Effect of temperature and time on the precipitation ofκ-carbides in Fe-28Mn-10Al-0.8C low-density steels:Aging mechanism and its impact on material properties

In low-density steel,κ-carbides primarily precipitate in the form of nanoscale particles within austenite grains.However,their precipitation within ferrite matrix grains has not been comprehensively explored,and the second-phase evolution mechanism during aging remains unclear.In this study,the crystallographic characteristics and morphological evolution ofκ-carbides in Fe-28Mn-10Al-0.8C(wt%)low-density steel at different aging temperatures and times and the impacts of these changes on the steels’microhardness and properties were comprehensively analyzed.Under different heat treatment conditions,intragranularκ-carbides exhibited various morpho-logical and crystallographic characteristics,such as acicular,spherical,and short rod-like shapes.At the initial stage of aging,acicularκ-carbides primarily precipitated,accompanied by a few spherical carbides.κ-Carbides grew and coarsened with aging time,the spherical carbides were considerably reduced,and rod-like carbides coarsened.Vickers hardness testing demonstrated that the material’s hardness was affected by the volume fraction,morphology,and size ofκ-carbides.Extended aging at higher temperatures led to an increase in carbide size and volume fraction,resulting in a gradual rise in hardness.During deformation,the primary mechanisms for strengthening were dislocation strengthening and second-phase strengthening.Based on these findings,potential strategies for improving material strength are proposed.

Toughening ultrastrong low-density steel by textured δ-ferrite lamellas

By both the Charpy V-notched impact and the projectile tests, we here investigated the dynamic fracture behavior of a recently developed ultrastrong lightweight steel comprising a hierarchical martensitic matrix, dispersed ultra-fine-retained austenite grains and oriented δ-ferrite lamellas, the latter being due to high Al and Si contents employed for low-density design. This steel shows a superior combination of specific ultimate tensile strength and impact toughness to other ultrastrong steels and has successfully arrested a real steel-cored bullet shot. These are attributed to the densely textured δ-ferrite lamellas that can deflect the propagating cracks until they are trapped and enclosed besides austenite-to-martensite transformation crack closure, leading to more energy consumed before failure. These results suggest a new pathway for toughening ultrastrong lightweight steels.

Prediction model for corrosion rate of low-alloy steels under atmospheric conditions using machine learning algorithms

This work constructed a machine learning(ML)model to predict the atmospheric corrosion rate of low-alloy steels(LAS).The material properties of LAS,environmental factors,and exposure time were used as the input,while the corrosion rate as the output.6 dif-ferent ML algorithms were used to construct the proposed model.Through optimization and filtering,the eXtreme gradient boosting(XG-Boost)model exhibited good corrosion rate prediction accuracy.The features of material properties were then transformed into atomic and physical features using the proposed property transformation approach,and the dominant descriptors that affected the corrosion rate were filtered using the recursive feature elimination(RFE)as well as XGBoost methods.The established ML models exhibited better predic-tion performance and generalization ability via property transformation descriptors.In addition,the SHapley additive exPlanations(SHAP)method was applied to analyze the relationship between the descriptors and corrosion rate.The results showed that the property transformation model could effectively help with analyzing the corrosion behavior,thereby significantly improving the generalization ability of corrosion rate prediction models.

Low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 2(LRP2)is required for lipid export in the midgut of the migratory locust,Locusta migratoria

