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Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are devices that allow direct conversion of chemical to electrical energy through an electrochemical reaction in a cleaner and more efficient way than conventional processes (eg. gas turbines) [1]. They are characterized by the use of a solid oxide material as the electrolyte. Yttria-stabilised zirconia (YSZ) has traditionally been used in SOFCs electrolytes at temperatures in the range of 850-1000 °C. Recent research is being focused on the development of new materials with increased ionic conductivity at intermediate temperatures (500-800ºC) as alternative materials to YSZ. Rare earth silicates with an apatite-type structure, such as doped lanthanum oxides of general formula La ( 10 MO 4 ) 6 O 2 , where M = Ge, Co, Si, Al, or P, are among these materials [2]. The major limitation associated with the manufacture of these materials is their poor sinterability, which requires high sintering temperatures (1600ºC).The present work concerns the production of La 9.33 Si 2 Ge 4 O 26 dense materials from La 2 O 3 (99.9%), SiO 2 (99.4%) and GeO 2 (99.9%) powders by mechanical alloying (MA) followed by conventional and microwave hybrid sintering at 1350ºC. Dry mechanical milling was carried out in protective atmosphere (argon at 200 kPa) by using a rotating speed of 350 rpm for 15h. Prior to the synthesis of the La 9.33 Si 2 Ge 4 O 26 mixture, the starting materials were milled separately at 350 rpm in argon at 50 kPa in order to achieve low particle size distributions with a greater ability for sintering. The MA mixture was compacted by uniaxial pressing at 390 MPa followed by sintering for 1 h at 1350 °C. Density of the La 9.33 Si 2 Ge 4 O 26 pellets was determined by the boiling test method. SEM/EDS, XRD and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used for samples characterization.The bulk densities and the open porosities of the pellets (EF and MW for conventional and microwave hybrid sintering, respectively) are presented in Table 1. Dense pellets were obtained in both cases. However, sample MW showed higher density and, consequently, lower porosity than sample EF. Both mechanically alloyed samples are formed by an apatite phase. This phase remains stable during sintering. However, traces of a second phase (La 4 GeO 8 ) were detected after sintering. This phase was already referred in previous work [3]. Figure 1 shows the morphology of the two samples obtained by SEM and AFM as well as the corresponding particles size distributions. The sintered samples were as-polished and thermal etched in air at 1300 ºC, for 10 min., for detailed microstructural observation. SEM images at low amplification confirm that sample EF is more porous than sample MW (Figure 1 (a) and (b), respectively). Although the same sintering temperature was used in both sintering processes, sample MW has a coarser grain size (Figure 1 (c) to (f)). This feature was already been reported in previous work [4]. Mean values of 0.9 and 1.9 μm were determined for samples EF and MW, respectively.As conclusion, one may say that mic...

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Friction stir welding presents several advantages when compared with conventional arc welding processes, mainly in the welding of aluminum alloys. However, this welding technology leads to some degradation in the mechanical properties of welds, namely defect formation, which demands suitable nondestructive testing methods. The most common defects are mainly cold laps and voids, as a result of the large plastic deformation and hardening of the material as well as its complex flow behavior. In particular, the void appearance frequency may be correlated with the weld travel speed, though other welding parameters may contribute to the phenomenon. The purpose of this paper is to characterize such defects using conventional x-rays and ultrasonic C-scan, and a new method based on ultrasonic guided waves. The proposed new method presents as an attractive solution when large structures need to be inspected since propagation over long distances from a single probe position is possible with low attenuation. Additional characteristics such as straightforward inspection and testing fastness make the technique very cost effective. Test samples were fabricated using aluminum alloys of 3 mm in thickness, with different travel speeds and overlapping welds. This welding procedure gave rise to different defect sizes. Experimental results using both conventional and ultrasonic guided waves methods have confirmed the presence of the defects.