Influence of the microstructure on the corrosion behaviour of a shape memory Cu-Al-Be alloy in a marine environment

The influence of the microstructure on the corrosion behaviour of a shape memory Cu-11.40Al-0.55Be (wt.%) polycrystalline alloy in 3.5% NaCl has been studied by microscopical examinations, spectroscopical and X-ray diffraction measurements, and electrochemical tests. Chloride environment can produce a dealuminization attack, and the corrosion behaviour is affected by the alloy microstructural conditions. After long times of immersion, the single β phase microstructure suffers localized corrosion in some regions but dealuminization is generalized on the whole surface. However, in the (β + γ₂) microstructure, preferential dissolution of γ₂ dendritic precipitates occurs, which seems to protect β matrix from dealloying.     

Zr-Cu-Ni-Al-Nb大块非晶合金的晶化行为、力学性能及电化学腐蚀行为的研究

利用水冷铜模铸造法成功制备了Zr_65-xCu_17.5Al_7.5Ni ₁₀Nb_x (x=0，2，5)大块非晶合金. X射线衍射、热分析研究结果表 明，Nb的添加显著改变了非晶合金的晶化行为，促进了二十面体准晶相的形成. 各合金的准 静态压缩实验表明，Nb的适量添加有利于提高大块非晶合金的强度和塑性. 其中x=5的大块 非晶合金的抗压强度σ_b和塑性应变量ε_p 关键词： Zr基大块非晶合金 晶化行为 力学性能 耐腐蚀性能     

The kinetics of solidification of Al-Si eutectic alloys under high pressure

Abstract

The kinetics of crystallization of eutectic alloys Al_100-xSi_x (χ=12, 18, 26 at.%) was investigated under pressures p=0.5, 2.5, 4.5 GPa. The values of supercooling and average grain size of silicon crystals were determined for alloys quenched from melt under different pressures with the cooling rate 10³ K/s. The data obtained were used to evaluate quantitatively the pressure dependences of surface tension (between melt and crystal) and activation energy of crystal growth which, in turn, have made it possible to determine the relative change of nucleation frequency and of the rate of crystal growth with pressure.

The possibility is shown, based on the investigation of mechanical properties of the samples obtained under high pressure, for improving the strength and the plasticity of A1-Si alloys by means of high pressure-high temperature treatment.     

Effect of the chemistry and structure of the native oxide surface film on the corrosion properties of commercial AZ31 and AZ61 alloys

The purpose of this study has been to advance in knowledge of the chemical composition, structure and thickness of the thin native oxide film formed spontaneously in contact with the laboratory atmosphere on the surface of freshly polished commercial AZ31 and AZ61 alloys with a view to furthering the understanding of protection mechanisms. For comparative purposes, and to more fully describe the behaviour of the native oxide film, the external oxide films formed as a result of the manufacturing process (as-received condition) have been characterised. The technique applied in this research to study the thin oxide films (thickness of just a few nanometres) present on the surface of the alloys has basically been XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) in combination with ion sputtering. Corrosion properties of the alloys were studied in 0.6 M NaCl by measuring charge transfer resistance values, which are deduced from EIS (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) measurements after 1 h of exposure. Alloy AZ61 generally showed better corrosion resistance than AZ31, and the freshly polished alloys showed better corrosion resistance than the alloys in as-received condition. This is attributed to a combination of (1) higher thickness of the native oxide film on the AZ61 alloy and (2) greater uniformity of the oxide film in the polished condition. The formation of an additional oxide layer composed by a mixture of spinel (MgAl₂O₄) and MgO seems to diminish the protective properties of the passive layer on the surface of the alloys in as-received condition.     

