Effect of processing on toughness of Ca α-sialon ceramics

The influence of processing on microstructural development of Ca -sialon composition (Ca _x Si_12–3x Al_3x O _x N_16–x ) with x = 1.8 was studied by dwelling at different intermediate temperatures before reaching the final sintering temperature. The microstructural observation results have showed the different aspect ratios of elongated grains obtained by the various processing conditions, reflecting the effect of the number of nuclei of -sialon on morphology of grains during sintering. Improved toughness was achieved by applying low temperature dwelling for Ca -sialon compositions with low x values. The toughness showed an increase of 33% and 16% for x = 0.6 and 1.0 compositions respectively with middle dwelling processing at 1350°C for 3 h before reaching 1750°C for 1 h by hot-pressing.     

The effect of processing parameters on the properties of γ-alumina washcoats deposited on ceramic honeycombs

The coating of cordierite honeycomb specimens with -alumina slurries for the preparation of washcoats for automotive applications was investigated. The dependence of slurry viscosity on factors such as the solids content, the pH and the particle size distribution of the powder used, was determined. Slurry viscosity was correlated to the loading percentage achieved, as well as to the quality of the washcoat in terms of homogeneity and reproducibility. It was found than an adequate solids content in the slurry is necessary for the achievement of satisfactory loading per impregnation. When, though, the particle size of the powder employed is of colloidal dimensions, high solids content leads to extremely high viscosity values. Adjustment of the slurry viscosity is therefore necessary and this was achieved with the use of either HCl or ammonium poly-methacrylate, an organic polyelectrolyte. Optimum loading conditions were achieved when the slurry viscosity lied between 50–150 mPa·s. For a specific solids content, the organic polyelectrolyte led to lower viscosity slurries and resulted in better reproducibility of the loading percentage. With the use of ammonium poly-methacrylate, slurries of fine particles, up to 40 wt% solids content could be handled, resulting in reproducible loading percentages of the order of 15 wt%     

Influence of thermomechanical processing on superplastic forming of Mg–Al alloys

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to study the influence of the initial microstructure of several Mg–Al alloys on their superplastic formability and on their post-forming microstructure and mechanical properties. Various thermomechanical processing routes, such as annealing, conventional rolling, severe rolling and cross rolling, were used in order to fabricate AZ31 and AZ61 alloys with different grain sizes. These materials were then blow formed into a hat shaped die. It was found that the processing route has only a small effect in the formability of Mg–Al alloys or on the post-forming microstructures and properties due to rapid dynamic grain growth taking place at the forming temperatures. Nevertheless, good formability is achieved as a result of the simultaneous operation of grain boundary sliding and crystallographic slip during forming.     

Effects of friction stir processing on wear properties of WC–12%Co sprayed on 52100 steel

A WC–12%Co coating was thermally sprayed on a 52100 steel substrate and subsequently friction stir processing (FSP) was performed on this layer. The wear resistance and hardness was compared before and after FSP. Optical and SEM revealed that FSP intermixes the sprayed layer with the substrate, reduces porosity, and enhances both hardness and wear performances. 3D profilometry mapping was conducted to evaluate the wear track depth and its morphology. Refined grain structures and a martensitic structure with retained austenite are promoted by the FSP treatment. This leads to formation of new intermetallic and carbides which were detected by X-ray diffraction, thus accounting for the increased hardness and improved wear resistance.     

Effect of prior β processing steps on microstructural refinement during thermomechanical processing of a two phase (α + β) titanium alloy

Abstract

Microstructural evolution in Ti - 6.8Al - 3.2Mo - 1.8Zr - 0.3Si alloy during a newly designed thermomechanical schedule has been systematically studied with the aim of obtaining a suitable microstructure for superplastic forming. The schedule involves prior processing in the β phase field and subsequent rolling in the (α + β) phase field. In all experiments the starting material was thermally or thermomechanically treated in the β phase field and subsequently quenched in order to produce a martensitic structure. The morphology of the primary α in material for hot rolling could be substantially altered from that obtained with the conventional (α + β) processing schedule of two phase titanium alloys. Prior β processed microstructure, (α + β) rolling temperature, and deformation were found to influence the α phase morphology in the alloy. The effect of subsequent annealing in the (α + β) phase field on microstructural stability has been examined. The results show that the proposed thermomechanical processing schedule provides a relatively wide temperature - strain 'processing window' in β and (α + β) phase fields over which a fine grain (< 5 μm) equiaxed α structure can be obtained in Ti - 6.8Al - 3.2Mo - 1.8Zr - 0.3Si alloy.     

