Effects of niobium pentoxide nanoparticles on the tribological properties of electrodeposited ZnNi coatings

Electrodeposited ZnNi coatings are widely used to improve the corrosion resistance of steel substrates, but their tribological properties are also relevant for loaded contacts under relative motion. This work investigates the hypothesis of improving tribological properties of electrodeposited ZnNi coatings via dispersion of niobium pentoxide nanoparticles (1g/L) in the electrolytic bath. The niobium pentoxide nanoparticles were produced via hydrothermal synthesis assisted by microwave. The surface morphology and chemical composition of the coatings were analysed by scanning electron microscopy coupled with X-ray dispersive energy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The tribological performance of the coatings was assessed using dry reciprocating ball-on-flat tests at normal loads between 3 and 6 N. The use of niobium pentoxide nanoparticles resulted in significantly denser coatings, with some Nb incorporated in the coated surfaces. Under the lowest normal load, all coated specimens showed relatively low friction (~0.2) and negligible damag. As the normal load increased, the coating produced using niobium pentoxide nanoparticles showed stronger adherence, while conventional ZnNi coating showed increased friction and spalling for the highest load. It is believed that the Nb2O5 nanoparticles increased the number of sites for heterogeneous nucleation, refining the microstructure, so that tougher and more adherent coatings were produced.

Methodology for choosing a propulsion device for special-purpose vehicles

The ability to move on different types of soils is one of the main indicators of the efficiency of mobile vehicles in off-road conditions. The movement of such special mobile machines is carried out due to the interaction of the propulsion with the support surface. Therefore, significant reserves to increase productivity and reduce the cost of technological and transport works are laid in reducing energy consumption when the engine interacts with the surface. On the process of interaction of the wheel drive with the deformable support surface it is established that the parameters of this interaction depend on a number of factors: normal load, angular velocity and torque. In the General case, the parameters of interaction of each engine change when changing the mode of movement of the wheeled vehicle, and the ability to change the air pressure in the tires when driving on different support surfaces allows to increase the performance of the wheeled vehicle In the study of the caterpillar, it was found that the pitch of the caterpillar, the stiffness of the caterpillar, the angular stiffness of two adjacent tracks, reducing the pitch of the caterpillar chain, reducing the stiffness of the caterpillar, increasing the angular stiffness of two adjacent tracks, affect the efficiency of the machine. The scientific novelty of the study is to develop a method of choosing the engine of a special mobile machine that works off-road, in the process of its design. Wheel or crawler solutions will mainly determine the performance and efficiency of special purpose vehicles. The choice of engine for special mobile machines is based on a set of criteria. The criteria determine the importance of the implementation of the tasks in relation to the efficiency of functioning. Knowing the sowing capacity of the soil, and taking into account the possibility of movement of a particular special mobile machine depending on the type of soil, you can choose one or another type of engine.

Effect of Reinforcements on the Sliding Wear Behavior of Self-Lubricating AZ91D-SiC-Gr Hybrid Composites

This article statistically investigates the effect of various parameters such as material factors: silicon carbide (SiC) reinforcement, graphite (Gr) reinforcement and mechanical factors: normal load, sliding distance and speed on the sliding wear rate of vacuum stir cast self-lubricating AZ91D-SiC-Gr hybrid magnesium composites. The sliding wear tests have been performed on pin-on-disc tribometer at 10-50N loads, 1-3m/s sliding speed and 1000-2000m sliding distance. It has been examined that hybrid composites yielded improved wear resistance with reinforcement of SiC and solid lubricant graphite. ANOVA and signal-to-noise ratio investigation indicated that applied load was the most critical factor influencing the wear rate, followed by sliding distance. Further, the AZ91D/5SiC/5Gr hybrid composite has exhibited the best wear properties. From the SEM and EDS analysis of worn surfaces, delamination was confirmed as the dominant wear mechanism for AZ91D-SiC-Gr hybrid composites.

Wear of Dry Sliding Al 6061-T6 Alloy Under Different Loading Conditions

In the present work, wear of Al 6061-T6 alloy under different normal loads, sliding speeds and temperatures was investigated. Pin on disk type tribometer was used to conduct dry sliding experiments. Different load combinations comprising of normal loads (1 kg, 1.5 kg and 2 kg), sliding speeds (1.25 m/s, 2 m/s and 3 m/s) and temperatures (room temperature (31 ± 1 °C), 60 °C, 100 °C and 150 °C) were applied during dry sliding experiments. Adhesive and abrasive wear mechanisms were observed in dry sliding of Al 6061-T6 alloy contacts from the microscopic analysis of worn contact surfaces. The wear rate was more influenced by increase in normal load than increase in sliding speed and temperature. Under normal loads of 1 kg and 1.5 kg, Al 6061-T6 alloy showed better wear resistance at higher temperatures when compared to that at room temperature.

