WC-CoCr coatings sprayed by high velocity oxygen-fuel (HVOF) flame on AA7050 aluminum alloy: electrochemical behavior in 3.5% NaCl solution

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Electrochemical studies with a Cu-5wt.%Ni alloy in 0.5 M H2SO4

The electrochemical behavior of the annealed Cu-5wt.%Ni alloy in 0.5 M H2SO4 was studied by means of open-circuit potential (E-OCP) measurements, cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and quasi-stationary linear potential sweep. The hydrodynamics of the system was also studied. This material is constituted by a single a, phase. The anodic behavior of a Cu-Ni alloy in H2SO4 consists fundamentally on the electrodissolution of Cu, its main component, and the formation of a sulfur-containing passive layer. The presence of Ni decreases the rate of Cu oxidation, mostly at high positive potentials. The impedance spectra, obtained for the unrotating electrode, can be interpreted in terms of a simple charge-transfer reaction across a surface layer. When the electrode is rotated, the occurrence of an inductive loop evidenced the existence of an adsorbed layer. All the resistance estimated from the proposed equivalent circuits diminished with the electrode rotation rate, emphasizing the influence of ion transport in the overall electrode process. The system presented two anodic Tafel slopes: 40 mV dec(-1) for E < 255 mV and 67 mV dec(-1) for E > 275 mV. A Tafel slope of 40 mV dec(-1) evidences that copper dissolution can be interpreted in terms of the mechanism proposed by Mattsson and Bockris. The second Tafel suggests that at potentials more positive than 275 mV, copper dissolves according to a mechanism that considers the disproportionation of adsorbed Cu(1) species. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electrochemical Behavior of Cu-9% Al-5% Ni-2% Mn Alloy in Chloride Media

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

On the electrochemical behavior of Cu-16%Zn-6.5%Al alloy containing the β'-phase (martensite) in borate buffer

In this work, the electrochemical behavior of Cu-16(wt.%)Zn-6.5(wt.%)Al alloy containing the β'-phase (martensite) was studied in borate buffer solution (pH 8.4) by means of open-circuit potential (EOC), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The alloy EOC was -0.29 V vs. Hg/HgO/OH-, similar to that of pure copper in this medium, indicating that the processes which occur on the alloy surface are mainly governed by copper. EIS response was related to the dielectric and transmission properties of the complex oxide layer. The CVs showed peaks concerning the redox reactions for copper and zinc. These peaks were assigned to the formation and reduction of copper and zinc species. Furthermore, they showed that the copper oxidation was suppressed by the presence of zinc and aluminum in the alloy composition. The copper and zinc oxidation to form complex oxide layers and the reduction of the different metallic oxides generated in the anodic potential scan suggest that a solid state reaction could determine the metallic oxide formation. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bainitic precipitation in the Cu-9 wt.%Al-4 wt.%Mn-5 wt.%Ag alloy

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Influence of thermal parameters on the dendritic arm spacing and the microhardness of Al-5.5wt.%Sn alloy directionally solidified

As ligas Al-Sn são amplamente utilizados em aplicações tribológicas. Nesse estudo, análises térmica, microestrutural e dureza (HV) foram realizadas ao longo de um lingote da liga Al-5,5%Sn, obtido por solidificação direcional horizontal transitória. Os principais parâmetros analisados incluem a velocidade de deslocamento da isoterma liquidus (V_L) e a taxa de resfriamento (T_R). Esses parâmetros térmicos desempenham um papel fundamental na formação da microestrutura. A microestrutura dendrítica foi caracterizada através dos espaçamentos dentríticos primários (λ₁), os quais foram determinados, experimentalmente, e correlacionados com V_L, e T_R. O comportamento apresentado pela liga Al- 5,5% Sn, durante a solidificação,é semelhante ao de outras ligas de alumínio, isto é, observa-se rede dendrítica mais grosseira com a diminuição da taxa de resfriamento, indicando que a imiscibilidade entre o alumínio e estanho não tem um efeito significativo sobre o relação entre o espaçamento dendrítico primário e taxa de resfriamento. A dependência da microdureza em V_L, T_R e no λ₁ foi também analisada. Verificaram-se menores valores de HV para maiores T_R. Por outro lado, os valores HV aumentam com valores crescentes de λ₁.

Compressive behaviour of nanocrystallilne Mg-5%Al alloys

Magnesium alloys are attracting increasing research interests due to their low density, high specific strength and good mechineability and availability as compared to other structural materials. However, the deformation and failure mechanisms of nanocrystalline Mg alloys have not been well understood. In this work, the deformation behavior of nanocrystalline Mg-5% Al alloys was investigated using compression test, with a focus on the effects of grain size. The average grain size of the Mg-Al alloy was changed from 13 µm to 50 nm via mechanical milling. The results showed that grain size had a significant influence on the yield stress and ductility of the Mg alloys, and the materials exhibited increased strain rate sensitivity with decrease of grain size. The deformation mechanisms were also strongly dependent with the grain sizes.

