NiCr Research Articles

Ni–Cr dental alloys - porcelain firing impact on corrosion properties and surface characteristics

Biocompatibility is a critical aspect of the use of materials in the human body. The use of base metal alloys in dentistry is primarily regulated by health and safety standards set by regulatory authorities in various countries. The porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM) process applied to Ni-Cr dental alloys can alter their properties, particularly in terms of corrosion and surface characteristics. This study aimed to assess the effect of the heat processing used for dental porcelain firing on these properties. The two casted alloys: Ceramic N and Ivoclar Vivadent 4all, used in the study were characterized by analyzing the microstructure by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), composition with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), hardness, surface profile and electrochemical corrosion resistance (Ecorr, jcorr, polarization curve, Ebr and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results), as well as ions release before and after the simulated porcelain firing. Based on the conducted research the following conclusions can be drawn: Analyzes of the material characteristics before and after the simulation showed that the discussed process, although it does not cause the formation of chemical impurities on the surface of the alloys, results in changes in the chemical composition and structure of surface oxides, increases roughness and reduces hardness. The results of the corrosion examinations showed a deterioration in anti-corrosion properties after the simulation. The statistically significant decrease in corrosion resistance may result from the increased heterogeneity of the surface oxide layers and partial changes in their composition.

INFLUENCE OF COMPACTING PRESSURE AND SINTERING TEMPERATURE EFFECT ON MICROSTRUCTURE CHARACTERISTICS AND TRIBOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE OF NI–CR–MOS2-BASED COMPOSITE

INFLUENCE OF COMPACTING PRESSURE AND SINTERING TEMPERATURE EFFECT ON MICROSTRUCTURE CHARACTERISTICS AND TRIBOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE OF NI–CR–MOS₂-BASED COMPOSITE

Valorisation of Metallurgical Waste for Inorganic Pigments Production

AbstractFour industrial wastes, namely, tionite (T), iron grit (IG), electroplating sludge (ES), and mill scale (MS), are typically disposed of in controlled hazardous landfills because of their toxic content, posing potential harm to human health and to the environment. At the same time, the chemical composition of these wastes, specifically the nature and content of transition metals, makes them potentially attractive for reuse in pigments manufacturing. This work details the study of these residues for producing coloured perovskites to be tested as inorganic pigments. The residues were mixed, in different proportions, and subsequently calcined to produce the required structures. The colouring potential was then assessed in a ceramic paste and in a transparent glaze. Leaching tests were carried out to verify the effective immobilisation of the hazardous species. Dark pigments were successfully obtained from the mixtures of T: ES: Co3O4, T: MS and T: IG. The crystalline phases present in T: ES: Co3O4 are nickel–chromium iron oxide spinel–Fe1.5Cr0.5NiO4 (without Co) or trevorite–Fe2NiO4 (with Co), titanium nickel oxide–TiNiO3 and titanite–CaTiSiO5. The mixtures T: MS and T: IG presented hematite (Fe2O3) and pseudobrookite (Fe2TiO5). Leaching tests confirmed the non-hazardous or inert character of the synthesized pigments. Products showed brownish or greyish hues, depending on the pigment added. T:75ES_1100, T:73ES:2Co_1100, T:75MS_1000, T:75MS_1100 and T:75IG_1000 pigments can effectively and safely be used to colour ceramic paste replacing partially or totally the commercial pigments.

