Preliminary development of porous aluminum via powder metallurgy technique

Porous aluminum has been extensively studied, particularly in the field in which lightweight and high stiffness properties are essential. In this study, a preliminary investigation is performed to determine the optimum sintering temperature to develop porous aluminium by a powder metallurgy technique, using polymethylmethacrylate as a space holder. The effects of the sintering temperatures on the physical characteristics, oxidation level, microstructure and sintered density of the porous specimen are systematically evaluated. Based on the results, an increase in the sintering temperature from 580 °C to 600 °C changes the colour of the porous aluminum body from a silver‐like colour to a gold‐like colour, with some of the specimens encountering severe cracking, spalling and even collapsing. As such, the oxygen content is significantly increased from 0.45 wt.% to 2.14 wt. %, suggesting the oxidation phenomenon. In line with this, an obvious appearance of particle boundaries with less macro‐pores formation is also observed. Additionally, the sintered density of the porous specimen is found to reduce from 1.305 g/cm3 to 0.908 g/cm3. Therefore, fabrication of the resultant porous aluminium at 580 °C is an ideal condition in this study, owing to the ideal combination of physical characteristics, microstructure, oxidation level and sintered densit

The role of tin and magnesium in assisting liquid phase sintering of aluminum (Al)

This study aims to investigate the effect of tin (Sn) and magnesium (Mg) on the sintering response of sintered Al. Although this topic has been extensively reported, details on the combined effect of Sn and Mg that function as sintering additives are still limited. The current study discusses the effect of the combined use of Sn and Mg to assist aluminium (Al) in liquid phase sintering via the powder metallurgy technique. The results demonstrated that the densities of sintered Al increased from 2.5397 to 2.575 g/cm3 as the Sn content increased from 1.5 to 2.5 wt. % respectively. Accordingly, the physical characteristics of sintered Al were transformed from black to silver, which confirmed the reduction in the oxygen content (oxide layer reduction) from 0.58 to 0.44 wt. % respectively. Additionally, the microstructure of the resultant sintered Al demonstrated that effective wetting by Sn addition was obtained at its maximum content of 2.5 wt. % with a greater micro pores reduction and better metallurgical bonding between Al particles. Therefore, the introduction of different Sn content, along with Mg element, was found to further improve the sintering response of the resultant sintered Al that consequently improved its densities and physical characteristics

Review on advances in porous Al composites and the possible way forward

Porous aluminum (Al) composites are lightweight and high-strength materials composing of Al as a matrix material with some strengthening reinforcements and pore-forming agents that result in the formation of new material with superior physical properties and energy absorption capacities. This work gives an overview of the porous Al-foams developed thus far, including the foaming agents and space holders, their properties, production techniques, and applications. First, it deliberates the foaming agents and space holders responsible for the foaming and formation of pores in the composites followed by the mechanical properties of the foams. Al has huge potential for applications that require lightweight, high-strength, and high-energy absorption capacity materials, especially in structural construction and automobile manufacturing. Although Al-foams have been successfully used in automobiles for crashworthiness, lightweight structure, and other functional applications, the development of Al foams with enhanced characteristics and properties has limitations. This review discusses various reinforcements used for improving the characteristics of Al-foams. This review also provides an overview of various commercial foams and their contribution to several applications. Finally, it attempts to reveal impediments in foam production with suggested solutions for overcoming the problems in this area

Numerical investigation for optimizing segmented micro-channel heat sink by Taguchi-Grey method

• Novel segmented micro-channel heat sink has been designed. • CFD models have been developed to simulate the performance of the segmented micro-channel. • Enhanced the cooling performance of the straight micro-channel. • Optimizing the segmented micro-channel using Taguchi-Grey method. • Optimized design parameters for segmented micro-channel have been identified. A B S T R A C T The scale-down trend increases the chips' density and the high power handling capability generates unnecessary heat which can disrupt the reliability of the electronic devices. Therefore, various types of cooling solution have been proposed to enhance heat dissipation from the electronic devices. One of the solution is using inexpensive straight-channel heat sink. However, the presence of large temperature gradient between the upstream and downstream in the straight-channel can shorten the life span of the device and subsequently reduce the reliability. In this study, a novel segmented micro-channel is introduced to improve the thermal performance of the straight-channel heat sink. Computational fluid dynamic analysis are performed to investigate the performance of the micro-channel heat sink. The bottom of the heat sink is subjected to a constant heat flux condition and water is used as a coolant. Following that, Taguchi-grey method is applied to optimize the design of the segmented micro-channel. The effect of fin width, fin length, fin transverse distance, number of segments, channel width and mass flow rate on the specific performance, variation of temperature and pressure drop are investigated. The results indicate that a three segments of segmented micro-channel, fin width-1 mm, fin length-2 mm, fin transverse distance-5 mm and channel width-1 mm have successfully enhance the heat transfer performance with minimum pressure drop. It is also found that the optimized micro-channel heat sink is able to cool the chip with heat flux of 800 W to 56.6 °C and pumping power of 0.13 W using 15 gs −1 of water

