Isochronal sintering of the blended elemental Ti-35Nb alloy

Titanium alloy parts are ideally suited for advanced aerospace systems and surgical implants because of their unique combination of high specific strength at both room temperature and moderately elevated temperature, in addition to excellent corrosion resistance. In this work, results of the Ti-35Nb alloy sintering are presented. This alloy, due to its lower modulus of elasticity and high biocompatibility, is a promising candidate for surgical and aerospace applications. Samples were produced by mixing of initial metallic hydride powders followed by uniaxial and cold isostatic pressing with subsequent densification by isochronal sintering between 700 and 1500 degrees C, in vacuum. Sintering behavior was studied by means of microscopy and density. Sintered samples were characterized for phase composition, microstructure and microbardness by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Vickers indentation, respectively. Samples sintered at high temperatures display a fine plate-like a structure and intergranular P. A few remaining pores are still found, and density above 97% for specimens sintered at 1500 degrees C is reached. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Production of a low young modulus titanium alloy by powder metallurgy

Titanium alloys have several advantages over ferrous and non-ferrous metallic materials, such as high strengthto-weight ratio and excellent corrosion resistance. A blended elemental titanium powder metallurgy process has been developed to offer low cost commercial products. The process employs hydride-dehydride (HDH) powders as raw material. In this work, results of the Ti-35Nb alloy sintering are presented. This alloy due to its lower modulus of elasticity and high biocompatibility is a promising candidate for aerospace and medical use. Samples were produced by mixing of initial metallic powders followed by uniaxial and cold isostatic pressing with subsequent densification by isochronal sintering between 900 up to 1600 °C, in vacuum. Sintering behavior was studied by means of microscopy and density. Sintered samples were characterized for phase composition, microstructure and microhardness by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Vickers indentation, respectively. Samples sintered at high temperatures display a fine plate-like alpha structure and intergranular beta. A few remaining pores are still found and density above 90% for specimens sintered in temperatures over 1500 °C is reached.

Production of Ti-35Nb alloy by powder metallurgy for aerospace application

Titanium and its alloys provide high strength-to-weight ratios, good fatigue strength and increased corrosion resistance compared with others materials. Its acceptance in aerospace has been limited by costs considerations such as high cost of raw material, high buy-to-fly ratios and expensive machining operations. Significant cost reductions can be obtained by vacuum sintering and powder metallurgy (P/M) techniques by producing near net shapes and consequently minimizing material waste and machining time. The Ti 35Nb alloy exhibit a low modulus of elasticity. Stemming from the unique combination of high strength, low modulus of elasticity and low density, this alloy is intrinsically more resistant to shock and explosion damages than most other engineering materials. Samples were produced by mixing of initial metallic powders followed by uniaxial and cold isostatic pressing with subsequent densification by sintering between 900 and 1600 °C, in vacuum. Sintering behavior was studied by means of dilatometry. Sintered samples were characterized for phase composition, microstructure and microhardness by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Vickers indentation, respectively. Density was measured by Archimedes method. Copyright © 2004 Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.

Influence of Tungsten Dopant on Sintering and Curie Temperatures of Ba(Zr0.10Ti0.90)O-3 Ceramics

Ba(Zr0.10Ti0.90)O3 (BZT10) and W+ 6 substituted BZT ceramics (BZT10:W) were prepared by mixed oxide method. The effect of W+ 6 addition in the BZT was evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), dilatometer analysis, microstructural and dielectrical properties. When tungsten is introduced in the BZT lattice, a decrease in the grain size and shift on Curie temperature to lower value besides broadening of dielectric permittivity is evident. This is due repulsion between tungsten and their nearest neighbors leading to a structure which is tetragonal distorted. The sintering temperature is reduced when tungsten is introduced in the BZT lattice.

Vacuumless kink systems from vacuum systems: An example

Some years ago, Cho and Vilenkin, introduced a model which presents topological solutions, despite not having degenerate vacua as is usually expected. Here we present a new model with topological defects, connecting degenerate vacua but which in a certain limit recovers precisely the one proposed originally by Cho and Vilenkin. In other words, we found a kind of parent model for the so called vacuumless model. Then the idea is extended to a model recently introduced by Bazeia et al. Finally, we trace some comments the case of the Liouville model.

Vacuum effects on massive spinor fields: S-1 x R-3 topology

The aim of this work was to investigate the role played by an external field on the Casimir energy density for massive fermions under S-1 x R-3 topology. Both twisted- and untwisted-spin connections are considered and the calculation in a closed form is performed using an alternative approach based on the combination of the analytic regularization method and the Euler-Maclaurin summation formula. It is shown that no mass scale appears in the final result and, therefore, Casimir effect arises only from the boundary conditions and vacuum fluctuations induced by the coupling with the external field.

Fermions bounded by kinks of false vacuum models

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Conventional and microwave sintering of CaCu(3)Ti(4)O(12)/CaTiO(3) ceramic composites: non-ohmic and dielectric properties

The non-ohmic and dielectric properties as well as the dependence on the microstructural features of CaCu(3)Ti(4)O(12)/CaTiO(3) ceramic composites obtained by conventional and microwave sintering were investigated. It was demonstrated that the non-ohmic and dielectric properties depend strongly on the sintering conditions. It was found that the non-linear coefficient reaches values of 65 for microwave-sintered samples and 42 for samples sintered in a conventional furnace when a current density interval of 1-10 mA cm(-2) is considered. The non-linear coefficient value of 65 is equivalent to 1500 for samples sintered in the microwave if a current interval of 5-30 mA is considered as is shortly discussed by Chung et al (2004 Nature Mater. 3 774). Due to a high non-linear coefficient and a low leakage current (90 mu A) under both processing conditions, these samples are promising for varistor applications. The conventionally sintered samples exhibit a higher relative dielectric constant at 1 kHz (2960) compared with the samples sintered in the microwave furnace (2100). At high frequencies, the dielectric constant is also larger in the samples sintered in the conventional furnace. Depending on the application, one or another synthesis methodology is recommended, that is, for varistor applications sintered in a microwave furnace and for dielectric application sintered in a conventional furnace.

