Effect of Y2O3 and Total Oxide Addition on Mechanical Properties of Pressureless Sintered β-SiC

The effect of Y2O3 and the total oxide volume fraction (Y2O3 Al2O3) on density and mechanical properties of low temperature (1770～1940℃) pressureless sintered β-SiC ceramics were presented. The optimum temperature for pressureless sintering of β-SiC was found to be～1850℃ and the optimum content of Y2O3 in the oxides was found to be between 40 and 57 wt pct. The highest sintered density was achieved by adding oxides at 14 vol. pct. Both of the highest strength and fracture toughness were achieved at～14 vol. pct oxide addition and yttria concentrations between 40 and 57 wt pct in the oxides. Hardness, on the other hand, was found to be the highest for samples with 14 vol. pct oxide addition and ～64 wt pct Y2O3 in oxides.     

Preparation of Core-Shell Structured Cobalt Coated Tungsten Carbide Composite Powders by Intermittent Electrodeposition

Core-shell structured cobalt coated tungsten carbide(WC/Co) composite powders were prepared by intermittent electrodeposition. The influence of process parameters such as current density, single deposition pulse, p H value and surfactants on the formation of WC/Co was investigated and characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM), electrochemical station, acidometer and X-ray diffraction(XRD) techniques.The composite powders with 54% cobalt content were fabricated at a current density of 16 A dm-2, with a load of 10 g dm-3WC powders and a stirring speed of 600 r min-1at an operation temperature of 40 ± 2 °C,and 90% current efficiency was obtained with a single deposition pulse of 1.5 min and single stirring pulse of 2 min during 12 min efficient electrodeposition time. The uniformly distributed WC/Co powders could be obtained in the cobalt electrolyte containing 300 mg dm-3PEG-2000. The spherical cobalt grains coated WC particles were prepared in the p H 4-5 electrolyte at the Co deposition rate of 0.58 g min-1. A practical process for high efficient production of WC/Co powders by electrodeposition was developed in the present work.     

A Study on Alnico Permanent Magnet Powders Prepared by Atomization

Alnico powders were prepared by gas atomization process. Composition of the Alnico powders was Fe37.1 A18.2Ni17.6-Co26.6 Cu3.3 Ti7.2 (wt pct) which was the same as that of commercially available Alnico magnets. Averageparticle size of the powders was 119μm. Effects of heat treatment in magnetic field on magnetic properties of thepowders were investigated. The optimum process of heat treatment was found as follows, heated at 870℃ for 1min first, then cooled down to 700℃ at cooling rate 0.3℃/s in magnetic field, and finally aged isothermally for 4 h.Magnetic properties of the Alnico powders were measued and the results were that intrinsic coercivity i_H_c was 1.0kOe and remanence M_r was 36.5 emu/g.     

A Method to Adjust Dielectric Property of SiC Powder in the GHz Range

The SiC powders by Al or N doping have been synthesized by combustion synthesis, using Al powder and NH4Cl powder as the dopants and polytetra?uoroethylene as the chemical activator. Characterization by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectrometer, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometer demonstrates the formation of Al doped SiC, N doped SiC and the Al and N co-doped SiC solid solution powders, respectively. The electric permittivities of prepared powders have been determined in the frequency range of 8.2-12.4 GHz. It indicates that the electric permittivities of the prepared SiC powders have been improved by the pure Al or N doping and decrease by the Al and N co-doping. The paper presents a method to adjust dielectric property of SiC powders in the GHz range.     

Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of Rapidly Solidified Mg-Al-Zn-MM Alloys

Mg-Al-Zn-M M （misch metal） alloy powders were manufactured by inert gas atomization and the characteristics of alloy powders were investigated.In spite of the low fluidity and easy oxidation of the magnesium melt,the spherical powder was made successfully with the improved three piece nozzle systems of gas atomization unit. It was found that most of the solidified powders with particles size of less than 50μm in diameter were single crystal and the solidification structure of rapidly solidified powders showed a typical dendritic morphology because of supercooling prior to nucleation.The spacing of secondary denrite arms was deceasing as the size of powders was decreasing.The rapidly solidified powders were consolidated by vacuum hot extrusion and the effects of misch metal addition to AZ91 on mechanical properties of extruded bars were also examined.During extrusion of the rapidly solidified powders,their dendritic structure was broken into fragments and remained as grains of about 3μm in size.The Mg-Al-Ce intermetallic compounds formed in the interdendritic regions of powders were finely broken,too.The tensile strength and ductility obtained in as-extruded Mg-9 wt pct Al-1 wt pct Zn-3 wt pct MM alloy wereσ-（T.S.） =383 MPa andε=10.6%,respectively.All of these improvements on mechanical properties were resulted from the refined microstructure and second-phase dispersions.     

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of C/C-ZrC-SiC Composites Fabricated by Reactive Melt Infiltration with Zr,Si Mixed Powders

To meet the increasing demand for advanced materials capable of operation over 2000℃for future thermal protection systems application,C/C—ZrC—SiC composites were fabricated by reactive melt infiltration(RMI) with Zr,Si mixed powders as raw materials.The structural evolution and formation mechanism of the C/C—ZrC -SiC composites were discussed,and the mechanical property of the as-prepared material was investigated by compression test.The results showed that after the RMI process,a special structure with ZrC-SiC multi-coating as outer layer and ZrC-SiC-PyC ceramics as inner matrix was formed.ZrC and SiC rich areas were formed in the composites and on the coating surface due to the formation of Zr-Si intermetallic compounds in the RMI process.Mechanical tests showed that the average compression strength of the C/C-ZrC-SiC composites was 133.86 MPa,and the carbon fibers in the composites were not seriously damaged after the RMI process.     

Diamond/β-SiC film as adhesion-enhanced interlayer for top diamond coatings on cemented tungsten carbide substrate

In present work, diamond/β-SiC composite interlayers were deposited on cemented tungsten carbide(WC-6%Co) substrates by microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition(MPCVD) using H_2,CH_4 and tetramethylsilane(TMS) gas mixtures. The microstructure, chemical bonding, element distribution and crystalline quality of the composite interlayers were systematically characterized by means of field-emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction(XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectrometer(XPS), electron probe microanalysis(EPMA), Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscropy(TEM). The influences of varying TMS flow rates on the diamond/β-SiC composite interlayers were investigated. Through changing the TMS flow rates in the reaction gas, the volume fraction of β-SiC in the composite interlayers were tunable in the range of 12.0%–68.1%. XPS and EPMA analysis reveal that the composite interlayers are composed of C, Si element with little cobalt distribution. The better crystallinity of the diamond in the composite is characterized based on the Raman spectroscopy, which are helpful to deposit top diamond coatings with high quality. Then, the adhesion of top diamond coatings were estimated using Rockwell C indentation analysis, revealing that the adhesion of top diamond coatings on the WC-6%Co substrates can be improved by the interlayers with the diamond/β-SiC composite structures. Comprehensive TEM interfacial analysis exhibits that the cobalt diffusion is weak from WC-6%Co substrate to the composite interlayer. The homogeneous microcrystalline diamond coatings with the most excellent adhesion can be fabricated on the substrates with the composite interlayer with the β-SiC/diamond ratio of about 45%. The composite structures are appropriate for the application in high-efficiency mechanical tool as a buffer layer for the deposition of the diamond coating.     

