Tough,strong, hard,and chemically durable enstatite-zirconia glass-ceramic

Strong glass-ceramics (GCs) have been envisaged and widely researched for various applications, including large architectural panels, ballistic impact protection, bioactive medical implants, and odontological prostheses. Here, we report on the development and characterization of a novel hard, strong and tough enstatite-zirconia (MgSiO₃-ZrO₂) glass-ceramic derived from a 51SiO₂–35MgO–6Na₂O–4ZrO₂–4TiO₂ (mol%) glass. The best GC was developed by treating glass samples for nucleation at 700°C for 12 hours, followed by crystal growth at 1090°C for 3 minutes. It was characterized by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and contained plate-like enstatite, zirconia, and Ti-containing crystals. We investigated the nucleating ability of ZrO₂ and TiO₂ in inducing internal nucleation. In the early stage of crystallization, enstatite spherulites were observed, which were precipitated by heterogeneous nucleation on previously nucleated ZrO₂ nano-crystals. At more advanced stages, at high temperatures, they transformed into plate-like crystals. The ball-on-three-balls strength, elastic modulus, and Vickers micro-hardness of the GC are 323 ± 26 MPa, 146 ± 13 GPa, and 6.9 ± 0.1 GPa (load = 5N), respectively. The indentation (K_C), single-edge notched beam bending (K_IC), and crack tip (K_tip) fracture toughness are 2.8 ± 0.6 MP.m^0.5, 2.2 ± 0.3 MP.m^0.5, 1.9 ± 0.3 MP.m^0.5, respectively. The crack propagation profile after a controlled Vickers indentation was quite intricate. The enstatite and zirconia crystals enhanced crack deflection, bridging and branching, hindering crack propagation. According to the ISO 6872 for dental materials, the chemical solubility of our GC is 80 ± 5 μg/cm². Due to this positive combination of high strength, toughness, hardness, and chemical durability, this new glass-ceramic is envisioned as a candidate for several applications and could be further developed for memory disc substrates, architectural cladding and tiles, ceramic glazes, and dental materials.     

Mechanical and high velocity impact performance of a hybrid long carbon/glass fiber/polypropylene thermoplastic composite

This research explores mechanical and high velocity impact response of hybrid long carbon/glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene thermoplastic composites (HLFT) with different fiber lengths. The work examines three hybrid long fiber thermoplastic composites, i.e., 5, 10 and 20 mm. The HLFTs were prepared by a combination of extrusion and pultrusion processes and using a cross-head die. Tensile and Izod impact tests were carried out to evaluate the mechanical performance of each HLFT compound. A gas gun with a spherical projectile was used to conduct high velocity impact tests at three velocities of 144, 205 and 240 m/s. The results showed that internal mixing operation caused extensive reduction in fiber length of all three LFT lengths. Tensile strength, modulus and Izod impact test results were the indications of higher values with increase in HLFT length. Comparison of these results for the HLFT with that of corresponding glass/PP LFTs, adopted from earlier work by Shayan Asenjan et al. (J Compos Mater 53:353–360, 2019), showed better performance of HLFT. The high velocity impact results showed a steady higher impact performance with the increase in HFLT fiber length for all impact velocities tested. Comparison of HLFT high velocity impact performance revealed better results for all impact velocities tested with that of the corresponding glass/PP LFT composite.     

A method to modify coordinates of detectors in positron emission tomography systems

A new method to modify coordinates of detectors in any positron emission tomography (PET) system using a radioactive point source is developed. This method is based on selecting a centered detector in each detector block of PET and measuring coincidence counts between the two centered detectors in opposite detector blocks to find the coordinates of their LOR (Line of Response). Due to slight misalignment of detector positions, measured LORs may not intersect at a single point. Based on the proposed method, the coordinates of detectors can be measured with very high accuracy and the coordinate of the center of the gantry (which is normally the same as the center of field of view) can be defined correctly. The results of the application of our method to a small animal PET system (FinePET), which was recently developed at Tohoku University, Japan, are shown here. The method is expected to contribute to the design and development of PET systems which can realize a very high spatial resolution of less than 1 mm FWHM.     

Impedance switching effects in GaAs/AlAs barrier structures

AlAs tunnel barriers in MBE-grown GaAs layers have been studied using pulsed and continuous I/V and swept temperature/capacitance measurements. Such layers demonstrate an impedance switching phenomenon which is persistent and repeatable. This impedance switching is manifested by the device as two distinct impedance modes: a high-impedance mode (of the order of 10k? at DC for a 0.3 mm dot), and a low-impedance mode (of the order of 10?). Such a phenomenon may restrict the operation of some devices, but may lead to other novel applications.     

Investigation on the resistance spot-welded austenitic/ferritic stainless steel

In this work, the effect of weld current on joining capability of austenitic stainless steel (AISI 304) and ferritic stainless steel (AISI 430) sheets with application of resistance spot welding process was investigated. Macrostructure, microstructure, microhardness, tensile shear strength, and failure mode of welded materials were evaluated for different weld currents. The values of weld current were 2.5, 3.75, and 5 kA. It was found that when the weld current increased, the nugget size and the weld strength were increased. Two distinct failure modes including interfacial and pullout were observed during tensile shear test. Finally, an adequate weld current was obtained.     

