Influence of TiO_2 Mineralizer on the Crystalline Structure of Cordierite Synthesized from Aluminum Slag

By adding small amount of TiO2, aluminum slag could be used to synthesize cor- dierite. α-Al2O3, TiO2 and dehydrated talc could generate solid solution to accelerate the solid-state reaction to form cordierite. The experimental results show that the content of cordierite increases with the increase of TiO2 added. 3.0% of TiO2 is determined to be the best amount, because all crystalline substances are converted into cordierite at this content. Philips X’pert plus software analysis shows that when the content of TiO2 is from 0 to 1.0%, cordierite has the same hexagonal structure as the single crystal and the lattice parameters change slightly; when the content of TiO2 is from 1.0 to 2.0%, the cordierite still keeps hexagonal structure but the lattice parameters change greatly; when the content of TiO2 is from 2.0 to 3.5%, the cordierite is converted from hexagonal into rhombic and the lattice parameters change accordingly.

THE STRUCTURE CONTROL OF ALUMINUM FOAMS PRODUCED BY POWDER COMPACTED FOAMING PROCESS

A new technique, powder compact foaming process for the production of aluminumfoams has been studied in this article. According to this method, the aluminum pow-der is mixed with a powder foaming agent (TiH_2). Subsequent to mixing, the powderblend is hot compacted to obtain a dense semi--finished product. Upon heating to tem-peratures within the range of the melting point, the foaming agent decomposes to evolvegas and the semi--finished product expands into a porous cellular aluminum. Foamingprocess is the key in this method. Based on experiments, the foaming characteris-tics were mainly analyzed and discussed. Experiments show that the aluminum--foamwith closed pores and a uniform cell structure of high porosity can be obtained usingthis method by adjusting the foaming parameters: the content of foaming agent andfoaming temperature.

Influence of Fe_2O_3 Impurity on the Crystalline Structure of Cordierite Synthesized from Waste Aluminum Slag

The influence of Fe2O3 impurity on the crystalline structure of cordierite synthesized from waste aluminum slag is discussed. XRD and SEM techniques were employed to characterize the crystalline structure and microstructure of each specimen. Philips X’pert plus software was used to determine the lattice parameters of each specimen. The results show that the Fe2O3 content of 0.8～1.6wt% is beneficial to the formation of cordierite, with the cordierite amount reaching 90wt%. So 0.8～1.6wt% is considered as the allowable Fe2O3 content in the specimens and 0.8wt% is determined to be the best after overall analysis. Plus software analysis shows that the cordierite in each specimen has the same symmetrical hexagonal structure as the single crystal, and the lattice parameters as well as the lattice dimensions change slightly.

Structure of Liquid Aluminum and Hydrogen Absorption

The hydrogen content in aluminum melts at different temperature was detected. The structure in aluminum melts was investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. The first peak position of pair correlation function, atomic coordination number and viscosity of aluminum melts were calculated and they changed abnormally in the same temperature range. The mechanism of hydrogen absorption has been discussed. From molecular dynamics calculations, the interdependence between melt structural properties and hydrogen absorption were obtained.

Influence of Impurity Na_2O on Crystalline Structure of Cordierite Synthesized from Aluminum Sludge

By adding small amount of TiO2, aluminum slag could be used to synthesize cor- dierite. α-Al2O3, TiO2 and dehydrated talc could generate solid solution to accelerate the solid-state reaction to form cordierite. The experimental results show that the content of cordierite increases with the increase of TiO2 added. 3.0% of TiO2 is determined to be the best amount, because all crystalline substances are converted into cordierite at this content. Philips X’pert plus software analysis shows that when the content of TiO2 is from 0 to 1.0%, cordierite has the same hexagonal structure as the single crystal and the lattice parameters change slightly; when the content of TiO2 is from 1.0 to 2.0%, the cordierite still keeps hexagonal structure but the lattice parameters change greatly; when the content of TiO2 is from 2.0 to 3.5%, the cordierite is converted from hexagonal into rhombic and the lattice parameters change accordingly.

