Study on barium titanate ceramics prepared by various methods

Barium titanate (BaTiO₃) ceramics have been fabricated using powders prepared by sol-gel, coprecipitation and mixed oxide methods. The powders prepared by sol-gel and coprecipitation have average crystallite diameters of 100 nm and 300 nm, respectively while the diameter of the mixed oxide powder is 1–3 m. When sintered at the same temperature of 1320°C, the three BaTiO₃ ceramics have very different grain size, with the one prepared by the mixed oxide method having the largest grain size of 20 m. The dielectric permitivity increases as the grain size of the ceramic becomes smaller. The room temperature (25°C) dielectric permittivity, pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties of these ceramics have been measured as functions of the poling field. The BaTiO₃ ceramic fabricated from nanosized powder derived from the coprecipitation method is found to have the smallest grain size and better properties than prepared from the sol-gel route, and is thus a good candidate for use in devices that required thick (10 to 20 m) ferroelectric films.     

A note on the similarity solutions for free convection on a vertical plate

Summary The similarity solutions for free convection on a vertical plate when the (non-dimensional) plate temperature is x and when the (non-dimensional) surface heat flux is –x are considered. Solutions valid for 1 and 1 are obtained. Further, for the first problem it is shown that there is a value ₀, dependent on the Prandtl number, such that solutions of the similarity equations are possible only for >₀, and for the second problem that solutions are possible only for >–1 (for all Prandtl numbers). In both cases the solutions becomes singular as ₀ and as –1, and the natures of these singularities are discussed.     

The fabrication of α-alumina by reactive hot-pressing

Polycrystalline -alumina has been fabricated by reactive hot-pressing, in which low temperature forms of alumina have been transformed to -alumina at temperature, under pressure. The influence of the phase transformation upon the densification during hot-essing was studied for a number of commercial aluminium hydrate powders, including gibbsite and boehmite.The densification of gibbsite-derived powders was slightly enhanced during the -Al₂O₃ to -Al₂O₃ transformations, whereas the densification curves of the boehmite-derived powders had a region of enhanced densification and a region of reduced rate of densification. It is suggested that a critical specimen configuration was developed, as a result of the phase transformations, that prevented densification from approximately 1150 to 1300° C, until plastic flow, diffusion, and/or grain boundary sliding started at the higher temperature.     

Field and excitation dependent ultrasonic attenuation in3He-B

Sound absorption of³He-B at 0 bar was studied at a frequency of 10 MHz. We performed pulsed experiments with different pulse lengths (4 to 15 s) and pulse powers (0.1 to 160 W) in the temperature range 0.2 < T/T_C < 2. For pulse power less than pth 50 W, and in the temperature range 0.4 to 0.8 T_c and zero field, the attenuation coefficient a decreases monotonically at about 0.2 cm^–1 per decade of power. Above pth. increases up to values of 3.5 cm^–1 and 1.9 cm^–1 at highest power for temperatures of 0.8 T_c and 0.4 T_c, respectively. At pulse power around 100 W and at the lowest temperatures, the attenuation changes within the first 200 s after the application of the pulse; also increases with increasing field. In the normal fluid decreases with increasing power. All of our observations are lacking a rigorous theoretical understanding.     

Chebyshev approximation for the roots of the equation BiWГ(μ)=μVГ(μ)

A minimax approximation, uniform for Bi [0, ), is developed for the roots of the equation BiW()=V(), by means of Chebyshev polynomials.Translated from Inzhenero-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 28, No. 4, pp. 710–715, April, 1975.     

