Microstructure development in laser forming of zirconium coatings on AZ91D magnesium alloy substrates

Zr-coatings were fabricated on AZ91D magnesium alloy substrates using laser forming by means of a blow powder technique. Multi-passes were required to form a pure Zr top coating layer on the AZ91D Mg substrate. The microstructure and phases of the coating were studied using XRD, EDS and SEM. The alloy element Al in AZ91 alloy was found to be important for the formation of a metallurgically bonded interface between the Zr coating and the matrix material. The coating can be classified as a three-layer structure with a pure Zr layer at the top surface. The development of the coating microstructure is explained with the aid of a schematic solidification scheme.     

Effect of NbN and ZrN films formed by magnetron sputtering on Ti and porcelain bonding

Niobium nitride (NbN) and zirconium nitride (ZrN) were deposited on Ti substrates by direct-current (DC) reactive magnetron sputtering; the deposited NbN and ZrN films served as intermediate layers of a Ti and porcelain interface. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results proved that the deposited NbN and ZrN films were polycrystalline with a cubic microstructure. The Ti and porcelain bonding strength of the samples in Group Control (27.2 ± 0.75 MPa), Group NbN (43.1 ± 0.59 MPa), and Group ZrN (52.4 ± 0.80 MPa) were measured. The surface roughness in the case of Group Control (1.863 ± 0.10 μm), Group NbN (2.343 ± 0.07 μm), and Group ZrN (2.346 ± 0.10 μm) was also investigated. Statistical analysis showed that both films helped improve the Ti and porcelain bonding strength and increase the surface roughness. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed that no apparent oxide layer was formed at the Ti and porcelain interface in both Group NbN and Group ZrN. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) results showed that ZrN was more effective in preventing Ti oxidation than was NbN. Overall, the experimental results showed that the deposition of both NbN and ZrN films helps improve the Ti and porcelain bonding strength and that ZrN films are more effective.     

Study of the corrosion and microstructure with annealing conditions of a β-quenched HANA-4 alloy

The variation of microstructure and corrosion characteristics with the applied annealing conditions of a HANA-4 (Zr-1.5Nb-0.4Sn-0.2Fe-0.1Cr) alloy were studied by utilizing transmission electron microscopy and a corrosion test at 360 °C in a water environment. The samples were annealed at temperature ranges from 540 to 660 °C up to 16 h after β quenching at 1050 °C. The corrosion behaviour with the annealing conditions was divided into two groups following the second phase characteristics. The suitable annealing temperature to obtain good corrosion resistance in the HANA-4 alloy ranged from 570 to 600 °C.     

含Nb或Cu的锆合金显微组织研究

用TEM和SEM研究了含少量Nb或Cu的锆合金显微组织,结果表明:在微量Fe元素存在时,添加适量Cu元素,会促使低于α-Zr中平衡固溶含量的Nb元素与Fe元素优先析出形成沉淀相,致使α-Zr中Nb的固溶含量更低;若增加Cu元素含量,因Zr_2Cu第二相富集消耗了Fe元素,反而使Nb元素不易析出。在Zr-1.0Cu合金中加入适量的Nb元素,可以细化Zr_2Cu第二相的尺寸,促使其分布更加均匀。在大量Nb稳定的β-Zr第二相存在的情况下,添加的少量Cu会富集在β-Zr第二相中,而不会以Zr_2Cu第二相形式析出。     

Effect of organic chelates on the performance of hybrid sol–gel coated AA 2024-T3 aluminium alloys

Sol–gels are organic–inorganic polymers formed by hydrolysis/condensation reactions of alkoxide precursors, primarily silanes, which have found applications as electronic, optical and protective coatings. These coatings possess important characteristics such as chemical stability, physical strength and scratch resistance. Further performance improvement is achieved through the incorporation of zirconium and titanium based nanoparticles, also formed through the sol–gel process. However due to the inherent difference in the reactivity of the precursors, the hydrolysis of each precursor must be carried out separately before being combined for final condensation. Zirconium precursors are commonly chelated using acetic acids, prior to hydrolysis, to lower the hydrolysis rate.In this body of work various ligands such as organic acids, acetyl acetone (AcAc) and 2,2′-bipyridine (Bipy) were used to control the zirconium hydrolysis reaction and form nanoparticles within the silane sol matrix.Nanoparticle modified coatings formed from the silane sol on AA 2024-T3 aluminium were characterised spectroscopically, electrochemically and calorimetrically to evaluate the potential effect of the different chelates on the final film properties while neutral salt spray tests were performed to study their anti-corrosion performance. Results indicate that the acid ligand modified coatings provided the best performance followed by AcAc, while Bipy was the poorest. In all cases the zirconium nanoparticle improved the protective properties of the sol–gel coating.     

