Journal of Advanced Materials in Engineering (Esteghlal)

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The soft magnetic nanocrystalline Fe73.5Si13.5B9Cu1Nb3 alloy (FINEMET®) is produced by heat treatment of amorphous precursor. Determining kinetic parameters of amorphous structure transformation to nanocrystalline allows the control of microstructure (e.g. size and volume fraction of nanocrystalline grains) in order to achieve desired soft magnetic properties by optimizing the heat treatment conditions. In this research, the nanocrystallization kinetics of amorphous FINEMET alloy were studied using isoconversional and isokinetic methods under non-isothermal conditions of various heating rates ranging from 5 to 20˚C/min. The changes in the microstructure and magnetic properties of amorphous ribbon during nanocrystallization process were studied using X-ray diffractometry and hysteresisgraph, respectively.

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In this research, crystallization of Fe36Cr12Mo10 and α-Fe phases in devitrification of Fe51Cr18Mo7B16C4Nb4 amorphous alloy was studied using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. For evaluation of crystallization kinetics, differential scanning calorimetric tests were carried out at different heating rates. Results showed that two-step crystallization led to the formation of Fe36Cr12Mo10 and α-Fe phases in the structure of alloy. Activation energy of crystallization of Fe36Cr12Mo10 and α-Fe phases measured according to Kissinger-Starink model were 747 and 880 kJ/mol, respectively. Results growth mechanism along with the decreasing nucleation rate in crystallization of Fe36Cr12Mo10 and α-Fe phases.

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Despite a great thermodynamic driving force, copper cementation by aluminum from sulfate solutions involves a relatively slow kinetics due to the presence of the passive oxide film on the surface of aluminum. The previous studies have confirmed the positive effect of the presence of small amounts of chloride ion on reducing the scale of this problem. In this paper, the effect of concurrent ball milling on the kinetics of this process has been investigated. The cementation experiments were carried out in a polyamide jar with alumina balls inside by planetary ball milling. The studied parameters were ball number (0, 4), temperature (25-55 °C) and time (0-240 s). All experiments were conducted at constant condition of [Cu²⁺] = 6 g/L, [Cl⁻] = 75 mg/L, rotation speed of 160 rpm, average aluminum particle size of 279 µm and [H⁺] = 1.94×10^-3. The results showed that concurrent ball milling reduces the induction period of the cementation process to less than 120 s.  The apparent rate constant of cementation showed the positive influence of simultaneous milling on the kinetics of the studied cementation process. Moreover, activation energies of the induction and main periods were calculated to be respectively 86 and 26 kJ.mol^-1, indicating the shift of the reaction mechanism from chemical control to mass transfer control.