<p>Development of products which can be produced from a country’s natural resources is very important as far as the industrialization of a nation and saving foreign exchange is concerned. Presently, industries in Uganda and the other states in the Lake Victoria region import all refractory-related-consumables, as the demand cannot be met locally. Based on the abundance of ceramic raw materials for high temperature applications in the region and the demand for refractories by industries it is pertinent to develop and manufacture firebricks by exploiting the locally available raw materials.</p><p>This thesis thus, concerns the characterisation of ceramic raw mineral powders from the Lake Victoria region, more particularly, Uganda, with the aim of developing firebrick refractories from the minerals. Two main deposits of kaolin and a ball clay deposit were investigated to assess their potential in the manufacture of refractory bricks. Raw- and processed sample powders were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal analysis (DTA-TG) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). In addition, the chemical composition, particle size distribution, density, and surface area of the powders were determined.</p><p>A comprehensive study on beneficiation of Mutaka kaolin was carried out using mechanical segregation of particles. The aim of the study was to explore other potential applications like in paper filling and coating. The beneficiation process improves the chemical composition of kaolin to almost pure, the major impurity being iron oxide.</p><p>A general production process scheme for manufacturing fireclay bricks starting with raw powder minerals (Mutaka kaolin and Mukono ball clay) was used to make six groups of sample fireclay brick. Experimental results from the characterization of formulated sample bricks indeed revealed the viability of manufacturing fireclay bricks from the raw minerals. Based on these results, industrial samples were formulated and manufactured at Höganäs Bjuf AB, Sweden. Kaolin from the Mutaka deposit was used as the main source of alumina while ball clay from Mukono was the main plasticizer and binder material. The formulated green body was consolidated by wet pressing and fired at 1350°C in a tunnel kiln. Characterization of the sintered articles was done by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and chemical composition (ICP-AES). In addition, technological properties related to thermal conductivity, thermal shock, alkali resistance, water absorption, porosity, shrinkage, permanent linear change (PLC), linear thermal expansion, refractoriness under load (RUL), and cold crushing strength were determined. The properties of the articles manufactured from the selected naturally occurring raw minerals reveal that the produced articles compare favourably with those of parallel types. Thus, the raw materials can be exploited for industrial production.</p>

<p>In view of the important applications of carbides and carbo-nitrides of transition metals in the heat-resistant and hard materials industries, the thermodynamic activities of Cr and Mn in the Cr-C, Fe-Cr-C, Mn-Ni-C and Mn-Ni-C-N systems have been studied in the present work by the use of the galvanic cell technique. CaF₂single crystals were used as the solid electrolyte. The phase relationships in selected regions of the systems in question were investigated by the use of the equilibration technique. The phase compositions and microstructures of the alloys were analysed by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM).</p><p>In the Cr-C system, the Gibbs energy of formation of Cr3C2 were obtained from ElectroMotive Force (EMF) measurements conducted in the temperature range 950-1150 K. The values of the enthalpy of formation of Cr₃C₂ were evaluated by the third-law method. The ground-state energy of the hypothetic end-member compound CrC3, in the bcc structure at 0 K, was calculated by use of the Ab-initio method. Based on the obtained results the Cr-C system was reassessed by use of the CALPHAD approach.</p><p>In the Fe-Cr-C system, 16 different alloys were quenched at 1223 K and their equilibrium phases identified by XRD. The experimental results show that the substitution of Cr by Fe in the (Cr,Fe)₇C₃ carbide changes the lattice parameters of the phase. A slight decrease of the lattice parameters with an increase in the Fe content was established. The lattice parameters of the γ-phase in the Fe-Cr solid solution did also show a decrease with an increase of the Fe content. The activities of chromium in Fe-Cr-C alloys were investigated in the temperature range 940-1155 K. The activity of chromium decreases with an increase in the Fe content when the ratio of C/(Cr+C) was constant. It was also established that the activity of chromium decreases with an increase of the carbon content when the iron content was constant. The experimental results obtained were compared with the data calculated by use of the Thermo-Calc software. </p><p>In the Mn-Ni-C system the phase relationships were investigated at 1073 K as well as at 1223 K. The experimental results obtained showed that the site fraction of Ni in the metallic sublattice of the carbides M₂₃C₆, M₇C₃ and M₅C₂ (M=Mn and Ni) was quite low (approximately 2~3 percent). The activities of manganese in Mn-Ni-C alloys were investigated in the temperature range 940-1165 K. The three-phase region γ/M₇C₃/graphite was partly constructed at 1073 K. </p><p>In the Mn-Ni-C-N system, nitrogen was introduced into Mn-Ni-C alloys by equilibrating with N2 gas. It was established that the solubility of nitrogen in the investigated alloys was effected by the carbon content, and that a (Mn,Ni)₄(N,C) compound was formed in the nitrided alloys. EMF measurements were performed on Mn-Ni-C-N alloys in the temperature interval 940-1127 K. The addition of nitrogen to Mn-Ni-C alloys was found to decrease the activity of manganese. The negative effect of nitrogen on the activity of manganese was found to decrease as the carbon content increased.</p><p><b>Keywords:</b> Thermodynamic activity; Galvanic cell technique; Transition metal carbides; Transition metal nitrides; Phase equilibrium; Thermodynamics; Differential thermal analysis; Scanning electron microscopy; Transmission electron microscopy; Ab-initio calculations; CALPHAD approach;</p>