Low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 2(LRP2)is a multifunctional endocytic receptor expressed in epithelial cells.In mammals,it acts as an endocytic receptor that mediates the cellular uptake of cholesterol-containing apolipoproteins to maintain lipid homeostasis.However,little is known about the role of LRP2 in lipid homeostasis in insects.In the present study,we investigated the function of LRP2 in the migratory locust Locusta migratoria(LmLRP2).The mRNA of LmLRP2 is widely distributed in various tissues,including integument,wing pads,foregut,midgut,hindgut,Malpighian tubules and fat body,and the amounts of LmLRP2 transcripts decreased gradually in the early stages and then increased in the late stages before ecdysis during the nymphal developmental stage.Fluorescence immunohistochemistry revealed that the LmLRP2 protein is mainly located in cellular membranes of the midgut and hindgut.Using RNAi to silence LmLRP2 caused molting defects in nymphs(more than 60%),and the neutral lipid was found to accumulate in the midgut and surface of the integument,but not in the fat body,of dsLmLRP2-treated nymphs.The results of a lipidomics analysis showed that the main components of lipids(diglyceride and triglyceride)were significantly increased in the midgut,but decreased in the fat body and hemolymph.Furthermore,the content of total triglyceride was significantly increased in the midgut,but markedly decreased in the fat body and hemolymph in dsLmLRP2-injected nymphs.Our results indicate that LmLRP2 is located in the cellular membranes of midgut cells,and is required for lipid export from the midgut to the hemolymphand fat body in locusts.

Critical precipitation behavior of MnTe inclusions in resulfurized steels during solidification

Te treatment is an effective method for modifying sulfide inclusions,and MnTe precipitation has an important effect on thermal brittleness and steel corrosion resistance.In most actual industrial applications of Te treatment,MnTe precipitation is unexpected.The critical precipitation behavior of MnTe inclusions was investigated through scanning electron microscopy,transmission electron microscopy,machine learning,and first-principles calculation.MnTe preferentially precipitated at the container mouth for sphere-like sulfides and at the interface between MnS grain boundaries and steel matrix for rod-like sulfides.The MnS/MnTe interface was semicoherent.A composition transition zone with a rock-salt structure exhibiting periodic changes existed to maintain the semicoherent interface.The critical precipitation behavior of MnTe inclusions in resulfurized steels involved three stages at varying temperatures.First,Mn(S,Te)precipitated during solidification.Second,MnTe with a rock-salt structure precipitated from Mn(S,Te).Third,MnTe with a hexagonal NiAs structure transformed from the rock-salt structure.The solubility of Te in MnS decreased with decreasing temperature.The critical precipitation behavior of MnTe inclusions in resulfurized steels was related to the MnS precipitation temperature.With the increase in MnS precipitation temperature,the critical Te/S weight ratio decreased.In consideration of the cost-effectiveness of Te addition for industrial production,the Te content in resulfurized steels should be controlled in accordance with MnS precipitation temperature and S content.

Overexpression of low-density lipoprotein receptor prevents neurotoxic polarization of astrocytes via inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation in experimental ischemic stroke

Neurotoxic astrocytes are a promising therapeutic target for the attenuation of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury.Low-density lipoprotein receptor,a classic cholesterol regulatory receptor,has been found to inhibit NLR family pyrin domain containing protein 3(NLRP3)inflammasome activation in neurons following ischemic stroke and to suppress the activation of microglia and astrocytes in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease.However,little is known about the effects of low-density lipoprotein receptor on astrocytic activation in ischemic stroke.To address this issue in the present study,we examined the mechanisms by which low-density lipoprotein receptor regulates astrocytic polarization in ischemic stroke models.First,we examined low-density lipoprotein receptor expression in astrocytes via immunofluorescence staining and western blotting analysis.We observed significant downregulation of low-density lipoprotein receptor following middle cerebral artery occlusion reperfusion and oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation.Second,we induced the astrocyte-specific overexpression of low-density lipoprotein receptor using astrocyte-specific adeno-associated virus.Low-density lipoprotein receptor overexpression in astrocytes improved neurological outcomes in middle cerebral artery occlusion mice and reversed neurotoxic astrocytes to create a neuroprotective phenotype.Finally,we found that the overexpression of low-density lipoprotein receptor inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome activation in oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation injured astrocytes and that the addition of nigericin,an NLRP3 agonist,restored the neurotoxic astrocyte phenotype.These findings suggest that low-density lipoprotein receptor could inhibit the NLRP3-meidiated neurotoxic polarization of astrocytes and that increasing low-density lipoprotein receptor in astrocytes might represent a novel strategy for treating cerebral ischemic stroke.

