Heat-treated microstructure and mechanical properties of laser solid forming Ti-6Al-4V alloy

The effects of heat treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of laser solid forming （LSF） Ti-6Al-4V alloy were investigated The influences of the temperature and time of solution treatment and aging treatment were analyzed. The results show that the microstructure of LSFed samples consists of Widmanstatten α laths and a little acicular in columnar prior β grains with an average grain width of 300 μm, which grow epitaxiaUy from the substrate along the deposition direction （27）. Solution treatment had an important effect on the width, aspect ratio, and volmne fraction of primary and secondary a laths, and aging treatment mainly affects the aspect ratio and volume fraction of primary α laths and the width and volume fraction of secondary a laths. Globular a phase was first observed in LSFed samples when the samples were heat treated with solution treatment （950℃, 8 h/air cooling （AC）） or with solution treatment （950℃, 1 h/AC） and aging treatment （550℃, above 8 h/AC）, respectively. The coarsening and globularization mechanisms of a phase in LSFed Ti-6Al-4V alloy during heat treatment were presented. To obtain good integrated mechanical properties for LSFed Ti-6Al-4V alloys, an optimized heat treatment regimen was suggested.

Influence of processing parameters on deposition characteristics of Inconel 625 superalloy fabricated by laser solid forming

A series of single track clads of Inconel 625 alloy were fabricated by laser solid forming.To achieve the high dimensional accuracy and excellent mechanical properties,the effect of processing parameters on the geometry,the formation of Laves phase and the residual stress was investigated.The results show that laser power and scanning speed had a dramatical influence on the width and height of single-track clads.According to the columnar to equiaxed transition curve of Inconel 625,the grain morphology can be predicted during the LSF process.With the increasing laser power and the decreasing scanning speed,the segregation degree of Si,Nb,Mo,the volume fraction and size of Laves phase increased.Vickers indentation was used to demonstrate that optimizing processing parameter can achieve the minimum residual tensile stress.

Flexible-die forming process with solid granule medium on sheet metal

Certain non-metallic granules （NMG） were selected as the research object. It was proposed to conduct the volume compression experiments as well as those on the NMG physical properties at high stress levels. Then, not only the volume compression ratio curve but also the extended Drucker-Prager linear model were obtained. In addition, through the friction strength tests, parameters of the Mohr-Coulomb model were gained, which proved in basic agreement with those of the extended Drucker-Prager linear model. Additionally, curves of the friction coefficients between the NMG and the sheet metal trader different pressures were also obtained. Based on the material performance experiments, numerical analysis in respect of flexible-die forming process with solid granule medium （SGM） was conducted. The die and device for experiments of solid granule medium forming （SGMF） on sheet metal were designed and manufactured. Typical parabolic parts were successfully trial-produced. The tests and simulation results show that the sheet formability is significantly improved for the extraordinary friction performance during interaction between the SGM and the sheet metal surface. The process control and die structure are simple, and the shaped work-pieces enjoy many advantages, such as satisfactory surface quality and favorable die fitability, which offers a brand-new method and means for processing and preparation of sheet metals.

Microstructure evolution of laser solid forming of Ti-Al-V ternary system alloys from blended elemental powders

Morphology evolution of prior β grains of laser solid forming （LSF） Ti-xAl-yV （x 11,y 20） alloys from blended elemental powders is investigated. The formation mechanism of grain morphology is revealed by incorporating columnar to equiaxed transition （CET） mechanism during solidification. The morphology of prior β grains of LSF Ti-6Al-yV changes from columnar to equiaxed grains with increasing element V content from 4 to 20 wt.-%. This agrees well with CET theoretical prediction. Likewise, the grain morphology of LSF Ti-xAl-2V from blended elemental powders changes from large columnar to small equiaxed with increasing Al content from 2 to 11 wt.-%. The macro-morphologies of LSF Ti-8Al-2V and Ti-11Al-2V from blended elemental powders do not agree with CET predictions. This is caused by the increased disturbance effects of mixing enthalpy with increasing Al content, generated in the alloying process of Ti, Al, and V in the molten pool.

