O desgaste em revestimentos refratários é um dos problemas críticos encontrados em ambientes siderúrgicos, que limita a produtividade do processo devido a necessidade de paradas para manutenção nos equipamentos industriais, em favor da substituição do revestimento refratário em regiões desgastadas. Para identificar e caracterizar os mecanismos de desgaste gerados pela ação do banho metal/escória na microestrutura de materiais refratários utilizados como revestimento de panelas de aço de aciaria elétrica, o objetivo deste trabalho foi dividido em três etapas. A primeira etapa é denominada de estudo \"Post-Mortem\", que consiste na amostragem dos tijolos refratários da panela de aço, ao qual foram preparados para análises físico-químicas e microestruturais para a identificação dos mecanismos de desgastes atuantes. A segunda etapa consistiu na preparação dos tijolos novos (mesma composição química dos tijolos post mortem) de maneira a avaliar seu comportamento em relação ao ataque por escória e/ou metal em ensaios termoquímicos e analisar os resultados obtidos com os tijolos \"Post - Mortem\". A terceira etapa foi baseada nos resultados obtidos das investigações das etapas anteriores, ao qual, foram propostos novos tijolos comerciais com diferentes formulações, em parceria com uma indústria brasileira de materiais refratários (Togni refratários), que atenda melhor as exigências das aciarias elétricas. Os resultados que foram apresentados por esta tese, comprovaram que os revestimentos próximos ao ideal, seria os refratários com matriz de cromo (amostra AC_1) e matriz de carbono (amostra AC_2). / Wear on linning refractory is the critical problems found in steelmaking environments, which limits process productivity due to the need for maintenance shutdowns in industrial equipments, in favor of replacing the refractory lining on wear regions. The objective of this work was to identify and characterize the wear mechanisms generated by the action of the metal/slag bath in the microstructure of refractory materials used as coating of steel pans of electric steelmaking, in order to prolong the campaign time of steel pans. This work was divided into three steps. The first step is called a \"Post-Mortem\" study, which consists of the sampling of the refractory bricks of the steel ladle, to which they were prepared for physicochemical and microstructural analyzes to identify the mechanisms of active wear. The second step consisted in the preparation of the new bricks in order to evaluate their behavior in relation to the slag attack in thermochemical tests and to analyze the results obtained with the \"Post - Mortem\" bricks. Based on the results of these initial investigations, new commercial bricks with different formulations were proposed, in partnership with a Brazilian refractory materials industry (Togni refractory), which better meets the requirements of electric steel mills. The results presented by this thesis are innovative and have characteristics in terms of technological contribution in the steel and refractory industries.

Este estudo in vitro teve como objetivo avaliar comparativamente a microdureza superficial e o desgaste de uma resina composta, FiltekTM Z-250 (3M/ESPE), sob influência de diferentes fontes de luz (LED Ultrablue IS - DMC, LED Ultralume 5 - Ultradent e halógena VIP - BISCO), com variação das densidades de potência (300, 600 e acima de 800mW/cm2) e energia (6, >8, 12, >16, 24, >32 J/cm2). Espécimes retangulares (15 x 5 x 4 mm) foram polimerizados, conforme os fatores de variação, totalizando 15 grupos (n=6). Em seguida receberam acabamento e polimento com lixas de abrasividade decrescente (300, 600, 1200 e 2000), sendo armazenados em água deionizada a 37º C por sete dias. As mensurações da