Formation of diffuse and spark discharges between two needle electrodes with the scattering of particles

The development of a nanosecond discharge in a pin-to-pin gap filled with air at atmospheric pressure has been studied with high temporal and spatial resolutions from a breakdown start to the spark decay.Positive and negative nanosecond voltage pulses with an amplitude of tens of kilovolts were applied.Time-resolved images of the discharge development were taken with a fourchannel Intensified Charge Coupled Device(ICCD)camera.The minimum delay between the camera channels could be as short as≈0.1 ns.This made it possible to study the gap breakdown process with subnanosecond resolution.It was observed that a wide-diameter streamer develops from the high-voltage pointed electrode.The ionization processes near the grounded pin electrode started when the streamer crossed half of the gap.After bridging the gap by the streamer,a diffuse discharge was formed.The development of spark leaders from bright spots on the surface of the pointed electrodes was observed at the next stage.It was found that the rate of development of the spark leader is an order of magnitude lower than that of the wide-diameter streamer.Long thin luminous tracks were observed against the background of a discharge plasma glow.It has been established that the tracks are adjacent to brightly glowing spots on the electrodes and are associated with the flight of small particles.

Robust Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm for Modeling the Effectof Oxides Thermal Properties on AMIG 304L Stainless Steel Welds

There are several advantages to the MIG(Metal Inert Gas)process,which explains its increased use in variouswelding sectors,such as automotive,marine,and construction.A variant of the MIG process,where the sameequipment is employed except for the deposition of a thin layer of flux before the welding operation,is the AMIG(Activated Metal Inert Gas)technique.This study focuses on investigating the impact of physical properties ofindividual metallic oxide fluxes for 304L stainless steel welding joint morphology and to what extent it can helpdetermine a relationship among weld depth penetration,the aspect ratio,and the input physical properties ofthe oxides.Five types of oxides,TiO_(2),SiO_(2),Fe_(2)O_(3),Cr_(2)O_(3),and Mn_(2)O_(3),are tested on butt joint design withoutpreparation of the edges.A robust algorithm based on the particle swarm optimization(PSO)technique is appliedto optimally tune the models’parameters,such as the quadratic error between the actual outputs(depth and aspectratio),and the error estimated by the models’outputs is minimized.The results showed that the proposed PSOmodel is first and foremost robust against uncertainties in measurement devices and modeling errors,and second,that it is capable of accurately representing and quantifying the weld depth penetration and the weld aspect ratioto the oxides’thermal properties.

Effect of particle characteristics on deformation of particle reinforced metal matrix composites

The particle characteristics of 15%SiC particles reinforced metal matrix composites(MMC)made by powder metallurgy route were studied by using a statistical method.In the analysis,the approach for estimation of the characteristics of particles was presented.The study was carried out by using the mathematic software MATLAB to calculate the area and perimeter of each particle, in which the image processing technique was employed.Based on the calculations,the sizes and shape factors of each particle were investigated respectively.Additionally,the finite element model(FEM)was established on the basis of the actual microstructure.The contour plots of von Mises effective stress and strain in matrix and particles were presented in calculations for considering the influence of microstructure on the deformation behavior of MMC.Moreover,the contour maps of the maximum stress of particles and the maximum plastic strain of matrix in the vicinity of particles were introduced respectively.

Ballistic performance of tungsten particle/metallic glass matrix composite long rod

In the present manuscript numerical analysis on the ballistic performance of a tungsten particle/metallic glass matrix(WP/MG) composite rod is conducted by integrating with related experimental investigations. In the corresponding finite element method(FEM) simulations a modified coupled thermomechanical constitutive model is employed to describe the mechanical properties of metallic glass(MG)matrix, and geometrical models of the WP/MG composite rod are established based on its inner structure. The deformation and failure characteristics of the rod and target materials are analyzed in detail,and the influences of various factors on the ballistic performance of the WP/MG composite long rod are discussed. Related analysis demonstrates that the penetrating performance of the WP/MG rod is similar to that of the tungsten fiber/metallic glass matrix(WF/MG) composite long rod, i.e., a "self-sharpening" behavior also occurs during the penetration process, and correspondingly its penetrating capability is better than that of the tungsten heavy alloy(WHA) rod. However, the mass erosion manner of the WP/MG rod is different and the erosion is relatively severe, thus its penetrating capability is a little lower compared with that of the WF/MG one. Moreover, the impact velocity and the target strength have significant influences on the ballistic performance of the WP/MG composite rod, whereas the effect of initial nose shape is very little.

