A local company instituted a new chemical procedure in their spray phosphating system used in the pretreatment of large components for industrial racking systems. An inorganic conversion coating is deposited on the workpiece surface during phosphating and this prepares the surface to receive an organic top-coat. The organic coating is applied to the workpiece surface in the form of a powder and cured to form a continuous film about 80 u.m thick. The solution chemistry of the phosphating system was monitored by sampling and chemical analysis and taking direct reading instrumental measurements on the process and rinse solutions. The process was also evaluated using the results of a waste minimisation audit. This involved gathering data on composition, flow rates and costs of inputs and outputs of the process. Two types of information were collected and used during the audit, namely chemical monitoring (concentration levels of Na, Fe, Zn, Mo, Mn and Cr and measurements of conductivity, TDS, SS and pH) and water usage data on the Phosphating Line and existing data (raw materials, workpieces and utility inputs as well as domestic waste, factory waste and scrap metal outputs). The data were analysed using four established waste minimisation techniques. The Scoping Audit and the Water Economy Assessment results were determined using empirically derived models. The Mass Balance and the True Cost of Waste findings were obtained through more detailed calculations using the results of the chemical analysis. The results of the audit showed that the most important area for waste minimsation in the Phosphating Line was the (dragged-out phosphating chemicals present in) wastewater stream. According to the scoping audit, water usage had the third highest waste minimisation potential behind powder and steel consumption for the entire powder coating process. While the scoping audit and the specific water intake value showed that water consumption for the process was not excessive, it did not indicate that the pollution level in the rinse waters was high. Further, drag-out calculations showed that drag-out volumes were typical of those found in the metal finishing industry. However the presence of high levels of metal species in the rinse waters was highlighted through the chemical monitoring of the Phosphating Line. The True Cost of Waste Analysis estimated potential financial savings for the effluent stream at about R8000 for a period of 105 days. However this does not take into consideration the cost of the liability associated with this stream when exceeding effluent discharge limits (given in the Trade Effluent Bylaws) or of the chemical treatment necessary to render this stream suitable for discharge to sewer. Intervention using only "low-cost-no-cost" waste minimisation measures was recommended as a first step before contemplating further areas for technical or economic feasibility studies. However, a further study involving monitoring the sludge was recommended in order to establish the potential financial savings offered by this waste stream. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

Novel net shaping technique Laser Engineered Net shaping™ (LENS) laser based manufacturing solution (Sandia Corp., Albuquerque, NM); Laser can be used to deposit orthopedic implant alloys. Ti-35Nb-7Zr-5Ta (TNZT) alloy system was deposited using LENS. The corrosion resistance being an important prerequisite was tested electrochemically and was found that the LENS deposited TNZT was better than conventionally used Ti-6Al-4V in 0.1N HCl and a simulated body solution. A detailed analysis of the corrosion product exhibited the presence of complex oxides which are responsible for the excellent corrosion resistance. In addition, the in vitro tests done on LENS deposited TNZT showed that they have excellent biocompatibility. In order to improve the wear resistance of the TNZT system boride reinforcements were carried out in the matrix using LENS processing. The tribological response of the metal matrix composites was studied under different conditions and compared with Ti-6Al-4V. Usage of Si3N4 balls as a counterpart in the wear studies showed that there is boride pullout resulting in third body abrasive wear with higher coefficient of friction (COF). Using 440C stainless steel balls drastically improved the COF of as deposited TNZT+2B and seemed to eliminate the effect of “three body abrasive wear,” and also exhibited superior wear resistance than Ti-6Al-4V.

Thesis (M.S.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, Materials Science and Engineering Program, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

Ceria (CeO2), chromia (Cr2O3), yttria-stabilized zirconia (Y2O3-ZrO2), and sodium cerium oxide (Na2CeO3) were used as barrier coatings on Ufala, an alumina-based ceramic refractory, to determine if they were effective at increasing the life of the refractory in a high-temperature black liquor gasification environment. The ceria, chromia, and yttria-stabilized zirconia coatings were applied at atmospheric pressure using a coating applicator at the Institute of Paper Science and Technology at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The sodium cerium oxide coatings in addition to the three other coating types were applied under atmospheric pressure at C3 International Technologies in Alpharetta, GA. The coated refractory, as well as a set of uncoated refractory used for baseline analysis, were tested using molten synthetic smelt at 1000C for 36 hours. Uncoated refractory samples were also tested for 12, 72, 120, and 168 hours in order to make a kinetic reaction rate determination. The refractory were analyzed using gravimetric and dimensional analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to determine the severity of the physical changes that occurred after exposure to molten smelt. The data gathered from these experiments were not able to conclude that barrier coatings are sufficient to impede corrosion of the Ufala refractory material in molten smelt.

M. Tech. Metallurgical Engineering / Ti6Al4V alloy is the leading material for hip replacement because of its biocompatibility, elastic modulus and good yield strength, but shows poor corrosion and wear properties in simulated body fluid. Thin coatings were fabricated on Ti6Al4V alloy using Zirconium, Niobium and Titanium reinforcements with the aid of Nd:YAG Rofin Sinar laser system. Niobium reinforcement produced the best coating that displayed the best corrosion resistance and percentage increase in wear resistance in simulated body fluid as compared to the substrate. Therefore, this coating will perform best as orthopaedic implant material.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-103).

