Anisotropic Creep Rupture Properties of a Nickel-base Single Crystal Superalloy at High Temperature

The creep rupture properties of a single crystal superalloy were tested at 975℃/255 MPa as a function of the deviation degrees from [001].The misorientation of the specimens away from [001] distributed approximately along a line between [001]-[011] and [001]-[111] boundaries in the triangle of the stereographic projection.Creep rupture lifetimes of the specimens were not sensitive to the misorientation until the deviation degree exceeded ～30 deg.Two steps of lattice rotation were found in all specimens during creep,first towards the [001]-[111] boundary,and then to [001] or [111] along the boundary.Single slip and strong asymmetric deformation were observed during the first stage of lattice rotation in specimens with large misorientation.The rotation mechanism was associated with the activated slip systems according to the calculated Schmid factors.The impact of lattice rotation on the rupture properties was also discussed.     

High Temperature Stress Rupture Anisotropy of a Ni-Based Single Crystal Superalloy

High temperature stress rupture anisotropies of a second generation Ni-base single crystal(SC) superalloy specimens with [001], [011] and [111] orientations under 900 ℃/445 MPa and 1100 ℃/100 MPa have been investigated in the present study, with attentions to the evolution of γ/γ′ microstructure observed by scanning electron microscopy and the dislocation configuration characterized by transmission electron microscopy in each oriented specimen. At 1100 ℃/100 MPa as well as 900 ℃/445 MPa, the single crystal superalloy exhibits obvious stress rupture anisotropic behavior. The [001] oriented specimen has the longest rupture lifetime at 900 ℃/445 MPa, and the [111] oriented sample shows the best rupture strength at 1100 ℃/100 MPa. While the [011] oriented specimen presents the worst rupture lifetime at each testing condition, its stress rupture property at 1100 ℃/100 MPa is clearly improved, compared with900 ℃/445 MPa. The evident stress rupture anisotropy at 900 ℃/445 MPa is mainly attributed to the distinctive movement way of dislocations in each oriented sample. Whereas, at 1100 ℃/100 MPa, together with the individual dislocation configuration, the evolution of γ/γ′ microstructure in each orientation also plays a key role in the apparent stress rupture anisotropy.     

Effect of Threshold Stress on Anisotropic Creep Properties of Single Crystal Nickel-Base Superalloy SRR99

The influence of orientation on the creep properties of the nickel-base single crystal superalloy SRR99 was investigated at 760℃ and various levels of applied stress.It was found that the effect of anisotropy was strikingly prominent at this temperature.Deformation mechanisms of single crystals with three principal orientations at 760℃/790 MPa were explained according to detailed observations of dislocation arrangements by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM).Liability to shearing γ' precipitates for [011] orientation and co-planar slip for [111] orientation resulted in poor creep strength and short stress rupture life.It was also found that the apparent primary creep strain could be measured when the applied stress was increased to 565 MPa.Modified power law equation was adopted and the concept of a threshold stress σ 0 which determines dislocation looping or shearing to be activated was then involved.Through detailed calculations,the threshold stress was obtained to further analyse the distribution of the applied stress and better rationalize the anisotropic creep behaviour in the stereographic triangle in combination with TEM observations.     

Precipitation of Epsilon Copper in Ferrite Antibacterial Stainless Steel

The precipitation of epsilon copper at 1023 K ageing in ferrite antibacterial stainless steel was investigated by a combination of electron microscopy and micro-Vickers hardness measurement. The results show that epsilon copper precipitation occurs within 90 s, Complex multilayer structure confirmed as twins and stacking faults on {111}ε-Cu planes was observed in the precipitates. The precipitates grow by the lengthwise enlargement of a set of parallel layers, having [111]ε-Cu and [112]ε-Cu preferred growth orientations. The volume fraction of precipitates f formed within 120 min can be predicted by a modified Avrami equation （In1/1-f= kt ＋ b）. Simultaneously, substituent atom clusters with a size of 5-10 nm was found to occur in the solution and cause matrix strain. The precipitate morphology and distribution on the surface of ferrite antibacterial stainless steel are associated with surface crystallographic orientation of the matrix. The precipitates are predominantly located within the ferrite grains of 〈110〉 orientation. The precipitates located on {111}α-Fe surface planes have sphere or ellipse shape.     

