Pitch precursors affording excellent spinnability, high-level oxidation-resistance, and good carbonization yields were prepared by bromination–dehydrobromination of various ratios of pyrolyzed fuel oil and coal tar pitch. The pitches exhibited spinnabilities that were much better than those of pitches prepared via simple distillation. A pitch prepared using a 1:2 ratio of fuel oil and coal tar pitch exhibited the best tensile strength. Pitch fibers of diameter 8.9 ± 0.1 μm were stabilized at 270 °C without soaking time after heating at a rate of 0.5 °C/min and carbonized at 1100 °C for 1 h after heating at 5 °C/min. The resulting carbon fibers exhibited a tensile strength, elongation, Young’s modulus, and average diameter of 1700 ± 170 MPa, 1.6 ± 0.1%, 106 ± 37 GPa, and 7.1 ± 0.2 μm, respectively.

한국원자력연구원 부지 내에 위치한 지하처분연구시설(KAERI Underground Research Tunnel, KURT) 에서는 선진핵주기 고준위폐기물처분시스템(A-KRS)을 기반으로 고준위방사성폐기물을 처분하였을때, 예상되는 공학적방벽(Engineered Barrier System, EBS)과 자연방벽(Natural Barrier System, NBS)에서의 열-수리-역학적 복합거동(Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical coupled behavior)의 특성을 규명하고자 현장시험(In-situ Demonstration of Engineered Barrier System, In-DEBS)을 2012년부터 계획 및 설계를 시작하여, 2016년 5월부터 지하처분연구시설 3번 연구 갤러리(Research gallery 3)에서 진행하고 있다. 현장시험의 데이터를 분석하고 열-수리-역학적 복합거동 특성을 명확히 규명하기 위해서는 경주 벤토나이트와 KURT 암석 및 암반의 열적, 수리적, 그리고 역학적 물성 특성을 반드시 파악하고 있어야만 한다. 이에 본 연구에서는 지금까지 수행된 KURT 부지 특성과 KURT 화강암 및 경주 벤토나이트의 열적, 수리적, 그리고 역학적 특성을 정리하고, 열적, 수리적, 그리고 역학적 모델을 제시하였다. 특히, 온도에 따른 암석의 열팽창계수 변화, 응력에 따른 암석의 투수계수 변화, 포화도에 따른 벤토나이트 및 암석의 열전도도 변화, 포화도에 따른 벤토나이트의 비열 및 흡입력 변화와 같은 열-수리-역학적 복합물성에 대한 다양한 모델을 도출함으로써, In-DEBS 현장시험 결과 분석과 열-수리-역학적 복합거동 특성 평가를 위해 수행 될 수치시험에 필요한 벤토나이트와 암석 및 암반의 입력자료를 제시하고자 하였다.

Oxide-dispersion-strengthened (ODS) alloy has been developed to increase the mechanical strength of metallic materials; such an improvement can be realized by distributing fine oxide particles within the material matrix. In this study, the ODS layer was formed in the surface region of Zr-based alloy tubes by laser beam treatment. Two kinds of Zr-based alloys with different alloying elements and microstructures were used: KNF-M (recrystallized) and HANA-6 (partial recrystallized). To form the ODS layer, Y2O3-coated tubes were scanned by a laser beam, which induced penetration of Y2O3 particles into the substrates. The thickness of the ODS layer varied from 20 to 55 μm depending on the laser beam conditions. A heat affected zone developed below the ODS layer; its thickness was larger in the KNF-M alloy than in the HANA-6 alloy. The ring tensile strengths of the KNF-M and HANA-6 alloy samples increased more than two times and 20–50%, respectively. This procedure was effective to increase the strength while maintaining the ductility in the case of the HANA-6 alloy samples; however, an abrupt brittle facture was observed in the KNF-M alloy samples. It is considered that the initial microstructure of the materials affects the formation of ODS and the mechanical behavior.

This study examines the role of the nano- and micro-particle ratio in dispersion stability and mechanical properties of composite resins for SLA(stereolithography) 3D printing technology. VTES(vinyltriethoxysilane)-coated ZrO2 ceramic particles with different nano- and micro-particle ratios are prepared by a hydrolysis and condensation reaction and then dispersed in commercial photopolymer (High-temp) based on interpenetrating networks(IPNs). The coating characteristics of VTES-coated ZrO2 particles are observed by FE-TEM and FT-IR. The rheological properties of VTEScoated ZrO2/High-temp composite solution with different particle ratios are investigated by rheometer, and the dispersion properties of the composite solution are confirmed by relaxation NMR and Turbiscan. The mechanical properties of 3Dprinted objects are measured by a tensile test and nanoindenter. To investigate the aggregation and dispersion properties of VTES-coated ZrO2 ceramic particles with different particle ratios, we observe the cross-sectional images of 3D printed objects using FE-SEM. The 3D printed objects of the composite solution with nano-particles of 80 % demonstrate improved mechanical characteristics.

