Mechanical Properties of Ni-Coated Single Graphene Sheet and Their Embedded Aluminum Matrix Composites

The effects of Ni coating on the mechanical behaviors of single graphene sheet and their embedded Al matrix composites under axial tensionare investigated using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation method. Theresults show that the Young's moduli and tensile strength of grapheneobviously decrease after Ni coating. The results also show that the mechanical properties of Al matrix can be obviously increased by embedding asingle graphene sheet. From the simulation, we also find that the Young'smodulus and tensile strength of the Ni-coated graphene/Al composite isobviously larger than those of the uncoated graphene/Al composite. Theincreased magnitude of the Young's modulus and tensile strength ofgraphene/Al composite are 52.27 and 32.32 at 0.01 K, respectively,due to Ni coating. By exploring the effects of temperature on the mechanicalproperties of single graphene sheet and their embedded Al matrix composites, it is found that the higher temperature leads to the lower critical strain and tensile strength.     

Heat and mass transfer at gas-phase ignition of grinded coal layer by several metal particles heated to a high temperature

Characteristics of gas-phase ignition of grinded brown coal (brand 2B, Shive-Ovoos deposit in Mongolia) layer by single and several metal particles heated to a high temperature (above 1000 K) have been investigated numerically. The developed mathematical model of the process takes into account the heating and thermal decomposition of coal at the expense of the heat supplied from local heat sources, release of volatiles, formation and heating of gas mixture and its ignition. The conditions of the joint effect of several hot particles on the main characteristic of the process–ignition delay time are determined. The relation of the ignition zone position in the vicinity of local heat sources and the intensity of combustible gas mixture warming has been elucidated. It has been found that when the distance between neighboring particles exceeds 1.5 hot particle size, an analysis of characteristics and regularities of coal ignition by several local heat sources can be carried out within the framework of the model of “single metal particle / grinded coal / air”. Besides, it has been shown with the use of this model that the increase in the hot particle height leads, along with the ignition delay time reduction, to a reduction of the source initial temperatures required for solid fuel ignition. At an imperfect thermal contact at the interface hot particle / grinded coal due to the natural porosity of the solid fuel structure, the intensity of ignition reduces due to a less significant effect of radiation in the area of pores on the heat transfer conditions compared to heat transfer by conduction in the near-surface coal layer without regard to its heterogeneous structure.     

A multi-step reaction model for ignition of fully-dense Al-CuO nanocomposite powders

A multi-step reaction model is developed to describe heterogeneous processes occurring upon heating of an Al-CuO nanocomposite material prepared by arrested reactive milling. The reaction model couples a previously derived Cabrera-Mott oxidation mechanism describing initial, low temperature processes and an aluminium oxidation model including formation of different alumina polymorphs at increased film thicknesses and higher temperatures. The reaction model is tuned using traces measured by differential scanning calorimetry. Ignition is studied for thin powder layers and individual particles using respectively the heated filament (heating rates of 10³–10⁴ K s^?1) and laser ignition (heating rate ～10⁶ K s^?1) experiments. The developed heterogeneous reaction model predicts a sharp temperature increase, which can be associated with ignition when the laser power approaches the experimental ignition threshold. In experiments, particles ignited by the laser beam are observed to explode, indicating a substantial gas release accompanying ignition. For the heated filament experiments, the model predicts exothermic reactions at the temperatures, at which ignition is observed experimentally; however, strong thermal contact between the metal filament and powder prevents the model from predicting the thermal runaway. It is suggested that oxygen gas release from decomposing CuO, as observed from particles exploding upon ignition in the laser beam, disrupts the thermal contact of the powder and filament; this phenomenon must be included in the filament ignition model to enable prediction of the temperature runaway.     

Synthesizing aluminum particles towards controlling electrostatic discharge ignition sensitivity

Aluminum particles were synthesized with shell thicknesses ranging from 2.7 to 8.3 nm and a constant diameter of 95 nm. These fuel particles were combined with molybdenum trioxide particles and the electrostatic discharge (ESD) sensitivity of the mixture was measured. Results show ignition delay increased as the alumina shell thickness increased. These results correlated with electrical resistivity measurements of the mixture which increased with alumina concentration. A model was developed using COMSOL for ignition of a single Al particle. The ignition delay in the model was consistent with the experimental results suggesting that the primary ESD ignition mechanism is joule heating.     