The orientation dependence of the deformation modes of crystalline mercury at 77°K

Single crystals of mercury have been deformed either uniaxially or in four-point bending at 77‡K and the orientation dependence of the operative deformation modes investigated. The experimental techniques adopted are briefly described and results presented for thirty-five specimens. The predominant deformation mode was crystallographic {11ˉ1} 〈1ˉ10^* slip but ‘{ˉ1ˉ35’ twinning and {1ˉ10} kinking were frequently observed. Slip in the close-packed 〈011〉 direction was wavy and restricted to three specimens. The orientation dependence of these deformation modes is interpreted using Schmid-factor contour-plots of the first- and second-most highly stressed variants. The form and nature of the boundaries between different regions of these plots are discussed in detail. The operative deformation modes in the bent specimens can be satisfactorily interpreted by making use of a new analysis of plane plastic strain developed as a result of this work. The results on deformation kinking have also led to a new general theory of the crystallography of this phenomenon. A critical resolved shear stress of 18±2 g mm⁻² was found for {11ˉ1} 〈1ˉ10〉 slip for specimens with Schmid-factors greater than about 0.3. Much larger values were measured or deduced for other specimens and possible explanations of this surprising result are advanced. Several of the observations are considered to be of general importance to the understanding of the mechanical properties of all crystalline materials but they can only be thoroughly investigated on a material, like mercury, of comparatively low crystal symmetry.     

Atomistic Simulation of the Orientation-dependent Plastic Deformation Mechanisms of Iron Nanopillars

Tensile tests were performed on iron nanopillars oriented along [001] and [110] directions at a constant temperature of 300 K through molecular dynamics simulations with an embedded-atom interatomic potential for iron.The nanopillars were stretched until yielding to investigate the onset of their plastic deformation behaviors.Yielding was found to occur through two different mechanisms for [001] and [110] tensions.In the former case,plastic deformation is initiated by dislocation nucleation at the edges of the nanopillar,whereas in the latter case by phase transformation inside the nanopillar.The details during the onset of plastic deformation under the two different orientations were analyzed.The varying mechanisms during plastic deformation initiation are bound to influence the mechanical behavior of such nanoscale materials,especially those strongly textured.     

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Tensile Deformation and Fracture of γ-TiAl with and without Surface Defects

Molecular dynamics simulation of uniaxial tension along [001] has been performed to study the influence of various surface defects on the initiation of plastic deformation and fracture of γ-TiAl single crystals.The results indicate that brittle fracture occurs in perfect bulk; surfaces and edges will be detrimental to the strength of materials and provide dislocation nucleation site. The defects on surfaces and edges cause further weakening with various effects depending on defect type, size, position and orientation,while the edge dimples are the most influential. For γ-TiAl rods with surface dimples, dislocations nucleate from an edge of the rod when dimples are small, dimple dislocation nucleation occurs only when the dimples are larger than a strain rate dependent critical size. The dislocations nucleated upon [001]tension are super dislocations with Burger vectors 011] or 1/2 112] containing four 1/6 112 partials. The effects of surface scratches are orientation and shape sensitive. Scratches parallel to the loading direction have little influence, while sharp ones perpendicular to the loading direction may cause crack and thus should be avoided. This simulation also shows that, any type of surface defect would lower strength,and cause crack in some cases. But some may facilitate dislocation nucleation and improve ductility of TiAl if well controlled.     

