Laser-assisted generation of self-assembled microstructures on stainless steel

Utilising a Nd:YVO₄ laser (wavelength of 532 nm, pulse duration of 8 ns, repetition rate of 30 kHz) and a Nd:YAG laser (wavelength of 1064 nm, pulse duration of 7 ns, repetition rate of 25 kHz), it was found that during the pulsed laser ablation of metal targets, such as stainless steel, periodic nodular microstructures (microcones) with average periods ranging from ∼30 to ∼50 μm were formed. This period depends on the number of accumulated laser pulses and is independent of the laser wavelength. It was found that the formation of microcones could occur after as little as 1500 pulses/spot (a lower number than previously reported) are fired onto a target surface location at laser fluence of ∼12 J/cm², intensity of ∼1.5 GW/cm². The initial feedback mechanism required for the formation of structures is attributed to the hydrodynamic instabilities of the melt. In addition to this, it has been shown that the structures grow along the optical axis of the incoming laser radiation. We demonstrate that highly regular structures can be produced at various angles, something not satisfactorily presented on metallic surfaces previously. The affecting factors such as incident angle of the laser beam and the structures that can be formed when varying the manner in which the laser beam is scanned over the target surface have also been investigated.     

Positron annihilation studies on the electronic structure of Pd−Ag−H system

Angular Correlation of Annihilation Radiation (ACAR) is shown to be useful to examine the electronic structure of -phase Pd_1–y Ag _y H _x system. Hydrogen absorption by Pd_1–y Ag _y alloys results in the increase of both nearly free andd-localized electron numbers in compliance with the KKR-CPA calculation outcomes. The investigation of -phase systems, PdH _x hydrides as well as Pd_1–y Ag _y H _x materials, failed because of a high concentration of lattice defects.     

Effect of annealing temperature on hardness, thickness and phase structure of carbonitrided 304 stainless steel

Carbonitriding of AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel was performed at a plasma-processing power of 450 W using inductively coupled radio frequency (rf) plasma in a gas mixture of 50% N₂ and 50% C₂H₂. The rate of carbonitriding, microhardness, phase structure of the compound layer, surface microstructure and cross-section morphology were studied before and after the annealing process. At the annealing temperature up to 800°C, the microhardness values of the compound zones decrease, while the associated values of the diffused zones increase. Little change was found in the thickness of the compound and diffused zones when the carbonitrided samples were annealed up to 400°C. However, at a higher annealing temperature, the thicknesses of both zones increase. The γ-Fe austenite is the main crystalline phase that can be detected by X-ray diffraction. As the annealing temperature increases up to 500°C, X-ray spectra show α-Fe and Fe₅C₂ phases. Nitrogen diffuses more deeply from the near surface to the interior of the treated sample as the annealing temperature increases up to 800°C and this might explain the extent of carbonitrided thickness and the enhanced microhardness of the diffused zone.     

Quantitative deformation measurements and analysis of the ferrite-austenite banded structure in a 2205 duplex stainless steel at 250 ℃

The deformation process of the microstructure in 2205 duplex stainless steel(DSS) under thermo-mechanical coupling at 250 ~?C was investigated using digital image correlation(DIC). A thermal tension test of duplex stainless steel(2205 DSS) with a banded structure was carried out to observe the initial deformation of the microstructure. It was found that inhomogeneous strain fields occurred primarily in austenite. The maximum normal strain in austenite was almost positive, while that in ferrite was almost negative. In addition, a thermal cyclic-loading test was conducted, and the strain field was characterized by e_11. Strain heterogeneities were induced after 400 cycles, which spread within the austenite and at the phase boundaries with the load increasing. The high tensile-strain regions were always located adjacent to regions of intense compressive strain. Based on the strain matrix sum vs. cycle number, we found that hardening occurred in the early cycles followed by softening.     