In this study, three kinds of bainitic steel plates are manufactured by varying the chemical compositions and their microstructures are analyzed. Tensile and Charpy impact tests are performed at room and low temperature to investigate the correlation between microstructure and mechanical properties. In addition, heat affected zone (HAZ) specimens are fabricated by a simulation of welding processes, and the HAZ microstructure is analyzed. The base steel that has the lowest carbon equivalent has the highest volume fraction of acicular ferrite and the lowest volume fraction of secondary phases, so the strength is the lowest and the elongation is the highest. The Mo steel has a higher volume fraction of granular bainite and more secondary phases than the base steel, so the strength is high and the elongation is low. The CrNi steel has the highest volume fraction of the secondary phases, so the strength is the highest and elongation is the lowest. The tensile properties of the steels, namely, strength and elongation, have a linear correlation with the volume fraction of secondary phases. The Mo steel has the lowest Charpy impact energy at -80 oC because of coarse granular bainite. In the Base-HAZ and Mo-HAZ specimens, the hardness increases as the volume fraction of martensite-austenite constituents increases. In the CrNi-HAZ specimen, however, hardness increases as the volume fraction of martensite and bainitic ferrite increases.

The microstructure, phase, and mechanical properties of three aged porcelain insulators which were manufactured in different years (1973, 1995 and 2008) and which were used in the field for different amounts of time, were investigated. With X-ray 3D computed tomography (CT), defects with ~mm size can be detected without destroying the aged insulators. Defects of small specimens, which are cut from the aged insulators and polished, are analyzed with optical and scanning electron microscopy (OM and SEM), and defects of um size are detected by OM and SEM. The number and size of defects in all the aged insulators are similar. Porcelain insulators manufactured in 1973 contain more SiO2 (quartz and cristobalite) than those manufactured in 2008. Those manufactured in 2008 contain more Al2O3 than those manufactured earlier. The Vickers hardness of the insulator manufactured in 1973 has the lowest value. The formation of the cristobalite (SiO2) in the insulator manufactured in 1973 which can come from the phase transformation of quartz can cause stress in the insulator by formation of microcracks, which can lead to the low hardness of the insulator.

In the current steel structures of high-rise buildings, high heat input welding techniques are used to improve productivity in the construction industry. Under the high heat input welding, however, the microstructures of the weld metal (WM) and heat-affected zone (HAZ) coarsen, resulting in the deterioration of impact toughness. This study focuses mainly on the effects of fine TiN precipitates dispersed in steel plates and B addition in welding materials on grain refinement of the HAZ microstructure under submerged arc welding (SAW) with a high heat input of 200 kJ/cm. The study reveals that, different from that in conventional steel, the γ grain coarsening is notably retarded in the coarse grain HAZ (CGHAZ) of a newly developed steel with TiN precipitates below 70 nm in size even under the high heat input welding, and the refinement of HAZ microstructure is confirmed to have improved impact toughness. Furthermore, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analyses demonstrate that B is was identified at the interface of TiN in CGHAZ. It is likely that B atoms in the WM are diffused to CGHAZ and are segregated at the outer part of undissolved TiN, which contributes partly to a further grain refinement, and consequently, improved mechanical properties are achieved.

We evaluate the properties of friction welded STK400 steel tube in terms of the relationship between microstructures and mechanical properties. Friction welding is conducted at a rotation speed of 1,600 rpm and upset time of 3-7 sec for different thicknesses of STK 400 tubes. To analyse the grain boundary characteristic distributions(GBCDs) in the welded zone, electron backscattering diffraction(EBSD) method is introduced. The results show that a decrease in welding time (3 sec.) creates a notable increase grain refinement so that the average grain size decreases from 15.1 μm in the base material to 4.5 μm in the welded zone. These refined grains achieve significantly enhanced microhardness and a slightly higher yield and higher tensile strengths than those of the base material. In particular, all the tensile tested specimens experience a fracture aspect at the base material zone but not at the welded zone, which means a soundly welded state for all conditions