Microstructure of SiC Whiskers with Different Cross-sections Perpendicular to the Whiskers Axis

Microstructure of β-SiC whiskers with differ-ent cross-sections perpendicular to their growingdirection was studied in detail by transmission elec-tron microscopy (TEM).It was indicated that therewere three types of cross-sections:round,hexagonal and trigonal.The whiskers with roundand hexagonal cross-sections had a high density ofplanar faults lying on the (111) close packed planesperpendicular to the whisker axis.There existed afew stacking faults on the other {111} planes insome hexagonal whiskers.The whiskers withbicrystals were also found in hexagonal whiskers.The microstructure of trigonal SiC whiskers wasbasically perfect but there were a few intrinsic stack-ing faults on the (11) planes (mostly) and (111)planes.The characters of electron diffraction pat-terns of β-SiC whiskers with different cross-sec-tions were reasonably analyzed using a reciprocalspace model with continuous diffraction streaksalong the [111] reciprocal direction.     

TEM Studies on Martensitic Transformation in Fe-Cr-W-V-C Alloy

The martensitic transformation inFe-Cr-W-V-C alloy has been investigated byTEM.The habit plane of martensite is near (252)_f,the austenite/martensite orientation relationship isKurdjumov-Sachs'.In the martensite plates thereare twins on (112)[ 1]_b,dislocation tangles and thelattice defects on (011)_b plane.In the austenite nearthe growing martensite plates,the dislocations withhigh density and stacking faults can be observed.The substructure of martensite may probably be theresult of accommodation deformation duringmartensitic transformations.     

Variation in Creep Rupture of γ′ Strengthened Superalloys with Stacking Fault Energy of Matrices

The correlation between the creep rupturebehaviour and the stacking fault energy of matricesof γ′strengthened superalloys has been studied dur-ing constant load creep.At high temperature andintermediate stress,the creep rupture time andstrain strongly depend on the stacking fault energyof matrices rather than the creep friction stress,butat higher stress,the role of grain boundary carbidesbecomes more obvious.However,in the considerably extensive stressrange investigated here,the mean creep rate is apower function of the stacking fault energy ofmatrices and the power index decreases with in-creasing initial applied stress.Particularly,at inter-mediate stresses the product of this index and theinitial applied stress compensated by the shearmodulus is same for two series of superalloys.Hence,this product may be a criterion predictingthat the matrix deformation controls high tempera-ture creep rupture.     

Non—uniform Stress Field and Stress Concentration Induced by Grain Boundary and Triple Junction of Tricrystal

The stress characteristics in the anisotropic bicrystal and tricrystal specimens were analyzed using the anisotropic elastic model, orthotropic Hill‘s model and rate-dependent crystallographic model. The finite element analysis results show that non-uniform stresses are induced by the grain boundary. For bicrystal specimens in different crystallographic orientations, there exist stress concentrations and high stress gradients nearby the boundaries. The activation and slipping of the slip systems are dependent on the crystallographic orientations of the grains and also on the relative crystallographic orientations of the two adjoining grains. For the tricrystal specimens, there is not always any stress concentrations in the triple junction, and the concentration degree depends on the relative crystallographic orientations of the three grains. Different from the bicrystal specimens, there may be or no stress concentration in the vicinity of grain boundaries for the tricrystal specimens, which depends on the relative crystallographic orientations of the three grains. The stress concentration near to the grain boundaries and triple junction can be high enough for the local plastic deformation, damage and voiding or cracking even when the whole specimen is still under the elastic state.It can be further concluded that homogeneous assumption for polycrystalline materials is not suitable to study the detailed meso- or micro-mechanisms for damaging and fracturing.     

Influence of Shear Banding on the Formation of Brass-type Textures in Polycrystalline fcc Metals with Low Stacking Fault Energy

Texture evolution in nickel, copper and α-brass that are representative of face-centered-cubic （fcc） materials with different stacking fault energy （SFE） during cold rolling was systematically investigated. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction techniques were employed to characterize microstructures and local orientation distributions of specimens at different thickness reductions. Besides, Taylor and Schmid factors of the {111} 〈110〉 slip systems and {111} 〈112〉 twin systems for some typical orientations were utilized to explore the relationship between texture evolution and deformation microstructures. It was found that in fcc metals with low SFE at large deformations, the copper-oriented grains rotated around the 〈110〉 crystallographic axis through the brass-R orientation to the Goss orientation, and finally toward the brass orientation. The initiation of shear banding was the dominant mechanism for the above-mentioned texture transition.     

