Ultrasonic hardening of aluminium alloys

The application of cyclic mechanical loading at 22 kHz frequency significantly modifies the kinetics and dynamics of the individual stages of the precipitation hardening process. Therefore, an investigation was initiated where aluminium alloys containing 3.8%, 4.1% and 5.2% (weight) copper were aged at a variety of temperatures with and without simultaneous ultrasonic loading at stress amplitudes approaching the fatigue limit of these materials.     

Study of solid-solution hardening in binary aluminium-based alloys

Solid-solution formation in binary aluminium-based alloys is due essentially to the combined effects of the size and valence of solvent and solute atoms, as expected by the four Hume-Rothery rules. The lattice parameter of aluminium in the solid solution of the sputtered Al?Fe films is [Al-a (Å)=4.052?6.6×10^?3Y]. The increasing and decreasing evolution of the lattice parameter of copper [Cu-a (Å)=3.612+1.8×10^?3Z] and aluminium [Al-a (Å)=4.048?1.6×10^?3X] in the sputtered Al-1.8 to 92.5 at. % Cu films is a result of the difference in size between the aluminium and copper atoms. The low solubility of copper in aluminium (<1.8 at % Cu) is due to the valences of solvent and solute atoms in contrast with other sputtered films prepared under similar conditions, such as Al?Mg (20 at. % Mg), Al?Ti (27 at. % Ti), Al?Cr (5at. % Cr) and Al?Fe (5.5 at. % Fe) where the solubility is due to the difference in size.     

Solid solution hardening in some copper base alloys

The increase of the critical resolved shear stress of cooper single crystals by additions of In and Co was studied in the temperature independent reagon. The results are explained on the basis of Labusch's theory (Labusch R.: Phys. stat. sol.41 (1970), 659) and are in agreement with measurements on other copper base alloys. The descrepancy between the redistribution of Cd during solidification and the data in the phase diagram ofCu-Cd alloy crystals was observed.The authors acknowledge the permission of Dr. B. esták (Institute of Physics, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences), who kindly enabled them to use the Instron testing apparatus. The authors also thank to Prof. P. Haasen, Göttingen, and to Prof. W. Köster, Stuttgart, who kindly supplied the polycrystalline alloy ingots.     

Magnetic percolation in iron-platinum alloys

Conclusions We have shown that the transition at 30.5% Fe is a percolation transition with the formation of clusters being correctly described by the accepted model, and that the Mössbauer spectra of a 26.5 at% Fe alloy show evidence of a SDW. Such a SDW with wave vector parallel to a cube axis could provide a preferred direction in an otherwise cubic crystal.     

Magnetic moments in heusler alloys

The Heusler alloys are a series of local moment ferromagnets of composition X₂MnY, with a magnetization of ～4mu_B per Mn atom. Magnetic measurements on the alloy series Ni₂Mn_xT_1?xSn, where T is Ti, V or Cr, indicate that the T site moment changes from ?mu_B (for Ti), through zero (for V), to ⁺mu_B (for CR). A simple physical interpretation is proposed for this sign change in the present work. This approach facilities the interpretation of several other features observed in Heusler alloys.     

Strain hardening of alloys with face-centered cubic lattice

A brief review is given of the peculiarities of the strain hardening of face-centered cubic (fee) alloys as compared with pure metals. The fundamental equations connecting the strain hardening characteristics to the quantitative characteristics of the dislocation structure and the slip trace picture are considered in application to alloys with a high friction stress of a nondislocation nature _F. The shape of the strain hardening curves of alloy mono- and polycrystals is analyzed; it is shown that it depends substantially on the stress level F.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 8, pp. 132–150, August, 1976.     

Modelling work hardening of aluminium alloys containing dispersoids

The influence of dispersoids on tensile deformation behaviour has been studied by comparison of aluminium alloys containing different dispersoid densities. It was found that a fine dispersion of non-shearable particles led to an increased work hardening at the initial plastic deformation, but the effect was opposite at higher strains. The reason has been attributed to the generation of geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs). A new model has been proposed for the evolution of GNDs based on a balance of storage and dynamic recovery of GNDs. The model predicts a rapid saturation of GNDs and a reduced work hardening at small strains, consistent with the experimental results.     

