Separate assessment of porosity and uncombined carbon in cemented carbides

Porosity and uncombined carbon in cemented carbides are traditionally assessed by comparison to standardized microstructure charts, such as those in ISO 4505-1978. To improve the accuracy in the characterization a fully automatic image analysis procedure has been developed. The analysis is performed using light optical microscopy on unetched polished specimens. The implemented algorithm separates uncombined carbon, C-defects, from pores, A- and B-defects. Pores are approximately distributed in a random way in the structure. Uncombined carbon is on the other hand precipitated into clusters of carbon particles. This difference is together with defect size used as a base for the separation. Small defects situated close together are classified as C-defects, small isolated defects as A-pores and large defects as B-pores. Pores are found to be more round than the somewhat elongated C-defects. The difference in shape is significant and can also be used as a separation criterion.

Image analysis is used to quantitatively characterise the ISO 4505-1978 standard charts with respect to volume fraction, number density and size distribution of defects. The results are compared to measured distributions for true microstructures.     

Analysis of thin walled structures using the boundary element method

In this article the direct boundary element formulations of stretching and bending plate problems are combined together to solve thin walled structures and other similar frames. The final system is obtained by assuming each individual plane structural element as a subregion. After the necessary transforms of these equations they can be combined together taking into account the displacement compatibility and equilibrium conditions.     

Depth of intergranular oxygen diffusion during environment-dependent fatigue crack growth in alloy 718

The elevated-temperture fatigue crack growth behavior in alloy 718, when subjected to a loading frequency lower than the transitional frequency of this alloy, is viewed as fully environment dependent. In this process, the crack growth increment per loading cycle is assumed to be equal to the intergranular oxygen diffusion depth at the crack tip during the cycle effective oxidation time. In order to identify the trend of this diffusion depth an experimental program was carried out on compact tension specimens made of alloy 718 at 650 °C in which fatigue crack growth measurements were made for cyclic load conditions with and without hold time periods at minimum load level. This work resulted in establishing a relationship correlating the intergranular oxygen diffusion depth and the value of the stress intensity factor range ΔK. This relationship, when integrated over the cycle effective oxidation time, results in a closed-form solution describing the environment-dependent fatigue crack growth rate. A comparison is made between the results of this solution when applied to different loading frequencies and the corresponding experimental results. This comparison shows good agreement between the two sets of results. Furthermore, by combining the parabolic rate law of diffusion and the equation for the intergranular oxygen diffusion depth, an explicit expression for the oxygen diffusivity of grain boundaries is derived. It is found that this diffusivity is both a ΔK- and a frequency-dependent parameter.     

An alternative approach to weight function evaluation for an orthotropic crack

The use of the analytically decoupled near-tip displacement solutions as an alternative approach, is presented in this paper for the efficient finite element evaluation of the decoupled weight functions for an orthotropic 2-D crack. This alternative approach has been validated by directly comparing the prior weight function results with a symmetric mesh approach in the crack-tip neighborhood, and indirectly by comparing the calculated stress intensity factors (K_I(II)) values using the computed weight functions with available K_I(II) solutions of the 2-D mixed mode orthotropic cracks. In addition, this approach with analytically decoupled near-tip displacement solutions for calculating weight functions at all locations, can facilitate further extension of weight function evaluations to a more general 2-D anisotropic crack.     

Cost Effective VLSI Architectures for Full-Search Block-Matching Motion Estimation Algorithm

In this paper, we present efficient VLSI architectures for full-search block-matching motion estimation (BMME) algorithm. Given a search range, we partition it into sub-search arrays called tiles. By fully exploiting data dependency within a tile, efficient VLSI architectures can be obtained. Using the proposed VLSI architectures, all the block-matchings in a tile can be processed in parallel. All the tiles within a search range can be processed serially or concurrently depending on various requirements. With the consideration of processing speed, hardware cost, and I/O bandwidth, the optimal tile size for a specific video application is analyzed. By partitioning a search range into tiles with appropriate size, flexible VLSI designs with different throughput can be obtained. In this way, cost effective VLSI designs for a wide range of video applications, from H.261 to HDTV, can be achieved.     

Effect of Bi and Sr concentrations on the formation of the 2223 phase in Bi-Pb-Sb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O materials, obtained under different conditions of thermal treatment

The superconducting properties and the phase and chemical composition of Bi _x Pb_0.3Sb_0.1Sr _y Ca₂Cu₃O_z (x=1.5, 1.6, and 1.7;y=1.9, 2.0, and 2.1) materials synthesized by one-step and multistep thermal treatments have been investigated. The multistep annealing between 825–875°C promotes the 2223 phase. The change of Bi concentration has little effect on the 2223 phase formation, regardless of the kind of thermal treatment used, but increasing the Sr concentration (y> 2) strongly inhibits this phase. It has also been established that the loss of Pb after synthesis depends on the initial Bi concentration. The loss of Pb decreases when the initial Bi content is lower.     

Kinetic study of the hydrolysis of isocyanic acid in the gas phase

The hydrolysis of isocyanic acid in the gaseous phase has been investigated at temperatures between 553 and 613 K by mass spectrometry and evaluated to obtain the corresponding kinetic data. The reaction order and reaction constant have been determined. Finally, the influence of water on the catalysed formation of melamine from isocyanic acid under the operating conditions employed has been investigated in order to determine whether there is a need to try the process gas.     

A numerical model for the dissolution of spherical particles in binary alloys under mixed mode control

A general numerical model is described for the dissolution kinetics of spherical particles in binary systems for any combination of first order reactions at the particle-matrix interface and long distance diffusion within the matrix. The model is applicable to both finite and infinite media and handles both complete and partial particle dissolution. It is shown that interfacial reactions can have a strong effect on the dissolution kinetics, the solute concentration at the particle-matrix interface and the solute concentration profile in the matrix.