Synthesis and Tribological Behaviors of Ti_3SiC_2 Material Prepared by Vacuum Sintering Technique

The bulk Ti3SiC2 specimens with less than 1 wt% TiC impurity were prepared by vacuum sintering technique, and the average grain size was about 5-6 μm in the elongated direction. When the sintering temperature, soaking time and heating rate were 1 400 ℃, 1 h and 10℃·min-1, respectively, the highest relative density of Ti3SiC2 specimens could reach 97.8%. Meanwhile, the lowest coefficient of friction （COF） and wear rate （WR） of the Ti3SiC2 samples were 0.55 and 1.37×10-3 mm3（Nm）-1 at a sliding speed of 0.35 m/s, load pressure of 10 N and ambient condition, respectively. The COF of the Ti3SiC2 sample reduced with the increasing of the load pressure, while the WRs fluctuated little. The WR increased with the increasing of the sliding speed, and weakly influenced the COF. These changing behaviors could be attributed to the presence and coverage of the amorphous mixture oxide film ofTi, Si, A1, and Fe on the Ti3SiC2 friction surface. The self- antifriction mechanism led to reducing of the COF. The increasing of the WR was attributed to the wearing consumption.

Preparation of Fe-As alloys by mechanical alloying and vacuum hot-pressed sintering:microstructure evolution,mechanical properties,and mechanisms

Arsenic materials have attracted great attention due to their unique properties.However,research concerning iron-arsenic(Fe-As) alloys is very scarce due to the volatility of As at low temperature and the high melting point of Fe.Herein,a new Fe-As alloy was obtained by mechanical alloying(MA) followed by vacuum hot-pressed sintering(VHPS).Moreover,a systematic study was carried out on the microstructural evolution,phase composition,leaching toxicity of As,and physical and mechanical properties of Fe-As alloys with varying weight fractions of As(20%,25%,30%,35%,45%,55%,65%,and 75%).The results showed that pre-alloyed metallic powders(PAMPs) have a fine grain size and specific supersaturated solid solution after MA,which could effectively improve the mechanical properties of Fe-As alloys by VHPS.A high density(> 7.350 g·cm^(-3)),low toxicity,and excellent mechanical properties could be obtained for FeAs alloys sintered via VHPS by adding an appropriate amount of As,which is more valuable than commercial Fe-As products.The Fe-25% As alloy with low toxicity and a relatively high density(7.635 g·cm^(-3)) provides an ultra-high compressive strength(1989.19 MPa),while the Fe-65% As alloy owns the maximum Vickers hardness(HVo.5 899.41).After leaching by the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure(TCLP),these alloys could still maintain good mechanical performance,and the strengthening mechanisms of Fe-As alloys before and after leaching were clarified.Changes in the grain size,micro structure,and phase distribution induced significant differences in the compressive strength and hardness.

Manufacture of the Ultrafine Grain WC/Co Cemented Carbides by Combined Sintering Processing

A new kind of sintering process, combined sintering process. i.e. vacuum sintering plus hot isolate pressure sintering (HIP), was introduced for producing ultrafine WC-10% Co (mass fraction. so as the follows) cemented carbides. The effects of some processing parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the obtained cemented carbides were studied. The results show that the rapid shrinkage and the pronounced densification of tile cemented carbides took place during the vacuum sintering stage, which is intinaately correlated with the local liquid sintering occurred during this earl} sintering stage for the high surface activity of ultrafine WC-Co powder. The way of high pressure imposing. isothermal treatment cycle during ac.acuum sintering and HIP sintering stage directly influence the densitication of compacts and the mechanical properties of the produced WC-10%Co cemented carbides.

Preparation and Properties of Si2N2O Ceramics for Microwave Sintering Furnaces

Si2N2O ceramics were prepared using amorphous Si3N4 as the raw material and Li2CO3 as the sintering additive through vacuum multi-stage sintering.The influence of the Li2CO3 addition(0%,1%,2%,3%,and 5%,by mass)on the phase composition,the microstructure,the porosity,the mechanical properties,the dielectric constant and the tangent of the dielectric loss angle of the porous Si2N2O ceramics was investigated.The results reveal that a suitable addition of Li2CO3 can promote the generation of Si2N2O but excessive or inadequate Li2CO3 causes decomposition of Si2N2O ceramics.The prepared porous Si2N2O ceramics have good mechanical properties,good thermal shock resistance,and low dielectric properties,which have excellent potential for application in microwave sintering furnaces.

