Journal of Advanced Materials in Engineering (Esteghlal)

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Dense Silicon nitride was investigated to determine the effect of its microstructural parameters and densification on thermo-mechanical properties and thermal stress resistance to fracture initiation during a hot or cold mechanical and thermal shock testing. The different materials and microstructures were obtained by changing the parameters such as the type of the powder, additive, forming process and sintering condition. Maximum crack growth and thermal shock resistance of dense Si3N4 are achieved after complete conversion of the aàB transformation, and after the change in grain morphology towards elongated grain and the relative crystallization of the second phases have been obtained. The characteristics are obtained by a high a phase content of the starting powder, high Y2O3, and sintering condition of higher temperature (2000ْC), longer soaking times (1h) and load application at the beginning of the thermal cycle. Keywords: Silicon nitride, Thermo- mechanical properties, Thermal shock resistance, Crack propagation resistance

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In this paper, a new method for developing a lower bound on exact completion time distribution function of stochastic PERT networks is provided that is based on simplifying the structure of this type of network. The designed mechanism simplifies network structure by arc duplication so that network distribution function can be calculated only with convolution and multiplication. The selection of duplicable arcs in this method differs from that of Dodin’s so that it must be considered a different method. In this method, best duplicable arcs are adopted using a new mechanism. It is proved that duplicating numbers is minimized by this method. The distribution function of this method is a lower bound on exact network distribution function and an upper bound on distribution function of Dodin’s and Kleindorfer’s methods. After the algorithm for the method is presented, its efficiency is discussed and illustration examples will be used to Compare numerical results from this method with those from exact network distribution and Dodin’s method.

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Physical properties of cotton yarns are affected by the characteristics of cotton fibers such as fineness, length, maturity and strength. This relationship has been worked out by means of multivariable regression and stepwise method for an open-end spun (NeC 20) cotton yarn. Moreover, with the help of linear programming, it was made possible to determine the percentage of different cottons in the blend with the aim of reducing the yarn price to a minimum while keeping the yarn quality to a certain level.

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The presence of defects in cold mercerizing of cotton goods led to the creation of a new method, called hot mercerizing in which caustic soda solution is used at a high temperature. Hot mercerizing is successfully used in cotton blended with some other fibers. In cotton/polyester blend fabrics, this treatment serves a dual purpose: subjectively, it imparts a silklike soft handle to the polyester and brings about mercerizing of the cotton. In this work, the mercerizing operation with caustic soda solution was performed on a 65/35 polyester/cotton fabric in sixteen different temperatures (from 15°C to 90°C), in two states: with tension and without tension. Finally, the effect of temperature of treatment on some properties of fabric such as tensile properties, weight loss, and shrinkage have been studied. Alkali treatment cause weight loss in cotton/polyester blend fabrics, the main part of the weight loss attributed to the polyester component of the blend. Increasing temperature leads to a corresponding increased in weight loss. The resulting weight loss leads to more yarn release and consequently, to the improvement of the drape and soft handle in the fabric. However, it decreases the tensile strength and causes weakness of the fabric, therefore, an optimum of temperature must be considered. In the alkali treatment, the internal stresses in the fabric can be released. Release of tension in the fabric causes shrinkage, particularly in the warp direction. The effect of tension on properties of cotton/polyester blend fabric is not considerable in alkali treatment.

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Artificial Neural Networks are information processing systems. Over the past several years, these algorithms have received much attention for their applications in pattern completing, pattern matching and classification and also for their use as a tool in various areas of problem solving. In this work, an Artificial Neural Network model is presented for predicting the tensile properties of cotton-covered nylon core yarns. Multilayer Feedforward network with Back Propagation learning algorithm was used to study the relationship and mapping among the process parameters, i.e. count of sheath part, count of core part, applying pretension to the core part, inserted twist to the core spun-yarn as well as tensile properties, i.e. breaking strength and breaking elongation. The results show that ANN is an effective method for the prediction of the tensile properties of these yarns. This is due to the fact that in each case, standard deviation of prediction error for test and train data was less than that obtained from the expreiments.

