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.

Large negative magnetoresistance and metal-insulator transition observed in MnO/C composite coatings grown on ceramic alumina by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

MnO/C composite coatings were grown by the metalorganic chemical vapor deposition process on ceramic alumina in argon ambient. Characterization by various techniques confirms that these coatings are homogeneous composites comprising nanometer-sized MnO particles embedded in a matrix of nanometer-sized graphite. Components of the MnO/C composite coating crystalline disordered, but are electrically quite conductive. Resistance vs. temperature measurements show that coating resistance increases exponentially from a few hundred ohms at room temperature to a few megaohms at 30 K. Logarithmic plots of reduced activation energy vs. temperature show that the coating material undergoes a metal-insulator transition. The reduced activation energy exponent for the film under zero magnetic field was 2.1, which is unusually high, implying that conduction is suppressed at much faster rate than the Mott or the Efros-Shklovskii hopping mechanism. Magnetoconductance us. magnetic field plots obtained at various temperatures show a high magnetoconductance (similar to 28.8%) at 100 K, which is unusually large for a disordered system, wherein magnetoresistance is attributed typically to weak localization. A plausible explanation for the unusual behavior observed in the carbonaceous disordered composite material is proposed. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Solute-solute and solute-solvent interactions in transition metal alloys: Pt-Ti system

An isothermal section of the phase diagram for (silver + rhodium + oxygen) at T = 1173 K has been established by equilibration of samples representing twelve different compositions, and phase identification after quenching by optical and scanning electron microscopy (s.e.m.), X-ray diffraction (x.r.d.), and energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (e.d.x.), Only one ternary oxide, AgRhO2, was found to be stable and a three phase region involving Ag, AgRhO2 and Rh2O3 was identified. The thermodynamic properties of AgRhO2 were measured using a galvanic cell in the temperature range 980 K to 1320 K. Yttria-stabilized zirconia was used as the solid electrolyte and pure oxygen gas at a pressure of 0.1 MPa was used as the reference electrode. The Gibbs free energy of formation of the ternary oxide from the elements, ΔfGo (AgRhO2), can be represented by two linear equations that join at the melting temperature of silver. In the temperature range 980 K to 1235 K, ΔfGo(AgRhO2)/(J . mol-1) = -249080 + 179.08 T/K (±120). Above the melting temperature of silver, in the temperature range 1235 K to 1320 K, ΔfGo(AgRhO2)/(J . mol-1) = -260400 + 188.24 T/K (±95). The thermodynamic properties of AgRhO2 at T = 298.15 K were evaluated from the high temperature data. The chemical potential diagram for (silver + rhodium + oxygen) at T = 1200 K was also computed on the basis of the results of this study.

Some mechanisms of tribofilm formation in metal/metal and ceramic/metal sliding interactions

Tribological interaction often generates new structures and materials which form the interface between the sliding pair. The new material designated tribofilm here may be protective or tribologically deleterious. The tribofilm plays a major role in determining the friction and wear of the interaction. Here, we give three examples: mechanically mixed, chemically generated and thermally activated, of tribofilms formed in three different tribological systems and speculate on the mechanism of their formation.

Structure and properties of zinc alloy based metal matrix composites

Zinc-aluminium cast alloys (ZA alloys) exhibit good castability and mechanical properties but these alloys lack creep resistance and high temperature stability. One solution to improve these properties is to reinforce with ceramic particles or fibres, to result in MMCs. MMCs can be produced using casting technique involving infiltration. A systematic investigation was taken and this paper discusses the salient findings of the study on the ZA-27 alloy based MMCs produced through squeeze casting. (Reinforcing fibers: SAFFIL (chopped alumina) or mullite.)