Effect of processing routes on mechanical and thermal properties of copper–graphene composites

In this paper, copper–graphene composites were fabricated by using two different processing routes (ball milling (BM) and ultrasonication) followed by spark plasma sintering. Vickers hardness and anisotropic thermal conductivity of the composites were measured and observed that ultrasonicated fabricated composites gave better result compared with BM composite and even from pure copper. The hardness values obtained for ultrasonicated copper–graphene composite were 69?HV (57% higher) and thermal conductivity 387?W/m?K (13% higher) by using only 0.5?wt-% of graphene, while for pure copper the values were 44?HV and 341?W/m?K. The value of anisotropic thermal conductivity ultrasonicated composites was also 1.97 which is much higher than pure copper 0.94.     

Laser and GTAW torch processing of Fe–Cr–B coatings on steel

A comparison has been made of the relationship between microstructure and microhardness developed by surface melting Nanosteel SHS 7170 Fe–Cr–B alloy powder onto a plain carbon steel surface. This powder was initially developed as a high velocity oxyfuel sprayed coating, giving a strength 10 times that of mild steel, and is particularly suitable for surface protection against wear and corrosion. In the present study, the alloy powder was injected into the laser melted surface, while a preplaced powder was melted using the gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) technique. The laser track consisted of fine dendrites and needle-like microstructures, which produced a maximum hardness value of over 800 HV, while the GTAW track produced a mixture of equiaxed and columnar grain microstructures with a maximum hardness value of 670 HV. The lower hardness values are considered to be associated with dilution and grain size.     

Influence of processing on the microstructure of Cu–8Cr–4Nb

The particle-strengthened Cu–8 at.%Cr–4 at.%Nb alloy is processed by consolidation of atomized powders followed by extrusion to obtain bars and rolling to produce sheets. Comparison of copper matrix grain and second-phase particle structures in both extruded and rolled Cu–8Cr–4Nb was performed. Extruded material displayed locally banded arrangements of Cr₂Nb particles, while the distribution of particles was more uniform in rolled material. Mean Cr₂Nb particle sizes were found to be essentially the same for both processing methods. Non-spherical particles in the extruded alloy showed some preferred orientation, whereas the rolled material displayed a more uniform particle orientation distribution. Extruded material exhibited a dual grain size distribution with smaller grains in banded regions. The mean grain size of 1.36 μm in extruded material was larger than the 0.65 μm grain size of rolled material. A [101] texture was evident in extruded material, whereas the rolled material was only slightly textured along the [001] and [111] directions. The processing differences for the rolled and extruded forms give rise to different microstructures and hence higher creep strength for the extruded material in the temperature range of 773–923 K.

---

Effect of thermomechanical processing on superplasticity in Ti–Al–Mo–Zr alloy

Abstract

Superplasticity in terms of total tensile elongation was studied in a titanium alloy of nominal composition Ti–6·5Al–3·3Mo–1·6Zr (wt-%) for three strain rates (1·04 × 10^?3, 2·1 × 10^?3, and 4·2 × 10^?3s^?1) and in the temperature range 1123–1223 K for microstructures obtained by different processing schedules. Fine equiaxed microstructure with a low aspect ratio of 1·15 was accomplished in this alloy by combining two types of deformation. While the first step consists of heavy deformations for refining and intermixing the phases, a second step, consisting of light homogeneous reductions in several stages, was necessary to remove the banding that developed during the first step. The resulting microstructure underwent enormous tensile elongation (1700–1725%), even under relatively high strain rates (1·04 × 10^?3 and 2·1 × 10^?3s^?1), making this alloy most suitable for commercial superplastic forming. The present investigation also revealed that the usual sheet rolling practice of heavy reductions to refine the microstructure leads to localised banding which could not be removed by annealing; therefore, the tensile elongation was limited to 770% only. The reason for this may be attributed to the resistance in grain boundary sliding and rotation encountered in microstructures with shear bands and grains with high aspect ratio. Strain enhanced grain growth was also greater in these microstructures.

MST/555     

Nonlinearity suppression of Mach–Zehnder modulator based on optical carrier processing in radio-over-fiber links

A highly linear transmitter that consists of a dual-drive Mach–Zehnder modulator (DD-MZM), an optical gain, and an optical phase shifter in radio-over-fiber links is proposed and demonstrated by simulation. The optical carrier is split equally with one part driving the DD-MZM, while the other part remaining unmodulated. By properly adjusting the magnitude and phase shift of unmodulated optical carrier, two kinds of main origins of third-order IMD (IMD3) have equal intensity and opposite phase, and cancel each other out. The comparison of the proposed technique and double-sideband modulation by MZM is presented. Simulation results shown that the spurious-free dynamic range of 125.3 dB Hz^2/3 is achieved, which is about 26 dB more than a quadrature biased MZM.     

