The Effect of Plasma Pretreatment on the Morphology and Properties of Hitus Coatings

WC coatings prepared by High Target Utilization Sputtering (HITUS), a relatively new technology, were deposited on three types of substrates. These were silicon (111), steel (100Cr6), and ceramic (WC-Co). The influence of RF plasma power pretreatment on final properties of WC coatings was investigated with two interlayer materials for bonding. The morphology, roughness, and mechanical properties of coatings were studied. The relation between plasma RF power and roughness was found. No significant change in mechanical properties was detected with change in plasma RF power. The dependence of nanohardness and scratch behavior on HITUS WC coatings was investigated.

Evaluation of the Corrosion Resistance of WC-Co Coating on AZ91 Applied by Electro Spark Deposition

In order to enhance the surface properties of a magnesium-based substrate, WC-Co coating was applied on AZ91 alloy by electro spark deposition (ESD), successfully for the first time. The optimum parameters of the ESD process were achieved, based on the corrosion behavior and calculated corrosion rate of the coated samples when 5kHz and 25 A were chosen. For evaluation of the corrosion performance of the achieved WC-Co layers, polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests were carried out in the 3.5 wt % Na3PO4 solution at room temperature. Polarization results show that the corrosion rate (mpy) is in the optimum condition almost half of a bulk sample of uncoated AZ91. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) was used to examine the surface morphology of applied coatings. These results show that at a lower current, the amount of deposited WC-Co was reduced. The maximum surface microhardness obtained was 193 HV0.2.

Temperature-Dependent Electrical Characteristics of Disc-Shaped Compacts Fabricated using Calcined Eggshell Nano Powder and Dry Cassava Starch

Disc-shaped compacts were fabricated from two mix proportions of calcined eggshell nanopowder and dry cassava starch and then used as test samples. The electrical resistance (R), thermal sensitivity index (β) and electronic activation energy (Ea) of the samples measured over a temperature range from 35 to 75oC were found to decrease non-linearly in values with increasing temperature. It was also observed that the results obtained (R = 3.691E6 Ω – 6.210E7 Ω, β = 3812K – 5316K and Ea = 0.33 eV – 0.46 eV) fulfill market requirements by comparing very well with the established values for NTC thermistors. Hence, from manufacturing viewpoint, recycling of chicken eggshell wastes and cassava effluents can avail electronic industry with promising and alternative materials for fabrication of temperature sensing / monitoring / control devices suitable for engineering applications. This will also help to reduce environmental pollution.

Powder Metallurgy Manufacturing of Iron Aluminides with Different Aluminium Contents and Magnesium Addition by Reactive Hot Pressing

In this work, iron aluminide materials, which are promising candidates for high temperature applications, are manufactured through reactive hot pressing of elemental powder mixes, facilitating a straightforward preparation of well-densified materials with a high degree of microstructural homogeneity. The impact of varying Al additions on reaction behavior, microstructural and compositional features of the resulting materials is evaluated. Furthermore, the effect of adding 1 wt. % Mg on reactivity and phase formation is illustrated. The results show that reactive hot pressing of elemental powders in the Fe-Al and Fe-Al-Mg systems at 1000 °C results in residual porosities well below 5 %. Magnesium addition significantly increased reactivity between constituents, leading to slightly improved densification without exhibiting potentially detrimental segregation phenomena. The processing approach presented in this work leads to material characteristics which are promising in the context of developing materials with favorable mechanical and tribological performance at elevated temperatures.

Calcium Phosphate Cement Modified with Silicon Nitride/Tricalcium Phosphate Microgranules

Tetracalcium phosphate/monetite biocement was modified with 10 and 30 wt. % addition of highly porous silicon nitride/α-tricalcium phosphate (αTCP) microgranules with various content of αTCP. A composite cement powder mixture was prepared using mechanical homogenization of basic components. The accelerated release of dexamethasone from composite cement was revealed, which indicates their possible utilization for controlled drug release. The wet compressive strength of cements (<17 MPa) was significantly reduced (more than 30%) in comparison with the unmodified cement and both compressive strength and setting time were influenced by the content of αTCP in microgranules. The addition of microgranules caused a 20% decrease in final cement density. Microgranules with a higher fraction of αTCP showed good in vitro SBF bioactivity with precipitation of hydroxyapatite particles. Microstructure analysis of fractured cements demonstrated excellent interconnection between microgranules and cement calcium phosphate matrix, but also showed lower mechanical strength of microgranule cores.

