Iranian Journal of Materials Science and Engineering

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Abstract: The effect of phase development on peel strength of alumina-copper metalized joint has been investigated. The alumina-copper joint was prepared in three stages. The alumina substrate was, first, metalized at 1500°C in H2-furnace by a new formulation. In the second step, a nickel layer was electroplated on the metalized layer with approximately 10µm thickness. Finally, copper strips were bonded to metalized alumina with Ag-Cu (72-28) filler metal. The peel strength of the joint was 9.5±0.5 Kg/cm which shows approximately 30% increase in comparison to previous works. By study of fracture surface and crack propagation path, it has been concluded that this increase is due to the formation of more spinel phase.

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Abstract: Thermal fatigue is a stochastic process often showing considerable scatter even in controlled environments. Due to complexity of thermal fatigue, there is no a complete analytical solution for predicting the effect of this property on the life of various components, subjected to severe thermal fluctuations. Among these components, one can mention car cylinder, cylinder head and piston which bear damages due to thermal fatigue. All these components are usually produced by casting techniques. In order to comprehend and compare the thermal fatigue resistance of cast Al alloys 356 and 413, this research was designed and performed. For this purpose, several samples in the form of disc were cast from the two alloys in sand mould. The microstructures of the cast samples were studied by light microscopy in order to choose the samples with the least amounts of defects for thermal fatigue tests. The results of thermal fatigue tests showed that the nucleation of microcracks in Al-356 alloy occurred at shorter time relative to those occurred in Al- 413 alloy under the same test conditions. In addition, the density of micro-cracks in Al-356 alloy was more than that of Al-413 alloy. The results of fractography on 356 alloy indicated that the cracks were generally nucleated from inter-dendritic shrinkage porosities and occasionally from the interface of silicon particles with the matrix. The growth of these micro cracks was along the dendrite arms. Fractography of 413 alloy fracture surfaces showed that nucleation of microcracks was often associated with silicon particles.

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Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) as a piezoelectric ceramic has been used widely in the fields of electronics, biomedical engineering, mechatronics and thermoelectric. Although, the electrical properties of PZT ceramics is a major considerable, but the mechanical properties such as fracture strength and toughness should be improved for many applications. In this study, lead monoxide, zirconium dioxide and titanium dioxide were used to synthesize PZT compound with chemical formula Pb(Zr 0.52 ,Ti 0.48 )O 3 by calcination heat treatment. Planetary mill with zirconia balls were used for homogenization of materials. Two-stage calcination was performed at temperatures of 600˚C and 850˚C for holding time of 2h. In order to improve the mechanical properties of PZT, various amount of ZnO and/or Al 2 O 3 particles were added to calcined materials and so PZT/ZnO, PZT/Al 2 O 3 and PZT/ZnO+Al 2 O 3 composites were fabricated. Composites samples were sintered at 1100˚C for 2 h in the normal atmosphere. Microstructural component and phase composition were analyzed by XRD and SEM. The density, fracture strength, toughness and hardness were measured by Archimedes method, three-point bending, direct measurement length crack and Vickers method, respectively. Dielectric and piezoelectric properties of the samples were also measured by LCR meter and d33metet tester, respectively. The results showed that by addition of ZnO and Al 2 O 3 to composite materials, the relative density of PZT based composites was increased in conjunction with a signification improvement of mechanical properties such as flexural strength, toughness and hardness. Moreover, the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of PZT such as dielectric constant, piezoelectric coefficient and coupling factor were decreased while the loss tangent was also increased.

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In this study the effect of nano meter size ZrO₂ particles on the microstructure, densification and hydration resistance of magnesite –dolomite refractories was investigated. 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 wt. % ZrO₂ particles that were added to magnesite –dolomite refractories containing 35 wt. % CaO. The Hydration resistance was measured by change in the weight of specimens after 72 h at 25℃ and 95% relative humidity. The results showed with addition of nano meter size ZrO₂ particles_, the lattice constant of CaO increased, and the bulk density and hydration resistance of the specimens increased while apparent porosity decreased. With the addition of small amount ZrO₂ the formation of CaZrO₃ phase facilitated the sintering and the densification process. The mechanism of the nano meter size ZrO₂ particles promoting densification and hydration resistance is decreasing the amount of free CaO in the specimens.

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In this research, the dependence of the optical band gap of nano gamma alumina on the OH/Al ratio and concentration of aluminum sulfate is measured through diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) in the range of 900-1100nm. The samples were prepared via sol-gel method. The results showed that the band gap is pH and concentration-dependent but in a different way. The direct band gap of alumina was determined to be 3.40, 4.37, 3.90, and 3.65 eV for samples prepared at pH 6, 7, 8, and 9, respectively.  A decreasing trend was observed with increasing pH (except for pH6). The lowering of the band gap may be associated with the variations in particles size during synthesis due to the quantum size effect. The values of the band gap increased significantly through increasing concentration from 3.90 to 5.65 eV for 0.1M to 0.3M. The role of concentration in band gap control is remarkably more than pH.

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In this research, expanded graphite (EG) was successfully fabricated using a simple ball milling process followed by hydrofluoric (HF, 10 wt. %) leaching. The effects of ball milling time (0-15 h) and leaching time (1-24 h) on the exfoliation of graphite were examined by XRD and Raman spectra. Furthermore, the morphological evaluation of the obtained expanded graphite samples was carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The XRD results of the ball-milled and HF treated samples showed a slight peak shift and broadening of (002) plane for expanded graphite compared to the precursor and HF-treated samples. Moreover, the intensity of the (002) planes remarkably decreased by the ball milling process but remained constant after HF treatment. Raman spectra of the samples confirmed the ordering process only in HF-treated specimens. Moreover, the intensity ratio of 2D₁ to 2D₂ band gradually increased with enhancing the HF treatment time up to 5 hours, indicating a decrement in the number of graphite layers by leaching in the HF solution.

