Effect of vacuum annealing on microstructure and mechanical properties of TA15 titanium alloy sheets

The mechanical properties, microstructures, and fractographs of TA15 sheets vacuum-annealed under different patterns were investigated. The results indicate that vacuum annealing significantly improves the mechanical properties of the sheets in comparison with those after ambient annealing. With increasing the annealing temperature, the phase boundaries and secondary a-phase increase, whereas the volume fraction of primary a-phase decreases, resulting in increased strength and decreased elongation A relatively fine secondary a-phase is obtained after double annealing. The desirable mechanical properties （i.e., ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation are 1070 MPa, 958 MPa, and 15%, respectively） are obtained through double annealing （（950 ℃/2 h, AC）＋（600 ℃/2 h, AC））. The fractographs obtained after tensile tests show that the deepest and largest dimples are formed in the specimen annealed at 850 ℃, which indicates that the best plasticity is obtained at this annealing temperature.

Effect of vacuum annealing on the characteristics of composite pellets containing DBSA-doped polyaniline and Fe nanoparticles

The DBSA-PANI-Fe composite powder with 50wt% of Fe nanoparticles was prepared by mechanically mixing the DBSA-doped polyaniline powder and Fe nanoparticles. The composite powder was compacted to pellets and the pellets were annealed in vacuum at 443,493,543, and 593 K for 60 and 120 min. The conductivity of the pellet increases markedly with increasing the annealing temperature up to 493 K, and then decreases with further increasing the annealing temperature. When the pellet was annealed at 493 K for 60 min, the increment of conductivity reaches a maximum value, and the conductivity is 2.6 times as large as that of the pellet unannealed. The conductivities of the pellets annealed under the conditions of 543 K/120 min, 593 K/60 min, and 593 K/120 min are lower than the conductivity of the pellet unannealed. For all the pellets, the variation in conductivity with temperature reveals that the charge transport mechanism can be considered to be 1-D variable-range-hopping （1-D VRH）. The composite pellet shows a magnetic hysteresis loop independent of the annealing condition. The saturation magnetization is about 5.4×10^4 emu/kg. The saturation field and the coercivity are estimated to be 4.38×10^5 and 3.06×10^4 A/m, respectively. The crystalline structure ofFe nanoparticles in the composites does not change with the annealing condition. The annealing condition cannot destroy the polymer backbones.

Soft magnetic properties of amorphous Fe_(52)Co_(34)Hf_7B_6Cu_1 alloy treated by pulsed magnetic field and annealing

The crystallization, microstructure, and soft magnetic properties of Fe52Co34Hf7B6Cul alloy are studied. Amorphous Fe52Co34Hf7B6Cul alloys are first treated by a pulsed magnetic field with a medium frequency, and then annealed at 100 ℃-400 ℃ for 30 min in a vacuum. The rise in temperature during the treatment by a pulsed magnetic field is measured by a non-contact infrared thermometer. The soft magnetic properties of specimens are measured by a vibrating sample magnetometer （VSM）. The microstructure changes of specimens are observed by a MSssbauer spectroscopy and transmission electron microscope （TEM）. The results show the medium-frequency pulsating magnetic field will pro- mote nanocrystallization of the amorphous alloy with a lower temperature rise. The nanocrystalline phase is （α-Fe（Co） with bcc crystal structure, and the grain size is about 10 nm. After vacuum annealing at 100 ℃ for 30 min, scattering nanocrystalline phases become more uniform, the coercive force and the saturation magnetization of the specimens are 41.98 A/m and 185.15 emu/g.

Effects of thickness and annealing condition on magnetic properties and thermal stabilities of Ta/Nd/NdFeB/Nd/Ta sandwiched films

Ta/Nd/NdFeB/Nd/Ta sandwiched films are deposited by magnetron sputtering on Si（100） substrates,and subsequently annealed in vacuum at different temperatures for different time.It is found that both the thickness of NdFeB and Nd layer and the annealing condition can affect the magnetic properties of Ta/Nd/NdFeB/Nd/Ta films.Interestingly,the thickness and annealing temperature show the relevant behaviors that can affect the magnetic properties of the film.The high coercivity of 24.1 kOe（1 Oe = 79.5775 A/m） and remanence ratio（remanent magnetization/saturation magnetization）of 0.94 can be obtained in a Ta/Nd（250 nm）/NdFeB（600 nm）/Nd（250 nm）/Ta film annealed for 3 min at 1023 K.In addition,the thermal stability of the film is also linked to the thickness of NdFeB and Nd layer and the annealing temperature as well.The excellent thermal stability can be achieved in a Ta/Nd（250 nm）/NdFeB（600 nm）/Nd（250 nm）/Ta film annealed at1023 K.

