape and miscibility gap of the liquidus in the S−Sb phase diagram, the associate solution model for the liquid phase is adopted. The solution phases (liquid, bcc, fcc) are treated with the Redlich–Kister equation. The compounds S₃Sb₂, Cu₃SbS₃, Cu₁₂Sb₄S₁₃, CuSbS₂, and Cu₃SbS₄ are described as a stoichiometric compound. A set of self-consistent thermodynamic parameters of the S−Sb binary system and the Cu−S−Sb ternary system are obtained. The calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental data. This study provides a set of reliable thermodynamic parameters to the Cu−Sb−S thermodynamic database, and a cost-effective tool to design material synthesis experiments and manufacturing processes.     

AlF3-(Li,Na)F-(Al2O3-Y2O3)熔盐体系物理化学性质研究

为进一步优化电解制备Al-Cu-Y合金的热、动力学条件,对AlF₃-(Li, Na)F-(Al₂O₃-Y₂O₃)熔盐体系的密度、黏度及电导率变化规律进行研究。分别采用阿基米德法、连续变化电导池常数法和旋转法测定AlF₃-(Li, Na)F-(Al₂O₃-Y₂O₃)熔盐体系在温度为900~1 000 ℃范围内,n((Li, Na)F): n(AlF₃)=2.5时的密度(ρ)、电导率(σ)、黏度(η)随温度和组分的变化规律,结果表明:在温度900~1 000 ℃范围内,AlF₃-(Li, Na)F-(Al₂O₃-Y₂O₃)体系中Al₂O₃和Y₂O₃的含量一定,密度-温度、黏度-温度和电导率-温度之间均呈线性关系。在温度为950 ℃条件下,熔盐体系的密度随Al₂O₃含量的增加而线性减小,随Y₂O₃含量的增加而线性增加; 电导率随Y₂O₃或Al₂O₃含量的增加而线性减小; 体系的黏度则随Y₂O₃或Al₂O₃含量的增加而线性增加。      

工艺参数对等离子束表面冶金铁基涂层组织及性能的影响

采用等离子束表面冶金技术，在Q235钢表面制备了铁基合金涂层。试验研究了等离子束表面冶金工艺参数（如工作电流、扫描速度等）对冶金层的影响。结果表明，工艺参数对冶金层显微组织及显微硬度有很大的影响。在保证涂层与基体形成良好的冶金结合的前提下，适当增大扫描速度或减小工作电流有利于涂层组织的细化。     

相变诱导塑性TRIP钢的研究进展

相变诱导塑性（TRIP）钢是一种高强汽车用钢，一般通过热轧控制冷却或冷轧＋热处理工艺进行生产，其组织由铁素体＋贝氏体＋残余奥氏体组成。本文介绍了TRIP钢的组织、性能特点及其生产工艺，对TRIP钢研究趋势做了展望。     

Phase Equilibrium studies in the system “FeO”–SiO2–Al2O3–CaO–MgO at 1200 °C and Po2 10-8atm

Iron oxides and silica are the major components of copper smelting slag. The oxides of aluminum, calcium and magnesium are also present in the slag that is introduced through copper concentrate, flux and refractories. Liquidus temperatures of the copper smelting slags are usually controlled by Fe/SiO₂. The concentrations of Al₂O₃, CaO and MgO, and FeO/Fe₂O₃ in the slag can also affect the liquidus temperatures where FeO/Fe₂O₃ is a function of oxygen partial pressure. High temperature equilibration under controlled oxygen partial pressure followed by quenching and electron probe microanalysis were used to determine the compositions of the liquid and solid phases at 1200 °C and Po₂ 10^-8 atm. The experimental results are presented in the forms of pseudo-ternary sections “FeO”-CaO-SiO₂ at fixed 2, 4 and 6 wt pct MgO, and 2 + 2, 4 + 4 and 6 + 6 wt pct MgO + Al₂O₃. Spinel and tridymite are the major primary phases in the composition range investigated. In addition, CaSiO₃, pyroxene, olivine, and melilite are also present. The isotherms in the spinel and tridymite primary phase fields move towards higher SiO₂ concentration directions with increasing CaO, Al₂O₃, and MgO concentrations. The experimentally determined results are compared with the FactSage calculations.     

