Crystallization of mould powders used in the continuous casting of steel

Mould powders used in the continuous casting of steel play an important role in the heat transfer and lubrication between the liquid metal strand and mould. A range of industrial fluxes was investigated, each sample being decarburized and milled prior to DTA. On heating, the powders undergo silicate crystallization producing exotherms in the range 600°–1000°C, before melting. The activation energy of crystallization (E _a) was determined from the peak shifts of each flux heated at different rates, and ranged from 100–450 kJ/mol.E _a values increased with flux viscosity and decreased with basicity, suggesting that DTA can be applied to mould powder evaluation for use in continous steel casting.     

Nd3+/Yb3+离子共掺的氧化钛基上转换发光玻璃的热学和力学性能

利用气悬浮无容器技术制备出了Nd³⁺/Yb³⁺稀土离子共掺杂的TiO₂-La₂O₃-ZrO₂(TLZ)发光玻璃. 利用差热分析(DTA)技术研究了该类新型稀土掺杂TiO₂基上转换发光玻璃的热稳定性,主要包括玻璃化转变温度、析晶起始温度以及析晶峰值温度. 并采用两种热分析动力学计算方法得到TLZ玻璃的析晶活化能值和指前因子.本文还研究了TLZ 发光玻璃的力学性能,发现其维氏硬度大小为7.50 GPa,断裂韧性大于1.20 MPa·m^1/2. 此外,还对TLZ玻璃在808 nm激光激发下的上转换发光性能进行了研究,实验结果显示光谱中有三个强发射谱峰. 优异的上转换发光性能以及良好的热稳定性和机械性能表明,这类新材料在上转换器件的实际应用中具有很大的潜力.     

Temperature dependence of secondary crystallization in linear polyethylene

A specimen of linear polyethylene was subjected to isothermal secondary crystallization at a series of temperatures below the primary isothermal crystallization temperature, the melting and primary crystallization stages being held constant throughout the investigation. Dilatometric measurements exhibit an S–character at low values of undercooling T_p ? T_s, where T_p and T_s are, respectively, the primary and secondary crystallization temperatures; at larger undercoolings, however, an initial very rapid crystallization is followed by a very slow stage. When corrected for thermal contraction of the polymer, the net degree of secondary transformation is seen to peak at a temperature in the range 109–113°C. The S-character of the isotherms and the peaked temperature variation of degree of transformation lead to the conclusion that a large portion of the secondary crystallization consists of the nucleation and growth of the new crystallites. Johnson-Mehl-Avrami analysis leads to a model of heterogeneous nucleation within the remaining amorphous zones, followed by one-dimensional, diffusion-controlled growth.     

Thermal analysis and longtime stability of amorphous Co100−xBx alloys

Crystallization behaviour of amorphous Co_100?xB_x alloys (17 <x ≤ 40) has been investigated by differential thermal analysis (DTA) and dynamic temperature X-ray diffraction (DTXD) methods in the freshly prepared state and at a period of about eight years after preparation. The crystallization temperatures lie in the range 670 K–760 K. An average decrease of about 1.25 K/year over a period of eight years has been observed to take place in the crystallization temperatures of these materials. The value of heat of crystallization (ΔH _cr) and activation energy lie in the range 2.3 kJ/g-at – 5.9 kJ/g-at and 2.1 eV – 2.4 eV, respectively. The phases obtained at crystallization temperatures during DTXD analysis have been discussed.     

Effect of nucleating agents on the crystallization of Li<Subscript>2</Subscript>O-Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>-SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> system glass

The processes of nucleation of Li₂O-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ glasses with TiO₂ and TiO₂+ZrO₂ as nucleating agents were discussed. The DTA peak temperature and DTA peak height shown a strong dependence on the nucleation temperature in the glass with TiO₂, while in the glass with TiO₂+ZrO₂ this tendency was small. The optimum nucleation temperatures were 745 and 760°C for two glasses. It suggested that with TiO₂+ZrO₂ as nucleating agents, the crystallization had lower sensitivity for nucleation temperature, and the glass had higher nucleation efficiency than with TiO₂.     

