EFFECT OF REINFORCEMENT VOLUME FRACTION ON PRECIPITATION IN MATRIX OF SiC_p/AI COMPOSITE

The differential scanning calorimetric(DSC) and transmission electron microanalysis (TEM) techniques were used to study the kinetic process of precipitation in matrix of cast SiC_p/2024 composites.The results showed that precipitation reactions of GP zone and intermediate phase S'(Al_2CuMg)in the composites were accelerated compared with SiC-free material,the peak temperatures of both reactions were decreased.The reaction enthalpies of both the GP zone and intermediate phase S' formation in the matrix were substantially decreased after the addition of SiC.TEM analysis found that the alloying element Mg segregated at the SiC/Al interfaces,and was depleted in the matrix near the interface.The precipitation-free zones(PFZ) and precipitation-sparse zones(PSZ) formed near the interfaces,as a results,the volume fraction of precipitates in matrix was reduced.

Effects of Solution Atoms and Precipitates on Isochronal Annealing Behavior of Cold-Rolled Squeeze-Cast SiCw/Al Composites

SiCw/Al and SiCw/6061Al composites, which contained 15 vol pct of whiskers, were fabricated through a squeeze cast route followed by cold rolling and isochronal annealing. Effects of whicker, solution atoms and precipitates on isochronal annealing behavior of cold rolled composites were investigated by comparing the isochronal annealing behavior between pure Al, SiCw/Al, solution-treated SiCw/6061Al and aged SiCw/6061Al. It was found that the recrystallization of SiCw/Al composite occurs earlier than that of pure Al, indicating SiCw has a role of particle stimulated nucleation. Solution atoms have no significant influence on the isochronal annealing behavior of SiCw/6061Al composite, while precipitates have such a strong retarding effect on the recrystallization of SiCw/6061Al composite that the isochronal annealing curve of aged SiCw/6061 composite loses the definable recrystallization step.

Suppression effect of fine Al_2O_3 particulates on aging kinetics in a 6061 matrix composite material

Aging behaviors of submicron Al2O3p/6061 composite were investigated by Vickers hardness (HV) measurement and transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation. The results showed that there was an idiographic microstructure and aging characteristic in the composite. Addition of fine Al2O3 particulates would strongly restrain the precipitation and reduce the thermal mismatch dislocation density due to the difference of coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between the matrix and the reinforcemertt.

Effect of alloying elements on mechanical properties in Cu-15%Cr in-situ composites

The effects of alloying elements on the mechanical properties as well as electrical conductivity in Cu-15%Cr(mass fraction) in-situ composites were systematically studied and high strength and high electrical conductive Cu base in-situ composites have been developed. The best combination is the addition of 0.1% to 0.2% Zr, Ti, or Sn in Cu-15%Cr in-situ composite, thermomechanical treatment to refine the microstructure and optimizing the precipitation of second phase. The strength is controlled by high density of dislocations in the Cu matrix, the lamellar spacing of the second phase, and the fine Cr precipitates. The aging treatment to reduce solute atoms has a beneficial effect on the increase of electrical conductivity. The addition of Zr, or Ti of about 0.15% to 0.2% promotes the precipitation of Cr particles.

Aging behavior of nano-SiC_p reinforced AZ61 magnesium matrix composites

The mechanical properties of magnesium matrix composties can be further improved by aging treatment. To study the aging behavior of SiC particles reinforced AZ61 magnesium matrix composites fabricated by ultrasonic method, an investigation has been undertaken by means of Vickers hardness measurement, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy spectrum analyzing apparatus. The box-type heat treatment furnace was used in the study. The results showed that no discontinuous cellular precipitation is observed at the grain boundaries in the magnesium matrix of the composite while the Mg17Al12 preferentially precipitates in the matrix. The time to reach the peak hardness for AZ61 alloy or SiCp/AZ61 magnesium matrix composites is reduced with the increase of aging temperature. At the same temperature, the composite exhibit an accelerated aging manner but lower aging efficiency, compared with the unreinforced matrix alloy. The microhardness of the composite is higher than that of the unreinforced matrix alloy, because that the SiC particles distributes homogeneously in the matrix alloy under the ultrasonic processing condition.