Cette thèse a pour objectif de comprendre la dynamique d’une sphère traversant une interface liquide-liquide. Cette situation, se rencontre dans de nombreuses applications, allant du cycle du carbone dans l’océan (sédimentation de neige marine), aux procédés d’enrobage, en passant par la détection de phase dans l’industrie pétrolière. Pour étudier cette configuration, trois approches sont privilégiées. Un dispositif expérimental muni d’une caméra haute fréquence est utilisé de manière à explorer la dynamique conjointe de la sphère et de l’interface sur une large gamme de paramètres. Le couplage entre une méthode Volume of Fluid (VoF) et une méthode de frontières immergées (IBM) est réalisé et validé dans le but de simuler numériquement ce problème. Enfin des modèles théoriques sont mis en place de manière à interpréter physiquement les différents comportements observés. Ces trois démarches complémentaires permettent de caractériser le passage d’une configuration de flottaison à l’entraînement colonnaire notamment en fonction du rapport entre effets gravitationnels et capillaires. La dynamique de la colonne emportée est très riche (instabilité capillaire, visqueuse, fragmentation, ...). Le bon accord entre les expériences et les simulations numériques permet d’évaluer avec confiance l’influence de chaque paramètre sans dimension (au nombre de 5) à l’aide d’une étude paramétrique numérique. / The goal of this work is to understand the dynamics of a sphere passing through a liquid-liquid interface. Such a configuration is met in different applications, such as oceanic carbon cycle (sedimentation of marine snow), coating processes and phase detection in oil industry. To this aim, three different aproaches are employed. An experimental device, in which various sets of fluids and spheres are used, has been designed to analyze different types of configuration. A combination of an Immersed Boundary Method (IBM) with a Volume of Fluid (VoF) method is used to compute the flow field. Finally theoretical models are derived to better understand the observed behaviours. These three approaches give insights to understand whether a sphere can float or sink. The behaviour of the tail of light fluid towed by the sphere appears to be extremely rich (capillary and viscous instabilities, fragmentation, ...). The agreement between experimental and numerical results allows us to perform an extensive numerical study of the influence of all dimensionless parameters

Amorphous materials are used as soft magnetic materials and also as surface coatings to improve the surface properties. Furthermore, the nanocrystalline materials derived from their amorphous precursors show superior soft magnetic properties than amorphous counter parts for transformer core applications. In the present work, laser based processing of amorphous materials will be presented. Conventionally, the nanocrystalline materials are synthesized by furnace heat treatment of amorphous precursors. Fe-based amorphous/nanocrystalline materials due to their low cost and superior magnetic properties are the most widely used soft magnetic materials. However, achieving nanocrystalline microstructure in Fe-Si-B ternary system becomes very difficult owing its rapid growth rate at higher temperatures and sluggish diffusion at low temperature annealing. Hence, nanocrystallization in this system is achieved by using alloying additions (Cu and Nb) in the ternary Fe-Si-B system. Thus, increasing the cost and also resulting in reduction of saturation magnetization. laser processing technique is used to achieve extremely fine nanocrystalline microstructure in Fe-Si-B amorphous precursor. Microstructure-magnetic Property-laser processing co-relationship has been established for Fe-Si-B ternary system using analytical techniques. Laser processing improved the magnetic properties with significant increase in saturation magnetization and near zero coercivity values. Amorphous materials exhibit excellent corrosion resistance by virtue of their atomic structure. Fe-based amorphous materials are economical and due to their ease of processing are of potential interest to synthesize as coatings materials for wear and corrosion resistance applications. Fe-Cr-Mo-Y-C-B amorphous system was used to develop thick coatings on 4130 Steel substrate and the corrosion resistance of the amorphous coatings was improved. It is also shown that the mode of corrosion depends on the laser processing conditions. The microstructure evolution and the corrosion mechanisms operating are evaluated using post processing and post corrosion analysis.

Silicon carbide and silicon nitride turbine engine components are susceptible to hot corrosion by molten sodium sulfate salts which are formed from impurities in the engine's fuel and air intake. Several oxide materials were identified which may be able to protect these components from corrosion and preserve their structural properties. Ta20, coatings were identified as one of the most promising candidates. Thermochemical calculations showed that the chemical vapor deposition(CVD) of tantalum oxide from O2 and TaCI5 precursors is thermodynamically feasible over a range of pressures, temperatures, and reactant concentrations. The deposition of Ta205, as a single phase is predicted in regions of excess oxygen, where the reaction is predicted to yield nearly 100% efficiency. CVD experiments were carried out to deposit tantalum oxide films onto SiC substrates. Depending on the deposition conditions, a variety of coating morphologies have been produced, and conditions have been identified which produce dense, continuous Ta205 deposits. Preliminary corrosion tests on these coatings showed no apparent degradation of the CVD deposited tantalum oxide coatings. The feasibility of depositing ZrTi04 as a coating material was also investigated based on thermochemical considerations. Since no data were available for this material, thermodynamic values were estimated. Thermochemical calculations indicated the chemical vapor deposition of zirconium titanate from O2, ZrCl4, and TiCl4 occurs over a range of temperatures in a very narrow region of the phase diagram. Deviations from the single phase region predicted the codeposition of either Zr02 or Ti02 with ZrTi04. These results suggested that the chemical vapor deposition of ZrTi04 may be difficult from a process handling perspective. Additionally, the process is predicted to be very inefficient, leaving substantial amounts of unreacted chlorides in the reactor exhaust. / Master of Science