Review on the plastic instability of medium -Mn steels for identifying the formation mechanisms of Lüders and Portevin -Le Chatelier bands

Plastic instability,including both the discontinuous yielding and stress serrations,has been frequently observed during the tensile deformation of medium-Mn steels(MMnS)and has been intensively studied in recent years.Unfortunately,research results are controversial,and no consensus has been achieved regarding the topic.Here,we first summarize all the possible factors that affect the yielding and flow stress serrations in MMnS,including the morphology and stability of austenite,the feature of the phase interface,and the deformation parameters.Then,we propose a universal mechanism to explain the conflicting experimental results.We conclude that the discontinuous yielding can be attributed to the lack of mobile dislocation before deformation and the rapid dislocation multiplication at the beginning of plastic deformation.Meanwhile,the results show that the stress serrations are formed due to the pinning and depinning between dislocations and interstitial atoms in austenite.Strain-induced martensitic transformation,influenced by the mechanical stability of austenite grain and deformation parameters,should not be the intrinsic cause of plastic instability.However,it can intensify or weaken the discontinuous yielding and the stress serrations by affecting the mobility and density of dislocations,as well as the interaction between the interstitial atoms and dislocations in austenite grains.

Progress in weldability research of duplex stainless steels

Duplex stainless steels(DSSs)show better corrosion resistance with higher strength than traditional austenite stainless steels in many aggressive environments,and can be welded properly with almost every welding processes,if proper heat input is provided.Progresses of research works on weldability of DSSs in recent years are reviewed in this paper.Balance control of ferrite/austenite phases is most important for DSSs welding.The phases balance can be controlled with filler materials,nitrogen addition in shielding gas,heat input,post weld heat treatment,and alternating magnetic field.Too high cooling rate results in not only extra ferrite,but also chromium nitride precipitation.While too low cooling rate or heating repeatedly results in precipitation of secondary austenite and intermetallic compounds.In both situations,mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of the DSS joints deteriorate.Recommended upper and lower limits of heat input and maximum interpass temperature should be observed.

A review on the multi-scaled structures and mechanical/thermal properties of tool steels fabricated by laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing

The laser powder bed fusion(LPBF) process can integrally form geometrically complex and high-performance metallic parts that have attracted much interest,especially in the molds industry.The appearance of the LPBF makes it possible to design and produce complex conformal cooling channel systems in molds.Thus,LPBF-processed tool steels have attracted more and more attention.The complex thermal history in the LPBF process makes the microstructural characteristics and properties different from those of conventional manufactured tool steels.This paper provides an overview of LPBF-processed tool steels by describing the physical phenomena,the microstructural characteristics,and the mechanical/thermal properties,including tensile properties,wear resistance,and thermal properties.The microstructural characteristics are presented through a multiscale perspective,ranging from densification,meso-structure,microstructure,substructure in grains,to nanoprecipitates.Finally,a summary of tool steels and their challenges and outlooks are introduced.

A Physical Core-Loss Model for Laminated Magnetic Sheet Steels

A full-frequency instant core-loss equation built from the induction physical model of magnetic materials, where the iron loss, eddy loss, and hysteresis loss no longer have an integral term, and this new equation provides high simulation accuracy and performs dynamic core loss analysis on non-sinusoidal or pulse magnetic fields. The simulation examples use a high-grade electrical steel sheet 65CS400 by Epstein experimental data covering magnetic field 0.1 - 1.8 T and frequency 50 - 5000 Hz, and the average error of the simulated core loss is less than 4%. Since the simulation is converged by magnetic physical parameters, so the physical relevance of the similar laminated materials can be compared with the coefficient results. .

