Microstructural characterization and mechanical properties of(TiC+TiB)/TA15 composites prepared by an in-situ synthesis method

Titanium matrix composites reinforced with ceramic particles are considered a promising engineering material due to their combination of high specific strength,low density,and high modulus.In this study,the TA15-based composites reinforced with a volume fraction of 10% to 25%(TiB+TiC)were prepared using powder metallurgy and casting technique.Microstructural characterization and phase constitution were examined using optical microscopy(OM),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and X-ray diffraction(XRD).In addition,the microhardness,room temperature(RT)and high temperature(HT)tensile properties of the composites were evaluated.Results revealed that the reinforcements are distributed uniformly even in the composites with a high volume of TiB and TiC.However,as the volume fraction exceeds 15%,TiB and TiC particles become coarsening and exhibit rod-like and dendritic-like morphology.Microhardness increases gradually from 321.2 HV for the base alloy to a maximum of 473.3 HV as the reinforcement increases to 25vol.%.Tensile test results indicate that a reinforcement volume fraction above 20% is beneficial for enhancing tensile strength and yield strength at high temperatures,but it has an adverse effect on room temperature elongation.Conversely,if the reinforcement volume fraction is below 20%,it can improve high-temperature elongation when the temperature exceeds 600℃.

Optimization of a new animal glue binder system cured by CO_2 for use in foundry

A new sand binder system cured by CO2 was prepared based on the animal bone glue.To overcome the disadvantages of animal glue such as agglomeration at room temperature,high energy consumption and low efficiency,an alkaline decomposition process was selected,and certain modifier was used to modify the performance of the animal glue binder.For the alkaline decomposition,NaOH was used as the catalyst with an addition of 4wt.% to the animal glue.A modifier was determined through the orthogonal experiment with a weight ratio of glycerin:glycol:dextrin:animal glue = 9:16:15:100,and the optimal modification reaction should be performed at 75 ℃ with a reaction time of 90 min.Ca(OH)2 was used as a promoter;the optimal CO2 gas flux blowing into the sand was 0.7 m3.h-1 for a duration of 60s under the experimental conditions.Results show that an original strength above 0.7 MPa and a final strength about 4.2 MPa can be achieved,which could meet the requirement of rapid moulding and core-making for foundry.The new binder was characterized and analyzed by means of IR,and the modification and CO2-cured mechanisms of this animal glue binder were also discussed.

Energy conservation and emissions reduction strategies in foundry industry

Current energy conservation and emissions reduction strategies in iron and steel industry were reviewed. Since foundry industry is one of the major source of energy consumption and pollution emission (especially CO 2 ), issues concerning energy-saving and emission-reduction have been raised by governments and the industry. Specialists from around the world carried out multidimensional analyses and evaluation on the potentials in energy conservation and emissions reduction in iron and steel industry, and proposed various kinds of analyzing models. The primary measures mainly focus on the targeted policies formulation and also on clean and highefficient technologies development. The differences and similarities in energy conservation and emission reduction in foundry industry between China and other countries were discussed, while, the future development trend was also pointed out.

Foundry technology and its applications of ductile iron castings produced by water-cooled copper alloy Mold

The high efficiency mechanized foundry technology of castings produced by using water-cooled copper alloy permanent mold has been systematically studied. Through the researching a Cu-Cr-Mg alloy with high conductivity and good combined mechanical properties used for making permanent mold was developed, and the basic design principles of the water-cooled permanent mold along with the control-range of relevant foundry processing parameters were also established. A cast production line equipped with water-cooled copper alloy mold was designed and fabricated for production of ductile iron automobile gear castings, This production line can consistently make automobile gear castJngs Jn QT500-15 and QT600-5 (Chinese Standard) grades of ductile iron with up to 95% casting success rate.

Announcement of evaluation result of the 15th "FOSECO Cup" excellent foundry papers(2012)

On July 29 to 31, 2013, the final evaluation stage of the 15th ＂FOSECO Cup＂ for excellent foundry papers （2012）, organized by Foundry Institution of Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society （FICMES）, was carried out in Lijiang city, Yunnan province of China. As usual, the entries were those papers published during 2012 in various journals including Foundry, China Foundry （English）, Special Casting ＆ Nonferrous Alloys, Modern Cast Iron, Foundry Technology, Foundry Equipment ＆ Technology, China Foundry Machinery ＆ Technology and Foundry Engineering, and those published in the proceedings of academic congress organized by FICMES, each of the technical committees of FICMES, or all the provincial or municipal foundry societies in the year of 2012.

