Solute segregation in an Al_2O_(3f)/Al-4.5Cu alloy composite during solidification at different cooling rates

An Al_2O_(3f)/Al-4.5Cu composite was made by squeeze casting. The solutesegregation in the composite at different cooling rates was studied. The results indicate that theprimary crystal of Al-4.5Cu alloy nucleates and grows in the interstice between fibers. The fibersurface cannot serve as site for the heterogeneous nucleation of a primary dendrite. There exists anincreasing Cu concentration gradient from the center of the interstice between fibers to theinterface or the grain boundaries. There are the eutectic phases around the fibers. The solutesegregation in the matrix increases with the cooling rate rising. The amount of eutectic phasesfollowed by imbalance crystalline can be numerically calculated with Clyne-Kurz formula.

Solidified structure and solute segregation in Al_2O_3/A356-La alloy composites

Al2O3/A356-La alloy composites were fabricated by squeeze casting, and the effects of La on the solidified structure and the solute segregation during alloy solidification were studied. The results indicate that the structure of the matrix alloy becomes fine and small by the addition of La. La has been richened at the interface to help improve the wettability between the fiber and Al alloy, but there are no intermetallic compounds richening La found at the interface yet. There is no special influence of La on the Mg segregation in the matrix alloy. The distribution of Mg and La in the composites has been at the same position--near the interface.

INTERFACE MORPHOLOGIES AND SOLUTE SEGREGATION OF Al-Li ALLOY 8090 DURING UNIDIRECTIONAL SOLIDIFICATION

The solid-liquid interface morphology and solute segregation behaviour of AI-Li alloy 8090 during unidirectional solidification were studied by the liquid metal quenehing method under varied processing conditions.When solidification rate,R<O.13 or>O.75 mm/min (temper- ature gradient,G_L=130℃/cm),the structure revealed of planar or dendritic interface respectively.With the increase of R,the interface morphology becomes cellular from planar gradually,within a narrow range.And the greater the R,the,finer the dendrite.Segregation of element Cu and impurity elements Fe and Si are quite severe,the interface morphology markedly influences on solute segregation.During solidification at coarse dendrite interface, their segregation ratios are rather great and solidified structure is coarse.

OKMC simulation of vacancy-enhanced Cu solute segregation affected by temperature/irradiation in the Fe–Cu system

The effects of annealing and irradiation on the evolution of Cu clusters in a-Fe are investigated using object kinetic Monte Carlo simulations.In our model,vacancies act as carriers for chemical species via thermally activated diffusion jumps,thus playing an important role in solute diffusion.At the end of the Cu cluster evolution,the simulations of the average radius and number density of the clusters are consistent with the experimental data,which indicates that the proposed simulation model is applicable and effective.For the simulation of the annealing process,it is found that the evolution of the cluster size roughly follows the 1/2 time power law with the increase in radius during the growth phase and the 1/3 time power law during the coarsening phase.In addition,the main difference between neutron and ion irradiation is the growth and evolution process of the copper-vacancy clusters.The aggregation of vacancy clusters under ion irradiation suppresses the migration and coarsening of the clusters,which ultimately leads to a smaller average radius of the copper clusters.Our proposed simulation model can supplement experimental analyses and provide a detailed evolution mechanism of vacancy-enhanced precipitation,thereby providing a foundation for other elemental precipitation research.

Effects of Ca(Y)-Si modifier on interface morphology and solute segregation during directional solidification of an austenite medium Mn steel

The austenite medium Mn steel modified with controlled additions of Ca, Y, Si were directionally solidified using the vertical Bridgman method to study the effects of Ca（Y）-Si modifier on the solid-liquid （S-L） interface morphology and solute segregation. The interface morphology and the C and Mn segregation of the steel directionally solidified at 6.9 μtrn/s were investigated with an image analysis and a scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The 0.5wt% Ca-Si modified steel is solidified with a planar S-L interface. The interface of the 1.0wt% Ca-Si modified steel is similar to that of the 0.5wt% Ca-Si modified steel, but with larger nodes. The 1.5wt% Ca-Si modified steel displays a cellular growth parttern. The S-L interface morphology of the 0.5wt% Ca-Si＋1.0wt% Y-Si modified Mn steel appears as dendritic interface, and primary austenite dendrites reveal developed lateral branching at the quenched liquid. In the meantime, the independent austenite colonies are formed ahead of the S-L interface. A mechanism involving constitutional supercooling explains the S-L interface evolution. It depends mainly on the difference in the contents of Ca, Y, and Si ahead of the S-L interface. The segregation of C and Mn ahead of the S-L interface enhanced by the modifiers is observed.

