Iranian Journal of Materials Science and Engineering

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In this investigation, α 2-D Finite Volume Method (FVM) with unstructured triangular mesh is developed to simulate the mould filling process. The simulation of fluid flow and track of free surface is based on the Marker And Cell (MAC) technique. This technique has capability ofhandling the arbitrary curved solid boundaries in the casting processes. In order to verify the computational results of the simulation, a thin disk plate with transparent mould was tested. The mould filling process was recorded using a 16mm high-speed camera. Images were analyzed frame by frame, in order to tracking of free surface and filling rate during mould filling. Comparison between the experimental method and the simulation results has shown a good agreement.

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In this investigation a new model was developed to calculate gas pressure at the melt/foam interface (Gap) resulting from foam degradation during mould filling in the Lost Foam Casting (LFC) process. Different aspects of the process, such as foam degradation, gas elimination, transient mass, heat transfer, and permeability of the refractory coating were incorporated into this model. A Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) code was developed based on the numerical technique of the SOLution Algorithm- Volume Of Fluid (SOLA- VOF) utilizing model, for the simulation and prediction of the fluid flow in the LFC process. In order to verify the computational results of the simulation, a thin plate of gray iron was poured into a transparentfoam mould. The mould filling process was recorded using a 16mm high-speed camera. Images were analysed frame by frame, in order to measuring foam depolymerization rate and the gap volume during mould filling. Comparison between the experimental method and the simulation results, for the LFC filling sequence, has shown a good agreement.

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The surface condition and microstructure of near stoichiometric (Fe823Ndll.8B5.9) Nd-Fe-B alloy ribbons and the effect of melt spinning parameters were investigated using optical, scanning and transmission electron microscopes (SEM, TEM). The formation of gas pockets on the roll surface of the ribbons during melt spinning can prevent heat transform and result in local coarse grains. The local thickness would also be less in these places and thus perforates preferentially during ion beam milling. Therefore different areas of the sample should be carefully observed in the TEM. Reducing inert gas pressure in the chamber will eliminate the gas pockets. As a general trend, decrease in the ribbon thickness and mean Nd2 Fe14B grain size were observed on increasing the roll speed. By careful adjustment of the melt spinning parameters, the nanostructure will develop. An orientation relationship was found between Nd2 Fe14B and α-Fe precipitates for coarse grain samples melt spun at low roll speed. Dark field image of such grain also shows that some of these α-Fe precipitates have the same orientation. X-ray diffraction evident the development of texture by decreasing the roll speed.

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In the present work, a model was proposed to predict the thermal history during rapid solidification (RS) of metal droplets in the gas atomization process. The classical theory of heterogeneous nucleation was based on Newtonian heat flow and enthalpy method. Solving the governing numerical equations by the finite difference method (FDM) gave up the opportunity of analyzing the temperature-time history of the droplets during cooling in the RS process. Here, cooling in the liquid state, nucleation and recalescence, segregated solidification, eutectic solidification and cooling in the solid state were considered. To verify the model, the gas atomization of Al-4.5% Cu alloy was studied and the results were compared with the Shukla's model [1]. Convincing agreement was obtained between the predicted undercoolings and the experimental results reported previously.

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In this research the sol-gel auto-combustion method was used to prepare strontium hexaferrite nanopowder. A solution of distilled water, ferric and strontium nitrates, citric acid, trimethylamine, and n-decyltrimethylammonium bromide cationic surfactant, was heated to form a viscous gel. The gel was heated and then ignited automatically. As-burnt powder was calcined at temperatures from 700 to 900?C in air to obtain SrO.6Fe2O3 phase. The influence of the calcination temperature on the phase composition of the products has been investigated. X-ray diffraction confirmed the formation of single-phase strontium hexaferrite nanopowder at temperature of 800?C.

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A numerical model has been developed for the determination of liquid flow permeability through columnar dendrite during growth. The model is inclusive two stages, first numerical evolution of the dendrite shape during growth, and second numerical determination of the interdendritic liquid permeability. Simulation results shown which solute concentration by evolution of dendrite shape could result to reduction of the permeability during solidification time. Comparison between the experimental data from other authors and the present numerical model data, for the low and high solid fractions, has shown a good agreement rather than current numerical models. Therefore present permeability model, in this investigation, could be used for all of the micro solidification codes by coupling on the segregation and the Fick's equations in domain of the inter-dendritic liquid for mushy alloys.

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Abstract: Problems such as the difficulty of the selection of processing parameters and the large quantity of experimental work exist in the morphological evolutions of Semisolid Metal (SSM) processing. In order to deal with these existing problems, and to identify the effect of the processing parameters, (i.e. shearing rate-time-temperature) combinations on particle size and shape factor, based on experimental investigation, the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) was applied to predict particle size and shape factor SSM processed Aluminum A.356.0 alloy. The results clearly demonstrated that, the ANN with 2 hidden layers and topology (4, 2) can predict the shape factor and the particle size with high accuracy of 94%.The sensivity analysis also revealed that shear rate and solid fraction had the largest effect on shape factor and particle size, respectively. The shear rate had a reverse effect on particle size.