Microstructure and secondary phases in epitaxial LaBaCo_2O_(5.5 + δ) thin films

Aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy was employed to investigate the microstructures and secondary phases in LaBaCo_2O_(5.5 + δ)(LBCO) thin films grown on SrTiO_3(STO) substrates. The as-grown films showed an epitaxial growth on the substrates with atomically sharp interfaces and orientation relationships of [100]_(LBCO)//[100]_(STO)and(001)_(LBCO)//(001)_(STO). Secondary phases were observed in the films, which strongly depended on the sample fabrication conditions. In the film prepared at a temperature of 90℃, nano-scale CoO pillars nucleated on the substrate, and grew along the [001]direction of the film. In the film grown at a temperature of 1000℃, isolated nano-scale Co_3O_4 particles appeared, which promoted the growth of {111} twinning structures in the film. The orientation relationships and the interfaces between the secondary phases and the films were illustrated, and the growth mechanism of the film was discussed.     

Development of Microstructure and Texture Heterogeneities during Static Annealing of Ti-6.5Al-3.5Mo-1.5Zr-0.3Si Alloy Preformed by Hot Working

The effect of annealing temperature on the development of microstructure and texture in an α+β titanium alloy Ti-6.5Al-3.5Mo-1.5Zr-0.3Si (TC11) preformed by hot working was investigated with the aid of electron back-scattered diffraction and X-ray diffraction measurements. It is shown that considerable microstructure and texture heterogeneities were developed in the cross-section of the hot-worked rod due to the non-uniform deformation. Subsequent annealing at 940℃ and 990℃ led to homogeneous microstructures with globular α grains, whereas a typical lamellar α+β microstructure was obtained after annealing at 1040℃. In the latter case, the Burgers orientation relationship was well preserved between the two phases in a single colony. The α lamellar within a given colony depicted similar crystallographic orientations and the boundary α grains shared the orientation of one of the neighboring α lamellar. In contrast, subsequent annealing had very limited effect on the main features of the textures, indicating strong inheritance of the texture heterogeneity in annealing. It is thus crucial to control the hot working process in order to achieve a high level of texture homogeneity in the final parts.     

A Rate-Dependent Crystal Plasticity Analysis of Orientation Stability in Biaxial Tension of Magnesium

The development of texture during plastic deformation plays an important role in determining the stretch formability of magnesium alloy sheets.In this study,the orientation stability during equibiaxial tension of magnesium was analyzed based on three dimensional lattice rotations calculated by using a rate-dependent crystal plasticity model and assuming five different combinations of slip modes.The results show that no orientations can satisfy the stability criteria with both zero rotation velocity and convergent orientation flow in all dimensions.However,relatively stable orientations with zero rotation velocity and an overall convergence are found.They are featured by characteristic alignments of specific crystallographic directions in the macroscopic axis of contraction,depending on the slip modes involved in the deformation.It is also shown that the orientation stability varies significantly with the deviation of deformation mode from equibiaxial tension.The simulation results are briefly discussed in comparison with pre-existing experiments.     

Hot Forging of Nitrogen Alloyed Duplex Stainless Steels

Duplex stainless steels are gaining global importance because of the need for a high strength corrosion resistant material. Three compositions of this group were selected with three different nitrogen contents ciz, 0.15 wt pct （alloy 1）, 0.23 wt pct （alloy 2） and 0.32 wt pct （alloy 3）. The steels were melted in a high frequency induction furnace and hot forged to various reductions from 16% to 62%. In this work, the effect of hot forging on the ferrite cont.ent, hardness, yield strength, impact strength and grain orientation （texture） were studied. Fracture analysis on all the forged specimens using SEM reveals that a size reduction of 48% results in maximum ductility and impact strength as well as minimal ferrite content and grain size. Thus the mechanical properties are found to have a direct correlation to ferrite content and grain size. The highest impact strength was observed in specimens with the smallest grain size, which was observed in specimens forged to 48% reduction in size.     

