Effect of strain rate on microstructure evolution of a nickel-based superalloy during hot deformation

The hot deformation behavior of a nickel-based superalloy was investigated by means of isothermal compression tests in the strain rate range of 0.001–10 s⁻¹ at 1110 °C. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) technique were used to study the effect of strain rate on the microstructure evolution of the alloy during hot deformation. The results revealed that the dynamic recrystallization (DRX) process was stimulated at high strain rates ($\dot{\epsilon }⩾5{\text{s}}^{-1}$) due to the high dislocation density and adiabatic temperature rise. Meanwhile, high nucleation of DRX and low grain growth led to the fine DRX grains. In the strain rate rage of 0.001–1 s⁻¹, the volume fraction of DRX grains increased with the decreasing strain rate, and the grain growth gradually governed the DRX process. Moreover, the strain rate has an important effect on DDRX and CDRX during hot deformation. On the other hand, particular attention was also paid to the evolution of twin boundaries during hot deformation. It was found that there was a lower fraction of Σ3 boundaries at the intermediate strain rate of 1 s⁻¹, while the fractions of Σ3 boundaries were much higher at both the lower strain rates ($\dot{\epsilon }⩽0.1{\text{s}}^{-1}$) and higher strain rates ($\dot{\epsilon }⩾5{\text{s}}^{-1}$).     

Effect of sodium sulfate on the alkali activation of fly ash

This paper discusses the effect of the presence of a small amount of ${\text{SO}}_4^{2-}$ (a 16 group oxyanion) on the nature and chemical composition of the resulting N–A–S–H gel and zeolites (main reaction products from the alkaline activation of fly ashes). To this end, fly ash was activated with different alkaline solutions containing 2.5% by weight of sodium sulfate. The paste was cured in an oven at 85 °C for different periods of time. The presence of sulfate was observed to lengthen the time needed for certain percentages of N–A–S–H gel to precipitate, while shortening the time needed for a given percentage of zeolites to precipitate. This, in turn, had an adverse effect on the mechanical strength of the material.     

Improved geopolymerization of bottom ash by incorporating fly ash and using waste gypsum as additive

This research studied the improvement of the geopolymerization of bottom ash (BA) by incorporating fly ash (FA) and using flue gas desulfurization gypsum (FGDG) as additive. The BA:FA ratios of 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100 were used as the blended source materials. The source materials were then replaced with 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% of FGDG. NaOH, sodium silicate and temperature curing were used to activate the geopolymer. Test results indicated that the increase in FA content in the BA–FA blends improved the strengths of geopolymer mortars owing to the high glassy phase content and high reactivity of FA compared to those of BA. The use of up to 10% of FGDG as additive also significantly increased the strengths of geopolymer. In this case, the compressive strength enhancement was due to the increase in the Al³⁺ leached from BA in the presence of ${\text{SO}}_4^{2-}$ and the formation of additional calcium silicate hydrate.