Effects of heat treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of AA2618 DC cast alloy

Direct chill (DC) cast ingot plates of AA2618 alloy have been increasingly used for large-mold applications in the plastics and automotive industries. The effects of different heat treatments on the microstructure and mechanical properties of AA2618 DC cast alloy were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and hardness and tensile testing. The as-cast microstructure contained a considerable amount of coarse intermetallic phases, including Al₂CuMg, Al₂Cu, Al₇Cu₄Ni, Al₇Cu₂(Fe,Ni) and Al₉FeNi, resulting in poor mechanical properties. Solution treatment at 530 °C for 5 h dissolved the first three phases into the solid solution and consequently improved the mechanical properties of the alloy. By utilizing the appropriate aging temperature and time, different combinations of strength and ductility could be obtained to fulfill the design requirements of large-mold applications. The strengthening of AA2618 DC cast alloy under the aging conditions studied was caused by GPB zones and S′ precipitates. The evolution of both precipitates in terms of their size and density was observed to have a significant effect on the mechanical properties of the alloy.     

Study of creep cavitation in stainless steel weldment

Abstract

A study of creep cavities near reheat cracking in AISI Type 316H austenitic stainless steel headers, removed from prolonged high temperature operation in nuclear power plants, is reported. It is shown how application of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cryogenic fractography and small angle neutron scattering (SANS) can be applied, in a complementary way, to observe and quantify creep cavitation. Creep cavities in the vicinity of the crack are found to be mainly surrounding inter-granular carbides. Trends in the size and area fraction of creep cavities relative to the crack path are quantified using optimised metallography. The SANS technique is found to be a very suitable method of quantifying creep cavitation within the size range up to 600 nm averaged over a larger gauge volume. It is shown that the cavity size distribution peaks in the region 100–300 nm, and this correlates closely with the quantitative SEM observations.     

Iodide substitution in lithium borohydride, LiBH4-LiI

The new concept, anion substitution, is explored for possible improvement of hydrogen storage properties in the system LiBH₄-LiI. The structural chemistry and the substitution mechanism are analyzed using Rietveld refinement of in situ synchrotron radiation powder X-ray diffraction (SR-PXD) data, attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Sieverts measurements. Anion substitution is observed as formation of two solid solutions of Li(BH₄)_1−xI_x, which merge into one upon heating. The solid solutions have hexagonal structures (space group P6₃mc) similar to the structures of h-LiBH₄ and β-LiI. The solid solutions have iodide contents in the range ∼0-62 mol% and are stable from below room temperature to the melting point at 330 °C. Thus the stability of the solid solutions is higher as compared to that of the orthorhombic and hexagonal polymorphs of LiBH₄ and α- and β-LiI. Furthermore, the rehydrogenation properties of the iodide substituted solid solution Li(BH₄)_1−xI_x, measured by the Sieverts method, are improved as compared to those of LiBH₄. After four cycles of hydrogen release and uptake the Li(BH₄)_1−xI_x solid solution maintains 68% of the calculated hydrogen storage capacity in contrast to LiBH₄, which maintains only 25% of the storage capacity after two cycles under identical conditions.     

Stress induced crystallization of hydrogenated amorphous silicon

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were grown on to thermally oxidized silicon wafers by Radio Frequency magnetron sputtering, and SiN_x and Al₂O₃ capping layers were used to control the residual thermal stress. After annealing, a comparison of the silicon films with and without capping layers indicates that tensile stress induced by the capping layer enhances the crystallinity of the annealed amorphous silicon film. The stress is due to the mismatch between the coefficients of thermal expansion for the capping layer and amorphous silicon film. These results highlight the potential of thermal stress as a means to alter the crystallization in thin film architectures and suggest that even larger effects can be obtained with suitable choices of capping layer chemistry.     

The influence of starting materials on the structure of ultrafine carbon powders

The primary ultrafine carbon powders were prepared by sol–gel supercritical fluid drying method using different starting materials. After heat-treatment at 1100 and 2600°C, respectively, the ultrafine carbon powders were obtained. The properties of primary ultrafine carbon powders and their annealed products were characterized by TEM, XRD, Raman spectra and nitrogen adsorption. The results reveal that starting materials have influence on the structure of ultrafine carbon powders.     

Tensile behaviour of boron modified Timetal 834 titanium alloy in the intermediate temperature range 400-500 °C

The tensile behaviour of boron modified Timetal 834 titanium alloy was studied in the intermediate temperature range 400-500 °C and compared with that of the base alloy. The yield and ultimate tensile strengths of the B modified alloy were found to be higher than those of the base alloy at all the temperatures investigated. The B modified alloy also exhibited only a marginally lower elongation to failure as compared to the base alloy at all the temperatures investigated. The B modified alloy exhibited dynamic strain aging in the temperature range 400-475 °C which is similar to the observed behaviour in the base alloy.     

Structural purity of magnetite nanoparticles in magnetotactic bacteria

Magnetosome biomineralization and chain formation in magnetotactic bacteria are two processes that are highly controlled at the cellular level in order to form cellular magnetic dipoles. However, even if the magnetosome chains are well characterized, controversial results about the microstructure of magnetosomes were obtained and its possible influence in the formation of the magnetic dipole is to be specified. For the first time, the microstructure of intracellular magnetosomes was investigated using high-resolution synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Significant differences in the lattice parameter were found between intracellular magnetosomes from cultured magnetotactic bacteria and isolated ones. Through comparison with abiotic control materials of similar size, we show that this difference can be associated with different oxidation states and that the biogenic nanomagnetite is stoichiometric, i.e. structurally pure whereas isolated magnetosomes are slightly oxidized. The hierarchical structuring of the magnetosome chain thus starts with the formation of structurally pure magnetite nanoparticles that in turn might influence the magnetic property of the magnetosome chains.     

Fe-Co薄膜与Al2O3 基体相互扩散和相互作用相关的微观结构演变

利用先进分析透射电子显微镜,检测并系统地研究了磁控溅射Fe-Co薄膜与Al₂O₃基体之间的相互扩散。结果表明,扩散会形成尖晶石相FeAl₂O₄,并导致界面层的形成。微观结构表征表明,在界面附近的Fe-Co薄膜中形成了与相互扩散相关的非公度结构。本研究不仅检测到Fe-Co薄膜与蓝宝石基体之间的相互扩散和伴随的新相形成,而且揭示了界面区域相应的微观结构演变,这些结果可能对薄膜的磁学性质有很大的影响。