Properties and Performance of High-Purity Thermal Barrier Coatings

It has been found that reducing the level of impurity oxides (particularly SiO2 and Al2O3) in 7YSZ, from about 0.2 wt% to below 0.1 wt% raises the sintering resistance and the phase stability of plasma-sprayed coatings. The implications for the usage of these coatings at elevated temperatures are examined. It is concluded that using relatively high-purity powder of this type is likely to confer substantial benefits in terms of the thermomechanical stability of the coatings under service conditions

Effect of Heat Treatment on Pore Architecture and Associated Property Charges in Plasma Sprayed TBCs

Plasma sprayed TBCs exhibit many interlamellar pores, voids and microcracks. These microstructural features are primarily responsible for the low global stiffnesses and the low thermal conductivities commonly exhibited by such coatings. The pore architecture thus has an important influence on such thermophysical properties. In the present work, the effect of heat treatment (at temperatures up to 1400C, for times of up to 100 hours) and coating purity on the pore architecture in detached YSZ top coats has been characterised by Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP) and BJH Analysis. While the overall porosity level (measured by densitometry) remained relatively unaffected (at around 10-12%) after the heat treatments concerned, there were substantial changes in the pore size distribution and the (inter-connected) specific surface area, although these changes occurred less rapidly with coatings produced using high purity powders. Fine pores (<~50 nm) rapidly disappeared, while the specific surface area dropped dramatically, particularly at high treatment temperatures (>~1300C). These changes are thought to be associated with improved inter-splat bonding and increased contact area, leading to disappearance of much of the very fine inter-splat porosity. These microstructural changes are reflected in sharply increased stiffness and thermal conductivity. Measured thermal conductivity data are compared with predictions from a recently-developed analytical model [1], using the deduced inter-splat contact area results as input parameters. Good agreement is obtained, suggesting that the model captures the main geometrical effects and the porosity architecture measurements reflect the most significant microstructural changes. REF.1. Golosnoy, IO, Tsipas, SA and Clyne, TW, An Analytical Model For Simulation Of Heat Flow In Plasma Sprayed Thermal Barrier Coating, J. Thermal Spray Techn., 14 (2005) 205-214

Long range correlations and phase transition in non-equilibrium diffusive systems

We obtain explicit expressions for the long range correlations in the ABC model and in diffusive models conditioned to produce an atypical current of particles.In both cases, the two-point correlation functions allow to detect the occurrence of a phase transition as they become singular when the system approaches the transition

Towards a nonequilibrium thermodynamics: a self-contained macroscopic description of driven diffusive systems

In this paper we present a self-contained macroscopic description of diffusive systems interacting with boundary reservoirs and under the action of external fields. The approach is based on simple postulates which are suggested by a wide class of microscopic stochastic models where they are satisfied. The description however does not refer in any way to an underlying microscopic dynamics: the only input required are transport coefficients as functions of thermodynamic variables, which are experimentally accessible. The basic postulates are local equilibrium which allows a hydrodynamic description of the evolution, the Einstein relation among the transport coefficients, and a variational principle defining the out of equilibrium free energy. Associated to the variational principle there is a Hamilton-Jacobi equation satisfied by the free energy, very useful for concrete calculations. Correlations over a macroscopic scale are, in our scheme, a generic property of nonequilibrium states. Correlation functions of any order can be calculated from the free energy functional which is generically a non local functional of thermodynamic variables. Special attention is given to the notion of equilibrium state from the standpoint of nonequilibrium.Comment: 21 page

Effects of Impurity Content on the Sintering Characteristics of Plasma-Sprayed Zirconia

