• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.201-207
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• 2021

Ni-Cr-Al metal-foam-supported catalysts for steam methane reforming (SMR) are manufactured by applying a catalytic Ni/Al₂O₃ sol-gel coating to powder alloyed metallic foam. The structure, microstructure, mechanical stability, and hydrogen yield efficiency of the obtained catalysts are evaluated. The structural and microstructural characteristics show that the catalyst is well coated on the open-pore Ni-Cr-Al foam without cracks or spallation. The measured compressive yield strengths are 2-3 MPa at room temperature and 1.5-2.2 MPa at 750℃ regardless of sample size. The specimens exhibit a weight loss of up to 9-10% at elevated temperature owing to the spallation of the Ni/Al₂O₃ catalyst. However, the metal-foam-supported catalyst appears to have higher mechanical stability than ceramic pellet catalysts. In SMR simulations tests, a methane conversion ratio of up to 96% is obtained with a high hydrogen yield efficiency of 82%.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.208-215
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• 2021

Metal three-dimensional (3D) printing is an important emerging processing method in powder metallurgy. There are many successful applications of additive manufacturing. However, processing parameters such as laser power and scan speed must be manually optimized despite the development of artificial intelligence. Automatic calibration using information in an additive manufacturing database is desirable. In this study, 15 commercial pure titanium samples are processed under different conditions, and the 3D pore structures are characterized by X-ray tomography. These samples are easily classified into three categories, unmelted, well melted, or overmelted, depending on the laser energy density. Using more than 10,000 projected images for each category, convolutional neural networks are applied, and almost perfect classification of these samples is obtained. This result demonstrates that machine learning methods based on X-ray tomography can be helpful to automatically identify more suitable processing parameters.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.462-469
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• 2021

Tin/graphite composites are prepared as anode materials for Li-ion batteries using a dry ball-milling process. The main experimental variables in this work are the ball milling time (0-8 h) and composition ratio (tin:graphite=5:95, 15:85, and 30:70 w/w) of graphite and tin powder. For comparison, a tin/graphite composite is prepared using wet ball milling. The morphology and structure of the different tin/graphite composites are investigated using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The electrochemical properties of the samples are also examined. The optimal dry ball milling time for the uniform mixing of graphite and tin is 6 h in a graphite-30wt.%Sn sample. The electrode prepared from the composite that is dry-ball-milled for 6 h exhibits the best cycle performance (discharge capacity after 50^th cycle: 308 mAh/g and capacity retention: 46%). The discharge capacity after the 50^th cycle is approximately 112 mAh/g, higher than that when the electrode is composed of only graphite (196 mAh/g after 50^th cycle). This result indicates that it is possible to manufacture a tin/graphite composite anode material that can effectively buffer the volume change that occurs during cycling, even using a simple dry ball-milling process.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.470-477
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• 2021

Energy storage systems should address issues such as power fluctuations and rapid charge-discharge; to meet this requirement, CoFe₂O₄ (CFO) spinel nanoparticles with a suitable electrical conductivity and various redox states are synthesized and used as electrode materials for supercapacitors. In particular, CFO electrodes combined with carbon nanofibers (CNFs) can provide long-term cycling stability by fabricating binder-free three-dimensional electrodes. In this study, CFO-decorated CNFs are prepared by electrospinning and a low-cost hydrothermal method. The effects of heat treatment, such as the activation of CNFs (ACNFs) and calcination of CFO-decorated CNFs (C-CFO/ACNFs), are investigated. The C-CFO/ACNF electrode exhibits a high specific capacitance of 142.9 F/g at a scan rate of 5 mV/s and superior rate capability of 77.6% capacitance retention at a high scan rate of 500 mV/s. This electrode also achieves the lowest charge transfer resistance of 0.0063 Ω and excellent cycling stability (93.5% retention after 5,000 cycles) because of the improved ion conductivity by pathway formation and structural stability. The results of our work are expected to open a new route for manufacturing hybrid capacitor electrodes containing the C-CFO/ACNF electrode that can be easily prepared with a low-cost and simple process with enhanced electrochemical performance.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.118-122
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• 2022

The synthesis of porous W by freeze-casting and vacuum drying is investigated. Ball-milled WO₃ powders and tert-butyl alcohol were used as the starting materials. The tert-butyl alcohol slurry is frozen at -25℃ and dried under vacuum at -25 and -10℃. The dried bodies are hydrogen-reduced at 800℃ and sintered at 1000℃. The XRD analysis shows that WO₃ is completely reduced to W without any reaction phases. SEM observations reveal that the struts and pores aligned in the tert-butyl alcohol growth direction, and the change in the powder content and drying temperature affects the pore structure. Furthermore, the struts of the porous body fabricated under vacuum are thinner than those fabricated under atmospheric pressure. This behavior is explained by the growth mechanism of tert-butyl alcohol and rearrangement of the powders during solidification. These results suggest that the pore structure of a porous body can be controlled by the powder content, drying temperature, and pressure.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.226-232
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• 2022

