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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
581

Příprava a charakterizace pokročilých žárově stříkaných povlaků na hořčíkových slitinách / Preparation and Characterization of Advanced Thermally-sprayed Coatings on Magnesium Alloys

Buchtík, Martin January 2020 (has links)
The proposed dissertation thesis deals with the characterization of HVOF and APS-thermally sprayed coatings prepared on the AZ31 and AZ91 magnesium substrates. The theoretical part of the thesis describes in-detail Mg substrates used in the experimental part of the thesis. There are also characterized materials and coatings based on NiCrAlY and FeCrNiMoSiC metals, WC-CoCr cermets, and YSZ ceramic materials. At the end of the theoretical part, the literary research summarizing the characterization and analysis performed on thermally sprayed coatings on Mg alloys. Based on the theoretical knowledge, the characterization of Mg substrates and deposited coatings was performed in terms of the surface morphology, microstructure, and the chemical composition using the light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM+EDS). The phase composition of the coatings was analyzed using the X-ray diffraction (XRD). The diffractions corresponding to the sprayed coatings were compared with the feedstock powders, i.e. materials used for the spraying of the coatings. The characterization of the prepared coatings in terms of the mechanical and tribological properties was performed. The hardness and microhardness of the coatings as well as the coefficient of friction, and the wear rate were measured. The last chapter of the experimental part deals with the evaluation of the electrochemical corrosion properties by the potentiodynamic measurements in a 3.5% NaCl solution. In the case of exposed samples, the evaluation of the surface and coating/substrate interface was performed using LM and SEM with EDS. The mechanism of the corrosion attack and degradation was determined from the acquired knowledge and base on the results of the short-term measurements. Based on the measured results, it can be stated that the deposited coatings were successfully applied on the surface of both Mg alloys. All the coatings increase the surface hardness of the Mg alloys and significantly improve their tribological properties. However, except for FeCrNiMoSiC coatings, the corrosion properties of Mg alloys deteriorate due to the fact that the corrosion environment can pass through the coating to the less noble Mg substrate and the corrosion microcells are created.
582

Optimalizace technologie lití pod tlakem odlitku vakuové pumpy / Optimization of die casting technology for the casting of vacuum pump

Krňávek, Štěpán January 2014 (has links)
Diploma thesis deals with optimization of technological process casting a die cast, which is part of vacuum pump. The die cast is made from alloy AlSi9Cu3(Fe) in foundry KOVOLIT, a. s. There is a problem with inner defects at this cast. Solution of this thesis is to suggest suitable actions to minimize of incidence the defects in the cast. According to analysis of the defects in the cast these defects were classified as combination of shrinkages and gas holes. According to analysis causes of the defects are high temperature of die mould and closed air in die mould. As a result suitable actions were suggested – a change of the die mould tempering and a design adjustment of the cast. In case of implementing a new die mould in the manufacture a new gating system was designed. Suitability of the new gating system was assessed according to simulation of filling die cavity.
583

Studium reakční syntézy intermetalických materiálů z depozitů kinetického naprašování binárních systémů obsahujících železo / Reaction synthesis of bulk intermetallic materials from cold spray deposits from binary powders containing iron

Dyčková, Lucie January 2015 (has links)
This thesis deals with reaction synthesis of materials Fe–Al, Fe–Cu and Fe–Ni from cold spray. In literature analysis are introduced these systems and for each system there is brief description of binary equilibrium diagram. Furthermore here are some short explanations of diffusion, Kirkendall effect and other possible processing technologies of intermetallic materials. In experimental part, samples of sprayed materials were annealed and then microstructural changes were investigated. This thesis contains photographs of microstructure, results from scanning electron microscopy, X-ray, and measurements of microhardness.
584

Influence d'une contrainte mécanique sur le vieillissement d'alliages Fe-Cr / Influence of a mechanical load on the ageing of Fe-Cr alloys

