Laser Sintering (LS) is a powder based Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology capable of producing near-net shape objects from 3D data. The benefits of LS include almost unlimited design freedom and reduced material waste, however the number of commercially available materials are limited, with materials traditionally being optimised for the process using a trial and error method and material development being led by previous research into polyamide (PA). There is a desire for greater material choice in LS, particularly high performance polymers. The EOSINT P800 by AM systems manufacturer EOS GmbH is the first commercially available high temperature laser sintering (HT-LS) system capable of working high performance polymers; a PolyEtherKetone (PEK) known by the trade name HP3 PEK is the first material offered by EOS for use with the system. This research project undertakes to characterise the EOSINT P800 and HP3 PEK material with different thermal histories. Experimental work focusses on establishing material properties such as size and shape, crystallinity and decomposition. Characterisation of coalescence behaviour and comparison with theoretical models for viscous sintering is presented as a less experimentally intensive method of understanding how a material will behave during the LS process. A map of temperatures inside the powder bed in the EOSINT P800 is created for the first time and compared with output from on-board temperature sensors in the system, demonstrating the thermal distribution within the bed during building, and explaining differences between as-received and used powder. The results demonstrate that material and process characterisation methods are useful for understanding how and why a high temperature laser sintering material behaves the way it does. The behaviour of HP3 PEK observed during experimental work indicates that guidelines based on LS of PA are too restrictive as indicators of suitability for LS and newer systematic approaches are potentially better suited for qualification of HT-LS polymers. The novel method for mapping thermal distribution inside the LS system documented here shows the limitations of current hardware to effectively process high performance polymers. Overall, the finding of this research project is that understanding of material and process cannot be considered in isolation but combined have the potential to reduce the amount of trial and error required during qualification of new materials and increase the range and variety of polymers available for LS and HT-LS.

A number of technologies rely on the conversion of short laser pulses from one spectral domain to another. Efficient frequency conversion is currently obtained in ordered nonlinear optical materials and requires a periodic spatial modulation of their nonlinear coefficient which results in a narrow bandwidth. One can trade off efficiency for more spectral bandwidth by relaxing the strict phase-matching conditions and achieve nonlinear interaction in carefully engineered disordered crystalline aggregates, in a so-called random quasi-phase-matching (rQPM) process. In this dissertation, we examine appropriate fabrication pathways for (1-x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-xPbTiO3 (PMN-PT) and ZnSe transparent ceramics for applications in the mid-IR. The main challenge associated with the fabrication of high transparency PMN-PT ceramics is to avoid the parasitic pyrochlore phase. The most effective method to suppress the formation of this undesired phase is to use magnesium niobate (MgNb2O6) as the starting material. We have found that, contrary to commercially available lead oxide powders, nanopowders synthesized in our lab by the combustion method help improve the densification of ceramics and their overall optical quality. The effects of dopants on the microstructure evolution and phase-purity control in PMN-PT ceramics are also investigated and show that La3+ helps control grain-growth and get a pure perovskite phase, thereby improving the samples transparency. With large second order susceptibility coefficients and wide transmission window from 0.45 to 21 μm, polycrystalline zinc selenide is also an ideal candidate material for accessing the MWIR spectrum through rQPM nonlinear interaction. We have investigated non-stoichiometric heat-treatment conditions necessary to develop adequate microstructure for rQPM from commercial CVD-grown ZnSe ceramics. We have been able to demonstrate the world's first optical parametric oscillation (OPO) based on rQPM in ZnSe transparent ceramic, enabling broadband frequency combs spanning 3-7.5 μm.