Microstructure of SiC Whiskers with Different Cross-sections Perpendicular to the Whiskers Axis

Microstructure of β-SiC whiskers with differ-ent cross-sections perpendicular to their growingdirection was studied in detail by transmission elec-tron microscopy (TEM).It was indicated that therewere three types of cross-sections:round,hexagonal and trigonal.The whiskers with roundand hexagonal cross-sections had a high density ofplanar faults lying on the (111) close packed planesperpendicular to the whisker axis.There existed afew stacking faults on the other {111} planes insome hexagonal whiskers.The whiskers withbicrystals were also found in hexagonal whiskers.The microstructure of trigonal SiC whiskers wasbasically perfect but there were a few intrinsic stack-ing faults on the (11) planes (mostly) and (111)planes.The characters of electron diffraction pat-terns of β-SiC whiskers with different cross-sec-tions were reasonably analyzed using a reciprocalspace model with continuous diffraction streaksalong the [111] reciprocal direction.     

Analysis of Microstructure of Silicon Carbide Fiber by Raman Spectroscopy

The SiC fiber was prepared by chemical vapour depostion, which consists of tungsten core, SiC layer and carbon coating. The microstructure of the fiber was investigated using Raman spectroscopy, illustrating SiC variation in different region of the fiber. The result shows that the SiC layer can be subdivided into two parts in the morphologies of SiC grains; their sizes increase and their orientations become order with increasing distance from the fiber center. It is demonstrated that the mount of free carbon in the fiber is responsible for the variation of SiC grains in sizes and morphologies. The analysis of Raman spectra shows that the predominant β-SiC has extensive stacking faults within the crystallites and mixes other polytypes and amorphous SiC into the structure in the fiber.     

Effect of Grain Size on Phase Transformation and Photoluminescence Property of the Nanocrystalline ZrO_2 Powders Prepared by Sol-Gel Method

Nanocrystalline zirconia （ZrO2） powders were prepared by a sol-gel process followed by annealing treatments from 500 to 1200 ℃. Phase transformation, microstructural features and photoluminescence properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission election microscopy and photoluminescence spectra, respectively. The results show that both monoclinic phase and tetragonal phase exist in the nanocrystalline ZrO2 powders at annealing temperature in the range of 500-900 ℃, and the concentration of monoclinic phase increases with increasing the annealing temperature. Tetragonal phase is totally transformed to monoclinic phase when annealing temperature is up to 900 ℃. The average grain size of the powders also increases when annealing temperature increases. Two emission peaks centered at 390 nm （named as /390） and 470 nm （named as /470） exist in the photoluminescence spectra, and the intensity ratio of /390 to /470 decreases with increasing annealing temperature. The grain size is proposed to be responsible for the phase transformation in the nanocrystalline ZrO2 powders.     

Fabrication and Properties of SiC Nanofiber Paper/Nonwoven Fabric

正SiC nanofibers were synthesized by the sol-gel and carbothermal reduction method.The morphologies,microstructure and composition of the product were characterized by XRD,FESEM,and TEM.The product was ultralong β-SiC nanofibers with diame-     

Sintering Behavior and Microwave Dielectric Properties of MgTiO3 Ceramics Doped with B2O3 by Sol-Gel Method

The B2O3-doped MgTiO3 powders and ceramics have been prepared by sol-gel method using Mg(NO3)2·6H2O, Ti(C4H9O)4 and H3BO3 as the starting materials. The sintering behavior and microwave dielectric properties of ceramics prepared from powders with different particle sizes were investigated. The gels were calcined at 650, 700, 750, 800, 850 and 900 C and the derived particle sizes of powders were 20-30 nm, 30-40 nm, 40-60 nm, 60-90 nm, 90-120 nm and 120-150 nm, respectively. The nanoparticles with the size of 30-60 nm benefited the sintering process with high surface energy whereas nanoparticles with the size of 20-30 nm damaged the microwave dielectric properties due to the pores in the ceramics. The addition of B2O3 used as a liquid sintering aid reduced the sintering temperature of MgTiO3 ceramic, which was supposed to enter the MgTiO3 lattice and resulted in the formation of (MgTi)2(BO3)O phase. The B2O3-doped MgTiO3 ceramic sintered at 1100 C and prepared from the nanoparticles of 40-60 nm had compact structure and exhibited good microwave dielectric properties: εr=17.63, Q × f=33,768 GHz and τ f= 48×10 6 C 1.     