Dahlström, Alexander 19 September 2019 (has links)
L’acier inoxydable est un alliage important pour le développement technique d’une société moderne; cela a été découvert au début du 20ème siècle. Cependant, leur système d'alliage de base, Fe-Cr, est affecté par une lacune de miscibilité à basse température (<600 °C) présent dans le diagramme de phases. Les alliages présentant une lacune de miscibilité dans leur diagramme de phase ont tendance à se décomposer. Ce phénomène également connu sous le nom de "fragilisation à 475 °C", est d’une importance technique, car la décomposition modifie les propriétés mécaniques de ces alliages; dans ce cas présente, par la perte de ductilité et de résistance aux chocs. La tendance à la décomposition augmente avec la diminution de la température, ce qui limite la température de service supérieure à environ 300 °C, limitant ainsi la durée de vie de ces alliages. Étant donné que la fragilisation peut provoquer une défaillance soudaine de ces alliages, cet aspect nuit à leur utilisation en tant que composants structurels dans les secteurs du transport et de l’énergie. La décomposition des alliages Fe-Cr pose un défi aux techniques de caractérisation traditionnelles, car les variations de composition se produisent à l'échelle nanométrique. Par conséquent, la sonde atomique tomographique de pointe a été utilisée pour étudier ces variations de composition à l'échelle atomique en 3D. La modélisation atomistique corrélative a été utilisée pour améliorer davantage la compréhension du processus de décomposition dans ces alliages ; ce modèle était basé sur la théorie de la fonction de densité atomique. Pour émuler la décomposition améliorée du matériau, causée par la température et/ou une charge externe, la décomposition dans ce projet est stimulée par une température de service supérieure à la normale. Dont la nécessité de connaître la limite exacte de la lacune de miscibilité. Ainsi, la nécessité d'évaluer la limite supérieure de température de cette décomposition dans le système Fe-Cr est née de résultats non concluants des analyses de la littérature existant. Par conséquent, un four de haute précision en combinaison avec une sonde atomique tomographique a été utilisé pour étudier la décomposition et l’agglomération dans le système Fe-Cr d’une manière plus précise que jamais. En outre, d’explorer en détail l’emplacement de la limite de la lacune de miscibilité. La décomposition de ces alliages au cours du vieillissement modifie les propriétés mécaniques. Ainsi, en raison de leur utilisation en tant que composants structurels, le comportement de décomposition dû au vieillissement a été étudié, ainsi que le vieillissement dû à la charge externe. Cette dernière situation se rencontre également dans des applications réelles pendant le service, émulées par le vieillissement dû à la pression en utilisant une simple force de traction. Afin d'examiner en détail l'effet de la pression externe, l'orientation du grain par rapport à la direction de traction a été prise en compte lors d'un simple vieillissement thermique et lors de l’application d’une force de traction continue. Ainsi, l'orientation cristallographique et les niveaux de charge ont été pris en compte pour leur effet sur le processus de décomposition/dégradation. / Stainless steel is an important alloy for the technical development of a modern society, they were discovered in the early 20th century. However, their base alloying system, Fe-Cr, is affected by a low temperature (<600°C) miscibility gap present in the phase diagram. Alloys with a miscibility gap in their phase diagram tend to decompose. This phenomenon is also known as the “475°C embrittlement”, it is of technical importance as decomposition alters the mechanical properties of these alloys, in this specific case, by loss of ductility and impact toughness. The tendency to decompose increases with decreasing temperature, restricting the upper service temperature to around 300°C and limiting the service lifetime of these alloys. Because embrittlement can cause sudden failure of these alloys, this phenomenon is detrimental to their use as structural components in transportation and energy industry. The decomposition of Fe-Cr alloys poses a challenge for traditional characterisation techniques, as composition variations occur at the nanoscale. Therefore, the state-of-the-art atom probe tomography have been utilised to study these composition variations at the atomic scale in 3D. Correlative atomistic modelling has been used to further enhance the understanding of the decomposition process in these alloys, this model was based on atomic density function theory. To emulate enhanced decomposition of the material, caused by temperature and/or an external load, decomposition in this work is stimulated by a higher than the normal service temperature. Hence, a need to know the exact limit of the miscibility gap. Thus, a need to evaluate the upper-temperature limit of this decomposition in the Fe-Cr system arose from inconclusive results in the literature. Hence, a high precision furnace in combination with atom probe was utilised to study decomposition and clustering in the Fe-Cr system more accurately than ever before. Furthermore, to explore in detail the location of the limit of the miscibility gap. The decomposition of these alloys during ageing alter the mechanical properties. Thus, due to their use as structural components, the decomposition behaviour during ageing was investigated, as well as ageing during external load. This last situation is also encountered in real applications during service, mimicked by stress-ageing using a simple tensile force. In order to in detail investigate the effect of the external stress, grain orientation with respect to the tensile direction was considered during simple thermal ageing, and during the constantly applied tensile force. Thus, crystallographic orientation and load levels were considered for their effect on the decomposition process.
585

