Triply-periodic balance surfaces

The list of possible G-H symmetries for triply-periodic balance surfaces, given by Koch and Fischer, is studied with a view to finding new types. It is found that balance surfaces exist for all the cases that were labelled as undecided in the work of Koch and Fischer. For some of these, new minimal surfaces have been found, with the aid of Brakke's 'Surface Evolver'. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.

Unstable flow during hot deformation of Ti-24Al-20Nb alloy

Unstable flow during hot deformation of an alpha(2) titanium aluminide alloy Ti-24Al-20Nb alloy was analysed using two criteria, one of which was developed by Jonas and the other by Kalyankumar. Workability maps were constructed using the alpha parameter as suggested by Semiatin and Lahoti and instability maps were constructed based on the stability parameter xi(epsilon) as suggested by Kalyankumar. Microstructural study was carried out on deformed specimens to validate the two criteria. The results of the two criteria were compared. The particular case of highly negative alpha values has been discussed in detail and it is shown that these correspond to regions of unstable flow.

Influence of foam/glass-epoxy interface on the macroscopic compressive failure features

The effect on the macroscopic compressive failure features of introduction of two flexible foam layers, either together at mid-region or separately at two locations that are away from the midregion, into a glass-epoxy (G-E) system is studied in this work. In this experimental approach an attempt to look at the possible influence the foam/G-E interface region has on the way the materials respond to compressive loading is made by involving an analyses of macrofractographic features. While foam-free samples fail by extensive ear formation and separation nearer to the mid-region, the foam bearing ones display pronounced interface separation. The positioning of the foam sheet(s) has a bearing on the failure features.

Local environmental structures of Mo in the superionic conducting glass (AgI)(0.6)(Ag2MoO4)(0.4) by anomalous X-ray scattering

The anomalous X-ray scattering (AXS) method using Mo K absorption edges has been employed for obtaining the local structural information of superionic conducting glass having the composition (AgI)(0.6)(Ag2MoO4)(0.4). The possible atomic arrangements in the near-neighbor region of this glass were estimated by coupling the results with the least-squares variational analysis so as to reproduce the differential intensity profile for Mo as well as the ordinary scattering profile. The coordination number of oxygen around Mo is found to be about 4 at the distance of 0.180 mn. This implies that the most probable structural entity in the glass is the MoO4 tetrahedral unit which has been proposed based on infrared spectroscopy. The value of the coordination number of I- around Ag+ is estimated as 4.4 at 0.287 nm, suggesting an arrangement similar to that of crystalline or molten AgI.

Magnetic properties of mechanically alloyed nanocrystalline Ni3Fe

Disordered nanocrystalline Ni3Fe alloy was prepared by mechanical alloying of elemental powders. X-ray diffractograms show the formation of Ni3Fe single phase. The chemical composition and morphology of the powder have been obtained by using EDAX and SEM analysis respectively. While the saturation magnetisation decreases with milling time, the coercivity increases. The width of the hyperfine field distributions obtained from Mossbauer studies shows that the alloy is highly disordered Atomic ordering is found to take place at a faster rate compared to that in the bulk alloy. (C) 1999 Acta Metallurgica Inc.

Role of indenter angle on the plastic deformation underneath a sharp indenter and on representative strains: An experimental and numerical study

The subsurface microhardness mapping technique of Chaudhri was utilized to determine the shape, size and distribution of plastic strain underneath conical indenters of varying semi-apex angles, alpha (55 degrees, 65 degrees and 75 degrees). Results show that the elastic-plastic boundary under the indenters is elliptical in nature, contradicting the expanding cavity model, and the ellipticity increases with alpha. The maximum plastic strain immediately under the indenter was found to decrease with increasing alpha. Complementary finite-element analysis was conducted to examine the ability of simulations to capture the experimental observations. A comparison of computational and experimental results indicates that the plastic strain distributions as well as the maximum strains immediately beneath the indenter do not match, suggesting that simulation of sharp indentation requires further detailed studies for complete comprehension. Representative strains, epsilon(r), evaluated as the volume-average strains within the elastic-plastic boundary, decrease with increasing alpha and are in agreement with those estimated by using the dimensional analysis. (C) 2011 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mean field lattice model for adsorption isotherms in zeolite NaA

