Sharif Digital Repository

Different heating rates of 200-1200 deg;C/s were utilized during ultra-rapid annealing (URA) up to the temperatures of 730 and 760 °C on the severely deformed low carbon steel. Higher hardness, strength and ductility achieved for the sample heated at 730 °C with 600 °C/s due to formation of bimodal grain size (BGS) microstructure than them for non-BGS samples. The BGS enhancement for the hardness, strength and ductility with respect to those of as received sample was 67%, 80% and 7%, respectively, and, with respect to those of severely deformed one was 16%, 44% and 24%, respectively. URA with the heating rate of 200 °C/s and 1000 °C/s leads to fully recrystallized and non-recrystallized... 

The effects of Sr additions (0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 wt%) on the microstructural evolution, thermal stability, and mechanical properties of a cast Mg–4Zn alloy were investigated. The extent of grain growth and stability of the intermetallic compounds were studied by optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. Mechanical properties of the studied alloys were evaluated by shear punch testing (SPT) method and also the hardness test. Hardness and shear strength of the base alloy were increased by Sr additions in the as-cast condition, due to the grain refinement effect of Sr and also presence of the Sr-containing Mg17Sr2 and Mg70Zn25Sr5 precipitates. However, the optimum amount of Sr... 

Lithium batteries have been widely used to power up implantable medical devices such as pacemakers that are often designed to treat, diagnose, and prevent different diseases. However, due to their limited capacity and lifetime, patients have to undergo a surgical procedure to replace the discharged battery. Recently, nanogenerators have been emerged and are broadly accepted since they can convert tiny biomechanical forces, such as heartbeats, into electrical energy. This study aims to manufacture a biocompatible and high-performance piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) that is capable to be charged by the energy received from the heartbeat and store the generated voltage. In this research, a... 

In current study, microstructure and high-temperature mechanical properties of ZK60 magnesium alloy reinforced by SiC whiskers were investigated after casting, the KOBO extrusion and aging processes. For this purpose, ZK60/SiCw composite specimens were prepared by stir casting technique. In order to achieve a laminar structure and improve the strength, the samples were subjected to KOBO extrusion technique and precipitation hardening, resulting in improved strength and increased ductility. The former is due to grain refining and formation of precipitates in the microstructure, while the latter is attributed to grain refining and formation of laminar structure. To evaluate the strength of the... 

Fabrication of an appropriate skin scaffold needs to meet several standards related to the mechanical and biological properties. Fully natural/green scaffolds with acceptable biodegradability, biocompatibility, and physiological properties quite often suffer from poor mechanical properties. Therefore, for appropriate skin tissue engineering and to mimic the real functions, we need to use synthetic polymers and/or additives as complements to green polymers. Green nanocomposites (either nanoscale natural macromolecules or biopolymers containing nanoparticles) are a class of scaffolds with acceptable biomedical properties window (drug delivery and cardiac, nerve, bone, cartilage as well as skin... 

ABSTRACTs: The need for fully dense material with well-engineered microstructures has led to the promising emergence of innovative sintering technologies among which the Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) is one of the most favorite. Unlike the conventional sintering processes, SPS takes advantage of a current flow passing through the sintering die and metallic powders by which fast densification with minimal grain growth and enhanced physicomechanical properties can be obtained. Albeit there is a growing interest in the exploitation of SPS in producing sufficiently consolidated metallic parts, no analytical review has been released over the effects of SPS parameters on the densification behavior,... 

The biodegradability and mechanical properties of polysaccharides are dependent on their architecture (linear or branched) as well as their crystallinity (size of crystals and crystallinity percent). The amount of crystalline zones in the polysaccharide significantly governs their ultimate properties and applications (from packaging to biomedicine). Although synthesis, characterization, and properties of polysaccharides have been the subject of several review papers, the effects of crystallization kinetics and crystalline domains on the properties and application have not been comprehensively addressed. This review places focus on different aspects of crystallization of polysaccharides as... 

Polyamide 6 (PA6)/carbon nanotube (CNT)/conductive carbon black (CCB) nanocomposites with the incorporation of physical and chemical dispersants were prepared via melt blending method to examine the synergistic enhancement of electrical conductivity. Investigation of modified CNT with octadecyl triphenyl phosphonium chloride (OTPC-CNT) as physical dispersant was performed by Fourier transform infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, Raman spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. Morphological, electrical, rheological, and mechanical properties of PA6/CNT/CCB nanocomposites were examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, digital insulation... 

One problem that has always been a challenge for geotechnical engineers is construction on problematic and soft soils. Traditional methods of lime and cement stabilisation can be used to treat soils with these properties. The main drawback of lime addition to the clayey soils is a significant loss in ductility of lime-treated soils. Using ductile materials such as geogrids in lime-treated soils is one of the most effective ways to increase the soil ductility. Therefore, the effect of geogrids and lime on unconfined compressive strength (UCS), failure strain (ɛf), secant modulus (Es), deformability indexes (ID), resilient modulus (Mr), bulk modulus (K), and shear modulus (G) of the treated... 

This study investigates the effect of cold rolling prior to inter-critical annealing on microstructure and mechanical properties of ferrite-martensite dual phase steel. Samples were heated to 850 °C for 1 h followed by oil quenching, then the steel sheet were cold rolled by 0%,10%,15% and 20% reduction in thickness. The inter-critical annealing treatment (750 °C, 120min) was performed to generate a ferrite-martensite microstructure. Microstructural studies showed that increasing the applied cold rolling, leading to increase in volume fraction of martensite and decrease in ferrite grain size. Mechanical properties of dual phase steel were measured by tensile, impact and hardness tests.... 