Synthesis and Characterizations of Nanocrystalline WC-Co Composite Powders by a Unique Ball Milling Process

In order to explore the high efficiency of fabricating nanocrystalline WC-Co composite powders, this paper presented a unique high energy ball milling process with variable rotation rate and repeatious circulation, by which nanocrystalline WC-10Co-0.8VC-0.2Cr3C2 (wt pct) composite powders with mean grain size of 25 nm were prepared in 32 min, and the quantity of the powders for a batch was as much as 800 grams. The as-prepared powders were analyzed and characterized by chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The results show that high energy ball milling with variable rotation rates and repeatious circulation could be used to produce nanocrystalline WC-Co powder composites with high efficiency. The compositions of the powders meet its specifications with low impurity content. The mean grain size decreases, lattice distortion and system energy increase with increasing the milling time. The morphology of nanocrystalline WC     

Deformation Processed Cu-15 wt pct Cr Composite Synthesized by Hot Hydrostatic Extrusion of Mechanical Milled Powders

A novel technique was developed for the preparation of Cu-15 wt pct Cr composite with high strength and conductivity.The composite powders with refined microstructure and curly lamellae strengthening phase was first prepared by mechanical milling in favorite milling time and then were hot hydrostatic extruded after pre-densification with sintering or hot pressing. It was shown that the extrusion densified the composite powders well and at the same time the chaos curled strengthening phase was aligned into lines and further deformed as strengthening ribbons. The deformation processed Cu-15 wt pct Cr composite prepared by this technique is of superior conductivity, strength and thermal stability.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Nanocapsules of α-Fe(NiCoAl) Solid-solution

α-Fe(NiCoAl) solid-solution nanocapsules were prepared with pure powders of Fe, Ni, Co and Al by the plasma arc-discharging using a copper crucible. The shapes of the nanocapsules are in polyhedrons with the core/shell structure. The body centered cubic (BCC) phase is formed in the core. The size of the nanocapsules is in the range of 10-120 nm and the thickness of the shell is 4-11 nm. Saturation magnetization JS=150 Am2/kg and coercivity iHC=24.3 kA/m are achieved for the nanocapsules.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Nanocapsules of a-Fe(NiCoAl) Solid-solution

α-Fe(NiCoAl) solid-solution nanocapsules were prepared with pure powders of Fe, Ni, Co and Al by the plasma arc-discharging using a copper crucible. The shapes of the nanocapsules are in polyhedrons with the core/shell structure. The body centered cubic (BCC) phase is formed in the core. The size of the nanocapsules is in the range of 10~120 nm and the thickness of the shell is 4~11 nm. Saturation magnetization Js=150 Am2/kg and coercivity iHC=24.3 kA/m are achieved for the nanocapsules.     

Fabrication of Bulk Targets of MgB2 with Stoichiometric and Nonstoichiometric Contents

Powder of magnesium diboride was obtained by solid phase reaction of mixture of magnesium （〉 99% pure） and amorphous boron （〉 99% pure） powders at 650-900 ℃ temperatures in inert atmosphere. During synthesis process main attention was paid. to removing oxide layer of surfaces of powder particles by organic solvents in Glovebox, where concentration of oxygen and water steam is less than 5 ppm. Homogenization and activation of powders were conducted in a planetary nano-mill by WC balls in an inert area. Pressing of the obtained powders was conducted in an argon atmosphere. MgB2 nonstoichiometric powders contained excess boron and magnesium, Magnesium hydride was used as source of excess boron, which is fragile compound and easy to grind in nano-mill. It decomposites with metallic magnesium and hydrogen up to 280 ℃ temperature. Commercial magnesium diboride powder （Aldrich, 〉 99%） was used for fabrication of MgB2 bulk targets. Powders systems of MgB2-Mg, MgB2-MgH2, MgB2-B homogenized by nano-mill in Glove box was used for fabrication of composites with nonstoichiometric contents. The targets were cylinders with diameters of 27-52 mm and height of 5-15 mm. Consolidation of pressed powdery composites was conducted in argon atmosphere. Synthesis of MgB2 from mixture of magnesium and amorphous boron powders and simultaneous consolidation were conducted by hot pressing （HP） method. Phase content of the obtained targets were established by XRD method after dry polishing. Superconducting characteristic of the obtained samples were measured by vibrational magnetometer. The superconducting transition with an onset at 39 K was observed in a good agreement with the results of the other groups obtained on samples prepared by conventional techniques. The phase exists near the nominal composition without a significant homogeneity range.     

