Laihao Yu

The dramatic increase in sewage sludge production requires researchers to develop and explore more commercially viable ways for alleviating current environmental and socioeconomic challenges connected with its routine management. It has been established that sewage sludge can be processed to fabricate various valuable products or as fuels for electricity generation. In this research, kaolin (calcined from coal gangue) and sewage sludge were successfully used to prepare porous ceramic bricks without any additives. The effect of sewage sludge on the microstructure, phase composition, and mechanical properties of kaolin-sewage sludge ceramic bricks was investigated. The results show that the kaolin-sewage sludge ceramic bricks are mainly composed of mullite (3Al₂O₃·2SiO₂), sillimanite (Al₂SiO₅), aluminum phosphate (AlPO₄), hematite (Fe₂O₃) as well as a small amount of quartz (SiO₂). The ceramic bricks present a typical porous structure, and the number and size of micropores increases noticeably with the increase of sewage sludge content. The sintering shrinkage rate and porosity of ceramic bricks increased significantly with the increase of sewage sludge content, which is mainly attributed to the increase of liquid phase proportion and high temperature volatilization. Sewage sludge can significantly improve the mechanical properties of kaolin-sewage sludge ceramic bricks. When the sewage sludge content is 30 wt.%, the ceramic bricks present the maximum compressive strength and flexural strength and high porosity (32.74%). The maximum sintering shrinkage rate and porosity are 12.17% and 40.51%, respectively.

Molybdenum and its alloys, with high melting points, excellent corrosion resistance and high temperature creep resistance, are a vital high-temperature structural material. However, the poor oxidation resistance at high temperatures is a major barrier to their application. This work provides a summary of surface modification techniques for Mo and its alloys under high-temperature aerobic conditions of nearly half a century, including slurry sintering technology, plasma spraying technology, chemical vapor deposition technology, and liquid phase deposition technology. The microstructure and oxidation behavior of various coatings were analyzed. The advantages and disadvantages of various processes were compared, and the key measures to improve oxidation resistance of coatings were also outlined. The future research direction in this field is set out.

Nb-Si-based superalloys are considered as the most promising high-temperature structural material to replace the Ni-based superalloys. Unfortunately, the poor oxidation resistance is still a major obstacle to the application of Nb-Si-based alloys. Alloying is a promising method to overcome this problem. In this work, the effects of Hf, Cr, Zr, B, and V on the oxidation resistance of Nb-Si-based superalloys were discussed. Furthermore, the microstructure, phase composition, and oxidation characteristics of Nb-Si series alloys were analyzed. The oxidation reaction and failure mechanism of Nb-Si-based alloys were summarized. The significance of this work is to provide some references for further research on high-temperature niobium alloys.

With the rapid development of the nuclear industry and the aerospace field, it is urgent to develop structural materials that can work in ultra-high temperature environments to replace nickel-based alloys. Mo-Si-B alloys are considered to have the most potential for new ultra-high temperature structural material and are favored by researchers. However, the medium-low temperature oxidizability of Mo-Si-B alloys limits their further application. Therefore, this study carried out extensive research and pointed out that alloying is an effective way to solve this problem. This work provided a comprehensive review for the microstructure and oxidation resistance of low silicon and high silicon Mo-Si-B alloys. Moreover, the influence of metallic elements on the microstructure, phase compositions, oxidation kinetics and behavior of Mo-Si-B alloys were also studied systematically. Finally, the modification mechanism of metallic elements was summarized in order to obtain Mo-Si-B alloys with superior oxidation performance.

Traditional refractory materials such as nickel-based superalloys have been gradually unable to meet the performance requirements of advanced materials. The Mo-Si-based alloy, as a new type of high temperature structural material, has entered the vision of researchers due to its charming high temperature performance characteristics. However, its easy oxidation and even “pesting oxidation” at medium temperatures limit its further applications. In order to solve this problem, researchers have conducted large numbers of experiments and made breakthrough achievements. Based on these research results, the effects of rare earth elements like La, Hf, Ce and Y on the microstructure and oxidation behavior of Mo-Si-based alloys were systematically reviewed in the current work. Meanwhile, this paper also provided an analysis about the strengthening mechanism of rare earth elements on the oxidation behavior for Mo-Si-based alloys after discussing the oxidation process. It is shown that adding rare earth elements, on the one hand, can optimize the microstructure of the alloy, thus promoting the rapid formation of protective SiO₂ scale. On the other hand, it can act as a diffusion barrier by producing stable rare earth oxides or additional protective films, which significantly enhances the oxidation resistance of the alloy. Furthermore, the research focus about the oxidation protection of Mo-Si-based alloys in the future was prospected to expand the application field.

Mo and Mo-based alloys are important aerospace materials with excellent high temperature mechanical properties. However, their oxidation resistance is very poor at high temperature, and the formation of volatile MoO₃ will lead to catastrophic oxidation failure of molybdenum alloy components. Extensive research on the poor oxidation problem has indicated that the halide activated pack cementation (HAPC) technology is an ideal method to solve the problem. In this work, the microstructure, oxide growth mechanism, oxidation characteristics, and oxidation mechanism of the HAPC coatings were summarized and analyzed. In addition, the merits and demerits of HPAC techniques are critically examined and the future scope of research in the domain is outlined.

Niobium (Nb)-based alloys have been extensively used in the aerospace field owing to their excellent high-temperature mechanical properties. However, the inferior oxidation resistance severely limits the application of Nb-based alloys in a high-temperature, oxygen-enriched environment. Related scholars have extensively studied the oxidation protection of niobium alloy and pointed out that surface coating technology is ideal for solving this problem. Based on the different preparation methods of Nb-based alloys’ surface coatings, this article summarizes the relevant research of domestic and foreign scholars in the past 30 years, including the slurry sintering method (SS), suspension plasma spraying method (SPS), and halide activated pack cementation method (HAPC), etc. The growth mechanism and micromorphology of the coatings access by different preparation methods are evaluated. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of various coating oxidation characteristics and coating preparation approaches are summarized. Finally, the coating’s oxidation behavior and failure mechanism are summarized and analyzed, aiming to provide valuable research references in related fields.