High strength and ductility achieved in friction stir processed Ni-Co based superalloy with fine grains and nanotwins

The trade-off between strength and ductility has been an enormous difficulty in the field of materials for an extended time due to their inverse correlation. In this work, friction stir processing(FSP) was for the first time performed to high-strength and high-melting-point Ni-Co based superalloy(GH4068),and enhanced strength and ductility were achieved in FSP samples. At room temperature, the FSP sample demonstrated significantly higher yield strength and ultimate tensile strength(1290 and 1670 MPa)than that of the base material(BM, 758 and 904 MPa) and advanced wrought GH4068 alloy(982 and 1291 MPa), concurrent with high tensile ductility(~24%). Compared with the BM, 70% higher yield strength of the FSP sample results from the remarkable contribution of grain-boundary and nanotwin strengthening, which has been confirmed by the multimechanistic model studied in this work. More importantly, with increasing temperature, an excellent strength-ductility synergy was obtained at 400 ℃,i.e., the yield strength of the FSP sample was increased by more than 50% compared with the BM(from789 to 1219 MPa);more interestingly, the elongation was also significantly increased from 17.9% in the BM to 28.5% in the FSP sample. Meanwhile, the Portevin-Le Chatelier effect was observed in the engineering stress-strain curve. The occurrence of this effect may be attributed to the interaction between solutes and defects like twins and mobile dislocations. Moreover, the grain refinement mechanism of FSP samples was proved to be discontinuous dynamic recrystallization.

Introduction of nanotwins into nanoprecipitations strengthened CoCrNiMo_(0.2) alloy to achieve strength and ductility trade-off:A comparative research

Normal strengthening methods through precipitations and deformation obviously enhance the strength of metallic materials while resulting in the sacrifice of ductility,and synergistic improvement of strength and ductility is currently an urgent requirement.Herein we developed a cryogenic deformation combined with an annealing method to fabricate CoCrNiMo_(0.2) medium entropy alloy,which achieved an ultrahigh strength of 1.8 GPa with synergistic improvement in strength and ductility.Microstructure,mechanical performance,and strengthening mechanisms of the developed alloys were investigated compared with that prepared by the regular room temperature deformation method.It was found that high-density nanotwins were produced in CoCrNiMo_(0.2) MEA via cryogenic deformation.Fine grains,hard precipitations,and high volume fraction of nanotwins greatly strengthened the alloy,obtaining a yield and ultimate tensile strength of 1400 MPa and 1800 MPa.Ductility improvement of the developed alloy was mainly attributed to the production of deformation nanotwins due to the lower stacking fault energy,which greatly increases the dislocation storage ability,and thus,the ductility of the alloy was enhanced.

Theoretical study of the effects of alloying elements on Cu nanotwins

Nanotwins form in many metallic materials to improve their strength and toughness.In this study,we thoroughly studied the alloying effects of 10 common metal and nonmetal elements on Cu nanotwins by density functional theory(DFT).We calculated the segregation energies to determine if Cu nanotwins attract both the metal and nonmetal alloying elements;these segregation energies were then decomposed to mechanical and chemical components.The Cu-Sn bonds are different from other metal alloying elements,and the strong bond between Cu and the nonmetal element results in the negative values of the chemical contribution.Furthermore,the temperature and concentration have different effects on the nanotwin formation energy of the metal and nonmetal alloying elements.As determined by the Generalized Stacking Fault Energy,Al and nonmetals can inhibit the migration of Cu nanotwin boundary,and the effects of Li,Mg,and Sn are opposite.Our theoretical study serves as the foundation for the engineering nanotwin structures through alloying elements,the elements that may lead to new alloy compositions and thermomechanical processes,and are important complements to the experimental research.

