Modeling of Melt Flow and Surface Standing Waves in a Continuous Casting Mold

Majority of surface and subsurface defects in the continuously cast steel may be attributed to surface standing waves and turbulence. A lot of work has been done on surface defects and on understanding the behavior of the surface waves but there is a dearth of literature connecting the two. Also 3‐D modeling of surface waves with heat transfer and solidification has received little attention. In the present study, a 3‐dimensional mathematical model incorporating turbulent fluid flow, heat transfer, and solidification using a commercial code, FLOW3D, was developed. Using the model, the applicability of Froude criterion for scaling down industrial flow systems was analyzed. Although the small scale models, using this criterion, correctly predict the general fluid flow but the prediction of surface waves is not very accurate. Also, the effect of temperature is difficult to incorporate in water models. The model was used to study the effect of temperature on surface waves and verify the water modeling results. The effects of casting and SEN parameters on the fluid flow and surface waves were studied.     

Electrochemical study of lithiated transition metal oxide composite as symmetrical electrode for low temperature ceramic fuel cells

In this work, Lithiated NiCuZnO_x (LNCZO) composite is synthesized and evaluated as a potential symmetrical electrode for ceria-carbonate composite electrolyte based low temperature ceramic fuel cells. Its crystal structures, the hydrogen oxidation/oxygen reduction electrochemical activities and fuel cell performances are systematically examined on the symmetrical cell configuration. Nano crystallite particles in the form of composite are observed for these oxides. The LNCZO shows relatively high catalytic activities for hydrogen oxidation and oxygen reduction reaction according to the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. A remarkable low oxygen reduction activation energy of 42 kJ mol⁻¹ is obtained on the LNCZO/ceria-carbonate composite, demonstrating excellent electro-catalytic activity. Especially, the catalytic activity can be further improved in the presence of water in the cathode chamber. The results show that the lithiated transition metal oxide composite is a promising symmetrical electrode for ceria-carbonate electrolyte and composite approach might a probable solution to develop super-performance electrodes for reduced temperature ceramic fuel cells.     

Relaxation process in PbI2–Ag2O–V2O5–B2O3 system: Dielectric,AC conductivity and modulus studies

Silver ion conducting super-ionic glass system xPbI₂–(100 − x) [Ag₂O–2(V₂O₅–B₂O₃)], where, 5 ≤ x ≤ 25, were prepared via melt quenching route and -characterized by XRD and DSC. Their electrical properties were measured by impedance spectroscopy in the frequency range of 2 MHz to 20 Hz from 30 to 120 °C. The electrical relaxation mechanism has been studied using AC conductivity, dielectric modulus function and frequency dependent dielectric permittivity over a wide range of frequency and temperature. Two different scaling approaches for AC conductivity as well as dielectric permittivity spectra were used to understand the nature of relaxation processes.     

Jupiter's zonal winds: are they bands of homogenized potential vorticity organized as a monotonic staircase?

The east-west striped pattern of clouds in Jupiter's weather layer is accompanied by a zonal flow containing 12 eastward-going jet streams alternating in latitude with westward-going jet streams. Based on theory, simulation and observations of the Earth's oceans and atmosphere, it is conjectured that Jupiter's weather layer is made of bands of constant potential vorticity (PV), where the interfaces between bands are at the latitudes of the maxima of the eastward-going jet streams. It is speculated that the mixing of PV on Jupiter is analogous to the mixing of salt in the ocean by the Phillips effect, which causes the salt density to form a monotonic 'staircase'. It is hypothesized that the PV in Jupiter's weather layer is also a staircase, decreasing from north to south. PV is a function of vorticity, as well as parameters with unknown values, e.g. the vertical stratification and the zonal flow beneath the observable weather layer. Therefore, these hypotheses cannot be tested directly. Using an atmospheric model that contains these unknown parameters, we solved the inverse problem and found values of the unknown parameters (and their uncertainties) that best fit Jovian observations. The unknown parameters influence how the zonal flow interacts with large vortices, e.g. the Great Red Spot (GRS; the largest and longest-lived Jovian vortex, centred at 23° S) and the Oval BA (the second largest vortex, centred at 33° S). Although we found that the PV distribution is approximately piecewise-constant and that the peaks of the eastward-going jet streams are at the latitudes of PV interfaces, there is also a PV interface at 20° S, where there is a westward-going jet stream. We find that the zonal PV is not a monotonic staircase due to the 'backwards' interface at 20° S. We show that this backwards interface is necessary to make the GRS nearly round, and that without that interface, the Red Spot would be highly elongated in the east-west direction and probably unstable.     