Stabilizing a severely deformed Al-7Mg alloy with a multimodal grain structure via Mg solute segregation

Single-phase Al-Mg alloys processed by severe plastic deformation(SPD)usually suffer from unsatisfactory thermal stability at moderate to high temperatures with recrystallization occurring and obvious grain coarsening.In the present work,an Al-7Mg alloy prepared by equal-channel angular pressing(ECAP)possessed markedly enhanced thermal stability upon annealing at moderate to high temperatures(200-275℃),compared with those ultrafine-grained dilute Al-Mg alloys with a uniform microstructure.The enhanced thermal stability is due primarily to the multimodal grain structure consisting of nano-,ultrafine-and micron-sized grains,strong segregation and/or clusters of Mg solute along grain boundaries(GBs),and Al_(3)Mg_(2)precipitates formed during annealing.First,extensive recovery predominates over recrystallization and consumes most of the stored energy in the ECAPed Al-7Mg alloy annealed at≤275℃,leading to the recrystallization and growth of nano/ultrafine grains being retarded or postponed.Moreover,Mg solute segregation and/or clusters along GBs of nano/ultrafine grains could further suppress grain growth via diminishing GB energy and dragging GBs efficiently.In addition,Al_(3)Mg_(2)precipitates formed with increasing annealing time could inhibit grain growth by pinning GBs.The present multimodal-grained Al-7Mg alloy with enhanced thermal stability is believed to be particularly attractive in potential engineering applications at moderate to high temperatures.

Designing new low alloyed Mg-RE alloys with high strength and ductility via high-speed extrusion

Two new low-alloyed Mg-2RE-0.8Mn-0.6Ca-0.5Zn(wt%,RE=Sm or Y)alloys are developed,which can be produced on an in-dustrial scale via relatively high-speed extrusion.These two alloys are not only comparable to commercial AZ31 alloy in extrudability,but also have superior mechanical properties,especially in terms of yield strength(YS).The excellent extrudability is related to less coarse second-phase particles and high initial melting point of the two as-cast alloys.The high strength-ductility mainly comes from the formation of fine grains,nano-spaced submicron/nano precipitates,and weak texture.Moreover,it is worth noting that the YS of the two alloys can maintain above 160 MPa at elevated temperature of 250°C,significantly higher than that of AZ31 alloy(YS:45 MPa).The Zn/Ca solute segregation at grain boundaries,the improved heat resistance of matrix due to addition of RE,and the high melting points of strengthening particles(Mn,MgZn_(2),and Mg-Zn-RE/Mg-Zn-RE-Ca)are mainly responsible for the excellent high-temperature strength.

Exceptional thermal stability and enhanced hardness in a nanostructured Mg-Gd-Y-Zn-Zr alloy processed by high pressure torsion

A Mg-8.2Gd-3.8Y-1.0Zn-0.4Zr(wt.%) alloy is processed by solution treatment and high pressure torsion(HPT) at room temperature to produce a nanostructured light material with high hardness. The stability of this alloy is subsequently tested through isochronal annealing for 0.5 h at 373 K to 673 K. The results reveal a thermal stability that is vastly superior to that of conventional Mg-based alloys processed by severe plastic deformation: the grain size remains at around 50 nm on heating to 573 K, and as the temperature is increased to 673 K,grain growth is restricted to within 500 nm. The stability of grain refinement of the present alloy/processing combination allowing grain size to be limited to 55 nm after exposure at 573 K, appears to be nearly one order of magnitude better than for the other SPD processed Mg-RE type alloys, and 2 orders of magnitude better than those of SPD processed RE-free Mg alloys. This superior thermal stability is attributed to formation of co-clusters near and segregation at grain boundaries, which cause a thermodynamic stabilization of grain size, as well as formation of β-Mg_(5)RE equilibrium phase at grain boundaries, which impede grain growth by the Zener pinning effect. The hardness of the nanostructured Mg-Gd-Y-Zn-Zr alloy increases with increasing annealing temperature up to 573 K, which is quite different from the other SPD-processed Mg-based alloys. The high hardness of 136 HV after annealing at 573 K is mainly due to solute segregation and solute clustering at or near grain boundaries.

Mechanism of Bainite Nucleation in Steel, Iron and Copper Alloys

During the incubation period of isothermal treatment（or aging） within the bainitic transformation temperature range in a salt bath （or quenching in water） immediately after solution treatment, not only are the defects formed at high temperatures maintained, but new defects can also be generated in alloys, iron alloys and steels. Due to the segregation of the solute atoms near defects through diffusion, this leads to non-uniform distributions of solute atoms in the parent phase with distinct regions of both solute enrichment and solute depletion. It is proposed that when the Ms temperature at the solute depleted regions is equal to or higher than the isothermal （or aged） temperature,nucleation of bainite occurs within these solute depleted regions in the manner of martensitic shear. Therefore it is considered that, at least in steel, iron and copper alloy systems, bainite is formed through a shear mechanism within solute depleted regions, which is controlled and formed by the solute atoms diffusion in the parent phase.