Friction stress of nondislocation origin in alloys and deformation hardening

Deformation curves of solid solutions with different values of the friction stress are calculated using the equations of the theory of deformation hardening. It is shown that the shape of the calculated curves changes considerably when the value of the friction stress changes. The theoretical curves are compared with the actual compression curves of single crystals of Ni₃Fe in ordered and disordered states.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 2, pp. 55–59, February, 1979.     

Magnetic behaviour ofCuAuFe alloys

The magnetic properties of Cu_99-xAu_xFe₁ alloys (x=12, 37 and 50.7 ats) have been investigated over the temperature range 4.2–70 K using low field AC magnetic susceptibility measurements and mössbauer spectroscopy. All alloys exhibit spin glass behaviour at low temperature with freezing temperatures T_f-5.7–7.6 K. Results of analysis of the high temperature (T3 T_f) Curie-Weiss behaviour are compared with those obtained from analysis of the broadly distributed 4.2 K Mössbauer spectra.     

Magnetic clusters in amorphous metal alloys

The effect of thermal treatment in combination with an external magnetic field and/or elastic stress on the magnetic characteristics of amorphous metal alloys of the 2NSR type is studied. The complex behavior of the magnetization and coercivity values in dependence on the length of annealing at temperatures below crystallization is described. It is assumed that the observed changes in the macroscopic magnetic characteristics are associated with the formation of clusters with different degrees of exchange interaction.     

Magnetic domain observations in Fe-Ga alloys

The domain structure of Fe-Ga bulk alloys is investigated with magnetic force (MFM) and magneto-optic Kerr microscopy. Published domain observations on this class of materials predominantly reveal maze-like domain patterns that indicate out-of-plane magnetization, i.e. out-of-plane anisotropy. Contrary to the belief that this anisotropy is due to the presence of nanoscale heterogeneities [1] and [2] (Bai et al., 2005, 2009), we show that it is due to a damaged surface layer caused by standard mechanical polishing. The surface conditions in Fe-Ga alloys are more sensitive to stress-induced damage than in pure α-Fe. This is explained as being due to increased magnetostriction. We demonstrate that the damaged surface layer can be removed with an additional polishing step using colloidal amorphous silica. On (0 0 1) bulk crystal surfaces, the domain structures, obtained after the removal of the damaged surface layer, reveal in-plane magnetization with sharp and straight 90° and 180° domain walls that are expected in these alloys.     

Magnetic properties of Cr-Fe-Mn alloys

The magnetic behaviour of a Cr_80−xFe₂₀Mn_x alloy system with x=2, 7, 10, 13 and 22 has been investigated in the temperature range 2-400 K through measurements of magnetization, electrical resistivity, magnetoresistivity, specific heat and thermal expansion. The temperature vs. Mn concentration magnetic phase diagram of the system is rich in magnetic behaviour with ferromagnetic (FM), antiferromagnetic (AFM) and paramagnetic phase regions and a spin-glass (SG) region at the lowest temperatures. Phase transition temperatures amongst these different magnetic phases could be identified from well-defined anomalies of magnetic origin that are displayed by graphs of the above-mentioned physical properties as a function of temperature. The time relaxation of the thermoremanent, isothermal remanent and field-cooled magnetizations below and above the SG freezing temperature show unusual aspects. These relaxations do not follow the usual superposition principle that is expected for typical SG materials. Negative giant magetoresistance (GMR) is observed in the alloys at 4 K. The GMR initially increases sharply on increasing the Mn content in the alloy system, followed by a tendency towards a saturation negative value for concentrations of more than about 10 at% Mn. Low-temperature plots of C_p/T vs. T², where C_p is the specific heat, present anomalous behaviour for alloys with x=2, 10 and 22. For x=2 the plot shows an upturn at the lowest temperatures that changes over to a prominent downturn for x=10 and 22. This behaviour is attributed to Fe concentration fluctuations in the alloys, confirming the theoretical model of Matthews.     

