Production of Zr55Cu30Ni5Al10 Glassy Alloy Rod of 30 mm in Diameter by a Cap-Cast Technique
used for the preparation of the master alloy. The purity of these metals; Zr(+Hf), Cu, Ni and Al were 99.99 mass%, 99.999 mass%, 99.99 mass% and 99.999 mass%, respectively. The alloy ingots were completely remelted, and cast into cylindrical rod samples with diameters from � 16 mm to � 30 mm by a modified cap-casting method, as shown in Fig. 1. The cap-cast technique was designed to obtain high cooling rate even at the upper part of cast specimen. The cast structure was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the compositions of the quenched samples were determined with an electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA). The phase identification of the cast samples was performed by X-ray diffractometry. Oxygen concentration of the bulk glassy alloys was measured by a helium carrier fusioninfrared absorption. Microscopic cast structures were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) using a JEOL 4000 FX. TEM samples were prepared by an electrolytic polishing machine using nitric methanol (30 vol% HNO3) at about 250 K.
Recent progress of bulk metallic glasses for strain-sensing devices
Abstract By use of high strength, high elastic strain limit and low Young's modulus of bulk metallic glasses, strain-sensing devices were practically prepared and the performances of the trial products using the devices were investigated. As a result, a Coriolis mass flowmeter constructed from Ti–Cu-based bulk metallic glass pipe exhibits 28.5 times higher sensitivity than conventional flowmeters made from SUS316 pipe. A pressure sensor using a Zr-based bulk metallic glass diaphragm also exhibits 3.8 times higher sensitivity than the conventional sensor using SUS630 diaphragm. These results for the industrial products made of bulk metallic glasses are promising for future developments as industrial materials with high performance.
"Flying Triangulation" - a new optical 3D sensor enabling the acquisition of surfaces by freehand motion
In order to obtain complete 3D surface information of an object it is often necessary to acquire many partial 3D views. For this purpose, the sensor has to be moved (e.g. for the acquisition of sculptures or rooms). Further, in many cases a motion of the object relative to the sensor is unintended but inevitable (e.g. for medical applications such as intraoral measurements of teeth). Nearly all existing optical 3D sensors either lack an easy handling or require a standstill during the acquisition of a single partial 3D view, since usually multiple camera shots have to be taken for this purpose. This makes such measurements elaborate or even impossible.