Sinter forging of zirconia toughened alumina

Sinter forging experiments have been carried out on powder compacts of zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) Ceramics Alumina-15 wt% zirconia was prepared by a gel precipitation method and calcined at temperatures of 900 or 1100°C. Full densification of ZTA ceramics was obtained within 15 min at 1400°C and 40 MPa. A homogeneous microstructure can be observed with an alumina grain size of 0.7 mgrm and a zirconia grain size of 0.2 mgrm. Almost no textural evolution occurred in the microstructure. During sinter forging the densification behaviour of the compacts was improved by an effective shear strain, for which values of more than 100% could be obtained. As a result of the shear deformation the densification of ZTA in the agr alumina phase stage shifted to lower temperature. During pressureless sintering the gamma to agr alumina transformation temperature was dependent of the preceding calcination temperature, while during sinter forging this phase transformation was independent of calcination temperature and took place at a lower temperature

Ranking of vitrified grinding wheel parameters by using analytical hierarchical process (AHP) for surface roughness of work piece in grinding operation

Objective of grinding process is to generate high quality surface finish on work piece. There are many parameters which influence on the work piece roughness. Work piece material and characteristics, grinding wheel specification, grinding conditions and dressing conditions influence on the surface quality of the work piece. Selection of grinding wheel is important aspect for producing good quality of surface finish on the work piece. The main components of grinding wheel are the abrasive grains, bond material and porosity. Selection of correct grinding wheel is necessary for generating better surface finish on the work piece. Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) is used for ranking of vitrified bond grinding wheel parameters on surface roughness on the work piece in sub sequent grinding operation. The grit, grade, (Hardness of wheel) structure and type of abrasive are critically assisted in terms of the surface finish produced on work piece in the subsequent grinding operation. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) shows that the abrasive grit of grinding wheel has first rank and grade (hardness) of the wheel has Second rank for the producing surface finish on the work piece after grinding operation. Structure and type of abrasive of wheel have a third and fourth rank respectively. Thus, AHP gives qualitative way of controlling work piece surface roughness in sub-sequent grinding operation by selecting proper grinding wheel of vitrified bond which helps the user to select the correct grinding wheel

What can we learn from comparison between cuprates and He films ? : phase separation and fluctuating superfluidity

In the underdoped, overdoped, Zn-doped or stripe-forming regions of high-$T_{c}$ cuprate superconductors (HTSC), the superfluid density $n_{s}/m^{*}$ at $T\to 0$ shows universal correlations with $T_{c}$. Similar strong correlations exist between 2-dimensional superfluid density and superfluid transition temperature in thin films of $^{4}$He in non-porous or porous media, and $^{4}$He/$^{3}$He film adsorbed on porous media. Based on analogy between HTSC and He film systems, we propose a model for cuprates where: (1) the overdoped region is characterized by a phase separation similar to $^{4}$He/$^{3}$He; and (2) pair (boson) formation and fluctuating superconductivity occur at separate temperatures above $T_{c}$ in the underdoped region.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures. Invited paper presented at the third international conference on stripes and high-Tc superconductivity (STRIPE-2000), Sept. 25-30th, 2000, Rome, Italy. To be published in the International Journal of Modern Physics

Control of trunk movement: Perturbations in cart pushing

Dieen, J.H. van [Promotor]Hoozemans, M.J.M. [Copromotor

Multiregional Zero Growth Populations with Changing Rates

The theory of stable population dynamics is relatively well developed in the demographic literature, but virtually all of it is founded on the assumption of unchanging rates of fertility, mortality, and migration. The case of changing rates is relatively underdeveloped and little is known about the influence of changing rates on age composition and regional distribution. This paper considers how multiregional zero growth populations evolve over time when exposed to changing birth, death, and migration rates. It illuminates the ways in which an age-by-region composition is influenced by the pattern of recent rates and how the influence of an initial composition is lost over time

Space-time Characteristics and Experimental Analysis of Broadening First-order Sea Clutter in HF Hybrid Sky-surface Wave Radar

In high frequency (HF) hybrid sky-surface wave radar, the first-order sea clutter broadening is very complex and serious under the influence of ionosphere and bistatic angle, which affects the detection of ship target. This paper analyzes the space-time characteristics based on the HF sky-surface wave experimental system. We first introduce the basic structure, working principle and position principle based on our experimental system. Also analyzed is the influence of ionosphere and bistatic angle on the space-time coupling characteristics of broadening first-order sea clutter and the performance of space-time adaptive processing (STAP). Finally, the results of theoretic analysis are examined with the experimental data. Simulation results show that the results of experiment consist with that of theoretic analysis

First Order Sea Clutter Cross Section for HF Hybrid Sky-Surface Wave Radar

This paper presents a modified method to simulate the first order sea clutter cross section for high frequency (HF) hybrid sky-surface wave radar, based on the existent model applied in the bistatic HF surface wave radar. The modification focuses on the derivation of Bragg scattering frequency and the ionosphere dispersive impact on the clutter resolution cell. Meanwhile, an analytic expression to calculate the dispersive transfer function is derived on condition that the ionosphere is spherical stratified. Simulation results explicate the variance of the cross section after taking account of the influence triggered by the actual clutter resolution cell, and the spectral width of the first order sea clutter is defined so as to compare the difference. Eventually, experiment results are present to verify the rationality and validity of the proposed method

Direct writing of ferroelectric domains on the x- and y-faces of lithium niobate using a continuous wave ultraviolet laser

Ferroelectric domain reversal has been achieved by scanning a tightly focused, strongly absorbed ultraviolet laser beam across the x- and y-faces of lithium niobate crystals. The domains were investigated by piezoresponse force microscopy. The emergence and width of any domain was found to depend on the scanning direction of the irradiating laser beam with respect to the polar z-axis. Full width and half width domains or no domain formation at all could be achieved for scanning along specific directions. We interpret the results by a direct correlation between the local temperature gradient and the resulting polarization direction

Cooper pairs as low-energy excitations in the normal state

We discuss the normal state of a fermionic system in an idealized PSEUDOGAP REGIME, $k_B T_c < k_B T << |\Delta| << E_F$. Stable Cooper pairs induce a pseudogap of width $|\Delta|$ in the fermion energy spectrum. Near two dimensions, we find a Bose-like condensation temperature in this predominantly fermionic system.Comment: 2 pages, LaTeX, espcrc2.sty file included. An outline of a presentation at the Beijing conference M2S-HTSC-V. To be published in Physica

Improvement of mechanical properties of zirconia-toughened alumina by sinter forging

ZTA powder with a composition of 85 wt% alumina/15 wt% zirconia was prepared by a gel precipitation method. Sinter forging was performed with this powder to enhance the mechanical properties of ZTA materials. The influence of processing flaws on mechanical properties of sinter forged materials and pressureless sintered materials was investigated. Sinter forging at 40 MPa effectively decreases process flaw sizes resulting in a homogeneous microstructure and improves the grain boundary structure because of large shear applied in this process. Sinter forging resulted in an increase in strength and toughness by a factor of 1.5–2 when compared with pressureless sintered compacts. The fracture energy is enhanced by a factor of two. The predominate mechanism for improvement of mechanical properties of these sinter-forged ZTA materials is grain boundary strengthening