Effect of Purity Levels on the High-Temperature Deformation Characteristics of Severely Deformed Titanium

In the present investigation, high-temperature compression tests were conducted at strain rates of 0.001 to 0.1 s^?1 and at temperatures of 873 K to 1173 K (600 °C to 900 °C) in order to study the hot deformation characteristics and dynamic softening mechanisms of two different grades of commercial purity titanium after severe plastic deformation. It was observed that the effects of deformation rate and temperature are significant on obtained flow stress curves of both grades. Higher compressive strength exhibited by grade 2 titanium at relatively lower deformation temperatures was attributed to the grain boundary characteristics in relation with its lower processing temperature. However, severely deformed grade 4 titanium demonstrated higher compressive strength at relatively higher deformation temperatures (above 800 °C) due to suppressed grain growth via oxygen segregation limiting grain boundary motion. Constitutive equations were established to model the flow behavior, and the validity of the predictions was demonstrated with decent agreement accompanied by average error levels less than 5 pct for all the deformation conditions.     

A meshless grain element for micromechanical analysis with crystal plasticity

This study concerns the development of a 2‐D meshless grain element for elasto‐plastic deformation and intergranular damage initiation and propagation in polycrystalline fcc metals under static loading. The crystallographic material behaviour of the grains is represented by a rate‐independent single‐crystal plasticity model while including material orthotropy. The two slip planes are arbitrarily located with respect to the crystallographic axis of the grain. A non‐linear constitutive model known as the cohesive zone model is employed to represent the inelastic interaction between the grain boundaries, thus permitting grain boundary opening and sliding. The cohesive model describes the deformation characteristics of the grain boundaries through a non‐linear relation between the effective grain boundary tractions and displacements. Because of the presence of non‐linear material behaviour both inside the grain and along the cohesive grain boundaries, the method utilizes the principle of virtual work in conjunction with the meshless formulation in the derivation of the system of non‐linear incremental equilibrium equations. The solution is obtained via an incremental procedure based on the Taylor series expansion about the current equilibrium configuration. The fidelity of the present approach is verified by considering simple polycrystalline metals of only a few grains. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mechanical characterization of nickel nanowires by using a customized atomic force microscope

A new experimental method to characterize the mechanical properties of metallic nanowires is introduced. An accurate and fast mechanical characterization of nanowires requires simultaneous imaging and testing of the nanowires. However, existing mechanical characterization techniques fail to accomplish this goal due either to the lack of imaging capability of the mechanical test setup or the difficulty of individual alignment and manipulation of single nanowires for each test. In this study, nanowire specimens prepared by an electroplating technique are located on a silicon substrate with trenches. A customized atomic force microscope is located inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM) in order to establish the visibility of the nanowires, and the tip of the atomic force microscope cantilever is utilized to bend and break the nanowires. The ability to visualize the nanowires in an SEM improves the speed and accuracy of the tests. Experimentally obtained force versus bending displacement curves are fitted into existing analytical formulations to extract the mechanical properties. Experimental results reveal that nickel nanowires have significantly higher strengths than their bulk counterparts, although their elastic modulus values are comparable to bulk nickel modulus values.     

Equilibrium and kinetic adsorption study of Basic Yellow 28 and Basic Red 46 by a boron industry waste

In this study, the adsorption characteristics of Basic Yellow 28 (BY 28) and Basic Red 46 (BR 46) onto boron waste (BW), a waste produced from boron processing plant were investigated. The equilibrium adsorption isotherms and kinetics were investigated. The adsorption equilibrium data were analyzed by using various adsorption isotherm models and the results have shown that adsorption behavior of two dyes could be described reasonably well by a generalized isotherm. Kinetic studies indicated that the kinetics of the adsorption of BY 28 and BR 46 onto BW follows a pseudo-second-order model. The result showed that the BW exhibited high-adsorption capacity for basic dyes and the capacity slightly decreased with increasing temperature. The maximum adsorption capacities of BY 28 and BR 46 are reported at 75.00 and 74.73mgg(-1), respectively. The dye adsorption depended on the initial pH of the solution with maximum uptake occurring at about pH 9 and electrokinetic behavior of BW. Activation energy of 15.23kJ/mol for BY 28 and 18.15kJ/mol for BR 46 were determined confirming the nature of the physisorption onto BW. These results indicate that BW could be employed as low-cost material for the removal of the textile dyes from effluents.     

Synthesis and room temperature coating of nano ZrB2 on copper using mechanical roll-milling

In this study, ZrB₂ was prepared from ZrOCl₂.8H₂O, H₃BO₃ and citric acid by using the gel method. The gel was dried at 400 °C and then it was calcined at 1500 °C. The prepared 0.5–1 μm ZrB₂ powder was encapsulated into the Cu tube. For the purpose of coating ZrB₂ on Cu metal, the roll-milling of ZrB₂ particles inside the cylindrical Cu tube has been performed at room temperature. The prepared ZrB₂ coating on Cu was analyzed by using FE-SEM, EDS, XRD, electrical resistivity and CV measurements. The final ZrB₂ particle size on the surface of the coating layer was below 100 nm, and the coating thicknesses were about 15–20 μm. The long nanofiber like ZrB₂ structures was observed. The coating of nano ZrB₂ on Cu was achieved by using this novel roll-milling process which is an environmental friendly, low cost and practical technique.     

A study on the adsorption of some cationic dyes onto acrylamide/itaconic acid hydrogels

Summary Acrylamide/itaconic acid (AAm/IA) hydrogels prepared by irradiating with radiation were used in experiments on the adsorption of some cationic dyes such as basic red 9 (BR 9), basic green 4 (BG 4), cresyl violet (CV), and basic blue 20 (BB 20). Adsorption of the cationic dyes onto AAm/IA hydrogels is studied by batch adsorption technique. In the experiments of the adsorption, Langmiur type adsorption in the Giles classification system was found. Monolayer coverages for AAm/IA hydrogel-dye systems were calculated by using B point method. Adsorption studies indicated that monolayer coverages of AAm/IA hydrogel by these dyes were increased with following order; BB 20>CV>BR9>BG 4.