In this research, a fly ash/epoxy composite was fabricated using fly ash filler classified as industrial waste. The behavior of its mechanical properties was investigated by changing the volume of fly ash to 10, 30 and 50 vol.%. To determine the influence of particle size on the mechanical properties, we used two different sizes of the fly ash, which were separated by sieving to less than 90 μm and 53 μm. To optimize fabrication conditions, the viscosity of the fly ash/epoxy slurry was measured at various temperatures with different fly ash volume fractions. In terms of mechanical properties, tensile strength increased as the amount of fly ash increased, up to a critical point. On the other hand, the compression strength of the composite increased continuously as the amount of fly ash increased. Finally, the fracture surfaces were characterized and correlated with the mechanical properties.

The modification effect of Al-5Ti-1B master alloy on eutectic Mg₂Si in Al-Zn-Si-Mg system alloy was investigated in this study. The microstructure shows that an extreme effect can be achieved after the addition of Al-5Ti-1B master alloy into the base alloy. The morphology of eutectic Mg₂Si changed from Chinese script to fine polygonal shape, and the size was refined from over 50 μm to under 10 μm. This morphology change is believed to be due to TiB₂ particles existing in Al-5Ti-1B master alloy, and the presence of TiB₂ particles inside the modified Mg₂Si was confirmed by scanning electron microscope/energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM/EDS) observation. The mechanical properties were also improved by the addition of Al-5Ti-1B master alloys. This study investigated the reason for the improvement in mechanical properties with the modification of the microstructure.

In this study, the effects of adding TiB₂ particles to eutectic Al + Mg₂Si phases in aluminum alloys were analyzed. The eutectic Al + Mg₂Si phases were modified effectively when a large amount of TiB₂ was added, and changes in the shape, size, and distribution of the eutectic Al + Mg₂Si phases were confirmed using a polarizing microscope and FE-SEM. The crystal structure of the TiB₂ particles and Mg₂Si phases were analyzed using HR-TEM, and the analysis confirmed that the TiB₂ particles can act as heterogeneous nucleation sites. This paper intends to clarify the principle of phase modification of the eutectic Al + Mg₂Si phases by TiB₂ particles and proposes a new mechanism to improve Mg₂Si phase modification when TiB₂ particles are added.

This study investigates the impact of varying powder size on porosity, pore parameters, and intermetallic phase reaction during the reactive sintering of porous TiAl alloys. Ti52Al48 alloys were prepared using coarse (200 mesh) and fine (325 mesh) Ti powders through elemental powder metallurgy and were subsequently sintered at different temperatures, 600 and 1200 °C. Our findings reveal a consistent pore morphology and intermetallic phase microstructure across both alloys. However, samples containing fine Ti powder exhibited a higher number density of small pores compared to those incorporating coarse Ti powders. Additionally, alloys prepared with fine Ti powders demonstrated a higher porosity than those prepared with coarse powders. Consequently, fine Ti powder promoted enhanced diffusion between Ti and Al during sintering, as reflected by the lower onset temperature and enthalpy of intermetallic reaction during sintering.