The segregated structure of MnBi in Bi–Mn alloy solidified under a high magnetic field

Influence of high magnetic field on segregation of BiMn grains during solidification of Bi–Mn alloy has been investigated. Experiment of melting and solidifying of the alloy in a 10 T magnetic field generated by superconductor magnet was conducted. An interesting phenomenon was found that the BiMn grains accumulated on the periphery of the specimen, forming a ring-like MnBi phase-rich layer where MnBi phase aligned along the magnetic direction. This pheromone was analyzed and discussed.     

Effect of heat-treatment on phase stability and grain coarsening in a powder-processed Al–Ni–Co–Zr–Y alloy

Processing of Al alloys via metastable amorphous intermediates can give much higher volume fractions of dispersed strengthening phases than in conventional precipitation- or dispersion-hardened systems. Here, we report a study on an Al–Ni–Co–Zr–Y alloy processed by gas atomization and consolidated/devitrified by warm extrusion. X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy are used to reveal the effects of heat-treatments at 300–500 °C for up to 96 h on the phase stability and coarsening behavior of the alloy. In all samples, the microstructure contains 22 % by volume of Al₁₉(Ni,Co)₅Y₃ plates surrounded by grains of FCC Al. Samples heat-treated at 350 °C and above also contain fine Al₃Y and Al₃Zr particles as minority phases. The softening of the alloy is limited for heat-treatment temperatures of up to 400 °C, and the Al₁₉(Ni,Co)₅Y₃ plates coarsen slowly. At higher temperatures, abnormal coarsening is observed with the development of a secondary population of much larger Al₁₉(Ni,Co)₅Y₃ plates. An analysis of the coarsening kinetics gives a constant coarsening exponent of 3, but a distinct transition in the activation energies. These values suggest that the normal coarsening at lower temperatures occurs by short-circuit diffusion, whereas the abnormal coarsening at higher temperatures involves lattice diffusion. The Al grain size is dictated by the Al₁₉(Ni,Co)₅Y₃ inter-plate separation, and grain growth is limited by the extent of plate coarsening. Such systems could form the basis of new high-strength high-temperature Al alloys for structural applications.     

3D CFD-PBM modeling of the gas–solid flow field in a polydisperse polymerization FBR: The effect of drag model

This work investigated a coupled computational fluid dynamics and population balance modeling (CFD-PBM) approach to predict the hydrodynamic behavior of the complex gas–solid two-phase flow in a three-dimensional (3-D) polydisperse propylene polymerization fluidized bed reactors (FBRs). Four different drag models, namely Syamlal–O’Brien, Gidaspow, McKeen and EMMS, were incorporated into the CFD-PBM model for evaluating the different effect of drag force between the gas and solid phases. Simulation results revealed a significant effect of the drag model on gas–solid flow in polydisperse polymerization FBRs. It was found that (1) compared to Syamlal–O’Brien and Gidaspow drag models, McKeen and EMMS drag models could predict a lower bed height, a higher temperature and an obvious core-annulus structure in polymerization FBRs; (2) EMMS drag model outperforms the other three drag models with respect to pressure drop prediction; and (3) the drag coefficient had little influence on the evolution of Sauter number and particle-size distribution.     

Effects of a high-gradient magnetic field on the migratory behavior of primary crystal silicon in hypereutectic Al–Si alloy

Abstract

The migration of primary Si grains during the solidification of Al–18 wt%Si alloy under a high-gradient magnetic field has been investigated experimentally. It was found that under a gradient magnetic field, the primary Si grains migrated toward one end of the specimen, forming a Si-rich layer, and the thickness of the Si-rich layer increased with increasing magnetic flux density. No movement of Si grains was apparent under a magnetic field below 2.3 T. For magnetic fields above 6.6 T, however, the thickness of the Si-rich layer was almost constant. It was shown that the static field also played a role in impeding the movement of the grains. The primary Si grains were refined in the Si layer, even though the primary silicon grains were very dense. The effect of the magnetic flux density on the migratory behavior is discussed.     

Theoretical study on effect of radial and axial deformation on electron transport properties in a semiconducting Si–C nanotube

We investigate electron transport properties in a deformed (8, 0) silicon carbide nanotube by applying self consistent non-equilibrium Green??s function formalism in combination with the density-functional theory to a two-probe molecular junction constructed from deformed nanotube. The results suggest significant reduction in threshold voltage in the case of both radially compressed and axially elongated (8, 0) SiCNTs, a large difference in current?Cvoltage characteristics was observed. Analysis of frontier molecular orbitals (FMO) and transmission spectrum show bandgap reduction in deformed nanotubes. Deformation introduces electronic states near the Fermi level, enhancing the conduction properties of (8, 0) SiCNT. The FMOs and the orbitals corresponding to peaks in T(E) around Fermi level obviously has some major contributions from the deformed site. However, localization of the electronic state near the Fermi level is weak in (8, 0) SiCNT, possibly because of its large bandgap.     

Effect of cooling rate on the morphology of γ′ precipitates in a nickel–base superalloy under directional solidification

The morphological evolution of γ′ precipitates in a nickel-based superalloy K5 was studied by zone melting directional solidification under vacuum conditions. The results show that at the lower cooling rate of 12.42 K s^–1, γ′ precipitates remand big cuboids, γ′ particles become smaller at the cooling rate ranges from 12.42 to 38.80 K s^–1. For a rather fast cooling rate of 50.16 K s^–1, γ′ particles retain a spherical shape. The experiments show that big cuboids will become unstable and split into several small one at the lower cooling rate of 1.1 K s^–1. The mechanism of the evolution of the γ′ morphologies is also analyzed by introducing a new parameter-shape factor which classifie the total energy into several energy levels. Based on this, the effect of the cooling rate on the γ′ morphology is discussed.     

The effect of dissolved titanium on the primary α-Al grain and globule size in the conventional and semi-solid casting of 356 Al–Si Alloy

The chemistry of molten alloy plays an important role on grain refining. Small addition of alloying elements reduces the grain size of the as-solidified structures to some degree depending on the alloy efficiency. The effect of dissolved Ti has been studied on the microstructure of Al–Si foundry alloys cast conventionally and by semi-solid casting routes. It is shown that Ti in solution could restrict the grains and globules size in both processes. A parallel plate compression test machine was employed to study the effect of dissolved Ti on the rheological behavior of the billets. It was confirmed billets with higher dissolved Ti-content have superior flow.Dr. Reza Ghomashchi was Former NSERC-ALCAN-UQAC Professor and Chair holder; Now Director, Advanced Materials and Processing Research Institute, (http://www.ampr-institute.com/).Shahrooz Nafisi is Research fellow, Facility for Electron Microscopy Research, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

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The effect of internal particle heat conduction on heat transfer analysis of turbulent gas–particle flow in a dilute state

In many cases the conduction mechanism inside a particle can not be ignored (large particles, low thermal conductivity and high porosity) during turbulent gas–particle flows. However, the accurate solution might be difficult to apply. Therefore, we first develop here the ability to conduct accurate solution and then we define the criterion for which the internal conductivity might be ignored. A combination between commercial C.F.D. code and user defined programs was developed to predict numerically the gas–particle velocity and temperature profiles. The selected criterion (defined at the outlet of the pipe’s cross-section), referred to the relation between the computational desirable average temperature difference without ignoring internal heat conductivity and the average particles temperature by ignoring internal heat conductivity, determines whether to consider the heat conduction mechanism in numerical simulations or to ignore it. It was found that the average particles temperature for T _p =  f(r) is lower than the case when T _p =  constant. Also, it was found that the non-dimensional temperature difference criterion is a continuous function of [Bi ×  (d _p/D)] for a specific geometry, various pipe and particle diameters, various particles’ thermal conductivities, constant heat flux and Re number. The numerical code enables to extend the classical criterion for Bi number of solids to various gas–particle systems and different operational conditions.     

The effect of strontium (Sr) on the ignition temperature of magnesium (Mg): a look at the pre-ignition stage of Mg–6 wt% Sr

The effect of strontium (Sr) addition on the ignition and oxidation behavior of magnesium has been investigated. Continuous heating experiments carried out in dry air-flow reveal that the ignition temperature (T _i) is raised from 640 °C (of pure Mg) to up to 854 °C at 6 wt% Sr addition. The oxidation behavior of Sr containing alloys was investigated during (i) isothermal oxidation experiments above the liquidus temperature (~640 °C) and (ii) during pre-ignition heating to 700 °C. The change in the ignition temperature of various alloy compositions is related to the amount of Sr that can be segregated to the surface and to the activity of the elements in the surface in the stages prior to ignition.     

