Sharif Digital Repository

Electrophoretic technique was used to deposit micro- and nano-sized aluminum nitride coatings on stainless steel surfaces by using a well-dispersed stable suspension produced by addition of AlN powder plus a small amount of iodine to ethanol. Parabolic regime governed the deposition. Electrophoretic deposition for 240 s at 100 V resulted in formation of a uniformly dense film on the top, but a porous inhomogeneous layer at the bottom. This was attributed to fast deposition of coarse particles and/or agglomerates at large electric fields. After drying, micro-sized particles led to a uniform crack-free interface while nano-particles resulted in fragmented non-cohesive layers. Weight loss... 

A fine-grained aluminum-matrix hybrid nanocomposite reinforced with TiO2, MgO and Al3Ti nanoparticles was prepared via reactive friction stir processing (FSP) of an Al-Mg sheet with pre-placed TiO2 particles (50nm; 3.1vol%). The microstructure of the hybrid nanocomposite comprises high-angle grain boundaries (~90%) with an average size of 2μm and hard inclusions with sizes in the range of 30-50nm. Evaluation of the hot deformation behavior of the nanocomposite by uniaxial tensile testing at different temperatures (300-450°C) and strain rates (0.001-0.1s-1) shows that the deformation apparent activation energy of the nanocomposite is 137kJmol-1 at ≤300°C. The values of the activation energy... 

In this work, thermo-mechanical behavior of an aluminum alloy during gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) is studied using a three-dimensional mathematical model. The model can be employed to determine residual stresses and their distribution after the welding operation. The effects of the strain hardening and the temperature dependency of material properties have also been considered in the calculations. Model validation has been performed using experimental measurements of residual stress by means of hole-drilling technique. The measurements have been carried out at the heat affected zone (HAZ) and base metal next to the welding line. In addition, microstructural observations have been made to... 

The objective of this investigation was to provide a detailed evaluation of the heat affected zone properties of a high-strength pipeline steel. The X80 high-strength low-alloy microalloyed steel was supplied as a hot rolled plate with accelerated cooling. The four-wire tandem submerged arc welding process with different heat input was used to generate welded joints. The microstructure of the heat affected zone depended on heat input values. M/A constituent appeared in the microstructure of HAZ region for all of the specimens along the prior-austenite grain boundaries and between bainitic ferrite laths. Charpy impact specimens were notched in four locations: FL (fusion line), FL+1mm, FL+2mm... 

This work aims to investigate the structure-property relationship in ternary nanocomposites consisting of polypropylene as the matrix, nanoclay as the reinforcement and polyamide 6 as the intermediate phase. In this regard, composites of polypropylene/organoclay, polyamide/organoclay, blends of polypropylene/polyamide, and ternary nanocomposites of polypropylene/polyamide/layered silicate with and without compatibilizer were produced via melt compounding. Nanostructure was investigated by wide-angle X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Scanning electron microscopy was employed to study the microstructure. Modulus of elasticity and yield strength were measured by uniaxial... 

The present paper deals with different effects of homogenization time and cooling environment on Ni-42.5wt%Ti-7.5wt%Cu alloy. The alloy was prepared by vacuum arc melting. Afterwards, three homogenization times (half, one and two hour) and three cooling environments (water, air and furnace) at 1373 K were selected. Optical and Scanning Electron Microscopic methods, EDX, DSC and hardness tests have been used to evaluate the microstructure, transformation temperatures and hardness. Results indicate that specimens that were cooled in air are super-saturated. Also, the microstructure from furnace cooling has many disparities with the other cooling environments' microstructure and two types of... 

Stepwise-graded composite layer of M2 tool stel and 17-4PH stainless steel was fabricated by a simple powder layering technique and the isothermal and nonisothermal sintering response of the bilayer were examined. It was shown that the materials exhibit poor compatibility during co-sintering, i.e., the amount of mismatch shrinkage is significant. An improved compatibility was obtained by adding 0.2 wt% B to the stainless steel powder. Formation of relatively dense layer at the bonding zone indicated an enhanced densification rate at the interface. Microstructural studies showed formation of a ferritic interface in M2/17-4PH composite and elongated grains with an intergranular boride phase... 

