Spark Plasma Sintering of Boron Carbide Using Ti_(3)SiC_(2) as a Sintering Additive

Boron carbide has unique properties for wide application possibilities;however,poor sinterability limits its applications.One approach to overcome this limitation is the addition of secondary phases into boron carbide.Boron carbide based composite ceramics are produced by the direct addition of secondary phases into the structure or via reactive sintering using a sintering additive.The present study investigated the effect of Ti_(3)SiC_(2) addition to boron carbide by reactive spark plasma sintering in the range of 1700-1900℃.Ti_(3)SiC_(2) phase decomposed at high temperatures and reacted with B4C to form secondary phases of TiB2 and SiC.The results demonstrated that the increase of Ti_(3)SiC_(2) addition(up to 15 vol%)effectively promoted the densification of B4C and yielded higher hardness.However,as the amount of Ti_(3)SiC_(2) increased further,the formation of microstructural inhomogeneity and agglomeration of secondary phases caused a decrease in hardness.

Effect of Sintering Temperature on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Nanocrystalline Cemented Carbide

WC-Co nanocrystalline nitrogen-containing cemented carbides were prepared by vacuum sintering and low pressure sintering.The sintering processes of Cr_(2)(C,N)doped nano WC-Co powders were studied by using thermogravimetric analysis(TGA)and differential scanning calorimetry(DSC).The effect of sintering temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties of nanocrystalline cemented carbide was studied by scanning electron microscope(SEM),high resolution transmission electron microscope(HRTEM)and mechanical property test.The results showed that the nano WC grains began to grow in the solid phase sintering stage.A high-performance nano-nitrogen-containing cemented carbide with uniform microstructure and good interfacial bonding can be obtained by increasing the sintering temperature to 1380℃.It has a transverse rupture strength(TRS)of 5057 MPa and a hardness of 1956 HV30.

Comparative Study on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Coarse-grained WC-based Cemented Carbides Sintered with Ultrafine WC or (W+C) as Additives

The effects of ultrafine WC(WC_(UF),0.5μm) or W(1μm) and C(0.3μm)(W+C)_(UF) additives on the densification,microstructure and mechanical properties of coarse-grained cemented carbides were compared systematically.Overall,the cemented carbides with WC_(UF)/(W+C)_(UF) additives are almost fully densification to be higher than 99%,and the average grain size is kept above 2.8μm.The WC_(UF) additive assists grains to(truncated)trigonal prism shape by two dimensional(2D) growth,whereas the(W+C)_(UF) additive assists grains to rounded shape by three dimensional(3D) growth,lowers WC contiguity and increases face-centered-cubic Co.The hardness and bending strength of(75WC_(C)-15WC_(UF))-10Co are 86.6 HRA and 2 272 MPa,respectively,both higher than those of(75WC_(C)-15(W+C)_(UF))-10Co,which could be ascribed to the enhanced densification and unblemished grains.However,the fracture toughness of the(75WC_(C)-15(W+C)_(UF))-10Co is 23.5 MPa·m^(1/2),higher than that of the(75WC_(C)-15WC_(UF))-10Co due to the uniform WC-Co structure and flexible binder phase.

Preparation and Analysis of Carbon Fiber-Silicon Carbide Thermally Conductive Asphalt Concrete

An experimental investigation into the thermal conductivity of CF-SiC two-phase composite asphalt concrete is presented.The main objective of this study was to verify the possibility of using SiC powder instead of mineral powder as the thermal conductive filler to prepare a new type of asphalt concrete and improve the efficiency of electrothermal snow and ice melting systems accordingly.The thermal conductivity of asphalt concrete prepared with different thermally conductive fillers was tested by a transient plane source method,and the related performances were measured.Then the temperature rise rate and surface temperature were studied through field heating tests.Finally,the actual ice melting efficiency of the thermally conductive asphalt concrete was evaluated using an effective electrothermal system.As shown by the experimental results,the composite made of SiC powder and carbon fiber has a high thermal conductivity.When SiC replaces mineral powder,the thermal conductivity of the asphalt mixture increases first and then decreases with the increase of carbon fiber content.In the present study,in particular,the thermal conductivity attained a peak when the carbon fiber content was 0.2%of the aggregate mass.

