Research progress of heterogeneous structure magnesium alloys:A review

In recent years,a new class of metallic materials featuring heterogeneous structures has emerged.These materials consist of distinct soft and hard domains with significant differences in mechanical properties,allowing them to maintain high strength while offering superior ductility.Magnesium(Mg)alloys,renowned for their low density,high specific strength,exceptional vibration damping,and electromagnetic shielding properties,exhibit tremendous potential as lightweight and functional materials.Despite their advantageous properties,high-strength Mg alloys often suffer from limited ductility.However,the emergence of heterogeneous materials provides a fresh perspective for the development of Mg alloys with both high strength and ductility.This article provided a fundamental overview of heterostructured materials and systematically reviewed the recent research progress in the design of Mg alloys with strength-ductility balance based on heterostructure principles.The review encompassed various aspects,including preparation methods,formation mechanisms of diverse heterostructures,and mechanical properties,both within domestic and international contexts.On this basis,the article discussed the challenges encountered in the design and fabrication of heterostructured Mg alloys,as well as the urgent issues that require attention and resolution in the future.

Simultaneous multi-material embedded printing for 3D heterogeneous structures

In order to mimic the natural heterogeneity of native tissue and provide a better microenvironment for cell culturing,multi-material bioprinting has become a common solution to construct tissue models in vitro.With the embedded printing method,complex 3D structure can be printed using soft biomaterials with reasonable shape fidelity.However,the current sequential multi-material embedded printing method faces a major challenge,which is the inevitable trade-off between the printed structural integrity and printing precision.Here,we propose a simultaneous multi-material embedded printing method.With this method,we can easily print firmly attached and high-precision multilayer structures.With multiple individually controlled nozzles,different biomaterials can be precisely deposited into a single crevasse,minimizing uncontrolled squeezing and guarantees no contamination of embedding medium within the structure.We analyse the dynamics of the extruded bioink in the embedding medium both analytically and experimentally,and quantitatively evaluate the effects of printing parameters including printing speed and rheology of embedding medium,on the 3D morphology of the printed filament.We demonstrate the printing of double-layer thin-walled structures,each layer less than 200μm,as well as intestine and liver models with 5%gelatin methacryloyl that are crosslinked and extracted from the embedding medium without significant impairment or delamination.The peeling test further proves that the proposed method offers better structural integrity than conventional sequential printing methods.The proposed simultaneous multi-material embedded printing method can serve as a powerful tool to support the complex heterogeneous structure fabrication and open unique prospects for personalized medicine.

Double heterogeneous structures induced excellent strength-ductility synergy in Ni_(40)Co_(30)Cr_(20)Al_(5)Ti_(5)medium-entropy alloy

The application of single-phase face-centered cubic(FCC)medium entropy alloys(MEAs)in the engi-neering industry is often hindered by the challenge of insufficient strength.In this study,a novel non-equiatomic ratio Ni_(40)Co_(30)Cr_(20)Al_(5)Ti_(5)MEA was successfully fabricated.Through the well-designed mechan-ical heat treatment processing,we introduced a heterogeneous grain structure comprising 67.4%fine grain and 32.6%coarse grain.Additionally,heterogeneous size L12 phases consisting of 18.7%submicron precip-itates and 11.7%nano-sized precipitates,were incorporated into the alloy.Tensile tests conducted at room temperature revealed that the double heterogeneous structure alloy demonstrated remarkable strength–ductility synergy.It exhibited a yield strength of 1200 MPa,an ultimate tensile strength of 1560 MPa and a total elongation of 33.6%.The exceptional strength of the alloy can be primarily attributed to heteroge-neous deformation induced strengthening,grain boundary strengthening and precipitation strengthening.The excellent ductility is mainly attributed to the high-density stacking faults and Lomer–Cottrell locks.This study not only contributes to the clarification of the strengthening and deformation mechanism of double heterogeneous structure alloys but also provides an effective strategy for the development of high-performance alloys with high strength and ductility.

Ultrastrong and ductile(CoCrNi)_(94)Ti_(3)Al_(3)medium-entropy alloys via introducing multi-scale heterogeneous structures

The coarsening-grained single-phase face-centered cubic(fcc)medium-entropy alloys(MEAs)normally exhibit insufficient strength for some engineering applications.Here,superior mechanical properties with ultimate tensile strength of 1.6 GPa and fracture strain of 13.1%at ambient temperature have been achieved in a(CoCrNi)_(94)Ti_(3)Al_(3)MEA by carefully architecting the multi-scale heterogeneous structures.Electron microscopy characterization indicates that the superior mechanical properties mainly originated from the favorable heterogeneous fcc matrix(1-40μm)and the coherent sphericalγ’precipitates(10-100 nm),together with a high number density of crystalline defects(2-10 nm),including dislocations,small stacking faults,Lomer-Cottrell locks,and ultrafine deformation twins.

