Synergistically Toughening Effect of SiC Whiskers and Nanoparticles in Al_2O_3-based Composite Ceramic Cutting Tool Material

In recent decades, many additives with different characteristics have been applied to strengthen and toughen Al2O3-based ceramic cutting tool materials. Among them, SiC whiskers and SiC nanoparticles showed excellent performance in improving the material properties. While no attempts have been made to add SiC whiskers and SiC nanoparticles together into the ceramic matrix and the synergistically toughening effects of them have not been studied. An Al2O3-SiCw-SiC np advanced ceramic cutting tool material is fabricated by adding both one-dimensional SiC whiskers and zero-dimensional SiC nanoparticles into the Al2O3 matrix with an effective dispersing and mixing process. The composites with 25 vol% SiC whiskers and 25 vol% SiC nanoparticles alone are also investegated for comparison purposes. Results show that the Al2O3-SiCw-SiCnp composite with both 20 vo1% SiC whiskers and 5 vol% SiC nanoparticles additives have much improved mechanical properties. The flexural strength of Al2O3-SiCw-SiCnp is 730＋ 95 MPa and fracture toughness is 5.6 ± 0.6 MPa.m1/2. The toughening and strengthening mechanisms of SiC whiskers and nanoparticles are studied when they are added either individually or in combination. It is indicated that when SiC whiskers and nanoparticles are added together, the grains are further refined and homogenized, so that the microstructure and fracture mode ratio is modified. The SiC nanoparticles are found helpful to enhance the toughening effects of the SiC whiskers. The proposed research helps to enrich the types of ceramic cutting tool and is benefit to expand the application range of ceramic cutting tool.

Influence of tool material and rotational speed on mechanical properties of friction stir welded AZ31B magnesium alloy

In this investigation,the effect of friction stir welding(FSW)parameters such as tool material rotational speed,and welding speed on the mechanical properties of tensile strength,hardness and impact energy of magnesium alloy AZ31B was studied.The experiments were carried out as per Taguchi parametric design concepts and an L9 orthogonal array was used to study the influence of various combinations of process parameters.Statistical optimization technique,ANOVA,was used to determine the optimum levels and to find the significance of each process parameter.The results indicate that rotational speed(RS)and traverse speed(TS)are the most significant factors,followed by tool material(TM),in deciding the mechanical properties of friction stir processed magnesium alloy.In addition,mathematical models were developed to establish relationship between different process variables and mechanical properties.

Strengthening and Toughening Effect of Yttrium on Al_(2)O_(3)/TiCN Ceramic Tool Material

The strengthening and toughening effect of yttrium on an advanced Al2O3/TiCN ceramic tool material was studied by means of SEM 9 TEM and energy spectrum analysis. Results showed that yttrium can react with the impurity elements such as W, Fe, Cr, etc. Thus, the interfaces between ceramic phases are purified and the interfacial binding strength is increased. As a result, the mechanical properties of the AL2O3/TiCN ceramic tool material reinforced with yttrium are improved significantly. In addition, the effect of yttrium on particle strengthening of the solid solution TiCN may partly contribute to the improvement of the mechanical properties.

In-situ Fabricated TiB_2 Particle-whisker Synergistically Toughened Ti(C,N)-based Ceramic Cutting Tool Material

The mechanical properties of ceramic cutting tool materials can be modified by introducing proper content of nanoparticles or whiskers.However,the process of adding whiskers or nanoparticles has the disadvantages of high cost and health hazard as well as the agglomeration;although a new in-situ two-step sintering process can solve the above problems to some extent,yet the problems of low conversion ratio of the raw materials and the abnormal grain growth exist in this process.In this paper,an in-situ one-step synthesis technology is proposed,which means the growth of whiskers or nanoparticles and the sintering of the compact can be accomplished by one time in furnace.A kind of Ti（C,N）-based ceramic cutting tool material synergistically toughened by TiB_2 particles and whiskers is fabricated with this new process.The phase compositions,relationships between microstructure and mechanical properties as well as the toughening mechanisms are analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction（XRD）and scanning electron microscopy（SEM）.The composite which is sintered under a pressure of 32 MPa at a temperature of 1700℃in vacuum holding for 60 min can get the optimal mechanical properties.Its flexural strength,fracture toughness and Vickers hardness are 540 MPa,7.81 MPa·m（1/2）and 20.42 GPa,respectively.The composite has relatively high density,and the in-situ synthesized TiB_2 whiskers have good surface integrity,which is beneficial for the improvement of the fracture toughness.It is concluded that the main toughening mechanisms of the present composite are whiskers pulling-out and crack deflection induced by whiskers,crack bridging by whiskers/particles and multi-scale particles synergistically toughening.This study proposes an in-situ one-step synthesis technology which can be well used for fabricating particles and whiskers synergistically toughened ceramic tool materials.

Effects of Rare Earth Elements on Wear Resistance of Ceramic Tool Materials

Through the addition of Y, Sm and Ce in Al2O3/(W, Ti)C ceramic matrix, it was found that the amount and kind of the added rare earth elements have some different influences on the mechanical properties and wear resistance of the composite. Under the present experimental conditions, the flank wear curves of the selected ceramic tool materials when machining the hardened tool steel obeyed the wear law well. But wear resistance of different ceramic materials varied with each other. Wear resistance of rare earth ceramic tool materials was higher than that of the corresponding materials without rare earth. Wear modes of the developed Al2O3/(W, Ti)C series rare earth ceramic tool materials were mainly flank wear and accompanied with slight crater wear.

