Densification mechanism of stereolithographical dense Si_(3)N_(4) ceramics with CeO_(2) as sintering additive by field assisted sintering

Combining sintering additive with field assisted sintering,stereolithographical dense Si3N4 ceramics was successfully fabricated.Owing to a large amount of polymer during the stereolithography,the green parts have the characteristics of low powder loading and high porosity.Adjusting the process parameters such as sintering temperature and soaking time can effectively improve the density of the specimens.The stress exponent n of all specimens is in a range of 1 and 2,which is derived from a modified sintering kinetics model.The apparent activation energy Qd of stereolithographic Si_(3)N_(4) ceramics sintered with applied pressures of 30 MPa,40 MPa,and 50 MPa is 384.75,276.61 and 193.95 kJ/mol,respectively,suggesting that the densification dynamic process is strengthened by raising applied pressure.The grain boundary slipping plays a dominating role in the densification of stereolithographic Si3N4 ceramics.The Vickers hardness and fracture toughness of stereolithographic Si3N4 ceramics are HV10/10(1347.9±2.4)and(6.57±0.07)MPaAbstract:Combining sintering additive with field assisted sintering,stereolithographical dense Si3N4 ceramics was successfully fabricated.Owing to a large amount of polymer during the stereolithography,the green parts have the characteristics of low powder loading and high porosity.Adjusting the process parameters such as sintering temperature and soaking time can effectively improve the density of the specimens.The stress exponent n of all specimens is in a range of 1 and 2,which is derived from a modified sintering kinetics model.The apparent activation energy Qd of stereolithographic Si3N4 ceramics sintered with applied pressures of 30 MPa,40 MPa,and 50 MPa is 384.75,276.61 and 193.95 kJ/mol,respectively,suggesting that the densification dynamic process is strengthened by raising applied pressure.The grain boundary slipping plays a dominating role in the densification of stereolithographic Si3N4 ceramics.The Vickers hardness and fracture toughness of stereolithographic Si3N4 ceramics are HV10/10(1347.9±2.4)and(6.57±0.07)MPa·m^(1/2),respectively.

INFLUENCE OF MAGNETIC FIELD ON ACCURACY OF ECM BY CHANGING THE CONDUCTIVITY OF ANODE FILM

The change of conductivity, thickness and scanning electron microscopy （SEM） appearance of the anode film of CrWMn in 10% NaNO3 at different anode potential either with or without the magnetic field applied are investigated by testing film resistance, galvanostatic transient and using SEM to design magnetic circuit in magnetic assisted electrochemical machining （MAECM）. The experiments show that the anode film has semi-conducting property. Compared with the situation without magnetic field applied, the resistance of the film formed at 1 .SV （anode potential） increased and decreased at 4.0V while B=0.4T and the magnetic north pole points toward anode. The SEM photo demonstrates that the magnetic field will densify the film in the passivation area and quicken dissolution of the anode metal in over-passivation area. Based on the influence of magnetic field on electrochemical machining（ECM） due to the changes of the anode film conductivity behavior, the magnetic north pole should be designed to point towards the workpiece surface that has been machined. Process experiments agree with the results of test analysis.

Thermal Wave Effect and Sintering Activation Energy at the Initial Stage of Field Assisted Sintering Process for Non-conductive Al_2O_3 Powders

The effect of thermal wave at the initial stage for non-conductive Al_2 O_3 powders compact in field assisted sintering technique(FAST) was investigated. The Lord and Shulman type generalized thermoselastic theory was introduced to describe the influence of thermal-mechanical interaction, as well as the heat transport and thermal focusing caused by thermal wave propagation. The expression of vacancy concentration difference of the particles was deduced by considering transient thermal stress. Subsequently, the relationship between activation energy and vacancy concentration difference was obtained. The mechanism of surface diffusion, volume diffusion, simultaneous surface and volume diffusion was analyzed. The numerical simulations indicate that low sintering temperature can obtain high local temperature by the superposition effect of thermal wave. Vacancy concentration differences were improved during FAST compared with hot-pressure and pressureless sintering, thereby decreasing the sintering time. By contrast, the activation energy declined with the decrease of vacancy concentration difference in the neck growth process.

Regulating electrochemical performances of lithium battery by external physical field

Lithium batteries have always played a key role in the field of new energy sources.However,non-controllable lithium dendrites and volume dilatation of metallic lithium in batteries with lithium metal as anodes have limited their development.Recently,a large number of studies have shown that the electrochemical performances of lithium batteries can be enhanced through the regulation of external physical fields.Especially,it significantly hinders the growth of lithium dendrites and promoting the reaction kinetics.This review summarizes recent innovations in the investigation of various physical fields of lithium batteries.The application of magnetic field in the synthesis of lithium battery electrode materials is introduced.The influence factors and regulation mechanism of various physical fields on the electrochemical performance of lithium batteries are reviewed emphatically.In addition,the current research status and existing challenges,along with future directions for the evolution of lithium batteries,are minutely discussed and prospected.New strategies for the further evolution of lithium batteries have also been provided.