Predicting and controlling interfacial microstructure of magnesium/aluminum bimetallic structures for improved interfacial bonding

In this study,an overcasting process followed by a low-temperature(200°C)annealing schedule has been developed to bond magnesium to aluminum alloys.ProCAST software was used to optimize the process parameters during the overcasting process which lead to Mg/Al bimetallic structures to be successfully produced without formation of Mg-Al intermetallic phases.Detailed microstructure evolution during annealing,including the formation and growth of Al-Mg interdiffusion layer and intermetallic phases(Al12Mg17 and Al3Mg2),was experimentally observed for the first time with direct evidence,and predicted using Calculation of Phase Diagrams(CALPHAD)modeling.Maximum interfacial strength was achieved when the interdiffusion layer formed at the Mg/Al interface reached a maximum thickness the without formation of brittle intermetallic compounds.The precise diffusion modeling of the Mg/Al interface provides an efficient way to optimize and control the interfacial microstructure of Mg/Al bimetallic structures for improved interfacial bonding.

Effects of aluminum and titanium on the microstructure of ODS steels fabricated by hot pressing

Three oxide-dispersion-strengthened(ODS)steels with compositions of Fe-14Cr-2W-0.2V-0.07Ta-0.3Y_2O_3(wt%,so as the follows)(14Y),Fe-14Cr-2W-0.2V-0.07Ta-1Al-0.3Y_2O_3(14YAl),and Fe-14Cr-2W-0.2V-0.07Ta-0.3Ti-0.3 Y_2O_3(14YTi)were fabricated by hot pressing.Transmission electron microscopy(TEM)was used to characterize the microstructures and nanoparticles of these ODS steels.According to the TEM results,14Y,14YAl,and 14YTi ODS steels present similar bimodal structures containing both large and small grains.The addition of Al or Ti has no obvious effect on the microstructure of the steels.The spatial and size distribution of the nanoparticles was also analyzed.The results indicate that the average size of nanoparticles in the 14YTi ODS steel is smaller than that in the 14YAl ODS steel.Nanoparticles such as Y_2O_3,Y_3Al_5O_(12) and YAlO_3,and Y_2Ti_2O_7 were identified in the 14Y,14YAl,and 14YTiODS steels,respectively.

Variations in defect substructure and fracture surface of commercially pure aluminum under creep in weak magnetic field

Commercially pure polycrystalline aluminum of grade A85, as a test material, is investigated. Using scanning and transmission electron microscopy the aluminum fine structure and fracture surface are analyzed. Fractures are studied in the regime of creep with and without a simultaneous effect of 0.3-T magnetic field. It is found that the application of a magnetic field in a linear stage of creep leads to substructure imperfection increasing. Furthermore, the magnetic field effect on aluminum in the process of creep causes the average scalar density of dislocations to increase and induces the process of dislocation loop formation to strengthen. Fractographic investigation of the fracture surface shows that in the fibrous fracture zone the average size of plastic fracture pits decreases more than twice under creep in the condition of external magnetic field compared with in the conventional experimental condition. In a shear zone, the magnetic field causes the average size of fracture pits to decrease. Experimental data obtained in the research allow us to conclude that the magnetic field effect on aluminum in the process of creep leads to the fracture toughness value of the material decreasing, which will affect the state of defect substructure of the volume and surface layer of the material. The influence of the magnetic field is analyzed on the basis of the magneto-plasticity effect.

