Flux-assisted spreading of an Al–7 wt%Si alloy on TiC

The effect of a K–Al–F-based flux was investigated on the wettability of TiC by an Al–7 wt%Si alloy in the interval of temperatures between 660 and 900 °C in Ar and in atmospheric air. Null spreading was observed without flux whereas perfect wetting was enabled by the flux in both atmospheres. The liquid flux, which provides a locally protective atmosphere by spreading on the surfaces of the substrate and eventually on the Al alloy, dissolves the aluminium oxide covering the molten alloy enabling thus direct contact between the liquid alloy and the TiC substrate. The low tensions for the solid/flux and liquid metal/flux interfaces facilitate spontaneous spreading and instantaneous wetting. Meanwhile, the flux is displaced to the lateral periphery of the substrate and to the surface of the liquid. Under the resolution of the scanning electron microscope, microstructural examination of the interfaces did not reveal reaction products. Rapid infiltration of the alloy into TiC/flux compacts, at low temperatures, correlated well with the flux-assisted spreading kinetics observed.     

Ultrafine Grained HSLA Steels for Cold Forming

 This research shows, through the analysis of three steels that comply with the EN 10149-2 Euronorm, examples of ultrafine grained (or ultrafine ferrite) ferrous alloys, with ASTM grain sizes close to 14 (2 3 m). These steels are microalloyed with Ti-Nb and have been produced by advanced hot rolling controlled techniques in the factories of ArcelorMittal de Avilés (Asturias, Spain) and are mostly used in automotive and construction applications. By comparison, other techniques to obtain ultrafine grained steels are mentioned, though they have not yet reached the industrial level and are produced in laboratories due to the fact that their mechanical properties (low strain hardening coefficient "n") don't allow cold working operations such as bending, stretching nor drawing.     

On the measurement of 10Be on the 1 MV compact AMS system at the Centro Nacional de Aceleradores (Spain)

In this work we present the most recent improvements performed by our group on ¹⁰Be measurements on the 1 MV AMS system recently set up at the CNA (Centro Nacional de Aceleradores), in Seville (Spain). Our efforts have been focused on the study of the viability of our system for BeO and BeF^? measurements. To achieve this, different standard materials have been measured to demonstrate the reliability of the system for BeO measurements in a wide ¹⁰Be/⁹Be atomic ratio range and several environmental samples have been studied both at the 1 MV AMS CNA facility and at the 6 MV AMS ETH-PSI facility of Zurich to validate our measurements. The results show a good agreement between laboratories. New experiments also have been carried out selecting 1+ and 2+ charge states at the exit of the accelerator and inserting Si₃N_3.1 foils with different thicknesses to separate ¹⁰Be from its isobar, ¹⁰B. The influence of each foil on the overall transmission (detected ¹⁰Be compared to BeO^? injected into the accelerator) and background level was also assessed. In addition some tests were also done to assess the viability of BeF₂ and BaBeF₄ measurements at our system. Several metal matrices and cathode preparation procedures for BeO samples were investigated to maximize current and cathode lifetime.     

Full speed range permanent magnet synchronous motor control without mechanical sensors

This study presents a control method for permanent magnet (PM) motors based on a combination of a non-linear full-order observer and a signal injection scheme. Stable mechanical-sensorless operating range down to zero speed at full load is obtained using only voltage and current sensors. The signal injection scheme uses the asymmetry of the motor?s d and q-axis inductances to estimate rotor position and speed. Such asymmetry is also taken into account in the motor model used to construct the observer to reduce current estimation error. The performance of the proposed scheme is validated through experimental results.