Sharif Digital Repository

Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are very often used as handles for nanotechnological micromanipulation. In this regard, optical trapping of GNPs is of great importance, in which locating the trapped GNP within the focal spot with nanometer precision is crucial. Very recently, we have introduced a new position detection system for optical tweezers based on moiré deflectometry (MD). Here we show, both theoretically and experimentally, that an MD detection system could provide significantly larger detection sensitivity for a trapped GNP compared to that provided by conventional back focal plane (BFP) detection systems. For instance, for a trapped 200 nm GNP, the detection sensitivity provided by the... 

The consolidation behavior of composite powders during pressure cycling at room temperature in uniaxial compaction experiments was studied and compared with monotonic compaction. Aluminum and various amounts of SiC powders (up to 50 vol%) were used to investigate the effect of hard reinforcement particle on the densification of soft aluminum matrix. The cyclic compaction was carried out at various pressure amplitudes, ranges from 90 to 360 MPa, at the frequency of 1 Hz. The pressure cycling was continued up to 5000 cycle, in which, the rate of consolidation was found to be fairly low. The consolidation of the composite powders under different loading modes was analyzed through... 

Optical tweezers are indispensable instruments for applying and measuring Pico-Newton range forces. The magnitude of the exerted force is determined by measuring the displacement of the trapped bead from the center of the trap. Recently, we developed a new detection system for optical tweezers based on Moiré Deflectometry (MD). In this work, we show, both theoretically and experimentally, that the introduced method can be used for detection in the axial direction, as well, with a significantly larger sensitivity compared to the commonly used QPD method. As an example, for a 2.17μm polystyrene bead this method could provide a sensitivity 285% larger than that of the QPD method. © 2019... 

Thermal conductivity and phonon transport properties of graphyne nanotubes (GNTs) and conventional carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are studied using nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. The effect of nanotube length on the thermal conductivity and phonon transport transition from a ballistic to a diffusive regime is investigated. It is found that the thermal conductivity is significantly higher for CNTs in comparison to that of GNTs across the entire ballistic-diffusive transport range. Among GNTs, β- and γ-GNTs demonstrated the lowest and highest thermal conductivities, respectively. In addition, ultralow ballistic to diffusive transition length (4.5-7.6 nm) was observed in GNTs, which... 

Gradual chemical (displacement) reaction between CuO and Al powders during high-energy attrition milling under a high purity argon atmosphere was studied. Differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques were employed to study the solid-state reaction. It was shown that the solid-state reaction occurred during mechanical alloying (MA) and resulted in the dissolution of copper into the aluminum lattice and formation of nanometric alumina particles. The reinforcement particles were mostly distributed at the grain boundaries of Al matrix with an average crystallite size of about 50 nm. In DTA curve of the milled powders, a small... 

In this study, the aging effect on microstructure and creep behavior of Al2024-10%SiC composite fabricated by powder metallurgy was studied. P/M bars were manufactured by hot powder extrusion method at 450°C with a ratio of 16 to1. Creep specimens were over-aged at 187°C for 43 h. It was found that almost full density composite with relatively homogenous distribution of the reinforcement particles throughout the aluminum alloy matrix can be attained by the direct powder extrusion process. Creep tests were conducted at temperatures of 275 to 325°C under stresses of 25 to 60 MPa. The creep tests revealed that the aged composites demonstrate a weaker creep behavior compared with non-aged... 

Researchers have examined different approaches to improve damage tolerance of discontinuously reinforced aluminum (DRA). In this study, three-layer DRA laminates containing two exterior layers of Al6061-15 vol.% SiCp and an interlayer of Al1050 were fabricated by hot roll bonding. Interfacial adhesion between the layers was controlled by means of rolling stain. The results of shear test revealed that, the bonding strength of laminates was influenced by number of rolling passes. Considering this effect, the role of interfacial bonding on the toughness of laminates was studied under three-point bending in the crack divider orientation. The quasi-static toughness of the laminates was greater... 

In this work, the feasibility of friction stir lap welding an aluminium alloy (Al-5083) to the aluminium clad steel sheet was studied. The welded joints were characterised by various methods including shear-tensile test and optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The results indicated that sound and defect free joints were obtained. The fracture loads of the samples reached up to 94% compared with that of the steel base metal. Moreover, the joint strength linearly increased with the decrease in thickness of the aluminium layer roll bonded on the steel sheet. It was also shown that welding rotation and travel speed variation did not considerably impact the fracture loads in the... 

Al-1100/St-12 aluminum clad steel sheets were produced using roll bonding process at different reductions in thickness and with various supplemental annealing treatments. Experiments were conducted by applying the Taguchi method to obtain optimum condition for maximizing the joint strength. The joint strengths of the bi-layer sheets were evaluated by peel test. The Al/Fe intermetallic phases at the joint interface and the peeled surfaces were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and Vickers microhardness test were performed to characterize the intermetallic compounds. The results indicate that at the optimum condition of 0.50 reduction in... 

Copper-graphite composites which have low friction coefficient can be used as bearing materials in lieu of materials containing lead which cause environmental problems. So far, some methods such as powder metallurgy and centrifugal casting have been employed to produce these composites. In this study, friction stir processing (FSP) was used to produce copper-graphite surface composites. Five tools with different pin profile were employed in order to achieve a comprehensive dispersion. Results show that the tool with triangular pin gives rise to a better dispersion of graphite particles. Furthermore, four copper-graphite composites containing different graphite content were prepared using... 

