Influence of nano-Al_2O_3-reinforced oxide-dispersion-strengthened Cu on the mechanical and tribological properties of Cu-based composites

The mechanical and tribological properties of Cu-based powder metallurgy （P/M） friction composites containing 10wt%-50wt% oxide-dispersion-strengthened （ODS） Cu reinforced with nano-Al2O3 were investigated. Additionally, the friction and wear behaviors as well as the wear mechanism of the Cu-based composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy （SEM） in conjunction with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （EDS） elemental mapping. The results indicated that the Cu-based friction composite containing 30wt% ODS Cu exhibited the highest hardness and shear strength. The average and instantaneous friction coefficient curves of this sample, when operated in a high-speed train at a speed of 300 km/h, were similar to those of a commercial disc brake pad produced by Knorr-Bremse AG （Germany）. Additionally, the lowest linear wear loss of the obtained samples was （0.008 ± 0.001） mm per time per face, which is much lower than that of the Knorr-Bremse pad （（0.01 ± 0.001） mm）. The excellent performance of the developed pad is a consequence of the formation of a dense oxide composite layer and its close combination with the pad body.

Tungsten nanoparticle-strengthened copper composite prepared by a sol–gel method and in-situ reaction

Tungsten nanoparticle-strengthened Cu composites were prepared from nanopowder synthesized by a sol–gel method and in-situ hydrogen reduction.The tungsten particles in the Cu matrix were well-dispersed with an average size of approximately 100–200 nm.The addition of nanosized W particles remarkably improves the mechanical properties,while the electrical conductivity did not substantially decrease.The Cu–W composite with 6 wt%W has the most comprehensive properties with an ultimate strength of 310 MPa,yield strength of 238 MPa,hardness of HV 108 and electrical conductivity of 90%IACS.The enhanced mechanical property and only a small loss of electrical conductivity demonstrate the potential of this new strategy to prepare W nanoparticle-strengthened Cu composites.

Plasma preparation and low-temperature sintering of spherical TiC –Fe composite powder

A spherical Fe matrix composite powder containing a high volume fraction （82vo1%） of fine TiC reinforcement was produced using a novel process combining in situ synthesis and plasma techniques. The composite powder exhibited good sphericity and a dense structure, and the fine sub-micron TiC particles were homogeneously distributed in the α-Fe matrix. A TiC-Fe cermet was prepared from the as-prepared spherical composite powder using powder metallurgy at a low sintering temperature; the product exhibited a hardness of HRA 88.5 and a flexural strength of 1360 MPa. The grain size of the fine-grained TiC and special surface structure of the spherical powder played the key roles in the fabrication process.

Near-net shape processing of spherical high Nb-TiAl alloy powder by gelcasting

Spherical Ti-45A1-8.5Nb-（W,B,Y） alloy powder prepared by an argon plasma process was near-net shape by gelcasting. In the non-aqueous system, methaerylate-2-hydroxy ethyl, toluene, benzoyl peroxide, and N,N-dimethylaniline were used as the monomer, solvent, initiator, and catalyst, respectively. To improve sintering and forming behaviors, many additives were included in the suspension. The concentrated suspension with a solid loading of 70vo1% was prepared. The high Nb-TiA1 powder was analyzed by electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. It was found that the green bodies had a smooth surface and homogeneous microstructure, exhibiting a bending strength as high as 50 MPa. After sintering at 1480℃ for 2 h in vacuum, uniform complex-shaped high Nb-TiA1 parts were successfully produced.

Synthesis and characterization of Fe_3O_4@SiO_2 magnetic composite nanoparticles by a one-pot process

Fe3O4@SiO2 core–shell composite nanoparticles were successfully prepared by a one-pot process. Tetraethyl-orthosilicate was used as a surfactant to synthesize Fe3O4@SiO2 core–shell structures from prepared Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The properties of the Fe3O4 and Fe3O4@SiO2 composite nanoparticles were studied by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The prepared Fe3O4 particles were approximately 12 nm in size, and the thickness of the SiO2 coating was approximately 4 nm. The magnetic properties were studied by vibrating sample magnetometry. The results show that the maximum saturation magnetization of the Fe3O4@SiO2 powder（34.85 A·m^2·kg^–1） was markedly lower than that of the Fe3O4 powder（79.55 A·m^2·kg^–1）, which demonstrates that Fe3O4 was successfully wrapped by SiO2. The Fe3O4@SiO2 composite nanoparticles have broad prospects in biomedical applications; thus, our next study will apply them in magnetic resonance imaging.

