Experimental Study and Thermodynamical Calculation on the Formation of Eutectic Phase of MnS-RE_2S_3 and(Mn,Ca)S-RE_2S_3 in Sulfur-Containing Free-Cutting Steel

The free-cutting phase in RE or Ca-RE treated sulfur-containing free-cutting steel is the eutectic phases of MnS-RE_2S_3 and (Mn,Ca)S-RE_2S_3,respectively.The atomic ratio of RE/S needed to modify all the MnS into the eutectic phase is higher than 1.48 or 1.41-1.37 Ca/S,when RE or Ca-RE is used as the modifiz- er in the sulfur-containing free-cutting steel.Moreover,the thermodynamical calculation shows that the eutectic temperature is lower than the solidifying temperature,which is the key condition for the eutectic phase to keep globual during solidifying.

Preparation and Characterization of CA-MA Eutectic/Silicon Dioxide Nanoscale Composite Phase Change Material from Water Glass via Sol-Gel Method

This work mainly involved the preparation of a nano-scale form-stable phase change material（PCM） consisting of capric and myristic acid（CA-MA） binary eutectic acting as thermal absorbing material and nano silicon dioxide（nano-SiO_2） serving as the supporting material. Industrial water glass for preparation of the nano silicon dioxide matrix and CA-MA eutectic mixture were compounded by single-step sol-gel method with the silane coupling agent. The morphology, chemical characterization and form stability property of the composite PCM were investigated by transmission electron microscopy（TEM）, scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, Fourier-transform infrared（FT-IR） spectroscopy and polarizing microscopy（POM）. It was indicated that the average diameter of the composite PCM particle ranged from 30-100 nm. The CA-MA eutectic was immobilized in the network pores constructed by the Si-O bonds so that the composite PCM was allowed no liquid leakage above the melting temperature of the CA-MA eutectic. Differential scanning calorimetry（DSC） and thermogravimetric analysis（TGA） measurement were conducted to investigate the thermal properties and stability of the composite PCM. From the measurement results, the mass fraction of the CA-MA eutectic in the composite PCM was about 40%. The phase change temperature and latent heat of the composite were determined to be 21.15 ℃ and 55.67 J/g, respectively. Meanwhile, thermal conductivity of the composite was measured to be 0.208 W·m^（-1）·K^（-1） by using the transient hot-wire method. The composite PCM was able to maintain the surrounding temperature close to its phase change temperature and behaved well in thermalregulated performance which was verified by the heat storage-release experiment. This kind of form-stable PCM was supposed to complete thermal insulation even temperature regulation by the dual effect of relatively low thermal conductivity and phase change thermal storage-release properties. So it can be formulated that the nanoscale CA-MA/SiO_2 composite PCM with the form-stable property, good thermal storage capacity and relatively low thermal conductivity can be applied for energy conservation as a kind of thermal functional material.

Microstructure evolution of Mg-9Gd-2Er-0.4Zr alloy during solid solution treatment

Microstructure evolution of the cast Mg-9Gd-2Er-0.4Zr alloy during solid solution treatment at temperature of 460-520 ℃ for 3-12 h was investigated by using optical microscope（OM）,scanning electron microscope（SEM） and transmission electron microscope（TEM）.The results indicated that the grain size and the shape of second phase were obviously changed with time and/or temperature going on.At 460 ℃ for 3 h,the morphology of the Mg5（GdEr） phase was changed into fragmentized island morphology and the volume faction of the phase decreased.After solution solid treatment at 460 ℃ for 6 h,the Mg5（GdEr） phase was already completely dissolved,but some cuboid-shaped RE-rich phase precipitated.As the temperature increased,the morphology of the Mg5（GdEr） phase was transformed into the same morphology as that at 460 ℃ for 6 h.It was suggested that the microstructure evolution of the alloy during the solid solution treatment was concluded as follows：Mg5（GdEr） eutectic phase→Gd/Er atom diffusing into matrix→spheroidic Mg5（GdEr） phase→cuboid-shaped RE-rich phase→grain boundary immigration.

Gradual solution heat treatment of AlSiCuMg cast alloys

The microstructure characteristics of AlSiCuMg cast alloys were studied withdifferent Cu content and the gradual solution treatment by DSC, SEM, TEM and mechanical method. Themelting point of alpha (Al) + Si decreases and polynary eutectic phases with low melting point formwith increase of Cu content. Gradual solution treatment includes two steps: solution treating nearthe melting point of polynary eutectic phase to take it dissolve first, and then increasing solutiontemperature to take the remainder copper intermetallics dissolved into alpha (Al). Grain boundariesmelting can be avoided by gradual solution treatment, even the maximum solution temperature isabove final solidification point, and the age hardening response increases correspondingly

Effect of Si content on laser welding performance of Al-Mn-Mg alloy

The correlation between Si content （0.1%-0.5%, mass fraction） and pulse laser welding performance of AI-Mn-Mg aluminum alloy sheets was studied. The sheets were fabricated in the laboratory, with gauge of 0.45 mm, H16 temper by pulse laser welding. It was found that no cracking existed in the welding pool as Si content was below 0.34%. However, when the Si content increased to 0.47%, cracking formed in the welding pool. Microstructure observations indicated that residual eutectic phases distributed at the grain boundaries were discontinuous and appeared to be small particles in lower Si content alloys; the residual eutectic phases distributed at the grain boundaries were partially continuous and appeared to be films in higher Si content alloys. These phenomena could explain why Si content adversely affected the laser welding performance.

