Spark Optical Emission Spectrometer for Composition Determination

这项拨款申请是为一个火花光学发射光谱仪，这是用于测量样品的化学成分。支持的研究包括：1）通过铸造、焊接和热处理工艺优化以及合金添加剂来改善铝和镁轻合金的使用性能，2）开发最佳铸造工艺参数，以改善铝和镁合金金属型铸造的可铸性和消除热裂;单轴和多轴加载条件下各种材料的损伤分析和建模。成分的变化影响微观组织的发展，从而影响合金的铸造性、焊接性、机械性能、疲劳性能和腐蚀性能。因此，成分的准确测量对于新合金的开发至关重要。 火花光发射光谱仪的安装将补充先进的轻质合金制备和结构表征设施。该设备由两个主要部件组成：1）具有明场、暗场、偏振光和微分干涉对比能力的倒置金相显微镜，以及2）半自动研磨机/抛光机。显微镜用于表征合金结构、颗粒形态、第二相、合金缺陷和氧化物夹杂物，而研磨机/抛光机可实现高一致性和高质量的试样制备。在实验室中测量成分的能力将导致项目的快速进展，因为成分数据可以快速与微观结构演变相关联。 该设备将被高素质人员（HQP）广泛使用，他们将有很好的机会使用最先进的设备进行成分分析，显微结构观察和图像分析的动手实验。

This grant application is for a Spark Optical Emission Spectrometer, which is used for the measurement of chemical composition of a sample. The research to be supported includes 1) the improvement of in-service properties of Al and Mg light alloys through casting, welding and heat treatment process optimization and alloying additions, 2) the development of optimum casting process parameters for improved castability and hot tear elimination in permanent mould casting of Al and Mg alloys and 3) the damage analysis and modeling of various materials under uniaxial and multiaxial loading conditions. The variation of composition affects microstructural developments, which impact the castability, weldability, mechanical properties, fatigue properties and corrosion properties of the alloys. Therefore, accurate measurement of composition is essential for the development of new alloys. The installment of a Spark Optical Emission Spectrometer will complement the state-of-the-art facility for the preparation and structural characterization of advanced light weight alloys. This facility consists of two main components: 1) an inverted metallurgical microscope with bright field, dark field, polarized light and differential interference contrast capabilities, and 2) a semi-automatic grinder/polisher. The microscope is used for the characterization of alloy structure, particle morphology, second phases, alloy defects and oxide inclusions while the grinder/polisher enables specimen preparation with high consistency and quality. The ability to measure composition in the laboratory will lead to rapid progress in the projects as compositional data can be quickly correlated with the microstructural evolution. The equipment will be extensively used by Highly qualified Personnel (HQP) who will have an excellent opportunity to do hands-on experiments with state-of-the-art facility for compositional analysis, microstructural observation, and image analysis.