Corrosion behavior of new nuclear shielding Ni–Cr–W–Gd alloys in simulated spent nuclear fuel pool water

The novel Ni–Cr–W–Gd alloy have the gadolinium neutron absorption unit and the tungsten gamma ray shielding unit, which can be used for thermal neutron and gamma ray co-shielding. This Ni–Cr–W–Gd alloy have good strength and fracture elongation, however, its corrosion performance has not been reported yet. In this work, the corrosion behavior for Ni–Cr–W–Gd alloys was studied in the boric acid solution at 40 °C. Electrochemical measurement techniques, long-term immersion tests, corrosion morphology and composition analysis, and first principles calculation have been used. After 4000 h immersing, the maximum steady state corrosion rate among all alloys is only 0.3221 μm/yr. The increasing Gd promotes the increase in corrosion current density and make the weight loss of alloys more serve. Both the results of relative potential test and first principles calculation demonstrate the NiCrW matrix is the anode and Ni5Gd is the cathode in micro galvanic corrosion. The matrix around the interface of matrix/Ni5Gd suffer preferential anodic dissolution, resulting in the detachment of the Ni5Gd phase and formation of pores on the surfaces. The passive films are composed of Cr2O3 and WO3, moreover, the intensity of Gd2O3 increases with Gd content. This work contributes to the promotion of the novel alloys in spent fuel storage environments.

Scouring erosion resistance of metallic materials with composite microstructures

Slurry erosion can cause severe damage and often constitutes a significant portion of the total production cost in many industries such as oil sands and mining. The most commonly used materials for such applications are metallic materials having a composite microstructure consisting of hard reinforcement phases in a more ductile metal matrix. Typical examples are high chromium white irons and tungsten carbide welding overlays. The main purpose of this work is to evaluate the scouring erosion resistance of such materials for applications in handling fine sand slurries and to introduce a wear model to help understand the correlation between erosion resistance and the characteristics of microstructures.Five high chromium white cast irons and four spray and fusion coatings composed of cast tungsten carbide particles and Ni–Cr–B–Si–Fe matrix have been studied using a Coriolis scouring erosion tester in a fine sand slurry. The relationship between the erosion resistance and different microstructure parameters was explored. For the chromium white cast irons, the erosion resistance increased with increase in carbide volume fraction but the spray and fusion coatings showed the opposite trend, i.e., their erosion resistance decreased with increase in the carbide volume fraction. No clear correlation was found between erosion resistance and free path for the spray and fusion coatings while for the chromium white cast irons, the erosion resistance was found to increase rather than decrease with increase in free path.To help explain the experimental results, a wear model has been proposed for the wear resistance of composite microstructures composed of a reinforcement phase (RP) and a metal matrix. In the model, the wear surface of the material is distinguished by four different features/regions, each having unique wear resistance. The rule of mixtures (ROM) for wear resistance is applied to formulate the wear resistance of the material with the above four wear surface features. It is shown that the results can be reasonably well explained based on the proposed model by using the total edge length, L, of the RP particles exposed on a unit area of the wear surface.

Oxidation behaviors of a Ni–Cr–W based superalloy with different microstructures

Oxidation behaviors of a Ni–Cr–W based superalloy were investigated in terms of microstructural characteristics. It was found that the specimens with small grains present a better oxidation resistance owing to their higher density of grain boundaries. Based on analyses of the products of oxidation, the oxidation kinetics, the morphologies and the structures of oxide scales, the oxidation mechanisms correlated with the outward diffusions of metal cations were proposed. The results of this work indicated that grain refinement is one of effective measures to enhance the oxidation resistance of the investigated alloy.

Accelerating the development of Fe–Co–Ni–Cr system HEAs with high hardness by deep learning based on Bayesian optimization

Accelerating the development of Fe–Co–Ni–Cr system HEAs with high hardness by deep learning based on Bayesian optimization

First-principles and cluster expansion study of the effect of magnetism on short-range order in Fe–Ni–Cr austenitic stainless steels