Positron annihilation study of the vacancy clusters in ODS Fe–14Cr alloys

Abstract

Oxide dispersion strengthened Fe14Cr and Fe14CrWTi alloys produced by mechanical alloying and hot isostatic pressing were subjected to isochronal annealing up to 1400 °C, and the evolution and thermal stability of the vacancy-type defects were investigated by positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS). The results were compared to those from a non-oxide dispersion strengthened Fe14Cr alloy produced by following the same powder metallurgy route. The long lifetime component of the PAS revealed the existence of tridimensional vacancy clusters, or nanovoids, in all these alloys. Two recovery stages are found in the oxide dispersion strengthened alloys irrespective of the starting conditions of the samples. The first one starting at T > 750 °C is attributed to thermal shrinkage of large vacancy clusters, or voids. A strong increase in the intensity of the long lifetime after annealing at temperatures in the 800–1050 °C range indicates the development of new vacancy clusters. These defects appear to be unstable above 1050 °C, but some of them remain at temperatures as high as 1400 °C, at least for 90 min.     

Engineering the residual stress state and microstructure of stainless steel with mechanical surface treatments

Four mechanical surface treatments have been considered for the application to austenitic stainless steel structures. Shot peening (SP), laser shock peening (LSP), ultrasonic impact treatment (UIT) and water jet cavitation peening (WJCP), also known as cavitation shotless peening (CSP), have been applied to 8 mm thick Type 304 austenitic stainless steel coupons. This study considers the merits of each of these mechanical surface treatments in terms of their effect on the surface roughness, microstructure, level of plastic work and through thickness residual stress distribution. Microstructural studies have revealed the formation of martensite close to the treated surface for each process. Residual stress measurements in the samples show compressive stresses to a significantly greater depth for the LSP, UIT and WJCP samples compared to the more conventional SP treated sample.     

Femtosecond laser bonding of glasses and ion migration in the interface

We report femtosecond laser bonding with strengths of a few MPa and the material mixing during the laser bonding process by using Sm³⁺- and Cr³⁺-doped glasses and 180 fs pulses at a repetition rate of 1 kHz from an amplified Ti:sapphire laser at a wavelength of 785 nm. By analyzing fluorescence spectra taken around the interface using a confocal scanning microscope we observed the migration of Sm ions from the upper Sm-doped glass to the lower Cr-doped glass and the reduction from Sm³⁺ to Sm²⁺ ions just above the interface for the borate-borate material system. However, in Sm-doped borate-borosilicate, the laser bonding did not produce any reduction and migration of Sm³⁺ ions.     

Acceleration of nickel diffusion by high tensile stress in cold-worked type 316 stainless steel at 450°C

The effect of tensile stress on diffusion was studied by the diffusion couple method. A diffusion couple was prepared by electroless plating a nickel thin layer on the round notch surface of a compact tension-type specimen of 20% cold-worked Type 316 stainless steel. The couple was diffused at 450°C for 4003?h under the maximum tensile stress of 553?MPa in the load direction. A rapid diffusion coefficient of nickel in the Type 316 stainless steel was observed at the high tensile stress zone that was 6.5 times faster than that at the low-stress zone.     

Improving the empirical model for plasma nitrided AISI 316L corrosion resistance based on M?ssbauer spectroscopy

Traditional plasma nitriding treatments using temperatures ranging from approximately 650 to 730 K can improve wear, corrosion resistance and surface hardness on stainless steels. The nitrided layer consists of some iron nitrides: the cubic ?? ^?? phase (Fe₄N), the hexagonal phase ?? (Fe_2???3N) and a nitrogen supersatured solid phase ?? _N . An empirical model is proposed to explain the corrosion resistance of AISI 316L and ASTM F138 nitrided samples based on Mössbauer Spectroscopy results: the larger the ratio between ?? and ?? ^?? phase fractions of the sample, the better its resistance corrosion is. In this work, this model is examined using some new results of AISI 316L samples, nitrided under the same previous conditions of gas composition and temperature, but at different pressure, for 3, 4 and 5 h. The sample nitrided for 4 h, whose value for ??/?? ^?? is maximum (=?0.73), shows a slightly better response than the other two samples, nitrided for 5 and 3 h (??/?? ^?? = 0.72 and 0.59, respectively). Moreover, these samples show very similar behavior. Therefore, this set of samples was not suitable to test the empirical model. However, the comparison between the present results of potentiodynamic polarization curves and those obtained previously at 4 and 4.5 torr, could indicated that the corrosion resistance of the sample which only presents the ?? _N phase was the worst of them. Moreover, the empirical model seems not to be ready to explain the response to corrosion and it should be improved including the ?? _N phase.     

Effect of the intermolecular thermal motions on the tail of the electronic density of states in polyacene crystals

The thermal fluctuation of the intermolecular hopping integral in the series of polyacene crystals (naphthalene, anthracene, tetracene, pentacene) was evaluated computationally using a combined molecular dynamics and quantum chemistry approach. It was shown that these large fluctuations can manifest themselves in a temperature-dependent relatively broad tail of the density of states extending from the valence band into the gap. It was also shown that this tail accounts for a large fraction of all states in the valence band and therefore it may be essential for accurately describing the charge transport and optical properties.     

Phase transformations induced by implantation of12C− ions into α-Fe and AISI 304 and 316 stainless steels studied by CEMS and SEM

Samples of AISI 304 and 316 stainless steels, initially in austenitic (first set) and martensitic states (second set) and -Fe (third set), were implanted with 180 keV¹²C^– to a dose of 10¹⁷ atoms/cm² at room temperature. Surfaces were examined by SEM (scanning electron microscopy) and the crystalline-phase fractions were estimated through CEMS (conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy). Different grades of etching were produced by sputtering during the implantations on the stainless steel samples depending on the previous crystallographic states. CEMS data reveal the transformation in the initially martensitic samples and no noticeable modifications as a result of the implantation on -Fe and austenitic samples.     

Polarized angular distributions in the decays of the 3D2 state of charmonium produced in unpolarized proton–antiproton annihilation

Using the helicity formalism, we calculate the combined angular distribution functions of the polarized gamma photons and electron in the triple cascade process $\bar{\mathrm{p}}\mathrm{p}\to{}^{3}\mathrm{D}_{\mathrm{2}}\to\chi_{\mathrm{\mathrm{{J}}}}+\gamma_{\mathrm{1}}\to(\psi +\gamma_{\mathrm{2}})+\gamma_{\mathrm{1}}\to(\mathrm{e}^{+}+\mathrm{e}^{-})+\gamma_{\mathrm{1}}+\gamma_{\mathrm{2}}\ (\mathrm{{J}}=0,1,2)$ , when $\bar{\mathrm{p}}$ and p are unpolarized. We also present the partially integrated angular distribution functions in different cases. Our results show that by measuring the two-particle angular distribution of γ ₁ and γ ₂ and that of γ ₂ and e^? with the polarization of either one of the two particles, one can determine the relative magnitudes as well as the relative phases of all the helicity amplitudes in the two radiative decay processes ³D₂→χ _J+γ ₁ and χ _J→ψ+γ ₂.     

Laser induced incandescence determination of the ratio of the soot absorption functions at 532 nm and 1064 nm in the nucleation zone of a low pressure premixed sooting flame

In this work, the two-excitation wavelength laser induced incandescence (LII) method has been applied in a low-pressure premixed methane/oxygen/nitrogen flame (equivalence ratio 2.32) to determine the variation of the ratio of the soot absorption functions at 532 nm and 1064 nm E(m,532 nm)/E(m,1064 nm) along the flame. This method relies on the comparison of LII signals measured upon two different excitation wavelengths (here 532 nm and 1064 nm) and with laser fluences selected in such a way that the soot particles are equally laser-heated. The comparison of the laser fluences at 532 nm and 1064 nm leads to an easy determination of E(m,532 nm)/E(m,1064 nm). The reliability of the method is demonstrated for the first time in a low pressure flame in which the soot nucleation zone can be spatially resolved and which contains soot particles acting differently with the laser fluence according to their residence time in the flame. The method is then applied to determine the profile of E(m,532 nm)/E(m,1064 nm) along the flame. A very important decrease of this ratio is observed in the region of nascent soot, while the ratio remains constant at high distance above the burner. Implication on temperature determination from spectrally resolved measurement of flame emission is studied.     