Delay time for fine particle ignition within gas with fluctuating temperature

The Pontryagin equation was applied to calculating the average time for the random process escaping the assign interval: this gives the average delay time for waiting of particle ignition moment in a turbulent flow of gas. A direct numerical simulation method was developed for gas temperature fluctuations with assigned autocorrelation function and particle temperature fluctuations due to exothermal chemical reaction. The method was based on numerical solution of a system of stochastic differential equations. Results of direct simulation were validated through comparing with the analytical solution available for particles without exothermal reaction. Analytical calculations and results of direct numerical simulation for the delay time of particle ignition are in agreement.     

High-pressure fuel spray ignition behavior with hot surface interaction

Fuel-flexible aircraft propulsion systems using compression ignition engines will require novel strategies for reducing the ignition delay of low-reactivity fuels to feasible timescales. Hot surface ignition of fuel sprays has been implemented in some practical situations, but the complex nature of flame formation within the spray structure poses significant challenges. In order to design next-generation ignition devices, the capacity of hot surface heating elements to promote fuel spray ignition must be investigated. In this study, a rapid compression machine (RCM) was used to examine the ignition process of a single kerosene-based F-24 jet fuel spray with a cylindrical heating element inserted into the spray periphery. The experiments, performed with moderately high injection pressures of 40 MPa, have demonstrated two modes of ignition governed by surface temperature and insertion depth of the heating element. There exists an optimal position where the heating element tip is located in the fuel vapor cone around the liquid spray. For this configuration, a critical surface temperature was identified (～1250 K), above which short ignition delays associated with a “spray ignition” mode are consistently achieved. In this case, a local ignition flame kernel propagates downstream to the flame lift-off length before full ignition of the spray. In comparison, below the critical temperature a slower “volumetric” mode results. The extended ignition delays associated with this mode may be impractical for compression ignition engines operating at high speeds and increased altitude.     

Ignition and combustion of a dense powder jet of micron-sized aluminum particles in hot gas

Aiming at the potential implementation of aluminum as a primary fuel in powder-fueled ramjets or engines, this work seeks to investigate the ignition and combustion characteristics of a dense gas-suspended jet of micron-sized aluminum particles in a hot flow with controlled temperature and compositions. Aluminum particles with a mean diameter of 40 µm are aerosolized using a custom-made feeder and carried into the burner by a nitrogen stream. The powder jet with a particle density of up to 1–3 kg/m³ can be ignited and burned violently at a surrounding gas temperature as low as 1500 K. The lowered ignition temperature of the powder jet can be attributed to a cooperative mechanism resulting in fast reactions. Meanwhile, the ignition delay time decreases from ∼25 to ∼5 ms when the surrounding temperature increases from 1500 to 2200 K. The burning powder jet generates strong luminance and AlO emission signals detected by a spectrometer. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) and camera pyrometry are used to derive the two-dimensional velocity and average projected temperature distribution, respectively. Furthermore, a high-speed camera with a microscopic lens captures the transition from dispersed combustion to group combustion that forms a large-scale flame column wrapping the entire powder jet. The aluminum oxide produced in the columnar flame forms a large number of nanosized smoke particles in the condensation region. Finally, a numerical model considering the collective effect of the powder jet is developed to predict the particle temperature history during the ignition stage, which shows good agreement with the temperature profiles derived from camera pyrometry and PIV techniques.     

