Iranian Journal of Materials Science and Engineering

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Effects of temperature on properties and behavior of a 20 vol % particulate SiC reinforced 6061 aluminum alloy and 6061 unreinforced Al alloy were investigated. Yield strength and elongation to failure were measured as a function of test temperatures up to 180^oC. In addition, the effects of holding time at 180^ oC on tensile properties and fracture mechanisms of the materials at this temperature were studied. The behaviors of the materials were characterized by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic absorption (AA), hardness measurement and image analyzing (IA). The results show that an increase in temperature leads to a decrease in the yield strength and increase in the elongation to failure of the materials. On the other hand, while increasing holding time at 180^oC produces an increase in the elongation to failure of the unreinforced alloy, it reduces the elongation to failure of the composite. It was also observed that reduction in yield strength with increasing holding time at 180^oC was faster for the composite material compared to the unreinforced alloy. The results from SEM, XRD, EDS, IA and hardness tests indicated that some chemical reactions had taken place at the interface between the reinforcement and the matrix alloy during holding the specimens at elevated temperature. Therefore, different trend in elongation to failure of the unreinforced alloy and the composite material with holding time at elevated temperature could be attributed to development of chemical reactions between the reinforcement and the matrix alloy at the interface.

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The presence of bainite in the microstructure of steels to obtain a proper combination of strength and toughness has always been desired. The previous works however have shown that the presence of preferred bainite morphologies in the microstructure of any steel would not be readily accessible. In addition, the appearance of different bainite morphologies in the microstructure of any steel is dictated by different factors including the steel initial microstructure, austenitization characteristics, thermomechanical processing parameters and so on. Accordingly, in the present work, the effect of prior austenite grain size and the amount of austenite hot deformation on the bainite formation characteristics were investigated in 0.12C-2.5 Ni-1.2Cr steels. The results indicated that the prior austenite grain size and the amount of deformation in the austenite no-recrystallization region resulted in significant changes of the bainite formation kinetics and morphology.

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Enhancing the properties of dental resin composites is of interest to researchers. The objective of the present investigation was to improve the strength and fracture toughness of dental composites via addition of silicon carbide whiskers and substitution of commonly used filler materials with stabilized zirconia ceramic powder. It was also intended to study the effect of powder- to- whisker ratio on mechanical properties of the resultant composites. The flexural strength and fracture toughness of composite samples with different whiskers loadings were measured. It was found that addition of whiskers to the composites enhances the mechanical properties of the composites. The strength and fracture toughness increased by increasing the amount of whiskers. The flexural strength of a composite having 60wt% whisker and 10wt% zirconia powder was about 210 MPa while that of the composite having only 60wt% ceramic powder was about 110 MPa. The microstructural examinations revealed that reinforcing mechanism was whiskers pull-out as well as crack deflection.

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Abstract: Nanoparticles exhibit a high reactivity and strong tendency towards agglomeration. In this study, aluminum oxide (alumina) nanoparticles were characterized by gas adsorption (BET), transmition electron microscopy (TEM) and photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS) techniques to assess the agglomeration of the particles. There is a good correlation between the BET and TEM measurements but PCS was larger in the mean and median size and with a degree of agglomerates being detected. Some agglomeration was evident, but most of the particles existed as discrete objects as observed in the (HR) TEM images which were in good agreement with the agglomeration factor.

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  ABSTRACT

Dolomite refractories have a good production potential in Iran due to the existence of high-quality dolomite ore in many regions of the country, particularly in Isfahan and Hamedan. The basic problem associated with the production and use of this type of refractories is inherent tendency to hydration of calcined dolomite. One of the methods to overcome this problem is to increase the amount of magnesia in doloma. This study focuses on the use of Iranian dolomite to produce magnesia –doloma (mag-dol) refractory with high resistance to hydration and corrosion. It was found that addition of 20wt% magnesite to dolomite would result in capsulating of CaO by MgO that protects doloma from further hydration

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Abstract: Most properties of nanoparticles are size-dependent. In fact, the novel properties of nanoaprticles do not prevail until the size has been reduced to the nanometer scale. The particle size and size distribution of alumina nanoparticle, as a critical properties, have been determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS), surface area analysis (BET) and x-ray diffraction peak broadening analysis. The particle size was found to be in the range of 5-95nm. Cumulative percentage frequency plot of the data extracted form TEM images indicates that particle size distribution obeys the log-normal function. The TEM images also reveal that particles are spherical in shape and loosely agglomerated. Comparing of the XRD and TEM results shows that the particles are single-crystal. The HRTEM images also verify that the particles have a single-crystal nature. In comparison, there is a good correlation between the BET, XRD and TEM measurements other than PCS that is sensitive to the presence of the agglomerates.