The effect of TiO2 on the structure and devitrification behavior of potassium titanium germanate glass

The effect of replacing 20 mol% of GeO₂ by TiO₂ on the properties of potassium germanate glass was investigated. The structure and devitrification behaviour of glasses were studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential thermal analysis (DTA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was observed that potassium titanium germanate has a higher glass transition temperature and a higher thermal stability vs. crystallization. The presence of two exothermic peaks on the DTA curve of potassium germanate glass indicates the complex crystallization process. The XRD pattern of this glass heated at the temperature of the first crystallization peak indicated that the GeO₂ and K₂Ge₇O₁₅ were formed. Only the K₂TiGe₃O₉ phase was identified, in a case when potassium titanium germanate glass was heated at the temperature of the crystallization peak.     

Thermal properties of oxide glasses

Glasses with the composition Li₂O·2SiO₂·nTiO₂ and Li₂O·2SiO₂·nZrO₂, where n=0, 0.03, 0.062, 0.1, were prepared and the onset and peak temperatures have been determined by DTA. From these characteristic temperatures, the kinetic parameters describing the nucleation and crystal growth have been obtained by isoconversional methods. The kinetic parameters have been used for the calculation of nucleation and crystal growth times for individual glasses so determining the order of glass stability at reheating. The stability of glasses increases with the content of TiO₂ or ZrO₂ where the increase is higher for ZrO₂. Within the concentration range under study, the increase of both times with the metal oxide concentration is quadratic. It has been discussed that the crystallization kinetics does not obey the Arrhenius law and, therefore, when using the evaluation methods based on this law, the results should not be extrapolated outside the temperature range of the measurements.     

Effect of Y2O3 addition on viscosity and crystallization of the lithium aluminosilicate glasses

The melting and crystallization behaviors of lithium aluminosilicate (LAS) glasses containing Y₂O₃ were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential thermal analysis (DTA) and viscosity test. Effects of Y₂O₃ on the viscosity of LAS glasses were investigated from the softening point temperature to melting temperature. It was indicated that the introduction of yttria effectively decreased the melting temperature and viscosity of LAS glasses. The DTA and XRD results showed that yttria controlled the crystallization of LAS glasses by increasing the crystallization peak temperature (T_p) and activation energies (E), and the main crystalline phase of glass-ceramics was β-spodumene.     

Crystallization of polydioxolan. III. Microscopy and dilatometric analysis of the crystallization kinetics

Crystallization kinetics has been studied for a polydioxolan (PDOL) sample, over a wide temperature range, by dilatometry and microscopy. The dilatometry results can be analyzed using the Avrami equation. At temperatures higher than 22°C, the crystallization data must be analyzed in two steps: the first part of the curve corresponds to PDOL with a very disordered morphology (Phase I) while the second part of the crystallization curve is related to a spherulitic morphology (Phase II). The passage from the low to the high crystallization temperature region is associated with a change in the Avrami exponent from 3 to 4. The crystal surface free-energy product σσ_e was found to be 18 × 10² erg²/cm⁴, very close to that of polyoxymethylene. The crystallization kinetics was studied by microscopy over the temperature range?18 to 35°C. Growth and nucleation rates were recorded. Two phases are found only at temperatures higher than 22°C. The appearance of Phase II is related to a decrease in the growth rate of the sample. From the growth rates, the crystal surface free-energy product σσ_e was found equal to 17 × 10² erg²/cm⁴. The detailed analysis of the crystallization of the two phases reveals a complicated process which can be divided into four different steps: (a) growth of a disordered phase, Phase I; (b) nucleation of a higher birefringence structure; (c) propagation of a high birefringence phase; and (d) spherulitic growth, Phase II. The analysis of PDOL crystallization strongly suggests the presence of a hedrite → oval → spherulite transition: the hedrite formation corresponds to step (a), the oval formation to steps (b) and (c), and the spherulite formation to step (d).     