Visual experimental research on the effect of nozzle orifice structure on R124–DMAC absorption process in a vertical bubble tube

A visual experimental platform for R124–DMAC bubble absorption in a vertical tube absorber was designed and built for this research. The bubble behaviors, flow pattern characteristics and distributions are observed and the bubble absorption heights (BAHs) were measured when the two kinds of different structure nozzles (single-orifice or multi-orifice nozzle) were applied in the absorber. The results showed that the BAH will heighten with increases of vapor flow rate and nozzle flow area. Based on visual experimental observations, the BAH or bubble absorption performance was significantly affected by the velocity of vapor from the nozzle rather than by the nozzle structure. The proportion of slug flow in BAH or the BAH can be decreased by using a multi-orifice nozzle in the absorber under the same flow area condition. However, the flow resistance of the vapor through the nozzle will increase, which has a negative action on the performance of absorption refrigeration systems. So, using multi-orifice nozzle does not improve the absorption performance of the bubble absorber under the same nozzle flow resistance condition.     

Influence of particle size and debonding damage on an elastic–plastic singular field around a crack-tip in particulate-reinforced composites

This paper deals with the influence of particle size and debonding damage on an elastic–plastic singular field around a crack-tip in particulate-reinforced composites (PRCs). Finite element analysis has been carried out on a crack-tip field in PRCs with debonding damage and containing various sized particles. The finite element method is developed based on a micromechanics model of PRCs by Tohgo et al. (Compos Part A 41:313–321, 2010) which can describe the debonding damage of particles from matrix and the particle size effect on deformation and damage. The influence of particle size and debonding damage on an elastic–plastic singular field around a crack-tip is discussed based on the numerical results. The stress distribution ahead of a crack-tip in the composites shifts upward with decreasing particle size unless the debonding damage develops. In the composites with damage, the debonding damage occurs from a crack-tip and progresses ahead of a crack-tip. The stress distribution shifts downward in the damage zone. It is concluded that the crack-tip field is strongly affected by the particle size and debonding damage.     

Stress gradient effect on the crack nucleation process of a Ti–6Al–4V titanium alloy under fretting loading: Comparison between non-local fatigue approaches

This study focuses on the stress gradient effect regarding the crack nucleation of a cylinder/plane Ti–6Al–4V titanium alloy contact under low cycle fatigue (LCF) fretting loading. Several local and non-local analytical approaches were compared to predict experimental results. The first part of the study presents fretting nucleation boundaries for three different cylinder radii in the partial slip regime. In the next part, the Crossland and Papadopoulos multi-axial fatigue criteria are computed and compared. Finally, local and non-local fatigue approaches are compared. Square constant volume, critical distance and weighted function approaches have been compared.The methodology used covers a large range of stress gradients. The impact of varying the stress gradients is that the larger the stress gradient, the larger the difference between experiments and local stress fatigue predictions. A Crossland local form was applied to confirm that a local stress fatigue analysis cannot predict the fretting cracking risk. Three non-local approaches were carried out, and the results allowed the proper prediction of the empirical thresholds with a 3–5% margin of error. The positive results obtained helped to select a multi-axial fatigue criterion and a non-local approach which take into account the gradient effect of contact fretting behavior.     

An eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM) study on the effect of reinforcing particles on the crack propagation behavior in a metal–matrix composite

In this paper, the eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM) was integrated in ABAQUS to simulate crack propagation and to predict the effect of reinforcing particles to the crack propagation behavior of Al₂O₃/Al6061 composite materials. It has been demonstrated that, higher reinforcing particle volume fraction leads to improved fatigue resistance and smaller particles size is more effective than larger particles at the same particle volume fraction. The underlying mechanisms of these effects are systematically investigated. The stress fields captured by XFEM during the crack propagation help in understanding the crack propagation behavior during cyclic loading.     

The effect of low cycle fatigue,ratcheting and mean stress relaxation on stress–strain response and microstructural development in a dual phase steel

This study examines the cyclic plastic deformation behavior and microstructural development of a dual phase steel in both symmetric and asymmetric cycling in strain and stress control modes. The low-cycle fatigue (LCF) and mean stress relaxation (MSR) tests show very similar fatigue lifetimes. However, fatigue lifetimes reduce and prominent accumulation of directional strain was observed in ratcheting. A microstructural analysis has revealed that the type of cyclic test carried out has a noticeable impact on the substructural development, and this has been correlated with differences in accumulated tensile strain. Electron backscatter diffraction investigation has shown larger in-grain misorientation for ratcheting specimen in comparison with LCF and MSR specimens. The orientation of ferrite grains was found to have very little effect on their substructural development, and strain localization commonly occurred in the ferrite at the ferrite/martensite interface.