Abrasive wear mechanisms and the grit size effect

The classical cutting model for abrasive wear deviates from reality in that it cannot predict the effect of grit size on wear and that the observed wear rates are at least an order of magnitude smaller than the predicted values. Through experimental and theoretical work it is shown in this paper that the grit size effect is a consequence of the transition from a cutting mechanism to a sliding wear mechanism. The wear coefficient is shown to be less than that predicted by a cutting model owing to the plastic deformation of the surface being worn.     

Natural convection thermo fluid dynamics in a volumetrically heated rectangular pool

During a severe accident the nuclear reactor core may melt and, further, relocate to the lower plenum in the reactor vessel. Should there be no effective cooling mechanism, the core debris may heat up on account of the volumetric decay heat generation to form a molten pool in natural convection. The Simulant Internal Gravitated Material Apparatus Rectangular Pool (SIGMA RP) tests were performed to study high modified Rayleigh number (Ra′) natural convection in a rectangular pool. The test apparatus was 500 mm long, 500 mm high and 160 mm wide. Forty thin cartridge heaters, with a sheath diameter of 4.2 mm and a length of 600 mm, were used to simulate internal heating in the pool. They were uniformly distributed in the rectangular pool so as to supply a maximum of 2.5 kW power to the pool. Ra′ based on the power input was varied from 10⁹ to 10¹⁴. The working fluid Prandtl number (Pr) ranged from 4 to 8 for water, and 0.7 for air. Particular attention was paid to the Pr influence on natural convection heat transfer in the pool. The relation between the Nusselt number (Nu) and Ra′ was determined for different boundary conditions in the rectangular pool. In one case the upper wall was cooled isothermally, while the lower wall was kept adiabatic. In the other case both the upper and lower walls were cooled isothermally. The experimental results indicated that both the upward and downward natural convection heat transfer rates were affected by Pr. The resultant engineering correlations were applied to simulation of a spectrum of loss-of-coolant accidents to determine the reactor vessel failure time.     

Dual orientation and variant selection during diffusional transformation of austenite to allotriomorphic ferrite

The crystallographic relationship between austenite and grain boundary nucleated allotriomorphic ferrite has been investigated using electron back-scattered diffraction with a view to establishing a mechanism of variant selection. It is possible in some circumstances for the ferrite to adopt a favoured orientation relationship with both of the austenite grains with which it is in contact. However, the theoretical probability for the development of such a dual orientation has in previous work been shown to be very small, although experiments indicate otherwise. In this work, we have discovered experimentally that the probability of dual orientations is significantly increased when adjacent austenite grains are connected by special high-angle boundaries. Crystallographic calculations validate these observations and lead to the conclusion that simultaneous lattice matching between ferrite and its parent austenite grains is more likely in the presence of certain kinds of microscopic texture in the austenite. The phenomenon of dual orientation provides a criterion for crystallographic variant selection during diffusional transformation.     

Effect of carbon on the solidification morphology of Fe—Mn—Al steels

An investigation into the effect of carbon content on the weld solidification morphologies for two heats of Fe—Mn—Al steels was conducted. Preliminary results set the stage for extended research into weldability properties of a potentially invaluable steel.     

Stable single-frequency fiber ring laser for 25-GHz ITU-T grids utilizing saturable absorber filter

A stable single-frequency fiber ring laser is proposed that operates in a single mode for more than an hour by incorporating unpumped erbium-doped fiber (EDF) as a saturable absorber filter and optimizing the length of EDF used as gain medium. This laser can be continuously tuned to 25-GHz spacing that precisely matches the ITU-T grids by temperature control of etalon filter. This laser had a signal-to-source spontaneous emission ratio higher than 70 dB, and lasing frequencies of 361 channels was matched to ITU-T grids with excellent flatness. Frequency offset from the ITU-T grid was less than 0.14 GHz. The linewidth and the relative intensity noise value was less than 1.3 kHz and 130 dB/Hz (above 250 kHz), respectively.     

CRACK GROWTH BEHAVIOUR OF FATIGUE MICROCRACKS IN LOW CARBON STEELS

The behaviour of low carbon steels has been studied, in particular the initiation and growth of the major crack which led to final fracture of smooth specimens, via surface replica and photomicrograph techniques. From this study, the fracture process and fatigue life prediction characterized by the growth of surface microcracks have been analysed by a new approach unifying the conventional approaches based on the final fracture of materials with the fracture mechanics approach. Knowledge of fracture parameters is critical for non-destructive inspection during service life and the application of fracture mechanics to life prediction and assessment.     

