Calcium–magnesium–alumina–silicate (CMAS) resistance of LaPO4 thermal barrier coatings

Nanostructured LaPO4 thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) were prepared by air plasma spraying, and their resistance to calcium–magnesium–alumina–silicate (CMAS) attack at 1250 °C, 1300 °C and 1350 °C was investigated. The reaction products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Exposed to CMAS attack for 0.5 h, a continuous dense reaction layer formed, which was mainly composed of P–Si apatite based on Ca2+xLa8-x(PO4)x(SiO4)6-xO2, anorthite and spinel phases. Beneath the reaction layer, little evidence of CMAS trace could be found. With the increase in temperature and heat treatment duration, the reaction layer became thick, while penetration depth of the molten CMAS changed slightly. Due to the formation of a reaction layer suppressing CMAS further infiltration, LaPO4 TBCs are highly resistant to CMAS attack

Synthesis and Characterization of Nanostructured WC-Co/Al Powder Prepared by Mechanical Alloying

Nanostructured WC-Co/Al powder was synthesized from WC-12Co powder and pure Al powder by mechanical alloying (MA). The morphology and microstructural evolution of WC-Co/Al powder were investigated by a series of characterization methods. The results showed that the β-Co phase in the initial WC-12Co powder was replaced by the AlxCo phases (such as Al9Co2 and Al13Co4). As the ball milling time increased, the average grain size of WC in the WC-Co/Al powder decreased firstly and then remained at a constant value of around 40 nm. The deposition behavior of powders sprayed by high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) spraying was investigated. During spraying, the WC-Co/Al powder had a better flattening than the WC-12Co powder without ball milling, which is beneficial to fabricate compact coatings with lower porosity

ORCHIDEE-MICT (revision 4126), a land surface model for the high-latitudes: model description and validation

Abstract. The high-latitude regions of the northern hemisphere are a nexus for the interaction between land surface physical properties and their exchange of carbon and energy with the atmosphere. At these latitudes, two carbon pools of planetary significance – those of the permanently frozen soils (permafrost), and of the great expanse of boreal forest – are vulnerable to destabilization in the face of currently observed climatic warming, the speed and intensity of which are expected to increase with time. Improved projections of future Arctic and boreal ecosystem transformation require improved land surface models that integrate processes specific to these cold biomes. To this end, this study lays out relevant new parameterizations in the ORCHIDEE-MICT land surface model. These describe the interactions between soil carbon, soil temperature and hydrology, and their resulting feedbacks on water and CO2 fluxes, in addition to a recently-developed fire module. Outputs from ORCHIDEE-MICT, when forced by two climate input data sets, are extensively evaluated against: (i) temperature gradients between the atmosphere and deep soils; (ii) the hydrological components comprising the water balance of the largest high-latitude basins, and (iii) CO2 flux and carbon stock observations. The model performance is good with respect to empirical data, despite a simulated excessive plant water stress and a positive land surface temperature bias. In addition, acute model sensitivity to the choice of input forcing data suggests that the calibration of model parameters is strongly forcing-dependent. Overall, we suggest that this new model design is at the forefront of current efforts to reliably estimate future perturbations to the high-latitude terrestrial environment. </jats:p

Nanoindentation response analysis of TiN-Cu coating deposited by magnetron sputtering

To investigate the change of the mechanical properties of soft metals doped PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) coatings after the migration of soft metal to the surface, TiN-Cu coating was deposited on Si (100) by magnetron sputtering. The microstructure and mechanical properties at room temperature and after vacuum heat treatment at 300 °C were investigated. The results showed that the grains were clustered and the microstructure was porous for TiN-Cu coating at room temperature, while many micro- and nano- sized Cu particles were observed on the surface after vacuum heat treatment at 300 °C. The elastic properties of the TiN-Cu coating after vacuum heat treatment at 300 °C degraded compared with that at room temperature. The hardness and elasticity modulus of TiN-Cu coating kept constant (3.7 GPa and 125.0 GPa, respectively) with the increase of nano-indentation depth, while the hardness and elasticity modulus of TiN-Cu coating after vacuum heat treatment at 300 °C increased gradually. Keywords: TiN-Cu coating, Vacuum heat treatment, Mechanical properties, Nano-indentation dept