Electromagnetic wave absorption and mechanical properties of SiC nanowire/low-melting-point glass composites sintered at 580°C in air

Si C nanowires are excellent high-temperature electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbing materials. However, their polymer matrix composites are difficult to work at temperatures above 300℃, while their ceramic matrix composites must be prepared above 1000℃ in an inert atmosphere. Thus, for addressing the abovementioned problems, SiC/low-melting-point glass composites were well designed and prepared at 580℃ in an air atmosphere. Based on the X-ray diffraction results, SiC nanowires were not oxidized during air atmosphere sintering because of the low sintering temperature. Additionally, SiC nanowires were uniformly distributed in the glass matrix material. The composites exhibited good mechanical and EMW absorption properties. As the filling ratio of SiC nanowires increased from 5wt%to 20wt%, the Vickers hardness and flexural strength of the composite reached HV 564 and 213 MPa, which were improved by 27.7%and 72.8%, respectively, compared with the low-melting-point glass. Meanwhile, the dielectric loss and EMW absorption ability of SiC nanowires at 8.2–12.4 GHz were also gradually improved. The dielectric loss ability of low-melting-point glass was close to 0. However, when the filling ratio of SiC nanowires was 20wt%, the composite showed a minimum reflection loss (RL) of-20.2 dB and an effective absorption (RL≤-10 dB) bandwidth of2.3 GHz at an absorber layer thickness of 2.3 mm. The synergistic effect of polarization loss and conductivity loss in SiC nanowires was responsible for this improvement.

Effect of minor Nb addition on mechanical properties of in-situ Cu-based bulk metallic glass composite

In-situ formed （Cu0.6Zr0.3Ti0.1）95Nb5 bulk metallic glass （BMG） composite with Nb-rich dendrite randomly dispersed in hard glassy matrix was prepared by casting into a water-cooled copper mold. The dendrite has much smaller hardness and elastic modulus than glassy matrix, and the stress concentration at interface provides a channel for the initiating and branching of shear bands upon loading, thus leading to a high compressive fracture strain of 6.08% and fracture strength about 2200 MPa. Comparing with other Cu-based BMG composite, the fracture strength of present （Cu0.6Zr0.3Ti0.1）95Nb5 composite is not significantly reduced, indicating that the addition of Nb in the current work is an effective and effortless way to fabricate new practical BMG composites with enhanced strength and good plasticity.

Synthesis,structure and mechanical properties of Zr-Cu-based bulk metallic glass composites

The unusual glass-forming ability（GFA） of the Zr48Cu36Ag8Al8 alloy and the high ductility of the Zr48Cu36Ag8Al8 metallic glass-matrix composites containing Ta powder were reported.The bulk metallic glass rod with a diameter of 25 mm was successfully synthesized using copper mold casting for the Zr48Cu36Ag8Al8 alloy.High GFA of this alloy was found to be related to a large supercooled liquid region and a quaternary eutectic point with low melting temperature.The bulk metallic glass matrix composites were prepared by introducing extra Ta particles into the Zr48Cu36Ag8Al8 melt.The composites consist of Ta particles homogenously distributed in the Zr48Cu36Ag8Al8 metallic glass matrix.The optimum content of Ta powder is 10at%for the composite with the highest plasticity,which shows a plastic strain of 31%.

Revealing the role of local shear strain partition of transformable particles in a TRIP-reinforced bulk metallic glass composite via digital image correlation

The coupling effects of the metastable austenitic phase and the amorphous matrix in a transformation-induced plasticity(TRIP)-reinforced bulk metallic glass(BMG)composite under compressive loading were investigated by employing the digital image correlation(DIC)technique.The evolution of local strain field in the crystalline phase and the amorphous matrix was directly monitored,and the contribution from the phase transformation of the metastable austenitic phase was revealed.Local shear strain was found to be effectively consumed by the displacive phase transformation of the metastable austenitic phase,which relaxed the local strain/stress concentration at the interface and thus greatly enhanced the plasticity of the TRIP-reinforced BMG composites.Our current study sheds light on in-depth understanding of the underlying deformation mechanism and the interplay between the amorphous matrix and the metastable crystalline phase during deformation,which is helpful for design of advanced BMG composites with further improved properties.

