Iranian Journal of Materials Science and Engineering

In this study an effort has been made for the plasma ion nitriding (PIN) of Inconel 600 and 601 alloys at low temperatures. After plasma ion nitriding, microstructure study, growth kinetics of nitrided layer formation and wear properties were investigated by various characterization techniques such as; scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, micro-hardness measurement and wear test by pin on disk technique. It was found that, surface micro-hardness increases after PIN process. A mix peak of epsilon (ε) phase with fcc (γ) phase was detected for all temperature range (350 ⁰C to 450 ⁰C), while the chromium nitride (CrN) phase was detected at elevated temperature range ~450 ⁰C in inconel 601 alloy. The calculated values of diffusion coefficient and activation energy for diffusion of nitrogen are in accordance with the literature. Volume loss and wear rate of the plasma nitrided samples decreases, but it increases as PIN process temperature increases.

      In this study we have synthesis the Zr substituted BaTi_0.80Fe_0.20O₃ ceramics at different content of Zr from x=0.00 to 0.10 by using the solid-state route. The room temperature X-ray diffraction results confirmed the coexistence of the two tetragonal and hexagonal phases for x ≤ 0.050 of Zr content. While above 0.050 the hexagonal phase disappears in benefit of tetragonal phase. The Raman results confirmed the formation of these phases obtained with XRD. The scanning electron micrographs consist of both spherical and straight grain forms for x=0.000 to 0.075, and only spherical grain form for x=0.100 attributed to the tetragonal phase. Also, the grain size increases accompanied with a decrease in density of ceramics with increasing Zr content up to 0.050 then decreases accompanied with an increase in density. Detailed studies of dielectric permittivity measurement have provided a presence of two anomalies T_e and T_R-O at different temperatures, with a relaxation phenomenon and diffuse behavior which is very important for ceramic at x=0.075 of Zr content. The dielectric permittivity values of the two anomalies of Zr substituted BaTi_0.80Fe_0.20O₃ ceramics increase with increase of Zr content and the dielectric loss is minimal at x=0.100 of Zr content. The conductivity increases with the increasing of Zr substitution from 0.025 to 0.075 levels while for x = 0.100 the dielectric conductivity decreases.  And the Cole-Cole analysis indicates a negative thermal resistivity coefficient (NTCR) behavior of these materials and an ideal Debye-type behavior.

In this research, the effect of initial microstructure and solution treatment on rollability and crystallographic texture of a Cu-Mn-Ni-Sn alloy has been investigated. The initial tests indicated that the rolling of the alloy at different temperature conditions is not possible due to formation of second phases. Herein to eliminate the segregated phases, according to DTA analysis, proper temperature for solution treatment was selected as 750°C applied at different periods of time. The obtained results showed that after 15-hour solution treatment, the complete elimination of Sn, Mn, Ni, and Fe-rich phases can be achieved. Also, the peaks of XRD shifted to the higher angles indicating that the alloying elements are dissolved. Meanwhile, the intensity of the texture reduced and the dominant texture changed from Goss and Brass-texture to Copper-texture. Accordingly, the amount of maximum total reduction at the rolling process increased from 16.37 to 109.46 after solution treatment.

Phosphate glass with different Al₂O₃ and Na₂CO₃ compositions [80NaH₂PO₄-(20-x) Na₂CO₃-xAl₂O₃ with a step from 0 to 4] were prepared through melt quenching technique furnace at 900 °C. In order to determine the structure and microstructure modification of the samples after heat treatment the IR and Raman spectroscopy were performed. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) result shows an amorphous character of the prepared glass. The result obtained by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) reveals a good thermal stability in the temperature range of 25 to 400 °C. The impedance Nyquist diagrams were investigated and modeled by resistors and constant phase elements (CPE) equivalent circuits. These measurements show a non-Debye type dielectric relaxation. Both AC and DC conductivity, dielectric constant, and loss factors were determined. Thermal activation energies were also calculated. A changes in the electrical conductivity and activation energy depend upon the chemical composition were observed. Also, a transition in the conduction mechanism from ionic to mixed ionic polaronic was noted. In the same line, electrical modulus and dielectric loss parameters are also deduced. Their frequency and temperature dependency exhibited relaxation behavior. Likewise, activation energies value obtained from the analysis of M’’ and those obtained from the conductivity are closes, which proves the optimal character of the preparation conditions.