Effect of Aluminum Addition on Microstructure and Properties of SiO_2-B_2O_3-Al_2O_3-CaO Vitrified Bond

Influence of aluminum addition on the structures and properties of SiO_2-B_2O_3-Al_2O_3-CaO vitrified bond at low sintering temperature and high strength was discussed. FTIR and XRD analyses were used to characterize the structures of the basic vitrified bond with different contents of aluminum. The bending strength and the thermal expansion coefficients were also tested. Meanwhile, the microstructures of composite specimens at sintering temperature of 660 ℃ were observed by scanning electron microscope（SEM）. The experimental results showed that the properties of vitrified bond with 1wt% aluminum were improved significantly, where the bending strength, Rockwell hardness, and thermal expansion coefficient of the vitrified bond reached 132 MPa, 63 HRB, and 6.73×10^（-6） ℃^（-1）, respectively.

Pore structure and mechanical properties of directionally solidi ed porous aluminum alloys

Porous aluminum alloys produced by the metal-gas eutectic method or GASAR process need to be performed under a certain pressure of hydrogen, and to carry over melt to a tailor-made apparatus that ensures directional solidif ication. Hydrogen is driven out of the melt, and then the quasi-cylindrical pores normal to the solidif ication front are usually formed. In the research, the effects of processing parameters(saturation pressure, solidif ication pressure, temperature, and holding time) on the pore structure and porosity of porous aluminum alloys were analyzed. The mechanical properties of Al-Mg alloys were studied by the compressive tests, and the advantages of the porous structure were indicated. By using the GASAR method, pure aluminum, Al-3wt.%Mg, Al-6wt.%Mg and Al-35wt.%Mg alloys with oriented pores have been successfully produced under processing conditions of varying gas pressure, and the relationship between the f inal pore structure and the solidif ication pressure, as well as the inf luences of Mg quantity on the pore size, porosity and mechanical properties of AlMg alloy were investigated. The results show that a higher pressure of solidif ication tends to yield smaller pores in aluminum and its alloys. In the case of Al-Mg alloys, it was proved that with the increasing of Mg amount, the mechanical properties of the alloys sharply deteriorate. However, since Al-3%Mg and Al-6wt.%Mg alloys are ductile metals, their porous samples have greater compressive strength than that of the dense samples due to the existence of pores. It gives the opportunity to use them in industry at the same conditions as dense alloys with savings in weight and material consumption.

Effects of Sub-chronic Aluminum Exposure on Renal Pathologic Structure in Rats

A total of 40 Wistar rats, weighing 130-140 g, were allocated randomly into four groups. They were orally administrated with 0 （control group, GC）, 64.18 （low-dose group, GL）, 128.36 （middle-dose group, GM）, and 256.72 （high-dose group, GH） mg aluminum chloride （AlCl3） per kilogram body weight in drinking water for 120 days. Kidney coefficient and aluminum （Al） concentrations in blood and kidney were determined, and renal autopsy and histological changes were observed. The results showed that kidney coefficient in all Al-treated groups were obviously lower than that in GC （P〈0.01） and there was a dose-effect relationship. The kidneys were solid, lusterless and pale brown with white necrosis point on surface. Under electron microscope, renal cortex became thin, the renal tubule was narrowed and the epithelium dissolved; the renal glomerulus became atrophied and the glomerular became vasodilator. The Al concentrations in blood and kidney were higher in all Al-treated rats than those in GC （P〈0.01）, and there was a dose-effect relationship. The results indicated that sub-chronic Al exposure could lead to Al accumulation in kidney, restrain the development of kidney and cause the pathologic damage in rats.

As-cast structure of DC casting 7075 aluminum alloy obtained under dual-frequency electromagnetic field

We have experimentally determined the as-cast structures of semi-continuous casting 7075 aluminum alloy obtained in the pres-ence of dual-frequency electromagnetic field. Results suggest that the use of dual-frequency electromagnetic field during the semi-continuous casting process of 7075 aluminum alloy ingots reduces the thickness of the surface segregation layer, increases the height of the melt menis-cus, enhances the surface quality of the ingot, and changes the surface morphology of the melt pool. Moreover, low-frequency electromag-netic field was found to show the most obvious influence on improving the as-cast structure because of its high permeability in conductors.