Short-range order (SRO), the regular and predictable arrangement of atoms over short distances, alters the mechanical properties of technologically relevant structural materials such as medium/high entropy alloys and austenitic stainless steels. In this study, we present a generalized spin cluster expansion (CE) model and show that magnetism is a primary factor influencing the level of SRO present in austenitic Fe–Ni–Cr alloys. The spin CE consists of a chemical cluster expansion combined with an Ising model for Fe–Ni–Cr austenitic alloys. It explicitly accounts for local magnetic exchange interactions, thereby capturing the effects of finite temperature magnetism on SRO. Model parameters are obtained by fitting to a first-principles data set comprising both chemically and magnetically diverse face-centered cubic configurations. The magnitude of the magnetic exchange interactions are found to be comparable to the chemical interactions. Compared to a conventional implicit magnetism CE built from only magnetic ground state configurations, the spin CE shows improved performance on several experimental benchmarks over a broad spectrum of compositions, particularly at higher temperatures due to the explicit treatment of magnetic disorder. We find that SRO is strongly influenced by alloy Cr content, since Cr atoms prefer to align antiferromagnetically with nearest neighbors but become magnetically frustrated with increasing Cr concentration. Using the spin CE, we predict that increasing the Cr concentration in typical austenitic stainless steels promotes the formation of SRO and increases order–disorder transition temperatures. This study underscores the significance of considering magnetic interactions explicitly when exploring the thermodynamic properties of complex transition metal alloys. It also highlights guidelines for customizing SRO through adjustments of alloy composition.

Metal-support spin orders: Crucial effect on electrocatalytic oxygen reduction

Magnetic property (e.g. spin order) of support is of great importance in the rational design of heterogeneous catalysts. Herein, we have taken the Ni-supported ferromagnetic (FM) CrBr3 support (Nix/CrBr3) to thoroughly investigate the effect of spin-order on electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) via spin-polarized density functional theory calculations. Specifically, Ni loading induces anti-FM coupling in Ni–Cr, leading to a transition from FM-to-ferrimagnetic (FIM) properties, while Ni–Ni metallic bonds create a robust FM direct exchange, benefiting the improvement of the phase transition temperature. Interestingly, with the increase in Ni loading, the easy magnetic axis changes from out-of-plane (2D-Heisenberg) to in-plane (2D-XY). The adsorption properties of Nix/CrBr3, involving O2 adsorption energy and configuration, are not governed by the d-band center but strongly correlate with magnetic anisotropy. It is noteworthy that the applied potential and electrolyte acidity triggers spin-order transition phenomena during the ORR and induces the catalytic pathway change from 4e− ORR to 2e− ORR with the excellent onset potential of 0.93 V/reversible hydrogen electrode, comparable to the existing most excellent noble-metal catalysts. Generally, these findings offer new avenues to understand and design heterogeneous catalysts with magnetic support.

Study on seawater corrosion resistance of copper alloy

Abstract The Marine environment is a very complex and corrosive environment. Marine corrosion environment can be generally divided into Marine atmospheric environment and seawater environment. Because the seawater is rich in a variety of free ions mixed with corrosive media, the main component is sodium chloride, in addition to containing magnesium, potassium, iodine, bromine, and other elements of salt, which has strong corrosion to metal materials, if serious, it will cause safety accidents. Therefore, ensuring the effectiveness of the anticorrosion system is very important for the safe and reliable operation of the offshore platform. pulse plating is used and the metal nickel coating and metal nickel-chromium coating are prepared to analyze the microstructure and corrosion resistance of each film layer. From the macroscopic, it can be found that three coatings have more or less corrosion phenomenon, there is obviously no nickel-chromium and nickel layer on the surface of nickel-chromium corrosion defects, and through scanning electron microscopic observation, microscopic level nickel chromium corrosion after corrosion phenomenon is the least of three layers, which suggests that nickel chromium seawater corrosion resistance is strong. The three layers are then electrochemical corroded to study the corrosion resistance of the three layers. The results show that the corrosion resistance of the nickel-plated layer, nickel-chromium coating, and nickel-iron chromium coating prepared in the copper substrate is improved successively, which shows the influence of different membrane elements on the corrosion resistance of copper substrate against seawater medium. Although the composition parameters of the various membrane layers vary, they experience the same corrosion mechanism-pitting; Nickel chromium and chromium, iron and other atoms are present in the nickel matrix in the form of solid solution and finally form the solid solution alloy coating. For nickel-chromium coating, the content of iron and chromium in the surface layer has a certain influence on the corrosion resistance of the metal coating. The electrochemical parameters of nickel plating are studied separately, and the comparison with the nickel-chromium alloy coating and the coating is conducted. The equivalent circuit is fitted and determines the largest impedance value and the largest phase Angle among the three membrane layers, which finally has the strongest seawater corrosion resistance.

