Construção, caracterização e aplicação de eletrodos para descarga por arco de cátodo oco

The system built to characterize electrodes and, consequently, deposited fine films are constituted by a hollow cathode that works to discharges and low pressures (approximately 10-3 to 5 mbar), a source DC (0 to 1200 V), a cylindrical camera of closed borossilicato for flanges of stainless steel with an association of vacuum bombs mechanical and spread. In the upper flange it is connected the system of hollow cathode, which possesses an entrance of gas and two entrances for its refrigeration, the same is electrically isolated of the rest of the equipment and it is polarized negatively. In front of the system of hollow cathode there is a movable sample in stainless steel with possibility of moving in the horizontal and vertical. In the vertical, the sample can vary its distance between 0 and 70 mm and, in the horizontal, can leave completely from the front of the hollow cathode. The sample and also the cathode hollow are equipped with cromel-alumel termopares with simultaneous reading of the temperatures during the time of treatment. In this work copper electrodes, bronze, titanium, iron, stainless steel, powder of titanium, powder of titanium and silício, glass and ceramic were used. The electrodes were investigated relating their geometry change and behavior of the plasma of the cavity of hollow cathode and channel of the gas. As the cavity of hollow cathode, the analyzed aspects were the diameter and depth. With the channel of the gas, we verified the diameter. In the two situations, we investigated parameters as flow of the gas, pressure, current and applied tension in the electrode, temperature, loss of mass of the electrode with relationship at the time of use. The flow of gas investigated in the electrodes it was fastened in a work strip from 15 to 6 sccm, the constant pressure of work was among 2.7 to 8 x 10-2 mbar. The applied current was among a strip of work from 0,8 to 0,4 A, and their respective tensions were in a strip from 400 to 220 V. Fixing the value of the current, it was possible to lift the curve of the behavior of the tension with the time of use. That curves esteem in that time of use of the electrode to its efficiency is maximum. The temperatures of the electrodes were in the dependence of that curves showing a maximum temperature when the tension was maximum, yet the measured temperatures in the samples showed to be sensitive the variation of the temperature in the electrodes. An accompaniment of the loss of mass of the electrode relating to its time of use showed that the electrodes that appeared the spherical cavities lost more mass in comparison with the electrodes in that didn't appear. That phenomenon is only seen for pressures of 10-2 mbar, in these conditions a plasma column is formed inside of the channel of the gas and in certain points it is concentrated in form of spheres. Those spherical cavities develop inside of the channel of the gas spreading during the whole extension of the channel of the gas. The used electrodes were cut after they could not be more used, however among those electrodes, films that were deposited in alternate times and the electrodes that were used to deposit films in same times, those films were deposited in the glass substrata, alumina, stainless steel 420, stainless steel 316, silício and steel M2. As the eletros used to deposit films in alternate time as the ones that they were used to deposit in same times, the behavior of the thickness of the film obeyed the curve of the tension with relationship the time of use of the electrode, that is, when the tension was maximum, the thickness of the film was also maximum and when the tension was minimum, the thickness was minimum and in the case where the value of the tension was constant, the thickness of the film tends to be constant. The fine films that were produced they had applications with nano stick, bio-compatibility, cellular growth, inhibition of bacterias, cut tool, metallic leagues, brasagem, pineapple fiber and ornamental. In those films it was investigated the thickness, the adherence and the uniformity characterized by sweeping electronic microscopy. Another technique developed to assist the production and characterization of the films produced in that work was the caloteste. It uses a sphere and abrasive to mark the sample with a cap impression, with that cap form it is possible to calculate the thickness of the film. Through the time of life of the cathode, it was possible to evaluate the rate of waste of its material for the different work conditions. Values of waste rate up to 3,2 x 10-6 g/s were verified. For a distance of the substratum of 11 mm, the deposited film was limited to a circular area of 22 mm diameter mm for high pressures and a circular area of 75 mm for pressure strip. The obtained films presented thickness around 2,1 µm, showing that the discharge of arch of hollow cathode in argon obeys a curve characteristic of the tension with the time of life of the eletrodo. The deposition rate obtained in this system it is of approximately 0,18 µm/min