Comparative study of bulk metallic glass composites with high-volume-fractioned dendritic and spherical b. c. c. phase precipitates

A dendritic β-phase reinforced bulk metallic glass(BMG) composite named as D2 was prepared by rapid quenching of a homogenous Zr60Ti14.67Nb5.33Cu5.56Ni4.44Be10 melt, and characterized by means of X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM) observation and room-temperature compression test. The microstructure and mechanical properties were compared with those of the spherical β-phase reinforced composite named as composite S2. It was found that the composite D2 contains β-phase dendrites up to 56% in volume-fraction, and exhibits a ductile compressive behavior with plastic strain of 12.7%. As the high-volumefractioned β-phase dendrites transferred to coarse spherical particles of about 20 μm in diameter in the composite S2, a much improved plastic strain up to 20.4% can be achieved. Micrographs of the fractured samples reveal different interaction modes of the propagating shear bands with the dendritic and spherical β phase inclusions, resulting in different shear strains in the composite samples. The matrix of composite S2 undergoes a significantly larger shear strain than that of the composite D2 before ultimate failure, which is thought to be mainly responsible for the greatly increased global plastic strain of the S2 relative to D2.

Nonlinear Optieal Properties of Ag Nanopartieles/Glass Composites Measured on a Femtosecond Time Scale

Ag nanoparticles embedded in soda-lime silicate glass were fabricated by ion-exchange and subsequently annealing method. Effects of annealing duration on the optical nonlinearity and ultrafast dynamics of Ag nanoparticles in glass were investigated by z-scan technique and pump-probe technique. The results indicate that the third-order optical nonlinearity increases with extending the annealing time, the fast decay process with lifetime of a few picoseconds is attributed to thermal equilibrium process of hot electrons and the energy transfer to lattices by interaction with phonons in the formed Ag nanoparticles, while the slow decay in more than one hundred picoseconds corresponds to the subsequent cooling process by a thermal diffusion from the Ag nanoparticle to the host matrix via the phonon-medium interaction. The fast decay process is accelerated with extending the annealing time.

Preparation of tungsten-particle-reinforced Zr-based bulk metallic glass composites by two-step spark plasma sintering:microstructure evolution,densification mechanism and mechanical properties

A new two-step spark plasma sintering(TSS)process with low-temperature pre-sintering and high-temperature final sintering has been successfully applied to prepare the tungsten-particle(Wp)-reinforced bulk metallic glass composites(Wp/BMGCs).Compared to normal spark plasma sintering(NS),the densification rate and relative density of Wp/BMGCs can be improved by selecting TSS with appropriate sintering pressure in the low temperature pre-sintering stage.However,the compressive strength and plastic strain of 30%Wp/BMGCs prepared by TSS are both higher than those of the samples prepared by NS.The TSS process can significantly enhance the compressive strength of 30%Wp/BMGCs by 12%and remarkably increase the plastic strain by 50%,while the trend is completely opposite for 50%Wp/BMGCs.Quasi-in situ experiments and finite element simulations reveal that uneven temperature distribution among particles during low-temperature pre-sintering causes local overheating at contact points between particles,accelerating formation of sintering neck between particles and plastic deformation of Wp.When the volume fraction of Wp is low,TSS can improve the interface bonding between particles by increasing the number of sintering necks.This makes the fracture mode of Wp/BMGCs being predominantly transgranular fracture.However,as the volume fraction of Wp increases,the adverse effects of Wp plastic deformation are becoming more and more prominent.The aggregated Wp tends to form a solid"cage structure"that hinders the bonding between particles at the interface;correspondingly,the fracture behavior of Wp/BMGCs is mainly dominated by intergranular fracture.Additionally,reducing the sintering pressure during the low-temperature pre-sintering stage of TSS has been shown to effectively decrease plastic deformation in Wp,resulting in a higher degree of densification and better mechanical properties.

