Effect of dislocation configuration on non—equilibrium boron segregation during cooling

Different densities and configurations of crystal defects were obtained in an austenitic Fe-30% Ni alloy and an ultra low carbon bainitic(ULCB) alloy by undergoing different deformations and annealing treatments at high temperatures.Boron segregation on grain boundaries and subgrain boundaries during air-cooling were revealed by means of the particle tracking autoradiography technique.It is found that non-equilibrium segregation is resisted in deformed grains after recovery and polygonization,borondepleted zones seem to be quite clear in recrystallized grains than those in deformed original grains during cooling.Subgrain boundaries and polygonized dislocation cells have a significant effect on non-equilibrium boron segregation during the air-cooling.The results implicates that dislocation configuration is a more important factor affecting boron segregation at grain boundaries rather than the density of defects itself in the grain.     

Effect of AlP master alloy on grain refinement of primary silicon in eutectic Al-Si alloys

To obtain the finer primary silicon crystals, the proprietary Al-P master alloy was adopted to modify the eutectic Al-Si alloys and the most suitable modification process was made in the experiments. The SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) and DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimeter) analysis indicate that the Al-P modifier has more advantages over Cu-P and Fe-P modifier in easily addition, no elemental alteration and less undercooling of primary silicon‘s solidification, which suggests the Al-P master alloy is an effective modifier of eutectic Al-Si alloys.     

Precipitation behavior of B2—like particles in Fe—Cu binary alloy

The precipitation behavior in Fe-Cu binary alloy was investigated under transmission electron microscope(TEM) during aging at 650℃ for the time range of 100s to 300h,In addition to the zones with higher copper content and ε-Cu were observed,a metastable phase with B2-like structure was found in the early stage of the precipitation process,which is quite different from the equilibrium copper phase shown in the Fe-Cu binary phase diagram and has perfect coherent relationship to the α-Fe matrix.The appearance of B2-like structure is very important concerning the mechanism of aging strengthening effect and mechanical properties of corresponding engineering steels and alloys containing copper.     

The prefer red-site tendency of alloying element Nb in Fe γ phase and its effect on grain boundary cohesion

The discrete variational (DV) and DMol methods within the framework of density functional theory are used to study the effect of alloying element Nb on Fe γ phase. The impurity formation energy in bulk and segregation energies at grain boundary and free surface are calculated. The results show that Nb prefers to segregate at grain boundary. The difference in segregation energies between the grain boundary and the corresponding free surface is - 0.39 eV for solute Nb. According to Rice-Wang model, it can be predicted that Nb can enhance grain boundary cohesion. The calculated results of interatomic energy and charge density show that charge would be redistributed, and the bonds across grain boundary are strengthened by the substitution of Nb for Fe. As a result, it is difficult for the grain boundary to move. Thus the dragging effect of Nb is explained electronically.     

Dynamic process of trace boron non-equilibrium grain boundary segregation and the effect of cooling rate

The dynamic process of non-equilibrium grain boundary segregation of trace boron in Fe-40%Ni alloy during cooling and the effect of cooling rate were investigated by boron tracking autoradiography technique. The results indicate that during cooling process, the amount of segregated boron on grain boundary firstly increases fast, then enters a comparatively even increasing stage and increases rapidly again at the third stage. The details of each stage varied with cooling rate are explained. When the segregation develops to a certain degree, the segregated boron atoms transform from solute status to precipitate status.     

The electronic structure and grain boundary segregation by boron addition

The electronic structure and grain boundary segregation caused by boron addition to Ni₃Al have been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy, respectively. The obtained results show that the Ni2p_3/2 electron binding energy rises gradually in the sequence of pure Ni<Ni₇₆Al₂₄<Ni₇₄Al₂₆<Ni₇₅Al₂₅, while it reduces monotonously with an increase in boron addition to Ni₃Al. Besides, it is found that the grain boundary segregation of boron occurring in Ni₃Al is a combined equilibrium and non-equilibrium type in nature. Based on the concept of the bonding environmental inhomogeneity, measured by the shift in Ni2p_3/2 electron binding energy from the nickel atoms in the simple substance nickel to those in the intermetallic compound Ni₃Al (ΔE _B), being responsible for the brittle behavior of the alloy, a binding energy shifting criterion for the brittle-ductile fracture transition in Ni₃Al is presented; when ΔE _B>0, the brittle failure occurs in Ni₃Al; when δE _B<0, the ductile one appears. Combined with the above experimental rules, the criterion predicts that pure Ni₃Al is brittle, and there exist the stoichiometric effect and concentration effect in the ductilization process for Ni₃Al by boron addition. Hence the criterion can be taken as a theoretical guide to alloy design in developing ductile intermetallics. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

Effect of Pre-deformation on Abnormal Segregation of Grain Boundary during Recrystallization Process

The softening rates of Fe-30%Ni alloy containing boron after 10% and 40% deformation at 1000℃ have been measured by a method of interrupted compression, the recrystallization process has also been evaluated.The moving velocity of the boundary of new recrystallizing grain which was growing into the deformed grans has been calculated semi-quantitatively. By means of PTA technique, the abnormal segregation phenomenon on the moving boundary during recrystallization and the influence of pre-deformation have been investigated and the amount of B segregation on moving grain boundaries has been measured .Results indicate that the abnormal segregation of boundaries, when the new grains are growing, is concemed with the pre-deformation and the moving velocity of the bourdaries. This phenomenon is discussed by the gtain boundary widening mechanism.     

