Influence of twist extrusion process on consolidation of pure aluminum powder in tubes by equal channel angular pressing and torsion

In comparison with the conventional equal channel angular pressing（ECAP） process,a comprehensive study of influence of twist extrusion（TE） process on consolidating pure aluminum powder in tubes（PITs） by equal channel angular pressing and torsion（ECAPT） was conducted via three-dimensional（3D） finite element simulation,experimental investigation and theoretical analysis.Simulation results revealed that during the consolidation of aluminum powder particles by ECAPT,TE process played a significant role of back pressure.Due to the torsional shear and high hydrostatic pressure exerted by twist channel,both the magnitude and homogeneity of the effective strain were increased markedly.After one pass of ECAPT process using a square channel with an inner angle of 90° and a twist slope angle of 36.5° at 200℃,commercial pure aluminum powder particles were successfully consolidated to nearly full density.Simulation and experimental results showed good agreement.In the microstructure observations,grains were greatly refined.At the same time,porosities were effectively eliminated by shrinking in size and breaking into small ones.Microhardness test indicated that strain distribution of ECAPT-processed billet was more homogeneous with respect to the ECAP-processed one.All these improvements may be attributed to the extreme intense shear strain induced during ECAPT and the increase in self-diffusion coefficient of aluminum due to the back pressure exerted by TE process.

Studies on aluminum powder combustion in detonation environment

The combustion mechanism of aluminum particles in a detonation environment characterized by high temperature(in unit 10^(3)K),high pressure(in unit GPa),and high-speed motion(in units km/s)was studied,and a combustion model of the aluminum particles in detonation environment was established.Based on this model,a combustion control equation for aluminum particles in detonation environment was obtained.It can be seen from the control equation that the burning time of aluminum particle is mainly affected by the particle size,system temperature,and diffusion coefficient.The calculation result shows that a higher system temperature,larger diffusion coefficient,and smaller particle size lead to a faster burn rate and shorter burning time for aluminum particles.After considering the particle size distribution characteristics of aluminum powder,the application of the combustion control equation was extended from single aluminum particles to nonuniform aluminum powder,and the calculated time corresponding to the peak burn rate of aluminum powder was in good agreement with the experimental electrical conductivity results.This equation can quantitatively describe the combustion behavior of aluminum powder in different detonation environments and provides technical means for quantitative calculation of the aluminum powder combustion process in detonation environment.

Blast performance of layered charges enveloped by aluminum powder/rubber composites in confined spaces

A layered charge composed of the JH-2 explosive enveloped by a thick-walled cylindrical casing(active aluminum/rubber and inert lithium fluoride/rubber composites) was designed and explosion experiments were conducted in a 1.3 m3tank and a 113 m3bunker.The blast parameters,including the quasistatic pressure(ΔpQS),special impulse(I),and peak overpressure(Δpmax),and images of the explosion process were recorded,and the influence of the Al content(30% and 50%) and Al particle size(1,10,and 50 μm) on the energy release of aluminum/rubber composites were investigated.The results revealed that the use of an active layer increased the peak overpressure generated by the primary blast wave,as well as the quasistatic pressure and special impulse related to fuel burning within tens of milliseconds after detonation.When the Al content was increased from 30% to 50%,the increases of ΔpQS and I were not obvious,and Δpmaxeven decreased,possibly because of decreased combustion efficiency and greater absorption of the blast wave energy for layers with 50% Al.Compared with the pure JH-2charge,the charge with 1 μm Al particles produced the highest Δpmax,indicating that better transient blast performance was generated by smaller Al particles.However,the charge with 10 μm Al particles showed the largest ΔpQSand I,suggesting that a stronger destructive effect occurred over a longer duration for charges that contained moderate 10 μm Al.

A Steam-Plasma Igniter for Aluminum Powder Combustion

High-temperature ignition is essential for the ignition and combustion of energetic metal fuels, including aluminum and magnesium particles which are protected by their high- melting-temperature oxides. A plasma torch characterized by an ultrahigh-temperature plasma plume fulfills such high-temperature ignition conditions. A new steam plasma igniter is designed and successfully validated by aluminum power ignition and combustion tests. The steam plasma rapidly stabilizes in both plasma and steam jet modes. Parametric investigation of the steam plasma jet is conducted in terms of arc strength. A high-speed camera and an oscilloscope method visualize the discharge characteristics, and optical emission spectroscopy measures the thermochemical properties of the plasma jet. The diatomic molecule OH fitting method, the Boltzmann plot method, and short exposure capturing with an intensified charge coupled device record the axial distributions of the rotational gas temperature, excitation temperature, and OH radical distribution, respectively. The excitation temperature at the nozzle tip is near 5500 K, and the gas temperature is 5400 K.

Analysis of synthetic parameters for coating aluminum powders with phenyltriethoxysilane coupling agent and their effects on powder flow behavior

Though silanization of aluminum powder is currently used to improve its flow properties,for use as an alternative fuel source,there are a wide range of experimental parameters for the process and not all of them have been thoroughly explored.Until this is complete,it is unknown if the process is optimized in terms of time,efficiency,and effect.Herein,we report on a study into the effects of changes in humidity,degree of agitation,reaction temperature,and curing time upon the deposition of phenyl triethoxysilane into 20μm(d50)aluminum particles.We confirm the deposition of the coating via diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.We then characterize the coated particles using apparent density measurements and Carney flow methods.Using analysis of variance,we find that,of the parameters explored,only changes in cure time and reaction temperature provide meaningful changes to the apparent density,while none of our parameters produced statistically significant changes in Carney flow values.Thus,we conclude that,when optimizing silanization of aluminum particles,environmental control of humidity is unneeded and that the reaction can be run with minimal agitation.The ability to largely ignore these parameters is a benefit to large-scale processing.

Aluminum and Activated Alumina Powder Additions on Microwave Synthesis of Al_(4)SiC_(4)

Aiming at improving the properties of magnesia carbon materials,silicon aluminum carbide(Al_(4)SiC_(4))containing materials were prepared using industrial aluminum powder,silicon carbide powder,and graphite as raw materials,and activated alumina powder as an additive,mixing thoroughly,pressing into cylinders and then firing at 1200℃for 30 min in a carbon embedded atmosphere by the microwave method.The effects of the aluminum powder addition(20%and 24%,by mass)and activated alumina powder addition(0,3%,5%and 7%,by mass)on the microwave synthesis of Al_(4)SiC_(4) as well as the effect of the obtained Al_(4)SiC_(4) containing material on the properties of magnesia carbon bricks were studied.The results show that:compared with the samples with 20%aluminum powder,those with 24%aluminum powder generate more Al_(4)SiC_(4).With the activated alumina powder addition increasing from 0 to 7%,the amount of Al_(4)SiC_(4) generated increases first and then decreases.Compared with the sample without activated alumina powder,the samples with activated alumina powder show lower bulk density and higher apparent porosity.With the activated alumina powder addition increasing from 3%to 7%,the bulk density of the samples increases first and then decreases,while the apparent porosity of the samples shows an opposite trend.The optimal additions are 24%aluminum powder and 5%activated alumina powder,and Al_(4)SiC_(4) synthesized in this sample has a hexagonal plate structure.With the synthesized Al_(4)SiC_(4) containing material added,the magnesia carbon brick has slightly increased cold modulus of rupture,basically the same modulus of elasticity and improved oxidation resistance.

Promotional effect of silica on the combustion of nano-sized aluminum powder in carbon dioxide

This paper presents how the combustion performance of nano-sized aluminum(nAl)powder in carbon dioxide are affected by silica. The ignition and combustion performance of nAl powder with silica addition were studied by a high-temperature tube furnace. An s-type thermocouple and a high-speed motion acquisition instrument were performed to evaluate the ignition temperature, maximum combustion temperature, maximum change of rate of temperature, and combustion propagation speed. The combustion efficiency and combustion products were measured and analyzed by a gas-volumetric method and an X-ray diffraction. The results show that silica added into nAl powder can enhance its maximum combustion temperature and maximum change of rate of temperature, while its ignition temperature increases slightly. The nAl powders with addition of 6.00 wt.% and 12.00 wt.% silica present high combustion propagation speeds, especially for the latter, it has high combustion efficiency. The effect mechanism of silica on the combustion of nAl powder in carbon dioxide was discussed.

AP assembled on ultrafine aluminum particle and its application to NEPE propellant

Coating modification is an important way to enhance the reactivity of aluminum powder.In this paper,ammonium perchlorate and aluminum powder were assembled into energetic microunits by liquid deposition method.Spherical particles with AP as shell and ultrafine aluminum powder as the core(Al@AP)were gained.The micromorphology results show that the coated particles are about 5μm,and the coating layer is evenly distributed on the outer surface of aluminum powder,indicating a complete coating.The energetic microunits were implanted into the nitrate ester plasticizing adhesive system(NEPE)as solid phase fillers.The effect of filler on the rheological properties,safety,mechanical properties,thermal reaction and energy properties of the system was analyzed by comparing with the raw aluminum filler.The test results show that the rheological properties,mechanical properties and pressure index of NEPE containing system Al@AP meets the requirements of solid propellant charging.Compared with Al based propellant,the mechanical sensitivity and thermal sensitivity are decreased,the safety is better,and the explosion heat of the propellant is increased by 7.8%.The engine test shows that the specific impulse is increased by 1.2 s.Al@AP can improve the energy output and safety of NEPE propellant,and has potential application prospects in high-energy propellants.

High Velocity Compaction of Aluminum Powders

High velocity compaction process of atomized Al powders was studied. The green density, the maximal force and the withdraw force of specimen were investigated. The green density of atomized aluminum powder was obtained to be 2.68 g/cm3 and its relative density is about 99%. The maximal force increased proximately linearly with the compaction energy. The withdraw force was observed ranging between 30 and 70 kN. The radial spring back was less than 0.1%.

THE PREPARATION AND APPLICATION OF ELECTROPLATEDSHEET CONTAINING RS ALUMINUM ALLOY POWDERS

Baded on the study of nickel electroplating technology at room temperature, the plated sheet containing rapidly solidified Al-Fe-Cu- V-Si-Ni-Ce-Zr aluminum alloy powders is constructed successfully. The powders and nickel matrix are combined well in the sheet. It can be used to prepare the observation specimen for TEM and determine the hardness of single powder particle as solidified and after heat-treated. The advantages of this method are the realization of heat treatment of powders and the TEM observation of non-interfered microstructure of powders in the size of several microns.

THE STRUCTURE CONTROL OF ALUMINUM FOAMS PRODUCED BY POWDER COMPACTED FOAMING PROCESS

A new technique, powder compact foaming process for the production of aluminumfoams has been studied in this article. According to this method, the aluminum pow-der is mixed with a powder foaming agent (TiH_2). Subsequent to mixing, the powderblend is hot compacted to obtain a dense semi--finished product. Upon heating to tem-peratures within the range of the melting point, the foaming agent decomposes to evolvegas and the semi--finished product expands into a porous cellular aluminum. Foamingprocess is the key in this method. Based on experiments, the foaming characteris-tics were mainly analyzed and discussed. Experiments show that the aluminum--foamwith closed pores and a uniform cell structure of high porosity can be obtained usingthis method by adjusting the foaming parameters: the content of foaming agent andfoaming temperature.

Nanostructured yttrium aluminum garnet powders synthesized by co-precipitation method using tetraethylenepentamine

Tetraethylenepentamine(C8H23N5,TEPA) has been used as a novel precipitant to synthesize yttrium aluminum garnet(Y3Al5O12,YAG) precursor from a mixed solution of aluminum and yttrium nitrates via a normal-strike co-precipitation method without controlling the pH value during precipitation process.The original precursor was analyzed by thermogravimetry/differential scanning calorimetry(TG/DSC).The evolution of phase composition and micro-structure of the as-synthesized YAG powders were characterized by X-ray ...

PREPARATION OF ULTRAFINE ALUMINA POWDERS BY ALUMINUM ISOPROPOXIDE

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Effect of Laser Cladding Al Ni TiC Powder on Microstructure and Properties of Aluminum Alloy

In this paper, Al/Ni/TiC powders were mixed on the surface of A380 aluminum alloy, by selecting appropriate laser parameters;the cladding layer with good adhesion to the substrate was obtained. The microstructure and properties of the cladding layer under different laser parameters were analyzed. The results show that: the phase composition of the cladding layer is mainly composed of TiC, Al, Ni, C and Ti phases. The hardness of the cladding region is up to 173.3 HV, which is about 2.9 times the matrix (–59.1 HV). The corrosion voltage (–1.8 V) of the cladding layer shifted significantly from the corrosion potential (–1.18 V), the corrosion current density increased, the resistance value decreased and the diameter of the capacitor arc decreased;all these phenomena indicate that the corrosion resistance of the cladding layer is decreased.

Specimen preparation of aluminum alloy powders for transmission electron microscopy

By nickel electroplating at room temperature, the specimen preparation of ultra sonic gas atomized aluminum alloy powders for observation in transmission electron microscope was carried out. The advantages of this technique are simple technologically and convenient practically. The nickel and the powders combine well in the plated sheet which can be thinned by ion milling. The powders in the thinned sheet possess large thinned area and can be examined in common TEM for the studies of their microstructure.

Study on the impact force and green properties of high-velocity compacted aluminum alloy powder

High-velocity compaction （HVC） provides an effective means in the field of powder metallurgy （P/M） to reduce the porosity as well as to ameliorate the mechanical properties of products. In this study, the green density of an aluminum alloy is found to be 2.783 g cm 3. The ejection force for the aluminum alloy is in the range of 23 to 80 kN and the spring back is found to be less than 0.40%. The hardness of the green body is in the range of HRB 30 to 70. The bending strength of the green body is in the range of 6 to 26 MPa, which are higher than that of other aluminum alloys prepared by the traditional compaction method.