A molecular dynamics study on mechanical performance and deformation mechanisms in nanotwinned NiCo-based alloys with nano-precipitates under high temperatures

Molecular dynamics simulations are performed to investigate the mechanical behavior of nanotwinned NiCo-based alloys containing coherent L12 nano-precipitates at different temperatures,as well as the interactions between the dislocations and nano-precipitates within the nanotwins.The simulation results demonstrate that both the yield stress and flow stress in the nanotwinned NiCo-based alloys with nano-precipitates decrease as the temperature rises,because the higher temperatures lead to the generation of more defects during yielding and lower dislocation density during plastic deformation.Moreover,the coherent L12 phase exhibits excellent thermal stability,which enables the hinderance of dislocation motion at elevated temperatures via the wrapping and cutting mechanisms of dislocations.The synergistic effect of nanotwins and nano-precipitates results in more significant strengthening behavior in the nanotwinned NiCo-based alloys under high temperatures.In addition,the high-temperature mechanical behavior of nanotwinned NiCo-based alloys with nano-precipitates is sensitive to the size and volume fraction of the microstructures.These findings could be helpful for the design of nanotwins and nano-precipitates to improve the high-temperature mechanical properties of NiCo-based alloys.

Molecular dynamics simulation on mechanisms of plastic anisotropy in nanotwinned polycrystalline copper with{111}texture during tensile deformation

Based on molecular dynamics(MD)simulation,the mechanisms of plastic anisotropy in nanotwinned polycrystalline copper with{111}texture during tensile deformation were systematically studied from the aspects of Schmid factor of the dominant slip system and the dislocation mechanism.The results show that the Schmid factor of dominated slip system is altered by changing the inclining angle of the twin boundaries(TBs),while the yield stress or flow stress does not strictly follow the Schmid law.There exist hard and soft orientations involving different dislocation mechanisms during the tensile deformation.The strengthening mechanism of hard orientation lies in the fact that there exist interactions between the dislocations and the TBs during plastic deformation,which leads to the dislocation blocking and reactions.The softening mechanism of soft orientation lies in the fact that there is no interaction between the dislocations and the TBs because only the slip systems parallel to the TBs are activated and the dislocations slip on the planes parallel to the TBs.It is concluded that the plastic anisotropy in the nanotwinned polycrystalline copper with{111}texture is aroused by the combination effect of the Schmid factor of dominated slip system and the dislocation mechanism.

Interfacial enhancement of Ag and Cu particles sintering using(111)-oriented nanotwinned Cu as substrate for die-attachment

The electroplated(111)-oriented nanotwinned-Cu(nt-Cu) film was utilized as substrate for Ag and Cu sinter joining to improve the weak interface connection between the metal paste and the substrate.It was found that both Cu and Ag sinter joints using(111)-oriented nt-Cu film exhibited a higher bonding strength than that using traditional random-oriented Cu film.Especially,the joints sintered with Cu paste on(111)-oriented nt-Cu film possessed a higher bonding strength of 53.7 MPa at the sintering condition of 300 °C,0.4 MPa in N2 atmosphere,compared to that on random-oriented Cu film with a value of 31.3 MPa.The results show that as metal substrate layer,the(111)-oriented nt-Cu film can improve the connection performance of Ag and Cu sinter joints,which could further promote their application in dieattachment technology for the next-generation power semiconductors.

Phase-field simulation of the coupled evolutions of grain and twin boundaries in nanotwinned polycrystals

Nanotwinned polycrystals exhibit an excellent strength-ductility combination due to nanoscale twins and grains. However, nanotwin-assisted grain coarsening under mechanical loading reported in recent experiments may result in strength drop based on the Hall-Petch law. In this paper, a phase-field model is developed to investigate the effect of coupled evolutions of twin and grain boundaries on nanotwin-assisted grain growth. The simulation result demonstrates that there are three pathways for coupled motions of twin and grain boundaries in a bicrystal under the applied loading, dependent on the amplitude of applied loading and misorientation of the bicrystal. It reveals that a large misorientation angle and a large applied stress promote the twinning-driven grain boundary migration. The resultant twin-assisted grain coarsening is confirmed in the simulations for the microstructural evolutions in twinned and un-twinned polycrystals under a high applied stress.

Strengthening and softening in gradient nanotwinned FCC metallic multilayers

Plastic-deformation behaviors of gradient nanotwinned(GNT)metallic multilayers are investigated in nanoscale via molecular dynamics simulation.The evolution law of deformation behaviors of GNT metallic multilayers with different stacking fault energies(SFEs)during nanoindentation is revealed.The deformation behavior transforms from the dislocation dynamics to the twinning/detwinning in the GNT Ag,Cu,to Al with SFE increasing.In addition,it is found that the GNT Ag and GNT Cu strengthen in the case of a larger twin gradient based on more significant twin boundary(TB)strengthening and dislocation strengthening,while the GNT Al softens due to more TB migration and dislocation nucleation from TB at a larger twin gradient.The softening mechanism is further analyzed theoretically.These results not only provide an atomic insight into the plastic-deformation behaviors of certain GNT metallic multilayers with different SFEs,but also give a guideline to design the GNT metallic multilayers with required mechanical properties.