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Stretchable woven chute is a safe device for falling humans from multi-story buildings in emergencies. During the fall, the elastomeric property of the fabric, in the weft direction, causes radial forces towards the human body inside .These radial forces lead to frictional forces between the chute and the body. The falling man can reduce the falling speed by exerting outward forces via stretching and contracting arms or legs. In this research, a model is developed to analyze the different forces involved in the fall based on the so-called thin sheet tank "fall relations". The model is capable of determining body characteristics with respect to the real model. Finally, real-world model predictions have been made in which the effects of body weight and dimensions have been considered of.

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ZnS nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical precipitation method. As-prepared ZnS nanoparticles were found to be stabilized in the form of cubic phase. Cubic to hexagonal structural transformation was studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The effect of annealing temperature (100-700 ) on the band gap, particle size, and structural phase was investigated. Photoluminescence studies indicated two strong and narrow emission peaks in blue and orange regions. These two strong and narrow emission peaks were shifted to blue and red regions by increasing the annealing temperature..

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The fracture surfaces of PM Cr-Mo steels intensively depends on pores structure, densification, diffusion of alloying elements, contact area between particles (sinter necks), microstructural homogeneity, and type of applied load. Also, knowing about element distribution in PM parts to evaluate what places are good for crack growth, nucleation and coalescenc is important. In this investigation, fracture surfaces and crack growth mechanism for element distribution environments of cracks were studied under the three point bending (TPB) test. In this work, crack growth mechanism in Cr-Mo PM parts with three different densities (6.7, 7 and 7.2 g/cm3), were evaluated accurately. Crack walk occurred in some places that had more alloying elements, particularity molybdenum. In addition, crack route was obtained from among the sharpened porosities and martensite/bainite structures.

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Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) based nanocomposites containing three differently modified silica particles were prepared by melt compounding. The influence of type and amount of nanosilica on various properties of nanocomposite was studied using atomic force microscope, thermal degradation, thermal-mechanical properties, scanning electron microscope, and reflectance spectra. AFM test was used to study the roughness of composites which indicated that the roughness is related to hydrophilicity degree of silica, increasing with an increase in hydrophilicity of particles. SEM images were studied on the surface, confirming that the surface roughness of nanocomposite depends on the type of nano-silica used. Results of thermal analysis showed that the interaction between nanosilica particle and polyethylene terephthalate chains is effective in thermal stability of composite. UV-vis spectra of polyester nanocomposites indicated that the refraction of hydrophilic silica nanocomposites is more than hydrophobic one, indicating agglomeration of hydrophilic particles at the surface of nanocomposite compared with hydrophobic one.

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Short life of current total hip replacement metallic implants is generally dependent on the aseptic loosening of the implant, which occurs due to mismatch of elastic modulus between bone and metallic implant materials. Decreasing in elasticmodulus of implant could be successful. Forsterite is biocompatible and bioactive ceramic which has suitable mechanical properties. In presented research the composite materials based on Co-Cr-Mo alloy with 10, 15 and 20wt% of forsteritenanopowder as reinforcement were fabricated and mechanical behavior of the composites were evaluated. Composites were fabricated by ball milling, cold pressing and sintering. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used for characterization and evaluation phase composition and microstructure of the composites. Density, microhardness, compressive strength and elastic modulus of fabricated composites were evaluated. Obtained results showed elastic modulus of composite materials based on Co-Cr-Mo alloy reinforced with 10, 15 and 20wt% of forsteritenanopowder decreased significantly. Results also showed that the compressive strength of Co-base alloy composites reinforced with 10, 15 and 20 wt% forsterite were lower than cast Co-Cr-Mo alloy. With increasing in the content of reinforcement, compressive strength of the composites were decreased. Microhardness of prepared composites were higher than cast Co-Cr-Mo alloy. With increasing in content of bioceramic reinforcement, microhardness of the composites were increased.

