Volume 40, Issue 1

In this paper, poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) scaffold was manufactured using the fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology with a modified platform. The effect of processing parameters of FDM on the porosity and compressive strength of PEEK scaffold with uniform pores (0.8 mm of diameter) was optimized through Taguchi methodology. With the determined parameters, four kinds of PEEK scaffolds with gradient pores (0.4–0.8 mm, 0.6–1.0 mm, 0.8–1.2 mm, and 1.2–2.0 mm) were manufactured. The scaffolds were investigated using scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the pores of scaffolds were interconnected with rough surface, which can allow the attachment, migration, and differentiation of cells for bone forming. The tensile strength, compressive max strength, and compressive yield strength of scaffolds were between 18 and 35 MPa, 197.83 and 370.42 MPa, and 26 and 36 MPa, respectively. The mechanical properties of the scaffolds can satisfy the loading requirements of human bones. Therefore, the PEEK scaffolds have a potential to be used in tissue engineering as implants.

This article reports the microstructure evolution in TP347HFG austenitic steel during the aging process. The experiments were carried out at 700°C with different aging time from 500 to 3,650 h. The metallographic results show that the coherent twin and incoherent twin are existed in the original TP347HFG grains, while they gradually vanished with the increase of the aging time. After aging for 500 h, a lot of fine, dispersed particles precipitated from the matrix, but they disappeared after aging for 1,500 h. When the aging time extend to 3,650 h, the precipitates appeared apparently coarse in TP347HFG steel, which include the M 23 C 6 and σ phase; besides, the micro-hardness of TP347HFG also changes during the aging, which was closely related to the effect of dispersion strengthening and solution strengthening. The results of the nonlinear ultrasonic measurement reveal that the β ′ of TP347HFG steel was also changed with the aging time. It first increased at 0–500 h, then reduced later, and increased finally at 1,500–3,650 h. The variation of β ′ in TP347HFG was influenced by a combined effect of the twin microstructure and the precipitate phase, which indicate that the nonlinear ultrasonic technique can be utilized to characterize the microstructure evolution in TP347HFG.

The hot deformation behavior of as-cast 9Cr3W3Co oxide dispersion-strengthened (ODS) steel was investigated by Gleeble 3500 facility in the temperature range of 900–1,150℃ and at strain rates range of 0.01–10 s −1 . The constitutive equation and processing maps were established to describe this complex hot deformation process. The true stress–strain curves showed that the softening effects of dynamic recovery and dynamic recrystallization are stronger than the effect of work hardening with further increasing the temperature and strain. The optimal hot working parameters of 9Cr3W3Co-ODS steel are suggested to be T = 1,050–1,100°C and ε ̇ \dot{\varepsilon } = 0.03–0.3 s −1 .

The volume stability caused by the hydration of f-CaO is one of the main obstacles to the comprehensive utilization of steel-making slag. In view of the f-CaO produced by incomplete dissolution of lime, it is necessary to strengthen the dissolution behavior of lime in the converter process. The reactivity of lime determines the dissolution efficiency and is closely related to its microstructure. The experimental results show that the reactivity and porosity of quick lime decrease and the average diameter of pore increases with an increase in temperature. The CaO crystals gradually grow up under the action of grain boundary migration. When the temperature increased from 1,350 to 1,600°C, the lime reactivity decreased from 237.60 to 40.60 mL, the porosity decreased from 30.55 to 15.91%, the average pore diameter increased from 159.10 to 1471.80 nm, and the average CaO particle size increased from 0.33 to 9.61 µm. The results indicate that reactivity is decreased because of the deformation and growth of CaO crystals and the decrease in porosity in reactive lime. This will cause an obstacle to the dissolution of lime and is not conducive to the control of f-CaO in slag.

The phase and element distribution of converter slag was analyzed with the backscattered electron (BSE) images of scanning electron microscopy and X-ray energy spectrum. The results show that the Ca and Si are attached in the slag micro-area, while the Fe is present in areas with less Ca and Si. Most of the P appear in areas with more Ca and Si. The content of SiO 2 tends to increase with an increase in the CaO content in the slag micro-area. The activity of a CaO increases with an increase in the CaO content in the slag micro-area, while the activity of a FeO increases first and then decreases. In the slag micro-area with an increase in the FeO content, both the mole fraction and the activity coefficient of SiO 2 decrease; so, the content of SiO 2 decreases gradually.

The extensive use of light metal material such as aluminum has brought about problems in its joining with steel. However, the weak metallurgical bonding between the dissimilar materials and the formation of hard and brittle intermetallic compounds (IMCs) lead to unsatisfactory joint strength. Aiming at achieving high-quality joining of aluminum and steel, 6061-T6 aluminum and 301L steel alloys were lap joined by ultrasonic assisted friction stir lap welding (UaFSLW) in this study. The UaFSLW joints were well formed with uniform flashes and even arc lines. The strong plastic flow of the aluminum material driven by the dual effects of mechanical stirring and ultrasonic vibration inhibited the excessive growth of the Al–Fe IMCs at the lap interface. Thanks to the enhanced metallurgical bonding and the effective control of the layer thickness of IMCs, the tensile load of the UaFSLW joint under 1,800 rpm reached 16.5 kN, which was an increase of 27.9% compared to that of the conventional FSLW joint.