The relation between ductility at high temperature and solid solution in Mg alloys

This work investigates the effect of solid solution on ductility and on the activation of individual deformation mechanisms at moderate temperatures and at quasi-static strain rates in Mg-Zn and Mg-Al alloys. With that aim, four solid solution Mg-Zn and Mg-Al binary alloy ingots containing 1 and 2 wt.% solute atoms were subjected to hot rolling and subsequent annealing to generate polycrystals with similar average grain size and basal-type texture for each composition. The activity of the different slip systems after tensile testing at 150°C and at 250°C was evaluated in pure Mg and in the alloys by EBSD-assisted slip trace analysis. In addition, segregation of Zn and Al atoms at grain boundaries during the thermo-mechanical processing was characterized by HAADF-STEM and EDX. It was found that while the addition of Al and Zn atoms to pure Mg does not lead to major changes in the mechanical strength at the investigated temperatures, it does enhance ductility significantly, especially at 250℃. Our results show that this increase in ductility cannot be attributed to a higher activation of non-basal systems in the alloys, as reported earlier, as the incidence of non-basal systems is indeed considerably higher in pure Mg. This work suggests, on the contrary, that the ductility increase may be attributed to the presence of a more homogenous basal activity in the alloys due to a lower degree of orientation clustering, to grain boundary solute segregation, and to a higher slip diffusivity at grain interiors.

Optimisation of alloy composition for highly-formable magnesium sheet

The effectiveness of Ca or Gd addition on ductility and formability of Mg-Zn-Zr based dilute alloys in deep drawing has not been systematically compared previously.In this study,formable Mg-Zn-Gd-Zr and Mg-Zn-Ca-Zr sheet alloys are produced by hot rolling.These sheets have similarly weakened basal texture,but the sheet of the Mg-Zn-Gd-Zr alloys has higher ductility and formability than that of Mg-Zn-Ca-Zr alloys.The combined addition of 0.2wt%Ca and 0.4wt%Gd to the Mg-1Zn-0.5Zr(wt%)alloy leads to a Mg-1Zn-0.4Gd-0.2Ca-0.5Zr alloy that has even better ductility,and its formability during deep drawing is comparable to the benchmark Al6016 sheet.An increase in Ca content from 0.2wt%to 0.5wt%leads to decreased sheet ductility and formability,predominantly due to grain boundary embrittlement.

Prevention of halfway cracks in continuous cast A36 steel slabs containing boron

The formation of halfway cracks in continuous cast A36 steel slabs containing 17 ppm boron was studied by investigating the zero ductility temperature(ZDT), zero strength temperature(ZST), solidification characteristics, and strain distribution in the steels. Results show that the formation of halfway cracks in A36-B slab is attributed to the increase in both the internal crack susceptibility(ZDT and ZST) of the steel and the external tensile strain at the solidification front. The ZST of both steels with(A36-B) and without(A36) boron addition is nearly the same, but the ZDT of A36-B steel is found 50 oC lower due to a considerable increase of boron content at the final stage of solidification. The decrease of ZDT enlarges the solidification cracking susceptibility zone and results in the A36-B steel being more prone to cracking. In addition, during the unbending segments, a large tensile strain, resulting from the unbending process and the misalignment deviation of supporting rolls, occurs in the upper part of the solidified shell, which is another reason causing halfway cracks in A36-B slab. By decreasing the P and S content to be less than 50 ppm and 150 ppm, respectively, controlling B content in the range of 10 to 15 ppm, increasing the secondary cooling specific water ratio from 0.76 to 0.85 L·kg-1, and restricting roll alignment deviation to less than plus or minus 0.3 mm, halfway cracks in the boron containing slab are almost eliminated.

SEGREGATED VECTOR SOLUTIONS FOR NONLINEAR SCHR?DINGER SYSTEMS IN R^2

We study the following nonlinear Schrodinger system{-△u＋P（｜x｜）u=μu^3＋βv^2u,x∈R^2, -△v＋Q（｜x｜）v=υv^3＋βu^2v,x∈R^2,where P（r） and Q（r） are positive radial functions, μ〉 0, υ 〉 0, and 3 E R is a coupling constant. This type of system arises, particularly, in models in Bose-Einstein condensates theory. Applying a finite reduction method, we construct an unbounded sequence of nonradial positive vector solutions of segregated type when β is in some suitable interval, which gives an answer to an interesting problem raised by Peng and Wang in Remark 4.1 （Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal., 208（2013）, 305-339）.