Simulation multi-échelles par EF² de structures composites périodiques en régime viscoélastique-viscoplastique- endommageable avec couplage thermomécanique fort. / Multiscale FE² simulation of periodic composite structures in viscoelastic-viscoplastic-damageable regime with strong thermomechanical coupling

Tikarrouchine, El-Hadi 06 September 2019 (has links)
Une approche de simulation numérique multi-échelles EF2 fondée sur la théorie de l'homogénéisation périodique a été développée pour prédire la réponse globale couplée mécanique et thermomécanique fortement non linéaire des structures composites 3D. La stratégie de calcul intègre les effets de la microstructure périodique en introduisant l'architecture des renforts et les lois constitutives locales. Les lois de comportement des constituants utilisées obéissent aux lois de matériaux standards généralisées et sont formulées dans un cadre de la thermodynamique des processus irréversibles (TPI). Les équations caractéristiques (équilibre et lois de la thermodynamique) sont formulées sous l'hypothèse des petites déformations et rotations, et résolues simultanément de façon incrémentale aux deux échelles (microscopique et macroscopique). Sur le plan numérique, une implémentation au moyen de routines UMAT imbriquées (Méta-UMAT) a été développée et combinée à une technique de parallélisation dans le code de calcul Abaqus/Standard. La stratégie de calcul multi-échelles est appliquée pour simuler la réponse globale de structures composites 3D soumises à des trajets de chargement thermomécaniques complexes. Les structures composites sont constituées d’une matrice polymère thermoplastique viscoélastique-viscoplastic avec endommagement ductile et renforcées par différents types de renforcements (fibres courtes ou tissus). L’endommagement anisotrope dans les torons de tissu est modélisé à travers une approche micromécanique permettant de suivre l’évolution de la densité de micro-fissures transverses. Cette stratégie de calcul peut être déployée sur les structures en matériaux composites ayant une microstructure périodique et dont les phases présentent différents types des lois de comportement non linéaires (rhéologie, mécanismes d'endommagement et couplage thermomécanique). Les capacités de l'approche multi-échelles sont démontrées en comparant les prédictions numériques aux résultats expérimentaux en termes de réponse globale et de champs de déformation macroscopiques et microscopiques. Les performances de l'approche sont également illustrées à travers l'accès aux répartitions spatio-temporelles des variables internes à l'échelle de la microstructure ainsi que la dissipation intrinsèque dans les phases constitutives. / A multi-scale FE2 approach based on the periodic homogenization theory is developed to predict the overall response of nonlinear mechanical and fully coupled thermomechanical 3D composite structures. The computational strategy integrates the periodic microstructure effects by introducing the architecture of the reinforcement and the local constitutive laws.The considered constituents' constitutive laws obey generalized standard materials laws and are formulated within the framework of thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The characteristic equations (equilibrium and thermodynamics laws) are formulated under the assumption of small strains and rotations. They are solved simultaneously at both scales (microscopic and macroscopic) using an incremental scheme. For the numerical implementation, an advanced Meta-UMAT subroutine is developed and combined with a parallelization technique in the finite element commercial software Abaqus/Standard. The multi-scale computational strategy is applied to simulate the overall response of 3D composite structures under complex thermomechanical loading paths. The composite structures consist of thermoplastic polymer matrix with viscoelastic-viscoplastic behavior and ductile damage, reinforced by different types of reinforcements (short fibers or woven fabrics). The anisotropic damage within the yarns is modeled through a micromechanical approach to follow the transverse micro-cracks density evolution. This computational strategy is deployed on composite structures having periodic microstructure, whose phases exhibit different types of nonlinear behavior laws (rheology, damage mechanisms and thermomechanical coupling). The capabilities of the multi-scale approach are demonstrated (i) by comparing numerical predictions with experimental results in terms of global response, macroscopic and microscopic strain fields, and (ii) through the access to spatio-temporal distributions of internal variables at the microstructure scale as well as the intrinsic dissipation in the constitutive phases.
586

