Silica-based glass ceramics have been extensively used in biomedical applications due to their superior biocompatibility and controllable properties. However, their low mechanical strength limits their application. This could be addressed by optimizing the crystalline phase which determines their final properties. Silicon nitride has attracted attention due to its combination of good mechanical and biological properties. Therefore, to combine the advantage of silica-based glass and silicon nitride ceramic, this study developed a silicon nitridesilicon dioxide (Si3N4-SiO2) glass ceramics. The effects of spark plasma sintering parameters on the structural and mechanical properties of Si3N4-SiO2 glass ceramics were investigated. Full densification was reached at a sintering temperature of 1300 degrees C, a holding time of 10 min and an applied pressure of 80 MPa (relative density = 99.19 %). No silicon oxynitride (Si2N2O) crystalline phase was formed in the sintered glass ceramics, as confirmed by XRD. The interface between the (3-Si3N4 crystalline and amorphous SiO2 was investigated by HRTEM, and the results indicated that an amorphous interfacial oxide was formed at the interface. The mechanical properties increased with increasing sintering temperature, as a result of the increased density. The Si3N4-SiO2 glass ceramics sintered at 1500 degrees C exhibited the highest value of toughness and flexural strength, at 4.6 +/- 0.28 MPa m1/2 and 360 +/- 27 MPa. The indentation cracks observed by SEM showed that the large (3-Si3N4 grains promoted crack deflection, while the equiaxed Si3N4 grains with a lower aspect ratio led to transgranular fracture. The mechanical properties of these Si3N4-SiO2 glass ceramics are comparable to commercial glass ceramics, indicating their promising aspects in biomedical applications.

The effect of surface grinding on the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior of 304L austenitic stainless steel in boiling magnesium chloride has been investigated. SCC tests were conducted both without external loading and with varied levels of four-point bend loading for as-delivered material and for specimens which had been ground parallel or perpendicular to the loading direction. Residual stresses due to the grinding operation were measured using the X-ray diffraction technique. In addition, surface stress measurements under applied load were performed before exposure to evaluate the deviation between actual applied loading and calculated values according to ASTM G39. Micro-cracks initiated by a high level of tensile residual stress in the surface layer were observed for all the ground specimens but not those in the as-delivered condition. Grinding along the loading direction increased the susceptibility to chloride induced SCC; while grinding perpendicular to the loading direction improved SCC resistance. Surface tensile residual stresses were largely relieved after the initiation of cracks.

The mechanical behavior of a wear-resistant CrMoV-alloyed martensitic steel in quenched and tempered conditions has been investigated and correlated with the microstructure. The steel has a combination of ultra-high tensile strength of 2065 MPa and total elongation of 7.4 pct in the as-quenched condition. The strength and ductility of the steel change initially during tempering and thereafter remain quite stable during tempering at either 450 °C or 550 °C. A good combination of yield strength and total elongation is achieved after tempering at 550 °C for 2 to 8 hours (about 1300 MPa and 14 pct). The evolution of the mechanical properties can be mainly related to an initial condition with high density of dislocations (in the order of 1015) and carbon in solid solution, while quite early during tempering, dislocations will start to annihilate and carbide precipitates form. On the other hand, there is a negligible evolution of the effective grain size during tempering. Modeling of the individual strengthening mechanisms and the overall yield strength is in good agreement with the tensile test results, in particular for the tempered samples. Finally, the relatively low yield strength of the fresh martensite, significantly lower than for the tempered conditions, is discussed in relation to the two available theories.

A Cu precipitation-mediated austenitic transformation during ageing treatment of a 15 & ndash;5 PH stainless steel is revealed through atom probe tomography, in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction and computational thermodynamics and kinetics. The austenitic transformation is proposed to occur through the pathway: Cu precipitation at the martensite/retained austenite interfaces or at martensite lath boundaries -> partitioning of austenite stabilizing elements towards interfaces of the Cu precipitates -> reverted austenite formation.

(Mo0.95Ti0.05)Si2/3.3mol%Al2O3 composites were synthesized by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis using Mo, Si, Al and TiO2 powders. The addition of alloying element Ti to MoSi2 and the synthesis of reinforcing particulate Al2O3 phase were achieved through the thermite reaction, Al + TiO2→Ti + Al2O3. The results showed that the combustion synthesis reaction mode in the Mo, Si, Al and TiO2 reaction mixture was spiral and self-propagating, and the reaction product was composed of MoSi2, (Mo,Ti)Si2 and Al2O3. The combustion products were consolidated by vacuum hot-pressing at 1773 K and 27.5 MPa for 90 min to consolidate composites with relative densities above 95% of theoretical. The hot-pressed (Mo0.95Ti0.05)Si2/3.3mol%Al2O3 composite with relative density of 97.5% exhibited finer microstructure and superior mechanical properties compared to MoSi2 monolithic material; Vicker's hardness of 12.9 GPa, bending strength of 320 MPa and fracture toughness of 3.37 MPa m1/2.

