Assessment of the Inhibitory Efficacy of a Thiazole Derivative as an Efficient Corrosion Inhibitor for Augmenting the Resistance of MS in Acidic Environments.

Numerous thiazole compounds have been developed as cutting-edge inhibitors because of a rising fascination with using corrosion inhibitors (CIs) and preventative measures to prevent mild steel (MS) from deteriorating. In this study, the ability of a novel thiazole derivative, 2-hydrazono-3-methyl-2,3-dihydrobenzo[d]thiazole hydrochloride (HMDBT), to prevent corrosion of MS (MS) in HCl has been reconnoitered using various approaches, Viz. gravimetric analysis, electrochemical (EC) analysis, and different surface characterizations. With an inhibition efficiency (IE %) of 95.35%, the outcomes elucidate that HMDBT functions as a potent MS CI that is environmentally friendly and sustainable. The computed activation and thermodynamic factors were also employed to better explain the process underpinning the inhibiting tendency of HMDBT. According to the computed values, the HMDBT molecules physically and chemically adhered to the MS surface following the Langmuir model, generating a dense protective layer that may be associated with the presence of a benzene ring and heteroatoms (S & N) in the HMDBT architecture. Based on the findings of the EIS studies, an intensification in the CI's concentration from (50 →800) ppm is ushered by increases in polarization resistance (Rp) from (80.72, 354.31) Ω cm2, and attenuation in double-layer capacitance (Cdl) from (198.78 → 44.13) µF cm-2, respectively, confirming the inhibitory proficiency of HMDBT. The IE of the inhibitor was reported around 95.35% by weight loss measurement and 89.94% through EC measurement. Theoretical analysis including density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were carried out to investigate the additional effects of HMDBT on the anticorrosion effectiveness and mechanism of inhibition. The theoretical parameters that were calculated provided important assistance in comprehending the inhibitory mechanism that the CI's moieties disclosed and are in strong concord with experimental methods. To create a "green" inhibitor system, the work presented here provided a potent technique to reduce corrosion by adding a potent new inhibitor.

Enhancement of the Corrosion Properties of Al-10%Si-2%Cu Alloys with La Addition.

Al-10%Si-2%Cu alloys have been widely used in high-value industries (e.g., aerospace and automobiles) because of their lower specific gravity; however, galvanic corrosion rendered these alloys to have poor corrosion resistance. Therefore, the microstructure and corrosion properties of Al-10%Si-2%Cu alloys were investigated with respect to the lanthanum (La) content. All Al alloy samples were synthesized using gravity casting, with added La contents of 0.00, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1.00 wt%, and were characterized using microstructural characteristics analysis and electrochemical tests. Adding 0.5 wt% La (xLa-0.5) indicated the finest structure, which had a 4% lower α-Al area fraction than the La-free alloy (xLa-0). However, the area fraction of a 1 wt% La-added (xLa-1) alloy was 2.4% higher than that of xLa-0. The corrosion current density (Icorr) of the xLa-0.5 was 1.09 µA/cm2, representing a 68% decrease as compared to that of xLa-0, and xLa-0.5 reached the highest polarization resistance value (7.32 × 103 Ω·cm2). The improvement in corrosion resistance of xLa-0.5 was due to the rapid and dense formation of a passivation layer induced by its fine structure, as well as the precipitated phase by enhancing the dispersibility of Cu.

Electrochemical and computational insights into the utilization of 2, 2- dithio bisbenzothiazole as a sustainable corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in low pH medium.

