Effects of process parameters on morphology and distribution of externally solidified crystals in microstructure of magnesium alloy die castings

During the cold-chamber high pressure die casting(HPDC) process, samples were produced to investigate the microstructure characteristics of AM60B magnesium alloy. Special attention was paid to the effects of process parameters on the morphology and distribution of externally solidified crystals(ESCs) in the microstructure of magnesium alloy die castings, such as slow shot phase plunger velocity, delay time of pouring and fast shot phase plunger velocity. On the basis of metallographic observation and quantitative statistics, it is concluded that a lower slow shot phase plunger velocity and a longer delay time of pouring both lead to an increment of the size and percentage of the ESCs, due to the fact that a longer holding time of the melt in the shot sleeve will cause a more severe loss of the superheat. The impingement of the melt flow on the ESCs is more intensive with a higher fast shot phase plunger velocity, in such case the ESCs reveal a more granular and roundish morphology and are dispersed throughout the cross section of the castings. Based on analysis of the filling and solidification processes of the melt during the HPDC process, reasonable explanations were proposed in terms of the nucleation, growth, remelting and fragmentation of the ESCs to interpret the effects of process parameters on the morphology and distribution of the ESCs in the microstructure of magnesium alloy die castings.

Preparation and crystallization action of SiO_2 -Al_2O_3 -CaO-ZnO-R_2O porous glass-ceramics

Using powder-sintering method,SiO2-Al2O3-CaO-ZnO-R2O porous glass-ceramics were produced for analysis. Five samples with different SiO2 /CaO ratios were used in the research. The mechanical properties, microstructures and textures of porous glass-ceramics are investigated by using differential thermogravimetric analysis/differential thermal analysis ( TGA/SDTA) ,X-ray diffraction ( XRD) ,and scanning electron microsco- py ( SEM) . The activity energy of crystallization ( E) and crystallization kinetics parameter ( k) were calculated based on the modified JMA equation. The Avrami parameter n was obtained according to Augis-Bennett function. The results show that the k value of No. 1 sample ( SiO2 /CaO = 61∶ 18) is the largest among all samples, which tends to crystallize more easily,and crystallization processes of all samples are observed bulk crystallization. The main crystal phase observed is parawollastonite ( clinorhombic system) with puncheon shape. Poreforming agents decomposed at 100 - 500 ℃ form a large number of closed pores with micron dimension and several semi-open pores distribute uniformly in the glass-ceramics matrix. This work may be expected to be favorable for industrial scale applications of porous glass-ceramics in the field of building thermal insulation.

Calculating Hamiltonian parameters for Yb^(3+) in a low-symmetry lattice site,and fitting the structure and levels of Yb^(3+) :TaO_4 (= Gd,Y,and Sc)

An iterative method is used to find the values of the Hamiltonian parameters for Yb^3＋ in a given low-symmetry crys- talline site. Samples of Yb^3＋ ：RETaO4 （RE = Gd, Y, and Sc） were prepared and their structures were determined. Based on the obtained structural data, their orbital-spin parameters and crystal field parameters were fitted by the superposition model （SM）. Using the crystal field parameters obtained by the SM fitting as the initial parameters, the Hamiltonian parameters were fitted iteratively. The calculated and experimental energy levels for Yb^3＋：RETaO4 are consistent, and the maximal mean-root-square deviation is only 2.84 cm^- 1, indicating that the method is effective to determine the Hamiltonian parameters of Yb^3＋ in low-symmetry crystalline sites.

Method for fitting crystal field parameters and the energy level fitting for Yb^(3+) in crystal Sc_2O_3

A method to compute the numerical derivative of eigenvalues of parameterized crystal field Hamiltonian matrix is given, based on the numerical derivatives the general iteration methods such as Levenberg-Marquardt, Newton method, and so on, can be used to solve crystal field parameters by fitting to experimental energy levels. With the numerical eigenvalue derivative, a detailed iteration algorithm to compute crystal field parameters by fitting experimental energy levels has also been described. This method is used to compute the crystal parameters of Yb^3＋ in Sc2O3 crystal, which is prepared by a co-precipitation method and whose structure was refined by Rietveld method. By fitting on the parameters of a simple overlap model of crystal field, the results show that the new method can fit the crystal field energy splitting with fast convergence and good stability.

