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The effects of alkali and nitric acid surface treatment and acid etching on the CaP deposition of an open cell Ti6Al4V foam (60% porous and 300–500 μm in pore size) developed for biomedical applications were investigated in a simulated body fluid (SBF) solution for 14-day. The surface roughness of the foam specimens ground flat surfaces was measured in nano-metric scale before and after SBF immersion using an atomic force microscope (AFM). A significant increase in the surface roughness of alkali treated foam specimen after SBF immersion indicated a smaller crystal size CaP deposition, which was also confirmed by the AFM micrographs. The microscopic evaluation clearly showed that alkali treatment and nitric acid treatment induced a continuous, uniform CaP deposition on the cell wall surfaces of the foam (interior of cells). While in untreated foam specimen the cells are filled with CaP precipitates and acid etching did not produce a continuous coating layer on particles interior of the cells. The coating layer thickness was ∼3 μm in alkali treated foam specimens after 14-day of SBF immersion, while nitric acid treatment induced relatively thinner coating layer, 0.6 μm.

Hydration of the surface of a periclase refractory was studied in a controlled humidity atmosphere (92% relative humidity) at 26 °C for up to 92 h. The effect of humidity on the specimens was examined using a scanning probe microscope (SPM) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM), which showed that the degree of hydration was noticeably less in the intergranular bond phase compared to the periclase crystallites. The SPM study indicated significant growth of hydrates on the refractory grain surface. Growth rate of the hydrate layer was least on (0 0 1) orientation, higher for the (1 0 3) orientation, and highest for the (1 0 1) oriented grain. The rate of loss of refractory phases by hydration on a (1 0 1) oriented grain was 4.53 nm/h. This material loss may be insignificant for a bulk brick, but is a serious threat for a magnesia castable consisting of fine magnesia powder due to large surface area exposed to humidity or water itself. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.

In this paper, the corrosion behaviour of aluminosilicate type refractories in frit melts is studied in an isothermal corrosion test setup. A refractory brick of largely andalusite and sillimanite composition was compared to another refractory brick of mullite and sillimanite composition, both of which were made by different manufacturers for use in different frit furnaces. The industrial frit used for corrosion tests was a commercial product used in a wall tile glaze formulation. Corrosion tests conducted under isothermal conditions provide quantitative and reproducible data about the corrosion performance of refractories. In this study, tests were performed by partially immersing a 15 mm × 15 mm × 115 mm refractory specimen into a frit melt at temperatures between 1404 and 1504 °C. The effects of temperature, duration of exposure and the refractory brick type were investigated using a statistically designed set of experiments. The ANOVA (analysis of variance) table indicated that temperature and test duration were the most important factor effects, as expected. Increasing both temperature and exposure duration led to an increased amount of corrosion as measured by the cross-sectional area loss of the corroded refractory specimen. Postmortem microstructural analysis was also done on the specimens, with extensive amount of ZnO·Al2O3 precipitation observed along the frit-refractory interface, where crystals of mullite and alumina were also found to precipitate. Increasing the amount of exposure time and temperature produced more ZnO·Al2O3 precipitation. As identified by SEM-EDS analysis, mullite crystals were in the needle-like morphology, while alumina crystals were generally cubic. Additional experiments were conducted by rotating the specimens in the melt at 50 rpm of rotational speed. Due to the reduction of boundary layer thickness, more dissolution was observed from the rotated specimens. In all specimens, corrosion was more pronounced in the bond phase than through the large filler grains of mullite and andalusite., TÜBİTAK project number 104M403

Production of porous and light-weight bricks with reduced thermal conductivity and acceptable compressive strength is accomplished. Paper processing residues were used as an additive to an earthenware brick to produce the pores. SEM-EDS, XRD, XRF and TG-DTA analysis of the paper waste and brick raw material were performed. Mixtures containing brick raw materials and the paper waste were prepared at different proportions (up to 30 wt%). The granulated powder mixtures were compressed in a hydraulic press, and thegreen bodies were dried before firing at 1100 8C. Dilatometric behaviours, drying and firing shrinkages were investigated as well as the loss on ignition, bulk density, apparent porosity, water absorption and thermal conductivity values of the fired samples. Their mechanical and microstructural properties were also investigated. The results obtained showed that the use of paper processing residues decreased the fired density of the bricks down to 1.28 g/cm 3 . Compressive strengths of the brick samples produced in this study were higher than that required by the standards. Thermal conductivity of the porous brick produced in this study (

Anorthite ceramics were synthesized starting from mixtures prepared by using mechanochemical methods with boron oxide addition. The raw materials used in this study were Sivas Kaolin, calcined alumina/Al(OH)3 and calcite. Statistical experimental design techniques (SED) were used in order to determine and analyze the more important process variables for synthesizing anorthite ceramics. Phase characterizations of synthesized powders were performed by XRD using Cu Ka radiation. Microstructural characterization was performed by SEM. The results of screening experimental design clarified that the temperature was the most important process variable. Second most important process variable was grinding speed of starting mixture which was followed by additive amount and additive type. The effect of both additive use and grinding on anorthite synthesis helped decrease the synthesis temperature down to 900 8C. # 2007 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.

Cordierite was mechanochemically synthesized by mixing proper amounts of kaolin, talc and Al(OH)3. Full factorial experiments were planned, conducted, and the results were analyzed by the use of statistical techniques in order to understand the effects of process variables on the amount of synthesized product. The powder products were analyzed by XRD, DTA, and SEM-EDS. As a result of the statistical analysis, temperature was found to be the most important factor. Based on XRD peak intensity measurements, the cordierite mixture was completely amorphized by grinding at 300 rpm for 60 min. Cordierite was successfully produced at temperatures as low as 1150 °C by using the mixture after intensive grinding. The combined effect of magnesium borate additive and grinding on cordierite synthesis was also studied. These factors successfully decreased the synthesis temperature down to 1000 °C., 2002-IYTE-08