REHEATING TEMPERATURE CONTRAST AND MICROSTRUCTURES OF 7075 Al ALLOY CAST BY LIQUIDUS SEMI-CONTINUOUS CASTING

In this study, reheating of liquidus semi-continuous cast billets of 7075 Al alloy was carried out in a resistance furnace, and the temperature contrast of the outer and the center of the reheated billets was investigated, then the reheating microstructures were investigated. Results show that: the difference of temperature between the outer and center is small and the difference of their microstructures are also small. During reheating at 576℃ the spheroidization of grains is significant after 5min and no rosettes are visible after 20min by optical microscopy. Similar observations were madeon materials reheated at 596℃, but the ripening process is faster. The grains growup to 30-60μm, fine enough for thixoforming.

Light field head-mounted display with correct focus cue using micro structure array

A new type of light fiehl display is proposed using a head-mounted display （HMD） and a micro structure array （MSA, lens array or pinhole array）. Each rendering point emits abundant rays from different directions into the viewer＇s pupil, and at one time the dense light field is generated inside the exit pupil of the HMD through the eyepiece. Therefore, the proposed method not only solves the problem of accommodation and convergence conflict in a traditional HMD, but also drastically reduces the huge data in real three-dimensional （3D） display. To demonstrate the proposed method, a prototype is developed, which is capable of giving the observer a real perception of depth.

MICROSTRUCTURES AND THE STRUCTURE STABILITY OF INCONEL 725, A NEW AGE-HARDENABLE CORROSION RESISTANT SUPERALLOY

INCONEL725 is a highly corrosion resistant nickel based alloy capable of being age-hardened to high strength levels. The micro structure observations and the phase identification after a standard heat treatment were investigated. The results show that the precipitation phases include the strengthening phasesγ', γ', and 8 phase, primary carbide phase TiC, as well as M6 C carbide and a little extent MC (mainly TiC) precipitates which nucleate mainly at grain boundaries. An isothermal aging study was carried out on this alloy for up to 10 000 hours at 593℃. This additional aging did not affect the tensile strength. However, micro structures show that the thermal exposure has a little additional effect. With increasing the exposure time, the size of γ' phase slightly increases, almost no change for γ' phase, while M6C carbides precipitated at grain boundaries have an increased and complex tendency on a few grain boundaries. The experimental results illustrate the excellent structure stability of the age-hardenable IN725 at 593℃.

PHASE TRANSFORMATION BEHAVIOR AND MICROSTRUCTURE OBSERVATION OF Nb-Ru HIGH TEMPERATURE SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY

The phase transformation behavior and micro structure of Nb-Ru alloys have been studied by DSC, X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM). Two-step phase transformation of CsCl (β) →face-centered tetragonal (β)→ monoclinic (β') occurs during cooling from high temperature to room temperature. The lattice parameters of marten-sites of Nb-Ru alloys were found to increase with the increase of Nb content. The martensite variants exhibit triangular self-accommodating morphology, with alternating regular bands inside. The twinning relationship between the sub structural bands was found to be (101) type I mode, and this kind of twinning interface was straight, well-defined and coherent.

A STUDY OF CLOUD-SYSTEM MODEL:MACRO AND MICRO STRUCTURE SIMULATION OF CLOUD FIELD

The macro and micro cloud physics structures and their evolution with time are the core of describing cloud fields in essence.They are necessary atmospheric environment not only in aviation and spaceflight activities but also for atmos- pheric radiation transfer and acid rain formation research.Unfortunately it is difficult to obtain an entire environmental cloud field by using observation methods directly.Thus,by use of computation physics method to build a cloud-system model may be an indispensable way for this topic.This paper presented a cloud-system model for this goal,and simu- lated a real case.The results of computation showed that the macro structure of the cloud field was better consistent with real observation,and the micro structure was fairly reasonable.The output of model could provide all the information about the cloud field:(1)size-distribution spectrum of hydrometeor particles (point),(2)vertical profile (line),(3)hori- zontal or vertical section of macro and micro parameters (surface),and (4)cloud cover,pattern of cloud and configura- tion of cloud,etc.(body).