Temperature dependence of pressure sensitive flow in bulk metallic glass composites

The constraint factor,C,defined as hardness,H,to the yield strength,σ_(y),ratio,is an indirect measure of the pressure sensitivity in materials.Previous investigations determined that while C is less than 3 for crystalline materials,and remains invariant with change in temperature,it is greater than 3 for bulk metallic glasses(BMGs)and increases with increasing temperature,below their glass transition temper-ature,T_(g).In this study,the variations in C for two BMG composites(BMGCs),which have an amorphous matrix and in situ precipitated crystallineβ-Ti dendrites,which in one case transforms under stress toα”-Ti and deforms by slip in the other,as a function of temperature are examined and compared with that of a BMG.For this purpose,instrumented indentation tests,with a Berkovich tip,and uniaxial com-pression tests were performed to measure the H andσ_(y),respectively,on all alloys and their constituents at temperatures in the range of 0.48 T_(g)and 0.75 T_(g).σ_(y)and H of the BMGC with transforming dendrites(BMGC-T)increase and remain invariant with increasing temperature,respectively.Alternately,in BMG and the BMGC with non-transforming dendrites(BMGC–NT),the same properties decrease with increas-ing temperature.BMGC-T has the highest C of∼4.93 whereas that of BMGC–NT and BMG are∼3.72 and∼3.28,respectively,at 0.48 T_(g).With increasing temperature,C of the BMG and BMGC–NT increases with temperature,but that of the BMGC-T decreases.The values of C and their variations as a function of temperature were explained by studying the variation of pressure sensitivity of the amorphous phase and concluding that the plastic flow in BMGCs under constrained conditions,such as indentation,is con-trolled by the flow resistance of the amorphous matrix whereas that in uniaxial compression,which is only partially constrained,is controlled by plasticity in both the dendrites and matrix.

Toughening additive manufactured Zr-based bulk metallic glass composites by martensite phase transformation

Additive manufacturing technology based on laser powder bed fusion(LPBF)offers a novel approach for fabricating bulk metallic glass(BMG)products without restriction in size and geometry.Nevertheless,the BMGs prepared by LPBF usually suffered from less plasticity and poorer fracture toughness as compared to their cast counterparts due to partial crystallization in heat-affected zones(HAZs).Since crystallization in HAZs is hard to avoid completely in LPBF BMGs,it is desirable to design a suitable alloy system,in which only ductile crystalline phase,instead of brittle intermetallics,is formed in HAZs.This unique structure could effectively increase the toughness/plasticity of the LPBF BMGs.To achieve this goal,a quaternary BMG system with a composition of Zr_(47.5)Cu_(45.5)Al_(5)Co_(2)is adopted and subjected to LPBF.It is found that nearly a single phase of B_(2)-ZrCu is precipitated in HAZs,while a fully amorphous phase is formed in molten pools(MPs).This B_(2)phase reinforced BMG composite exhibits excellent mechanical properties with enhanced plasticity and toughness.Furthermore,it is easy to modulate the mechanical properties by altering the amount of the B_(2)phase via adjusting the laser energy input.Finally,the best combination of strength,plasticity,and notch toughness is obtained in the BMG composite containing 27.4%B_(2)phase and 72.6%amorphous phase,which exhibits yield strength(σ_(s))of 1423 MPa,plastic strain(ε_(p))of 4.65%,and notch toughness(K_(q))of 53.9 MPa m 1/2.Furthermore,a notable strain-hardening is also observed.The improvement of plasticity/toughness and appearance of strain-hardening behavior are mainly due to the martensite phase transformation from the B_(2)phase to the Cm phase during plastic deformation(i.e.,the phase transformation-induced plasticity effect).The current work provides a guide for making advanced BMGs and BMG composites by additive manufacturing.