The fracture energy of metal fibre reinforced ceramic composites (MFCs)

A model is presented for prediction of the fracture energy of ceramic-matrix composites containing dispersed metallic fibres. It is assumed that the work of fracture comes entirely from pull-out and/or plastic deformation of fibres bridging the crack plane. Comparisons are presented between these predictions and experimental measurements made on a commercially-available composite material of this type, containing stainless steel (304) fibres in a matrix predominantly comprising alumina and alumino-silicate phases. Good agreement is observed, and it's noted that there is scope for the fracture energy levels to be high (~20kJm-2). Higher toughness levels are both predicted and observed for coarser fibres, up to a practical limit for the fibre diameter of the order of 0.5mm. Other deductions are also made concerning strategies for optimisation of the toughness of this type of material. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

Inverse Analysis Determining Interfacial Properties Between Metal Film And Ceramic Substrate With An Adhesive Layer

In the present study, peel tests and inverse analysis were performed to determine the interfacial mechanical parameters for the metal film/ceramic system with an epoxy interface layer between film and ceramic. Al films with a series of thicknesses between 20 and 250 mu m and three peel angles of 90 degrees, 135 degrees and 180 degrees were considered. A finite element model with the cohesive zone elements was used to simulate the peeling process. The finite element results were taken as the training data of a neural network in the inverse analysis. The interfacial cohesive energy and the separation strength can be determined based on the inverse analysis and peel experimental result.

Determination of interface properties between micron-thick metal film and ceramic substrate using peel test

Peel test measurements have been performed to estimate both the interface toughness and the separation strength between copper thin film and Al2O3 substrate with film thicknesses ranging between 1 and 15 mu m. An inverse analysis based on the artificial neural network method is adopted to determine the interface parameters. The interface parameters are characterized by the cohesive zone (CZ) model. The results of finite element simulations based on the strain gradient plasticity theory are used to train the artificial neural network. Using both the trained neural network and the experimental measurements for one test result, both the interface toughness and the separation strength are determined. Finally, the finite element predictions adopting the determined interface parameters are performed for the other film thickness cases, and are in agreement with the experimental results.

Investigations of cohesive zone properties of the interface between metal film and ceramic substrate at nano- and micro-scales

Cohesive zone characterizations of the interface between metal film and ceramic substrate at micro- and nano-scales are performed in the present research. At the nano-scale, a special potential for special material interface (Ag/MgO) is adopted to investigate the interface separation mechanism by using MD simulation, and stress-separation relationship will be obtained. At the micro-scale, peeling experiment is performed for the Al film/Al2O3 substrate system with an adhesive layer at the interface. Adhesive is a mixture of epoxy and polyimide with mass ratio 1:1, by which a brittle cohesive property is obtained. The relationships between energy release rate, the film thickness and the adhesive layer thickness are measured during the steady-state peeling. The experimental result has a similar trend as modeling result for a weak adhesion interface case.

Determination Of Interfacial Properties Between Metal Film And Ceramic Substrate With An Adhesive Layer

Peel test measurements and inverse analysis to determine the interfacial mechanical parameters for the metal film/ceramic system are performed, considering that there exist an epoxy interface layer between film and ceramic. In the present investigation, Al films with a series of thicknesses between 20 and 250 mu m and three peel angles of 90, 135 and 180 degrees are considered. A finite element model with the cohesive zone elements is used to simulate the peel test process. The finite element results are taken as the training data of a neural network in the inverse analysis. The interfacial cohesive energy and the separation strength can be determined based on the inverse analysis and peel experimental result. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Phase-separation suppression in GaN-rich side of GaNP alloys grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition

The GaN-rich side of GaNP ternary alloys has been successfully synthesized by light-radiation heating and low-pressure metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. X-ray diffraction (XRD) rocking curves show that the ( 0002) peak of GaNP shifts to a smaller angle with increasing P content. From the GaNP photoluminescence (PL) spectra, the red shifts from the band-edge emission of GaN are determined to be 73, 78 and 100 meV, respectively, in the GaNP alloys with the P contents of 1.5%, 5.5% and 7.5%. No PL peak or XRD peak related to GaP is observed, indicating that phase separation induced by the short-range distribution of GaP-rich regions in the GaNP layer has been effectively suppressed. The phase-separation suppression in the GaNP layer is associated with the high growth rate and the quick cooling rate under the given growth conditions, which can efficiently restrain the accumulation of P atoms in the GaNP layer.