More attention has been paid to the exfoliation of oxide scale on high-temperature heating surface of utility boiler. The oxidation mechanism of HCM12A steel in supercritical water is proposed and the growth of oxide film is simulated. The duplex scale contains an outer magnetite layer and an inner Cr-rich spinel layer. According to the data of Backhaus and Töpfer, the diffusion coefficient values of iron in magnetite layer are discussed and the function of R V , R I {R}_{\text{I}} for oxygen activity can be used for calculation of iron diffusion coefficients in Cr-rich spinel layer. Based on Wagner’s oxidation theory, the oxidation rate constants of HCM12A are calculated at 500 and 600°C in supercritical water, compared with experimental data of the relevant literatures. The oxygen activities at the interfaces of alloy/Cr-rich spinel oxide and magnetite/supercritical water are estimated. The simulation results of weight gain are matched with the test data. The iron diffusion mechanisms inside the magnetite layer and the Cr-rich spinel layer are analyzed. The iron diffusion coefficient at the interface of Cr-rich spinel/magnetite is discontinuous, while the oxygen activity is continuous in the whole double layer. The thickness of oxide scale on inner tube walls of the final superheater coils (T91) of a 600 MW supercritical boiler is calculated by using the calculation method provided by the paper. The modeling results, the measured data, and the calculation results by the method are compared. Accurate calculation of the thickness of the inner and outer oxide scales can provide a necessary basis for predicting the stress and exfoliation of oxide scales.

Sulfur is added to low-alloyed steel FAS3420H to improve the free-cutting property of the steel. Elongated MnS inclusions usually deteriorate the mechanical and process performance of steels, so the control of shape and size of MnS is essential. The statistical analysis of MnS inclusions in as-cast and rolled steels at different positions shows that the distribution and aspect ratio of MnS in rolled steel are closely related to the quantity and size of MnS in as-cast one. The in situ observation and experimental results reveal that homogenization treatment effectively reduced MnS inclusions size and transformed their shape to globule or ellipsoid. Significant change of quantity and size of MnS inclusions was identified only when the soaking time exceeds 5 h at 1,250℃. Additionally, a kinetic model is presented to quantitatively characterize the behavior of MnS inclusions during homogenization process.

Al 2 O 3 nano-scaled coating was prepared on micro-textured YT5 cemented carbide cutting tools by atomic layer deposition ALD. The effect of Al 2 O 3 nano-scaled coating, with and without combined action of texture, on the cutting performance was studied by orthogonal cutting test. The results were compared with micro-textured cutting tool and YT5 cutting tool. They show that the micro-texture and nano-scaled Al 2 O 3 coated on the micro-texture both can reduce the cutting force and friction coefficient of the tool, and the tools with nano-scaled Al 2 O 3 coated on the micro-texture are more efficient. Furthermore, the friction coefficient of the 100 nm Al 2 O 3 -coated micro-texture tool is relatively low. When the distance of the micro-pits is 0.15 mm, the friction coefficient is lowest among the four kinds of pit textured nanometer coating tools. The friction coefficient is the lowest when the direction of the groove in strip textured nanometer coating tool is perpendicular to the main cutting edge. The main mechanism of the nanometer Al 2 O 3 on the micro-textured tool to reduction in cutting force and the friction coefficient is discussed. These results show that the developed tools effectively decrease the cutting force and friction coefficient of tool–chip interface.

Accurately and continuously monitoring the hot metal temperature status of the blast furnace (BF) is a challenging job. To solve this problem, we propose a hot metal temperature prediction model based on the AdaBoost integrated algorithm using the real production data of the BF. We cleaned the raw data using the data analysis technology combined with metallurgical process theory, which mainly included data integration, outliers elimination, and missing value supplement. The redundant features were removed based on Pearson’s thermodynamic diagram analysis, and the input parameters of the model were preliminarily determined by using recursive feature elimination method. We built the hot metal temperature prediction model using the AdaBoost ensemble algorithm on a dataset with selected features as well as derived features by using K-mean clustering tags. The results show that the performance of the hot metal temperature prediction model with K-means clustering tags has been further improved, and the accurate monitoring and forecast of molten iron temperature has been achieved. The model can achieve an accuracy of more than 90% with an error of ±5°C.

A calculation model of activity for CaO–SiO 2 –MgO–Al 2 O 3 –TiO 2 slag is established according to molecular-ion coexistence theory of slag structure to calculate the activities of Al 2 O 3 , SiO 2 , and TiO 2 in the slag. The possibility of TiO 2 reduction in the slag during refining is analyzed by thermodynamics and verified by laboratory and industrial experiments. Both theoretical analysis and laboratory experimental results show that the content of TiO 2 in the ladle slag significantly influences the Ti content in molten steel. When the content of the dissolved aluminum in molten steel is 0.030–0.050%, the TiO 2 content in the ladle slag should be controlled below 0.3% to prevent TiO 2 reduction. The critical content of TiO 2 decreases with an increasing amount of the dissolved aluminum in molten steel. In addition, silicon should be used as a deoxidizer during diffused deoxidization because aluminum as a deoxidizer would lead to the reduction of TiO 2 . The industrial experiments confirm the results of the laboratory experiments and thermodynamics analysis.

Surface coating can greatly enhance the lifetime of cold extrusion die. It is a significant issue to evaluate the performance of coatings and even predict the lifetime of cold extrusion die. In this work, the titanium-based nitride coatings including TiN, TiAlN, and TiAlCrN were, respectively, deposited on the surface of high-speed steel substrate W 6 Mo 5 Cr 4 V 2 (M2) by the physical vapor deposition technology. The hardness test, scratch test, Rockwell adhesion test, and pin-on-disc (POD) wear test were carried out aiming to investigate the performances of the three coatings including hardness, adhesion strength, and wear resistance. The results show that the TiAlCrN coating exhibits the highest hardness of 3,033 HV in comparison with TiN coating (1,222 HV) and TiAlN coating (1,916 HV), while it possesses poor adhesion strength and inferior wear resistance. Furthermore, the TiAlN coating presents the highest resistance to wear and spalling from the substrate. In addition, the Archard wear model of the coatings was solved and applied in the finite element model of cold extrusion to calculate the wear depth and lifetime of the cold extrusion dies. The results suggest that TiAlN coating is the optimal option for cold extrusion die as compared with TiAlCrN and TiN coatings. TiAlN coating can prolong the lifetime of the substrate die up to 260%.