Effect of dimensionless heat input during laser solid forming of high-strength steel

Laser solid forming(LSF)technology can be used to rapidly manufacture and repair high-strength steel parts with superior performance,but the value of the heat input during operation is difficult to quantify,which has a substantial impact on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the parts.A promising method to improve the forming efficiency and quality of LSFed parts is to accurately control the heat input and explore its relationship with the microstructure and mechanical properties.To remove the interference of other variables from the experiment,the dimensionless heat input Q;^(∗)was introduced.The Q^(∗)values were designed in advance to calculate the experimental parameters used to perform the LSF experiment.The microstructure was observed at different regions of the sample,and its mechanical properties were analyzed.From the results,the following conclusions were drawn.The Q;^(∗)value was directly related to the cooling rate and heat accumulation in the top structure,leading to the formation of different microstructures;it also modified the original structure at the bottom,affecting the subsequent thermal cycle and indirectly changing the tempered martensite morphology.The heat input also affected the mechanical properties of the sample.The hardness of the stable zone decreased with increasing Q;^(∗)value,and the lowest value was 190 HV.Similarly,the tensile strength and yield strength of the LSFed samples decreased considerably with increasing Q;^(∗)value,and the lowest values were 735 and 604 MPa,respectively.Only the elongation and reduction in the area increased after a slight decrease.The Q;^(∗)value had a significant effect on heat treatment.When Q;^(∗)=2.9,the increase in tensile strength and yield strength after heat treatment was the largest(29%and 44%,respectively).

Effect of Intermediate Heat Treatment Temperature on Microstructure and Notch Sensitivity of Laser Solid Formed Inconel 718 Superalloy

Inconel 718 superalloys deposited by laser solid forming （LSF） were heat treated with solution treatment,intermediate heat treatment （IHT） and two-stage aging treatment in sequence （SITA heat treatment）.The effect of IHT temperature on microstructure,tensile property and notch sensitivity of LSFed Inconel 718 superalloy at 500 ℃ were investigated.As-deposited columnar grains have transformed to equiaxed grains and the grains were refined due to the recrystallization during the SITA heat treatment.It is found that the size and amount of δ phase dispersed at grain boundaries decreased with the increasing of IHT temperature,and δ phase disappeared when the IHT temperature reached 1 020 ℃.The ultimate tensile strength （UTS） and yield strength （YS） of smooth samples increased to a maximum when the IHT temperature reached 980 ℃ and then decreased slightly to a minimum when the IHT temperature was 1 000 ℃,and followed by slight increasing again till the IHT temperature reached 1 020 ℃,resulted from the competition of precipitation strengthening effect of γ″ and γ＇ phase and the grain boundary weakening effect caused by the gradual disappearance of δ phase with increasing the IHT temperature.The notch sensitivity factor （qe） decreased but still greater than 1 as the IHT temperature increased,which is attributed to the decrease of the size and amount of δ precipitation.

Process of back pressure deep drawing with solid granule medium on sheet metal

The experimental die apparatus of the solid granules medium forming on sheet metal was designed and manufactured.Typical parts,such as conical,parabolic,cylindrical and square-box-shaped components,were successfully trial-produced as well.According to the analysis of the changing trends of the cross-section shape and the wall thickness during the process,it can be found that the shape of the free deformation zone of the sheet metal,which is the most critical thinning area,can be described as an approximately spherical cap.According to this forming feature,back pressure deep drawing technology with solid granules medium on sheet metal was proposed to restrain drastic thinning at the bottom of the part through the joint friction effect of solid granules medium,the back pressure tringle and the sheet metal.Therefore,the deep drawing limit of the sheet metal is significantly improved.In order to fabricate thin-walled rotary parts with great drawing ratio and complex cross-sections,a finite element model based on the material property test of the solid granules medium was established to optimize the scheme of the back pressure deep drawing.The effects on the forming performance of sheet metal from back pressure load and the approach of blank holding control were analyzed through this model.

Mossbauer Spectroscopic Studies on a Supersaturated Solid Solution of Fe-Cu Formed by Mechanical Alloying

Mechanical alloying (MA) was employed to produce supersaturated solid solutions of Fe1-xCux,which is virtually immiscible under an equilibrium condition at ambjent temperature. The X-ray diffraction results show that the solutions formed in the concentration ranges of x≤0.1 5 and x≥0.40 are of bcc structure of iron and fcc structure of copper. respectively. For the region in between.however, the alloy obtained is a mixture of bcc plus fcc phases. The Mossbauer spectrum of the solid solution of a single phase could be fitted by two sub-spectra with hyperfine magnetic fields of 200 and 250 kOe. respectively. suggesting that there must exist two forms of coordination in the solution. While to fit the spectrum for the solution with mixed structu re. three Sub-spectra. including a spectrum of α-Fe, should be used. The variation of the Mossbauer spectra of Fe60Cu40 with milling time as well as annealing temperature was systematically studied. This may be ascribed to the changes of the number of nearest neighboring atoms of iron in the processes of formation and decomposition of the solid solution during milling and annealing

Controlling solid form and crystal habit of triphenylmethanol by antisolvent crystallization in a microfluidic device