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Abstract: In this paper solid state reduction of high carbon ferrochromium-chromite composite pellets in the temperature range of 900-1350°C was investigated. A two stage reduction mechanism is proposed. The first stage is likely to be controlled by the chemical reaction with activation energy of 127.2kJ/mol. In the second stage, solid state diffusion of carbon through the reaction product layer is suggested to be rate controlling. The activation energy of this stage was calculated to be 93.1kJ/mol. The reduction process was found to be favored by high temperatures as well as high vacuum. The results also show that pre-milling of initial mixture has a negative effect on the reduction degree.

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Abstract: In this study an algorithm for mold-filling simulation with consideration of surface tension has been developed based on a SOLA VOF scheme. As the governing equations, the Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible and laminar flows were used. We proposed a way of considering surface tension in mold-filling simulation. The proposed scheme for surface tension was based on the continuum surface force (CSF) model we could confirm the remarkable effectiveness of the surface tension by experiment which concluded in very positive outcome.

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Abstract: Lead-containing glass borosilicate was synthesized by Sol-gel technique using metalalkoxids such as tetraethyleorthosilicate (TEOS), Al-sec-butoxide and trimethyl borate. The sol containing TEOS converts to gel during drop wise addition of Al-alkoxide while inorganic lead salt was added in the last stage of gelation to prepare the alcogels. The specimens were dried at room temperature to set then heated at 600°C quickly to avoid crystallization preparing a glass containing 63 wt% lead oxide. The influence of pH on absorption behavior of the sols studied by UV visible technique so the characteristic of the gel, alcogel and xerogel were studied in the different acidic concentrations. The UV spectrums show that the higher the acidity of the hydrolysis stages, the higher the absorbance. The results showed the sample with 63 wt% lead was found fully amorphous. Microstructure and phase analysis of the glass powders were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with EDS analysis.

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Abstract: Auto-ignited gel combustion process has been used for producing a red hematite-zircon based pigment. The combustible mixtures contained the metal nitrates and citric acid as oxidizers and fuel, respectively. Sodium silicate (water glass) was used as silica source for producing zircon phase. X-Ray Diffractometery, Electron Microscopy and Simultaneous Thermal Analysis were used for characterization of reactions happened in the resulted dried gel during its heat-treatment. L* a* b* color parameters were measured by the CIE (Commission International de I'Eclairage) colorimetric method. This research has showed that solution combustion was unable to produce coral pigment as the end product of combustion without the need for any further heat treatment process.

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Abstract: Dissolution and recovery of Mn-Al compacts with and without a chloride flux was studied by taking samples from the melt after addition of the compact. Events occurring after the addition of the compacts into the melt were studied using water quenched specimens after holding them for a specified time in molten state. The cross sections of these specimens were characterized by SEM as well as optical imaging. The results showed that an optimized amount of flux (10 to 15%wt. in this research) considerably decreases the time to reach more than 90% recovery in comparison with non-fluxed compacts. The flux caused the intermetallic forming reactions to be started considerably sooner in fluxed compacts in comparison with the non-fluxed compact. Consequently, the incubation time decreased from about 180 seconds for non-fluxed compacts to less than 3 seconds for compacts with 10%wt. flux.

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Abstract: The horizontal continuous casting process has received a significant attention for near net shape casting of non ferrous metals and alloys. Numerical Simulation has been widely used for process design and optimization of continuous casting process. In the present study, a 3-dimensional heat flow model was developed to simulate the heat transfer and solidification in a horizontal billet continuous casting system in which the air gap formation and its effect on heat extraction rate from solidifying billet was also considered. In order to test the developed model, it was run to simulate the heat transfer and solidification for an industrial billet caster. The predicted temperature distribution within the mold and billet was compared with those measured on the industrial caster in which a good agreement was obtained. Finally, parametric studies were carried out by validated model to evaluate the effects of different parameters on solidification profile and temperature distribution within the model brass billet. The microstructure of cast billet was analyzed to determine the secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) under different cooling conditions. Based on measured SDAS and predicted solidification rate a correlation between SDAS and cooling rate was proposed for continuously cast brass billet.

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Abstract: Due to the expansion of high voltage Alternating Current (AC) power transmission lines and cathodically protected buried pipelines, it is becoming more and more difficult to construct them with enough safe distances between them. Thus, the pipelines are frequently exposed to induced AC interferences, which result in perturbation of Cathodic Protection (CP) due to AC corrosion. To study the above criterion, an experimental set up was used with coupons exposed to simulated soil solutions, while under both CP and AC induced condition for which an AC+DC power supply was utilized. The experiments were carried out in several simulated soil solutions corresponding to several soil samples collected from various regions along a buried pipeline with overhead parallel high voltage power transmission line. The results indicated that AC corrosion depends strongly on the composition of the soil.