Improving the ductility and toughness of nano-TiC/AZ61 composite by optimizing bimodal grain microstructure via extrusion speed

In this study,the nano-TiC/AZ61 composites with different heterogeneous bimodal grain(HBG)structures and uniform structure are obtained by regulating the extrusion speed.The effect of HBG structure on the mechanical properties of the composites is investigated.The increasing ductility and toughening mechanism of HBG magnesium matrix composites are carefully discussed.When the extrusion speed increases from 0.75 mm/s to 2.5 mm/s or 3.5 mm/s,the microstructure transforms from uniform to HBG structure.Compared with Uniform-0.75 mm/s composite,Heterogeneous-3.5 mm/s composite achieves a 116.7%increase in ductility in the plastic deformation stage and almost no reduction in ultimate tensile strength.This is mainly because the lower plastic deformation inhomogeneity and higher strain hardening due to hetero-deformation induced(HDI)hardening.Moreover,Heterogeneous-3.5 mm/s composite achieves a 108.3%increase in toughness compared with the Uniform-0.75 mm/s composite.It is mainly because coarse grain(CG)bands can capture and blunt cracks,thereby increasing the energy dissipation for crack propagation and improving toughness.In addition,the CG band of the Heterogeneous-3.5 mm/s composite with larger grain size and lower dislocation density is more conducive to obtaining higher strain hardening and superior blunting crack capability.Thus,the increased ductility and toughness of the Heterogeneous-3.5 mm/s composite is more significant than that Heterogeneous-2.5 mm/s composite.

Optimal Insurance with Background Risk under the Ambiguity and Belief Heterogeneity Structure

In this paper, we discuss the optimal insurance in the presence of background risk while the insured is ambiguity averse and there exists belief heterogeneity between the insured and the insurer. We give the optimal insurance contract when maxing the insured’s expected utility of his/her remaining wealth under the smooth ambiguity model and the heterogeneous belief form satisfying the MHR condition. We calculate the insurance premium by using generalized Wang’s premium and also introduce a series of stochastic orders proposed by [1] to describe the relationships among the insurable risk, background risk and ambiguity parameter. We obtain the deductible insurance is the optimal insurance while they meet specific dependence structures.

Yielding and fracture behaviors of coarse-grain/ultrafine-grain heterogeneous-structured copper with transitional interface

Heterogeneous-structured Cu samples composed of coarse-grained(CG) and ultrafine-grained(UFG) domains with a transitional interface were fabricated by friction stir processing, in order to investigate the effect of interface constraint on the yielding and fracture behaviors. Tensile test revealed that the synergetic strengthening induced by elastic/plastic interaction between incompatible domains increases with increasing the area of constraint interface. The strain distribution near interface and the fracture morphology were characterized using digital image correlation technique and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. Fracture dimples preferentially formed at the interface, possibly due to extremely high triaxial stress and strain accumulation near the interface. Surprisingly, the CG domain was fractured by pure shear instead of the expected voids growth caused by tensile stress.

TiO_(2)/WO_(3)heterogeneous structures prepared by electrospinning and sintering steps:Characterization and analysis of the impedance variation to humidity

Relative humidity(RH) is a critical environmental variable for transportation and storage of products and for the quality guarantee of several other production processes and services. Heterogeneous structures prepared from the selective semiconductor oxides may improve the sensitivity to humidity due to the better electronic and surface properties, when compared to pristine oxides. This work shows an alternative fabrication route for producing titanium dioxide/tungsten trioxide(TiO2/WO3) heterogeneous structures(by electrospinning and sintering) for potential application on the RH detection. The microstructural properties of the materials were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis(EDS), X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. The electrical characterization of the structures was performed by electrical impedance spectroscopy in RH range of 10%–100%. Results indicated a p-to n-type conduction transition at around 30%–40% RH for all tested settings. The analysis of the impedance signature to humidity showed that the amount of fiber layers on the electrode and working temperature are important parameters to improve the humidity sensing of the TiO2/WO3 systems.