MoB and SiC particulate reinforced MoSi2 matrix composites were synthesized in situ from Mo, Si, and B4C powder mixtures by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS). The SHS MoSi2–MoB–SiC products were vacuum hot-pressed (HPed) at 1400°C for 90 min to fabricate high-density (> 97.5% relative density) bulk composites. Microstructure refinement and improvements in the Vickers hardness and fracture toughness of the HPed composites were observed with increasing B4C content in the reaction mixture. The HPed composite of composition MoSi2–0.4MoB–0.1SiC exhibited grain size of 1–5 μm, Vickers hardness of 12.5 GPa, bending strength of 537 MPa, and fracture toughness of 3.8 MPa.m1/2. These excellent mechanical properties indicate that MoB and SiC particulate reinforced MoSi2 composites could be promising candidates for structural applications.

Crack healing of Nb and Al alloyed MoSi2 notched ceramics had been investigated during thermal treatment from 900 to 1500 °C in air, vacuum, argon and nitrogen environments. Notched (Mo0.97Nb0.03)(Si0.97Al0.03)2 ceramics showed significant recovery of bending strength after heat treatment in air. Bending strength recovery of 250% was found after heat treatment in air at 1200 °C. Oxide layer formation healed the cracks during annealing in air. Re-sintering was found dominant mechanism of crack healing during annealing in vacuum, argon and nitrogen atmosphere. Bending strength recovery of 208% was found after heat treatment in vacuum at 1200 °C.

Aiming to quantitatively evaluate the microstructure of polymer-modified bitumen (PMB) for roads, this paper employs the two-dimensional fast Fourier transform (2D-FFT) to process the microscopic and numerical images of four PMBs. The related derivative parameters, including the characteristic frequency and wavelength, are computed from the 2D-FFT power spectrum. The results show that the absence/presence of a characteristic frequency (range) on the power spectrum can indicate the lack/existence of the corresponding periodical structural pattern(s) in the original PMB image. A lower characteristic frequency usually represents a coarser PMB microstructure while a higher one implies a finer PMB microstructure. The 2D-FFT method is thus valid for differentiating various PMB microstructures. The proposed method is also capable of quantitatively evaluating the effects of temperature and the temporal evolution of PMB microstructure during phase separation. As the separation continues, the decrease of characteristic frequency indicates the coarsening process of a PMB microstructure. Additionally, the numerical reproduction of the observed phase separation is evaluated with the same method. The quantitative comparison with the experimental results reveals that the simulations fairly reproduced the microscopy observation results despite some deviation. The proposed method provides a foundation for the microstructure-based modelling of PMB performance in the future.

Photo-responsive CdSe quantum dots functionalized with the cyanostilbene unit are synthesized. The as-prepared quantum dot hybrid reveals a photo-tunable dual fluorescent characteristic. White light emission can be generated in situ from the hybrid through photoirradiation to adjust the relative intensities of the two complementary emissions. Luminescent color conversion through yellow, white, and blue can be realized by varying the photoirradiation time.

Spent MoSi₂ and MoB were used as raw materials to prepare multilayer MoSi₂/MoB coating on molybdenum by the two‐step method of Slurry Deposition and Spark Plasma Sintering. The results showed dense MoSi₂/MoB coating after sintering while penetrated cracks appeared in MoSi₂ coating due to CTE mismatch between the Mo substrate and coating. After the sintering of MoSi₂/MoB coatings, MoB and Mo₂B diffusion layers was formed between MoB transition layer and Mo substrate without defects, exhibiting good metallurgical bonding. The high‐temperature oxidation behavior of coatings (1500 °C) was also explored. After oxidation of 50 h at 1500 °C, lowest mass gain (0.035 mg/cm²) was obtained for MoSi₂/MoB coating and the oxide scale was dense and complete without voids, making the oxygen diffusion at elevated temperature inhibited. Compared with MoSi₂ coating under the same oxidation conditions, relatively thinner silica oxide scale was acquired by MoSi₂/MoB coating because of the reduction of cracks, and the multilayer coating exhibits better anti‐oxidation properties at high temperature.

The influence of prefabricated dislocation features induced by rate dependent prestrain on the post-cyclic process in 7075 aluminum alloy exhibits significant variations, which are of great importance in terms of concerns, designs, and discoveries. Considering strain rate dependent prestrain provides diversified hardening stimuli for the subsequent cyclic process. The maximum cyclic stress in the post-cyclic stage was maintained at the same level as the prestress with strain rates ranging from 10-4s-1 to 10-1s-1. Subsequently, by adjusting post-cycling stress amplitude, research was conducted on quasi-plastic amplitude cycle (QPC) and low plasticity amplitude cycle (LPC) loading conditions. Through experimental mechanism analysis, as well as verification through molecular dynamics and crystal plasticity simulations, prestrain induced by rapid strain rates enhanced the hardening during QPC, stemming from the effects of matrix reconstruction strengthening and wavy structured grain boundaries. However, prestrain induced by slow strain rates promoted the hardening during LPC, primarily arising from the non-uniform crystal structures within individual grains, which was achieved through the complex sub-crystal clusters at grain boundaries, along with intracrystal orderly slipping lattice. These findings offer new insights for the optimization of microstructural design through dislocation engineering.