microdureza Knoop foram realizadas com auxílio do Microdurômetro Shimadzu HMV-2, com carga estática de 100g por 5s nas superfícies de topo e lateral (50µm da superfície). Posteriormente os espécimes foram levados à máquina de ensaios para simulação de desgaste por escovação, utilizando-se escovas dentais macias (Oral B 30 Indicator) e creme dental (Colgate) diluído em água deionizada na proporção de 1:2 em peso. Ao final de 100.000 ciclos, a dureza da superfície lateral foi novamente mensurada e o desgaste da área escovada foi determinado por meio de perfilometria (Hommel Tester T 1000 basic - Hommelwerke). Os dados de microdureza e desgaste superficial obtidos foram submetidos à análise de variância (ANOVA) e teste de Tukey (p<0,05). Os resultados evidenciaram que a microdureza superficial da resina composta avaliada foi significantemente menor quando da fotoativação com VIP-300 mW/cm2, sendo que os maiores valores foram observados com o aparelho Ultralume 5. O desgaste superficial foi significativamente influenciado quando da utilização de baixa densidade de potência (300 mW/cm2) e energia de 6 J/cm2, tanto com o VIP como Ultrablue IS, que demonstraram maior efetividade quando da utilização de densidade de energia acima de 12J/cm2. De forma geral, observou-se correlação negativa quando da interação dos testes de dureza e desgaste superficial, ou seja, quando os valores de dureza aumentaram os de desgaste diminuíram inferindo, entretanto, que isoladamente o valor de dureza não constitui em parâmetro para qualificar o desempenho da resina composta quanto à resistência ao desgaste. / This in vitro study evaluated comparatively, the superficial microhardness and wear of a resin composite, FiltekTM Z-250 (3M/ESPE) under the influence of different light sources (LED Ultrablue IS/DMC, LED Ultralume 5/Ultradent and halogen VIP/BISCO); with power (300, 600 and above 800mW/cm2) and energy density (6, >8, 12, >16, 24, >32J/cm2) variations. Rectangular specimens (15 x 5 x 4 mm) were polymerized, as the variation factors, totalizing 15 groups (n=6). After, they were ground flat with water-cooled carborundum discs in decreasing abrasive order (300, 600, 1200 and 2000) and stored for seven days, before the tests, in deionized water at 37º C. The Knoop microhardness measurements were carried out using a microhardness tester (Shimadzu HMV-2), with a 100g static load applied for 5s on specimens\' top and lateral surfaces (50µm under surface). In sequence the specimens were taken to a machine for brushing simulation, using soft nylon bristles (Oral B 30 Indicator) and dental paste (Colgate) diluted in deionized water in the ratio of 1:2 in weight. After 100,000 cycles, the hardness of the lateral surface was again measured and the wear profile of the brushed area was determined by a profilometer (Hommel Tester T 100 basic/Hommelwerke). The microhardness and superficial wear data were submitted to the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey test (p<0.05). The results showed that the superficial microhardness of the evaluated resin composite was significantly lower when photoactivated with VIP-300 mW/cm2, being the biggest values observed for the Ultralume 5 device. The superficial wear was significantly influenced by the low power density (300 mWcm2) and energy density of 6 J/cm2. This was for both, VIP and Ultrablue IS, which demonstrated greater effectiveness when a density of energy above 12J/cm2 was used. In general, a negative correlation was observed between the two tests (wear and microhardness). In other words, there was an increase of hardness with the decrease in wear values, which demonstrates that only microhardness values do not constitute a parameter to qualify resin composite wear resistance behavior.

