Origin of tweed in Au–Cu–Al alloys

The premartensitic tweed in Au–Cu–Al alloys, contrary to previous thought that resort to defects, is confirmed to be associated with the coherent embryos of an intermediate phase (I phase) embedded in parent phase. The parent?→?I phase transformation temperature was measured by differential scanning calorimeter and dynamic mechanical analysers, which shifts from 82.3 to 557.6?°C depending on the alloy composition. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopes (TEM) results show that the parent?→?I phase transformation is a charge density wave transition that cannot be suppressed even by melt-spun method, which shows obvious compositional inhomogeneity between I phase and parent. The results imply that the parent?→?I phase transition is a fast displacive transformation coupled with diffusion. Moreover, accompanying the parent?→?I phase transformation, alloys demonstrate diversified microstructure revealed by TEM observation, from tweed to chessboard nanowires or twins. These findings provide the experimental evidence for that parent?→?I phase transformation in Au–Cu–Al alloys is originated from pseudospinodal decomposition as theoretically predicted.     

Crystallographic texture and microstructure evolution during hot compression of Ti–6Al–4V–0.1B alloy in the (α + β)-regime

Microstructure and texture are known to undergo drastic modifications due to trace hypoeutectic boron addition (~0.1 wt.%) for various titanium alloys e.g. Ti–6Al–4V. The deformation behaviour of such an alloy Ti–6Al–4V–0.1B is investigated in the (α?+?β) phase field and compared against that of the base alloy Ti–6Al–4V studied under selfsame conditions. The deformation microstructures for the two alloys display bending and kinking of α lamellae in near α and softening via globularization of α lamella in near β phase regimes, respectively. The transition temperature at which pure slip based deformation changes to softening is lower for the boron added alloy. The presence of TiB particles is largely held attributable for the early softening of Ti–6Al–4V–0.1B alloy. The compression texture of both the alloys carry signature of pure α phase defamation at lower temperature and α→β→α phase transformation near the β transus temperature. Texture is influenced by a complex interplay of the deformation and transformation processes in the intermediate temperature range. The contribution from phase transformation is prominent for Ti–6Al–4V–0.1B alloy at comparatively lower temperature.     

Thermal and structural characterization of Cu–Al–Mn–X (Ti,Ni) shape memory alloys

In this study, the Cu–Al–Mn–X (X = Ni, Ti) shape memory alloys at the range of 10–12 at.% of aluminum and 4–5 at.% manganese were produced by arc melting. We have investigated the effects of the alloying elements on the transformation temperatures, and the structural and the magnetic properties of the quaternary Cu–Al–Mn–X (X = Ni, Ti) shape memory alloys. The evolution of the transformation temperatures was studied by differential scanning calorimetry with different heating and cooling rates. The characteristic transformation temperatures and the thermodynamic parameters were highly sensitive to variations in the aluminum and manganese content, and it was observed that the nickel addition into the Cu–Al–Mn system decreased the transformation temperature although Ti addition caused an increase in the transformation temperatures. The effect of the nickel and the titanium on the thermodynamic parameters such as enthalpy and entropy values was investigated. The structural changes of the samples were studied by X-ray diffraction measurements and by optical microscope observations at room temperature. It is evaluated that the element Ni has been completely soluble in the matrix, and the main phase of the Cu–Al–Mn–Ni sample is martensite, and due to the low solubility of the Ti, the Cu–Al–Mn–Ti sample has precipitates, and a martensite phase at room temperature. The magnetic properties of the Cu–Al–Mn, Cu–Al–Mn–Ni and Cu–Al–Mn–Ti samples were investigated, and the effect of the nickel and the titanium on the magnetic properties was studied.     

