Issues in the replacement of lead-bearing solders

The use of soft solders, particularly those containing lead, dates back nearly 5,000 years. Solders similar to the materials used to seal the aqueducts of ancient Rome are now an important building block in the manufacture of high-speed computer assemblies. This history attests to the technological versatility of soft solders and, in particular, the solder alloys that contain lead. However, the health effects of prolonged exposure to lead have also been documented; measures to limit human exposure—at the work place and indirectly through the environment—are being considered. The successful introduction of lead-free solders into future electronic products will rely heavily upon their solderability, which can be evaluated by test procedures such as the meniscometer/wetting balance technique and the capillary flow test.     

Microstructural Investigation of Protective and Non-Protective Oxides on 11% Chromium Steel

FIB, SEM and STEM/EDX were used to investigate X20 stainless-steel samples exposed to dry O₂, or O₂ containing 40% H₂O, with a flow velocity of 0.5 cm/s or 5 cm/s, for 168 hr or 336 hr at 600°C. Thin protective Cr-rich (Cr,Fe)₂O₃ was maintained on the samples exposed to dry O₂, even after 336 hr, and on the sample exposed to O₂/H₂O mixture with the low-flow velocity (0.5 cm/s) for 168 hr. The oxide scale formed in the latter environment contained less Cr, due to Cr loss through CrO₂(OH)₂ evaporation. Breakaway oxidation occurred on the samples exposed in high-gas-flow velocity for shorter time (168 hr) or in low-gas-flow velocity (0.5 cm/s) for longer time (336 hr). The breakaway scales featured a two-layered structure: an outward-growing oxide “island” consisting of almost pure hematite (α-Fe₂O₃), and an inward-growing oxide “crater” consisting of (Cr,Fe)₃O₄. The transition from a thin protective (Cr,Fe)₂O₃ scale to a non-protective thick scale on this martensitic/ferritic steel originated locally and was followed by rapid oxide growth, resulting in a thick scale that covered the whole sample surface.     

Experience in chemical heat treatment of parts made of powder materials for vaz passenger cars

Every car of the Volzhskii Automobile Plant consists of 1.6 (VAZ-2106) to 4.0 (VAZ-2110) kilograms of parts fabricated from powder materials. By the middle of 1996 the range of these parts (weighing from 1.5 to 600 g) consisted of 150 items. They are fabricated from powders based on iron and copper (119 and 31 items, respectively). Almost half of the iron-base powder parts are subjected to various kinds of surface treatment, namely, carburizing, cyaniding, gas nitriding, and steam oxide treatment. The present paper is devoted to the special features of chemical heat treatment (CHT) of parts produced from iron (steel) powder materials.Translated from Metallovedenie i Termicheskaya Obrabotka Metallov, No. 10, pp. 18–21, October, 1996.     

Crystal structural refinement of the new compound TmAlB14

Single crystals of the new phase TmAlB₁₄ were grown using the high-temperature solution method. The crystal structure of TmAlB₁₄ was refined from X-ray powder diffraction data using the Rietveld method. The structure is of MgAlB₁₄-type with the space group Imma and unit cell parameters a = 5.8212(3) Å, B = 10.3837(2) Å and C = 8.1762(3) Å. The final, conventional R-valve and profile R-value are 0.031 and 0.064, respectively. The structure is characterized by a partial occupancy of both metal positions and a splitting of the thulium atomic position.     

Mechanical properties and fracture upon static tension of the high-carbon steel with different types of pearlite structure

The hardness and mechanical properties of the U10 steel (1.03 wt % C) with pearlite structures that were formed by isothermal decomposition at temperatures of 650°C (coarse-lamellar pearlite) and 500°C (fine-lamellar pearlite) as well as upon subsequent annealing of fine-lamellar pearlite at a temperature of 650°C for 10–300 min have been studied upon tensile tests. Fractures of the steel with different types of pearlite structure have been examined using scanning electron microscopy. The interrelation between the mechanical properties and the structural features and character of fracture has been analyzed for this steel with pearlite structures differing in the dispersity, morphology, and defect structure of cementite, and in the levels of solid-solution strengthening and microdistortions of the ferrite-constituent lattice.     

Effect of alloying elements on response of nonoriented electrical steels to stamping operations

A suitable alloying design for improving the punchability of nonoriented electrical steels containing 0.1 % Si was investigated. The appropriate addition of sulfur to steels containing relatively high manganese content is very useful in obtaining good punchability without detrimental effects on magnetic properties.     

马氏体相变研究的进展和瞻望SCIEI

叙述马氏体相变研究的一些进展和瞻望,包括马氏体相变的定义,马氏体相变热力学,奥氏体状态对马氏体相变的影响,动力学,形核和长大,以及马氏体相变晶体学。     

Synthesis mechanism of titanium carbide nano-fiber during self-propagating high temperature synthesis

Titanium carbide nano-fiber was synthesized by self-propagating high temperature synthesis (SHS) method. The final products after the SHS reaction were titanium carbide containing excess carbon and metallic titanium, which were removed by additional leaching process. TEM observation revealed that the average diameter is about 20 nm. Neutron diffraction analysis was carried out to study non-stoichiometric number of the titanium carbide. The non-stoichiometric numbers of the titanium carbide were 0.89–0.94. The Rietveld refinement of each patterns converged to good agreement (÷2=0.49–1.34). The formation mechanism of the carbide is related to a liquid-solid reaction including the preferential diffusion process of carbon atom into liquid titanium. This article is based on a presentation made in the 2002 Korea-US symposium on the “Phase Transformations of Nano-Materials,” organized as a special program of the 2002 Annual Meeting of the Korean Institute of Metals and Materials, held at Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea on October 25–26, 2002.