The electromagnetic shielding of Ni films deposited on cenosphere particles by magnetron sputtering method

Ni-coated cenosphere particles were successfully fabricated by an ultrasonic-assisted magnetron sputtering equipment. Their surface morphology and microstructure were analyzed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). FE-SEM results indicate that the Ni films coated by magnetron sputtering are uniform and compact. Ni film uniformity was related with the sputtering power and a large uniform film could be achieved at lower sputtering power. XRD results imply that the Ni film coated on cenospheres was a face-centered cubic (fcc) structure and the crystallization of film sample increases with increasing the sputtering power. The electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness (SE) of Ni-coated cenosphere particles were measured to be 4-27 dB over a frequency range 80-100 GHz, higher than those of uncoated cenosphere particles. The higher sputtering power and Ni film thickness are the higher EMI SE of the specimens. Ni-coated cenosphere particles are most promising alternative candidates for millimeter wave EMI shielding due to their lightweight, low cost, ease of processing, high floating time, good dispersion and tunable conductivities as compared with typical electromagnetic wave countermeasure materials.     

The effect of thermal treatment on the organization of copper and nickel nanoclusters synthesized from the gas phase

The condensation of 85000 Cu or Ni atoms from the high-temperature gas phase has been simulated by molecular dynamics with the tight binding potential. The efect of the subsequent thermal treatment on the shape and structure of synthesized particles was studied by simulating their gradual heating in a range of 100–1200 K. Some tendencies are revealed that are characteristic of the influence of heat treatment on the nanoparticles synthesized from the gas phase. It is concluded that short-term heating leads to significant ordering of the internal structure in 70% of agglomerated nanoparticles with the predominant formation of spherical shapes. In order to explain this result, the main mechanisms of cluster formation from the gas phase have been analyzed and it is found that the agglomeration temperature plays the main role in the formation of clusters with unified shape and structure. This opens the fundamental possibility of obtaining Cu and Ni nanoclusters with preset size, shape, and structure and, hence, predictable physical properties.     

柴油燃料HCCI燃烧影响因素的试验研究

本文采用在进气上止点附近进行柴油喷射,利用缸内高温残余废气促进燃油蒸发形成均质混合气,实现了柴油燃料的均质压燃(HCCI)。试验结果表明柴油燃料HCCI燃烧的放热规律呈现低温和高温放热两个阶段,并且NOx排放可以降低95%-98%。本文主要研究了影响HCCI燃烧的因素,指出负荷增大、进气温度增加和负气门重叠期的增加使HCCI着火提前,而外部EGR率的增大可以推迟着火。因此对于低温自燃性好的燃料,冷EGR是控制其HCCI着火燃烧过程的有效措施。     

Alloying of cold-sprayed Al-Ni composite coatings by post-annealing

A new cold spray coating technique for thick Al coating with finely dispersed Al-Ni intermetallic compounds was tested. For easy powder preparation and high yield, rather than using of Al/compound mixture feed stock, the spraying of pure Al and Ni powders mixture followed by post-annealing was suggested. The powder composition of Al and Ni was 75:25, and 90:10 (wt.%) to expect full consumption of pure Ni into intermetallic compounds. After Al-Ni composite coatings, the Ni particles were finely dispersed and embedded in the Al matrix with a good coating yield. Above 450 °C of post-annealing temperature, the Al₃Ni and Al₃Ni₂ phases were observed in the cold-sprayed Al-Ni coatings. The Ni particles in the Al matrix were fully consumed via compounding reaction with Al at 550 °C of the annealing temperature.     

Numerical investigation of pulverized coal particle group combustion using tabulated chemistry

The ignition and combustion of coal particle groups are investigated numerically in a laminar flow reactor. The Flamelet Generated Manifold method is extended to account for the complex mixture of gases being released during devolatilization, which is calculated with a competing two-step model. A second mixture fraction is introduced to include the mixing with the second methane fuel stream. The interactions of the gas phase with particles are modeled within a fully coupled Euler-Lagrange framework. To investigate the influence of particle groups on ignition and combustion, successively increasing densities of particle streams have been analyzed. The ignition delay time is increased significantly by higher particle densities. This delay is validated successfully with the available measurements. Moreover, the shape of the volatile flame was found to be strongly influenced by the particle number density inside the flame. A transition from spherical flames around single particles to a conical flame around the particle cloud could be found in numerical results as well as in experiments. As the primary mechanism for the substantial ignition delay and the formation of the flame, the increased heat transfer from the gas-phase to the particle group, resulting in lower gas-phase temperatures, was identified.     