Tin oxide-graphite composite for lithium storage material in lithium-ion batteries

A SnO-graphite composite material, which can deliver high capacities and good cycling stability compared with unsupported SnO, was described. This material prepared via chemical co-precipitation reaction in the presence of graphite consists of high dispersion of SnO with a size of about several hundred nanometers in the graphite. The phase structure was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The morphology and the element distribution were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy spectrum. The results show that the SnO-graphite composites produced by slowly hydrolysis have higher rechargeable capacities than pure graphite and better cycling performance than SnO.

Analysis of chemical composition of precipitation in a typical background site

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Influence of chemical composition and cold deformation on aging precipitation behavior of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels

The influence of chemical composition and cold deformation on aging precipitation behavior of 18Cr-16Mn-2Mo-1.1N(HNS-A), 18Cr-16Mn-1.3N(HNS-B), 18Cr-18Mn-2Mo-0.96N(HNS-C) and 18Cr-18Mn-2Mo-0.77N(HNS-D) high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels was investigated. The results show that the "nose" temperatures and incubation periods of the initial time temperature precipitation(TTP) curves of aged HNSs are found to be 850℃,60s; 850℃, 45s; 850℃, 60 s and 900℃,90s, respectively. Based on the analysis of SAD patterns, the coarse cellular Cr2N precipitate which presents a lamellar structure has a hexagonal structure of a=0.478 nm and c=0.444 nm. The χ phase corresponding to a composition of Fe36Cr12Mo10, is determined to be a body-centered cubic structure of a=0.892 nm. The precipitating sensitivity presents no more difference with the nitrogen content increasing from 0.77% to 0.96%, but exhibits so obviously that the cellular precipitates nearly overspread the whole field. The addition of Mo element can restrain the TTP curves moving left and down, which means decreasing the sensitivity of aging precipitation. With increasing the cold deformation, the sensitivity of precipitation increases obviously.

AGING BEHAVIOUR OF PARTICULATE REINFORCED ALUMINUM ALLOY MATRIX COMPOSITES

The process of aging precipitation in SiCp/6061 and Al2O3/6061 composites were investigated. Hardness testing, differential scanning calorimetry（DSC） and transmission electron microscopy were employed. Results showed that the precipitation phase form directly along dislocation lines in the composites because the particles produce high densities of dislocations which makes vacancy densities in the composites decrease, and the main precipitation phase at peak hardness was β′ phase.

Aging microstructural characteristics of ZA-27 alloy and SiC_p/ZA-27 composite

The aging characteristics of as-quenched microstructures of ZA-27 alloy and SiCp/ZA-27 composite(ZMCp) were investigated using SEM, EDS and TEM. The structure, morphology and size of sub-grains in primary dendrite in ZMCp continuously change during aging process. Little tiny spherical Zn-rich η phase distributes in the dendrite. Amount of transitional α′phase, well coherent with equilibrium αf phase, in SiCp-neighboring dendrite edge zone is less than that in dendrite center zone. Both eutectic and peritectic β phase transform into lamellar α and η phases, obeying [ 2113]η∥[110]α, and (002)α∥ (1 101)η. In the like-eutecticum of ZMCp, less amount of β phase and decomposition products are found. The size of α phase decomposed from peritectic β phase in ZMCp is obviously larger than that in the monolithic alloy. The lamella decomposition of β phase beside SiCp is evidently more rapid than that in the alloy. SiC particulates strongly accelerate neighboring β phase decomposition in aging process.

A Novel Processing Route for Ni-doped Alumina Composites

Alumina-based composites containing 0-15wt% Ni metallic phase were produced by hot press-sintering Ni-coated alumina powders. The Ni-coated alumina powders were prepared by the aqueous heterogeneous precipitation of alumina micro-powders and nickel sulfate salt followed by reduction process. The microstructural features and dispersion of Ni phase in Ni-coated alumina powders and the subsequent alumina-Ni cermets were investigated using scanning electron microscope （SEM）, X-ray diffractometer （XRD）, and transmission electron microscope （TEM）. The relative density of the hot press-sintered composites was measured with the Archimedes＇ method while the fracture strength and the fracture toughness were defined with the three-point bending method and the micro-indentation fracture method. In the formation of alumina-Ni cermets from sintered Ni-coated alumina powders, Ni phase to some extent limits the densification rate and stifles the coarsening and growing process of alumina grains. The Ni phase is found to be located at the interfaces and the triple-joint junctions of alumina grains which results into alteration of the fracture mode of alumina and its increased fracture strength and fracture toughness if compared with monolithic alumina.

