Sharif Digital Repository

Aluminum matrix nanocomposites were fabricated via friction stir processing of an Al–Mg alloy with pre-inserted TiO2 nanoparticles at different volume fractions of 3%, 5% and 6%. The nanocomposites were annealed at 300–500 °C for 1–5 h in air to study the effect of annealing on the microstructural changes and mechanical properties. Microstructural studies by scanning and transmission electron microscopy showed that new phases were formed during friction stir processing due to chemical reactions at the interface of TiO2 with the aluminum matrix alloy. Reactive annealing completed the solid-state reactions, which led to a significant improvement in the ductility of the nanocomposites (more... 

Friction stir processing (FSP) is a solid state route with a capacity of preparing fine grained nanocomposites from metal sheets. In this work, we employed this process to finely distribute TiO2 nanoparticles throughout an Al–Mg alloy, aiming to enhance mechanical properties. Titanium dioxide particles (30 nm) were preplaced into grooves machined in the middle of the aluminium alloy sheet and multipass FSP was afforded. This process refined the grain structure of the aluminium alloy, distributed the hard nanoparticles in the matrix and promoted solid state chemical reactions at the interfaces of the metal/ceramic particles. Detailed optical and electron microscopic studies showed that the... 

Solid-state joining of powder-metallurgy processed (P/M) Al–2 vol% Al2O3 (15 nm) nanocomposite by friction stir welding (FSW) was studied. The nanocomposite was prepared via high-energy mechanical milling followed by hot consolidation processes. The microstructure, mechanical properties and fracture behavior of the welds were evaluated and compared with FSWed wrought 1050 aluminum sheets (WAS). We have found that unlike WAS that can processed at various FSW conditions, the working window for the solid-state joining of P/M nanocomposite is narrow and only feasible at relatively high heating inputs. Microstructural studies showed the formation of melted zones with high hardness at the... 

Controlling topographic features at all length scales is of great importance for the interaction of cells with tissue regenerative materials. We utilized an indirect three-dimensional printing method to fabricate polymeric scaffolds with pre-defined and controlled external and internal architecture that had an interconnected structure with macro- (400-500 μm) and micro- (∼25 μm) porosity. Polycaprolactone (PCL) was used as model system to study the kinetics of tissue growth within porous scaffolds. The surface of the scaffolds was decorated with TiO2 and bioactive glass (BG) nanoparticles to the better match to nanoarchitecture of extracellular matrix (ECM). Micrometric BG particles were... 

Copper based hybrid composites containing nano-sized silicon carbide and carbon nanotubes reinforcements with minimal porosity were fabricated via mechanical milling followed by hot pressing technique. Microstructures of the powders and consolidated materials were studied using scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning transmission electron microscope. Microstructural characterization of the materials revealed that the addition of nanosized silicon carbide reinforcement lowered the grain growth rate and enhanced the homogenization during mechanical milling. Microhardness measurements and compression test showed considerable improvements in mechanical... 

This article describes a study on WC–10Co cemented carbides with different percent of grain growth inhibitors. Samples were prepared by the conventional powder metallurgy method, using WC and Co powder and different concentrations of VC and (Ta, Nb)C powder. All samples were processed using a hot isostatic press (HIP) and the effect of grain growth inhibitors on the microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated. Additionally, microstructure and powder particle morphology were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The specimen's microstructure proved that the addition of VC is more effective at suppressing grain growth than... 

Polycaprolactone (PCL) composite films containing 5 wt.% bioactive glass (BG) particles of different sizes (6 μm, 250 nm, < 100 nm) were prepared by solvent casting methods. The ultra-fine BG particles were prepared by high-energy mechanical milling of commercial 45S5 Bioglass® particles. The characteristics of bioactive glass particles were studied by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. In vitro bioactivity of the PCL/BG composite films was evaluated through immersion in the simulated body fluid (SBF). The films were analyzed by FE-SEM, energy dispersive... 

The microstructure and mechanical properties of the ultra-fine grained (UFG) Al6063 alloy reinforced with nanometric aluminum oxide nanoparticles (25 nm) were investigated and compared with the coarse-grained (CG) Al6063 alloy (~2 μm). The UFG materials were prepared by mechanical alloying (MA) under high-purity Ar and Ar-5 vol pct O2 atmospheres followed by hot powder extrusion (HPE). The CG alloy was produced by HPE of the gas-atomized Al6063 powder without applying MA. Electron backscatter diffraction under scanning electron microscopy together with transmission electron microscopy studies revealed that the microstructure of the milled powders after HPE consisted of ultra-fine grains... 

Submerged friction-stir processing under cryogenic conditions was employed to fabricate ultrafine-grained nanocomposites with enhanced mechanical characteristics. Al-Mg alloy sheet with 3vol% TiO2 nanoparticles were processed under air (ambient temperature), a water-dry ice medium (~-25°C), and liquid nitrogen. It is shown that a homogenous distribution of reinforcement particles throughout the metal matrix is attained at a rotational speed of 1400rpm and a traverse velocity of 50mm/min after 4 passes. In situ formation of Al3Ti and MgO nanophases during multi-pass processing is shown by transmission electron microscopy. Under the cryogenic cooling condition, ultrafine grains and cellular... 

In this study, the properties of poly (vinyl alcohol)(PVA) films incorporated with Zataria multiflora essential oil (ZMO) as a potential antioxidant/antibacterial material was investigated. PVA films were prepared from PVA solutions (2% w/v) containing different concentrations of ZMO. Water solubility, moisture absorption, water swelling, and water vapor permeability for pure PVA films were 57 ± 1.1, 99 ± 3.2%, 337 ± 8%, and 0.453 ± 0.015 g mm/m2 h, respectively. Incorporation of ZMO into PVA films caused a significant decrease in water swelling and moisture absorption and increase in solubility and water vapor permeability. Tensile strength, elastic modulus, and elongation at break for pure... 