Zirconium has attracted considerable attention in the biomedical field owing to its biocompatibility and desirable tribological and mechanical properties. In this study, we anodized pure zirconium in an ammonium fluoride and ethylene glycol electrolyte, which produced a coating of ZrO2 nanotubes (NTs). The ZrO2 coated samples were annealed at different temperatures, and the morphology and structure of the coated substrates were studied using XPS, SEM, TEM, EDS, and SAED. The micro/nanomechanical properties and corrosion resistance of the samples were evaluated. Wear tests performed on bare and coated substrates revealed that the coated samples annealed at 400 °C had a significantly lower... 

In this article, the self-compacting lightweight concretes (SCLC) with different fibers were prepared and exposed to elevated temperatures, and their mechanical properties were investigated. Three types of fibers were steel fibers (SF), polypropylene fibers (PPF), and metal springs with a volume fraction of 0.4%. One hundred and fifty cylindrical specimens were prepared, and the compression, tensile and flexural tests were carried out on them after exposure to high temperatures ranging from 25 to 700°C. The findings indicate that incorporation of steel fibers and springs enhanced the compressive strength of concrete by 20% compared to the control specimen. Meanwhile, the polypropylene fibers... 

The objective of the research is to determine the effect of friction stir processing (FSP) parameters and vibration on the machining behavior of AZ91 alloy. The article displays the state of the art of AZ91 alloy machinability including chip formation, chip morphology, and cutting forces. In this method, the vibration was applied to the process line through the fixture under the workpiece during the FSP. The three-dimensional finite element (FE) modeling was applied for simulating the small-hole drilling process of AZ91 alloy. The large deformation of work and the chip formation in drilling process is realized by incorporating Johnson-Cook material constitutive model and material failure... 

The alkaline treatment condition plays a crucial role in governing the ultimate properties of flax fibers. In this study, flax fibers were modified with mild alkalization and severe mercerization conditions to give fundamental insight into how the molecular-scale changes in cell wall fine structure and cellulose supramolecular structure can affect the macroscopic properties of fibers. SEM, FTIR, XRD, TGA, and DSC techniques were employed to characterize the variations in morphology, composition, crystalline structure, and thermal properties of fibers. Also, tensile tests evaluated their reinforcing performance in polypropylene-based composites. The results indicated that alkalization in 5%... 

Polyamide 6 (PA6)/carbon nanotube (CNT)/conductive carbon black (CCB) nanocomposites with the incorporation of physical and chemical dispersants were prepared via melt blending method to examine the synergistic enhancement of electrical conductivity. Investigation of modified CNT with octadecyl triphenyl phosphonium chloride (OTPC-CNT) as physical dispersant was performed by Fourier transform infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, Raman spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. Morphological, electrical, rheological, and mechanical properties of PA6/CNT/CCB nanocomposites were examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, digital insulation... 

This research study aims at investigating the influence of partial solution treatment and the subsequent cooling strategy on the microstructure and mechanical properties of an as-cast Co–Cr–W superalloy. Three different cooling scenarios were employed to explore the effect of cooling rate on the carbide reprecipitation potential from the solid solution formed during the heat treatment. The partial dissolution/breakdown of the continuous network of the Cr-rich M7C3 carbides during the partial solution treatment cycle along with their transformation to M23C6 carbides and formation of secondary carbides during the cooling stage were taken into account to discuss the obtained hardness values,... 

Austempered ductile iron (ADI) is one of the most widely used types of ductile iron produced by austempering heat treatment. ADI heavy section parts are employed in different industries owing to their unique mechanical properties. Cooling rate in thick parts is significantly low, so heavy section ductile iron parts should have an adequate austemperability for preventing pearlite formation in the middle of the casting. In order to achieve the proper austemperability and fully ausferritic structure, alloying elements like nickel are added to the melt. The objective of this work is to study the role of austempering parameters on nickel alloyed ADI specimens fabricated from 75-mm-thick Y-block.... 

This paper presents an experimental study on the interfacial characteristics of rammed earth materials stabilized with the combination of cement and alkali-activated fly ash (AAFA), an eco-friendly alternative for cement. Several direct shear tests were conducted to obtain cohesion and friction angle to do so. Moreover, pulse velocity and unconfined compression tests were exploited to assess other physical and mechanical properties of this material. Through the methodology used in this work, it is shown that the replacement of cement with AAFA dramatically improved cohesion, compressive strength, and pulse velocity. However, no general correlation was observed for the friction angle. © 2021,... 

Owing to the local/heterogeneous structures in supercooled liquids, after several decades of research, it is now clear that supercooled liquids are structurally different from their conventional liquid counterparts. Accordingly, an approach based on a local probe should provide a better understanding about the local mechanical properties as well as heterogeneous structures. Recently, the superiority of active microrheology over global rheology has been demonstrated [Yu et al., Sci. Adv., 2020, 6, 8766]. Here, we elaborate this new avenue of research and provide more evidence for such superiority. We report on the results of an extensive molecular dynamics simulation of active microrheology... 

The heat-affected zone (HAZ) softening is considered one of the most significant challenges during welding of ferrite–martensite dual-phase (DP) steels. In fact, the strain localization in the softened area results in a premature fracture that degrades the mechanical properties of the joint. Herein, the objective is to investigate the effectiveness of improved cooling using a high thermal diffusivity backing plate (BP) to reduce HAZ softening and enhance the mechanical properties of friction stir-welded DP700 steel. Accordingly, friction stir butt welding of DP700 steel was conducted using copper and mild steel BPs. The findings show that the replacement of steel BP with copper significantly...