Analyzing furnace-lining integrity using nodal wear modeling

The Nodal Wear Model was developed to systematize the analysis of corrosion phenomena on refractory and ceramic materials that come in contact with corrosive fluids in furnace linings. The model is based on the determination of the thermal field in the furnace lining using a finite-element-method grid in which a second grid is defined to represent the surface of the lining that is attacked by the molten phases. Using a control equation for the wear-corrosion thermal-activated phenomena, a modification of the geometry is introduced and a new geometry is defined to restart the calculation. For more information, contact Roberto A. Parra, Universidad de Concepción-Chile Departamento de Ingeniería Metalúrgica, Edmundo Larenas 285, Concepcion, Chile; +56-41-20-46-63; fax +56-41-22-00-45; e-mail rparra@udec.cl.     

Effects of low-temperature aging on AISI 444 steel

The consequences of aging at 400 and 475 °C on the mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, and magnetic properties of the ferritic stainless steel (SS) AISI 444 were investigated. Age hardening was measured as a function of aging time at both temperatures and was found to be more intense at 475 °C. The localized corrosion susceptibility increased, while the impact toughness decreased with aging time. These two effects were also more important at 475 °C. Unlike duplex SSs, AISI 444 did not present any variation in coercive force or Curie temperature with aging time. The effects on the Mössbauer spectra were also determined and analyzed.     

Evaluation of machine-tool motion accuracy using a CNC machining center in micro-milling processes

The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology - The demand for micro holes, micro-molds, and micro forms continues to grow as high-tech industries demand miniaturized products....     

Modelling and traceability for computationally-intensive precision engineering and metrology

In contrast to measurements of the dimensions of machined parts realized by machine tools and characterized by CMMs, software results are not fully traceable and certified. Indeed, a computer is not a perfect machine and binary encoding of real numbers leads to rounding of successive intermediate calculations that may lead to globally false results. This is the case for poor implementations and poorly conditioned algorithms. Therefore, accurate geometric modelling and implementations will be detailed. Based on the works of National Metrology Institutes, the problem of software traceability will also be discussed. Some prospects for this complex task will finally be suggested.     

Friction stir welding of duplex stainless steels

Duplex stainless steels are successful in a variety of applications such as the food industry, petrochemicals and plants for desalination of seawater, where high corrosion resistance and high mechanical strength are required. However, the beneficial microstructure may change during fusion welding steps, and it can compromise the performance of these materials. Friction stir welding is a solid-state process avoiding typical problems concerning solidification such as solidification cracks, liquation and segregation of alloying elements. Superduplex stainless steels can avoid unbalanced proportions of ferrite and austenite, formation of secondary deleterious phases and grain growth of ferrite in the heat-affected zone. Consolidated friction stir welded joints with full penetration 6 mm thick were obtained for UNS S32101 and S32205 duplex and S32750 and S32760 superduplex stainless steels. The friction stir welds were submitted to tensile tests indicating an improvement of strength in welded joints, showing increased yield and tensile strength for all studied cases. Regarding the microstructural characterization, an outstanding grain refinement was observed in the welded joint, achieving grain sizes as small as 1 μm. This refinement was associated with the combination of microstructural restoration mechanisms in the dual-phase microstructure promoted by severe deformation associated with a high temperature during the welding process.     

Multipass Scratch Behavior of Borided and Nitrided H13 Steel

AISI H13 steel was subjected to boriding and nitriding; its performance was evaluated by the progressive load scratch test, and then by the multipass scratch test (MPST), to evaluate the accumulated damage. Boriding and nitriding were carried out at a temperature of 800 and 580 °C, respectively, both treatments for 1 and 5 h of exposure time. In scratch test, a load range of 3-90 N was used for borides; a higher range (3-180 N) was chosen for nitrides. Critical loads (L_c) were estimated based on optical microscope observations of the scratch tracks. Failure mechanisms and residual depths were examined by scanning electronic microscope and optical profilometry. Finally, using fractions of L_c, MPST was applied on uncoated and coated samples, for 25, 50, 75 and 100 unidirectional scratch cycles. The coefficient of friction (COF) evolution was recorded and analyzed. A decrease in COF was observed as cycles go through; it was initially higher in uncoated sample; moreover, it was observed that normal load was determinant in its behavior, regardless of the treatment time. Nitrided samples exhibited less catastrophic failures over borided ones, also showed a better volume loss/load ratio performance, from 6 to 8 times better compared to borided samples.     