Estimation of frequency-dependent attenuation and speed of sound using ultrasound is of great importance. The acoustic properties can be used for material characterization and to study the local variations in a solid. As ultrasound is a mechanical wave, it is directly sensitive to changes in the material properties. The layered nature of additively manufactured prod-ucts pose a challenge for the estimation of acoustic properties. The non-parametric approaches using frequency transforms are sensitive to noise. In this paper, a parametric model is used to estimate the phase velocity and attenuation of 3D-printed cubes. The received signal from the cubes is a superposition of the backscattered responses from multiple layers of the printed part. A reference echo from aluminium is used as an input to the linear model and to estimate the received ultrasound response. The estimate of the ultrasound signal using the linear model is similar to the measured data and it suggests that it can be used to estimate wave propagation in additively manufactured products. The estimated acoustic properties show an increasing trend with the frequency and dispersion can be seen due to the layered nature of the material.

The performance of suspension plasma sprayed (SPS) yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) after isothermal treatment at 1150. °C was investigated. The NiCoCrAlY bond coats were applied by air plasma spray (APS) and high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) techniques. It was found that the microstructure of SPS TBCs depends on the surface morphology of the bond coat. The SPS TBCs with a rough APS bond coat exhibited a longer lifetime than those with a smooth HVOF bond coat. To understand this phenomenon, the evolution of the microstructure, mechanical properties and the residual stresses in the TBCs and TGO were systematically studied. Results showed that the surface roughness and oxidation behavior of the bond coat play dominant roles in the SPS TBC failure. © 2015.

We report the results of a low temperature photoluminescence investigation of 3C‐SiC samples grown by chemical vapor deposition on vapor‐liquid‐solid seeds. The main parameters tested in this series of samples were i°) the effects of changing the C/Si ratio and ii°) the growth temperature on the final growth product. On the first series the C/Si ratio varied from 1 to 14 for a constant growth temperature of 1550° C. For the second series, the growth temperature varied from 1450 to 1650° C by steps of 50° C with a constant C/Si ratio equal to 3. According to this work, the best results (minimum incorporation of impurities and best crystal quality) were obtained when using a C/Si ratio of 3 at 1650° C.

Even though KTiOPO₄ (KTP) is considered to be one of the best nonlinear materials for quasi phase matched (QPM) frequency conversion in the visible and the near-infrared spectral regions, its use is often limited by poor material homogeneity, high ionic conductivity, a considerable linear absorption and photochromatic damage. On the other hand, the improved material homogeneity and the lower ionic conductivity of bulk Rb-doped KTP (RKTP) make this material an ideal alternative for fabrication of fine-pitch QPM gratings, while the arsenate isomorph KTiOAsO₄ (KTA) promises a better performance in the green spectral region and adds the advantage of a wider transparency window in the infrared. Unfortunately, the available studies on these materials are limited and unable to answer the question whether RKTP and KTA are feasible alternatives to KTP in terms of periodic poling and optical performance. The optical performance of the QPM devices depends on the periodic poling quality, therefore, a detailed comprehension of domain-grating formation in the KTP isomorphs is highly desired. The goals of this thesis were to gain a better understanding of the periodic poling process in the KTP isomorphs, in order to study the specifics of ferroelectric domain engineering in KTA and RKTP, and to evaluate the optical performance of these isomorphs. Fine-pitch periodically poled structures were engineered both in KTA and RKTP crystals. It was demonstrated that QPM gratings with excellent quality and with periods as short as 8.49 μm can be fabricated in KTA crystals. Comparative transmission studies have shown that periodically poled KTA (PPKTA) crystals can be superior to KTP for QPM second harmonic generation in the visible spectral region due to lower linear absorption. It was also demonstrated that RKTP is a superior alternative to KTP for high-quality QPM grating fabrication. A consistent room-temperature periodic poling of 5 mm thick RKTP crystals with a period of 38.86 μm has been achieved. The obtained large aperture periodically poled RKTP (PPRKTP) crystals showed an outstanding QPM grating uniformity and excellent optical performance in optical parametric oscillator (OPO) applications. Moreover, it was shown that RKTP is less susceptible to blue-induced infrared absorption than KTP. Finally, a novel and a relatively simple method for self-assembling quasi-periodic sub-μm scale ferroelectric domain structure in RKTP crystals has been presented. It was shown that, after treatment in aqueous KOH/KNO₃ solution, periodic poling of RKTP with planar electrodes resulted in one-dimensional ferroelectric domain structure with an average periodicity of 650±200 nm, extending over the whole 1 mm thick crystal. Such self-assembled structures in RKTP were used to demonstrate 5^th order non-collinear QPM backward second harmonic generation.

We present a simple technique for fabricating quasi-periodic bulk sub-μm ferroelectric domain gratings in Rb-doped KTiOPO4 (RKTP) based on self-organized ferroelectric domain formation. One-dimensional ferroelectric domain structures, with an average periodicity of 650 ± 200 nm and extending throughout 1 mm thick crystals, are obtained by etching and subsequent electric field poling using planar electrodes. The sub-μm structures in RKTP were used to demonstrate 5th order non-collinear quasi-phase matched backward second harmonic generation.