Research on Silicon Carbide Dispersion-Reinforced Hypereutectic Aluminum-Silicon Electronic Packaging Materials

The objective of this study is to improve the mechanical properties and machining performance of high thermal conductivity and low expansion silicon carbide dispersion-strengthened hypereutectic aluminum-silicon electronic packaging materials to meet the needs of aviation,aerospace,and electronic packaging fields.We used the powder metallurgy method and high-temperature hot pressing technology to prepare SiC/Al-Si composite materials with different SiC contents(5vol%,10vol%,15vol%,and 20vol%).The results showed that as the SiC content increased,the tensile strength of the composite material first increased and then decreased.The tensile strength was the highest when the SiC content was 15%;the sintering temperature significantly affected the composite material’s structural density and mechanical properties.Findings indicated 700℃was the optimal sintering and the optimal SiC content of SiC/Al-Si composite materials was between 10%and 15%.Besides,the sintering temperature should be strictly controlled to improve the material’s structural density and mechanical properties.

Application of silicon carbide temperature monitors in 49-2 swimming-pool test reactor

High purity SiC crystal was used as a passive monitor to measure neutron irradiation temperature in the 49-2 research reactor.The SiC monitors were irradiated with fast neutrons at elevated temperatures to 3.2×10^(20)n/cm^(2).The isochronal and isothermal annealing behaviors of the irradiated SiC were investigated by x-ray diffraction and four-point probe techniques.Invisible point defects and defect clusters are found to be the dominating defect types in the neutron-irradiated SiC.The amount of defect recovery in SiC reaches a maximum value after isothermal annealing for 30 min.Based on the annealing temperature dependences of both lattice swelling and material resistivity,the irradiation temperature of the SiC monitors is determined to be~410℃,which is much higher than the thermocouple temperature of 275℃ recorded during neutron irradiation.The possible reasons for the difference are carefully discussed.

Spectroscopic characterization of chain-to-ring structural evolution in platinum carbide clusters

Metal carbides play an important role in catalysis and functional materials.However,the structural characterization of metal carbide clusters has been proven to be a challenging experimental target due to the difficulty in size selection.Here we use the size-specific photoelectron velocity-map imaging spectroscopy to study the structures and properties of platinum carbide clusters.Quantum chemical calculations are carried out to identify the structures and to assign the experimental spectra.The results indicate that the cluster size of the chain-to-ring structural evolution for the PtC_(n)^(-)anions occurs at n=14,whereas that for the PtC_(n) neutrals at n=10,revealing a significant effect of charge on the structures of metal carbides.The greatest importance of these building blocks is the strong preference of the Pt atom to expose in the outer side of the chain or ring,exhibiting the active sites for catalyzing potential reactions.These findings provide unique spectroscopic snapshots for the formation and growth of platinum carbide clusters and have important implications in the development of related single-atom catalysts with isolated metal atoms dispersed on supports.

Unveiling phonon frequency-dependent mechanism of heat transport across stacking fault in silicon carbide

Stacking faults(SFs)are often present in silicon carbide(SiC)and affect its thermal and heat-transport properties.However,it is unclear how SFs influence thermal transport.Using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics and lattice dynamics simulations,we studied phonon transport in SiC materials with an SF.Compared to perfect SiC materials,the SF can reduce thermal conductivity.This is caused by the additional interface thermal resistance(ITR)of SF,which is difficult to capture by the previous phenomenological models.By analyzing the spectral heat flux,we find that SF reduces the contribution of low-frequency(7.5 THz-12 THz)phonons to the heat flux,which can be attributed to SF reducing the phonon lifetime and group velocity,especially in the low-frequency range.The SF hinders phonon transport and results in an effective interface thermal resistance around the SF.Our results provide insight into the microscopic mechanism of the effect of defects on heat transport and have guiding significance for the regulation of the thermal conductivity of materials.

High-pressure and high-temperature sintering of pure cubic silicon carbide:A study on stress-strain and densification

Silicon carbide(SiC)is a high-performance structural ceramic material with excellent comprehensive properties,and is unmatched by metals and other structural materials.In this paper,raw SiC powder with an average grain size of 5μm was sintered by an isothermal-compression process at 5.0 GPa and 1500?C;the maximum hardness of the sintered samples was31.3 GPa.Subsequently,scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the microscopic morphology of the recovered SiC samples treated in a temperature and extended pressure range of 0-1500?C and 0-16.0 GPa,respectively.Defects and plastic deformation in the SiC grains were further analyzed by transmission electron microscopy.Further,high-pressure in situ synchrotron radiation x-ray diffraction was used to study the intergranular stress distribution and yield strength under non-hydrostatic compression.This study provides a new viewpoint for the sintering of pure phase micron-sized SiC particles.