A commercial gas-atomized aluminum powder was mechanically milled in a planetary ball mill under an argon atmosphere for 12 h to produce alumina dispersion strengthened aluminum powder. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that about 2 vol.% alumina particles with an average size of 100 nm were distributed in the aluminum matrix. The nanocomposite powder was canned in an aluminum container, vacuum de-gassed, and hot extruded at 723 K at an extrusion ratio of 16:1. The creep behavior of the extruded billet in the direction of extrusion was examined at a constant applied load ranging from 10 to 40 MPa at temperatures of 648, 673 and 723 K. A threshold creep-stress was noticed which... 

The creep behavior of particulate Al-5vol.% SiC composite was investigated. The composite powder was produced by mechanical milling and hot extruded at 450°C at the ratio of 16:1. A creep test was carried out at a constant load at 598, 648, and 673 K. Using the existing equations proposed for the steady-state creep of metals, the threshold stress and the stress exponent of the creep as a function of temperature were determined. The stress exponent was found to be 3 at the temperature of 673 K and 8 at the lower temperatures, i.e. 598 and 648 K. The dependency of the threshold stress to temperature obeys the Arrhenius relationship with the energy term of 29 kJ mole-1  

The morphological and microstructural changes during mechanical milling of Al powder mixed with 5 vol% nanoscaled alumina particles (35 nm) were studied. The milling was performed in a planetary ball mill under argon atmosphere for various times up to 24 h. The process was also conducted for Al and Al-5 vol% Al2O3 (1 μm) powders to explore the role of reinforcement nanoparticles on the mechanical milling stages. The results showed that the addition of hard particles accelerate the milling process, leading to faster work hardening rate and fracture of the aluminum matrix. Meanwhile, the structural evolution during mechanical milling of the microcomposite powder occurred faster than that of... 

This paper presents experimental results on the synthesis of nanostructured aluminium matrix nanocomposite powders by comilling of nanoscaled SiC and Al2O3 particles and micrometric aluminium powder. The effect of the nanometric reinforcement particles on the mechanical milling (MA) process of the soft matrix was studied by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy, laser particle size analyser and standard metallographic techniques. It was found that at the early stage of milling, the nanoparticles are smeared on the surface of the aluminium powder and thus do not significantly contribute in the MA process. As the milling continues, the hard... 

Optical tweezers have proven to be indispensable tools for pico-Newton range force spectroscopy. A quadrant photodiode (QPD) positioned at the back focal plane of an optical tweezers’ condenser is commonly used for locating the trapped object. In this Letter, for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, we introduce a moiré pattern-based detection method for optical tweezers. We show, both theoretically and experimentally, that this detection method could provide considerably better position sensitivity compared to the commonly used detection systems. For instance, position sensitivity for a trapped 2.17 μm polystyrene bead is shown to be 71% better than the commonly used QPD-based... 

The force experienced by a neutral dielectric object in the presence of a spatially non-uniform electric field is referred to as dielectrophoresis (DEP). The proper quantification of DEP force in the single-cell level could be of great importance for the design of high-efficiency micro-fluidic systems for the separation of biological cells. In this report we show how optical tweezers can be properly utilized for proper quantification of DEP force experienced by a human RBC. By tuning the temporal frequency of the applied electric field and also performing control experiments and comparing our experimental results with that of theoretically calculated, we show that the measured force is a... 

Mixtures of aluminium powder and nanoscaled SiC particles (n-SiC) at various volume fractions of 0, 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10 are comilled in a high energy planetary ball mill under an argon atmosphere to produce nanocrystalline Al-SiC nanocomposites. High resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) method, laser particle size analysis and powder density measurement were used to study the morphological changes and microstructural evolution occurred during mechanical alloying. Al-SiC composite powder with microscaled SiC particles (1 μm) was also synthesised and characterised to examine the influence of reinforcement particle size on the milling process. It was found that... 

Design of nanoparticle synthesis by inert-gas condensation process was studied according to the mechanisms and kinetics of nucleation and growth in the vapor phase. The effect of process parameters, e.g., source temperature, evaporation rate, and the inert-gas pressure, on the particle size and particle shape was examined at the example for silver and copper-tin alloy. The synthesized nanopowders had near spherical shape with particle size range from 10 to 60 nm dependent on the processing condition. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) analyses showed that the crystallites are subunits of larger agglomerate particles, and relatively large particles display crystal... 

6061 aluminum matrix composites containing 30vol% SiC with mean mass particle size of 16 and 22 μm as the reinforcing phase were synthesized by squeeze casting route. The process consisted of fabricating of SiC preform followed by squeeze casting of 6061 aluminum alloy. The SiC preform was made by blending SiC particles with silica as a coal and sintering. The microstructural features, aging behavior, mechanical properties and wear characteristics of the composites were investigated. The results indicated that a homogenous distribution of SiC particles in the aluminum matrix, which is almost free of pores, can be obtained by squeeze casting method. Higher strength and lower wear rates were... 

In this study, Al-5083 and St-12 alloy sheets were friction stir lap welded at different travel (7- 23 cm min -1) and rotation (750-1125 rev min -1) speeds of the welding tool. The welded joints were characterised by various methods including shear tensile and Vickers microhardness tests, optical and scanning electron microscopies and X-ray diffraction analysis. The results showed that the weld zone defects decreased, and the joint strength also improved significantly with the reducing tool travel speed from 23 to 7 cm min -1. The travel speed of 11 cm min -1 was an optimum speed within the travel speeds investigated in this work. Additionally, raising the tool rotation speed enhanced the...