The 10 most-cited articles in Advanced materials research, 2016

Nanocrystalline NiO has been prepared successfully by chemical precipitation route using nickel nitrate hexahydrate (Ni (NO 3 ) 2 · 6H 2 O) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) aqueous solution at a temperature of 60 ̊C. Their compositional, structural, morphological, thermal and optical properties were studied using energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. From XRD pattern we confirmed the face centered cubic (fcc) structure of the synthesized NiO nanoparticles. The selected area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern indicated the same crystalline planes as seen in XRD pattern. TGA indicates good thermal stability of synthesized NiO nanoparticles and the optical absorption spectrum of NiO nanoparticles shows the strong absorption edge at 235nm (4.10eV). PL spectra of NiO nanoparticles shows two wide emission peaks at 420nm (2.95eV) and 440nm (2.82eV) and a strong–broad peak at 460nm…

Lithium-ion batteries are a key technology for energy storage not only in consumer electronics but also in e-mobility and stationary applications. However, in order to guarantee the success of lithium-ion batteries in the long term, improvements related to performance, lifetime and production costs need to be made. Mastery of the highly interlinked process chain in lithium-ion battery manufacturing is a challenge and often acquired on the basis of experience. This paper illustrates the complexity of this process chain with a special focus on the roll-to-roll manufacturing of electrodes and discusses the application of a quality management system in lithium-ion battery production.

This paper is focused on the processing of thermoplastic composite materials obtained from carbon fibers (CFs) treated by plasma assisted techniques. The treatments employed in this work were the Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD), which is done at atmospheric pressure, involving lower energies and the Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation (PIII), which is performed at low pressure, involving higher energies. After the treatments, samples characterizations were performed to determine which treatment is most effective to get better physico-chemical CF surface properties. The techniques employed in this work in order to evaluate the surface treatment were: scanning electron microscopy (SEM); atomic force microscopy (AFM) Raman spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Treated and untreated CFs/Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) composites were processed by hot-compression molding technique. These composites were evaluated by interlaminar shear tests (ILSS). After analyzing the results, it was found that the treatments increased the CF roughness and caused slight changes in the CF…

High hardness armor steel (HHA) is developed for construction of military vehicle. HHA steel is complicated to weld as a result of its higher carbon content. Temporary researches give us insufficient recommendation how to optimize welding technology to get weld joint without cracks and flaws. The favorable mechanical properties and compromise between toughness and hardness can be obtained with optimal technology, appropriate heat input and the cooling rate in the temperature range from 600° C to 200° C. Present research through the automation process, carefully selection consumable and controlling cooling rate in the temperature range from 600° C to 200° C gave the welded joint without cracks and pores. Welded joint without flaws has also encouraged tensile strength value. The width of the HAZ was within the range of accepted in the standard MIL-STAN-1185 (max. 15.9 mm from the centerline of the joint). The micro-hardness throw the base metal is between 378 and 521 HV.

This publication describes new process chain approaches for the manufacturing of intrinsic hybrid composites for lightweight structures. The introduced process chains show a variety of different part and sample types, like insert technology for fastening of hollow hybrid shafts and profiles. Another field of research are hybrid laminates with different layers of carbon fiber reinforced plastics stacked with aluminum or steel sheets. The derived process chains base on automated fiber placement, resin transfer molding, deep drawing, rotational molding and integral tube blow molding.

In the present investigation, 75Cr3C2-25NiCr coating was deposited on T91 boiler tube steel substrate by high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) process to enhance high-temperature corrosion resistance. High-temperature performance of bare, as well as HVOF-coated steel specimens was evaluated for 1500 h under cyclic conditions in the platen superheater zone coal-fired boiler, where the temperature was around 900 °C. Experiments were carried out for 15 cycles each of 100 h duration followed by 1 h cooling at ambient temperature. The performance of the bare and coated specimens was assessed via metal thickness loss corresponding to the corrosion scale formation and the depth of internal corrosion attack. The uncoated boiler steel suffered from a catastrophic degradation in the form of internal oxidation attack and thickness loss. The 75Cr3C2-25NiCr coating showed good adherence to the boiler steel during the exposures with no tendency for internal oxidation.

The increasing customisation of products, which leads to higher numbers of product variants with smaller lot sizes, requires a high flexibility of manufacturing systems. These systems are subject to dynamic influences and need increasing effort for the generation of the production schedules and for the control of the processes. This paper presents an approach that addresses these challenges. First, scheduling is done by coupling an optimisation heuristic with a simulation model to handle complex and stochastic manufacturing systems. Second, the simulation model is continuously adapted by real-time data from the shop floor. If, e.g., a machine breakdown or a rush order appears, the simulation model and consequently the scheduling model is updated and the optimisation heuristic adjusts an existing schedule or generates a new one. This approach uses real-time data provided by future cyber-physical systems to integrate scheduling and control and to manage the dynamics of highly flexible manufacturing systems.

Startups can substantially contribute to the industrial development in the early and newly industrialized countries by transforming technological inventions into products and services. By means of the market dynamics of cooperation and competition in global value creation and knowledge networks, new products and services can conduce to a global industrial development. Hence, in pursuance of an efficient and effective startup development, this paper will present a new methodology for the integrated development of the product and of the business model for a hardware startup. Hardware startups address the development of innovative tangible products. The hardware product itself may consist of mechanical, electronical, and software components. The methodology is based on a micro cycle for the problem-solving procedure on the level of single process steps as well as on a macro cycle as procedure for the overall integrated development of the startup. For each phase of the macro cycle, specific modelling methods for the product and business model are proposed. Finally, a proof of concept on…

Composite materials have been increasingly used in the aerospace industry for the manufacturing of structures, because of the associated properties of low weight and high mechanical resistance. On the other hand, they have low delamination resistance. This paper presents the results of an experimental study performed to obtain the values of interlaminar fracture toughness (G) of a laminate under three different temperatures, using 0º carbon-epoxy prepreg fabric plies and manufactured via Hand lay up cured in autoclave (HLUP). Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) tests were performed to evaluate mode I toughness, Four Point Bend End Notched Flexure (4ENF) for mode II and Mixed Mode Bending (MMB) for mixed mode I / mode II at -54°C, 25°C and 80°C. The data were collected and analyzed using a routine developed in Matlab®. Finally, the relation between GI and GII through the failure envelope and the temperature influence on the interlaminar fracture toughness was assessed.

In order to clarify the mechanical properties of single-crystal silicon carbide (SiC), nanoindentation was performed on a 4H-SiC wafer. The change of hardness with the angle between the wafer orientation flat and the indenter edge, the maximum load and the loading rate were investigated. The hardness reached maximum at an indentation load of 12 mN in the range of 3-50 mN. Hardness decreased under two conditions: when the edge of the indenter tip is parallel to the [11-20] direction, and when a very low loading rate was used. Transmission electron microscopy was used to observe dislocations and cracks under the indents. It was demonstrated that the deformation process of SiC involved three steps with respect to the increase of the indentation load. These results provide information for improving ductile machining process of single crystal SiC.