Effects of Teriparatide and Aerobic Exercise on Lumbar Spine Microstructure in Ovariectomized and Tail-Suspended Rats

Osteoporosis is an increasingly prevalent malady of the elderly that is associated with bone fragility and increased risk of fractures. Osteoporosis treatments focus on restoring bone strength and quality. Teriparatide (TPTD) is a therapeutic agent that has been shown to increase bone strength by improving the volume and connectivity of trabecular bone. Exercise is also known to have pro-osteogenic effects. Here we used a rat model of severe osteoporosis (ovariectomized and tail-suspension) to evaluate the effects of TPTD, exercise and a combination of TPTD and exercise on the microstructure of trabecular bone. TPTD mono-therapy and TPTD combined with exercise treatment significantly increased bone mineral density (BMD) in the whole body. Micro-computed tomography analysis revealed that a combination of exercise and TPTD treatment significantly decreased bone surface to volume and trabecular separation compared with those of the control and exercise groups. Node-strut analysis indicated that exercise or TPTD alone did not affect trabecular bone connectivity. However, the combination of exercise and TPTD treatment significantly decreased measures of trabecular bone connectivity (node number) that are consistent with a transition from rod-like to plate-like of trabecular bone microstructures. The combination treatment with exercise and TPTD improved microstructure of trabecular bone in the OVX and tail-suspended rats. These results indicate that combining exercise with TPTD represents a viable means to improve cancellous bone strength in osteoporosis populations.

Micro Electrical Discharge Machining Deposition in Air for Fabrication of Micro Spiral Structures

Micro electrical discharge machining（EDM） deposition process is a new micro machining method for fabrication of metal micro structures. In this process, the high level of tool electrode wear is used to achieve the metal material deposition. Up to now, the studies of micro EDM deposition process focused mainly on the researches of deposition process, namely the effects of discharge parameters in deposition process on the deposition rate or deposition quality. The research of the formation of micro structures with different discharge energy density still lacks. With proper conditions and only by the z-axis feeding in vertical direction, a novel shape of micro spiral structure can be deposited, with 0.11 mm in wire diameter, 0.20 mm in outside diameter, and 3.78 mm in height. Then some new deposition strategies including angular deposition and against the gravity deposition were also successful. In order to find the forming mechanism of the spiral structures, the numerical simulation of the transient temperature distribution on the discharge point was conducted by using the finite-element method（FEM）. The results show that there are two major factors lead to the forming of the spiral structures. One is the different material removal form of tool electrode according with the discharge energy density, the other is the influenced degree of the movement of the removed material particles in the discharge gap. The more the energy density in single discharge is, the smaller the mass of the removed material particles is, and the easier the movements of which will be changed to form an order tendency. The fine texture characteristics of the deposited micro spiral structures were analyzed by the energy spectrum analysis and the metallographic analysis. It shows that the components of the deposited material are almost the same as those of the tool electrode. Moreover the deposited material has the brass metallic luster in the longitudinal profile and has compact bonding with the base material. This research is useful to understand the micro-process of micro EDM deposition better and helpful to increase the controllability of the new EDM method for fabrication of micro structures.

Superhydrophobic surfaces via controlling the morphology of ZnO micro/nano complex structure

ZnO micro/nano complex structure films, including reticulate papillary nodes, petal-like and flake-hole, have been self-assembled by a hydrothermal technique at different temperatures without metal catalysts. The wettability of the above film surfaces was modified with a simple coating of heptadecafluorodecyltrimethoxy-silane in toluene. After modifying, the surface of ZnO film grown at 50℃ was converted from superhydrophilic with a water contact angle lower than 5° to superhydrophobic with a water contact angle of 165° Additionally, the surface of reticulate papillary nodes ZnO film grown at 100 ℃ had excellent superhydrophobicity, with a water contact angle of 173° and a sliding angle lower than 2° Furthermore, the water contact angle on the surface of petal-like and flake-hole ZnO films grown at 150℃ and 200℃ were found to be 140° and 120°, respectively. The wettability for the samples was found to depend strongly on the surface morphology which results from the growth temperature.

