• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.274-279
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• 1998

Optimum Cu and Mn contents in 0.05wt%C-Cu bearing hot rolled steel sheets were investigated by vickers hardness measurement, tensile test and transmission electron microscopy. It was determined that the optimum Cu and Mn contents were 1.2wt% and 0.75-0.85wt% respectively. It was confirmed by TEM observation that the coarse recipitates were fcc $\varepsilon$-Cu in 0.05%C-1.2%Cu-0.75%Mn-O.O4%Nb steel sheets. The Cu-bearing steel sheets having 780MPa of tensile strength could be fabricated by 10% pre-strain and aging treatment at $550^{\circ}C$ for 30min.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.43-52
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• 2020

Various aging treatments were conducted on AISI 630 martensitic precipitation hardening stainless steel in order to optimize aging condition. Aging treatment was carried out in the vacuum chamber of Ar gas with changing aging temperature from 380℃ to 430℃ and aging time from 2h to 8h at 400℃. After obtaining the optimized aging condition, several nitrocarburizing treatments were done without and with the aging treatment. Nitrocarburizing was performed on the samples with a gas mixture of H₂, N₂ and CH₄ for 15 h at vacuum pressure of 4.0 Torr and discharge voltage of 400V. The corrosion resistance was improved noticeably by combined process of aging and nitrocarburizing treatment, which is attributed to higher chromium and nitrogen content in the passive layer, as confirmed by XPS analysis. The optimized condition is finalized as, 4h aging at 400℃ and then subsequent nitrocarburizing at 400℃ with 25% nitrogen and 4% methane gas for 15h at vacuum pressure of 4.0 Torr and discharge voltage of 400V, resulting in the surface hardness of around 1300 HV_0.05 and α'_N layer thickness of around 11 ㎛ respectively.

• Composites Research
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.37-42
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• 2009

Thermal analysis properties and chemical structure of carbon fiber/epoxy composites under environmental exposure were examined using an accelerated aging tester which can simulate real weather conditions such as temperature, moisture and ultraviolet. The composite specimens were exposed to combined environmental factors up to 3000 hours. Thermal analysis properties and chemical structure of the composites were evaluated with various exposure times through Modulated DSC and FTIR. According to the results of Modulated DSC, the glass transition temperature increased as exposure time increased due to the formation of network structures in the composites. Also endotherm peaks of enthalpy relaxation related to physical aging that can affect the properties of the composites were observed as exposure time increased. From the results of FTIR, it was found that the location of the peaks was little affected by exposure time, but the intensity of the peaks slightly decreased as exposure time increased due to the curing reaction in the epoxy group.

• Composites Research
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.39-44
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• 2009

The effect of exposure times on the aging characteristics of carbon fiber/epoxy composite ring specimen was evaluated using an accelerating aging tester. Combined exposure conditions, such as temperature, moisture, and ultraviolet, were applied up to 3000 hours. Tensile properties and flexural properties including the effect of curvature were evaluated on the specimens subject to various exposure times through a material testing system. Their aging surfaces were observed through a scanning electron microscope. According to the results, tensile modulus was little affected by the exposure times. However, tensile strength, at the early stage of the exposure times, increased due to physical aging and curing reaction, but tensile strength slightly decreased due to degradation as the exposure times increased. The flexural modulus and flexural strength increased at the early stage of the exposure times, but slightly decreased as the exposure times increased. Aging surfaces of the specimens examined using the scanning electron microscope revealed a different morphology in various exposure times and provided useful information for identifying the degradation in mechanical properties of the composite subject to various exposure times.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.173-179
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• 2023

In this study, the age-hardening behavior and tensile properties of a cast AZ91-0.3Ca-0.2Y (SEN9) alloy are investigated and compared with those of a commercial AZ91 alloy. Even after homogenization heat treatment, the SEN9 alloy contains numerous undissolved secondary phases, Al₈Mn₄Y, Al₂Y, and Al₂Ca, which results in a higher hardness value than the homogenized AZ91 alloy. Under aging condition at 200 ℃, both the AZ91 and SEN9 alloys exhibit the same peak-aging time of 8 h, but the peak hardness of the latter (86.8 Hv) is higher than that of the former (83.9 Hv). The precipitation behavior of Mg₁₇Al₁₂ phase during aging significantly differs in the two alloys. In the AZ91 alloy, the area fraction of Mg₁₇Al₁₂ discontinuous precipitates (DPs) increases up to ~50% as the aging time increases. In contrast, in the SEN9 alloy, the formation and growth of DPs during aging are substantially suppressed by the Ca- or Y-containing particles, which leads to the formation of only a small amount of DPs with an area fraction of ~4% after peak aging. Moreover, the size and interparticle spacing of Mg₁₇Al₁₂ precipitates of the peak-aged SEN9 alloy are smaller than those of the peak-aged AZ91 alloy. The homogenized AZ91 alloy exhibits a higher tensile strength than the homogenized SEN9 alloy due to the finer grains of the former. However, the peak-aged SEN9 alloy has a higher tensile elongation than the peak-aged AZ91 alloy due to the smaller amount of brittle DPs in the former.