The flat plate specimens of nickel-based single-crystal superalloy with 14 film cooling holes, which made by different drilling techniques, were used to study the high-cycle fatigue (HCF) properties at 980°C in an ambient atmosphere. At the same time, the electrical discharge machining (EDM) specimens with a single hole were also used to study the HCF properties under different temperatures. The hole and fracture micrographs were analyzed by scanning electron microscope. The results indicated that different drilling techniques have a great influence on HCF life. The fatigue limit of the millisecond laser drilling is 353 MPa, while the EDM is 359 MPa and the electro-stream machining (ESM) is 378 MPa. The fatigue life decreases gradually with the temperature increasing. The fatigue limit of EDM specimens with a single hole at 900°C, 980°C, and 1,050°C are 472, 430, and 293 MPa, respectively. The destruction of the specimens is a typical multisource rupture, and the fracture morphology includes three parts: the cracks sources around the film cooling hole, the propagation zone along the {001} planes, and instant rupture zone along the {111} planes.

CO 2 injection into blast furnace tuyeres is a new technology to utilize CO 2 , aiming at expanding the way of CO 2 self-absorption in the metallurgical industry. The decisive factor of whether CO 2 can be mixed into a blast-furnace hot blast and the proper mixing ratio is the effect of CO 2 injection on pulverized coal burnout. To investigate the effect of CO 2 injection into tuyeres on pulverized coal burnout, a three-dimensional mathematical model of pulverized coal flow and combustion in the lower part of the pulverized coal injection lance-blowpipe-tuyere-raceway was established, and the effect of CO 2 injection into tuyeres on pulverized coal combustion rate and outlet temperature is analyzed. The numerical simulation results show that the delay of pulverized coal combustion in the early stage is caused by the endothermic effect of the reaction of CO 2 with carbon, and the burnout of pulverized coal is increased in the later stage due to the oxidation of CO 2 .

Co–Al porous intermetallics were fabricated by an efficient and energy-saving method of thermal explosion (TE) reactions. The effects of Co/Al molar ratios on the temperature profiles, phase compositions, expansion behaviors, density, pore characteristics, and oxidation resistance were investigated. When the target furnace temperature was set at 700°C, there was an obvious exothermic peak in the temperature profiles. The ignition temperatures were in the range of 600–645°C, and the combustion temperatures were in the range of 984–1,421°C. Co–Al porous intermetallics had the open porosity of 27–43%, and the pores were from nonfully dense green compacts and explosion behaviors of TE. The specimen with Co:Al = 2:9 possessed a higher open porosity of 42.8%, the lowest density of 1.86 g cm −3 , and the largest volume expansion of 76.7%. The porous specimens with Co:Al = 1:1 possessed the highest open porosity of 43.2%, the lowest volume expansion of 12.3%, and the highest density of 3.42 g cm −3 . All Co–Al porous intermetallics showed excellent oxidation resistance at 650°C in air, especially the specimen with Co:Al = 1:1 had the highest oxidation resistance.

To study the active heat insulation roadways of high-temperature mines considering thermal insulation and injection, a high-temperature −965 m return air roadway of Zhujidong Coal Mine (Anhui Province, China) is selected as a prototype. The ANSYS numerical simulation method is used for the sensitivity analysis of heat insulation grouting layers with different thermal conductivities and zone ranges and heat insulation spray layers with different thermal conductivities and thicknesses; thus, their effects on the heat-adjusting zone radius, surrounding rock temperature field, and wall temperature are studied. The results show that the tunneling head temperature of the Zhujidong Mine is >27°C all year round, consequently causing serious heat damage. The heat insulation circle formed by thermal insulation spraying and grouting can effectively alleviate the disturbance of roadway airflow to the surrounding rock temperature field, thereby significantly reducing the heat-adjusting zone radius and wall temperature. The decrease in the thermal conductivities of the grouting and spray layers, expansion of the grouting layer zone, and increase in the spray layer thickness help effectively reduce the heat-adjusting zone radius and wall temperature. This trend decreases significantly with the ventilation time. A sensitivity analysis shows that the use of spraying and grouting materials of low thermal conductivity for thermal insulation is a primary factor in determining the temperature field distribution, while the range of the grouting layer zone and the spray layer thickness are secondary factors. The influence of the increased surrounding rock radial depth and ventilation time is negligible. Thus, the application of thermal insulation spraying and grouting is essential for the thermal environment control of mine roadways. Furthermore, the research and development of new spraying and grouting materials with good thermal insulation capabilities should be considered.

Herein, the evolution of reduction process of ultrafine tungsten powder in industrial conditions was investigated. The transition process of morphology and composition was examined via SEM, XRD, and calcination experiments. The results show that the reduction sequence of WO 2.9 was WO 2.9 → WO 2.72 → WO 2 → W on the surface, but WO 2.9 → WO 2 → W inside the oxide particles. With the aid of chemical vapor transport of WO x (OH) y , surface morphology transformed into rod-like, star-shaped cracking, floret, irregularly fibrous structure, and finally, spherical tungsten particles.