Finite element analysis of stress-strain localization and distribution in Al-4.5Cu-2Mg alloy

Finite element analysis has been carried out to understand the effect of various processing routes and condition on the microscale deformation behavior of Al–4.5 Cu–2 Mg alloy. The alloy has been developed through four different routes and condition, i.e. conventional gravity casting with and without refiner, rheocasting and SIMA process. The optical microstructures of the alloy have been used to develop representative volume elements（RVEs）. Two different boundary conditions have been employed to simulate the deformation behavior of the alloy under uniaxial loading. Finally, the simulated stress-strain behavior of the alloy is compared with the experimental result. It is found that the microstructural morphology has a significant impact on stress and strain distribution and load carrying capacity. The eutectic phase always carries a higher load than the α（Al） phase. The globular α（Al） grains with thinner and uniformly distributed eutectic network provide a better stress and strain distribution. Owing to this, SIMA processed alloy has better stress and strain distribution than other processes. Finally, the simulated yield strength of the alloy is verified by experiment and they have great agreement.

Rare-earth Cerium Additives for Sinterability of Anorthite-Diopside Ceramics

Anorthite -diopside ceramics were prepared by sintering iron ore railings, calcium carbonate, and silicon dioxide. Rare-earth cerium nitrate was evaluated as a sintering additive for the ceramics, whose mass percentage was 3% , 5%, 7% , 9% , and 11% , respectively. The sinterability of anorthite - diopside ceramics during heat treatment was confirmed hy X-ray diffiaction, transmission^scanning electron micrascopy, thermogravi- metric analysis- differential thermal analysis, and hotstage microscopy, respectively. The obtained results show that the density of ceramics gradnally increases, while the sintering temperature and sintering activation energy of anorthite -diopside ceramics are notably decreased with the increasing cerium content. Rare-earth cerium not only is beneficial to the complete reaction of raw materials, but a/so can accelerate the mass transfer process through forming eutectic phase with aluminum.

Effect of compression ratio on microstructure evolution of Mg−10%Al−1%Zn−1%Si alloy prepared by SIMA process

A new Mg−10%Al−1%Zn−1%Si alloy with non-dendritic microstructure was prepared by strain induced melt activation(SIMA)process.The effect of compression ratio on the evolution of semisolid microstructure of the experimental alloy was investigated.The results indicate that the average size ofα-Mg grains decreases and spheroidizing tendency becomes more obvious with the compression ratios increasing from 0 to 40%.In addition,the eutectic Mg2Si phase in the Mg−10%Al−1%Zn−1%Si alloy transforms completely from the initial fishbone shape to globular shape by SIMA process.With the increasing of compression ratio,the morphology and average size of Mg2Si phases do not change obviously.The morphology modification mechanism of Mg2Si phase in Mg−10%Al−1%Zn−1%Si alloy by SIMA process was also studied.

Microstructures and corrosion behaviors of Al−6.5Si−0.45Mg−xSc casting alloy

The microstructures and corrosion behaviors of the Al−6.5Si−0.45Mg casting alloys with the addition of Sc were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy,X-ray diffraction,electrochemical measurement techniques and immersion corrosion tests and compared with those of Sr-modified alloy.The results show that Sc has evident refining and modifying effects on the primaryα(Al)and the eutectic Si phase of the alloy,and the effects can be enhanced with the increase of Sc content.When the Sc content is increased to 0.58 wt.%,its modifying effect on the eutectic Si is almost same as that of Sr.Sc can improve the corrosion resistance of the test alloy in NaCl solution when compared with Sr,but the excessively high Sc content cannot further increase the corrosion resistance of the alloy.The corrosion of the alloys mainly occurs in the eutectic region of the alloy,and mostly the eutecticα(Al)is dissolved.This confirms that Si phase is more noble thanα(Al)phase,and the galvanic couplings can be formed between the eutectic Si andα(Al)phases.

