Variable precipitation behaviors of Laves phases in an ultralight Mg-Li-Zn alloy

Precipitation habits plays a decisive role in strengthening materials,especially for Mg alloys the non-basal plane precipitation is necessary but very limited.Generally,the precipitates would nucleate and grow up in a specific habit plane owing to the constraint of free-energy minimization of the system.Herein,in an aged ultralight Mg-Li-Zn alloy,we confirmed that the precipitates dominated by C15 Laves structure could form in a variety of habit planes,to generate three forms of strengthening-phases,i.e.,precipitate-rod,precipitate-lath,and precipitate-plate.Among which,the precipitate-plates are on basal plane as usually but precipitate-rods/laths are on non-basal plane,and such non-basal precipitates would transform into the basal(Mg,Li)Zn_(2)Laves structure with prolonged aging.These findings are interesting to understand the precipitation behaviors of multi-domain Laves structures in hexagonal close-packed crystals,and expected to provide a guidance for designing ultralight high-strength Mg-Li based alloys via precipitation hardening on the non-basal planes.

Superconducting properties of the C15-type Laves phase ZrIr_(2) with an Ir-based kagome lattice

We report systematic studies on superconducting properties of the Laves phase superconductor ZrIr_(2).It crystallizes in a C15-type(cubic MgCu_(2)-type,space group Fd3m)structure in which the Ir atoms form a kagome lattice,with cell parameters a=b=c=7.3596(1)?.Resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate that ZrIr_(2) is a type-Ⅱsuperconductor with a transition temperature of 4.0 K.The estimated lower and upper critical fields are 12.8 mT and 4.78 T,respectively.Heat capacity measurements confirm the bulk superconductivity in ZrIr_(2).ZrIr_(2) is found to possibly host strong-coupled s-wave superconductivity with the normalized specific heat change△C_(e)/γT_(c)~1.86 and the coupling strength△_(0)/k_BT_(c)~1.92.First-principles calculations suggest that ZrIr_(2) has three-dimensional Fermi surfaces with simple topologies,and the states at Fermi level mainly originate from the Ir-5d and Zr-4d orbitals.Similar to SrIr_(2) and ThIr_(2),spin–orbit coupling has dramatic influences on the band structure in ZrIr_(2).

Effects of temperature and point defects on the stability of C15 Laves phase in iron:A molecular dynamics investigation

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to investigate the stabilities of C15 Laves phase structures subjected to temperature and point defects. The simulations based on different empirical potentials show that the bulk perfect C15 Laves phase appears to be stable under a critical temperature in a range from 350 K to 450 K, beyond which it becomes disordered and experiences an abrupt decrement of elastic modulus. In the presence of both vacancy and self-interstitial, the bulk C15 Laves phase becomes unstable at room temperature and prefers to transform into an imperfect body centered cubic（BCC）structure containing free vacancies or vacancy clusters. When a C15 cluster is embedded in BCC iron, the annihilation of interstitials occurs due to the presence of the vacancy, while it exhibits a phase transformation into a（1/2） 111 dislocation loop due to the presence of the self-interstitial.

Synthesis of Iron-Based Laves Phase Containing Praseodymium Magnetostrictive Materials

The synthesis and magnetostriction of PrxTb1-x.Fe2, PrxTb1-x Fe2BO2 and PrxTb1-x（Fe0.6Co0.4）2 alloys were investigated in this study. The addition of boron or cobalt atom in PrxTb1-xFe2 could effectively prevent the formation of non-cubic phases, and Pr concentration limit was successfully increased from 0.2 to 0.4. X-ray step scanning for the PrxTb1-xFe2BO2 and PrxTb1-x（Fe0.6Co0.4）2 alloys showed that PrFe2 possessed a large spontaneous magnetostriction λ1111.