In this study, a new manufacturing process for a multilayer-clad electrical contact material is suggested. A thin and dense BCuP-5 (Cu-15Ag-5P filler metal) coating layer is fabricated on a Ag plate using a high-velocity oxygen-fuel (HVOF) process. Subsequently, the microstructure and bonding properties of the HVOF BCuP-5 coating layer are evaluated. The thickness of the HVOF BCuP-5 coating layer is determined as 34.8 ㎛, and the surface fluctuation is measured as approximately 3.2 ㎛. The microstructure of the coating layer is composed of Cu, Ag, and Cu-Ag-Cu3P ternary eutectic phases, similar to the initial BCuP-5 powder feedstock. The average hardness of the coating layer is 154.6 HV, which is confirmed to be higher than that of the conventional BCuP-5 alloy. The pull-off strength of the Ag/BCup-5 layer is determined as 21.6 MPa. Thus, the possibility of manufacturing a multilayer-clad electrical contact material using the HVOF process is also discussed.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.207-212
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• 2022

Nanosized rutile titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is used in inorganic pigments and cosmetics because of its high whiteness and duality. The high quality of the white pigments depends on their surface coating technique via the solgel process. SiO₂ coatings are required to improve the dispersibility, UV-blocking, and whiteness of TiO₂. Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) is an important coating precursor owing to its ability to control various thicknesses and densities. In addition, we use Na₂SiO₃ (sodium silicate) as a precursor because of its low cost. Compared to TEOS, which controls the pH using a basic catalyst, Na₂SiO₃ controls the pH using an acid catalyst, giving a uniform coating. The coating thickness of TiO₂ is controlled using a surface modifier, cetrimonium bromide, which is used in various applications. The shape and thickness of the nanosized coating layer on TiO₂ are analyzed using transmission electron microscopy, and the SiO₂ nanoparticle behavior in terms of the before-and-after size distribution is measured using a particle size analyzer. The color measurements of the SiO₂ pigment are performed using UV-visible spectroscopy.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.240-246
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• 2022

Novel Ni- and Fe-based alloys are developed to impart improved mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. The designed alloys are manufactured as a powder and deposited on a steel substrate using a high-velocity oxygen-fuel process. The coating layer demonstrates good corrosion resistance, and the thus-formed passive film is beneficial because of the Cr contained in the alloy system. Furthermore, during low-temperature heat treatment, factors that deteriorate the properties and which may arise during high-temperature heat treatment, are avoided. For the heattreated coating layers, the hardness increases by up to 32% and the corrosion resistance improves. The influence of the heat treatment is investigated through various methods and is considered to enhance the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of the coating layer.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.219-225
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• 2022

An alternative fabrication method for carburizing steel using spark plasma sintering (SPS) is investigated. The sintered carburized sample, which exhibits surface modification effects such as carburizing, sintered Fe, and sintered Fe-0.8 wt.%C alloys, is fabricated using SPS. X-ray diffraction and micro Vickers tests are employed to confirm the phase and properties. Finite element analysis is performed to evaluate the change in hardness and analyze the carbon content and residual stress of the carburized sample. The change in the hardness of the carburized sample has the same tendency to predict hardness. The difference in hardness between the carburized sample and the predicted value is also discussed. The carburized sample exhibits a compressive residual stress at the surface. These results indicate that the carburized sample experiences a surface modification effect without carburization. Field emission scanning electron microscopy is employed to verify the change in phase. A novel fabrication method for altering the carburization is successfully proposed. We expect this fabrication method to solve the problems associated with carburization.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.14-21
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• 2022

In the powder bed fusion (PBF) process, a 3D shape is formed by the continuous stacking of very fine powder layers using computer-aided design (CAD) modeling data, following which laser irradiation can be used to fuse the layers forming the desired product. In this method, the main process parameters for manufacturing the desired 3D products are laser power, laser speed, powder form, powder size, laminated thickness, and laser diameter. Stainless steel (STS) 316L exhibits excellent strength at high temperatures, and is also corrosion resistant. Due to this, it is widely used in various additive manufacturing processes, and in the production of corrosion-resistant components with complicated shapes. In this study, rectangular specimens have been manufactured using STS 316L powder via the PBF process. Further, the effect of heat treatment at 800 ℃ on the microstructure and hardness has been investigated.