Fabrication and properties of Si3N4 based ceramics using combustion synthesized powders

Silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) based ceramics were fabricated with β-SiAlON and Si₃N₄ powders synthesized by combustion synthesis method via power injection molding (PIM). In the PIM process, the solids loading for each material was first determined from the results of the torque rheometer experiment. The mixing process was repeated to produce the homogeneous feedstock, and homogeneity of feedstocks was evaluated by observing the shear viscosity with time at a constant shear rate. The rheological behavior of feedstocks was investigated using capillary rheometer. It found that both feedstocks have no problem in injection molding. The binder decomposition behavior was also investigated, and a wax-polymer binder system was nearly removed by the optimized solvent and thermal debinding processes. Thereafter, the debound samples were sintered at 1750 and 1800 °C for 4 h in nitrogen atmosphere. Regardless of sintering temperature, the relative density of higher than about 96% was achieved. When comparing mechanical properties including bending strength, Vickers hardness and fracture toughness, Si₃N₄ with 2 wt% Y₂O₃ and 5 wt% Al₂O₃ (Si₃N₄+2Y5A) had higher values than β-SiAlON with 4 wt% Y₂O₃ (β-SiAlON+4Y) regardless of sintering temperature. It was supported by observing the microstructures of the plasma-etched samples.     

Experimental and computational analysis for thermo-erosive stability assessment of ZrB2-SiC based multiphase composites

High temperature erosion tests were conducted on spark plasma sintered ZrB₂-SiC based multiphase ceramic composites at 1073 K in thermo-erosive environment for 1200 s with a net energy deposition per unit area of 50.5 MJ/m². The thermo-erosive mechanisms were qualitatively discussed using XRD and SEM-EDS analyses. Efforts were made to assess feasibility of identified reactions at the computed temperatures to support reaction mechanism for oxide formation in eroded region. Finite element (FE) analysis with high-quality structural elements was used to determine the spatial temperature and stress distribution in the eroded region. Taken together, the present study highlights the significance of combined approach of computational and experimental analysis in understanding the thermo-erosive-structural stability in applications where erosion can limit the performance of ceramic composites.     

Robust proton exchange membrane for vanadium redox flow batteries reinforced by silica-encapsulated nanocellulose

High ion selectivity and mechanical strength are critical properties for proton exchange membranes in vanadium redox flow batteries. In this work, a novel sulfonated poly(ether sulfone) hybrid membrane reinforced by core-shell structured nanocellulose (CNC-SPES) is prepared to obtain a robust and high-performance proton exchange membrane for vanadium redox flow batteries. Membrane morphology, proton conductivity, vanadium permeability and tensile strength are investigated. Single cell tests at a range of 40–140 mA cm⁻² are carried out. The performance of the sulfonated poly(ether sulfone) membrane reinforced by pristine nanocellulose (NC-SPES) and Nafion® 212 membranes are also studied for comparison. The results show that, with the incorporation of silica-encapsulated nanocellulose, the membrane exhibits outstanding mechanical strength of 54.5 MPa and high energy efficiency above 82% at 100 mA cm⁻², which is stable during 200 charge-discharge cycles.     

Evaluation of gluing of CFRP onto concrete structures by infrared thermography coupled with thermal impedance

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs) have been increasingly employed for structural strengthening, and are attached to structures using bonding adhesives. The aim of this work is to characterize defects in the bond between CFRP and concrete (after they are located by pulse infrared thermography), and assign the defects a “numerical value” (ranging from 0 for a complete air–gap to 1 for a fully glued bond). Quantitative characterization is performed by measuring the thermal impedance, and then identifying the thermophysical parameters of the system through fitting the measured impedance to a theoretical model. An inversion procedure is carried out to estimate the unknown parameters, without prior knowledge of sample properties. In particular, it is possible to estimate more accurately both the amount of glue within a defect and the thermal contact resistance.     

