A FeCoNiCrTi0.2 high-entropy alloy strengthened by two types of coherent nano-precipitates but with the same composition was fabricated, and its tensile properties at room (293 K) and cryogenic ...temperatures (77 K) and the corresponding defect-structure evolution were investigated. Compared with the single-phase FeCoNiCr parent alloy, the precipitation-strengthened FeCoNiCrTi0.2 high-entropy alloy exhibits a significant increase in yield strength and ultimate tensile strength but with little sacrifice in ductility. Similar to the single-phase FeCoNiCr high-entropy alloy, the deformation behavior of this precipitation-strengthened FeCoNiCrTi0.2 high-entropy alloy shows strong temperature dependence. When the temperature decreases from 293 K to 77 K, its yield strength and ultimate tensile strength are increased from 700 MPa to 860 MPa and from 1.24 GPa to 1.58 GPa, respectively, associated with a ductility improvement from 36% to 46%. However, different from the single-phase FeCoNiCr high-entropy alloy with a twinning-dominant deformation mode at 77 K, multiple-layered stacking faults with a hierarchical substructure prevail in the precipitation-strengthened FeCoNiCrTi0.2 high-entropy alloy when deformed at 77 K. The mechanism of twinning inhibition in this precipitation-strengthened high-entropy alloy is the high energy barrier for twin nucleation in the ordered γ′ nano-particles. Our results may provide a guide for the design of tough high-entropy alloys for applications at cryogenic temperatures through combining precipitation strengthening and twinning/stacking faults.
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By combining atom probe tomography (APT) with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) we have attempted to identify the stage at which solute clusters transform into compounds crystallographically ...distinct from the matrix, in the precipitation of the G-phase (Ni16Si7Mn6) from ferrite solid solution subjected to isothermal annealing at 673 K. Based on a systematic analysis on the number density, size, composition and structure of solute clusters as a function of annealing time, the nucleation of the G-phase was found to occur via a two-step process: spontaneous growth of solute clusters first, followed by a structural change transforming into the G-phase. Moreover, the structural change was found to occur via another two-step process. There was a time lag between the end of cluster growth to become a critical size (mean diameter: ∼2.6 nm) and the start of the structural change. During the incubation period solute enrichment occurred inside the clusters without further size growth, indicating that the nucleation of the G-phase occurs at the critical size with a critical composition. Judging from the results of APT, TEM and the simulation of electron diffraction patterns, the critical composition was estimated to be Ni16Si3.5(Fe,Cr)3.5Mn6.
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The elastic properties of an Mg85Zn6Y9 (at.%) alloy single crystal with a long-period stacking-ordered (LPSO) structure, synchronized with periodic enrichment of Zn and Y atoms, were investigated, ...the properties having remained unclear because of the difficulty in growing large single crystals. Directionally solidified (DS) Mg85Zn6Y9 alloy polycrystals consisting of a single phase of the 18R-type LPSO structure were prepared using the Bridgman technique. For the DS polycrystals, a complete set of elastic constants was measured with resonant ultrasound spectroscopy combined with electromagnetic acoustic resonance, in which the texture formed by the directional solidification was taken into account. By analyzing the elastic stiffness of DS polycrystals on the basis of a newly developed inverse Voigt–Reuss–Hill approximation, the elastic stiffness components of the single-crystalline LPSO phase were determined. It was revealed that the Young’s modulus of the LPSO phase along 〈0001〉 in the hexagonal expression was clearly higher than that along 〈112¯0〉, and the Young’s modulus and shear modulus were clearly higher than those of pure magnesium. These findings were validated by first-principles calculations based on density functional theory. Analyses by first-principles calculations and micromechanics modeling indicated that the long periodicity of the 18R-type stacking structure hardly enhanced the elastic modulus, whereas the Zn/Y-enriched atomic layers, containing stable short-range ordered clusters, exhibited a high elastic modulus, which contributed to the enhancement of the elastic modulus of the LPSO phase in the Mg–Zn–Y alloy.
The effects of rhenium (Re) addition on deuterium (D) retention in neutron-irradiated tungsten (W) were investigated. Pure W and W-5Re (5 at.%) alloy samples were irradiated with neutrons at High ...Flux Isotope Reactor using MFE-RB-19 J capsule. The sample temperature and the damage level were 864 K and 0.35 dpa for pure W and 792 K and 0.26 dpa for W-5Re alloy. A portion of the samples was exposed to D plasma at Tritium Plasma Experiment at Idaho National Laboratory at 823 K to a fluence of 5 × 1025m−2. Vacancy-type defects in neutron-irradiated samples were examined using positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS); D retention after plasma exposure was evaluated by thermal desorption spectrometry (TDS).
