Experimental and Numerical Studies on Self-Propagating High-Temperature Synthesis of Ta 5 Si 3 Intermetallics
Formation of Ta5Si3 by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) from elemental powder compacts of Ta:Si = 5:3 was experimentally and numerically studied. Experimental evidence showed that the increase of either sample density or preheating temperature led to the increase of combustion wave velocity and reaction temperature. The apparent activation energy, Ea ≈ 108 kJ/mol, was determined for the synthesis reaction. Based upon numerical simulation, the Arrhenius factor of the rate function, K0 = 2.5 × 10 s, was obtained for the 5Ta + 3Si combustion system. In addition, the influence of sample density on combustion wave kinetics was correlated with the effective thermal conductivity (keff) of the powder compact. By adopting 0.005 ≤ keff/kbulk ≤ 0.016 in the computation model, the calculated combustion velocity and temperature were in good agreement with experimental data of the samples with compaction densities between 35% and 45% theoretical maximum density (TMD).
Combustion Synthesis of MoSi2-Al2O3 Composites from Thermite-Based Reagents
Formation of MoSi2–Al2O3 composites with a broad range of the MoSi2/Al2O3 ratio was conducted by thermite-based combustion synthesis in the SHS mode. The addition of two thermite mixtures composed of MoO3 + 2Al and 0.6MoO3 + 0.6SiO2 + 2Al into the Mo–Si reaction systems facilitated self-sustaining combustion and contributed to in situ formation of MoSi2 and Al2O3. The samples adopting the former thermite reagent were more exothermic and produced composites with MoSi2/Al2O3 from 2.0 to 4.5, beyond which combustion failed to proceed. Because of lower exothermicity of the reactions, the final products with MoSi2/Al2O3 from 1.2 to 2.5 were fabricated from the SHS process involving the latter thermite mixture. Combustion temperatures of both reaction systems decreased from about 1640 to 1150 °C with increasing MoSi2/Al2O3 proportion, which led to a phase transition of MoSi2. It was found that the dominant silicide was β-MoSi2 when the combustion temperature of the synthesis reaction exceeded 1550 °C and shifted to α-MoSi2 as the combustion temperature fell below 1320 °C. The results of this study showed an energy-efficient fabrication route to tailor the phase and content of MoSi2 in the MoSi2–Al2O3 composite.
Chromatographic analysis of elastomer antidegradants and accelerators
Summary The use of various chromatographic methods in the analysis of all classes of elastomer antidegradants and accelerators is reviewed. The review of extraction methods is also included.