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In this study, aluminum matrix composites reinforced with Al₂O₃ and SiC nanoparticles, and graphene nanoplatelets produced by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) were studied. The microstructural and mechanical properties of the composites were evaluated by changing the amounts of the reinforcing materials. The SEM images showed that the reinforcing particles were more distributed in the grain boundary regions. According to the results, the addition of alumina and SiC to the matrix caused an increase in the composite density whereas the composite density decreased by adding graphene nanoplatelets. The highest relative density of 96.3% was obtained for the composite containing 2 wt% Al₂O₃. The presence of the reinforcing particles increased the hardness of all the samples compared to the pure aluminum (39 HV). The composite containing 1 wt.% Al₂O₃, 0.7 wt.% SiC, and 0.3 wt.% graphene showed the highest hardness of 79 HV. Moreover, the plastic deformation of the specimens decreased and the slope of the plastic region increased by adding the reinforcing particles to the matrix.

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In the present study, the effects of boron on the structural and magnetic properties of AlCrFeNiMnSiB_x high entropy alloys (HEAs) were investigated. In this regards, different percentages of boron element were added to the based composition and the samples were identified using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) methods. Based on results, the tendency of Si element to formation of silicide phases prevents from the stabilization of single FCC and BCC solid solution phases in AlCrFeNiMnSi alloy. The boron element has significant effects on destabilization of silicide phases and by increasing in the percentage of this element, the simple BCC solid solution phase has been dominate phase. Of course, boron has distractive effects on magnetic properties of prepared alloys and the saturation of magnetization of AlCrFeNiMnSiB_x HEAs decrease from 29.8 emu/g to about 6 emu/g by increasing the boron content.  

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As a major global cause of liver disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by excessive hepatocellular accumulation of lipids in the liver, elevated levels of hepatic enzymes, and fibrotic evidence. The primary therapies for NAFLD are changing lifestyle or managing comorbid-associated diseases. Lately, nanotechnology has revolutionized the art of nanostructure synthesis for disease imaging, diagnosis, and treatment. Loading drugs into nanocarriers has been established as a promising strategy to extend their circulating time, particularly in treating NAFLD. In addition, considering a master modulator of adipogenesis and lysosomal biogenesis and function, designing novel nanostructures for biomedical applications requires using biodegradable materials. Various nanostructures, including inorganic nanoparticles (NPs), organic-based NPs, metallic nanocarriers, biodegradable polymeric nanocarriers, polymer-hybrid nanocarriers, and lipid-based nanocarriers have been designed for NAFLD treatment, which significantly affected serum glucose/lipid levels and liver function indices. NPs modified with polymers, bimetallic NPs, and superparamagnetic NPs have been used to design sensitive nanosensors to measure NAFLD-related biomarkers. However, certain limitations are associated with their use as diagnostic agents. The purpose of this review article is to shed light on the recent advancements in the field of nanomedicine for the early diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of this progressive liver disease.
 

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Investigation the structural and magnetic properties of nanocrystalline Co₇₈Zr₁₇B₂Si₁W₂ alloy during melt spinning and annealing processes were the main goal of this study. In this regard, samples were prepared using vacuum induction melting, melt spinning and subsequent annealing. The specimens were evaluated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Based on results, nanocrystalline Co₅Zr single phase with hard magnetic properties (Ms=29.5 emu/g and Hc=2.7 kOe) successfully formed during melt spinning process (at wheel speed of 40 m.s^-1). The coercivity value of rapid solidified sample increased to about 3.2 kOe during annealing process up to 400°C. However, more increasing in annealing temperature lead to the transformation of non-equilibrium magnetic Co₅Zr phase to stable Zr₂Co₁₁ phase, which has distractive effects on final magnetic properties.
 

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In this study, the hot deformation and dynamic recrystallization behavior of low carbon steel containing 21 ppm boron was investigated. After homogenizing the samples at 1250 ℃ for 1-hour, hot compression tests were conducted at temperatures ranging from 850 ℃ to 1150 ℃ and strain rates from 0.01 to 10 s⁻¹, resulting in strain-stress flow curves. Following corrections, calculations and modeling were performed based on Arrhenius equations. Among them, the hyperbolic sine relationship provided the most accurate estimate and was selected as the valid model for the applied strain range. According to this model, the deformation activation energy (Q), was determined to be 293.37 KJ/mol. Additionally, critical and peak stress and strain values were obtained for each temperature and strain rate, and power relationships were established to describe their variation with respect to the Zener-Hollomon parameter (Z). Recrystallization fractions were derived by comparing the hypothetical recovery curves with the material flow curves, and the results were successfully modeled using the Kolmogorov-Johnson-Mehl-Avrami (KJMA) equation. The Avrami exponent was measured at approximately 2, indicating that nucleation predominantly occurred at grain boundaries. Microstructural analysis revealed that at higher Z values, recrystallization occurred along with a fraction of elongated grains, while lower Z values resulted in a greater fraction of equiaxed dynamic recrystallization (DRX) grains. The average grain sizes after compression tests at 950 ℃, 1050 ℃, and 1150 ℃ were measured as 21.9 µm, 30.4 µm, and 33.6 µm respectively at a strain rate of 0.1 s⁻¹, and 17.7 µm, 28.7 µm, and 31.3 µm at 1 s⁻¹. The overall microstructure displayed a more uniform grain size distribution with increasing deformation temperature.