Mechanism of different particle sizes of quartz activated by metallic ion in butyl xanthate solution

To investigate effect of metallic ion activation on different particle sizes of quartz in butyl xanthate solution,six common ions(Pb^(2+),Cu^(2+),Fe^(3+),Fe^(2+),Mg^(2+) and Ca^(2+)) were introduced as activators.The approaches of micro-flotation,adsorption test and zeta potential measurement were adopted to reveal the mechanism of ion activation.The results show that Pb^(2+),Cu^(2+) and Fe^(3+) are effective activators for the flotation of quartz in butyl xanthate solution because of their absorption on activated quartz surface.Average recoveries of fine particles(<37 μm) are greater than those of coarser particles(37-74 μm),suggesting that the former is easier to be activated and more likely to be floated and thus entrained in sulphide concentrate.From another perspective,addition of metallic ions(Pb^(2+),Cu^(2+) and Fe^(3+)) renders zeta potentials move positively,and addition of the same metallic ions and butyl xanthate makes zeta potential drop apparently,which support a mechanism where they adsorb onto quartz surface,resulting in an expected increase in butyl xanthate collector adsorption with a concomitant increase in the flotation recoveries.

Impact of Inert Metal Particles Flow on Aluminium Plate

Inert metal explosive,a new kind of explosive,is a mixture of high explosive and inert metal particle.When this kind of explosive is detonated,an inert metal particle flow will be formed by the ex-plosive product driving.To determine the characteristics of the movement of the metal particle flow,a series of aluminium plates were designed to be the targets on which the metal particle flow impacted.The test result was presented and a numerical model was set up to analyze the impact of the high speed inert metal particles on aluminium plate.Based on the numerical analysis,the relationship between the characteristic of the mark on the target plate and the initial condition of the inert metal particles was pro-posed.From the analysis of the impact on target plates,more information about the movement of the metal particles could be reconstructed.

Plasticity improvement of(Cu_(43)Zr_(48)Al_(9))_(98)Y_(2)bulk metallic glass composites by dispersed Ta particles

(Cu_(43)Zr_(48)Al_(9))_(98)Y_(2)-based bulk metallic glass composites(BMGCs)with dispersed Ta particles(3vol.%,6vol.%,9vol.%)were successfully fabricated through suction casting.The thermal properties,microstructure,and mechanical properties of the BMGCs were systematically investigated.Ta particles are homogeneously dispersed in the amorphous matrix.Ta particle reinforced BMGCs exhibit similar thermal properties and glass-forming ability with the Cu_(43)Zr_(48)Al_(9))_(98)Y_(2)base BMG.Compression test results show that the BMGC with 9vol.%Ta particles has superior mechanical performance with up to 15.7%compressive plastic strain,2,216 MPa yield strength,and 2,260 MPa fracture strength at room temperature.These homogeneously distributed Ta particles act as discrete obstacles in the amorphous matrix,restricting the highly localized shear band.This results in the formation of multiple shear bands around the Ta-rich particles,which lowers the stress concentration,allowing the shear band to propagate further and improve plasticity.