Micro/nano-wrinkled elastomeric electrodes enabling high energy storage performance and various form factors

Stretchable elastomer-based electrodes are considered promising energy storage electrodes for next-generation wearable/flexible electronics requiring various shape designs.However,these elastomeric electrodes suffer from the limited electrical conductivity of current collectors,low charge storage capacities,poor interfacial interactions between elastomers and conductive/active materials,and lack of shape controllability.In this study,we report hierarchically micro/nano-wrinkle-structured elastomeric electrodes with notably high energy storage performance and good mechanical/electrochemical stabilities,simultaneously allowing various form factors.For this study,a swelling/deswelling-involved metal nanoparticle(NP)assembly is first performed on thiol-functionalized polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)elastomers,generating a micro-wrinkled structure and a conductive seed layer for subsequent electrodeposition.After the assembly of metal NPs,the conformal electrodeposition of Ni and NiCo layered double hydroxides layers with a homogeneous nanostructure on the micro-wrinkled PDMS induces the formation of a micro/nano-wrinkled surface morphology with a large active surface area and high electrical conductivity.Based on this unique approach,the formed elastomeric electrodes show higher areal capacity and superior rate capability than conventional elastomeric electrodes while maintaining their electrical/electrochemical properties under external mechanical deformation.This notable mechanical/electrochemical performance can be further enhanced by using spiral-structured PDMS(stretchability of~500%)and porous-structured PDMS(areal capacity of~280μAh cm^(-2)).

Microstructural Characteristic of Montmorillonite and Its Thermal Treatment Products

The montmorillonite was studied by differen t methods, such as chemical analysis, DAT, TG, X RD, IR, AFM and MAS NMR. The experimental results show that the hydroxyl in octa hedra sheets begins dehydrating when the thermal treatment temperature reaches 659℃, but th e layer structure remains the same,and the corresponding Al(Ⅵ) is turned into Al(Ⅳ) in octahedra sheets. When the temperature reaches 900℃, the layer struct ure of montmorillontite is destroyed, and the new mineral phase μ-cordierite i s found. When the temperature reaches 1200℃, the μ-cordierite phase loses its stability, and decomposes into cristobalite phase and mullite phase.Meanwhile, the recrystallization phenomenon in thermal treatment products is obvious. There is a small quantity of Al Ⅵ signal in MAS NMR spectrum, corresponding to Al of mullite. When the temperature reaches 1350℃, the cristobalite and mullite phases reduce slightly, and more Fe-cordierite phase appears, corresponding to Fe-cordierite spectrum in XRD and MAS NMR.

Rietveld refinement of powder X-ray diffraction,microstructural and mechanical studies of magnesium matrix composites processed by high energy ball milling

This research reports the processing of magnesium matrix composites reinforced with silicon carbide(SiC)and aluminium oxide(Al_(2)O_(3))using powder metallurgy technique through high energy milling.Samples of Mg-SiC and Mg-Al_(2)O_(3)composites subjected to high energy ball milling for different vol%of secondary particles 20,30 and 40%of SiC and Al_(2)O_(3)are studied by X-Ray diffraction technique.The rietveld method as implemented in the Fullprof program is applied in order to determine the quantities of the resulting crystalline phases and amorphous phases at each stage of the mechanical treatment.Microstructural examination is carried out using Scanning Electron Microscope(SEM).In addition,crystal structural analysis using appropriate size and strain models is performed in order to handle the distinctive anistrophy that is observed in convinced crystallographic directions for the magnesium composite.The results are furnished in terms of crystalline domains size enlargement of the magnesium composites phases upon prolonged milling duration and discussed in the light of up to date views and theories on crystal growth of nanocrystaline materials.The hardness of the composite samples is calculated by Vickers’s Hardness tester.Further,dry sling wear test and corrosion test are performed for the fabricated composites.Composite with 30%secondary particles incorporated magnesium composites exhibits better wear and corrosion resistance than the other composites.

RESEARCH OF MICRO ELECTRO DISCHARGE MACHINING EQUIPMENT AND PROCESS TECHNIQUES

Micro electro discharge machining (micro EDM) is a feasible way tomanufacture micro structures and has potential application in advanced industrial fields. For therealization of micro EDM, it is necessary to pay careful attention to its equipment design and thedevelopment of process techniques. The present status of research and development of micro EDMequipment and process techniques is overviewed. A micro electro discharge machine incorporated withan inchworm type of micro feed mechanism is introduced, and a micro electro discharge machine fordrilling micro holes suitable to industrial use is also introduced. Some of the machiningexperiments carried out on the micro EDM prototypes are shown and the feasibility of the micro EDMtechnology to practical use is discussed.

