A high Li-ion diffusion kinetics in multidimensional and compact-structured electrodes via vacuum filtration casting

Manufacturing process,diffusion co-efficient and areal capacity are the three main criteria for regulating thick electrodes for lithium-ion batteries(LIBs).However,simultaneously regulating these criteria for LIBs is desirable but remains a significant challenge.In this work,niobium pentoxide(Nb_(2)O_(5))anode and lithium iron phosphate(LiFePO_(4))cathode materials were chosen as the model materials and demonstrate that these three parameters can be simultaneously modulated by incorporation of micro-carbon fibers(MCF)and carbon nanotubes(CNT)with both Nb_(2)O_(5) and LFP via vacuum filtration approach.Both as-prepared MNC-20 anode and MLC-20 cathode achieves high reversible areal capacity of≈5.4 m A h cm^(-2)@0.1 C and outstanding Li-ion diffusion coefficients of≈10~(-8)cm~2 s~(-1)in the half-cell configuration.The assembled MNC-20‖MLC-20 full cell LIB delivers maximum energy and power densities of244.04 W h kg^(-1)and 108.86 W kg^(-1),respectively.The excellent electrochemical properties of the asprepared thick electrodes can be attributed to the highly conductive,mechanical compactness and multidimensional mutual effects of the MCF,CNT and active materials that facilitates rapid Li-ion diffusion kinetics.Furthermore,electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS),symmetric cells analysis,and insitu Raman techniques clearly validates the enhanced Li-ion diffusion kinetics in the present architecture.

Effects of vacuum pre-oxidation process on thermally-grown oxides layer of CoCrAlY high temperature corrosion resistance coating

The influence of the certain specific vacuum pre-oxidation process on the phase transformation of thermally-grown oxides（TGO） was studied.The CoCrAlY high temperature corrosion resistance coatings were produced onto the nickel-based superalloy substrate by high velocity oxygen fuel（HVOF）.It suggests that the TGO usually consists of a great number of chromium oxides,cobalt oxides and spinel oxides besides alumina during the initial period of the high temperature oxidation if the specimens are not subjected to the appropriate vacuum pre-oxidation process.Furthermore,the amount of alumina is strongly dependent on the partial pressure of oxygen;while the CoCr2O4 spinel oxides are usually formed under the conditions of higher partial pressure of oxygen during the initial period and the lower partial pressure of oxygen during the subsequent period of the isothermal oxidation.After the appropriate vacuum pre-oxidation process,the TGO is mainly composed of alumina that contains lower Y element,while alumina that contains higher Y element sporadically distributes,and the spinel oxides cannot be found.After a longer period of the isothermal oxidation,a small amount of porous CoCr2O4 and the chrome oxide sporadically distribute near the continuous alumina.Additionally,after the appropriate vacuum pre-oxidation process,the TGO growth rate is relatively slow.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-6Gd-3Y-0.5Zr alloy processed by high-vacuum die-casting

GW63K （Mg-6Gd-3Y-0.5Zr） magnesium alloys were prepared successfully by high-vacuum die-casting. Effects of fast shot speed and vacuum level on the grain size and mechanical properties of this alloy were studied. Microstructure of the alloys was analyzed by SEM, EDX and optical microscope （OM）. The effect of heat treatment on high vacuum die-casting （HVDC） GW63K alloy was also studied. The results indicate that with the increase of fast velocity, the tensile yield strength hardly changes, but the elongation first increases, then decreases. The optimum heat treatment process is solution treatment at 748 K for 2 h and aging at 473 K for 80 h. Under this condition, GW63K magnesium alloy exhibits a maximum tensile strength and elongation of 308 MPa and 9.45%. There is significant correlation between ductility and the presence of external solidified cells （ESCs）. The as-cast GW63K alloy consists ofα-Mg and Mg24（Gd,Y）5 particles. After heat treatment, Gd and Y atoms dissolve intoα-Mg matrix.

Design and Verification of an Auxiliary System for High Vacuum Die Casting

Vacuum die casting is the optimal method to produce high quality aluminum alloy components.At present,there are still very few systematic studies on vacuum die casting theory and equipment design.On the basis of the existing theories of the vacuum die casting pumping and venting systems,a simplified model is established in this research.The model has an aggregate unit consisted of ＂vacuum pump ＋ buffer tank＂ and a cylindrical container（including the shot sleeve,cavity and exhaust channel）.The theoretical analysis is carried out between the cavity pressure and the pumping time under different volume models.An auxiliary system for high vacuum die casting is designed based on the above analysis.This system is composed of a vacuum control machine and a new vacuum stop valve.The machine has a human-computer control mode with ＂programmable logic controller（PLC） ＋ touch screen＂ and a real-time monitoring function of vacuum degree for buffer tank and die cavity.The vacuum stop valve with the ＂compressed gas ＋ piston rod ＋ labyrinth groove＂ structure can realize the function of whole-process vacuum venting.The new system shows great advantages on vacuuming the cavity with a much faster speed by making tests on an existing die casting mold and a 250 t die casting machine.A die cavity pressure less than 10 kPa can be reached within 0.8 s in the experiment and the porosity of castings can be greatly decreased.The systematic studies on vacuum die casting theory and equipment have a great guiding significance for high vacuum die casting,and can also be applied to other high vacuum forming in related theoretical and practical research.

