High pressure structural (B1–B2) phase transition and elastic properties of II–VI semiconducting Sr chalcogens

We evolve an effective interionic interaction potential (EIoIP) with long-range Coulomb interactions and the Hafemeister and Flygare type short-range overlap repulsion extended up to the second neighbor ions and the van der Waals (vdW) interaction to discuss the pressure induced structural aspects of NaCl-type (B1) to CsCl-type (B2) structure in alkaline earth chalcogenides (SrX; X = S, Se and Te). Particular attention is devoted to evaluate the vdW coefficients following the Slater–Kirkwood variational method, as both the ions are polarizable. The present calculations have revealed reasonably good agreement with the available experimental data on the phase transition pressures (P_t = 17.5, 14.5, 12.5 GPa) and the elastic properties. The calculated values of the volume collapses [ΔV(P)/V(0)] are also closer to their observed data. Further, the variations of the second- and third-order elastic constants with pressure have followed a systematic trend, which are almost identical to those exhibited by the observed data measured for other semiconducting compounds with rocksalt (B1) type crystal structure. Also the Born and relative stability criteria is valid in strontium monochalcogenides.     

A New Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3–Silicon Hybrid Metamaterial Device in Terahertz Regime

Metamaterials, offering unprecedented functionalities to manipulate electromagnetic waves, have become a research hotspot in recent years. Through the incorporation of active media, the exotic electromagnetic behavior of metamaterials can be dramatically empowered by dynamic control. Many ferroelectric materials such as BaSrTiO₃ (abbreviated as BST), exhibiting strong response to external electric field, hold great promise in both microwave and terahertz tunable devices. A new active Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃–silicon hybrid metamaterial device, namely, a SRR (square split‐ring resonator)–BaSrTiO₃ thin film‐silicon three‐layer structure is fabricated and intensively studied. The active Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃ thin film hybrid metamaterial, with nanoscale thickness, delivers a transmission contrast up to ≈79% due to electrically enabled carrier transport between the ferroelectric thin film and silicon substrate. This work has significantly increased the low modulation rate of ferroelectric based devices in terahertz range, a major problem in this field remaining unresolved for many years. The proposed BST metamaterial is promising in developing high‐performance real world photonic devices for terahertz technology.     

Preferred orientations of primary Al4Sr dendrites in a rapidly solidified Al–Sr alloy

Preferred crystallographic orientations of primary Al₄Sr dendrites in a rapidly solidified Al–23 Sr (wt.%) alloy have been investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The Al₄Sr dendrites with 90° branches are dominant in the Al–23 Sr alloy melt-spun at 500 rpm and the dendrite orientation is the 110 direction. Wheel speed has a significant effect on the morphology and preferred orientation of the Al₄Sr dendrites in the melt-spun Al–23 Sr alloy.     

Structural evolution during mechanical milling and subsequent annealing of Cu–Ni–Al–Co–Cr–Fe–Ti alloys

This study reports the structural evolution of high-entropy alloys from elemental materials to amorphous phases during mechanical alloying, and further, to equilibrium phases during subsequent thermal annealing. Four alloys from quaternary Cu_0.5NiAlCo to septenary Cu_0.5NiAlCoCrFeTi were analyzed. Microstructure examinations reveal that during mechanical alloying, Cu and Ni first formed a solid solution, and then other elements gradually dissolved into the solid solution which was finally transformed into amorphous structures after prolonged milling. During thermal annealing, recovery of the amorphous powders begins at 100 °C, crystallization occurs at 250–280 °C, and precipitation and grain growth of equilibrium phases occur at higher temperatures. The glass transition temperature usually observed in bulk amorphous alloys was not observed in the present amorphous phases. These structural evolution reveal three physical significances for high-entropy alloys: (1) the annealed state of amorphous powders produces simple equilibrium solid solution phases instead of complex phases, confirming the high-entropy effect; (2) amorphization caused by mechanical milling still meets the minimum criterion for amorphization based on topological instability proposed by Egami; and (3) the nonexistence of a glass transition temperature suggests that Inoue's rules for bulk amorphous alloys are still crucial for the existence of glass transition for a high-entropy amorphous alloy.     

Joining of zirconia to metal with Cu–Ga–Ti and Cu–Sn–Pb–Ti fillers

The method of brazing by capillary impregnation of Cu–Ga melt through a titanium powder layer situated between brazed details is elaborated. Samples of ZrO₂ ceramic/metal brazed joints using Cu–Ga–Ti filler and Cu–Sn–Pb–Ti filler were fabricated. The joints’ shear strength was 277±37 MPa for the Cu–Ga–Ti and 156±25 MPa for the Cu–Sn–Pb–Ti.     

Preparation and mechanical properties of a new Zr–Al–Ti–Cu–Ni–Be bulk metallic glass

In this paper, a new Zr₃₇Al₁₀Ti_12.5Cu_11.25Ni₉Be_20.25 bulk metallic glass is reported. The present alloy was prepared by water quenching in a silica tube of φ10×85 mm. The amorphicity of the quenched bulk samples was examined using X-ray diffraction analysis and optical microscopy. The thermal stability was evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) at a heating rate of 10 K/min. The characteristic data of the bulk metallic glass are presented, including glass transition temperature (T_g) and crystallization temperature (T_x). Results show that the present alloy exhibits large glass forming ability. For comparison with the well-known Zr–Ti–Cu–Ni–Be metallic glass, it was found that aluminum has a little effect on the vitrification of the present alloy but influences physical properties. Specifically, Al enhances the Young's modulus by 21.4% and Vickers hardness by 20% and reduces density by 7.2%.     