Simulation of wire and arc additive manufacturing of 308L stainless steel with coldArc gas metal arc welding

This research focuses on the capabilities of coldArc GMAW in the behavior of heat input to the weld bead dimension. In this study, the effect of process GMAW of 308L stainless steel filler wire with a thickness of 1.2 mm and 304L stainless steel base plate, with a dimension of 120 mm x 25 mm x 10 mm (height x width x thickness) by applying WAAM. The data was collected using MATLAB of a Smart Weld Rosenthal’s Steady-State 3D Isotherms. A Taguchi response was used in the DOE method with Minitab software to analyze the effect of process parameters on height, width, and depth of weld bead dimension during GMAW. The experiments were conducted following the low, mid, and high input parameters will show the different structures of weld bead dimension, which include 70 A, 75 A, and 78 A (arc current), 15 V, 16 V, and 17 V (voltage), 400 mm/min, 600 mm/min, and 800 mm/min (welding speed). Hence, the optimum value is 75 A, 16 V, and 800 mm/min, and the most significant parameters to deposit stainless steel with coldArc GMAW were welding speed followed by arc current and voltage

A comprehensive assessment of laser welding of biomedical devices and implant materials: recent research, development and applications

This review comprehensively covers the research accomplished in the field of laser welding of biomedical devices and implant materials. Laser welding technology in the recent past has been envisaged for numerous biomedical applications encompassing the reconstruction, fabrication, joining and sealing of the implanted biomaterials. It is the most studied and an increasingly applied manufacturing technology that garners the distinct advantages of smaller beam diameters leading to minimal thermal cycles that reduce the size of heat affected zone and instigate microstructural refinement. This paper presents a detailed critical review of similar and dissimilar welding of titanium alloys, cobalt-chromium alloys, steel, bulk metallic glasses and polymer-based biomaterials. Mechanical properties of the welded joints such as fatigue load, tensile and flexural strength, elongation, hardness and modulus of elasticity are discussed. The effect of laser processing parameters on microstructural features and the corresponding metallurgical defects encountered such as cracks, porosities, voids or the loss of alloying elements are reviewed. Furthermore, the corrosion behavior, cytotoxicity and biocompatibility of the welded implants in the simulated mediums are discussed. Furthermore, this article also summarizes the present-day applications associated with implant materials and is aimed at the further involvement of the laser precision technology in producing materials and joints with desired biomechanical characteristics. Lastly, the current research gaps on the role of laser welding of implants and the anticipated emerging fronts are summarized

Quantitative Evaluation of Masticatory Performance with Two-Color Mixing Ability Test: Development of a New Digital Method

Purpose: To develop a new digital method for color-mixing analysis and to evaluate the validity of this method for quantifying masticatory performance. Materials and Methods: Specimens of red-green (RG) chewing gum were prepared as a bicolor test food. A total of 300 specimens were masticated by 20 healthy volunteers for different numbers of mastication cycles (from 1 to 25). The boluses were flattened and scanned, and the digital images were analyzed using ImageJ software. Two parameters (spatial and value) of color mixing were measured, and multiple regression analysis was performed to estimate the number of mastication cycles. The estimated number of mastication cycles that the healthy reference cohort needed to achieve a certain degree of color mixing was proposed as the mastication index (MI). The validity of this method was assessed using Pearson correlation between the MI and concurrent measurements with ViewGum software (variance of hue) within a group of 10 healthy subjects and 10 complete denture wearers. Results: Independent samples t test showed a significant difference in MI between healthy subjects and denture wearers (P <.001). A significant correlation was observed between the MI and ViewGum outcomes (r =-0.95, P <.001). Conclusion: The new proposed method proved to be valid and has the potential for evaluating masticatory performance in both research and clinical settings. ©2020 by Quintessence Publishing Co Inc