Finishing of Tubes using Bonded Magnetic Abrasive Powder in an Abrasive Medium

Magnetic abrasive flow finishing (MAFF) is an unconventional process capable of producing fine finishing with machining forces controlled by a magnetic field. This process can be utilized for hard to achieve inner surfaces through the activity of extrusion pressure, combined with abrasion activity of a magnetic abrasive powder (MAP) in a polymeric medium. MAP is the key component in securing systematic removal of material and a decent surface finish in MAFF. The research background disclosed various methods such as sintering, adhesive based, mechanical alloying, plasma based, chemical, etc. for the production of bonded MAP. This investigation proposes bonded MAP produced by mechanical alloying followed by heat treatment. The experiments have been conducted on aluminum tubes to investigate the influence of different parameters like magnetic field density, extrusion pressure and number of working cycles. The bonded magnetic abrasive powder used in MAFF is very effective to finish tubes’ inner surfaces and finishing is significantly improved after processing.

Additive Manufacturing of Steel and Copper Using Fused Layer Modelling: Material and Process Development

Fused Layer Modelling (FLM) is one out of several material extrusion (ME) additive manufacturing (AM) methods. FLM usually deals with processing of polymeric materials but can also be used to process metal-filled polymeric systems to produce metallic parts. Using FLM for this purpose helps to save costs since the FLM hardware is cheap compared to e.g. direct metal laser processing hardware, and FLM offers an alternative route to the production of metallic components.To produce metallic parts by FLM, the methodology is different from direct metal processing technologies, and several processing steps are required: First, filaments consisting of a special polymer-metal composition are produced. The filament is then transformed into shaped parts by using FLM process technology. Subsequently the polymeric binder is removed (”debinding”) and finally the metallic powder body is sintered. Depending on the metal powder used, the binder composition, the FLM production parameters and also the debinding and sintering processes must be carefully adapted and optimized.The focal points of this study are as following:1. To confirm that metallic parts can be produced by using FLM plus debinding and sintering as an alternative route to direct metal additive manufacturing.2. Determination of process parameters, depending on the used metal powders (steel and copper) and optimization of each process step.3. Comparison of the production paths for the different metal powders and their debinding and sintering behavior as well as the final properties of the produced parts.The results showed that both materials were printable after adjusting the FLM parameters, metallic parts being produced for both metal powder systems. The production method and the sintering process worked out well for both powders. However there are specific challenges in the sintering process that have to be overcome to produce high quality metal parts. This study serves as a fundamental basis for understanding when it comes to the processing of steel and copper powder into metallic parts using FLM processing technology.

Supersolidus Sintering of Cr Prealloyed Steels by Inductive Heating

For powder metallurgy products, high density is an essential requirements to obtain maximum mechanical properties. Here, supersolidus liquid phase sintering (SSPLS) is an effective means to attain high sintered density, as known from PM high speed steels. In the present work it is shown that this technique can also be applied to Cr prealloyed low alloy steel grades. Supersolidus sintering through indirect heating requires precise control of temperature and also the atmosphere, to avoid uncontrolled changes of the carbon level. Higher C contents are beneficial here since they enable lower temperatures and result in wider temperature windows for sintering. The temperatures necessary for SSLPS at moderate C levels are fairly high for standard sintering furnaces, therefore induction sintering was studied in this work. It showed that, as was to be expected, also here precise temperature control is required, but for any carbon level tested a sintering temperature could be identified that yielded high sintered density and good shape retention. The high density attained, in combination with the very high temperatures, results in pronounced grain growth, this process no more being inhibited by the presence of pores, which is undesirable but can however be remedied by suitable heat treatment.

Preparation, Microstructure Evaluation and Performance Analysis of Diamond-Iron Bonded Magnetic Abrasive Powder

The customary edged tool for machining is uneconomical for harder and hard to machine materials and furthermore the level of surface finish accomplished is not that great. As of late, a lot of consideration in mechanical engineering has been centered on finishing tasks. Not many investigations have been accounted for till date on the advancement of substitute magnetic abrasive powder (MAP). In this paper, to improve the finishing performance, the abrasive powder were prepared by mechanical alloying of diamond powder and iron (Fe) powder, compacting these with universal testing machine (UTM) and then sintered at different temperature in a sintering machine in an inert gas (H2) atmosphere. These compacts were crushed and sieved to obtain various sizes of MAP. This abrasive powder were micro-structurally examined. The results indicate that the densification increases and porosity decreases with increasing temperature. Moreover, the prepared bonded MAP has potential performance as a new MAP for fine finishing in Magnetic Abrasive Flow Machining (MAFM) process.