Using a lattice model for adsorption in microporous materials, pure component adsorption isotherms are obtained within a mean field approximation for methane at 300 K and xenon at 300 and 360 K in zeolite NaA. It is argued that the increased repulsive adsorbate-adsorbate interactions at high coverages must play an important role in determining the adsorption behavior. Therefore, this feature is incorporated through a "coverage-dependent interaction'' model, which introduces a free, adjustable parameter. Another important feature, the site volume reduction, has been treated in two ways: a van der Waal model and a 1D hard-rod theory [van Tassel et al., AIChE J. 40, 925 (1994)]; we have also generalized the latter to include all possible adsorbate overlap scenarios. In particular, the 1D hard-rod model, with our coverage-dependent interaction model, is shown to be in best quantitative agreement with the previous grand canonical Monte Carlo isotherms. The expressions for the isosteric heats of adsorption indicate that attractive and repulsive adsorbate-adsorbate interactions increase and decrease the heats of adsorption, respectively. It is concluded that within the mean field approximation, our simple model for repulsive interactions and the 1D hard-rod model for site volume reduction are able to capture most of the important features of adsorption in confined regions. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-9606(99)70515-5].

Regarding the effect of aging heat treatment on the failure behaviour of a SiC reinforced Al based metal matrix composite

In the present study, 6061 Al metallic matrix was reinforced by 12.2 wt% df SiC particulates using liquid metallurgy route. The composite material thus obtained was extruded and characterized in the as-solutionized and peak aged conditions in order to delineate the effect of aging associated precipitation of secondary phases on the tensile fracture behavior of the composite samples. The results' of microstructural characterization studies carried out using scanning electron microscope revealed the increased presence of precipitated secondary phases in the metallic matrix and a more pronounced interfacial segregation of alloying elements in case of peak aged samples when compared to the as-solutionized samples. The results of the fractographic studies conducted on the as-solutionized samples revealed that the failure was dominated by the SiC particulates cracking while for the peak aged samples the fracture surface revealed a comparatively more pronounced SiC/6061 Al debonding and reduced SiC particulates cracking. This change in the failure behavior was rationalized in terms of embrittlement of the interfacial region brought about by the aging heat treatment and is correlated, in addition, with the mechanical properties of the composite samples in as-solutionized and peak aged conditions.

Micro and macroscopic features of impact failed defect induced carbon-epoxy composites

Laminated composite structures are susceptible to damage under impacts with attendant properly degradation. While studies on damage tolerance behaviour are emphasised and the findings reported, the citations correlating impacts with the fracture features are limited. In the present study, therefore, attempts have been made to depict how the transition of the fracture features take place depending on the type and extent of defect introduced onto the carbon-epoxy system. The test specimens were subjected to differing levels of low energy pendulum impacts with a view to have specimens with varying levels of intial impacts history. Into such specimens, additional defect in the form of slits of varying depths were introduced by a mechanical process. The test coupons were then allowed to fail by impact. The fracture surface was studied under scanning electron microscope. The fractographic features that appear, based on the induced/inserted defects, are presented in this paper. It was noticed that the energy absorbed for final fracture could be associated with the defect introduced into the system. It was also observed that the size of the mechanically inserted defect had a significant influence on the features of the fracture surface.