Study of the Diffusion Behavior of Seawater Absorption in Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes/Halloysite Nanotubes Hybrid Nanofillers Modified Epoxy-Based Glass/Carbon Fiber Composites

In the maritime industry, cost-effective and lightweight Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites offer excellent mechanical properties, design flexibility, and corrosion resistance. However, their reliability in harsh seawater conditions is a concern. Researchers address this by exploring three approaches: coating fiber surfaces, hybridizing fibers and matrices with or without nanofillers, and interply rearrangement. This study focuses on evaluating the synergistic effects of interply rearrangement of glass/carbon fibers and hybrid nanofillers, specifically Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and Halloysite nanotubes (HNT). The aim is to enhance impact properties by minimizing moisture absorption. Hybrid nanocomposites with equal-weight proportions of two nanofillers: 0 wt.%, 1 wt.%, and 2 wt.% were exposed to seawater for 90 days. Experimental data was subjected to modelling through the application of Predictive Fick’s Law. The study found that the hybrid composite containing 2 wt.% hybrid nanofillers exhibited a 22.10% increase in impact performance compared to non-modified counterparts. After 90 days of seawater aging, the material exhibited enhanced resistance to moisture absorption (15.74%) and minimal reduction in impact strength (8.52%) compared to its dry strength, with lower diffusion coefficients.

Effects of Al addition and cryogenic cyclic treatment on impact toughness of phase-transformable Ti-based bulk metallic glass composites

Developing bulk metallic glass composites(BMGCs)with high toughness is vital for their practical application.However,the influence of different microstructures on the impact toughness of BMGCs is still unclear.The effects of Al addition and cryogenic cyclic treatment(CCT)on the Charpy impact toughness,a K,at 298 and 77 K of a series of phase-transformable BMGCs are investigated in this work.It is found that deformation-induced martensitic transformation(DIMT)of theβ-Ti dendrites is the dominant toughening mechanism in the phase-transformable BMGCs at 298 K,but at 77 K,the toughness of BMGCs is primarily determined by the intrinsic toughness of the glass matrix.The addition of Al can moderately tune theβ-Ti phase stability,which then affects the amount of DIMT and impact toughness of the BMGCs at 298 K.However,at 77 K,Al addition causes a monotonic decrease in the toughness of the BMGCs due to the embrittlement of the glass matrix.It is found that CCT can effectively rejuvenate the phase-transformable BMGCs,which results in an enhanced impact toughness at 298 K.However,the toughness at 77 K monotonously decreases with increasing the number of CCT cycles,suggesting that the rejuvenation of the glass matrix affects the toughness at both 298 and 77 K of BMGCs,but in dramatically different ways.These findings reveal the influence of microstructures and CCT on the impact toughness of BMGCs and provide insights that could be useful for designing tougher BMGs and BMGCs.

Laser additive manufacturing of laminated bulk metallic glass composite with desired strength-ductility combination

Introducing ductile crystalline dendrites into a glassy matrix to produce bulk metallic glass composites(BMGCs)is an effective way to improve the poor ductility of bulk metallic glasses(BMGs).However,the presence of soft crystalline phases tends to decrease the strength and causes the strength-ductility tradeoff.Here,relying on the flexible laser additive manufacturing(LAM)technique that allows the composition tailoring of each layer,we successfully fabricate a lamellated Zr-based BMGC constructed by the alternating superimposition of soft and hard layers.The lamellated BMGC shows an exceptional combination of yield strength(∼1.2 GPa)and ductility(∼5%).Such enhanced strength-ductility synergy is attributed to the asynchronous deformation at two scales,i.e.,inter-laminar and intra-laminar,and the unique dual-scale Ta particles that uniformly distribute on the amorphous matrix.The lamellated structure design motif,enabled by the flexible LAM technology,provides a new window for the development of high-performance BMGCs.It is also applicable to the synergistic enhancement of strength and plasticity of other brittle metallic materials.