Thermodynamic analysis of the precipitation behavior, growth kinetic, and control mechanism of MnS inclusion in U75V heavy rail steel was conducted in this study. The results showed that solute element S had a much higher segregation ratio than that of Mn, and MnS would only precipitate in the solid–liquid (two-phase) regions at the late stage during the solidification process at the solid fraction of 0.9518. Increasing the cooling rate had no obvious influence on the precipitation time of MnS inclusion; however, its particle size would be decreased greatly. The results also suggested that increasing the concentration of Mn would lead to an earlier precipitation time of MnS, while it had little effect on the final particle size; as to S, it was found that increasing its concentration could not only make the precipitation time earlier but also make the particle size larger. Adding a certain amount of Ti additive could improve the mechanical properties of U75V heavy rail steel due to the formation of TiO x –MnS or MnS–TiS complex inclusions. The precipitation sequences of Ti 3 O 5 → Ti 2 O 3 → TiO 2 → TiO → MnS → TiS for Ti treatment were determined based on the thermodynamic calculation.

The influence mechanism of basicity on the reduction swelling index (RSI) of iron ore briquettes was investigated using the SEM analysis and Factsage 7.3 thermodynamic calculations based on the addition of pure CaO to Bayan Obo iron concentrate. The results revealed that the solid solution of Ca 2+ in the FeO lattice increased with the basicity of the briquettes, whereas the diffusion channels of Fe 2+ ions increased during the reduction process from FeO to Fe and resulted in the formation of a great number of slender and anisotropic iron whiskers, which consequently increased the RSI. Furthermore, the melting point of the slag phase decreased as the CaO content increased; this reduced its ability to resist the reduction swelling of iron oxides. When the basicity was increased from 0.3 to 0.8, the RSI reached a maximum of 69.85%. However, due to the saturated solid solution of Ca 2+ in FeO lattice, as the basicity further increased from 0.8 to 1.2, excess CaO melting into the slag phase promoted the precipitation of spinel minerals with high melting points and difficult reduction properties. Thus, the diffusion of Fe 2+ and the growth of the iron whiskers were hindered, and the RSI was reduced.

The effects of adding Cr and Al on the oxidation behavior of a Ti 5 Si 3 -incorporated MoSiBTiC alloy (46Mo–28Ti–14Si–6C–6B, at%) were investigated at 800 and 1,100°C. The addition of Cr and Al largely improved the oxidation resistance of the MoSiBTiC alloy at 800°C due to the formation of Cr 2 (MoO 4 ) 3 and Al 2 (MoO 4 ) 3 in the oxide scales. These protective molybdates mainly formed on the molybdenum solid solution (Mo ss ) and Mo 3 Si phases that show poor oxidation resistance in the Cr- and Al-free alloy and consequently increased the oxidation resistance of the alloys. However, accelerated oxidation occurred on the 10Al alloy after the long-term oxidation test, suggesting that the formed oxide scale has limited protection ability. At 1,100°C, the addition of Cr and Al also enhanced the oxidation resistance to some extent by forming Cr 2 O 3 and Al 2 O 3 in the oxide scales.

Al–Li alloy has been widely used in the aerospace field owing to its high strength and low density. In this study, alternating current cold metal transfer (AC CMT) along with a high-frequency pulse current technique was used to weld a 2060 Al–Li alloy using an ER5356 wire. The effect of pulse frequency on the arc shape, microstructure, and mechanical properties of the welded joints was examined, and mechanical performance testing was conducted. The results revealed that the arc diameter, arc length, and arc volume showed a trend of increasing first and then decreasing with an increase in the pulse frequency and reached their peak values when the pulse frequency was 50 kHz. Coupling the welding process with a high-frequency pulse resulted in grain refinement, which was attributed to the stirring action of the arc force. Both the porosity levels and grain size decreased with increasing frequency. When the pulse frequency was 70 kHz, the porosity level was the lowest, and the grain size was refined to 24.1 μm. The tensile strength of the welded joints also increased with the pulse frequency, and a maximum tensile strength of 249 MPa was observed at 70 kHz.

The hot tensile tests were conducted in this study to investigate the effects of Nb, B, Mo, and V on hot ductility of 25CrMo alloy steel in a temperature range of 650–850°C with strain rates of 0.005 and 0.5 s −1 . Besides, the influences of ferrite transformation and precipitates on hot ductility were also investigated by the use of SEM and TEM. Thermo-Calc and J Mat Pro were used for calculating equilibrium precipitates and CCT curves, respectively. The results indicated that the hot ductility is deteriorated with the addition of 0.04% Nb due to Nb(C,N) particles and ferrite transformation. The addition of B inhibits ferrite transformation and improves hot ductility. The hot ductility is improved with increasing strain rate from 0.005 to 0.5 s −1 due to the nucleation and growth behavior of ferrite. The fast strain rate promotes nucleation of ferrite; however, the ferrite has no sufficient time to grow up. The addition of Mo inhibits ferrite transformation and improves hot ductility. The addition of 0.12% V has no obvious effect on ferrite transformation. The hot ductility has deteriorated a little with the addition of 0.12% V due to the solution V that increases stress during hot deformation.