PARTICULATE SIZE EFFECTS IN THE PARTICLE-REINFORCED METAL-MATRIX COMPOSITES

The influences of I,article size on the mechanical properties of the particulate metal matrix composite;are obviously displayed in the experimental observations. However, the phenomenon can not be predicted directly using the conventional elastic-plastic theory. It is because that no length scale parameters are involved in the conventional theory. In the present research, using the strain gradient plasticity theory, a systematic research of the particle size effect in the particulate metal matrix composite is carried out. The roles of many composite factors, such as: the particle size, the Young's modulus of the particle, the particle aspect ratio and volume fraction, as well as the plastic strain hardening exponent of the matrix material, are studied in detail. In order to obtain a general understanding for the composite behavior, two kinds of particle shapes, ellipsoid and cylinder, are considered to check the strength dependence of the smooth or non-smooth particle surface. Finally, the prediction results will be applied to the several experiments about the ceramic particle-reinforced metal-matrix composites. The material length scale parameter is predicted.

Speciation of heavy metals in airborne particles,road dusts,and soils along expressways in China

This study analyzed the concentrations and chemical forms of Zn,Cu,Pb,Sb,Cd and Mn in airborne particles,road dusts and soils collected along three expressways in Jiangxi Province,China,with different traffic densities,and identified the levels and sources of heavy metal contamination.The concentrations of Zn,Cu,Pb,Sb,and Cd except Mn in airborne particles,road dusts and soils were all in direct proportion to traffic volume.Cd concentrations were low compared with other metals.For instance,the concentrations of Zn,Cu,Pb,Sb,Mn and Cd were 6.6,0.7,2.2,0.1,0.1 and 0.1μg·m-3in PM10along the Changjiu Expressway,792.8,241.4,248.3,9.6,340.5and 8.0 mg·kg-1in road dusts,and 201.1,143.2,59.5,9.5,338.9 and 2.3 mg·kg-1in soils,respectively,but in the case of the ratio of concentration to the environmental background value,most serious contamination was caused by Cd.The sources of the heavy metals were judged by comparisons of the chemical forms of the heavy metals in different environmental media.Pb and Mn in airborne particles were both derived from traffic;Pb in road dusts and soils resulted mainly from the use of leaded gasoline in the past;and Mn in road dusts and soils was derived from parent rocks.Zn,Cu,Sb and Cd in airborne particles,road dusts and soils were derived primarily from traffic,and differences in chemical forms of the heavy metals in different media were due to the interaction between heavy metals in airborne particles and organic matter and other surfaces in road dusts and soils.We also discussed the change of chemical forms of heavy metals in particles of different sizes and under different weather conditions.Bioavailability of heavy metals in airborne particles was much higher than that in road dusts and soils,especially Pb(0.676 in airborne particles,0.159 in road dusts and 0.095 in soils).

Movement Patterns of Metallic Particles in a Single Phase Gas Insulated Busduct with Superimposed Lightning and Switching Impulses

Transient over voltages due to lightning and switching surges cause steep build-up of voltage on transmission lines and other electrical apparatus,like circuit breakers,transformers,insulators etc.Therefore it is necessary for the GIS also to withstand such voltages without breakdown of Insulation.The system has to be tested under these conditions.Usually the GIS system operates on power frequency.Lightning Impulse Voltage of 1050 kV and Switching Impulse Voltage of 750 kV superimposed on Power frequency voltages of 75 kV,100 kV and 132 kV are applied to Single Phase Gas Insulated Busduct and the maximum movement of Aluminum,Copper and Silver particles is determined.The movement patterns are also determined with and without Monte Carlo Simulation for movement of particle in axial and radial directions.The results show that there is a sudden jump in the movement at the application of impulse on sine wave.This is because of high magnitude voltage of 1050 kV during 1.2/50 μs.Similar movement patterns of reduced maximum movement is observed for Switching Impulse superimposed on sine wave.The results are presented and analyzed.

Cavitation-erosion mechanism of laser cladded SiC particle reinforced metal matrix composite

With 2 kW continuous wave Nd-YAG laser, SiC ceramic powder was laser-cladded on the AA6061 aluminium alloy surface. Within the range of process parameters investigated, the parameters were optimized to produce the SiC_p reinforced metal matrix composites(MMC) modified layer on AA6061 alloy surface. After being treated, the modified layer is crack-free, porosity-free, and has good metallurgical bond with the substrate. The microstructure and chemical composition of the modified layer were analyzed by such detection devices as scanning electronic microscope(SEM-EDX) and X-ray diffractometer(XRD). The performance of electrochemical corrosion and cavitation erosion and their mechanism were estimated by the microhardness tester, potentiostat and (ultrasonic-)(induced) cavitation device.