Estudo numérico do comportamento de muros de arrimo em alvenaria estrutural de blocos vazados

Usually masonry structures has low tension strength, hence the design to flexural efforts can results in high reinforcement ratio, specification of high unit and prism strength, structural members with larger section dimensions and modification in structural arrangement to be possible to use masonry members. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the stiffness, the efforts distribution and the effect of horizontal elements (girders) and vertical elements (counterforts) distribution on the behavior of masonry blocks retaining walls. For this purpose, numerical modeling was performed on typical retaining wall arrangements by varying the amount and placement of horizontal and vertical elements, beyond includes elements simulating the reactions of the soil supporting the foundation of the wall. The numerical modeling also include the macro modeling strategy in which the units, mortar and grout are discretized by a standard volume that represents the masonry elastic behavior. Also, numerical model results were compared with those ones of simplified models usually adopted in bending design of masonry elements. The results show horizontal displacements, principal and shear stresses distribution, and bending moments diagrams. From the analysis it was concluded that quantity and manner of distribution of the girders are both important factors to the panel flexural behavior, the inclusion of the foundation changed significantly the behavior of the wall, especially the horizontal displacements, and has been proposed a new way of considering the flanges section of the counterforts

Construção, caracterização e aplicação de eletrodos para descarga por arco de cátodo oco

The system built to characterize electrodes and, consequently, deposited fine films are constituted by a hollow cathode that works to discharges and low pressures (approximately 10-3 to 5 mbar), a source DC (0 to 1200 V), a cylindrical camera of closed borossilicato for flanges of stainless steel with an association of vacuum bombs mechanical and spread. In the upper flange it is connected the system of hollow cathode, which possesses an entrance of gas and two entrances for its refrigeration, the same is electrically isolated of the rest of the equipment and it is polarized negatively. In front of the system of hollow cathode there is a movable sample in stainless steel with possibility of moving in the horizontal and vertical. In the vertical, the sample can vary its distance between 0 and 70 mm and, in the horizontal, can leave completely from the front of the hollow cathode. The sample and also the cathode hollow are equipped with cromel-alumel termopares with simultaneous reading of the temperatures during the time of treatment. In this work copper electrodes, bronze, titanium, iron, stainless steel, powder of titanium, powder of titanium and silício, glass and ceramic were used. The electrodes were investigated relating their geometry change and behavior of the plasma of the cavity of hollow cathode and channel of the gas. As the cavity of hollow cathode, the analyzed aspects were the diameter and depth. With the channel of the gas, we verified the diameter. In the two situations, we investigated parameters as flow of the gas, pressure, current and applied tension in the electrode, temperature, loss of mass of the electrode with relationship at the time of use. The flow of gas investigated in the electrodes it was fastened in a work strip from 15 to 6 sccm, the constant pressure of work was among 2.7 to 8 x 10-2 mbar. The applied current was among a strip of work from 0,8 to 0,4 A, and their respective tensions were in a strip from 400 to 220 V. Fixing the value of the current, it was possible to lift the curve of the behavior of the tension with the time of use. That curves esteem in that time of use of the electrode to its efficiency is maximum. The temperatures of the electrodes were in the dependence of that curves showing a maximum temperature when the tension was maximum, yet the measured temperatures in the samples showed to be sensitive the variation of the temperature in the electrodes. An accompaniment of the loss of mass of the electrode relating to its time of use showed that the electrodes that appeared the spherical cavities lost more mass in comparison with the electrodes in that didn't appear. That phenomenon is only seen for pressures of 10-2 mbar, in these conditions a plasma column is formed inside of the channel of the gas and in certain points it is concentrated in form of spheres. Those spherical cavities develop inside of the channel of the gas spreading during the whole extension of the channel of the gas. The used electrodes were cut after they could not be more used, however among those electrodes, films that were deposited in alternate times and the electrodes that were used to deposit films in same times, those films were deposited in the glass substrata, alumina, stainless steel 420, stainless steel 316, silício and steel M2. As the eletros used to deposit films in alternate time as the ones that they were used to deposit in same times, the behavior of the thickness of the film obeyed the curve of the tension with relationship the time of use of the electrode, that is, when the tension was maximum, the thickness of the film was also maximum and when the tension was minimum, the thickness was minimum and in the case where the value of the tension was constant, the thickness of the film tends to be constant. The fine films that were produced they had applications with nano stick, bio-compatibility, cellular growth, inhibition of bacterias, cut tool, metallic leagues, brasagem, pineapple fiber and ornamental. In those films it was investigated the thickness, the adherence and the uniformity characterized by sweeping electronic microscopy. Another technique developed to assist the production and characterization of the films produced in that work was the caloteste. It uses a sphere and abrasive to mark the sample with a cap impression, with that cap form it is possible to calculate the thickness of the film. Through the time of life of the cathode, it was possible to evaluate the rate of waste of its material for the different work conditions. Values of waste rate up to 3,2 x 10-6 g/s were verified. For a distance of the substratum of 11 mm, the deposited film was limited to a circular area of 22 mm diameter mm for high pressures and a circular area of 75 mm for pressure strip. The obtained films presented thickness around 2,1 µm, showing that the discharge of arch of hollow cathode in argon obeys a curve characteristic of the tension with the time of life of the eletrodo. The deposition rate obtained in this system it is of approximately 0,18 µm/min

