An investigation over the effect of the reducing agent on the properties of the ZnO-reinforced Ni–P coatings

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - Electroless ZnO-reinforced Ni–P coatings are developed on mild steel substrates in the Electroless bath, which contains an optimum...     

Field Assessment of the Performance of a Ballasted Rail Track with and without Geosynthetics

Understanding the complex mechanisms of stress transfer and strain accumulation in layers of track substructure under repeated wheel loading is essential to predict the desirable track maintenance cycle as well as the design of the new track. Various finite element and analytical techniques have been developed in the past to understand the behavior of composite track layers subjected to repeated wheel loads. The mechanical behavior of ballast is influenced by several factors, including the track confining pressure, type of aggregates, and the number of loading cycles. A field trial was conducted on an instrumented track at Bulli, New South Wales, Australia, with the specific aims of studying the benefits of a geocomposite installed at the ballast-capping interface, and to evaluate the performance of moderately graded recycled ballast in comparison to traditionally very uniform fresh ballast. It was found that recycled ballast can be effectively reused if reinforced with a geocomposite. It was also found that geocomposite can effectively reduce vertical and lateral strains of the ballast with obvious implications for improved track stability and reduced maintenance costs.     

Foamability of MgAl2O4 (Spinel)-Reinforced Aluminum Alloy Composites

A novel foamable aluminum alloy has been developed. It contains sub-micron-sized MgAl₂O₄ (spinel) particles that are generated in situ by a reaction of SiO₂ with a molten Al-Mg alloy. The study involves an optimization of parameters such as Mg concentration, SiO₂ particles size, and reaction time and shows that a composite containing MgAl₂O₄ particles as chief reinforcement in the matrix leads to effective foaming. Composites containing large sized transition phases and particle agglomerates in the matrix yield poor foam structure. The best foamable composite obtained contained 3.4 vol. pct of ultrafine (80 nm to 1 μm) MgAl₂O₄ particles uniformly distributed in an Al-Si alloy matrix. The corresponding metal foam contained 75 pct porosity and exhibited a uniform distribution of cells.     

Modeling the strain-rate dependence of fatigue life of hot-pressed silicon nitride

This paper presents the results of a micromechanical model used to explain the strain-rate dependence of the compression fatigue lives of amorphous and crystalline grain boundary phase; denoted by ABP and CBP silicon nitrides, respectively. When the strain-rate is changed from 400 to 0.01/s, the fatigue lives of both materials, evaluated at a peak stress of 3.2 GPa, increased by more than two orders of magnitude (Sharma et al. (1996a,b)). The model is based on the dynamic and quasi-static microstructural damage mechanisms observed in both materials. The microstructure of ABP and CBP silicon nitrides is modeled as a simple composite in which silicon nitride grains are embedded in a continuous network of the grain boundary phase. Since the subsurface fatigue cracks in both materials nucleate mainly from the contact region between silicon nitride grains, contact stresses between adjacent silicon nitride grains are obtained, and the frequency dependence of the fatigue lives of ABP and CBP silicon nitrides is explained on the basis of the strain-rate sensitivity of the grain boundary phase.     

Sensitivity of Viscosity on Molten Ti Infusion into a B4C-Packed Bed at the Microscale

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B - The effect of the surface tension–viscosity dissipation driving liquid Ti flow into a B4C packed bed was analyzed at 1941 K and 2573 K. The model...     

Influence of Inclusion and Specimen Orientations on Intergranular Corrosion Testing of AISI 316LN Stainless Steel

Fabricated components must be free from sensitization for using these in critical applications in aggressive environments. During fabrication of a hollow bar from solid bar, deep hole drilling was employed which introduces residual stresses. Stress-relieving heat treatment was employed by heating the hollow bar from room temperature to 1,065°C @ 40°C/h and soaking at 1,065°C for 1 h followed by cooling @ 40°C/h as well as 70°C/h. To detect the susceptibility to IGC, specimens were taken from both circumferential direction as well as longitudinal direction and subjected to ASTM A 262 Practice E test. In U bend, the specimens from the circumferential direction failed whereas longitudinal specimens did not fail. However specimens of both orientations showed Step structure in Practice A test indicating that no carbide has nucleated during the stress-relieving heat treatment ensuring that the cooling rates are faster than the critical cooling rates and the material is not susceptible to IGC. EDAX studies indicated the presence of numerous MnS inclusions enriched in chromium which might have led to chromium depletion around the inclusions resulting in poor passivity at these locations. This study presents the influence of orientation of MnS inclusions in causing failure in U bend test. The need to select specimens of correct orientation during IGC testing is emphasized in this investigation.     

Combined addition of nano diamond and nano SiO2, an effective method to improve the in-field critical current density of MgB2 superconductor

MgB₂ bulk samples added with nano SiO₂ and/or nano diamond were prepared by powder-in-sealed-tube (PIST) method and the effects of addition on structural and superconducting properties were studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the addition caused systematic reduction in ‘a’ lattice parameter due to the substitution of C atoms at B sites and the strain caused by reacted intragrain nano particles of Mg₂Si as evinced by transmission electron microscope image. Scanning electron microscopy images showed distinct microstructural variations with SiO₂/diamond addition. It was evident from DC magnetization measurements that the in-field critical current density [J_C(H)] of doped samples did not fall drastically like the undoped sample. Among the doped samples the J_C(H) of co-doped samples were significantly higher and the best co-doped sample yielded a J_C, an order of magnitude more than the undoped one at 5 K and 8 T.     

Correlating self-assembly of block copolymers for their application in synthesis of gold nanoparticles

We report the role of self-assembly of polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-polyethylene oxide (PEO-PPO-PEO) block copolymers for the synthesis of gold nanoparticles from hydrogen tetrachloroaureate (III) hydrate (HAuCl4 x 3H2O) in aqueous solution. The synthesis has been carried out using three different block copolymers P85 [EO26PO39EO26], F88 [EO103PO39EO103] and P105 [EO37PO56EO37], which not only have varying molecular weight but also differ in hydrophobicity to hydrophilicity ratio. The formation of gold nanoparticles is confirmed by the UV-Visible Spectroscopy. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) provides the sizes of the nanoparticles formed in these systems. Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) techniques are used to correlate the self-assembly of block copolymer to their propensity to form gold nanoparticles. The yield is found to be in the order P105 > P85 > F88 and is related to the higher tendency of block copolymer to self-assemble to give greater yield of gold nanoparticles. For all the block copolymers, SANS and DLS results suggests that the yield in the synthesis does not always increases with the salt concentration and is limited due to the fact that most of the block copolymers remain unassociated with the gold nanoparticles. By making use of these unassociated block copolymers, we propose two methods (i) step addition method and (ii) additional reductant method, where the synthesis yield of gold nanoparticles can be enhanced by manifold.