Tool Materials Rapid Selection Based on Initial Wear

Based on a large amount of literature about tool wear research,873 tool wear curves are taken as samples,and statistical analysis is carried out to select the most suitable tool from all the tool materials suggested by the tool manufacturers. Statistical relationships between the initial wear and uniform wear periods are obtained. The results show that there is qualitative relationship between wear rate during initial wear period （WRIWP） and wear rate in uniform wear period （WRUWP） to certain extent. On this basis,a tool material rapid selection method based on the initial wear is put forward,and suitable tool materials for machining titanium alloy are selected. The experimental results indicate that this method is effective and useful. The new tool materials rapid selection can be used to select suitable cutting tool materials quickly before carrying out systematic machinability tests with the most suitable tool materials. The technology can be applied to doing the initial selection of cutting tool materials in either the machinability research or the workshop production.

Experimental Study on Material Surface Modification of Tool Steel

This paper presents the surface temperature behavior of M42 high-speed tool steel samples during N+ implantation in an industrialized GLZ-100 metal-ion implantation machine. A detail study has been made on the parameters of N+ implantation. Optimized technical parameters have been presented. The microhardness of the sample surface implanted under these parameters has been increased by a factor of 2.3, and the wear-resistance has been improved by about 5.4 times. The research on the mechanism of surface modification of M42 steel by nitrogen ion implantation has also been made.

Relationship Between Thermal Shock Behavior and Cutting Performance of a Functionally Gradient Ceramic Tool

Based on the deep understanding of the requirements of cutting conditions on ceramic tools, a design model for functionally gradient ceramic tool materials with symmetrical composition distribution was presented in this paper, according to which an Al 2O 3-TiC functionally gradient ceramic tool material FG-1 was synthesized by powder-laminating and uniaxially hot-pressing technique. The thermal shock resistance of the Al 2O 3-TiC functionally gradient ceramics FG-1 was evaluated by water quenching and subsequent three-point bending tests of flexural strength diminution. Comparisons were made with results from parallel experiments conducted using a homogeneous Al 2O 3-TiC ceramics. Functionally gradient ceramics exhibited higher retained strength under all thermal shock temperature differences compared to homogeneous ceramics, indicating the higher thermal shock resistance. The experimental results were supported by the calculation of transient thermal stress field. The cutting performance of the Al 2O 3-TiC functionally gradient ceramic tool FG-1 was also investigated in rough turning the cylindrical surface of exhaust valve of diesel engine in comparison with that of a common Al 2O 3-TiC ceramic tool LT55. The results indicated that the tool life of FG-1 increased by 50 percent over that of LT55. Tool life of LT55 was mainly controlled by thermal shock cracking which was accompanied by mechanical shock. While tool life of FG-1 was mainly controlled by mechanical fatigue crack extension rather than thermal shock cracking, revealing the less thermal shock susceptibility of functionally gradient ceramics than that of common ceramics.

MULTI-SCALE AND MULTI-PHASE NANOCOMPOSITE CERAMIC TOOLS AND CUTTING PERFORMANCE

An advanced ceramic cutting tool material Al2O3/TiC/TiN （LTN） is developed by incorporation and dispersion of micro-scale TiC particle and nano-scale TiN particle in alumina matrix. With the optimal dispersing and fabricating technology, this multi-scale and multi-phase nanocomposite ceramic tool material can get both higher flexural strength and fracture toughness than that of A1203/TiC （LZ） ceramic tool material without nano-scale TiN particle, especially the fracture toughness can reach to 7.8 MPa . m^0.5. The nano-scale TiN can lead to the grain fining effect and promote the sintering process to get a higher density. The coexisting transgranular and intergranular fracture mode induced by micro-scale TiC and nano-scale TiN, and the homogeneous and densified microstructure can result in a remarkable strengthening and toughening effect. The cutting performance and wear mechanisms of the advanced multi-scale and multi-phase nanocomposite ceramic cutting tool are researched.

QUALITY CONTROL OF HERBAL MATERIAL:ALTERNATIVE AND/OR COMPLEMENTARY TOOLS BASED ON BIOSENSORS, DNA PROFILING, NEAR INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY AND NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE

Phar.Eur.Herbal Drug(HD)monographs state which aspects have to be considered for quality assurance through the relevant chapters'Definition'.'Characters','Identification','Tests',and'Assay'.Identification of botanical material is achieved by macroscopic and microscopic morphology,generally examined by a trained expert.Content or assay is the most difficult area of

Recent progress in friction stir welding tools used for steels

Friction stir welding （FSW） technology is being increasingly attractive in welding steels on account of the high-quality weld formation and excellent weld properties. The feasibility of FSW of steels has been convinced for nearly 20 years. However, the application progress for FSW of steels is slower than that of aluminum alloys owing to the high cost and poor usability of tools. The FSW tools are called as the heart of FSW process which is critical for welding quality control and the weld microstructure and properties. The recent progresses in research and development of FSW tools for welding steels have been reviewed. Material selections, geometry parameters, wear behavior and use life of the tools are summarized from the available literatures.

Improving weld formability by a novel dual-rotation bobbin tool friction stir welding

A novel dual-rotation bobbin tool friction stir welding （DBT-FSW） was developed, in which the upper shoulder （US） and lower shoulder （LS） have different rotational speeds. This process was tried to weld 3.2 mm thick alunlinum-lithium alloy sheets. The metallographic analysis and torque measurement were carried out to characterize the weld formabiliW. Experimental results show that compared to conven- tional bobbin tool friction stir welding, the DBT-FSW has an excellent process stability, and can produce the defect-free joints in a wider range of welding parameters. These can be attributed to the significant improvement of material flow caused by the formation of a staggered layer structure and the unbalanced force between the US and LS during the DBT-FSW process.