Microstructural evolution and giant magnetoresistance in melt spun and annealed Cu-85(FeCo)(15) alloy

Granular alloys of Cu with FeCo were prepared by the melt-spinning technique. The alloy was characterized by x-ray, transmission electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometer, and magnetoresistance measurements. The alloys were heat treated for different temperatures to optimize the magnetoresistance properties. Structural characterization reveals that the FeCo phase initially precipitates out as fcc and later transforms to the bcc structure by martensitic transformation. It is seen that the trend in the magnetoresistance properties is different for the measurements carried out at room temperature and 4.2 K. This has been attributed to the transformation of fine fcc precipitates to the bcc structure during the low temperature measurements. It is seen that the presence of fine particles causes an increase in the field for saturation and is not suitable for applications where moderate field giant magnetoresistance is required. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(99)08317-6].

Sliding wear studies in epoxy containing alumina powders

The effect of hard and refractory alumina additions on the mechanical properties of polymer in general and wear behavior in particular is not well studied. In this work, therefore, the changes in wear behavior of epoxy resin due to the additions of alumina powders have been looked into. Using a pin-on-disc set up, dry sliding wear tests were done on both filled (4, 8, & 11 wt. % alumina) and unfilled samples. A sliding velocity of 0.83 m/sec. and a sliding distance of 2 km were employed for the study. Load range used varied from 9.8 N to about 29 N. The experiments point to an increased resistance to wear with an increased presence of filler in the matrix. Further, higher loads result in larger loss of material irrespective of the filler level in the composite.

Nanoscale embedded alloy particles through rapid solidification: the case of Al-Pb-In and Cu-Fe-Si

Rapid solidification techniques can be used to produce the embedded nanoparticles in a desired matrix. The origin and morphology of these small particles and their transformation behaviour are still not fully understood. In this paper, we discuss the issues involved and present some interesting results in Al-Pb-In and Cu-Fe-Si systems.

Role of corundum-adapted strains of Bacillus polymyxa in the separation of hematite and alumina

Strains of Bacillus polymyxa, preadapted and grown in the presence of corundum, were found to be capable of the efficient separation of hematite from alumina. Results of rests peformed using binary hematite-corundum and ternary hematite-quartz-corundum mixtures in the presence of cells and metabolic products separated from the adapted bacterial culture indicated that more than 99% of the hematite could he efficiently separated through selective flocculation after desliming. It was found that alumina-specific bioproteins and other nonproteinaceous compounds were secreted by bacterial cells after adaptation to the mineral. The utility of this bioprocessing is demonstrated in the removal of iron from bauxite ores through selective flocculation in the presence of the adapted bacteria.

Studies on grinding media wear and its effect on flotation of ferrugenous phosphate ore

Marked ball grinding rests were carried out in the laboratory with a low grade phosphate ore under different experimental conditions. Two types of balls were used, namely high carbon low alloy (HCLA) cast steel and high chrome cast iron. Results of marked ball grinding tests indicated that ball wear increased with time and showed a sharp increase for wet grinding over dry grinding. Ball wear under wet grinding conditions was also influenced by the gaseous atmosphere in the mill. The grinding ball materials could be arranged in the following order with respect to their overall wear resistance: High chrome cast iron > HCLA cast steel balls Methods to minimize ball wear through control of mill atmosphere and addition of flotation reagents are discussed. Effect of grinding media and additions of flotation reagents during grinding on phosphate ore flotation are also discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Studies on indentation fracture toughness on ceramic and ceramic composite using acoustic emission technique

This paper is aimed at investigating the acoustic emission activities during indentation toughness tests on an alumina based wear resistant ceramic and 25 wt% silicon carbide whisker (SIC,) reinforced alumina composite. It has been shown that the emitted acoustic emission signals characterize the crack growth during loading. and unloading cycles in an indentation test. The acoustic emission results indicate that in the case of the composite the amount of crack growth during unloading is higher than that of loading, while the reverse is true in case of the wear resistant ceramics. Acoustic emission activity observed in wear resistant ceramic is less than that in the case of composite. An attempt has been made to correlate the acoustic emission signals with crack growth during indentation test.