Advances in Composite Materials and Composite Coatings

A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352). This special issue belongs to the section "Hybrid and Composite Crystalline Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 July 2021) | Viewed by 7112

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Raytheon Chair in Manufacturing, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Interests: nanotech metallurgy; solidification processing; nanotechnology-enabled phase control; metal matrix nanocomposites
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor

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Guest Editor
Institute of Material Technology, Poznan University of Technology, 3 Piotrowo Street, PL-60-965 Poznan, Poland
Interests: crystallization of aluminum and ferrous alloys; microstructure; metal composite castings; non-destructive-testing; simulation of microstructure formation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Metal and polymer composite materials have unique properties. The matrix type, reinforcing phase, as well as the method of manufacturing can significantly affect the final properties of material. Reinforcing materials and coatings using micro- and nanoparticles as well as modern casting methods with controlled crystallization processes, additive manufacturing, and laser processing can be widely used in industrial applications. During all these processes, interesting phenomena of crystal growth as well as the formation of new, previously unobtained microstructures can be observed. The mechanical and physicochemical properties obtained by these innovative processes are also important.

We invite researchers to contribute to this Special Issue on “Advances in Composite Materials and Composite Coatings”, which is intended to serve as a unique multidisciplinary forum focused on the production, properties, and application of composite materials and composite coatings. The potential topics include but are not limited to:

  • Additive manufacturing;
  • Metal and polymer nanomaterials and composite nanomaterials;
  • Production and properties of cast composite materials;
  • Production and properties of composite coatings;
  • Laser processing and laser manufacturing of composite materials and coatings;
  • Testing the properties of composite materials and composite coatings;
  • Crystal growth analysis in modern composites and composite coatings;
  • Microstructure and phase analysis of composite materials and composite coatings.

Prof. Dr. Xiaochun Li
Dr. Dariusz Bartkowski
Dr. Jakub Hajkowski
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Crystals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Composite materials
  • Composite coatings
  • Nanomaterials
  • Nanomanufacturing
  • Additive manufacturing
  • Laser processing
  • Microstructure
  • Crystal growth
  • Carbides
  • Crystallization of alloys
  • Metal composite castings
  • Microstructure simulation

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

5 pages, 1681 KiB  
Article
Ab Initio Investigation of Helium Mobility in La2Zr2O7 Pyrochlore
by Yanxia Lu, Qing Peng and Chenguang Liu
Crystals 2021, 11(6), 667; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst11060667 - 10 Jun 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1628
Abstract
The α-decay of incorporated actinides continuously produces helium, resulting in helium accumulation and causing security concerns for nuclear waste forms. The helium mobility is a key issue affecting the accumulation and kinetics of helium. The energy barriers and migration pathways of helium in [...] Read more.
The α-decay of incorporated actinides continuously produces helium, resulting in helium accumulation and causing security concerns for nuclear waste forms. The helium mobility is a key issue affecting the accumulation and kinetics of helium. The energy barriers and migration pathways of helium in a potential high-level nuclear waste forms, La2Zr2O7 pyrochlore, have been investigated in this work using the climbing image nudged elastic band method with density functional theory. The minimum energy pathway for helium to migrate in La2Zr2O7 is identified as via La–La interstitial sites with a barrier of 0.46 eV. This work may offer a theoretical foundation for further prospective studies of nuclear waste forms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Composite Materials and Composite Coatings)
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16 pages, 6982 KiB  
Article
Design of Comb Crack Resistant Milling Inserts: A Comparison of Stresses, Crack Propagation, and Deformation Behavior between Ti(C,N)/α-Al2O3 and Zr(C,N)/α-Al2O3 CVD Coatings
by Maiara Moreno, Idriss El Azhari, Daniel Apel, Matthias Meixner, Wei Wan, Haroldo Pinto, Flavio Soldera, Frank Mücklich and José García
Crystals 2021, 11(5), 493; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst11050493 - 28 Apr 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2387
Abstract
Investigations on comb crack resistance of milling inserts coated with chemical vapor deposition (CVD) Ti(C,N)/α-Al2O3 and Zr(C,N)/α-Al2O3 showed a distinct wear evolution in both systems. Wear studies revealed that the appearance of comb cracks is connected to [...] Read more.
Investigations on comb crack resistance of milling inserts coated with chemical vapor deposition (CVD) Ti(C,N)/α-Al2O3 and Zr(C,N)/α-Al2O3 showed a distinct wear evolution in both systems. Wear studies revealed that the appearance of comb cracks is connected to the initial CVD cooling crack network. Micropillar compression tests indicated a brittle intergranular fracture mechanism for the Ti(C,N) layer and a transgranular fracture accompanied with signs of plastic deformation for the Zr(C,N) coating. Additionally, for the Zr(C,N) based system, a compressive stress condition in the temperature range of interest (200–600 °C) was determined by in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The set of residual compressive stresses together with the ability of the Zr(C,N) layer to deform plastically are key features that explain the enhanced resistance to comb crack wear of the Zr(C,N) based system in milling of cast iron. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Composite Materials and Composite Coatings)
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13 pages, 2013 KiB  
Article
Morphological and Structural Characterization of Magnetron-Sputtered Aluminum and Aluminum-Boron Thin Films
by Ulises Barajas-Valdes and Oscar Marcelo Suárez
Crystals 2021, 11(5), 492; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst11050492 - 28 Apr 2021
Viewed by 2547
Abstract
In microelectronic mechanical systems applications, sputtered aluminum thin films may have large roughness, which promotes the optical degradation and electromigration. This challenge motivated the present research, where magnetron sputtering equipped by radio frequency allowed for preparing aluminum and aluminum-boron thin films. This study [...] Read more.
In microelectronic mechanical systems applications, sputtered aluminum thin films may have large roughness, which promotes the optical degradation and electromigration. This challenge motivated the present research, where magnetron sputtering equipped by radio frequency allowed for preparing aluminum and aluminum-boron thin films. This study evaluated the effect of the sputtering power and the substrate type (silicon wafer and glass slides) on the deposited films. The film’s morphology and structure were characterized via an atomic force microscope and X-ray diffraction. Pure aluminum films’ topographic findings revealed a 25.23 nm average roughness with larger grain size and hillock formation. Conversely, the aluminum-boron films possessed a 3.41 nm average roughness, with smaller grains and hillocks suppression when higher sputtering power was used. The pure aluminum films’ structural analysis uncovered a material with low crystallinity, with (111) and (200) planes diffracting X-rays. On the other hand, aluminum-boron films displayed better crystallinity and a preferential (111) texture. Further characterization demonstrated how the sputtering power, the substrate material, and the studied targets affected the films’ morphological and structural. The improvements in morphological and structural aspects that were observed in the films that were obtained via the aluminum-boron target sputtering make this methodology an appealing alternative for metal films manufacturing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Composite Materials and Composite Coatings)
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