We review the techniques used for fabrication of bulk submicrometer ferroelectric domain gratings in KTiOPO4 (KTP) and demonstrate that bulk Rb-doped KTiOPO4 (RKTP) is an excellent candidate for implementation of dense domain gratings. Compared to KTP, RKTP presents predominant domain propagation along the polar c-direction, substantially reduced lateral domain broadening, and higher poling yield. As a result we obtain homogeneous sub-μm periodic poling of RKTP with a period of 690 nm in 1 mm thick samples.

A 5 mm thick periodically poled bulk Rb-doped KTiOPO4 (KTP) crystal with a period of 38.86 μm was fabricated by electric field poling. Chemical etching and optical evaluation show a high quality of the periodic ferroelectric domain structure through the whole crystal aperture. The fabricated quasi-phase matching (QPM) device was used in an optical parametric oscillator pumped at 1064 nm with 12 ns pulses at 100 Hz repetition rate to generate 60 mJ parametric radiation with a conversion efficiency of 50%.

A periodically poled bulk Rb-doped KTiOPO 4crystal with 5 mm aperture was fabricated at room temperature. The ferroelectric domain structure is shown to be homogeneous across the whole aperture with a deffof 11 pm/V.

A periodically poled KTiOAsO4crystal was fabricated at room temperature. The poled crystal shows a deffof 10.1 pm/V and gives a parametric conversion efficiency of 45%.

A major attraction of organic conjugated semiconductors is that materials with new, emergent functionality can be designed and made by simple blending, as is extensively used in, e.g., bulk heterojunction organic solar cells. Herein doped blends based on organic semiconductors (OSCs) for thermoelectric applications are critically reviewed. Several experimental strategies to improve thermoelectric performance, measured in terms of power factor (PF) or figure-of-merit ZT, have been demonstrated in recent literature. Specifically, density-of-states design in blends of two OSCs can be used to obtain electronic Seebeck coefficients up to approximate to 2000 mu V K-1. Alternatively, blending with (high-dielectric constant) insulating polymers can improve doping efficiency and thereby conductivity, as well as induce more favorable morphologies that improve conductivity while hardly affecting thermopower. In the PEDOT:polystyrene-sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) blend system, processing schemes to either improve conductivity via morphology or via (partial) removal of the electronically isolating PSS, or both, have been demonstrated. Although a range of experiments have at least quasi-quantitatively been explained by analytical or numerical models, a comprehensive model for organic thermoelectrics is lacking so far.

The n-type thermoelectric properties of [6,6]-phenyl-C-61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) are investigated for different solution-based doping methods. A novel inverse-sequential doping method where the semiconductor (PCBM) is deposited on a previously cast dopant 4-(1,3-dimethyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzoimidazol-2-yl)-N,N-diphenylaniline film to achieve a very high power factor PF approximate to 35 mu W m(-1) K-2 with a conductivity sigma approximate to 40 S m(-1) is introduced. It is also shown that n-type organic semiconductors obey the -1/4 power law relation between Seebeck coefficient S and sigma that are previously found for p-type materials. An analytical model on basis of variable range hopping unifies these results. The power law for n-type materials is shifted toward higher conductivities by two orders of magnitude with respect to that of p-type, suggesting strongly that n-type organic semiconductors can eventually become superior to their p-type counterparts. Adding a small fraction lower lowest unoccupied molecular orbital material (core-cyanated naphthalene diimide) into PCBM leads to a higher S for inverse-sequential doping but not for bulk doping due to different morphologies.

Gradients play a pivotal role in membrane technologies, e.g., osmotic energy conversion, desalination, biomimetic actuation, selective separation, and more. In these applications, the compositional gradients are of great relevance for successful function implementation, ranging from solvent separation to smart devices; However, the construction of functional gradient in membranes is still challenging both in scale and directions. Inspired by the specific function-related, graded porous structures in glomerular filtration membranes, a general approach for constructing gradient covalent organic framework membranes (GCOMx) applying poly (ionic liquid)s (PILs) as template is reported here. With graded distribution of highly porous covalent organic framework (COF) crystals along the membrane, GCOMx exhibts an unprecedented asymmetric solvent transport when applying different membrane sides as the solvent feed surface during filtration, leading to a much-enhanced flux (10–18 times) of the “large-to-small” pore flow comparing to the reverse direction, verified by hydromechanical theoretical calculations. Upon systematic experiments, GCOMx achieves superior permeance in nonpolar (hexane ≈260.45 LMH bar⁻¹) and polar (methanol ≈175.93 LMH bar⁻¹) solvents, together with narrow molecular weight cut-off (MWCO, 472 g mol⁻¹) and molecular weight retention onset (MWRO, <182 g mol⁻¹). Interestingly, GCOMx shows significant filtration performance in simulated kidney dialysis, revealing great potential of GCOMx in bionic applications. 