Thermomechanical processing of Ti–5Al–5Mo–5V–3Cr

The constitutive behaviour and microstructural evolution of the near-β alloy Ti–5Al–5Mo–5V–3Cr in the α + β condition has been characterised during isothermal subtransus forging at a range of temperatures and strain rates. The results indicate that Ti–5Al–5Mo–5V–3Cr has a shallower approach curve, and therefore, offers a more controllable microstructure than the near-β alloy Ti–10V–2Fe–3Al. Flow softening is small in magnitude in both alloys in the α + β condition. The steady state flow stresses obey a Norton–Hoff constitutive law with an activation energy of Q = 183 kJ mol⁻¹, which is similar to the activation energy for self-diffusion in the β phase, suggesting deformation is dominated by dynamic recovery in the β matrix. Good evidence is found for the existence of ω phase after both air cooling and water quenching from above the β transus. In addition, dissolution of the α phase is found to be slow at near-transus temperatures.     

Solidification microstructures and mechanical properties of high-vanadium Fe–C–V and Fe–C–V–Si alloys

Fe–C–V and Fe–C–V–Si alloys of various C, V and Si compositions were investigated in this work. It was found that the phases present in both of these alloy systems were alloyed ferrite, alloyed cementite, and VC_x carbides. Depending on the alloy composition the solidified microstructural constituents were granular pearlite-like, lamellar pearlite, or mixtures of alloyed ferrite + granular pearlite-like or granular pearlite-like + lamellar pearlite. In addition, it is shown that in Fe–C–V alloys the C/V ratio influences (a) the type of matrix, (b) the fraction of vanadium carbides, f_v and (c) the eutectic cell count, N_F. In Fe–C–V alloys, a relationship between the alloy content corresponding to the eutectic line was experimentally determined and can be described by where C_e and V_e are the carbon and vanadium composition of the eutectic. Moreover, in the Fe–C–V alloys (depending on the alloy chemistry), the primary VC_x carbides crystallize with non-faceted or non-faceted/faceted interfaces, while the eutectic morphology is non-faceted/non-faceted with regular fiber-like structures, or it possesses a dual morphology (non-faceted/non-faceted with regular fiber-like structures + non-faceted/faceted with complex regular structures). In the Fe–C–V–Si system, the primary VC_x carbides solidify with a non-faceted/faceted interface, while the eutectic is non-faceted/faceted with complex regular structures. In particular, spiral eutectic growth is observed when Si is present in the Fe–C–V alloys. In general, it is found that as the matrix constituent shifts from predominantly ferrite to lamellar pearlite, the hardness, yield and tensile strengths exhibit substantial increases at expenses of ductility. Moreover, Si additions lead to alloy strengthening by solid solution hardening of the ferrite phase and/or through a reduction in the eutectic fiber spacings with a decrease in the alloy ductility.     

Aging behaviour of Al–Cu–Mg alloy–SiC composites

The age-hardening kinetics of powder metallurgy processed Al–Cu–Mg alloy and composites with 5, 15 or 25 vol.% SiC reinforcements, subjected to solution treatment at 495 °C for 0.5 h or at 504 °C for 4 h followed by aging at 191 °C, have been studied. The Al–SiC interfaces in composites show undissolved, coarse intermetallic precipitates rich in Cu, Fe, and Mg, with its extent varying with processing conditions. Examination of aging kinetics indicates that the peak-age hardness values are higher, and the time taken for peak aging is an hour longer on solutionizing at 504 °C for 4 h, due to greater solute dissolution. Contrary to the accepted view, the composites have taken longer time to peak-age than the alloy, probably due to lower vacancy concentration, large-scale interfacial segregation of alloying elements, and inadequate density of dislocations in matrix. The composite with 5 vol.% SiC with the lowest inter-particle spacing has shown the highest hardness.     

Design and deformation behavior of high strength Fe–Mn–Al–Cr–C duplex steel

The influence of cold rolling reduction on microstructures and mechanical properties at room temperature of the duplex Fe–28Mn–7Al–5Cr–0.3C steel was investigated. In the Fe–28Mn–7Al alloy system, the duplex microstructure was obtained by lowering the carbon content to about 0.3 wt.%. The steel was austenito-ferritic with a low to moderate stacking fault energy. Two thermomechanical cycles were performed, which included cold rolling/annealing at 1100 °C, and cold rolling/annealing at 1100 °C/cold rolling/annealing at 1000 °C.The effects produced by cold rolling on the duplex steel were grain refinement and different strain-induced marks within the ferrite and austenite phases. They were easily observed within the austenite phase at a relatively smaller reduction than within the ferrite phase. Mechanical twinning plays a dominant role within the austenite phase during deformation at room temperature, resulting in extreme mechanical properties. No edge or longitudinal cracks were observed during cold rolling of the duplex steel.