Endurance-test and theoretical prediction of a rare earth nanocathode for the applied field magnetoplasmadynamic thruster

The erosion loss of cathode is essential for the lifetime of magnetoplasmadynamic thruster(MPDT).In this work,an endurance test system for MPDT cathodes was designed and developed,and the erosion characteristics,erosion rate and erosion mechanism of the cathode were studied using the system under vacuum condition.The WCe20 hollow cathode was selected to carry out the long-term erosion of 540 h with the argon propellant supply flow rate of40 ml min^(-1),the input current of 25 A,and the central magnetic field intensity of 96 Gs.In order to predict the theoretical service life of cathode,a steady state erosion numerical model was established.The calculation results show that the total erosion rate of sputtering and evaporation is 11.58 mg h^(-1),which is slightly smaller than the test data of the average cathode corrosion rate of 12.70 mg h^(-1) in the experiment,because the experimental value includes start-up erosion rate.

Study the Removal of Fluoride from Aqueous Medium by Using Nano-Composites

Endemic fluorosis disease has become a major geo-environmental health care issue caused by fluoride ion. High-efficiency and low-cost materials to uptake fluoride from water have been a chal-lenge for scientists and engineers. Here, we report a low-cost process by utilising low-cost starting materials to develop nanocomposite adsorbents for fluoride uptake from water. Bermuda grass as a starting source material converted into nanocomposite carbon fibers upon heat treatment at 800°C for one hour in Nitrogen atmosphere in the presence of metal oxides. Iron oxide-based nanocomposite (IBNC) is performing high (≈97%) removal of fluoride ion at a contact time of 60 minutes (pH 4) followed by titania-based nanocomposite (TBNC) (≈92%) and micro carbon fiber (≈88%) respectively. The phenomenon of fluoride ion uptake is realised by Freundlich adsorption model, and both adsorption capacity and adsorption intensity for IBNC are higher than those for TBNC and micro carbon fiber.

Developing Core-Shell Nano-Structures in FeCrAl-ODS Ferritic Alloys with the Co-Addition of Ni and Zr

A new Ni+Zr co-alloyed FeCrAl-ODS(oxide-dispersion-strengthened)ferritic alloy was fabricated by ball-milling and hot-isostatic-pressing.Using electron microscopy and atom probe tomography,the dispersive formation of high density core-shelled nano-particles of various sizes was confirmed with a common B2-NiAl shell.Among which,median-sized nano-particles(20-50 nm)typically have an Y_(4)Al_(2)O_(9)nano-core of<~20 nm,ultra-fine nano-particles(<~20)nm have an Y_(4)Zr_(3)O_(12)nano-core of<~10 nm,and larger-sized nano-particles(50-100 nm)incorporate an ultra-fine Y_(4)Al_(2)O_(9)nano-core and a few ultra-fine Y_(4)Zr_(3)O_(12)nano-oxides.All these nano-phases were highly coherent with the ferritic matrix.No large Y--Al-O nano-oxides were formed.The total number density of ultra-fine nano-particles was estimated as~2×10^(23)m^(-3)with a mean size of 6.3 nm only,and accordingly,the new alloy achieved an excellent combination of strength and ductility at high temperatures.

Catalysis on Interface of Nano-oxide and Nano-zeolite

1 Results The catalysts which can efficiently hydro-reform higher n-paraffin to lower isoparaffins for environmentally-friendly gasoline were studied. The catalysts were examined by the conversion of n-hexadecane, n-C16H34 to i-C6H14—i-C10H22.The tri-modally nano-porous catalysts composed of (Ni-Mo)/[γ-Al2O3], nano-oxide, and nano-crystalline zeolite had some active and selective performance because of the interface between nano-oxide and nano-zeolite. The catalyst composed of nano-crystalline MFI or BE...

1.45 GPa ultrastrong cryogenic strength with superior impact toughness in the in-situ nano oxide reinforced CrMnFeCoNi high-entropy alloy matrix nanocomposite manufactured by laser powder bed fusion

CrMnFeCoNi high-entropy alloys(HEAs)exhibit an excellent combination of tensile strength and ductility at cryogenic temperatures.This study led to the introduction of a new method for the development of high-performance CrMnFeCoNi HEAs at cryogenic temperatures by jointly utilizing additive manufacturing(AM)and the addition of interstitial atoms.The interstitial oxygen present in the powder feedstock was transformed into beneficial nano-sized oxides during AM processing.The HEA nanocomposite fabricated using laser powder bed fusion(L-PBF)not only contains heterogeneous grains and substructures but also a high number density of nano-sized oxides.The tensile results revealed that the L-PBF HEA nanocomposite has superior yield strengths of 0.77 GPa and 1.15 GPa,and tensile strengths of 0.92 GPa and 1.45 GPa at 298 K and 77 K,respectively.In addition,the Charpy impact energies of the samples tested at 298 K and 77 K were measured as 176.2 J and 103.7 J,respectively.These results indicate that the L-PBF HEA nanocomposite successfully overcomes the well-known strength-toughness trade-off.The tensile deformation microstructure contained a relatively large number of deformation twins(DTs)at cryogenic temperature,a possible consequence of the decrease in the stacking fault energy with decreasing temperature.On the other hand,cracks were found to propagate along the grain boundaries at room temperature,whereas a transgranular crack was observed at cryogenic temperature in the specimens fractured as a result of the Charpy impact.

Thin Films for Coating Nanomaterials

For nano-structured solids （those with one or more dimensions in the 1-100 nm range）, attempts of surface modification can pose significant and new challenges. In traditional materials, the surface coating could be several hundreds nanometers in thickness, or even microns and millimeters. In a nano-structured material, such as particle or nanofibers, the coating thickness has to be substantially smaller than the bulk dimensions （100 nm or less）, yet be durable and effective. In this paper, some aspects of effective nanometer scale coatings have been discussed. These films have been deposited by a non-line of sight （plasma） techniques; and therefore, they are capable of modifying nanofibers, near net shape cellular foams, and other high porosity materials. Two types of coatings will be focused upon： （a） those that make the surface inert and （b） those designed to enhance surface reactivity and bonding. The former has been achieved by forming 1-2 nm layer of --CF2- （and/or CF3） groups on the surface, and the latter by creating a nano- layer of SiO2-type compound. Nucleation and growth studies of the plasma-generated film indicate that they start forming as 2-3 nm high islands that grow laterally, and eventually completely cover the surface with 2-3 nm film. Contact angle measurements indicate that these nano-coatings are fully functional even before they have achieved complete coverage of 2-3 nm. They should therefore be applicable to nano-structural solids. This is corroborated by application of these films on vapor grown nanofibers of carbon, and on graphitic foams. Coated and uncoated materials are infiltrated with epoxy matrix to form composites and their microstructure, as well as mechanical behaviors are compared. The results show that the nano-oxide coating can significantly enhance bond formation between carbon and organic phases, thereby enhancing wettability, dispersion, and composite behavior. The fluorocarbon coating, as expected, reduces bond formation, and therefore, effective as an inert layer to passivate nanomaterials.