Influence of Interfacial Diffusion on Mechanical Property of Vacuum Fusion Sinter (VFS) WC-Co Composite Coating

The WC-Co composite coatings bonded tightly to steel substrate have been made by vacuum fusion sinter （VFS）. The concentration distribution of some components were measured by the electron probe, and the microstructure and morphology of VFS coatings were observed and analyzed by SEM, X-ray diffractometer and microhardness tester. Diffusion coefficient of every element was calculated by using the experimental results. The influence of the interracial diffusion on the microstructure, Vickers hardness and interracial bond strength of the VFS coatings was studied in detail. The experimental results show that there is a metallurgical bond area between the VFS WC-Co coatings and the steel substrate. The VFS coatings are characterized by the gradient hardness of the interface and the high bond strength to the steel substate, both of which are beneficial to the improvement of the wear resistance and corrosion resistance.

Laser welding study of vacuum sintered HUST-1 lunar regolith simulant

Efforts are underway to establish a permanent lunar base on the Moon. In situ lunar regolith is anticipated to be useful as a building material after sintering. However, sintering lunar regolith into a large-scale structure presents challenges. Therefore, the key to lunar construction lies in assembling multiple small-sized sintered modules into a stable, large-sized structure. This study explored the feasibility of welding the sintered HUST-1 lunar regolith simulant(HLRS) using a laser device and conducted experiments using lasers of varying power. The microstructure, mineral composition, element distribution, and shear strength of the welded joint were investigated. A few low-melting minerals were fused and vaporized during welding, leading to the generation of thermal decomposition gas. Furthermore, the welded joint exhibited numerous micro-cracks, pores, and bubbles,resulting in reduced weld shear strength. Finally, the influence of laser power on weld shear strength was investigated, revealing that the highest shear strength(15.69 N/cm) was achieved at a laser power of 1000 W. This study demonstrates the feasibility of laser welding of sintered HLRS for the first time, with potential applications in lunar base construction.

Wear resistance performance of high entropy alloy–ceramic coating composites synthesized via a novel combined process

Titanium nitride(TiN), characterized by its high hardness and strength, was widely used as ceramic coating to improve the wear resistance of matrix materials. In this work, AlCrFeNiTi_(x) high-entropy alloy(HEA) powders were synthesized by direct electrochemical reduction in molten salt from the mixed metal oxides. Then,TiN ceramic coating on the AlCrFeNiTi_x bulk HEA containing the topologically close-packed(TCP) phase(σphase, Laves phase, and Ti_(3)Al phase) was prepared by vacuum hot pressing sintering, where nitride element come from boron nitride parting agent sprayed on the graphite mold. The effect of titanium content on the crystal structure, microstructure, hardness, and wear resistance of the products were investigated by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscope, field emission electron-probe microanalysis,Vickers hardness tester, and friction–abrasion testing machine. The bulk HEAs exhibit excellent hardness and its hardness increases significantly with the increase of titanium content. The wear mechanism changes from both of predominantly delamination and accompanied oxidative wear to single delamination wear,which is due to ultra-high melting point and high hot hardness of TiN, that can effectively prevent the oxidation and deformation of the worn surface. Formation of the ceramic coatings containing the TiN second phase and TCP phase are the key factor to AlCrFeNiTi_x alloy with the excellent hardness and wear properties.