Effect of Ni content on the weldability of middle-chromium hyperpure ferritic stainless steels 00Cr21Ti

Excellent weldability substantially contributes to the intrinsic quality of steels,while appropriate chemical composition plays a primary role in the essential weldability of steels.The poor weldability of ferritic stainless steels could be improved through modification with minor alloy elements while minimally increasing the cost.Therefore,studying the effect of minor alloy elements on the weldability of steels is of considerable importance.In this study,several steels of middle-chromium hyperpure ferritic stainless 00Cr21Ti with different Ni content(0.3%,0.5%,0.8%,and 1.0%)were developed,and their weldabilities of butt joint samples welded using the metal inert gas welding process,including the influence of welded joints on the microstructure,tensile performance,corrosion resistance,and fatigue property,were investigated.Results show that the steels with w(Ni)≥0.8%exhibit excellent mechanical properties compared with those with low-Ni content steels,further,their impact toughness at normal atmospheric temperature meets the industrial application standard and the fatigue property is similar to that of 304 austenitic stainless steel.Moreover,results show that the corrosion resistance of all the samples is almost at the same level.The results acquired in this study are supposed to be useful for the optimization of the chemical composition of stainless steels aiming to improve weldability.

Rietveld refinement,microstructure,mechanical properties and oxidation characteristics of Fe-28Mn-xAl-1C(x=10 and 12 wt.%)low-density steels

The quantitative relationship between microstructure and properties of austenitic Fe-28Mn-xAl-1C（x=10 and 12 wt.%）low-density steels was evaluated using Rietveld method to refine X-ray diffraction（XRD）patterns.The results showed that a typical three-phase austenitic steel was obtained in the forged Mn28Al10（i.e.Fe-28Mn-10Al-1C）steel,which included about 92.85 wt.% γ-Fe（Mn,Al,C）（austenite）,5.28 wt.%（Fe,Mn）_3AlC_（0.5）（κ-carbide）,and 1.87 wt.% α-Fe（Al,Mn）（ferrite）.For the forged Mn28Al12（i.e.Fe-28Mn-12Al-1C）steel,nevertheless,only about 76.64 wt.% austenite,9.63 wt.%κ-carbide,9.14 wt.%ferrite and 4.59 wt.% Fe_3Al（DO_3）could be obtained.Nanometerκ-carbide and DO_3 were mainly distributed in austenite grains and at the interface between austenite and ferrite,respectively.The forged Mn28Al10 steel had a better combination of strength,ductility and specific strength as compared with the forged Mn28Al12 steel.The ductility of the forged Mn28Al12 steel was far lower than that of the forged Mn28Al10 steel.The oxidation kinetics of Mn28Al10 steel oxidized at 1323 Kfor 5-25 h had two-stage linear rate laws,and the oxidation rate of the second stage was faster than that of the first stage.Although the oxidation kinetics of Mn28Al12 steel under this condition also had two-stage linear rate laws,the oxidation rate of the second stage was slower than that of the first stage.When the oxidation temperature increased to 1373K,the oxidation kinetics of the two steels at 5-25 hhad only onestage linear rate law,and the oxidation rates of the two steels were far faster than those at 1323K for5-25 h.The oxidation resistance of Mn28Al12 steel was much better than that of Mn28Al10 steel.Ferrite layer formed between the austenite matrix and the oxidation layer of the two Fe-Mn-Al-C steels oxidized at high temperature.

Thermodynamic modeling of Cr-Al-C and Ni-Al-C systems for low-density steels

The so-called low-density steels have generated a lot of interests with their high specific strength and ductility due to the addi-tion of the light element Al.ln order to accelerate the low-density steel design,a thermodynamic database has been developedwithin the present author group.Two Al-containing systems,i.e.,Cr-Al-Cand Ni-Al-C,were modeled and optimirzed with CALPHAD approach based on the reliable binary descriptions.For Cr-Al-C,system,the Gibbs energy of Cr2AlC phasewas described by a temperature-dependent polynomial with the aid of the experimental data on the heat capacity,instead of estimating heat capacity from Ncumann-Kopp rule.The incongruent melting temperature of Cr2AlC is 1762 K with theinvariant reaction of liquid+Cr3C2+Al4C3→Cr2AlC.The phase equilibria between Cr2AlC and binary phases were wellreproduced by using the present model parameters.For Ni-Al-C system,the liquid,fec and bec phases have been optimizedto fit the carbon solubility in these three phases.A good agreement between the calculated and experimental data has beenobtained using the present description of Ni-Al-C system.The reliable descriptions of the two ternary systems developedin the present work can be implemented into the thermodynamic database for low-density steels.