The presence of potassium oxide (K 2 O) and sodium oxide (Na 2 O) causes high reduction swelling of pellets of Bayan Obo iron concentrate during reduction and thus affects the permeability of blast gases during blast furnace operations. The influencing mechanism of K 2 O and Na 2 O on the swelling behavior of reduction reactions (1) Fe 2 O 3 → Fe 3 O 4 , (2) Fe 3 O 4 → Fe x O, and (3) Fe x O → Fe was researched by adding (K 2 O + Na 2 O) to Australian fine ore briquettes. The mineral composition and structure of the briquettes, as well as the reduction swelling after the three reactions coupled with the morphology and lattice parameters of the reduced products, were studied. From the results, the swelling index with 0.6% (K 2 O + Na 2 O) added was 8.52%, 7.91%, and 33.81%, respectively, and without were 12.36%, 3.27%, and 12.61%, respectively, for the three reactions. The swelling index of the first reaction (Fe 2 O 3 → Fe 3 O 4 ) is reduced because alkali metal suppresses crystal cracking. The swelling mainly occurs at the third stage (Fe x O → Fe), because K 2 O and Na 2 O enhance the oriented growth of iron whiskers, as well as make them smaller. Crystal transformation does not occur at the second stage (Fe 3 O 4 → Fe x O) and the reduction swelling is small, but the swelling index of the briquettes with added with K 2 O and Na 2 O increases (7.91% compared to 3.27%). The main reason is that the alkali metal reduces the melting point of the slag phase and promotes the cascade crystallization of FeO. Therefore, the abnormal swelling of briquettes caused by K and Na is mainly caused by the growth of iron whiskers at the third stage.

In the steelmaking process, the remained converter slag with P-containing materials is harmful to the molten steel in the next furnace. By the slag-splashing process with air blowing, P in the molten slag can be reduced and separated from the slag in the form of gas. In this paper, the reduction experiments of converter slag were carried out by flowing N 2 at high temperatures, and the P-containing gas formed in this process was cooled and collected in water. It is found that the P gas was mainly composed of P 2 , which matched well with the results predicted by the FactSage7.2 calculation. The reaction mechanism of gasification dephosphorization in molten slag was analyzed, which was mainly proceeded on the surface of the slag. SEM-EDS and XRD were used to detect and characterize the samples. The ore phase of the converter slag and the gasification dephosphorization slag was determined, and the phase change was analyzed and compared.

The purpose of the current investigation is to analyze the effect of the operating parameters of laser-assisted cladding process on clad height, clad depth, clad width and the percentage dilution in a cladding of AlFeCuCrCoNi high-entropy powder on SS-316 through CO 2 laser and to optimize the cladding process parameters for optimum dilution. The experiments were designed by the full factorial method and analyzed by ANOVA. The analysis results indicate that dilution is most influenced by scanning speed followed by the powder feed rate. The outcomes of the single clad profile in terms of dilution, microhardness, composition and the microstructures produced in various cladding conditions are investigated briefly, and through which the optimum set of laser cladding operating parameters for maximum hardness of the clad material is determined. The optimum cladding conditions in the experimental range were obtained at 4 g/min powder feeding rate, 500 mm/min laser scanning speed and 1.1 kW laser beam power through multi-response optimization. Furthermore, the multi-track coating with 60% overlapping ratio was deposited using optimized parameters. The wear behavior of multi-track coating was determined using pin on disk wear apparatus with applied load of 20 N, sliding speed of 300 RPM and test duration of 15 min. The pin on disk wear test results indicates that the friction coefficient of SS-316 is larger than that of high-entropy alloy cladded SS-316. The wear resistivity of SS-316 improved by 40.35% after laser-assisted high-entropy alloy coating, which confirms that the laser cladding layer plays an essential role in enhancing the wear resistance capability of austenite steel.

In this article, the numerical analysis has been carried out to optimize heat transfer and pressure drop in the horizontal channel in the presence of a rectangular baffle and constant temperature in two-dimension. For this aim, the governing differential equation has been solved by computational fluid dynamics software. The Reynolds numbers are in the range of 2,000 < Re < 10,000 and the working fluid is water. While the periodic boundary condition has been applied at the inlet, outlet, and the channel wall, axisymmetric boundary condition has been used for channel axis. For modeling and optimizing the turbulence, k–ω SST model and genetic algorithm have been applied, respectively. The results illustrate that adding a rectangular baffle to the channel enhances heat transfer and pressure drop. Hence, the heat transfer performance factor along with maximum heat transfer and minimum pressure drop has been investigated and the effective geometrical parameters have been introduced. As can be seen, there is an inverse relationship between baffle step and both heat transfer and pressure drop so that for p/d equal to 0.5, 1, and 1.25, the percentage of increase in Nusselt number is 141, 124, and 120% comparing to a simple channel and the increase in friction factor is 5.5, 5, and 4.25 times, respectively. The results of modeling confirm the increase in heat transfer performance and friction factor in the baffle with more height. For instance, when the Reynolds number and height are 5,000 and 3 mm, the Nusselt number and friction factor have been increased by 35% and 2.5 times, respectively. However, for baffle with 4 mm height, the increase in the Nusselt number and friction factor is 68% and 5.57 times, respectively. It is also demonstrated that by increasing Reynolds number, the maximum heat transfer performance has been decreased which is proportional to the increase in p/d and h/d. Moreover, the maximum heat transfer performance in 2,000 Reynolds number is 1.5 proportional to p/d of 0.61 and h/d of 0.36, while for 10,000 Reynolds number, its value is 1.19 in high p/d of 0.93 and h/d of 0.15. The approaches of the present study can be used for optimizing heat transfer performance where geometrical dimensions are not accessible or the rectangular baffle has been applied for heat transfer enhancement.

HRB500E seismic steel bars are mainly used in high-rise buildings near the seismic zone. The influence of different niobium contents (0–0.023%) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of HRB500E seismic reinforcement was studied. Results showed that the grain size of ferrite was between 3.6 and 8.3 μm when only V was added. Meanwhile, as the niobium content increases, the ferrite particles are further refined. After adding niobium, the grain contribution increased by 9%. The addition of niobium significantly refined the grain size of HRB500E seismic reinforcement. The second-phase nano-elliptic precipitate is NbC. The precipitated phase is dispersed on the grain boundary and the matrix, and the dislocation density on the matrix promotes the precipitation of NbC particles along the dislocation line. The second-phase precipitation of niobium can form an effective pinning effect and then refine the pearlite spacing. The microhardness and the tensile strength also significantly improved. The yield strength increased from 509 to 570 MPa.