Syntéza železo-sirných center v Monocercomonoides exilis / Iron-Sulfur cluster assembly in Monocercomonoides exilis

Vacek, Vojtěch January 2020 (has links)
In the search for the mitochondrion of oxymonads, DNA of Monocercomonoides exilis - an oxymonad isolated from the gut of Chinchilla, was isolated and its genome was sequenced. Sequencing resulted in a fairly complete genome which was extensively searched or genes for mitochondrion related proteins, but no reliable candidate for such gene was identified. Even genes for the ISC pathway, which is responsible for Fe-S cluster assembly and considered to be the only essential function of reduced mitochondrion-like organelles (MROs), were absent. Instead, we were able to detect the presence of a SUF pathway which functionally replaced the ISC pathway. Closer examination of the SUF pathway based on heterologous localisation revealed that this pathway localised in the cytosol. In silico analysis showed that SUF genes are highly conserved at the level of secondary and tertiary structure and most catalytic residues and motifs are present in their sequences. The functionality of these proteins was further indirectly confirmed by complementation experiments in Escherichia coli where SUF proteins of M. exilis were able to restore at least partially Fe-S cluster assembly of strains deficient in the SUF and ISC pathways. We also proved by bacterial adenylate cyclase two-hybrid system that SufB and SufC can form...
587

Gedehnte epitaktische Fe-Co-X-Schichten (X = B, C, N) mit erhöhter magnetischer Anisotropie

Reichel, Ludwig 13 January 2016 (has links)
Theoretische Berechnungen sagen für tetragonal gedehntes Fe-Co eine hohe magnetokristalline Anisotropie voraus, wie sie für seltenerdfreie Dauermagnetwerkstoffe vorteilhaft wäre. In dieser experimentellen Arbeit werden epitaktische Fe-Co-Schichten strukturell und magnetisch charakterisiert. Zur Untersuchung der Dehnung in diesen Schichten eignen sich AuxCu100-x-Pufferschichten besonders, da über die Stöchiometrie (x) deren lateraler Gitterparameter eingestellt werden kann. Wird Fe-Co auf einer solchen Pufferschicht abgeschieden, erfolgt aufgrund dessen hoher elastischer Energie schon in den ersten Monolagen eine vollständige Relaxation der pufferinduzierten Dehnung. In ternären Fe-Co-X-Schichten, in denen kleine X-Atome (X = B, C oder N) Oktaederlücken besetzen, wird jedoch eine spontane tetragonale Dehnung c/a bis zu 1,05 beobachtet. Entlang der gedehnten c-Achse tritt eine uniaxiale magnetokristalline Anisotropie auf, die für B- oder C-Zulegierungen von 2 at% eine maximale Anisotropiekonstante von 0,4 MJ/m³ zeigt. Wird der X-Gehalt weiter erhöht, nehmen die Kristallinität der Schichten und die magnetische Anisotropie ab. Neben der magnetokristallinen Anisotropie des Schichtvolumens wird an den Fe-Co(-X)-Schichten eine hohe Grenzflächenanisotropie beobachtet. Der Beitrag der freien Oberfläche übersteigt den der Au-Cu-Grenzfläche dabei deutlich. / Theoretical calculations predict a high magnetocrystalline anisotropy for tetragonally strained Fe-Co, which would be beneficial for rare-earth free permanent magnet materials. In this experimental work, epitaxial Fe-Co films are investigated structurally and magnetically. AuxCu100-x buffer layers are very suitable to study the strain in these films since their in-plane lattice parameter can be tailored via the applied stoichiometry (x). However, when Fe-Co is deposited on such a buffer layer, the induced strain of the Fe-Co lattice relaxes completely within the first monolayers, due to its high elastic energy. In ternary Fe-Co-X films, where small atoms X like B, C or N occupy octahedral interstitial sites, a spontaneous strain c/a up to 1.05 is observed. A uniaxial magnetocrystalline anisotropy along the strained c axis appears. Their maximum anisotropy constant is 0.4 MJ/m³ for B or C contents of 2 at%. If the X content is further increased, the crystallinity and thus, the magnetic anisotropy of the films degrade. Together with the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the films’ volumes, a high interface anisotropy is observed for the Fe-Co(-X) films. The contribution of the free surface clearly exceeds the contribution of the Au-Cu interface.
588