Influence of band microstructure on carbide precipitation behavior and toughness of 1 GPa-grade ultra-heavy gauge low-alloy steel

This study investigated the influence of band microstructure induced by centerline segregation on carbide precipitation behavior and toughness in an 80 mm-thick 1 GPa low-carbon low-alloy steel plate.The quarter-thickness(1/4t)and half-thickness(1/2t)regions of the plate exhibited similar ductility and toughness after quenching.After tempering,the 1/4t region exhibited~50%and~25%enhancements in both the total elongation and low-temperature toughness at-40°C,respectively,without a decrease in yield strength,whereas the toughness of the 1/2t region decreased by~46%.After quenching,both the 1/4t and 1/2t regions exhibited lower bainite and lath martensite concentrations,but only the 1/2t region exhibited microstructure bands.Moreover,the tempered 1/4t region featured uniformly dispersed short rod-like M_(23)C_(6)carbides,and spherical MC precipitates with diameters of~20–100 nm and<20 nm,respectively.The uniformly dispersed nanosized M_(23)C_(6)carbides and MC precipitates contributed to the balance of high strength and high toughness.The band microstructure of the tempered 1/2t region featured a high density of large needle-like M3C carbides.The length and width of the large M3C carbides were~200–500 nm and~20–50 nm,respectively.Fractography analysis revealed that the high density of large carbides led to delamination cleavage fracture,which significantly deteriorated toughness.

Speeding up the prediction of C-O cleavage through bond valence and charge on iron carbides

The activation of CO on iron-based materials is a key elementary reaction for many chemical processes.We investigate CO adsorption and dissociation on a series of Fe,Fe_(3)C,Fe_(5)C_(2),and Fe_(2)C catalysts through density functional theory calculations.We detect dramatically different performances for CO adsorption and activation on diverse surfaces and sites.The activation of CO is dependent on the local coordination of the molecule to the surface and on the bulk phase of the underlying catalyst.The bulk properties and the different local bonding environments lead to varying interactions between the adsorbed CO and the surface and thus yielding different activation levels of the C-O bond.We also examine the prediction of CO adsorption on different types of Fe-based catalysts by machine learning through linear regression models.We combine the features originating from surfaces and bulk phases to enhance the prediction of the activation energies and perform eight different linear regressions utilizing the feature engineering of polynomial representations.Among them,a ridge linear regression model with2nd-degree polynomial feature generation predicted the best CO activation energy with a mean absolute error of 0.269 eV.

Steam Oxidation Resistance Comparison of Several Silicon Carbide Refractories at Elevated Temperatures

The oxidation tests of different SiC refractories including Si3N4-SiC bricks,Si3N4-Si2N2O-SiC bricks from China(SNO-1),Si3N4-Si2N2O-SiC bricks from overseas(SNO-2),SiAlON-SiC bricks,oxides bonded SiC bricks,self-bonded SiC bricks as well as SiC castables were carried out in the steam atmosphere(1 000 ℃,32 kg·m-3·h-1)for different durations(100,200,300,400 and 500 h).The mass,the volume,the bulk density and the apparent porosity before and after the oxidation were tested.The XRD and SEM analyses were conducted.The results indicate that:(1)under the steam atmosphere condition(1 000 ℃,32 kg·m-3·h-1),as the oxidation time increases from 0 to 500 h,the volume and the mass of the silicon carbide refractories increase,while the bulk density decreases;in terms of the apparent porosity,oxides bonded SiC bricks and SiC castables present an increasing trend,Si3N4-SiC bricks,SiAlON-SiC bricks and self-bonded SiC bricks present an increasing trend first and then a decreasing trend,and Si3N4-Si2N2O-SiC bricks present a decreasing trend or a trend of decreasing first and then increasing;(2)as for Si3N4-Si2N2O-SiC bricks,SNO-1 and SNO-2 have basically the same chemical and phase composition,SNO-2 has the lower mass change rate than SNO-1 during oxidation from 200-500 h,which indicates that SNO-2 has the better steam oxidation resistance than SNO-1.

