Iranian Journal of Materials Science and Engineering

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In this paper redox reaction processes and phase, formation on ternary Pb-2Sn-0.08Ca alloy utilized as insoluble lead anodes in copper electro winning cells, were investigated in 2M H__2SO__4 electrolytes, using cyclic voltammetry technique (CVA). A potential range between - 1.3V to 2.6V was chosen at various scan rates in order to study the anodic behavior and phase composition of the oxide layers on Pb-2Sn-0.08Ca alloy. Potential measurements were carried out with respect to a standard calomel electrode (SCE). The surface examination and phase composition of the lead alloy were determined by electron microscopy analysis (SEM) and x-ray diffraction technique, after- exposure to the cyclic voltammetry tests. The results indicated that the protective oxide layer (Pb0__2) formed at a much slower rate when exposed to 2M H__2SO__4 solutions, whilst its degradation due to a reduction in the applied potential occurred at a much faster rate. Hence, Pb0__2 did not remain stable, when the externally applied potential dropped below 1.SV and as a result, pitting initiated sporadically on the surface of the electrode.

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The continuity and thickness of the coating layer, are the most important factors in wetting properties and strength of carbon fibers. These factors are crucial in the quality of metal matrix composites made with carbon fibers. In this research the Polyacrylonitrail base carbon fibers have been nickel coated with 0.2, 0.5, 0.8 and 11 ,u in thickness, by the electroless method. The effect of the thickness of nickel coating on surface condition and also the tensile strength of the carbon fibers has been investigated. The study of surface condition of the coated carbon fibers by SEM showed that the nickel coating at the thickness of about 0.5 pin has the best continuity oil the carbon fibers. The results of tensile tests of carbon fibers coated with different thickness of nickel showed that increasing the thickness of coating layer decreases the overall strength of fibers.

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In principal, a proper combination of strength and ductility is achieved through micro component refinement in steels. This is particularly empowered with ferrite refinement down to micron sizes in ferrite pearlite engineering steels. The latter is achieved through various well-defined methods in which strain induced transformation (SIT) has shown spectacular capabilities. In the present study, to address the effect of thermo mechanical processing parameters on the (SIT) behavior, two plain carbon steels were studied through single pass rolling. This was carried out at the corresponding Ar_3 + 20°C temperature of the steels. The results indicated that the transformation behavior and ferrite morphology would be .strongly influenced by both the chemical composition (i.e., carbon content) and the amount of applied strain. Furthermore, a high volume fraction of very fine ferrite with mean grain size of less than 2 µm was obtained. This was attributed to the ferrite nucleation at deformation bands and serrated austenite grain boundaries.

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In this research, effects of changes in aluminizing conditions on microstructure of Pt - aluminide coating applied oil a Ni - base superalloy GTD -111, has been studied. A thin layer (i.e.68,#mm ) of Pt was electroplated onto the surface of the .samples, and then they were aluminized by pack cementation technique under various conditions of time, temperature, rate of heating and pack powder compositions In addition, by application of a thin Ni layer on the substrate before applying Pt, the source of nickel available for diffusing into Pt layer during aluminizing process enhanced and the need for an extra heat treatment cycle before aluminizing process was practically omitted. Addition of a nickel layer, also prevented scaling of Pt layer during its electroplating and aluminizing processes that helps enhancement of cohesiveness of the coated layers.The general microstructure of the coating consisted of four layers, which are PtA12layer internal diffusion layer external diffusion layer and interdiffusion zone. The structure of each layer has been studied by optical and scanning electron microscopes as well as XRD technique.The results show the presence of the original Pt - electroplated layer had no effect on the thicknesses of the coating layers, but higher aluminizing time and temperature had increased the thicknesses of interdiffusion and internally diffused layers. In addition, at high temperature, aluminizing with a lower heating rate caused an increase in the thickness of internal diffusion layer. Aluminizing with a lower heating rate at high temperature (more than 900°C) had increased the thickness of interdiffusion laver Attempt has been made to justify , the changes occurred in microstructures and thick nesses of various coating layers as they exposed to different aluminizing conditions.