Microstructure and properties of Ni–Ni3Si composites by directional solidification

Ni–Ni₃Si composites are prepared by the Bridgman directional solidification technology under different growth conditions, aiming to improve the ductility of the Ni₃Si compound and investigate the relationship between solidification microstructure and the properties. Microstructure of the Ni–Ni₃Si hypoeutectic in situ composites transforms from regular lamellar eutectic to cellular structure then to dendritic crystal with the increase of the solidification rate. Ni–Ni₃Si eutectic composites display regular lamellar eutectic structure at the solidification rate R=6.0–40.0 μm/s and the lamellar spacing is decreased with the increase of the solidification rate. Moreover, the Ni–Ni₃Si hypoeutectic composites present lower micro-hardness than pure Ni₃Si, which indicate Ni–Ni₃Si hypoeutectic composites have higher ductility, whereas the ductility of the Ni–Ni₃Si eutectic composites has scarcely been improved. This is caused by the formation of the metastable Ni₃₁Si₁₂ phase in the Ni–Ni₃Si eutectic composites.     

Effects and mechanism of ultrasonic irradiation on solidification microstructure and mechanical properties of binary TiAl alloys

In spite of their high temperature and reactivity, the binary TiAl alloys are successfully imposed by the ultrasonic irradiation and the microstructure evolution, solidification behaviors and mechanical properties are elaborately investigated. After ultrasonic irradiation, a high quality ingot without shrinkage defects and element segregation is obtained and the coarse dendrite structure is well modified into fine non-dendrite globular grains. The coarse lamellar colony and lamellar space of Ti44Al alloy is refined from 685 μm to 52 μm and 1185 nm to 312 nm, respectively (similarly, 819 μm to 102 μm and 2085 nm to 565 nm for Ti48Al alloy). For Ti48Al alloy, the α peritectic phase is simultaneously precipitated from the melt as well as the β primary phase before the peritectic reaction and the solidification is transformed into the mixed α-solidifying and β-solidifying. Ultrasonic irradiation promotes the peritectic reaction and phase transformation completely and the phase constituent becomes more close to the equilibrium level. The compressive strength of Ti44Al and Ti48Al alloys are increased from 623 MPa to 1250 MPa and 980 MPa to 1295 MPa, respectively. The grain refinement and dendrite transformation enhance the grain boundary sliding improving the plastic deformation ability. Ultrasonic irradiation significantly accelerates the melt flow and solute redistribution and the main grain refinement mechanism is the cavitation-enhanced nucleation by inclusion activation and heightened supercooling.     

Magnetostriction, Curie temperature and microstructure of Tb0.29(Dy1−xPrx)0.71Fe1.97 oriented alloys

The Tb_0.29(Dy_1−xPr_x)_0.71Fe_1.97 (x=0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3) alloys were prepared by directional solidification method. The orientation, magnetostriction λ, Curie temperature T_c and microstructure of alloys were characterized by XRD, standard resistant strain gauge technique, VSM and SEM-EDS. The results reveal that the alloys have a preferred orientation of 〈1 1 0〉 and 〈1 1 3〉 direction when x>0. With the increase in Pr content, the T_c of alloys decreases gradually and the non-cubic phase appears, resulting in the decline of λ dramatically, from 1935.2×10⁻⁶ for x=0 to 695.9×10⁻⁶ for x=0.3 at a compressive stress of 6 MPa and a magnetic field of H=240 kA m⁻¹.     

铁基Heusler合金Fe2Co1-xCrxSi的结构、磁性和输运性质的研究

基于多种实验手段和能带计算的方法, 对四元合金Fe₂Co_1-xCr_xSi的晶体结构、 磁性、输运性质及能带结构进行了研究. 研究发现, 随着Cr的增加, 合金Fe₂Co_1-xCr_xSi保持了高度有序结构, 逐渐从Hg₂CuTi结构的Fe₂CoSi 过渡到L2₁结构的Fe₂CrSi; 由于次晶格网络的破坏, 居里温度逐渐下降; 系列合金的分子磁矩呈现线性下降, 符合半金属特性; 剩余电阻比率与原子占位有序程度密切相关, 呈现两端大、 中间小的特点. 在Cr替代Co的过程中, 材料半金属能隙逐渐打开, 表现半金属特征. 同时费米能级从Fe₂CoSi半金属能隙的价带顶上移至Fe₂CrSi能隙的导带底. 最大的能隙宽度出现在x= 0.75处, 这表明四元合金有可能成为具有更高自旋极化率和更强抗干扰能力的自旋电子学材料.     