This work demonstrates high quality Ge/GeO2 interfaces fabricated by O2 RTA that are degraded by a good quality SiO2 layer deposited by ALD. However, neither O3 and H2O precursors commonly used during subsequent high-k ALDs nor Si precursor AP-LTO-330 do not degrade the interface. Thus Dit increase after SiO2 deposition is likely due to intermixing. Therefore, the effect of subsequent ALDs on the interface quality has to be considered while designing Ge-based gate stacks.

In this work atomic layer deposited Tm₂O₃ has been investigated as a high-k dielectric for Ge-based gate stacks. It is shown that when Tm₂O₃ is deposited on high-quality Ge/GeO₂ gates, the interface state density of the gate stack is degraded. A series of post-deposition anneals are studied in order to improve the interface state density of Ge/GeO_x/Tm₂O₃ gates, and it is demonstrated that a rapid thermal anneal in O2 ambient can effectively reduce the interface state density to below 5-10¹¹ cm^-2eV^-1 without increasing the equivalent oxide thickness. Fixed charge density in Ge/GeO_x/Tm₂O₃ gates has also been investigated, and it is shown that while O₂ post-deposition anneal improves the interface state density, the fixed charge density is degraded.

The work presented here addresses the outer electroding of a fully textile piezoelectric strain sensor, consisting of bi-component fibre yarns of β-crystalline poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) sheath and conductive high density polyethylene (HDPE)/carbon black (CB) core as insertions in a woven textile, with conductive poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) coatings developed for textile applications. Two coatings, one with a polyurethane binder and one without, were compared for the application and evaluated as electrode material in piezoelectric testing, as well as tested for surface resistivity, tear strength, abrasion resistance and shear flexing. Both coatings served their function as the outer electrodes in the system and no difference in this regard was detected between them. Omission of the binder resulted in a surface resistivity one order of magnitude less, of 12.3 Ω/square, but the surface resistivity of these samples increased more upon abrasion than the samples coated with binder. The tear strength of the textile coated with binder decreased with one third compared to the uncoated substrate, whereas the tear strength of the coated textile without binder increased with the same amount. Surface resistivity measurements and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the samples subjected to shear flexing showed that the coatings without the binder did not withstand this treatment, and that the samples with the binder managed this to a greater extent. In summary, both of the PEDOT:PSS coatings could be used as outer electrodes of the piezoelectric fibres, but inclusion of binder was found necessary for the durability of the coating.

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a relatively new technology that is labelled to be innovative, disruptive, near-net shaping, enabling manufacturing of complex and customised products, for limitless number of applications, directly from the CAD model into real physical parts. For titanium alloys in aerospace applications, AM moreover stands for a reduced material cost, but also for large challenges when considering consistency and qualification of material properties and components in serial production. In the AM process the feedstock material is melted by a heat source that moves according to a building sequence defined by the CAD model. Layer-by-layer the material solidifies into the wanted shape and accordingly the microstructure forms,which determines the average mechanical properties of the manufactured component. However, even if the AM process seems to be very straight forward, the prediction of mechanical and metallurgical properties is complex, partly because of its building in layer nature which generates a complex thermal history dictating the mechanical properties, and partly because of the number of parameters involved during the AM process itself. The objective of the present work was to increase the fundamental understanding of the relationship between microstructure, defects and mechanicalproperties of AM:ed Ti-6Al-4V. Three AM techniques were investigated, namely laser metal-wire deposition (LMwD), electron beam melting (EBM), and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) wire feed AM, with the main focus on LMwD. The different techniques were evaluated with regard to microstructure and tensile and fatigue properties. In addition, the EBM Ti-6Al-4V was tested in a hydrogen atmosphere to simulate the working environment for a certain engine application. One of the core findings in the present work was that AM:ed Ti-6Al-4V exhibited a columnar microstructure with elongated prior beta grains growing through several layers following the temperature gradient direction in the built material. To cover the different characteristics of the columnar microstructure, the mechanical properties were evaluated in two orientations of the built Ti-6Al-4V. The mechanical properties, both static and dynamic, were found to be anisotropic, which was further evaluated indetail with respect to the microstructure evolution and defects generated by the AM process. Among the results, when different process conditions were tested, it was concluded that the thickness of the grain boundary alpha along the prior beta grain boundary did not influence the level of anisotropy. However, the prior beta grain boundary was observed to be the weakest microconstituent when the load was applied perpendicular to its prevalence in both tensile and LCF testing. In order to get a better understanding of how the columnar microstructure influences the fatigue properties, the fatigue crack propagation characteristics were investigated with respect to the columnar prior beta grains and crystal orientation. An extensive fractographic study was carried out on all tested specimens. Lack of fusion (LoF) defects were concluded to be the individually most detrimental type of defect to the material properties. The influence of the LoF defects was further concluded to be very dependent on its prevalence in relation to the loading direction; the largest impact on the fatigue life was observed when the LoF defect wasperpendicular to the loading direction. Finally, a part of the aim of the present work was to support the development of a microstructure model that will be implemented in a thermo-mechanical model when simulating AM of Ti-6Al-4V. In order to validate the material model developed, the alpha lath thickness and the fraction of grain boundary alpha were quantified atspecific locations in single and multiple bead walls of GTAW wire feed AM:ed Ti-6Al-4V and compared with the results of the simulated AM process of Ti-6Al-4V.

