CHARAC TERIZATION OF TiAl POWDER PRODUCED BY MECHANICAL ALLOYING

The microstructure,alloying reaction and sintering behavior of the powder produced by Mechanical Al-loying(MA)for 8 h from 64 wt.-% Ti powder and 36 wt.-% Al powder were studied by scanning electronmicroscopy,optical microscopy,X-ray diffractometry,differential scanning calorimetry(DSC)and dilatometry.The mechanically alloyed powder partictes are Ti-Al composite particles.Thus,titanium aluminides can formeasily in the powder through diffusion during heat treatment.It is shown that the sintering behavior of this pow-der,different from the behaviors of TiAl alloy powder and mixed powder of 64 wt.-% Ti powder and 36 wt.-%Al powder,changes from expansion at temperatures below 1000℃ to shrinkage at temperatures above 1000℃.Homogeneously alloyed TiAl material with a density over 96% of the theoretical density can be produced fromthe mechanically alloyed powder by compaction-sintering.     

Multidisciplinary optimization of gas-quenching process

Distortion as a result of the quenching process is predominantly due to the thermal gradient and phase transformations within the component. Compared with traditional liquid quenching, the thermal boundary conditions during gas quenching are relatively simple to control. By adjusting the gas-quenching furnace pressure, the flow speed, or the spray nozzle configuration, the heat-transfer coefficients can be designed in terms of both the component geometry and the quenching time. The purpose of this research is to apply the optimization methodology to design the gas-quenching process. The design objective is to minimize the distortion caused by quenching. Constraints on the average surface hardness, and its distribution and residual stress are imposed. The heat-transfer coefficients are used as design variables. DEFORM-HT is used to predict material response during quenching. The response surface method is used to obtain the analytical models of the objective function and constraints in terms of the design variables. Once the response surfaces of the objective and constraints are obtained, they are used to search for the optimum heat-transfer coefficients. This process is then used instead of the finite-element analysis. A one-gear blank case study is used to demonstrate the optimization scheme.     

Improved corrosion protection of aluminum alloys by electrodeposited silanes

Organofunctional silanes recently have emerged as outstanding, environmentally friendly corrosion protectors for metal substrates, compared with conventional chromate treatments. A simple immersion technique is typically used to coat the metal surface with silane films. However, the thickness and uniformity of the films are uncontrolled in this process. This paper proposes a new deposition technique for the silane films on the metal surface, i.e., by electrodeposition. Hydrolyzed silanes are water-soluble, ionized molecules, so they can be deposited on metals by electrodeposition. Various combinations of silane mixtures were tested at different voltages, pH values, bath concentrations, and exposure times on panels of alloy aluminum and mirror-polished ferro-plate. The surface structure was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and ellipsometry. The resistance of the film to corrosion was investigated by direct current (DC) polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. Electrodeposition results in a more organized and uniform film with fewer pores, compared with immersed or dipped films. This paper was presented at the 2nd International Surface Engineering Congress sponsored by ASM International, on September 15–17, 2003, in Indianapolis, Indiana, and appears on pp. 320–26 of the Proceedings.     

The distribution of grain boundary planes in polycrystals

During the last ten years, techniques have been developed to measure the distribution of grain boundaries in polycrystals as a function of both lattice misorientation and grain boundary plane orientation. This paper presents a brief overview of the techniques used for these measurements and the principle findings of studies implementing these techniques. The most significant findings are that grain boundary plane distributions are anisotropic, that they are scale invariant during normal grain growth, that the most common grain boundary planes are those with low surface energies, that the grain boundary populations are inversely correlated with the grain boundary energy, and that the coincident site lattice number is a poor predictor of the grain boundary energy and population.     