Research on stretching flame correction technology of aluminum alloy ship frame skin welding structure

At present,conventional flame correction has shortcomings such as random heating route and low efficiency.The welding seam of the aluminum alloy ship frame skin structure is concentrated and the frame restraint is large.It is difficult to control and eliminate the local convex deformation after welding.In order to improve the conventional orthopedic technology and improve the orthopedic efficiency,the pre-elastic deformation technology is proposed.Using the method of combining numerical simulation and experiment,the orthopedic effect of conventional and pre-elastic orthopedic technology is studied,and the influence of pre-deformation variables and heating path on deformation control of the frame skin structure after welding is simulated.The simulation results show that the technical key to the control of convex deformation lies in the control of the pre-elastic deformation and the setting of the heating route.The experimental verification results show that the pre-elastic deformation technology has a better control effect than conventional orthopedics,can significantly improve the orthopedic efficiency,and provides a new method for deformation control in the shipbuilding industry.

Effects of ultrasonic treatment on structure of roll casting aluminum strip

The experiment of ultrasonic treatment of roll casting aluminum strip on plane twin-roll cast-roller with double-heads ultrasonic tools was carried out, and the metallographic structure of the roll casting aluminum strip treated by ultrasonic was studied. The results show that ultrasonic treatment can refine the grain of the roll casting aluminum strips and make the structure of the strips more homogeneous. The effect is the best when the power of ultrasonic is 300 W and the incident angle of the guide rod is 45、. The mechanism of acoustic cavitations and acoustic flow on grain refinement was also discussed. The heat effect of intensity ultrasonic was studied. The present problems during ultrasonic roll casting process, such as the imperfect cooling system, the inaccurate calculation of ultrasonic energy, and the shape and position of the guide rod to be improved were pointed out.

Effect of ultrasonic power and casting speed on solidification structure of 7050 aluminum alloy ingot in ultrasonic field

With the experiment and finite element simulation, the influences of power ultrasonic on the solidification structure of 7050 aluminum alloy ingot in semi-continuous casting were researched, and the effects of casting speed on solidification structure in ultrasonic field were also analyzed. The experiment and simulation results show that the solidification structure of the ingot is homogeneously distributed, and its grain size is obviously refined at ultrasonic power of 240 W. The average grain sizes, which can be seen from the Leica microscope, are less than 100 μm. When the casting speed is 45-50 mm/min, the best grain refinement is obtained.

Cell-structure and mechanical properties of closed-cell aluminum foam

The density, cell size and structure of closed-cell aluminum foam were measured by optical microscopy and image analysis. The properties and the mechanism of compressive deformation that occur in closed-cell aluminum foam were measured and discussed. The results show that the cell size of foam with density of 0.37 mg/m^3 is distributed in the range of 0.5 4.0 mm. The cell size of foam with density of 0.33 mg/m^3 is distributed in the range of 0.55.0 mm. The cell wall thickness of both types is 0.10.3 mm. The closed-cell aluminum foam almost belongs to isotropic one, with a variation of ±15% in elastic modulus and yield strength in longitudinal and transverse direction. Under compressive loading, foam materials show inhomogeneous macroscopic deformation. The site of the onset of local plastic deformation depends on the cell structure. The shape of cell is more important than size in determining the yielding susceptibility of the cells. At early stage of deformation,the deformation is localized in narrow bands having width of one cells diameter, and outside the bands the cell still remains the original shape. The cells within bands experience large permanent deformation. The band normals are usually within 20° of the loading axis.