Correlation between the surface chemistry and the atmospheric corrosion of AZ31, AZ80 and AZ91D magnesium alloys

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used in order to investigate the correlation between the surface chemistry and the atmospheric corrosion of AZ31, AZ80 and AZ91D magnesium alloys exposed to 98% relative humidity at 50 °C. Commercially pure magnesium, used as the reference material, revealed MgO, Mg(OH)₂ and tracers of magnesium carbonate in the air-formed film. For the AZ80 and AZ91D alloys, the amount of magnesium carbonate formed on the surface reached similar values to those of MgO and Mg(OH)₂. A linear relation between the amount of magnesium carbonate formed on the surface and the subsequent corrosion behaviour in the humid environment was found. The AZ80 alloy revealed the highest amount of magnesium carbonate in the air-formed film and the highest atmospheric corrosion resistance, even higher than the AZ91D alloy, indicating that aluminium distribution in the alloy microstructure influenced the amount of magnesium carbonate formed.     

Influence of embedded particles on microstructure, corrosion resistance and thermal conductivity of CuO/SiO2 and NiO/SiO2 nanocomposite coatings

Homogeneous CuO/SiO₂ and NiO/SiO₂ nanocomposite coatings containing CuO and NiO nanoparticles in silica matrix were successfully synthesized by sol–gel process on an aluminum alloy substrate, respectively. The evolution of phase and morphology of both nanocomposites was characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM and FTIR. The effect of incorporating various nanoparticles on the corrosion behavior and the thermal conductivity of nanocomposite coatings was investigated by potentiodynamic polarization curve and comparative exponential method. The thermal conductivity as well as the corrosion resistance of nanocomposite coatings was significantly improved by the introduction of metal oxide particles. In comparison with NiO/SiO₂ nanocomposite coatings, CuO/SiO₂ composite coatings displayed lower protective behavior as well as higher thermal conductivity. Experimental results revealed that those improvements can directly be related to the nanocomposite effect and the nature of added nanoparticles.     

Compositional effect on thermo-mechanical,thermal and tensile properties of cis-polyisoprene and chloroprene rubber blends

Blends of cis-polyisoprene (CPI) and chloroprene rubber (CR) have been prepared in different blend compositions by solution casting. Structural characterization of these blends has been done using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The experimental values of thermo-mechanical properties, mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of so-prepared blends determined using dynamic mechanical analyzer and thermal constant analyzer have been presented. Crosslink density has been determined using different models. Experimental results from thermo-mechanical properties show that all the blends are immiscible. Tensile strength, toughness, Young's modulus and thermal conductivity of these blends were found to be higher than that of pure CPI and pure CR. However, mechanical properties of 25/75(V/V) of CPI/CR blend and thermal conductivity of 75/25(V/V) of CPI/CR blend have been found to be highest.     

Influence of Cu doping on the microstructure,optical properties and photoluminescence features of Cd0.9Zn0.1S nanoparticles

Cd_0.9−xZn_0.1Cu_xS (0≤x≤0.06) nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by a conventional chemical co-precipitation method at room temperature. Crystalline phases and optical absorption of the nanoparticles have been studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV–visible spectrophotometer. XRD confirms the phase singularity of the synthesized material, which also confirmed the formation of Cd–Zn–Cu–S alloy nanocrystals rather than separate nucleation or phase formation. Elemental composition was examined by the energy dispersive X-ray analysis and the microstructure was examined by scanning electron microscope. The blue shift of absorption edge below Cu=2% is responsible for dominance of Cu⁺ while at higher Cu concentration dominated Cu²⁺, d–d transition may exist. It is suggested that the addition of third metal ion (Cu²⁺/Cu⁺) is an effective way to improve the optical property and stability of the Cd_0.9Zn_0.1S solid solutions. When Cu is introduced, stretching of Cd–Zn–Cu–S bond is shifted lower wave number side from 678 cm⁻¹ (Cu=0%) to 671 cm⁻¹ (Cu=6%) due to the presence of Cu in Cd–Zn–S lattice and also the size effect. The variation in blue band emission peak from 456 nm (∼2.72 eV) to 482 nm (∼2.58 eV) by Cu-doping is corresponding to the inter-band radiation combination of photo-generated electrons and holes. Intensity of red band emission centered at 656 nm significantly increased up to Cu=4%; beyond 4% it is decreased due to the quenching of Cu concentration.     