Introduction of a New Method for Regulating Laves Phases in Inconel 718 Superalloy during a Laser-Repairing Process

The morphology,size,and distribution of Laves phases have important influences on the mechanical properties of laser-repaired Inconel 718(IN718)superalloy.Due to the deterioration of the substrate zone,the Laves phase in the laser cladding zone of IN718 superalloy cannot be optimized by a hightemperature solution treatment.In this study,an in situ laser heat-treatment method was proposed to regulate the morphology and size of the Laves phase in the laser cladding zone of IN718 superalloy without impacting the substrate zone.In the in situ laser heat-treatment process,a laser was used to heat previously deposited layers with optimized manufacturing parameters.A thermocouple and an infrared camera were used to analyze thermal cycles and real-time temperature fields,respectively.Microstructures and micro-segregations were observed by optical microscopy,scanning electron microscopy,and electron probe microanalysis.It was found that the in situ laser heat treatment effectively changed the morphology and size of the Laves phase,which was transformed from a continuous striplike shape to a discrete granular shape.The effective temperature range and duration were the two main factors influencing the Laves phase during the in situ laser heat-treatment process.The effective temperature range was determined by the laser linear energy density,and the peak temperature increased with the increase of the linear energy density.In addition,the temperature amplitude could be reduced by simultaneously increasing the laser power and the scanning velocity.Finally,a flow diagram was developed based on the in situ laser heat-treatment process,and the deposition of a single-walled sample with fine and granular Laves phases was detected.

Effect of cerium on microstructure,eutectic carbides and Laves phase in electroslag remelted 15Cr-22Ni-1Nb austenitic heat-resistant steel

The dendrites,eutectic carbides,Laves phase and microsegregation of alloying element in electroslag remelted 15Cr-22Ni-1Nb austenitic heat-resistant steel with varying cerium contents were studied.The liquidus and solidus temperatures of the steel were determined to reveal the effect of cerium on solidification temperature interval and local solidification time of the steel.The secondary dendrite arm spacing decreases from 57.10 to 40.18μm with increasing the cerium content from 0 to 0.0630 wt.%.The eutectic NbC and Laves phase in as-cast ingots exhibit blocky and honeycomb morphology,respectively.The area fractions and sizes of eutectic NbC and Laves phase in as-cast ingots decrease with the increase in cerium content.The atomic percentage of Laves phase-forming element(Ni,Nb,Cr,Mo and Si)decreases with the increase in cerium content of the steel.The microsegregation of Mo,Ni,Si,Cr and Nb decreases with increasing the cerium content,which is favorable to reducing both the amount and sizes of eutectic NbC and Laves phase in as-cast ingots.The solidification temperature interval and local solidification time of the steel decrease as the cerium content is increased from 0 to 0.0630 wt.%,which inhibits the growth of dendrites,eutectic NbC and Laves phase.

Hybrid DFT study of structural,electronic,magnetic and elastic properties of laves phase binary intermetallics RFe_(2)(R=La,Ce,Pr and Nd)

Hybrid density functional theory was used to investigate the structural,electronic,magnetic and elastic properties of the Laves phase binary intermetallics RFe_(2)(R=La,Ce,Pr and Nd) in C_(15) crystal structure.The calculated lattice constants of these materials are found in good agreement with the experiments.The band structures and density of states distribution confirm the metallic nature of all these intermetallics.The optimized energies in different magnetic phases and magnetic susceptibilities by postDFT treatments confirm that all the understudy compounds are ferromagnetic in nature.Elastic parameters were calculated from the cubic elastic coefficients C_(11),C_(12) and C_(44).The elastic properties reveal that these intermetallics are incompressible,ductile,elastically anisotropic and mechanically stable.Based on the metallic nature and ferromagnetic properties,it is expected that these intermetallics are suitable materials for spintronic technology.

Laves Phase Formation and Its Effect on Mechanical Properties in P91 Steel

Effect of Laves phase formation on mechanical properties in a pressurized T-junction of P91 steel pipe at849 K for 58,000 h with 25.65 MPa vapor pressure was studied. Thermodynamic calculations had been performed by using the software Thermo-Calc to study the phase at equilibrium state. Counter plot of von Mises stress in the pipe during service life was calculated by finite element analysis to study the effect of the operated stress distribution on the evolution of Laves phase. The change in the microstructure and mechanical properties in the sites with different stress was also studied. The results indicated that the formation of Laves phase in P91 steel was a thermodynamically possible process due to enrichment of Mo and depletion of C adjacent to M23C6 particles or along martensite lath and packet boundaries. The formation of Laves phase had a detrimental influence on the mechanical properties in P91 steel. The mean size of Laves phase would be significantly increased with increasing operated stress, leading to a reduction in tensile properties and impact energy. In particular, crack initiation energy and crack growth energy during impact test rapidly decreased with increasing the mean size and volume fraction of Laves phase.

Transformation of Laves phases and its effect on the mechanical properties of TIG welded Mg-Al-Ca-Mn alloys

The effects of Al content and Ca/Al mass ratio on the microstructure and mechanical properties of tungsten inert gas(TIG)welded Mg-2Ca-x Al-0.5Mn(x=0,1,5)alloy joints were studied in present work.Results showed that increasing Al content was effective in reducing the dendrite spacing at the fusion zone(FZ)edge.The Laves phases in the FZ and the heat-affected zone(HAZ)can be changed from Mg_(2)Ca to(Mg,Al)_(2)Ca with the decrease of Ca/Al ratio,and the(Mg,Al)_(2)Ca could be further transformed to Al_(2)Ca under welding thermal cycle.Furthermore,dynamic dissolution and precipitation of Laves phases and Al_(8)Mn_(5)phases occurred in the HAZ,resulting in a gradient microstructure and hardness peak in this area.The tensile properties of the joints were significantly improved with the increase of Al content,which was mainly due to the modification of Laves phases.

First-principles investigation of mechanical and electronic properties of LaAg5 Laves phase under pressure

The effects of applied pressure on the structural, mechanical, and electronic properties of LaAgs compound were investi- gated employing the first-principles method based on the density fimctional theory. The mechanical results demonstrated that bulk modulus, shear modulus and Young＇s modulus presented the linearly increasing dependences on the external pressure; the B/G and Poisson＇s ratio indicated that LaAg5 compound was a ductile material with central forces in interatomic under pressure from 0 to 40 GPa; the universal anisotropic index was performed to investigate the elastic anisotropic of LaAgs. Additionally, the pressure de- pendence of the density of states and Mulliken charge were also discussed. The bonding characterization in LaAg5 was composed of metallic, covalent and ionic. The metallic component was derived from free-electron transferring from Ag-s and Ag-d to Ag-p, and from La-s to La-d. The ionic component was due to the charge movement from La to Ag. The covalent was owing to Ag-p-La-d bonding hybridization and Ag-s-Ag-p in the Ag atomic chains. The covalent and ionic bonds were stronger under pressure but there was no significant change in metallic nature.

Phase Stability of the Laves Phase Cr_2Nb in a Two-Phase Cr-Cr_2Nb Alloy

The phase stability of the Laves phase Cr2Nb in a two-phase Cr-Cr2Nb alloy produced by arc-melting was investigated using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction. The experimental results indicated that the as-cast ingot was consisted of C15-Cr2Nb and Cr phases; the intermediate C36 and high-temperature C14 modifications of Cr2Nb, reported in literatures, were not detected in this study. These results, combined with a detailed analysis of the actual solidification conditions, revealed that the C14-Cr2Nb was a metastable rather than a stable high-temperature modification. Moreover, a kind of extremely fine lamellar structure was found to be randomly distributed in the eutectic cells, which may be formed by decomposition of the supersaturated C15-Cr2Nb via a discontinuous precipitation reaction.

On Laves phase in a 9Cr3W3CoB martensitic heat resistant steel when aged at high temperatures

9Cr3W3 CoB steels are developed to serve at the temperature range of 620-650℃,and have been recognized as the most promising martensitic heat-resistant steels for supercritical power plants.Due to the high W and Co contents,the Fe_(2)W Laves phase in such 9Cr3W3 CoB steel possesses some specialties in thermodynamics.In the present research,it was found that even when aged at 800℃in the 9Cr3W3 CoB steel,instead of dissolving,Laves phase formed after 50 h and kept on increasing in size and number density until 1000 h,indicating that the Laves phase was marching for the thermodynamic equilibrium during aging.In this thermodynamic process,the W-rich M_(3)B_(2)borides in as-received steel and M23C6 carbides were revealed to dissolve,supporting the growth of Laves phase.SEM investigation indicates that Laves phase tended to form clusters,and finally grow as a unit bulk Laves phase with an irregular shape.Besides,Laves phase nucleated next to M23C6 carbides and enwrapped them inside at 800℃.In addition,the growth processes of Laves phase and M23C6 carbides were a competitive procedure,the coarsening of M23C6 carbides was prior to the growth of Laves phase at 750℃while the growth of Laves phase was prior to the coarsening of M23C6 carbides at 800℃.

Laves Phase in 22Cr-27Ni-2Ti-Al Austenitic Valve Steel

The Thermo Calc software was employed to calculate the equilibrium phase of 22Cr-27Ni-2Ti-Al austenitic valve steel, and the Laves phase in this steel was investigated after solid solution and aging by means of scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM） and X- ray diffraction （XRD）. Results show that the microstructure of the experimental steel consists of γ, γ′, Laves and NbC. I.aves phases mainly precipitate on grain boundaries, with granular and fibrous morphologies. The size of the granular Laves phase is about 50-600 nm, and the fihrous Laves phase is composed of short strip Laves phases which are 300-600 nm in length and 50 150 nm in width. These two morphologies of Laves phase coarsen with increasing aging temperature, and this steel possesses the highest strength and hardness at aging temperature of 760 ℃.

The effect of Laves phase on heavy-ion radiation response of Nb-containing FeCrAl alloy for accident-tolerant fuel cladding

As a promising candidate material for the accident tolerant fuel cladding in light water reactors,the Nb-containing FeCrAl alloy has shown outstanding out-of-pile service performance due to the Laves phase precipitation.In this work,the radiation response in FeCrAl alloys with gradient Nb content under heavy ion radiation has been investigated.The focus is on the effect of the Laves phase on irradiation-induced defects and hardening.We found that the phase boundary between the matrix and Laves phase can play a critical role in capturing radiation defects,as verified by in-situ heavy-ion radiation experiments and molecular dynamic simulations.Additionally,the evolution of Laves phase under radiation is analyzed.Radiation-induced amorphization and segregations observed at high radiation doses will deepen the fundamental understanding of the stability of Laves phases in the radiation environment.

Growth Kinetics of Laves Phase and Its Effect on Creep Rupture Behavior in 9Cr Heat Resistant Steel

The effects of Laves phase formation and growth on creep rupture behaviors of P92 steel at 883 K were studied.The microstructural evolution was characterized using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.Kinetic modeling was carried out using the software DICTRA.The results indicated Fe_2（W,Mo）Laves phase has formed during creep with 200 MPa applied stress at 883 Kfor 243 h.The experimental results showed a good agreement with thermodynamic calculations.The plastic deformation of laths is the main reason of creep rupture under the applied stress beyond 160 MPa,whereas,creep voids initiated by coarser Laves phase play an effective role in creep rupture under the applied stress lower than 160 MPa.Laves phase particles with the mean size of 243 nm lead to the change of creep rupture feature.Microstructures at the vicinity of fracture surface,the gage portion and the threaded ends of creep rupture specimens were also observed,indicating that creep tensile stress enhances the coarsening of Laves phase.

