Sharif Digital Repository

The microstructure and phase transformational behavior of NiTi-based composites reinforced with 6 wt.% of α-alumina nanoparticles have been investigated. Two kinds of starting materials, elemental Ni–Ti and prealloyed austenitic NiTi, were used to prepare the composites. The samples were consolidated using a hot isostatic pressing method. The X-ray diffraction results showed that while unreinforced NiTi mainly contained B2 phase at room temperature, martensitic B19′ phase appeared in the microstructure after addition of the α-alumina nanoparticles. The differential scanning calorimetry measurements indicated that the martensitic transformation temperatures were elevated in the composite... 

To improve the hydrogen kinetics of magnesium hydride, TiCr1.2Fe0.6 alloy was prepared by vacuum arc remelting (VAR) and the alloy was co-milled with MgH2 to process nanostructured MgH2–5 at.% TiCr1.2Fe0.6 powder. The hydrogen desorption properties of the composite powder were studied and compared with pure magnesium hydride. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that the composite powder prepared by VAR/mechanical alloying (MA) procedure consisted of β-MgH2, γ-MgH2, bcc Ti–Cr–Fe alloy, and small amount of MgO. The average size of particles and their grain structure after 4 h MA were determined by a laser particle size analyzer and XRD method and found to be 194 nm and 11 nm, respectively.... 

Microstructural development and phase formation at the interface of yttria stabilized zirconia (3Y-TZP)/430L stainless steel composite layers produced by co-sintering method were studied by SEM, HRTEM, micro-focus XRD, and EPMA. Formation of a rich chromium boundary layer at the interface was noticed, which revealed Cr aggregation at the interface at the elevated temperatures. Misfit dislocations were also observed at the joint interface to tackle the mismatch crystallographic orientations between the ceramic and metal layer. The results of the micro-focus XRD showed formation of no new phases at the boundary zone. Microstructural studies also revealed a retarded grain growth in the... 

This paper is to do a brief research on the buckling behavior of composite triangular plates with various edge boundary conditions and in-plane loads. It may be regarded as a right and simple numerical method for the analysis of composite triangular thin plate using the natural Area coordinates. Previous studies on the solution of triangular plates with different boundary conditions were mostly based on the Rayleigh-Ritz principle which is performed in the Cartesian coordinate. In this method, the energy functional of a general triangular plate is derived and the Rayleigh-Ritz method is utilized to derive the governing eigenvalue equation for the buckling problem. The geometry is presented... 

In this investigation, aluminum layers are bonded together using epoxy adhesive. The adhesive is modified using different additives and the influence of adhesive composition on interfacial fracture energy is measured via double cantilever beam (DCB) test. To characterize the mechanical behavior of the adhesive, compression and impact tests were incorporated. The results of compression and impact tests show that compressive and impact properties of adhesives are functions of type and content of modifier. In the DCB test, it was observed that while addition of rubber particles increase interfacial fracture energy of epoxy, incorporating SiC particles decrease this parameter. Also, the results... 

In this work, an attempt was made to improve the distribution of CNTs in CNT/alumina nanocomposites. The composite powders containing 1 and 3vol% of CNTs were produced and calcined at 500°C for 2h. Surface coating with boehmite nanoparticles was used to improve CNT distribution in alumina matrix. Calcined powders were shaped into compacted samples by cold isostatic pressing at 180MPa and sintered at 1600°C for 2h in flowing gas atmosphere (95%Ar+5%H2). Phase analysis of the calcined composite powders showed complete transformation of boehmite into gamma-alumina. The maximum flexural strength was 465±31MPa corresponding to addition of 1vol% CNTs. Evaluating the fracture toughness via DCM... 

This research focused on fabrication of various carbon nanofibers (CNFs) from electrospun Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) by utilization of iodine (I2) and cadmium acetate dihydrate (Cd) as stabilizers. Moreover, the influence of carbon nanotube (CNT) incorporation on structure and morphology of CNFs was investigated. In this regard, PVA and PVA-Cd solutions were individually prepared and electrospun. The resulting nanofibers were treated in I2 vapor and then carbonized. In the case of CNT incorporation, oxidized CNTs were first scattered in PVA and PVA-Cd solutions and then electrospun, iodinated and carbonized in the same conditions as mentioned above. It was found that the I2, Cd and their... 

High-energy milling technique was used to synthesize Al-10 wt.%AlN-nanostructured composite powder in a planetary ball-mill under argon atmosphere up to 25 h. To show the role of AlN particles, process was conducted for monolithic aluminum. The changes in powder characteristics were investigated by time. Microstructure of powders was studied after different milling times by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The morphological evolutions showed that relative equiaxed powder could be synthesized after 25 h milling. Structural analysis was performed by X-ray diffraction method (XRD) to determine the grain sizes and lattice strain. Furthermore, particle size analysis (PSA) revealed the... 