Effects of deep cryogenic treatment on the solid-state phase transformation of Cu–Al alloy in cooling process

The solid-state phase transformation temperature and duration of deep cryogenic treated and untreated Cu–Al alloys in cooling process were measured by differential scanning calorimetry measurement. The solid-state phase transformation activation energy and Avrami exponent were calculated according to these measurements. The effects of deep cryogenic treatment on the solid-state phase transformation were investigated based on the measurement and calculation as well as the observation of alloy's microstructure. The results show that deep cryogenic treatment can increase the solid-phase transformation activation energy and shorten the phase transformation duration, which is helpful to the formation of fine grains in Cu–Al alloy.     

The influence of microstructure on the martensitic transformation in Cu–Zn–Al melt-spun ribbons

The martensitic transformation was investigated in a set of twin roller melt-spun Cu–Zn–Al shape memory alloys, solidified at tangential wheel speeds between 20 and 40 m/s. The resulting microstructures were analyzed using X-ray diffraction, optical and transmission electron microscopy techniques. The characteristic martensitic transformation temperature, M _S, was determined for each condition by conventional resistometric methods. The ribbons are homogeneous in shape and for each quenching rate they exhibit a quite uniform M _S temperature. By proper thermal treatments, the different factors affecting M _S could be separately examined and from temperature measurements, the contribution of L2₁ antiphase boundaries evaluated. A calculation of this contribution using pair interchange energies is in good agreement with the experimental results.     

高压下Ni3Al热力学性质的第一性原理研究

运用第一性原理方法结合准谐Debye-Grüneisen模型研究了高压下Ni3Al的热力学性质,拟合了Ni3Al的状态方程,计算了不同压强下Ni3Al的弹性模量及吉布斯自由能等热力学性质随温度的变化关系. 计算结果表明：采用七阶Birch-Murnaghan方程拟合的晶格常数与实验测量结果吻合较好;零压下弹性模量、吉布斯自由能、焓、熵、热容和体膨胀系数随温度的变化与实验值符合较好;在特定压强下,Ni3Al的弹性模量和吉布斯自由能随温度升高而减小,焓、熵随温度升高而增加;预测的德拜温度约为500K,与实验值符合较好.     

激光等离子体去除微纳颗粒的热力学研究

微杂质污染一直是影响精密器件制造质量和使用寿命的关键因素之一.对于微纳米杂质颗粒用传统的清洗方式(超声清洗等)难以去除,而激光等离子体冲击波具有高压特性,可以实现纳米量级杂质颗粒的去除,具有很大的应用潜力.本文主要研究了激光等离子体去除微纳米颗粒过程中的热力学效应:实验研究了激光等离子体在不同脉冲数下对Si基底上Al颗粒去除后的颗粒形貌变化,发现大颗粒会发生破碎而转变成小颗粒,一些颗粒达到熔点后发生相变形成光滑球体,这源于等离子体的热力学效应共同作用的结果.为了研究微粒物态转化过程,基于冲击波传播理论研究,得到冲击波压强与温度特性的演化规律;同时,利用有限元模拟方式研究激光等离子冲击波压强和温度对微粒作用规律,得到了颗粒内随时间变化的应力分布和温度分布,并在此基础上得到等离子体对颗粒的热力学作用机制.     

Diffusion and thermite reaction process of film-honeycomb Al/NiO nanothermite:Molecular dynamics simulations using ReaxFF reactive force field

The diffusion and thermite reaction process of Al/NiO nanothermite composed of Al nanofilm and NiO nano honeycomb are investigated by molecular dynamics simulations in combination with the Reax FF. The diffusion and thermite reaction are characterized by measuring energy release, adiabatic reaction temperature, and activation energy. Based on time evolution of atomic configuration and mean square displacement, the initialization of the thermite reaction process of Al/NiO nanothermite results from the diffusion of Al atoms. Under the microcanonical ensemble, it is found that the adiabatic reaction temperature of the thermite reaction process of Al/NiO nanothermite reaches over 5500 K, and activation energy is 8.43 k J/mol. The release energy of the thermite reaction process of Al/NiO nanothermite is 2.2 k J/g, which is in accordance with the available experimental value. With the same initial temperature, the adiabatic reaction temperature of the thermite reaction process of Al/NiO nanothermite has a tendency to decrease dramatically as the equivalence ratio increases. On the basis of chemical bond analysis, the initial temperature and equivalence ratio have great effects on the thermite reaction process, but do not significantly affect the average length of Al–Ni nor Al–O bond. Overall, the thermite reaction of film-honeycomb Al/NiO nanothermite is a complicated process instead of a theoretical equation.     