The wrinkling and buckling of graphene induced by nanotwinned copper matrix:A molecular dynamics study

The three-dimensional(3D)graphene-based materials have raised significant interest due to excellent catalytic performance and unique electronic properties,while the preparation of uniform and stable 3D graphene structures remains a challenge.In this paper,using molecular dynamics simulations,we found that the nanotwinned copper(nt-Cu)matrix with small twin spacing can induce the wave-shaped wrinkling and sawtooth-shaped buckling graphene structures under uniaxial compression.The nt-Cu matrix possesses a symmetrical lattice structure for the lattice rotation with the dislocation annihilation,resulting in the transition of sandwiched graphene from 2D to 3D structures with good uniformity.The newly formed twin boundaries(TBs)in the nt-Cu matrix improve the resistance of graphene against the out-of-plane deformation so that graphene can maintain a stable wrinkling or buckling morphology in a wide strain range.These 3D texturing structures show great flexibility and their micro parameters can be controlled by applying different compressive strains.Furthermore,we propose a simple sliding method for decoupling graphene from the nt-Cu matrix without any damage.This work provides a novel strategy to induce and transfer the uniform wrinkling and buckling of graphene,which may expand the application of graphene in energy storage and catalysts.

Influences of nanotwin volume fraction on the ballistic performance of coarse-grained metals

Coarse-grained（CG） metals strengthened by nanotwinned（NT） regions possess high strength and good ductility. As such, they are very suitable for applications in bullet-proof targets. Here, a numerical model based on the conventional theory of strain gradient plasticity and the Johnson–Cook failure criterion is employed to study the influences of volume fraction of NT regions on their ballistic performance.The results show that in general a relatively small twin spacing（4–10 nm） and a moderate volume fraction（7%–20%） will lead to excellent limit velocity and that the influences of volume fraction on limit displacement change with the category of impact processes.

Achieving high strength and high ductility in nanostructured metals: Experiment and modelling

Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, Chinagrains to a^1-martensite nanograins with bimodal grain size distribution for lower strain rates to nanotwins in the ultrafine/coarse grained austenite phase for higher strain rates. Meanwhile, we will further address the mechanism-based plastic models to describe the yield strength, strain hardening and ductility in nanostructured metals with bimodal grain size distribution and nanotwinned polycrystalline metals. The proposed theoretical models can comprehensively describe the plastic deformation in these two kinds of nanostructured metals and excellent agreement is achieved between the numerical and experimental results. These models can be utilized to optimize the strength and ductility in nanostructured metals by controlling the size and distribution of nanostructures.

Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of the Shear Band Formed at Cryogenic Temperature in the NiCrFe Medium‑Entropy Alloy

There are nanotwins in the shear band formed in a moment(about 10^(−5)s)in some NiCrFe-based medium-entropy alloys(MEAs),and these shear bands can be recognized as a special kind of materials due to their high strength and good plasticity.In this study,the single shear band of the NiCrFe MEA was prepared at 77 K.A series of characterizations were carried out to analyze the microstructures in the shear band.The strength of the shear band was investigated by the split Hopkinson pressure bar and in-situ compression.The micropillar in the shear band containing nanotwins exhibits excellent strengthplasticity synergy.The compressive yield strength of the shear band measured by in-situ compression is 175%higher than that of the matrix,reaching 1405 MPa,with the fracture strain exceeding 0.5.The strengthening mechanism of the shear band was revealed by the combination of the experimental results and molecular dynamics simulation.The synergistic effect of multiple strengthening mechanisms enhances the strength of the NiCrFe MEA containing nanotwins,in which the grain boundary strengthening of the ultrafine equiaxed grains and the dynamic Hall–Petch effect of the nanotwins dominate.In addition,the good plasticity of the shear band is ascribed to the stress concentration reduction of the twin boundaries of nanotwins and the activation of multiple slip systems due to the randomly oriented nanotwins.These findings provide theoretical guidance for the design of nanotwinned MEAs to realize excellent strength-plasticity synergy for structural materials.