Effect of Thickness on the Structure and Tribological Properties of MoSx Coating

MoSx coatings were prepared by bipolar-pulse DC unbalanced magnetron-sputtering system with the variation of coating thickness at different Ar pressures.The composition and surface morphology were determined by using energy dispersive X-ray and scanning electron microscopy;the structural characterization was analyzed by X-ray diffraction.The friction and wear properties were investigated by fretting tests in air with less than 10% and 50% relative humidity.At 0.40 Pa pressure,(002) basal plane orientation was formed throughout the coatings.At 0.88 Pa and 1.60 Pa pressures,(002) basal plane orientation was only noticed in the first stage of coating growth(around 0.20 μm in thickness), and then edge orientations with their basal planes perpendicular to the surface would be evolved in the coatings.Humidity has a minor influence on the coatings that have(002) basal plane orientation,whereas the tribological properties of MoSx coatings with edge orientations are greatly affected by humidity.The mechanisms of coating growth and friction and wear processes are discussed.     

Orientation dependence of mechanically induced grain boundary migration in nano-grained copper

Tensile tests were carried out on gradient nanograined copper samples to investigate the grain orientation dependence of mechanically induced grain boundary migration(GBM) process. The relationship between GBM and the orientations of nanograins relative to loading direction was established by using electron backscatter diffraction. GBM is found to be more pronounced in the grains with higher Schmid factors where dislocations are easier to slip. As a result, the fraction of high angle grain boundaries decreases and that of low angle grain boundaries increases after GBM.     

Crystallographic Analysis of Isothermally Transformed Bainite in 0.2C-2.0Mn-1.55Si-0.6Cr Steel Using EBSD

The crystallography of bainite,transformed isothermally at 450℃in 0.2C-2.0Mn-1.5Si-0.6Cr steel,was investigated by electron backscatter diffraction(EBSD) analysis.The orientation relationship(OR) was found to be closer to Ntshiyama-Wassermann(N-W) than Kurdjumov—Sachs orientation relationship.Bainite microstructure consisted of parallel laths forming a morphological packet structure.Typically,there were three different lath orientations in a morphological packet.These orientations were dictated by a three specific N—W OR variants sharing the same {111} austenite plane.A packet of bainite laths with common {111} austenite plane was termed as crystallographic packet.Generally,the crystallographic packet size corresponded to the morphological packet size.Locally,crystallographic packets with only two dominant orientations were observed.This indicates strong local variant selection during isothermal bainite transformation.The relative orientation between the variants in crystallographic packets was found to be near 60°/<110>.This appears to explain the strong peak observed in the grain boundary misorientation distribution near 60°.Bainite also contained pronounced fraction of boundaries with their misorientation in the range of 2.5°—8°with quite widely dispersed rotation angles.Spatially these boundaries were found to locate inside the bainite laths,forming lath-like sub-grains.     

High Resolution Electron Microscopy Observations of Structural Changes in Iron Nitride Films Annealed in Vacuum

Iron-nitride films were prepared by reactive sputtering, and the effect of annealing treatment on the structures was investigated by means of in-situ electron microscopy and high resolution electron microscopy (HREM). As-deposited films were observed to be a mixed structure of a few ultrafine ε-Fe2-3N particles existing in the amorphous matrix. lt was found that the structurerelaxation in the amorphous occurred at 473 K, and the ultrafine grains began to grow at the higher annealing temperatures. The transition of the amorphous to ε-Fe2-3N was almost completed at 673 K. It is considered that the formation of the ideal ε-Fe3N is originated from the ordering of the nitrogen atoms during the annealing in vacuum. On the other hand, γ'-phase (Fe4N) was seen to precipitation of ε-phase at 723 K. Two possible modes are proposed in the precipitation of γ'-phase, depending on the heating rate and crystallographic orientation relationships. i.e. [121]ε [001]γ, (210)ε(110)γ and [100]ε[110]γ, (001)ε(111)γ. In addition,α-Fe particles were observed to form from the γ'-phase at high temperatures. We assumed that these structural changes are due to the diffusion of nitrogen and iron atoms during the annealing,except for the case of the precipitation of the γ'-phase as depicted above. The results obtained in this work are in a good agreement with the assumption.