The effect of MoS2 concentration on the thickness and tribology performance of electro-codeposited Ni–Cr–MoS2 coatings

A Ni–Cr–MoS2 coating with trivalent Cr was prepared on the surface of the cylinder liner by the composite co-deposition method to modify its tribology performance. The effects of MoS2 concentration on the properties of the coatings and tribological properties of cylinder liners were studied by surface detection methods and reciprocating wear tests. The results show that Ni–Cr–MoS2 coating has a smaller grain size, higher micro-hardness, and greater coating thickness, compared with Ni–Cr coating. Doping by MoS2 effectively reduces the friction coefficient of Ni–Cr coating from 0.142 to 0.107, the wear amount of coating decreases from 7.9 mg to 7.1 mg, and the scuffing time increases from 19 min to 56 min. It is found that the doping of MoS2 provided more nucleation sites and promoted the deposition of ions, which resulted in the refined grain and thicker coating. The formation of solid lubrication film by MoS2 during the wear process and more coating thickness are mainly responsible for the modification of the tribology performance of cylinder liners. This research provides a practical approach to prolong the service life of friction pairs.

Evaluation of hydraulic conductivity and self-healing potential of punctured geosynthetic clay liner

ABSTRACT An experimental study was conducted on the modified geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) specimen by replacing encapsulated Sodium Bentonite (Na-B) with different percentages of locally available black cotton soil (BCS). The specimens with punctured hole sizes of 4, 8, and 12 mm in diameter were tested for hydraulic conductivity and self-healing capacity assessed by improved triaxial apparatus. The flowing permeant was prepared with the heavy metals: iron, zinc, nickel, and total chromium based on the results of the chemical analysis of leachate collected from the municipal solid waste site (MSW). The experiment results were observed at 24, 48 and 72 hours. The results were analysed to identify the best specimen mix (Na-B and BCS) regarding the lowest hydraulic conductivity and highest self-healing potential. The results demonstrated that BCS can be utilized in modified GCL as an impermeable barrier for leachate percolation at the MSW dump site.

Low temperature activation of methane to hydrogen depending on tailored electron transfer over Ni–Cr composite oxide

Current industrial use of methane depends mainly on high-temperature conversion, resulting in high energy consumption and catalyst sintering inactivation. In this paper, metal oxide catalysts with different Ni/Cr ratios were obtained by the sol-gel method for the methane activation reaction. The structure-property relationships of the catalysts were investigated by XRD, XPS, H2-TPR, TG, N2 adsorption-desorption, and CV, focusing on the interaction between Ni–Cr in the composite oxide catalysts. The results showed that Ni0–NiCrO3/Cr2O3 structure was formed after the Ni–Cr oxides underwent the reduction and calcination process, which provided a structural support for electron transfer between the two metals. The least prone to sintering nickel metal particles and the highest content of high-valent chromium ions were present in Ni1Cr2. XPS confirmed that this counterpart acts as the donor and acceptor for electron transfer in the catalysts, accelerating oxidation-reduction reaction over the catalyst. The catalyst exhibited the most excellent conversion and product selectivity in the methane activation reaction.

