Laser surface cladding of MRI 153M magnesium alloy with (Al+Al2O3)

Laser surface cladding was carried out on a creep-resistant MRI 153M magnesium alloy with a mixture of Al and Al2O3 powders using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser at scan speeds of 21, 42, 63 and 84 mm/s. The Al2O3 particles partially or completely melted during laser irradiation and re-solidified with irregular shapes in the size range of 5–60 µm along with a few islands as large as 500 µm, within the grain-refined Mg-rich dendritic matrix. More than an order of magnitude improvement in wear resistance after cladding was attributed to the presence of ultra-hard Al2O3 particles, increased solid solubility of Al and other alloying elements, and a very fine dendritic microstructure as a result of rapid solidification in the cladded layer. However, corrosion resistance of the laser cladded alloy was reduced by almost an order of magnitude compared to that of the as-cast alloy mainly due to the presence of cracks and pores in the cladded layer.

Enhanced ionic conduction in dispersed solid electrolyte systems CaF2---Al2O3 and CaF2---CeO2

Dispersions of Al2O3 as well as CeO2 in CaF2 are found to enhance the conductivity of CaF2. Both these systems are biphasic and the electrical conduction in them is purely ionic in nature. At 650 K the increase in the ionic conductivity of the dispersed solid electrolyte system CaF2---Al2O3 is by about two orders of magnitude in relation to the conductivity of the host electrolyte CaF2, whereas for the CaF2---CeO2 system it is about three orders of magnitude. Some aspects of the increase in the ionic conductivities of CaF2---Al2O3 and CaF2---CeO2 electrolytes can be explained by a recent theoretical model. It is proposed that a substantial enhancement in the vacancy concentration of CaF2, brought about by the attraction of F− ions to the surface of Al2O3 (or CeO2), is responsible for the low temperature increase in the ionic conductivity of CaF2.

Phase relations between Al2O3---Cr2O3 and FeAl2O4---FeCr2O4 solid solutions at 1823 K

Tie-lines between the corundum and spinel solid solutions have been determined experimentally at 1823 K. Next, activities of FeCr2O4 and FeAl2O4 in the spinel solid solution were determined by combining the tie-line data with literature values for the activities of Cr2O3 and Al2O3 in the corundum phase. Activities and the Gibbs energy of mixing for the spinel solid solution were also obtained from a model based on cation distribution between nonequivalent crystallographic sites in the oxide lattice. The difference between the Gibbs energy of mixing obtained experimentally and from the model has been attributed to a strain enthalpy term which is relatively unchanged in magnitude from the reported at 1373 K. The integral enthalpy of mixing obtained from experimental data at 1373 and 1823 K using the second law is compared with the model result.

Reactivity in the spinel formation reaction in CuO/Al2O3, Fe2O3, Cr2O3 systems

Abstract is not available.

Small nickel metal particles in Ni---Al2O3 metal-ceramic composites

Magnetic measurements have been used in combination with transmission electron microscopy to investigate small nickel metal particles in metal-ceramic composites. Estimates of the average number of atoms in the particles are given for nonmagnetic samples with low Ni content.

A kinetic study of the methanation of CO2 over Ni-Al2O3 catalyst

CO2 methanation has been studied over Ni-Al2O3 and the intrinsic kinetic data obtained are related by a powerlaw type rate expression, which established a good agreement between calculated and experimental values of conversion.

X-Ray Spectroscopic Studies of the Surface Species in Co-Mo-Al2O3 Hydrodesulphurization Catalysts

Octahedrally coordinated CoII and MoIV species are present on the surfaces of sulfided Co-Mo-Al2O3 catalysts used for hydrodesulfurization. They were characterized by XPE, EXAFS and XANES data. An excess of sulfur in the surface species can be explained in terms of the presence of S[stack 22 ] ions. Disulfide bridges could play a role in the hydrodesulfurization.