Deviation from matthiessen's rule of dilute Al-alloys computed by 4-OPW approximation

Deviation from Matthiessen's rule (DMR) for five Al based alloys (AlAg, AlMg, AlZn, AlGa and AlGe) are calculated at 20, 50, and at 100 K by 4-OPW approximation. The published data of electron-phonon relaxation time and those of electron-impurity relaxation time are used. The Caplin-Rizzuto plots of calculated DMR agree with experimental data at lower temperature. At higher temperature it is suggested that interference effect of the two scattering agents must be taken into account to get better agreement.     

A redox reaction model for self-heating and aging prediction of Al/CuO multilayers

Sputter-deposited Al/CuO multilayers capable of highly energetic reactions have been the subject of intense studies for tunable initiation and actuation. Designing high performance Al/CuO-based initiator devices definitively requires reliable prediction of their ignition and reaction kinetics including self-heating or ageing as a function of heating rate and environmental conditions. The paper proposes a heterogeneous reaction model integrating an ensemble of basic mechanisms (oxygen diffusion, structural transformations, polymorphic phase changes) that have been collected from recent experimental investigations. The reaction model assumes that the rate of reaction is limited by the transport of oxygen across the growing layer of Al₂O₃ separating Al and CuO. Importantly, we show that the model predicts reasonably all exotherms through a wide range of temperature (ambient – 1000°C), all resulting from a pure diffusion process as experimentally observed for such Al/CuO multilayers. The model shows how the temperature ramp affects the structure of the multilayer and especially the growth of alumina-based interfacial regions. It highlights the importance of the interfacial chemistry evolution such as the native mixture of Al_xCu_yO_z transformation into a thin amorphous alumina, and the polymorphic phase transformation of this latter. The first one occurring at ～350°C results in a loss of continuity of the interface leading to the accelerated redox reaction whereas the second one occurring between 500 and 600°C produces a denser barrier to oxygen diffusion leading to the stop of redox reaction. We finally use the model to simulate thermal annealing as usually performed in accelerated ageing experiments. We theoretically observe and experimentally validate that a two weeks exposure of the multilayers at 200°C starts degrading the multilayers thermal properties whereas when the temperature remains below 200°C, the material keeps its entire integrity.     

Enhanced exchange bias in magnetron-sputtered Ni–Mn–Sb–Al ferromagnetic shape memory alloy thin films

In the present study, the influence of aluminium (Al) addition on the martensite-austenite phase transformation and exchange bias of Ni–Mn–Sb films have been investigated. Ni–Mn–Sb–Al films with different Al concentration (∼0–5.6%) were deposited by co-sputtering of Ni–Mn–Sb and Al targets. Experimental results revealed the decrease in martensitic transformation temperature with increasing Al content upto a certain extent (3.3%) beyond which martensitic transformation was suppressed. Paramagnetic to ferromagnetic transition temperature (T_C) also decreased with increasing Al concentration. Ni₅₀Mn_36.3Sb_10.4Al_3.3 thin film showed significant improvement in exchange bias field as compared to pure Ni_50.3Mn_36.9Sb_12.8 thin film. This enhancement in the exchange bias field H_EB = 611 Oe at 10 K is attributed to the increase of AFM-FM interactions that result from the decrease of Mn–Mn distance due to the incorporation of Al atoms. This behaviour is an additional property of the FSMA thin films apart from various other multifunctional properties and therefore, is of technological importance for their applications in magnetic storage devices.     