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Abstract: Glassy samples with xTiO2 .3SiO2 .Na2O composition that (8≤x≤40) (molar) were casted in refractory steel molds after melting at air as parallel palates. After polishing and getting to desire thickness, UV-VIS spectrometry in 200 -1100 nm was measured on samples. Glass density was measured by a sensitive micro balance and was found that by increasing titanium dioxide of glasses, glass density increases. Results from UV-VIS spectroscopy show that increase of titanium dioxide decreases light transmission and this value reaches zero for sample with 40 molar percent of titanium dioxide. One reason of this reduction is formation of crystalline phase in glass, in which, by increasing titanium content crystalline phase will be increased, results of X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy confirm this claim.

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Creep age forming (CAF) is one of the novel methods in aerospace industry that has been used to manufacture components of panels with improved mechanical properties and reduced fabrication cost. CAF is a combined age-hardening and stress-relaxation that are responsible for strengthening and forming, respectively. This paper deals with the experimental investigations of mechanical and springback properties of Al-Zn-Mg Al alloy in creep forming process. Creep forming experiments have been performed at temperatures of 120◦C and 180◦C for 6–72 h. Results indicated that yield stress and hardness of creep age formed specimens increased with increasing forming time and temperature,  simultaneously induced deflection by stress-relaxation increased. Incorporating spring back and mechanical properties, it can be found that the appropriate forming cycle was 180 ◦C/24 h among all forming conditions. CAF Time increase to a certain extent increased mechanical properties. This can be attributed to presence of stress in CAF that causes the precipitates be finer because of creation more nucleation sites. Therefor the growth of precipitates, takes place at long time and postpones the decreasing of the yield stress

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In this study, an  organic compound  inhibitor, namely N-benzyl-N-(4-chlorophenyl)-1H-tetrazole-5-amine (NBTA), was synthesized and the role of this inhibitor for corrosion protection of stainless steel (SS) exposed to 0.5 M H₂SO₄ was investigated using electrochemical, and quantum analysis. By taking advantage of potentiodynamic polarization, the inhibitory action of NBTA was found to be mainly mixed type with dominant anodic inhibition. The effectiveness of the inhibitor was also indicated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Moreover, to provide further insight into the mechanism of inhibition, quantum chemical calculations of the inhibitor were performed. The adsorption of NBTA onto the SS surface followed the Langmuir adsorption model with the free energy of adsorption ΔG⁰_ads of of -7.88 kJ mol^-1. Quantum chemical calculations were employed to give further insight into the mechanism of inhibition action of NBTA.

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In this paper a constitutive equation was considered for the isothermal hot compression test of the Mn-Ni-Cr alloy. The hot compression test was performed in the strain rate range of 0.001-0.1 s^-1 and deformation temperature was varied from 700 to 900 °C. A considerable reduction in flow stress was observed regardless of the strain rate when temperature was increased from 700 to 750 °C. DTA and XRD evaluation revealed that the removal of Mn₃Cr phase and formation of the single solid solution phase were the reason for the flow stress reduction. At the low deformation temperature (700°C) and the high strain rate (0.1 s^-1), a partially recrystallized microstructure was observed; this was such that with increasing the temperature and decreasing the strain rate, a recrystallized microstructure was completed. Also, the relationships between flow stress, strain rate and deformation temperature were addressed by the Zener-Holloman parameter in the exponent type with the hot deformation activation energy of 301.07 KJ/mol. Finally, the constitutive equation was proposed for predicting the flow stress at various strain rates and temperatures.

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ꞵ-tricalcium phosphate (ꞵ-TCP) and anorthite are the main crystalline components in bone china bodies. The difference in their thermal expansion coefficients causes a decrease in the thermal shock resistance of the body. In this study, anorthite was replaced with bone ash at the bone china body, and the effect of this new composition on different properties of bone china, after curing at 1260 °C for 3 hours, was investigated. The results showed that the physical and mechanical properties of the sample containing 50 wt% anorthite compared to the typical bone china improved and only 8.7% of the whiteness index diminished. Also the microstructure of samples containing Anorthite were observed without thermal crack and almost uniform distribution of Anorthite and quartz crystals in the heterogeneous glass matrix.

