Shmuel Hayun

Rim region growth and its composition in reaction bonded boron carbide composites with core-rim structure

Aluminum was detected in reaction-bonded boron carbide that had been prepared by pressureless infiltration of boron carbide preforms with molten silicon in a graphite furnace under vacuum. The presence of Al2O3 in the heated zone, even though not in contact with the boron carbide preform, stands behind the presence of aluminium in the rim region that interconnects the initial boron carbide particles. The composition of the rim corresponds to the Bx(C,Si,Al)y quaternary carbide phase. The reaction of alumina with graphite and the formation of a gaseous aluminum suboxide (Al2O) accounts for the transfer of aluminum in the melt and, subsequently in the rim regions. The presence of Al increases the solubility of boron in liquid silicon, but with increasing aluminum content the activity of boron decreases. These features dominate the structural evolution of the rim-core in the presence of aluminum in the melt.

Effect of impurity levels on the structure of solidified aluminum under pulse magneto-oscillation (PMO)

The effect of pulse magneto-oscillation (PMO) treatment on the solidified structure and the cooling curves of pure aluminum samples of two grades were investigated. The PMO treatment leads to decrease in the supercooling level and to refinement of the solidified structure. The effect of the PMO treatment strongly depends on the purity level of aluminum. A model is proposed to explain the effect of the PMO treatment on the structure of solidified metals.

Effects of Treatment Duration and Cooling Rate on Pure Aluminum Solidification Upon Pulse Magneto-Oscillation Treatment

The effect of pulse magneto-oscillation (PMO) treatment on casting grain size has been widely investigated. Nevertheless, its mechanism remains unclear, especially when PMO is applied at different periods during solidification, namely when only applied above the melting point. In the present work, the effect of PMO treatment applied at different segments during solidification was investigated. It was found that the dendrite fragmentation model may well explain the effect of PMO applied during the dendrite growth stage. However, only the cavities activation model may account for the effect when PMO is conducted above the melting point. In current study, the effect of PMO treatment on grain size was also investigated at various cooling rates. It was established that the cooling rate had only a slight effect on grain size when PMO treatment was applied. Thus, PMO treatment may provide homogeneous grain size distribution in castings with different wall thicknesses that solidified with various cooling rates.

Spectroscopic study of ordering in non-stoichiometric magnesium aluminate spinel

Abstract FTIR and RAMAN spectroscopic methods were used to study the ordering of non-stoichiometric nano-magnesium aluminate spinels (MgOnAl2O3, 0.4 < n < 12) synthesized using a combustion synthesis method. It was established that the degree of structural disorder (i.e., the inversion parameter, i) can be quantified using the intensities of the γ1 and γ5 IR modes or 670 and 723 cm-1 Raman shifts. The results indicated that the as-synthesized materials were heavily disordered and obey earlier conclusions that the defect chemistry of non-stoichiometric spinels is dominated by clusters formed from anti-site defects. Analysis of the temperature dependency of cation distribution in the Mg- and Alrich samples showed that the spinel phase moved toward equilibrium upon increases in temperature. Where decomposition occurred, the disordered level decreased at temperatures up to 1000 °C. Above this temperature, the order level dropped far below the expected equilibrium value and the γ3 mode (a mode that is characterized for ordered structures, such as a natural spinel) that appears. These findings, together with Raman results of partly decomposed Al-rich samples, support the hypothesis that a MgAl2O4-γ-Al8/3□1/3O4 solid solution comprises of series of complex micro-phases with considerable short-range order.

ON THE COMPRESSIVE AND TENSILE STRENGTH OF MAGNESIUM ALUMINATE SPINEL

Magnesium aluminate spinel is a strong polycrystalline transparent ceramic. Spinel is an attractive material for armor applications and its behavior under shock wave loading is of obvious interest. The purpose of the present study was to determine the Hugoniot elastic limit (HEL) of this material, its Hugoniot response above the HEL, and its spall strength. Planar impact experiments were performed over the 2 to 40 GPa stress range using the Velocity Interferometer System for Any Reflector (VISAR) as a principal diagnostics tool. According to these tests, spinel has a HEL of about 11.3 GPa. The spall strength of the material was found to be close to zero at low, about 2 GPa, impact stress.

The Effect of Lithium Doping on the Sintering and Grain Growth of SPS-Processed, Non-Stoichiometric Magnesium Aluminate Spinel

The effects of lithium doping on the sintering and grain growth of non-stoichiometric nano-sized magnesium aluminate spinel were studied using a spark plasma sintering (SPS) apparatus. Li-doped nano-MgO·nAl2O3 spinel (n = 1.06 and 1.21) powders containing 0, 0.20, 0.50 or 1.00 at. % Li were synthesized by the solution combustion method and dense specimens were processed using a SPS apparatus at 1200 °C and under an applied pressure of 150 MPa. The SPS-processed samples showed mutual dependency on the lithium concentration and the alumina-to-magnesia ratio. For example, the density and hardness values of near-stoichiometry samples (n = 1.06) showed an incline up to 0.51 at. % Li, while in the alumina rich samples (n = 1.21), these values remained constant up to 0.53 at. % Li. Studying grain growth revealed that in the Li-MgO·nAl2O3 system, grain growth is limited by Zener pining. The activation energies of undoped, 0.2 and 0.53 at. % Li-MgO·1.21Al2O3 samples were 288 ± 40, 670 ± 45 and 543 ± 40 kJ·mol−1, respectively.

Defect Chemistry of Oxides for Energy Applications

Oxides are widely used for energy applications, as solid electrolytes in various solid oxide fuel cell devices or as catalysts (often associated with noble metal particles) for numerous reactions involving oxidation or reduction. Defects are the major factors governing the efficiency of a given oxide for the above applications. In this paper, the common defects in oxide systems and external factors influencing the defect concentration and distribution are presented, with special emphasis on ceria (CeO2 ) based materials. It is shown that the behavior of a variety of oxide systems with respect to properties relevant for energy applications (conductivity and catalytic activity) can be rationalized by general considerations about the type and concentration of defects in the specific system. A new method based on transmission electron microscopy (TEM), recently reported by the authors for mapping space charge defects and measuring space charge potentials, is shown to be of potential importance for understanding conductivity mechanisms in oxides. The influence of defects on gas-surface reactions is exemplified on the interaction of CO2 and H2 O with ceria, by correlating between the defect distribution in the material and its adsorption capacity or splitting efficiency.

Strength of ceramic–metal joints measured in planar impact experiments

SPS-processed alumina and reaction-bonded boron carbide ceramic composite (RBBC) were joined with Al10SiMg alloy by spark plasma sintering and tested in a series of planar impact experiments designed to measure dynamic tensile (spall) strength of the joints. The results of the impact testing, together with postmortem inspection of the fractured samples, confirmed the applicability of this approach for testing joint strength. The measurements show that in the case of an RBBC/metal joint, the dynamic tensile strength of the joint exceeds that of the ceramic part, and that fracture of the shock-loaded ceramic–metal pair occurred in the ceramic portion. The dynamic tensile strength of the interface between alumina and Al10SiMg alloy virtually coincides with that of the metal part, with the fracture occurring exactly at the interface. The coincidence may be explained based on the recently published results of atomistic calculations of the structure of an alumina–aluminum interface.

Thermal Decomposition of Supersaturated Ti1-xAlxN Solid Solution Synthesized by High-Energy Milling

Supersaturated titanium-aluminum nitride (Ti1-xAlxN) is a very attractive material for a wide range of applications due to its high oxidation and wear resistance accompanied by high strength, hardness, thermal conductivity and thermal shock resistance. Currently, its applications are limited to coatings obtained by physical or chemical deposition. Bulk materials based on Ti1-xAlxN may be fabricated by powder metallurgy approach using powders synthesized by high-energy ball milling (HEBM), which composition corresponds to supersaturated Ti1-xAlxN solid solution. In the present study, thermal stability of the supersaturated Ti1-xAlxN solid solution was investigated. According to the quasi-binary TiN-AlN phase diagram, constructed using density functional theory (DFT) analysis, the concentration ranges, where decomposition takes place through spinodal decomposition or through nucleation and growth, were determined. Experimental study on thermal stability of solid Ti1-xAlxN solution powder was conducted by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Brunauer-Emmited-Teller (BET) and XRD. The results indicated that spinodal decomposition of Ti1-xAlxN starts at 800°C, while at temperature higher than 1300°C regular decomposition (nucleation and growth) is occur.