Preparation and Characterization of Mesoporous Al-MCM-41 Layers Deposited on FeCrAl Metallic Foils by an In-situ Hydrothermal Method

A new class of activated mesoporous Al-MCM-41 layers was deposited on Fe-CrAl metallic foils in the presence of cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide under basic conditions by an in-situ hydrothermal method. The characterization techniques including X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption and transmission electron microscopy, as well as field-emission scanning electron microscopy were performed to investigate the pore structure and surface morphology of the Al-MCM-41 layers. The Al-MCM-41 materials are of amorphous structure but exhibit large BET surface area （up to 757.0 m2/g） and pore volume （up to 0.72 cm3/g）, as well as a mean pore diameter of 3 nm. The layers deposited on the FeCrAl foils are continuous despite with a few of holes on the surface.

Diffusion in FSW Joints by Inserting the Metallic Foils

The aims of this investigation were to study diffusion phenomenon in friction stir welding （FSW） joints and its influence on the tensile strength of joints. To study diffusion in stir zone, various metallic foils were inserted between two pure aluminium plates. The thin foils of pure copper, pure zinc, brass and Cu-Zn-Ni alloy with the thickness of 250 μm were used as metallic foils. The transversal cross sections of welds were observed by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy （SEM） equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （EDS） system. The spot analyses near the metallic foils indicated that diffusion occurs from foils into the aluminium plates during welding; consequently, the strength of stir zone increases even by 50%. Besides, the metallic foils could reveal the flow of metal after FSW process.

Fabrication of micrometre-sized periodic gratings in free-standing metallic foils for laser-plasma experiments

Engineered targets are expected to play a key role in future high-power laser experiments calling for joined, extensive knowledge in materials properties, engineering techniques and plasma physics. In this work, we propose a novel patterning procedure of self-supported 10 μm thick Au and Cu foils for obtaining micrometre-sized periodic gratings as targets for high-power laser applications. Accessible techniques were considered, by using cold rolling, electronbeam lithography and the Ar-ion milling process. The developed patterning procedure allows efficient control of the grating and foil surface on large area. Targets consisting of patterned regions of 450 μm × 450 μm, with 2 μm periodic gratings, were prepared on 25 mm × 25 mm Au and Cu free-standing foils, and preliminary investigations of the microtargets interacting with an ultrashort, relativistic laser pulse were performed. These test experiments demonstrated that,in certain conditions, the micro-gratings show enhanced laser energy absorption and higher efficiency in accelerating charge particle beams compared with planar thin foils of similar thickness.

Theoretical analysis of minimum metal foil thickness achievable by asymmetric rolling with fixed identical roll diameters

A novel approach is proposed for computing the minimum thickness of a metal foil that can be achieved by asymmetric rolling using rolls with identical diameter. This approach is based on simultaneously solving Tselikov equation for the rolling pressure and the modified Hitchcock equation for the roller flattening. To minimize the effect of the elastic deformation on the equal flow per second during the ultrathin foil rolling process, the law of conservation of mass was employed to compute the proportions of the forward slip, backward slip, and the cross shear zones in the contact arc, and then a formula was derived for computing the minimum thickness for asymmetric rolling. Experiment was conducted to find the foil minimum thickness for 304 steel by asymmetric rolling under the asymmetry ratios of 1.05, 1.15 and 1.30. The experimental results are in good agreement with the calculated ones. It was validated that the proposed formula can be used to calculate the foil minimum thickness under the asymmetric rolling condition.

Fabrication and Testing of Metal Foil Planar Switch

A metal foil spark gap switch is fabricated by using magnetron sputtering deposition technology and standard microelectronic technology. The switch has two main electrodes and a trigger electrode. Stylus profiler is employed to measure the distance between the main electrodes and the dimensions of the trigger electrode. The discharge characteristics of the metal foil spark gap switch are discussed. The switch has short delay time and low time jitter. When it is fired by a conventional capacitive discharge unit (CDU), the firing circuit has low inductance and resistance. Because of its low profile structure, it can be easily integrated with the bridge foil used in a conventional exploding foil initiator system (EFIS).