Co50Fe25-xMnxSi25系列合金的结构、磁性和半金属性研究

利用实验和能带计算相结合的方法,对介于两种预期的半金属Heusler合金Co₂FeSi和Co₂MnSi间的四元合金Co₅₀Fe_25-xMn_xSi₂₅的晶体结构、磁性、能带结构和半金属性进行了研究.采用考虑库仑相互作用的的广义梯度近似方法计算了系列合金的能带结构,通过与实验结果进行对比,揭示了成分变化过程中合金分子磁矩及原子磁矩的变化规律.研究发现, 关键词： 磁性 半金属 Heusler合金     

Co50Fe50-xSix合金的结构相变和磁性

利用实验测量和理论计算相结合的方法,研究了介于B2结构CoFe低有序合金和L21结构Co2FeSi高有序合金之间的Co50Fe50-xSix合金的结构相变、磁相变、分子磁矩和居里温度.采用考虑Coulomb相互作用的广义梯度近似（GGA＋U）方法计算了合金的能带结构.研究发现,合金出现较强的原子有序倾向,表现出较强的共价成相作用.合金的晶格常数、磁矩、居里温度随Si含量的增加而线性地降低,极限成分Co2FeSi合金的分子磁矩和居里温度分别达到5.92μB和777℃.原子尺寸效应导致合金晶格发生变化,但并未成为居里温度和分子磁矩变化的主导因素.分子磁矩的变化符合Slater-Pauling原理,但发现原子磁矩的变化并非线性,据此提出了共价成相对磁性影响的观点.采用Stearns理论解释了居里温度的变化趋势,排除了原子间距对居里温度的主导影响作用.能带计算的结果还表明,Co2FeSi作为半金属材料并非十分完美,可能在实际应用中会出现自旋极化率降低的问题.发现该系列合金的结构相变和磁相变随着成分的变化聚集在窄小的成分和温度范围内.     

Structural, electronic, and optical properties of ZnOl_xSex alloys using first-principles calculations

The structural, electronic, and optical properties of binary ZnO, ZnSe compounds, and their ternary ZnOl_xSex alloys are computed using the accurate full potential linearized augmented plane wave plus local orbital （FP-LAPW ＋ lo） method in the rocksalt （B 1） and zincblende （B3） crystallographic phases. The electronic band structures, fundamental energy band gaps, and densities of states for ZnO1_xSex are evaluated in the range 0 〈 x 〈 1 using Wu-Cohen （WC） generalized gradient approximation （GGA） for the exchange-correlation potential. Our calculated results of lattice parameters and bulk modulus reveal a nonlinear variation for pseudo-binary and their ternary alloys in both phases and show a considerable deviation from Vegard＇s law. It is observed that the predicted lattice parameter and bulk modulus are in good agreement with the available experimental and theoretical data. We establish that the composition dependence of band gap is semi-metallic in B1 phase, while a direct band gap is observed in B3 phase. The calculated density of states is described by taking into account the contribution of Zn 3d, O 2p, and Se 4s, and the optical properties are studied in terms of dielectric functions, refractive index, reflectivity, and energy loss function for the B3 phase and are compared with the available experimental data.     