The approach to diamond growth on levitating seed particles

We demonstrate the approach of diamond growth on levitating seed particles in a rf plasma. We introduce a hot filament chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique into the rf plasma chamber in order to obtain improved crystal growth. Firstly, we confirmed diamond nucleation on seed particles placed on a Si substrate using the hot filament CVD. The deposition conditions, namely the total pressure and the rf power, were chosen so that they correspond to particles levitation conditions. We observe that a hydrogen pre-treatment on the seed particles improves the nucleation. Secondly, we confirm the levitation of particles at high temperatures. Fine particles levitated in a plasma are particularly sensitive to thermophoretic effects due to inhomogeneities in the gas heating. Therefore, proper heating procedures are required for successful particles levitation.     

The effects of oxygen concentration and gas temperature on coal stream ignition and particle surface temperature in reducing-to-oxidizing environments

In the near-burner region of pulverized coal burners, two zones exist, with very different oxygen concentrations. The first zone is a locally reducing environment, caused by the fast release of volatiles from a region of dense coal particles, and the second zone, which is surrounding the first zone, is a hot oxidizing environment. The transition of coal particles from the reducing zone to the oxidizing zone affects early stage coal combustion characteristics, such as devolatilization, ignition and particle temperature history. In this work, we used a two-stage Hencken flat-flame burner to simulate the conditions that coal particles experience in practical combustors when they transition from a reducing environment to an oxidizing environments. The composition of the reducing environment was chosen to approximate that of a typical coal volatile. Three oxygen concentrations (5, 10 and 15 vol%) in the “ambient” oxidizing environment were tested, corresponding to those at different distances downstream from a commercial burner. The corresponding gas temperatures for the oxidizing environments were adjusted for the different oxygen concentrations such that the “volatile” flame temperatures were the same, as this is what would be expected in a commercial combustor. High speed videography was used to obtain the ignition characteristics, and RGB color pyrometry was used to measure particle surface temperatures. Two different sizes of coal particles were used. It is found that when particles undergo a reducing-to-oxidizing transition at high temperatures, the particles are preheated such that the critical factor for ignition delay is point at which the particle is in the presence of oxygen, not the concentration of oxygen. The ignition delay of large particles is found to be 53% longer than that of small particles due to their higher thermal mass and slower devolatilization. The oxygen concentration in the ambient have a negligible effect on early-stage particle temperatures.     

Hybrid Al + Al3Ni metallic foams synthesized in situ via laser engineered net shaping

A hybrid, Al?+?Al₃Ni metallic foam was synthesized in situ via laser engineered net shaping (LENS®) of Ni-coated 6061 Al powder in the absence of a foaming agent. During LENS® processing, the Ni coating reacted with the Al matrix, resulting in the simultaneous formation of a fine dispersion of Al₃Ni, and a high volume fraction of porosity. As a reinforcement phase, the intermetallic compound formed particles with a size range of 1–5?µm and a volume fraction of 63%, with accompanying 35–300?µm pores with a 60% volume fraction. The microstructure of the as-deposited Al?+?Al₃Ni composite foams was characterized using SEM, EDS, XRD and TEM/HRTEM techniques. The evolution of the microstructure was analyzed on the basis of the thermal field present during deposition, paying particular attention to the thermodynamics of the Al₃Ni intermetallic compound formation as well as discussing the mechanisms that may be responsible for the observed porosity. The mechanical behavior of the as-deposited material was characterized using compression and microhardness testing, indicating that the yield strength and hardness are 190?MPa and 320 HV, respectively, which represents an increase of over three times higher than that of annealed Al6061, or similar to heat-treated Al6061 fully dense matrix, and much higher than those of traditional Al alloy foams, and with a low density of 1.64?g/m³.     