Utilizing Random Forest algorithm for identifying mafic and ultramafic rocks in the Gameleira Suite, Archean-Paleoproterozoic basement of the Brasília Belt, Brazil

Geological mapping techniques have continuously advanced, particularly with the increasing use of remote data acquisition methods, such as aerogeophysical data analysis and the use of machine learning techniques, both has become essential for mapping and understanding geological environments. Mafic-ultramafic bodies, which may be linked to metallic ore deposits, can be mapped using these innovative techniques. In Brazil, the Tocantins Province is reknown for its primary Cu–Co–Ni–Cr ore deposits, which are found in mafic-ultramafic rocks. The Tocantins Province contains several mafic-ultramafic bodies that have received less attention than the well-known deposits in the Brasília Belt. The Gameleira Suite is a geological unit located in the basement of the North Brasília Belt. Our study aims to use machine learning to identify new potential mafic-ultramafic occurrences in the Gameleira Suite. To achieve this, aerogeophysical surveys data, including magnetometry and radiometry, were used in conjunction with remote sensing. The data collected from aerogeophysics surveys were compiled into a database. The Random Forest algorithm was used to analyze this database, with 1.96% (from a total of 84.535 samples) used for training and generating the predictive map. Three approaches were used to verify and evaluate the data: analyzing magnetic lineaments to assess the influence of structural tectonic factors on body positioning, collecting field samples, and utilizing Magnetic Vector Inversion (MVI) to analyze the magnetic properties of the projected bodies at depth. This was done because the Gameleira Suite bodies display magnetic remanence. Our findings suggest that the utilization of these methods, in conjunction with the verification techniques employed, aids in the mapping and identification of mafic-ultramafic rocks. Machine learning can improve cartography by identifying new occurrences or indicating areas that need more detailed mapping. The use of additional geological knowledge and information not included in the model is crucial because the predictive map does not inherently represent geological truth. It is necessary to interpret the results from a geological perspective.

Friction and wear properties of wide-velocity range high-energy plasma sprayed CuSn–NiCr solid self-lubricating coatings under heavy load

As one of important copper-based solid self-lubricating coatings, the low wear resistance of Cu–Sn coatings greatly limits its application in some heavy-duty cases. In the present work, two types of CuSn–NiCr composite powders designed by electroless plating (E-CN) and mechanical mixing (M − CN) methods, respectively. The friction and wear properties of wide-velocity range high-energy plasma sprayed CuSn–NiCr coatings were studied. The results suggested that, the fracture toughness of E-CN and M − CN coatings increased by 1.38 times and 1.55 times compared with as-sprayed Cu–Sn coatings, and the wear rate decreased by 29 % and 50 % correspondingly. Due to the tribofilm formation and micro-pores storage effect, the M − CN coating with 10 wt% addition ratio of Ni–Cr phase exhibited the lowest friction coefficient and the smallest wear rate. With the increase of Ni–Cr phase, the wear mechanism was transformed from adhesive to abrasive, and accompanied by fatigue step-shaped spallation. Friction and wear model of the CuSn–NiCr coatings was divided into rapid, stable and declining stages.

Catalytic activity of Ni–Cr–Fe–Mo porous materials for hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline media

The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) based on water electrolysis represents an ideal approach for hydrogen production. The advancement of highly active non-precious metal catalysts holds paramount importance. This research employed powder metallurgy sintering to prepare Ni–Cr–Fe and Ni–Cr–Fe–Mo porous materials. It investigated the impact of Mo doping and sintering temperature on the catalytic activity and microstructural influence of hydrogen evolution materials. Furthermore, the materials' electrochemical performance and long-term stability in 6 mol/L KOH were examined. In complicated systems, the current work provides a feasible method for producing hydrogen from Ni–Cr–Fe–Mo porous materials in a strong alkali environment. The results exhibited that when Mo content is 5% and the sintering temperature is 800 °C, the porosity of Ni–Cr–Fe–Mo porous materials is up to 39.9% and the catalytic activity is up to 97%. At the same time, the current density decays to 7.1% after 1000 cycles of electrolysis and shows good HER stability after 48 h. The enhanced catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution emanated from the positive synergy among the transition metal elements.