Self-Assembled Structures of Catanionic Associations: How to Optimize Vesicle Formation?

Like other amphiphilic compounds, bolaforms do not always possess surfactant properties; it depends on the spacer chain length and the nature of the polar head group (both sufficiently hydrophobic or hydrophilic, respectively, to intensify the amphiphilic properties). In this regard, unsymmetrical bolaamphiphiles bearing a sugar polar head group and a carboxylic acid function at the opposite ends of a hydrophobic binding spacer were synthesized. These biocompatible sugar-derived bolaforms were associated with basic fatty amines, by an acid–base reaction, to obtain catanionic mixtures. Associations with 1,7-lactobionamidoheptanoic acid and decylamine or octylamine spontaneously form stable 200–600 nm vesicles. This new type of association may find an application in drug delivery since catanionic vesicles can transport active substances inside the hydrophilic core, as well as hydrophobic drugs within the bilayer.     

Introducing Grain Boundary Influenced Stochastic Effects into Constitutive Models

Twinning is an important deformation mechanism in hexagonal close-packed (hcp) metals such as Mg, Zr, Ti, and Be. Twinning in hcp materials is a multiscale process that depends on microstructural and mechanical response details at the mesoscale, microscale, and atomic scales. Twinning can generally be understood as a two-step process, a nucleation step followed by propagation. The nucleation of twins is governed by both material details such as the defect configurations at potential nucleation sites within grain boundaries, as well as the highly local mechanical field near grain boundaries. These two factors, the material and mechanical, must align for a successful nucleation event. In this article, we present a stochastic constitutive law for nucleation of twins and describe its implementation into a homogenized crystal plasticity simulation. Twin nucleation relies on the dissociation of grain boundary defects under stress into the required twinning partials. This dissociation is considered to follow a Poisson process where the parameters of the Poisson distribution are related to the properties of the grain boundaries. The rate of the process is a direct function of the local stress concentration at the grain boundary. These stress concentrations are randomly sampled from a distribution calibrated to full-field crystal plasticity simulations.     

Evidence for the formation of distorted nanodomains involved in the phase transformation of stabilized zirconia by coupling convergent beam electron diffraction and in situ TEM nanoindentation

The transformation of zirconia from its tetragonal to its monoclinic phase is an important feature of the zirconia system. First found to be an advantage due to its important toughening effect, it can also be very detrimental when it occurs in the framework of low-temperature degradation, particularly in the case of biomaterial applications. One way to avoid or to control this phase transformation is to understand how it initiates and more particularly the stress states that can trigger it. A new technique available inside a transmission electron microscope seems to be particularly well suited for that type of study: convergent beam electron diffraction, a well-known technique to reveal stresses, was coupled to in situ transmission electron microscopy mechanical nanoindentation. The experiments reveal the presence of sheared nanoregions at grain boundaries. These could act as embryos for tetragonal-to-monoclinic phase transformations. This is an important first step in the understanding of the earliest stage of zirconia phase transformation.     

Interface step-induced thin-film delamination and buckling

Atomistic simulations based on experimental observations provide the first evidence that the interface delamination of a thin film from its substrate may start from interface steps. Buckling of the film after interface gliding from both edges of its delaminated part is also observed. In the framework of the Föppl–von Kármán theory of thin plates, the expression of the critical strain beyond which the film buckles has been then analytically determined as a function of the step height and gliding displacements. Both numerical and analytical results confirm that the formation of blisters is favoured in the neighbourhood of interfacial imperfections.