Study on Grain Refining and Metamorphism of ZL111 Aluminium Alloys

Vacuum sintering and ball milling methods were employed in the preparation process of Ti-C grain refine- ment and the ability of refiners with varying ratios of Ti and C to refine ZL111 crystal grains was tested. The refinement effect of the Ti-C ratios on tensile strength, elongation percentage, Brinell hardness, pro-eutectoid αAl and the size of the Si phase of ZL111, after modification by rare-earth and strontium nitrate, were studied by means of metallographic examination, SEM and mechanical property tests. The results show that there is an obvious increase in the tensile strength and elongation percentage of refined ZL111 with these new Ti and C refiner compounding powders, while Brinell hardness remained more or less constant. The pro-eutectoid αAl is considerably reduced in size and the Si phase shows a finer and rounder structure. The refiner exhibits a good grain refining performance when the Ti-C ratio is 25:1, for Al crystals can favorably easily form nuclei and grow up along the TiC surface thanks to the TiAl3 generated by sur- plus Ti and Al. The mechanical properties have clearly been improved by the addition of strontium nitrate to ZL111. The effective factors in the modification of mechanical properties of ZL111 are in order of importance: strontium nitrate, Ti-C ratio and rare earth.

Preparation and Characterization of Copper-Nickel Bulk Nanocrystals

Copper-nickel nanoparticle was directly prepared by flow-levitation method （FL） and sintered by vacuum sintering of powder （VSP） method. Several characterizations, such as transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, differential thermal analysis （DTA）, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （EDX） were used to investigate the prepared nanostructures. The results of the study show that FL method could prepare high purity Cu-Ni nanocrystals of uniform spheres with size distribution between 20 and 90 nm. After sintering the bulk nanocrystalline copper-nickel has obvious thermal stability and the surface Webster hardness increases with the rising sintering temperature. At the temperature of 900 ℃, the specimen shows higher surface Webster hardness, which is about two times of traditional materials. When the sintering temperature arrives at 1 000 ℃ the relative density of bulk nanocrystals can reach 97.86 percent. In this paper, the variation tendency of porosity, phase and particles size of bulk along with the changing of sintering temperature have been studied.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of WC-20wt% Co/ZrO_2(3Y)cermet composites

The cermet composites WC-20wt%Co/ZrO2（E6）with four different comtents of ZrO2（3Y）were prepared by normal vacuum sinter processing;the optical microscope and SEMwere used to characterize their microstructures.The hardness.bending strength and impact toughness of the specimens were determined.The experimental results show that ZrO2（3Y） particles in WC-20wt%Co matrix are sphcrical particles in different sizes which are distributed uniformly in Co phases and WC phases,the bending strength and impact toughness of the WC-20wt%Co cermet composites added ZrO2（3Y）improve remarkably.but the hardness values have little change.

Mierostrueture and Properties of Coating from Cemented Carbide on Surface of Hl3 Steel

The microstructures and properties of coating from cemented carbide on the substrate of H 13 by vacuum powder sintering were studied. The effect of sintering temperature on the microstructures of coating was discussed. The interface characteristics between coating and H 13 steel substrate, microhardness distribution and wear resistance in the coating were analyzed. The coating from cemented carbide with thickness of 1-3 mm by vacuum powder sintering at temperature ranging from 1280℃to 1300 ℃ was obtained. The experimental results indicated that the coating with microhardness of HV 1600 favorable to wear resistance is strongly bonded with the H 13 steel substrate by mutual diffusion and penetration of Fe,Cr, Mo,V in substrate towards the coating and W, Co,Ni in coating towards the substrate.

Microstructures and properties of Co-based alloy coatings prepared on surface of H13 steel

The Co-based alloy coatings had been prepared by laser cladding and vacuum fusion sintering. Microstructures of the coatings were investigated and the performance of thermal cycling was also tested using scanning electron microscopy （ SEM） and X-ray diffraction （ XRD ）. The results show that the coatings and substrates combine well. The main phase compositions of laser cladding coating are T-Co, Cr23 C6 and Ni2 9 Cro. 7 Feo. 36, while vacuum fusion sintering coating consists of Co, Cr7 C3, and Ni2.9 Cro. 7 Feo. 36. After thermal cycling, the minimum hot cracking width of laser cladding coating is 14 μm; moreover, laser cladding coating maintains high hardness and hot-cracking susceptibility. Those are beneficial to high temperature wear resistance of hot work dies.