Dry sliding wear behavior of Al2O3 fiber reinforced aluminum composites

Dry sliding wear behavior of die-cast ADC12 aluminum alloy composites reinforced with short alumina fibers were investigated by using a pin-on-disk wear tester. The Al2O3 fibers were 4 mu m in diameter and were present in volume fractions (T-f)ranging from 0.03 to 0.26, The length of the fiber varied from 40 to 200 mu m. Disks of aluminum-alumina composites were rubbed against a pin of nitrided stainless steel SUS440B with a load of 10 N at a sliding velocity of 0.1 m/s. The unreinforced ADC 12 aluminum alloy and their composites containing low volume fractions of alumina (V-f approximate to 0.05) showed a sliding-distance-dependent transition from severe to mild wear. However, composites containing high volume fractions of alumina ( V-f > 0.05) exhibited only mild wear for all sliding distances. The duration of occurrence of the severe wear regime and the wear rate both decrease with increasing volume fraction. In MMCs the wear rate in the mild wear regime decreases with increase in volume fraction: reaching a minimum value at V-f = 0.09 Beyond V-f = 0.09 the wear rate increasesmarginally. On the other hand, the wear rate of the counterface (steel pin) was found to increase moderately with increase in V-f. From the analysis of wear data and detailed examination of (a) worn surfaces, (b) their cross-sections and (c) wear debris, two modes of wear mechanisms have been identified to be operative, in these materials and these are: (i) adhesive wear in the case of unreinforced matrix material and in MMCs with low Vf and (ii) abrasive wear in the case of MMCs with high V-f. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Laser Surface Alloying of a Creep Resistant Magnesium Alloy MRI 230D with Al and Al2O3

A creep resistant permanent mould cast Mg alloy MRI 230D was laser surface alloyed with Al and a mixture of Al and Al2O3 using pulsed Nd:YAG laser irradiation at four different scan speeds in order to improve the corrosion and wear resistance. The microstructure, corrosion and wear behavior of the laser surface alloyed material is reported in this manuscript. The coating comprised of a featureless microstructure with cellular-dendritic microstructure near the interface and exhibited good interfacial bonding. A few solidification cracks reaching down to substrate were also observed. The two step coating with Al followed by a mixture of Al and Al2O3 exhibited a slightly better corrosion resistance than the single step coating with Al. In the long run, however, corrosion resistance of both the coatings became comparable to the as-cast alloy. The corroded surface of the laser surface alloyed specimens revealed a highly localized corrosion. The laser surface alloyed specimens exhibited an improvement in wear resistance. The laser scan speed did not exhibit a monotonic trend either in corrosion or wear resistance.

Dielectric Properties of Epoxy-Al2O3 Nanocomposite System for Packaging Applications

In recent times, there has been an ever-growing need for polymer-based multifunctional materials for electronic packaging applications. In this direction, epoxy-Al2O3 nanocomposites at low filler loadings can provide an excellent material option, especially from the point of view of their dielectric properties. This paper reports the dielectric characteristics for such a system, results of which are observed to be interesting, unique, and advantageous as compared to traditionally used microcomposite systems. Nanocomposites are found to display lower values of permittivity/tan delta over a wide frequency range as compared to that of unfilled epoxy. This surprising observation has been attributed to the interaction between the epoxy chains and the nanoparticles, and in this paper this phenomenon is analyzed using a dual layer interface model reported for polymer nanocomposites. As for the other dielectric properties associated with the nanocomposites, the nano-filler loading seems to have a significant effect. The dc resistivity and ac dielectric strength of the nanocomposites were observed to be lower than that of the unfilled epoxy system at the investigated filler loadings, whereas the electrical discharge resistant properties showed a significant enhancement. Further analysis of the results obtained in this paper shows that the morphology of the interface region and its characteristics decide the observed interesting dielectric behaviors.

An in situ EXAFS investigation of bimetallic Cu---Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalysts

In situ EXAFS investigations have been carried out on Ni/γ-Al2O3 and Cu---Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalysts with different metal loadings, and prepared by different procedures. As-prepared Ni/γ-Al2O3 on calcination gives NiO and NiAl2O4-like phases on the surface, the proportion of the latter increasing with the increase in calcination temperature; the proportion of the NiO-like phase, on the other hand, increases with the metal loading. The reducibility of Ni/γ-Al2O3 to give metallic Ni on the surface directly depends on the proportion of the NiO-like phase present before reduction. Co-impregnating with Cu suppresses the formation of the surface aluminate and thereby favours the reduction to metallic Ni. This conclusion is clearly substantiated by our studies of bimetallic catalysts containing varying Cu/Ni ratios and also those prepared by the two-stage impregnation procedure.