Hot-press sintering studies of amorphous silicon nitride powders

The hot-press sintering behaviour of amorphous Si₃N₄ powders prepared from the ammonia pyrolysis of polycarbosilane or hydridopolysilazane polymers was studied. In the presence of yttria and alumina, the amorphous powders sintered to > 98% of theoretical density at 2023 K. Both the microstructure and average four-point MOR bend strengths, of test bars machined from the sintered compacts were comparable to those obtained from UBE SN-E-10 Si₃N₄ powder processed under the same conditions. However, in contrast to commercial crystalline powders, between approximately 1690 and 1700 K the amorphous Si₃N₄ powders underwent a rapid shrinkage corresponding to 50–60% of the total densification. In this narrow temperature regime, a radical change in morphology and phase composition of the amorphous powder occurred. Prior to 1690 K, the Si₃N₄ powders were totally amorphous as determined by X-ray diffraction analysis and consisted of angular shards with an average particle size of 2–3 m. Samples quickly cooled after heating to 1700 K, consisted of a 53/47 mixture of equiaxed and Si₃N₄ crystallites with an average particle size of 0.1–0.3 m. Thus, the rapid densification at R~ 1700 K is identified with the amorphous to ( + ) transition. Beyond 1700 K, these samples gradually densified to the maximum density as mentioned. The fully densified samples consisted of 100% -Si₃N₄ phase.     

Ohm resistivity of electroless copper layers as a function of their thicknesses

The electric Ohm resistivity of electroless Cu depositions on dielectric substrates as a function of their thicknesses is studied. Substantial deviations (up to 10–20 times) from the standard resistivity ( = 1.7 cm^–1) below 0.5 (m thicknesses are observed. The experimental data show for the entire region of thicknesses (d 0.07–5 m) a power function between the relative resistivity changes (/) and the inverse thickness of depositions (d )–(/ (1/d )^0.8. This empirical relation is discussed as an effect of the porous structure of the metallic layers deposited on the substrate. A scanning electron micrography was applied in order to visualize the morphology of the depositions. The micrographs clearly show the evolution of the deposition profile: starting from separate islands at the very beginning of the process, and gradually covering the entire area with continuous but porous metal layers.     

Precipitation of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles: Effects of precipitation method on electrophoretic deposition

Electrophoretic deposition is a low-cost, simple, and flexible coating method for producing hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings on metal implants with a broad range of thicknesses, from < 1 m to > 500 m. As for many other HA coating techniques, densification of electrophoretically deposited coatings involves heating the coated metal to temperatures above 1000 C. Metal substrates tend to react with HA coatings at such temperatures inducing decomposition at temperatures below 1050 C (decomposition for pure HA normally occurs above 1300 C). Therefore, densification of these coatings needs to be conducted at temperatures lower than 1050 C, and this necessitates the use of high-surface-area HA nano-precipitates, rather than commercially available pre-calcined powders, which densify at temperatures typically higher than 1200 C. HA nano-precipitates were prepared by three methods and deposited on metal substrates by electrophoresis: (1) the acid base method, which produced plate-like nano-particles with a 2.5:1 aspect ratio, and severely cracked coatings; (2) the calcium acetate method, which produced needle-like nano-particles with a 10:1 aspect ratio, and slightly cracked coatings; (3) the metathesis method, which produced rounded nano-particles with a 2:1 aspect ratio, and high-quality crack-free coatings. The results suggested that the less equiaxed the nano-particles, the more cracked the coatings obtained by the electrophoretic deposition technique.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of rapidly quenched L20 and L20+L12 alloys in Ni-Al-Fe and Ni-Al-Co systems

Ductile L2₀-type wires and+L1₂-type duplex wires with high strengths and large elongation in the Ni-Al-Fe and Ni-Al-Co ternary systems have been manufactured directly from the liquid state by an in-rotating-water spinning method. The wire diameter was in the range 80 to 180m and the average grain size was 2 to 4m for the wires and 0.2 to 1.0m for the+ wires. _y, _f and _p of the wires were found to be about 360 to 760 MPa, 560 to 960 MPa, and 0.2 to 5.5%, respectively, for the Ni-Al-Fe system, those of the+ wires were about 395 to 660 MPa, 670 to 1285 MPa, and 3.5 to 17%, respectively, for the Ni-Al-Fe system, and about 260 to 365 MPa, 600 to 870 MPa, and 4.0 to 7.0%, respectively, for the Ni-Al-Co system. Cold-drawing caused a significant increase in _y and _f and the values attained were about 1850 and 2500 MPa, respectively, for Ni-20Al-30Fe and Ni-25Al-30Co wires drawn to about 90% reduction in area. The high strengths, large elongation and good cold-workability of the melt-quenched and+ compound wires have been inferred to be due to the structural change into a low-degree ordered state containing a high density of phase boundaries, suppression of grain-boundary segregation and refinement of grain size.     