Simultaneous enhancement of strength and ductility via microband formation and nanotwinning in an L1_(2)-strengthened alloy

Metallic alloys with high strength and large ductility are required for extreme structural applications.However,the achievement of ultrahigh strength often results in a substantially decreased ductility.Here,we report a strategy to achieve the strength-ductility synergy by tailoring the alloy composition to control the local stacking fault energy(SFE)of the face-centered-cubic(fcc)matrix in an L1_(2)-strengthened superlattice alloy.As a proof of concept,based on the thermodynamic calculations,we developed a non-equiatomic CoCrNi_(2)(Al_(0.2)Nb_(0.2))alloy using phase separation to create a near-equiatomic low SFE disordered CoCrNi medium-entropy alloy matrix with in situ formed high-content coherent Ni_(3)(Al,Nb)-type ordered nanoprecipitates(∼12 nm).The alloy achieves a high tensile strength up to 1.6 GPa and a uniform ductility of 33%.The low SFE of the fcc matrix promotes the formation of nanotwins and parallel microbands during plastic deformation which could remarkably enhance the strain hardening capacity.This work provides a strategy for developing ultrahigh-strength alloys with large uniform ductility.

Improving Fatigue Properties of 316L Stainless Steel Welded Joints by Surface Spinning Strengthening

The surface spinning strengthening(3S)mechanism and fatigue life extension mechanism of 316L stainless steel welded joint were systematically elucidated by microstructural analyses and mechanical tests.Results indicate that surface gradient hardening layer of approximately 1 mm is formed in the base material through grain fragmentation and deformation twin strengthening,as well as in the welding zone composed of deformedδ-phases and nanotwins.The fatigue strength of welded joint after 3S significantly rises by 32%(from 190 to 250 MPa),which is attributed to the effective elimination of surface geometric defects,discrete refinement ofδ-Fe phases and the appropriate improvement in the surface strength,collectively mitigating strain localization and surface fatigue damage within the gradient strengthening layer.The redistributed fineδ-Fe phases benefited by strong stress transfer of 3S reduce the risk of surface weak phase cracking,causing the fatigue fracture to transition from microstructure defects to crystal defects dominated by slip,further suppressing the initiation and early propagation of fatigue cracks.

Nanostructures and nanoprecipitates induce high strength and high electrical conductivity in a CuCrZr alloy

The mixed nanostructure mainly consisting of nanotwins and nanograins was obtained in a solid solution CuCrZr alloy by means of dynamic plastic deformation at cryogenic temperature.After subsequent aging treatments,the precipitation of Cr at nanometer scale provided further strengthening and brought substantial recovery of electrical conductivity.The aged nanostructured CuCrZr alloy exhibited a high tensile strength of 832MPa and a high electrical conductivity of 71.2%IACS.The details of precipitation tuned by nanotwin boundaries were demonstrated in this work.The combined strengthening of nanostructures and nanoprecipitates was discussed.

Selective laser melting of bulk immiscible alloy with enhanced strength:Heterogeneous microstructure and deformation mechanisms

To overcome the dimension limits of immiscible alloys produced by traditional techniques and enhance their mechanical properties,bulk Cu-Fe-based immiscible alloy with abundant nanotwins and stacking faults was successfully produced by selective laser melting(SLM).The SLM-produced bulk immiscible alloy displays a heterogeneous microstructure characterized by micro-scaledγ-Fe particles dispersed in fineε-Cu matrix with a high fraction(~92%)of high-angle grain boundaries.Interestingly,abundant nanotwins and stacking faults are generated in the interior of nano-scaledγ-Fe particles embedded withinε-Cu matrix.The heterogeneous interface of soft domains(ε-Cu)and hard domains(γ-Fe)not only induces the geometrically necessary dislocations(GNDs)but also affects the dislocation propagation during plastic deformation.Therefore,the bimodal heterogeneous interface,and the resistance of nanotwins and stacking faults to the propagation of partial dislocation make the bulk immiscible alloy exhibit an enhanced strength of~590 MPa and a good ductility of~8.9%.