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The effects of gating system and pattern geometry on the metal flow in the lost foam casting (LFC) process have been investigated using glass covered mold and video recording system. Unlike convectional casting process, the type of the gating system showed little effect on fillability in lost foam, but pattern thickness had large effect on mold filling. The mold filling behavior seems to be controlled by the combined influences of heat and mass transfer. The flow rate increased with increasing pattern thickness.

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In this investigation, α 2-D Finite Volume Method (FVM) with unstructured triangular mesh is developed to simulate the mould filling process. The simulation of fluid flow and track of free surface is based on the Marker And Cell (MAC) technique. This technique has capability ofhandling the arbitrary curved solid boundaries in the casting processes. In order to verify the computational results of the simulation, a thin disk plate with transparent mould was tested. The mould filling process was recorded using a 16mm high-speed camera. Images were analyzed frame by frame, in order to tracking of free surface and filling rate during mould filling. Comparison between the experimental method and the simulation results has shown a good agreement.

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In this study different volume fractions of SiC particles of various sizes were introduced into the semisolid A356 aluminum alloy by a mechanical stirrer. Then the slurry was poured into a permanent die of certain dimensions either when the metal alloy was partially solid (semisolid-semisolid or SS route) or after reheating to above the liquidus temperature of the alloy (semisolid-liquid or SL route). Both the SS and SL composite samples were solution-treated at 520°C for 8 hours followed by quenching in water at room temperature. Microstructural characterization studies have been conducted on both the SL and SS samples to quantify the effects of the size andcontent of the SiC particles as well as the solutionizing treatment on the morphology and size ofthe eutectic silicon particles and the matrix grain (globule) size. The results were rationalized in terms of the different nucleation, fragmentation, spherodization and coarsening events, which had taken place during the processing of these composites. Finally the impact of these microstructural features in improving the wear properties of the composites has been discussed.

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Calcium phosphate cements (CPCs), using B-tricalcium phosphate (ß-TCP, Ca3 (P04)2), dicalcium phosphate (DCP, CaHP04), calcium carbonate (Ca CO3), and hydroxylapatite (HAp, Ca10(P04)6(OH)2) as powder cement and disodium hydrogen phosphate (Na2HP04) solution as liquid component were prepared. After mixing the powder and liquid constituents, injectable and self-setting calcium phosphate cements (CPCs) were prepared with different liquid to powder ratios (UP) that formed hydroxylapatite and ß-tricalcium phosphate as the only end products, which were characterized by FTIR, XRD and SEM techniques. The results showed that, at certain concentration of Na2HP04 (6 wt%), the initial and final setting times decreased by decreasing the UP ratio.

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The new in situ method for AI-TiC composite fabrication has been carried out. In this method, fabrication of AI-TiC composite by simultaneous introduction of titanium oxide and carbon into aluminum melt was investigated.. Under the process conditions, titanium and carbon reaction results in titanium carbide whiskers. The salt containing keriolite (Na3AIF6), titanium oxide (TiO2) and graphite used for this purpose. Using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray Diffraction analysis (XRD) the resulted composite was characterized. It was shown that it contains Al as matrix and TiC as the reinforcement. Then, mechanical properties of fabricated composite were examined.

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In the current research, the optimum conditions for the electrolytic deposition of TiO2 coatings on titanium pieces were experimentally investigated. Flat pieces of commercially available titanium with dimensions of 50 x20 x3 mm were used as the anode and cathode electrodes. The coatings were applied on the cathode in an electrolyte solution essentially from water and methanol, containing different amounts of TiCI4, and H202. Coatings of sufficient thickness and adequate adhesion to the substrate were obtained at the optimum conditions of theELD process. The latter conditions were electrode gap distance of 3 cm, TiCl4 concentration of 0.005M, H202 concentration of 0.1 M, current density of 35 mA/cm2, methanol/water volume ratio of 9, and pH of the electrolyte in the vicinity of 1.40. Results of XRD analysis revealed the presence of anatase crystals of titanium oxide in the coated layers, where the deposited coating was treated at some temperatures in the range of 400 to 600°C for a period of at least 2 hours. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) pictures also confirmed the formation of a uniform coating layer with cracked suiface area. At the optimum conditions of the process coatings with thicknesses of up to 10 flm were easily obtained through the application of one to three deposited layers.