TDS measurements revealed that D retention in the neutron-irradiated W-5Re alloy was similar to that in the unirradiated W sample, whereas a significant increase in D retention was observed in neutron-irradiated W. Thus, Re addition significantly suppressed the increase in D retention after neutron irradiation. This effect was attributed to the suppression of vacancy-type defect formation, as confirmed by PAS.
A potential factor dominating the obstacle strength of second phase precipitate particles in dispersion strengthening is the crystallographic mismatch between the matrix phase and the second phase; ...however, yet this concept has not been fully assessed by experiments and simulations. In the present study, we experimentally investigated the obstacle strength of body centered cubic (bcc) Nb particles and nanometric Nb clusters embedded in hexagonal close packed (hcp) Zr matrix. The bcc Nb is softer than the hcp Zr in terms of shear modulus, whereas from a crystallographic viewpoint, the bcc Nb particles can be nonshearable, strong obstacles because the slip plane inside the particles is not parallel with that in the matrix. Although the bcc Nb is thermodynamically the stable configuration for Nb atoms precipitating from the Zr matrix, in the very early stage of solute agglomeration, the crystal structure of Nb nanoclusters is possibly hcp rather than bcc. The obstacle strength (α) was no greater than 0.5 for the Nb nanoclusters, whereas 0.85 ≤ α ≤ 1 for the coarse bcc Nb particles; α = 1 was obtained with the Taylor factor (M) of 5.5 and α = 0.85 with M = 6.5, respectively. These results indicate that the bcc Nb particles are strong obstacles, and that the Nb nanoclusters are weak obstacles.
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Neutron-flux effects on irradiation-induced hardening and microstructures in a reactor pressure vessel steel were studied. An A533B-type steel containing no Cu was neutron-irradiated with fluxes of ...1 × 1014 n/cm2/s (high-flux) or 1 × 1012 n/cm2/s (low-flux) to the same fluence of approximately 3 × 1019 n/cm2, and the same temperature of approximately 290 °C. The recovery behavior of irradiation-induced defects and irradiation-hardening, ΔHv, was investigated by post-irradiation isochronal annealing from 275 to 450 °C. In both the high- and low-flux cases, the recovery behavior of ΔHv and the average positron lifetime, τave, corresponded well to the annealing, suggesting that defects in which positrons are trapped are the origin of irradiation-hardening. The values of ΔHv and τave in the high-flux sample started to recover at around 350 °C, while those in the low-flux sample started to recover at around 400 °C. Thus, in the high-flux sample, unstable defects transiently existing at low temperature but annealed out at around 350 °C, are indicated. Such defects are suggested to be defect-(Mn, Ni, Si) complexes, where the nature of the defect is that of a mono-vacancy and/or dislocation loops.
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•Cu/CeO2 contains three CuO species, isolated Cu2+, CuO film, and CuO particle.•CuO film shows the highest NO–CO reaction activity than the other species.•Reduction of Cu–O–Ce ...interface is highly important for Cu/CeO2 catalytic activity.
The stoichiometric NO–CO reaction was studied over Cu/CeO2 catalysts prepared with different Cu loadings and specific surface areas of CeO2 to investigate the relationship between catalytic activity and the copper–ceria interaction. XRD, ESR and H2-TPR results revealed that CuO species interacted with CeO2 in three structurally different forms: isolated Cu2+, a highly dispersed CuO film, and large CuO particles. The CuO film showed a higher NO–CO reaction activity than the other species. An Operando XAFS study revealed that the reduction of the CuO film during the NO–CO reaction occurred at the Cu–O–Ce interface. Thus, we concluded that the most suitable CuO structure to effectively exploit Cu–O–Ce interface sites in the NO–CO reaction is a two-dimensionally dispersed CuO film.
The structure of deep neural networks (DNNs) used in triangulation displacement sensors was investigated via numerical and experimental analyses. After measuring the fluctuation of the actual ...measurements in experiments, a numerical model of the measurements was constructed by adding normally distributed noise to the ideal waveform to build a training data set. The structure of the DNNs was optimized by evaluating the major components of the DNNs by numerical calculations. The DNNs were then installed in a measurement system for distance measurement with sub-pixel accuracy.
