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This article describes several experiments conducted on single lap joints (SLJ) subjected to tensile mechanical loads. Two epoxy adhesives, with slow and fast curing, were used, with a weight of 0%, 3%, and 10% of glass microspheres and milled glass particles, respectively. The adherends used in the construction of the specimens were fiber-reinforced polymers. The types of failures produced in the SLJ specimens were classified according to ASTM standards. The results of the experimental tests on the SLJ with fast-curing epoxy adhesive showed that the use of milled glass and glass microspheres improved the strength of the joint compared with the neat fast-curing epoxy adhesive. As for the experimental test on the joint with slow-curing epoxy adhesive, the results showed that the use of milled glass and glass microspheres decreased its strength when using different additive concentrations compared with the neat slow-curing epoxy adhesive. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Various ceramics and metals are being deposited as functional, protective, and near-homogenous coatings on engineering components by exploiting the characteristic properties of plasma medium. Such coatings are known to exhibit improved wear, thermal, and corrosion resistance. Although a lot of studies have been reported on coatings made up of a large number of metals and ceramic particles, hardly any effort is made to coat glass microspheres on metals despite their high hardness. In view of this, the present work was undertaken to study the preparation and characterization of a new class of coatings made up of borosilicate glass microspheres (BGM) premixed with micro-sized aluminum oxide (Al2O3) in different proportions. Deposition of these BGM and BGM/Al2O3coatings is carried out at five different levels of torch input power. Coatings are characterized in terms of their thickness, hardness, adhesion strength, and porosity. The coatability of BGM and the BGM/Al2O3mixture on metallic substrates is assessed by evaluating the coating deposition efficiency. This work reveals that the torch input power and the Al2O3content in the feedstock affect the major coating characteristics, and premixing of Al2O3with BGM results in better coating properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an analysis of the erosion wear response of borosilicate glass microsphere (BGM)-coated metal specimens subjected to reproducible erosive situations. The coatings are deposited on metal substrates by a plasma spraying route using an atmospheric plasma spray setup working on a nontransferred arc mode. The response of these coatings to solid particle erosion for different test parameters is studied. The erosion test schedule is planned as per Taguchi's experimental design and is carried out under controlled laboratory conditions using an air jet–type erosion tester. The analysis of test results reveals that the impact velocity is the most significant among various factors influencing the erosion wear rate of these coatings. A prediction tool based on artificial neural networks (ANNs) is then implemented to predict the triboperformance of such coatings in regard to their erosion rates under different test conditions. ANN is a technique that takes into account the training, testing, and validation protocols using the database generated from experimentation. This technique helps in saving time and resources for a large number of experimental trials and it is seen in this work that it can successfully predict the wear rate of the coatings for test conditions both within and beyond the experimental domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]