Crystal structure evolution of complex metal aluminum hydrides upon hydrogen release

Complex aluminum hydrides have been widely studied as potential hydrogen storage materials but also,for some time now, for electrochemical applications. This review summarizes the crystal structures of alkali and alkaline earth aluminum hydrides and correlates structure properties with physical and chemical properties of the hydride compounds. The crystal structures of the alkali metal aluminum hydrides change significantly during the stepwise dehydrogenation. The general pathway follows a transformation of structures built of isolated [AlH4]- tetrahedra to structures built of isolated [Al H6]3- octahedra.The crystal structure relations in the group of alkaline earth metal aluminum hydrides are much more complicated than those of the alkali metal aluminum hydrides. The structures of the alkaline earth metal aluminum hydrides consist of isolated tetrahedra but the intermediate structures exhibit chains of cornershared octahedra. The coordination numbers within the alkali metal group increase with cation sizes which goes along with an increase of the decomposition temperatures of the primary hydrides. Alkaline earth metal hydrides have higher coordination numbers but decompose at slightly lower temperatures than their alkali metal counterparts. The decomposition pathways of alkaline metal aluminum hydrides have not been studied in all cases and require future research.

Comparison of structure and physical fields in 400 kA aluminum reduction cells

To investigate the differences and the development trends of the 400 kA aluminum reduction cell, four representative cells were deeply analyzed. By using numerical simulation methods in ANSYS software, the structure parameters were firstly compared, and then three-dimensional models of electric-magnetic-flow field were built and solved with finite element method(FEM). The comparison of the structures reveals that the cell bodies are similar while the current flow path and distribution ratio of bus bars are different. It appears that most of the current(70%-80%) in side A are used as the magnetic field compensation current and flow through two ends. The numerical simulation results indicate that the distributions of magnetic fields are different but all satisfy with the magnetohydrodynamics(MHD) stabilization, and the flow patterns are all two or multi vortexes with appropriate velocities. The comparison shows that all studied cells can satisfy with the physical field requirement, and the commercial applications also verify that the 400 kA cells have become the product of the mature and world's leading technology.

Effect of dislocation structure evolution on low-angle grain boundary formation in 7050 aluminum alloy during aging

The effect of dislocation structure evolution on low-angle grain boundary formation in 7050 aluminum alloy during aging was studied by using optical microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and electron backscatter diffraction analysis of misorientation angle distribution, cumulative misorientation and geometrically necessary dislocation （GND） density. Experimental results indicate that coarse spindle-shaped grains with the dimension of 200 μm- 80 μm separate into fine equiaxed grains of 20μm in size as a result of newborn low-angle grain boundaries formed during the aging process. More specifically, the dislocation arrays, which are rearranged and formed due to scattered dislocations during earlier quenching, transform into low-angle grain boundaries with aging time. The relative frequency of 3°-5° low-angle grain boundaries increases to over 30%. The GND density, which describes low-angle grain boundaries with the misorientation angle under 3°, tends to decrease during initial aging. The inhomogeneous distribution of GNDs is affected by grain orientation. A decrease in GND density mainly occurs from 1.83 × 10^13 to 4.40 × 10^11 m^-2 in grains with 〈111〉 fiber texture. This is consistent with a decrease of unit cumulative misorientation. Precipitation on grain boundaries and the formation of a precipitation free zone （PFZ） are facilitated due to the eroding activity of the Graft etchant. Consequently, low-angle grain boundaries could be readily viewed by optical microscopy due to an increase in their electric potential difference.

Influence of Impurity Na2O on Crystalline Structure of Cordierite Synthesized from Aluminum Sludge

Waste aluminum sludge, talc powder and clay were used to synthesize cordierite in this research. The impurities, such as Fe2O3, CaO, K2O and Na2O, in the raw materials have some influence on the structures and properties of the materials. In this paper, we mainly discuss the impact of impurity Na2O on the structure of cordierite, based on which the permitted amount of Na2O was determined. The results show that Na2O with the amount less than 0.6% has little influence on the cordierite formation; while when its amount increasing from 0.6% to 0.7%, the content of cordierite decreases from 86% to 84% and the permitted amount for Na2O in the raw materials is less than 6% with the best amount less than 0.3%. X’pert plus software analysis results show the impurity Na2O has no influence on the cordierite space group and only the lattice parameters vary slightly; but it has much influence on the structure of Mg-Al spinel and the lattice parameters are much changed.