Development and Application of Multi-phase Nitrides Bonded Silicon Carbide Lintel Blocks for Dry Quenching Furnaces

Multi-phase nitrides bonded silicon carbide lintel blocks were prepared using industrial SiC(SiC≥98 mass%,3-0.5,≤0.5 and≤0.044 mm),Si powder(Si≥98 mass%,≤0.044 mm),and SiO2 micropowder(SiO2≥96 mass%,d50=0.15 pm)as raw materials,and calcium lignosulfonate as the additive,batching,mixing,and molding on a vibration pressure molding machine,drying and then firing at 1420℃for 10 h in high-purity N2.The apparent porosity,the bulk density,the cold modulus of rupture,the hot modulus of rupture,and the linear expansion coefficient of the samples were tested.The phase composition and the microstructure of the samples at different nitriding depths(50,100,and 150 mm)were analyzed by XRD and SEM.The field application effects of the blocks were studied.The results show that:(1)the multi-phase nitrides bonded silicon carbide refractories can dynamically adjust their own phase composition and minimize structural and thermal stresses,improving the service life of key parts of dry quenching furnaces;(2)calcium lignosulfonate can improve the nitriding micro-environment of multi-phase nitrides bonded silicon carbide lintel blocks,successfully increasing the effective nitriding thickness of the blocks to 300 mm;(3)Sinosteel LI RR provides a unique concept in the design of materials and block types as well as the stable and scientific overall structure,promoting the industrialization process of dry quenching furnaces with long service life in China.

Sintering Densification of Boron Carbide Materials and Their Research Progress

Boron carbide(B_(4)C)has excellent high-temperature oxidation resistance,high hardness,low relative density,high melting point and excellent abrasive resistance,which is widely used in fields such as refractories,wear-resistant materials and lightweight protective materials.The research progress and application of B_(4)C materials in China and overseas in recent years were summarized.The influences of sintering processes(pressureless sintering,hot-pressing sintering,hot isostatic pressing sintering,spark plasma sintering and microwave sintering)and sintering additives(simple substances,oxides and carbides)on the B_(4)C densification were analyzed.The development of B_(4)C materials was prospected.

Mesoporous molybdenum carbide for greatly enhanced hydrogen evolution at high current density and its mechanism studies

Currently the catalysis of hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)is mainly focused on the inherent electrocatalytic activity at relatively lower current densities while scarce at high current densities.Nevertheless,the latter is highly demanding in efficient mass-production of hydrogen.A SiO_(2) nanospheres template-synthesis is used to prepare mesoporous molybdenum carbide nanocrystals-embedded nitrogen-doped carbon foams(mp-Mo_(2)C/NC).The material shows much more excellent catalytic activity than the non-etched Mo_(2)C/NC toward hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)in acidic medium.More interestingly mp-Mo_(2)C/NC still has larger overpotential than Pt/C at lower current densities,but possess remarkably smaller overpotential than the latter at higher current densities for much better electrocatalytic performance.An approach is developed to investigate the electrode kinetics by Tafel plots,especially with eliminating the diffusion effect,indicating that Pt/C and mp-Mo_(2)C/NC display different reaction mechanisms.At low current densities the former presents reversible reaction,while the latter shows mixed electrochemical polarization/reversible electrode process.In the region of higher current densities,the former becomes totally gas-diffusion controlled with large overpotential,while the latter can still retain an electrode polarization process for much lower overpotential at the same current density.Result endorses that the meso-porously structured mp-Mo_(2)C/NC plays a critical role in avoiding gas diffusion control-resulting large overpotential at high current densities.This work holds great potential for an inexpensive catalyst better than Pt/C in practical applications of mass-production hydrogen at high current densities,while clearly shedding fundamental lights on designs of rational HER catalysts for the uses at high current densities.

Carbides Formation in MarM247 Directional Solidified during Stress-Rupture Test at High Temperature

In our study, stress-rupture tests were conducted at elevated temperatures to examine the impact of high temperature on MarM247 LC (low carbon). Our main objective was to investigate the alterations in the microstructure, particularly the carbon precipitation, during long-term stress-rupture tests. It was observed that cracks developed near the sample neck, following the path of the carbides and the gamma matrix, rather than occurring in the gamma-gamma prime eutectic. This occurred despite the formation of carbides because of prolonged exposure to high temperature and load, and the crack propagation did not follow that path. Based on these findings, we suggest that a reduction in the carbon content of Mar-M247 LC can enhance the sample's lifespan when subjected to temperatures below 760˚C and a stress of 690 MPa.