Electron-phonon coupling as a mechanism for high-temperature superconductivity

We have solved the Eliashberg gap equations which are valid for arbitrary phonon frequency, (_ph), electron-phonon coupling constant, (), and screened Coulomb interaction, ( ^*). We have used values of (_ph),, and ( ^*) appropriate to the cuprate superconductors, and calculated the density of states, the pair potential., and the value of the gap at T=0 K. Using the linearized Eliashberg equations in the matrix representation, we have calculatedT _c and 2/k T _c . We have found that we can account for the highT _c 's in the cuprates with reasonable values for, ^*, and _ph.     

Transport results from untwinned YBCO: Washboard frequency of the vortex lattice,and the quasiparticle mean free path

The washboard frequency of the moving vortex lattice in untwinned YBa₂ Cu₃ O_6.93 may be observed through mode-locking to an externally applied ac current of frequency _ext. The interference between and _ext results in jumps in the dc current-voltage characteristics when and _ext are harmonically related¹. The interference effect disappears in the vortex liquid state. The Hall conductivity _xy below T_c in YBCO contains contributions² from a positive quasiparticle (qp) term (H) and a negative vortex term (1/H). The qp term is surprisingly large well below T_c and implies a large gap anisotropy and a long qp mean free path (mfp). The thermal Hall effect³ _xy is closely related to the qp _xy; _xy is produced by asymmetric scattering of qp by pinned vortices. The qp mfp at H = 0, extracted from _xy and extended to low T by _xy, increases remarkably from 90 Å at T_c to more than 0.5m at 22 K.     

Initial permeability studies on A13+ and Cr3+ substituted Ni–Zn ferrites

The chemical formula of the samples investigated is Ni0.7Zn0.3Alx/CrxFe2-xO4, where x=0.00, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20 and 0.25. The samples were obtained by the usual ceramic technology from high-purity oxides. The initial permeability was calculated from the inductance measurements with a torroidal core of 100 turns, using the formula L=0.0046 iN2h log d2/d1. The initial permeability i decreases in Ni0.7Zn0.3Alx/CrxFe2-xO4 with increase in Al3+/Cr3+. The decrease in i is attributed to a decrease of grain size D from 4.9 m to 4.4 m with Al3+ and to 1.9 m with Cr3+ and to variations in the anisotropy constant K1. The main contribution to the variation of permeability with content of Al3+/Cr3+ in the system is the effect each of them has on domain wall motion. The trivalent substituents (Al3+/Cr3+) cause impedance to the domain wall motion, which increases as the content of these ions increases. Al3+ has a stronger effect than Cr3+. The initial permeability components and do not exhibit much variation with temperature, except near Tc, where they fall sharply. The maximum of near Tc has been attributed to a damping effect of domain wall motion. © 1998 Chapman & Hall     

Equal-channel angular pressing of an Al-6061 metal matrix composite

An Al-6061 metal matrix composite, reinforced with 10 vol % Al₂O₃ particulates, was subjected to equal-channel angular (ECA) pressing at room temperature to a total strain of 5. It is shown that the intense plastic straining introduced by ECA pressing reduces the grain size from 35 m to 1 m and this leads to an increase in the microhardness measured at room temperature. Inspection revealed some limit cracking of the larger Al₂O₃ particulates as a consequence of the ECA pressing. Tensile testing after ECA pressing gave a maximum ductility of 235% at a temperature of 853 K when testing at strain rates from 10^–4 to 10^–3 s^–1. It is suggested that high strain rate superplasticity is not achieved in this material after ECA pressing due to the presence of relatively large Al₂O₃ particulates.     

Pressureless sintering of β-SiC with Al2O3 additions

-SiC was pressureless sintered to 98% theoretical density using Al₂O₃ as a liquid-phase forming additive. The reaction between SiC and Al₂O₃ which results in gaseous products, was inhibited by using a pressurized CO gas or, alternatively, a sealed crucible. The densification behaviour and microstructural development of this material are described. The microstructure consists of fine elongated -SiC grains (maximum length 10 m and width 2–3 m) in a matrix of fine equi-axed grains (2–3 m) and plate-like grains (2–5m). The densification behaviour, composition and phases in the sintered product were studied as a function of the sintering parameters and the initial composition. Typically, 50% of the -phase was transformed to the -phase.     