Nitriding in cathodic cage of stainless steel AISI 316: influence of sample position

R.R.M. de Sousa et al. Nitriding in cathodic cage of stainless steel AISI 316: Influence of sample position. Vacuum, [s.l.], n.83, 2009. Disponivel em: . Acesso em: 04 out.2010.

Nitretação em plasma com gaiola catódica: investigação do mecanismo e estudo comparativo com a nitretação em plasma de tensão contínua

The ionic plasma nitriding is one of the most important plasma assisted treatment technique for surface modification, but it presents some inherent problems mainly in nitriding pieces with complex geometries. In the last four years has appeared a plasma nitriding technique, named ASPN (Active Screen Plasma Nitriding) in which the samples and the workload are surrounded by a metal screen on which the cathodic potential is applied. This new technique makes possible to obtain a perfect uniform nitrided layer apart from the shape of the samples. The present work is based on the development of a new nitriding plasma technique named CCPN (Cathodic Cage Plasma Nitriding) Patent PI 0603213-3 derived from ASPN, but utilizes the hollow cathode effect to increase the nitriding process efficiency. That technique has shown great improvement on the treatment of several types of steels under different process conditions, producing thicker and harder layers when compared with both, ASPN and ionic plasma nitriding, besides eliminating problems associated with the later technique. The best obtained results are due to the hollow cathode effect on the cage holes. Moreover, characteristic problems of ionic plasma nitriding are eliminated due to the fact that the luminescent discharge acts on the cage wall instead of on the samples surface, which remains under a floating potential. In this work the enhancement of the cathodic cage nitriding layers proprieties, under several conditions for some types of steels was investigated, besides the mechanism for nitrides deposition on glass substrate, concluding that the CCPN is both a diffusion and a deposition process at the same time

Estudo sobre a redução aluminotérmica de Ta2O5 e TiO2 usando descarga de cátodo oco

In this study it was used two metallic oxides, Ta2O5 and TiO2, in order to obtain metallic powders of Ta and Ti through aluminothermic reduction ignited by plasma. Ta2O5 and TiO2 powders were mixed with Al in a planetary mill, using different milling times. A thermal analysis study (DTA and TG) was carried out, in order to know the temperature to react both the mixtures. Then, these mixtures were submitted to a hollow cathode discharge, where they were reacted using aluminothermic reduction ignited by plasma. The product obtained was characterized by XRD and SEM, where it was proven the possibility of producing these metallic particles, different from the conventional process, where metallic ingots are obtained. It was verified that the aluminothermic reduction ignited by plasma is able to produce metallic powders of Ta and Ti, and a higher efficiency was observed to the process with Ta2O5-Al mixtures. Among different microstructural aspects observed, it can be noted the presence of metallic nanoparticles trapped into an Al2O3 matrix, besides acicular structures (titanium) and dendritic structures (tantalum), which are a product characteristic from a fast cooling

Nitretação iônica sem efeito de borda :desenvolvimento e avaliação de uma nova técnica

