Grain refinement of Mg-Ca alloys by native MgO particles

In Mg-Ca alloys the grain refining mechanism,in particular regarding the role of nucleant substrates,remains the object of debates.Although native MgO is being recognised as a nucleating substrate accounting for grain refinement of Mg alloys,the possible interactions of MgO with alloying elements that may alter the nucleation potency have not been elucidated yet.Herein,we design casting experiments of Mg-xCa alloys varied qualitatively in number density of native MgO,which are then comprehensively studied by advanced electron microscopy.The results show that grain refinement is enhanced as the particle number density of MgO increases.The native MgO particles are modified by interfacial layers due to the co-segregation of Ca and N solute atoms at the MgO/Mg interface.Using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy,we reveal the nature of these Ca/N interfacial layers at the atomic scale.Irrespective of the crystallographic termination of MgO,Ca and N co-segregate at the MgO/Mg interface and occupy Mg and O sites,respectively,forming an interfacial structure of a few atomic layers.The interfacial structure is slightly expanded,less ordered and defective compared to the MgO matrix due to compositional deviations,whereby the MgO substrate is altered as a poorer template to nucleate Mg solid.Upon solidification in a TP-1 mould,the impotent MgO particles account for the grain refining mechanism,where they are suggested to participate into nucleation and grain initiation processes in an explosive manner.This work not only reveals the atomic engineering of a substrate through interfacial segregation but also demonstrates the effectiveness of a strategy whereby native MgO particles can be harnessed for grain refinement in Mg-Ca alloys.

Aerodynamic design of tractor propeller for high-performance distributed electric propulsion aircraft

Aiming to maximize the aerodynamic performance of the Distributed Electric Propulsion(DEP)aircraft,a hybrid design framework which focuses on the aerodynamic performance of the propeller/wing integration has been developed and validated numerically.Variable-fidelity modelling for propeller aerodynamics has been used to achieve computational efficiency with reasonable accuracy.By optimizing the aerodynamic loading distributions on the tractor propeller disk,the induced slipstream is redistributed into a form that is beneficial for the wing downstream,based on which the propeller blade geometry is generated through a rapid inversed design procedure.As compared with the Minimum Induced Loss(MIL)propeller at a specified thrust level,significant improvements of both the lift-to-drag ratio of the wing and the propeller/wing integrated aerodynamic efficiency is achieved,which shows great promise to deliver aerodynamic benefits for the wing within the propeller slipstream without any additional devices.