Effect of phase transitions in copper-germanium thin film alloys on their electrical resistivity

An investigation was carried out to study the phase transitions in Cu-Ge thin films (80–200 nm in thickness) containing 0, 5, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 at% Ge, and the corresponding effects on electrical resistivity. For these films, the phase transitions were found to follow the sequence: -phase (disordered face centred cubic, fcc, solid solution); 5 at% Ge -phase (disordered hexagonal close packed, hcp); 15 at% Ge -phase + ₁-phase (ordered orthorhombic, Cu₃Ge); 20 at% Ge ₁-phase; 25 at% Ge (₁-phase + progressively increasing proportions of a disordered Ge-rich solid solution); 30–50 at% Ge. Germanium was found to have no marked effect on grain size of all films studied excluding grain boundaries as electron scattering centres. Transition of the -phase into the -phase was found to occur in a highly coherent manner, which could be related to the reduced stacking fault energy of Cu by the addition of Ge. Most evidence pointed out that the initial increase in resistivity within the -phase range was related to hcp scattering centres, which could be associated with a localized high concentration of Ge. At 15 at% Ge, the resistivity reached a maximum value of about 50 cm associated with the complete transformation of -phase into the -phase. With continued increase in Ge concentration, the resistivity was found to gradually decrease reaching a minimum value of about 10 at 25 at% Ge, which was correlated with complete transition of the -phase into the ordered ₁-phase (Cu₃Ge). It was shown that the superlattice of Cu₃Ge could directly be derived from the disordered -phase by minor atom rearrangement on the [0 0 0 1]_hcp plane. Even though, minor proportions of a Ge-rich solid solution containing a small concentration of Cu were formed at Ge concentrations above 25 at%, the minimum resistivity of 10 cm was maintained as the Ge concentration was increased to 35 at%. Subsequently, the resistivity was increased reaching about 46 cm at 50 at% Ge.     

Influence of the α/β-SiC phase transformation on microstructural development and mechanical properties of liquid phase sintered silicon carbide

The transformation kinetics and microstructural development of liquid phase sintered silicon carbide ceramics (LPS-SiC) are investigated. Complete densification is achieved by pressureless and gas pressure sintering in argon and nitrogen atmospheres with Y2O3 and AlN as sintering additives. Studies of the phase transformation from to -SiC reveals a dependency on the initial -content and the sintering atmosphere. The transformation rate decreases with an increasing -content in the starting powder and in presence of nitrogen. The transformation is completely supressed for pure -SiC starting powders when the additive system consists of 10.34 wt% Y2O3 and 2.95 wt% AlN. Materials without phase transformation showed a homogeneous microstructure with equiaxed grains, whereas microstructures with elongated grains were developed from SiC powders with a high initial /-ratio (>1:9) when phase transformation occurs. Since liquid phase sintered silicon carbide reveals predominantly an intergranular fracture mode, the grain size and shape has a significant influence on the mechanical properties. The toughness of materials with platelet-like grains is about twice as high as for materials with equiaxed grains. Materials exhibiting elongated microstructures show also a higher bending strength after post-HIPing.     

The growth of non-stoichiometric apatites using the constant composition method

The kinetics of the crystal growth of calcium-deficient hydroxyapatites with different stoichiometry (Ca₅-(HPO₄)(PO₄)₃-(OH)₁-) have been investigated at 37°C using the constant composition method. The growth was performed in solutions supersaturated only with respect to Ca₅(PO₄)₃(OH) (HAp) by inoculating with well-characterized seed crystals. The stoichiometry of the grown apatites was consistent with values of 00.185. The deviation from HAp stoichiometry of the growing apatite increased with increasing supersaturation degree (S). The constant composition method also provides relevant information about the solubility behaviour of the growing phase with a definite composition. From the decrease of the normalized growth rate j with decreasing S, an estimate could be made of the composition of the solution for which the growth ceases. The determined solubility product of the grown apatite (4.28×10^-54 M⁹) was higher than the value obtained by the equilibration of the seed material. The results were interpreted on the basis of differences in crystal lattice perfection.This paper was accepted for publication after the 1995 Conference of the European Society of Biomaterials, Oporto, Portugal, 10–13 September.     