Understanding the damage evolution of alloys during a plastic deformation process is significant to the structural design of components and accident prevention. In order to visualize the damage evolution in the plastic deformation of Ti–3Al–2Mo–2Zr alloy, a series of uniaxial tensile experiments for this alloy were carried out under the strain rates of 0.1–10 s −1 at room temperature, and the stress–strain curves were achieved. On the other hand, the finite element (FE) models of these uniaxial tensile processes were established. A microvoids proliferation model, Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman (GTN) damage model, was implanted into the uniaxial tensile models, and the simulated stress–strain curves corresponding to different GTN parameter combinations were obtained. Based on the simulated and experimental stress–strain curves, the GTN parameters of this alloy were solved by response surface methodology (RSM). The solved GTN parameters suggest that higher strain rate can enhance the proliferation and coalescence of microvoids. Furthermore, the uniaxial tensile tests over different strain rates were simulated using the solved GTN parameters. Then, the damage processes were visualized and evaluated. The result shows that the degradation speed of this alloy is slow at the initial stage of the tensile deformation and then accelerates once the voids volume fraction reaches a critical value.

High-temperature tensile tests at 25, 150, 250, and 350°C were carried out on 30CrMo, 42CrMo, 1Cr13, and 304 steels. The changes in tensile strength, yield strength, elongation, and area reduction ratio with temperature were determined. By analyzing the fracture morphology and the relationship between strength and hardness, the influence of high-temperature mechanical properties on crack sensitivity and the mechanism of crack formation is discussed. Experimental results indicated that both the tensile and yield strengths of the four steels gradually decrease with the increase in temperature. The yield ratios of 30CrMo, 42CrMo, 1Cr13, and 304 steels are, respectively, 0.71–0.77, 0.79–0.86, 0.84–0.88, and 0.33–0.40 which shows that among the four steels, 304 has the best ductility, while 1Cr13 has the worst ductility. As for the four steels, the values of reduction ratio of area are greater than 60%, except for 42CrMo which is slightly lower than 60% at 150 and 250°C, indicating that the four steels have low crack sensitivity within the test temperature range. Ductile fracture is the main fracture mechanism for 30CrMo, 42CrMo, and 304 steel, whereas brittle fracture is predominant for 1Cr13. There is a linear regression relationship between the strength and hardness at different temperatures. The obtained linear regression relationship can be used to predict and estimate the strength of 30CrMo, 42CrMo, 1Cr13, and 304 steels at different temperatures according to the hardness results.

Reduced iron (1.74% P) is produced from oolitic hematite ore by coal-based reduction and magnetic separation. To realize the comprehensive utilization of Fe and P, the dephosphorization behavior of the reduced iron is investigated in the presence of CaO–SiO 2 –FeO–Al 2 O 3 slag. The P content of the final iron and the P 2 O 5 content of the high-P-containing slag are determined, and the phase composition and P 2 O 5 solubility of the slag are analyzed. The P content can be decreased to 0.2% when the initial slag has a basicity of 3.5 and contains 55% FeO and 6% Al 2 O 3 . The phases of the high-P-containing slag are mainly Ca 2 Al 2 SiO 7 , Ca 2 SiO 4 , Ca 5 (PO 4 ) 2 SiO 4 , and FeO, and P exists in the form of Ca 5 (PO 4 ) 2 SiO 4 . Excessively high basicity or low content of FeO and Al 2 O 3 results in free CaO, which affects the dephosphorization results. The change rule of the intensity of the Ca 5 (PO 4 ) 2 SiO 4 diffraction peak agrees well with the dephosphorization indexes, which further verify the accuracy of the dephosphorization experiments. Moreover, the P 2 O 5 content and P 2 O 5 solubility of the high-P-containing slag reached as high as 14.41 and 94.54%, respectively, indicating that it can be used as a phosphate fertilizer.

The jet performance of an oxygen lance nozzle influences the smelting rhythm, smelting index, and energy consumption of a converter. Due to the complexity of the process of converter smelting, the changing temperature and gas composition in the converter significantly impact the jet characteristics of the oxygen lance nozzle in the smelting process; however, research on the change law of jet characteristics in different smelting periods is limited. In this study, we used Ansys Fluent 17.0, which is commercially available fluid simulation software, to simulate the variation of jet characteristics of a mixed injection comprising 6% CO 2 and 94% O 2 ; the mixed injection was tested using a dual-parameter oxygen lance nozzle in the early, middle, and late stages of smelting. The results show that the increase of CO concentration and ambient temperature in the converter lead to a decrease in the attenuation rate of jet velocity, improved independence of multiple jets, and an increase in the impact area of jets on the molten pool. Thus, when designing and employing oxygen lance nozzles, the influence of ambient temperature and furnace gas composition on jet characteristics must be considered.

Al 2 O 3 dispersion-strengthened (ODS) copper has an excellent comprehensive performance due to the strong hindrance of the high concentration nano-Al 2 O 3 to the dislocations inside copper grains. However, the processability of ODS copper is seriously deteriorated, which is caused by the presence of unfavorable microlevel Al 2 O 3 particles along powder particle boundaries. In this study, a strategy of ball-milling-induced impurity removal is adopted to surmount the dilemma. It was found that the ball milling process can significantly weaken the formation of large Al 2 O 3 particles in the primary boundaries. However, due to the activation of the powder particle surface, the metallurgical bonding between the powder particles is strengthened. The results showed that the ball-milled samples exhibited the optimal properties, including the ultimate tensile strength of 488 ± 3 MPa, elongation of 18.7 ± 0.7%, reduction in the area of 46.8 ± 1.2%, 82.2 ± 0.3 Rockwell Hardness measured on the B scale (HRB), and electrical conductivity of 77.2 ± 0.1% International Association of Classification Societies (IACS).

