Segregation of solute atoms in ZrC grain boundaries and their effects on grain boundary strengths

ZrC is a promising candidate for the application in ultra-high temperature regime due to its unique combination of excellent properties,such as high melting point,good chemical inertness and high temperature stability.The rapid decrease of strength at high temperatures,however,is one of the obstacles that impedes its practical services.Strengthening of grain boundaries by solute segregation is believed to be an effective way to improve its high temperature performance.Therefore,the segregation tendency of ten solid solute atoms,including Sc,Ti,V,Cr,Y,Nb,Mo,Hf,Ta,W,in Zr C grain boundaries,and the strengthening/weakening effects on grain boundaries due to segregation are investigated by first-principles calculations.The segregation tendency is found dominated by the size effect,which is confirmed by both a qualitative analysis and a quantitative approach based on support vector regression.It means that big atoms tend to segregate to grain boundary sites with local expansions,while small atoms tend to segregate to grain boundary sites with local compressions.Simulations on stress-strain responses indicate that segregation of small atoms(Ti,V,Cr,Nb,Ta,Mo,W)can usually improve grain boundary strengths by inducing compression strains to grain boundaries,even though there is also an exception.In contrast,segregation of Sc and Y will soften grain boundaries.The results reveal that strengthening of grain boundaries by solute segregation is a valuable avenue to enhance high temperature mechanical properties of ZrC,providing guidelines for further design of ZrC based materials.

Grain boundary segregation induced strong UHTCs at elevated temperatures:A universal mechanism from conventional UHTCs to high entropy UHTCs

Ultra-high temperature ceramics(UHTCs)exhibit a unique combination of excellent properties,including ultra-high melting point,excellent chemical stability,and good oxidation resistance,which make them promising candidates for aerospace and nuclear applications.However,the degradation of hightemperature strength is one of the main limitations for their ultra-high temperature applications.Thus,searching for mechanisms that can help to develop high-performance UHTCs with good high-temperature mechanical properties is urgently needed.To achieve this goal,grain boundary segregation of a series of carbides,including conventional,medium entropy,and high entropy transition metal carbides,i.e.,Zr_(0.95)W_(0.05)C,TiZrHfC_(3),ZrHfNbTaC_(4),TiZrHfNbTaC_(5),were studied by atomistic simulations with a fitted Deep Potential(DP),and the effects of segregation on grain boundary strength were emphasized.For all the studied carbides,grain boundary segregations are realized,which are dominated by the atomic size effect.In addition,tensile simulations indicate that grain boundaries(GBs)will usually be strengthened due to segregation.Our simulation results reveal that grain boundary segregation may be a universal mechanism in enhancing the high-temperature strength of both conventional UHTCs and medium/high entropy UHTCs,since GBs play a key role in controlling the fracture of UHTCs at elevated temperatures.