본 연구에서는 Cellulose Nano-Crystals (CNCs) 수용액을 이용하여 시멘트 페이스트의 강도 향상에 대한 실험을 수행하고 이 연구결과를 토대로 하여 CNC 혼입에 따른 섬유보강 고인성 시멘트 복합체의 강도 특성에 관한 실험을 진행하였다. 먼저, CNC의 최적 배합비를 결정하기 위한 일환으로, 골재를 포함하지 않은 시멘트 페이스트의 강도 특성을 비교하기 위해 CNC 혼입율에 따라 수용액을 제조하였다. CNC 혼입율은 시멘트 대비 0.1, 0.2, 0.4 vol.%를 주요 변수로 하였고, 이에 따른 휨강도는 0.4 vol.%에서 플레인 시험체와 비교시 최대 8 배까지 강도가 증가하는 것을 확인할 수 있었다. 이 연구결과와 기존 연구결과를 토대로 하여, 본 연구에서는 0.4, 0.8 및 1.2 vol.%의 CNC 혼입율을 주요변수로 한 강섬유와 아마섬유를 활용한 섬유보강 고인성 시멘트 복합체 시험체를 제작한 후 역학적 강도 특성을 평가하여 섬유보강 고인성 시멘트 복합체의 구조적 성능을 규명하였다.

H13 tool steels are widely used as metallic mold materials due to their high hardness and thermal stability. Recently, many studies are undertaken to satisfy the demands for manufacturing the complex shape of the mold using a 3D printing technique. It is reported that the mechanical properties of 3D printed materials are lower than those of commercial forged alloys owing to micropores. In this study, we investigate the effect of microstructures and defects on mechanical properties in the 3D printed H13 tool steels. H13 tool steel is fabricated using a selective laser melting(SLM) process with a scan speed of 200 mm/ s and a layer thickness of 25 μm. Microstructures are observed and porosities are measured by optical and scanning electron microscopy in the X-, Y-, and Z-directions with various the build heights. Tiny keyhole type pores are observed with a porosity of 0.4%, which shows the lowest porosity in the center region. The measured Vickers hardness is around 550 HV and the yield and tensile strength are 1400 and 1700 MPa, respectively. The tensile properties are predicted using two empirical equations through the measured values of the Vickers hardness. The prediction of tensile strength has high accuracy with the experimental data of the 3D printed H13 tool steel. The effects of porosities and unmelted powders on mechanical properties are also elucidated by the metallic fractography analysis to understand tensile and fracture behavior.

This investigates the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al hybrid material prepared by electromagnetic duo-casting to determine the effect of heat treatment. The hybrid material is composed of an Al-Mg-Si alloy, pure Al and the interface between the Al-Mg-Si alloy and pure Al. It is heat-treated at 373, 573 and 773K for 1h and T6 treated (solution treatment at 773K for 1h and aging at 433K for 5h). As the temperature increases, the grain size of the Al-Mg-Si alloy in the hybrid material increases. The grain size of the T6 treated Al-Mg-Si alloy is similar to that of one heat-treated at 773K for 1h. The interface region where the micro-hardness becomes large from the pure Al to the Al-Mg-Si alloy widens with an increasing heat temperature. The hybrid material with a macro-interface parallel to the tensile direction experiences increased tensile strength, 0.2% proof stress and the decreased elongation after T6 heat treatment. On the other hand, in the vertical direction to the tensile direction, there is no great difference with heat treatment. The bending strength of the hybrid material with a long macro-interface to the bending direction is higher than that with a short macro-interface, which is improved by heat treatment. The hybrid material with a long macro-interface to the bending direction is fractured by cracking through the eutectic structure in the Al-Mg-Si alloy. However, in the hybrid material with a short macro-interface, the bending deformation is observed only in the limited pure Al.

Intermetallic compound matrix composites have been expected to be established as high temperature structural components. Ni3Al is a representative intermetallic alloy, which has excellent ductility even at room temperature by adding certain alloying elements. Ni3Al matrix composites with aluminum oxide particles, which are formed by the in-situ reaction between the alloy and aluminum borate whiskers, are fabricated by a powder metallurgical method. The addition of aluminum borate whiskers disperses the synthetic aluminum oxide particles during sintering and dramatically increases the strength of the composite. The uniform dispersion of reaction synthesized aluminum oxide particles and the uniform solution of boron in the matrix seem to play an important role in the improvement in strength. There is a dramatic increase in strength with the addition of the whisker, and the maximum value is obtained at a 10 vol% addition of whisker. The Ni3Al composite with 10 vol% aluminum oxide particles 0.3 μm in size and with 0.1 wt% boron powder fabricated by the conventional powder metallurgical process does not have such high strength because of inhomogeneous distribution of aluminum oxide particles and of boron. The tensile strength of the Ni3Al with a 10 vol% aluminum borate whisker reaches more than twice the value, 930 MPa, of the parent alloy. No third phase is observed between the aluminum oxide and the matrix.

