Comparison of Cu−Al−Ni−Mn−Zr shape memory alloy prepared by selective laser melting and conventional powder metallurgy

This work aimed to investigate and critically analyze the differences in microstructural features and thermal stability of Cu−11.3Al−3.2Ni−3.0Mn−0.5Zr shape memory alloy processed by selective laser melting(SLM)and conventional powder metallurgy.PM specimens were produced by sintering 106−180μm pre-alloyed powders under an argon atmosphere at 1060°C without secondary operations.SLM specimens were consolidated through melting 32−106μm pre-alloyed powders on a Cu−10Sn substrate.Mechanical properties were measured through Vickers hardness testing.Differential scanning calorimetry was conducted to assess the martensitic transformation temperatures.X-ray diffraction patterns were collected to identify the metallurgical phases.Optical and scanning electron microscopy was used to analyze the microstructural features.b′1 martensite was found,irrespective of the processing route,although coarser martensitic variants were present in PM-specimens.In conventional powder metallurgy samples,intergranular eutectoid constituents and stabilized austenite also formed at room temperature.PM-specimens showed similar average hardness values to the SLM-specimens,albeit with high standard deviation linked to the porosity.The specimens processed by SLM showed reversible martensitic transformation(T0=171°C).PM-processed specimens did not show shape memory effects.

Utilization of Pineapple Crown Fiber and Recycled Polypropylene for Production of Sustainable Composites

Nowadays,the production of consumer goods is based on the use of non-renewable raw materials,which in recent years has been performing as a problem for the environment.Considering the large number of available biofibers in nature,their use in the development of polymeric composites has inevitably emerged,it is also necessary to take into account the countless discarded plastics that still have the potential to be reused.In this work,fibers were extracted from pineapple crown residues and utilized to compose sustainable composites using recycled polypropylene from cups discarded in the trash as a matrix.However,it is known that for good performance,it is necessary to achieve a good chemical interaction between the fiber and the matrix.In order to improve this interaction,alkaline mercerization treatment was carried out on the surface of the fibers removing some components incompatible with the polymer.In this work,the effect of the mercerization treatment on the properties of the fibers was studied,as well as their interaction with the matrix.The effect of fiber concentration on the mechanical and thermal properties of composites was also evaluated.Levels of 5 and 7 wt%were used for both natural and mercerized fibers.A decrease in the number of degradation stages was observed through thermogravimetry analyses(from four in natural fiber to two in mercerized fibers),showing that the mercerization performed on the fibers was effective.An increase in the degree of crystallinity of mercerized fibers was also observed through the results of X-ray diffraction.Both techniques indicate that amorphous compounds,such as hemicellulose and lignin,were partially removed.Through the tensile test,it could be noted that all composites presented higher values of de elastic modulus than recycled polypropylene without added load;however,there were no differences in the elastic modulus between the different types of fibers and load levels.Therefore,it is interesting to use fibers as reinforcing agents in polymers;however,the treatment did not increase the mechanical properties of the composites.In parallel,other factors,such as the dispersion of the components,must be taken into account to justify this result.

A new modulated structure in α-Fe_2O_3 nanowires

A new modulated structure consisting of periodic （1120） stacking faults （SFs） in the α-Fe2O3 nanowires （NWs） formed by the thermal oxidation of Fe foils is reported, using a combination of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy （HRTEM） observations and HRTEM image simulations. The periodicity of the modulated structure is 1.53 nm, which is ten times （3500） interplanar spacing and can be described by a shift of every ten （3500） planes with 1/2 the interplanar spacing of the （1120） plane. An atomic model for the Fe203 structure is proposed to simulate the modulated structure. HRTEM simulation results confirm that the modulated structure in α-Fe2O3 NWs is caused by SFs.

Rheological and stability analysis of cement pastes incorporating silica-based wastes