Heterogeneous Structure Design to Strengthen Carbon-Containing CoCrFeNi High Entropy Alloy

A carbon-containing CoCrFeNi high entropy alloy(HEA)with heterogeneous structures was obtained through thermomechanical treatments,which induced concurrent recrystallization and carbide precipitation in the alloy.A combination of high yield strength(556 MPa)and large uniform elongation(45%)was achieved in the investigated alloy.The enhancement of the strength is attributed to the combined effects of grain refinement,precipitation strengthening and microstructural heterogeneity.Our work demonstrated that the heterogeneity design could be realized by thermomechanical processes,which provided a practical strategy for producing HEAs with high performance.

Effects of extrusion temperature on microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of heterogeneous Mg−Gd alloy laminates via accumulated extrusion bonding

The influence of extrusion temperature on microstructure and mechanical properties of heterogeneous Mg−1Gd/Mg−13Gd laminate prepared by accumulated extrusion bonding was investigated.The results reveal that the Mg−1Gd/Mg−13Gd laminate forms a significant difference in grain size between the successive layers when extruded at 330℃,and this difference gradually disappears as the extrusion temperature increases from 380 to 430℃.Besides,the growth rate of recrystallized grains in fine-grained layers is faster than that in coarse-grained layers.Moreover,the diffusion ability of Gd element increases with elevating extrusion temperatures,promoting the increase and coarsening of precipitates in fine-grained layers.Tensile tests indicate that the sample extruded at 380℃ has a superior combination of strength and ductility.This is mainly attributed to the synergy of the heterogeneous texture between coarse and fine-grained layers,hetero-deformation induced strengthening and hardening.The fine-grained layers facilitate the activation of prismaticáañslips,while coarse-grained layers make it easier to active basaláañand pyramidalác+añslips,especially for the sample extruded at 380℃.The activation of pyramidalác+añslips contributes to coordinating further plastic deformation.

Tuning Cr-rich nanoprecipitation and heterogeneous structure in equiatomic CrFeNi medium-entropy stainless alloys

High-/medium-entropy stainless alloys(HESAs/MESAs)are a new kind of alloys with great potential to combine excellent properties from high-/medium-entropy alloys(HEAs/MEAs)and stainless steels.A CrFeNi MESA was chosen to investigate its microstructures and mechanical behaviors.After homogenization,the strength and ductility of CrFeNi MESAs with single-phase face-centered-cubic(fcc)structure were higher compared with those of Fe_(100−x-y)Cr_(x)Ni_(y)austenitic stainless steels.Cr-rich body-centered-cubic(bcc)precipitates and heterogeneous structure were introduced by cold rolling and annealing at 800℃.Rolling at 700℃ results in higher dislocation density and the occurrence of lamellar Cr-rich bcc precipitates.High-density dislocations and fcc grains with heterogeneous structure,together with Cr-rich bcc precipitates,contribute to a yield strength improvement of about 50 MPa,and appreciable tensile yield strength of~540 MPa and fracture strain of~20%are obtained.It reveals that not only compositional variations but also grain size and phase structure tuning can be utilized for achieving desired mechanical properties.

Superb strength and ductility balance of a Co-free medium-entropy alloy with dual heterogeneous structures

In present work,we successfully fabricated a novel Co-free non-equiatomic Ni_(46)Cr_(23)Fe_(23)Al_(4)Ti_(4)mediumentropy alloy with dual heterogeneous structures,i.e.three-levels grain structures and heterogeneous L1;precipitates.Experimental results revealed the dual heterogeneous structures lead to remarkable strength-ductility synergy properties in this Co-free medium-entropy alloy,showing high yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of~1203 MPa and~1633 MPa,respectively,remaining an excellent ductility of~28.7%.Further analyses about strengthening and deformation mechanisms indicated precipitation hardening and hetero-deformation induced hardening contribute the majority strength enhancement,meanwhile deformation-induced hierarchical stacking-faults networks,high density Lomer-Cottrell locks and microstructure features of heterogeneous grains and precipitates substantially facilitate the high work-hardening capacity and excellent tensile ductility.This work not only offers fundamental understanding of the strength and deformation mechanisms of the dual heterogeneous structural material,but also provides useful strength design strategy for low-price high performance high/medium-entropy alloys.

High-frequency capacitance-voltage characteristics of the heterogeneous structure based on the model of spherical semiconductor particles in a dielectric

The dependence of the parameters of the capacitance effect in heterogeneous dispersed two-component structures based on semiconductors from the bulk fraction of the semiconductor component is modeled.The used method for determining the changes of the energy bands bending on the surface of the spherical semiconductor particle by applying dc electric field allowed to calculate the changes of the dipole moment and effective(taking into account the polarization of the free charge)dielectric constant of this semiconductor particle.This result allowed to use the known models of the dielectric constant of two-component structures for the description of the capacitance field effect in the heterogeneous structures.The relations allowing to estimate the value of the bulk donor concentration in the semiconductor component of the matrix of the heterogeneous system and the statistical mixture have been obtained.The approbation of the obtained calculation relations to evaluate the donor concentration in the ZnO grains of zinc oxide varistor ceramics leads to the correct values that are consistent with estimates of other methods and models.It is established that the sensitivity of the relative dielectric constant to the applied dc electric field is dependent on the bulk fraction of the semiconductor particles in the heterogeneous structures.The bulk fraction of the semiconductor particles significantly affects on the dielectric constant beginning with the values from
0:8 for matrix systems and
0:33 for statistical mixtures.

The heterodimeric structure of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein C1/C2 dictates 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D-directed transcriptional events in osteoblasts

Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein （hnRNP） C plays a key role in RNA processing but also exerts a dominant negative effect on responses to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D （1,25（OH）2D） by functioning as a vitamin D response element-binding protein （VDRE-BP）. hnRNPC acts a tetramer of hnRNPC1 （huC1） and hnRNPC2 （huC2）, and organization of these subunits is critical to in vivo nucleic acid-binding. Overexpression of either huC1 or huC2 in human osteoblasts is sufficient to confer VDRE-BP suppression of 1,25（OH）2D-mediated transcription. However, huC1 or huC2 alone did not suppress 1,25（OH）2D-induced transcription in mouse osteoblastic cells. By contrast, overexpression of huC1 and huC2 in combination or transfection with a bone-specific polycistronic vector using a ＂self-cleaving＂ 2A peptide to co-express huC1/C2 suppressed 1,25D-mediated induction of osteoblast target gene expression. Structural diversity of hnRNPC between human/NWPs and mouse/rat/rabbit/dog was investigated by analysis of sequence variations within the hnRNP CLZ domain. The predicted loss of distal helical function in hnRNPC from lower species provides an explanation for the altered interaction between huC1/C2 and their mouse counterparts. These data provide new evidence of a role for hnRNPC1/C2 in 1,25（OH）2D-driven gene expression, and further suggest that species-specific tetramerization is a crucial determinant of its actions as a regulator of VDR-directed transactivation.

Deformation and failure behavior of heterogeneous Mg/SiC nanocomposite under compression

The heterogeneous magnesium(Mg) matrix nanocomposite with dispersed soft phase exhibits high strength and toughness. Herein, the deformation behavior and failure process were investigated to reveal the unique mechanical behavior of the heterogeneous microstructure under compression. The extensive plastic deformation is accompanied by the flattening and tilting of the soft phase, inhibiting strain localization and leading to strain hardening. Moreover, a stable crack multiplication process is activated, which endows high damage tolerance to the heterogeneous Mg matrix nanocomposites. The final failure of the composite is caused by crack coalescence in the shear plane along a tortuous path. The presence of dispersed soft phases within the hard matrix induces a noticeable change in mechanical response. Especially,the malleability of the heterogeneous Mg matrix nanocomposite is two and ten times higher than that of pure Mg and the homogeneous Mg matrix nanocomposite, respectively. The current study provides a novel strategy to break the trade-off between strength and toughness in metal matrix nanocomposites.

Regulating Oxygen Vacancy Defects in Heterogeneous NiO-CeO_(2)−δ Hollow Multi-shelled Structure for Boosting Oxygen Evolution Reaction

CeO_(2) with excellent oxygen storage-exchange capacity and NiO with excellent surface activity were used to construct a heterogeneous NiO-CeO_(2)−δhollow multi-shelled structure(HoMS)by spray drying.It turned out that as the proportion of CeO_(2) increases,the overpotential and Tafel slope of NiO-CeO_(2)−δHoMSs first decreased and then increased.This is mainly because the construction of the NiO-CeO_(2)−δHoMSs not only increases the specific surface area,but also introduces oxygen vacancy defects,thus improving the interface charge transfer capability of the materials and further improving the oxygen evolution reaction(OER)performance.However,the increase of the calcination temperature will induce the decay of the OER performance of NiO-CeO_(2)−δHoMSs,which is mainly due to the decrease of the specific surface area,the reduction of oxygen vacancy defects,and the weakening of interface charge transfer capability.Furthermore,a series of heterogeneous composite HoMSs,such as Ni/Co,Mo/Ni,Al/Ni and Fe/Ni oxides was successfully constructed by spray drying,which enriched the diversity of HoMSs.

Research on Cyberspace Mimic Defense Based on Dynamic Heterogeneous Redundancy Mechanism

With the rapid growth of network technology, the methods and types of cyber-attacks are increasing rapidly. Traditional static passive defense technologies focus on external security and known threats to the target system and cannot resist advanced persistent threats. To solve the situation that cyberspace security is easy to attack and difficult to defend, Chinese experts on cyberspace security proposed an innovative theory called mimic defense, it is an active defense technology that employs “Dynamic, Heterogeneous, Redundant” architecture to defense attacks. This article first briefly describes the classic network defense technology and Moving Target Defense (MTD). Next, it mainly explains in detail the principles of the mimic defense based on the DHR architecture and analyzes the attack surface of DHR architecture. This article also includes applications of mimic defense technology, such as mimic routers, and mimic web defense systems. Finally, it briefly summarizes the existing research on mimic defense, expounds the problems that need to be solved in mimic defense, and looks forward to the future development of mimic defense.

Effects of water on the structure and transport properties of room temperature ionic liquids and concentrated electrolyte solutions

Transport properties and the associated structural heterogeneity of room temperature aqueous ionic liquids and especially of super-concentrated electrolyte aqueous solutions have received increasing attention,due to their potential application in ionic battery.This paper briefly reviews the results reported mainly since 2010 about the liquid-liquid separation,aggregation of polar and apolar domains in neat RTILs,and solvent clusters and 3D networks chiefly constructed by anions in super-concentrated electrolyte solutions.At the same time,the dominating effect of desolvation process of metal ions at electrode/electrolyte interface upon the transport of metal ions is stressed.This paper also presents the current understanding of how water affects the anion-cation interaction,structural heterogeneities,the structure of primary coordination sheath of metal ions and consequently their transport properties in free water-poor electrolytes.

An Al–Al interpenetrating-phase composite by 3D printing and hot extrusion

We report a process route to fabricate an Al–Al interpenetrating-phase composite by combining the Al–Mg–Mn–Sc–Zr lattice structure and Al_(84)Ni_(7)Gd_(6)Co_(3)nanostructured structure. The lattice structure was produced by the selective laser melting and subsequently filled with the Al_(84)Ni_(7)Gd_(6)Co_(3)amorphous powder, and finally the mixture was used for hot extrusion to produce bulk samples. The results show that the composites achieve a high densification and good interface bonding due to the element diffusion and plastic deformation during hot extrusion.The bulk samples show a heterogeneous structure with a combination of honeycomb lattice structure with an average grain size of less than1 μm and nanostructured area with a high volume fraction of nanometric intermetallics and nanograin α-Al. The heterogeneous structure leads to a bimodal mechanical zone with hard area and soft area giving rise to high strength and acceptable plasticity, where the compressive yield strength and the compressive plasticity can reach ~745 MPa and ~30%, respectively. The high strength can be explained by the rule of mixture,the grain boundary strengthening, and the back stress, while the acceptable plasticity is mainly owing to the confinement effect of the nanostructured area retarding the brittle fracture behavior.

Mass transfer in heterogeneous biofilms: Key issues in biofilm reactors and AI-driven performance prediction

Biofilm reactors,known for utilizing biofilm formation for cell immobilization,offer enhanced biomass concentration and operational stability over traditional planktonic systems.However,the dense nature of biofilms poses challenges for substrate accessibility to cells and the efficient release of products,making mass transfer efficiency a critical issue in these systems.Recent advancements have unveiled the intricate,heterogeneous architecture of biofilms,contradicting the earlier view of them as uniform,porous structures with consistent mass transfer properties.In this review,we explore six biofilm reactor configurations and their potential combinations,emphasizing how the spatial arrangement of biofilms within reactors influences mass transfer efficiency and overall reactor performance.Furthermore,we discuss how to apply artificial intelligence in processing biofilm measurement data and predicting reactor performance.This review highlights the role of biofilm reactors in environmental and energy sectors,paving the way for future innovations in biofilm-based technologies and their broader applications.