Preparation and properties of high-energy-density aluminum/boroncontaining gelled fuels

Energetic nanofluid fuel has caught the attention of the field of aerospace liquid propellant for its high energy density(HED), but it suffers from the inevitable solid-liquid phase separation problem. To resolve this problem, herein we synthesized the high-Al-/B-containing(up to 30%(mass)) HED gelled fuels, with low-molecular-mass organic gellant Z, which show high net heat of combustion(NHOC), density, storage stability, and thixotropic properties. The characterizations indicate that the application of energetic particles to the gelled fuels obviously destroys their fibrous network structures but can provide the new particle-gellant gelation microstructures, resulting in the comparable stability between 1.0%(mass) Z/JP-10 + 30%(mass) Al or B and pure JP-10 gelled fuel. Moreover, the gelled fuels with high-content Al or B exhibit high shear-thinning property, recovery capability, and mechanical strength, which are favorable for their storage and utilization. Importantly, the prepared 1.0%(mass) Z/JP-10 + 30%(mass) B(or 1.0%(mass) Z/JP-10 + 30%(mass) Al) shows the density and NHOC 1.27 times(1.30) and 1.43 times(1.21)higher than pure JP-10, respectively. This work provides a facile and valid approach to the manufacturing of HED gelled fuels with high content of energetic particles for gel propellants.

Effect of Boron and Cerium on Microstructures and Properties of Cu-Fe-P Alloy

The effects of B and Ce on the removal of inclusions, microstructures, and properties of Cu-Fe-P alloys were studied. Certain impurity elements and the microstructures, mechanical properties, and conductivity of four experimental alloys, Cu-0.22Fe-0.06P, Cu-0.22Fe-0.06P-0.05Ce, Cu-0.22Fe-0.06P-0.02B, and Cu-0.22Fe-0.06P-0.05Ce-0. 02B （ %, mass fraction）, were tested and analyzed. Results show that on one hand, B and Ce have a remarkable function of removing S, Pb, and Bi from copper alloys ; on the other hand, the recrystallization temperature of the Cu-Fe-P alloy is considerably increased by adding trace B and Ce, resulting in the combined strengthening effect of precipitation hardening and cold work hardening after cold working and aging, while the negative effect of B and Ce on conductivity is slight. Therefore, a good combination of high strength and conductivity is achieved.

Electronic properties of graphene nanoribbon doped by boron/nitrogen pair:a first-principles study

By using the first-principles calculations, the electronic properties of graphene nanoribbon （GNR） doped by boron/nitrogen （B/N） bonded pair are investigated. It is found that B/N bonded pair tends to be doped at the edges of GNR and B/N pair doping in GNR is easier to carry out than single B doping and unbonded B/N co-doping in GNR. The electronic structure of GNR doped by B/N pair is very sensitive to doping site besides the ribbon width and chirality. Moreover, B/N pair doping can selectively adjust the energy gap of armchair GNR and can induce the semimetal-semiconductor transmission for zigzag GNR. This fact may lead to a possible method for energy band engineering of GNRs and benefit the design of graphene electronic device.

Effect of Boron Content on the Microstructure and Magnetic Properties of Non-oriented Electrical Steels

The effects of boron content in the range of 0-0.0082 wt%, on the inclusion type, microstructurc, texture and magnetic properties of non-oriented electrical steels have been studied. After final annealing, the addition of excess boron（w（B0〉0.004 1 wt%） led to the formation of Fe2B particles. As boron content increased, grain size increased and reached a maximum in steel with 0.004 1 wt% boron. Furthermore, steel containing 0.004 1 wt% boron had the strongest { 100} fiber texture, Goss texture and the weakest { 111 } fiber texture among the five tested steels. Flux density firstly rapidly increased and then suddenly decreased with increasing boron content and reached a maximum in steel with 0.004 1 wt% boron. Conversely, core loss first sharply decreased and then abruptly increased with the increase of boron content and reached a minimum in steel containing 0.004 1 wt% boron. Steel containing 0.004 1 wt% boron obtained the best magnetic properties, predominantly through the development of optimum grain size and favorable texture.

Effect of boron addition on the microstructure and stress-rupture properties of directionally solidified superalloys

This study is focused on the effect of boron addition, in the range of 0.0007wt% to 0.03wt%, on the microstructure and stress-rupture properties of a directionally solidified superalloy. With increasing boron content in the as-cast alloys, there is an increase in the fraction of the γ′/γ eutectic and block borides precipitate around the γ′/γ eutectic. At a high boron content of 0.03wt%, there is precipitation of lamellar borides. Upon heat treatment, fine block borides tend to precipitate at grain boundaries with increasing boron content. Overall, the rupture life of the directionally solidified superalloy is significantly improved with the addition of nominal content of boron. However, the rupture life decreases when the boron content exceeds 0.03wt%.

