DSC analysis of strengthening precipitates in ultrafine Al–Mg–Si alloys

Equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) was carried out on solution annealed samples of Al–Mg–Si–Zr and Al–Mg–Si–Zr–Sc alloys to achieve a substantial grain refinement of the materials. Post ECAP aging was then investigated on the ultrafine grained alloys by DSC and TEM analyses. DSC scans were carried out with heating rates ranging from 5 to 30°C min^–1. Peak identification was performed by the support of literature information and TEM analyses. Precipitation kinetics revealed to be similar for both alloys but the Sc-free alloy showed a recrystallization peak at temperatures ranging from 310 to 340°C, depending on the strain accumulated during ECAP. On the contrary, the Sc-containing alloy showed a greater grain stability. Analyses of peak positions and of activation energies as a function of ECAP passes experienced by the samples revealed large modifications of precipitation kinetics in the ultrafine-grained alloys with respect to the coarse-grained materials.     

A numerical experimental study of inverse preconditioning for the parallel iterative solution to 3D finite element flow equations

Integration of the subsurface flow equation by finite elements (FE) in space and finite differences (FD) in time requires the repeated solution to sparse symmetric positive definite systems of linear equations. Iterative techniques based on preconditioned conjugate gradients (PCG) are one of the most attractive tool to solve the problem on sequential computers. A present challenge is to make PCG attractive in a parallel computing environment as well. To this aim a key factor is the development of an efficient parallel preconditioner. FSAI (factorized sparse approximate inverse) and enlarged FSAI relying on the approximate inverse of the coefficient matrix appears to be a most promising parallel preconditioner. In the present paper PCG using FSAI, diagonal and pARMS (parallel algebraic recursive multilevel solvers) preconditioners is implemented on the IBM SP4/512 and CLX/768 supercomputers with up to 32 processors to solve underground flow problems of a large size. The results show that FSAI may allow for a parallel relative efficiency larger than 50% on the largest problems with p=32 processors. Moreover, FSAI turns out to be significantly less expensive and more robust than pARMS. Finally, it is shown that for p in the upper range may be much improved if PCG–FSAI is implemented on CLX.     

Carbide precipitates in solution-quenched PH13-8 Mo stainless steel: A small-angle neutron scattering investigation

This paper deals with the small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) investigation on solution-quenched PH13-8 Mo stainless steel. From the nature of the variation of the functionality of the profiles for varying specimen thickness and also from the transmission electron microscopy (TEM), it has been established that the small-angle scattering signal predominantly originates from the block-like metallic carbide precipitates in the specimen. The contribution due to double Bragg reflection is not significant in the present case. The single scattering profile has been extracted from the experimental profiles corresponding to different values of specimen thickness. In order to avoid complexity and non-uniqueness of the multi-parameter minimization for randomly oriented polydisperse block-like precipitate model, the data have been analyzed assuming randomly oriented polydisperse cylindrical particle model with a locked aspect ratio.     

Microstructural evolution of decagonal quasicrystal in the undercooled Al72Ni12Co16 alloy melts

The microstructure evolution of decagonal quasicrystals in Al₇₂Ni₁₂Co₁₆ alloy was investigated by the electromagnetic melting and cyclic superheating method. Single-phase decagonal quasicrystals have been obtained when the undercoolings were larger than 60 K. The decagonal quasicrystals formed at various undercoolings show different microstructural morphologies. Furthermore, grain refinement was found near the undercooling of 120 K. Based on current thermodynamic and dendrite growth theories, a dimensionless superheating parameter was adopted to explain the effect of processing conditions on the microstructure of Al₇₂Ni₁₂Co₁₆ alloy. The result indicate that the fine equiaxied microstructure of decagonal quasicrystal (D-phase) formed near on undercooling of 120 K originates from the break-up of dendrites.     

<Superscript>6</Superscript>He + <Superscript>6</Superscript>He Clustering of <Superscript>12</Superscript>Be in a Microscopic Algebraic Approach

The norm kernel of the A=12 system composed of two ⁶He clusters, and the L=0 basis functions (in the SU(3) and angular momentum-coupled schemes) are analytically obtained in the Fock-Bargmann space. The norm kernel has a diagonal form in the former basis, but the asymptotic conditions are naturally defined in the latter one. The system is a good illustration for the method of projection of the norm kernel to the basis functions in the presence of SU(3) degeneracy that was proposed by the authors. The coupled-channel problem is considered in the algebraic version of the resonating-group method, with the multiple decay thresholds being properly accounted for. The structure of the ground state of ¹²Be obtained in the approximation of zero-range nuclear force is compared with the shell-model predictions. In the continuum part of the spectrum, the S-matrix is constructed, the asymptotic normalization coefficients are deduced and their energy dependence is analyzed.     

Interfacial structure and electrical properties of LaAlO3 gate dielectric films on Si by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

LaAlO₃ (LAO) gate dielectric films were deposited on Si substrates by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The interfacial structure and composition distribution were investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), secondary-ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), and Auger-electron spectroscopy (AES). HRTEM confirms that there exists an interfacial layer between LAO and Si in most samples. AES, SIMS, and XPS analyses indicate that the interfacial layer is compositionally graded La–Al silicate and the Al element is severely deficient close to the Si surface. Electrical properties of LAO films were evaluated. No evident difference in electrical properties between samples with and without native SiO₂ layers was observed. The electrical properties are discussed in terms of LAO growth mechanisms, in relation to the interfacial structure. PACS 73.40.Qv; 81.15.Gh; 77.55.+f; 68.35.-p     

Pressure effects in a plastic columnar discotic triphenylene

The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the structure of a plastic columnar discotic triphenylene has been investigated. The goal was to determine whether pressure can be used to modify electronic properties via changes in structural properties of columnar discotics to any significant extent. The findings are that (i) the intra- and inter-columnar distances are reduced in a nearly isotropic fashion, (ii) that the crystal sizes are reduced and (iii) that a transition takes place from a more highly ordered plastic columnar to a less ordered hexagonal columnar state with increasing pressure. The induced decrease of the molecular distances, amounting to 6% for pressures up to 17 kbar, are clearly too small to induce an appreciable modification of the electronic structure and thus opto-electronic properties.     

Performance evaluation of fiber Bragg grating sensors by digital holographic technique, strain gauge measurement

In view of the growing interest for non-destructive tests of materials, geodynamical monitoring and in general remote sensing, there is a great effort to bring practical optical sensors from research labs to industrial and environmental applications. In this paper, we employ digital holographic technique as an efficient tool for evaluating the strain measurement capability of fiber Bragg gratings (FBG). A cantilever beam has been employed as a test structure under loading test. The strain measurements results obtained by fiber-based sensors have been compared to those obtained by using full-field digital holographic technique and point-wise strain gauge sensors glued on the same cantilever beam. A simple theoretical model is also presented to interpret and compare the experimental results coming from different techniques.