The role of starting powder size on the compressive response of stand-alone plasma-sprayed alumina coatings

Cylindrical stand-alone tubes of plasma-sprayed alumina were tested in uniaxial compression at room temperature, using strain gages to monitor axial strains. The effect of lamella size on the mechanical response was investigated by employing different starting powders to fabricate samples. The average powder sizes investigated included 9 m, 19 m and 32 m alumina; the resulting effective lamella diameters were 10 m, 28 m, and 55 m, respectively. Similar stress-strain hysteresis was observed on unloading in all tubes, independent of lamella size. A strong correlation between the failure stress and the cumulative strain at failure was also observed for tubes fabricated from the three powders. For samples with approximately constant densities, tubes plasma sprayed with the 9 m powder exhibited greater moduli than tubes sprayed from either 19 or 32 m powders. This difference was attributed to the greater percentage of unmelted -Al₂O₃ in the coating.     

High pressure consolidation of B6O-diamond mixtures

Sintered composites in the B₆O-xdiamond (x= 0–80 vol%) system were prepared under high pressure and high temperature conditions (3–5 GPa, 1400–1800°C) from the mixture of in-laboratory synthesized B₆O powder and commercially available diamond powder with various grain sizes (<0.25, 0.5–3, and 5–10 m). Relationship among the formed phases, microstructures, and mechanical properties of the sintered composites was investigated as a function of sintering conditions, added diamond content, and grain size of diamond. Sintered composites were obtained as the B₆O-diamond mixed phases when using diamond with grain sizes greater than 0.5 m, while the partial formation of the diamond-like carbon was observed when using diamond grain sizes less than 0.25 m. Microhardness of the sintered composite was found to increase with treatment temperature and pressure, and the fracture toughness slightly decreased. A maximum microhardness of H _v57 GPa was measured in the B₆O-60 vol% diamond (grain size < 0.25 m) sintered composite under the sintering conditions of 5 GPa, 1700°C and 20 min.     

Single-Mode As–S Glass Fibers

Single-mode As–S glass fibers with a core diameter from 3 to 20 m and a clad diameter of 125 m are prepared by the double-crucible method. The cutoff wavelength of the fibers is 0.9–6 m. The lowest transmission losses in the fibers at 2.2–2.3 m are 100 dB/km, and their mean bending strength is 800–1000 MPa.     

Microstructure-property studies in friction-stir welded, Thixomolded magnesium alloy AM60

Thixomolded magnesium alloy AM60 plates joined by friction-stir welding were observed to be as strong or stronger than the unwelded base material. The thixotropic microstructures of the as-molded plates consisted of either 3% or 18% primary solid fraction of -Mg globules (45 m average size) in a eutectic mixture consisting of -Mg grains (10 m) surrounded by Mg₁₇Al₁₂ intermetallic grains in the -Mg grain boundaries (having an average size of 1–2 m). This complex, composite microstructure became a homogeneous (Mg + 6% Al)), recrystallized, equiaxed grain (10–15 m) microstructure in the weld zone.     

Hot dynamic consolidation of hard ceramics

Diamond and cubic boron nitride powders were shock compacted at high temperature (873 and 973 K) by using a planar impact system at 1.2 and 2.0 km s^–1. Silicon, graphite or a mixture of titanium and carbon powders were added to enhance the bonding of these superhard materials. Hot-consolidated specimens exhibited fewer surface cracks as compared with the specimens shock consolidated at room temperature. Diamond compacts having microhardness values over 55 GPa were obtained by subjecting porous mixtures of diamond crystals (4-8 m) plus 15 wt% graphite (325 mesh) to an impact velocity of 1.2 km s^–1 at 873 K. Well-consolidated c-BN samples, with microhardnesses (starting powders with 10–20 and 40–50 (m) over 53 GPa were obtained.     

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.     

Substrate roughness,deposit thickness and the corrosion of electroless nickel coatings

The affect of substrate roughness and coating thickness on the corrosion resistance of electroless nickel coatings on mild steel in a 0.99M Na₂SO₄ + 0.01 M H₂SO₄ + 0.05M NaCl solution has been investigated using electrochemical techniques. The coating was electrochemically more active than pure nickel. The anodic polarization, corrosion potential, and corrosion current depend on the substrate roughness and coating thickness. The substrate roughness decreased for finishes in the order, as-ground, 240 grit, 600 grit, and 1 m diamond polish, but the corrosion current on relatively thin coatings decreased in the order 240 grit, as-ground, 600 grit, and 1 m diamond finish. The corrosion potential and the corrosion current of coatings more than about 10m thick were independent of the surface roughness and similar to those observed with pure nickel. The fraction porosity was estimated to be about 0.005 in a coating about 5 m thick on a 600 SiC grit substrate.     

