Interface regulation effects on mechanical behavior of heterostructure Ti6Al4V/TiAl-based laminated composite sheets

Design of architectured composites with layered-ordered structure can solve the strength-toughness mismatch problem of structural materials. In the present study, heterostructure Ti6Al4V/TiAl laminated composite sheets with different thicknesses of interface layer and TiAl composite layer were successfully produced by hot-pressing technology. The effects of interface regulation and laminated structure on their mechanical properties, crack propagation, and fracture behavior were studied. The results indicated that compressive strength of the sheets increased with the decrease in interface thickness. Compressive strength of TiAl composite sheet with thicker composite layer reached 1481.55 MPa at the arrester orientation with sintering holding time of 40 min, which was 25.96% higher than that of the sheet obtained at 120 min. Analysis indicated that the interface area transferred stress through slip bands and through-interface cracks. Compressive strength at the divider orientation reached 1443.06 MPa, which was 45.78% higher than that of the sheet obtained at 120 min. In this case, the interface area transferred stress through slip bands and along-interface cracks. For TiAl composite sheets with thinner composite layer, compressive strength was further improved to 1631.01 MPa and 1594.66 MPa at the arrester and divider orientations with sintering holding time of 40 min, respectively. The ductile metal layer exerted a significant toughening effect. Both interface regulation and laminated structure transformation could enhance the hetero-deformation induced (HDI) strengthening and improve the comprehensive mechanical properties of the composite sheets.     

Effect of PyC interface phase on the cyclic ablation resistance and flexural properties of two-dimensional Cf/HfC composites

Composites based on hafnium carbide and reinforced with continuous naked carbon fiber with and without PyC interface were prepared at low temperature by precursor infiltration and pyrolysis and chemical vapor deposition method. The microstructure, mechanical property, cyclic ablation and fiber bundle push-in tests of the composites were investigated. The results show that after three times ablation cycles, the bending strength of samples without PyC interface decreased by 63.6 %; the bending strength of samples with PyC interface only decreased by 37.8 %. The force displacement curve of the samples with PyC interface presented a well pseudoplastic deformation state. The mechanical behavior difference of two kinds of composites was due to crucial function of PyC interface phase including protection of fiber and weakening of fiber/matrix interface.     

Effect of interface types on the heat-resistance of Cansas-II SiCf /SiC composites

The heat-resistance of the Cansas-II SiC/CVI-SiC mini-composites with a PyC and BN interface was studied in detail. The interfacial shear strength of the SiC/PyC/SiC mini-composites decreased from 15 MPa to 3 MPa after the heat treatment at 1500 °C for 50 h, while that of the SiC/BN/SiC mini-composites decreased from 248 MPa to 1 MPa, which could be mainly attributed to the improvement of the crystallization degree of the interface and the decomposition of the matrix. Aside from the above reasons, the larger declined fraction of the interfacial shear strength of the SiC/BN/SiC mini-composites might also be related to the gaps in the BN interface induced by the volatilization of B₂O₃·SiO₂ phase, leading to a significant larger declined fraction of the tensile strength of the SiC/BN/SiC mini-composites due to the obvious expansion of the critical flaws on the fiber surface. Therefore, compared with the CVI BN interface, the CVI PyC interface has better heat-resistance at high temperatures up to 1500 °C due to the fewer impurities in PyC.     

Understanding grain refining and anti Si-poisoning effect in Al-10Si/Al-5Nb-B system

Grain refinement is critical for fabricating high-quality Al-Si casting components in the application of automobile and aerospace industries,while the well-known Si-poisoning effect makes it difficult.Nbbased refiners offer an effective method to refine Al-Si casting alloys,but their anti Si-poisoning capability is far from being understood.In this work,the grain refining mechanism and the anti Si-poisoning effect in the Al-10 Si/Al-5 Nb-B system were systematically investigated by combining transmission electron microscope,first-principles calculations,and thermodynamic calculations.It is revealed that NbB₂provides the main nucleation site in the Al-10 Si ingot inoculated by 0.1 wt.%Nb Al-5 Nb-B refiner.The exposed Nb atoms on the(0001)NbB₂and(1-100)NbB₂surface can be substituted by Al to form(Al,Nb)B₂intermedia layers.In addition,a layer of NbAl₃-like compound(NbAl₃')can cover the surface of NbB₂with the orientation relation of(1-100)[11-20]NbB_2//(110)[110]NbAl₃'.Both of the(Al,Nb)B₂and NbAl₃'intermedia layers contribute to enhancing the nucleation potency of NbB₂particles.These discoveries provide fundamental insight to the grain refining mechanism of the Nb-B based refiners for Al-Si casting alloys and are expected to guide the future development of stronger refiners for Al-Si casting alloys.     

