Microstructure of Nickel Aluminides Formed in Situ in Aluminium Matrix Composites

Nickel aluminides formed in situ in aluminium matrix composites due to the interaction between nickel powder and the matrix were examined. The composite materials were obtained from mixtures of nickel powder and aluminium powder by hot pressing in vacuum in the temperature range of 500–640°C. Depending on hot pressing parameters, the morphology of nickel aluminide particles was layered or homogenous, and their size for the same precursor powder was growing as the pressing temperature increased. XRD, SEM, TEM and EDS characterization methods were used for the microstructure investigation.     

Quasifractional Approximants in the Theory of Composite Materials

We study the effective heat conductivity of regular arrays of perfectly conducting spheres embedded in a matrix with unit conductivity. Quasifractional approximants allow us to derive an approximate analytical solution, valid for all values of the spheres volume fraction [0, _max] (_max is the maximum volume fraction of a spheres). As a starting point we use a perturbation approach for 0 and an asymptotic solution for _max. Three different spatial arrangements of the spheres, simple cubic, body centred and face centred cubic arrays, are considered. Results obtained give a good agreement with numerical data.     

The effects of activated carbon supports on the structure and properties of TiO2 nanoparticles prepared by a sol-gel method

TiO₂-coated activated carbon (TiO₂/AC) composites and pure TiO₂ powders were prepared by a sol-gel method using tetrabutylorthotitanate as a precursor. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS) and nitrogen absorption. The photoactivity of samples was evaluated by methylene blue (MB) degradation. The analysis results show that compared with pure TiO₂ powders, the spherical-shaped TiO₂ particles are well-dispersed in the AC matrix and the size of the resulting TiO₂ crystallites decreases to below 40 nm with increasing phase transformation temperature. The AC matrix creates anti-calcination effects and shows interfacial energy effects that control the growth of the TiO₂ particles, baffle the anatase to rutile phase transition, and cumber the TiO₂ particles to agglomerate. Compared with the surface areas of TiO₂ powders, the combination of TiO₂ and AC forms composites with high surface areas which are slightly affected by calcination temperature. By AC support, the photoactivity of TiO₂ is increased in MB photocatalytic course, possible because active carbon increases photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ particles by producing high concentration of organic compound near TiO₂, and small-size TiO₂ particles are well-dispersed on the surface of AC.     

A SiC whisker-toughened SiC-CrSi2 oxidation protective coating for carbon/carbon composites

A SiC whisker-toughened SiC-CrSi₂ oxidation protective coating was prepared on the surface of C/C composites by a two-step technique of slurry and pack cementation. The oxidation protective ability and thermal stress resistance of the coating exhibit the trend of increase first and decrease afterwards as the SiCw content increases from 0 to 20 wt.%. The compound effect of SiCw and CrSi₂ on the oxidation protective ability of SiC coating is better than their individual ones.     

Microstructure evolution of WC/steel composite by laser surface re-melting

WC/steel composites fabricated by electro-slag melting and casting were re-melted by transverse flow CO₂ laser. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy were used to analyze the microstructure evolution in laser melted layer. It was found that the laser-affected zone has three distinguished zones, the melted, transient and heat affected zone. The phases of the melted zone were composed of WC, Fe₃W₃C, (Cr,Fe)₇C₃, martensite and retained austenite. The microstructure evolution in the melted zone was represented by the transformation of three parts including the steel matrix, WC particles cluster and dispersed carbides. A significant reactant was herringbone eutectic carbide of Fe₃W₃C. The effect of laser scanning rate was mainly behaved in affecting the melt depth, microstructure of transient zone and dissolution of medium carbides. In comparison with the substrate, the melted zone has much higher microhardness.     

The internal strain of three-dimensional braided composites with co-braided FBG sensors

The performance analysis of three-dimensional (3-D) braided composites is made difficult by their complex and interlacing structure, and is still under development. To get complete first-hand data on the material parameters of these composites, co-braided optical fiber sensors (OFS) can be used to measure the internal strain. This information is helpful for subsequent stiffness predictions and failure analysis. This paper introduces a method of incorporating OFS into braided composites, and establishes a constitutive theoretical model for the hybrid material. Experiments are conducted to measure the internal strain of specimens under tension, and the results are compared to theoretical predictions.     

Combining renewable gum rosin and lignin: Towards hydrophobic polymer composites by controlled polymerization

Rosin polymer–grafted lignin composites were prepared via “grafting from” atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) with the aid of 2‐bromoisobutyryl ester‐modified lignin as macroinitiators. Three different monomers derived from dehydroabietic acid (DA) were used for execution of grafting from ATRP, while DA was separately attached onto lignin by a simple esterification reaction. Kinetic studies indicated controlled and “living” characteristics of all monomer polymerizations. Thermal studies indicated that rosin polymer–grafted lignin composites exhibited glass transition temperatures in a broad temperature range from ～20 to 100°C. The grafting of both DA and rosin polymers significantly enhanced hydrophobicity of lignin. Static contact angle measurement of water droplets showed ～90° for all these rosin modified lignin composites. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrated that the surface of rosin–lignin composites was dominated with chemical compositions originating from the hydrocarbon rich rosin moiety. The impartation of hydrophobicity of rosin into lignin provided excellent water resistance of this class of renewable polymers, as all rosin‐modified lignin composites showed water uptake below 1.0 wt %. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Rare-Earth–Transition-Metal Organic–Inorganic Hybrids Based on Keggin-type Polyoxometalates and Pyrazine-2,3-dicarboxylate

Five rare-earth–transition-metal (RE–TM) heterometal organic–inorganic hybrids based on Keggin-type silicotungstates and mixed ligands H2pzda (pzda=pyrazine-2,3-dicarboxylate) and en (en=ethylenediamine) (enH2)[Cu(en)2(H2O)]2{[Cu(en)2][Cu(en)2(H2O)][(α-SiW11 O39)RE(H2O)(pzda)]}2⋅n H2O (n≈4; RE=YIII ( 1 ), DyIII ( 2 ), YbIII ( 3 ), and LuIII ( 4 )) and [Cu(en)2(H2O)]2{[Cu(en)2]2[Cu(pzda)2][(α-H2SiW11O39)Ce(H2O)]2}⋅n H2O ( 5 ; n≈8) have been hydrothermally synthesized and structurally characterized. Compounds 1–5 all contain the dimeric mono-RE substituted Keggin [RE(α-SiW11O39)]210− subunits linked by H2pzda ligands. Interestingly, 1–4 exhibit discrete structures, in which the H2pzda ligand acts as a tetradentate ligand to bind the RE and Cu cations, whereas 5 displays a 1D double-chain architecture, in which the H2pzda ligand adopts a new pentadentate mode to connect the Ce and Cu cations. To our knowledge, 1–5 represent the first monovacant Keggin-type silicotungstates containing both RE–TM heterometals and mixed ligands. The luminescence of 2 is derived from the combination of the DyIII cations and H2pzda ligands, whereas the luminescence properties of 1 and 3–5 are attributable to the H2pzda ligands.