Advances in machine learning-and artificial intelligence-assisted material design of steels

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology and increasing material data,machine learning-and artificial intelligence-assisted design of high-performance steel materials is becoming a mainstream paradigm in materials science.Machine learning methods,based on an interdisciplinary discipline between computer science,statistics and material science,are good at discovering correlations between numerous data points.Compared with the traditional physical modeling method in material science,the main advantage of machine learning is that it overcomes the complex physical mechanisms of the material itself and provides a new perspective for the research and development of novel materials.This review starts with data preprocessing and the introduction of different machine learning models,including algorithm selection and model evaluation.Then,some successful cases of applying machine learning methods in the field of steel research are reviewed based on the main theme of optimizing composition,structure,processing,and performance.The application of machine learning methods to the performance-oriented inverse design of material composition and detection of steel defects is also reviewed.Finally,the applicability and limitations of machine learning in the material field are summarized,and future directions and prospects are discussed.

Emerging low-density polyethylene/paraffin wax/aluminum composite as a form-stable phase change thermal interface material

Thermal interface materials(TIMs) play a vital role in the thermal management of electronic devices and can significantly reduce thermal contact resistance(TCR). The TCR between the solid–liquid contact surface is much smaller than that of the solid–solid contact surface, but conventional solid–liquid phase change materials are likely to cause serious leakage. Therefore, this work has prepared a new formstable phase change thermal interface material. Through the melt blending of paraffin wax(PW) and low-density polyethylene(LDPE), the stability is improved and it has an excellent coating effect on PW. The addition of aluminum(Al) powder improves the low thermal conductivity of PW/LDPE, and the addition of 15wt% Al powder improves the thermal conductivity of the internal structure of the matrix by 67%. In addition, the influence of the addition of Al powder on the internal structure, thermal properties, and phase change behavior of the PW/LDPE matrix was systematically studied. The results confirmed that the addition of Al powder improved the thermal conductivity of the material without a significant impact on other properties, and the thermal conductivity increased with the increase of Al addition. Therefore, morphologically stable PW/LDPE/Al is an important development direction for TIMs.

Development and prospects of molten steel deoxidation in steelmaking process

In the long traditional process of steelmaking,excess oxygen is blown into the converter,and alloying elements are used for deoxidation.This inevitably results in excessive deoxidation of products remaining within the steel liquid,affecting the cleanliness of the steel.With the increasing requirements for steel performance,reducing the oxygen content in the steel liquid and ensuring its high cleanliness is necessary.After more than a hundred years of development,the total oxygen content in steel has been reduced from approximately 100×10^(-6)to approximately 10×10^(-6),and it can be controlled below 5×10^(-6)in some steel grades.A relatively stable and mature deoxidation technology has been formed,but further reducing the oxygen content in steel is no longer significant for improving steel quality.Our research team developed a deoxidation technology for bearing steel by optimizing the entire conventional process.The technology combines silicon–manganese predeoxidation,ladle furnace diffusion deoxidation,and vacuum final deoxidation.We successfully conducted industrial experiments and produced interstitial-free steel with natural decarbonization predeoxidation.Non-aluminum deoxidation was found to control the oxygen content in bearing steel to between 4×10^(-6) and 8×10^(-6),altering the type of inclusions,eliminating large particle Ds-type inclusions,improving the flowability of the steel liquid,and deriving a higher fatigue life.The natural decarbonization predeoxidation of interstitial-free steel reduced aluminum consumption and production costs and significantly improved the quality of cast billets.