Recovery of valuable elements from spent YBa_2Cu_3O_(7-x)/Agcomposite superconductor bulks

Silver as a highly conductive metal is usually doped in YBa2Cu3O7-x superconductor bulks to improve critical current density of YBa2Cu3O7-x superconductor.The valuable metal elements silver,yttrium,barium and copper in waste YBa2Cu3O7-x/Ag composite superconductor bulks were recovered,respectively.Silver was recovered with process at first,the waste was dissolved by nitric acid and silver chloride was precipitated by adding chloride acid,then silver pig was obtained by melting silver chloride together with sodium carbonate at 1 000℃.The effective factors on recovery ratio and purity of silver were studied.The chemical analysis proves that the purity of silver ingot is 95.86%.The recovery ratio of silver is calculated to be 92.56%.The loss of silver may be due to the loss of silver chloride during filtering and the volatilization of silver when silver chloride and sodium carbonate are smelted at high temperature.For other three metal elements,Y3 +,Ba 2+and Cu 2+,in the surplus waste liquid after recovering silver, they were separated with the sequence of barium,copper and then yttrium step by step.First,sulfate acid was used to precipitate barium sulfate.Then,sodium sulfide was added to the surplus solution so that copper could be separated as copper sulfide.During this separation procedure,it was important to control the pH value to be 1-2.After that,oxalic acid was added into the surplus solution to obtain yttrium oxalate.Finally,yttrium oxide was formed by burning yttrium oxalate.The XRD results indicate that the final products are all single-phase compounds as BaSO4,CuS and Y2O3,respectively.

Influence of Tungsten and Cobalt Contents on the Microstructure Changes and Fracture Behavior of New Carbon-Free Steel-alloy Composites

The ever increasing demand for steel materials that have good combinations between strength and toughness urged all researchers working in the field of material science to find new alloys that can approach that requirement.Unfortunately strength and toughness of materials are always counter acting properties.However,carbon contents in the steel define to a great extent its strength and toughness.In this research an effort is paid to produce steel alloy composites that can give higher strength together with good toughness without alloying with carbon.The mechanism of strengthening in Iron-Cobalt-Tungsten composite alloys with variations in Co and W contents is investigated.The fracture toughness and hardness,are measured for all alloy composites under investigation.The changes in microstructures after heat treatment are emphasized using metallurgical microscopy and SEM-aided with EDX analyzing unit.

Tribological behavior of ZK60Gd alloy reinforced by SiC particles after precipitation hardening

In this research, the effect of precipitation hardening on the tribological behavior of the ZK60Gd/SiC composite was studied. For this purpose, ZK60Gd alloy containing with 5 and 10 wt% SiC were produced with stir casting method. The microstructure characterization of the samples showed the wide distributions of Mg_(7)Zn_(3) and Gd(Mg_(0.5)Zn_(0.5)) precipitates were formed during casting. The results of hardness measurement after precipitation hardening at different temperatures showed that the hardness peck was obtained at 175 ℃. The wear tests with different loads(10, 40, 60, 90, and 120 N) and velocities(0.1, 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 m/s) were performed on the as-cast and heat treated sample at 125, 175, and 225 for 12 h. Between the different precipitation hardening conditions, the precipitation hardened samples at 175 ℃ had the highest hardness values and least wear rate. The sample containing 10% reinforcement had the least wear rate between the unreinforced alloy and the composites. The results showed that abrasive, adhesive, delamination, MML, and fatigue wear mechanisms were the dominant wear mechanisms for the composite samples. In contrast, the dominant wear mechanism for the unreinforced samples was abrasive, adhesive,delamination, MML, and plastic deformation.