Fluoroapatite - material for medicine,Growth, morphology and thermoanalytical properties

Fluoroapatite containing glass-ceramics were prepared from Li₂O-CaO-CaF₂-P₂O₅-SiO₂ system. The glass was melted at 1480°C for 1 h. The object of observation was the preparing crystal phase of fluoroapatite in amorphous glass matrix. The morphology of lithium disilicate glass-ceramics was studied by SEM. The crystal growth and thermal properties of fluoroapatite were studied by X-ray diffraction and DTA. The more the content of P₂O₅, the more the presence of fluoroapatite particles. SEM investigation clearly indicated the phase separation and formation of a primary crystalline phase of fluoroapatite in the studied glass-ceramics. DTA curves of the fluoroapatite samples exhibit exothermic effects in the temperature range 337-694°C depending on the composition of the materials. The position of exothermic peak for lithium disilicate on DTA curves moves with increasing specific surfacetowards lower temperatures which points on its preferential surface crystallization. As far as physical qualities are concerned, mainly color and gloss, the best qualities of all observed materials belong to glass-ceramics with 10% P₂O₅. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Isothermal crystallization kinetics of Fe<Subscript>75</Subscript>Cr<Subscript>5</Subscript>P<Subscript>9</Subscript>B<Subscript>4</Subscript>C<Subscript>7</Subscript> metallic glass with cost-effectiveness and desirable merits

In this work, the isothermal crystallization kinetics of cost-effective Fe₇₅Cr₅P₉B₄C₇ metallic glass with a combination of desired merits synthesized by industrial ferro-alloys without high-purity materials was evaluated by Johnson–Mehl–Avrami approach using differential scanning calorimeter. The Avrami exponents at all isothermal annealing temperatures range from about 2.93 to 4.61, indicating a three-dimensional diffusion-controlled growth with an increasing nucleation rate during the isothermal crystallization. Meanwhile, the Avrami exponent firstly increases from 2.93 at the initial time to a maximum value of 4.61 and then decreases to 4.09 with the increment of the isothermal annealing temperature, which can be attributed to the atomic diffusion in the alloy. Additionally, the trend of the local Avrami exponent variations at different isothermal annealing temperatures reflects a variable crystallization mechanism during the crystallization process. Moreover, the local activation energy determined by Arrhenius equation gradually decreases from about 412 to 383 kJ mol^?1 during the present isothermal crystallization, further revealing that the process is dominated by a three-dimensional diffusion-controlled growth with an increasing nucleation rate, which provides useful insights into the formation of the present alloy.     

Melting and crystallization DSC profiles of milk fat depending on selected factors

The aim of this study was to test selected factors, such as sample preparation and measurement procedure, potentially influencing repeatability of DSC analysis of milk fat melting and crystallization. The study investigated the effect of such factors as scanning rate, type of sample pans, method of butter dehydration, and final temperature in the cooling experiment. Based on recorded results, it was observed that cooling rate has a considerable effect on temperature, enthalpy, and height of peaks in the process of milk fat crystallization, as well as peak height and enthalpy in the melting process. By contrast, in the melting process no significant differences were observed in all measured temperatures in the range of heating rate of 2–20 °C min^?1 (p > 0.05). No statistically significant effect on thermodynamic parameters was found for sample pan type, the applied butter dehydration method and various final cooling temperatures (?60, ?50, and ?40 °C) either in the melting or crystallization processes. Only temperature of the second peak (T _c2) in the crystallization process constituted an exception in this respect, with significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) being recorded depending on the applied pan and dehydration method. With regard to the dehydration method, for the extraction and centrifugation methods the first peak forming during crystallization was characterized by high instability, manifested by various peak shape. Generally, it was found that the analysis of the melting and crystallization processes in milk fat, despite its complex composition, is characterized by high repeatability. Mean values of RSD calculated from all the experiments were very low, i.e., 1.8 % for the temperature in the melting process and 1.5 % in crystallization, 0.9 % for melting enthalpy, and 3.2 % for crystallization enthalpy, whereas for peak heights in melting it was 2.9 % and for crystallization it was 9.3 %, respectively.     