Powder metallurgic fabricated plug targets for the synthesis of AlCrSiWN multicomponent coating systems

Monolithic and alloyed targets, conventionally produced by means of melt metallurgy, have been established as conventional target material designs for physical vapor depositions (PVD). However, integrating refractory metals into the sputtering material, leads to restrictions concerning the solubility and phase formation in the target compound. In this context, plug targets are commonly used to deposit multinary coatings with a desired chemical composition. However, producing plugs by means of melt metallurgy restricts the types and amounts of integrated elements.Since current PVD coating concepts aim at an extension of the functionality spectrum by element doping, new target concepts are required. The use of several monolithic targets is one method to produce coatings combining various elements within one coating. Yet depending on the target setup, this approach can result in a nanolaminar coating deposition. To circumvent this, a new production route, which ensures the integration of sintered CrSiW plugs in a monolithic aluminum target, is examined in this study. Two coating deposititons, each with an Al(CrSiW)20 and an Al(CrSiW)48 plug target, were performed by means of direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering and compared with a reference coating, which was synthesized using an AlCr20 target. The dense morphology of AlCrN was significantly changed to a more columnar structure due to slight additions of silicon and tungsten. High aluminum contents in AlCrN and AlCrSiWN, in turn, resulted in a distinct enhancement of the mechanical properties.     

多孔钛/TiO2纳米管复合薄膜制备及其电化学性能

目的 制备高比容量多孔钛/TiO2纳米管三维自支撑一体化复合电极材料。方法 采用非溶剂致相分离法与高温烧结相结合的方法制备出孔径小、空间利用率高的三维多孔钛平板膜,然后经阳极氧化法在其表面生长TiO2纳米管,从而制备出多孔钛/TiO2纳米管复合薄膜电极。结果 以3 μm粒径钛粉为原料,N-甲基-2-吡咯烷酮、聚乙烯吡咯烷酮、聚丙烯腈为添加剂制备钛膜生坯,经刮膜成型后,在氩气保护下经1000 ℃烧结,得到孔径约为2～6 μm的多孔钛平板膜。采用阳极氧化法在多孔钛平板膜上直接生长TiO2纳米管,制得多孔钛/TiO2纳米管复合薄膜电极。该复合薄膜电极在超级电容器中具有良好的电化学性能,其在2 mA/cm2电流密度下,比电容为385.34 mF/cm2,即使电流密度增加到10 mA/cm2,比电容仍能保持在125.14 mF/cm2。结论 相较于TiO2纳米颗粒,采用此方法制备的多孔钛/TiO2纳米管复合薄膜电极具有良好的电化学性能,可为下一代储能器件提供新的思路。     

Process parameters design of a three-dimensional and five-directional braided composite joint based on finite element analysis

This paper presents an analytical method for designing the configuration of composite joint with three-dimensional (3D) five-directional braided composites. Based on the analysis of 3D braided structure characteristics, the elastic properties of the 3D five-directional braided composites were determined by the volume averaging method. The effects of the braiding angle and fiber volume fraction on the elastic constants of the braided composites were also discussed. Finite element analysis on the load capacity of the 3D five-directional braided composite joint was implemented using the software ANSYS Workbench 14.0. The influence of braiding angle on the stress, strain and deformation of the composite joint under tensile loading were calculated. The results show that when the fiber volume fraction of the 3D five-directional braided preform is given, the equivalent stress of the composite joint decreases monotonically as the braiding angle increases, while the normal stress, maximum principal stress and total deformation firstly decreases and then increases. Based on the finite element analysis, we found that at the fiber volume fraction of 60%, the braiding angle within the range of 30–35° are the optimum processing parameters for the 3D five-directional braided composite joint structure that used in the tensile load 320 N condition.     