The ionic nitriding process presents some limitations related with the control of the thickness of the layer and its uniformity. Those limitations that happen during the process, are produced due to edge effects, damage caused by arcing arc and hollow cathode, mainly in pieces with complex geometry and under pressures in excess of 1 mbar. A new technique, denominated ASPN (active screen shapes nitriding) it has been used as alternative, for offering many advantages with respect to dc plasma conventional. The developed system presents a configuration in that the samples treated are surrounded by a large metal screen at high voltage cathodic potencials, (varying between 0 and 1200V) and currents up to 1 A. The sample is placed in floting potential or polarized at relatively lower bias voltages by an auxiliary source. As the plasma is not formed directly in the sample surface but in the metal screen, the mentioned effects are eliminated. This mechanism allows investigate ion of the transfer of nitrogen to the substrate. Optical and electronic microscopy are used to exam morphology and structure at the layer. X-ray difration for phase identification and microhardness to evaluate the efficiency of this process with respect to dc conventional nitriding

Determinação do perfil térmico em amostras de aço AISI M35 imersas em plasma

The heat transfer between plasma and a solid occurs mostly due the radiation and the collision of the particles on the material surface, heating the material from the surface to the bulk. The thermal gradient inside the sample depends of the rate of particles collisions and thermal conductivity of the solid. In order to study that effect, samples of AISI M35 steel, with 9,5 mm X 3,0 mm (diameter X thickness) were quenched in resistive furnace and tempereds in plasma using the plane configuration and hollow cathode, working with pressures of 4 and 10 mbar respectively. Analyzing the samples microstructure and measuring the hardness along the transversal profile, it was possible to associate the tempered temperature evaluating indirectly the thermal profile. This relation was obtained by microstructural analyzes and through the hardness curve x tempered sample temperature in resistive furnace, using temperatures of 500, 550, 600, 650 and 700°C. The microstructural characterization of the samples was obtained by the scanning electron microscopy, optic microscopy and X-ray diffraction. It was verified that all samples treated in plasma presented a superficial layer, denominated affected shelling zone, wich was not present in the samples treated in resistive furnace. Moreover, the samples that presented larger thermal gradient were treated in hollow cathode with pressure of 4 mbar

Caracterização de superfícies de titânio modificado por oxidação à plasma

Recent years have seen a significant growth in surface modifications in titanium implants, resulting in shorter healing times in regions with low bone density. Among the different techniques, subtraction by chemical agents to increase oxidation has been applied for surface treatment of dental implants. However, this technique is generally unable to remove undesirable oxides, formed spontaneously during machining of titanium parts, raising costs due to additional decontamination stages. In order to solve this problem, the present study used plasma as an energy source to both remove these oxides and oxidize the titanium surface. In this respect, Ti disks were treated by hollow cathode discharge, using a variable DC power supply and vacuum system. Samples were previously submitted to a cleaning process using an atmosphere of Ar, H2 and a mixture of both, for 20 and 60 min. The most efficient cleaning condition was used for oxidation in a mixture of argon (60%) and oxygen (40%) until reaching a pressure of 2.2 mbar for 60 min at 500°C. Surfaces were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), adhesion and cell proliferation. SEM showed less cell spreading and a larger number of projections orfilopodia in the treated samples compared to the control sample. AFM revealed surface defects in the treated samples, with varied geometry between peaks and valleys. Biological assays showed no significant difference in cell adhesion between treated surfaces and the control. With respect to cell proliferation, the treated surface exhibited improved performance when compared to the control sample. We concluded that the process was efficient in removing primary oxides as well as in oxidizing titanium surfaces