The growth rate of the shell thickness in the funnel mold for ultrahigh-speed continuous casting of steel has a significant effect on the shell surface quality. By using the node temperature inheritance algorithm, a three-dimensional transient thermal conductivity model of the liquid steel solidification inside the mold was established, and the effects of casting temperature and speed on the heat transfer behavior of the thin slab were investigated. The results show that with an increase in the casting speed from 4.0 to 6.0 m·min −1 , the maximum thickness of the shell at mold exit was reduced from 26 to 12.8 mm, and the maximum temperature of the slab surface at mold exit increased from 1,210 to 1,305°C. However, the increase of casting temperature from 1,550 to 1,560°C had little effect on the surface temperature and thickness of the slab shell.

The effects of high-density electric current pulse (ECP) treatment on the solidification of Cu–37.4 wt% Pb monotectic alloy melt were investigated. Compared to the method of molten glass purification combined with cyclic superheating, ECP treatment created finer microstructures of Cu–Pb alloys, with more homogeneous distribution of the Pb phase in the matrix. This phenomenon can be explained by the cluster theory for liquid metals and the non-equilibrium diffusion theory. First, ECP treatment could cause the fission of larger atomic clusters to increase the undercooling that enabled a large number of smaller clusters to grow and reach the critical nucleation radius. Second, ECP treatment could reduce the diffusion energy barrier to enhance the non-equilibrium diffusion of solute atoms and suppress the segregation of Pb.

KBaPO 4 :Eu 2+ /Sm 3+ phosphor was synthesized via the high-temperature solid-phase reaction method. The structural properties, surface morphology, and optical properties of the synthesized samples were obtained by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and fluorescence measurements. The XRD patterns indicate that the crystal structure of KBaPO 4 has not been changed by co-doped with two rare-earth ions. Under the excitation of 400 nm, the Eu 2+ and Sm 3+ co-doped KBaPO 4 phosphors showed typical emission peaks at 430 (blue), 562 (yellow), and 600 nm (red). Meanwhile, with the increase of the Sm 3+ content, the photoluminescent (PL) emission intensity of Sm 3+ increased until the content reaches 0.12. However, the PL intensity of Eu 2+ ions gradually decreased, which indicated that there was a possible energy transfer between the two ions. Therefore, the obtained results indicated that Eu 2+ /Sm 3+ co-doped KBaPO 4 is a promising phosphor for the use in white light-emitting diodes with near ultraviolet chips.

High-temperature oxidation resistance, hot formability, element distribution, and microstructure of Al-10% Si-(0.5–3.0%)Cu coating were investigated by means of glow discharge spectroscopy, optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. Results show that the addition of Cu can increase high-temperature oxidation resistance above 950°C and improve hot formability so that no crack spreads into substrate steel as hot forming at 33.3% strain. Oxidation film structure is continual and compacting, and Si highly concentrates in the surface layer. The distribution of Cu has skin effect with peaking content 8.2% in the surface layer. After hot stamping, Al and Si diffuse into substrate steel, and Cu diffuses from inner to outer coating. Al–Si–Cu coating has smoother surface, straighter diffusion layer, and finer metal compound than Al–Si coating. Surface and diffusion layers are identified as aluminum oxide, Si-rich, and Cu phase and Al 7 SiFe 2 , Al 3 Fe, and CuAl 3 , respectively. Al-rich phase and the metal compound are composed of α-Al dissolving Fe, Si, and Cu and Al–Si matrix, Cu 3 Al, respectively.

An electrostatic probe differential analysis method is used to diagnose the arc current-carrying region of the sheet slanting tungsten electrode. Based on the local thermal equilibrium condition and energy transition model with charged particles collision, the temperature distribution in the current-carrying region of different welding process parameters is solved by saturated ion current. The results show that the temperature distribution range in the width direction of sheet slanting tungsten electrode expands, the arc high-temperature region shifts integrally, and the temperature in the thickness direction of sheet slanting tungsten electrode would be symmetrical. The guide effect of the hypotenuse of sheet slanting tungsten electrode for arc current and the inertia drag effect of arc would mainly change the temperature distribution. The variation of the inclination angle of the hypotenuse of sheet slanting tungsten electrode will aggravate the shift of the arc high-temperature region. The larger inclination angle will enhance the guiding effect, and then the inertia drag effect would be in a dominant position with a smaller inclination angle. With the increase of welding current, both the arc stiffness and the guiding effect would be intensified, the latter should make the arc high-temperature zone shift to the position with a small discharge gap.

In submerged arc welding (SAW) of chromium (Cr) containing steels, Cr is usually added to the weld metal from the weld wire, and not from the welding flux. Manufacturing of weld wires of specific compositions is expensive and time consuming and cannot closely match all the desired alloy compositions. Therefore, the weld wire chemistry is usually over matched to the base plate composition. Better matching between the weld metal and base plate is possible if the weld metal incorporates Cr from Cr containing metal powder, instead of sourcing Cr from weld wire of limited Cr content. Because Cr is easily oxidised, the oxygen partial pressure in SAW must be controlled. This work illustrates the control of the oxygen potential at the molten flux-weld pool interface by using aluminium (Al) powder addition. The controlled oxygen potential at the molten flux-weld pool interface ensures increased Cr powder transfer into the weld pool, without interfering with oxygen transfer from the plasma arc to the weld pool. The objective of this work is to use targeted powder additions to better control Cr reactions in SAW to improve Cr metal transfer to the weld metal and maintain an acceptable level of oxygen in the weld metal.