Development of calcium coke for CaC2 production using calcium carbide slag and coking coal

A type of calcium coke was developed for use in the oxy-thermal process of calcium carbide production.The calcium coke was prepared by the co-pyrolysis of coking coal and calcium carbide slag, which is a solid waste generated from the chlor-alkali industry.The characteristics of the calcium cokes under different conditions were analyzed experimentally and theoretically.The results show that the thermal strength of calcium coke increased with the increase in the coking coal proportion, and the waterproof property of calcium coke also increased with increased carbonation time.The calcium coke can increase the contact area of calcium and carbon in the calcium carbide production process.Furthermore, the pore structure of the calcium coke can enhance the diffusion of gas inside the furnace, thus improving the efficiency of the oxy-thermal technology.

Fabrication and Pressureless Sintering of Silicon Carbide Refractories

This work studies the fabrication and pressureless sintering of silicon carbide(SiC)refractories.SiC particles were adopted as aggregates,introducing different amounts(20%,30%,40%,50%,and 60%,by mass)of submicron SiC powder,adding resin as the binder and the carbon source,and B4C as the sintering aid.It is found that when the mass ratio of B4C to the submicron SiC powder is 3%,the optimal sintering can be obtained.With the increase of the submicron powder addition,the sintering linear shrinkage increases and the mechanical properties enhance.The optimal sintering temperature is 2050-2100℃.

Influence of the M and M’Metals on the Carbides Population in As-Cast M’-based Alloys Designed to be MC-Strengthened

High temperature applications such as turbine blades for aeronautics or molten glass-shaping tools require the use of refractory metallic materials.Among the later ones,cast superalloys based on some transition metals and reinforced by MC carbides stay in good place and their metallurgy merits to be well known.This work consists in a general exploration of the as-cast microstructures which can be obtained after solidification and solid state cooling down to ambient temperature for a wide series of alloys for which the base element and the MC-former element both vary.For fixed contents in chromium and carbon contents,the compositions of a total of nineteen alloys were considered.These alloys are based on Ni,Co,Fe or Nb and the M content was each time chosen to favor the appearance of TiC,TaC,NbC,HfC or ZrC,as single carbide in a given alloy.After elaboration,metallographic samples were observed by electron microscopy to investigate the obtained microstructures.The obtained results show first that the MC carbides were in many cases successfully obtained at the expense of other possible carbides(for all Co-based alloys for example)but there are also several exceptions(notably for some Nibased alloys).Second,the obtained monocarbides have a eutectic origin and they are script-liked shaped.However they are here too some exceptions,as the rare HfC obtained in a Nb-base).In general,the results obtained in this work show that the principle of dendritic matrix combined with MC carbides with a script-like morphology is not necessarily obtained:the nature of the{base element,MC-former element}combination governs the microstructure of the alloy in its as-cast state for these particular compositions in chromium and carbon.In some cases other carbides may appear and the microstructures may be even of another type.

Laser cladding in-situ carbide particle reinforced Fe-based composite coatings with rare earth oxide addition

Particulate reinforced metal matrix composite(PR-MMC) has excellent properties such as good wear resistance,corrosion resistance and high temperature properties.Laser cladding is usually used to form PR-MMC on metal surface with various volume fractions of ceramic particles.Recent literatures showed that laser melting of powder mixture containing carbon and carbide-forming elements,was favorable for the formation of in-situ synthesized carbide particles.In this paper,rare earth oxide(RE2O3) was added into the clad powder mixture to investigate the effects of RE2O3 on the in-situ carbide particle formation in Fe-based composite coatings.Through the analysis using scanning electron microscope(SEM),energy-dispersive spectroscopy(EDS) and transmission electron microscope(TEM),it was revealed that:(1) Adding RE2O3 to the Fe-based powder mixture could effectively reduce cracks and porosities and the coating surface was more smooth;(2) The solubility of carbon could be improved which increased the eutectic degree of the microstructure;(3) RE2O3 could promote the nucleation of the reinforcement particles as heterogeneous nuclei.During the precipitating process of the carbide particles,some RE2O3 powders still existed while others react with carbon in the melt to form rare earth carbides.Both of them acted as heterogeneous nuclei for the formation of particles.