SrAl4O7 : Eu2+ nanocrystals: synthesis and fluorescence properties

Divalent europium doped strontium di-aluminate (SrAl4O7 : Eu2+) nanocrystals have been synthesized using a facile sol–gel polymer thermolysis method. The photoluminescence characteristics of smaller particles (φ ∼ 15 nm) show a significant difference with respect to their bulk counterpart. In this nanocrystalline system, the electronic structure of the Eu2+ excited state seems to undergo considerable modification induced by the surface states involved in slow relaxation kinetics that mimic phosphorescence like features

Alloy composition and dendrite arm spacing in Al-Si-Cu-Mg-Fe alloys

Six Al-Si-Cu-Mg-(Fe/Mn) alloys with two levels of each of Cu, Si, and Fe/Mn were cast in the form of quasi-directionally solidified plates. The secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) was measured as a function of the distance from the chill end for each composition and related to the local cooling rate as determined by thermocouples embedded in one of the cast plates. For a given cooling rate, Si has a strong, consistently refining effect on the SDAS per unit of solute content. Cu showed its strongest refining effect at low-Si and high-Fe contents. It is argued that the scale of the SDAS is determined by a combination of five main factors: constitutional undercooling; the fraction of Al-Si eutectic; and the amount, morphology, and distribution of the various intermetallic phases. The first two factors affect the early stages of the dendrite structure and SDAS formation, whereas the ones involving intermetallics affect the dendrite-coarsening mechanisms in the post-eutectic stage. The latter ones are more sensitive to cooling rate than the ones involving solute in solution. The scales of both, SDAS and intermetallics, can be predetermined to a measurable extent through the solute content to best suit particular casting conditions. (C) The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International 201

Effect of porosity on the tensile properties of low ductility aluminum alloys

The literature contains reports of several studies correlating the porosity and mechanical properties of aluminum alloys. Most of these studies determine this correlation based on the parameter of global volumetric porosity. These reports, however, fail to separate the effects of microstructural features and porosity on alloys, though recognizing the influence of the latter on their mechanical properties. Thus, when the decrease in tensile strength due to the porosity effect is taken into account, the findings are highly contradictory. An analysis was made of the correlation between mechanical properties and global volumetric porosity and volumetric porosity in the fracture, as well as of the beta-Al5FeSi phase present in 380 aluminum alloy. Our findings indicate that mechanical properties in tension relating to global volumetric porosity lead to overestimations of the porosity effect in detriment to the mechanical properties. Moreover, the proposed models that take into account the effects of particles, both Si and beta-Al5FeSi, are unapplicable to low ductility alloys