O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar quantitativamente a alteração na rugosidade superficial e o desgaste de resinas compostas com diferentes características de matriz orgânica e de carga inorgânica frente ao teste de escovação simulada e ciclagem de pH. Foram testadas três resinas compostas: Filtek Z250 (Bis-GMA, microhíbrida), Filtek Z350 (Bis-GMA, nanoparticulada) e Filtek P90 (silorano, microhíbrida)(3M-ESPE). Para cada resina foram confeccionados dois grupos (n=10) de corpos de prova retangulares (15mmx5mmx4mm). Após a polimerização e polimento adequado dos espécimes, a rugosidade inicial (Ra) foi obtida pela média de três leituras com o Rugosímetro Hommel T1000. Metade de cada corpo de prova foi protegida com esmalte de unha e um dos grupos de cada resina foi submetido a um protocolo de ciclagem de pH (desmineralização-pH 4,3 e remineralização-pH 7,0). Para o teste de abrasão foram realizados 100.000 ciclos de escovação simulada, permanecendo a metade protegida como grupo controle. Na metade escovada foi verificada a rugosidade final, seguindo os mesmos parâmetros iniciais, e o desgaste (µm) foi quantificado pela média de 3 leituras do perfil real abrangendo as duas superfícies (controle e escovada). Os resultados obtidos (ANOVA, teste t Student e Tukey, p<0.05) mostraram diferenças significantes para o desgaste e alteração de rugosidade entre as resinas testadas. A maior média de desgaste foi apresentada pela Filtek P90 (11,505µm±5,690) com diferença significante para a Filtek Z250 (4,191µm±1,725) e para a Filtek Z350 (4,163µm±0,947), sendo que a ciclagem de pH afetou apenas o desgaste da resina Filtek P90 (15,305µm±5,409). Verificou-se aumento da média de rugosidade superficial para as resinas Filtek Z250 e Z350 após escovação simulada, enquanto que a resina Filtek P90 apresentou comportamento contrário, com diferenças estatisticamente significantes (p<0,05). As imagens de microscopia eletrônica de varredura apresentaram-se coerentes com os resultados quantitativos obtidos. / The present study aimed to quantitatively evaluate the surface roughness alteration and wear of resin composites with different characteristics of organic matrix and inorganic filler when submitted to simulated toothbrushing abrasion and pH cycling. Three different resin composites were evaluated: Filtek Z250 (Bis-GMA, microhybrid), Filtek Z350 (Bis-GMA, nanofilled) and Filtek P90 (silorane based, microhybrid) (3M-ESPE). For each resin two groups (n=10) of rectangular specimens (15mmX5mmX4mm) were made. After polymerization and polishing, the initial roughness (Ra) was evaluated by the average of three tracings using a roughness tester Hommel T1000 basic. Half of each specimen was protect with nail varnish and one group of each resin was submitted to pH cycling (demineralization-pH 4,3 and remineralization-pH 7,0). For the abrasion test 100.000 strokes of simulated toothbrushing was processed. The protected side was maintained as control. Over the brushed side the final roughness was measured with the same initial parameters and wear was quantified by the average of 3 readings of the real profile between the two surfaces (control and brushed side). The obtained results (ANOVA, Student t test and Tukey, p<0.05) showed significant differences of wear and surface roughness alteration between the tested materials. Filtek P90 presented the highest average wear rate (11.505 ± 5.690µm) compared to Z250 (4.191 ± 1.725µm) and Z350 (4.163 ± 0.947µm) and the pH cycling significantly affected the wear of Filtek P90(15.305 ± 5.409 mM). The surface roughness evaluation revealed an increasing on surface roughness for Filtek Z250 and Filtek Z350 after toothbrushing, while Filtek P90 showed an opposite behavior, with statistically significant differences (p<0.05). The scanning electron microscope images were in accordance to the quantitative results obtained.

No description available.