Synthesis of new pH-sensitive polyurethane gels using polyethylene glycol modified urethane acrylate and urethane acrylate anionomer

New type of amphiphilic pH-sensitive polyurethane networks, derived from the mixture of polyethylene glycol-modified urethane acrylates (PMUA) and urethane acrylate anionomer (UAA), were prepared and their swelling behaviors were evaluated. Three kinds of polymerization methods were employed in the synthesis of polyurethane networks. Polyurethane networks prepared by a process similar to that of soap-free emulsion polymerization (UAHG) showed the highest swelling ratio and pH-sensitivity. Additionally, four kinds of UAHG gels were prepared at different composition of UAA. As the composition ratio of UAA to PMUA increased, swelling of UAHG gels in alkali pH buffer solution and their pH-sensitivity greatly increased. Additionally, swelling of UAHG gels changed reversibly with the change of pH. Received: 18 November 1996/Revised: 10 January 1997/Accepted: 14 January 1997     

Erosive Wear Mechanism of New SiC/SiC Composites by Solid Particles

A solid-particle erosive wear test by impinging silicon carbide (SiC) powders was carried out at room temperature over a range of median particle sizes of 425–600 μm, speed of 100 m/s and impact angle of 90° and assessed by wear measurements and scanning electron microscopy. Erosive wear behaviour was examined on newly fabricated nano-powder infiltration and transient eutectoid (NITE) SiC/SiC composites and two commercial composites by the chemical vapour infiltration (CVI) and NITE fabrication route. Microstructural observation was performed to examine the correlation between erosive wear behaviours and fabrication impurities. Conspicuous defects were observed in the prototype materials as the forms of porosity, fibre deformation, residual oxide, pyrolytic carbon (PyC) deformation, PyC cleavage, among others. Erosive wear behaviour was rather serious in the prototype of fabricated composites, which employ pre-SiC fibre and phenolic resin. Two dominant erosive wear mechanisms were observed: delamination of constituents, mainly caused by erosive crack propagation, and fragmentation and detachment of constituents, which usually resulted from erosive impact. A unit size of delamination was the most decisive factor affecting wear volume. The bonding strength of each constituent was mostly affected by various forms of porosities. Therefore, the fundamental cause and subsequent results must be carefully elucidated. The correlation of microstructural defect and wear behaviour was investigated with the aim of reducing dominant wear by improving fabrication conditions. The final product of the cost-effective composite had a 2.5-fold higher resistance than the commercial CVI composite. Consequently, by controlling fabrication impurities, we have been successful in developing and improving a new fabrication technique; consequently, the known defects are rarely observed in final product. A schematic wear model of erosive wear mechanisms is proposed for the newly fabricated SiC/SiC composites under particle erosion.     

Capillarity-induced patterning of thin polymer films and related regular dewetting structures

When a thin polymer film is spin-coated on a solid substrate and heated above its glass transition temperature (T_g) while in conformal contact with a patterned polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mold, capillarity forces the polymer melt to fill up the void space of the mold, thereby forming a negative replica of the polymer after mold removal. In this study, particular emphasis is given to the nodal dewetting phenomenon in a thin, laterally confined polymer film that sticks to a substrate. When heated above the glass transition temperature, the film dewets from the substrate through the generation of nodal waves, with the PDMS wall acting as a node. Various superposed waves were observed depending on the intrinsic period of dewetting and the confining width of the cavity.     

Effects of myosin light chain kinase inhibitors on carbachol-activated nonselective cationic current in guinea-pig gastric myocytes

The effects of myosin light chain kinase inhibitors on muscarinic stimulation-activated nonselective cationic current (ICCh) in guinea-pig gastric antral myocytes were studied using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. ICCh was induced by carbachol (CCh, 50 microM) at a holding potential of -30 mV or -60 mV. ML-7, a chemical inhibitor of myosin light chain kinase (MLCK), inhibited ICCh concentration dependently in a reversible manner (53 +/- 8.6% at 1 microM, mean +/- SE, n = 11). In addition, amplitudes of ICCh were only 37 +/- 2.7% of the daily control values following the addition of a peptide inhibitor of MLCK to the pipette solution. On the other hand, ML-7 had an inhibitory effect on voltage-operated Ca2+ channel current. The peak value of Ba2+ current at 0 mV was reduced to 35 +/- 7.4% (n = 9) by 3 microM of ML-7. As ICCh is known to have an intracellular Ca2+ dependence, we tried to exclude the possibility that ML-7 inhibited ICCh indirectly via suppression of Ca2+ current and the similar inhibitory effects of ML-7 on ICCh were confirmed under the following conditions: (1) clamp of membrane potential at -60 mV; (2) clamp of intracellular [Ca2+] to 1 microM by 10 mM BAPTA; (3) pre-inhibition of Ca2+ channel by verapamil. Different from the effects on ICCh, ML-7 barely inhibited the same cationic current induced by guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTP[gammaS], 0.2 mM) in the pipette solution. These results suggest that a Ca2+/calmodulin-MLCK-dependent pathway can modulate the activation of ICCh in guinea-pig gastric antral myocytes.