Mechanical processing,compaction, and thermal processing of α-Fe powder

High-energy ball milling is a proven technique for both mechanical alloying and for the production of nanocrystalline powders. In this U.S. Bureau of Mines study, it is found that mechanical processing pure α-Fe powders in a nitrogen environment results in nanocrystalline powders with nitrogen concentrations that increase linearly with time. In addition, processing in nitrogen results in a much smaller ultimate crystallite size than obtained in identical powders processed in argon. Consolidation of these powders by explosive compaction results in dense bodies that retain both their nanostructure and nitrogen content, whereas consolidation by HIPing results in retained nitrogen levels but a loss of nanostructure. Both the nanostructure and the high nitrogen levels of the explosively compacted materials are retained up to 863K.     

Effect of processing parameters on textural and bioactive properties of sol–gel-derived borate glasses

A compositional range of recently developed bioactive sol–gel-derived borate glasses (SGBGs) have demonstrated remarkably rapid rates of conversion to hydroxy-carbonated apatite (HCA) in simulated body fluid (SBF). Although the composition of SGBGs did not greatly impact HCA conversion rates, it is still unknown how the sol–gel processing parameters affect the textural properties and thus bioactivity of the glass. In this study, a borate-substituted Bioglass^® “45S5” formulation [(46.1)B₂O₃-(26.9)CaO-(24.4)Na₂O-(2.6)P₂O₅; mol%] was fabricated using different sol–gel processing parameters including precursor materials, ageing time and temperature, along with calcination rate and temperature. It was found that a higher calcination temperature led to a partially crystallized glass with almost a magnitude decrease in specific surface area relative to the other glasses. All processing routes resulted in highly bioactive glasses according to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy, which confirmed HCA formation in SBF in as little as 2 h. The majority of ion-exchange occurred within 30 min, facilitating this rapid conversion to bone-like HCA. Interestingly, the partially crystallized glasses (i.e., glass–ceramics) also underwent full conversion to HCA in SBF. Furthermore, ageing time and temperature did not affect the bioactive properties of these glasses, which allow for significantly reduced processing times. In summary, this study demonstrates that SGBGs can be tailored for targeted tissue engineering applications by varying the sol–gel processing parameters.     

Human tissue allograft processing: impact on in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility

This work investigates the impact of chemical and physical treatments on biocompatibility for human bone/tendon tissues. Nontreated and treated tissues were compared. In vitro testing assessed indirect and direct cytotoxicity. Tissues were subcutaneously implanted in rats to assess the immunological, recolonization, and revascularization processes at 2–4 weeks postimplantation. No significant cytotoxicity was found for freeze-dried treated bones and tendons in comparison to control. The cellular adhesion was significantly reduced for cells seeded on these treated tissues after 24 h of direct contact. A significant cytotoxicity was found for frozen treated bones in comparison to freeze-dried treated bones. Tissue remodeling with graft stability, no harmful inflammation, and neo-vascularization was observed for freeze-dried chemically treated bones and tendons. Frozen-treated bones were characterized by a lack of matrix recolonization at 4 weeks postimplantation. In conclusion, chemical processing with freeze-drying of human tissues maintains in vitro biocompatibility and in vivo tissue remodeling for clinical application.     

Is motion processing unitary?

Motion discrimination space is conventionally categorized into motion detection, speed discrimination, and direction discrimination tasks. But an ideal observer uses a unitary motion mechanism that is affected only by the noise level and the difference in speed (or displacement) between two stimuli. We tested whether human performance in the various motion tasks showed the working of a unitary mechanism or the combined outputs of more than one mechanism. We examined the whole motion discrimination space, using random dots that underwent a sudden jump or displacement. The discriminability was measured as a function of the standard and comparison displacements. Both the ideal observer model and a nonideal observer model that contains additive internal noise predict a planar response surface. When the dot motion was noiseless, the planar surface fitted well except for much higher than expected sensitivity for motion detection. This is consistent with a purely temporal mechanism that uses flicker or a purely spatial mechanism that uses the length of time-averaged streaks. It is also consistent with a Weber's law device. When motion noise was added to the displays, the planar response surface again fitted well, although the residuals showed the presence of a speed energy mechanism. We conclude that a unitary motion mechanism exists (nonideal observer model), although its performance may be supplemented by other mechanisms whose main impact is on discrimination of speeds near zero.     