Method for the influence design assessment of a wheeled agricultural vehicle on the soil

The impact of a wheeled agricultural vehicle on the deformable support surface determines the vehicle's ability to move, as well as soil compaction, which is not desirable in agriculture. The agricultural machine must not cause more pressure on the ground than is permissible. Therefore, in the tasks of design numerical modelling of the agricultural vehicle movement or trailer, it is required to calculate the specified parameter. It is impossible to calculate without knowledge of the geometric characteristics of the contact spot associated with the normal deformation of the tire under normal load. To calculate these characteristics, it is necessary to have universal dependencies for determining the normal stiffness of the tire. These are available for tires of various purposes. The elastic properties of ultra-low pressure tires are insufficiently studied. Experimental studies of the elastic properties of these tires have been carried out with the authors participation. However, there are currently no dependencies to describe them. This does not provide the possibility of a correct design calculation of the influence of such tires on the soil. The purpose of the work: to develop a universal method for calculating the influence on the soil of agricultural vehicle. A universal method for calculating the impact of a wheeled agricultural machine on the ground has been developed. Universal design-experimental dependence for determining the normal stiffness of ultra-low pressure tires is obtained. It takes into account tire pressure, normal load under specific conditions and geometric characteristics.

Correlation between morphology and local mechanical and electrical properties of van der Waals heterostructures

Properties of van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures strongly depend on the quality of the interface between two dimensional (2D) layers. Instead of having atomically flat, clean, and chemically inert interfaces without dangling bonds, top-down vdW heterostructures are associated with bubbles and intercalated layers (ILs) which trap contaminations appeared during fabrication process. We investigate their influence on local electrical and mechanical properties of MoS2/WS2 heterostructures using atomic force microscopy (AFM) based methods. It is demonstrated that domains containing bubbles and ILs are locally softer, with increased friction and energy dissipation. Since they prevent sharp interfaces and efficient charge transfer between 2D layers, electrical current and contact potential difference are strongly decreased. In order to reestablish a close contact between MoS2 and WS 2 layers, vdW heterostructures were locally flattened by scanning with AFM tip in contact mode or just locally pressed with an increased normal load. Subsequent electrical measurements reveal that the contact potential difference between two layers strongly increases due to enabled charge transfer, while local I/V curves exhibit increased conductivity without undesired potential barriers.

Quantitative Assessment of Dynamic Stability Characteristics for Jet Transport in Sudden Plunging Motion

The main objective of this article is to present a training program of loss control prevention for the airlines to enhance aviation safety and operational efficiency. The assessments of dynamic stability characteristics based on the approaches of oscillatory motion and eigenvalue motion modes for jet transport aircraft response to sudden plunging motions are demonstrated in this article. A twin-jet transport aircraft encountering severe clear-air turbulence in transonic flight during the descending phase will be examined as the study case. The flight results in sudden plunging motions with abrupt changes in attitude and gravitational acceleration (i.e. the normal load factor). Development of the required thrust and aerodynamic models with the flight data mining and the fuzzy-logic modeling techniques will be presented. The oscillatory derivatives extracted from these aerodynamic models are then used in the study of variations in stability characteristics during the sudden plunging motion. The fuzzy-logic aerodynamic models are utilized to estimate the nonlinear unsteady aerodynamics while performing numerical integration of flight dynamic equations. The eigenvalues of all motion modes are obtained during time integration. The present quantitative assessment method is an innovation to examine possible mitigation concepts of accident prevention and promote the understanding of aerodynamic responses of the jet transport aircraft.

Physical, mechanical and dry sliding wear properties of non-woven viscose fabric epoxy-based polymer composites: An optimization study

Polymer-based composites have been widely used in the enhanced tribological technologies of various automobile, aerospace industry, sports, etc. The epoxy-based polymer composites reinforced with glass fiber have significantly improved the wear inhibitors and ultimate strength along with ultra-low density than other available materials. This current research aims to fabricate a variation of such non-woven viscose-based polymer composites for various weight fractions (100–400 GSM) with a constant fiber loading of 30 wt% and subsequently analyze its physical, mechanical, and tribological properties under various operating parameters. The density of the fabricated composite exhibits an increase of magnitude with an increase in weight fraction. The composites consist of 400 GSM fabric showing a higher tensile, impact, flexural strength, hardness, and inter lamina shear strength (ILSS). A pin-on-disc wear set-up held dry sliding wear tests of various nonwoven viscose fabric-based composites under various operating parameters like sliding velocity, sliding distance, area density, and normal load. A Taguchi-based L16 orthogonal array design was utilized to estimate the optimal behavior for maximum wear resistance for operating conditions. The result reveals that the normal load over the composite contributes the highest towards wear on a composite compared to area density, sliding velocity, and distance. The wear phenomena have been verified with SEM micrographs to characterize various wear phenomena like fiber rapture, ploughing, micro-cracks, and wear lines.