Effects of gravity on the electrodeposition and characterization of nickel foils

The effects of gravity on nickel electrodeposition,the morphology and mechanical properties of deposits were studied in a super gravity field.Predictions in a microgravity field were also presented based on the obtained experimental tendency.Linear sweep voltammetry reveals that the nickel electrodeposition process is enhanced by increasing the gravity coefficient（G）.The limiting current density changes from 10.2 to 293.0 mA·cm-2 with the increase of the G value from 10-4 to 354.The morphology of deposits was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy（SEM） and atomic force microscopy（AFM）.The images show that the morphology deposited in the super gravity field has finer grain sizes and denser and smoother surfaces.The roughness reduces from 48.3 to 4.9 nm with the increase of the G value from 10-4 to 354.Meanwhile,mechanical tests indicate that the mechanical properties of nickel foils are greatly improved due to introducing a super gravity field during electrodeposition.

Evaluation of high-temperature tensile behavior for metal foils by a novel resistance heating assisted tensile testing system using samples with optimized structures

To evaluate the tensile behavior of metal foils by resistance heating(RH)assisted tensile testing system accurately,this study proposed to embed a digital image correlation(DIC)system with laser speckles for the measurement of full-field strain distribution.Furthermore,the sample structures were optimized to achieve uniform temperature and strain distribution.An infrared camera was used to monitor the temperature distribution.Rectangular samples instead of dog-bone shaped samples were proposed.A model for calculating the temperature distribution was established to optimize the sample structure.The parameters that influence the temperature distribution and tensile behavior were studied.As results,compared to the strain measured by a non-contact extensometer,the maximum deviation of the strain measured by DIC was less than 6%when the nominal strain was larger than 0.013.It is confirmed that the proposed tensile testing system is reliable for measuring the temperature and full-field strain distributions.Sample shape influenced temperature distributions of smaller samples while it almost had no influence on the temperature distributions of larger samples.The temperature difference was not affected by the material type but by the sample size.The proposed rectangular shape was validated to be feasible for RH assisted tensile testing.The sample length was successfully optimized for a more uniform temperature distribution by the established model.Although the tensile deformation was not influenced by the sample shape,the temperature distribution resulted in a non-uniform strain distribution before achieving ultimate tensile strength.Longer effective sample length between two clamping jigs contributed to a more uniform temperature distribution and material deformation.A more accurate evaluation of high-temperature tensile behavior for metal foils can be achieved by the proposed RH assisted tensile testing system using rectangular samples with an optimized structure.

Non-contact thickness measurement for ultra-thin metal foils with differential white light interferometry

A new differential white light interference technique for the thickness measurements of metal foil is presented. In this work, the differential white light system consists of two Michelson interferometers in tandem, and the measured reflective surfaces are the corresponding surfaces of metal foil. Therefore, the measuring result is only relative to the thickness but not the position of metal foil. The method is non-contact and non-destructive, it has the advantages of high accuracy, fast detection, and compact structure. Theoretical analysis and preliminary experimental verifications have shown that the technique can be used to measure the thickness of foil in the range of 1 to 80 μm with accuracy better than 0.08 μm.

Feasibility evaluation of failure models for predicting forming limit of metal foils

Forming limit of metal foil is an important index to evaluate its formability,and is of considerable significance to improve the quality of products.The ductile fracture(DF)behavior in microscale plastic deformation is remarkably affected by the geometry and grain size.To explore the size-dependent forming limit curve(FLC),the Holmberg and Marciniak tests of SUS304 foils with the thicknesses of less than 0.1 mm and diverse grain sizes were performed.In addition,the validity and feasibility of three types of existing failure models including Swift/Hill,MarciniakKuczynski(M-K)and DF criteria for predicting the micro-scaled FLCs were discussed.It is found that the Swift/Hill model possesses the worst accuracy with predicting deviation above 50%.Four classical DF criteria including Freudenthal,Ayada,Brozzo and Oh show great difference,and Oh model considering plastic anisotropy presents the best precision.The predicted deviation of M-K model is aggravated with increasing grain size and decreasing foil thickness,which is attributed to the intensified free surface roughening and transformation of fracture mechanism with miniaturization.This research thus provides a deeper understanding and valuable reference for the widespread application of FLC in microforming.