Influence of solidification variables on the microporosity formation on Al–Cu (4.5 wt%) alloy with axial heat processing

The effects of solidification rate, hydrogen concentration, and level of convection on porosity formation in Al–Cu (4.5 wt%) alloys were investigated using Axial Heat Processing (AHP). This processing technique is similar to the conventional directional solidification (DS) technique, except that it utilizes a graphite baffle immersed near the solidification interface to control the shape of the interface and impart an axial temperature gradient. It was found that the samples produced by AHP contained 20–40% less microporosity than similar samples produced by conventional DS. The reduction was also more pronounced with decreasing a cooling rate and increasing an initial hydrogen concentration in the melt. These differences are attributed to the solute accumulation that is due to the confinement of the liquid below the baffle and the concomitant reduction in the convection level near the interface.     

Algebraic signal processing theory: Cooley–Tukey type algorithms on the 2-D hexagonal spatial lattice

Recently, we introduced the framework for signal processing on a nonseparable 2-D hexagonal spatial lattice including the associated notion of Fourier transform called discrete triangle transform (DTT). Spatial means that the lattice is undirected in contrast to earlier work by Mersereau introducing hexagonal discrete Fourier transforms. In this paper we derive a general-radix algorithm for the DTT of an n × n 2-D signal, focusing on the radix-2 × 2 case. The runtime of the algorithm is O(n ² log(n)), which is the same as for commonly used separable 2-D transforms. The DTT algorithm derivation is based on the algebraic signal processing theory. This means that instead of manipulating transform coefficients, the algorithm is derived through a stepwise decomposition of its underlying polynomial algebra based on a general theorem that we introduce. The theorem shows that the obtained DTT algorithm is the precise equivalent of the well-known Cooley–Tukey fast Fourier transform, which motivates the title of this paper.

It is with great sadness that the authors contribute this paper to this special issue in memory of their former PhD advisor Thomas Beth. Beth was an extremely versatile researcher with contributions in a wide range of disciplines. However, one pervading theme can be identified in all of his work: the belief that mathematics, and in particular abstract algebra, was the language and key to uncovering the structure in many real world problems. One testament to this vision is his seminal habilitation thesis on the theory of Fourier transform algorithms, which ingeniously connects one of the principal tools in signal processing with group theory to open up an entirely new field of research. The authors deeply regret that Beth’s untimely death prevented him from seeing the Algebraic Signal Processing Theory, a body of work, including the present paper, that develops an axiomatic approach to and generalization of signal processing based on the representation theory of algebras. The theory is a logical continuation of Beth’s ideas and would not exist without him and his influence as PhD advisor. The authors like to think that he would have approved of this work and wish to dedicate this paper to him and his memory.

This work was supported by NSF through awards 0310941 and 0634967.     

Effect of friction stir processing on corrosion resistance of aluminum–copper alloy gas tungsten arc welds

Gas tungsten arc welds in aluminum–copper alloy AA2219-T6 were friction stir processed (to a depth of about 2 mm from the weld top surface) for improving their corrosion resistance. Unprocessed and friction stir processed welds were comparatively evaluated for their microstructural characteristics and corrosion resistance. Friction stir processing was found to result in substantial microstructural refinement with fine, uniformly distributed CuAl₂ intermetallic particles. Friction stir processing was also found to result in a more uniform copper distribution in the weld metal, leading to significant increase in weld corrosion resistance. This work demonstrates that friction stir processing is an effective strategy for overcoming corrosion problems in aluminum–copper alloy fusion welds.     

Development of structure and effect of processing parameters on Strength–structure relationships for two ferritic stainless steels

Abstract

The development of substructure as material passes through the roll gap has been examined for a ferritie stainless steel and it is shown that the final structure evolves close to the roll gap exit. Temperature variations as the material was rolled were monitored and the subsequent effect on substructure investigated. The variation of substructure with processing for two ferritic steels is discussed and the effect of this variation on room temperature properties is presented. It is shown that the strength–structure relationship is highly dependent upon retained martensite which degrades the tensile strength.

MST/380     

Influence of composition and processing parameters on mechanical properties and erosion response of Ni–TiB2 coatings

Abstract

Sputtered Ni–TiB₂ coatings have been shown to protect Ti–6Al–4V and Inconel 718 substrates from solid particle erosion. However, before new erosion resistant coatings can be efficiently designed, it is essential that the role of mechanical properties in determining erosion resistance be fully understood. In this investigation, nanoindentation techniques were used to quantify the effects of substrate preparation, coating composition, and sputtering process parameters on the elastic moduli and indentation hardness of thin coatings deposited on Ti–6Al–4V and Inconel 718 substrates. The influence of these parameters on coating adhesion was determined using a conventional scratch test. Elastic moduli, indentation hardnesses, and coating adhesion were correlated with erosion behaviour. The erosion resistance of the coatings that exhibited microscopic ductility is dependent on the nodule diameter and coating properties such as hardness, elastic modulus, and fracture toughness.

MST/1697