Effect of boron on microstructure and mechanical properties of cast Ti-44Al6-Nb ingots

In order to improve the mechanical properties of Ti Al alloys, especially the ductility at room temperature, and to study the effect of boron(B) on Ti Al alloys, different contents(0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2, at.%) of B were added into Ti-44Al-6Nb alloys to prepare ingots. The surface quality, macrostructure, microstructure, compressive properties and fracture surface of the ingots were studied. The results show that B has little influence on the surface quality except that there are some dark spots on the surface when the content of B is 0.9%. B can refine the grains. The average grain size decrease from about 0.8 mm to 0.088 mm with increasing B content. Meanwhile, the grain morphology of these ingots changes from big equiaxed grains with lamellars to fine equiaxed grains. When the content of B is 1.2%, the primary Ti B2 phase forms in the liquid phase and increases the nucleation rate, leading to further refinement of the grains. The compressive testing results show that B can increase the strength and the ductility, the compressive strength and compressibility can reach 2,037.8 MPa and 26.7% from 1,156.2 MPa and 10.2% when the boron content is 0.6%, which is resulted from grain refining and grain boundary strengthening. It is found that the compressive strength and the compressibility are relatively stable when the B content is more than 0.3%.

Optical properties of hexagonal boron nitride thin films deposited by radio frequency bias magnetron sputtering

The optical properties of hexagonal boron nitride （h-BN） thin films were studied in this paper. The films were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-visible transmittance and reflection spectra, h-BN thin films with a wide optical band gap Eg （5.86 eV for the as-deposited film and 5.97 eV for the annealed film） approaching h-BN single crystal were successfully prepared by radio frequency （RF） bias magnetron sputtering and post-deposition annealing at 970 K. The optical absorption behaviour of h-BN films accords with the typical optical absorption characteristics of amorphous materials when fitting is made by the Urbach tail model. The annealed film shows satisfactory structure stability. However, high temperature still has a significant effect on the optical absorption properties, refractive index n, and optical conductivity σ of h-BN thin films. The blue-shift of the optical absorption edge and the increase of Eg probably result from stress relaxation in the film under high temperatures. In addition, it is found that the refractive index clearly exhibits different trends in the visible and ultraviolet regions. Previous calculational results of optical conductivity of h-BN films are confirmed in our experimental results.

Mechanical Properties and Fracture Mechanism of Boron Carbide-Lanthanum Boride Composite

The properties of boron carbide-lanthanum boride composite material prepared by hot pressed sintering method was tested, and lanthanum boride as a sintering aid for boron carbide was investigated. The result shows that the hardness of boron carbide-lanthanum boride increases with the increasing content of lanthanum boride. When the content of the lanthanum boride is 6%, the hardness reaches its supreme value of 31.83 GPa, and its hardness is improved nearly 20.52% compared to monolithic boron carbide. The content of the lanthanum boride does not greatly affect flexibility strength, however, it gives much effect on fracture toughness. The curve of fracture toughness likes the form of saw-toothed wave as the content of lanthanum boride increases in the test. When the content of the lanthanum boride is 6%, the fracture toughness reaches its supreme value of 5.14 MPa·m 1/2, which is improved nearly 39.67% compared with monolithic boron carbide materials. The fracture scanning electric microscope analysis of boron carbide-lanthanum boride composite material shows that, with the increase of the content of lanthanum boride, the interior station of monolithic boron carbide is changed. The crystallite arrangement is so compact that pores disappear gradually. The main fracture way of boron carbide-lanthanum boride composite material is intercrystalline rupture, while the transcrystalline rupture is minor, which is in accordance with fracture mechanism of ceramic material. It indicates that this change of fracture mode by the addition of lanthanum boride gives rise to the improvement of the fracture toughness.

Emerging properties of non-crystalline phases of graphene and boron nitride based materials

We review recent developments on the synthesis and properties of two-dimensional materials which, although being mainly of an sp^(2) bonding character, exhibit highly disordered, non-uniform and structurally random morphologies. The emergence of such class of amorphous materials, including amorphous graphene and boron nitride, have shown superior properties compared to their crystalline counterparts when used as interfacial films. In this paper we discuss their structural,vibrational and electronic properties and present a perspective of their use for electronic applications.

