Crystallization behavior of (Cu60Zr30Ti10)(99)Sn-1 bulk metallic glass

The crystallization behavior and crystallization kinetics Of (CU60Zr30Ti10)(99)Sn-1 bulk metallic glass was studied by X-ray diffractometry and differential scanning calorimetry. It was found that a two-stage crystallization took place during continuous heating of the bulk metallic glass. Both the glass transition temperature T-g and the crystallization peak temperatures T-p displayed a strong dependence on the heating rate. The activation energy was determined by the Kissinger analysis method. In the first-stage of the crystallization, the transformation of the bulk metallic glass to the phase one occurred with an activation energy of 386 kJ/mol; in the second-stage, the formation of the phase two took place at an activation energy of 381 kJ/mol.

Sintering of maraging steel with phosphorous additions

The aim Of this study was to develop a steel powder system for rapid tooling applications. The properties required are rapid densification, dimensional precision. high mechanical strength and corrosion resistance. To this end. the densification and microstructural development of a loose packed 200 grade maraging steel powder sintered with ferrophosphorous additions was examined. Liquid initially formed from a reaction of the Fe3P and carbon, which was a residue of the polymeric binder used to shape the powder compact. This liquid caused a burst of sintering which ceased as the liquid dissipated. On further heating, a phosphorous rich supersolidus liquid appeared at triple points and grain boundaries leading to rapid densification and a sintered density of 98%.

Boundary element method predictions of the influence of the electrolyte on the galvanic corrosion of AZ91D coupled to steel

This research investigated the galvanic corrosion of the magnesium alloy AZ91D coupled to steel. The galvanic current distribution was measured in 5% NaCl solution, corrosive water and an auto coolant. The experimental measurements were compared with predictions from a Boundary Element Method (BEM) model. The boundary condition, required as an input into the BEM model, needs to be a polarization curve that accurately reflects the corrosion process. Provided that the polarization curve does reflect steady state, the BEM model is expected to be able to reflect steady state galvanic corrosion.

XPS study of basic aluminum sulphate and basic aluminium nitrate

Basic aluminium sulphate and nitrate crystals were prepared by forced hydrolysis of aluminium salt solution followed by precipitation with a sulphate solution or by evaporation for the basic aluminium nitrate. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) confirms the chemical composition determined by ICP-AES in earlier work. High resolution XPS scans of the individual elements allow the identification of both the central (AlO4)-Al-IV group and the 12 aluminium octahedra in the [IVAlO4AlVI(OH)(24)(H2O)(12)] building unit by two Al 2p transitions with binding energies of 73.7 and 74.2 eV in both the basic aluminium sulphate and nitrate. Four different types of oxygen atoms were identified in the basic aluminium sulphate associated with the central AlO4, OH, H2O and SO4 groups in the crystal structure with transitions at 529.4, 530.1, 530.7 and 531.8 eV, respectively. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Equivalence between two-mode spin squeezed states and pure entangled states with equal spin

We prove that a pure entangled state of two subsystems with equal spin is equivalent to a two-mode spin-squeezed state under local operations except for a set of bipartite states with measure zero, and provide a counterexample to the generalization of this result to two subsystems of unequal spin.

A study on transition of iron from active into passive state

An investigation was carried out on the transition of an iron electrode from active to passive state in a sulphuric acid solution. It was found that the active-passive transition was an auto-catalytic process in which a pre-passive film grew on the electrode surface. The growing pre-passive film had a fractal edge whose dimension was affected by the applied passivating potential and the presence of chlorides in the solution. Applying a more positive passivating potential led to a faster active-passive transition and resulted in a more irregular pre-passive film. If chlorides were introduced into the sulphuric acid solution, the active-passive transition became more rapid and the pre-passive film more irregular. Apart from the influence on the growth of the pre-passive film, the presence of chlorides in the passivating solution was found to deteriorate the stability of the final passive film. All these phenomena can be understood if the passivating iron electrode is regarded as a dissipative system. To explain these results, a fractal pre-film model is proposed in this paper. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Corrosion of magnesium alloys in commercial engine coolants

