Fracture of diamond coatings by high velocity sand erosion

This paper describes a study of the behaviour of diamond coatings when subjected to solid particle erosion from sand particles. The coatings were deposited by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) onto tungsten substrates and tested using a high velocity air–sand erosion test facility. The erosion tests were conducted using particle impact velocities of between 33 and 268 m/s. Examination of the eroded test specimens showed that the principal damage features were circumferential cracks and pin-holes. Comparison with Hertz impact theory revealed that the measured circumferential crack diameters were more than double the predicted Hertzian contact diameter. Moreover, a trend of increasing circumferential crack diameter with coating thickness, which is not predicted by Hertz, was found. Instead, the crack diameters showed good agreement with those predicted by the theory of stress wave reinforcement, which is more commonly associated with liquid impact damage of brittle materials. During impact, the bulk compression and shear waves are reflected at the rear surface of debonded regions of the coating to return to the front surface and reinforce the Rayleigh surface wave, which generates a tensile stress. Where this stress exceeds the local tensile strength of the coating, a ring of cracks surrounding the area of impact is created. The results from the present study therefore suggest that stress wave reflection is responsible for the formation of the cracks at locally debonded regions of the coating. This hypothesis was supported by images acquired using scanning acoustic microscopy, which showed that circumferential cracks and pin-holes were only found on areas of the coating that had become delaminated by multiple particle impacts during the erosion tests.     

Structural characteristics and residual stresses in oxide films produced on Ti by pulsed unipolar plasma electrolytic oxidation

Oxide films, 7–10 µm thick, were produced on commercially pure titanium by plasma electrolytic oxidation in a sodium orthophosphate electrolyte using a pulsed unipolar current with frequency (f) and duty cycle (δ) varying within f = 0.1–10 kHz and δ = 0.8–0.2, respectively. The coatings comprised a mixture of an amorphous phase with nanocrystalline anatase and rutile phases, where the relative rutile content range was 17–25 wt%. Incorporation of phosphorus from the electrolyte into the coating in the form of PO₂ ^–, PO₃ ^2– and PO₄ ^3–, as demonstrated by EDX and FT-IR analyses, contributed to the formation of the amorphous phase. Residual stresses associated with the crystalline coating phase constituents were evaluated using the X-ray diffraction sin² ψ method. It was found that, depending on the treatment parameters, internal direct and shear stresses in anatase ranged from–205 (±17) to–431 (±27) MPa and from–98 (±6) to–145 (±10) MPa, respectively, whereas the rutile structure is comparatively stress-free.     

The most favorable condition for lipid hydrolysis by Rhizopus delemar lipase in combination with a sugar–ester and alcohol W/O microemulsion system

The hydrophobic interfacial characterization of sugar–ester alcohol W/O microemulsion was investigated in order to develop a suitable design for reaction media. A W/O microemulsion system was prepared as a combination of sugar–ester, DK-ester-F-110 with alcohol as a cosolvent. The diameter of the sub-micron-sized water pool, the hydrophobicity of the water pool, and the fluidity of the micro-interface were studied to analyze the reactivity of Rhizopus delemar lipase in lipid hydrolysis. The diameter of the sub-micron sized water pool was measured by dynamic laser light scattering. It was proportional to the 0.33 power of W_soln and decayed with increasing alcohol concentration. The initial reaction rate of the hydrolysis of triolein in W/O microemulsion depended on the solubilized water content. The hydrophilic character of the micro-water pool was estimated from the fluorescence wavelength indicated by Coumarin 343. The maximum initial reaction rate appeared at 450–460 nm. The fluidity of the micro-interface was investigated by fluorescence anisotropy using TMA-DPH. A suitable physicochemical reaction condition for high reactivity to occur was found, satisfying both the hydrophilicity and the fluidity of the micro-interface.     

Light scattering near and from interfaces using evanescent wave and ellipsometric light scattering

The broad range of interface light scattering investigations in recent years shows the power and the versatility of these techniques to address new and open questions in colloid and interface science and the soft condensed matter field. Structural information for polymers, liquid crystals, or colloids close to planar or spherical colloidal interfaces are either captured with long range light scattering resolution, or in a complementary approach by high resolution ellipsometric techniques. Of special interest is the dynamic behavior close to or in interfaces, since it determines material properties and responses to external fields. Due to the broad dynamical range and the high scattering contrast for visible light, interface light scattering is a key to elucidate soft matter interfacial dynamics. This contribution reviews experimental and related theoretical approaches for interface light scattering and further gives an overview of achievements based on such techniques.     