Solid–liquid equilibrium of dimethyl terephthalate(DMT), dimethyl isophthalate(DMI) and dimethyl phthalate(DMP) in melt crystallization process

The binary solid-liquid equilibrium of Dimethyl Terephthalate （DMT）, Dimethyl lsophthalate （DMI） and Dimeth- yl Phthalate （DMP） was investigated by experiment and differential scanning calorimetry （DSC）. The result demonstrated DMT/DMI and DMT/DMP systems are eutectic while DMI/DMP is a solid-solution system. The eutectic temperature of DMT/DMI system is 336.7 K and that of DMT/DMP is 271.1 K. Furthermore, a classical solid-liquid phase equilibrium model was used to fit the experimental data of the eutectic systems of DMT/DMI and DMT/ DMP and the theoretical model could describe the eutectic solid-liquid phase diagrams properly.

Investigation on Cracking in Surfacing Layer of Ni_3Al Base Alloy

Investigation has been made on the causes of hot cracking in the surfacing layer of Ni_3Al basealloy by analysing the solidification process of fusion pool and the distribution of thermal stresses. The re-sults show that the cracking is directly related to both the occurrence of eutectic phase β' (NiAI) within theinterdendritic region and high thernial stresses in the surfacing layer ,and which are caused by selecting highwelding rate. When the process of electric arc weld is changed from straight line rnovement to that along’Z’pattern,the cracking in the surfacing layer of Ni_3Al base alloy is prevented owing to being reduced of boththe cooling rate of liquid in the fusion liool and the speed of the moving heat source. Lowering the outputpower of the electric arc welding could lead to the reducing of rnelting volume of the base material ,and lowerthe arnount of iron atoms dissolving in the fusion pool ,so that the trend of the eutectic reaction within the in-terdendritic region is reduced,and which is helpful to suppress the cracking in the surfacing layer of Ni_3Albase alloy.

Experimental investigation of eutectic point in Al-rich Al-La, Al-Ce, Al-Pr and Al-Nd systems

In order to confirm the eutectic composition, eutectic temperature and phases of Al-rich Al-RE（La, Ce, Pr, Nd） binary systems, the eutectic Al-RE alloys with the controversial compositions were investigated. The scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy（SEM/EDS）, differential scanning calorimetric（DSC） and cooling curve tests analysis indicated that a similar eutectic composition（~12 wt.% RE） on the Al-rich region was observed in the Al-La, Al-Ce, Al-Pr and Al-Nd alloys, and the eutectic structure of the alloys was consisted of α-Al and α-Al11RE3 phases by combining with X-ray diffraction（XRD） tests. In addition, the eutectic temperatures determined by DSC and cooling curve tests were very close and around 645 oC.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Fiber Laser Welded GH3535 Superalloy

As a primary material of the thorium molten salt reactor（TMSR） that is a suitable candidate reactor of the Generation IV nuclear reactors, GH3535 superalloy was successfully welded. The effect of laser beam welding（LBW） on microstructure evolution of fusion zone（FZ） and heat affected zone（HAZ）, such as element segregation, precipitate behavior and grain evolution, was investigated. The microhardness and tensile properties were tested and discussed. The results of microstructure evolution showed that a number of fine M6C-y eutectic phases precipitated at solidification grain boundaries and interdendritic region in FZ. Compared to base metal zone（BMZ）, the grain size of HAZ has no obvious change. While a few of M6C-y eutectic phases were observed in partially melted zone（PMZ） of HAZ. The results of microhardness indicated that the hardness of FZ was higher than that of HAZ and BMZ. The results of tensile test showed that the ultimate tensile strength of joints at room temperature, 650 and 700？C were98%, 97% and 99% of that of BM, respectively. All the tensile specimens of joints failed in BMZ rather than in PMZ where M6 C carbides had been transformed into M6C-y eutectic phases.

Low-temperature processing of LiZn-based ferrite ceramics by co-doping of V_(2)O_(5)and Sb_(2)O_(3):Composition,microstructure and magnetic properties

Low-temperature fired ferrites or ceramics are usually processed by using low-melting materials(e.g.,glasses,oxides,and eutectics)as sintering aids to obtain compact and uniform microstructures.Herein,a dual-strategy of co-doping with V_(2)O_(5)and Sb_(2)O_(3)oxides and forming a eutectic liquid phase has been employed to reduce the melting point of LiZn ferrite ceramics in an effective way.The results indicate that miniscule amounts of V_(2)O_(5)and Sb_(2)O_(3)co-doping contribute in producing dense and uniform microstructures with enhanced magnetic performance by low-temperature firing.The phase structural and microstructural evolutions have been studied in detail.Thereafter their correlations with magnetic properties have been revealed.Enhanced magnetic performance(B_(s)=475.4 mT,M_(s)=82.51 emu/g,B_(r)/B_(s)=0.85,H_(c)=2.2 Oe,ΔH=153.8 Oe)of the LiZn-based ferrite ceramics is achieved by optimized composition and microstructure,which shows great potential for microwave applications including phase shifters and radars.More importantly,such a co-doping strategy can be also extended to other material systems,like dielectric ceramics,hexagonal ferrites or piezoelectric ceramics.