In this study, the thermal cycles and the grain structure in the weld heat-affected zone (HAZ) are predicted. At the first stage, a combined heat transfer and fluid flow model is employed to assess the temperature fields during and after welding of 304 stainless steel and then, the evolution of grain structure is conducted using the predicted temperature distribution and an analytical model of grain growth. The grain sizes of the CGHAZ (coarse grain heat affected zone) achieved from the model are basically in agreement with those obtained from experimental measurement under different heat inputs in the range of 0.33-1.07 MJ/m. Both the experimental data and the calculated results show that... 

Polymer concrete (PC) has been widely used for quick repairing of concrete pavement and structures in recent years. This paper studies the mechanical behavior of the rubberized polymer concrete. Crumb and chipped rubber were used to replace fine and coarse aggregates in PC, respectively. A complete series of destructive tests including impact test, compression and splitting tensile tests and non-destructive methods including ultrasonic test, digital signal processing, electrical conductivity, and microstructure analysis was performed to demonstrate the various potential applications of the rubberized PC. X-ray diffraction (XRD) also provided information regarding the chemical composition and... 

In this paper, a constitutive and micromechanical model for prediction of rate-dependent behavior of connective tissues (CTs) is presented. Connective tissues are considered as nonlinear viscoelastic material. The rate-dependent behavior of CTs is incorporated into model using the well-known quasi-linear viscoelasticity (QLV) theory. A planar wavy representative volume element (RVE) is considered based on the tissue microstructure histological evidences. The presented model parameters are identified based on the available experiments in the literature. The presented constitutive model introduced to ABAQUS by means of UMAT subroutine. Results show that, monotonic uniaxial test predictions of... 

(Lanthanum, Cerium)(Iron, Manganese, Cobalt, Palladium)(Oxygen)3- Perovskite catalyst was prepared by the citrate route and deposited on ceramic monoliths via dip coating procedure. The catalyst was applied on a car with XU7 motors and the amount of emission was monitored with vehicle emission test systems in Sapco company. The results were compared with the imported catalyst with noble metals such as palladium, platinum and rhodium by Iran Khodro company based on the Euro III standards. The catalysts were characterized by specific surface area measurements, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, line scan and map. In the results, obtained in the home made sample, the amount of... 

In this study, alumina-reinforced poly(methyl methacrylate) nanocomposites (PMMA/Al2O3) containing up to 20 vol% nanoparticles with an average diameter of 50 nm were prepared by friction stir processing. The effects of nanoparticle volume fraction on the microstructural features and mechanical properties of PMMA were studied. It is shown that by using a frustum pin tool and employing an appropriate processing condition, i.e. a rotational speed of 1600 rpm/min and transverse velocity of 120 mm/min, defect free nanocomposites at microscale with fine distribution of the nanoparticles can successfully been prepared. Mechanical evaluations including tensile, flexural, hardness and impact tests... 

In this research, the feasibility of friction-stir welding (FSW) for dissimilar lap-joining of an aluminium-magnesium alloy (AA5058) and poly-methyl-methacrylate sheets to attain sound and defect-free joints was examined. The inter-mixing flow patterns between the metal and polymer counterparts during FSW were predicted by employing three-dimensional finite element models. It is shown that the bonding mechanism between the dissimilar materials is mechanical interlocking at the interface which controls the joint strength depending on the processing parameters. The most suitable dissimilar lap-joining regarding microstructural soundness is attained at w= 1600 rev min−1 and v = 25 mm min−1.... 