Mitigation of micro vibration by viscous dampers

This study proposes a micro vibration mitigation system using viscous dampers to solve the problem of vibration in a high-tech building. Due to the operating frequency of the air conditioners and fundamental mode of the floors, a resonant phenomenon is occasionally experienced at the upper levels of the structure. Several strategies were considered, and viscous dampers combined with a suspension system were chosen to mitigate this annoying situation. A theoretical analysis was first executed to determine the optimal design value of the damper and the suspension spring. An efficient reduction in floor velocity of approximately 50 % was achieved by the proposed system. Practical verifications including a performance test of the micro-vibration-oriented dampers, the pragmatic application result, and a comparison in one-third octave spectrum was then carried out. The performance of the system was demonstrated by the data measured. It alleviated more trembling than was numerically expected. The energy absorbed by the viscous dampers is illustrated by the hysteresis loops and the one-third octave spectrum. It is found that with the proposed system, the vibration can be effectively captured by the viscous damper and converted to lower frequency-content tremors. The success of this project greatly supports the proposed standard two-stage analysis procedure for mitigating micro-vibration problems in practice. This research extends the use of viscous dampers to a new field.

Localized in‑situ deposition:a new dimension to control in fabricating surface micro/nano structures via ultrafast laser ablation

Controllable fabrication of surface micro/nano structures is the key to realizing surface functionalization for various applications.As a versatile approach,ultrafast laser ablation has been widely studied for surface micro/nano structuring.Increasing research eforts in this feld have been devoted to gaining more control over the fabrication processes to meet the increasing need for creation of complex structures.In this paper,we focus on the in-situ deposition process following the plasma formation under ultrafast laser ablation.From an overview perspective,we frstly summarize the diferent roles that plasma plumes,from pulsed laser ablation of solids,play in diferent laser processing approaches.Then,the distinctive in-situ deposition process within surface micro/nano structuring is highlighted.Our experimental work demonstrated that the in-situ deposition during ultrafast laser surface structuring can be controlled as a localized micro-additive process to pile up secondary ordered structures,through which a unique kind of hierarchical structure with fort-like bodies sitting on top of micro cone arrays were fabricated as a showcase.The revealed laser-matter interaction mechanism can be inspiring for the development of new ultrafast laser fabrication approaches,adding a new dimension and more fexibility in controlling the fabrication of functional surface micro/nano structures.

Hydration Kinetics of Phosphorus Slag-cement Paste

Hydration characteristics of Portland cement paste with phosphorus slag powder incorporated and hydration kinetics was investigated with SEM, X-ray diffraction, DTA-TG and calorimeter Ⅱ80. Results showed that phosphorus slag powder could reduce total amount of hydration products yet had little influence on the type of hydration products. The total amount of heat of hydration was decreased by 49.11% and the final setting was postponed by 2.28 h when phosphorus slag powder substituted 35% Portland cement by mass. The accelerating stage of this composite paste was controlled by catalysis, decreasing stage controlled by both catalysis and diffusion while stabilizing stage by diffusion alone. Hydration resistance and activation energy were reduced and hydration speed was accelerated.

Effect of freeze-thaw cycles on soil engineering properties of reservoir bank slopes at the northern foot of Tianshan Mountain