Assessment of masticatory performance by geometric measurement of the mixing ability with 2-color chewing gum

Statement of problem: The 2-color mixing ability test has been recently introduced for objective assessment of masticatory performance. However, the ideal bicolor specimens have not yet been identified, and the color analysis of digital images requires improvement. Purpose: The purpose of this clinical study was to formulate a custom-made, 2-color chewing gum for the mixing ability test and to develop an image-processing method for color mixing analysis. Material and methods: Specimens of red-green (RG)chewing gum were prepared as a test food. Twenty dentate participants (10 men, 10 women; mean age 21 years)took part in this study. Each participant masticated 1 piece of RG gum for 3, 6, 9, 15, and 25 cycles, and this task was repeated 3 times consecutively (total n=15 for each participant). The boluses were retrieved and flattened to 1-mm-thick wafers and scanned with a flatbed scanner. The digital images were analyzed using ImageJ software equipped with a custom-built plug-in to measure the geometric dispersion (GD)of baseline red segment. The predictive criterion validity of this method was determined by correlating GD to the number of mastication cycles. The hardness and mass of RG chewing gum were measured before and after mastication. Hardness loss (%)and mass loss (%)were then calculated and compared with those of a commercially available chewing gum. Results: The 2-way repeated-measures ANOVA with post hoc Bonferroni test showed that GD was able to discriminate among the groups of different numbers of mastication cycles (P<.001). Pearson correlation coefficient confirmed the significant correlation between GD and the number of mastication cycles (r=0.90, P<.001). The hardness loss and mass loss of RG chewing gum were significantly lower than those of commercial chewing gum (P<.001). Conclusions: The newly formulated chewing gum provides an appropriate test food material for masticatory performance assessment. The new image-processing method discriminated among the different levels of color mixture and quantified the mixing ability

Optimization of conditions for improved solar energy harvesting application by hydrothermally grown TiO2 nanorods

In this study, using the optimum annealing temperature and time for hydrothermally grown TiO 2 nanorods, photooxidation of water at different pH values of the electrolyte solution is investigated. The composition, crystallinity and topographic studies of films, sintered at different temperatures of 200–500 °C for 2 h and annealed for 1–4 h at 400 °C, were evaluated by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The sintering at high temperature and for longer time demonstrates an increase in crystallinity, but at the same time agglomeration of nanorods for prolonged heating and at high temperature leads to cracking at the surface of the films. Further, UV–Vis spectroscopic studies revealed prolonged heating and high-temperature sintering resulted in a red shift in light absorption edge of the films. The chronoamperometric measurement results under regular interrupted chopping revealed that the sample annealed at 400 °C for 2 h gives the best photoelectrochemical response with photocurrent density of 522 µA cm − 2 using 0.5M NaOH. The chronoamperometric response under different pH values of 13.7, 7.2 and 2.5 proved that TiO 2 gives the best response under a basic pH of 13.7 and the least under acidic media. The electrochemical impedance studies provided an insight into the charge transfer mechanism under dark and illumination with R ct value of 1188.8 Ω under dark and 164.5 Ω under light conditions for the film annealed at 400 °C for 2 h. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]. © 2019, Iranian Chemical Society

Effect of anodizing on pulsed Nd: YAG laser joining of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and aluminium alloy (A5052)

A series of laser joining experiments between polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and aluminium alloy (A5052) were conducted to investigate the effect of anodizing on A5052 surface on dissimilar materials used in joining. In this study, PET/A5052 joints with anodized A5052 surface exhibited greater shear strength compared to PET/A5052 joints without anodizing. The shear strength of the joints was increased with increasing of heat input and pulse duration. This indicates that the anodizing process could improve shear strength of the laser joining specimens. Significant molten pools were formed in both PET/A5052 (anodized) and PET/A5052 (as-received) joints except for PET/A5052 (as-received) sample joined at the lowest heat input and pulse duration. For the test results from laser joining under different pulse duration at the constant heat input, it was shown that joining behaviour was dominantly controlled by heat input and not by pulse duration. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved