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The influence of precipitated nanophases on the mechanical properties of Fe-based amorphous nanocrystalline alloys is an urgent issue to be explored. Two amorphous nanocrystalline alloys, i.e., (Fe0.9Ni0.1)86B14 and (Fe0.7Ni0.3)86B14 containing nanophase of the body-centered cubic and face-centered cubic structures, respectively, were selected to investigate the effect of the structure and volume fraction of nanophase on their mechanical properties. The results of nanoindentation experiments and the calculation of the volume and size of the shear transition zone reveal that the two alloys show different mechanical properties. When the volume fraction of the nanophase in (Fe0.9Ni0.1)86B14 is larger than 50%, the elastic modulus is increased suddenly and the volume and size of the shear transition zone is decreased dramatically, while no dramatic change occurs in (Fe0.7Ni0.3)86B14. Moreover, it was found by using molecular dynamics simulations that the main reason for these abnormal mechanical properties is the change of cluster type in the system due to the incorporation of nanophases with different structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of doping ceramic reinforcing particles during the fabrication of amorphous alloy coatings by laser cladding technology has rarely been investigated. A crack-free Fe-based amorphous/crystalline composite coating with good tribological properties was prepared on the surface of 40Cr steel by changing the content of WC–14Co addition during laser cladding. As the content of WC–14Co particles increases, cracks in the coating are first suppressed until gradually disappearing and then re-forming, reaching a crack-free state at 5 wt% addition. SEM, TEM and EBSD results showed that the incorporation of WC–14Co successfully introduced fine WC particles into the coating structure and refined the microstructure of the coating. The Vickers hardness of the coating is 937.7 Hv, and the wear loss of the coating was 1.1 × 10–2 mm3 at a load of 30 N, a friction counterpart of Al2O3, and a sliding speed of 9 mm/s for 1.5 h. The crack-free and good tribological properties of the coating were mainly attribute to the uniform and diffuse distribution of WC, which inhibits the directional growth of columnar crystals at the coating–substrate interface and promotes the refinement of the crystal structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metallic glasses (MGs) with unique disordered atomic stacking structures exhibit excellent catalytic performance in wastewater treatment. The catalytic degradation of Orange II (AO II) aqueous solutions by four CuZr-based MG ribbons under such processing parameters as pH values, the dosage of ribbons, and temperature was investigated in this paper. The catalytic performance of the MG ribbons was characterized by using the degradation efficiency of the dye wastewater. The phase constituent, surface morphology, and chemical valence state of elements on the surface of MG ribbons before and after use were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. The results indicate that the Cu46Zr42Al7Y5 MG ribbon has the best catalytic performance among the Cu46Zr47-xAl7Yx (x = 0, 1, 3, 5) MGs in the degradation process, and the dye in the wastewater can almost be completely decolorized within 60 min under the conditions of pH = 2, the dosage of ribbons being 1.8 g/L and water bath temperature of 313 K, with the degradation efficiency and chemical oxygen demand removal being 96.05% and 51.73%, respectively. Furthermore, the Cu46Zr42Al7Y5 MG ribbon still shows superior structural stability and degradation performance after repeated use, and the corrosion pits on the MG surface promote the physicochemical reaction between the wastewater and the ribbons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oily wastewater was treated by electrocoagulation with Fe78Si9B13 amorphous ribbons as anode and graphite plates as cathode under such processing parameters as different pH values and current density, respectively. The degradation effect on the oily wastewater was characterized by chemical demand oxygen (COD), while the ribbons before and after using were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results indicate that under the conditions of pH = 3 and current density being 3.125 A/cm2, the optimal COD removal efficiency was obtained to be 73.22%. Compared with the ordinary crystalline iron plate, the COD removal efficiency of resultant wastewater degraded by the amorphous ribbons is more than doubled. Simultaneously, the Fe78Si9B13 amorphous ribbons exhibit good structural stability even after four cycles of using. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared with the conventional casting process, digital pattern-less casting technology has many advantages such as good machining accuracy, a short processing cycle, and low production cost. It is a new rapid manufacturing technology for castings, integrated with CAD/CAM, casting, CNC machining and many other advanced technologies. With this digital casting technology, no pattern is needed for making molds; it is precise, flexible, and green. Usually, art castings have complex structures and are made in small batches or even made in a single-piece, especially for large-sized art castings. So it has the shortcomings of high cost, low efficiency and long time for making a pattern to produce art castings with the conventional casting processes. However, the digital pattern-less casting technology can be applied to fabricate art castings, since it can greatly shorten the manufacturing cycle and lower the production cost, thus having a very good prospect. In this study, based on the digital pattern-less casting technology, a plaque casting with artistic Chinese characters (a Chinese poem) was designed and manufactured, and