Characterization of A390 aluminum alloy produced at different slow shot speeds using vacuum assisted high pressure die casting

The effects of vacuum assistance on the microstructure and mechanical properties of high pressure die cast A390alloy at different slow shot speeds were evaluated.Plate-shaped specimens of hypereutectic A390aluminum alloy were produced on a TOYO BD?350V5cold chamber die casting machine incorporated with a self-improved TOYO vacuum system.According to the results,the vacuum pressure inside the die cavity increased linearly with the increasing slow shot speed at the beginning of mold filling.Meanwhile,tensile properties of vacuum die castings were deteriorated by the porosity content.In addition,the average primary silicon size decreased from23to14μm when the slow shot speed increased from0.05to0.2m/s,which has a binary functional relationship with the slow shot speed.After heat treatment,microstructural morphologies revealed that needle-shaped and thin-flaked eutectic silicon particles became rounded while Al2Cu dissolved intoα(Al)matrix.Furthermore,the fractography revealed that the fracture mechanism has evolved from brittle transgranular fracture to a fracture mode with many dimples after heat treatment.

Effect of vacuum on porosity and mechanical properties of high-pressure die-cast pure copper

Pure copper tensile bars were produced by conventional die casting(HPDC) and vacuum-assist die casting(VADC) processes. Porosity and mechanical properties were investigated by using optical microscopy(OM), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS), X-ray computed tomography(XCT) and tensile tester. Results show that porosities including gas porosity and shrinkage porosity could be observed in copper castings. Since the application of vacuum could reduce filling related gas entrapment and facilitate solidification due to the increased heat transfer between metal and die, both number and size of the entrapped gases, as well as shrinkage porosities were significantly reduced in vacuum-assist die castings of pure copper. The porosity fraction decreased from 2.243% to 0.875% compared with that of the conventional die casting. Besides, mechanical properties were improved significantly, i.e., by 15% for ultimate tensile strength and three times for elongation.

Simulation of α-Al grain formation in high vacuum die-casting Al-Si-Mg alloys with multi-component quantitative cellular automaton method

Al-Si-Mg alloys are the most commonly used material in high vacuum die-casting(HVDC),in which the morphology and distribution ofα-Al grains have important effect on mechanical properties.A multi-component quantitative cellular automaton(CA)model was developed to simulate the microstructure and microsegregation of HVDC Al-Si-Mg alloys with different Si contents(7%and 10%)and cooling rates during solidification.The grain number and average grain size with electron backscatter diffraction(EBSD)analysis were used to verify the simulation.The relationship between grain size and nucleation order as well as nuclei density was investigated and discussed.It is found that the growth of grains will be restrained in the location with higher nuclei density.The influence of composition and cooling rate on the solute transport reveals that for AlSi7Mg0.3 alloy the concentration of solute Mg in liquid is higher at the beginning of eutectic solidification.The comparison between simulation and experiment results shows that externally solidified crystals(ESCs)have a significant effect for samples with high cooling rate and narrow solidification interval.

Best Magnetic Condition to Generate Hollow Cathode Glow Plasma in High Vacuum

Based on magnetron hollow cathode discharge, the magnetic condition of glow plasma generation in high vacuum, including both direction and magnitude of the applied mag- netic field, is theoretically derived and experimentally evaluated in this paper. Single particle orbital theory is introduced to discuss the possibilities to generate glow plasma at gas pressure under 10-2 Pa when the magnetic field direction is parallel or perpendicular or oblique to the electric field direction. A quantitative estimation criterion of magnetic induction intensity is also proposed in theory. The comparison with experiments suggests that glow plasma in high vacuum will form more easily in oblique magnetic field condition and that the criterion is accurate enough to estimate magnetic induction intensity at a certain gas pressure.

Vacuum Infusion Molding Process Part 1:VIMP Based on a High-Permeable Medium

The visualization experiments were carried out to investigate the permeability of the high permeable medium (HPM) and the roles of the peel ply and the HPM in the mold filling.The influence of process parameters on mold filling is discussed.Furthermore,the whole vacuum infusion molding process (VIMP) procedure is introduced in detail taking the manufacture of a model boat for example.

