Similar to conventional engineering fabrication processes, tribological performance of drugs and pills in pharmaceutical manufacturing plays an important role in quality and product yields. In the present research, we investigate the effects of crystal structures of workpiece materials on their tribological performance in conditions typical of pharmaceutical manufacturing processes. Sorbitol composites containing gold nanoparticles were evaluated for material properties and tribological performance. It was found that the control exhibited nonordered gamma forms of sorbitol, while the samples containing rod nanoparticles showed a collection of tiny needlelike crystals of gamma phase. Spherical nanoparticles precipitated beta and alpha phases of sorbitol, which were not seen in the other samples. These variations in the crystal structure resulted in an unusual wear behavior, leading to high friction and softness in the case of the nanocomposites. The nanoparticles were found to influence the crystal structure of the sorbitol matrix, resulting in mechanical and tribological behaviors.
Small Punch Tests (SPTs) were conducted in order to determine material properties and understand their mechanical behavior. Equations were derived to calculate the yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, and hardness of five aluminum alloys. A greater understanding of the mechanisms of the SPT and how specimens behave during testing is also discussed. It was found that the 2024-T3 and 7075-T651 aluminum alloys were shown to have the highest maximum small punch force before failure. The relationship between the SPT parameters and the yield strength, tensile strength, elastic modulus, and hardness is shown to be linear. The empirical equation developed here is suitable for aluminum alloys.
A Small Punch Test method with 3 mm diameter and 0.5 mm thick specimens was utilized to characterize 3003-H14 aluminum, 2618-T61 aluminum, and Ti-6Al-4V alloys. The method was found to be repeatable and the effect of surface roughness negligible within the range of 0.450–3.011 μm. In addition, the titanium has shown higher strength and elastic modulus than the aluminum specimens. The addition of iron, copper, and nickel elements to Al makes the alloy stronger and more ductile. The research shows that the Small Punch Test can be used to qualitatively compare such mechanical properties as surface hardness, ductility, toughness, yield strength, and ultimate tensile strength of small volume test specimens in aluminum and titanium alloys. The advantage of such a method is its ability to obtain consistent evaluation of mechanical properties from small specimen volumes effectively.
As the usage of additive manufacturing (AM) expands into more critical applications, the need to establish confidence in the expected performance and reliability of AM components also becomes more critical. Significant research and efforts have been made public related to the qualification of AM components for aerospace and medical applications; however, very little information has been presented with regard to the use of AM within the oil and gas industry. The harsh and demanding environments of oil and natural gas production present unique and challenging conditions for AM components to withstand. To help address this lack of information, a case study AM component was created to showcase the types of features that can be created using the AM process while designing for oil field conditions. An Alloy 625 laser powder bed fusion printed component was created and analyzed via a finite element model (FEM) and then statically load tested and fatigue tested to simulate typical oil field conditions. Various properties, including hardness, were documented along with the microstructure. Corrosion testing was also performed to compare the critical pitting temperature of the Alloy 625 AM material to a traditional wrought Alloy 625 material. Full-scale tests performed included axial compression loading to more than 80,000 lb, rotational bending fatigue testing to more than 10 million cycles, combined load testing of 5,000 ft·lb torque and bending, flame impingement, and rapid cryogenic temperature cyclizing. After each testing stage, the part was inspected for crack indications. The compression test was monitored using advanced digital image correlation (DIC) to monitor the strain deformation of the part during testing. The results of the testing were compared to the FEM using the DIC data and found to be in good agreement.
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