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The effects of temperature, time and atmosphere on microstructure and magnetic properties of NiFe2O4 glassceramic were investigated utilizing differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometer and scanning electron microscope techniques. Various compositions were studied in the Na2O-NiO-Fe2O3-B2O3-SiO2 system to obtain amorphous phase. The sample heat-treated in graphite bed at 510°C for 1 hr showed higher magnetization than the one heattreated in the air under the same condition. XRD analysis showed the presence of nickel ferrite and some non-magnetic phases such as sodium borate and silicate phases in the heat treated samples. The maximum magnetization of samples reduced by increasing the holding time from 1hr to 3 hr at 510°C. Increment of temperature to 700°C increased the amount of NiFe2O4 and maximum magnetization.

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The particles of ferrite Ni0.6-xCuxZn0.4Fe2O4, (0-0.5 in step with 0.1) were prepared by the sol-gel method. Sintering process of powders was carried out at 600, 800 and 1000 oC. The effect of the sintering temperature and chemical composition on the structural and magnetic properties of the Cu substituted NiZn ferrite was investigated. EDS analysis and X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed a well defined of single crystal phase with spinel structure. The thermal behavior process and particle size of samples were investigated by thermal analysis TG, DTA techniques and scanning electron microscope, respectively. VSM curves reveal that the sintering temperature and copper content affect saturation magnetization. M ssbauer spectra displays that the copper cations occupy the octahedral sites. With increasing of copper cations, the iron cations immigrate to tetrahedral site, consequently the saturation magnetization decrease.

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In the present work, molecular dynamics simulation method was used for determining Young's modulus, Shear modulus and Poisson’s ratio of Al-SiC nanocomposites, with different volume fractions of the reinforcements. For simulation, the open source package, LAMMPS, was used. After putting Aluminum and Silicon Carbide atoms in their initial positions, interatomic potentials between them were defined. EAM potential was used for Aluminum atoms, Morse potential was used for Al-C and Al-Si, and for C-C, Si-C, and Si-Si Tersoff potential was used. According to the elastic bounding principal, and the comparison between the simulations results and Voigt, Ruess and Halpin-Tsai micromechanical models showed that the results were close to the upper bound Voigt model.

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An important parameter in composite materials is mechanical behavior and matrix-reinforcement interface interaction under applied stresses. In this investigation, bending strength of carbon-carbon composites synthesized from wood was analyzed as a measure of the composite mechanical properties. Also, densification efficiency of the products was determined by measuring the bulk density and open porosity percentage. Using scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, X-Ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy, the final product was examined to evaluate and interpret the morphology and internal texture and results of mechanical test. The results showed that we are able to use an ordinary material such as wood for production of a unique product with great properties called two-dimensional carbon-carbon composites.

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Fe-Co alloys have unique magnetic applications. Fe50Co50 alloy has the highest saturation magnetization value among Fe-Co alloys. Moreover, the introduction of Si into Fe can result in a decrease of magnetic anisotropy. In this study, in order to utilize combined advantages of Si and Co, the effect of adding 10 and 20 at.% Si on the microstructural and magnetic properties of Fe65Co35 alloy was investigated. For this purpose, initial powder mixtures with specific compositions were milled by means of planetary ball mill for different milling times. Microstructural properties and morphology of the obtained powders were analyzed by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Also, magnetic properties of the samples were determined by means of vibration sample magnetometer (VSM). The results showed that the crystallite size was finer and more uniform and lattice strain was decreased slightly for longer milling times. Observations indicated that the addition of Si to the alloys leads to finer particles. The results also showed that increasing the Si content increases the reduction rate of lattice parameter and coercivity.

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In this study, Al/Steel multilayer composite was produced by accumulative roll bonding (ARB) process using Al-1100 and St-12 strips. Microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of the composite were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), tensile test, Vickers microhardness tests, cyclic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurement in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution. After one ARB cycle (2 roll-bonding cycles), the multilayer composite of 4 layers of Al and 2 layers of steel was produced. The tensile strength of the Al/steel multilayer composite reached 390.57 MPa after the first ARB cycle, which was 1.29 times larger than that of the starting steel while composite density was almost half the density of the steel. Corrosion behavior of the composite revealed a considerable improvement in the main electrochemical parameters, as a result of enhancing influence of cold rolling. The results indicated that strength and corrosion resistance of Al/steel composite generally decreases and elongation increases after annealing.