Refinement of Microstructure and Enhancement of Wear Resistance of Ni–Cr Cast Iron by NbC

This article investigates the influence of niobium addition on the microstructure and properties of Ni–Cr cast iron. In situ observations and analysis of phase precipitation during solidification are conducted through a high‐temperature laser scanning confocal microscope and Thermo‐Calc software. The refining mechanism of the microstructure and the enhancement of wear resistance by NbC are explored. The results indicate that with an increase in Nb content, the precipitation temperature of NbC particles gradually rises. When the niobium content exceeds 0.2%, NbC becomes the first precipitated phase during the solidification of the liquid phase. NbC particles can serve as heterogeneous nucleus for austenite, refining the grain structure of Ni–Cr cast iron. The existence of NbC particles within the grain impedes the elongation of martensite and bainite bundles while providing additional nucleation sites to accelerate the phase transformation. The grain refinement and the obstructive influence of NbC particles collectively induce a more disordered bainitic structure. Moreover, the exceptional hardness of NbC particles effectively safeguards the matrix from abrasion, consequently enhancing the wear resistance of Ni–Cr cast iron.

Processing and characterization of beryllium free Ni–Cr–Mo biomaterial doped with cerium, boron and titanium for dental applications

Dental restoration has been a major concern of healthcare since centuries. Several alloys are in use for dental prostheses including Ni–Cr–Mo alloy. The Ni–Cr–Mo alloy has advantage of economy and density over other alloys, while possessing equivalent corrosion and biocompatibility characteristics. However, beryllium in Ni–Cr–Mo dental casting alloys has associated health hazards, being carcinogenic. In this research Ni–Cr–Mo alloys with minor additions of boron (0.2 wt %), cerium (0.4 wt %) and titanium (2 wt %), to replace beryllium were developed through vacuum induction melting and investment casting technique. Manufacturing steps are detailed for the alloy development to have medically clean alloy, suitable for biomedical applications. The cast alloy samples were tested for microstructure, phases, melting temperatures, wear and corrosion characteristics. Corrosion and wear test results demonstrate that the composition with minor addition of cerium had a significant effect to have low corrosion rate (25.92 × 10−3 mills per year), low wear rate (0.04 × 10−4 mm3/N.m) and lowest coefficient of friction.

Microstructure and Properties Characteristics of Ni–25Cr–10Fe–xSi (x = 1, 2, 3, 4) Alloys for Waste Incineration Equipment

Microstructure and Properties Characteristics of Ni–25Cr–10Fe–xSi (x = 1, 2, 3, 4) Alloys for Waste Incineration Equipment

Effects of rare earth oxides on wear resistance and corrosion resistance of 316L/TiC composite coating by laser cladding

In this paper, 316L/TiC composite coatings with different kinds of REOs (Y2O3, La2O3, CeO2, PrO2, Nd2O3) at identical contents (2%) were prepared on S355 marine steel using the laser cladding technology. The surface morphology, phase composition, microhardness, coefficient of friction curve (COF), Tafel curve and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) impedance of the test specimens were studied with such instruments as scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), X-ray diffractometer, Vickers microhardness tester, friction and wear tester, and multi-channel electrochemical workstation. The results show that the coating with REO added owns increased thickness and is uniform and dense without such defects as crack, and hole. The microstructure evolution mechanism of the coating from the bottom up is as follows: Cellular crystal, planar crystal → columnar crystal → equiaxed crystal. The phase composition of the coating with REO added remains unchanged, and is still Ni–Cr–Fe austenite phase and TiC phase. Further comparison shows that the coating with Nd2O3 added owns improved hardness, with a mean hardness of 3 times that of the substrate, and has a COF decreasing to 0.69, with wear loss becoming small. The coating with Nd2O3 added has the largest Ecorr, the smallest Icorr, large Z value and phase angle, the greatest Rct, and an nct value of 1, indicating that the coating has dense passivation film and small corrosion tendency, with low corrosion rate. Therefore, this study provides reference experimental and theoretical bases for application of 316L/TiC composite coating with Nd2O3 added at 2% in surface strengthening and repair of steel for marine engineering equipment.