镁颗粒群非稳态着火过程数值模拟

建立了镁颗粒群着火的一维非稳态有限影响体模型, 数值模拟颗粒群中镁颗粒的着火过程. 研究表明, 当镁颗粒表面反应加剧之后,颗粒相温度急剧上升, 迅速达到着火, 而其周围气相的温升速率却远小于颗粒的温升速率; 在着火过程中气相温度只在颗粒表面附近升高比较明显, 整体温度升高不大. 分析了颗粒群内部参数和环境参数对镁颗粒群着火的影响. 随颗粒浓度的增加, 颗 粒群变得易于着火, 其着火时间变短, 但颗粒浓度增大到一定程度后, 继续增大该值将对颗粒群的着火起消极作用. 环境压力对颗粒群着火的影响比较小,在1-5 atm范围内颗粒群的着火性能基本不变. 气相中氧气浓度对颗粒群的着火性能影响也不显著, 但当氧气浓度过小时, 对着火过程的影响将大大增强.颗粒粒径、气相/颗粒相初温、辐射源温度对颗粒 群着火的影响巨大,小粒径、高温度促使颗粒群快速着火.数值模拟与文献中试验 结果的变化趋势相一致.     

CLAM钢表面Fe-Al合金渗层的制备

FeAl/Al2O3阻氚涂层具有高阻氚因子、耐腐蚀和耐高温等优良性能,是ITER首选的阻氚涂层.Fe-Al合金渗层对Al2O3膜层的形成质量有重要的影响.本文采用了AlCl3-EMIC离子液体电镀法在CLAM钢表面镀铝,然后利用热处理使Al与基体相互扩散制备Fe-Al合金渗层.采用X射线衍射仪、扫描电子显微镜和能量散射谱仪研究了热处理时间和温度对渗层组织结构的影响.结果表明:渗层厚度随着热处理温度和时间的提升而增大,试样表面逐渐由富铝相向贫铝相转化.在不同热处理条件下获得的渗层与CLAM钢基体结合紧密,无孔洞等缺陷.热处理时间一定时,热处理温度对渗层生长速率的影响符合Arrhenius关系,拟合计算出CLAM钢的渗铝Arrhenius活化能为78.48 kJ/mol.在640℃和760℃时,渗层中金属间化合物的生长受晶界扩散速率与体扩散速率的共同影响.在综合考虑合理的渗层厚度、表面Fe-Al合金相、热处理成本的情况下,较优的热处理工艺为700℃/10 h.     

Mathematical combustion model of nanoaluminum-air suspension

This paper presents a combustion model of a nano-aluminum-air (nAl-air) suspension. The special feature of the model is performing a local mathematical model of the oxidant diffusion through an aluminum oxide layer on the particle surface taking into account the aluminum-oxidant reaction to simulate the combustion of nano-size aluminum (nAl) particles. The oxidation rate of the aluminum particles and the associated with this process the rate of heat release are determined from the solution of the local combustion problems for the entire set of nAl particles in the suspension. To obtain the suspension state parameters we solve the equation system, which includes the energy conservation equations for the gas and particles, the mass-conservation equation for the gas-dispersed mixture and the motion equations for the gas and particles controlling for the particle velocity lag. The model considers gas expansion and thus gas and particle motion. The developed model does not require setting the ignition temperature of nAl particles. The study provides the calculated propagation rate of the combustion front in the nAl-air suspension depending on the nAl mass concentration and on the initial temperature of the suspension.     

3D problem of heat and mass transfer at the ignition of a combustible liquid by a heated metal particle

A nonlinear nonstationary 3D problem of heat and mass transfer at gas phase ignition of a combustible liquid spread on the surface of a solid body by a metal particle heated to a high temperature is solved. This is done within the framework of a model taking into account the heat conduction and evaporation of the liquid, the diffusion and convection of the combustible vapors in the oxidizer medium, the crystallization of the ignition source, the kinetics of the processes of evaporation and ignition of liquids, the dependence of the thermophysical characteristics of the interacting substances on the temperature, and the moisture content of the oxidizer—air. The dependences of the ignition delay time of the liquid on the temperature and sizes of the heating source are established. Limiting values of the temperature and particle sizes at which the ignition conditions take place are determined. The influence of the air humidity on the inertia of the process being investigated is analyzed. A comparison of numerical values of typical parameters of the process under investigation for 2D and 3D models is performed.