Surface composition modification of high-carbon low-alloy steels oxidized at high temperature in air

Segregating alloys across a metal/oxide interface, which occurs when an iron alloy is heated at high temperature in air, was studied on five high-carbon low-alloy steels. The metallographic analyses showed differences between the oxidation kinetics, the decarburisation rates of the surfaces and the number of surface defects. The results of the AES analyses enabled the characterization of the concentration profiles of the alloy elements and to explain the differences observed between the oxidation kinetics, the decarburisation rates and the number of surface defects. All the concentration profiles are discussed and possible mechanisms are proposed in order to understand the profiles obtained.     

Elastic properties of glasses: a multiscale approach

Very different materials are named ‘Glass’, with Young's modulus E and Poisson's ratio ν extending from 5 to 180 GPa and from 0.1 to 0.4, respectively, in the case of bulk inorganic glasses. Glasses have in common the lack of long range order in the atomic organization. Beside the essential role of elastic properties for materials selection in mechanical design, we show in this analysis that macroscopical elastic characteristics (E,ν) provide an interesting way to get insight into the short- and medium-range orders existing in glasses. In particular, ν, the packing density (C_g) and the glass network dimensionality appear to be strongly correlated. Networks consisting primarily of chains and layers units (chalcogenides, low Si-content silicate glasses) correspond to ν>0.25 and C_g>0.56, with maximum values observed for metallic glasses (ν0.4 and C_g>0.7). On the contrary, ν<0.25 is associated to a highly cross-linked network with a tri-dimensional organization resulting in a low packing density. Moreover, the temperature dependence of the elastic moduli brings a new light on the ‘fragility’ of glasses (as introduced by Angell) and on the level of cooperativity of atomic movements at the source of the deformation process. To cite this article: T. Rouxel, C. R. Mecanique 334 (2006).