Magnetic properties of CuRh alloys

By means of rapid quenching techniques single phased samples of Cu_xRh_1?x(0?x?1) were obtained. For these alloys the Knight shift of ⁶³Cu and ¹⁰³Rh has been determined employing pulsed NMR at low temperatures, furthermore the magnetic susceptibility was measured for temperatures between 4.2 and 300 K. While the Knight shift of ¹⁰³Rh is dominated by s-electron contributions in spite of a high density of d-states at the Fermi level, for the susceptibility, however, the d-electron contributions prevail. In addition the susceptibility shows a pronounced maximum at about 10 at.% Cu. Using the extrapolated Knight shift of copper (x→0) we estimate a net copper hyperfine field of — 15 T in close agreement with the corresponding values for CuPd and CuPt.     

Magnetic properties of amorphous alloys

The magnetic properties of existing amorphous iron based materials, i.e., Fe--metalloid, Fe--early transition metals and Fe--rare earth alloys, are briefly discussed for some representative alloys. The spin orientation of amorphous Fe--metalloid alloys has been determined by the angular dependence of hyperfine interactions. It is shown that in iron--early transition metals ferromagnetic order is not long-ranged, but determined by magnetic clusters. The magnetic hyperfine field distributions of Fe-rich iron--early transition metals consist of a high and a low field tail. The magnetic structure has been investigated for two representative Fe--RE (RE = Er, Ce) amorphous alloys. For the first time, the magnetic coupling phenomenon in amorphous/crystalline multilayers has been discussed. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

On the nature of the dispersion hardening of Cu-Al-Co alloys

The authors describe an investigation into the mechanism of strain hardening of Cu-8 at. % Al-2 at. % Co alloy strengthened by particles of the intermetallic compound CoAl. They show that within the range 77–573°K the temperature dependence of the yield point is determined by the temperature dependence of the shear modulus. At T > 573°K the reverse processes gain in importance and cause a sharp decrease in the coefficient of strain-hardening and a loss of plasticity. The investigation of the Bauschinger effect and its reversal showed that distant stresses, generated by Orowan loops, have a considerable effect on the strain-hardening process. The reversal processes and an increase in test temperature produced no qualitative change in the dislocation pattern.     

Magnetic breakdown in very dilute aluminum-silver alloys

The temperature and magnetic field dependences of the electrical magnetoresistance of very dilute (1 300 ? RRR ? 10 000) AlAg alloys have been measured for H ? [110]. Although no oscillations were observed, there is evidence in the temperature dependence of the magnetoresistance for the existence of magnetic breakdown.     

Magnetic ordering in YbEu alloys

Magnetization measurements of alloys of 10–40 at.% Eu in Yb have revealed a broad isofield magnetic moment peak at 8 K for the forty atomic percent alloy. The peak moves to lower temperatures with decreasing Eu content. At low Eu concentrations evidence for ferromagnetic ordering is seen in the magnetization data.     

Magnetic hysteresis in rapidly quenched rare-earth alloys

The magnetic and structural properties of rapidly quenched (Pr₈₀Ga₂₀)_100-xFe_x, RTbFe and RTbFe(Co)M alloys are examined over a wide range of chemical compositions, where R ≡ Pr, Sm, MM and M ≡ B and Si. The Ga-containing samples show relatively high coercive fields (up to 3 kOe) in the amorphous state which subsequently disappear after crystallization. On the other hand, the high coercive fields (≈5 kOe) of melt-spun RTbFe samples decrease slightly after crystallization but their magnetic moment increases substantially. Melt-spun RTbFe(Co)M samples are generally magnetically soft in the as-quenched state. Magnetic hardening is produced by annealing the samples around 750°C leading to coercive fields which could not be measured with an ordinary electromagnet (H_c #62; 23 kOe). The best properties have been obtained on a Pr₁₄Fe₇₁B₁₅ sample with a coercive field of 8 kOe and an energy product of 8.5 MGOe. Thermomagnetic data show that a structural transformation takes place upon heating the samples to 750°C. The Curie temperature of the precipitate phase is around 320°C while that of the as-quenched phase is around 160°C. Transmission electron microscope studies show a very fine precipitate structure with a precipitate size below 100 Å. The precipitate phase is believed to be highly anisotropic leading to the observed hard magnetic properties.