Particle-by-Particle Reconstruction of Ultrafiltration Cakes in 3D from Binarized TEM Images

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging is one of the few techniques available for direct observation of the microstructure of ultrafiltration cakes. TEM images yield local microstructural information in the form of two-dimensional grayscale images of slices a few particle diameters in thickness. This work presents an innovative particle-by-particle reconstruction scheme for simulating ultrafiltration cake microstructure in three dimensions from TEM images. The scheme uses binarized TEM images, thereby permitting use of lesser-quality images. It is able to account for short- and long-range order within ultrafiltration cake structure by matching the morphology of simulated and measured microstructures at a number of resolutions and scales identifiable within the observed microstructure. In the end, simulated microstructures are intended for improving our understanding of the relationships between cake morphology, ultrafiltration performance, and operating conditions

The tribological properties of zinc borate ultrafine powder as a lubricant additive in sunflower oil

This paper presents an investigation on the tribological properties of zinc borate ultrafine powder employed as a lubricant additive in sunflower oil. The stable dispersions of 0.5 wt%, 1 wt% and 2 wt% zinc borate ultrafine powder in sunflower oil were achieved by using an ultrasonic homogeniser. Both a 4-ball tester and a pin-on-disc tester were employed to evaluate the anti-wear and friction reduction capabilities of zinc borate ultrafine powder. Tribo-films with dark colour were generated on the worn surfaces and showed a good contrast with the substrate. The worn surface with different morphologies reflected as the colour alterations on the worn surface were observed when different lubricants were applied. The morphology and elemental analysis of the worn surfaces were studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). Mechanical properties of the tribo-films and substrates were studied with a nano-indentation tester. Test results suggest that tribo-films generated on the worn surface have a relatively low hardness compared with the steel substrate. The substrates on the worn surfaces lubricated in sunflower oil with the powder demonstrated higher hardness than that of the substrate lubricated with pure sunflower oil due to the possible tribo-chemical reaction between the zinc borate additive and substrate. The combination of sunflower oil with 0.5% zinc borate ultrafine powder has delivered the most balanced performance in friction and wear reduction. This study has demonstrated the possibility of application of this industrially applicable solid lubricant additive (zinc borate) with a decomposable vegetable based lubricant oil.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio