Microstructure and properties of Nb/Ta multilayer films irradiated by a high current pulse electron beam

Nb/Ta multilayer films deposited on Ti6A14V substrate with Nb and Ta monolayer thicknesses of 30 nm, 120 nm, and 240 nm were irradiated by a high current pulse electron beam （HCPEB） to prepare Nb-Ta alloyed layers. The mi- crostructure and the composition of the outmost surface of melted alloyed layers were investigated using a transmission electron microscope （TEM） equipped with an X-ray energy dispersive spectrometer （EDS） attachment. The Ta content of the alloyed surface layer prepared from the monolayer of thickness 30 nm, 120 nm, and 240 nm was- 27.7 at.%, 6.37 at.%, and 0 at.%, respectively. It was found that the Ta content in the alloyed layer plays a dominant role in the microstructure of the films. The hardness and the wear rate of the alloyed layers decrease with the increasing content of Ta in the surface laver.

Surface modification of Cu-25Cr alloy induced by high current pulsed electron beam

A Cu-25Cr alloy prepared by vacuum induction melting method was treated by the high current pulsed electron beam （HCPEB） with pulse numbers ranging from 1 to 100. Surface morphologies and microstructures of the alloy before and after the treatment were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The results show that significant surface modification can be induced by HCPEB with the pulse number reaching 10. Craters with typical morphologies on the Cu-25Cr alloy surface are formed due to the dynamic thermal field induced by the HCPEB. Micro-cracks, as a unique feature, are well revealed in the irradiated Cu-25Cr specimens and attributed to quasi-static thermal stresses accumulated along the specimen surface. The amount of cracks is found to increase with the pulse number and a preference of these cracks to Cr phases rather than Cu phases is also noted. Another characteristic produced by the HCPEB is the fine Cr spheroids, which are determined to be due to occurrence of liquid phase separation in the Cu-25Cr alloy. In addition, an examination on surface roughness of all specimens reveals that more pulses will produce a roughened surface, as a result of compromising the above features.

Compounded Surface Modification of ZK60 Mg Alloy by High Current Pulsed Electron Beam+Micro-plasma Oxidation

In this study, compounded surface modification technology-high current pulsed electron beam （HCPEB） ＋ micro-plasma oxidation （MPO） was applied to treat ZK60 Mg alloys. The characteristics of the microstructure of ZK60 Mg alloy after single MPO and HCPEB＋MPO compounded treatment were investigated by SEM. The results showed that the density of the ceramic layer of HCPEB＋MPO-treated ZK60 Mg alloy was improved and defects were reduced compared to that under MPO treatment alone. Surface modified layer of ZK60 Mg alloys treated by HCPEB＋MPO was divided into three zones, namely the top loose ceramic zone, middle compact zone and inside HCPEB-induced melted zone. Corrosion resistance of ZK60 Mg alloy before and after the compounded surface modification was measured in a solution of 3.5% NaCl by potentiodynamic polarization curves. It was found that the corrosion current density of ZK60 Mg alloys could be reduced by about three orders of magnitude, from 311μA/cm^2 of the original sample to 0.2μA/cm^2 of the HCPEB＋MPO-treated sample. This indicates the great application potential of the HCPEB＋MPO compounded surface modification technology in improving the corrosion resistance of ZK60 Mg alloys in the future.

Characterizing modified surface layer of 316L stainless steel treated by high current pulsed electron beam

High current pulsed electron beam(HCPEB) is now developing as a useful tool for surface modification of materials.When concentrated electron flux transferring its energy into the surface layer of target material within a short pulse time,coupled thermal and stress processes would lead to the formation of metastalbe microstructure with improved properties.In the present work,HCPEB treatment of 316L stainless steel(SS) was carried out and the microstructural changes in modified surface layer were characterized with optical microscopy,X-ray diffractometry and electron backscatter diffractometry(EBSD) techniques.The corrosion resistance of modified surface was measured in a 5wt.% salt solution.The evolution regularity of surface craters and grain refinement effect,as well as the preferred orientation of(111) crystal plane occurring in the HCPEB treatment under different working parameters were discussed along with their influence on corrosion resistance.

Microstructure and property modifications in surface layers of a Mg-4Sm-2Al-0.5Mn alloy induced by pulsed electron beam treatments

In this work,surface modification of a Mg-4Sm-2Al-0.5Mn alloy with high current pulse electron beam(HCPEB)under different number of pulses were investigated.The evolution in microstructure,composition and phase components and properties in the surface layer before and after HCPEB treatment were characterized.It was found that the Al 11 Sm 3 and Al 2 Sm phases in the surface layer were gradually dissolved during HCPEB treatment,leading to the formation of a chemical homogeneous melted layers.Besides,deformation bands were formed in the treated layer due to the thermal stress generated during treatment.After 15 pulses treatment,the surface hardness increases to the maximum value of about 62.2 HV,about 61.2%higher than that of the untreated state.Electrochemical results show that the 15 pulses treated sample presents the best corrosion resistance in the 3.5wt%NaCl water solution by showing the highest corrosion potential(E_(corr))of-1.339V SEC and the lowest corrosion current density(I_(corr))of 1.48×10^(-6)A·cm^(-2).The results prove that the surface properties of the Mg-4Sm-2Al-0.5Mn alloy can be significantly improved by the HCPEB treatments under proper conditions.