The ultimate state of polymeric materials and laminated and fibrous composites under asymmetric high-cycle loading

The prediction of the high-cycle fatigue strength of polymeric and composite materials in asymmetric loading is considered. The problem is solved on the basis of a nonlinear model of ultimate state allowing us to describe all typical forms of the diagrams of ultimate stresses. The material constants of the model are determined from the results of fatigue tests in symmetric reversed cycling, in a single fatigue test with the minimum stress equal to zero, and in a short-term strength test. The fatigue strength characteristics of some polymers, glass-fiber laminates, glass-fiber-reinforced plastics, organic-fiber-reinforced plastics, and wood laminates in asymmetric tension-compression, bending, and torsion have been calculated and approved experimentally. __________ Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 87–102, January–February, 2008.     

Shear viscosity of polymer and surfactant monolayers

The surface shear viscosity of monolayers formed at the surface of water by adsorbed polyethyl- eneoxyde and by stearic acid is measured as a function of the surface pressure of the monolayer using a new surface viscometer. The principle of the viscometer is the measurement of the drag force on a circular disk undergoing a uniform translation at the water surface: a hydrodynamic model based on the lubrication approximation allows a calculation of the surface viscosities from the absolute measurement of the drag forces. Received: 26 August 1999     

Structure and properties for biomass-based polyester blends of PLA and PBS

Structure and properties are studied for binary blends composed of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(butylene succinate) (PBS). The rheological measurements in the molten state reveal that the entanglement molecular weight of PLA is lower than that of PBS. Further, the interfacial tension of the immiscible blend system is evaluated employing a rheological emulsion model and found to be 3.5 [mN/m]. Moreover, thermal analysis directly detects that addition of PBS enhances the crystallization of PLA even though PBS is in a molten state. Further, the cold-crystallization for quenched blends occurs at lower temperature than that for a quenched PLA. This would be attributed to the nucleating ability of PBS, leading to generation of PLA crystallites during the quench operation.     

Effects of ultrasonic conditions on the interfacial property and emulsifying property of cellulose nanoparticles from ginkgo seed shells

Cellulose microparticles from ginkgo seed shells were treated by ultrasonic treatments within the selected output powders (150–600 W) and durations (10–60 min) to produce cellulose nanoparticles. The main aim of this study was to investigate effects of ultrasonic conditions on the interfacial property and emulsifying property of those cellulose nanoparticles. Compared to ultrasonic output powers, ultrasonic durations showed the greater influence on morphology and physical properties of cellulose nanoparticles. Atomic force microscopy revealed that noodle-like cellulose particles with 1100 nm in length gradually became the short rod-like nanoparticles with 300 nm in length with increasing of ultrasonic duration from 10 min to 60 min. Moreover, results of contact angles indicated that ultrasound could significantly improve hydrophobicity of cellulose nanoparticles. The interfacial shear rheology showed that although all cellulose nanoparticles exhibited the similar interface adsorption behavior which showed the initial lag-phase of adsorption, followed by the interface saturation, the time of this initial lag-phase was affected by ultrasonic conditions. The increase of ultrasonic duration and ultrasonic power could shorten the time of this initial lag-phase, suggesting the resulting cellulose nanoparticles easier adsorption at the O/W interface. It was probably attributed to its small size and high hydrophobicity induced by intense ultrasonic treatments. Meanwhile, the cellulose nanoparticles with small size and higher hydrophobicity exhibited the better emulsifying ability to stabilize oil-in-water emulsions due to the formation of the viscoelastic interfacial film. This study improved understanding about changes in interfacial and emulsifying properties of cellulose nanoparticles caused by ultrasonic treatments.     

Influence of metal electrodes on c‐axis orientation of AlN thin films deposited by DC magnetron sputtering

Nanocrystalline aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films were deposited on two types of metallic seed layers on silicon substrates, (111) textured Pt and (110) Mo, by reactive DC magnetron sputtering at low temperature (200 °C). Both textured films of Pt and Mo promote nucleation, thereby improving the crystallinity and epitaxial growth condition for AlN thin films. The deposited films were examined by X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy techniques. The results indicated that the preferred orientation of crystallites greatly depends upon the kinetic energy of the sputtered species (target power) and seed layers used. Furthermore, AlN thin films with c‐axis perpendicular to the substrate grew on both types of metal electrodes at all power levels larger than 100 W. By comparing the structural properties and compressive stresses at perfect c‐axis orientation conditions, it is evident that AlN films deposited on (110) oriented Mo substrates exhibited superior properties as compared with Pt/Ti seed layers. Furthermore, less values of compressive stresses (?3 GPa) as compared with Pt/Ti substrates (?7.08 GPa) make Mo preferentially better candidate to be employed in the field of suspended Micro/Nano ‐ electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) for piezoelectric devices. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.