Effect of Inoculant Alloy Selection and Particle Size on Efficiency of Isomorphic Inoculation of Ti-Al.

The process of isomorphic inoculation relies on precise selection of inoculant alloys for a given system. Three alloys, Ti-10Al-25Nb, Ti-25Al-10Ta, and Ti-47Ta (at %) were selected as potential isomorphic inoculants for a Ti-46Al alloy. The binary Ti-Ta alloy selected was found to be ineffective as an inoculant due to its large density difference with the melt, causing the particles to settle. Both ternary alloys were successfully implemented as isomorphic inoculants that decreased the equiaxed grain size and increased the equiaxed fraction in their ingots. The degree of grain refinement obtained was found to be dependent on the number of particles introduced to the melt. Also, more new grains were formed than particles added to the melt. The grains/particle efficiency varied from greater than one to nearly twenty as the size of the particle increased. This is attributed to the breaking up of particles into smaller particles by dissolution in the melt. For a given particle size, Ti-Al-Ta and Ti-Al-Nb particles were found to have a roughly similar grain/particle efficiency.

Interplay between α(Ti) nucleation and growth during peritectic solidification investigated by phase-field simulations.

The properties of modern TiAl-based alloys with aluminum contents around 45 at.% critically depend on the as solidified α(Ti) grain structure. Commonly, a rather coarse grain structure is obtained if α(Ti) forms via the peritectic reaction '[Formula: see text]'. Phase-field simulations have been applied to perform a case study of grain structure formation during the early peritectic growth under unidirectional growth conditions. In the absence of foreign nucleation sites, the peritectic α(Ti) phase nucleates on the dendritic surface of the properitectic ß(Ti) phase. For typical values of the critical nucleation undercooling, coarse structures with large elongated grains are reproduced. A delicate interplay between nucleation and growth is predicted for reduced values of the critical undercooling. In this case, the alloy composition is found to play an additional role. An effective grain refinement by frequent nucleation is obtained, if potent nucleants can reduce the critical undercooling below the local growth undercooling. Complementary Scheil calculations and Bridgman experiments show that in situ precipitation of TiB(2) particles can be controlled by adequate boron addition. Both, numerical predictions and experiments confirm that these particles can act as effective nucleation agents and significantly reduce the grain size of α(Ti).

Pathophysiology of hemolysis in infections with Hemophilus influenzae type b.

The capsular polysaccharide of Hemophilus influenzae type b, polyribosyl ribitol phosphate (PRP), is released from growing organisms during human infection and can be found in body fluids. It binds to untreated erythrocytes. Many patients with invasive infections with this organism develop significant hemolysis, but the mechanism has been unclear. We have found that PRP binds to human erythrocytes in vivo. PRP-coated erythrocytes have a shortened circulation time in mice, but do not lyse spontaneously or fix complement. PRP-coated erythrocytes exposed to antiserum to H. influenzae type b are undamaged in the absence of complement, but are rapidly and effectively lysed in the presence of an intact complement system both in vitro and in vivo in mice. PRP-coated red cells are taken up by liver and spleen. Antiserum to PRP increases hepatic uptake of PRP-coated red cells more than splenic, and appears to induce intravascular, complement-mediated hemolysis, as well as extravascular hemolysis. Patients with invasive infection develop hemolysis when circulating PRP and antibody to PRP are present simultaneously. PRP can sometimes be detected on patient erythrocytes when free PRP is present in serum, but this is an inconsistent finding. The hemolytic anemia that occurs during human infection with H. influenzae type b may be due to absorption of PRP to red cells and immune destruction of sensitized erythrocytes. The process requires an intact complement system; both complement-mediated cell lysis and extravascular hemolysis contribute to red cell destruction.

In vitro effects of fatty acids on the actions of serum on rat and pig cartilage.

It has been reported that fatty acids preferentially inhibit serum-stimulated incorporation of sulfate by embryonic chick cartilage, suggesting that they may interfere with the effects of a proposed mediator (serum somatomedin) of the actions of growth hormone (GH). This was studied further in mammalian cartilage. Butyrate and octanoate at concentrations of 0.5 to 5 mM produced a concentration-dependent inhibition of both basal and serum-stimulated sulfate and thymidine incorporation by costal cartilage from hypophysectomized rats. Butyrate also inhibited basal and serum-stimulated sulfate incorporation in cartilage from normal pigs and normal sucklings rats. In all 3 test systems, oleate (0.2--5 mM) bound to serum albumin (4 g/dl) was ineffective. There was no evidence that fatty acids preferentially inhibited the stimulation of sulfate incorporation produced by serum.