Crystal habit and crystal form are critical elements in determining product properties and functions. In this work, we developed a microfluidic antisolvent crystallization technique to rapidly screen and accurately control the solid form and crystal habit of triphenylmethanol(Ph_(3)COH). This advanced technique separates the primary mixing of solutions from crystal formation(nucleation and growth) by introducing the microfluidic device, avoiding clogging in microchannels to obtain high-quality crystals. The results show that we can achieve controllable preparation of pure 2Ph_(3)COH·DMSO(DMSO solvate), pure Ph_(3)COH(form β), and mixed crystals with different mass ratios. Moreover, the microscale can prompt the DMSO solvate to grow into hexagonal sheet-like and bulk crystals. We can regulate the aspect ratio of hexagonal sheet-like crystals in binary solvents and control the crystal habit of the form β to transition between long needle-like shapes and short hexagonal prisms in DMF-H_(2)O. Meanwhile, we revealed that the solvent ratio, the antisolvent flow rate, and the initial concentration of Ph_(3)COH are the main factors affecting the solid form selectivity and morphology transition. Such a novel method would be considered as a promising technique to be extended to screen and control key crystallization parameters of other substances.

Transformation of microstructure and phase of disodium guanosine 5′-monophosphate: Thermodynamic perspectives

Microstructure and phase transformation of disodium guanosine 5′-monophosphate(5′-GMPNa_2) are extremely important for controlling the process and understanding the mechanism of crystallization. In this work, the thermodynamic properties of polymorphous 5′-GMPNa_2 especially the solubility were studied, the solubility results show that 5′-GMPNa_2 is more soluble in ethanol–water(E–W) than in isopropanol–water(I–W). The amorphous form of 5′-GMPNa_2 is more soluble than the crystalline form at the same mole fraction and temperature. Meanwhile, the crystalline forms and morphologies of the residual solids were characterized by PXRD and SEM. The results indicate that solid forms of 5′-GMPNa_2 transformed spontaneously from amorphous to crystalline when the ethanol proportion is ≥20%. In addition, increasing the pH facilitates the dissolution of 5′-GMPNa_2 and helps to maintain the crystalline form. The associated Gibbs free energy values were calculated to verify the trend of transformation from amorphous to crystalline 5′-GMPNa_2. These results should help to guide the industrial crystallization process and to obtain the crystalline form of 5′-GMPNa_2.

Calculation on the Solid Solution Forming Enthalpies of Re-Mo-Ti Gradient Alloy in Thermodynamics

The idea about preparation of Re-Mo-Ti alloy is put forward because of applications of Re and Mo-Re alloys in aerospace.Basing on the thermodynamics theory,the feasibility of developing a new high temperature alloy Re-Mo-Ti is investigated.The solid solution forming enthalpies of binary alloys Re-Ti,Mo-Ti and Mo-Re are calculated with the Miedema thermodynamics theory.The Miedema theory of binary alloy can be used in ternary alloy through Kohler model or Toop model.The calculated results show that the forming enthalpies of binary alloys Re-Ti,Ti-Mo and Re-Mo are negative,which indicates that binary alloys Re-Ti,Ti-Mo and Re-Mo can form solid solution in wider component area.The forming enthalpies of Re-Mo-Ti ternary alloy are still negative and smaller than those of binary alloys Re-Ti,Ti-Mo or Re-Mo,which indicates it is possible to form large solid solution graph area among ternary alloys of Ti,Mo,Re elements.It is feasible to develop a new high temperature material in thermodynamics,in this material Re-Mo-Ti solid solution as base phase,and the Ti5Re24 intermetallic compounds or interphase ω (Ti4Mo3) as strengthening phase.

Reasons Why the Great Pyramids of Giza Remain the Only Surviving Wonder of the Ancient World： Drawing Ideas from the Structure of the Giza Pyramids to Nuclear Power Plants

Selecting a site for a nuclear power plant requires extensive studies to ensure its safety and stability during its operation until its decommissioning. The 4,500-year old Egyptian pyramids at Giza are buildings to learn from. This paper tries to pin down the reasons for the survival of the Giza pyramids in order to reach a criterion for choosing sites for important buildings. It argues that the site selection and the geological properties of the area, being away from seismic effects,, floods and groundwater levels, the stability of the geometric form of the pyramid, the solidity of the structural engineering and precision of execution arguably are the reasons why the Great Pyramids of Giza are the only survivors of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Hot deformation behavior and microstructure evolution of the laser solid formed TC4 titanium alloy

Hot compressive experiments of the laser solid formed(LSFed)TC4 titanium alloy were conducted at a wide temperature range of 650-950℃and strain rate of 0.01-10 s^(-1).The Arrheniustype constitutive models of the LSFed TC4 alloy were established at the temperature range of 800-950℃and of 650-800℃,respectively.The average relative error between the predicted stresses and experimental values in those two temperature ranges are 10.4%and 8.3%,respectively,indicating that the prediction models constructed in this paper are in a good agreement with experimental data.Processing maps were established by the principle of dynamic materials modeling on the basis of the data achieved from the hot compression experiments.The processing parameters corresponding to the stable and unstable regions of material deformation can be determined from the processing maps.The microstructure evolution of the stable and unstable regions of the samples after tests were observed.Finally,the effect of hot compressive parameters on the microstructure were investigated to research the dynamic recrystallization and the texture of the deformed LSFed TC4 alloy.