Experimental investigation for ultra-precision cutting of nickel based superalloy with the assistance of magnetic field

Nickel based superalloy is an important material because of its excellent properties under high temperatures.However,it is a difficult-to-machine material due to its low thermal conductivity,which can cause undesired localized high temperatures in the processing area.In this study,magnetic field-assisted end face turning experiments of nickel-based superalloy is carried out under the assistance of external magnetic fields of different strengths formed by permanent magnets.The experiment results show that,compared with ordinary machining,the chip morphology is improved,the oscillation of cutting force F_(c),F_(a),and Ffare significantly reduced by 90%,88%,and 78%,and the surface roughness Ra is improved from 23 to 13 nm,the P-V value of the fan-shaped area of the machined surface is reduced,and hardness and ductility are improved after the magnetic field is applied.The experiment results indicate that the application of a magnetic field is an efficient and convenient approach to improve the cutting performance of nickel based superalloy.

Microstructural Development and Mechanical Properties of PM Ti-45Al-2Nb-2Mn-0.8 vol.%TiB_2 Processed by Field Assisted Hot Pressing

A γ-TiAI intermetallic alloy, Ti-45Al-2Nb-2Mn （at.%）-0.8 vol.%TiB2, has been processed from gas atomized praalloyed powder by field assisted hot pressing （FAHP）. An initial analysis of the prealloyed powder helped on the understanding of the intermetallic sintering behavior. Atomized powder consisted of α metastable phase that transformed into α2＋γ equilibrium phases by thermal treating. Different powder particle microstructures were found, which influence the microstructure development of the FAHP T-TiAI material depending on the sintering temperature. Duplex, nearly lamellar and fully lamellar microstructures were obtained at the sintaring temperatures above 1000 ℃. Lower consolidation temperatures, below 1000 ℃, led to the formation of an AI rich phase at powder particle boundaries, which is deleterious to the mechanical properties. High compressive yield strength of 1050 MPa was observed in samples with FAHP duplex microstructures at room temperature. Whereas nearly lamellar and fully lamellar microstructures showed yield strength values of 655 and 626 MPa at room temperature and 440 and 425 MPa at 750 ℃, respectively, which are superior in comparison to similar alloys processed by other techniques. These excellent properties can be explained due to the different volume fractions of the α2 and γ phases and the refinement of the PM microstructures.

Magnetic field assisted fluidization—Dimensional analysis addressing the physical basis

This paper originates a discussion on dimensional analysis and scaling in magnetically assisted fluidized beds. Basic examination of process variables, merging mechanical and magnetic units, allows the conversion of mixed sets of variables into unified terms representing surface forces as effects of the fields contributing to the assisted fluidization behaviour. This transformation is termed ＂pressure transform＂ since the new variables are all characteristic pressures generated by three basic fields： gravity, magnetic and fluid flow. This approach addresses the physical basis in terms of dimensionless groups rather than formal algebraic manipulations pertinent to classical dimensional analysis. Basic dimensionless group termed granular magnetic Bond number is introduced as the ratio of characteristic pressures of gravity and of magnetic field. This analysis also provides a set of named dimensionless numbers characterizing magnetic field assisted fluidization such as Filippov number, Rosensweig number, Kwauk number and Siegell number, derived as ratios of characteristic pressures.

Electron-Positron Pair Production in a Strong Laser Field Enhanced by an Assisted High Frequency Weak Field

Electron-positron pair production in a strong laser field enhanced by an assisted high frequency weak field is investigated by solving the quantum Vlasov equation.The average and residual pair number densities are obtained for sinusoid electric field and it is found that the high frequency assisted weak field will enhance pair production significantly.There exists an optimal frequency of assisted field that makes the pair production number density get a maximum one,which is a few orders of higher than that without assisted field.We also discuss the other possible assisted fields.

Effect of current on the microstructure and performance of (Bi_2Te_3)_(0.2)(Sb_2Te_3)_(0.8) thermoelectric material via field activated and pressure assisted sintering

（Bi_2Te_3）_（0.2）（Sb_2Te_3）_（0.8） thermoelectric material was sintered via a field activated and pressure assisted sintering（FAPAS） process.By applying different current intensity（0,60,320 A/cm^2） in the sintering process,the effects of electric current on the microstructure and thermoelectric performance were investigated.This demonstrated that the application of electric current in the sintering process could significantly improve the uniformity and density of（Bi_2Te_3）_（0.2）（Sb_2Te_3）_（0.8） samples.When the current intensity was raised to 320 A/cm^2,the preferred orientation of grains was observed.Moreover,positive effects on the thermoelectric performance of applying electric current in the sintering process were also confirmed.An increase of 0.02 and 0.11 in the maximum figure of merit ZT value could be acquired by applying current of 60 and 320 A/cm^2,respectively.