Macroscopic Elastic Constants of Pure Metal Based on the Interactions between Microscopic Particles

The research activities of the calculation of the elastic constants of metal are mainly focused on the elastic constants of crystal at the micro level. To the calculation of the macroscopic elastic constants of metal, although molecular dynamics method and quasicontinuum method can be used, but there are shortcomings in them, such as a large amount of computation and that the spatial scale of the study model is limited. Therefore, with a pure metal thin plate composed of a single layer of microscopic particles as research object, a new mechanical model is established after the interactions between microscopic particles of the thin plate are applied on the continuum mechanics model of the thin plate. According to this model, the calculation formulas for the microscopic elastic constants, which are the elastic constants of any triangle region in the model, are obtained. After the concept of the ideal micro structure is presented, the calculation formulas for the macroscopic elastic constants, the elastic modulus and the Poisson’s ratio of pure metal are obtained, where the Poisson＇s ratio is the constant that is equal to 1？3. As an example, the elastic constants and the elastic modulus of pure copper are solved, where c11 is 175.811 GPa, c12 is 58.604 GPa, c33 is 58.604 GPa and E is 156.277 GPa, the rationality and the correctness of the model are verified. The model presented fully embodies the discreteness of the microstructure of solid, is a development to the continuum model, and is more suitable to reality, more simplified and more new to the study of the macroscopic elastic constants of pure metal.

Deactivating Metal Particle by Optimizing Insulation Configuration in Spark Gap Switch

As a new method to protect the spark gap from metal particle contamination, the effect of the metal inserted insulator on the controlling behavior of metal particles was investigated in a quasi-uniform electric field. Considering that the inserted metal electrodes can decrease the electric field around the insulator and divert the electrostatic force away from the insulator, the method can be used to prevent the particles from moving toward the insulator so as to reduce the possibility of a breakdown. The inserted metal electrodes can reverse the direction of the particles＇ horizontal motion. A study on the insulator shape indicates that the inserted metal electrodes can repulse the particle and improve the particle lifting voltage significantly near the vertical surface of the insulator or ribbed insulator. For the insulator with a tilting surface the inserted metal electrodes have little influence on the particle motion. In addition, the size of the inserted electrodes shows a significant effect on the control of particle motion.

Influence of CG With High Content of Metallic Particles as a Cement Admixture on Cement Strength

Copper gangue (CG), containing a large amount of water with grain sizes of 0.037 to 0.10mm,is an inactive industrial waste generated from copper refineries. When it is dried and used as a cement admixture, the influence of the presence of finely dispersed metallic particles in CG on the microstructure and compressive strength of cement paste has been studied.The results show that the higher the replacement of CG is,the lower the compressive strength of cement mortar is.However,the long-term strength of the specimens with 10% CG,especially after being cured for 3 months,approached to that of the plain mortar.Its mechanism was studied by an electron probe X-ray microanalyzer (EPXMA).The results indicate that a small quantity of Fe(OH) 3·nH 2O slowly formed from Fe 2O 3 in the presence of Ca(OH) 2, free CaO and MgO of the clinker also slowly hydrated and formed Ca(OH) 2 and Mg(OH) 2 respectively,so the hardened cement paste became more compact.

Alternating-current relaxation of a rotating metallic particle

Based on a first-principles approach,we establish an alternating-current（AC） relaxation theory for a rotating metallic particle with complex dielectric constant εα=εα-iσα/ω0.Here εα is the real part,σα the conductivity,ω0 the angular frequency of an AC electric field,and i=-11/2.Our theory yields an accurate interparticle force,which is in good agreement with the existing experiment.The agreement helps to show that the relaxations of two kinds of charges,namely,surface polarized charges（described by εα） and free charges（corresponding to σα）,contribute to the unusually large reduction in the attracting interparticle force.This theory can be adopted to determine the relaxation time of dynamic particles in various fields.

