The Influence of Cryogenic Conditions on the Process of AA2519 Aluminum Alloy Cracking

This study presents the results of tests involving determining quantities used to describe fracture toughness of a heat-treated AA2519 aluminum alloy applied in, among other things, constructing American military amphibians. These quantities were determined using the J–R curve method for two temperature values, 293 K and 77 K. The low temperature was provided by putting the tested specimen into a liquid nitrogen bath and keeping it there throughout the experiment. Based on the tests results, cryogenic conditions cause an increase in the maximum experimental value of the J–JQ integral, from 66.3 to 87.3 kJ/m2 Moreover, an analysis of the fatigue fracture microstructure revealed differences between specimens tested in ambient temperature and those tested in cryogenic temperature.

Laser cladding of Co-based metallic powder at cryogenic conditions

Purpose: of this paper was demonstration a novel technique of laser cladding by experimentally composed Co-based metallic powder and forced cooling of the substrate by liquid nitrogen under cryogenic conditions, at the temperature -190°C, for producing clad layers with enhanced microstructure characteristic and properties. Design/methodology/approach: Technological tests of laser cladding were conducted by means of a high power fibre laser HPFL with maximum output power 3.0 kW, and six-axis robot. The experimental Co-based powder was composed for providing high abrasive wear resistance, high resistance for impact load, and also for corrosion resistance at elevated temperature. The unique and novel technique of forced cooling of the substrate was provided by immersing the specimens in the liquid nitrogen bath. The three coaxial nozzle head was designed and custom made to provide precise deposition of the powder delivered into the laser beam irradiation region. The scope of the study included tests of conventional laser cladding at free cooling in ambient air in a wide range of processing parameters, and also trials of laser cladding under cryogenic conditions. The test clad layers produced by conventional laser cladding and by the novel technique of laser powder deposition under cryogenic conditions were investigated and compared. Findings: The obtained results indicate that the novel technique of forced cooling the substrate by liquid nitrogen bath provides lower penetration depth, as well as low dilution of the clad, and also provides higher hardness of the clads. Additionally, it is possible shaping the geometry of the individual bead, providing high reinforcement and low width. Research limitations/implications: The presented results are based just on preliminary test of the novel technique of laser cladding under cryogenic conditions. Therefore, further study and detailed analyse of the influence of the cooling rate on the quality, microstructure, and properties of the deposited coatings are required. Practical implications: The study is focused on practical application of the novel technique for manufacturing of wear resistance coatings characterised with enhanced performance compared to conventional range of application of the laser cladding. Originality/value: Novel technique of laser cladding at forced cooling under cryogenic conditions was demonstrated. The powder used for cladding trials was experimentally composed (not commercially available). The experimental stand custom made was used with custom made powder feeding rate, and also with custom made coaxial nozzle head.

Understanding Thermal Drift in Liquid Nitrogen Loads Used for Radiometric Calibration in the Field

An absorbing load in a liquid nitrogen bath is commonly used as a radiance standard for calibrating radiometers operating at microwave to infrared wavelengths. It is generally assumed that the physical temperature of the load is stable and equal to the boiling point temperature of pure N2 at the ambient atmospheric pressure. However, this assumption will fail to hold when air movement, as encountered in outdoor environments, allows O2 gas to condense into the bath. Under typical conditions, initial boiling point drift rates of order 25 mK min−1 can occur, and the boiling point of a bath maintained by repeated refilling with pure N2 can eventually shift by approximately 2 K. Laboratory bench tests of a liquid nitrogen bath under simulated wind conditions are presented together with an example of an outdoor radiometer calibration that demonstrates the effect, and the physical processes involved are explained in detail. A key finding is that in windy conditions, changes in O2 volume fraction are related accurately to fractional changes in bath volume due to boiloff, independent of wind speed. This relation can be exploited to ensure that calibration errors due to O2 contamination remain within predictable bounds.

A cryo-SEM technique developed and applied to surfactant liposomes

Freeze-fracture replication TEM and Cryo-TEM are developed techniques for studying surfactant dispersions. Application of freeze-fracture cryo-SEM with direct imaging to such systems has the advantages of observing a greater range of particle sizes, large depth of field implying larger tilts together with rotation, and freeze-etching/freeze drying the sample while imaging it. A procedure for cryo-SEM of liquid colloids, which uses a simple sample preparation setup, and its results for liposomal dispersions, are described here.Samples are plunge-frozen by a freezing device (Fig.l) made from a standard desoldering tool (Fig.2) used as a plunging unit. Fracture plates (Fig.3) are made from 0.1 mm thin copper sheet made adhesive to the liquid by 400 mesh TEM grids that are bent over the two edges of the plates and stuck on the non-sample side with a rubber adhesive. The sample is sandwiched between a pair of fracture plates (Fig.3) and plunged into liquid Freon-22 kept at its freezing point (-160°C) in an electrically heated cup (Fig.l) cooled by a liquid liquid nitrogen bath.

1300 K compressive properties of a reaction milled NiAl–AlN composite

Cryomilling (high intensity mechanical ball milling in a liquid nitrogen bath) of the B2 crystal structure nickel aluminide leads to a NiAl composite containing about 10 vol.% of AlN particles. This is the result of a reaction milling process, where nitrogen incorporated into the matrix during cryomilling reacts with Al during subsequent thermomechanical processing to form the composite. Compressive testing at 1300 K of such materials densified by 1505 K extrusion or isostatic pressing at 1323 K or 1623 K indicated that strength at relatively fast strain rates (>10−7 s−1) is slightly dependent on the method of consolidation. At slower rates, however, no clear dependency on densification technique appears to exist, and four different consolidation methods possessed similar creep strengths. In all cases deformation at 1300 K occurred by two distinct mechanisms: at high strain rates the stress exponent is greater than 11 while at slower rates (<10−7 s−1) a much lower stress exponent (∼6) was found. Comparison of density compensated creep strengths reveals that the properties of NiAl–AlN are similar to those of the single crystal Ni-base superalloy NASAIR 100.

Cryomilling of Nano-Phase Dispersion Strengthened Aluminum

ABSTRACTIn recent years considerable effort has been expended on the development of dispersion strengthened alloys by mechanical alloying. Our research has shown that considerable improvement in microstructure control and properties can be gained by carrying out milling at cryogenic temperatures. We have found that aluminum and dilute aluminum alloys can be dispersion strengthened with aluminum oxy-nitride particles by the use of a slurry milling technique where the fluid medium is liquid nitrogen. The alloyed powders produced by this technique are strengthened by aluminum oxy-nitride particles which are typically 2–10 nm in diameter and with a mean spacing of 50–100 nm. The dispersoids are generated during the milling process by adsorption and reaction with components of the liquid nitrogen bath. On thermal treatment prior to consolidation, the alloyed powders recrystallize to a grain size which is typically in the range 0.05 to 0.3 μm. The alloys exhibit a yield stress in excess of 325 MPa at room temperature and a virtually temperature independent yield stress of about 130 MPa at temperatures greater than 375° C. The paper describes the preparation of dispersion strengthened aluminum by cryomilling, the characteristics of the microstructure and discusses some aspects of the mechanical properties.