Evaluation of the reactivity of titanium with mould materials during casting

A methodology for evaluating the reactivity of titanium with mould materials during casting has been developed. Microhardness profiles and analysis of oxygen contamination have provided an index for evaluation of the reactivity of titanium. Microhardness profile delineates two distinct regions, one of which is characterised by a low value of hardness which is invariant with distance. The reaction products are uniformly distributed in the metal in this region. The second is characterised by a sharp decrease in microhardness with distance from the metal-mould interface. It represents a diffusion zone for solutes that dissolve into titanium from the mould. The qualitative profiles for contaminants determined by scanning electron probe microanalyser and secondary ion mass spectroscopy in the as-cast titanium were found to be similar to that of microhardness, implying that microhardness can be considered as an index of the contamination resulting from metal-mould reaction.     

Deformation structure in a Ti-24Al-11Nb alloy

A Ti-24Al-11Nb alloy has been heat-treated so as to obtain a microstructure of coarse α₂ particles (D0₁₉ structure based on Ti₃Al) in a matrix of the ordered β_o phase (B2 structure based on Ti₂AlNb). Dislocation structures generated by tensile strains of ∼2 pct at room temperature have been analyzed by transmission electron microscopy The β_o phase is shown to deform inhomogeneously on {110}, {112}, and {123} planes by α/〈211〉 slip. The slipband structure is complex, consisting of segments of heavily pinned edge dislocations with periodic cross slip of screw components on to secondary slip planes. Incompatibility stresses at α₂/β_o interfaces can generate fine α[100] slip as well. The α₂ phase deforms independently by α dislocation slip. Slipbands in the β_o phase can shear the α₂ phase by activatingc +a/2 slip on and slip planes, as well asa slip on higher order pyramidal planes, where the parallelism of the specific slip system is permitted by the Burgers relationship between the two phases.     

Efficient multiple-precision integer division algorithm

Design and implementation of division algorithm is one of the most complicated problems in multi-precision arithmetic. Huang et al. [1] proposed an efficient multi-precision integer division algorithm, and experimentally showed that it is about three times faster than the most popular algorithms proposed by Knuth [2] and Smith [3]. This paper reports a bug in the algorithm of Huang et al. [1], and suggests the necessary corrections. The theoretical correctness proof of the proposed algorithm is also given. The resulting algorithm remains as fast as that of [1].     

Algorithms for computing diffuse reflection paths in polygons

Let s be a point source of light inside a polygon P of n vertices. A polygonal path from s to some point t inside P is called a diffuse reflection path if the turning points of the path lie on edges of?P. A?diffuse reflection path is said to be optimal if it has the minimum number of reflections on the path. The problem of computing a diffuse reflection path from s to t inside P has not been considered explicitly in the past. We present three different algorithms for this problem which produce suboptimal paths. For constructing such a path, the first algorithm uses a greedy method, the second algorithm uses a transformation of a minimum link path, and the third algorithm uses the edge–edge visibility graph of?P. The first two algorithms are for polygons without holes, and they run in O(n+klogn) time, where k denotes the number of reflections in the constructed path. The third algorithm is for polygons with or without holes, and it runs in O(n ²) time. The number of reflections in the path produced by this third algorithm can be at most three times that of an optimal diffuse reflection path. Though the combinatorial approach used in the third algorithm gives a better bound on the number of reflections on the path, the first and the second algorithms stand on the merit of their elegant geometric approaches based on local geometric information.     

Efficient algorithms for single- and two-layer linear placement of parallel graphs

This paper outlines an algorithm for optimum linear ordering (OLO) of a weighted parallel graph with O(n log k) worst-case time complexity, and O(n + k log(n/k) log k) expected-case time complexity, where n is the total number of nodes and k is the number of chains in the parallel graph. Next, the two-layer OLO problem is considered, where the goal is to place the nodes linearly in two routing layers minimizing the total wire length. The two-layer problem is shown to subsume the maxcut problem and a befitting heuristic algorithm is proposed. Experimental results on randomly generated samples show that the heuristic algorithm runs very fast and outputs optimum solutions in more than 90% instances.     

A monolithic finite-element formulation for magnetohydrodynamics

This work develops a new monolithic strategy for magnetohydrodynamics based on a continuous velocity–pressure formulation. The magnetic field is interpolated in the same way as the velocity field, and the entire formulation is within a nodal finite-element framework. The velocity and pressure interpolations are chosen so that they satisfy the Babuska–Brezzi (BB) conditions. In most of the existing formulations, a stabilized formulation is used that requires a stabilization term, and some associated mesh-dependent parameters that need to be adjusted. In contrast, no such parameters need to be adjusted in the current formulation, making it more user-friendly and robust. Both transient and steady-state formulations are developed for two- and three-dimensional geometries. An exact linearization of the monolithic strategy ensures that rapid (quadratic) convergence is achieved within each time (or load) step, while the stable nature of the interpolations used ensures that no instabilities arise in the solution. An existing analytical solution is corrected. The coarse mesh accuracy is shown to be better compared with other existing strategies in several benchmark problems, showing that the developed formulation is both robust and efficient.     