<p><b>En metod för dispersiv analys av försök med delad hopkinsonstång tillämpad på provning av granved vid hög töjningshastighet</b></p><p>Syftet var att etablera en metod för att studera sambandet mellan spänning och töjning för granved vid hög töjningshastighet. Detta åstadkoms genom att anpassa och något vidareutveckla tekniken med delad hopkinsonstång ("Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar", SHPB).</p><p>Vanligtvis har hopkinsonstavar cirkulärt tvärsnitt och en diameter som är mycket mindre än de verksamma våglängderna. Under sådana förhållanden är vågutbredningen i stängerna approximativt ickedispersiv, och en endimensionell (1D) vågutbredningsmodell kan användas. När det, som är fallet i denna studie, däremot inte kan säkerställas att stängernas tvärdimensioner är små i förhållande till våglängderna, är en helt igenom 1D vågutbredningsmodell otillräcklig, och tvärsnittets geometri, vilken var kvadratisk i denna studie, måste beaktas. Därför utvecklades med hjälp av Hamiltons princip en approximativ 3D vågutbredningsmodell för stänger med godtyckligt tvärsnitt. Modellen ger ett dispersionssamband (vågtal som funktion av vinkelfrekvens) samt medelvärden för förskjutningar och spänningar över gränsytorna mellan stänger och provstav. En kalibreringsprocedur utvecklades också.</p><p>Provning av granved genomfördes vid hög töjningshastighet (omkring 103 s-1) med den anpassade SHPB-tekniken, samt för jämförelse vid låg (8×10-3 s-1) och måttlig (17 s-1) töjningshastighet med en servohydraulisk provningsmaskin. Fukthalterna i veden motsvarade ugnstorr, fibermättnad och fullständig mättnad, och proven utfördes i radiell, tangentiell och axiell riktning i förhållande till trädets stam. För vart fall utfördes fem försök vid rumstemperatur. Resultaten visar töjningshastighetsberoendet för sambandet mellan spänning och töjning för granved under alla studerade förhållanden.</p> / <p>The aim was to establish a method for studying the relation between stress and strain in spruce wood at high strain rate. This was achieved by adapting and somewhat further developing the split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) technique.</p><p>Hopkinson bars usually have a circular cross-section and a diameter much smaller than the operative wavelengths. The wave propagation in the bar is then approximately non-dispersive and a one-dimensional (1D) wave propagation model can be used. When, as in this study, it is not certain that the transverse dimensions of the bars are small in relation to the wavelengths, a solely 1D wave propagation model is insufficient and the geometry of the cross-section, which was square in this study, must be taken into account. Therefore, an approximate 3D wave propagation model for bars with arbitrary cross-section was developed using Hamilton's principle. The model provides a dispersion relation (wavenumber vs. angular frequency) and average values for displacements and stresses over the bar/specimen interfaces. A calibration procedure was also developed.</p><p>Tests on spruce wood specimens were carried out at a high strain rate (about 10³ s^-1) using the adapted SHPB technique, and for comparison at low (8×10^-3 s^-1) and medium (17 s^-1) strain rates using a servohydraulic testing machine. The moisture contents of the wood specimens corresponded to oven dry, fibre saturated and fully saturated, and the testing was performed in the radial, tangential and axial directions relative to the stem of the tree. In each case, five tests were run at room temperature. The results show the strain rate dependence of the relation between stress and strain for spruce wood under all conditions studied.</p>

