Low-Cost Preparation Technologies for Titanium Alloys: A Review

The titanium industry has been developing for nearly 70 years since the birth of Ti-6Al-4 V alloy. Due to its high specific strength, high and low-temperature resistance, corrosion resistance and good biocompatibility, titanium alloy is used in aerospace, marine engineering, and biomedical fields. However, the high production cost of titanium alloys currently limits their widespread use like steel and aluminum alloys. Therefore, the low-cost preparation technology for titanium alloys becomes hot research in recent years. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of low-cost preparation technologies for titanium alloys from four aspects: raw materials, melting, hot working and machining, and advanced technologies. This review would be of interest to scholars in related fields

Monitoring of the central blood pressure waveform via a conformal ultrasonic device.

Continuous monitoring of the central-blood-pressure waveform from deeply embedded vessels, such as the carotid artery and jugular vein, has clinical value for the prediction of all-cause cardiovascular mortality. However, existing non-invasive approaches, including photoplethysmography and tonometry, only enable access to the superficial peripheral vasculature. Although current ultrasonic technologies allow non-invasive deep-tissue observation, unstable coupling with the tissue surface resulting from the bulkiness and rigidity of conventional ultrasound probes introduces usability constraints. Here, we describe the design and operation of an ultrasonic device that is conformal to the skin and capable of capturing blood-pressure waveforms at deeply embedded arterial and venous sites. The wearable device is ultrathin (240 μm) and stretchable (with strains up to 60%), and enables the non-invasive, continuous and accurate monitoring of cardiovascular events from multiple body locations, which should facilitate its use in a variety of clinical environments

Direct electrosynthesis of Ti5Si3/TiC composites from their oxides/C precursors in molten calcium chloride

Ti5Si3/TiC composites have been electrosynthesized directly in molten CaCl2 electrolyte from pressed cathode pellets comprising powdered mixture of TiO2, SiO2 and C. This electrochemical experiment was carried out at 900 °C, 3.1 V and 1000 °C, 4.0 V using a graphite-based anode and an inert-oxygen-ion-conducting membrane-based anode, respectively. The membrane-based anode electrolysis system exhibits a higher current efficiency and reduction rate than the graphite-base anode electrolysis system. During the electro-deoxidation process, the oxide component was electro-deoxidized effectively and Ti5Si3/TiC powder was produced as the final product in the cathode. It is suggested that the reaction procedure involves compounding and electro-deoxidation processes simultaneously. Our work suggests that the solid-oxide oxygen-ion-conducting membrane-based anode electro-deoxidation process, so called the SOM process, is a promising low energy costs and environmentally friendly electrochemical method for the production of carbide-containing alloys, for instance, Ti5Si3/TiC composites. Keywords: Electro-deoxidation, Oxides, Molten salts, Ti5Si3, TiC, Composite

An improved ultrasonic computerized tomography (UCT) technique for damage localization based on compressive sampling (CS) theory

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/172332/1/stc2938.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/172332/2/stc2938_am.pd