Positron annihilation spectroscopy characterization of effect of intermetallic nanoparticles on accumulation and annealing of vacancy defects in electron-irradiated Fe–Ni–Al alloy

The effect of intermetallic nanoparticles like Ni₃Al and nanoparticles of an Fe-rich bcc phase on the evolution of vacancy defects in an fcc Fe–34.2 wt% Ni–5.4 wt% Al model alloy under electron irradiation at elevated temperatures (423 and 573 K) was investigated using positron annihilation spectroscopy. Nanosized (1–8 nm) particles, which are homogeneously distributed in the alloy matrix, cause a several-fold decrease in the accumulation of vacancies as compared to their accumulation in a quenched alloy. This effect depends on the size and the type of nanoparticles. The effect of the nanoparticles increases when the irradiation temperature increases. The irradiation-induced nucleation and the growth of intermetallic nanoparticles were also observed in an alloy pre-aged at 1023 K under irradiation at 573 K. Thus, a quantum-dot-like positron state within ultrafine intermetallic particles, which we revealed earlier, allows control of the evolution of coherent precipitates like Ni₃Al, along with vacancy defects, during irradiation and subsequent annealing. Possible mechanisms of the absorption of point defects by nanoparticles are discussed.     

Mutual influence of hydrogen and vacancies in α-zirconium on the energy of their interaction with metal

We presents a first-principles investigation on the interaction energy of hydrogen and vacancies with α-zirconium. It is established that the presence of vacancies in zirconium increases the hydrogen–metal binding energy; the presence of hydrogen in the zirconium lattice reduces the vacancy formation energy. It is shown that hydrogen and vacancies in zirconium form complexes that considerably distort the metal lattice. The increase in the covalency degree of the metal–metal and hydrogen–metal bounds is observed in the vicinity of these complexes.     

Cavity-ring-down spectroscopic studies of NO2 in the region around 613 nm

Catalytic degradation and diffusion processes of NO₂ were followed by cavity-ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) at 612.9 nm. The suitability of this absorption method for quasi-continuous, direct quantitative measurements over extended periods of time is demonstrated. The high sensitivity of the method is reflected by the fact that NO₂ concentrations as low as 200 ppb were detected at wavelengths at which the absorption of NO₂ is 12-fold lower than at the absorption maximum at 413 nm. Absorption coefficients of less than 1×10^-7 cm^-1 were measured. Received: 25 February 2000 / Revised version: 4 August 2000 / Published online: 5 October 2000     

A Remark on the Residual Entropy of the Antiferromagnetic Ising Model in the Maximal Critical Field

By means of a transfer matrix method, we show that the residual entropy S of the two-dimensional square lattice antiferromagnetic Ising model in the maximal critical field satisfies (ln λ _n )/(n+1)≤S≤(ln λ _n )/n, where λ _n is the largest eigenvalue of the transfer matrix F _n on a strip of width n. Using these bounds, we numerically calculate the value of S, with precise estimates on the errors, namely, S=0.394198±0.020747.     

Effects of a rectangular aperture on the vectorial structure of a Gaussian beam in the far-field regime

With the help of the angular spectrum representation and the Gaussian function expansions of the hard-edge aperture function, the vectorial structure of a linearly polarized Gaussian beam (GB) diffracted by a rectangular aperture is analyzed in detail. It is found that the sizes of the energy flux density spots and the energy fluxes of the TE and TM terms depend on the aperture configuration and the polarization direction of the incident GB. The far fields may have smaller spots and larger energy fluxes for a GB diffracted by a rectangular aperture compared to that by a square aperture with the same beam intensity. And another potential application in information encoding and transmission for free-space communications is also proposed in addition to re-focusing to enhance the optical storage density. This encoding scheme has the benefit of easy implementation without modulating any properties of the light source.     

Effect of the temperature of megaplastic deformation on the redistribution of carbon in Fe–Ni–C austenite

Structural phase transitions induced by megaplastic deformation at temperatures of 80–573 K are investigated in high-carbon Fe–Ni austenite of the invar range of compositions. Phase transformations change their direction from the nonequilibrium dissolution of graphite particles upon low-temperature (80 and 293 K) deformation and the activation of carbon precipitation from the fcc matrix to graphite upon high-temperature (373–573 K) deformation, due to the structure being saturated with point defects.