Size effect of deformation nanotwin bundles on their strengthening and toughening in heterogeneous nanostructured Cu

Herein, we fabricated a heterogeneous nanostructured Cu with deformation nanotwin bundles(NTBs) embedded in a matrix of nanograins by means of dynamic plastic deformation at liquid nitrogen temperature. We conducted fracture mechanical measurements to investigate the effect of longitudinal length of the NTBs on their strengthening and toughening. Results suggest that an increase in the NTB length had a marginal influence on the tensile strength;however, it remarkably promoted both fracture initiation toughness and crack growth toughness. Longer NTBs are more effective not only in intrinsically enhancing crack tip plasticity by suppressing the strain localization and void nucleation but also in serving as crack bridges behind the crack front to extrinsically resist the fracture by shielding the crack tip.

Twin and twin intersection phenomena in a creep deformed microalloyed directionally solidified high Nb containing TiAl alloy

The creep behavior of a directionally solidified TiAl alloy with a high Nb content after microalloying by the addition of small amounts of W,Cr,and B elements was investigated by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.By means of directional solidification and microalloying,a TiAl alloy with a fine and uniform microstructure and continuous columnar crystals was obtained.High-density dislocations,deformation nanotwins,and twin intersections were observed inγlamellae.The results show that,in comparison with the ternary TiAl alloy,the microalloyed high Nb containing TiAl alloy exhibited better creep properties at 760℃and 275 MPa.The decrease in stacking fault energy can promote dislocation dissociation and the formation of deformation twins,and the twin intersections can hinder the movement of dislocation to enhance the creep performance of the TiAl alloy.

Dynamically compressive behaviors and plastic mechanisms of a CrCoNi medium entropy alloy at various temperatures

As an attractive class of metallic materials,single-phase CrCoNi medium-entropy alloy(MEA)has drawn much attention recently regarding their deformation behaviors,but the dynamically mechanical responses of this alloy at high strain rates remain less studied,especially coupled with extremely low temperatures.In this study,the dynamic deformation behaviors of this CrCoNi MEA were systematically investigated at room temperature(RT)of 298 K and liquid nitrogen temperature(LNT)of 77 K using the split Hopkinson pressure bar(SHPB).This alloy exhibited a combination of higher yield strength and stronger hardening rate upon dynamic compressive deformation when the loading conditions become much harsher(higher strain rate or lower temperature).Detailed microstructure analyses indicated that the strong strain hardening ability during dynamic deformation was mainly attributed to the continuous formation of nanoscale deformation twins.Furthermore,as loaded at LNT,multi-directional deformation twins were activated.Meanwhile,due to the interaction between Shockley partial dislocations and twin boundaries,large-sized deformation-induced FCC-HCP phase transformations at a micrometer scale were also observed within the grains,which not only accommodated the plasticity but also played an important role in improving the hardening capability owing to the appearance of newly generated interfaces.

High strength and deformation stability achieved in CrCoNi alloy containing deformable oxides

Hard secondary phases usually strengthen alloys at the expense of ductility.In this work,we made a dual-phase CrCoNi-O alloy containing a face centered cubic matrix and chromium oxide.On one side,the dispersed chromium oxide nano-particles impeded dislocation movement and increased the strength of the alloy.On another side,the spreading lattice distortion in CrCoNi-O high entropy solution locally relieved the severe interfacial mismatch and led to nanoscale variation of interfacial strain at the matrix-oxide interface,which facilitated dislocations’transmission from one phase to another.Consequently,unlike the strong but brittle oxide nanoparticles used before,the oxide phase here can afford significant dislocation activities during material’s plastic deformation.Comparing the mechanical properties of CrCoNi-O alloys with and without chromium oxide particles,it was found that the yield strength of the dual-phase samples was twice of the single phase CrCoNi-O alloy and strong strain hardening was obtained with ultra-high deformation stability.High density of nanotwins formed in dual-phase samples under high stress,resulting in significant strain hardening according to the well-known twinning-induced plasticity(TWIP)effect.Our results shed light on optimizing the combination of strength and plasticity of compounds by modulating the variation of interfacial strain field based on the spreading lattice distortion.