One Goal,One Expectation——Do a good job as host of the 69th World Foundry Congress

As a traditional metal-forming technology, casting/foundry has written a brilliant history chapter in the long development process of human society and civilization progress, leaving behind deep memories and symbols.

Compression behavior of 316L lattice structures produced by indirect additive manufacturing

As a new type of lightweight structure,metallic lattice structure has higher stiffness and strength to weight ratio.To freely obtain 316L lattice structures with designed cell structure and adjustable porosity,additive manufacturing combined with investment casting was conducted to fabricate the 316L lattice structures with Kelvin cell.The compression simulation of 316L lattice structures with different porosities was carried out by using the finite element method.The numerical simulation results were verified by compression experiment,and the simulated results were consistent with the compression tests.The compressive mechanical properties of 316L lattice structures are directly related to porosity and independent of strut diameters.The 316L lattice structures with Kelvin cell have a smooth stress-strain curve and obvious plastic platform,and the hump stress-strain curves are avoided.

The 69th World Foundry Congress Hangzhou,China——Call for Papers

The 69th World Foundry Congress （WFC2010） is to be held at Hangzhou in China in Oct. 2010.

Evaluation result of the 17th "FOSECO Cup" best foundry papers of 2014

During July 29 to 31,2015,the final evaluation stage of the 17th＂FOSECO Cup＂for the best foundry papers of 2014,organized by Foundry Institution of Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society（FICMES）,was carried out in the city of Xiamen,Fujian province of China.At the first stage of evaluation and recommendation,a total of 62 papers were selected from over 1,800 entries to enter

Announcement on the 10th FOSECO Cup for Excellent Foundry Papers(2007)

The final evaluation of the 10th FOSECO Cup for Excellent Foundry Papers （2007） organized by Foundry Institution of Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society （FICMES） was carried out on July 21-24, 2008 in Guiyang, Guizhou province.

Study on binder system of CO_2-cured phenol-formaldehyde resin used in foundry

A new aqueous alkaline resol phenol-formaldehyde resin has been prepared from phenol and formaldehyde using NaOH as catalyst; the optimum synthetic process has been determined. With addition of some cross-linking agents, after passing carbon dioxide gas through the resin bonded sand, high as-gassed strength and 24 h strength are achieved. The bonding bridge of the resin bonded sand fracture has been analyzed by using SEM.

Preparation of coated sand for selective laser sintering and optimization of baking process of sand moulds

A cold method was used to prepare coated sand for application in the selective laser sintering(SLS)process.Tensile strength,loss on ignition,gas evolution,and accuracy of the SLS samples were tested and analyzed,and the baking process was thoroughly investigated.Compared with coated sand prepared by the hot method,the cold method yields a more uniform and complete resin film on the sand's surface,resulting in enhanced tensile strength and accuracy.Additionally,the cold method requires a lower binder content to meet the same strength requirements,thereby minimizing gas evolution,reducing porosity defects,and ultimately improving casting quality.The coated sand samples prepared through the cold method exhibit superior accuracy,with a size error of within±0.4 mm.In contrast,the coated sand samples prepared by the hot method display a lower accuracy,with an average negative error of 2.1993 mm.The highest tensile strength could be attained by controlling the baking temperature within a suitable range(180-190°C),which can effectively reduce the generation of gas,thus contributing to improved overall performance.

Corrosion and wear properties of in situ(TiB+TiC)/TA15 composites with a high volume percentage of reinforcement

The in situ(TiC+TiB)/TA15 composites with different volume percentages of reinforcement(10%,15%,20%and 25%)were prepared by water-cooled copper crucible vacuum suspension melting technology.The structures and compositions of the TA15 alloy and its composites were analyzed by XRD and EDS,and their electrochemical corrosion behaviors in the 3.5%NaCl solution were studied.Corrosion wear testing was conducted using a reciprocating ball-on-disc wear tester under a 10 N load.Results show that the in situ fibrous TiB phase and the granular TiC phase are uniformly distributed on the composite matrix.The microhardness can reach up to 531 HV as 25vol.%TiC+TiB reinforcement is added.Compared with the TA15 alloy,the volume wear rate decreases from(2.21±0.07)×10^(-4)to(1.75±0.07)×10^(-4)mm^(3)·N^(-1)·m^(-1)by adding 15vol.%TiC+TiB reinforcement,and the wear mechanism is adhesive wear.When the volume percentage of the reinforcement phase reaches 25%,the volume wear rate increases from(1.75±0.07)×10^(-4)to(2.41±0.07)×10^(-4)mm^(3)·N^(-1)·m^(-1),and the wear mechanism changes into abrasive wear.The volume loss resulted by the interaction between corrosion and wear accounts for more than 27%of the total wear volume.The volume loss due to wear-induced corrosion changes from 1.94%to 4.06%with different additions of reinforcement.The volume loss caused by corrosion-induced wear initially increases from 24.08%to 26.90%as the reinforcement increases from 0 to 15%due to the increase of corrosion potential,and then decreases from 26.90%to 25.68%as the reinforcement increases from 15%to 25%due to the peeling of TiC phase.