<p>In recent years, surface engineering techniques have been developed in order to improve the tribological performance in many industrial applications. In sheet metal forming processes, the usage of liquid lubricants can be decreased by using self lubricated tribo surfaces which will result in more environmentally friendly workshops. In the present work two different concepts, i.e. the deposition of thin organic coatings on the steel sheet and PVD coatings on the tool, have been evaluated. The sheet materials investigated include Zn and 55%Al-Zn metal coated steel sheet, which in general are difficult materials to form under dry conditions since they are sticky and thus have a high tendency to adhere to the tool surface. The PVD coatings include CrN, TiN and various DLC coatings. The work comprises tribo testing and post test characterisation using surface analytical techniques in order to evaluate the tribological properties of the tribo surfaces. The tribological tests of different tribo couples were conducted by using modified scratch testing and ball-on-disc testing. From these test results different friction and wear mechanisms have been identified. </p><p>The deposition of thin organic coatings on the steel sheet metal has been found to be promising in order to control the friction and to avoid metal-metal contact resulting in galling. However, it has been found that the tribological characteristics of organic coated steel sheet are strongly influenced by coating chemical composition, the substrate surface topography and the coating thickness distribution. </p><p>The performance of the PVD coatings depends mainly on the chemical composition and topography of the coated surface. By choosing PVD coatings such as diamond like carbon (DLC) low and stable friction coefficients can be obtained in sliding contact against Zn. Surface irregularities such as droplet-like asperities may cause an initial high friction coefficient. However, after a running in process or by polishing the PVD coating low friction coefficients can be obtained resulting in a stable sliding contact. </p><p>The combination of imaging (optical profilometry, LOM, SEM) and chemical analytical techniques (EDS, AES, ToF-SIMS) gave valuable information concerning the friction and wear properties of the tribo surfaces investigated.</p>

<p>The interest for miniaturisation in chemical and biological analysis has increased in recent years. In this work, the design, fabrication and characterisation of tools for microanalysis have been studied. The focus is set on polymer microchips for applications in chemical analysis. The work consists of three parts: design and fabrication of paraffin microactuators, design and fabrication of polymer microchips as interfaces in electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), and characterisation of conducting films for fused silica capillaries as interfaces in ESI-MS.</p><p>The principle of the paraffin actuators is based on the volume increase resulting from paraffin melting. Paraffin expansion is utilised to cause membrane deflection. The first plastic microactuator using paraffin as the actuator material was successfully demonstrated.</p><p>The microchips as interfaces in ESI-MS have been designed with the objective that the interface should be as much a part of the microchip as possible, and as to as large extent as possible, be fabricated in the same step as the microchannels. Sheathless electrospray from microchips was demonstrated for the first time. In addition a simplified fabrication process for ESI-MS interfaces in poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) was developed.</p><p>The degradation of conductive coatings for sheathless ESI-MS on fused silica capillaries was studied. It was shown that electrochemical experiments could successfully be used to simulate the electrospray conditions and predict the failure of different gold coatings.</p><p>It was concluded that a common issue in the fabrication of thermoplastic microchips is the crucial sealing of microchannels and cavities. From this point of view, PDMS is a more advantageous material in microfluidics.</p>

