Laser compression of monocrystalline tantalum

Monocrystalline tantalum with orientations [1 0 0] and [1 1 1] was subjected to laser-driven compression at energies of 350–684 J, generating shock amplitudes varying from 10 to 110 GPa. A stagnating reservoir driven by a laser beam with a spot radius of ～800 μm created a crater of significant depth (～80 to ～200 μm) on the drive side of the Ta sample. The defects generated by the laser pulse were characterized by transmission and scanning electron microscopy, and are composed of dislocations at low pressures, and mechanical twins and a displacive phase transformation at higher pressures. The defect substructure is a function of distance from the energy deposition surface and correlates directly with the pressure. Directly under the bottom of the crater is an isentropic layer, approximately 40 μm thick, which shows few deformation markings. Lattice rotation was observed immediately beneath this layer. Further below this regime, a high density of twins and dislocations was observed. As the shock amplitude decayed to below ～40 GPa, the incidence of twinning decreased dramatically, suggesting a critical threshold pressure. The twinning planes were primarily {1 1 2}, although some {1 2 3} twins were also observed. Body-centered cubic to hexagonal close-packed pressure induced-transformation was observed at high pressures (～68 GPa).The experimentally measured dislocation densities and threshold stress for twinning are compared with predictions using analyses based on the constitutive response, and the similarities and differences are discussed in terms of the mechanisms of defect generation.     

Laser shock-induced spalling and fragmentation in vanadium

Polycrystalline and monocrystalline (〈1 0 0〉 and 〈1 1 0〉) vanadium was subjected to shock compression followed by tensile wave release to study spall and fragmentation behavior. The shock pulse was generated by a direct laser drive at energy levels ranging from 11 to 440 J mm^–2 (laser beam irradiated area 1.12 mm²) and initial pulse durations of 3 and 8 ns (approximate initial pressures between 10 and 250 GPa). Glass and polycarbonate shields placed at a specific distance behind the vanadium targets were used to collect and analyze the ejected fragments in order to evaluate and quantify the extent of damage. The effects of target thickness, laser energy, polycrystallinity and pulse duration were studied. Calculations show melting at a pressure threshold of ～150 GPa, which corresponds to a laser energy level of ～180 J mm^–2. Consistent with the analytical predictions, the recovered specimens and fragments show evidence of melting at the higher energy levels. Spalling in the polycrystals occurred by a ductile tearing mechanism that favored grain boundaries. In the monocrystals it occurred by a mixture of cleavage fracture along the {0 1 0} planes and ductile dimple fracture. This lower spall strength in polycrystals contradicts predictions from the Hall–Petch equation. Experimentally obtained fragment sizes were compared with predictions from the Grady–Kipp model. The spall strength of vanadium under laser loading conditions was calculated from both VISAR pull-back signals and using the spall thickness. It was found to be considerably higher than predictions from gas gun experiments, the monocrystals showing a higher value than polycrystals. This higher spall strength is suggestive of a strong time dependence of the phenomenon, consistent with the nucleation and growth kinetics of voids and the strain rate sensitivity embedded in the Grady theory.     

The impact of peak shock stress on the microstructure and shear behavior of 1018 steel

As-received and shock-prestrained 1018 steel specimens were subjected to forced shear experiments in a split-Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) at room temperature and a strain rate of 3800 s⁻¹ to determine the influence of shock-prestraining on the shear behavior of ferrite. Shock-loading was performed below (12.5 GPa) and above (14 GPa) the pressure-induced epsilon phase transition occurring at 13 GPa. Using electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction, twinning and microbanding were observed only in the shock-prestrained specimens. Quasi-static compression tests showed an increase in yield and compressive strengths with increased peak shock stress. SHPB tests produced shear localization in all specimens, with shear banding occurring only in the shock-prestrained specimens. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that, at the shear band edge, elongated cells dominate the microstructure, with more shock-induced twins remaining intact in the 12.5 GPa specimen than in the 14 GPa specimen.     

Formation of nanostructures in commercial-purity titanium via cryorolling

Microstructure evolution in commercial-purity titanium during plane-strain multipass rolling to a true thickness strain of 2.66 at 77 and 293 K was quantified. Deformation at both temperatures was accompanied by twinning. At 77 K, twinning was more extensive in terms of the fraction of twinned grains and the duration of the twinning stage. Rolling to a true thickness strain of 2.66 resulted in the formation of a microstructure with a grain/subgrain size of ～80 nm at 77 K or ～200 nm at 293 K. The contribution of various mechanisms to the strength of titanium following rolling at 77 and 293 K was analyzed quantitatively.     