Controlling oxygen content in electro-slag remelting steel by optimizing slag-steel reaction process

The thermodynamic equilibrium of deoxidation reactions between molten slag and steel was calculated using a slag-steel coupling thermodynamic model and the mass conservation model based on the ion-molecular coexistence theory.The study focused on the effects of slag composition and deoxidizer type on the oxygen content of low alloy steel during the electroslag remelting(ESR)process.The measured and predicted values of the oxygen content in remelted ingots,and the contents of FeO and MnO in slags were compared and analyzed.Results show that the measured content of total oxygen has a certain correlation with the trend of dissolved oxygen predicted by the model when using Ca-Si alloys as deoxidizer,but it is not correlated with the trend of dissolved oxygen predicted by the model when using Al as deoxidizer.The deoxidation mechanisms of Ca-Si and Al are different.Ca-Si alloy directly reacts with FeO and MnO in slag to reduce the oxygen potential of slag,hence it can inhibit the transfer of oxygen from the slag to molten steel.While,when Al deoxidizer is used,the oxygen content in steel is mainly reduced through floating up the alumina inclusions.Compared to Al,utilizing Ca-Si alloy as a deoxidizer is more effective in reducing the oxygen content and the amount of inclusions in ESR ingot.

Corrosion characteristics of single-phase Mg-3Zn alloy thin film for biodegradable electronics

Biodegradable metals as electrodes, interconnectors, and device conductors are essential components in the emergence of transient electronics, either for passive implants or active electronic devices, especially in the fields of biomedical electronics. Magnesium and its alloys are strong candidates for biodegradable and implantable conducting materials because of their high conductivity and biocompatibility, in addition to their well-understood dissolution behavior. One critical drawback of Mg and its alloys is their considerably high dissolution rates originating from their low anodic potential, which disturbs the compatibility to biomedical applications. Herein, we introduce a single-phase thin film of a Mg-Zn binary alloy formed by sputtering, which enhances the corrosion resistance of the device electrode, and verify its applicability in biodegradable electronics. The formation of a homogeneous solid solution of single-phase Mg-3Zn was confirmed through X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. In addition, the dissolution behavior and chemistry was also investigated in various biological fluids by considering the effect of different ion species. Micro-tensile tests showed that the Mg-3Zn alloy electrode exhibited an enhanced yield strain and elongation in relation to a pure Mg electrode. Cell viability test revealed the high biocompatibility rate of the Mg-3Zn binary alloy thin film. Finally, the fabrication of a wireless heater demonstrated the integrability of biodegradable electrodes and highlighted the ability to prolong the lifecycle of thermotherapy-relevant electronics by enhancing the dissolution resistance of the Mg alloy.

Wettability,reactivity,and interface structure in Mg/Ni system

The sessile drop method was applied to the experimental investigation of the wetting and spreading behaviors of liquid Mg drops on pure Ni substrates.For comparison,the experiments were performed in two variants:(1)using the Capillary Purification(CP)procedure,which allows the non-contact heating and squeezing of a pure oxide-free Mg drop;(2)by classical Contact Heating(CH)procedure.The high-temperature tests were performed under isothermal conditions(CP:760℃for 30 s;CH:715℃for 300 s)using Ar+5 wt%H_(2) atmosphere.During the sessile drop tests,images of the Mg/Ni couples were recorded by CCD cameras(57 fps),which were then applied to calculate the contact angles of metal/substrate couples.Scanning and transmission electron microscopy analyses,both coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy,were used for detailed structural characterization of the solidified couples.It was found that an oxide-free Mg drop obtained by the CP procedure showed a wetting phenomenon on the Ni substrate(an average contact angleθ<90°in<1 s),followed by fast spreading and good wetting over the Ni substrate(θ_((CP))~20°in 5 s)to form a final contact angle ofθ_(f(CP))~18°.In contrast,a different wetting behavior was observed for the CH procedure,where the unavoidable primary oxide film on the Mg surface blocked the spreading of liquid Mg showing apparently non-wetting behavior after 300 s contact at the test temperature.However,in both cases,the deep craters formed in the Ni substrates under the Mg drops and significant change in the structure of initially pure Mg drops to Mg-Ni alloys suggest a strong dissolution of Ni in liquid Mg and apparent values of the final contact angles measured for the Mg/Ni system.