The influence of ageing on the stability of β-γ/γ′ derived microstructures in Ni-Al-Cr-(Co) alloys

Multiphase Ni-Al-(Fe)-(Cr)-(Co)-based intermetallics with (B2)- (A1)/(L1₂), - or - microstructures can exhibit significant room-temperature tensile ductility. In the case of Ni-Al-Cr-based alloys, microstructural development is complicated by the precipitation of -Cr, which can supplant the -phase during ageing of three-phase -/ microstructures. An investigation of the stability, during ageing, of cast Ni-Al-Cr-(Co) alloys with microstructures derived from -/ is reported. In the as-cast condition, the materials investigated consisted of a dendritic matrix containing L1₀ type martensite and interdendritic /. Extensive intra- and interdendritic -Cr precipitation was also observed. The stability during ageing of the interdendritic / microstructure is also considered and transformation of the L1₀ martensite is examined.     

Experimental hydration of two synthetic glassy blast furnace slags in water and alkaline solutions (NaOH and KOH 0.1 N) at 40° C: structure,composition and origin of the hydrated layer

The hydration of blast furnace slags has been modelled using two synthetic (CaO, SiO₂, Al₂O₃, MgO) glasses with different Al₂O₃/MgO values. Experiments (duration: 16 h to 150 d) were performed at 40° C in deionized water (pH 6.5) and in NaOH and KOH (0.1 N) solutions (pH=12.9). The hydrated layer was characterized from a combination of several techniques at different scales: surface analysis by XPS and SEM; TEM of ultrathin diamond-cut sections including electron microdiffraction and EDS analysis; X-ray diffraction of scratched powders. In water, the hydrated zone is only about 0.5m thick after 150 d with a leached layer covered by a thin siliceous film on which are scattered rare amorphous lamellae. In alkali media, the hydrated zone is composed of three parts: an inner layer made of modified residual glass, calcium-depleted and richer in magnesium and aluminium than the initial glass; an intermediate lamellar of constant thickness (O.3m) after 15 d with magnesium and aluminium as major components (hydrotalcite type composition) and labelling the initial solid-solution interface, an outer layer with initially abundant C-S-H more or less carbonated after reaction with atmospheric CO₂. The hydrotalcite-type layer separates the inner domain dominated by the formation and evolution of a leached glass layer from an outer one, where the precipitation of C-S-H and other amorphous or crystalline compounds, followed by carbonation, are the major processes.     

The Interplay of Electronic and Nuclear Magnetism in PtFe x at Milli-, Micro-, and Nanokelvin Temperatures

We have measured ac susceptibility, nuclear magnetic resonance, and nuclear heat capacity of two PtFe _x samples with concentrations of magnetic impurities x = 11 ppm and 41 ppm at magnetic fields (0 ± 0.05) mTB248 mT. The susceptibility data have been measured at temperatures of 0.3 KT100 mK, no hint for nuclear magnetic ordering could be detected to a temperature of 0.3 K. The nuclear heat capacity data taken at 1.4 KT10 mK show enhanced values which scale with x at low polarization. This effect is described by a model assuming an internal magnetic field caused by the impurities. No indication for nuclear magnetic ordering could be detected to 1.4 K. The nuclear magnetic resonance experiments have been performed on these samples at 0.8 KT0.5 mK and 2.5 mTB22.8 mT as well as on three other samples with x = 5, 10, 31 ppm in a different setup at 40 KT0.5 mK and at 5.4 mTB200 mT. Spin-lattice and effective spin-spin relaxation times ₁and ₂ ^* of ¹⁹⁵ Pt strongly depend on x and on the external magnetic field. No temperature dependence of ₁and ₂ ^* could be detected and the NMR data, too, give no hint for nuclear magnetic ordering to 0.8 K.