Response of Ni/Al laminates to laser-driven compression

Ni/Al laminates with bilayer thicknesses in the micrometer (～5 μm) and nanometer (～50 nm) range were subjected to exothermic reactions induced by laser-driven compression. The initial shockless compression steepened into shock in the microscaled laminates generating a pressure pulse duration of several tens of nanoseconds, which induced strain rates varying from 10⁷ to 10⁸ s^?1. The laser energies applied, 650, 875, and 1305 J, generated peak compression stresses of 30, 75, and 118 GPa, respectively, at the plasma stagnated Al surface. Large differences in flow stresses and bulk compression moduli of Ni and Al introduced shear localization in the Ni/Al interfaces. The nanoscale Ni/Al laminates were fully reacted, producing NiAl with grain sizes less than 500 nm. The NiAl intermetallic phases, B2 (β) phase (fcc) and martensitic phase (bcc), coexist in the NiAl nanograins. It was confirmed that the intermetallic reaction in the Ni/Al microlaminate cannot self-sustain for the short duration, laser-driven compressive loading. The intermetallics NiAl (equiaxed grains) and NiAl₃ (dendrites) were identified on the plasma stagnated surface of Ni/Al microlaminates. The distribution of intermetallic phases varied according to the incident laser energies.     

Orientation dependence of shock-induced twinning and substructures in a copper bicrystal

Shock recovery experiments have been conducted to assess the role of shock stress and orientation dependence on substructure evolution and deformation twinning of a [1 0 0]/$[01\overline{1}]$ copper bicrystal. Transmission electron microscopy of the post-shock specimens revealed that well-defined dislocation cell structures developed in both grains and the average cell size decreased with increasing shock pressure from 5 to 10 GPa. Twinning occurred in the [1 0 0] grain, but not the $[01\overline{1}]$ grain, at the 10 GPa shock pressure. The stress and orientation dependence of incipient twinning can be predicted by the stress and orientation conditions required to dissociate slip dislocations into glissile twinning dislocations. The dynamic widths between the two partials are calculated considering the three-dimensional deviatoric stress state induced by the shock as calculated using plane-strain plate impact simulations and the relativistic and drag effects on dislocations moving at high speeds.     

Generalized type III internal stress from interfaces,triple junctions and other microstructural components in nanocrystalline materials

The microstructure in polycrystalline materials consists of four types of geometric objects: grain cells, grain boundaries, triple junctions and vertex points. Each of them contributes to internal stress differently. Due to experimental limitations, the internal stresses associated with the microstructural components are difficult to acquire directly, particularly for polycrystalline materials with nanometer-scale grain sizes. Using newly developed computational methods, we obtained the type III internal stress associated with each of these microstructural objects in a stress-free nanocrystalline Cu. We found significant variation of the internal stresses from grain to grain, and their magnitudes descended in the order of vertex point, triple junction, grain boundary and grain cell. We also examined the effect of grain size and temperature. The change in the internal stresses inside the grains is found to follow a scaling relation of Ad^?x, using the mean grain diameter d from our results. For pressure, we found x = 1 and the effective interface stress A ～ 1 N m^?1, and for shear stress x = 0.75 and A ～ 14.12 N m^?1. On the other hand, the directly calculated interface stress is about 0.32–0.35 GPa for hydrostatic pressure and 12.45–12.60 GPa for von Mises shear stress. We discuss issues in treating the two-dimensional interface stress and one-dimensional triple junction line tension in nanocrystalline materials, as well as the potential impact of the type III internal stress on mechanical behavior of poly- and nano-crytalline materials.     

Correlation between the microstructure studied by X-ray line profile analysis and the strength of high-pressure-torsion processed Nb and Ta

Niobium and tantalum are two body centered cubic metals with very different elastic anisotropy. The A_z = 2 × c₄₄/(c₁₁?c₁₂) constant for Nb and Ta is 0.51 and 1.58, respectively. The submicron grain-size state of the two refractory metals was produced by the method of high-pressure torsion with different pressure values of 2 and 4 GPa for Nb, and 4 and 8 GPa for Ta, and two different deformations of 0.25 and 1.5 rotations, respectively, with equivalent strains of up to ～40. The dislocation density and the grain size were determined by high-resolution diffraction peak-profile analysis. The beam size on the specimen surface was 0.2 × 1 mm, allowing the sub-structure along the radius of the specimen to be characterized. The strength of the two metals was correlated with the dislocation density and the grain size. It is found that, though the grain size is well below 100 nm, the role of dislocations in the flow stress of these two metals is significantly greater than that of the grain size.     

Texture memory effect in heavily cold-rolled Ni3Al single crystals

In Ni₃Al the cold-rolled Goss texture changed to a complicated one after primary recrystallization and returned to the original Goss during the subsequent grain growth, which can be referred to as the texture memory effect. In this study, we examined the evolution of grain orientations during the grain growth using the electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) method. It was found that just after the primary recrystallization most of the grains had a 40°〈1 1 1〉 rotation relationship to the Goss texture, the remaining grains being Goss and other textures. The formation of the 40°〈1 1 1〉 rotated grains can be explained by a multiple twinning mechanism. In the grain growth, the Goss grains, which were surrounded by the 40°〈1 1 1〉 rotated grains, grew preferentially due to the high mobility of the 40°〈1 1 1〉 grain boundaries, leading to the texture memory effect.     