Optimal design of gas turbine CHP plant with preheater and HRSG

Located in the south of Iran, Jiroft Paper Mill Company requires an integrated combined heat and power plant, which can provide 50 MW of electric power and 100 ton h^?1 saturated steam at 13 bar, to produce paper from an adjacent eucalyptus forest. The plant is composed of an air compressor, combustion chamber, air preheater, turbine, as well as a heat recovery steam generator. The design parameters of the plant were chosen as: compressor pressure ratio (r_c), compressor isentropic efficiency (η_AC), gas turbine isentropic efficiency (η_T), combustion chamber inlet temperature (T₃), and turbine inlet temperature (T₄). In order to optimally find the design parameters a thermoeconomic approach has been followed. An objective function representing the total cost of the plant in terms of dollar per second was defined as the sum of the operating cost related to the fuel consumption and the capital investment for equipment purchase and maintenance costs. Subsequently, different parts of the objective function have been expressed in terms of decision variables. Finally, the optimal values of decision variables were obtained by minimizing the objective function using sequential quadratic programming. The influence of changes in the demanded power and steam on the design parameters has also been studied for 40, 50, 60, and 70 MW of net power output, and 100, 120, and 150 ton h^?1 of saturated steam mass flow rate. Finally, the sensitivity analysis of change in design parameters with change in fuel or investment cost was performed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multi-criteria expertness based cooperative Q-learning

One of the most influential points in cooperative learning is the type of exchanging information. If the content of exchanging information among agents is rich, cooperation gives rise to better results. To extract proper knowledge of agents during the cooperation process, some expertness measures that assign expertness levels to the other agents are used. In this paper, a new method named Multi-Criteria Expertness based cooperative Q-learning (MCE) is proposed that utilizes all of the expertness measures and attempts to enrich the exchanging information more efficiently. In MCE, all expertness measures are considered simultaneously and collective knowledge is equal to the combination of learned knowledge by each of expertness measures. The experimental results confirm outstanding performance of the proposed method on a sample maze world and a hunter-prey problem.     

Theoretical Study of RF Breakdown in GaN Wurtzite and Zincblende Phase MESFETs

In this paper, we present a comparison of the RF breakdown behaviors of representative wurtzite and zincblende phase GaN MESFET structures based on a theoretical analysis. The calculations are made using a full band ensemble, Monte Carlo simulation that includes a numerical formulation of the impact ionization transition rate. Calculations of the RF breakdown voltages are presented for submicron MESFET devices made from either wurtzite or zincblende phase GaN. The devices are otherwise identical. It is found that the RF-breakdown voltage of the devices increases with increasing frequency of the applied large signal RF excitation.     

Implementation of a graded-index medium by use of subwavelength structures with graded fill factor

We present a novel configuration for the implementation of subwavelength-based graded-index devices. The proposed concept is based on the etching of one-dimensional subwavelength gratings into a high-index slab waveguide to achieve the desired effective index distribution. A graded-index profile can be achieved by gradually modifying the duty ratio of the grating along the horizontal axis, while the beam is confined in the vertical direction by the slab waveguide. On the basis of this concept, novel graded-index lenses and waveguides are both proposed and characterized numerically by use of finite-difference time-domain and finite-element analysis. The proposed devices can be used for guiding, imaging, optical signal processing, mode matching, coupling, and other applications while offering the intrinsic advantages of on-chip integration such as miniaturization, eliminating the need to align each component separately, and compatibility with standard microfabrication techniques for manufacturability.     

An Investigation on Reasons Causing Inferiority in Unlubricated Sliding Wear Performance of 60NiTi as Compared to 440C Steel

60NiTi is gaining recognition as an alternative to 440C steel in ball bearing components due to its intrinsic corrosion resistance and unusually high static load capacity. 440C steel and 60NiTi exhibit comparable Rockwell hardness and would be expected to exhibit similar sliding wear behavior using hardness based models. However, results show that under unlubricated sliding conditions, 60NiTi shows inferior wear properties than 440C steel. In this study, a series of indentation and single pass scratching experiments are conducted to elucidate the reasons behind this unexpected observation. Moreover, sliding wear tests carried out under moderate and extreme tensile stress conditions were used to identify sliding conditions under which these materials exhibit similar and dissimilar behavior. The results show that 440C steel exhibits more microscopic plasticity than 60NiTi, halting the propagation of generated tensile microcracks. In contrast, the intrinsic brittleness of 60NiTi leads to the formation and growth of microcracks between the shear bands causing subsequent wear particle generation. These lead to the occurrence of wear through more aggressive abrasion processes in 60NiTi than 440C steel. These findings help explain why 60NiTi performs well when lubricated. 60NiTi is expected to tolerate ～912?MPa tensile stress before yielding. Under good lubricated conditions where a perfect lubricating film is formed, friction induced tensile stresses fall below the tensile strength of 60NiTi and wear is prevented. However, inadequate lubrication combined with high contact stress leads to damage and wear.