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Abstract: Guinier-Preston (GP) zone formation and precipitation behavior of T1 (Al2CuLi) phase during the ageingof an Al-Cu-Li-Zr alloy was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) technique and electrical resistancemeasurement of the samples. Results show that endothermic effects in the thermograms of the alloy between 180°Cand 240°C can be related to the enthalpy of GPzones dissolution. Formation of GPzones in the structure increasedhardness, tensile strength and electrical resistance of the Al-Cu-Li-Zr alloy. Furthermore, precipitation of T1 phaseoccurred in temperature range of 250ºC to 300ºC whereas its dissolution occurred within the temperature of 450-530ºC. Activation energies for precipitation and dissolution of T1 phase which were determined for the first time inthis research, were 122.1(kJ/mol) and 130.3(kJ/mol) respectively. Results of electrical resistance measurementsshowed that an increase in the aging time resulted in the reduction of electrical resistance of the aged samples.

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  Abstract:

  The aims of this research were to investigate the effects of semisolid metal (SSM) processing parameters (i.e., shear rates –times – temperatures combinations) on the primary solidification products and isothermal holding duration, subsequent to cessation of stirring on the secondary solidification of Al-Si (A356) alloy.

  The dendrite fragmentation was found to be the governing mechanism of the primary dendritic to non-dendritic transformation, via rosette to final pseudo-spherical shapes during the primary solidification

The secondary solidification of the liquid in the slurry was not only a growth phenomenon but also promoted by 1) fresh heterogeneous nucleation and growth of dendrites and 2) the dendritic growth of the primary solidification products in the remaining liquid. Upon cessation of stirring and gradual disappearance of the prior shear force, the slurry relaxed, and the secondary solidification products pertained to conventional solidification condition

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ABSTRACT Macrosegregation has been received high attention in the solidification modeling studies. In the present work, a numerical model was developed to predict the macrosegregation during the DC Casting of an Al-4.5wt%Cu billet. The mathematical model developed in this study consists of mass, momentum, energy and species conservation equations for a two-phase mixture of liquid and solid in an axisymmetric coordinates. The solution methodology is based on a standard Finite Volume Method. A new scheme called Semi-Implicit Method for Thermodynamically-Linked Equations (SIMTLE) was employed to link energy and species equations with phase diagram of the alloying system. The model was tested by experimental data extracted from an industrial scale DC caster and a relatively good agreement was obtained. It was concluded that a proper macrosegregation model needs two key features: a precise flow description in the two-phase regions and a capable efficient numerical scheme

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Abstract: The supersolidus liquid phase sintering characteristics of commercial 2024 pre-alloyed powder was studied at different sintering conditions. Pre-alloyed 2024 aluminum alloy powder was produced via air atomizing process with particle size of less than 100 µm. The solidus and liquidus temperatures of the produced alloy were determined using differential thermal analysis (DTA). The sintering process was performed at various temperatures ranging from the solidus to liquidus temperatures in dry N2 gas atmosphere for 30 min in a tube furnace. The maximum density of the 2024 aluminum alloy was obtained at 610ºC which yields parts with a relative density of 98.8% of the theoretical density. The density of the sintered samples increased to the maximum 99.3% of the theoretical density with the addition of 0.1 wt. %Sn powder to the 2024 pre-alloyed powder. The maximum density was obtained at 15% liquid volume fraction for both powder mixtures.

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Abstract: SiC nano particles with mono dispersed distribution were synthesized by using of silicon alkoxides and phenolic resin as starting materials. After synthesis of sample, characterizations of the obtained powder were investigated via Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) with 400-4000 cm-1, X-ray Diffractometry (XRD), Laser Particle Size Analyzing (LPSA), Si29 NMR analysis, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). FTIR and Si29 NMR results of the gel powder indicated that Si-O-C bonds were formed due to hydrolysis and condensation reactions . FTIR results showed a very strong peak for heat treated powder at 1500°C after carbon removal which is corresponded to Si-C bond. Obtained pattern from X-ray diffractometry showed that the final products contain -SiC phase with poly crystalline planes and little amounts of residual carbon. PSA results showed that the average particles size were 50.6 nm with monosized distribution. Also microstructural studies showed that the SiC nano powders have semi spherical morphology with mean particles size of 30-50 nm and also there are some agglomerates with irregular shape.

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Abstract: The boundary value problems involving contact are of the great importance in industries related to mechanical and materials engineering. These mixed problems are challenging since a priori unknown deformed surface of the material contacting a rigid indenter is to be determined as a part of the solution. Anisotropic solids represent an important class of engineering materials including crystals, woods, bones, thin solid films, polymer composites, etc. Contact analysis of an anisotropic media, however, is more difficult and is developed less completely in the literature. In this work, both analytical and computational studies of the contact treatment of a semi-infinite orthotropic material indented by a rigid spherical indenter have been considered in two different sections. This approach can be applied to determine the interfacial contact area and pressure distribution for three-dimensional orthotropic materials, and can then be used to calculate the resulting stress and strain fields of the media. Results presented herein can serve as benchmarks with which to compare solutions obtained by ANSYS commercial package.