Properties of isovector 1+ states in A=28 nuclei and nuclear muon capture

A method is proposed for taking into account, in a calculation of partial rates of muon capture by nuclei, experimental information about strength functions for Gamow-Teller and isovector M1 transitions. The method, which amounts to choosing an orthogonal transformation that acts in the subspace of wave functions for excited states, requires neither modifying transition operators nor introducing effective charges. The matrix of the above transformation is constructed as a product of the matrices of reflection in a plane. All calculations are performed on the basis of the multiparticle shell model. Numerical results are obtained for isovector states in A=28 nuclei. Strength functions for Gamow-Teller and isovector M1 transitions in ²⁸Si are considered, and the lifetimes of 1⁺ states in ²⁸Al and the branching fractions for gamma decays of this state are calculated. Owing to taking into account experimental information about the properties of isovector states, the branching fractions for the γ decays of the 1⁺ state at 2.201 MeV in ²⁸Al are successfully described for the first time. The above transformation of the wave functions changes substantially the distribution of partial rates of allowed muon capture by a ²⁸Si nucleus among the 1⁺ states of the final nucleus ²⁸Al in relation to the results of the calculations with the eigenfunctions of the Hamiltonian of the multiparticle shell model. The muon-capture rates calculated with the transformed functions agree well with experimental data.     

Cubic BN Sintered with A1 under High Temperature and High Pressure

Sintering of cubic boron nitride （cBN） with addition of A1 is carried out in the temperature range 1300-1500℃ and under the pressure 5.5 GPa. When sintered at 1300℃, a weak diffractive peak of hexagonal BN （hBN） is observed in the Al-cBN sample, indicating the transformation from cBN to hBN. No nitrides or borides of A1 are observed, which indicated that A1 does not react with cBN obviously. When the sintering temperature is increased to 1400℃, the diffractive peak of hBN disappears and new phases of A1N and A1B2 are observed, due to reactions between A1 and cBN. When the sintering temperature is further increased to 1500℃, the contents of A1N and A1B2 phases increase and the A1 phase disappears completely.     

Synthesis of Al–Cr decagonal quasicrystal nanoparticles and their temperature of phase transformation to stable crystal phase

The synthesis of Al–Cr single quasicrystal (QC) nanoparticles of the decagonal phase was achieved by introducing an advanced gas flow evaporation method. By obtaining successive electron diffraction patterns for single-QC nanoparticles, the phase transformation temperature of a single-QC nanoparticle was determined to be 700 °C. It was also determined that part of the QC nanoparticle decomposed into hex-Al₈Cr₅ and Al during the phase transformation. Since the grain growth did not occur during the phase transformation in the present experiment, the inherent phase transformation temperature could be measured.     

Structural modification of supersaturated BCC-Nd(Al) solid solution

The metastable Nd(Al) supersaturated solid solution with the BCC structure was synthesized by the melt-spinning method. The thermal stability of the supersaturated solid solution was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and electrical-resistance measurements. The structural modification was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A constrained BCC lattice was found due to the smaller Al atoms entering the BCC-Nd lattice. Two evident transformation stages were found during the heating process. The lower activation energy and negative temperature coefficient of the resistivity (TCR) suggest that a continuous structural transformation occur, which results from the softening mode of the highly metastable BCC structure. The strongly distorted and ultra-fine microstructure was observed directly by TEM.     

液态铝基合金微观结构及其性质的分子动力学模拟研究(英文)

利用分子动力学研究了液态铝基合金Al80Fe20和Al80Cu20在800~2200K温度范围内的微观结构和性质的变化.扩散系数的计算结果显示两合金有着不同的动力学行为.温度大约1400K以下液态Al80Cu20的扩散系数随温度的变化比Arrhenius关系所预期的要慢些,所得结果与Brillo研究小组的实验结果基本一致.当液态铝基合金的动力学发生异常变化时,其微观二十面体短程序的含量和作用也发生相应的变化.因此,熔体的奇特动力学行为可能由于其微观局域结构短程序随着温度的变化而异常地改变而引起的.     

