Interface and thermal expansion of carbon fiber reinforced aluminum matrix composites

Two kinds of unidirectional PAN M40 carbon fiber （55%, volume fraction） reinforced 6061Al and 5A06Al composites were fabricated by the squeeze-casting technology and their interface structure and thermal expansion properties were investigated. Results showed that the combination between aluminum alloy and fibers was well in two composites and interface reaction in M40/5A06Al composite was weaker than that in M40/6061Al composite. Coefficients of thermal expansion （CTE） of M40/Al composites varied approximately from （1.45-2.68）×10^-6 K^-1 to （0.35-1.44）×10^-6 K^-1 between 20℃ and 450℃, and decreased slowly with the increase of temperature. In addition, the CTE of M40/6061Al composite was lower than that of M40/SA06Al composite. It was observed that fibers were protruded significantly from the matrix after thermal expansion, which demonstrated the existence of interface sliding between fiber and matrix during the thermal expansion. It was believed that weak interracial reaction resulted in a higher CTE. It was found that the experimental CTEs were closer to the predicted values by Schapery model.

Effect of thermal-cooling cycle treatment on thermal expansion behavior of particulate reinforced aluminum matrix composites

Two micron SiC particles with angular and spherical shape and the sub-micron Al2O3 particles with spherical shape were introduced to reinforce 6061 aluminium by squeeze casting technology. Microstructures and effect of thermal-cooling cycle treatment （TCCT） on the thermal expansion behaviors of three composites were investigated. The results show that the composites are free of porosity and SiC/Al2O3 particles are distributed uniformly. Inflections at about 300℃ are observed in coefficient of thermal expansion （CTE） versus temperature curves of two SiCp/Al composites, and this characteristic is not affected by TCCT. The TCCT has significant effect on thermal expansion behavior of SiCp/Al composites and CTE of them after 3 cycles is lower than that of 1 or 5 cycles. However, no inflection is observed in Al2O3p/Al composite, while TCCT has effect on CTE of Al2O3p/Al composite. These results should be due to different relaxation behavior of internal stress in three composites.

Effect of superheat and solidified layer on achieving good metallic bond between A390/A356 alloys fabricated by cast-decant-cast process

The cast-decant-cast is a new method for the preparation of the functionally graded components that has been developed in recent years. The functionally graded cylindrical shape component with a radial gradient, e.g. the first alloy （A390） with high wear resistance on the surface of the piece and toughness and the second alloy （A356） of low machining costs in the core of the piece can be produced via this melt process. The effect of the second alloy superheat at temperatures of 750, 820 and 860 ℃ as well as the effect of the first alloy solidified layer at 25, 35 and 45 s decanting time on achieving the perfect interface between the two alloys was investigated. The characterization of the interface was carded out by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and its width was measured by the microhardness test. The results showed that the best interface was obtained at 860 ℃ and 35 s decanting time with a width of 500 ~tm. Also, the wear resistance test was performed to measure and compare the surface wear resistance to the core.

Single-Seed Casting Large-Size Monocrystalline Silicon for High-Efflciency and Low-Cost Solar Cells

To grow high-quality and large-size monocrystalline silicon at low cost, we proposed a single-seed casting technique. To realize this technique, two challenges—polycrystalline nucleation on the crucible wall and dislocation multiplication inside the crystal—needed to be addressed. Numerical analysis was used to develop solutions for these challenges. Based on an optimized furnace structure and operating conditions from numerical analysis, experiments were performed to grow monocrystalline silicon using the single-seed casting technique. The results revealed that this technique is highly superior to the popular high-performance multicrystalline and multiseed casting mono-like techniques.

QFD-Taguchi based hybrid approach in die casting process optimization

The present research work emphasized on identifying and optimizing various significant process parameters of high pressure die casting by using QFD-Taguchi based hybrid approach in order to yield the optimum casting density of the A380alloy.Identification of critical process parameters,selection of appropriate orthogonal array,analysis of means and analysis of variance are employed to study the performance characteristic of the die casting process.The most critical process parameters identified and optimized by QFD-Taguchi based hybrid approach,such as the injection pressure,the molten metal temperature,the plunger velocity(first and second stage)and the die temperature were explored in the experimental work.The results show that injection pressure is the most significant factor among the selected parameters.The contribution of the injection pressure to the variation of mean casting density is around61.483%.Confidence interval(CI)has also been estimated as0.000718for95%consistency level to validate the predicted range of optimum casting density of aforesaid alloy.

Secondary cooling technology for high-efficiency continuous billet-casting

The mathematical model of high-efficiency continuous billet casting was developed, incorporating the effective spraying water coefficient and the effective specific spraying water flowrate of secondary cooling. To realize uniform cooling in secondary cooling zones, the spraying cooling structure and the arrangement of nozzles were redesigned and optimized, and an additional spraying cooling zone was used. A new secondary cooling model of spraying water was built. It was found that the required spraying water flowrate of a cooling zone was related with the casting speed, the casting temperature, the compositions of liquid steel and the cooling water temperature of secondary cooling. The operation of the reformed caster proved that the spraying cooling structure and the new secondary cooling model were suitable, and the casting speed was greatly enhanced. The highest casting speed was （3.8 to 4.0） m/min for billet with a section of 150× 150 mm^2. The quality And the outout of the billet were imoroved, andthe economical benefit was heightened.

Mg alloy surface alloying layer fabricated through evaporative pattern casting technology

The influencing factors of surface alloying layer by evaporative pattern casting technology were investigated.A certain thickness alloying layer was formed on the surface of Mg-alloy matrix when the pouring temperature was 780°C with different vacuum degree and alloying powder size.The surface layer microstructure,micro area composition of the new phase formed on the matrix and the composition characteristics on the surface layer were examined by SEM and element scanning.The results show that the content of aluminum increases greatly on the surface layer.The micro-hardness of alloyed layer has a more obvious increase compared with that of the matrix.The size of alloying element and the vacuum degree are the key factors influencing the alloying layer,with the increase of element powder size from 0.074 to 0.15 mm and vacuum degree from 0.04 to 0.06 MPa,the surface alloying effect becomes better.

A NEW AREA IN UTILIZATION OF COAL MINE WASTE-DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW TYPE OF MOULDING MATERIAL

This paper concentrates on the research of plaster-bonded moulding matertal with coal mine waste as its major filler and its process. Having made a careful investigation of various factorsaffecting properties of the moulding material, the authors optimize several new formulations of thismaterial and the prarees which are inexpensive, convenient in application, precise in bokling sizoof moulds.

Fabrication characteristics and tensile strength of novel Al2024/SiC/red mud composites processed via stir casting route

The stir casting technique was used to fabricate aluminum2024matrix hybrid composites reinforced with SiC(5%,mass fraction)and red mud(5%-20%,mass fraction)particles.The developed composites were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and electron dispersive spectrum(EDS)techniques.Further,Taguchi’s approach of experimental design was used to examine the tensile strength of the hybrid composites(with minimum number of experiments).It was found that the reinforcing particles were well dispersed and adequately bonded in the hybrid composites.The density and porosity of the hybrid composites were reduced with the increase in reinforcement content.The tensile strength of the composites increased with the increase in the red mud content and the ageing time.The developed model indicated that the red mud content had the highest influence on the tensile strength response followed by the ageing time.Overall,it was found that Al2024/SiC/red mud composites exhibited superior tensile strength(about34%higher)in comparison to the Al2024alloy under optimized conditions.