A336 Al matrix composites containing different volume fraction and mean mass particle size of SiC particles as the reinforcing phase were synthesised by evaporative pattern casting (EPC) route. The process consisted of fabricating of EPS/SiCp composite pattern followed by EPC of A336 Al alloy. The EPS/SiCp pattern was made by blending SiC particles with expandable polystyrene (EPS) beads and placing them in expanding mould heating with steam until EPS beads expand completely. Uniform distributed SiC particles around the EPS beads and locally movement of them during pouring and degradation leads to homogenous distribution of particles in final Al/SiCp composite. Higher modulus, strength and... 

The dissimilar wedge with finite radius under antiplane shear deformation is analyzed. The finite Mellin transform is used to solve the governing differential equation. By simply letting the wedge radius approaches infinity, the solution is obtained  

After silica coating of the prepared nickel ferrite nanoparticles, a micrometric layer of zeolitic material (analcime) was grown on the surface. To make the composites good host, surface modification was done with [BMIM]PF6 ionic liquid. Finally, the samples became antibacterial agents via loading the Ag and Au nanoparticles and denoted as X@IL/A/S/NF (X = Ag or Au). All the samples were well characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), and N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms (BET) analysis methods. Antibacterial activity of the prepared samples... 

The direct laser sintering of Al-7Si-0.3Mg/SiC composites was studied. It is shown that the densification rate obeys first-order kinetics. The rate constant is found to increase at low SiC fractions but abruptly decreases at >∼5 vol.%. In the presence of ceramic particles, the melt track becomes more stable and a more continuous sintered surface is obtained. Meanwhile, significant reaction occurs between the aluminum melt and the reinforcement particles, leading to formation of Al4SiC4 and silicon particles. The solidification microstructure is also altered. © 2008 Acta Materialia Inc  

This paper presents experimental results on the foaming behavior and compressive properties of AlSi7-3 vol.% SiC metal foam. Elemental powders of Al, Si, SiC and TiH2 were mixed, hot compacted and foamed at 750, 780 and 810 °C. It was shown that the addition of fine SiC particles (mean diameter of 3 μm) increases the melt expansion and improves the stability of AlSi7 foam. A less drainage in the cell structure was also noticed. Meanwhile, large irregular cells in the macrostructure and a slight degradation of the mechanical properties under compressive load were observed. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved  

A modified analytical model is developed for analysis of 3D elastic stress fields in short fiber composites subjected to an applied axial load. Two sets of exact displacement solutions for the matrix and fiber are derived based on the theory of elasticity. The superposition state of these solutions are then used to obtain the analytical expressions for the 3D stress field components over the entire composite system including the fiber end region, which is modeled by the use of imaginary fiber technique. The main difference with the previous works here is that the stress field is considered to be a function of both radial and axial directions. Such an assumption made it possible to calculate... 

In the present paper, a novel superabsorbent hydrogel composite based on gelatin have been prepared via graft copolymerization of acrylic acid (AA) in the presence of kaolin powder using methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) as a crosslinking agent and ammonium persulfate (APS) as an initiator. Certain variables of the graft copolymerization (i.e., the monomer, the initiator, and the crosslinker concentration as well as kaolin/gelatin weight ratio) affected on the ultimate water-swelling capacity were optimized. The composite structure was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. A new absorption band at 1728 cm1 in the composite spectrum confirmed kaolinorganic polymer... 

This paper investigates the static and dynamic characteristics of composite thin-walled beams that are constructed from a single-cell box. The structural model considered herein incorporates a number of nonclassical effects, such as material anisotropy, transverse shear, warping inhibition, nonuniform torsional model and rotary inertia. The governing equations were derived using extended Hamilton's principle and solved using extended Galerkin's method. The effects of fiber orientation on static deflection and natural frequencies are considered and a number of important conclusions are outlined. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved  

In this study an artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed to predict the oxidation behavior of magnesia graphite composites. After mechanism evaluation in different conditions, the kinetic parameters such as effective diffusion coefficient and diffusion activation energy of oxidation were calculated from ANN predicted results at different graphite content. The obtained mechanism and kinetic parameters were compared with experimental data. First of all, the reliability of the model was checked with different available data. It was found that the model results were in good agreement with experimental data prediction. The results showed that the main mechanism of oxidation was pore... 

The overall mechanical properties of composite materials are dependent on the mechanical response of individual constituents and their interactions while they may be relatively easy to determine. This paper represents a simulation process by which the cyclic stresses and fatigue loadings on its constituents could be predicted for an under fatigue loading lamina. Hence, the unidirectional composites fatigue would be studied through its constituents. The proposed model introduces a new coupled stiffness/strength technique by relating lamina stiffness to the stress field in its constituents. Therefore, the stress field and strength considerations in its constituents could be studied when the... 

The application of agricultural fibers for making particleboards has been studied in two types of composites: (i) type I particleboards were composites of wheat straw and rice husk fibers with polymeric methylene di-phenyl diisocyanate resin (pMDI) as a binder made by compression moulding; (ii) type II particleboards were composites of rice husk and polypropylene made by extrusion and injection moulding. In type I particleboards, the effects of varying the resin content and various combinations of wheat straw/rice husk fibers were investigated and characterised in terms of physical and mechanical properties of particle boards such as modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, compression...