CSRm Ultra-High Vacuum System

The new accelerator project （ HIRFL-CSR ） constructed at the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou （HIRFL） is approaching completion. It is a multipurpose cooler-storage-ring system, consisting of a maim ring （CSRm）, an experimental ring （CSRe） and two transfer beam lines. The UHV system of CSRm is the most representative subsystem in the project. To minimize the beam loss due to charge exchange of the heavy ions with the residual gas molecules, the pressure of the CSRm vacuum system should reach 3.5 × 10^-9 Pa （N2 equivalent） and the pressure of 8 × 10^-10 Pa is expected for very heavy ion such as uranium to make its lifetime longer than 50 s in the ring. Now, the vacuum system of CSRm has been completed and a pressure less than 5 × 10^-10 Pa has been obtained. In this paper the layout of the CSRm vacuum system, the vacuum equipment in CSRm, the treatment method for the CSRm vacuum chambers, and the installation and operation of the system will be reported.

Preparation of high-purity bismuth by sulphur deleadization in vacuum distillation

The feasibility of separation of impurities in refined bismuth and sulphur deleadization with vacuum distillation was studied theoretically. Experimental studies on sulphur deleadization were carried out under vacuum. The influences of amount of sulphur, distillation temperature, vacuum degree and distillation time on deleadization were investigated and an optimal technical condition was achieved. The content of lead in refined bismuth can be decreased from 30 μg/g to 0.21 μg/g, which has reached the level of “5N” high-purity bismuth. Other impurities in refined bismuth can be also removed effectively under certain conditions.

Flexible Furnace Concepts for Vacuum Heat Treatment Combined with High-pressure Gas Quenching

IN the past five years the process combination of vacuum hardening, respectively vacuum carburizing with high-pressure gas quenching was successfully introduced to the market, especially in the manufacture of gears. In the meantime furnace concepts for various applications are available to the industry. In the following report three plant varieties are introduced, which differ in process flexibility and throughput. This report also explains criteria for the selection of a furnace in view of the existing application requirements. Besides this a short introduction is given into the vacuum carburizing process and the high-pressure gas quenching technology.

Mold Filling Analysis in Vacuum Infusion Molding Process Based on a High-Permeable Medium

The objective of this paper is to understand the flow mechanism through visualization experiments and discuss theinfluence of process parameters on mold filling process. A 2D leakage flow model is developed to simulate the moldingprocess, and the simulation results show good agreement with experiments.

Numerical Simulation of High-Current Vacuum Arc with Consideration of Anode Vapor

A high-current vacuum arc （HCVA） with the consideration of anode vapor is modeled and simulated. First, from the HCVA column model, the heat flux density to the anode is obtained, which is put into the anode activity model, and the parameter distributions （such as the vapor temperature and velocity） of anode vapor are obtained from the simulation results of the anode activity model. Then, by iterating and calculating the HCVA column model and anode activity model, the interaction between the HCVA column and the anode vapor is simulated and analyzed. In the simulation, the distribution of the axial magnetic field （AMF） generated by the electrode system is calculated by software ANSYS. The simulation results show that the influence of anode vapor on the parameter distributions in the arc column is significant. The simulation results are also compared with the vacuum arc photograph.

High-Resolution Infrared-Vacuum Ultraviolet Photoion and Pulsed Field Ionization-Photoelectron Methods for Spectroscopic Studies of Neutrals and Cations

We show that by scanning the frequency of a single mode infrared （IR） optical parametric oscillator （IR- OPO） laser to excite the molecular species of interest and fixing the frequency of a vacuum ultraviolet （VUV） laser to photoionize the IR excited species, high-resolution IR spectra of polyatomic neutrals can be obtained with high sensitivity. The fact that this IR-VUV-photoion （IR-VUV-PI） method is based on VUV photoionization probe, and thus, allows the identification of the neutral IR absorber, makes it applicable for IR spectroscopy measurements of isotopemers, radicals, and clusters, which usually exist as impure samples. The highly resolved IR-VUV-PI measurements achieved using the single mode IR-OPO laser have made possible the selection of single rovibrational states of CH3X （X=Br and I）, C2H4, and C3H4 for VUV-pulsed field ionization-photoelectron （VUV-PFI-PE） measurements, resulting in rovibrationally resolved photoelectron spectra for these polyatomic molecules. These experiments show that the signal- to-noise ratios of the IR-VUV-PI and IR-VUV-PFI-PE spectra obtained by employing the high-resolution IR-OPO laser are significantly higher than those observed in previous IR-VUV-PI and IR-VUV-PFI-PE studies using a low-resolution IR-OPO laser. Further improvement in sensitivity of IR-VUV-PI and IR- VUV-PFI-PE measurements by using the collinear arrangement of IR-VUV lasers and molecular beam is discussed.