Damage analysis for particle reinforced metal matrix composite by ultrasonic method

The damage characteristic of particle reinforced metal matrix composite (PMMC) was studied by ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation method. After the sample was damaged induced by tensile load, the ultrasonic wave that propagated in the sample were collected. The damage parameter was defined by ultrasonic parameter and the wave signals were analyzed by correlation method. The results show that with the increase of tensile load, the damage parameter increases and the correlation coefficient decreases. The fracture section morphologies of PMMC under tensile load were observed by SEM. It is found that there are many concaves in the metal matrix. Therefore the damage evolution can be concluded. The initial damage is induced by void nucleation, growth and subsequent coalescence in the matrix or interface separation.

Motion behavior of non-metallic particles under high frequency magnetic field

Non-metallic particles, especially alumina, are the main inclusions in aluminum and its alloys. Numerical simulation and the corresponding experiments were carried out to study the motion behavior of alumina particles in commercial pure aluminum under high frequency magnetic field. At the meantime, multi-pipe experiment was also done to discuss the prospect of continuous elimination of non-metallic particles under high frequency magnetic field. It is shown that: 1) results of numerical simulation are in good agreement with the experimental results, which certificates the rationality of the simulation model; 2) when the intensity of high frequency magnetic field is 0.06 T, the 30 μm alumina particles in melt inner could migrate to the edge and be removed within 2 s; 3) multi-pipe elimination of alumina particles under high frequency magnetic field is also effective and has a good prospect in industrial application.

A nano-metallic-particles-based CMOS image sensor for DNA detection

In this paper we report on a study of the CMOS image sensor detection of DNA based on self-assembled nano- metallic particles, which are selectively deposited on the surface of the passive image sensor. The nano-metallic particles effectively block the optical radiation in the visible spectrum of ordinary light source. When such a technical method is applied to DNA detection, the requirement for a special UV light source in the most popular fluorescence is eliminated. The DNA detection methodology is tested on a CMOS sensor chip fabricated using a standard 0.5 gm CMOS process. It is demonstrated that the approach is highly selective to detecting even a signal-base mismatched DNA target with an extremely-low-concentration DNA sample down to 10 pM under an ordinary light source.

Particle Characteristics and Metal Release From Natural Rutile (TiO₂) and Zircon Particles in Synthetic Body Fluids

Titanium oxide (rutile, TiO2) and zircon (ZrSiO4), known insoluble ceramic materials, are commonly used for coatings of implant materials. We investigate the release of zirconium, titanium, aluminum, iron, and silicon from different micron-sized powders of 6 powders of natural rutile (TiO2) and zircon (ZrSiO4) from a surface perspective. The investigation includes five different synthetic body fluids and two time periods of exposure, 2 and 24 hours. The solution chemicals rather than pH are important for the release of zirconium. When exceeding a critical amount of aluminum and silicon in the surface oxide, the particles seem to be protected from selective pH-specific release at neutral or weakly alkaline pH. The importance of bulk and surface composition and individual changes between different kinds of the same material is elucidated. Changes in material properties and metal release characteristics with particle size are presented for zircon.

Some insight on the structure/activity relationship of metal nanoparticles in Cu/SiO2 catalysts

The activity of two Cu/SiO2 catalysts prepared by the chemisorption hydrolysis technique has been tested in the hydrogenation reaction of 3-methyl-cyclohexanone. Both catalysts were found to be very active at 60 ℃ and 1 atm of H2. Characterization of the materials by FT-IR of adsorbed CO and TEM put in light the presence of well formed Cu cristallites. By assuming a cuboctahedral model we could show that the hydrogenation activity is linked to high coordination sites on the metal particle. A comparison is also reported with a sample prepared by ammonia evaporation that was found to be inactive in the hydrogenation reaction under the same experimental conditions.