• Advanced Composite Materials
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.351-364
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• 2009

The thermal stability and elevated temperature mechanical properties of $SiC_P$/Al-11.7Fe-1.3V-1.7Si (Al-11.7Fe-1.3V-1.7Si reinforced with SiC particulates) composites sheets prepared by spray deposition (SD) $\rightarrow$ hot pressing $\rightarrow$ rolling process were investigated. The experimental results showed that the composite possessed high ${\sigma}_b$ (elevated temperature tensile strength), for instance, ${\sigma}_b$ was 315.8 MPa, which was tested at $315^{\circ}C$, meanwhile the figure was 232.6 MPa tested at $400^{\circ}C$, and the elongations were 2.5% and 1.4%, respectively. Furthermore, the composite sheets exhibited excellent thermal stability: the hardness showed no significant decline after annealing at $550^{\circ}C$ for 200 h or at $600^{\circ}C$ for 10 h. The good elevated temperature mechanical properties and excellent thermal stability should mainly be attributed to the formation of spherical ${\alpha}-Al_{12}(Fe,\;V)_3Si$ dispersed phase particulates in the aluminum matrix. Furthermore, the addition of SiC particles into the alloy is another important factor, which the following properties are responsible for. The resultant Si of the reaction between Al matrix and SiC particles diffused into Al matrix can stabilize ${\alpha}-Al_{12}(Fe,\;V)_3Si$ dispersed phase; in addition, the interface (Si layer) improved the wettability of Al/$SiC_P$, hence, elevated the bonding between them. Furthermore, the fine $Al_4C_3$ phase also strengthened the matrix as a dispersion-strengthened phase. Meanwhile, load is transferred from Al matrix to SiC particles, which increased the cooling rate of the melt droplets and improved the solution strengthening and dispersion strengthening.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.68 no.3
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• pp.299-312
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• 2018

In this paper, an extended finite element method is proposed to analyze both geometric and material non-linear behavior of general Functionally Graded Material (FGM) plate-shell type structures. A user defined subroutine (UMAT) is developed and implemented in Abaqus/Standard to study the elastoplastic behavior of the ceramic particle-reinforced metal-matrix FGM plates-shells. The standard quadrilateral 4-nodes shell element with three rotational and three translational degrees of freedom per node, S4, is extended in the present study, to deal with elasto-plastic analysis of geometrically non-linear FGM plate-shell structures. The elastoplastic material properties are assumed to vary smoothly through the thickness of the plate-shell type structures. The nonlinear approach is based on Mori-Tanaka model to underline micromechanics and locally determine the effective FGM properties and self-consistent method of Suquet for the homogenization of the stress-field. The elasto-plastic behavior of the ceramic/metal FGM is assumed to follow Ludwik hardening law. An incremental formulation of the elasto-plastic constitutive relation is developed to predict the tangent operator. In order to to highlight the effectiveness and the accuracy of the present finite element procedure, numerical examples of geometrically non-linear elastoplastic functionally graded plates and shells are presented. The effects of the geometrical parameters and the volume fraction index on nonlinear responses are performed.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.230-237
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• 2007

The fabrication of Fe alloy-40 wt.%TiC composite materials using spark plasma sintering process after ball-milling was studied. Raw powders to fabricate Fe alloy-TiC composite were Fe alloy, $TiH_{2}$ and activated carbon. Fe alloy powder was Distaloy AE (4%Ni-1%Cu-0.5%Mo-0.01%C-bal.%Fe) made by Hoeganes company with better toughness and lower melting point. These powders were ball-milled in horizontal attrition ball mill at a ball-to-powder weight ratio of 30 : 1. After that, these mixture powders were sintered by using spark plasma sintering apparatus for 5 min at $1200-1275^{\circ}C$ in vacuum atmosphere under $10^{-3}$ torr. DistaloyAE-40 wt.%TiC composite was directly synthesized by dehydrogenation and carburization reaction during sintering process. The phase transformation of as-milled powders and sintered materials was confirmed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The density and harness materials was measured in order to confirm the densification behavior. In case of DistaloyAE-40 wt.%TiC composite retained for 5 min at $1275^{\circ}C$, it has the relative density of about 96% through the influence of rapid densification and fine TiC particle reinforced Fe-based composites materials.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.37 no.12
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• pp.1465-1471
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• 2013

The electrical and mechanical properties of room temperature vulcanized (RTV) silicone rubber composites are investigated as functions of multi-walled carbon nanotube (CNT), carbon black (CB), and thinner content. The thinner is used to improve the CNT and CB dispersion in the matrix. The electrical and mechanical properties of the composite with CNT are improved when compared to the composite with CB at the same content. As the thinner content is 80 phr, the electric resistance of the composite decreases significantly with the CNT content and shows contact point saturation of CNT at 2.5 phr. As the thinner content increases, the dispersion of conductive particles improves; however, the critical CB content increases because of the reduction in the CB weight ratio. It is believed that an electrode that needs good flexibility and excellent electrical properties can be manufactured when the amount of CNT and CB are increased with the thinner content.

• Composites Research
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.355-360
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• 2023

Epoxy-based carbon fibers reinforced plastic (CFRP) exhibit limitations in their suitability for industrial applications due to high brittleness characteristics. To address this challenge, extensive investigations are underway to enhance their toughness properties. This research focuses on evaluating the toughening mechanisms achieved by Polyamide 6 particles(p-PA6) and Carboxyl-Terminated Butadiene-Acrylonitrile (CTBN) elastomer, with a specific emphasis on utilizing minimal additive quantities. The study explores the impact of varying concentrations of p-PA6 and CTBN additives, namely 0.5, 1, 2.5, and 5 phr, through comprehensive Mode I fracture toughness and tensile strength analyses. The inclusion of p-PA6 demonstrated improvements in toughness when introduced at a relatively low content of 1phr. This improvement manifested as a sustained fracture behavior, contributing to enhanced toughness, while simultaneously maintaining the material's tensile strength. Furthermore, the investigation revealed that the incorporation of p-PA6 affected in particle aggregation, thus influencing the overall toughening mechanism. Incorporation of CTBN, an elastomeric modifier, exhibited a pronounced increase in fracture toughness at higher concentrations of 2.5 phr and beyond. However, this increase in toughness was accompanied by a reduction in tensile strength, resulting in fracture behavior similar to conventional CFRP exhibiting brittleness. The synergy between pPA6, CTBN and CFRP appeared to marginally enhance tensile strength under specific content conditions. As a result of this study, optimized conditions for the application of the p-PA6, CTBN toughening technology have been identified and established.