Effects of added diamond powder on the reaction sintering behaviour of diamond in the graphite-nickel system

Polycrystalline diamond sintered compact was prepared under high pressure and temperature conditions (7 GPa, 1700°C, 10 to 30min) from the starting material with the composition of the system 50 wt% carbon (diamond + graphitized pitch coke (GPC))-50 wt% Ni. The effects of added diamond powder on the microstructure of the sintered compact and reaction sintering behaviour were investigated. The grain size of diamond in the sintered compact decreased remarkably from 20 to 40m to 2 to 3m on addition of 10 to 20 wt% diamond powder (grain size: 1m) to the GPC-Ni system. The grain size can be controlled by that of the added diamond powder. A sufficient supply of carbon from GPC plays an important role in the formation of a covalently bonded compact of diamond. The grain growth of the formed diamond is depressed by the coexistence of diamond powder, which controls the solubility of carbon in the metal-carbon system and also the grain growth process by solution-reprecipitation.     

Preparation of alumina and alumina-silica powders by wire explosion resulting from electric discharge

Wires of aluminium and aluminium-silicon alloys containing 5.2 and 12.1 wt% Si were exploded in air by electric discharge, and the properties of the powders obtained were examined. The powders consisted of large particles of several micrometres and very fine spherical ones, which were formed from the metallic droplets and vapours, respectively, and were mostly oxidized. The large particles decreased with an increase in the charged energy. Although the particle-size distribution was broad, the average particle sizes were small and were increased from 0.7 m to 1.3 m with an increase in the charged energy. These powders were identified as -alumina, amorphous alumina-silica compound and a small amount of the metal. The amorphous phase crystallized to mullite in the temperature range 1153–1243 K, and the crystallization temperature fell with increase in the charged energy because the amount of fine particles formed from the vapours increased.     

Sintering of aluminium nitride: Particle size dependence of sintering kinetics

The effect of particle size (0.78 4.4 m) on the sintering kinetics of AIN powder was investigated in the temperature range from 1600 to 2000° C and the results were analysed on the basis of vacancy diffusion models. The mechanisms of sintering are discussed.Fractional shrinkage is proportional to the nth power of soaking time with n = 0.20 for 4.4 m and 1.5 m powders and 0.33 for 0.78 m powder. For the 0.78 m powder at 1900° C, however, n decreases gradually as grain growth proceeds. The experimental activation energy for sintering is between 92 kcal/mole for 4.4 m and 129 kcal/mole for 0.78 m powder. Unlike this activated energy, the rate of sintering and the diffusion constant calculated from it increase drastically with decrease of particle size; the derived diffusion constant for 1.5 m powder is 10¹ to 10² times larger than that of 4.4 m powder, and for 0.78 m powder the diffusion constant is estimated to be still higher.The particle-size dependence of parameter n and the diffusion constant seems to be caused by a variation in predominant diffusion mechanisms; namely, bulk diffusion in coarse powder and surface or grain-boundary diffusion in fine powder.     

Porous HA ceramic for bone replacement: Role of the pores and interconnections – experimental study in the rabbit

Hydroxyapatite (HA) porous ceramics are increasingly used in biomedical applications. Their physical characteristics, such as porous volume, require perfect control of the pore shape, as well as the number and the size of their interconnections.The aim of our study was to evaluate a new HA ceramic using polymethylmethacrylate microbeads (PMMA) as the porous agent. Four interconnection sizes (30, 60, 100 and 130 m) with a 175–260 m pore size and three pore sizes (175–260, 260–350 and 350–435 m) for a 130 m interconnection size were tested. Various HA implants were appraised by microscopic evaluation in a 4.6×10 mm rabbit femur cancellous bone defect 12 weeks after implantation. The best osteoconduction result was obtained in the center of the ceramic by means of a 130 m interconnection size and a 175–260 m mean pore size. Bone formation obtained within the pores was double that obtained in our previous study where naphtalen microbeads were used as the porous agents.© 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers     

High-Rate IR Laser Evaporation of Silica Glass

IR (10.6 m) laser irradiation of silica glass preforms ensures rapid evaporation of the surface layer. The resulting deposit consists of amorphous SiO₂ with a particle size of 70 nm.     

Sintering behaviour of the diamond-super invar alloy system at high temperature and pressure

In the diamond-super invar alloy system, effect of the grain size of the starting diamond powder on the sintering behaviour was investigated at 5.8 G Pa and 1300 to 1500 ° C for 30 to 60 min. Abnormal grain growth was often observed in the sintered diamond using fine diamond powder, but a homogeneous sintered diamond was easily synthesized using 5 to 10m diamond. By the rigorous control of sintering conditions, a 3m grain size homogeneous sintered diamond was synthesized under conditions of 5.8 G Pa and 1350 ° C for 30 min. The Vickers hardness and thermal resistance of the fine grained sintered diamond was examined.     