Outstanding strength and conductivity of metallic glass composites with multiscale configuration

Cu-based composites with multiscale configuration for electrical contact applications are fabricated via a ball milling(BM)-spark plasma sintering(SPS)-aging process.Synergistic strengthening of the Cu alloy matrix by micro-scale metallic glass particles and nanoscale intracrystalline precipitation phases is realized.The annealing technique achieves the decomposition of solute atoms in the Cu alloy,ensuring the excellent electrical properties of the matrix conductive network.The composite with multiscale configuration achieves an outstanding combination of ultimate compressive strength of(1114±15)MPa and electrical conductivity of 33.0%±1.1%International Annealed Copper Standard(IACS)after annealing at 400.C for 10.0 h.Investigation of the strengthening and conductivity mechanisms suggests that the precipitation of the Cr-rich phase within the matrix crystals is a critical contributor to the concerted enhancement of strength and conductivity.In addition,the positive role of nanocrystals precipitated at the edges of metallic glass particles on the interfacial bonding of composites is addressed.

Cryogenic wear behaviors of a metastable Ti-based bulk metallic glass composite

Bulk metallic glass composites(BMGCs)are proven to be excellent candidates for cryogenic engineering applications due to their remarkable combination of strength,ductility and toughness.However,few efforts have been done to estimate their wear behaviors that are closely correlated to their practical service.Here,we report an improvement of∼48%in wear resistance for a Ti-based BMGC at the cryogenic temperature of 113 K as compared to the case at 233 K.A pronounced martensitic transformation(β-Ti→α''-Ti)was found to coordinate deformation underneath the worn surface at 233 K but was significantly suppressed at 113 K.This temperature-dependent structural evolution is clarified by artificially inducing a pre-notch by FIB cutting on aβ-Ti crystal,demonstrating a strain-dominated martensitic transformation in the BMGC.The improved wear resistance and suppressed martensitic transformation in BMGC at 113 K is associated with the increased strength and strong confinement of metallic glass on metastable crystalline phase at the cryogenic temperature.The current work clarifies the superior cryogenic wear resistance of metastable BMGCs,making them excellent candidates for safety-critical wear applications at cryogenic temperatures.

Static Bending Creep Properties of Glass Fiber Surface Composite Wood

To study the static bending creep properties of glass fiber reinforced wood,glass fiber reinforced poplar(GFRP)specimens were obtained by pasting glass fiber on the upper and lower surfaces of Poplar(Populus euramevicana,P),the performance of Normal Creep(NC)and Mechanical Sorptive Creep(MSC)of GFRP and their influencing factors were tested and analyzed.The test results and analysis show that:(1)The MOE and MOR of Poplar were increased by 17.06%and 10.00%respectively by the glass fiber surface reinforced composite.(2)The surface reinforced P with glass fiber cloth only exhibits the NC pattern of wood and loses the MSC characteristics of wood,regardless of the constant or alternating changes in relative humidity.(3)The instantaneous elastic deformation,viscoelastic deformation,viscous deformation and total creep deflection of GFRP are positively correlated with the stress level of the external load applied to the specimen.Still,the specimen’s creep recovery rate is negatively correlated with the stress level of the external load applied to the specimen.The static creep deflection and viscous deformation of GFRP increase with the increase of the relative humidity of the environment.(4)The MSC maximum creep deflection of GFRP increased by only 7.41%over the NC maximum creep deflection,but the MSC maximum creep deflection of P increased by 199.25%over the NC maximum creep deflection.(5)The Burgers 4-factor model and the Weibull distribution equation can fit the NC and NC recovery processes of GFRP well.

Composition Analysis and Identification of Ancient Glass Products Based on L1 Regularization Logistic Regression

In view of the composition analysis and identification of ancient glass products, L1 regularization, K-Means cluster analysis, elbow rule and other methods were comprehensively used to build logical regression, cluster analysis, hyper-parameter test and other models, and SPSS, Python and other tools were used to obtain the classification rules of glass products under different fluxes, sub classification under different chemical compositions, hyper-parameter K value test and rationality analysis. Research can provide theoretical support for the protection and restoration of ancient glass relics.