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In this investigation a new model was developed to calculate gas pressure at the melt/foam interface (Gap) resulting from foam degradation during mould filling in the Lost Foam Casting (LFC) process. Different aspects of the process, such as foam degradation, gas elimination, transient mass, heat transfer, and permeability of the refractory coating were incorporated into this model. A Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) code was developed based on the numerical technique of the SOLution Algorithm- Volume Of Fluid (SOLA- VOF) utilizing model, for the simulation and prediction of the fluid flow in the LFC process. In order to verify the computational results of the simulation, a thin plate of gray iron was poured into a transparentfoam mould. The mould filling process was recorded using a 16mm high-speed camera. Images were analysed frame by frame, in order to measuring foam depolymerization rate and the gap volume during mould filling. Comparison between the experimental method and the simulation results, for the LFC filling sequence, has shown a good agreement.

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ZnS : Cu phosphors were prepared by using laboratory grade chemicals through coprecipitating Cu along with ZnS using H2S and thiourea. Photo- and electroluminescence studies indicate that these phosphors have better emission characteristics compared to the phosphors in which activator is externally added. Phosphors with luminescence at ~530nrn were prepared. The difference between the characteristic properties of the samples seems to be due to formation of nanoparticles during the preparation of the samples by different methods.

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In the present research influences of different combinations of five types of inoculants and four types of nodularizers on eutectic nucleation in ductile cast iron were studied. The alloys were kept at 1320°C for 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 min under nitrogen atmosphere. Cooling curves and image analysis were used to characterize the influence of holding time and different combinations of inoculants and nodularizers on the graphite morphologies and eutectic nucleation. When dominant morphology of graphite is spheroidal or flake, by decreasing the different combinations of nodularizers and inoculants fading resistance, temperature of eutectic undercooling decreases. Nevertheless, when there is combination of spheroidal, vermicular and flake graphites temperature of eutectic undercooling increases by reduction of material fading resistance.

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The surface condition and microstructure of near stoichiometric (Fe823Ndll.8B5.9) Nd-Fe-B alloy ribbons and the effect of melt spinning parameters were investigated using optical, scanning and transmission electron microscopes (SEM, TEM). The formation of gas pockets on the roll surface of the ribbons during melt spinning can prevent heat transform and result in local coarse grains. The local thickness would also be less in these places and thus perforates preferentially during ion beam milling. Therefore different areas of the sample should be carefully observed in the TEM. Reducing inert gas pressure in the chamber will eliminate the gas pockets. As a general trend, decrease in the ribbon thickness and mean Nd2 Fe14B grain size were observed on increasing the roll speed. By careful adjustment of the melt spinning parameters, the nanostructure will develop. An orientation relationship was found between Nd2 Fe14B and α-Fe precipitates for coarse grain samples melt spun at low roll speed. Dark field image of such grain also shows that some of these α-Fe precipitates have the same orientation. X-ray diffraction evident the development of texture by decreasing the roll speed.

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An AI-7wt%Si-5vol%TiCp was worn against a cast iron disc in a tri-pin-on-disc machine, under dry sliding conditions at the sliding speed of 0.24 m/s and applied loads of 6, 20 and 40 N/pin. Stress-strain (σ-ε) curves were constructed by measuring the microhardness and the equivalent strain gradients in near surface regions on the cross-sectional surface prepared parallel to sliding direction.It was shown that, both the magnitude of plastic strains and the depth of plastic deformed zones increased with the applied load. The material exhibited considerable work softening in addition to work hardening at the highest applied load. The softened layer placed just beneath the mechanical mixed layer (MML), was mostly covered with the fine fractured eutectic Si and TiC fragments most of which were associated with microcracks at Al/Si and Al/TiC interfaces. The results were discussed in terms of some of the current work hardening models.