This study investigates the effects of isothermal holding temperature and time on the microstructure, hardness and Charpy impact properties of medium-carbon bainitic steel specimens. Medium-carbon steel specimens with different bainitic microstructures are fabricated by varying the isothermal conditions and their microstructures are characterized using OM, SEM and EBSD analysis. Hardness and Charpy impact tests are also performed to examine the correlation of microstructure and mechanical properties. The microstructural analysis results reveal that granular bainite, bainitic ferrite, lath martensite and retained austenite form differently in the specimens. The volume fraction of granular bainite and bainitic ferrite increases as the isothermal holding temperature increases, which decreases the hardness of specimens isothermally heat-treated at 300 ℃ or higher. The specimens isothermally heat-treated at 250 ℃ exhibit the highest hardness due to the formation of lath martensite, irrespective of isothermal holding time. The Charpy impact test results indicate that increasing isothermal holding time improves the impact toughness because of the increase in volume fraction of granular bainite and bainitic ferrite, which have a relatively soft microstructure compared to lath martensite for specimens isothermally heat-treated at 250 ℃ and 300 ℃.

In this study, three kinds of steels are manufactured by varying the rolling conditions, and their microstructures are analyzed. Tensile and Charpy impact tests are performed at room temperature to investigate the correlation between microstructure and mechanical properties. In addition, heat affected zone(HAZ) specimens are fabricated through the simulation of the welding process, and the HAZ microstructure is analyzed. The Charpy impact test of the HAZ specimens is performed at -40 oC to investigate the low temperature HAZ toughness. The main microstructures of steels are quasi-polygonal ferrite and pearlite with fine grains. Because coarse granular bainite forms with an increasing finish rolling temperature, the strength decreases and elongation increases. In the steel with the lowest reduction ratio, coarse granular bainite forms. In the HAZ specimens, fine acicular ferrites are the main features of the microstructure. The volume fraction of coarse bainitic ferrite and granular bainite increases with an increasing finish rolling temperature. The Charpy impact energy at -40 oC decreases with an increasing volume fraction of bainitic ferrite and granular bainite. In the HAZ specimen with the lowest reduction ratio, coarse bainitic ferrite and granular bainite forms and the Charpy impact energy at -40 oC is the lowest.

This paper presents a study of the microstructure and mechanical properties of commercial high-hardness armor (HHA) steels tempered at different temperatures. Although the as-received specimens of all the steels exhibit a tempered martensite structure with lath type morphology, the A steel, which has the smallest carbon content, had the lowest hardness due to reduced solid solution hardening and larger lath thickness, irrespective of tempering conditions. As the tempering temperature increases, the hardness of the steels steadily decreases because dislocation density decreases and the lath thickness of martensite increases due to recovery and over-aging effects. When the variations in hardness plotted as a function of tempering temperature are compared with the hardness of the as-received specimens, it seems that the B steel, which has the highest yield and tensile strengths, is fabricated by quenching, while the other steels are fabricated by quenching and tempering. On the other hand, the impact properties of the steels are affected by specimen orientation and test temperature as well as microstructure. Based on these results, the effect of tempering on the microstructure and mechanical properties of commercial high-hardness armor steels is discussed.

This study is conducted as a preliminary research to verify the feasibility of Ti-based Oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloy. Pure-Ti powder is mixed with Y2O3 powder and subsequently, mechanically alloyed at -150oC. The Ti-based ODS powder is hot-isostatically pressed and subsequently hot-rolled for recrystallization. The microstructure consists of elongated grains and Y excess fine particles. The oxide particle size is larger than that of the typical Febased ODS steel. Tensile test shows that the tensile ductility is approximately 25%, while the strength is significantly higher than that of pure Ti. The high-temperature hardness of the Ti-ODS alloy is also significantly higher than that of pure Ti at all temperatures, while being lower than that of Ti-6Al-4V. The dimple structure is well developed, and no evidence of cleavage fracture surface is observed in the fracture surface of the tensile specimen.

Particle size reduction is an important step in many technological operations. The process itself is defined as the mechanical breakdown of solids into smaller particles to increase the surface area and induce defects in solids, which are needed for subsequent operations such as chemical reactions. To fabricate nano-sized particles, several tens to hundreds of micron size ceramic beads, formed through high energy milling process, are required. To minimize the contamination effects during highenergy milling, the mechanical properties of zirconia beads are very important. Generally, the mechanical properties of Y2O3 stabilized tetragonal zirconia beads are closely related to the mechanism of phase change from tetragonal to monoclinic phase via external mechanical forces. Therefore, Y2O3 distribution in the sintered zirconia beads must also be closely related with the mechanical properties of the beads. In this work, commercially available 100μm-size beads are analyzed from the point of view of microstructure, composition homogeneity (especially for Y2O3), mechanical properties, and attrition rate.