Distribution of Be in a Ti-Based Bulk Metallic Glass Composite Containing B-Ti

In order to obtain a glassy matrix during quenching, Be is often selected as a constituent of the compositions of Ti/Zr-based bulk metallic glass composites（BMGCs）. The in situ formed β phase in Be-bearing BMGCs was reported to be Be-free. However, a thorough investigation of the distribution of Be in BMGCs is still missing to date. In this work, the distribution of Be in a Ti_（47.5）Zr_（33）Cu_（5.8）Co_3Be_（12.5）（at.%） BMGC was studied by the secondary ion mass spectrometry（SIMS） and the electron energy loss spectroscopy（EELS）.It is found that Be almost totally dissolves in the glassy matrix, but a very weak intensity of Be in β phase is still detectable by SIMS, and the content of Be in β-Ti is estimated to be about 0.3 at.%. Based on the recently established two-phase quasi-equilibrium of BMGCs, the distinct solubility of Be in the glassy matrix and in β-Ti has been explained.

Deformation behavior of Ta wire-reinforced Zr-based bulk metallic glass composites

A Ta wire-reinforced Zr-based bulk metallic glass composite with a new type of structure was prepared successfully by the method of liquid metal infiltration. Ta wires distribute uniformly in the metallic glass matrix in the form of spirals. The composite exhibits two yield stages under compressive stress, and the samples are compressed into thin pancakes. The micro-cracks originate at the interface between the Ta wire and the metallic glass matrix and propagate perpendicularly to the interface, which then induce multiple shear bands in the metallic glass matrix due to the stress concentration. Shear cracks form in the metallic glass matrix during the continued loading process as a result of the interaction of shear bands. Deformation bands of Ta wires occur under the impact of shear bands. The local stress fields in the composite are changed obviously due to the introduction of the spiral-formed reinforcements. The investigation of the deformation behavior and mechanism suggests a new method for the application of bulk metallic glass composites as the structural materials.

Mechanical behavior and deformation mechanism of shape memory bulk metallic glass composites synthesized by powder metallurgy

The synthesis of martensitic or shape-memory bulk metallic glass composites(BMGCs)via solidification of the glass-forming melts requires the meticulous selection of the chemical composition and the proper choice of the processing parameters in order to ensure that the glassy matrix coexists with the desired amount of austenitic phase.Unfortunately,a relatively limited number of such systems,where austenite and glassy matrix coexist over a wide range of compositions,is available.Here,we study the effective-ness of powder metallurgy as an alternative to solidification for the synthesis of shape memory BMGCs.Zr_(48)Cu_(36)Al_(8)Ag_(8)matrix composites with different volume fractions of Ni_(50.6)Ti_(49.4)are fabricated using hot pressing and their microstructure,mechanical properties and deformation mechanism are investigated employing experiments and simulations.The results demonstrate that shape-memory BMGCs with tun-able microstructures and properties can be synthesized by hot pressing.The phase stability of the glass and austenitic components across a wide range of compositions allows us to examine fundamental as-pects in the field of shape memory BMGCs,including the effect of the confining stress on the martensitic transformation exerted by the glassy matrix,the contribution of each phase to the plasticity and the mechanism responsible for shear band formation.The present method gives a virtually infinite choice among the possible combinations of glassy matrices and shape memory phases,expanding the range of accessible shape memory BMGCs to systems where the glassy and austenitic phases do not form simul-taneously using the solidification route.

Shear transformation zone dependence of creep behaviors of amorphous phase in a CuZr-based bulk metallic glass composite

The creep behaviors of the amorphous phase in a CuZr-based bulk metallic glass composite(BMGC)are studied by nanoindentation.Samples fabricated via higher cooling rates are found to exhibit more prominent creep,but a smaller shear viscosity.The volume of the shear transformation zones(STZs)in the amorphous phase calculated based on a cooperative shear model increases with the cooling rate.The evolution of excess free volume created during creep deformation is clarified.A looser atomic arrangement leads to a larger STZ volume,thus facilitating creep deformation.This study gives a better understanding of the deformation behaviors of the amorphous phase in BMGCs.