Solid State Phenomena Vols. 172-174

Abstract: Ni Base superalloys owe their excellent mechanical properties to the presence of particles of γ’ phase (Ni₃Al with an L1₂ struc­ture) in a g matrix (Ni–Al solid solution with an fcc structure). Besides Al, other elements are used to im­part either a higher strengthening or improved corrosion properties at high temperature. The interface between γ and γ’ becomes of absolute importance for the resulting mechanical properties and technological application. Especially by considering the consequences that diffusion driven coarsening brings about to the parti­cle distribution either with or without the influence of an applied stress or strain. In this work the interface between γ and γ’ phases is characterized by means of measurements on phase images obtained from high resolution transmission electron microscopy images (HRTEM). Phase images represent the sample structure much more accurately than typical HREM experimental images and allow correction of spherical aberration and other residual aberrations. The investigation is performed by using a binary Ni-Al alloy as well as technical Ni base superalloys (MC2 and MCNG). While a sharp interface is developed during stress free coarsening in Ni-Al alloys, a wider volume needs to be considered when alloying elements are introduced. Measurements of lattice spacings on phase images and chemical composition from energy dispersive spectroscopy are used to show the interface characteristics in the alloys under consideration. The interface in the binary Ni-Al alloy can be described by micro­mechanics as a typical misfitting inclusion. In the technical alloys, the presence of concentration gradients changes the expected lattice strains in a given volume around the particles.

Abstract: The preference of the habit planes (HPs) developed from precipitation in the fcc/bcc system has been investigated. The interfacial energy of different interface orientations has been examined with variation of the orientation relationships (OR) and lattice parameters by a classical molecular dynamics method. The results show that interface has the lowest interfacial energy when it contains parallel Burgers vectors and a set of dislocations. The local minimum of interfacial energy may not associated with a maximum of dislocation spacing. It is also found that the near Kurdjumov-Sachs OR is more preferable than the near Nishiyama-Wasserman OR. Contrary to the previous interfacial energy calculations, which usually limit to rational ORs, the present work allows ORs to be irrational, which agrees with the observations.

Abstract: The precipitation sequences in two Al-Li-Cu alloys with similar Cu concentration and different Li concentration have been studied by small-angle X-ray scattering using synchrotron light, in combination with transmission electron microscopy. The sequence ranges from phases formed during natural ageing to the hardening ones obtained by artificial ageing at 155°C. It is found that the low Li-containing alloy shows first Cu-rich clusters at room temperature followed by T₁ precipitates, while the high Li-containing alloy shows first δ’-Al₃Li precipitates and then formation of T1 phase in coexistence with the δ’. The influence of alloy composition on T₁ nucleation and growth kinetics is discussed in light of the experimental results.

Abstract: This study continues previous work on off-stoichiometric Fe-Pd alloys using a combined reaction strategy during thermomechanical processing [1,2]. Severe plastic deformation of the initial disordered fcc gamma phase (γ) of compostion Fe-35at.%Pd, followed by heat treatment in the two phase field produces a nano-composite ferromagnet comprised of soft alpha phase/ferrite (α) in a high-anisotropy L1₀ FePd matrix. The length scale and morphology of the transformation products have been characterized using x-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The transformed microstructures exhibit strong texture retention similar to the stoichiometric alloy suggesting a massive ordering mode. The alloy has shown a proclivity to exchange couple at a length scale not in agreement with proposed theories of exchange coupling [3,4]. The magnetic properties were measured using standard vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). This research has been supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF-DMR).

Abstract: In classical models of microstructural evolution, the natural dispersion existing in the samples is often neglected. In this paper, we propose a general model that takes into account the dispersion. This model is applied to two cases of phase transformations in steels: the first one concerns the bainitic transformation and the second is dedicated to austenite to ferrite transformation. Through these examples, we show that not taking account the effects of dispersion in the model can lead to (i) incorrect prediction of the overall kinetics or (ii) an incorrect parameter fitting of the experimental data.

Abstract: Aluminium alloys display complex phase transitions to achieve their desired properties.Many of these involve elaborated precipitation sequences where the main role is not played by ther-modynamically stable species, but by metastable precipitates instead. An interplay between phasestability, crystal symmetry, diffusion, volume and particle/matrix interfaces sets the pace for the ki-netics. Thermodynamic modelling, which focuses on stable precipitates, is not an aid in describingsuch processes, as it is usually transitional phases that achieve the desired properties. The model pre-sented here combines first--principles to obtain the transition precipitate energetics (both at the bulkand at the interface with the matrix) with thermochemical databases to describe the overall kineticsof stable precipitates. Precipitate size and number density are captured via the Kampmann--Wagnernumerical approach, which is embedded in a genetic algorithm to obtain optimal compositional andheat treatment scenarios for the optimisation of the mechanical properties in aluminium alloys of the 7000 series.

Abstract: The early stages of precipitation of Cr rich precipitates were investigated by Atom Probe Tomography (APT) in a Cu-1Cr-0.1Zr (wt.%). This way, quantitative data were obtained about their size, 3D shape, density, composition and volume fraction. Surprisingly, in the early stage of precipitation, nanoscaled precipitates exhibit various shapes (spherical, plates and ellipsoid) and contain a large amount of Cu (up to 50%), in contradiction with the equilibrium Cu-Cr phase diagram. APT data also show that some impurities (Fe) segregate along Cu/Cr interfaces. A precipitation sequence is proposed and the relationship between mechanical properties and microstructure is discussed.

Abstract: Effect of the third alloying element Mn on Cu-precipitation was studied in a binary Fe-1.3% Cu alloy. Precipitation in both the alloys was investigated after homogenization treatment and subsequent artificial aging. Advanced characterization techniques such as Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy (PAS) and Tomographic Atom Probe (TAP) were used to establish the chemical composition, morphology, size and number density of the Cu-rich phases. Combined results of PAS and TAP were particularly useful in order to follow the Cu precipitation in the binary alloy. At short aging times, addition of Mn significantly increased the kinetics of hardening while its effect on the magnitude of precipitation strengthening is only marginal. It further increases the over-aging kinetics.

Abstract: The modelling of precipitation is fairly trivial in very dilute binary alloys but remains a challenge in concentrated alloys. By comparing Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations and Cluster Dynamics calculations the difficulties are identified and solutions to link these two techniques are proposed to build an efficient multi-scale procedure.

Abstract: Formation of coherent Cu precipitates in supersaturated ferrite (1.5 at.%Cu) at 500°C is simulated using the Monte Carlo method. Bond energies used in the atomistic simulation are calibrated on the mutual solubilities given on the Fe-rich and Cu-rich side of the Fe(bcc)-Cu(bcc) phase diagram. The spatial extension of the precipitate phase is defined on basis of a composition criterion of the nearest neighbor shells. Various definition conditions are examined in terms of resulting particle densities, mean radii and composition of the precipitates, as well as the composition profiles across the precipitate/matrix interface. The predictions of the simulations are compared with the experimental results from atom probe analysis as well as small angle neutron scattering.