The instability of soil bank slopes induced by freeze-thaw cycles at the northern foot of Tianshan Mountain is very common.The failure not only caused a large amount of soil erosion,but also led to serious reservoir sedimentation and water quality degradation,which exerted a lot of adverse effects on agricultural production in the local irrigation areas.Based on field investigations on dozens of irrigation reservoirs there,laboratory tests were carried out to quantitatively analyze the freeze-thaw effect on the soil engineering characteristics to reveal the facilitation on the bank slope instability.The results show that the softening characteristics of the stressstrain curves gradually weaken,the effective cohesions decline exponentially,the seepage coefficients enlarge,and the thermal conductivities decrease after 7 freeze-thaw cycles.The freeze-thaw effect on the specimens with low confining pressures,low dry densities and high water contents is more significant.The water migration and the phase transition between water and ice result in the variations of the soil internal microstructures,which is the main factor affecting the soil engineering characteristics.Sufficient water supply and the alternation of positive and negative temperatures at the reservoir bank slopes in cold regions make the water migration and phase transition in the soil very intensely.It is easy to form a large number of pores and micro cracks in the soil freezing and thawing areas.The volume changes of the soil and the water migration are difficult to reach a dynamic balance in the open system.Long-term freeze-thaw cycles will bring out the fragmentation of the soil particles,resulting in that the micro cracks on the soil surfaces are developing continuously.The soil of the bank slopes will fall or collapse when these cracks penetrate,which often happens in winter there.

THE INTERFACE OF TERNARY-BORIDE-BASED HARD CLADDING MATERIAL

The interfacial microstructure of ternary-boride-based hard cladding material (YF-2) has been studied using scanning electron microanalyser (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS). Results show that there are chemical reactions and elements diffusion in the interfacial zone, which make the interface bonding well and bonding strength ideal at the interface. The results gotten by studying of crack produced by Vickers indentation technique in the interfacial zone show that it is difficult to produce crack in the interface, the crack length in the cladding layer is longer than that to the interface, the crack which propagate to the interface stops at the interface rather than propagates along the interface. This suggests negligible residual stresses have developed because of thermal expansion mismatch. The bonding strength of the interface is 550MPa, which has been gotten by cutting test. The result gotten by analyzing the fracture surface shows that the fracture occurs at the side of cladding layer, which confirms that the bonding strength at the interface is higher than that in the cladding layer.

Optimization of Micro Structures to Elastoplastic Properties in Fiber Reinforced Composite Materials

The computational method (finite element method, FEM) in conjunction with micro mechanics is employed to design and analyze better micro structures of fibrous composites. In this way, the effective mechanical properties can be related quantitatively to the micro structures of the composites. For the optimal design , the geometric parameters are considered as design variables, and the effective elastic and plastic properties as optimal target functions. The effects of fiber shape and distribution on the effective elastic and plastic properties are examined. The numerical results indicate that the overall transverse properties are rather sensitive to fiber geometric parameters.

Dynamical Solidification Behaviors and Metal Flow during Continuous Semisolid Extrusion Process of AZ31 Alloy

In this paper, a novel near-net-shape forming process, continuous semisolid extrusion process （CSEP） of AZ31 alloy was proposed, and the dynamical solidification behaviors and metal flow during the process were firstly investigated. During casting AZ31 alloy by this process, non-uniform microstructure distributions and non- equilibrium solidification region near the roll surface were found in the roll-shoe gap. Microstructural evolution from dendrite to rosette and spherical grains was observed during the casting by CSEP. Casting temperature, roll-shoe gap width and cooling ability have great effect on casting process and metal flow, so these factors should be carefully controlled, a proper casting temperature of 710-750℃ is suggested. The white α phases were strongly stretched during the processing, and the remnant liquids are correspondingly distributes along the solid phase boundaries and also show stripped lines.

Controlled Synthesis of SnO_2 with Hierarchical Micro/Nano Structure

Preparing SnO2 with hierarchical micro/nano structures by hydrothermal, coordination, templating and electrochemical deposition methods and their mechanisms are investigated. The result shows that the echinus-like SnO2 prepared by Method 1 is a typical Ostwald mechanism that develops from internally to externally. The cabbage-like SnO2 by Method 2 is produced with oxalic acid as complexing agent to set-up precursor of SnO2, and then precursors are bocked around the body that is around the body being bocked. The nest-like SnO2 by Method 3 is controlled by citric acid as coordinator for the nucleation as well as the grow rate and setup process. Spongy-like SnO2 by Method 4 is produced using PST as template, PST is be infiltered into SnO2 precursor by gravity and capillary and treated thermally to form a multiporous structure. The petal-like SnO2 by Method 5 is formed with crystal deposition emergence due to oxidation-reduction reactions of two electrodes in an electric field. XRD analyses shows that the five results are all pure phase SnO2. It provides basic data for SnOE industrial application.