Synthesis and characterization of poly benzoylpropionamides

Linear polyamides having viscosities in the range of 0.12–0.41 dl/g have been prepared from bisbenzoyl propionic acids and aromatic diamines by low temperature solution polycondensation in 80–85% yield. Their solubility characteristics were studied in various solvents e.g. DMF, DMAC, HMPT, H₂SO₄. These polyamides are amorphous in nature; their densities range from 1.2 to 1.8 g/cm³. Their thermal properties were examined by TGA and DTA. The two stage decomposition phenomenon observed in TGA is in agreement with the DTA results. The integral procedural decomposition temperatures were calculated and found to exceed 250 in almost all cases.     

Transient effects in the crystallization of polyethylene

A specimen of linear polyethylene was subjected to isothermal secondary crystallization at a series of temperatures below the primary isothermal crystallization temperature, the melting and primary crystallization stages being held constant throughout the investigation. Dilatometric measurements exhibit an S-character at low values of undercooling T_p – T_s, where T_p and T_s are, respectively, the primary and secondary crystallization temperatures, whereas at larger undercooling, an initial very rapid crystallization is followed by a very slow stage. When corrected for thermal contraction of the polymer, the net degree of secondary transformation is seen to peak at a temperature about 5°C below T_p. The S-character of the isotherms and the peaked temperature variation of degree of transformation lead to the conclusion that a large portion of the secondary crystallization consists of the nucleation and growth of the new crystallites. Johnson-Mehl-Avrami analysis leads to a model of heterogeneous nucleation within the remaining amorphous zones, followed by one-dimensional, diffusion-controlled growth.     

Temperature dependences of solid structure and properties of biodegradable poly(butylene succinate-co-terephthalate) (PBST) copolyester

In this paper, studies of the temperature dependence for spherulitic growth of PBST copolyester bearing 70 mol% butylene terephthalate units (named as PBST-70) ranged from 70 to 170 °C were first reported based on the Lauritzen–Hoffman secondary nucleation theory. The results showed that maximum spherulitic growth rate of PBST-70 was obtained under crystallization temperature of 90 °C, and more perfect spherulites were formed via increasing isothermal crystallization temperature by POM measurement. The classical regime I → II and regime II → III transitions occurred at the temperatures of 150 and 110 °C, respectively, using the empirical universal values of U* = 6300 J mol^?1 and T _∞ = T _g ? 30 K. Moreover, the effects of isothermal crystallization temperature on crystal lamellar thickness, thermal and tensile properties of PBST-70 were systematically investigated by small angle X-ray scattering, differential scanning calorimeter, and strength tester. The results indicated that the crystal lamellar thickness increased by increasing isothermal crystallization temperature. The endothermic peak shifted to higher temperature and the tensile properties of PBST-70 were enhanced under higher isothermal crystallization temperature.     

Stabilization and crystallization behaviour of the amorphous Bi0.96Pb0.24SrCaCu1.6O5+x high temperature superconductor material

Crystallization behaviour of the amorphous Bi_0.96Pb_0.24SrCaCu_1.6O_5+x (02 and vacuum. Crystallization temperatures, activation energies and heat of crystallization are found to be 708–728 K, 2.25–2.32 eV and 0.16–1.81 kJ/g-atom, respectively, depending upon the atmosphere used during DTA. This material undergoes a number of structural and thermochemical transformations on continuously heating during DTA upto the melting temperature, which depends critically upon the atmosphere used.     

