A.D. Bortolozo

Microstructural and Hardness Evaluations of a Centrifuged Sn-22Pb Casting Alloy Compared with a Lead-Free SnAg Alloy

A great preoccupation with replacing the traditional Sn-Pb alloy with a Pb-free alloy (“green alloy”) is recognized. There are industrial sectors that demand metallurgical improvements to attain certain unsoundness and adequate properties as a function of imposed operational parameters. In this experimental investigation, two distinctive centrifuged casting alloys (i.e., Sn-2 wt pct Ag and Sn-22 wt pct Pb) are compared. It is found that centrifuged castings have similar microstructure constituents, although distinctive cooling rates and solute contents are considered. It is also found that Ag3Sn intermetallic particles are responsible for attaining similar tensile strength, since more dislocations between Ag3Sn particles and the Sn-rich phase are provided. In order to replace the Sn-Pb alloys with a successor alloy containing sustainability and environmental aspects associated with castability and to guarantee the desired properties, it seems that a green alloy (Pb free) with intermetallic particles finely and homogeneously distributed provides an interesting benefit to various industrial applications.

Interstitial doping induced superconductivity at 15.3 K in Nb5Ge3 compound

It is reported superconductivity in Nb5Ge3C0.3, an interstitial carbide compound. The temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity, ac-susceptibility, and heat capacity (HC) indicate that a bulk type-II superconductivity appears at TC = 15.3 K. Magneto-resistance measurements suggest an upper critical field of BC2 ∼ 10.6 T and a coherence length of ξ ∼ 55 A at zero temperature. Neutron diffraction analyzes locate the carbon atoms at the interstitial 2b site of the Mn5Si3 type-structure. Heat capacity data below TC are well described by BCS theory. The size of the jump at TC is in good agreement with the superconducting volume fraction observed in susceptibility measurements. A Debye temperature and Sommerfeld constant were also extracted from heat capacity data as 343 K and 34 mJ/mol K2, respectively.