Preparation of Al2TiO5-Al2O3 and Al2TiO5-Al2O3-TiO2 Ceramics by High-Energy Ball Milling and Sintering

The present work reports on the preparation of Al2O3-TiO2 ceramics by high-energy ball milling and sintering, varying the molar fraction in 1:1 and 3:1. The powder mixtures were processed in a planetary Fritsch P-5 ball mill using silicon nitride balls (10 mm diameter) and vials (225 mL), rotary speed of 250 rpm and a ball-to-powder weight ratio of 5:1. Samples were collected into the vial after different milling times. The milled powders were uniaxially compacted and sintered at 1300 and 1500 degrees C for 4h. The milled and sintered materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction and electron scanning microscopy (SEM). Results indicated that the intensity of Al2O3 and TiO2 peaks were reduced for longer milling times, suggesting that nanosized particles can be achieved. The densification of Al2O3-TiO2 ceramics was higher than 98% over the relative density in samples sintered at 1500 degrees C for 4h, which presented the formation of Al2TiO5.

Influence of cassava starch content and sintering temperature on the alumina consolidation technique

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Effect of the sintering conditions on the electrical properties of Nd(3+) modified PLZT ceramics

The effect of the sintering method on the microstructural and electrical properties of (Pb(0.89)Nd(0.02)La(0.09))(Zr(0.65)Ti(0.35))O(3) (PNLZT) ceramics was studied by impedance spectroscopy. Structural and microstructural analyses were performed using x-ray and scanning electron microscopy techniques. Two different sintering routes were employed: the conventional and the hot-pressing sintering methods. The impedance analysis provided a convincing evidence for the existence of both grain (g) and grain boundary (gb) contributions to the conduction process. An equivalent circuit for the impedance behaviour has been proposed and discussed. The variation in the sintering method produces significant changes in the grain and grain boundary conductivities. For the grain effect, the main conduction mechanism has been associated with oxygen vacancy migration. Otherwise, for grain boundary conductivity the impedance behaviour has been discussed in terms of the brick-layer and the constriction resistance models (BLM and CRM, respectively).

Calculation of the vacuum pressure gradient in field emission displays

The usual design of field-emission displays (FEDs) often results in high vacuum pressure gradients inside the glass plates of the device, and this is the main limitation to the widespread availability of large area FEDs. In this paper, we perform theoretical calculations using the finite element method for determining the pressure distributions in several pumping configurations, including a new FED configuration known as porous FED or pFED. The approach here is capable of clarifying the design issues influencing the final pressure relevant to the field-emission display devices. (C) 2001 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

INFLUENCE of ENCAPSULATING MATERIALS on WATER SORPTION ISOTHERMS of VACUUM-DRIED PERSIMMON PULP POWDER

Water sorption isotherms for vacuum-dried persimmon pulp (PP) powder were determined in the temperature range of 20-50C, and the effects of maltodextrin (MD) or gum arabic (GA) addition on the water sorption behavior of the dried powders were analyzed. Several models were evaluated to fit the experimental data and the Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer model was selected as the most adequate to describe the observed behavior. Addition of encapsulants affected the isotherms: at the same water activity, PP powder with added GA (PP + GA) or MD (PP + MD) presented lower equilibrium water content than pure PP and were less affected by temperature variations. Samples of PP + MD presented lower equilibrium moisture content than those of PP + GA. The isosteric heats of sorption of pulp powders with encapsulants were higher (less negative) than those of PP, suggesting that there are more active polar sites in PP than in pulp powder containing encapsulants.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSThe choice of persimmon to carry out this work was due to the large persimmon production available in Brazil; moreover, persimmon pulp is rich in vitamin C, vitamin A and iron, as well as in phenolic compounds. Drying of fruit pulps with high sugar content presents technical difficulties because the hygroscopicity and thermoplasticity of the resulting powders when exposed to high temperature and relative humidity. For this reason, addition of high-molar-mass biopolymers, such as maltodextrin or gum arabic, is a strategy to aid drying and to improve storage stability. Knowledge of water sorption isotherms and net isosteric heats of sorption is important to various food processing operations, including drying, storage and packaging. They are useful in calculating time and energy consumptions during drying, modeling moisture changes during storage and predicting shelf life of food products.

Effects of vacuum structure on neutron star

We study the equation of state for neutron matter using the Walecka model including quantum corrections for baryons and sigma mesons through a realignment of the vacuum. We next use this equation of state to calculate the radius, mass and other properties of rotating neutron star.

Do static sources respond to massive scalar particles from the Hawking radiation as uniformly accelerated ones do in the inertial vacuum?

We examine the recently found equivalence for the response of a static scalar source interacting with a massless Klein-Gordon field when the source is (i) static in Schwarzschild spacetime, in the Unruh vacuum associated with the Hawking radiation, and (ii) uniformly accelerated in Minkowski spacetime, in the inertial vacuum, provided that the source's proper acceleration is the same in both cases. It is shown that this equivalence is broken when the massless Klein-Gordon field is replaced by a massive one.