Reaction of strontium sulfate with anatase and rutile below and above the phase transition temperature of strontium sulfate

The solid-state reaction of strontium sulfate with anatase and rutile was examined by isothermal and non-isothermal TGA/DTA and X-ray diffraction. The endothermic peak due to the reversible phase transition of SrSO₄ was observed by DTA in the vicinity of the endothermic peak due to the reaction. The product was only SrTiO₃ in all cases. The reaction mechanism was described by the Jander model. The rate constant for anatase was about twice as large as that for rutile. The relation between In k_j and T⁻¹ for anatase and rutile was discontinuous being linear either side of the phase transition temperature of SrSO₄. The rate constant just above the transition temperature was enhanced 1.5 times with respect to that just below the temperature. The activation energy for the reaction of strontium sulfate with rutile was 354 and 435 kJ mol⁻¹ in the higher and lower temperature regions respectively. In the reaction with anatase, the phase transition of anatase to rutile was also observed in about 30% of the fraction reacted at any temperature, and the rate constant was scattered from the In k_j vs. T⁻¹ curve, especially at high temperatures.     

Effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes on crystallization behavior of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)

The effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes on the crystallization behavior of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) has been investigated. The results have shown that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) act as an effective heterogeneous nucleation agent, inducing an increase in crystallinity and crystallite sizes. Comparing with the double melting peaks in pure PHBV, there is only one peak in the melting curves of nanocomposites. The isothermal crystallization kinetics of PHBV and its nanocomposite containing 0.5% CNTs were examined based on Avrami equation, indicating that the crystallization half-time decreases while the overall crystallization rate k increases dramatically with CNTs addition. The spherulitic nucleation and growth kinetics were also discussed grounded on Lauritzen–Hoffman equation. It is found that there is a spherulitic growth rates (G) maximum within selected temperature range in our study. Also, the temperatures corresponding to G maximum shift to a high level with addition of CNTs. The parameters of the equilibrium melting temperature T_m⁰ T_m^0 , the nucleation parameter K _g , the lateral surface free energy σ, the fold surface free energy σ _e , and the work of chain folding q of PHBV and its composite containing 0.5% CNTs were all calculated. The reductions of K _g , σ _e and q values of nanocomposite are in agreement with the fact that the crystallization rate of PHBV increases greatly by addition of CNTs.     

Multiple melting behavior in isothermally crystallized poly(trimethylene terephthalate)

Melting behavior of poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) after isothermal crystallization from the melt state was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) techniques. The subsequent melting thermograms for PTT isothermally crystallized within the temperature range of 182-215 °C exhibited triple (for crystallization temperatures lower than ≈192 °C), double (for crystallization temperatures greater than ≈192 °C but lower than ≈210 °C), or single (for crystallization temperatures greater than ≈210 °C) endothermic melting phenomenon. These peaks were denoted peaks I, II, and III for low-, middle-, and high-temperature melting endotherms, respectively. For the triple melting phenomenon, it was postulated that the occurrence of peak I was a result of the melting of the primary crystallites, peak II was a result of the melting of recrystallized crystallites, and peak III was a result of the melting of the recrystallized crystallites of different stabilities. In addition, determination of the equilibrium melting temperature T_m⁰ for this PTT resin according to the linear and non-linear Hoffmann-Weeks extrapolation provided values of 243.6 and 277.6 °C, respectively.     

Nucleation and crystal growth in Na2O · 2 CaO · 3 SiO2 glass: a DTA study

The non-isothermal devitrification of Na₂O · 2 CaO · 3 SiO₂ glass has been studied by differential thermal analysis in order to evaluate, from DTA curves, the temperature of maximum nucleation rate, T_m, and the activation energy values, E_c, for crystal growth.The temperature, T_m=580°C, is very close to the glass transition temperature, T_g=570°C, and the value of E_c=78 Kcal mole^?1 for the surface crystal growth is nearly the same as the value E_c=89 kcal mole^?1 for the bulk crystal growth; both are consistent with the activation energy for viscous flow. It is also pointed out that the nucleation rate—temperature curve and the crystallization rate—temperature curve are partially overlapped.