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The synthesis of advanced materials from low cost minerals concentrates is a new field of study that has great potential applications. In this paper, the effect of milling time on the temperature of initiation and amount of carbothermic reduction of ilmenite has been investigated. The stoichiometric molar ratio (1:4) of ilmenite to graphite was mixed and mechanically activatedfor 30-70 hours at room temperature. Then homogenized mixture heated for one hour at 1000-1400°C in coal reducing atmosphere. The results show that complete conversion of ilmenite to Fe and TiC can not be achieved in the unmilled powder at 1400°C, while with milling of mixture for 30 hours, complete reduction of ilmenite to Fe and TiC at 1400° C was observed. With increasing milling time from 30 to 70 hours the temperature of complete reduction decreases from 1400 to 1200° C. Leaching of final product in HCI 3% solution dissolve Fe but leave pure titanium carbide intact. Determination of TiC unit cell size from X-ray diffraction pattern shows that unit cell size of synthesized TiC is less than stoichiometric one, which suggests that some oxycarbide phases (TiCxO1-x), is present into the final product.

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Two commercial methods are used for the production of strontium carbonate:1) Direct conversion of Celsetite to strontium carbonate by hot sodium carbonate,2) Carbothermic reduction of celestite with coal followed by water leaching of strontium sulfide(SrS) and its conversion to strontium carbonate.The present study has been made on the carbothermic reduction of celestite ores of Varamin (Iran) mines. Effects of temperature, time, pellet size, particle size of celestite ore, pellet compactness and type of reducing agent have been studied. In the range of 800-1100°C, reduction rate increases notably with temperature, which may mean that the reduction is predominantly chemical controlled. Activation energy of around 22.5 kcal/mol supports the idea of chemical control mechanism. Further support for this postulation is provided by the following facts:1) Increasing rate with carbon reactivity (graphite, coal, and charcoal)2) Small dependency of rate on pellet compactness.3) Small dependency of rate on pellet size

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Thin sheets of hydroxyapatite were fabricated by tape casting process. The non-aqueoustape casting formulation was optimized by adjusting the concentration of organic additivesspecially those of binder and plasticizer in the slurry. The optimized slurry was cast on a glasscarrier using a designed laboratory scale doctor blade. Following a binder removal stage, thetapes were sintered at different temperatures in air atmosphere. Heat treatment at 1250 °C led tothe formation of a dense microstructure as was evidenced by the scanning electron microscopy.

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During mold filling, molten metal can only advance as quickly as the air inside thecavity is expelled. In this work an analytical model describing air flow is developed based on aincompressible flow theory. Air pressure has serious effects upon the filling behaviour such assurface profile and filling time. In this work a new mathematical model is proposed for calculationthe air pressure during the mold filling. A single phase computational fluid dynamic code based onthe SOLA-VOF algorithm used for prediction the fluid flow. Air discharged through the vents ismodelled by ideal gas assumption, conservation of mass equation and Bernoulli law. A newalgorithm was developed to interpolates the air pressure on the surface cell. The creation of airback pressure was correlated with sizes of vents and pouring basin height. In order to verify thecomputational results a series of experimental test was conducted. Comparison between theexperimental data and simulation results has shown a good agreement.

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A large number of reinforced concrete structures subjected to chloride ions. Two basicapproaches for preventing corrosion of reinforcing steel embedded in concrete are: Increasing theconsolidation of concrete and using different coating on rebars. In present research steel rebarsare coated in different ways: a) 40 µm of zinc electroplated on steel rebar b) Zinc powder withepoxy paste (zinc rich). The rebars were placed in a macrocell design according to ASTM G109-92. Concrete operations were done with mixture designs of high and normal strength concrete.The results show corrosion decrease of zinc coated rebars.