Effect of Zn and Y Additions on Grain Boundary Movement of Mg Binary Alloys During Static Recrystallization

Texture evolution in rolled Mg-1 wt%Zn and Mg-1 wt%Y binary alloys was analyzed by quasi-in situ electron backscatter diffraction(EBSD)during static recrystallization.Mg-1 wt%Zn and Mg-1 wt%Y alloys exhibited strong basal texture at the initial recrystallization state.After grain growth annealing,the basal texture component{0001}<1120>was increased in Mg-1 wt%Zn alloy and that of Mg-1 wt%Y alloy was decreased to be a random texture.Zn and Y atoms segregated strongly to the recrystallized grain boundaries in Mg-1 wt%Zn alloy and Mg-1 wt%Y alloy,respectively.Thus,Zn and Y elements facilitated the grain boundary movements along contrary directions during grain growth.In Mg-1 wt%Zn alloy,due to the Zn element segregation on grain boundaries,the grains consisted of a strong texture grew more easily because the grain boundary migration tended to move from the orientation close to normal direction to the orientation near to transverse direction or rolling direction.Therefore,after grain growth,the volume fraction of texture component{0001}<1120>was increased by consuming the neighboring grains,leading to a stronger basal texture.On the contrary,in the Mg-1 wt%Y alloy,the Y element segregation caused the opposite direction of grain boundary migration,resulting in a random texture.

Hot Ductility of Ti-V Bearing Microalloyed Steel in Continuous Casting

Hot ductility of Ti-V bearing steel was studied by theoretical calculation and thermal simulation experi ment. Meanwhile, microsegregation and precipitates were analyzed. The results showed that elements S, Ti and O were enriched at the grain boundaries, while the hot ductility was deteriorated by inclusions of （Fe, Mn, Si, Al）（S, O） in the interdendritic region. At tbe temperature of 1 100℃, large TiN particles had little effect on hot ductility. In the temperature range from 975 to 925 ℃, reduction of area （R. A） declined rapidly from 81. 88% to 63.16% with the size of particles decreasing from 40 to 20 nm and quantity increasing from 1.4 to 11.9 μm 2, respectively. In the temperature range from 875 to 825℃, R. A reduced unobviously from 35.14% to 28.6% with ferric films thickening gradually. The critical stress, 88.79 MPa, was equal to tensile strength at 825℃. Intergranular fracture was easy to occur with higher critical stress below 825℃.

Mechanical properties and deformation mechanisms of a novel fine-grained Mg-Gd-Y-Ag-Zr-Ce alloy with high strength-ductility synergy

Grain boundary precipitation and segregation play an important role in determining mechanical properties of Mg alloys. In the present work, we studied work focuses on the strengthening and deformation mechanism of coarse-grained(CG) and fine-grained(FG) Mg-Gd-Y-Ag-Zr-Ce alloy. The CG alloy is strengthened by means of age-strengthening with the formation of both basal plate γ" and prismatic plate β’ precipitates in the grain interior. While the strengthening of FC alloy is completed by intergranular alloying segregation and intragranular precipitates γ" and β’. The segregation of alloying elements at the grain boundary and formation of sub-micron particles can stabilize the grain boundary and suppress the intergranular deformation. Consequently, dislocations could be trapped near γ" and β’ precipitates in the grain interior. Unlike CG alloys, the FG alloys exhibit a heterogeneous transition from elastic to plastic deformation via the Lüders plateau. The rapid gliding dislocation multiplications and fine-grained size are necessary and sufficient conditions for the Lüders strains. Our work provides the insights on the evolution of fine-grained microstructure and helps for the design of Mg alloys with good mechanical properties.

Composition-dependent dynamic precipitation and grain refinement in Al-Si system under high-pressure torsion

Understanding composition effects is crucial for alloy design and development. To date, there is a lack of research comprehensively addressing the effect of alloy composition on dynamic precipitation, segregation and grain refinement under severe-plastic-deformation processing. This research investigates Al-x Si alloys with x = 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 at.% Si processed by high pressure torsion(HPT) at room temperature by using transmission electron microscopy, transmission Kikuchi diffraction and atom probe tomography. The alloys exhibit interesting composition-dependent grain refinement and fast dynamic decomposition under HPT processing. Si atoms segregate at dislocations and Si precipitates form at grain boundaries(GBs) depending on the Si content of the alloys. The growth of Si precipitates consumes most Si atoms segregating at GBs, hence the size and distribution of the Si precipitates become predominant factors in controlling the grain size of the decomposed Al-Si alloys after HPT processing. The hardness of the Al-Si alloys is well correlated with a combination of grain-refinement strengthening and the decomposition-induced softening.