Additive Fertigung von beanspruchungsgerechten und komplexen Bauteilgeometrien mittels 3D Plasma-Auftragschweißen – ein simulativer Beitrag zur Bauteilcharakterisierung

Alaluss, Khaled, Mayr, Peter 05 July 2019 (has links)
In diesem Beitrag wird über die erzielten Ergebnisse der durchgeführten simulativ-experimentellen Untersuchungen für additive Fertigung von komplexen Bauteilgeometrieflächen mittels 3D – Plasma-Auftragschweißen berichtet. Hierbei wurde mittels des 3D – Plasma-Pulver-Auftragschweißenes von komplexen Konturflächen für ein Werkzeugmodell und ähnliche Bauteilgeometrien aus reinem Schweißgut in Mehrlagentechnik beanspruchungsgerecht hergestellt. Infolge der Besonderheiten des 3D – Plasma-Auftragschweißenes mit großer Schweißgutvolumina wie stark abweichende Eigenschaften zwischen Grund-/ Auftragswerkstoff und asymmetrischer Wärmeeintrag sind die entstehenden Schrumpfungen, Verformungen/ Eigenspannungen besonders kritisch. Diese führen demzufolge zu Maß- und Formabweichungen sowie Bildung von Bauteilrissen, welche die Qualität der additiv plasma-auftraggeschweißten Bauteilstrukturen negativ beeinflussen können. Mittels des aufgebauten thermo-elastisch-plastischen Simulationsmodells wurden die auftretenden Temperaturfeldverteilung, Verformungen und Eigenspannungen während des additiven 3D – Plasma-Auftragschweißenes von Werkzeugkonturflächen vorausbestimmt und analysiert. Anhand des aufgebauten Ellipsoid-Wärmequellenmodells für Plasma-Pendelschweißprozess wurden die Temperaturfeldverteilung und deren Gradienten ermittelt. Darauf aufbauend wurden eine gekoppelte thermisch-elastisch-plastische struktur-mechanische Analyse durchgeführt. Mittels der Durchführung von werkstofflich-fertigungstechnischen Maßnahmen wie Verwendung von zähen Werkstofflegierungen, Grundköpervorwärmen und -festeinspannen wurden die damit entstehenden Bauteilverformung und -eigenspannungen simulativ kompensiert bzw. minimiert. Demzufolge wurden die damit erreichten Ergebnisse für die Herstellung endkonturnaher Werkzeugkonturflächen mit vordefinierten Schichteigenschaften praxisnah genutzt. Die dabei erreichten Simulationsergebnisse der Temperaturfeldverteilung und des Verformungs- und Eigenspannungszustandes präsentierten eine gute Übereinstimmung mit den Experimentresultaten.
589