Magnetic Co2Y ferrite, Ba2Co2Fe12O22 fibres produced by a blow spun process

Gel fibres of Co2Y,Ba2Co2Fe12O22, were blow spun from an aqueous inorganic sol and calcined at temperatures of up to 1200°C. The ceramic fibres were shown by X-ray diffraction to form crystalline Co2Y at 1000°C, and surface area and porosity measurements indicated an unusually high degree of sintering at this temperature. The fibres also demonstrated a small grain size of 1–3 m across the hexagonal plane and 0.1–0.3 m thickness at 1000°C. This only increased to 3 m in diameter and 1 m thickness even at temperature up to 1200°C. The fibrous nature combined with the improved microstructures could be an important factor in improving the magnetic properties of this material.     

Particle size control of 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene by recrystallization from DMSO

Batches of up to 46g of the insensitive explosive 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) have been recrystallized from DMSO in an effort to prepare larger particle-size material for recycling previously-used TATB and also for use in special formulations. The first part of the study investigated the conditions required to shift the particle-size distribution maximum from 50–70 m to several hundred micrometres in diameter. Distributions peaking at 200–246 m were successfully produced by varying the cooldown rate and degree of agitation during cooling. The second part of the study emphasized regeneration of the standard 50–70 m distribution from submicron size (ultrafine TATB) particles. The distributions peaking at 76–88 m, 27–31 m, and 15–17 m, successfully bracketed the target particle sizes, were grown by changing the degree of solution saturation. The choice of saturation temperature for the TATB/DMSO solution was based on earlier small-scale recrystallization and solubility work.     

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.     

Preparation of barium titanate ultrafine particles from amorphous titania by a hydrothermal method and specific dielectric constants of sintered discs of the prepared particles

Barium titanate ultrafine particles were synthesized from amorphous titania by a hydrothermal method. The mean size of the barium titanate particles prepared at a hydrothermal treatment time of 4 h, was nearly equal to 0.04 5 m in the range of barium-to-titanium molar ratio (BT) 2, and approximately agreed well with the crystallite size. At a BT molar ratio of 1.0, the mean particle size increased to 0.2 m, while the crystallite size remained constant at 0.045 m. When the particle size ranged from 0.12–0.20 m, prepared for the BT molar ratio of 1.0–1.4, the specific dielectric constant for a sintered disc composed of these particles attained a value of 5000 or more. As the BT molar ratio increased to exceed 1.5, when the mean particle size decreased from 0.13 m to 0.045 m, the specific dielectric constant for the sintered disc was decreased greatly. The specific dielectric constant for the sintered disc can be correlated well with the size of the composing particles.     

Nickel aluminide (Ni3Al) fabricated by reactive infiltration

Nickel aluminide Ni₃Al in the single phase form, with grain size 10 m, porosity 5%, tensile strength 425 MPa, modulus 92 GPa and ductility 9.5% at room temperature, was fabricated by reactive infiltration at 800 °C of liquid aluminium into a porous preform containing 78 vol % nickel and made by sintering 3–7 m size nickel particles. Without sintering, the preform contained 58 vol % nickel and reactive infiltration resulted in an aluminium-matrix NiAl₃ particle ( 50 m size) composite and extensive growth of Ni-Al needles from the preform to the excess liquid aluminium around the preform.     

Crystal growth of U2D2 solid3He

We have measured the growth rate of single crystal U2D2 solid³He in the superfluid B phase as a function of chemical potential difference between the solid and liquid for temperatures between 0.4 and 0.9 T_N. The growth rate was not proportional to , with very slow growth rates for less than about 10 erg/cm³. For larger values of the growth rate depended weakly on temperature and the growth was attributed to a quantum growth mechanism due to screw dislocations. The melting rate was too fast to be measured quantitatively, but was slower at higher temperatures.     

Structure and properties of injection-moulded nylon-6

The microstructure and morphology of injection-moulded nylon-6 has been studied using wide-angle and small-angle X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy and a density measurement technique. A non-spherulitic surface layer consisting of a metastable pseudohexagonal phase surrounds the moulding and the thickness of the layer is sensitive to mould temperature. This outer structure gives way to a monoclinic phase containing spherulites between 3 and 6 m diameter. The central core of the moulding consists almost entirely of the phase with spherulites 6 m diameter, approximately. Exposure of nylon-6 to boiling water had no significant effect on the morphology of the moulding but the phase in the surface layer was transformed to the monoclinic phase.