Industries today place a high premium on environmentally friendly supplies that may effectively inhibit metal dissolution at a reasonable cost. Hence, in this paper, we assessed the corrosion inhibition effectiveness of the Thiazole derivative namely, 2, 2-Dithio Bisbenzothiazole (DBBT) against mild steel (MS) corrosion in 1 M HCl. Several experimental approaches, including gravimetric analysis, potentiodynamic polarization (PDP), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and surface exploration using scanning electron/atomic force microscopy (SEM/AFM) and contact angle (CA), were utilized to conduct the measurements. In 1 M HCl corrosive medium at 298 K in the subsistence of 800 ppm of DBBT, this experiment indicated DBBT as an environment-friendly and sustainable corrosion inhibitor (CI) for MS, demonstrating an inhibition efficiency (IE %) of 97.71%. To deliver a deeper knowledge of the mechanism behind inhibitive behavior, the calculated thermodynamic and activation characteristics were applied. The calculated Gibbs free energy values indicated that the CI interacted physically and chemically with the MS surface, validating physio-chemical adsorption. The findings of the EIS research revealed that an upsurge in the doses of the CI is escorted by an upsurge in polarization resistance (Rp) from (88.05 → 504.04) Ωcm2, and a diminution in double layer capacitance (Cdl) from (97.46 → 46.33) µFcm-2 at (50 → 800) ppm respectively, affirming the inhibitive potential of DBBT. Additionally, the greatest displacement in Ecorr value being 76.13 mV < 85 mV, indicating that DBBT act as a mixed-form CI. To study the further impacts of DBBT on the inhibition capabilities of the compound under investigation, density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation were employed. Chemical and electrochemical approaches are in agreement with the computational analysis indicating DBBT is the most efficient CI.

One-Step Hybrid Bending/Diffusion Bonding Process and Analysis of the Bonding Characteristics of Titanium Alloy Sheets.

A one-step hybrid bending/diffusion bonding process (HB/DBP) was developed for application to Ti-6Al-4V sheets to effectively improve buy-to-fly (BTF) ratio of aircraft parts, integrating sequential diffusion bonding followed by a bending process. The resulting bonding characteristics of these titanium alloy sheets were analyzed. Microstructural analysis and mechanical lap shear tests were performed to estimate the bonding quality. Additionally, bonding ratio, thickness strain, and shear strength were evaluated in relation to pressure under increasing temperature. When the applied pressure was lower than 0.5 MPa, early failure occurred at the joint of the specimens. However, when high pressure was applied, early failure occurred near the joint. To discuss the phenomenon, time-dependent viscoplastic material properties were characterized, and a numerical simulation analysis was performed. Viscoplastic deformation was observed around the bending area, which caused weakness around the bond under high-pressure conditions. A prototype of a Y-shaped heat shield was manufactured and the buy-to-fly ratio was effectively improved using the newly developed process. This study demonstrates the potential of applying the developed process for producing aircraft parts and the importance of viscoplastic behavior for the analysis of final product reliability.

Enhancing Microstructural and Mechanical Properties of Ferrous Medium-Entropy Alloy through Cu Addition and Post-Weld Heat Treatment in Gas Tungsten Arc Welding.

This study investigates the impact of a high-entropy alloy filler metal coated with copper (Cu) and post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) on the weldability of a ferrous medium-entropy alloy (MEA) in gas tungsten arc welding. The addition of 1-at% Cu had an insignificant effect on the microstructural behaviour, despite a positive mixing enthalpy with other elements. It was observed that a small amount of Cu was insufficient to induce phase separation into the Cu-rich phase and refine the microstructure of the as-welded specimen. However, with an increase in the PWHT temperature, the tensile strength remained mostly consistent, while the elongation significantly increased (elongation of as welded, PWHT700, PWHT800, and PWHT 900 were 19, 43, 55 and 68%, respectively). Notably, the PWHT temperature of 900 °C yielded the most desirable results by shifting the fracture location from the coarse-grained heat-affected zone (CGHAZ) to base metal (BM). This was due to significant recrystallisation and homogenised hardness of the cold-rolled BM during PWHT. However, the CGHAZ with coarse grains induced by the welding heat input remained invariant during the PWHT. This study proposes a viable PHWT temperature (900 °C) for enhancing the weldability of cold-rolled ferrous MEA without additional process.

Artificial Neural Network Modelling of the Effect of Vanadium Addition on the Tensile Properties and Microstructure of High-Strength Tempcore Rebars.

In high-strength rebar, the various microstructures obtained by the Tempcore process and the addition of V have a complex effect on the strength improvement of rebar. This study investigated the mechanism of strengthening of high-strength Tempcore rebars upon the addition of vanadium through artificial neural network (ANN) modelling. Various V contents (0.005, 0.072 and 0.14 wt.%) were investigated, and a large amount of bainite and V(C, N) were precipitated in the core of the Tempcore rebar in the high-V specimens. In addition, as the V content increased, the number of these fine precipitates (10-30 nm) increased. The precipitation strengthening proposed by the Ashby-Orowan model is a major contributing factor to the yield-strength increase (35 MPa) of the Tempcore rebar containing 0.140 wt.% V. The ANN model was developed to predict the yield and tensile strengths of Tempcore rebar after the addition of various amounts of V and self-tempering at various temperatures, and it showed high reproducibility compared to the experimental values (R-square was 93% and the average relative error was 2.6%). ANN modelling revealed that the yield strength of the Tempcore rebar increased more significantly with increasing V content (0.01-0.2 wt.%.) at relatively high self-tempering temperatures (≥530 °C). These results provide guidelines for selecting the optimal V content and process conditions for manufacturing high-strength Tempcore rebars.