Photocatalytic Activities of TiO2 Coated on Different Semiconductive SiC Foam Supports

Different semiconductive SiC foam supports were prepared by varying the sintering temperature and atmosphere, and with or without alkaline solution treatment and high temperature oxidation following a macromolecule pyrogenation combined with reaction bonding method. Nano-TiO2 particles were immobilized onto these SiC foam supports by a composite sol-gel method. The phase, surface morphology, the type of conduction and the photocatalytic activity of the TiO2-SiC composite photocatalysts were studied. The TiO2 coated on p-type Si-free SiC support showed the highest photocatalytic efficiency in degradation of 4- aminobenzenesulfonic acid （4-ABS） in aqueous solution as compared to that coated on n-type SiC support and p-type SiC supports with residual Si or Si02 on the surface. The result showed that the TiO2 coatings immobilized on p-type semiconductive SiC foam supports exhibited obviously higher photocatalytic activity in comparison to that coated on n-type SiC foam support. The p-n heterojunctions formed between the p-type SiC supports and n-type TiO2 coatings might be able to account for the better charge separation and transfer as well as the photocatalytic activity of the TiO2-SiC composite photocatalyst.     

Surfactant Assisted Dispersion and Adhesion Behavior of Carbon Nanotubes on Cu-Zr and Cu-Zr-Al Amorphous Powders

Carbon nanotubes （CNTs） were dispersed in gas atomized Cu47.5Zr47.5Al5 （CZA） and CusoZrso （CZ） amorphous powders, in an effort to elucidate the mechanisms of adhesion of CNTs onto amorphous metallic powders. CNTs were homogenously dispersed in water using a zwitterionic （ZW） surfactant. Then CZA and CZ powders were submersed in the ZW-CNTsuspensions with varying amounts of dwell time in an ultrasonic bath. The ZW-CNT- metal powder suspensions were dried, and CNT-metal composite powders were obtained after decomposition of the surfactant by calcination. Zeta potential measurements on ZW-CNT-metal powder suspensions and scanning electron microscopy investigation into the CNT-metal composite powders both indicated an ideal dwell time, for a specific alloy composition, of metallic powders in ZW-CNT suspension to achieve optimal adhesion of CNTs onto amorphous metallic powder surfaces. The results are rationalized on the basis of hydrolysis of metal ions into suspension creating a net positive charge on the metallic powder surfaces, and the interaction between the charged powder surfaces and the charged hydrophilic head groups of ZW, which has the other end attached to CNTs.     

A Coprecipitation Coating Synthesis of SiC/YAG Composites

The α-SiC in 0.5μm size powders were coated with Al_2O_3 and Y_2O_3 by a coprecipitation coating (CPC) method forfabrication of SiC/YAG composites. The same powder preparation was carried out by conventional mechanical mixing(MM) method for comparison. Two kinds of SiC/YAG composites were manufactured by pressureless sintering usingthe different powders, named CPC composite and MM composite thereafter respectively. It is shown that the CPCcomposite has the advantages of homogeneous distribution of YAG phase and of being sintered to high density ata low temperature, 100℃ lower than that of MM composite. The strength (573 MPa) and hardness (23.3 GPa) ofthe CPC composite are significantly higher than those (323 MPa and 13.5 GPa) of the MM composite, respectively.