Phase equilibria and microstructure development in Mg-rich Mg-Gd-Sr alloys: Experiments and CALPHAD assessment

Mg-Sr alloys are promising to fabricate orthopedic implants. The alloying of rare earth elements such as Gd may improve the comprehensive mechanical properties of Mg-Sr alloys. The information on the phase diagram and the microstructure development are required to design chemical composition and microstructure of Gd alloyed Mg-Sr alloys. The phase equilibria and the microstructure development in Mg-rich Mg-Gd-Sr alloys (Gd, Sr < 30 at. %) are experimentally investigated via phase identification, chemical analysis, and microstructure observation with respect to the annealed ternary alloys. The onset temperatures of liquid formation are measured by differential scanning calorimetry. A thermodynamic database of the Mg-rich Mg–Gd–Sr ternary system is developed for the first time via CALPHAD (CALculation of PHAse Diagram) approach assisted by First-Principles calculations. The thermodynamic calculations with the developed database enable a well reproduction of the experimental findings and the physical-metallurgical understanding of the microstructure formation in solidification and annealing.     

Analytical and numerical comparisons of biogeography-based optimization and genetic algorithms

We show that biogeography-based optimization (BBO) is a generalization of a genetic algorithm with global uniform recombination (GA/GUR). Based on the common features of BBO and GA/GUR, we use a previously-derived BBO Markov model to obtain a GA/GUR Markov model. One BBO characteristic which makes it distinctive from GA/GUR is its migration mechanism, which affects selection pressure (i.e., the probability of retaining certain features in the population from one generation to the next). We compare the BBO and GA/GUR algorithms using results from analytical Markov models and continuous optimization benchmark problems. We show that the unique selection pressure provided by BBO generally results in better optimization results for a set of standard benchmark problems. We also present comparisons between BBO and GA/GUR for combinatorial optimization problems, include the traveling salesman, the graph coloring, and the bin packing problems.     

Dielectric spectroscopy of polypyrrole–γ–Fe2O3 composites

In situ polymerization of pyrrole was carried out in the presence of γ–Fe₂O₃ (FE) to synthesize polypyrrole–γ–Fe₂O₃ composites (PPy/FE) by chemical oxidation method. The PPy/FE composites have been synthesized with various compositions viz., 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 wt.% of γ–Fe₂O₃ in pyrrole. The AC conductivity was studied in the frequency range 10²–10⁷ Hz. The dielectric behaviour was also investigated in the frequency range 10²–10⁷ Hz. The dimensions of γ–Fe₂O₃ particles in the matrix have a greater influence on the conductivity values and the observed dielectric values.     

Influence of two-step ball-milling condition on electrical and mechanical properties of TiC-dispersion-strengthened Cu alloys

TiC-dispersion-strengthened Cu alloys were prepared by a two-step ball-milling (BM) process followed by sparks plasma sintering (SPS), heat treatment and hot rolling in sequence. The two-step BM process is composed of a pre-ball-milling (pre-BM) on both Ti and graphite powders as well as a subsequent homogenizing by BM together with Cu powder. Microstructure evolution analysis was performed to evaluate the effects of BM conditions on the electrical and mechanical properties of Cu-based alloys. The X-ray results revealed that titanium carbide (TiC) formed from Ti and C under high impact energy BM. Moreover, the formation of TiC during the SPS and heat treatment processes was found to more beneficial in enhancing the mechanical properties of alloy. The residual Ti in Cu matrix was found to be the predominant factor lowering the electrical conductivity of Cu–Ti–C alloys.