Effect of Grain Size on Carburization Characteristics of the High-Entropy Equiatomic CoCrFeMnNi Alloy.

In this study, the carburization characteristics of cast and cold-rolled CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloys (HEAs) with various grain sizes were investigated. All specimens were prepared by vacuum carburization at 940 °C for 8 h. The carburized/diffused layer was mainly composed of face-centered cubic structures and Cr7C3 carbide precipitates. The carburized/diffused layer of the cold-rolled specimen with a fine grain size (~1 µm) was thicker (~400 µm) than that of the carburized cast specimen (~200 µm) with a coarse grain size (~1.1 mm). In all specimens, the carbides were formed primarily through grain boundaries, and their distribution varied with the grain sizes of the specimens. However, the carbide precipitates of the cast specimen were formed primarily at the grain boundaries and were unequally distributed in the specific grains. Owing to the non-uniform formation of carbides in the carburized cast specimen, the areas in the diffused layer exhibited various carbide densities and hardness distributions. Therefore, to improve the carburization efficiency of equiatomic CoCrFeMnNi HEAs, it is necessary to refine the grain sizes.

Comprehensive Analysis of Cold-Cracking Ratio for Flux-Cored Arc Steel Welds Using Y- and y-Grooves.

This study investigates various factors that influence the cold-cracking ratio (CCR) of flux-cored arc welds through Y- and y-groove tests. Factors affecting the CCR include the alloy component, diffusible hydrogen content, microstructure, hardness, and groove shape. In weld metals (WMs; WM375-R and WM375-B) of a low-strength grade, the diffusible hydrogen content has a more significant effect on the CCR than the carbon equivalent (Ceq) and microstructure. However, the combined effects of the microstructure and diffusible hydrogen content on the CCR are important in high-strength-grade WM. The CCR of the WM increased upon increasing Ceq and the strength grade because hard martensite and bainite microstructures were formed. Moreover, y-groove testing of the 500 MPa grade WM revealed a more significant CCR than that of the 375 MPa grade WM. Therefore, in high-strength-grade WMs, it is necessary to select the groove shape based on the morphology in the real welds.

Gravitational effects on the weld pool shape and microstructural evolution during gas tungsten arc and laser beam welding of 304 stainless steel and Al-4 wt% Cu alloy.

Effects of gravitational acceleration were investigated on the weld pool shape and microstructural evolution for 304 stainless steel and Al-4wt% Cu alloy. Effects of welding heat source were investigated by using laser beam welding (LBW) and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). As the gravitational level was increased from low gravity (LG approximately 1.2 g) to high gravity (HG approximately 1.8 g) using a NASA KC-135 aircraft, the weld pool shape for 304 stainless steel was influenced considerably during GTAW. However, insignificant change in the microstructure and solute distribution was observed at gravitational levels between LG and HG. The GTAW on Al-4 wt% Cu alloy was used to investigate the effect of gravitational orientation on the weld solidification behavior. Gravitational orientation was manipulated by varying the welding direction with respect to gravity vector; that is, by welding upward opposing gravity ( ||-U) and downward with gravity ( ||-D) on a vertical weld piece and welding perpendicular to gravity (perpendicular) on a horizontal weld piece. Under the same welding conditions, a larger primary dendrite spacing in the ||-U weld was observed near the weld pool surface and the fusion boundary than in the case of perpendicular or ||-D welds. The ||-D weld exhibited different solidification morphology and abnormal S shape of solidification rate curve during its growth. For 304 stainless steel GTAW, significant effects of gravitational orientation were observed on the weld pool shape that was associated with weld surface morphology and convection flow. However, the weld pool shape for LBW was mostly constant with respect to the gravitational orientation.