Preparation and electrochemical properties of Co_3O_4/graphite composites as anodes of lithium ion batteries

Co_3O_4/graphite composites were synthesized by precipitation of cobalt oxalate on the surface of graphite and pyrolysis of the precipitate, and the effects of graphite content and calcination temperature on the electrochemical properties of the composites were investigated. The samples were characterized by thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and charge/discharge measurements. With increasing the graphite content, the reversible capacity of the Co_3O_4/graphite composites decreases, while cycling stability improves dramatically, and the addition of graphite obviously decreases the average potential of lithium intercalation/deintercalation. The reversible capacity of the composites with 50% graphite rises from 583 to 725 mA·h/g as the calcination temperature increases from 300 to 500 ℃, and the Co_3O_4/graphite composites synthesized at 400 ℃ show the best cycling stability without capacity loss in the initial 20 cycles. The CV profile of the composite presents two couples of redox peaks, corresponding to the lithium intercalaction/deintercalation for graphite and Co_3O_4, respectively. EIS studies indicate that the electrochemical impedance decreases with increasing the graphite content.

Plant property regulates soil bacterial community structure under altered precipitation regimes in a semi-arid desert grassland, China

Variations of precipitation have great impacts on soil carbon cycle and decomposition of soil organic matter.Soil bacteria are crucial participants in regulating these ecological processes and vulnerable to altered precipitation.Studying the impacts of altered precipitation on soil bacterial community structure can provide a novel insight into the potential impacts of altered precipitation on soil carbon cycle and carbon storage of grassland.Therefore,soil bacterial community structure under a precipitation manipulation experiment was researched in a semi-arid desert grassland in Chinese Loess Plateau.Five precipitation levels,i.e.,control,reduced and increased precipitation by 40%and 20%,respectively(referred here as CK,DP40,DP20,IP40,and IP20)were set.The results showed that soil bacterial alpha diversity and rare bacteria significantly changed with altered precipitation,but the dominant bacteria and soil bacterial beta diversity did not change,which may be ascribed to the ecological strategy of soil bacteria.The linear discriminate analysis(LDA)effect size(LEfSe)method found that major response patterns of soil bacteria to altered precipitation were resource-limited and drought-tolerant populations.In addition,increasing precipitation greatly promoted inter-species competition,while decreasing precipitation highly facilitated inter-species cooperation.These changes in species interaction can promote different distribution ratios of bacterial populations under different precipitation conditions.In structural equation model(SEM)analysis,with changes in precipitation,plant growth characteristics were found to be drivers of soil bacterial community composition,while soil properties were not.In conclusion,our results indicated that in desert grassland ecosystem,the sensitive of soil rare bacteria to altered precipitation was stronger than that of dominant taxa,which may be related to the ecological strategy of bacteria,species interaction,and precipitation-induced variations of plant growth characteristics.

Moisture Transport and Associated Background Circulation for the Regional Extreme Precipitation Events over South China in Recent 40 Years

Based on the hourly precipitation data at 176 observational stations over south China and the hourly ERA5reanalysis data during the 40-yr period of 1981-2020, we analyzed the universal characteristics of moisture transport and their associated background circulations for four types of regional extreme precipitation events(REPEs) over south China. Main findings are shown as follow.(i) The wind that transported moisture for the REPEs over south China featured a notable diurnal variation, which was consistent with the variations of the precipitation.(ii) Four types of REPEs could be determined, among which the southwest type(SWT) and the southeast type(SET) accounted for ~92%and ~5.7%, respectively, ranking the first and second, respectively.(iii) Trajectory analyses showed that the air particles of the SWT-REPEs had the largest specific humidity and experienced the most intense ascending motion, and therefore their precipitation was the strongest among the four types.(iv) South China was dominated by notable moisture flux convergence for the four types of REPEs, but their moisture transport was controlled by different flow paths.(v)Composite analyses indicated that the background circulation of the four types of REPEs showed different features,particularly for the intensity, location and coverage of a western Pacific subtropical high. For the SWT-REPEs, their moisture transport was mainly driven by a lower-tropospheric strong southwesterly wind band in the low-latitude regions. Air particles for this type of REPEs mainly passed over the Indochina Peninsula and South China Sea. For the SET-REPEs, their moisture transport was mainly steered by a strong low-tropospheric southeasterly wind northeast of a transversal trough. Air particles mainly passed over the South China Sea for this type of REPEs.