A simulated investigation on the machining instability and dynamic surface generation

In this paper, the authors propose the generic concept of machining instability based on the analysis of all kinds of machining instable behaviors and their features. The investigation covers all aspects of the machining process, including the machine tool structural response, cutting process variables, tooling geometry and workpiece material property in a full dynamic scenario. The paper presents a novel approach for coping with the sophisticated machining instability and enabling better understanding of its effect on the surface generation through a combination of the numerical method with the characteristic equations and using block diagrams/functions to represent implicit equations and nonlinear factors. It therefore avoids the lengthy algebraic manipulations in deriving the outcome and the solution scheme is thus simple, robust and intuitive. Several machining case studies and their simulation results demonstrate the proposed approach is feasible for shop floor CNC machining optimisation in particular. The results also indicate the proposed approach is useful to monitor the machining instability and surface topography and to be potentially applied in adaptive control of the instability in real time

Influence of infiltration temperature on the microstructure and oxidation behavior of SiC-ZrC ceramic coating on C/C composites prepared by reactive melt infiltration

SiC–ZrC ceramic coating on C/C composites was prepared by reactive melt infiltration (RMI) using a powder mixture composed of Zr, Si and C as the infiltrator. The phase composition and microstructure of the ceramic coating were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The oxidation resistance of the as-prepared composites was tested at 1550 °C in static air. The results indicate that the infiltration temperature has remarkable effects on the phase composition and microstructure of the ceramic coating, as well as on the oxidation resistance of the composites. The SiC–ZrC coated C/C composites prepared at 2000 °C exhibit an excellent oxidation resistance. They gain weight about 5.9 wt% after oxidation at 1550 °C in static air for 5 h, whereas the SiC–ZrC coated C/C composites prepared at 1800 °C lose weight about 3.2 wt%. As a comparison, SiC coated C/C composites prepared at 2000 °C by RMI show an inferior oxidation resistance. After 5 h oxidation, SiC coated C/C composites are severely damaged and their weight loss reaches up to 44.3 wt%. The outstanding oxidation resistance of the SiC–ZrC coated C/C composites prepared at 2000 °C can be attributed to the rapid formation of a continuous glass-like layer composed of ZrO2, ZrSiO4 and SiO2, which covers the surface of the composites and retards the oxygen diffusion and the attack on the underlying C/C substrate. For SiC coated C/C composites, the large SiC particles formed on the surface of the composites are difficult to oxidize rapidly and so a continuous and dense SiO2 layer cannot be formed in time to significantly hinder fast oxygen diffusion leading to the consequent severe oxidation of the C/C substrate

Simultaneously enhanced strength and ductility of Cu-xGe alloys through manipulating the stacking fault energy (SFE)

Vinogradov et al. [1] reported that the stacking fault energy (SFE) of Cu-xGe alloys with germanium concentration varying from 0, 0.1, 5.7 to 9.0 at% alters from 78, 54, 15 to 8 mJ/m2 , respectively. In the present study, the Cu-xGe alloys were prepared by forging at the liquid nitrogen temperature and their mechanical properties were systematically investigated. Results indicated that the microhardness, strength and uniform elongation of Cu-xGe alloys were simultaneously improved by lowering the SFE. X-ray diffraction measurements revealed that a reduction in SFE leads both to a decrease in grain size and an increase in dislocation density, twin density and microstrain for the cryogenic forged samples and these contribute to the improvements in the mechanical properties. This work demonstrates that high strength and excellent ductility can be simultaneously achieved by lowering SFE of the metals

Magnetic core loss of ultrahigh strength FeCo alloys

Hiperco® 50 alloy heat treated between 450 and 650°C exhibits superior mechanical properties. We report the measurements of the ac core loss at various frequencies up to 4500 Hz of the Hiperco® 50 alloy samples annealed at 450 and 650°C. The 650°C annealed specimens have lower ac core loss than that of the 450°C annealed ones. The total core loss, consisting of contributions from hysteresis core loss and eddy-current core loss, depends on frequency f as af+bf2. The eddy-current loss of a single laminate is minor compared to the hysteresis loss