In situ fabrication and properties of Al N dispersion strengthened 2024 aluminum alloy

Nanoscaled aluminum nitride （AlN） dispersion strengthened 2024 aluminum alloy was fabricated using a novel approach in which Al-Mg-Cu compacts were partially nitrided in flowing nitrogen gas. The compacts were subsequently consolidated by sintering and hot extrusion. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the material were preliminarily investigated. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction results revealed that AlN particles were generated by the nitridation of Al-Mg-Cu compacts. The material exhibited excellent mechanical properties after hot extrusion and heat treatment. The ultimate tensile and yield strengths of the extruded samples containing 8.92vol% AlN with the T6 heat treatment were 675 and 573 MPa, respectively.

Small-angle neutron scattering study on the stability of oxide nanoparticles in long-term thermally aged 9Cr-oxide dispersion strengthened steel

A 9 Cr-oxide dispersion strengthened(ODS)steel was thermally aged at 873 K for up to 5000 h.The size distribution and chemical composition of the dispersed oxide nanoparticles were analyzed by small-angle neutron scattering under a magnetic field.Combined with transmission electron microscopy,Vickers micro-hardness tests and electron backscattered diffraction measurements,all the results showed that the thermal treatment had little or no effect on the size distributions and volume fractions of the oxide nanoparticles in the ferromagnetic matrix,which suggested excellent thermal stability of the 9 Cr-ODS steel.

Microstructure evolution and performance improvement of powder metallurgy stainless steel with P addition

P-containing 316L stainless steel was prepared by powder metallurgy technology using gas atomized alloy powder and phosphorus-iron alloy powder as raw materials.P addition was beneficial to sintering densification.With 0.6 wt.%P addition,the density increased from 7.60 to 7.82 g/cm^(3).In such case,the samples with 0.6 wt.%P addition should be sintered at a lower temperature of 1200℃.Otherwise,there were coarse grain boundary precipitates,which would seriously deteriorate the performance of stainless steel.In the case of suppressing the formation of coarse precipitates,appropriate P content had a beneficial effect on apparent morphology,hardness and strength of stainless steel.When 316L-0.6 wt.%P sample was sintered at 1200℃,the hardness and tensile strength were increased to 86.3 HRB and 672.8 MPa,respectively,and the elongation still reached 38.1%.Besides,it also had good corrosion resistance.

Preparation of spherical tungsten and titanium powders by RF induction plasma processing

Spherical tungsten and titanium powders were prepared by radio frequency inductively coupled plasma torch with irregular shaped tungsten and titanium hydride （TiH2） powders, respectively. The effect of the feed rate on spheroidization efficiency was investigated. The phase composition, oxygen content, morphology, and particle size distribution of the powders before and after spheroidization were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, nitrogen/oxygen analyzer, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, and laser micron sizer （LMS）. The results show that both kinds of plasma-processed powders have good dispersity, smooth surface, and single phase. A maximum of 100 % of spheroidization efficiency can be achieved at a lower feed rate. The spherical titanium powder obtained by the plasma treatment consists of particles with mean diameter of 33.34 gin, while the mean diameter of ori- ginal Till2 powder is 136.56 μm. The apparent density and flowability of the spherical tungsten powder are 6.3 g.cm-3 and 0.16 s.g-1, respectively. The apparent density and flowability of the spherical titanium powder are 2.8 g.cm-3 and 0.52 s.g-1, respectively. With the increase of the feed rate, the sphemidization efficiency of raw powders drops gradually.