Submitted by Aelson Maciera (aelsoncm@terra.com.br) on 2017-08-16T18:44:54Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissDGM.pdf: 5323739 bytes, checksum: 447d6c5ecd08953e14c16e2d47d03040 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (bco.producao.intelectual@gmail.com) on 2018-01-30T17:35:55Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissDGM.pdf: 5323739 bytes, checksum: 447d6c5ecd08953e14c16e2d47d03040 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (bco.producao.intelectual@gmail.com) on 2018-01-30T17:36:40Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissDGM.pdf: 5323739 bytes, checksum: 447d6c5ecd08953e14c16e2d47d03040 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-30T17:44:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissDGM.pdf: 5323739 bytes, checksum: 447d6c5ecd08953e14c16e2d47d03040 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-09 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Sintering additives (AS) have great potential to be applied in refractory castables as they reduce the densification temperature of these products. Additionally, these components may induce the generation of a transient liquid phase in the microstructure at high temperatures, which can react with the other materials of the composition to give rise novel solid refractory phases. Considering these aspects, the present work evaluated the role of five different AS (boron oxide, boric acid, sodium borosilicate, magnesium borate and boron carbide) when added to alumina-based castable compositions containing hydratable alumina as binder. Based on the thermomechanical characterization, XRD analysis and the in situ elastic modulus measurement, boron carbide (B4C) have been selected as a promising AS because this material sped up the sintering process at lower temperatures and induced the aluminum borates formation due to the reaction between the liquid phase and the fine alumina contained in the castable matrix. Afterwards, the effects of B4C was evaluated in ultra-low calcium oxide castables bonded with: colloidal alumina (AC), hydratable alumina (AB) and/ or SioxX®-Zero (SZ). SZ-bonded materials (4 wt.%) had good performance at temperatures around 1100°C due to the mullite generation. On the another hand, castables containing AC as binder (4 wt.% of solids) and 0.5 wt.% of B4C are promising options to be used in working conditions between 600-815°C, whereas the same mixture without B4C could only be densified above 1100°C. Similar effect was observed when 1.0 wt.% B4C was added to SZ-containing castables as the aluminum borates generation allows these compositions to be used in working conditions around 815°C. Therefore, an appropriate AS selection for high-alumina castables with ultra-low CAC content has the potential to favour the earlier sintering of the refractory and improve its thermomechanical properties, which can fulfill the requirements of the petrochemical industry. / Os aditivos sinterizantes (AS) possuem potencial para serem aplicados em concretos refratários, pois diminuem a temperatura de densificação destes produtos. Adicionalmente, tais componentes podem atuar favorecendo a formação de líquidos transientes na microestrutura em altas temperaturas, os quais têm a capacidade de reagir com os outros constituintes da composição para formar novas fases refratárias. Diante desta possibilidade, neste trabalho foram avaliados os efeitos da adição de cinco fontes de boro como AS (óxido de boro, ácido bórico, borosilicato de sódio, borato de magnésio e carbeto de boro) em concretos de alta alumina contendo alumina hidratável como ligante. Baseado na caracterização das propriedades termomecânicas destes refratários, assim como nas análises de DRX e da avaliação do módulo elástico in situ, foi selecionado o carbeto de boro (B4C) como o AS promissor, pois este promoveu o início da sinterização dos concretos em temperaturas inferiores e induziu a formação de boratos de alumínio a partir da reação do líquido com a alumina da matriz dos concretos refratários. Posteriormente, avaliou-se o efeito da adição do B4C em concretos com ultra-baixo teor de óxido de cálcio e ligados com: alumina coloidal (AC), alumina hidratável (AB) e/ou SioxX®-Zero (SZ). Materiais ligados com SZ (4%-p) são promissores em temperaturas próximas a 1100°C devido à formação de mulita. Por outro lado, concretos contendo AC (4%-p de sólidos) e 0,5%-p B4C são indicados para condições de serviço entre 600-815°C, pois sem a fonte de boro densificaram apenas acima de 1100°C. Efeito similar foi observado quando adicionado 1,0%-p B4C no concreto contendo SZ, visto que também foram formados boratos de alumínio possibilitando sua utilização em condições de serviço próximas aos 815°C. Desta forma, realizando-se a correta seleção do AS adicionado em concretos de alta alumina com ultra-baixo teor de CAC, tem o potencial de aumentar a sinterabilidade do material e melhorar suas propriedades termomecânicas, podendo assim atender os requisitos da indústria petroquímica.