<p>Magnetic properties of selected compounds and superlattices have been experimentally studied using SQUID (superconducting quantum interference device) and VSM (vibrating sample magnetometer) magnetometry, neutron diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy measurements combined with theoretical <i>ab initio</i> calculations. </p><p>The magnetic compounds (Fe_1-xM_x)₃P, M=Co or Mn have been studied extensively. It was found that Co can substitute Fe up to <i>x</i>=0.37. Increasing the Co content leads to a reduction of the Curie temperature and the magnetic moment per metal atom. Mn can substitute Fe up to<i> x</i>=0.25 while Fe can be substituted into Mn₃P to 1-<i>x</i>=0.33. On the iron rich side, the drop in Curie temperature and magnetic moment when increasing the Mn content is more rapid than for Co substitution. On the manganese rich side an antiferromagnetic arrangement with small magnetic moments was found. </p><p>The interlayer exchange coupling and the magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy of Fe/V superlattices were studied. The coupling strength was found to vary with the thickness of the iron layers. To describe the in-plane four-fold anisotropy, the inclusion of surface terms proved necessary. </p><p>The in-plane four fold anisotropy was also studied in a series of Fe/Co superlattices, where the thickness of the Co layers was kept thin so that the bcc structure could be stabilized. Only for samples with a large amount of iron, the easy axis was found to be [100]. The easy axis of bulk bcc Co was therefor suggested to be [111]. </p>

<p>This thesis is divided in three parts. In the first part, a study of materials aimed for spintronics applications is presented. More specifically, calculations of the critical temperature in diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) and half-metallic ferromagnets are presented using a combination of electronic structure and statistical methods. It is shown that disorder and randomness of the magnetic atoms in DMS materials play a very important role in the determination of the critical temperature.</p><p>The second part treats materials in reduced dimensions. Studies of multilayer and trilayer systems are presented. A theoretical model that incorporates interdiffusion in a multilayer is developed that gives better agreement with experimental observations. Using Monte Carlo simulations, the observed magnetic properties in the trilayer system Ni/Cu/Co at finite temperatures are qualitatively reproduced.</p><p>In the third part, electronic structure calculations of complex Mn-based compounds displaying noncollinear magnetism are presented. The calculations reproduce with high accuracy the observed magnetic properties in these compounds. Furthermore, a model based on the electronic structure of the necessary conditions for noncollinear magnetism is presented.</p>

The Vickers residual stress field (VRSF) in soda-lime glass results from the elastic-plastic contact event that takes place when a Vickers diamond pyramid is loaded onto the surface of the material in an indentation cycle. The importance of elastic-plastic indentation lies in the contact damage that it gives rise to in the surface of the glass. Since such surface flaws can be characterised, with respect to shape and size, they offer the opportunity to study naturally occurring flaws in glass and brittle materials in general. The residual stress field is not passive; rather it exerts a crack opening force on the associated crack system during subsequent strength testing of a Vickers-indented sample through a residual stress field coefficient, c. Besides the strength-controlling properties, the elastic-plastic contact residual stress field is also important as a region where the influence of mechanical excitation on material properties such as hardness, H, and elastic modulus, E, can be studied. This thesis concerns studies that were made to characterise the Vickers residual stress field by first measuring the magnitude and distribution of stresses around it, using nanoindentation with a cube corner tip. With a Berkovich tip in nanoindentation, experiments were conducted in the VRSF to study the dependence of hardness, H and elastic modulus, E, on stresses in soda-lime glass: a strong E dependence on stress was observed, while H was not affected unless the stresses were high. In the process, a method was developed to determine the true contact area during elastic-plastic nanoindentation when the Oliver-Pharr method is used for the data analysis. The observed elastic modulus dependence on stress was then utilised in a study where it was shown that the VRSF responds differently to relaxation annealing on either side of the glass transition temperature. This result was then used to explain strength recovery trends in annealed Vickers-indented glass specimens.