Finite element analysis of stress corrosion cracking for copper in an ammoniacal solution

Finite element analyses including a cohesive zone model （CZM） were conducted to investigate the role of corrosion product films （CPFs） in stress corrosion cracking （SCC） for copper in an ammoniacal solution. It is found that a tensile CPF-induced stress generates near the interface between the CPF and the copper substrate at the substrate side in front of the notch tip for a U-shaped edgenotched specimens. The CPF-induced stress is superimposed on the applied stress to enhance emission and motion of dislocations. The peak opening stress （S11） increases with an increase in CPF thickness and a decrease in CPF Young＇s modulus. Damage mechanics based on the CZM was applied to study the stress corrosion crack initiation and propagation by analyzing the stress redistributions and load-displacement curves. The results show that the crack initiates first in the CPF and then propagates to the copper substrate. The fracture strain of the specimen covered a CPF is lower than that without a CPF. Based on the simulation results, the mechanism of the CPF-induced SCC, which promoted the initiation and propagation of the stress corrosion cracks, was discussed.

Mechanical properties of WC–Co coatings with different decarburization levels

In this study, two kinds of WC-Co coatings with different decarburization levels were deposited by high-velocity oxy-fuel（HVOF） spraying using the ultrafine WC-Co composite powder and commercial micronsized powder, respectively. The hardness and elastic modulus were measured on the top surface and cross sections of the prepared coatings by the nanoindentation method. The results show that the ultrafine-structured coating has much higher density and inhibited decarburization than the conventional coating, which thus results in higher hardness and elastic modulus values than the micronsized coating. The wear resistance of thermal-sprayed cermet coatings greatly depends on the cross-sectional hardness and elastic modulus which reflects the bond strength between splats to some extent. Based on the analysis, a better understanding of the microstructure and properties in cermet coating materials was obtained.

Fabrication and mechanical properties of high-performance aluminum alloy

High-performance Al-Cu-Mg alloy was fabri- cated by high-energy ball milling, sintering, and hot extrusion. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the material were preliminarily investigated. Results show that the formation of liquid phase during sintering pro- motes the densification of the aluminum powders. A 97.1% theoretical density is achieved in this alloy after sintering. The material shows excellent mechanical prop- erties after extrusion and heat treatment. The ultimate tensile strength and yield strength of the extruded samples with heat treatment are 613 and 465 MPa, respectively.

Microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of in situ TiB_2/Al composites under high-intensity ultrasound

Microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of in situ TiB2/A1 composites fabricated with exothermic reaction process under high-intensity ultra- sound produced by the magnetostrictive transducer were investigated. In this method, the microstructure and grain refining performance of the TiB2/A1 composites were characterized by optical morphology （OM）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, energy-dispersive spec- trometer （EDS）, and X-ray diffraction （XRD） analysis. Microstructural observations show a decreasing trend in the grain size of the composites due to the ultrasound and the content of TiB2 particles in the composites. Compared with the process without ultrasound, the morphology and ag- glomeration of TiB2 particles are improved by high-in- tensity ultrasound. Meanwhile, it is proposed that the formation of TiBz particles occurs via the transformation from TiA13, and at the optimal amount of the reactants, the conversion efficiency of TiA13 into TiB2 almost reaches up to 100 %. Finally, the effects of high-intensity ultrasound and TiB2 particles on the mechanical properties of the TiB2/A1 composites were also discussed.

Preparation and characterization of silicone-oil-based γ-Fe2O3 magnetic fluid

In this study, silicone-oil-based γ-Fe2O3 mag- netic fluid was successfully prepared by thermal oxidizing of Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles, which were prepared by chemical co-precipitation with FeSO4-7H2O and FeCl3- 6H2O, and their surface was modified by oleate ligands. Silicone oil was used as carrier liquid and oleic acid was as surfactant for preparing γ-Fe2O3 magnetic fluid. It is found that the Fe3O4 nanoparticles surrounded by oleate ligands are not damaged during the thermal oxidizing. The shape of γ-Fe2O3 magnetic nanoparticles prepared is similar to spherical, and their mean size is about 10-20 nm, which has nothing obvious difference compared with Fe3O4. Thesaturation magnetization of γ-Fe2O3 magnetic fluid pre-pared is 14.25 A.me.kg-1 and that of γ-Fe2O3 nanoparti-cles is 57.56 A.m2.kg-1. The needle of γ-Fe2O3 magneticfluid is much bigger than that of Fe3O4 magnetic fluidunder the same magnetic field, which shows better mag-netic properties.

