Exploring the morphologies and corrosion performances of AZ31 alloy composites reinforced with silicon nitride

In this study, the effects of silicon nitride (Si3N4) particles on the microstructure and corrosion characteristics of AZ31 matrix composites in a 3.5% NaCl solution are examined with the help of an electrochemical test. Varying wt.% of Si3N4 particles (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 %) is used to fabricate matrix composites via a vacuum-assisted stir-casting approach. The developed composites and base alloys are characterized by energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Microscopic images demonstrate that the addition of reinforcement enhances the microstructural interfacial integrity between the Si3N4 and AZ31 matrix. EDAX results confirm the presence of Si3N4 particles in composites. The findings of electrochemical studies confirmed that AZ31's corrosion resistance substantially improved as its Si3N4 content increased. AZ31-10%Si3N4 exhibits a more tremendous corrosion potential (Ecorr) and a two-order-of-magnitude lower corrosion current density (icorr). Compared to the other samples, AZ31-10%Si3N4 exhibits superior polarization resistance. Compared to AZ31-2%Si3N4, AZ31-10%Si3N4 exhibits a 3.5-fold increase in polarization resistance. The results show that the AZ31 alloy with 10% Si3N4 exhibits superior corrosion resistance, followed by the AZ31-12%Si3N4, AZ31-8%Si3N4, AZ31-6%Si3N4, AZ31-4%Si3N4, and AZ31-2%Si3N4. The collective outcomes of the investigation indicate that the AZ31-10%Si3N4 composite may have the potential to enhance the corrosion behavior of AZ31 alloys

Experimental investigation on Zirconia coated high compression spark ignition engine with ethanol as fuel

789-794This study presents effect of coating on piston, cylinder head, and valves on the performance of a modified four stroke diesel engine using wet ethanol (5% water) as a fuel and emission characteristics of exhaust gas. Zirconia, which has low thermal conductivity, high temperature resistance, chemical inertness, high resistance to erosion, corrosion and high strength, was selected as a coating material for engine components. Ethanol was sprayed in inlet manifold and spark plug was erected on engine head to facilitate ignition. Engine’s performance was studied for both wet ethanol and diesel with and without Zirconia coating. Also, emissions values were recorded to study the engine’s behavior on emissions

Biodiesel production from mixed elengi and pongamia oil using calcined waste animal bone as a novel heterogeneous catalyst

Recently, researchers have shown more interest towards biodiesel production from non-edible vegetable oils. The main advantages of biodiesel as a fuel includes biodegradability, non-toxicity, renewability and low emission profiles. I n this study, crude mixed oil was used as feedstock for biodiesel production using Heterogeneous Catalyst synthesized from waste animal bone. Initially, mechanical ext raction process was used to extract the crude mixed oil from the seeds of Mimusops elengi, and Pongamia pinnata. The crude oil collected from different plant species was characterized using GC-MS spectral data to identify their fatty acid composition. Consequently, the mixed crude oil was converted into biodiesel in the presence of calcinated heterogeneous catalyst obtained from waste animal bone and the catalyst was characterized by SEM, XRD and FTIR spectral data. The effect of variables including methanol to oil molar ratio, catalyst concentration, reaction temperature, reaction time and rate of mixing on the biodiesel yield was evaluated and opt imized. The characteristics biodiesel obtained from mixed oil were close to commercial diesel f uel and used as an alternative to diesel in near future

Biogas from food waste through anaerobic digestion: optimization with response surface methodology

© 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature. In the current study, anaerobic digestion method efficiency on biogas production and chemical oxygen demand (COD) degradation was assessed through a sequence of laboratory-scale batch experimentations to compute the role of chosen process parameters, viz., solid concentration (5–15%), pH (5–9), temperature (30–60 °C), and co-digestion (0–40% of poultry manure). Biogas production and COD degradation were significantly dependent on the selected process parameters with independent conditions to accomplish active performance of the process. Central composite design (CCD)-based response surface methodology (RSM) was adopted for evaluation and optimizing of the combined performance of system considering two responses. Among various combinations, it was observed that solid concentration of 7.38%, pH value as 7, temperature at 48.43 °C, and co-digestion as 29% produce biogas of 6344 ml and COD degradation as 38%. Confirmation experiment performed shows a deviation of 4.93% maximum between the predicted and experimental results

Thermal and thermo-mechanical studies on seashell incorporated Nylon-6 polymer composites

Towards environmental sustainability, recycling and effective usage of sea wastes are encouraged to develop novel materials in engineering applications by sustainable waste management. In this research, impact of seashell (SS) particles (75 μm) of varying weight fractions (0, 3, 6, 9, 12,15 and 18%) reinforced in nylon-6 matrix is investigated experimentally by studying its thermal properties viz., vicat softening temperature (VST), heat deflection temperature (HDT), coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CLTE), and melt flow index (MFI) and thermo-mechanical properties by thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) according to ASTM guidelines. The polymer matrix composite (PMC) is prepared by blending the pellets of nylon-6 and seashell particles with the help of twin-screw extruder and fabricated into the required shape and size in an injection moulding machine. Outcomes of the experimental investigation show that CLTE decreases with increase in SS content, whereas VST and HDT deflection temperature increases along with the weight % of SSs due to the reduction in plasticity of the thermoplastic until 15% addition. This makes it more resistance to load and deflection along with heat resistivity whereas MFI decreases with addition of SSs in nylon-6 matrix. From DMA analysis it is observed that with inclusion of SSs the glass transition temperature tends to increase along with loss and storage modulus. Thermal and thermo-mechanical features tend to improve until 15% addition of SS in nylon-6 matrix. With further addition, the properties tend to be lowered because of poor adhesion of SSs with Nylon-6