Characteristics and Weldability of Resistance Plug Welding of Dissimilar Steels

TRIP980 high-strength steel plate/SPCC low-carbon steel plate were welded by RPW. The key factors such as size and material of filler were studied, and the structure, fusion ratio and mechanical properties of the RPW joint were analyzed. The experimental results show that the calculation formulas of the length and diameter of the filler were designed reasonably. Q235 as a filler for RPW of TRIP980 high-strength steel plate/SPCC low-carbon steel plate is suitable according to schaeffler organization chart. The deposited metal of RPW joint is in the shape of “spool”,and the base metal and cap of deposited metal are alternately combined. The deposited metal has the characteristics of “locking” as rivets, which is beneficial to the improvement of mechanical properties of RPW joint. The nugget of RPW joint is uniform without deviates. TRIP980 high-strength steel plate, SPCC low-carbon steel plate, and filler were metallurgically bonded in the RPW joint.

Flow characteristics and hot workability of a typical low-alloy high-strength steel during multi-pass deformation

Heavy components of low-alloy high-strength(LAHS) steels are generally formed by multi-pass forging. It is necessary to explore the flow characteristics and hot workability of LAHS steels during the multi-pass forging process, which is beneficial to the formulation of actual processing parameters. In the study, the multi-pass hot compression experiments of a typical LAHS steel are carried out at a wide range of deformation temperatures and strain rates. It is found that the work hardening rate of the experimental material depends on deformation parameters and deformation passes, which is ascribed to the impacts of static and dynamic softening behaviors. A new model is established to describe the flow characteristics at various deformation passes. Compared to the classical Arrhenius model and modified Zerilli and Armstrong model, the newly proposed model shows higher prediction accuracy with a confidence level of 0.98565. Furthermore, the connection between power dissipation efficiency(PDE) and deformation parameters is revealed by analyzing the microstructures. The PDE cannot be utilized to reflect the efficiency of energy dissipation for microstructure evolution during the entire deformation process, but only to assess the efficiency of energy dissipation for microstructure evolution in a specific deformation parameter state.As a result, an integrated processing map is proposed to better study the hot workability of the LAHS steel, which considers the effects of instability factor(IF), PDE, and distribution and size of grains. The optimized processing parameters for the multi-pass deformation process are the deformation parameters of 1223–1318 K and 0.01–0.08 s^(-1). Complete dynamic recrystallization occurs within the optimized processing parameters with an average grain size of 18.36–42.3 μm. This study will guide the optimization of the forging process of heavy components.

Comparative research on the formability of several ultra-high-strength steels

Three kinds of ultra-high-strength steels are subjected to uniaxial tensile,forming limit,and hole expansion tests to characterize their material forming properties.Results show that the elongation of S1500 reaches 12.9%and is higher than that of MS1500 with the same strength grade but is lower than that of QP980.The forming limit of S1500 steel is higher than that of MS1500 but lower than that of QP980.The instantaneous n-value of the material changes with the volume fraction of retained austenite.The hole expansion ratios of S1500,MS1500,and QP980 steels are 31.3%,32.2%,and 28.3%,respectively.The hole expansion ratio of QP steel increases slightly with the increase in strength grade.This behavior is contrary to the change trend of elongation and forming limit.Among the three kinds of materials,QP980 steel has the best global formability,and S1500 steel has better global formability than martensitic steel with a similar strength grade.The local formability of the materials improves slightly with the decrease in the amount of retained austenite.MS1500 may have the best local formability in accordance with engineering practice.

Effect of Chromium-enhanced Diffusivity on Reverted Transformation in Metastable Austenitic Stainless Steels:Theoretical Calculation and Experiment

Effects of nucleation sites and diffusivity enhancement of chromium on reverted transformation of AISI 304 stainless steel during annealing process were investigated.Dynamics calculation revealed that the reverted transformation of strain-inducedα’-martensite→γaustenite could were closely associated with active nucleation sites and diffusivity enhancement of chromium in nanocrystallineα’-martensite.The experimental data and the results were in accordance with 2-grain austenite/α’-martensite junctions calculated theoretically,which could result from high chromium diffusion rate in nanocrystallineα’-martensite.In addition,low temperature is not conducive to reversed transformation,while high temperature and long annealing time will lead to inhomogeneous grain size distribution.