Gelcasting of titanium hydride to fabricate low-cost titanium

In this work, low-cost titanium was fabricated by gelcasting of titanium hydride powder. The effects of morphology and grain composition of powder raw material and solid loading on the rheological behavior of gelcasting slurry were studied. The degreasing, dehydriding and sintering behaviors of gelcasted green body were investigated by differential thermal analysis （DTA） and dilatometer. The results show that the solid loading of titanium hydride slurry reaches 50 vol%. Combination of dehydriding and sintering in one process accelerates the densification, and the relative sintered density of the final part achieves 96.5 %. In order to test the ability of gelcasting process for fabricating structural materials, a resin handle produced by 3D printing technology was used as a model and a titanium handle was successfully fabricated. Higher solid loading and better sinterability of titanium hydride powder promote manufacture of bulk titanium with high relative density, complex shape and well-defined microstructure.

Preparation of TiAl alloy powder by high-energy ball milling and diffusion reaction at low temperature

In this paper, TiAl alloy powders were prepared successfully by high-energy ball milling and diffusion reaction in vacuum at low temperature. The titanium powder, aluminum powder, and titanium hydride powder were used as raw materials. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, X-ray diffraction（XRD）, field-emission scanning electron microscopy（FESEM）, and differential thermal analysis（DTA）. The results show that the alloy powders with the main intermetallic compounds of TiAl are obtained using Ti-Al powders and TiH2-Al powders after heated for 2 h at 500 ℃,3 h at 600 ℃,and 3 h at 750 ℃,respectively.The average grain sizes of alloy powder are about 45 and20 μm with irregular shape, respectively. The prepared TiAl alloy powders are relatively pure, and the average quality content of oxygen in the alloy powders is0.33 wt%. The forming process of alloy powder contains both the diffusion reaction of Ti and Al,which gives priority to the diffusion reaction of aluminum.

Microstructure and Nano-hardness of Pure Copper and ODS Copper Alloy under Au Ions Irradiation at Room Temperature

The microstructure and nano-hardness of the pure copper and oxide dispersion-strengthened（ODS） copper alloy subjected to 1.4 Me V Au ions irradiation at room temperature were investigated. After irradiation, dislocation-loops form in both materials, while voids can only be generated in the pure copper. Compared with the irradiated pure copper, larger average diameter and lower number density of irradiation-induced dislocation-loops were detected in the ODS copper alloy, revealing that high-density dislocation and large volume of Al2O3 particles existing in the ODS copper alloy can act as effective sinks for the irradiation-induced defects. It was also detected that irradiation hardening in the ODS copper alloy is lower than that in the pure copper. The microstructure and nano-hardness results reveal that the ODS copper alloy has a better irradiation tolerance than the pure copper. In addition, the average diameter of the Al2O3 particles in the ODS copper alloy decreases after irradiation, because the Al–O chemical bonds are decomposed and the atoms are redistributed in the matrix during the irradiation process. This work reveals that the irradiation tolerance of the copper can be effectively enhanced by adding nano-sized Al2O3 particles into the matrix.

Microstructure and magnetic properties of Nd-Fe-B sintered magnets with P addition

In this paper,the effects of P doping on magnetic properties and microstructure were studied in Nd-Fe-B sintered magnets.With P doping,the grain size gets refined and the distribution of the main phase is optimized due to the reduction of the liquidus temperature.The liquidus temperature for the 0.05 wt% P-doped magnets is 1022 K,while that for the P-free magnets is 1038 K.As P content increases,the liquidus temperature significantly decreases.Clear and continuous grain boundary phases are formed in the P-containing magnets with smaller grain size.The optimized microstructure with average grain size of 8.43 μm is obtained in the 0.05 wt% P-doped magnets,which is approximately 0.69 μm smaller than that of P-free sintered magnets (9.12 μm).Though P is usually thought to be an impurity element,it might be beneficial in Nd-Fe-B sintered magnets with proper addition.The coercivity of the 0.05 wt% P-doped magnets could be increased to 1283 kA·m-1,with slight changes of the remanence and the maximum magnetic energy product.NdPO4 phases in the grain boundary are of hexagonal structure,while those at the triple junctions have monoclinic structure.Activated sintering is achieved by doping proper P element in the Nd-Fe-B sintered magnets.