Tensile behaviour of boron modified Timetal 834 titanium alloy in the intermediate temperature range 400-500 °C

The tensile behaviour of boron modified Timetal 834 titanium alloy was studied in the intermediate temperature range 400-500 °C and compared with that of the base alloy. The yield and ultimate tensile strengths of the B modified alloy were found to be higher than those of the base alloy at all the temperatures investigated. The B modified alloy also exhibited only a marginally lower elongation to failure as compared to the base alloy at all the temperatures investigated. The B modified alloy exhibited dynamic strain aging in the temperature range 400-475 °C which is similar to the observed behaviour in the base alloy.     

Iron-Doped,Mullite-Impregnated PVDF Composite: An Alternative Separator for a High Charge Storage Ceramic Capacitor

In this communication, the formation mechanism of the electroactive β phase, morphology and the dielectric activities of increasing doping concentration (0–1.2 M.W % of mullite) of Fe²⁺ ion-doped, mullite-impregnated polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanocomposite have been investigated. Differential thermal analysis (DTA) confirms the formation of an electroactive β phase, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed that the β phase increases simultaneously and attains the maximum increment of 2.6 times compared to pristine PVDF. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra also agreed well with the β-phase increment behaviour and also confirmed the presence of required mullite phases. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images indicate the strong interaction between the polymer matrix and different concentrations of Fe²⁺ ion-doped mullite particles, resulting in enhanced electroactive β phase formation and large dielectric constant of the nanocomposite films followed by significant low dielectric loss with high ac conductivity compared to pristine PVDF films at room temperature. This doped polymer composite can be used as a high dielectric separator and, using this separator, we have successfully fabricated a high-charge-storage device. This paper also demonstrates that the loading of conductive Fe²⁺ ions within the highly insulating mullite matrix has a critical concentration for the enhancement and nucleation of the electroactive β phase of the PVDF polymer. In this critical concentration, the highest formation of a β network and maximum numbers of homogeneously distributed iron-doped mullite (FeM) particles in PVDF matrix improves the effective interfacial polarization by Maxwell–Wagner–Sillar (MWS) polarization effect which is responsible for the enhancement of dielectric constant and ac conductivity followed by significant tangent loss. So, it can be concluded that the incorporation of Fe²⁺-doped mullite into PVDF matrix is an effective way to fabricate a high dielectric separator of high-charge-storage electronic devices.     

Fabrication and characterization of all-oxide heterojunction p-CuAlO2 + x/n-Zn1 − xAlxO transparent diode for potential application in “invisible electronics”

Transparent p-n heterojunction diodes have been fabricated by p-type copper aluminum oxide (p-CuAlO_2 + x) and n-type aluminum doped zinc oxide (n-Zn_1 − xAl_xO) thin films on glass substrates. The n-layers are deposited by sol-gel-dip-coating process from zinc acetate dihydrate (Zn(CH₃COO)₂·2H₂O) and aluminum nitrate (Al(NO₃)₃·9H₂O). Al concentration in the nominal solution is taken as 1.62 at %. P-layers are deposited onto the ZnO:Al-coated glass substrates by direct current sputtering process from a prefabricated CuAlO₂ sintered target. The sputtering is performed in oxygen-diluted argon atmosphere with an elevated substrate temperature. Post-deposition oxygen annealing induces excess oxygen within the p-CuAlO_2 + x films, which in turn enhances p-type conductivity of the layers. The device characterization shows rectifying current-voltage characteristics, confirming the proper formation of the p-n junction. The turn-on voltage is obtained around 0.8 V, with a forward-to-reverse current ratio around 30 at ± 4 V. The diode structure has a total thickness of 1.1 μm and the optical transmission spectra of the diode show almost 60% transmittance in the visible region, indicating its potential application in ‘invisible electronics’. Also the cost-effective procedures enable the large-scale production of these transparent diodes for diverse device applications.     

Evaluation of kinetic constants for anaerobic fixed film fixed bed reactors treating tannery wastewater

An approach has been made to evaluate the kinetic constants for a two stage anaerobic fixed film fixed bed reactor system treating tannery wastewater. The research reported herein is concerned with the bench scale performance evaluation of the reactor system treating the wastewater and application of the data to various models to evaluate the kinetic constants for substrate bio‐oxidation, biomass growth and biogas yield.