Evaluation of springback under the effect of holding force and die radius in a stretch bending test

In this work, we evaluate springback using U-form stretch bending tests. Tests are carried out on aluminum alloy test pieces using an experimental set up made in our laboratory. This apparatus can be mounted on a tensile testing machine and gives the possibility to vary several parameters. We show the role played by certain factors such as die radius of curvature, blank holding force (BHF) and stretching depth. Springback and sliding at extremities are strongly influenced by these technological and geometrical parameters. In this work we also show the gradual decrease of springback with the increase of stretching depth. The radius of curvature of the die can remarkably influence the two stages of springback.     

纳米压痕技术在材料力学测试中的应用

近年来,材料纳米级力学测试日益引起广大研究者的重视。纳米压痕仪凭借极高的载荷和位移分辨率,广泛应用于材料表面的微纳米级力学性能的测试,包括硬度、弹性模量、塑性应变、薄膜界面结合强度以及材料疲劳特性等。综述了几种纳米压痕和纳米冲击技术测试材料力学性能的方法和原理,介绍了纳米压痕技术在材料力学性能测试方面的若干先进应用实例及其测试机理,以及原子力显微镜和扫描探针显微镜在力学测试方面的原理和应用。最后,提出了纳米压痕仪存在的若干问题,并对纳米压痕技术的发展进行了展望,认为纳米压痕技术结合有限元模拟建立材料疲劳断裂模型,是纳米压痕在力学测试方面发展的必然趋势。     

Strengthening and toughening of Ti5Si3 by TiC-coated short carbon fiber: Fabrication,interfacial control,and mechanism of reinforcement

Composites of C_f/Ti₅Si₃ were prepared by spark plasma sintering a mixture of TiC-coated short carbon fiber and pre-synthesized Ti₅Si₃ powder. The TiC coating protects the C_f and mediates a mild interdiffusion process between C_f and Ti₅Si₃, rather than an exothermic reaction. Compared with traditional in-situ fabrication, the use of a pre-synthesized Ti₅Si₃ powder as a raw material mitigated heat release from the Ti-Si reaction and consequent grain overgrowth. The spark plasma sintering process was completed within 15 min and the relative density of the product reached 99.2 %. The C_f/Ti₅Si₃ composite achieved a high fracture toughness of 7.57 MPa m^1/2 and a flexural strength of 518.3 MPa, which reflected increases of 255 % and 270 %, respectively, compared with those properties of monolithic Ti₅Si₃. These improvements are attributable to the effects of the carbon fiber reinforcement, the TiC protective coating on the C_f, inhibition of grain overgrowth, and control of interfacial reaction.     

Investigating the thermal,mechanical and thermal cyclic properties of plasma-sprayed Al2O3-7YSZ/7YSZ double ceramic layer TBCs

Double ceramic layer (DCL) TBCs consisting of a top 20 wt.% Al₂O₃-7YSZ layer and a bottom 7YSZ layer were desirably designed to achieve preferable performance while the thermal, mechanical and thermal cyclic properties were comprehensively investigated. Compared to the conventional 7YSZ TBCs, the thermal insulation properties of the DCL coating were significantly improved due to the increased oxygen vacancy concentration induced by Al₂O₃ addition while the thickness of the thermally grown oxides was diminished by the decreased oxygen diffusion rate. Furthermore, the improved fracture toughness of the DCL coating also prolonged the thermal cyclic life.     

Copper bonding silicon nitride substrate using atmosphere plasma spray

Silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) is an excellent engineering ceramic with high strength, fracture toughness, wear resistance, and good chemical and thermal stability. Recently, the enhanced thermal conductivity enables Si₃N₄ to have potential application prospects in the electronic and orthopedic fields. Metal bonding with Si₃N₄ is often the key to these applications. Here we report a facile approach for the titanium-activated Cu bonding on Si₃N₄ substrates using an atmosphere plasma spray (APS) process. With X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) observation, it was shown that the interaction between the pre-bonded Ti (by APS) on Si₃N₄ promoted the adhesion and high bonding strength of APS Cu on Si₃N₄. The interfacial structure and phases were characterized, and tensile strength, electrical resistivity, thermal conductivity, and residual stress of Cu bonded Si₃N₄ were measured accordingly. The APS deposited Cu layer is dense, has a high purity, and is joined firmly with Ti pre-bonded Si₃N₄ substrate. The maximum tensile strength between Cu and Si₃N₄ is as high as 89.4 MPa. The Si₃N₄ substrate bonded with highly dense Cu demonstrates a low surface resistivity of 8.72 × 10⁻⁴ Ω∙mm, and high thermal conductivity of 98.12 W/m·K, which shows potential applications in electronic devices.     

A novel strategy for synthesizing porous ZrB2-SiC ceramics via boro/carbothermal reaction process templated pore-forming approach

In this work, pure ZrB₂-SiC composite powders were obtained using ZrO₂, SiO₂, B₄C and carbon black as raw materials via a boro/carbothermal reduction (BCTR) reaction process at 1500 °C for 2 h in vacuum condition. Based on this finding, porous ZrB₂-SiC ceramics were in-situ synthesized via a novel and facile boro/carbothermal reaction process templated pore-forming (BCTR-TPF) method. The phase composition, linear shrinkage, and pore size distribution were also methodically studied. Results show that the porous ZrB₂-SiC ceramics with controllable porosity of 67–78%, compressive strength of 0.2–9.8 MPa and thermal conductivity of 1.9–7.0 W·m⁻¹K⁻¹ can be fabricated by varying of ZrO₂ and B₄C particle sizes. The formation of ZrB₂ grains was controlled via solid-solid and solid-liquid-solid growth mechanisms, the growth process of SiC grains was mainly regulated by solid-solid, vapor-vapor and vapor-solid growth mechanisms during the overall synthesis process. Finally, the pore-forming mechanism of porous samples prepared via the BCTR-TPF method was gases combined with template pore-forming mechanism, i.e., B₄C and carbon black acted as pore-forming templates, and gaseous products generated in the BCTR reaction were also applied as gas pore-forming agent.     

Laminated alumina/zirconia ceramic composites prepared by electrophoretic deposition

The electrophoretic deposition of alumina and zirconia powders from isopropanolic suspension in the presence of monochloroacetic acid was studied in the constant-current regime. The different levels of electric current during deposition from 250 μA to 48 mA were used. The green density of the deposit depends on the current density and then on the particle velocity during deposition, reaching values from 58% to 61% according to the electric current used. It was found that the lower the green density of the green deposit, the larger the pores. The low green density led to low final fired density and subsequently to the low Vickers hardness HV5 ranging from 2000 to 1650 depending on electric current used. Based on these findings microlaminates having various thickness ratios to achieve different residual stress levels were prepared consisting of alternating layers of alumina and zirconia.     

Half-metallocene zirconium complex bearing tridentate [N,N,O] ligand and its use in homo- and copolymerization of ethylene

The novel half-metallocene zirconium (IV) bearing quinoline-amino-phenolate tridentate ligand (Zr1) was synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, NMR spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography. The complex Zr1, upon activation with MAO, proved active in the polymerization of ethylene (26-2015 kg of PE/mol[Zr]·h^− 1), yielding high-density polyethylenes with molecular weight varying from 129 to 364 × 10³ g·mol^− 1. Complex Zr1 was also tested in the copolymerization of ethylene with 1-hexene affording high molecular weight poly(ethylene-co-1-hexene) with low comonomer incorporation (1.0–1.9%).