Preparation of Protein-Stabilized β-Carotene Nanodispersions by Emulsification–Evaporation Method

This work was initiated to prepare protein-stabilized β-carotene nanodispersions using emulsification–evaporation. A pre-mix of the aqueous phase composed of a protein and hexane containing β-carotene was subjected to high-pressure homogenization using a microfluidizer. Hexane in the resulting emulsion was evaporated under reduced pressures, causing crystallization and precipitation of β-carotene inside the droplets and formation of β-carotene nanoparticles. Sodium caseinate (SC) was the most effective emulsifier among selected proteins in preparing the nanodispersion, with a monomodal β-carotene particle-size distribution and a 17-nm mean particle size. The results were confirmed by transmission-electron microscopy analysis. SC-stabilized nanodispersion also had considerably high ζ-potential (−27 mV at pH 7), suggesting that the nanodispersion was stable against particle aggregation. Increasing the SC concentration decreased the mean particle size and improved the polydispersity of the nanodispersions. Nanodispersions prepared with higher β-carotene concentrations and higher organic-phase ratios resulted in larger β-carotene particles. Although increased microfluidization pressure did not decrease particle size, it did improve the polydispersity of the nanodispersions. Repeating the microfluidization process at 140 MPa caused the nanodispersions to become polydisperse, indicating the loss of emulsifying capacity of SC due to protein denaturation.     

Informational Entropy: a Failure Tolerance and Reliability Surrogate for Water Distribution Networks

Evolutionary algorithms are used widely in optimization studies on water distribution networks. The optimization algorithms use simulation models that analyse the networks under various operating conditions. The solution process typically involves cost minimization along with reliability constraints that ensure reasonably satisfactory performance under abnormal operating conditions also. Flow entropy has been employed previously as a surrogate reliability measure. While a body of work exists for a single operating condition under steady state conditions, the effectiveness of flow entropy for systems with multiple operating conditions has received very little attention. This paper describes a multi-objective genetic algorithm that maximizes the flow entropy under multiple operating conditions for any given network. The new methodology proposed is consistent with the maximum entropy formalism that requires active consideration of all the relevant information. Furthermore, an alternative but equivalent flow entropy model that emphasizes the relative uniformity of the nodal demands is described. The flow entropy of water distribution networks under multiple operating conditions is discussed with reference to the joint entropy of multiple probability spaces, which provides the theoretical foundation for the optimization methodology proposed. Besides the rationale, results are included that show that the most robust or failure-tolerant solutions are achieved by maximizing the sum of the entropies.     

我国化肥催化剂工业现状

全国48家化肥催化剂制造厂总能力为57Kt/a,产量近30kt/a,设备利用率不到50%。平均万吨氨耗催化剂10.36t,高于国外5.60t水平。现生产31个品种203个型号的催化剂中有103种经部级鉴定,但经常使用的约50种。目前化肥催化剂工业水平与国外相比还存在四方面差距。     

Use of cascade reduction potential for selective precipitation of Au,Cu, and Pb in hydrochloric acid solution

Optimization of reduction potential for electroseparation was studied for the recovery of gold, copper, and lead from acidic solution. A linear sweep voltammetric method enabled us to determine characteristic reduction potentials for each metal and the kinetics of the metal deposition indicated by current-voltage curves. In order to precipitate the metal species sequentially, reduction potentials were examined for the individual and mixed solutions of Au(III), Cu(II), and Pb(II). The three metals were reasonably well isolated from the mixed solutions such as Cu(II)/ Pb(II) and Au(III)/Cu(II)/Pb(II) in the order of the corresponding reduction potentials, in particular, the mass transfer controlled reduction potentials, obtained from linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) measurement.     

高帧频激光光斑采集系统设计

随着半导体技术的发展,COMS图像传感器的灵敏度、分辨率动态范围不断提高,采用高速COMS图像传感器替代传统的CCD图像传感器作为激光通信中APT系统的激光光斑探测单元是APT发展的一种趋势。提出了一种基于高速LUPA-300 COMS图像传感器、DSP和FPGA的通用型高帧频光斑采集系统。FPGA内部生成的异步FIFO作为图像传感器与DSP之间的数据缓冲器,简化了系统结构布局,提高了系统稳定性。经过硬件电路设计、调试、软件部分调试等工作,最终实现了每秒钟1 000帧128×128图像的数据采集,可用于高速激光光斑的采集。