Organic Thin‐Film Transistors: Simultaneous Modification of Bottom‐Contact Electrode and Dielectric Surfaces for Organic Thin‐Film Transistors Through Single‐Component Spin‐Cast Monolayers (Adv. Funct. Mater. 8/2011)

An efficient process is developed by spin‐coating a single‐component, self‐assembled monolayer (SAM) to simultaneously modify the bottom‐contact electrode and dielectric surfaces of organic thin‐film transistors (OTFTs). This effi cient interface modifi cation is achieved using n‐alkyl phosphonic acid based SAMs to prime silver bottom‐contacts and hafnium oxide (HfO₂) dielectrics in low‐voltage OTFTs. Surface characterization using near edge X‐ray absorption fi ne structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR‐FTIR) spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and spectroscopic ellipsometry suggest this process yields structurally well‐defi ned phosphonate SAMs on both metal and oxide surfaces. Rational selection of the alkyl length of the SAM leads to greatly enhanced performance for both n‐channel (C₆₀) and p‐channel (pentacene) based OTFTs. Specifi cally, SAMs of n‐octylphos‐phonic acid (OPA) provide both low‐contact resistance at the bottom‐contact electrodes and excellent interfacial properties for compact semiconductor grain growth with high carrier mobilities. OTFTs based on OPA modifi ed silver electrode/HfO₂ dielectric bottom‐contact structures can be operated using < 3V with low contact resistance (down to 700 Ohm‐cm), low subthreshold swing (as low as 75 mV dec^?1), high on/off current ratios of 107, and charge carrier mobilities as high as 4.6 and 0.8 cm² V^?1 s^?1, for C60 and pentacene, respectively. These results demonstrate that this is a simple and efficient process for improving the performance of bottom‐contact OTFTs.     

3,4-Dimethoxybenzaldehydethiosemicarbazone as corrosion inhibitor for aged 18 Ni 250 grade maraging steel in 0.5 M sulfuric acid

The corrosion inhibition of the aged 18 Ni 250 grade maraging steel in 0.5 M sulfuric acid by 3,4-dimethoxybenzaldehydethiosemicarbazone(DMBTSC) has been investigated by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS) techniques. The inhibition efficiency increased with the increase in inhibitor concentration and decreased with the increase in temperature. Polarization curves indicated mixed type inhibition behavior affecting both cathodic and anodic corrosion currents. The thermodynamic parameters of corrosion and adsorption processes were evaluated. The adsorption of DMBTSC on the aged maraging steel surface was found to obey the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model, and the calculated Gibb’s free energy values confirm the spontaneous adsorption. The results obtained by the two techniques were in good agreement.     

Tribological investigation of nanocrystalline diamond films at low load under different tribosystems

The mechanical and frictional properties of hydrogen- and oxygen-terminated nanocrystalline diamond films (NCD) grown by hot-filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) have been investigated in the present work.The structure and morphology of the NCD films have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman-effect spectroscopy. In addition, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) have been used to investigate the surface chemical groups on the NCD surface. Mechanical and frictional properties are determined using atomic force microscopy (AFM), nano-indentation, nano-scratching and micro-tribometer. The friction behavior of these films in the load range of 25 to 200 mN under reciprocating sliding conditions, using steel counter-body material has been thoroughly studied.It is noted that these films are highly crystalline with nanometer size grains and contain a very high fraction of sp³ carbon bonds. They exhibit high hardness and high elastic modulus. The friction coefficient of the film is lower under unidirectional scratch with diamond indenter than the friction coefficient under low load reciprocating sliding against steel ball. Transfer of the film from the counter-body, oxidation of transfer film and mixing of transfer film with carbonaceous layer on the worn surfaces are responsible for such behavior. Although, the friction responses of H-terminated and O-terminated films are similar under unidirectional scratch with diamond indenter, the friction coefficient of O-terminated film is always higher than the friction coefficient of H-terminated film under reciprocating sliding condition against steel counter-body material.     

Effect of 4-(N,N-diethylamino)benzaldehyde thiosemicarbazone on the corrosion of aged 18 Ni 250 grade maraging steel in phosphoric acid solution

4-(N,N-diethylamino)benzaldehyde thiosemicarbazone (DEABT) was studied for its corrosion inhibition property on the corrosion of aged 18 Ni 250 grade maraging steel in 0.67 M phosphoric acid at 30–50 °C by potentiodynamic polarization, EIS and weight loss techniques. Inhibition efficiency of DEABT was found to increase with the increase in DEABT concentration and decrease with the increase in temperature. The activation energy E_a and other thermodynamic parameters (Δ, Δ, Δ) have been evaluated and discussed. The adsorption of DEABT on aged maraging steel surface obeys the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model and the inhibitor showed mixed type inhibition behavior.     

Influence of High Amplitude Mould Vibration on the Morphology of Silicon in the Al-Si Alloy (A308)

Silicon - Today’s casting industries strive to produce high-quality cast components in an efficient, cost-effective, eco-friendly, and sustainable way. To achieve this, with an indigenously...