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The objective of this study was to synthesize glass ionomer–forsterite nanocomposite and study the effect of incorporating forsterite nanoparticles to the ceramic part of glass ionomer cement in order to improve mechanical properties and bioactivity. So, Forsterite nanoparticles were made by the sol-gel process using different weight percentages added to the ceramic part of commercial GIC (Fuji II GC). X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used in order to characterize and determine grain size of the produced forsterite nanopowder. In order to study the mechanical properties of the produced glass ionomer cement-forsterite nanocomposite, the compressive strength (CS), three-point flexural strength (FS) and diametral tensile strength (DTS) of specimens were measured. Statistical analysis was done by one Way ANOVA and differences were considered significant if P‹0.05. The morphology of fracture surface of specimens was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique. Bioactivity of specimens was investigated by Fourier transitioned-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The results of XRD analysis confirmed the nanocrystalline and pure forsterite synthesis. According to the mechanical properties measurements, the optimum weight percentages of forsterite nanoparticles for enhancement of CS, FS, and DTS were obtained equal to 3, 1 and 1 wt.%, respectively. Statistical analysis showed that the differences between all the groups were significant (P<0.05). SEM images and results of the ICP-OES and FTIR tests confirmed the bioactivity of the nanocomposite. Glass ionomer-forsterite nanocomposite containing 1 to 3 wt.%-forsterite nanoparticles can be a suitable candidate for dentistry and orthopedic applications due to the improvement of mechanical properties and bioactivity.

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In this investigation, the effect of Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) additive on microstructure, morphology and magnetic properties of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles prepared by hydrothermal method was studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies in different synthesis conditions showed the formation of cobalt ferrite and cobalt oxide. Comparing IR spectrum of PVP additive, sol prepared before hydrothermal process and C-0.1PVP3, 190 obtained by FTIR spectroscopy indicated the formation of bond between PVP and surface of metallic hydroxide and cobalt ferrite particles, which prevented them from growing and coarsening. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to study the morphology of samples. According to vibration sample magnetometer (VSM) results, as PVP amount increases from 0.1 to 0.3 volume percent, coercive field increases from 298 to 684 Oe and saturation magnetization decreases from 58 to 51 emu/g.

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Effects of discontinuous ultrasonic treatment on the microstructure, nanoparticle distribution, and mechanical properties of cast Al413-SiCnp nanocomposites were studied. The results showed that discontinuous ultrasonic treatment was more effective in improving the mechanical properties of the cast nanocomposites than the equally timed continuous treatment. The yield and ultimate tensile strengths of Al413-2%SiCnp nanocomposites discontinuously treated for two 20 minute periods increased by about 126% and 100% compared to those of the monolithic sample, respectively. These improvements were about 107% and 94% for the nanocomposites continuously treated for a single 40 minute period. The improvement in the mechanical properties was associated with severe refinement of the microstructure, removal of the remaining gas layers on the particles surfaces, more effective fragmentation of the remaining agglomerates as well as improved wettability and distribution of the reinforcing particles during the first stage of solidification.

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Based on molecular dynamics simulation results, a model was developed for determining elastic properties of aluminum nanocomposites reinforced with silicon carbide particles. Also, two models for prediction of density and price of nanocomposites were suggested. Then, optimal volume fraction of reinforcement was obtained by genetic algorithm method for the least density and price, and the highest elastic properties. Based on optimization results, the optimum volume fraction of reinforcement was obtained equal to 0.44. For this optimum volume fraction, optimum Young’s modulus, shear modulus, the price and the density of the nanocomposite were obtained 165.89 GPa, 111.37 GPa, 8.75 $/lb and 2.92 gr/cm3, respectively.