Dry sliding wear behavior of β-Sialon ceramics at wide range temperature from 25 to 800 °C

The β-Sialons are potential candidates for high temperature application because of their excellent comprehensive performances. However, there is little research about dry sliding wear behavior of β-Sialons at wide range temperature. This study aims at revealing the mechanisms of how temperature, microstructure and mechanical properties affect the tribological properties of such composites. Four kinds of β-Sialons are prepared and their wear properties are characterized from 25 to 800 °C. Results show that β-Sialons have a preferable tribological property at 25 °C, which is ascribed to its excellent mechanical properties. Whereas, with temperature increasing, the wear rate increases two orders of magnitudes compared to 25 °C, owing to the reduced hardness and increased thermal stress of the sample. At 800 °C, the wear rate of composites decreases with z values increasing, which is attributed to the tribo-chemical reaction and generate more Al₂O₃ in β-Sialons with higher z values during sliding process.     

A generalized equation for the prediction of melting temperatures of homopolymers and copolymers

A generalized equation was derived to calculate the melting temperatures of homopolymers and copolymers. The Gibbs‐Thomson equation for homopolymers and a modified application to copolymers were derived using the proposed equation. The melting temperature T_m⁰ in the Flory equation corresponds to the melting temperature T_m^C,∞ of copolymer crystals with stems of infinite length. Also, T_m^C,n*, the melting temperature for copolymer crystals with stems containing the maximum possible number of structural units, n*, should be used instead of T_m⁰ as the basis of supercooling in crystallization. The proposed equation shows good agreement with experimental data for α‐alkene‐ethylene homogeneous copolymers.     

Specific Features of Thermochemical Processes in High‐Temperature Coke of Polymer Composite Materials

The temperature fields in coked layers of polymer composite materials (fiberglass plastics) under hightemperature heating and subsequent cooling in a cold oxidizer flow are experimentally studied. Based on the analysis of experimental data and numerical research, it is shown that exothermal chemical reactions can proceed in the coked layer of fiberglass plastics, which creates conditions for maintaining high temperatures in the compositecoke layer during a rather long time.     

Residual strength of hybrid-fiber-reinforced high-strength concrete after exposure to high temperatures

Residual strengths of high-strength concrete (HSC) and hybrid-fiber-reinforced high-strength concrete (HFRHSC) after exposure to high temperatures were investigated in the paper. The results showed that normal HSC is prone to spalling after exposure to high temperatures, and its first spalling occurs when the temperature approaches 400 °C. For HSC reinforced by high melting point fibers, the first spalling occurs when the temperature reaches to approximately 800 °C, while there is no spalling during exposing to high temperatures for HSC reinforced by polypropylene (PP) fiber with a low melting point. Mixing high melting point fiber (i.e., carbon or steel fiber) with low melting point fiber (i.e., PP fiber) HSC greatly improves the properties of HSC after exposure to high temperatures.     

Effect of calcining temperature on the microstructure and magnetic properties of CuFeO2 multiferroic ceramic

ABSTRACT

Multiferroic ceramic CuFeO₂ has been successfully fabricated by traditional solid-state reaction method under different calcining temperatures. X-ray powder diffraction results show that a higher calcining temperature is beneficial to form single delafossite phase with a hexahedron crystal structure. Raman and scanning electron microscopy results indicate that the proper calcining temperature is favourable to enhance the polarisation strength, grain size and density of samples. Magnetic properties results reveal that all samples exhibit two successive magnetic transitions with decreasing temperature, the corresponding magnetic transition temperature T_N1 and T_N2 are independent on calcining temperature. It is also found that the magnetic state of all samples at T?=?10 and 13?K is weak ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic state but not the antiferromagnetic state in theory. The value of magnetic susceptibility and saturation magnetisation are effectively enhanced by changing calcining temperature. The relationship between the microstructure and magnetic properties of CuFeO₂ system is discussed in this paper.     