Kink-band formation in directionally solidified Mg/Mg_(2)Yb and Mg/Mg_(2)Ca eutectic alloys with Mg/Laves-phase lamellar microstructure

For the development of high-strength Mg alloys,active use of Laves phases such as C14-type Mg_(2)Yb and Mg_(2)Ca is strongly expected.However,the brittleness of the Laves phases is the biggest obstacle to it.We first found that kink-band formation can be induced in directionally solidified Mg/Mg_(2)Yb and Mg/Mg_(2)Ca eutectic lamellar alloys when a stress is applied parallel to the lamellar interface,leading to a high yield stress accompanied with ductility.That is,microstructural control can induce a new deformation mode that is not activated in the constituent phases,thereby inducing ductility.It was clarified that the geometric relationship between the operative slip plane in the constituent phases and the lamellar interface,and the microstructural features that provide kink-band nucleation sites are important factors for controlling kink-band formation.The obtained results show a possibility to open the new door for the development of novel high-strength structural material using the kink bands.

A Hf-doped dual-phase high-entropy alloy: phase evolution and wear features

Initially defined high entropy alloys(HEAs)usually exhibit a single-phase solid-solution structure.However,two and/or more types of phases in HE As possibly induce the desired microstructure features,which contribute to improving the wear properties of HE As.Here,we prepare a series of(AlCoCrFeNi)_(100-x)Hf_(x)(x=0,2,4and 6;at%) HEAs and concern their phase compositions,micro structures and wear properties.Hf leads to the formation of(Ni,Co)_(2)Hf-type Laves phase and tailors the microstructure from a body-centered cubic(BCC) singlephase structure to a hypoeutectic structure.An increased hardness from~HV 512.3 to~HV 734.1 is due to solid-solution strengthening,grain refinement strengthening and precipitated phase strengthening.And a few oxides(Al_(2)O_(3)+Cr_(2)O_(3)) caused by the wear heating contribute to an 85.5% decrease in wear rate of the HEA system from6.71×10^(-5) to 0.97×10^(-5) m^(3)·N^(-1)·m^(-1).In addition,Hf addition changes the wear mechanism from abrasive wear,mild oxidative wear and adhesive wear to oxidative wear and adhesive wear.

Introduction of rare-earth element Sc in alloy design to modify wear features of dual-phase high-entropy alloy

Tailoring the alloy composition,which induces the hard secondary phase to increase hardness and strength to improve the wear features,is a feasible approach for developing wear-resistant metal materials.Here,a group of(AlCoCrFeNi)_(100–x)Sc_(x)(x=0–2.0,at%)high-entropy alloys(HEAs)are designed and the phase compositions and wear behaviors are explored.Sc-doped HEA series contain the primary body-centered cubic(BCC)and eutectic phases,in which the eutectic phase is composed of the alternately grown BCC and Laves phases.Sc addition promotes the diffusion of Ni atoms from BCC phase to form the Sc-rich Laves phase at the grain boundaries.Vickers hardness increases due to solid solution strengthening and second phase strengthening.And the second phase strengthening plays a more significant role relative to solid solution strengthening.Laves phase and the oxides caused by wear heating prevent the direct contact between friction pair and HEAs,thus inducing a decreased wear rate from 6.82×10^(−5) to 3.47×10^(−5)m^(3)·N^(−1)·m^(−1).Moreover,the wear mechanism changes from adhesive wear,abrasive wear and oxidative wear to abrasive wear and oxidative wear.

Vacuum Electromagnetic Levitation Melting and Undercooling of Peritectic Terfenol-D

For the first time, the undercooling of a magnetostrictive material a near peritectic Tb 0.27 Dy 0.73 Fe 1.90 alloy was realized by vacuum electromagnetic levitation melting and 60 K undercooling was obtained. There is one recalescence behavior during solidification of the undercooled melt,which can attribute to the priority precipitation of REFe 2 phase instead of REFe 3 phase, due to preferential nucleation and higher crystal growth rate of REFe 2 phase and the suppression of peritectic reaction. According to the crystal structural characteristics of REFe 2 and REFe 3, REFe 2 is a Laves phase intermetallics with MgCu 2 type structure, which has similar polytetrahedral structure with short range ordered structure in undercooled melt and has lower potential barrier for nucleation than that of REFe 3,which lead to the preferential nucleation of REFe 2 phase directly from the undercooled melt. Also, the similarity of structures between REFe 2 phase and undercooled melt leads to higher crystal growth rate of REFe 2 phase than that of REFe 3.