Epitaxial Nd-Fe-B films: Growth, texture, magnetism and the influence of mechanical elongation

Kwon, Ah-Ram 17 April 2009 (has links)
The work in this thesis focuses on the preparation of epitaxial Nd-Fe-B thin films using pulsed laser deposition for good hard magnetic properties. They are suitable for a basic understanding of the intrinsic magnetic properties. Compositional control was necessary to achieve phase formation with improved magnetic properties. Nd-Fe-B samples were prepared on single crystal MgO (001) substrates with different buffer layers in order to obtain good textures with different surface morphology. The smooth and continuous epitaxial films were suitable for performing magnetization measurements under stress. Although the magnetostriction is easily neglected in the Nd2Fe14B compound, distinguishable inverse magnetostriction was observed by conventional tensile elongation with a flexible substrate. As a result, anisotropic strain in the film, which breaks the in-plane symmetry, affected the opening angle during the spin reorientation. Therefore an elliptical distortion of the in-plane anisotropy below the spin reorientation temperature of Nd2Fe14B was obtained, whereas the transition temperature itself was not influenced significantly. / Diese Arbeit behandelt die Herstellung dünner epitaktischer Nd-Fe-B-Schichten mit gepulster Laserdeposition mit dem Ziel, gute hartmagnetische Eigenschaften zu erreichen. Diese Schichten sind außerdem für das Verständnis grundlegender magnetischer Eigenschaften geeignet. Die Kontrolle der Zusammensetzung ist notwendig, um die Phasenbildung und optimale hartmagnetische Eigenschaften zu erreichen. Nd-Fe-B-Schichten wurden auf einkristallinen MgO (001)-Substraten mit verschiedenen Buffern deponiert, um unterschiedliche Texturen und Oberflächenmorphologien einzustellen. Die glatten kontinuierlichen epitaktischen Schichten ermöglichen die Messung der Magnetisierung bei gleichzeitig angelegter mechanischer Spannung. Obwohl die Magnetostriktion bei Nd-Fe-B im Allgemeinen vernachlässigt werden kann, konnte an Nd-Fe-B-Schichten nach dem Aufbringen einer Dehnung auf ein flexibles Substrat eine deutliche inverse Magnetostriktion induziert werden. Die anisotrope Dehnung in der Schicht, die die Symmetrie in der Schichtebene bricht, beeinflusst die Öffnungswinkel bei der Spinreorientierung. Damit wurde unterhalb der Spinreorientierungstemperatur eine elliptische Verzerrung der Anisotropie in der Schichtebene erreicht, die Übergangstemperatur selbst änderte sich dagegen nicht signifikant.
590

Mechanical milling of Al-Cu-Fe quasicrystals and their Reinforcement in Aluminum matrix composites