Titanium alloys were for a time believed to be highly resistant to environmentally assisted cracking because of their ability to form a protective oxide film on the surface. Their resistance can still be considered to be high, but when cracking resistance was originally defined to ensure reliable functionality of fracture-critical components, certain conditions that promote cracking were discovered. One of the environmental assisted cracking processes relevant to titanium alloys is solid metal induced embrittlement (SMIE). SMIE refers to the embrittlement that occurs in normally ductile materials under tensile stress in contact with solid metals with a lower melting temperature than titanium. Even though failures resulting from SMIE are rare, they do occur, partly because the industry is not aware of conditions under which SMIE may exist. Titanium alloys are frequently used in the aerospace industry where solid copper contact can be found in for instance, welding electrodes and fixtures in various manufacturing processes. The main scope of the present work has been to clarify the effect of copper in contact with titanium alloys with respect to SMIE and further to increase the understanding of SMIE. Three titanium alloys: Ti-8Al-1V-1Mo, Ti-6Al- 2Sn-4Zr-2Mo and Ti-6Al-4V have been evaluated in contact with copper, and in contact with gold for comparison.In order to be able to evaluate SMIE, a U-bend test method adapted from an aerospace recommended practice for stress-corrosion cracking (ARP SAE 1795A) was modified for SMIE evaluation. The acceptability of the test method was successfully established by using reference specimens that were intended to crack (or not to crack) when in contact with the embrittling environment. The results of the SMIE tests show that both Ti-8Al-1V-1Mo and Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo are susceptible to SMIE in contact with copper and gold, whilst no SMIE was observed with Ti-6Al-4V. Based on these findings it is suggested that the SMIE susceptibility of titanium alloys is dependent on alloy composition. Furthermore, resistance welded Ti-8Al-1V-1Mo and Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo were evaluated to investigate whether the presence of copper electrodes, (the welding operation itself) could lead to SMIE. No SMIE was found in the resistance welded specimens, which may be explained by the short time that the copper electrodes were in intimate contact with the titanium alloy, the magnitude of residual stresses after welding, or both, which were too low to initiate SMIE. In order to obtain a better understanding of the crack path characteristics and the mechanisms involved, one U-bent specimen showing SMIE (Ti-8Al-1V-1Mo with copper) was selected for further examination using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The EBSD results indicated a preferable crack propagation path along high angle grain boundaries, which supports the suggested adsorption mechanism of the embrittling species at the crack tip. A tendency for favourable crack growth along grain boundaries adjacent to grains oriented close to [0001] in the crack direction could also be seen, which indicates that there is a connection between the SMIE crack characteristics and the crystallographic orientation.

In the present paper laser metal wire deposition of Ti-6Al-4V has been studied and the mechanical properties evaluated. The yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and tensile elongation were all found to depend on the orientation of the specimens with respect to the deposition direction. Two orientations in the deposited material were evaluated in the study, perpendicular and parallel to the deposition direction. The specimens in the perpendicular orientation showed 25–33% higher elongation than the specimens parallel to the deposition direction. The parallel specimens on the other hand showed both higher (4%) ultimate tensile strength and higher (2–5%) yield strength. Furthermore, the anisotropic mechanical properties were correlated to the microstructural constituents of the specimens

By additive manufacturing (AM) there is a feasibility of producing near net shape components in basically one step from 3D CAD model to final product. The interest for AM is high and during the past decade a lot of research has been carried out in order to understand the influence from process parameters on the microstructure and furthermore on the mechanical properties. In the present study laser metal wire deposition of Ti-6Al-4V has been studied in detail with regard to its fatigue crack propagation characteristics. Two specimen orientations, parallel and perpendicular to the deposition direction, have been evaluated at room temperature and at 250 °C. No difference in the fatigue crack growth rate could be confirmed for the two specimen orientations. However, in the fractographic study it was observed that the tortuosity varied between certain regions on the fracture surface. The local crack path characteristic could be related to the alpha colony size and/or the crystallographic orientation. Moreover, large areas exhibiting similar crystallographic orientation were observed along the prior beta grain boundaries, which were attributed to the wide alpha colonies frequently observed along the prior beta grain boundaries.

Additive manufacturing (AM) has achieved large attention within the aerospace industry mainly because of the possibility to lower the material and the manufacturing cost. For titanium alloys several AM techniques are available today. In the present paper, the focus has been on laser metal wire-deposition of Ti-6Al-4V. Walls were built and low cycle fatigue specimens were cut out in two orientations with respect to the deposition direction. An extensive fractographic evaluation was carried out after testing and the results indicated anisotropic behaviour at low strain ranges. Defects such as pores and lack of fusion (LoF) were observed and related to the fatigue life and specimen orientation. The LoF defects are regarded to have the most detrimental influence on the fatigue life, whilst the effect of pores was not as straightforward. Noteworthy in present study is that one large LoF defect did not influence the fatigue life, which is explained by the prevalence of the LoF defect in relation to the loading direction.