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Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are among the most commonly used antibacterial agents. The aim of this study was to synthesize a dimethacrylate monomer functionalized with a QAC and to study its effect on the properties of an orthodontic adhesive primer. Urethane dimethacrylate monomer functionalized with a QAC (UDMAQAC) was synthesized and then characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). 5, 10, 15 and 20 wt% of UDMAQAC was added to an orthodontic adhesive primer (control group). FTIR analysis was used to measure the degree of conversion (DC). The bond strength of dental brackets was measured by shear bond strength (SBS) test and adhesive remaining index (ARI) was evaluated by stereomicroscope. Agar diffusion test and MTT assay were used to evaluate the antibacterial property and cell viability, respectively. Statistical analysis included one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test and Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric test (P˂0.05). Although the obtained data did not show significant differences between the SBS and DC of different groups, but the highest values were obtained by adding 10 wt% monomer. Adding more than 10 wt% UDMAQAC resulted in significant increase in antibacterial property. The 15 and 20 wt% groups showed significantly lower cell viability

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In this investigation, a formulation was developed as a solution and thin films by combining poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and fullerene Indene-C60 multi-adducts (ICxA) with varying solvent ratios. The formulations were prepared under ambient conditions. Morphological parameters were assessed utilizing a transmission electron microscope, scanning electron microscope  and complemented by optical microscope pictures. UV-Visible absorbance and photoluminescence (PL) measurements were implemented to investigate the optical properties of active layers The values of the energy gaps of the prepared thin films and solutions increased as the solvent ratios of chlorobenzene to stander solvent increased, as a result of the isolation of P3HT chains from their neighbours. The Raman spectra are associated with high aggregation of composition and increased conformation when the intensity ratio (IC= C/IC-C) is small and the full width at high maximum (FWHM) is low. In ambient conditions, organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs) are produced with varying solvent ratios. The device with a 30% ratio exhibited the highest performance, with a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of approximately 1%, an open circuit voltage (VOC) of 0.571 V, a short circuit current density (JSC) of 7.47 mA.cm^-2, and a fill factor (FF) of 38.6%.

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The sensitivity of lead dioxide coating properties to the deposition conditions and electrolyte composition has allowed the preparation of coatings with different properties for different applications. In this study, the effects of electrolyte additives on the electrodeposition process were investigated using electrochemical measurements such as cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results showed that the presence of fluoride ions significantly reduce the possibility of TiO₂ formation. The addition of copper ions not only prevents lead loss at the cathode, but also leads to the formation of copper oxide on the surface at initial stages, which hinders nucleation of PbO₂. The presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) also interferes with the nucleation process as it occupies active nucleation sites. The α-PbO₂ interlayer prevents copper oxidation and solves the problem of lead dioxide nucleation. Finally, it was found that the simultaneous use of all additives together with the α-PbO₂ interlayer has a positive effect on the coating process.

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Rice husk carbon by-product from the industrial combustion is a promising source to produce a vast amount of activated carbon adsorbent. This research prepared rice husk-activated carbon adsorbent by varying the concentration of potassium hydroxide solution (5, 10, 15, 20 % w/v) and activation time (2, 4, 6, 8 hours). Fourier-transform infrared spectral characterization (FTIR) indicated a significant effect before and after activation, especially the presence of hydroxyl groups. Based on the iodine adsorption, the specific surface area of the produced-activated carbon was approximately 615 m²/g. Experimental results showed that increasing potassium hydroxide concentration and activation time increases the water vapor adsorption capacity of the activated carbon. Compared with the rice husk carbon, the KOH-activated carbon enhanced the water vapor adsorption capacity to 931%. In the adsorption observation, changing the temperature from 15 to 27 ℃ caused a higher water vapor uptake onto the activated carbon. Two adsorption kinetics (pseudo-first- and pseudo-second-order models) were used to evaluate the adsorption mechanism. This research found that rice husk-activated carbon performed a higher water vapor adsorption capacity than other adsorbents (silica gel, zeolite, and commercially activated carbon).