the production process was demonstrated in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sn60Pb40 alloy powders were fabricated using the planar flow casting (PFC) atomization process. By using OM, SEM and EPMA, the characteristics of the morphologies and microstructures of the powders have been investigated. It is observed that the environment of ambient gas in the atomization box has great effects on the morphology of the alloy powders. The microstructures of Sn60Pb40 alloy powders produced by the PFC atomization process are completely composed of eutectic, which is made up of both oversaturated α solid solution and β solid solution. The microstructures of small size powders are extraordinarily undeveloped dendritic eutectic, in which the large majority of the α phase appears nearly spherical, evidently since the cooling rate is higher and the under-cooling is larger. As for the large size powders, since the cooling rate and undercooling are relatively low, lamellar α phase apparently increases in the eutectic microstructures of these powders, and there is even typical lamellar eutectic structure clearly observed in some micro-areas. After remelting tests by DTA, the microstructures of small size powders are transformed, which become composed of large crumby α phase and eutectic (α+β), while those of large size powders change into classical tin-lead structures of primary α phase plus lamellar eutectic (α+β). By studying the microstructures of tin-lead alloy powders, a model has been proposed to predict the microstructure formation of Sn60Pb40 alloy powders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a process of vacuum carbothermal reduction was proposed for treating tin anode slime containing antimony and lead. During vacuum carbothermal reduction, the antimony and lead were selectively removed simultaneously by reducing and decomposing the less volatile mixed oxide of lead and antimony into the more volatile SbO and PbO. Then the tin was enriched in the distilland and primarily present as SnO. Crude tin was obtained via vacuum reduction of the residual SnO. The results showed that 92.85% by weight of antimony and 99.58% by weight of lead could be removed at 850°C for 60 min with 4 wt.% of reductant and air flow rate at 400 mL/min corresponding to the residual gas pressure of 40 Pa-150 Pa. Under these conditions, an evaporation ratio of 52.7% was achieved. Crude tin with a tin content of 94.22 wt.% was obtained at temperature of 900°C, reduction time of 60 min, reductant dosage of 12.5 wt.%, and a residual gas pressure of 40 Pa-400 Pa. Correspondingly, the direct recovery of tin was 94.35%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influences of minor amounts of scandium on the microstructure and mechanical properties of as-cast ZA27 alloy have been experimentally investigated. The experimental results show that as far as the Sc addition is individually concerned, the refinement result of the as-cast ZA27 alloy with 0.5wt.%Sc addition is comparatively better. After alloying with minor amounts of Sc, the coarse dendrites of the ZA27 alloy are refined and transformed into the uniform and small equiaxed grain microstructure; also the eutectics among the grain boundaries become finer. The test results of mechanical properties show that the tensile strength and hardness of the as-cast ZA27 alloy containing 0.5wt.%Sc approach 495 MPa and 120.2 HB, increase by 28.5% and 33.1%, respectively, compared with those of the ZA27 alloy with no addition of Sc element, while the elongation of the alloy is improved to 7.6% from 2.7%. The SEM, EDAX and XRD analyses show that in the ZA27 alloy, the trace element Sc combines with Al to form the square AI3Sc phase particles, which serve as heterogeneous nuclei, facilitating the refinement of the microstructure and the improvement of the mechanical properties of the alloy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A vacuum evaporation technology for treating antimony-rich anode slime was developed in this work. Experiments were carried out at temperatures from 873 K to 1073 K and residual gas pressures from 50 Pa to 600 Pa. During vacuum evaporation, silver from the antimony-rich anode slime was left behind in the distilland in a silver alloy containing antimony and lead, and antimony trioxide was evaporated. The experimental results showed that 92% by weight of antimony can be removed, and the silver content in the alloy was up to 12.84%. The antimony trioxide content in the distillate was more than 99.7%, and the distillate can be used directly as zero-grade antimony trioxide (China standard). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microalloying is an effective method to improve the mechanical properties of 6063 Al–Mg–Si alloy. Here, in this work, the effects of trace Cu (0.14 wt.%) and Cr (0.10 wt.%.) additions on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 6063 Al–Mg–Si alloy were studied. The results show that the additions of two elements can cause significant age-hardening effects, and the yield and tensile strengths of the alloys are significantly increased after T6 heat treatment. Further, it is found that the Cu and Cr additions show different strengthening mechanisms in the alloy. Cu addition leads to a finer and denser distribution of the main strengthening phases in the peak aging of the alloy, as well as a large number density of the precipitated phases, resulting in an increase in the dislocation density of the alloy during strain and hindering the dislocation movement. However, Cr addition acts as an inhibitor of grain growth and results in grain refinement, which also increases the hindrance of dislocation movement during the plastic deformation of the alloy, resulting in an increase in the dislocation density, thereby strengthening the alloy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]