Lightweight aluminium-silicon alloy is an attractive material for making engine cylinders in automobiles. It imparts good power to weight ratio to the engine. High silicon containing aluminium alloys are used in current engine block castings where the bore surface is etched or honed to partially expose the silicon particles to provide the primary contact between the piston ring and certain regions of the piston and the cylinder. Piston reversal near the top dead centre however causes starvation of lubrication which leads to wear. To explore the wear behaviour of etched aluminium-silicon alloys under nominally dry conditions and extreme lubricated conditions, a host of mechanical and spectroscopic techniques are used here to characterize mechanical and chemical changes caused by wear. In the absence of complex chemical transformations on the wear surface in dry condition, allows a close examination of surface and subsurface microstructures. Given this understanding of the wear under dry condition, we explore the effect of boundary lubrication, where chemical transformations leading to surface modifications are involved. In dry sliding tribology of aluminium-silicon alloy slid against a steel ball four stages of wear are identified; ultra-mild wear, mild wear, severe wear and post severe oxidative wear. In the ultra-mild wear regime silicon particles bears the load. Transition to mild wear occurs when the protruded silicon particles disappear(by sinking and fracture) under higher pressure and sliding. The sinking of silicon particles under normal loading is further investigated using a naoindenter. It is found that the resistance to sinking of such particles into the matrix increases with the unexposed surface area to the buried volume of the particles. In that sense, small particles are seen to provide the stiffest resistance to sinking. While in ultra-mild wear regime the basic energy dissipation mechanism is sinking/tilting, in mild wear regime the subsurface is either in an elastic or an incipiently plastic state. Subsurface plasticity in mild wear regime leads to a grain refinement, fracture of silicon and nucleation of cracks at silicon-matrix interfaces but does not promote large scale flow of the matrix. Transition to severe wear occurs when the contact pressure exceeds the plastic shakedown limit. Under this condition gross plasticity leads to a severe fragmentation of silicon particles and the fragmented silicon are transported by the matrix as it undergoes incremental straining with each cyclic contact at the asperity level. A large reduction in the inter-particle distance com-pared to that in a milder stage of wear, gives rise to high strain gradients in the severe wear regime which contribute to the enhancement of dislocation density. The resulting regions of very high strains at the boundaries of the recrystallised grains as well as within the subgrains lead to the formation of microvoids/ cracks. This is accompanied by the formation of brittle oxides at these subsurface inter-faces due to enhanced diffusion of oxygen. We believe that the abundance of such microcracks in the near surface region, primed by severe plastic deformation, is what distinguishes a severe wear regime from that in the mild wear. The transition from severe wear to post severe oxidative wear is thermally induced and it transfers the metal to metal contact interaction to metal to ceramic interaction. A thick oxide layer is abraded and spalls while the metal underneath continues to flow and delaminate. A study of lubricated tribology of ultra-mild and mild wear regime of aluminium-silicon alloy shows that the initial stages of sliding friction is controlled by the abrasion of the steel pin by the protruding silicon particles of the aluminium-silicon disc. Thegeneration of nascent steel chips helps to breakdown the additive in the oil by a cationic exchange that yields chemical products of benefits to the tribology. The friction is initially controlled by abrasion, but the chemical products gain increasing importance in controlling friction with sliding time. After long times, depending on the contact pressure, the chemical products determine sliding friction exclusively. In the mild wear chemically induced low friction is achieved in short periods of time whereas in ultra-mild wear regime it takes very long time to reach this low friction state. While the basic dissipation mechanisms are the same in the ultra-mild wear and mild wear regimes ,the matrix remains practically unworn in the low pressure ultra-mild wear regime. In the higher pressure mild wear regime at long sliding times a small but finite wear rate prevails. Incipient plasticity in the subsurface controls the mechanism of wear.

Total hip replacements are being used to relieve pain and restore the hip function of unhealthy hip joints. The various sizes and geometries of the modular femoral neck implants allow the surgeon to optimize the range of motion and patient’s leg length. However, some in vivo modular femoral neck retrievals have shown early fatigue and advanced wear-corrosion at the neck-stem taper interface, which can lead to adverse tissue reactions and failure of the implant. The overall objective of this study was to simulate in vivo fatigue fracture, wear, and corrosion of modular necks at the neck-stem taper interface in a laboratory setting (in vitro) to better predict the failure mechanisms and implant limitations. More specifically, after optimizing the laboratory setup and the testing conditions, this study aimed to compare the effects of the modular neck material (Ti6Al4V and CoCrMo) and the implant assembly technique (hand and impact assembly) on fatigue life, wear-corrosion resistance, and distraction force. The PROFEMUR® Modular Neck System with CoCrMo femoral heads and Ti6Al4V stems was used in this study. The in vitro simulation was divided into two types of tests: fatigue tests (high compression load for a short cyclic loading duration) and corrosion tests (low compression load for a long cyclic loading duration). The neck-stem interface was submersed in a phosphate buffered saline solution, which was maintained at a temperature of 80 ºC to accelerate the corrosion reaction. The simulation results showed that the Ti6Al4V necks were more vulnerable to fatigue fracture than CoCrMo necks. In addition, impact assembly of the components resulted in an increased implant fatigue life compared to hand assembly, but also increased the distraction force. The observed wear-corrosion damage was higher in fatigue tests than corrosion tests, suggesting that the level of mechanical load was a major factor influencing implant surface damage and fatigue fracture. On the other hand, corrosion tests showed that longer exposure resulted in more fluid accumulation in the stem pocket. This may lead to the formation of a corrosion cell with strongly acidic conditions in the stem pocket, as well as the potential for larger metal ion release. Overall, the in vitro simulation was successful in reproducing femoral modular neck fracture and wear-corrosion damage similar to retrieved in vivo specimens. Results may play a major role in the future development of total hip replacements and international standards for implant testing.