Simulação da transferência de calor em amostras aquecidas por plasma

The processing of materials through plasma has been growing enough in the last times in several technological applications, more specifically in surfaces treatment. That growth is due, mainly, to the great applicability of plasmas as energy source, where it assumes behavior thermal, chemical and/or physical. On the other hand, the multiplicity of simultaneous physical effects (thermal, chemical and physical interactions) present in plasmas increases the complexity for understanding their interaction with solids. In that sense, as an initial step for the development of that subject, the present work treats of the computational simulation of the heating and cooling processes of steel and copper samples immersed in a plasma atmosphere, by considering two experimental geometric configurations: hollow and plane cathode. In order to reach such goal, three computational models were developed in Fortran 90 language: an one-dimensional transient model (1D, t), a two-dimensional transient model (2D, t) and a two-dimensional transient model (2D, t) which take into account the presence of a sample holder in the experimental assembly. The models were developed based on the finite volume method and, for the two-dimensional configurations, the effect of hollow cathode on the sample was considered as a lateral external heat source. The main results obtained with the three computational models, as temperature distribution and thermal gradients in the samples and in the holder, were compared with those developed by the Laboratory of Plasma, LabPlasma/UFRN, and with experiments available in the literature. The behavior showed indicates the validity of the developed codes and illustrate the need of the use of such computational tool in that process type, due to the great easiness of obtaining thermal information of interest

Biomecânica e otimização topológica com H-adaptatividade em implantes dentários nitretados a plasma em cátodo oco

In recent years there has been a significant growth in technologies that modify implant surfaces, reducing healing time and allowing their successful use in areas with low bone density. One of the most widely used techniques is plasma nitration, applied with excellent results in titanium and its alloys, with greater frequency in the manufacture of hip, ankle and shoulder implants. However, its use in dental implants is very limited due to high process temperatures (between 700 C o and 800 C o ), resulting in distortions in these geometrically complex and highly precise components. The aim of the present study is to assess osseointegration and mechanical strength of grade II nitrided titanium samples, through configuration of hollow cathode discharge. Moreover, new formulations are proposed to determine the optimum structural topology of the dental implant under study, in order to perfect its shape, make it efficient, competitive and with high definition. In the nitriding process, the samples were treated at a temperature of 450 C o and pressure of 150 Pa , during 1 hour of treatment. This condition was selected because it obtains the best wettability results in previous studies, where different pressure, temperature and time conditions were systematized. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, roughness, microhardness and wettability. Biomechanical fatigue tests were then conducted. Finally, a formulation using the three dimensional structural topology optimization method was proposed, in conjunction with an hadaptive refinement process. The results showed that plasma nitriding, using the hollow cathode discharge technique, caused changes in the surface texture of test specimens, increases surface roughness, wettability and microhardness when compared to the untreated sample. In the biomechanical fatigue test, the treated implant showed no flaws, after five million cycles, at a maximum fatigue load of 84.46 N. The results of the topological optimization process showed well-defined optimized layouts of the dental implant, with a clear distribution of material and a defined edge

Desenvolvimento de uma desfribadeira para obtenção da fibra da folha do abacaxi

In 1998 the first decorticator was developed in the Textile Engineering Laboratory and patented for the purpose of extracting fibres from pineapple leaves, with the financial help from CNPq and BNB. The objective of the present work was to develop an automatic decorticator different from the first one with a semiautomatic system of decortication with automatic feeding of the leaves and collection of the extracted fibres. The system is started through a command system that passes information to two engines, one for starting the beater cylinder and the other for the feeding of the leaves as well as the extraction of the decorticated fibres automatically. This in turn introduces the leaves between a knife and a beater cylinder with twenty blades (the previous one had only 8 blades). These blades are supported by equidistant flanges with a central transmission axis that would help in increasing the number of beatings of the leaves. In the present system the operator has to place the leaves on the rotating endless feeding belt and collect the extracted leaves that are being carried out through another endless belt. The pulp resulted form the extraction is collected in a tray through a collector. The feeding of the leaves as well as the extraction of the fibres is controlled automatically by varying the velocity of the cylinders. The semi-automatic decorticator basically composed of a chassis made out of iron bars (profile L) with 200cm length, 91 cm of height 68 cm of width. The decorticator weighs around 300Kg. It was observed that the increase in the number of blades from 8 to twenty in the beater cylinder reduced the turbulence inside the decorticator, which helped to improve the removal of the fibres without any problems as well as the quality of the fibres. From the studies carried out, from each leaf 2,8 to 4,5% of fibres can be extracted. This gives around 4 to 5 tons of fibres per hectare, which is more than that of cotton production per hectare. This quantity with no doubt could generate jobs to the people not only on the production of the fibres but also on their application in different areas