Yttria-stabilized zirconia powders, containing different levels of SiO2 and Al2O3, have been plasma sprayed onto metallic substrates. The coatings were detached from their substrates and a dilatometer was used to monitor the dimensional changes they exhibited during prolonged heat treatments. It was found that specimens containing higher levels of silica and alumina exhibited higher rates of linear contraction, in both in-plane and through-thickness directions. The in-plane stiffness and the through-thickness thermal conductivity were also measured after different heat treatments and these were found to increase at a greater rate for specimens with higher impurity (silica and alumina) levels. Changes in the pore architecture during heat treatments were studied using Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP). Fine scale porosity (<_50 nm) was found to be sharply reduced even by relatively short heat treatments. This is correlated with improvements in inter-splat bonding and partial healing of intra-splat microcracks, which are responsible for the observed changes in stiffness and conductivity, as well as the dimensional changes

Genetic modifiers of lung disease in cystic fibrosis

BACKGROUND: Polymorphisms in genes other than the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene may modify the severity of pulmonary disease in patients with cystic fibrosis. METHODS: We performed two studies with different patient samples. We first tested 808 patients who were homozygous for the ΔF508 mutation and were classified as having either severe or mild lung disease, as defined by the lowest or highest quartile of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV 1), respectively, for age. We genotyped 16 polymorphisms in 10 genes reported by others as modifiers of disease severity in cystic fibrosis and tested for an association in patients with severe disease (263 patients) or mild disease (545). In the replication (second) study, we tested 498 patients, with various CFTR genotypes and a range of FEV 1 values, for an association of the TGFβ1 codon 10 CC genotype with low FEV 1. RESULTS: In the initial study, significant allelic and genotypic associations with phenotype were seen only for TGFβ1 (the gene encoding transforming growth factor β1), particularly the -509 and codon 10 polymorphisms (with P values obtained with the use of Fisher's exact test and logistic regression ranging from 0.006 to 0.0002). The odds ratio was about 2.2 for the highest-risk TGFβ1 genotype (codon 10 CC) in association with the phenotype for severe lung disease. The replication study confirmed the association of the TGFβ1 codon 10 CC genotype with more severe lung disease in comparisons with the use of dichotomized FEV 1 for severity status (P=0.0002) and FEV 1 values directly (P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Genetic variation in the 5′ end of TGFβ1 or a nearby upstream region modifies disease severity in cystic fibrosis

Paraportal localisation of an endometriotic ovarian cyst and its influence on ovarian reserve and intensity of chronic pelvic pains

The objective. To assess the influence of paraportal and peripheral localisation of an endometriotic ovarian cyst on ovarian reserve and the quality of life of patients. Patients and methods. The study included 100 patients with monolateral endometriotic ovarian cysts with sizes from 2 to 8 cm and chronic pelvic pains associated with external genital endometriosis. Two groups were singled out: group 1 consisted of 30 patients with paraportal localisation of the cyst and chronic pelvic pain; group 2 – 70 patients with peripheral localisation of an endometriotic cyst and chronic pelvic pain. The control group comprised 30 patients with preserved reproductive function without ovarian cysts. Ovarian reserve was assessed by ultrasound and hormonal examinations including antral follicle count, power Doppler imaging with vascularisation (VI) and flow indices (FI), anti-Mullerian (AMH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) testing. The intensity of chronic pelvic pains was assessed by the Biberoglu and Behrman scale. Laparoscopic surgery was performed, paraportal or peripheral localisation of the cyst and the firmness of capsular attachment were confirmed intraoperatively. Results. In patients with endometriotic cysts a decrease of ovarian reserve by 22–50% was found as compared with women from the control group: AMH – 36%, FSH – 37.4%, AF – 50%, VI – 43%, FI – 22.7%. Examination of ovarian reserve in patients with paraportal location of endometriomas found its significant decrease and a more marked intensity of chronic pelvic pains as compared with the results in case of peripheral localisation of a cyst. Conclusion. Paraportal localisation of an endometriotic cyst conditions a more significant decrease of ovarian reserve as compared with its peripheral localisation. In paraportal localisation of an endometriotic cyst the quality of life decreases to a greater extent due to more intense chronic pelvic pain. © 2019, Dynasty Publishing House. All rights reserved