Ceramic-metal matrix composites produced by powder metallurgy provide a solution in engineering applications where materials with high wear resistance are required. In the mining industry, the wear of materials is a crucial and widely recognized industrial problem as over 50 % of components fail as a result of wear damage. Increasing the wear resistance of these components will contribute to a reduction in maintenance and thereby increase efficiency. In this present research, SS316L-50wt.% Al2O3 composites were fabricated using the powder metallurgy route. The effects of the powder metallurgy processing parameters were studied. The produced cermet composites were characterized with respect to microstructure, density, hardness and toughness. Furthermore, the wear behavior of the composites was studied using pin-on-disc testing under dry sliding conditions. The produced test results were used to improve existing wear models, particularly the Wayne’s model. The highest hardness of 1085.2 HV, the highest density of 94.7 % and the lowest wear rate of 0.00397 mm3/m were obtained at a milling speed of 720 rpm, a compaction pressure of 794.4 MPa and sintering at 1400 °C in an argon atmosphere. Compared to commercial SS316 and fabricated SS316L, the composites had 7.4 times and 11 times lower wear rate, respectively. However, it is shown that using better densification methods such as hot isostatic pressing (HIP) or hot pressing can further substantial enhanced densification and improve of the composites wear resistance. Similar to its effects of the strength and the toughness, the remaining porosity was found to substantially affect the wear resistance of the sintered composites. Therefore, the porosity was used to correct the abrasion parameter in the first step of wear model improvement. The porosity represented a further consideration of the microstructure in addition to the reinforcement particle size introduced earlier by Wayne. In a second model improvement step, the test conditions were introduced in the wear resistance calculation. This model allowed the prediction of corrected wear resistance values that are characteristic of the individual test materials and are widely independent of wear test conditions. The coefficient of correlation of the model was 0.91 with respect to Wayne's data and wear test results from this study, and was 0.66 after generalization to a large range of wear data measured on multiple materials tested under varying test conditions. This opens a potential avenue for a model-based assessment of the wear resistance of novel materials as well as changes that can be expected under different wear conditions.

Includes bibliographical references. / The abrasive nature of fly ash handled in large coal-fired power stations results in unacceptable material and maintenance costs in ash-water mixing plant. Wear testing has been carried out in situ using a variety of generic materials. A ranking order of wear performance has been established both as a function of material and operating costs, and it has been demonstrated that impressive cost savings can be effected by the use of ceramic-coated steel mixing blades. The performance of such composites has been found to be sensitive to the design and method of application. To optimise materials selection, a family of tungsten carbide-cobalt cermets together with a number of structural ceramics were tested in situ. The modes of wear can be related to material constitution. By ranking the performance of these candidate materials, value based materials selection and design for use can be applied.