The evolution of microstructure and the mechanical properties of an aluminum 6061 alloy tube subjected to a novel severe plastic deformation process called tube channel pressing were studied. Results show that the tube channel pressing causes an impressive grain refinement and strengthening of the material. As an illustration, mostly ultrafine grained tube (D-=760nm) bearing the yield strength of 352. MPa can be obtained after 5 passes of tube channel pressing. Additionally, the tube channel pressing causes the heterogeneous grain refinement resulting in a bimodal distribution of size of grains after 7th pass. Therefore, it can be inferred that the main microstructure refining mechanism... 

Recently, considerable attentions have been paid to alloy Mg-4Zn-0.2Ca for biomedical applications due to its suitable biocompatibility and acceptable mechanical properties. In this work, the effects of the addition of different amounts of Al on microstructure, mechanical properties, degradation behavior, and biocompatibility of this alloy were investigated. The corrosion behaviors of the alloys were investigated through polarization tests, chronoamperometry analysis, immersion tests, and EIS experiments. The mechanical properties were analyzed by using tensile tests and compression tests. The results showed that the addition of Al up to 3 wt.% considerably modifies the degradation behaviors... 

A series of biodegradable acrylic terminated polyurethanes (APUs) based on poly(ε-caprolactone) diol (PCL), aliphatic 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) and hydroxyethyl methyl acrylate (HEMA) was synthesized as potential materials for hard tissue biomedical applications. PCLs with low molecular weights of 1000 and 2000 g/mol were employed to provide different amounts of end capped urethane acrylate in APUs. To control crosslink density, a mixture of two different reactive diluents including mono-functional HEMA and bi-functional ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) with different weight ratios was incorporated into the APUs, called here PUAs. Morphological characteristics and mechanical... 

Microstructural characteristics and mechanical properties of a friction stir welded cast aluminum bronze (Cu-9Al-1Fe), produced by a sand casting method, have been investigated at tool rotation of 850-1500 rpm and traverse speed of 50-100 mm/min. Refinement of the primary coarse cast microstructure in the base metal was seen after friction stir welding. Microstructure of the stir zone was characterized in four distinct areas of non-isometric fine grains while a significant grain growth was noticed in some of the areas. Conditions of grain growth are defined with high heat input intensity and low heat transfer capability. The grain size was observed to decrease after FSW, resulting in a... 

In order to simulate the performance of pure methane in chemical looping using iron-based oxygen carrier, simultaneously production of three pure streams of hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide has been investigated. For this purpose, proper operating conditions have been discussed for maximum production of hydrogen, complete consumption of oxygen of inlet air and complete combustion of methane. Professional software is used to simulate the chemical looping reactors and optimize their output streams. Results show that in this process each mole of methane fuel can produce 2.533, 2.65 and 0.99 mol of pure N 2, H2 and CO2, respectively which contributes 80.2% energy conversion of CH4 to H2.... 

In this work, examinations on the microstructure and mechanical properties of plain carbon steel and AISI 430 ferritic stainless steel dissimilar welds are carried out. Welding is conducted in both autogenous and using ER309L austenitic filler rod conditions through gas tungsten arc welding process. The results indicate that fully-ferritic and duplex ferritic-martensitic microstructures are formed for autogenous and filler-added welds, respectively. Carbide precipitation and formation of martensite at ferrite grain boundaries (intergranular martensite) as well as grain growth occur in the heat affected zone (HAZ) of AISI 430 steel. It is found that weld heat input can strongly affect grain... 

Self compacting concrete (SCC), as an innovative construction material in concrete industry, offers a safer and more productive construction process due to favorable rheological performance which is caused by SCC's different mixture composition. This difference may have remarkable influence on the mechanical behavior of SCC as compared to normal vibrated concrete (NVC) in hardened state. Therefore, it is vital to know whether the use of all assumptions and relations that have been formulated for NVC in current design codes are also valid for SCC. Furthermore, this study presents an extensive evaluation and comparison between mechanical properties of SCC using current international codes and... 

The 1050 aluminum sheets are severely deformed by two passes of the constrained groove pressing (CGP) process to obtain the strain of 2.32. Friction stir processing (FSP) is then performed on these specimens at two conditions of with and without SiC nanoparticles. Microhardness measurements indicate that in the state of FSP without any particle, the microhardness of stir zone is decreased due to the recrystallization and grain growth occurrence because of high stored strain energy in the CGPed specimens. In order to enhance the mechanical properties of the stir zone, SiC nanoparticles are used during FSP. Also, the effect of FSP pass number on the distribution of nanoparticles is... 

In this study, different concentrations of ascorbic acid (50, 100 and 200 μg/mL) were added to the liquid phase of a calcium phosphate cement (CPC). The cements were immersed in simulated body fluid (SBF) for different intervals and physical, physicochemical and mechanical properties of them were evaluated. The release of added ascorbic acid from CPCs into the SBF solution was also studied. From the results, both setting time and injectability of CPC decreased by adding ascorbic acid, however the compressive strength was sharply increased before soaking in SBF solution. But, the compressive strength values of all cements (with or without ascorbic acid) soaked in SBF solution for more than 7... 

Mechanical properties, microstructural events, residual stresses, and aging behavior of friction stir-welded AA6061-T6 were investigated in this work. Microstructural and mechanical characterizations of the friction stir-welded joints in as-welded and post-welded conditions were made by means of optical metallography, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction for determination of residual stresses, tensile testing, and hardness measurements. It was found that weld strength and hardness variations after welding are mainly dependent on the imposed heat input per unit length. Besides, the kinetics of natural aging in the welded samples was found to be noticeable within the first 14...