High Quality SiGe Layer Deposited by a New Ultrahigh Vacuum Chemical Vapor Deposition System

An ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition (UHV/CVD) system is developed and the details of its construction and operation are reported. Using high purity SiH4 and GeH4 reactant gases, the Si0.82Ge0.18 layer is deposited at 550℃. With the measurements by double crystal X-ray diffraction (DCXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Rutherford backscattering spectroscppy (RBS) techniques, it is shown that the crystalline quality of the SiGe layer is good, and the underlying SiGe/Si heterointerface is sharply defined.

Vacuum Outgassing Behavior of Carbon Nanotube Cathode with High-Intensity Pulsed Electron Emission

Experimental investigations on the vacuum outgassing of a carbon nanotube （CNT） cathode with high-intensity pulsed electron emission on a 2 MeV linear induction accelerator injector are presented. Under the 1.60 MV diode voltage, the CNT cathode could provide 1.67 kA electron beam with the amount of outgassing of about 0.51 Pa.L. It is found that the amount of outgassing, which determines the cathode emission current, depends on the diode voltage and the vacuum.

Cutting and Welding of High-Strength Steels Using Non-Vacuum Electron Beam as a Universal Tool for Material Processing

Using a non-vacuum electron beam, a two-step process chain for plate materials is a feasible possibility. Cutting and welding can be performed in subsequent steps on the same machine for a highly productive process chain. The electron beam is a tool with high energy conversion efficiency, which is largely independent of the type of metal. Its high power density qualifies the non-vacuum electron beam as an outstanding energy source for the well-known NVEB welding as well as for high-speed cutting. Welding is possible with or without filler wire or shielding gas, depending on the application. The NVEB-cutting process employs a co-moving cutting head with a sliding seal for extremely high cutting speeds producing high quality edges. Due to direct removal of fumes and dust, NVEBC with local suction is an exceptionally clean and fast process. The NVEB welding process is possible directly after cutting, without further edge preparation. The potential directions of development of non-vacuum electron beam technologies are discussed. An exemplary two-step process chain using high-strength steel is presented to highlight possible application in industries such as general steel construction, automotive, shipbuilding, railway vehicle or crane construction. An analysis of the mechanical properties of the resulting weld seam is presented.

High Resolution Electron Microscopy Observations of Structural Changes in Iron Nitride Films Annealed in Vacuum

Iron-nitride films were prepared by reactive sputtering, and the effect of annealing treatment on the structures was investigated by means of in-situ electron microscopy and high resolution electron microscopy (HREM). As-deposited films were observed to be a mixed structure of a few ultrafine epsilon-Fe2-3N particles existing in the amorphous matrix. it was found that the structure-relaxation in the amorphous occurred at 473 K, and the ultrafine grains began to grow at the higher annealing temperatures. The transition of the amorphous to epsilon-Fe2-3N was almost completed at 673 K. It is considered that the formation of the ideal epsilon-Fe3N is originated from the ordering of the nitrogen atoms during the annealing in vacuum. On the other hand, gamma'-phase (Fe4N) was seen to precipitation of epsilon-phase at 723 K. Two possible modes are proposed in the precipitation of gamma'-phase, depending on the heating rate and crystallographic orientation relationships, i.e. [121](epsilon)//[001](gamma), (2(1) over bar0$)(epsilon)//(110)(gamma) and [100](epsilon)//[110](gamma), (001)(epsilon)//(111)(gamma). In addition, alpha-Fe particles were observed to form from the gamma'-phase at high temperatures. We assumed that these structural changes are due to the diffusion of nitrogen and iron atoms during the annealing, except for the case of the precipitation of the gamma'-phase as depicted above. The results obtained in this work are in a good agreement with the assumption.

Study on Tribology Performance of Different Lubricant Additives under Atmospheric Pressure and High Vacuum Conditions

By using PAO-10 as the base oil, the tribological behavior of 11 additives under high vacuum condition was evaluated. By adopting some surface analytical instruments, such as scanning electron microscopy(SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS), the tribological mechanisms of these additives were studied. In air, O_2 can react with metal to form metal oxide that can protect the surfaces of rubbing pair during the tribological tests. According to the theory of the competitive adsorption, the function of some active elements is weakened. In a vacuum environment, the additives contributed more to the lubrication performance. The sulfur-containing additives could react with Fe to produce Fe Sx and "M—C" bonds("M" represents metal). They both had contributions to the lubrication. As for the phosphorus-containing additives, they only generated the phosphates during the tests. When the sulfur and phosphorus-containing additives were applied, the generated phosphates and Fe Sx had the primary contribution to the lubrication performance during the tests.