High Resolution Electron Microscopy Observations of Structural Changes in Iron Nitride Films Annealed in Vacuum

Iron-nitride films were prepared by reactive sputtering, and the effect of annealing treatment on the structures was investigated by means of in-situ electron microscopy and high resolution electron microscopy (HREM). As-deposited films were observed to be a mixed structure of a few ultrafine epsilon-Fe2-3N particles existing in the amorphous matrix. it was found that the structure-relaxation in the amorphous occurred at 473 K, and the ultrafine grains began to grow at the higher annealing temperatures. The transition of the amorphous to epsilon-Fe2-3N was almost completed at 673 K. It is considered that the formation of the ideal epsilon-Fe3N is originated from the ordering of the nitrogen atoms during the annealing in vacuum. On the other hand, gamma'-phase (Fe4N) was seen to precipitation of epsilon-phase at 723 K. Two possible modes are proposed in the precipitation of gamma'-phase, depending on the heating rate and crystallographic orientation relationships, i.e. [121](epsilon)//[001](gamma), (2(1) over bar0$)(epsilon)//(110)(gamma) and [100](epsilon)//[110](gamma), (001)(epsilon)//(111)(gamma). In addition, alpha-Fe particles were observed to form from the gamma'-phase at high temperatures. We assumed that these structural changes are due to the diffusion of nitrogen and iron atoms during the annealing, except for the case of the precipitation of the gamma'-phase as depicted above. The results obtained in this work are in a good agreement with the assumption.

Temperature effect on the electronic structure of Nb:SrTiO_3(100) surface

The effect of temperature on the electronic structure of Nb-doped SrTiO3（100） surface is investigated by highresolution synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy.According to the x-ray photoemission spectroscopy（XPS）results,at an annealing temperature of less than 700 ℃,the adsorbed carbon and hydroxyl on the STO surface could be removed,to expose the fresh intrinsic surface with a constant ratio of Ti/O.It is obvious that the STO would be doped by Ca^＋ impurities of bulks and O vacancies in the surface after annealing at 920 ℃ for one hour.

Surface effect induced phase transformation by Mn removal during annealing and its textures in cold-rolled high manganese transformation-induced plasticity steel

The surface effect induced transformation texture during vacuum annealing of cold-rolled high manganese transformation-induced plasticity(TRIP)steels was studied.Due to Mn removal occurring at the surface layer,γ→δdiffusional phase transformation leads to the formation of hard pancake-shaped ferrite grains due to solution strengthening at the surface and the centre layer remains as austenite+martensite after annealing.In the case of slow heating,{112}/{111}<110>textures for the surface ferrite were strengthened with the increase in temperature and holding time,indicating an inheritance of rolling textures.By increasing the heating rate of annealing,the rotated cube texture was developed in surface ferrite.This kind of multiphase sandwich structure with hard ferrite surface layer and tough austenite dominant centre can increase tensile strength and should also improve deep drawing properties,therefore providing new possibility of controlling properties for the application of high manganese TRIP steel.

Defect elimination to enhance photoluminescence and optical transparency of Pr-doped ceramics for self-calibrated temperature feedback windows

Pr-doped metal oxide polycrystalline transparent ceramics are highly desirable for photothermal window systems served in extreme environments;however,obtaining efficient photoluminescence(PL)together with high transparency in these ceramics is still posing serious challenges,which undoubtedly limits their applications.Here,Pr-doped Y_(2)Zr_(2)O_(7)(YZO)transparent ceramics,as an illustrative example,are prepared by a solid-state reaction and vacuum sintering method.Owing to the elimination of defect clusters[Pr_(Y)^(4+)-O^(2-)Pr_(Y)^(4+)]and[Pr_(Y)^(4+)-e′]without the introduction of impurities and additional defects,the fabricated YZO:Pr ceramics exhibit high transparency(74%)and efficient PL(39-fold enhanced)after air annealing plus vacuum re-annealing treatment.Moreover,upon 295/450 nm excitation,the emission bands(blue,green,red,and dark red)from YZO:Pr ceramics present different temperature-dependent properties due to the thermalquenching channel generated by the intervalence charge transfer(IVCT)state between Pr_(Y)^(4+)and Zr^(4+)ions.Furthermore,a self-calibrated temperature feedback window with the same fluorescence intensity ratio(FIR)model(I_(613)/I_(503),where I represents the intensity)under different excitation light sources(295 and 450 nm)is designed.The developed photothermal window operated in a wide temperature range(303-663 K)shows relatively high sensitivities(absolute sensitivity(Sa)and relative sensitivity(S)reach 0.008 K^(-1)at 663 K and 0.47%K^(-1)at 363 K,respectively),high repeatability(>98%),and low temperature uncertainty(T<3.2 K).This work presents a paradigm for achieving enhanced PL along with elevated transparency of lanthanide(Ln)-doped ceramics through vacuum re-annealing treatment engineering and demonstrates their promising potential for photothermal window systems.