Effects of Austenite Stabilization on the Onset of Martensite Transformation in T91 Steel

The influences of thermal stabilization of austenitic on the onset temperature for a martensite transformation in T91 ferritic heat-resistant steel were studied by high-resolution differential dilatometer. The phase transformation kinetic information was obtained by adopting lever rule from the recorded dilatometric curves. The results show that an inverse stabilization, featured by the damage of ＂the atmosphere of carbon atoms＂ and the increase of the starting temperature for martensite transformation takes place when the T91 ferritic steel is isothermally treated above the Ms point, and it becomes strong with increasing the holding time. While the continued temperature for martensite transformation decreases gradually when isothermally holding at a temperature below Ms point. The observed inverse stabilization behavior could be attributed to the relatively high temperature of Ms point in the explored T91 ferritic heat-resistant steel.

Preparation of calcium sulfate whiskers from FGD gypsum via hydrothermal crystallization in the H_2SO_4-NaCl-H_2O system

Little attention has thus far been paid to the potential effect of solution composition on the hydrothermal crystallization of calcium sulfate whiskers prepared from flue-gas desulfurization（FGD） gypsum.When purified FGD gypsum was used as raw material,the morphology and phase structure of the hydrothermal products grown in pure water,H2SO4-H2O,NaCl-H2O,and H2SO4-NaCl-H2O solutions as well as the solubility of purified FGD gypsum in these solutions were investigated.The results indicate that calcium sulfate whiskers grow favorably in the H2SO4-NaCl-H2O system.When prepared using 10-70 g NaCl/kg gypsum-0.01 M H2SO4-H2O at 130 ℃ for 60 min,the obtained calcium sulfate whiskers had diameters ranging from 3 to 5 ｜xm and lengths from 200 to 600 ｜xm,and their phase structure was calcium sulfate hemihydrate（HH）.Opposing effects of sulfuric acid and sodium chloride on the solubility of the purified FGD gypsum were observed.With the co-presence of sulfuric acid and sodium chloride in the reaction solution,the concentrations of Ca2＋ and SO42- can be kept relatively stable,which implies that the crystallization of the hydrothermal products can be controlled by changing the concentrations of sulfuric acid and sodium chloride.

A readily monitored and controllable hydrothermal system for the facile,cost-effective transformation of FGD gypsum to calcium sulfate hemihydrate whiskers

The controllable transformation of flue gas desulfurization(FGD)gypsum to calcium sulfate hemihydrate(HH)whiskers under facile,readily monitored,and cost-effective hydrothermal conditions could play a vital role in the preparation of high quality HH whiskers and improve our understanding of the transformation process.This work assessed the conversion of FGD gypsum to HH whiskers in 5×10^(-4)mol/L H_(2)SO_(4)and 1.5 wt%CuCl_(2)at 120℃while determining the effects of temperature as well as H_(2)SO_(4)and CuCl_(2)concentrations on transformation kinetics.The preparation of HH whiskers was found to involve a solution-mediated transformation from the dihydrate(DH)to theα-HH.This transition was determined to proceed via a dissolution crystallization mechanism,the rate of which was controlled by nucleation and growth of the HH whiskers.An autocatalytic kinetic model was established based on variations in the HH whiskers mole fraction over time,and this model accurately fit the experimental data with R2=0.990.Increasing the temperature or H_(2)SO_(4)concentration accelerated the transformation by modifying the super-saturation and water activity in the reaction solution,while increasing the CuCl_(2)concentration had the opposite effect.The hydrothermal conditions had an important effect on the transformation from FGD gypsum to HH whiskers.

Structural characteristic and formation mechanism of hemihydrate calcium sulfate whiskers prepared using FGD gypsum

Hemihydrate calcium sulfate whiskers(HH-CSWs)were hydrothermally synthesized in a sulfuric acid solution at 120℃ for different holding times(20,40,and 60 min).The phase structures and morphologies were characterized by XRD and SEM,respectively.The XRD pattern of the sample under 60 min was refined via the Rietveld fitting method.The structure models of the HH-CSW sample under a 60-min holding time was established based on Rietveld fitting results.No difference in the positions of diffraction peaks was determined.The as-prepared holding time increased the intensity and aspect ratio of the diffraction peaks of both samples.In the prepared HH-CSW structure,Ca-O polyhedron is a 12-sided polyhedron similar to that in the gypsum structure;the Ca atom is located in two positions in the one-unit cell;the H_(2)O channel along the c-axis similar is O-shaped and bigger than that in hexagonal and monoclinic CaSO_(4)·0.5H_(2)O structures.Therefore,although the prepared HH-CSW crystals’structure are similar to that of the reported hexagonal and monoclinic CaSO_(4)·0.5H_(2)O structures,they are not the same.The formation mechanism of HH-CSW from flue gas desulfurization(FGD)gypsum is discussed based on the analysis of gypsum structure.