1∶7 Type Nanocrystalline SmCo_6Fe Sintered Magnet Prepared by Spark Plasma Sintering

Bulk nanocrystalline SmCo6Fe sintered magnet was prepared by Spark Plasma Sintering technique (SPS). XRD patterns show that the magnet exhibits a stable TbCu7 structure. TEM observation indicates that the microstructure of the magnet is composed of SmCo6Fe single phase grains with an average grain size of 30 nm. Magnetic measurement shows that under 9 T magnetic field, the coercivity of the magnet reaches 1.12 T; the saturation magnetization and the remanence are 1.13 and 0.67 T, respectively. The magnet has a (BH)max of 75.6 kJ·cm-3.

Fabrication and Mechanical Properties of TiC/TiAl Composites

TiC/TiAl composites with different TiC content were fabricated by rapid heating technique of spark plasma sintering (SPS). The effect of TiC particles on microstructure and mechanical properties of TiAl Matrix was investigated. The results indicate that grain sizes of TiAl matrix decrease and mechanical properties are improved because of the addition of TiC particles. The composites display a 26.8% increase in bending strength when 10 wt% TiC is added and 43.8% improvement in fracture toughness when 5 wt% TiC is added compared to values of TiC-free materials. Grain-refinement and dispersion-strengthening were the main strengthening mechanism. The improvement of fracture toughness was due to the deflexion of TiC particles to the crack.

Tailoring microstructure and mechanical properties of aluminum matrix composites reinforced with novel Al/CuFe multi-layered core-shell particles

Aluminum matrix composites(AMCs), reinforced with novel pre-synthesized Al/Cu Fe multi-layered coreshell particles, were fabricated by different consolidation techniques to investigate their effect on microstructure and mechanical properties. To synthesize multi-layered Al/Cu Fe core-shell particles, Cu and Fe layers were deposited on Al powder particles by galvanic replacement and electroless plating method, respectively. The core-shell powder and sintered compacts were characterized by using X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDX), pycnometer, microhardness and compression tests. The results revealed that a higher extent of interfacial reactions, due to the transformation of the deposited layer into intermetallic phases in spark plasma sintered composite, resulted in high relative density(99.26%), microhardness(165 HV0.3) and strength(572 MPa). Further, the presence of un-transformed Cu in the shell structure of hot-pressed composite resulted in the highest fracture strain(20.4%). The obtained results provide stronger implications for tailoring the microstructure of AMCs through selecting appropriate sintering paths to control mechanical properties.

Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of TiC Particle Reinforced TiAl Composites by Spark Plasma Sintering

Using spark plasma sintering（SPS） technique, TiC particle reinforced γ-TiAl composites were prepared with varying weight fraction of TiC powders. The effects of the TiC fractions and distributions on the properties of the composites were investigated. The composite containing 7wt% TiC had the optimum three-point bending strength of 842 MPa,which was 200 MPa greater than that of the unreinforced γ-TiAl intermetallic. The degradation of the bending strength occurred in the composites containing more than 7wt% TiC and this was believed to be attributed to agglomerated particles of TiC, which acted as crack initiation and propagation sites. The increase of strength in TiC reinforced IMCs came from the grain refinement and the interaction of dislocations with the reinforcing particles. The bending strength of the IMC containing 7wt% TiC was theoretically estimated to increase by 85 MPa and 200 MPa, respectively, by the grain refinement and dislocation strengthening, the total of which was ahnost in accordance with the improvement in that of the unreinforced γ-TiAl intermetallic when considering normal estimation errors.

Thermal Wave Effect and Sintering Activation Energy at the Initial Stage of Field Assisted Sintering Process for Non-conductive Al_2O_3 Powders

The effect of thermal wave at the initial stage for non-conductive Al_2 O_3 powders compact in field assisted sintering technique(FAST) was investigated. The Lord and Shulman type generalized thermoselastic theory was introduced to describe the influence of thermal-mechanical interaction, as well as the heat transport and thermal focusing caused by thermal wave propagation. The expression of vacancy concentration difference of the particles was deduced by considering transient thermal stress. Subsequently, the relationship between activation energy and vacancy concentration difference was obtained. The mechanism of surface diffusion, volume diffusion, simultaneous surface and volume diffusion was analyzed. The numerical simulations indicate that low sintering temperature can obtain high local temperature by the superposition effect of thermal wave. Vacancy concentration differences were improved during FAST compared with hot-pressure and pressureless sintering, thereby decreasing the sintering time. By contrast, the activation energy declined with the decrease of vacancy concentration difference in the neck growth process.

Study on superstructure in ion co-doped BiFeO_3 by using transmission electron microscopy

La3＋ and V5＋ co-doped BiFeO3 ceramics are synthesized by rapid liquid sintering technique. The modulated structure in Bi0.85La0.15Fe0.97V0.03O3 is investigated by using transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. Two kinds of superstructures are observed in the samples. One is the component modulated superstructure and twin-domain, which is generated by La3＋ ordered substitution for Bi3＋ and frequently appears. The chemical composition of the superstructure is explored by x-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy （EDS）. The model of the ordered structure is proposed. Simulation based on the model is conducted. The second is the fluorite-type δ-Bi2O3 related superstructure. The relation between the ferroelectric property and the microstructure of the sample is also discussed.

Effect of Tin on the Reaction Synthesis of Ternary Carbide Ti_3AlC_2

The effect of tin on synthesis of Ti3AlC2 by spark plasma sintering （SPS） from TiC/Ti/Al powders was investigated. X-ray diffraction （XRD） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM） were used for phase identification and microstructure evaluation. The experimental results show that addition of tin can considerably accelerate the synthesis reaction of Ti3AlC2 and fully dense, essentially single-phase polycrystalline Ti3AlC2 could be successfully obtained by sintering 2TiC/1Ti/1Al/0.2Sn powders at 1200-1250 ℃ under a pressure of 30 MPa. SEM images show that Ti3AlC2 samples in about 2-5 μm thick and 10-25μm long platelets can be obtained. The fracture toughness and flexural strength of Ti3AlC2 were 6.5±0.2 MPa·m^1/2 and 560±10 MPa, respectively.

Near-seamless joining of Cf/SiC composites using Y_(3)Si_(2)C_(2)via electric field-assisted sintering technique

A novel Y_(3)Si_(2)C_(2)material was synthesized at a relatively low temperature(900℃)using a molten salt method for the first time,and subsequently used as the joining material for carbon fiber reinforced SiC(Cf/SiC)composites.The sound near-seamless joints with no obvious remaining interlayer were obtained at 1600℃using an electric field-assisted sintering technique(FAST).During joining,a liquid phase was formed by the eutectic reaction among Y_(3)Si_(2)C_(2),γ(Y–C)phase,and SiC,followed by the precipitation of SiC particles.The presence of the liquid promoted the sintering of newly formed SiC particles,leading to their complete consolidation with the Cf/SiC matrix.On the other hand,the excess of the liquid was pushed away from the joining area under the effect of a uniaxial pressure of 30 MPa,leading to the formation of the near-seamless joints.The highest shear strength(Ä)of 17.2±2.9 MPa was obtained after being joined at 1600℃for 10 min.The failure of the joints occurred in the Cf/SiC matrix,indicating that the interface was stronger than that of the Cf/SiC matrix.The formation of a near-seamless joint minimizes the mismatch of thermal expansion coefficients and also irradiation-induced swelling,suggesting that the proposed joining strategy can be potentially applied to SiC-based ceramic matrix composites(CMCs)for extreme environmental applications.