Ali, Fahad 29 March 2012 (has links)
In this thesis, the effect of mechanical deformation on structure, thermal stability and hardness of a single-phase spray-deposited quasicrystalline alloy with composition Al62.5Cu25Fe12.5 has been investigated in detail. The purpose of the investigation was to study the effect of mechanical milling at different milling speeds (which approximately scale with the milling intensity) on mechanically-induced phase transformations during milling and on the phase evolution during subsequent heating. The results of the milling experiments indicate that, irrespective of the milling speeds used, mechanical milling of Al62.5Cu25Fe12.5 quasicrystals leads to the formation of a disordered CsCl-type ß phase with grain size of about 10 – 20 nm. The analysis of the kinetics of the QC–to–ß phase transformation reveals that the milling intensity has a considerable effect on the characteristics of the transformation. The increase of the milling speed considerably shortens the incubation time needed to start the QC–to–ß phase transformation. Also, the overall transformation is much faster for milling at high speeds. The QC–to–ß phase transformation starts when the grain size of the quasicrystals is reduced to about 10 nm irrespective of the milling speed used and clearly indicates that a critical grain size of the quasicrystals for initiating the transformation exists. On the other hand, no critical value of lattice strain was found for the QC–to–ß transformation. This indicates that the phase transformation is controlled by the local length scale (i.e. the grain size) and by the corresponding grain boundaries rather than by the energy stored in the lattice. Energetic considerations obtained through a simple model based on the mass and velocity of the milling balls reveal that the energy needed for the QC–to–ß transformation increases with increasing the milling speed, that is, the energetic efficiency of the process decreases with increasing the milling intensity. This indicates that part the extra energy supplied during milling at high intensities is not used to induce the phase transformation but it is dissipated by heat. During heating, the milled powder displays a multi-step thermal behavior characterized by the grain growth of the disordered ß phase at low temperatures, followed, at higher temperatures, by its transformation into the original icosahedral quasicrystalline phase. The transformation is gradual and the quasicrystals and the disordered ß phase coexist over a temperature interval of more than 250 K. The phase transformations occurring during milling and subsequent annealing have a remarkable effect on the hardness, which can be tuned within a wide range of values (7–9.6 GPa) as a function of the volume fraction of the different phases. This suggests that a composite material with optimized mechanical properties can be produced by an appropriate thermo-mechanical treatment. The quasicrystals milled at a very low speed show a transition between Hall-Petch to inverse Hall-Petch behavior at a grain size of about 40 nm, which represents the critical value for grain size softening of the present Al62.5Cu25Fe12.5 quasicrystals. This behavior may be attributed to the complexity of the quasicrystalline structure and to its peculiar deformation mechanism at room temperature (i.e. shear banding), where meta-dislocation-assisted deformation is almost absent. In order to analyze the effectiveness of the Al62.5Cu25Fe12.5 quasicrystals as reinforcing agent in metal matrix composites, Al-based composites were synthesized by hot extrusion of elemental Al blended with different amounts of Al62.5Cu25Fe12.5 quasicrystalline particles. The work was focused on two specific aspects: evaluation of the mechanical properties through room temperature compression tests and modeling of the resulting properties. The addition of the quasicrystalline reinforcement is very effective for improving the room temperature mechanical properties of pure Al. The compressive strength increases from 155 MPa for pure Al to 330 and 407 MPa for the composites with 20 and 40 vol.% of reinforcement, respectively, reaching an ultimate strain of 55 % and 20 % before fracture occurs. These results indicate that the addition of the QC reinforcement leads to composite materials with compressive strengths exceeding that of pure Al by a factor of 2 – 2.5, while retaining appreciable plastic deformation. The mechanical properties of the composites have been modeled by taking into account the combined effect of load bearing, dislocation strengthening and matrix ligament size effects. The calculations are in very good agreement with the experimental results and reveal that the reduction of the matrix ligament size, which results in a similar strengthening effect as that observed for grain refinement, is the main strengthening mechanism in the current composites. Finally, the interfacial reaction between the Al matrix and the QC reinforcement has been used to further enhance the strength of the composites through the formation of a new microstructure consisting of the Al matrix reinforced with Al7Cu2Fe w-phase particles. The optimization of the structure-property relationship was done through the systematic variation of the processing temperature during consolidation. The mechanical behavior of these transformation-strengthened composites is remarkably improved compared to the parent material. The yield strength of the composites significantly increases as the Al + QC -> ω transformation progresses from 195 MPa for the sample reinforced only with QC particles to 400 MPa for the material where the Al + QC -> ω reaction is complete. These results clearly demonstrate that powder metallurgy, i.e. powder synthesis by ball milling followed by consolidation into bulk specimens, is an attractive processing route for the production of novel and innovative lightweight composites characterized by high strength combined with considerable plastic deformation. In addition, these findings indicate that the mechanical behavior of Al-based composites reinforced with Al62.5Cu25Fe12.5 quasicrystalline particles can be tuned within a wide range of strength and plasticity depending on the volume fraction of the reinforcement as well as on the extent of the interfacial reaction between Al matrix and QC reinforcing particles.

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