Zn-ZrO2 nanocomposite coatings: Elecrodeposition and evaluation of corrosion resistance

The Zn and Zn-ZrO₂ composite coatings were produced by electrodeposition technique using sulphate bath. ZrO₂ particles were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The ZrO₂ particle size distribution in the plating bath and Zeta potential and the ZrO₂ were measured using dynamic light scattering technique (DLS). The corrosion resistance properties of Zn and Zn-ZrO₂ composite coatings were compared by examining the experimental data acquired through polarization, open circuit potential (OCP) and Tafel measurements. The corrosion environment was 3.5 wt% NaCl solution. The variation of amount of ZrO₂ in the solution on their % wt inclusion in the composite and on composite microhardness was investigated. XRD patterns were recorded for Zn and Zn-ZrO₂ coatings to compare their grain size. The SEM images of coatings before and after corrosion under chemical and electrochemical conditions were presented. The results were analyzed to establish the superiority of Zn-ZrO₂ composite over Zn coating.     

Study of the microstructure and mechanical properties of white clam shell

The microstructure and mechanical properties of white clam shell were investigated, respectively. It can be divided into horny layer, prismatic layer and nacreous layer. Crossed-lamellar structure was the microstructural characteristic. The extension direction of lamellae in prismatic layer was different from that in nacreous layer, which formed an angle on the interface between prismatic layer and nacreous layer. The phase component of three layers was CaCO₃ with crystallization morphology of aragonite, which confirmed the crossed-lamellar structural characteristic. White calm shell exhibited perfect mechanical properties. The microhardness values of three layers were 273 HV, 240 HV and 300 HV, respectively. The average values of flexure and compression strength were 110.2 MPa and 80.1 MPa, respectively. The macroscopical cracks crossed the lamellae and finally terminated within the length range of about 80 μm. It was the microstructure characteristics, the angle on the interface between prismatic and nacreous layer and the hardness diversity among the different layers that enhanced mechanical properties of white calm shell.     

Al_xCrFeNiTi系高熵合金成分和弹性性质关系

为了探索Al_xCrFeNiTi系高熵合金组成成分和弹性性质的关系,结合固溶体特征参数和第一性原理计算,研究Al元素含量对Al_xCrFeNiTi (x=0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4)合金结构和弹性性质的影响,并分析合金固溶体特征参数与弹性性质之间的关系.结果表明:Al_xCrFeNiTi系合金的价电子浓度随着Al含量的增加逐渐减小,合金在体心立方结构下的形成焓均低于面心立方结构,说明研究的Al_xCrFeNiTi系合金会形成单一的体心立方结构固溶体;合金的晶格常数和形成能力强弱随着Al含量的增加而增大,但合金的结构稳定性略有下降;当合金元素按照等原子比进行成分配比时,合金的原子尺寸差异最大; Al_xCrFeNiTi系合金中不同原子之间除了金属键结合外,还表现出一定的共价和离子键结合特征;对于Al_xCrFeNiTi系合金而言,随着热力学熵焓比的增大,合金体弹模量和韧性随之增大;随着合金混合焓的增加,合金在压缩方向的各向异性程度明显降低.热力学熵焓比和混合焓可作为Al_xCrFeNiTi系高熵合金成分设计的重要参数.     

Magnetic properties of nanocrystalline FeNiCo x ZrB alloys (x=0, 10, 20)

Magnetic properties of amorphous and nanocrystalline Fe₃₁Ni₅₀Zr₇B₁₂, Fe₃₁Ni₄₀Co₁₀Zr₇B₁₂ and Fe₃₁Ni₃₀Co₂₀Zr₇B₁₂ alloys were studied by an unconventional “rf-Mössbauer” technique. Introduction of Co atoms into FeNiZrB alloy leads to a large increase of anisotropy field that suppresses the rf collapse effect. The rf induced crystallization effect observed in Co-containing alloys was attributed to the rf sidebands effect which induced in the alloys mechanical deformations via the magnetostriction. This effect is particularly strong in amorphous alloys and in nanocrystalline alloys containing significant fraction of amorphous matrix and is absent in Co-free alloy.