Transport properties of boron nanotubes investigated by ab initio calculation

We investigate atomic and electronic structures of boron nanotubes （BNTs） by using the density functional theory （DFT）. The transport properties of BNTs with different diameters and chiralities are studied by the Keldysh nonequilibrium Green function （NEGF） method. It is found that the cohesive energies and conductances of BNTs decrease as their diameters decrease. It is more difficult to form （N, 0） tubes than （M, M） tubes when the diameters of the two kinds of tubes are comparable. However, the （N, 0） tubes have a higher conductance than the （M, M） tubes. When the BNTs are connected to gold electrodes, the coupling between the BNTs and the electrodes will affect the transport properties of tubes significantly.

Research on microstructure and properties of boron/Q235 steel laser welded dissimilar joints under synchronous thermal field

The mechanical mismatch effect frequently occurs in the dissimilar materials welded joints, thus leading to plastic gradient at the interface between the weld and heat-affected zone(HAZ). In this work, the boron steel and Q235 steel were selected for laser tailor welding,which obtained boron/Q235 steel tailor-welded blanks(TWBs). The method of welding with synchronous thermal field(WSTF) was utilized to eliminate the mismatch effects in TWBs. The WSTF was employed to adjust cooling rates of welded joints, thereby intervening in the solidification behaviors and phase transition of the molten pool. Boron/Q235 steel was welded by laser under conventional and WSTF(300-600 ℃) conditions, respectively. The results show that the microstructure of weld and HAZ(boron) was adequately transitioned to ferrites and pearlites instead of abundant martensite by WSTF. Meanwhile, the discrepancy of microhardness and yield strength between various regions of welded joints was greatly reduced, and the overall plasticity of welded joints was enhanced by WSTF. It is indicated that WSTF can effectively contribute to reducing plastic gradient and achieving mechanical congruity in welded joints by restraining the generation of hardbrittle phase, which could significantly improve the formability of TWBs in subsequent hot stamping.

Mechanical Properties of Boron Carbide/Reducedgraphene-oxide Composites Ceramics

Reduced graphene oxide(rGO)enhanced B_(4)C ceramics was prepared by SPS sintering,the enhancement effect of rGO on the microstructure and mechanical properties of composites was studied through experiments and numerical simulation.The results show that the composite with 2wt%rGO has the best comprehensive mechanical properties.Compared with pure boron carbide,vickers hardness and bending strength are increased by 4.8%and 21.96%,respectively.The fracture toughness is improved by 25.71%.The microstructure observation shows that the improvement of mechanical properties is mainly attributed to the pullout and bridge mechanism of rGO and the crack deflection.Based on the cohesive force finite element method,the dynamic crack growth process of composites was simulated.The energy dissipation of B_(4)C/rGO multiphase ceramics during crack propagation was calculated and compared with that of pure boron carbide ceramics.The results show that the fracture energy dissipation can be effectively increased by adding graphene.

Effects of carbon content on high-temperature mechanical and thermal fatigue properties of high-boron austenitic steels

High-temperature mechanical properties of high-boron austenitic steels （HBASs） were studied at 850 ℃ using a dynamic thermal-mechanical simulation testing machine. In addition, the thermal fatigue properties of the alloys were investigated using the self-restraint Uddeholm thermal fatigue test, during which the alloy specimens were cycled between room temperature and 800℃. Stereomicroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to study the surface cracks and cross-sectional microstructure of the alloy specimens after the thermal fatigue tests. The effects of carbon content on the mechanical properties at room temperature and high-temperature as well as thermal fatigue properties of the HBASs were also studied. The experimental results show that increasing carbon content induces changes in the microstructure and mechanical properties of the HBASs. The boride phase within the HBAS matrix exhibits a round and smooth morphology, and they are distributed in a discrete manner. The hardness of the alloys increases from 239 （0.19wt.% C） to 302 （0.29wt.% C） and 312 HV （0.37wt.% C）; the tensile yield strength at 850 ℃ increases from 165.1 to 190.3 and 197.1 MPa; and the compressive yield strength increases from 166.1 to 167.9 and 184.4 MPa. The results of the thermal fatigue tests （performed for 300 cycles from room temperature to 800 ℃） indicate that the degree of thermal fatigue of the HBAS with 0.29wt.% C （rating of 2-3） is superior to those of the alloys with 0.19wt.% （rating of 4-5） and 0.37wt.% （rating of 3-4） carbon. The main cause of this difference is the ready precipitation of M23（C,B）6- type borocarbides in the alloys with high carbon content during thermal fatigue testing. The precipitation and aggregation of borocarbide particles at the grain boundaries result in the deterioration of the thermal fatigue properties of the alloys.