The thesis treats roll pass design in wire rod rolling of stainless steel for sequences and series built up by two-symmetrical grooves. It is focused on predicting rolling flexibility, also called working range, as well as product quality. For analysing the flexibility a computer program has been developed. The minimum and maximum roll gap and corresponding bar areas for series of grooves including "oval", "round", "false round", "square" and "diamond" shapes are calculated. Six pass designs used in Swedish mills are analysed. Full-scale rolling is compared with laboratory experiments for the square-oval and false round (round)-oval series. The false round-oval series offers the largest working range and that the flexibility is smaller for pass sequences designed for high reductions. The false round-oval series are also acknowledged as a series for high quality steels and are usually better than the square-oval series having a tendency for defect formation. The thesis also includes high-speed rolling of wire rod in blocks. Here interstand tensions are utilised in order to keep the process stable. For obtaining the required dimensional tolerances of the product they are kept as low as possible. However interstand tensions could be used in order to increase the working range and move the product range towards smaller wire cross sections. For analysing this possibility, a narrow spread technology is utilised. At present time a practical problem is referred to the fixed gearings in the common blocks, which require a certain and given level of interstand tensions and corresponding reductions. This problem can however be solved by means of new block design and modern process control technology. Roll stands can be separately driven and controlled at very high speeds. Thus the eight stand blocks can be subdivided into four plus four passes blocks with a cooling line between enabling also higher productivity without violating the product quality because defect formations caused by a too high rolling temperature. The true working range of a series for a specific steel grade is however not only dependent on the possible spectrum of wire dimensions that can be obtained but might also depend on its ability to decrease or eliminate defects such as surface cracks. Thus, the behaviour of artificial V-shaped cracks in the longitudinal direction has been investigated and compared for the square-oval and false round (round)-oval series mentioned above. In agreement with other research works it was established that efficient rolling conditions for reducing the cracks are obtained when the cracks open up at the same time as their depth is reduced. If the V-shaped crack is closed by contact between its oxidized side surfaces the rolling schedule is not optimal for getting a high quality product. A deeper understanding of the experimental results was obtained by means of an FE-analysis

In view of the important applications of carbides and carbo-nitrides of transition metals in the heat-resistant and hard materials industries, the thermodynamic activities of Cr and Mn in the Cr-C, Fe-Cr-C, Mn-Ni-C and Mn-Ni-C-N systems have been studied in the present work by the use of the galvanic cell technique. CaF2single crystals were used as the solid electrolyte. The phase relationships in selected regions of the systems in question were investigated by the use of the equilibration technique. The phase compositions and microstructures of the alloys were analysed by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). In the Cr-C system, the Gibbs energy of formation of Cr3C2 were obtained from ElectroMotive Force (EMF) measurements conducted in the temperature range 950-1150 K. The values of the enthalpy of formation of Cr3C2 were evaluated by the third-law method. The ground-state energy of the hypothetic end-member compound CrC3, in the bcc structure at 0 K, was calculated by use of the Ab-initio method. Based on the obtained results the Cr-C system was reassessed by use of the CALPHAD approach. In the Fe-Cr-C system, 16 different alloys were quenched at 1223 K and their equilibrium phases identified by XRD. The experimental results show that the substitution of Cr by Fe in the (Cr,Fe)7C3 carbide changes the lattice parameters of the phase. A slight decrease of the lattice parameters with an increase in the Fe content was established. The lattice parameters of the γ-phase in the Fe-Cr solid solution did also show a decrease with an increase of the Fe content. The activities of chromium in Fe-Cr-C alloys were investigated in the temperature range 940-1155 K. The activity of chromium decreases with an increase in the Fe content when the ratio of C/(Cr+C) was constant. It was also established that the activity of chromium decreases with an increase of the carbon content when the iron content was constant. The experimental results obtained were compared with the data calculated by use of the Thermo-Calc software. In the Mn-Ni-C system the phase relationships were investigated at 1073 K as well as at 1223 K. The experimental results obtained showed that the site fraction of Ni in the metallic sublattice of the carbides M23C6, M7C3 and M5C2 (M=Mn and Ni) was quite low (approximately 2~3 percent). The activities of manganese in Mn-Ni-C alloys were investigated in the temperature range 940-1165 K. The three-phase region γ/M7C3/graphite was partly constructed at 1073 K. In the Mn-Ni-C-N system, nitrogen was introduced into Mn-Ni-C alloys by equilibrating with N2 gas. It was established that the solubility of nitrogen in the investigated alloys was effected by the carbon content, and that a (Mn,Ni)4(N,C) compound was formed in the nitrided alloys. EMF measurements were performed on Mn-Ni-C-N alloys in the temperature interval 940-1127 K. The addition of nitrogen to Mn-Ni-C alloys was found to decrease the activity of manganese. The negative effect of nitrogen on the activity of manganese was found to decrease as the carbon content increased. Keywords: Thermodynamic activity; Galvanic cell technique; Transition metal carbides; Transition metal nitrides; Phase equilibrium; Thermodynamics; Differential thermal analysis; Scanning electron microscopy; Transmission electron microscopy; Ab-initio calculations; CALPHAD approach;