Dry Sliding Tribological Behavior of Brake Oil Conditioned Ceramic Matrix Composites Reinforced With Carbon Fabric

Silicon - Ceramic composites are extremely sensitive to the surrounding environment. Their tribological performance may degrade drastically if they are polluted by some external agent. The present...     

Role of Microstructure and Temperature on the Tensile Fracture Behavior of Oxide Dispersion Strengthened 18Cr Ferritic Steel

The tensile fracture behavior of oxide dispersion strengthened 18Cr (ODS-18Cr) ferritic steels milled for varying times was studied along with the oxide-free 18Cr steel (NODS) at 25, 200, 400, 600, and 800 °C. At all the test temperatures, the strengths of ODS–18Cr steels increased and total elongation decreased with the duration of milling time. Oxide dispersed 18Cr steel with optimum milling exhibited enhanced yield strength of 156 pct at room temperature and 300 pct at 800 °C when compared to oxide-free 18Cr steel. The ductility values of ODS-18Cr steels are in the range 20 to 35 pct for a temperature range 25 to 800 °C, whereas NODS alloy exhibited higher ductility of 37 to 82 pct. The enhanced strength of ODS steels when compared to oxide-free steel is due to the development of ultrafine grained structure along with nanosized dispersion of complex oxide particles. While the pre-necking elongation decreased with increasing temperature and milling time, post-necking elongation showed no change with the test temperature. Fractographic examination of both ODS and NODS 18Cr steel fractured tensile samples, revealed that the failure was in ductile fracture mode with distinct neck and shear lip formation for all milling times and at all test temperatures. The fracture mechanism is in general followed the sequence; microvoid nucleation at second phase particles, void growth and coalescence. The quantified dimple sizes and numbers per unit area were found to be in linear relation with the size and number density of dispersoids. It is clearly evident that even nanosized dispersoids acted as sites for microvoid nucleation at larger strains and assisted in dimple rupture.

     

Solidification of thermoviscoelastic melts. Part 3: Effects of mold surface temperature differences on warpage and residual stresses

The solidification of a molten layer of amorphous thermoplastic between cooled parallel plates is used to model the mechanics of part warpage in the injection-molding process. Flow effects are neglected, and a thermorheologically simple thermoviscoelastic material model is assumed. The model allows material to be added to fill the space created by the pressure applied during solidification so that this model can be used to assess packing-pressure effects in injection molding. Parametric results are presented on the effects of the mold temperatures and the packing pressure—the pressure applied during solidification to counteract the effects of volumetric shrinkage of the thermoplastic—on the in-plane and through-thickness shrinkages, on warpage, and on residual stresses in plaque-like geometries. The packing pressure is shown to have a significant effect on part warpage. While the results are presented in terms of normalized variables based on the properties of bisphenol-A polycarbonate, they can be interpreted for other amorphous thermoplastics, such as modified polyphenylene oxide, polyetherimide, and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene.     

Friction and wear characteristics of organic thiophosphoro derivatives — a critical appraisal

The friction- and wear-reducing characteristics of a number of oil soluble sulphurised and phosphosulphurised derivatives for automotive and industrial applications have been reviewed. A critical appraisal of the suggested causes and mechanism of friction reduction and antiwear characteristics has been made. A review of the investigations carried out so far indicates that the creation of in situ films of simple inorganic salts, such as molybdenum disulphide, iron sulphide or phosphates of low shear strength and lamellar structures, does not appear to be the primary cause of low friction and wear. The authors have, therefore, undertaken a programme to synthesise and study the chemistry and tribochemical reactions in relation to friction and wear characteristics of hydrocarbon-soluble thiophosphoro derivatives of alkyl phenol, alcohols and fatty esters, in order to establish relationships between the reactivity, chemical nature and crystal structure of films formed on rubbing surfaces, and antifriction and antiwear characteristics. Molybdenum salts of various phosphorothio derivatives of pentadecylphenol and lauryl oleate of specific structures have been synthesised, and the friction and wear properties of their blends in mineral oil base stock have been studied. It can be clearly inferred from the results that type of bonding between sulphur, phosphorus and molybdenum, and reactivity of these derivatives with rubbing surfaces, determine their friction-reducing and antiwear characteristics. Their reactivity with iron and the nature of films formed are under investigation.     