Creating and destroying vacancies in solids and nonequilibrium grain boundary segregation

Shinoda and Nakamura[1] found that for a steel aged under a tensile stress less than about 40 MPa, the intergranular mean Auger peak ratio (APR) of phosphorus increases by 8%—10% and that aged under a compressive stress decreases by 8%—10% relative to the initial value during the first 1 h of aging. All these relative changes disappear almost completely after 15 h of aging under constant stress (fig. 1). Misra[2] studied the effects of tensile stress aging on grain boundary segregation of …     

Effect of Cu on the boron segregation at grain boundaries and vacancy-type defects in ultra-low carbon micro-alloy steels

By thermal neutron irradiation particle tracking autoradiography(PTA)technique,the development of boron segregation at grain boundaries in ultra-low carbon micro-alloy steels was investigated during cooling from 1150°C to 850°C,and the effect of Cu on boron segregation at grain boundaries was discussed.By positron annihilation lifetime(PAL)technique,the changes of vacancy-type defects with temperatures and the effect of Cu on vacancy-type defects in the cooling process were discussed.Results show that,the concentration of boron at grain boundaries increases rapidly at the beginning of the cooling;after that,it begins to decrease;and then,it increases gradually again.The addition of Cu not only increases the concentration of boron at grain boundaries but also speeds up the development process of boron segregation at grain boundaries.During the continuous cooling process,the addition of Cu significantly affects the change of vacancy-type defects with temperatures in ultra-low carbon micro-alloy steels.     

Theoretical progress in non-equilibrium grain-boundary segregation(II):Micro-mechanism of grain boundary anelastic relaxation and its analytical formula

Finding the internal-friction peak of grain boundary anelastic relaxation was one of the important breakthroughs in the study of internal friction in the last century. But the micro-mechanism of grain boundary anelastic relaxations is still obscure. Based on the observations of the grain boundary segregation or depletion of solute induced by an applied stress, the following micro-mechanism was suggested: grain-boundaries will work as sources to emit vacancies when a compressive stress is exerted on them and as sinks to absorb vacancies when a tensile stress is exerted, inducing grain-boundary depletion or segregation of solute, respectively. The equations of vacancy and solute concentrations at grain boundaries were established under the equilibrium of grain-boundary anelastic relaxation. With these the kinetic equations were established for grain boundary segregation and depletion during the grain boundary relaxation progress. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50771036)     

Effects of Phosphorus Grain Boundary Segregation and Hardness on the Ductile-to-Brittle Transition for a 2.25CrlMo Steel

The combined effect of phosphorus grain boundary segregation and hardness on the ductile-to-brittle transition was examined for a P-doped 2.25CrlMo steel by using Auger electron spectroscopy in conjunction with hardness measurements, Charpy impact tests and scanning electron microscopy. With prolonging time at 540 ~C after water quenching from 980℃, the segregation of phosphorus increases and the hardness decreases. The DBTT （FATT） increases with increasing phosphorus segregation and decreases with decreasing hardness. The effect of phosphorus segregation is dominant until 100 h aging and after that the hardness effect becomes dominant. This effect makes the DBTT （FATT） decrease with further prolonging ageing time although the segregation of phosphorus still increases strongly.     

Effect of boron on hot strips of low carbon steel produced by compact strip production

The effect of boron on hot strips of low carbon steel produced by compact strip production (CSP) to reduce the strength to a certain degree was investigated, which is quite different from that of high-strength low alloy steel. The mechanical properties and microstructural evolution of the hot strip were studied using optical microscopy and tensile tests. By means of an electrolytic dissolution technique and Thermo-Cal calculation, the precipitates containing boron were analyzed and detected. From the electron back-scattered diffraction analysis, it can be deciphered whether the microstructure has recrystallized or not. Furthermore, the effect of boron segregation on the recrystallization or non-recrystallization conditions can be distinguished. The segregation behavior of boron was investigated in boron-containing steel. The nonequilibrium segregation of boron during processing was discussed on the basis of the forming complexes with vacancies that migrate to the boundaries prior to annihilation, which was confirmed by the sub-sequent cold rolling with annealing experiments.     

低拉应力下12Cr1MoV钢中P原子的晶界非平衡偏聚

对低应力作用下12Cr1MoV钢中磷原子的晶界偏聚现象进行了俄歇能谱实验研究和动力学分析．实验获得了在30MPa拉应力作用下，磷原子在晶界处发生的非平衡晶界偏聚，临界时间是1h．分析表明，低拉应力极大地提高了磷-空位复合体在钢中的扩散速率，低拉应力引起的晶界变形对磷-空位复合体具有强烈的吸引作用．通过动力学计算给出了磷-空位复合体偏聚阶段扩散系数Dc和磷原子反偏聚扩散系数Di随时间变化的表达式．