Bibliography: pages 89-93. / A laboratory wear testing facility has been developed to generate wear rate data for polymeric materials sliding at constant velocity against a hardened stainless steel base. The polymers investigated were ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), ultra high molecular weight polyethylene-with a friction reducing additive (UHMWPE/FILL), polyoxymethylene (POM), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PETP), molybdenum disulphide filled polyamide 6 (PA6/MoS₂) and graphite filled poly(amide-imide) (P(A-I)/GR). Testing was carried out as a function of sliding velocity between 0.13 to 2.27 ms⁻¹, loads of 1, 3 and 5 MP a and counterface roughnesses which varied from 1 micrometre to 0.25 micrometres. An increase in the counterface roughness resulted in a variable increase in the wear rate of the individual polymers except for the filled UHMWPE. These changes in the wear rate have been explained in terms of the mechanism of material removal. A progressive increase in sliding velocity has been shown to result in an initial increase in the wear rate followed by a decrease and finally a rapid increase for all materials under the majority of applied conditions. Explanations for such behaviour have been advanced in terms of the viscoelastic response of the polymers to strain rate and temperature. Low modulus materials however showed a significant drop in wear rate under low loads above a critical velocity which is believed to be due to a transition from boundary to partial el astohydrodynamic lubrication. Generally an increase in load gave an increase in wear rate for all polymers except for UHMWPE and filled UHMWPE at a counterface roughness of 1 micrometre. These conditions have been discussed with reference to the materials response to thermal effects and counterface interactions.

Liquid fuel lubricity testing is known to be sensitive to the humidity of the surrounding atmosphere. The effect reported does however not seem to be universal for all diesel types according to available literature. This study was limited to the use of n-hexadecane as base fluid with addition of between 100 - 2000 ppm of palmitic acid (PA) as lubricity enhancer. The fuel spectrum was kept simple to allow a more fundamental approach by limiting the extent of possible chemical reactions. Both wear and seizure load testing were performed. The effect of water on both tests was found to be:  Wear and friction increased with higher soluble water content. Water therefore interferes with the action of the lubricating additive leading to decreased performance.  It is known that hydroxyl groups, from dissociative chemisorption of water, act as active sites for adsorption. It is however postulated that the associative chemisorption and/or physisorption of water interferes by either reducing the active site availability or reducing activity to ligand exchange.  No iron oxyhydroxides (FeOOH) were detected on the wear scars or tracks using Raman spectroscopy. The adsorbed water therefore likely only interact with the surface due to their low concentrations (10 ~ 50 ppm).Liquid fuel lubricity testing is known to be sensitive to the humidity of the surrounding atmosphere. The effect reported does however not seem to be universal for all diesel types according to available literature. This study was limited to the use of n-hexadecane as base fluid with addition of between 100 - 2000 ppm of palmitic acid (PA) as lubricity enhancer. The fuel spectrum was kept simple to allow a more fundamental approach by limiting the extent of possible chemical reactions. Both wear and seizure load testing were performed. The effect of water on both tests was found to be:  Wear and friction increased with higher soluble water content. Water therefore interferes with the action of the lubricating additive leading to decreased performance.  It is known that hydroxyl groups, from dissociative chemisorption of water, act as active sites for adsorption. It is however postulated that the associative chemisorption and/or physisorption of water interferes by either reducing the active site availability or reducing activity to ligand exchange.  No iron oxyhydroxides (FeOOH) were detected on the wear scars or tracks using Raman spectroscopy. The adsorbed water therefore likely only interact with the surface due to their low concentrations (10 ~ 50 ppm). For wear testing the following additional observations were made:  The electric contact resistance (ECR) took longer to increase at higher soluble water content, for all PA concentrations. The equilibrium values attained were also lower, when values were within the measurement range. This again highlights the reduced lubricity performance at higher soluble water content.  Wear scar appearance and colour were uniquely affected at each concentration of PA  Similar trends were observed at 60 °C and 80 °C. At the higher temperature:  Wear scar diameters increased.  Friction coefficients decreased and had less variance.  ECR values were similar, but took longer to increase to a steady value. For seizure load testing the following additional observations were made:  At higher water content, the oscillation-stroke on the test machine used tended to deviate more, before the actual seizure point was reached.  The effects of soluble water were more noticeable at lower PA concentrations. / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Chemical Engineering / MEng / Unrestricted