Properties of pumice aggregate concretes at elevated temperatures and comparison with ANN models

The mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of concretes including pumice aggregate (PA) exposed to elevated temperature were analyzed by thermal conductivity, compressive strength, flexure strength, dynamic elasticity modulus (DEM) and dry unit weight tests. PA concrete specimens were cast by replacing a varying part of the normal aggregate (0–2 mm) with the PA. All concrete samples were prepared and cured at 23 ± 10C lime saturated water for 28 days. Compressive strength of concretes including PA decreased that reductions were 14, 19, 25 and 34% for 25, 50, 75 and 100% PA, respectively. The maximum thermal conductivity of 1.9382 W/mK was observed with the control samples containing normal aggregate. The tests were carried out by subjecting the samples to a temperature of 0, 100, 200, 300, 400 500, 600 and 700 °C for 3 h, then cooling by air cooling or in water method. The results indicated that all concretes exposed to a temperature of 500 and 700 °C occurred a significant decrease in thermal conductivity, compressive strength, flexure strength and DEM. An artificial neural network (ANN) approach was used to model the thermal and mechanical properties of PA concretes. The predicted values of the ANN were in accordance with the experimental data. The results indicate that the model can predict the concrete properties after elevated temperatures with adequate accuracy. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

EXCESS GIBBS ENERGY FOR THE BINARY MIXTURES OF NITROBENZENE WITH SOME HYDROCARBONS AT 94.95 KPA

Bubble point temperatures at 94.95 kPa, over the entire composition range, are measured for the binary mixtures of nitrobenzene with: cyclohexane, n-hexane, n-heptane, n-decane, and o-, m-, and p-xylenes, using a Swietoslawski-type ebulliometer. Liquid phase composition versus bubble point temperature measurements are well represented by the Wilson model. Computed values of the excess Gibbs energy are presented and discussed.     

Physical and mechanical properties of fly ash-based geopolymer with disposable medical mask reinforcement

A tremendous amount of the nonbiodegradable microplastic waste has been generated after the outbreak of COVID-19 by the widespread use of single-use personal protective equipment, especially disposable medical masks (DMMs). This has caused harm to the health and safety of human beings and various organisms. Finding a way to properly deal with these single-use medical wastes has become an urgent problem. In this paper, an innovative way was explored to use DMMs in geopolymer (GP). The physical properties, mechanical strength, and resistance to high temperatures (200–800°C) of the composites were investigated. The findings of the study revealed that DMMs had negligible influence on resistance to high temperatures, but showed a positive influence on enhancing the compressive and flexural strengths of GPs at ambient temperature. The optimum DMMs content was 0.4 wt%, at which the compressive and flexural strengths of the GP composites were enhanced by 5.8% and 22.68% compared with the pure GP, respectively. The same polypropylene (PP) fiber amount increased compressive and flexural strengths by 7.49% and 9.76%, respectively. This thus confirmed that DMMs can be sustainably utilized in green building materials, playing a role as PP fibers toughening and contributing to the effective management of waste plastics.     

Effect of cooling methods on residual compressive strength and cracking behavior of fly ash concretes exposed at elevated temperatures

This paper presents the effects of cooling methods on residual compressive strength and cracking behavior of concretes containing four different class F fly ash contents of 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% as partial replacement of cement at various elevated temperatures. The residual compressive strength of the aforementioned fly ash concretes is measured after being exposed to 200, 400, 600 and 800 °C temperatures and two different cooling methods, for example, slow cooling and rapid water cooling. Results show that the residual compressive strengths of all fly ash concretes decrease with increase in temperatures irrespective of cooling regimes, which is similar to that of ordinary concrete. Generally, control ordinary concrete and all fly ash concretes exhibited between 10% and 35% more reduction in residual compressive strength because of rapid cooling than slow cooling except few cases. Cracks are observed over concrete specimens after being exposed to temperatures ranging from 400 to 800 °C. Samples that are slowly cooled developed smaller cracks than those rapidly cooled. At 800 °C, all fly ash concretes that are exposed to rapid cooling showed the most severe cracking. X‐ray diffraction analysis shows reduction of Ca(OH)₂ peak and formation of new calcium silicate peak in concretes containing 20% and 40% fly ash when subjected to 800 °C in both cooling methods. Thermo gravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis results show increase in thermal stability of concrete with increase in fly ash contents. The existing Eurocode also predicted the compressive strength of fly ash concretes with reasonable accuracy when subjected to the aforementioned elevated temperatures and cooling methods. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.