Desenvolvimento e análise de material compósito a base de penas de frango (fibras de queratina-KF) e matriz de poliéster insaturado

Use of natural fibres as a reinforcement material in the manufacture of composites show a series of advantages: availability, biodegradability, low weight and regeneration in relation to synthetic fibres, thus justifying its utilization. In the present research work, composites were developed with chicken feathers (KF), using unsaturated polyester resin as matrix, for diversified applications, mainly in the furniture/timber industry.At present, in Brazil the chicken feathers are used as part of the animal feed, even though this material possesses low aggregated value. The chicken feathers are hollow, light and resistant. After washing with water at room temperature, a part of the chicken feathers were treated with 2% NaOH. Composites were manufactured using treated and untreated chicken feathers with unsaturated orthothalic polyester resin and 1% peroxide as catalyser, obtained in the commerce. Samples with size 150x25x3 mm for mechanical tests were cut by laser in the composite plate. Mechanical analyses were carried out in the Laboratório de Metais e Ensaios Mecânicos UFRN. All the analyses were in accordance with ASTM standards. SEM analyses were also carried out on the samples.In the analyses of the results obtained, it was observed that the composites made with untreated chicken feathers showed better results (Traction 11.406 MPa and 9.107 MPa Bending 34.947 and 20.918 MPa for samples with and without treatment respectively) compared to the composite with treated feathers. Very low values of the water absorption results, evidenced the impermeability characteristic of the feathers. From the SEM images, the structure, fracture and the fibre/matrix adsorption can be evidenced. In the flammability test, it was observed that despite the feathers having sulfur as a constituent, natural inhibitor of flame, no burning support of the composites, because the manufacturing process of the composite

Redução carbotérmica de TiO2 por descarga em cátodo oco

In this study we used the plasma as a source of energy in the process of carbothermic reduction of rutile ore (TiO2). The rutile and graphite powders were milled for 15 h and placed in a hollow cathode discharge produced by in order to obtain titanium carbonitride directly from the reaction, was verified the influence of processing parameters of plasma temperature and time in the synthesis of TiCN. The reaction was carried out at 600, 700 and 800˚C for 3 to 4 hours in an atmosphere of nitrogen and argon. During all reactions was monitored by plasma technique of optical emission spectroscopy (EEO) to check the active species present in the process of carbothermal reduction of TiO2. The powder obtained after the reactions were characterized by the techniques of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The technique of EEO were detected in all reactions the spectra CO and NO, and these gas-phase resulting from the reduction of TiO2. The results of X-ray diffraction confirmed the reduction, where for all conditions studied there was evidence of early reduction of TiO2 through the emergence of intermediate oxides. In the samples reduced at 600 and 700˚C, there was only the phase Ti6O11, those reduced to 800˚C appeared Ti5O9 phases, and Ti6O11 Ti7O13, confirming that the carbothermal reduction in plasma, a reduction of the ore rutile (TiO2) in a series of intermediate titanium oxide (TinO2n-1) where n varies between 5 and 10

Diagnóstico de plasma de cátodo oco: análise da ação de plasma de argônio e Ar-H2 para a deposição de filmes finos de titânio em pós-descarga

Plasma DC hollow cathode has been used for film deposition by sputtering with release of neutral atoms from the cathode. The DC Plasma Ar-H2 hollow cathode currently used in the industry has proven to be effective in cleaning surfaces and thin film deposition when compared to argon plasma. When we wish to avoid the effects of ion bombardment on the substrate discharge, it uses the post-discharge region. Were generated by discharge plasma of argon and hydrogen hollow cathode deposition of thin films of titanium on glass substrate. The optical emission spectroscopy was used for the post-discharge diagnosis. The films formed were analyzed by mechanical profilometry technique. It was observed that in the spectrum of the excitation lines of argon occurred species. There are variations in the rate of deposition of titanium on the glass substrate for different process parameters such as deposition time, distance and discharge working gases. It was noted an increase in intensity of the lines of argon compared with the lines of titanium. Deposition with argon and hydrogen in glass sample observed a higher rate deposition of titanium as more closer the sample was in the discharge