Tensile and compression tests were carried out on a ductile cast iron for temperatures up to 1073 K. The damage caused inside and around graphite nodules was evaluated as a function of the local equivalent plastic strain by using microstructural quantifications. The mechanical properties are strongly dependent on a temperature above 773 K. Concerning tensile behavior, an evolutional law issued from the Gurson model representing the void growth as a function of the deformation and temperature was successfully employed. It is demonstrated that the strain state and the temperature have a strong influence on the void growth function. In the case of compression tests, the temperature has a weak influence on the nodule deformation for temperatures lower than 773 K, and the mechanical behavior is driven by the viscoplastic properties of the ferrite. For higher temperatures, the mechanical properties in compression are progressively modified, since graphite nodules tend to remain spherical, and ferrite grains are severely deformed. A synthesis of the damage mechanisms is proposed in the studied range of temperature and plastic strain. It appears that the graphite nodule aspect ratio can be used as an indicator of the deformation under compression loading for temperatures ranging from room temperature to 673 K.

The effect of heating method employed for drying and calcination during the synthesis of 1 wt% Pt/Al₂O₃ catalyst was investigated. Conventional heating (CH) in resistive oven and microwave heating (MW) in single mode were applied, and the Pt dispersion and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area were measured to characterize the samples. It was evidenced that the fast and homogeneous heating offered by the microwave heating led to higher Pt dispersion. However, this benefit was only achieved when the subsequent calcination was performed in a conventional oven. The aging in microwave oven of conventionally prepared—as well as MW-prepared—catalysts demonstrated the great ability of microwave irradiation to accelerate platinum sintering. After 1 h at 800 °C under microwave, catalysts showed a dispersion of 5%. Therefore, microwave treatment should be considered for accelerated catalyst aging but should be avoided as a calcination technique for the synthesis of highly dispersed Pt/Al₂O₃.