The influences of cupric oxide layer thickness, cuprous oxide particles and pores on the mechanical properties and micro structure of an alumina-copper eutectic bond have been investigated. The furnace, atmosphere in the. first stage was argon gas with 2 × 10-6 atm oxygen partial pressure. In the second stage, the. furnace atmosphere was the. same as the first stage except that the cooling interval was between 900-100l°C and the hydrogen gas was injected into the. furnace, atmosphere. Finally, in the last stage, a vacuum furnace with 5 × 10-8 atra pressure was chosen for the bonding procedure. The peel strength of first stage specimens shows that a, cupric oxide layer with 320 ± 25 ran... 

Hydrogen-induced cracking (HIC) and sulfide stress cracking (SSC) susceptibility of the submerged arc welded API 5L-X70 pipeline steel with different amounts of titanium at two levels of manganese (1.4% and 2%) were studied. The centerline segregation region (CSR) observed in the X70 pipe steel played an important role in the HIC susceptibility. Increased acicular ferrite content in the microstructure improved HIC resistance and SSC resistance, while bainite and martensite/austenite constituents deteriorated the workability of the welded specimens in sour environments. The 2% Mn-series welds showed higher SSC susceptibility than the 1.4% Mn-series welds due to the higher hardness values of... 

Effects of Fe particle volume percent (from 0 to 5%) and changing the tool rotation direction in each pass were studied on the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of the in situ Al/intermetallic composites produced by three passes friction stir processing (FSP) with ∼10 µm Fe particles. Optical and scanning electron microscopes were used for the investigation of the composite homogeneity, formation of Al–Fe intermetallic compounds, and fracture surfaces. Tensile and microhardness tests were also carried out to evaluate the mechanical properties of the composites. Solid-state reactions between the aluminum matrix and Fe particles led to in situ formation of Al3Fe and Al5Fe2... 

In this work, a mathematical model was developed to simulate the urinary concentration mechanism. A 3-D geometry was derived based on the detail physiological pictures of rat kidney. The approximate region of each tubule was obtained from the volume distribution of structures based on Walter Pfaller's monograph and Layton's region-based model. Mass and momentum balances were applied to solve for the change in solutes concentration and osmolality. The osmolality of short and long descending nephrons at the end of the outer medulla was obtained to be 530 mOsmol/kgH2O and 802 mOsmol/kgH2O, respectively, which were in acceptable agreement with experimental data. The fluid osmolality of the short... 

We present a new semi-solid state procedure for efficient joining of dissimilar materials. The process called fed friction stir processing (FFSP) and works based on in-situ injection of colloidal nanoparticles in the welding line during processing. To present the efficiency of the process, friction stir welding of AA6062 aluminum alloy and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) through injection of alumina nanoparticles is presented. Microstructural features and mechanical characteristics of the weldments are elaborated. It is shown that in-situ feeding of the alumina nanoparticles during FFSP changes the thermo-mechanical regimes of the bonding zone and decreases the thickness of interaction... 

The present study aimed to improve the survivability of L. acidophilus encapsulated in alginate-whey protein isolate (AL-WPI) biocomposite under simulated gastric juice (SGJ) and simulated intestinal juice (SIJ). Microcapsules were prepared based on emulsification/internal gelation technique. Optimal compositions of AL and WPI and their ratio in the aqueous phase were evaluated based on minimizing mean diameter (MD) of the microcapsules and maximizing encapsulation efficiency (EE), survivability of cells under SGJ (Viability), and release of viable cells under SIJ (Release) using Box-Behnken experimental design. Optimal composition comprising 4.54% (w/v) AL, 10% (w/v) WPI, and 10% (v/v)... 

Massive amounts of spent lead-acid battery separators with 50 wt % silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) can be recycled for further use. One compelling application is form-stable phase change materials (FSPCMs). This study proposes a novel tertiary eutectic mixture of green and non-toxic lauric acid, palmitic acid, and paraffin, and recycled SiNPs to find a sustainable approach to deal with industrial wastes and energy consumption. Fatty acids and paraffin are promising for thermal energy storage in buildings. However, they lack sufficient thermal conductivity, mechanical strength, and suffer from leakage. To give mechanical strength, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) was added and sintered....