In this article, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and two kinds of graphene oxide (GO) with different structural properties are blended in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) according to a certain ratio to prepare stable-spinning solution. One kind of GO is purchased, and we call it GO1. The other is a kind of self-made GO with liquid crystal property in solution, which is called GO2. The effects of two kinds of GO on the rheological properties of PAN/GO spinning solution (15 wt%) were studied. The results show that the viscous activation energy of the liquid crystal GO2/PAN blend solution is significantly higher than that of the nonliquid crystal GO1/PAN blend solution. Moreover, the liquid crystal system is more obviously affected by temperature. The structural viscosity index of the liquid crystalline GO2/PAN solution is obviously lower than that of the GO1/PAN solution. It indicates that the existence of liquid crystallinity is beneficial to the spinning of the solution. In the low-frequency region, the addition of GO1 makes the solution more elastic, and the addition of GO2 makes the solution more viscous.

In the smelting process of high manganese steel, the volatilization of manganese will be accompanied. In this article, the volatilization of manganese in high manganese steel was studied by simultaneous thermal analyzer. The results show that the volatilization rate of manganese in high manganese steel increases with increasing temperature and holding time. It is proved by experimental study and data analysis that manganese volatilization follows the first-order kinetics model, and the empirical formula of manganese evaporation is derived. The volatile products of manganese were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was found that the volatile components of manganese mainly consisted of MnO, Mn 3 O 4 , Mn 2 O 3 , and MnO 2 . Combined with thermodynamics, the mechanism of manganese volatilization is further analyzed, and two forms of manganese volatilization in high manganese steel are revealed. One is that manganese atoms on the surface of high manganese steel and oxygen atoms in the gas form different types of manganese oxides and then volatilize at high temperature. The other way is that Mn atoms vaporize into Mn vapor and evaporate in high temperature environment, and then are oxidized into different types of manganese oxides. The results of theoretical calculation and experiment show that manganese volatilization is mainly in the first form.

A water model was adopted to conduct an experimental study on the physical modeling of bubble behaviors and the effects of vessel pressure intensity, nozzle aperture diameter, bottom blowing location and bottom blowing flow rate on bubble properties were analyzed. Experimental results show that with the increase in vessel pressure intensity, the bubble breaking distance is shortened, the size is decreased, the number is increased, the degree of deformation in the rising process becomes smaller, and the fluctuation range of liquid level becomes small; in addition, the diameter of bubbles breaking away from the nozzle decreases. With the increase of bottom blowing aperture diameter, the average diameter of bubbles on the liquid level gets bigger and the number of bubbles decreases; moreover, the size of bubbles breaking away from the nozzle increases, their shape tends to be oval, and the time from bubble formation to bubble breaking is longer. With the increase of bottom blowing flow rate, the bubble breaking distance gets long, the size and number of bubbles increase, the bubble shape tends to be oval, and the impact force on the liquid level becomes larger. The greater the pressure intensity of the vessel, the closer the bottom blowing position is to the center, and the smaller the average diameter of bubbles.

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are widely used for protection of gas turbine parts from high temperature and corrosion. In the present study, the new concept of TBCs with three-element-modified aluminide coatings was presented. In the first stage, the Pt and Pd were electroplated on MAR M247 nickel superalloy. In the next stage, the low-activity CVD aluminizing process with Zr or Hf doping was conducted. The ceramic layer containing yttria-stabilized zirconia was obtained by the plasma spray physical vapour deposition (PS-PVD) method. The microscopic examination showed the formation of aluminide coating containing up to 5 at% of Pt and 10 at% of Pd in (Ni, Pt, Pd)Al solid solution. The small concentration of Hf and Zr in diffusion zone of aluminide bond coat was noted as well. The outer ceramic layer was characterized by columnar structure typically formed during the PS-PVD process. The obtained results showed that the new concept of TBCs formed using new processes might be an attractive alternative to conventional coatings produced using the expensive electron beam physical vapour deposition (EB-PVD) method.

I–III–VI 2 Chalcopyrite Cu(In 1− x Ga x )Se 2 (CIGS) has attracted attention as absorbing layer in photovoltaic (PV) device. In this study, we investigated the fundamental properties of CIGS single crystals, and fabricated single crystal-based PV device. CIGS single crystals without secondary phase were successfully grown by In-solvent traveling heater method (THM). The conversion of conduction type from n- to p-type can be observed above 0.3 of Ga ratio x because of high acceptor defect concentration. PV device based on high-quality CIGS bulk single crystal demonstrates high open-circuit voltage of 0.765 V with the efficiency of 12.6%.

Copper kesterite Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 is a promising photoabsorber material for solar cells and photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. In this article, we will first review the crystallographic/energetic structures of Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 in view of its applications to sunlight conversion devices. Then, historical progress in photovoltaic properties of Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 -based solar cells is introduced. Finally, studies on PEC H 2 evolution over Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 -based photocathodes are reviewed in detail. For realizing efficient PEC H 2 evolution, surface modifications with an n-type buffer layer (such as CdS) and a catalytic site (such as Pt nanoparticles) were found to be indispensable. Since these surface-modified photocathodes had poor resistances under an operating bias due to the occurrence of oxidative photocorrosion of the CdS layer and elimination of the Pt catalysts, coverage with a protection layer was required to improve the long-term durability. Moreover, partial or complete substitution of the constituent cations with some cations was proved to be effective for improving PEC properties. Although recent studies showed a rapid increase in PEC properties, there is room for further development of PEC properties by using effective combinations among surface protection(s), defect engineering(s), and band engineering(s).