A thermogravimetric study of the oxidative growth of Al2O3/Al alloy composites

The oxidation of liquid Al–Mg–Si alloys at 900–1400 °C was studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The development of a semi-protective surface layer of MgO/MgAl2O4 allows the continuous formation of an Al2O3-matrix composite containing an interpenetrating network of metal microchannels at 1000–1350 °C. An initial incubation period precedes bulk oxidation, wherein Al2O3 grows from a near-surface alloy layer by reaction of oxygen supplied by the dissolution of the surface oxides and Al supplied from a bulk alloy reservoir through the microchannel network. The typical oxidation rate during bulk growth displays an initial acceleration followed by a parabolic deceleration in a regime apparently limited by Al transport to the near-surface layer. Both regimes may be influenced by the Si content in this layer, which rises due to preferential Al and Mg oxidation. The growth rates increase with temperature to a maximum at ~1300 °C, with a nominal activation energy of 270 kJ/mole for an Al-2.85 wt. % Mg-5.4 wt. % Si alloy in O2 at furnace temperatures of 1000–1300 °C. An oscillatory rate regime observed at 1000–1075 °C resulted in a banded structure of varying Al2O3-to-metal volume fraction.

Nucleation and growth of Al2O3/metal composites by oxidation of aluminum alloys

The nucleation and growth mechanisms during high temperature oxidation of liquid Al-3% Mg and Al-3% Mg-3% Si alloys were studied with the aim of enhancing our understanding of a new composite fabrication process. The typical oxidation sequence consists of an initial event of rapid but brief oxidation, followed by an incubation period of limited oxide growth after which bulk Al2O3/Al composite forms. A duplex oxide layer, MgO (upper) and MgAl2O4 (lower), forms on the alloy surface during initial oxidation and incubation. The spinel layer remains next to the liquid alloy during bulk oxide growth and is the eventual repository for most of the magnesium in the original alloy. Metal microchannels developed during incubation continuously supply alloy through the composite to the reaction interface. During the growth process, a layered structure exists at the upper extremity of the composite, consisting of MgO at the top surface, MgAl2O4 (probably discontinuous), Al alloy, and finally the bulk Al2O3 composite containing microchannels of the alloy. The bulk oxide growth mechanism appears to involve continuous formation and dissolution of the Mg-rich oxides at the surface, diffusion of oxygen through the underlying liquid metal, and epitaxial growth of Al2O3 on the existing composite body. The roles of Mg and Si in the composite growth process are discussed.

Potentiometric determination of activities in the two-phase fields of the system Na2O---(α)Al2O3

Three compounds have been found to be stable in the pseudobinary system Na2O---(α)Al2O3 between 825 and 1400 K; two nonstoichiometric phases, β-alumina and β″-alumina, and NaAlO2. The homogeneity of β-alumina ranges from 9.5 to 11 mol% Na2O, while that of β″-alumina from 13.3 to 15.9 mol% Na2O at 1173 K. The activity of Na2O in the two-phase fields has been determined by a solid-state potentiometric technique. Since both β- and β″-alumina are fast sodium ion conductors, biphasic solid electrolyte tubes were used in these electrochemical measurements. The open circuit emf of the following cells were measured from 790 to 980 K: [GRAPHICS] The partial molar Gibbs' energy of Na2O relative to gamma-Na2O in the two-phase regions can be represented as: DELTA-GBAR(Na2O)(alpha- + beta-alumina) = -270,900 + 24.03 T, DELTA-GBAR(Na2O)(beta- + beta"-alumina) = -232,700 + 56.19 T, and DELTA-GBAR(Na2O)(beta"-alumina + NaAlO2) = -13,100 - 4.51 T J mol-1. Similar galvanic cells using a Au-Na alloy and a mixture of Co + CoAl(2+2x)O4+3x + (alpha)Al2O3 as electrodes were used at 1400 K. Thermodynamic data obtained in these studies are used to evaluate phase relations and partial pressure of sodium in the Na2O-(alpha) Al2O3 system as a function of oxygen partial pressure, composition and temperature.