Solid Metal Induced Embrittlement (SMIE) is caused by a specific combination of two solid metals in intimate contact. Cadmium, gold, silver and copper are known to cause SMIE in certain titanium alloys. Solid copper is used in welding electrodes and fixtures in various manufacturing processes for titanium parts within the aerospace industry. In the case of resistance welding, titanium alloys are in intimate contact with solid copper, since the electrodes resistively heat the titanium part under pressure during the welding process. No previous published work that investigates the risk of using copper electrodes for welding of titanium alloys is available in the literature, but an initial study using U-bend testing indicates that solid copper in contact with Ti-8Al-1V-1Mo and Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo could lead to SMIE. Therefore, in the present study, resistance welded Ti-8Al-1V-1Mo and Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo have been evaluated to investigate the influence of copper electrodes on these alloys. Furthermore, resistance welded specimens sputtered with copper and gold to promote SMIE have also been evaluated. No SMIE was found in the resistance welded specimens, which may be explained by the short interaction time that the copper electrodes are in intimate contact with the titanium alloy, and/or the magnitude of residual stresses after welding, which may be too low to initiate SMIE.

Laser metal deposition (LMD) is a near net shape manufacturing process in which the final shape of a part or component is built layer-by-layer. The energy of a laser beam is used to melt a wire of the selected pre-alloyed material onto a substrate or work piece. In the present study, the mechanical properties of laser metal deposited Ti-6Al-4V have been evaluated with respect to the yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, ductility and low cycle fatigue at room temperature and at 200°C. In addition, fractographic and metallographic studies were carried out in order to correlate the mechanical behaviour with grain morphology and microstructure. The yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, ductility and the low cycle fatigue properties of LMD material were all better than or equal to the corresponding mechanical properties of standard cast Ti-6Al-4V material. It was also found that defects, such as pores and surface irregularities, significantly reduce the fatigue life of LMD Ti-6Al-4V material, leading to premature fracture when present.

Solid Metal Induced Embrittlement (SMIE) is caused by a specific combination of a susceptible alloy, tensile stress and a solid metal. Solid copper is commonly used in various manufacturing processes, e.g. in welding electrodes and clamping fixtures, during the manufacturing and handling of titanium alloy parts for the aerospace industry. An initial study indicated that copper in contact with titanium could lead to SMIE and was the reason for initiating the current work. Three titanium alloys; Ti-8Al-1Mo-1V, Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo and Ti-6Al-4V, have been evaluated with respect to SMIE in contact with copper. The evaluation was carried out by using a modified U-bend test method adapted from SAE ARP 1795, a standard used for Stress-Corrosion Cracking (SCO evaluation of titanium alloys in contact with cleaning solutions. Gold was also investigated in order to validate the reliability of the test method since it has been reported that titanium alloys undergo SMIE in contact with solid gold. The results show that both Ti-8Al-1Mo-1V and Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo are susceptible to SMIE in contact with copper whereas SMIE was not observed with Ti-6Al-4V. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Solid metal induced embrittlement (SMIE) occurs when a metal experiences tensile stress and is in contact with another solid metal with a lower melting temperature. SMIE is believed to be a combined action of surface self-diffusion of the embrittling species to the crack tip and adsorption of the embrittling species at the crack tip, which weakens the crack tip region. In the present study, both SMIE of the near alpha alloy Ti-8Al-1Mo-1V in contact with copper and its influence on crystallographic orientation have been studied. U-bend specimens coated with copper were heat treated at 480°C for 8 hours. One of the cracks was examined in detail using electron backscatter diffraction technique. A preferable crack path was found along high angle grain boundaries with grains oriented close to [0001] in the crack direction; this indicates that there is a connection between the SMIE crack characteristics and the crystallographic orientation.

Polymers are typically produced from crude oil which is a non-renewable resource. With the fast depletion of the petroleum resources, the development of materials based on renewable resources is becoming important. Polymers prepared from renewable resources are under development, but has mainly focused on thermoplastic polymers such as polylactic acid. For some applications, such as composites and coatings, thermoset polymers are often preferred. Consequently, it is important to develop thermoset resins from renewable resources as well. Plant oils, such as soybean oil and linseed oil, have been utilized by mankind for a long time. Soybean oil is produced in large quantities and soybean oil is an excellent starting material for the synthesis of thermoset resins. A possible strategy to prepare thermoset resins from plant oils is to introduce pendant methacrylate groups in the structure. Thus, the resins can be cured by a free radical polymerization. Such a resin is very susceptible to photopolymerization when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which is a common technique to cure coatings. In the present study, three different thermoset resins were studied. Two of the resins were based on soybean oil while the third resin was based on lactic acid. The latter resin was prepared by a direct condensation of lactic acid and pentaerythritol and was finally end-capped with methacrylate groups. Several authors have studied the addition of nano-reinforcements to thermoset resins. One of the most promising nano-reinforcements is layered silicate which has shown to improve several properties. Layered silicate has been used to reinforce conventional resins with good results. The addition of layered silicates to the biobased resins can be used to improve the properties and to broaden the applications. The resins used in this study were therefore reinforced with layered silicate and UV-cured. The cured resins were characterized by Soxhlet extraction, photo-FTIR, DMTA and tensile tests which will be presented during the presentation.