Modeling for the electromagnetic properties and EMI shielding of Cf/mullite composites in the gigahertz range

The electromagnetic properties and EMI shielding effectiveness of C_f/mullite composites via the spark plasma sintering were intensively investigated in the gigahertz range (8.2–12.4 GHz). Experimental results have revealed excellent electromagnetic properties and a high value of EMI shielding effectiveness (nearly 40 dB) for C_f/mullite composites with 1.65 vol% carbon fillers at thickness of 2 mm. We quantitatively characterize the contributions of microstructural features to overall EMI shielding effectiveness using a micromechanics-based homogenization model. The EMI shielding effectiveness enhances with respect to the C_f volume concentration before the threshold. The increasing trend of EMI shielding effectiveness with respect to AC (alternating current) frequency can be attributed to enhanced conductivity at high gigahertz range. It is demonstrated that filler and frequency dependent interface effects are essential to obtain excellent electromagnetic properties of C_f/mullite composite. The present research can provide guidances for the design of ceramic-based composites applied in high-temperature EMI shielding devices.     

Effects of interphase on tensile strength of polymer/CNT nanocomposites by Kelly–Tyson theory

The micromechanics models for composites usually underpredict the tensile strength of polymer nanocomposites. This paper establishes a simple model based on Kelly–Tyson theory for tensile strength of polymer/CNT nanocomposites assuming the effect of interphase between polymer and CNT. In addition, Pukanszky model is joined with the suggested model to calculate the interfacial shear strength (τ), interphase strength (σ_i) and critical length of CNT (L_c).The proposed approach is applied to calculate τ, σ_i and L_c for various samples from recent literature. It is revealed that the experimental data are well fitted to calculations by new model which confirm the important effect of interphase on the properties of nanocomposites. Moreover, the derived equations demonstrate that dissimilar correlations are found between τ and B (from Pukanszky model) as well as L_c and B. It is shown that a large B value obtained by strong interfacial adhesion between polymer and CNT is adequate to reduce L_c in polymer/CNT nanocomposites.     

A zirconium-free glaze system for sanitary ceramics with SiO2-CaCO3-TiO2 composite opacifier containing anatase: Effect of interface combination among SiO2, CaCO3 and TiO2

TiO₂ is an ideal substitute to ZrSiO₄ ceramic opacifier, yet it is limited to application because of the undesirable yellowing resulting from rutile formation. Herein, the SiO₂-CaCO₃-TiO₂ composite opacifier (Si-Ca-Ti) was constructed. The glaze used Si-Ca-Ti presents a superior opacification performance than ZrSiO₄ opacified glaze without causing yellowing, showing L*, a*, b* values of 94.81, -0.67 and 3.23. By comparison, the glaze using SiO₂, CaCO₃, and TiO₂ mixture shows lower opacification and yellowish surface with L* and b* values of 92.99 and 5.36. It is revealed that there is a close interface bonding among SiO₂, CaCO₃ and TiO₂ in Si-Ca-Ti, which promotes their combination reaction to generate opacification phase titanite and inhibit rutile formation when sintering, resulting in the white surface and opacification improvement of the glaze. This study proposes a green and efficient strategy to achieve white and highly opacified glaze for sanitary ceramics, exhibiting good application prospect.     

Impedance matching optimization of SiCf/Si3N4–SiOC composites for excellent microwave absorption properties

SiC fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composites (SiC_f-CMCs) are considered to be one of the most promising materials in the electromagnetic (EM) stealth of aero-engines, which is expected to achieve strong absorption and broad-band performance. Multiscale structural design was applied to SiC_f/Si₃N₄–SiOC composites by construction of micro/nanoscale heterogeneous interfaces and macro double-layer impedance matching structure. SiC_f/Si₃N₄–SiOC composites were fabricated by using SiC fibers with different conductivities and SiOC–Si₃N₄ matrices with gradient impedance structures to improve impedance matching effectively. Owing to its unique structure, SiC_f/Si₃N₄–SiOC composites (A3-composites) achieved excellent EM wave absorption performance with a minimum reflection coefficient (RC_min) of ?25.1 dB at 2.45 mm and an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 4.0 GHz at 2.85 mm in X-band. Moreover, double-layer SiC_f/Si₃N₄–SiOC with an improved impedance matching structure obtained an RC_min of ?56.9 dB and an EAB of 4.2 GHz at 3.00 mm, which means it can absorb more than 90% of the EM waves in the whole X-band. The RC is less than ?8 dB at 2.6–2.8 mm from RT to 600 °C in the whole X-band, displaying excellent high-temperature absorption performance. The results provide a new design opinion for broad-band EM absorbing SiC_f-CMCs at high temperatures.     

Phase transition and interface evolution of Al2O3/ZrO2 particles in plasma-sprayed coatings

Alumina and zirconia ceramic particles exhibit high hardness and excellent wear resistance at high temperature, and hence are used as ceramic reinforcement phases in some plasma sprayed coatings. In this study, the interface evolution of a zirconia/alumina eutectic ceramic and the phase transition of zirconia in a plasma-sprayed coating were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy combined with focused-ion beam and energy dispersive X-ray were used to analyze the microstructure and composition of the ceramic interface. The results showed that the eutectic ceramic particles consisted of alumina (outer) and columnar zirconia (inner) before and after the plasma spraying process. The inner zirconia part showed the martensitic transformation of t-type zirconia to stripe-like m-type zirconia. After the plasma spraying, the interface between alumina and zirconia changed significantly, which formed a new oxide layer. The phase transition mechanism in the ceramic particle and oxide layer formation mechanism at the alumina/zirconia interface were investigated.