Erosion-oxidation of pressure vessel steel P265GH

The behaviour of pressure vessel steel P265GH was studied in a centrifugal high-temperature erosion apparatus under impacts by silica (SiO2) particles moving at velocities ranging from 20 to 60 m s-1 and contacting the surface at the angles of 30° and 90°. Besides particle impacts, the steel was simultaneously exposed to air and elevated temperatures of 350 and 450°C. For comparison, the tests were also performed in the absence of erodent particles. After the tests, the material behaviour was evaluated in terms of occurred weight changes and surface characteristics, the latter ones of which were investigated by using, for example, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). In the analysis of the test results, special attention was paid to the composition and microstructure of the used silica particles and how these influence the elemental distribution on the exposed surfaces. The results show that the particle impacts introduce weight losses that follow a ductile angle-dependency, i.e., relatively greater weight losses at the shallow than at the steep impact angle. Although evident oxide scales developed on the surfaces at the test temperatures, they did not provide the steel with protection against particle impacts. Particle debris was detected embedded in the surfaces particularly under impacts at 90°, with softer particle constituents being preferentially deposited. These results are discussed in terms of the erosion-oxidation behaviour of the steel and the consequences of the heterogeneous erodent particle quality

Substance-to-substance joining of quartz glass

Abstract. A pioneering procedure for substance-to-substance joining of quartz glass is described. Diffusion welding was examined as a possible joining method. Welded components made of quartz glass are applied in high-temperature engineering for laser and optics applications. Quartz glass was joined without interlayers in order to maintain optical characteristics of the joining partners. Based on the principles of joint formation of pure SiO2-glass in the solid state, a joining technology, using diffusion welding, is described and the joints are analysed. Diffusion welding, realized at near-transformation temperature, results in an increase of polymerization and formation of an optical thin joining layer. Key words: quartz glass, diffusion welding, thermal expansion, substance-to-substance joint

Wpływ udziału węglika WC gruboziarnistego do drobnoziarnistego na właściwości mechaniczne i zużycie ścierne węglików spiekanych WC-8Co

W artykule przedstawiono wyniki badań dotyczących wpływu ilości drobnoziarnistego węglika wolframu na wzmocnienie metalicznego spoiwa kobaltowego (Co) w węgliku spiekanym WC-8Co. Celem badań jest znalezienie optymalnego udziału węglika gruboziarnistego do drobnoziarnistego dla uzyskania poprawy właściwości mechanicznych i charakterystyk zużyciowych. Dla wszystkich próbek zastosowano jednakowy udział spoiwa, by zbadać jedynie wpływ udziału grubo- do drobnoziarnistego węglika w spieku. W wyniku przeprowadzonych badań stwierdzono, że dla proporcji 8:1 udziału węglika grubo- do drobnoziarnistego uzyskuje się najkorzystniejsze cechy użytkowe, tj.: twardość, udarność i odporność na pękanie. Ponadto poprzez dodanie do kompozytu inhibitorów wzrostu, np. węglika wanadu (VC) lub węglika chromu (Cr3C2), zwiększa się odporność na zużycie ścierne w stosunku do kompozytów bez dodatku inhibitorów.This study performs a comprehensive analysis concerning the amount of fine tungsten carbide (WC) grains needed for the appropriate reinforcement of the cobalt (Co) metallic binder in WC-8Co cemented carbides. The goal is to investigate the balance of coarse-to-fine grain distribution to achieve overall improvement of the material’s mechanical and wear properties. All Samales possessed the same WC-8Co binder content, therefore, allowing the role of grain size distribution to be tested. It was found that a ratio of 8:1 wt% of coarse to ultrafine grain WC yielded an appropriate balance between material hardness, fracture toughness, and rupture strength. Upon adding grain growth inhibitors vanadium carbide (VC) and chromium carbide (Cr3C2), the overall wear resistance is further improved compared to undoped composites when Samales are tested under abrasive wear conditions

Nano-silicon carbide reinforced aluminium produced by high-energy milling and hot consolidation

High-energy milling was studied for the ex situ strengthening of aluminium with silicon carbide (SiC) nanopowders. Heptane was used as a milling agent for both planetary- and attritor ball milling. Considering the different milling techniques and the differences in the resulting powders, effective dispersion of the nano SiC was achieved. Composite samples compacted by hot pressing showed an increase in hardness (HV20 = 220) and a decrease in Al crystallite size from 220 to 55 nm with the nano-SiC content increasing from 1 up to 20 vol.%. The ultimate tensile strength was measured for extruded samples which resulted in 205 MPa (17% elongation) for 1 vol.% of nano-SiC and a strength of 420 MPa (4% elongation) for 10 vol.% of nano-SiC reinforcement. The mechanical properties were compared with what was predicted by the Hall–Petch relationship