Studies on the Structure and Properties of Cordierite Synthesized by Talc-Magnesite

Homogeneous cordierite has been synthesized at low cost by talc-magnesite and coal gangue as the main raw materials. The mechanism of synthesizing cordierite under such a composing system of raw materials, and the effect of temperature on the crystal cell parameters and microstructure and thermal expansion coefficient of cordierite crystal have been studied via testing methods of XRD, SEM, etc. The result shows that the homogeneous cordierite can be synthesized by the systematic composing materials of ＂talc-magnesite-coal gangue-talc＂ with heat pre-servation at 1350 ℃ for 1 h; as the keeping time is prolonged, Al^3＋ and Mg^2＋ in cordierite crystal are replaced by a few impurity ions such as Fe^3＋, Fe^2＋, etc., and the crystal cell parameters of cordierite present an increase trend; as the high-temperature heat preservation is prolonged, the content of glassy phase in the sample is increased, its density is improved, and its thermal expansion coefficient presents an increase trend.

Preparation and Optical Properties of Er^(3+)-Doped Gadolinium Borosilicate Glasses

Er^(3+)-doped Gd_2O_3 -SiO_2 -B_2O_3 -Na_2O glasses were prepared, and formation range of glass of Gd_2O_3 -SiO_2 -B_2O_3 system was experimentally obtained. It is found that the glass phase can be formed only when the content of SiO_2 is 0～50%(molar fraction), Gd_2O_3 is 0～30%(molar fraction) and B_2O_3 is above 20%(molar fraction) in this glass system. The glass can also be obtained but becomes translucent at the contents of 60%(molar fraction) SiO_2 and 30% Gd_2O_3 , or at the contents of 60%(molar fraction) SiO_2 and 30%(molar fraction) B_2O_3. There is no glass phase formed in other glass components. Glass forming ability for Gd_2O_3 content of 10%, was characterized by the value of β, the parameter of crystallization tendency, which is 0.32～1.76, obtained from the differential thermal analysis. The absorption and emission cross section, the J-O parameters Ωt_((2,4,6)) and radiative transition probabilities were calculated by using the theory of McCumber and Judd-Ofelt. The emission properties at 1.5 μm of the samples are discussed with the product of full width at half maximum and stimulated emission cross section. It can be seen that the value of the FWHM×σ_e^(peak) product in the prepared glass is more than those of germanate, silicate and phosphate glasses. Furthermore, the maximum value of the product among these glasses reported in this work is close to that of oxyfluoride silicate glass. Therefore, the Er^(3+)-doped gadolinium borosilicate glass in this paper is a candidate for broadband erbium doped fiber amplifiers.

Properties of Local Structure Surrounding Eu^(3+)Ion in Various Niobate-Silicate Glasses

A Series of niobate silicate glasses doped with Eu 3+ ions were prepared. The emission, phonon side band spectra, fluorescence line narrowing spectroscopy and fluorescence lifetimes in these glasses were studied. The intensity parameters and crystal field parameter of Eu 3+ were obtained. The results indicate that the intensity ratio of the electric dipole to magnetic dipole transition and the intensity parameter Ω 2 increase with the increasing concentration of Nb 2O 5, indicating that the symmetry becomes lower, the Eu O bonds become stronger and the covalency of Eu O bond increases. The value of B 20 decreases with the increasing concentration of Nb 2O 5, indicating that the distance between the Eu 3+ ion and oxygen decreases and the Eu O bond becomes strong, corresponding to the results of the former. As the concentration of Nb 2O 5 increases, the electron phonon coupling becomes stronger, thus the nonradiative transition rate of 5D 0 becomes larger and the lifetime of 5D 0 becomes shorter.

Parameter analysis of a photonic crystal fiber with raised-core index profile based on effective index method

Photonic crystal fibers （PCFs） with a stepped raised-core profile and one layer equally spaced holes in the cladding are analyzed. Using effective index method and considering a raised step refractive index difference between the index of the core and the effective index of the cladding, we improve the characteristic parameters such as numerical aperture and V-parameter, and reduce its bending loss to about one tenth of a conventional PCF. Implementing such a structure in PCFs may be one step forward to achieve low loss PCFs for communication applications.