Drug-polymer inclusion complex as a new pharmaceutical solid form

The solid forms of drugs play a central role in controlling their physicochemical properties and consequently the bioavailability. Multiple types of drug solid forms have been developed to achieve the desirable pharmaceutical profiles, but new solid forms will provide more options for the solid-state property optimization and hence are highly desirable. This review focuses on a new pharmaceutical solid form, drug-polymer inclusion complexes （ICs）, and summarizes their structural features, structure- property relationships, as well as potential pharmaceutical applications

Crystal engineering in the development of improved pesticide products

Pesticides might be the only group of poisonous chemicals that are widely sprayed into the environment,but the use of pesticides is inevitable for crop protection and infectious disease control.When an ideal new pesticide compound is selected,its properties must be optimized to realize the full potential of the compound and extend its lifespan in the market.Crystal engineering has proven to be a viable strategy for manipulating the properties of solid-state pesticides.This review describes basic concepts of crystal engineering and its application in pesticide development through representative cases reported mainly by large agrochemical companies.The solid forms that present improved properties could justify patent protection,extending the market exclusivity of the pesticide product.The purpose of this review is to present the potential impact of crystal engineering strategies on the improvement of pesticide products,with emphasis on the importance of comprehensive characterization of the crystallization behaviors of a selected pesticide during its entire life cycle.

Pharmaceutical cocrystals: A review of preparations, physicochemical properties and applications

Pharmaceutical cocrystals are multicomponent systems in which at least one component is an active pharmaceutical ingredient and the others are pharmaceutically acceptable ingredients.Cocrystallization of a drug substance with a coformer is a promising and emerging approach to improve the performance of pharmaceuticals,such as solubility,dissolution profile,pharmacokinetics and stability.This review article presents a comprehensive overview of pharmaceutical cocrystals,including preparation methods,physicochemical properties,and applications.Furthermore,some examples of drug cocrystals are highlighted to illustrate the effect of crystal structures on the various aspects of active pharmaceutical ingredients,such as physical stability,chemical stability,mechanical properties,optical properties,bioavailability,sustained release and therapeutic effect.This review will provide guidance for more efficient design and manufacture of pharmaceutical cocrystals with desired physicochemical properties and applications.

An update on electrostatic powder coating for pharmaceuticals

Derived from dry powder coating of metals, electrostatic powder coating for pharmaceuticals is a technology for coating drug solid dosage forms. In this technology, coating powders, containing coating polymers, pigments, and other excipients, are directly sprayed onto the surface of the solid dosage forms through an electrostatic gun without using any organic solvent or water. The deposited coating powders are further cured to form a coating film. Electrostatic powder coating technology has many advantages compared to other pharmaceutical coating methods. It can eliminate the limitations caused by the organic solvent in solvent coating such as environmental issues and health problems. And electrostatic powder coating technology also surpasses aqueous coating due to its shorter processing time and less energy consumption, leading to a lower overall cost. Furthermore, the utilization of electrical attraction can promote the movement of coating powders towards the substrate, leading to an enhanced coating powder adhesion and coating efficiency, which make it more promising compared to other dry coating technologies. The objective of this review is to summarize the coating principles, apparatus, and formulations of different electrostatic powder coating technologies, giving their advantages and limitations and also analyzing the future application in the industry for each technology

Crystalline inclusion complexes formed between the drug diflunisal and block copolymers

The solid form of drugs plays a central role in optimizing the physicochemical properties of drugs,and new solid forms will provide more options to achieve the desirable pharmaceutical profiles of drugs.Recently,certain drugs have been found to form crystalline inclusion complexes（ICs） with multiple types of linear polymers,representing a new subcategory of pharmaceutical solids.In this study,we used diflunisal（DIF） as the model drug host and extended the guest of drug/polymer ICs from homopolymers to block copolymers of poly（ethylene glycol）（PEG） and poly（s-caprolactone）（PCL）.The block length in the guest copolymers showed a significant influence on the formation,thermal stability and dissolution behavior of the DIF ICs.Though the PEG block could hardly be included alone,it could indeed be included in the DIF ICs when the PCL block was long enough.The increase of the PCL block length produced IC crystals with improved thermal stability.The dissolution profiles of DIF/block copolymer ICs exhibited gradually decreased aqueous solubility and dissolution rate with the increasing PCL block length.These results demonstrate the possibility of using drug/polymer ICs to modulate the desired pharmaceutical profiles of drugs in a predictable and controllable manner.