Effects of boron number per unit volume on the shielding properties of composites made with boron ores from China

The total macroscopic removal cross sections,deposited energies and the absorbed doses of three new shielding composites loaded with specific boron-rich slag,boron concentrate ore and boron mud of China for 252Cf neutron source were investigated by experimental and Monte Carlo calculation.The results were evaluated by boron mole numbers per unit volume in composites.The half value layers of the composites were calculated and compared with that of Portland concrete,indicating that ascending boron mole numbers per unit volume in the composites can enhance the shielding properties of the composites for 252Cf neutron source.

Microstructure and Properties of Plasma Spraying Boron Carbide Coating

Microstructure of plasma spray boron carbide coating was studied by SEM and TEM. Its physical, mechanical and electrical properties were measured. The results showed that high microhardness, modulus and low porosity of B4C coating were manufactured by plasma spray. It was lamellar packing and dense. The B4C coating examined here contained two principal structures and two impurity phase besides major phase. The relatively small value of Young's modulus, comparing with that of the bulk materials, is explained by porosity . The Fe impurity phase could account for the relatively high electrical conductivity of boron carbide coating by comparing with the general boron carbide materials.

Strain effect on transport properties of hexagonal boron—nitride nanoribbons

The transport properties of hexagonal boron-nitride nanoribbons under the uniaxial strain are investigated by the Green＇s function method. We find that the transport properties of armchair boron-nitride nanoribbon strongly depend on the strain. In particular, the features of the conductance steps such as position and width are significantly changed by strain. As a strong tensile strain is exerted on the nanoribbon, the highest conductance step disappears and subsequently a dip emerges instead. The energy band structure and the local current density of armchair boron nitride nanoribbon under strain are calculated and analysed in detail to explain these characteristics. In addition, the effect of strain on the conductance of zigzag boron-nitride nanoribbon is weaker than that of armchair boron nitride nanoribbon.

Effect of Rare Earths on Structure and Properties of Carbonitriding Boronizing Combined Treatment

The microstructure, thickness, microhardness and wear resistance of single-boronizing, carbonitriding+boronizing and carbonitriding+RE-boronizing layers of 16Mn steel were investigated respectively. Effect of rare earths on microstructure and properties of the penetrated layer were studied and the mechanism of effects of rare earths was discussed. The result showed that the structure, microhardness, brittleness and wear resistance of the penetrated layer after carbonitriding+ RE-boronizing were better than that of conventional boronizing and carbonitriding, especially the wear resistance of boronized layer was increased remarkably. The RE-boronizing layer of the steel is single phase Fe2B, and RE elements enhanced Fe2B (002) direction texture. The distribution of rare earth element (La) in the layer was non-uniform. RE content is higher between borides than that of the interior of borides. An optimum value of the addition of RE element in the agent was 8%. The average service life of the 16Mn steel brick mould treated by carbonitriding+RE-boronizing was 1.5 times as long as the service life of the mould treated by carbonitriding-boronizing.

Effect of Cerium and Boron on Microstructures and Properties of Cu-Ni-Si Alloy

The effects of trace boron and cerium addition on microstructures and properties of high-strength and high-conductivity Cu-Ni-Si alloys were studied. The results showed that the recrystallization starting temperature of Cu-Ni-Si alloy was greatly raised by adding trace Ce and B, which resulted in that the recrystallization of alloy did not happen until the aging strengthening peak was reached. Thus, the good strengthening effect contributed by both precipitation and cold working was obtained, and not only the peak strength was obviously increased but also the strength peak and conductivity peak appeared at the same aging temperature. The trace addition of Ce and B makes the alloys achieve an excellent combination of high strength and high conductivity.

Characterisation of the high-pressure structural transition and elastic properties in boron arsenic

This paper carries out the First principles calculation of the crystal structures （zinc blende （B3） and rocksalt （B1）） and phase transition of boron arsenic （BAs） based on the density-functional theory. Using the relation between enthalpy and pressure, it finds that the transition phase from the B3 structural to the B] structural occurs at the pressure of l13.42GPa. Then the elastic constants Cll, C12, C44, bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young modulus, anisotropy factor, Kleinman parameter and Poisson ratio are discussed in detail for two polymorphs of BAs. The results of the structural parameters and elastic properties in B3 structure are in good agreement with the available theoretical and experimental values.

Tuning field emission properties of boron nanocones with catalyst concentration

Single crystalline boron nanocones are prepared by using a simple spin spread method in which Fe3O4 nanoparticles are pre-manipulated on Si（lll） to form catalyst patterns of different densities. The density of boron nanocones can be tuned by changing the concentration of catalyst nanoparticles. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis shows that the boron nanocone has a β-tetragonal structure with good crystallization. The field emission behaviour is optimal when the spacing distance is close to the nanocone length, which indicates that this simple spin spread method has great potential applications in electron emission nanodevices.