Effects of high temperature treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of laser-clad NiCrBSi/WC coatings on titanium alloy substrate

Laser-clad composite coatings on the Ti6Al4V substrate were heat-treated at 700, 800, and 900 °C for 1 h. The effects of post-heat treatment on the microstructure, microhardness, and fracture toughness of the coatings were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and optical microscopy. The wear resistance of the coatings was evaluated under dry reciprocating sliding friction at room temperature. The coatings mainly comprised some coarse gray blocky (W,Ti)C particles accompanied by the fine white WC particles, a large number of black TiC cellular/dendrites, and the matrix composed of NiTi and Ni₃Ti; some unknown rich Ni- and Ti-rich particles with sizes ranging from 10 nm to 50 nm were precipitated and uniformly distributed in the Ni₃Ti phase to form a thin granular layer after heat treatment at 700 °C. The granular layer spread from the edge toward the center of the Ni₃Ti phase with increasing temperature. A large number of fine equiaxed Cr₂₃C₆ particles with 0.2–0.5 μm sizes were observed around the edges of the NiTi supersaturated solid solution when the temperature was further increased to 900 °C. The microhardness and fracture toughness of the coatings were improved with increased temperature due to the dispersion-strengthening effect of the precipitates. Dominant wear mechanisms for all the coatings included abrasive and delamination wear. The post-heat treatment not only reduced wear volume and friction coefficient, but also decreased cracking susceptibility during sliding friction. Comparatively speaking, the heat-treated coating at 900 °C presented the most excellent wear resistance.     

Magneto-optical imaging deviation model of micro-gap weld joint

Seam tracking is important for butt joint laser welding. A magneto-optical imaging approach is proposed to detect the micro-gap weld whose width is less than 0.2 mm. The symmetry of the magnetic field above the weld joint is an important precondition to ensure the detection accuracy of the magneto-optical imaging method. However, in actual complex industrial scene, it is difficult to guarantee complete symmetry of the magnetic field. This paper proposes an effective method for solving the problem of magneto-optical imaging deviation under an asymmetric magnetic field. Two possible factors causing the asymmetry of magnetic field above weld joint are firstly investigated using finite element analysis. By analyzing the characteristics of the magneto-optic medium used in the sensor and measuring the magnetic field distribution of weld joint at different lift-off height and different excitation voltage, the prediction model of deviation between the weld position detected by magneto-optical imaging and the actual weld position is built by back propagation (BP) neural network. The experimental result of weld seam tracking based on magneto-optical imaging shows that the change of the lift-off height will affect the detection accuracy of the weld position, and sufficient accuracy can be ensured after correcting the deviation according to the prediction model of magneto-optical imaging deviation.     

On the compatibility of dual phase BaCe0.65Zr0.2Y0.15O3-based membrane for hydrogen separation application

Among dense ceramic membranes for H₂ separation, the ceramic-ceramic composite ones have recently gained the interest of the scientific community thanks to their enhanced performances. However, the ceramic phases constituting the composite must show high chemical and thermomechanical compatibility to form a crack-free and robust membrane. This work reports the compatibility between the BaCe_0.65Zr_0.2Y_0.15O_3−δ (BCZY) proton conductive system and various electron conducting systems belonging to four different families: ceria-based (CeO₂ and Ce_0.8Gd_0.2O_1.9), lanthanum nickelate cobaltite (La_0.95Ni_0.6Co_0.4O_3−δ), strontium titanate (Sr_0.9La_0.1TiO_3−δ) and the non-oxidic α-SiC. This work highlights how the coupling of BCZY with chemically different electron-conductive ceramics represents a challenging task, since La_0.95Ni_0.6Co_0.4O₃, Sr_0.9La_0.1TiO₃ and α-SiC react with the proton conductive perovskite producing many secondary phases in air and in reducing atmosphere after 4 h of permanence at 1400 °C. As may be expected, BCZY is chemically compatible with CeO₂ and Ce_0.8Gd_0.2O_1.9 in air and in reducing atmosphere after 4 h of permanence at 1400 °C. Dilatometric results prove the thermomechanical compatibility between BCZY and the ceria-based systems in the operation temperature range.