The electrochemical corrosion behaviour of quaternary gold alloys when exposed to 3.5% NaCl solution

Lower carat gold alloys, specifically 9 carat gold alloys, containing less than 40 % gold, and alloying additions of silver, copper and zinc, are commonly used in many jewellery applications, to offset high costs and poor mechanical properties associated with pure gold. While gold is considered to be chemically inert, the presence of active alloying additions raises concerns about certain forms of corrosion, particularly selective dissolution of these alloys. The purpose of this study was to systematically study the corrosion behaviour of a series of quaternary gold–silver–copper–zinc alloys using dc potentiodynamic scanning in saline (3.5 % NaCl) environment. Full anodic/cathodic scans were conducted to determine the overall corrosion characteristics of the alloy, followed by selective anodic scans and subsequent morphological and compositional analysis of the alloy surface and corroding media to determine the extent of selective dissolution. Varying degrees of selective dissolution and associated corrosion rates were observed after anodic polarisation in 3.5 % NaCl, depending on the alloy composition. The corrosion behaviour of the alloys was determined by the extent of anodic reactions which induce (1) formation of oxide scales on the alloy surface and or (2) dissolution of Zn and Cu species. In general, the improved corrosion characteristics of alloy #3 was attributed to the composition of Zn/Cu in the alloy and thus favourable microstructure promoting the formation of protective oxide/chloride scales and reducing the extent of Cu and Zn dissolution.

Nanostructured high strength Mg-5%Al-x%Nd alloys prepared by mechanical alloying

Nanostructured high strength Mg-5%Al-x%Nd alloys were prepared by mechanical alloying. Microstructural characterization reveled average crystalline size to be about 30 nm after mechanical alloying while it increased to about 90 nm after sintering and extrusion. Mechanical properties showed increase in 0.2% yield stress, ultimate tensile strength was attributed to reduction in gain size as well as to the enhanced diffusion after mechanical activation. Although ultra high yield stress was observed from the specimen with 5% Nd, its ductility was reduced to about 1.6%.

Growth and electron effective mass measurements of strained Si and Si0.94Ge0.06 on relaxed Si0.62Ge0.38 buffers grown by rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition

Abstract: We report the growth and the electron cyclotron resonance measurements of n-type Si/Si0.62Ge0.38 and Si0.94Ge0.06/Si0.62Ge0.38 modulation-doped heterostructures grown by rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition. The strained Si and Si0.94Ge0.06 channels were grown on relaxed Si0.62Ge0.38 buffer layers, which consist of 0.6 mu m uniform Si0.62Ge0.38 layers and 0.5 mu m compositionally graded relaxed SiGe layers from 0 to 38% Ge. The buffer layers were annealed at 800 degrees C for 1 h to obtain complete relaxation. A 75 Angstrom Si(SiGe) channel with a 100 Angstrom spacer and a 300 Angstrom 2 X 10(19) cm(-3) n-type supply layer was grown on the top of the buffer layers. The cross-sectional transmission electron microscope reveals that the dense dislocation network is confined to the buffer layer, and relatively few dislocations terminate on the surface. The plan-view image indicates the threading dislocation density is about 4 X 10(6) cm(-2). The far-infrared measurements of electron cyclotron resonance were performed at 4 K with the magnetic field of 4-8 T. The effective masses determined from the slope of the center frequency of the absorption peak versus applied magnetic field plot are 0.203m(0) and 0.193m(0) for the two dimensional electron gases in the Si and Si0.94Ge0.06 channels, respectively. The Si effective mass is very close to that of a two dimensional electron gas in an Si MOSFET (0.198m(0)). The electron effective mass of Si0.94Ge0.06 is reported for the first time and is about 5% lower than that of pure Si.

The effect of ball milling on the melting behavior of Sn-Cu-Ag eutectic alloy

Sn-Ag-Cu (SAC) solder alloys are the best Pb free alternative for electronic industry. Since their introduction, efforts are made to improve their efficacies by tuning the processing and composition to achieve lower melting point and better wettability. Nanostructured alloys with large boundary content are known to depress the melting points of metals and alloys. In this article we explore this possibility by processing prealloyed SAC alloys close to SAC305 composition (Sn-3wt%Ag-0.5wt%Cu) by mechanical milling which results in the formation of nanostructured alloys. Pulverisette ball mill (P7) and Vibratory ball mills are used to carry out the milling of the powders at room temperature and at lower temperatures (-104 A degrees C), respectively. We report a relatively smaller depression of melting point ranging up to 5 A degrees C with respect to original alloys. The minimum grain sizes achieved and the depression of melting point are similar for both room temperature and low-temperature processed samples. An attempt has been made to rationalize the observations in terms of the basic processes occurring during the milling.

Fluidity of mica particle dispersed aluminium alloy

Cast aluminium alloy-mica particle composites were made by dispersing mica particles in a vortex produced by stirring the liquid Al-4 wt% Cu-1.5 wt% Mg alloy and then casting the melt containing the suspended particles into permanent moulds. Spiral fluidity and casting fluidity of the alloy containing mica particles in suspension were determined. Both the spiral fluidity and the casting fluidity of the base alloy were found to decrease with an increase in volume or weight percent of mica particles (of a given size), and with a decrease in particle size (for a given amount of particles). The fluidities of Al-4 wt% Cu-1.5 wt% Mg alloys containing suspended mica particles were found to correlate very well with the surface area of suspended mica particles. The regression equation for spiral fluidity Y (cm) as a function of surface area of mica particles per gram of spiral X (cm2 g–1) at 700° C was found to be Y=42.62–0.42X with a correlation coefficient of 0.9634. The regression equations for casting fluidity Yprime (cm) as a functiono of surface area of mica particles per gram of fluidity test piece Xprime (cm2 g–1) at 710 and 670° C were found to be Yprime=19.71–0.17Xprime and Yprime=13.52–0.105Xprime with correlation coefficients of 0.9194 and 0.9612 respectively. The percentage decrease in casting fluidity of composite melts containing up to 2.5 wt% mica with a drop in temperature is quite similar to the corresponding decrease in the casting fluidity of base alloy melts (without mica). The change in fluidity due to mica dispersions has been discussed in terms of changes in viscosity of the composite melts. However, the fluidities of these composite alloys containing up to 2.5 wt% mica are adequate for making a variety of simple castings including bearings for which these alloys have been developed.