This study investigates the influence of waste characteristics,especially zeta potential,on the properties of cement pastes and solutions.The focus is to evaluate the impact of the zeta potential of cement particles and waste materials on the sedimentation speed,rheology,and hardening time of stabilized cement pastes.Portland Cement II F 40,retarder additive,silica,and fly ash were used in the research.The pastes were prepared,and during the stabilization period,their rheological properties and pH were evaluated.The zeta potential and sedimentation speed of the cement and waste particles were measured at the pH that the pastes presented during the entire stabilization period.After the stabilization period,the pastes were subjected to the hardening time test.The zeta potential analyses revealed diverse values for the different powder types,with the cement particles exhibiting a zeta potential of−3.0 mV,the silica particles exhibiting−10.5 mV,and the fly ash particles exhibiting−20.3 mV.The influence of the high zeta potential modulus was observed on the sedimentation speed,with the solution containing fly ash exhibiting a speed of 40.01μm/s,whereas the solution containing only cement exhibited a speed of 99.38μm/s.In the pastes,the results indicate that the presence of fly ash particles with a significantly negative zeta potential led to a 16%reduction in hardening time compared to particles with a lower modulus of zeta potential.Rheometry tests showed that the inclusion of fly ash particles prevented the formation of agglomerates.Although the zeta potential influenced agglomerate formation and hardening time,it was found to have no effect on yield stress or viscosity.

New insights into the hardening and pitting corrosion mechanisms of thermally aged duplex stainless steel at 475℃:A comparative study between 2205 and 2101 steels

In this study,the relationship between spinodal decomposition and the formation of Ni-rich clusters and G-phase in the ferrite on hardening and pitting corrosion of two thermally aged duplex stainless steels(DSSs)at 475℃was investigated.Results indicate that,for 2205 DSS,pitting corrosion behavior is influenced by the presence and size of G-phase precipitates for longer aging times,but this contribution is masked by the advanced stage of spinodal decomposition in the ferritic structure.On the other hand,for 2101 DSS,the formation of Cr-richer nitrides impairs pitting corrosion resistance more than spinodal decomposition.

Synthesis of coral-like structures of Pr-Yb co-doped YIG: Structural,optical, magnetic and antimicrobial properties

Coral-like structures of the Y_(3-x)Pr_(x)Fe_(5-y)Yb_(y)O_(12),(0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.04, 0.00 ≤ y ≤ 0.02) compound were synthesized using the sol-gel method. Structural investigation certified the YIG cubic crystal structure formation, without any secondary phase. It is shown that, the relatively large ionic radius of the dopant cations results in an expansion of the lattice parameter, variations in the Iona-O-Iondangle, Iona-O,Iond-O and Ionc-O bond distances and decrease in the average crystallite size. Fourier transform infrared(FTIR) and Raman measurements are essential to testify the single-phase formation of YIG crystal structure and are observed changes in the stretching and vibrational modes, respectively. The morphological study, energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS) spectra and textural properties show corallike structures, peaks associated with Pr^(3+) and Yb^(3+) atoms and the effect of dopants on surface area,diameter, and pore volume, respectively. The optical analysis from diffuse reflectance spectra witnessed an increase in the optical gap band, a decrease in Urbach energy and blue shift in the charge transfer,correlated with the expansion of the unit cell due to the dopant's insertion in the YIG structure. A typical ferrimagnetic behavior is exhibited by the Y_(3-x)Pr_(x)Fe_(5-y)Yb_(y)O_(12)compound. The saturation magnetization(M_(s)), cubic anisotropy constant(K_(1)) and coercive field(H_(c)) increase with the Pr^(3+)cations content, as consequence of their magnetic nature and distribution around of Fe^(3+)ions due to the coexistence with the Yb^(3+). Finally, for the first time, antibacterial tests by mean of the direct contact method were performed for YIG co-doped with Pr^(3+)and Yb^(3+)and it is shown that, relatively high dosages of Pr^(3+) cations favored the activity against S. aureus, therefore, a new biological property for YIG doped with rare earths is presented.

Machine learning of organic solvents reveals an extraordinary axis in Hansen space as indicator of spherical precipitation of polymers

Machine learning is an emerging tool in the field of materials chemistry for uncovering a principle from large datasets.Here,we focus on the spherical precipitation behavior of polymers and computationally extract a hidden trend that is orthogonal to the availability bias in the chemical space.For constructing a dataset,four polymers were precipitated from 416 solvent/nonsolvent combinations,and the morphology of the resulting precipitates were collected.The dataset was subjected to computational investigations consisting of principal component analysis and machine learning based on random forest model and support vector machine.Thereby,we eliminated the effect of the availability bias and found a linear combination of Hansen parameters to be the most suitable variable for predicting precipitation behavior.The predicted appropriate solvents are those with low hydrogen bonding capability,low polarity,and small molecular volume.Furthermore,we found that the capability for spherical precipitation is orthogonal to the availability bias and forms an extraordinary axis in Hansen space,which is the origin of the conventional difficulty in identifying the trend.The extraordinary axis points toward a void region,indicating the potential value of synthesizing novel solvents located therein.