Multifunctional iron-carbon nanocomposites through an aerosol-based process for the in situ remediation of chlorinated hydrocarbons

Spherical iron-carbon nanocomposites were developed through a facile aerosol-based process with sucrose and iron chloride as starting materials. These composites exhibit multiple functionalities relevant to the in situ remediation of chlorinated hydrocarbons such as trichloroethylene (TCE). The distribution and immobilization of iron nanoparticles on the surface of carbon spheres prevents zerovalent nanoiron aggregation with maintenance of reactivity. The aerosol-based carbon microspheres allow adsorption of TCE, thus removing dissolved TCE rapidly and facilitating reaction by increasing the local concentration of TCE in the vicinity of iron nanoparticles. The strongly adsorptive property of the composites may also prevent release of any toxic chlorinated intermediate products. The composite particles are in the optimal range for transport through groundwater saturated sediments. Furthermore, those iron-carbon composites can be designed at low cost, the process is amenable to scale-up for in situ application, and the materials are intrinsically benign to the environment.     

Control of Clostridium perfringens spores by green tea leaf extracts during cooling of cooked ground beef, chicken, and pork

We investigated the inhibition of Clostridium perfringens spore germination and outgrowth by two green tea extracts with low (green tea leaf powder [GTL]; 141 mg of total catechins per g of green tea extract) and high (green tea leaf extract [GTE]; 697 mg of total catechins per g of extract) catechin levels during abusive chilling of retail cooked ground beef, chicken, and pork. Green tea extracts were mixed into the thawed beef, chicken, and pork at concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0% (wt/ wt), along with a heat-activated (75 degrees C for 20 min) three-strain spore cocktail to obtain a final concentration of approximately 3 log spores per g. Samples (5 g) of the ground beef, chicken, and pork were then vacuum packaged and cooked to 71 degrees C for 1 h in a temperature-controlled water bath. Thereafter, the products were cooled from 54.4 to 7.2 degrees C in 12, 15, 18, or 21 h, resulting in significant increases (P < 0.05) in the germination and outgrowth of C. perfringens populations in the ground beef, chicken, and pork control samples without GTL or GTE. Supplementation with 0.5 to 2% levels of GTL did not inhibit C. perfringens growth from spores. In contrast, the addition of 0.5 to 2% levels of GTE to beef, chicken, and pork resulted in a concentration-and time-dependent inhibition of C. perfringens growth from spores. At a 2% level of GTE, a significant (P < 0.05) inhibition of growth occurred at all chill rates for cooked ground beef, chicken, and pork. These results suggest that widely consumed catechins from green tea can reduce the potential risk of C. perfringens spore germination and outgrowth during abusive cooling from 54.4 to 7.2 degrees C in 12, 15, 18, or 21 h of cooling for ground beef, chicken, and pork.     

Reactivity characteristics of nanoscale zerovalent iron--silica composites for trichloroethylene remediation

Spherical silica particles containing nanoscale zerovalent iron were synthesized through an aerosol-assisted process. These particles are effective for groundwater remediation, with the environmentally benign silica particles serving as effective carriers for nanoiron transport. Incorporation of iron into porous sub-micrometer silica particles protects ferromagnetic iron nanoparticles from aggregation and may increase their subsurface mobility. Additionally, the presence of surface silanol groups on silica particles allows control of surface properties via silanol modification using organic functional groups. Aerosolized silica particles with functional alkyl moieties, such as ethyl groups on the surface, clearly adsorb solubilized trichloroethylene (TCE) in water. These materials may therefore act as adsorbents which have coupled reactivity characteristics. The nanoscale iron/silica composite particles with controlled surface properties have the potential to be efficiently applied for in situ source depletion and in the design of permeable reactive barriers.     

Studies on kinetics and preparation of C36 dimer acid esters

C₃₆ Dimer acids were esterified with various short-chain alcohols, namely 2-propanol, n-butanol, n-hexanol, n-octanol, 2-octanol and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol by using sulfuric acid as catalyst and benzene as an azeotropic solvent. Various reaction parameters were standardized. In case of isopropyl esters, acid-to-alcohol mole ratio of 1:5 and sulfuric acid concentration of 2% based on the weight of dimer acids were found to be optimum. In case of straight-chain primary alcohols, namely n-butanol, n-hexanol and n-octanol, 1:2.5 mole ratio of acid to alcohol and 1% by weight of sulfuric acid were found satisfactory. Esterification reaction rates were determined from the fall in acid value of the product. The reaction followed pseudo first order kinetics. The reaction rates increased with the increase in chainlength of straight-chain primary alcohols from n-butanol to n-octanol. The rate of reaction decreased from n-octanol to 2-ethyl-1-hexanol to 2-octanol due to the branching of the chain in 2-ethyl-1-hexanol and secondary nature of the −OH group in 2-octanol.