A scrap blade from a wind turbine was microwave pyrolysed. The recovered glass fibres were characterised by SEM and TGA. The possibility to use the fibres to prepare new composites were evaluated. Laminates were prepared where fibres mats with virgin and recovered glass fibres were altered. Mechanical testing showed that it is possible to prepapare composite with up to 35 wt.-% recovered fibre without losing too much of the mechanical properties.

Abstract Thermoset composites were produced from flax fibers and a novel lactic acid (LA)-based thermoset resin. This resin is based on methacrylated, star-shaped oligomers of LA. The main purpose of this work was to evaluate whether this resin can be used to produce structural composites from flax fibers. Composites were prepared by spray impregnation followed by compression molding at elevated temperature. The tests showed that composites can be produced with as much as 70 wt% fiber. The composites were evaluated by tensile testing, flexural testing, charpy impact test, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), and low-vacuum scanning electron microscopy. The ageing properties in high humid conditions were evaluated, the Young's modulus ranged from 3 GPa to 9 GPa in the best case. This work shows that structural composites can be produced from renewable material. It is clear from the results that these composites have properties that make them suitable for furniture, panels, or automotive parts.

Metal powder bed additive manufacturing technologies, such as the Electron Beam Melting process, facilitate a high degree of geometric flexibility and have been demonstrated as useful production techniques for metallic parts.However, the EBM process is typically associated with lower resolutions and higher surface roughness compared to similar laser-based powder bed metal processes. In part, this difference is related to the larger powder size distribution and thicker layers normally used. As part of an effort to improve the resolution and surface roughness of EBM fabricated components, this study investigates the feasibility of fabricating components with a smaller powder size fraction and layer thickness (similar to laser based processes). The surface morphology, microstructure and tensile properties of the produced samples were evaluated. The findings indicate that microstructure is dependent on wall-thickness and that, for thin walled structures, tensile properties can become dominated by variations in surface roughness.

The formation of liquid films is a widely known problem in aluminium heat exchanger materials. The phenomenon results in decreased brazeability along with severely deteriorated mechanical properties which might cause assembly collapse. In addition, low-melting-point elements like tin, bismuth and lead are thought to promote grain boundary sliding which is the main deformation mechanism during brazing. Their melting characteristics are not adequately reported in literature. It is therefore of great importance to examine the behaviour of these elements.The main objectives with this work is melting range determination of fin heat exchanger materials, melting detection of low-melting-point elements and calculation of tin, bismuth and lead solid-solubility in aluminium. This work does also involve distribution analysis of such elements in aluminium matrix after heat treatment.These investigations require development of a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) technique that is applicable for analysis of aluminium fin heat exchanger material containing low-melting-point elements on ppm level. Optimization of the technique includes parameter control; like heating rate, sample mass, reproducibility and choice of crucible material. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (LA-ICP-MS) is additionally used in order to analyse solid solubility and distribution of low-melting-point elements in aluminium after heat treatment.The developed DSC technique shows a sensitivity limit in the range of 260-600 ppm. It means that it is not possible to detect melting of phases within and below that range. Solid solubility of tin was calculated for the three heat treatment temperatures, 400°C, 500°C and 625°C. Same procedure was applied on bismuth and lead. However, calculated values did not agree with Thermo-Calc. The distribution analysis indicate an exudation of trace elements i.e. diffusion toward surface during heat treatment.In conclusion, more knowledge regarding liquid films in aluminium fin heat exchanger material was obtained. Future work should be to further optimize the DSC technique for trace element analysis for concentrations below 100 ppm. The LA-ICP-MS technique is likely to improve experimentally unverified binary phase diagrams like Al-Bi, Al-Pb and Al-Sn phase diagrams. It can also be used to study exudation behaviour of liquid films.

In this work, we have performed detailed studies of the mechanisms of self-healing of silver contacts, its dependence on temperature and ambient atmosphere as well as the influence of design and material properties. Comparisons with copper contact surfaces are made. The methods employed include: heat treatments in different atmospheres, a-spot studies, TGA,thermodynamical calculations, SEM and EDX. Thermodynamical calculations predict an onset of Ag₂S degradation between 150 and 200 degC when oxygen is present. From heat treatments in air atmosphere of thin films of thicknesses 0.1 to approx. 3 μm, we have found that the transition from Ag₂S to metallic Ag takes place in a temperature interval between 285 and 290 degC. Corresponding transition for bulk Ag₂S in a TGA with a temperature increase rate of 5 degC/min. starts at 550 degC. The discrepancy in reaction temperature, is mainly explained by the reaction kinetics. From the thermodynamic calculations as well as from the experiments, we have found that the presence of oxygen is necessary for the process to occur. Studies on crossed-rod contacts subjected to different current levels confirm the transition temperatures found in the heat treatment experiments are prevailing under real life conditions.