碳热还原氮化锆英石合成ZrN-Si3N4复合材料

以锆英石(粒度≤44μm)和炭黑(粒度≤30μm)为原料,按m(锆英石):m(炭黑)=100:40的比例配料,于球磨罐中以无水乙醇为介质湿混24 h,然后将料浆放入干燥箱中于60℃下充分干燥,再将干燥后的粉料置于球磨罐中干混10 h。最后,将混匀的物料以60 MPa的压力压制成尺寸为20 mm×5 mm的柱状试样,在120℃下充分干燥后置于N2流量为1.0 L.m in-1的气氛炉内,分别在1 400、1 450、1 480和1 500℃的温度下煅烧,保温时间分别为6、9和12 h。自然冷却至室温后,采用XRD分析试样的相组成,采用SEM观察试样的显微结构,并对碳热还原氮化反应过程进行热力学分析。结果表明:以锆英石和炭黑为原料,利用碳热还原氮化反应,在N2气氛下可以合成出ZrN-Si3N4复合材料;通过控制煅烧温度或炉内CO气体分压,可以获得不同组成的复合材料。在本试验条件下,合成ZrN-Si3N4复合材料的适宜工艺参数为1 500℃保温12 h。     

Al-Er-Zr合金的热变形行为及动态析出

通过对Al-0.04Er-0.08Zr合金进行200°C 到450°C 范围内的热压缩测试对该合金的热变形行为进行了研究,在这个过程中利用Arrhenius-type方程进行线性拟合从而分析应力-应变曲线,之后通过透射电镜来观察研究变形组织。结果表明对于固溶态以及时效态合金来讲,在热压缩过程中动态回复是使合金软化的一个主要机制。高温以及低应变速率的热变形会诱导固溶态合金快速析出。动态析出会明显增加固溶态合金在热压缩过程中其表面的流变应力,但是却不能有效提高变形合金的硬度。动态析出还会导致应力-应变曲线拟合出现Arrhenius型偏差。     

锆对铸造3104铝合金微观结构和力学性能的影响

研究了不同锆添加量的3104合金的析出组织和力学性能。结果表明,随着Zr含量的增加,合金晶粒尺寸减小,当Zr质量分数大于或等于0.25%时,合金晶粒最小(20μm)。同时,晶粒形状由羽毛状变为等轴状。此外,Zr还可以通过形成Si相和其它金属间化合物来改善合金中Si和Mn元素的分布。维氏硬度分析表明,Zr的加入会降低Al-Mn-Fe 3104合金的硬度。此外,根据拉伸试验结果,当Zr质量分数不高于0.25%时,随着Zr含量的增加,合金的抗拉伸强度和延伸率都有所提高。适当的Zr含量可以起到钉扎位错和阻碍滑移的作用,提高合金的强度和韧性。     

Zirconium mesostructures immobilized in calcium alginate for phosphate removal

Eutrophication caused by the excessive supply of phosphate to water bodies has been considered as one of the most important environmental problems. In this study, the powder of zirconium mesostructure (ZM), which was prepared with the template of surfactant, was immobilized in calcium alginate for practical application and the resulting material was tested to evaluate the phosphate removal efficiency. Sorption isotherms and kinetic parameters were obtained by using the entrapped ZM beads with 30 to 60% of ZM. The maximum sorption capacity increased with the higher ZM content. Q _max in Langmuir isotherm was 51.74 mg/g for 60% of ZM with 7 mm of size. The smaller the particle size of the ZM beads, the faster the rate of phosphate removal, because the phosphate ions had less distance to reach the internal pores of the immobilized ZM beads. Chemical and electrochemical regeneration techniques were compared. Phosphates adsorbed on the ZM beads were effectively desorbed with NaCl, NaOH, and Na₂SO₄ solutions. An electrochemical regeneration system consisting of an anion exchange membrane between two platinum-coated titanium electrodes was successfully used to desorb and regenerate the phosphate-saturated ZM beads. Complete regeneration was reached under optimal experimental conditions. Chemical and electrochemical regeneration proved the reusability of the bead form of the entrapped ZM, and will enhance the economical performance of the phosphate treatment process.     

Oxidative coupling of methane over promoted strontium chlorapatite

Strontium zirconium phosphate, unpromoted strontium chlorapatite and strontium hydroxyapatite showed low C₂ selectivity for the oxidative coupling of methane, but promoted strontium chlorapatite catalysts showed markedly increased activity and selectivity and also exhibited stable behavior. SrCl₂ was the primary promoter and strontium zirconium oxides were considered to be acting as other promoters, but strontium zirconium phosphate and strontium carbonate seemed to be acting adversely. A promoted strontium chlorapatite catalyst which contained a slightly larger amount of SrCl₂ than needed to form the chlorapatite showed the best performance and was stable up to 50 h at 1,023 K, and the highest C₂₊ selectivity and yield were 52% and 13.8%, respectively. Although SrCl₂ was more stable than NaCl it decomposed slowly during the reaction, leaving strontium oxide or strontium carbonate behind, which is considered to result in slow deactivation of the catalyst.