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Among the glassy materials, tellurite glasses exhibit low phonon energy (∼780 cm−1), good mechanical stability, chemical durability, and high linear and nonlinear refractive indices, with a wide transmission window (typically 0.4–6.0 μm), which make them promising materials for photonic applications. In this work, tungsten–zirconium–tellurite glasses doped with several Tb3+ concentrations (0.1–4.0 mol. % Tb2O3) were prepared and characterized through absorption, emission, excitation spectra and fluorescence decay rate measurements. Only the green/yellow emission due to the 5D4 level was observed since the 5D3 was not observed in either the absorption or emission spectra due to cutoff absorption of the host matrix at ∼470 nm. A concentration quenching effect was observed in the 545 nm green emission (5D4 → 7F5) with a critical Tb3+ concentration of 6.2×1020 cm3 (1.7 mol. %). Thermal lens (TL) was performed in order to determine the thermo-optical properties of the glass such as thermal diffusivity (D ∼ 3.3×10−3 cm2/s) and optical path temperature coefficient (ds/dT ∼ 2.5 × 10−5 K−1). The energy transfer efficiency from the host matrix to the Tb3+ was estimated from excitation spectra as ∼3%, in agreement with TL measurements which indicate that nearly all absorbed energy is converted into heat for 488 nm excitation (7F6 → 5D4). Z-scan measurements in the cw regime indicate a dominant thermal nonlinearity in agreement with TL data. However, the fluorescence measurements in the Z-scan indicate a strong saturation of the green fluorescence attributed to the effect of excited state absorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trivalent Tb-doped materials exhibit strong emission in the green and weak emission in the UV-blue levels. Usually, this behavior is attributed to the cross relaxation (CR) process. In this paper, the luminescence properties of Tb3+-doped low silica calcium aluminosilicate glasses are analyzed for UV (λexc=325 nm) and visible (488 nm) excitations. Under 325 nm excitation, the intensity of green luminescence increases proportionally to Tb3+ concentration. However, the blue luminescence intensity is strongly reduced with the increase of concentration from 0.5-15.0 wt. %. In the case of 488 nm excitation, a saturation behavior of the green emission is observed at intensities two orders of magnitude smaller than expected for bleaching of the ground state population. Using a rate equation model, we showed that this behavior can be explained by an excited state absorption cross section two orders of magnitude larger than the ground state absorption. The blue emission is much weaker than expected from our rate equations (325 nm and 488 nm excitation). We concluded that only the CR process cannot explain the overall feature of measured luminescence quenching in the wide range of Tb3+ concentrations. Cooperative upconversion from a pair of excited ions (5D3:5D3 or 5D3:5D3) and other mechanisms involving upper lying states (4f5d, charge transfer, host matrix, defects, etc.) may play a significant role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Refill friction stir spot welding is a solid‐state process technology that is suitable for welding lightweight materials in similar or dissimilar overlapped configuration. In this study, the fatigue behaviour of single overlapped spot joints of AA2024‐T3 was studied. To statistically analyse the fatigue data, a 2‐parameter Weibull distribution was deployed, considering several reliabilities ( Re = 0.99,  Re = 0.90,  Re = 0.5,  Re = 0.10). To obtain an optimized weld parameter according to the fatigue behaviour, 2 different weld conditions were studied, taking into account the effect of the hook formation. The microstructure analyses and microhardness profiles showed great similarity in both weld conditions. However, these conditions presented distinct interfacial hook profiles, in which the interfacial hook downward represented better fatigue life and infinite fatigue life at 15% of the maximum strength load. The fracture surfaces obtained from 3 different fracture modes were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy; the crack was tracked and described according to its fracture mechanisms from its initiation until the final failures. It was observed that the crack is initiated at hook profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Friction surfacing process is employed to deposit metallic coatings, whereby similar and dissimilar material combinations can be realized. The process can be applied as a local repair technology, or the coating material can locally modify the surfaces. One advantage of this process is that the coatings are deposited in solid state without reaching the melting range of materials, thereby avoiding dilution with the substrate. The involved severe plastic deformation under high temperatures alters the microstructure of the coating material, leaving it fully dynamically recrystallized. The current work focuses on deposition of Ti-6Al-4V coatings. For that material, the process parameter rotational speed plays a major role in the material’s response during processing. Two different regimes with a threshold at 2000 min−1exist, upon which the flow behavior of Ti-6Al-4V significantly differs, affecting among others the coating dimensions. Microstructural analysis reveals that the material is deformed in a high temperature β phase, and the high cooling rates (46.4 Ks−1) lead to martensitic transformation. The β grain size differs in the low and high rotational speed regimes. This study shows that metallurgical processes play an important role in friction surfacing, since they influence all relevant process characteristics, including microstructure, material efficiency and process forces. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Knowledge of genetic diversity among genotypes and relationships among elite lines is of great importance for the development of breeding programs. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate genetic variability based on the morphoagronomic and molecular characterization of 18 elite popcorn (Zea mays var. everta) lines to be used by Universidade Estadual de Maringá breeding programs. We used 31 microsatellite primers (widely distributed in the genome), and 16 morphological descriptors (including the resistance to maize white spot, common rust, polysora rust of maize, cercospora and leaf blights). The molecular data revealed variability among the lines, which were divided into four groups that were partially concordant with unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPMGA) and Bayesian clusters. The lines G3, G4, G11, and G13 exhibited favorable morphological characters and low disease incidence rates. The four groups were confirmed using the Gower distance in the UPGMA cluster; however, there was no association with the dissimilarity patterns obtained using the molecular data. The absence of a correlation suggests that both characterizations (morphoagronomic and molecular) are important for discriminating among elite popcorn lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The feasibility of joining 1.6-mm-thick sheets of AA2198-T8 by the novel friction spot welding technology and the resulting microstructural features on the welds cross sections were assessed, with further evaluation of the process parameters on the weld performance. Besides the intrinsic discontinuity related to the interface between the sheets, the hook feature was found to be inherent to the welding process, and its morphology was determinant to the weld performance and fracture mode. A beneficial response on the shear strength was achieved with the minimization of the hook feature because of the absence of a potential site for crack nucleation, although the generation of other defects, depending on the combination of parameters, could erase this benefit. Through statistical analysis, the most influent parameters on the weld performance were plunge depth and welding time. In the present study, regardless of the weld discontinuities, the optimum shear strength revealed a satisfactory performance in mechanical terms for aerospace applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]