Papers by Author: A. Etaati

Abstract: Bronze alloys are widely used in different tribological applications including sliding components. Bronze-Alumina composites have been attracting the interest of researchers in recent years. Among the most recent surface modifications techniques, plasma spraying has been successfully applied to these coatings. In this investigation, an attempt has been made to analyze the sliding wear response of Bronze-Alumina coats over a range of applied pressures and sliding speeds. It was observed that an increase in applied load causes more weight losses in wear test while increasing the sliding speed led to no further losses at this variables range. Wear processes and mechanisms of these behaviors are discussed in the light of the microstructural observations combined with wear surfaces and debris particles examinations.

Abstract: Over the last decades, numerous investigations have been conducted on Nitinol properties. However, the effects of alloying elements on Ni-rich NiTi alloys have been considered less. In this research, different effects of homogenization time and cooling rate on the behaviors of Ni-42.5wt%Ti-3wt%Cu alloy were evaluated. The mentioned alloy was fabricated by vacuum arc melting method. Three different homogenization times (half, one and two hours) and three cooling media (water, air and furnace) were selected. The microstructure and hardness were examined by means of optical and scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis and hardness test, respectively. According to the microscopic investigations, no significant changes were observed after half an hour. However, results indicate that increasing time of homogenization leads to finer precipitations and a uniform distribution of them. The various cooling environments result in the formation of two types of precipitation phases. It was seen that in the high cooling rate, the majority of precipitations consisted of Ti2(Ni,Cu) while by decreasing cooling rate NiTiCu precipitates appeared too, which affect the hardness.

Abstract: The present paper deals with different effects of homogenization time and cooling environment on Ni-42.5wt%Ti-7.5wt%Cu alloy. The alloy was prepared by vacuum arc melting. Afterwards, three homogenization times (half, one and two hour) and three cooling environments (water, air and furnace) at 1373 K were selected. Optical and Scanning Electron Microscopic methods, EDX, DSC and hardness tests have been used to evaluate the microstructure, transformation temperatures and hardness. Results indicate that specimens that were cooled in air are super-saturated. Also, the microstructure from furnace cooling has many disparities with the other cooling environments’ microstructure and two types of precipitates exhibit in the matrix, but in other cooling environments, only one phase can be seen. Particles of the Ti2(Ni,Cu) phase are distributed in the matrix in all of the microstructures irrespective of cooling rate. Observations show that increasing the time of homogenization results in finer precipitates and uniform distribution in the matrix. In addition, alteration of cooling rate and time of homogenization affect the martensitic transformation temperatures. On the other hand, the hardness varies slightly for different homogenization times but declines extremely with decreasing cooling rate. Moreover homogenization time and the cooling environment affect the transformation temperatures on furnace cooled samples.

Abstract: NiTi alloys containing more than 55%wt nickel undergo precipitation of Ni4Ti3, Ni3Ti2, and Ni3Ti phases during various heat treatments which could have a great effect on the chemical composition of the matrix and behavior of alloy. In this investigation, a NiTi alloy with Ti-57.5%wt nickel content, produced by vacuum induction melting in a graphite crucible, were subjected to the homogenization heat treatments in 1100oC and for various time periods (0.5, 1, 2, and 4 hours). The subsequent cooling was conducted in different cooling media (furnace and air) in order to examine the effect of cooling rate. Microstructural investigations show Ni4Ti3 particles with bimodal size distribution in furnace cooling. Differential scanning calorimetry demonstrates the correlation between homogenization time and transformation temperatures of the alloy.