液态铝基合金微观结构及其性质的分子动力学模拟研究

利用分子动力学研究了液态铝基合金Al80Fe20和Al80Cu20在 800~2200K温度范围内的微观结构和性质的变化。扩散系数的计算结果显示两合金有着不同的动力学行为。温度大约1400K以下液态Al80Cu20的扩散系数随温度的变化比Arrhenius关系所预期的要慢些,所得结果与Brillo研究小组的实验结果基本一致。当液态铝基合金的动力学发生异常变化时,其微观二十面体短程序的含量和作用也发生相应的变化。因此,熔体的奇特动力学行为可能由于其微观局域结构短程序随着温度的变化而异常地改变而引起的。     

Temperature measurements of Al containing nano-thermite reactions using multi-wavelength pyrometry

Thermite reactions with nano-scale particles have attracted much study due to their high flame temperatures and combustion velocities. The mechanism by which the reaction propagates is not well understood. The reaction temperature, the heating rate, and the reaction zone thickness are critical parameters to understanding the mechanism. Measurements of the reaction temperature for the Al/CuO, Al/MoO₃, and Al/Fe₂O₃ nano-thermite systems were made using multi-wavelength pyrometry for two experimental configurations. In one experiment, the radiative emission from the reaction of a small, unconfined pile (∼10 mg) of reacting nano-thermite is collected over a 50 ms integration time and the temperature is measured. In a second experiment, the radiative emission was collected from a single spot, with a diameter of 1.5 mm, on a transparent tube filled with the nano-thermite as the combustion wave passes and the spectrum is temporally resolved using a streak tube and detected using an intensified CCD camera. Temperature traces from these experiments show a temperature ramping period followed by a plateau in temperature. For Al/CuO, the average temperature from the unconfined pile experiment was 2390 ± 150 K, and the average plateau temperature for the temporally resolved measurements was approximately 2250 ± 100 K. For Al/MoO₃, the unconfined pile experiment yielded an average temperature of 2150 ± 100 K, and the average plateau temperature was the same. The temperature measured from the Al/Fe₂O₃ unconfined pile experiment was 1735 ± 50 K. The measured temperatures suggest that the gases generated during the reactions are primarily from the decomposition or vaporization of the various metal oxides. Furthermore, for Al/CuO and Al/MoO₃, which can be classified as ‘fast’ nano-thermites, it was shown that the length scale associated with the temperature rise is much longer than classical conduction driven reactions.     

Site-diluted quantum Heisenberg spin model applied to the magnetic properties of Fe–Al disordered alloys

In this work we present a theoretical study of the magnetic behavior of disordered Fe–Al alloys on the basis of a simple-diluted quantum Heisenberg spin model with the assumption that the exchange interaction J depends on the Al concentration q. We calculated the critical temperature and exponents through the mean field renormalization group method. An acceptable fit to the experimental phase diagram for Al concentration in the range 0.30q0.45 is obtained.     

Formation and properties of Al composites reinforced by quasicrystalline AlCuFeB particles

Al-based composites reinforced by icosahedral (i-) Al₅₉Cu_25.5Fe_12.5B₃ quasicrystalline particles were prepared by solid-state sintering. It was found that Al diffusion from the matrix to the quasicrystalline particles induces phase transformation into the ω-Al₇Cu₂Fe tetragonal phase. In order to preserve the i phase, we used an oxidation pre-treatment of the particles and studied its influence on the kinetics of the phase transformation (Al + i → ω) as a function of temperature by high energy X-ray diffraction. The oxide layer acts as a barrier, reducing efficiently the diffusion of Al up to a sintering temperature of 823 K, allowing the control of the phases in the composites. The mechanical properties and the friction behaviour of the composites were investigated and show the negative influence of the oxide on the interface strength.