Papers by Keyword: Nanostructured Metals

Abstract: We report recent research in our laboratory on the thermal stabilization of nanocrystalline binary alloys with ternary additions. Fe-Cr and Fe-Ni alloys with the ternary addition of Zr are studied. The thermal stability of these nanocrystalline alloys, prepared by mechanical alloying of powders, is studied by XRD, TEM and hardness as a function of annealing temperature. The relative importance of thermodynamic or kinetic stabilization in various temperature ranges is discussed for the different alloys. In agreement with our recent model for thermodynamic stabilization, it is found that Zr solute additions are more effective in stabilizing the nanocrystalline grain size in the Fe-Cr than in the Fe-Ni system.

Abstract: This paper describes the stabilization of nanocrystalline grain sizes in Pd and Fe by the addition of Zr solute atoms. The grain size as a function of annealing temperature was measured by both x-ray diffraction (XRD) line broadening analysis and microscopy methods. The latter methods showed that the XRD grain size measurements for the samples annealed at the higher temperatures were not valid. It appears that thermodynamic stabilization may still be operative in the Fe-4at.% Zr alloy but not in the Pd-19at.% Zr alloy from the experimental results and calculations of the enthalpy of segregation.

Abstract: Ultrafine-grained metals whose grain size is less than one micron have attracted interest as high strength materials. Whereas nanostructured metals produced by severe plastic deformation express remarkably peculiar behavior in both material and mechanical aspects, its mechanism has been clarified by neither experimental nor computational approaches. In this study, we develop a multiscale crystal plasticity model considering an effect of grain boundary. In order to express release of dislocation from grain boundaries, information of misorientation is introduced into a hardening law of crystal plasticity. In addition, carrying out FE simulation for FCC polycrystal, the stress-strain responses such as increase of yield stress due to existence of grain boundary are discussed. We investigate comprehensively the effect of dislocation behavior on the material property of nanostructured metal.

Abstract: Nanostructured metals hold the potential to significantly augment the product portfolios of the metals industry. This potential is being progressively developed through contributions from the academic community to the underlying science of nanostructuring, increasing development and protection of intellectual property, and the involvement of large corporations. In this paper we review the trends and status of the commercialization of nanostructured metals technology, focusing on metals produced by severe plastic deformation.

Abstract: Plastic deformation leads to a structural refinement by introducing low angle dislocation boundaries and high angle boundaries in the initial coarse grains. To understand the mechanisms for the structural refinement and to establish the structure-strength relationship requires a precise characterization of key structural parameters, namely the boundary spacing and boundary misorientation angle. This study gives the results of such a characterization of pure Ni subjected to high pressure torsion (HPT) up to a strain of 300. The structural analysis was carried out by transmission electron microscopy in the longitudinal sample section in which the detailed structural features can be resolved. It is found that the microstructure in the HPT Ni samples is dominated by a lamellar structure. The spacing of the lamellar boundaries decreases and their misorientation angle increases with strain following a power law up to strain of 12, above which saturation is reached at a strain of about 34. The distribution of lamellar spacings normalized by their respective average values at each strain show an identical form. This scaling behavior is discussed also with reference to other metals and processing routes.

Abstract: Annealing-induced hardening and deformation-induced softening behavior has recently been found in nanostructured aluminum (fcc) produced by severe plastic deformation. It has also been demonstrated that annealing led to a decrease in ductility while deformation led to an increase in ductility. These mechanical responses are totally opposite to those in conventional coarse-grained samples. The present study explores the effect of post-process annealing or deformation on mechanical properties of nanostructured interstitial free (IF) steel (bcc). Accumulative roll-bonding was used to produce the nanostructured IF steel. The deformation structure was characterized by a lamellar boundary structure with a mean spacing of about 200 nm, consisting of high-angle boundaries, low-angle dislocation boundaries and dislocations in the volume between the boundaries. When the deformed sample was annealed at 400oC for 0.5 h, the yield stress and ultimate tensile strength increased and the elongation to failure decreased markedly. In contrast, when the annealed treatment was followed by a light rolling deformation of 15 % thickness reduction, the strength decreased and the elongation to failure increased. These results are consistent with those observed in the aluminum samples. Structural observations by transmission electron microscopy indicated that a removal of dislocations between the boundaries leads to a lack of dislocation sources, resulting in a higher stress to activate alternative dislocation sources. It was suggested that deformation rather than annealing could be a new route to improve the ductility of nanostructured metals and that a moderate light deformation gives a good balance of strength and ductility.

Abstract: The strength of a deformed metal depends on the content of high angle boundaries, low angle dislocation boundaries and the dislocations between the boundaries. High angle boundaries contribute by Hall-Petch strengthening, whereas for the low angle dislocation boundaries and dislocations between boundaries the strengthening is proportional to the square root of the dislocation density. Based on an assumption of additivity of these contributions, the flow stresses of metals deformed by cold rolling have been calculated successfully. In the present investigation pure Ni (99.9%) has been deformed by high pressure torsion (HPT) to von Mises strains of 0.9, 1.7, 8.7 and 12. The strength of the HPT Ni has been determined by Vickers microhardness (HV) measurements and the microstructural parameters have been determined by transmission electron microscope (TEM) in the longitudinal section. HPT has been compared with deformation by cold rolling and torsion based on the structural evolution with strain and the stress-structure relationship. Based on an assumption of a linear additivity of boundary strengthening and dislocation strengthening, good agreement has been found between the calculated and the experimental flow stress.

Abstract: Deformation structures produced by high pressure torsion (HPT) and accumulative roll-bonding (ARB) were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction, and the mechanical properties of the ARB samples were determined by uniaxial tensile testing. The structural evolution during HPT in high purity nickel has been examined and an extended lamellar boundary structure was observed at high strains. For ARB samples deformed to high strains, an almost similar structural morphology has been observed in both interstitial free steel and in commercial purity aluminum, whereas a relatively equiaxed structural morphology was observed in high purity aluminum samples. In all samples, both deformed by HPT and ARB, the deformation structures were composed of a large fraction of high-angle boundaries, together with low-angle boundaries and isolated dislocations between the boundaries. Common characteristics have been identified in the mechanical behavior of the ARB samples, namely a very high strength, a small uniform elongation and a relatively large post-uniform elongation after necking. For HPT and ARB the structural morphology and structural parameters are compared, and for the ARB samples structure-property relationships are also discussed.

Abstract: Junction disclinations are important elements of the structure of nanostructured metals produced by severe plastic deformation (SPD). Effect of these defects on the formation energy of vacancies in grain boundaries (GBs) is studied by means of atomistic computer simulations. Estimates based on the calculations of vacancy formation energies suggest that at least two orders of magnitude increase of the GB diffusion coefficient can be expected due to junction disclinations in nanostructured metals.

Abstract: Microstructural observations are presented for different metals deformed from low to high strain by both traditional and new metal working processes. It is shown that deformation induced dislocation structures can be interpreted and analyzed within a common framework of grain subdivision on a finer and finer scale down to the nanometer dimension, which can be reached at ultrahigh strains. It is demonstrated that classical materials science and engineering principles apply from the largest to the smallest structural scale but also that new and unexpected structures and properties characterize metals with structures on the scale from about 10 nm to 1 μm.