A number of magnesium alloys show promise as engine block materials. However, a critical issue for the automotive industry is corrosion of the engine block by the coolant and this could limit the use of magnesium engine blocks. This work assesses the corrosion performance of conventional magnesium alloy AZ91D and a recently developed engine block magnesium alloy AM-SC1 in several commercial coolants. Immersion testing, hydrogen evolution measurement, galvanic current monitoring and the standard ASTM D1384 test were employed to reveal the corrosion performance of the magnesium alloys subjected to the coolants. The results show that the tested commercial coolants are corrosive to the magnesium alloys in terms of general and galvanic corrosion. The two magnesium alloys exhibited slightly different corrosion resistance to the coolants with AZ91D being more corrosion resistant than AM-SC1. The corrosivity varied from coolant to coolant. Generally speaking. an oraganic-acid based long life coolant was less corrosive to the magnesium alloys than a traditional coolant. Among the studied commercial coolants. Toyota long, life coolant appeared to be the most promising one. In addition. it was found that potassium fluoride effectively inhibited corrosion of the magnesium alloys in the studied commercial coolants. Both general and galvanic corrosion rates were significantly decreased by addition of KF, and there were no evident side effects on the other engine block materials, such as copper, solder. brass. steel and aluminium alloys, in terms of their corrosion performance. The ASTM D 1384 test further confirmed these results and suggested that Toyota long life coolant with 1%wt KF addition is a promising coolant for magnesium engine blocks.

Atom probe field ion microscope measurements of carbon segregation at an a:a grain boundary and service failures by intergranular stress corrosion cracking

This work reports on a critical measurement to understand the intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) of pipeline steels: the atom probe field ion microscope (APFIM) measurement of the carbon concentration at a grain boundary (GB). The APFIM measurement was related to the microstructure and to IGSCC observations. The APFIM indicated that the GB carbon concentration of X70 was similar to 10 at% or less, which correlated with a high resistance to IGSCC for X70. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Corrosion Performance of Magnesium Alloy AM-SC1 in Automotive Engine Block Applications

The magnesium alloy AM-SC1 has been developed as a creep-resistant automotive engine block material. This paper outlines its corrosion performance under laboratory test conditions, considering corrosion on both the external and internal surfaces. This study found that AM-SC1 has a corrosion performance comparable to AZ91 when subjected to an aggressive salt-spray environment or in galvanic-coupling environments. This article further demonstrates that, with the appropriate selection of a commercially available engine coolant, the internal corrosion of AM-SC1 can be maintained at a tolerable level. In addition, internal corrosion resistance can be significantly improved by the addition of fluorides to the coolant solution. It is concluded that AM-SC1 can be successfully used in an engine environment provided that some simple corrosion-prevention strategies are adopted.

Microstructure of MmM(5)/Mg multi-layer films prepared by magnetron sputtering

Microstructure of MmNi(3.5)(CoAlMn)(1.5)/Mg (here Mm denotes La-rich mischmetal) multi-layer hydrogen storage thin films prepared by direct current magnetron sputtering was investigated by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM). It was shown that the MMM5 layers are composed of two regions: an amorphous region with a thickness of similar to 4nm at the bottom of the layers and a randomly orientated nanocrystallite region on the top of the amorphous region and the Mg layers consist of typical columnar crystallite with their [001] direction nearly parallel to the growth direction. The mechanism for the formation of the above microstructure characteristics in the multi-layer thin films has been proposed. Based on the microstructure feature of the multi-layer films, mechanism for the apparent improvement of hydrogen absorption/desorption kinetics was discussed. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Thermal stability of ion-implanted ZnO

Zinc oxide single crystals implanted at room temperature with high-dose (1.4x10(17) cm(-2)) 300 keV As+ ions are annealed at 1000-1200 degrees C. Damage recovery is studied by a combination of Rutherford backscattering/channeling spectrometry (RBS/C), cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM), and atomic force microscopy. Results show that such a thermal treatment leads to the decomposition and evaporation of the heavily damaged layer instead of apparent defect recovery and recrystallization that could be inferred from RBS/C and XTEM data alone. This study shows that heavily damaged ZnO has relatively poor thermal stability compared to as-grown ZnO which is a significant result and has implications for understanding results on thermal annealing of ion-implanted ZnO. (c) 2005 Americian Institute of Physics.

Microhardness mapping and the hardness-yield strength relationship in high-pressure diecast magnesium alloy AZ91

Microhardness maps of cross-sections of high-pressure diecast test bars of AZ91 have been determined. Specimens with rectangular cross-sections, 1, 2 and 3 mm thick, or with a circular cross-section 6.4 mm in diameter, have been studied. The hardness is generally higher near the edges in all specimens, and more so near the corners of the rectangular specimens. The hardness at the center of the castings is generally lower, due to a coarser solidification microstructure and the concentration of porosity. The evidence confirms that the surface of the castings is harder than the core, but it does not support the concept of a skin with a sharp. and definable boundary. This harder layer is irregular in hardness and depth and is not equally hard on opposite sides of the casting. The mean hardness obtained by integrating the microhardness maps over the entire cross-section increased with decreasing thickness of the bars, and was found to be in good correlation with each bar's yield strength. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.