Effect of graphene on microstructure and properties of Gr/CuCr10 composites

Gr/CuCr10 alloys with graphene contents of 0.1 wt.%,0.3 wt.%,0.5 wt.%,and 0.7 wt.%were prepared by a hot pressing sintering process.Compared with CuCr10 alloy,the relative density of CuCr10 composite with 0.3 wt.%addition of graphene remained constant,while the electrical conductivity increased from 62.2%(IACS)to 69.5%(IACS).The main reason for the increased electrical conductivity is that the addition of graphene leads to the size reduction of Cr phase and thus reduces the scattering of electrons.In addition,Brinell’s hardness of 0.3 wt.%Gr/CuCr10 composite increased from HB 91.8 to HB 99.6 compared with that of CuCr10 alloy.The graphene was mainly distributed at the interface of Cu and Cr.A nano-Cr;C;phase,which has been observed through HRTEM,is the main reason for the wettability enhancement at the interface of Cu and Cr,thus improving the hardness of the material.

Effects of Mechanical Milling and Sintering Temperature on the Densification, Microstructure and Tensile Properties of the Fe–Mn–Si Powder Compacts

This work reported on the effects of mechanical milling and sintering temperature on the densification,microstructure and mechanical properties of the Fe–28Mn–3Si（wt%） alloy. Elemental Fe, Mn and Si powders were used as the starting materials, and two batches of powder mixture were prepared： one was blended elemental（BE） powder mixture; the other was mechanically milled（MM） powder mixture milled for5 h using planetary ball milling. Both powder mixtures were pressed under a uniaxial pressure of 400 MPa,and subsequently sintered in a high vacuum furnace for 3 h at 1000, 1100, 1200 and 1300 °C. It was found that Mn depletion region（MDR） was formed on the surface of all the sintered samples. The sintered BE compacts had a low density（〈68.2%） at all temperatures, while the density of the sintered MM compacts increased drastically from ~65% at 1000 °C to ~91% at 1300 °C. All the sintered MM compacts were composed of a predominant γ-austenite and minor ε-martensite. In comparison, additional（Fe, Mn）3Si phase was observed in the BE alloys sintered at 1000 °C, and a single α-Fe phase was identified in the BE compact sintered at 1300 °C. The tensile properties of the sintered MM compacts increased significantly with the temperature and were significantly higher than those of their BE counterparts.

Adherent coating on gradient cemented carbide with ultrafine Ti(C_(0.5),N_(0.5))

Gradient cemented carbide is usually employed as the snbstrate for coated carbide insert. In this work, gradient cemented carbide with ultrafine Ti（C0.5,N0.5） was prepared and its microstructure and properties were researched. Moreover, this novel substrate was coated to investigate cutting performance. It is found that the average WC grain size in the gradient zone is larger than that in the bulk. Owing to ultrafine Ti（C0.5,N0.5） introduction, gradient cemented carbide prepared by vacuum sintering exhibits full densification. By contrast, the gradient cemented carbide with ultrafine Ti（C0.5,N0.5） shows higher transverse rupture strength （TRS） and hardness than the homogenous one. Gradient cemented carbide suffers small TRS reduction after coating, and the bonding between coatings and gradient substrate is tidy and compact. The coated gradient cemented carbide shows much better endurance and impact resistance than the coated homogenous one. It confirms the superiority of gradient cemented carbide when used as the substrate for coating inserts.

Heat transfer performance of porous titanium

Porous titanium fibre materials with different structural parameters were prepared by vacu- um sintering method. The thickness, porosity and wire diameter of prepared materials were investigated to understand the effects of structural parameters on pool heat transmission performance of titanium fibre porous material. As a result, better heat transfer performance is obtained when overheating is less than 10 ℃. In addition, when the wire diameter is smal- ler, the heat transfer is better. However, when superheating is above 10 ℃, heat transfer performance can be improved by increasing the wire diameter. Moreover, thickness influ- ences the superficial area of the prepared material and affects the thermal resistance when bubbles move inside the material; superficial area and thermal resistance are the two key factors that jointly impact the heat transfer in relation to the thickness of the materials. Ex- perimental results also show that the materials of 3 mm in thickness exhibit the best per formance for heat transmission. Furthermore, changes in porosity affect the nucleation site density and the resistance to bubble detachment; however, the nucleation site density and the resistance to bubble detachment conflict with each other. In summary, the titanium fi- bre porous material with a 50% porosity exhibits suitable heat transfer performance.