Synthesis of Neodymium-Doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (Nd∶YAG) Nano-Sized Powders by Low Temperature Combustion

The homogeneously dispersed, less agglomerated (Nd0.01Y0.99)3Al5O12 nano-sized powders were synthesized by the low temperature combustion (LCS), using Nd2O3, Y2O3, Al(NO3)3·9H2O, ammonia water and citric acid as starting materials. This method effectively solves the problems caused by solid-state reaction at high temperature and hard agglomerates brought by the chemical precipitation method. The powders were characterized by TG-DTA, XRD, FT-IR, TEM respectively and the photoluminescence (PL) spectra of (Nd0.01Y0.99)3Al5O12 green and sintered ceramic disks were measured. The results show that the forming temperature of YAG crystal phase is 850 ℃ and YAP crystal phase appearing during the calcinations transforms to pure YAG at 1050 ℃. The particle size of the powders synthesized by the LCS is in a range of 20～50 nm depending on the thermal treatment temperatures. The effectively induced cross section (σin) with the value 4.03×10-19 cm2 of (Nd0.01Y0.99)3Al5O12 ceramics is about 44% higher than that of single crystal.

Powder Metallurgical Fabrication and Microstructural Investigations of Aluminum/Steel Functionally Graded Material

Aluminum/steel electric transition joints (ETJs) are used in aluminum reduction cell for the purpose of welding aluminum rod and steel bracket components. Solid state welding process used for joining aluminum and steel at the electric transition joints have the drawbacks of cracking and separation at the interface surfaces. Cracking and separation at the electric transition joints are caused by the stress singularities that developed due to the mismatch in thermal and mechanical properties of each material. To overcome the drawback of electric transition joints, aluminum/steel functionally graded may be used as electric transition joints or proposed. Therefore manufacturing and investigation of aluminum/steel functionally graded materials fabricated by powder metallurgy process were carried out through the current work. Different samples with different layers of aluminum/steel functionally graded materials were compacted using steel die and punch at the same compacted pressure and sintered temperature. After investigating the different samples of aluminum/steel functionally graded materials under different fabrication conditions, the suitable fabrication regime was determined with the aid of microscopic observations.

Effect of metal powders on explosion of fuel-air explosives with delayed secondary igniters

In order to improve the energy level of fuel air explosive(FAE) with delayed secondary igniters, high energetic metal powders were added to liquid fuels mainly composed of ether and isopropyl nitrate.Metal powders’ explosive properties and reaction mechanisms in FAE were studied by high-speed video,pressure test system, and infrared thermal imager. The results show that compared with pure liquid fuels, the shock wave overpressure, maximum surface fireball temperature and high temperature duration of the mixture were significantly increased after adding high energetic metal powder. The overpressure values of the liquid-solid mixture at all measuring points were higher than that of the pure liquid fuels. And the maximum temperature of the fireball was up to 1700C, which was higher than that of the pure liquid fuels. After replacing 30% of aluminum powder with boron or magnesium hydride, the shock wave pressure of the mixture was further increased. The high heat of combustion of boron and the hydrogen released by magnesium hydride could effectively increase the blast effect of the mixture. The improvement of the explosion performance of boron was better than magnesium hydride. It shows that adding high energetic metal powder to liquid fuels can effectively improve the explosion performance of FAE.

Effect of non-vacuum storage condition on minimum explosible concentration of aluminum dust

Non-vacuum storage condition has a great impact on the explosion characteristics of aluminum powders. In this paper, vacuum-packed flake and globular aluminum powders stored in a dryer after opening the vacuum package are selected as the experimental samples, and a 20 L spherical explosion device is chosen to test the minimum explosible concentration (MEC) values of aluminum dusts under different storage time. The results show that the MEC values of two types of unoxidized aluminum powders are 30 g/m^3. The MEC values of flake and globular aluminum powders firstly go up with the increase of storage time in the dryer and then reach the maximum values of 50 g/m^3 and 60 g/m^3 at respective storage time until finally they stabilize gradually. The main reason is that the oxidation rate is faster owing to the bigger specific surface area of globular aluminum powders. Hence, the storage time has more significant effect on the MEC of globular aluminum powder than that of flake aluminum powder. After a period of time, the outer surface is oxidized to generate a layer of film, which prevents the further oxidation of aluminum powder, resulting in the temporary stability of MEC.