Elimination of cracks in stainless steel casings via 3D printed sand molds with an internal topology structure

The important supporting component in a gas turbine is the casing,which has the characteristics of large size,complex structure,and thin wall.In the context of existing 3DP sand casting processes,casting crack defects are prone to occur.This leads to an increase in the scrap rate of casings,causing significant resource wastage.Additionally,the presence of cracks poses a significant safety hazard after the casings are put into service.The generation of different types of crack defects in stainless steel casings is closely related to casting stress and the high-temperature concession of the sand mold.Therefore,the types and causes of cracks in stainless steel casing products,based on their structural characteristics,were systematically analyzed.Various sand molds with different internal topology designs were printed using the 3DP technology to investigate the impact of sand mold structures on high-temperature concession.The optimal sand mold structure was used to cast casings,and the crack suppression effect was verified by analyzing its eddy current testing results.The experimental results indicate that the skeleton structure has an excellent effect on suppressing cracks in the casing.This research holds important theoretical and engineering significance in improving the quality of casing castings and reducing production costs.

综述:核小体液-液相分离中早期形核过程的分子结构

研究揭示,核小体阵列在体外具有液-液相分离(liquid⁃liquid phase separation,LLPS)的内在特性,被认为在体内引导染色质区域的结构变化。然而,对于形成的异质凝聚物在分子水平的结构研究,长期以来受到技术限制,从而阻碍了研究人员对核小体液-液相分离的深入理解。为了解决这一难题,张蒙等运用先进的冷冻电子断层扫描技术(Cryo⁃electron tomography,Cryo⁃ET)、结合单分子电子断层重构(individual⁃particle electron tomography,IPET)和基于深度学习的分割技术,确定了液-液相分离在不同阶段的凝聚物的分子组织结构。该研究揭示,核小体的液-液相分离过程涉及到两个主要步骤:首先,旋节分解形成不规则的凝聚物;然后,这些凝聚物经过一个不稳定的过渡阶段,转化为更紧凑的球状核,进一步通过聚集更多旋节材料或与其它球状凝聚物的融合,逐渐形成更大的球状聚集体。此外,连接组蛋白H1催化旋节向球状凝聚物转变的速率,比旋节分解速度快出十倍以上。因此,推测这种转变可能涉及到核小体疏水表面的暴露,进而改变了核小体之间的相互作用。这些发现为染色质从间期结构向中期结构转变提供了新的物理机制线索。

Mechanical and damping performances of TPMS lattice metamaterials fabricated by laser powder bed fusion

Lattice metamaterials based on three-period minimum surface(TPMS)are an effective means to achieve lightweight and high-strength materials which are widely used in various fields such as aerospace and ships.However,its vibration and noise reduction,and damping properties have not been fully studied.Therefore,in this study,the TPMS structures with parameterization were designed by the method of surface migration,and the TPMS structures with high forming quality was manufactured by laser powder bed fusion(LPBF).The mechanical properties and energy absorption characteristics of the beam and TPMS structures were studied and compared by quasi-static compression.The modal shapes of the beam lattice structures and TPMS structures were obtained by the free modal analysis,and the damping properties of two structures were obtained by modal tests.For the two structures after heat treatment with the same porosity of 70%,the yield strength of the beam lattice structure reaches 40.76 MPa,elastic modulus is 20.38 GPa,the energy absorption value is 32.23 MJ·m^(-3),the damping ratio is 0.52%.The yield strength,elastic modulus,energy absorption value,and damping ratio of the TPMS structure are 50.74 MPa,25.37 GPa,47.34 MJ·m^(-3),and 0.99%,respectively.The results show that TPMS structures exhibit more excellent mechanical properties and energy absorption,better damping performance,and obvious advantages in structural load and vibration and noise reduction compared with the beam lattice structures under the same porosity.

Advancements in machine learning for material design and process optimization in the field of additive manufacturing

Additive manufacturing technology is highly regarded due to its advantages,such as high precision and the ability to address complex geometric challenges.However,the development of additive manufacturing process is constrained by issues like unclear fundamental principles,complex experimental cycles,and high costs.Machine learning,as a novel artificial intelligence technology,has the potential to deeply engage in the development of additive manufacturing process,assisting engineers in learning and developing new techniques.This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the research and applications of machine learning in the field of additive manufacturing,particularly in model design and process development.Firstly,it introduces the background and significance of machine learning-assisted design in additive manufacturing process.It then further delves into the application of machine learning in additive manufacturing,focusing on model design and process guidance.Finally,it concludes by summarizing and forecasting the development trends of machine learning technology in the field of additive manufacturing.