Investigation of early stage deformation mechanisms in a metastable β titanium alloy showing combined twinning-induced plasticity and transformation-induced plasticity effects

As expected from the alloy design procedure, combined twinning-induced plasticity and transformation-induced plasticity effects are activated in a metastable β Ti–12 wt.% Mo alloy. In situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction, electron backscatter diffraction and transmission electron microscopy observations were carried out to investigate the deformation mechanisms and microstructure evolution sequence. In the early deformation stage, primary strain/stress-induced phase transformations (β → ω and β → α″) and primary mechanical twinning ({3 3 2}〈1 1 3〉 and {1 1 2}〈1 1 1〉) are activated simultaneously. Secondary martensitic phase transformation and secondary mechanical twinning are then triggered in the twinned β zones. The {3 3 2}〈1 1 3〉 twinning and the subsequent secondary mechanisms dominate the early-stage deformation process. The evolution of the deformation microstructure results in a high strain-hardening rate (～2 GPa), bringing about high tensile strength (～1 GPa) and large uniform elongation (>0.38).     

Microstructure and tensile behavior of a friction stir processed magnesium alloy

In this work the effect of multi-pass friction stir processing (FSP) followed by warm pressing on an as-extruded ZK60 Mg plate was investigated. The microstructure, texture and resulting mechanical properties are reported here. Multi-pass FSP to partial depths on the top and bottom plate surfaces produced a novel, layered structure with three distinct microstructural zones associated with stirred, transition and core regions. In the stirred zone, FSP, followed by pressing at 200 °C, created a 0.8 μm ultrafine grain size which accounts for ～55 vol.% of the material. The transition region (～10 vol.%), showed extensively sheared coarse grains distributed in a matrix of finer grains. However, the core region (～35 vol.%) showed extensive twinning inside coarse grains in an overall bimodal microstructure reminiscent of extrusion. The processed Mg with a strong basal texture exhibited high yield strength (>300 MPa) and retention of adequate tensile ductility (>10%). The enhancement in mechanical properties of processed Mg is found to be highly influenced by the layered microstructure: UFG grained stirred zone, finer precipitates and strong basal texture.     

Deformation twins in nanocrystalline body-centered cubic Mo as predicted by molecular dynamics simulations

This work studies deformation twins in nanocrystalline body-centered cubic Mo, including the nucleation and growth mechanisms as well as their effects on ductility, through molecular dynamics simulations. The deformation processes of nanocrystalline Mo are simulated using a columnar grain model with three different orientations. The deformation mechanisms identified, including dislocation slip, grain-boundary-mediated plasticity, deformation twins and martensitic transformation, are in agreement with previous studies. In 〈1 1 0〉 columnar grains, the deformation is dominated by twinning, which nucleates primarily from the grain boundaries by successive emission of twinning partials and thickens by jog nucleation in the grain interiors. Upon arrest by a grain boundary, the twin may either produce continuous plastic strain across the grain boundary by activating compatible twinning/slip systems or result in intergranular failure in the absence of compatible twinning/slip systems in the neighboring grain. Multiple twinning systems can be activated in the same grain, and the competition between them favors those capable of producing continuous deformation across the grain boundary.     

Nanoscaled grain boundaries and pores,microstructure and mechanical properties of translucent Yb:[LuxY(1−x)O3] ceramics

Translucent ceramics of Yb:[Lu_xY_(1?x)O₃] system doped by ZrO₂ was sintered from nanopowder synthesized by laser evaporation. The relative density of the ceramics was 99.97%, residual pores had sizes from 8 nm to 20 nm, Young modulus was 200 GPa at the applied load of 2000 mN, the microhardness was 12.8 GPa. The grains of ceramics had sizes 1–10 μm, but the thickness of grain boundaries was about 1 nm. The transcrystalline type of the crack propagation was detected in the specially broken ceramics. The results indicated high strength of grain bonds and good perfection of grain boundaries in the studied ceramics but an increased content of pores (higher than 10^?3 vol.%) and stoichiometry deviation (Lu:Y:O = 0.21:0.79:3) from the required one (Lu:Y:O = 0.25:0.75:3).     

Void initiation in fcc metals: Effect of loading orientation and nanocrystalline effects

It is shown, through molecular dynamics simulations, that the emission and outward expansion of special dislocation loops, nucleated at the surface of nanosized voids, are responsible for the outward flux of matter, promoting their growth. Calculations performed for different orientations of the tensile axis, [0 0 1], [1 1 0] and [1 1 1], reveal new features of these loops for a face-centered cubic metal, copper, and show that their extremities remain attached to the surface of voids. There is a significant effect of the loading orientation on the sequence in which the loops form and interact. As a consequence, the initially spherical voids develop facets. Calculations reveal that loop emission occurs for voids with radii as low as 0.15 nm, containing two vacancies. This occurs at a von Mises stress approximately equal to 0.12G (where G is the shear modulus of the material), and is close to the stress at which dislocation loops nucleate homogeneously. The velocities of the leading partial dislocations are measured and found to be subsonic (～1000 m s^?1). It is shown, for nanocrystalline metals that void initiation takes place at grain boundaries and that their growth proceeds by grain boundary debonding and partial dislocation emission into the grains. The principal difference with monocrystals is that the voids do not become spherical and that their growth proceeds along the boundaries. Differences in stress states (hydrostatic and uniaxial strain) are discussed. The critical stress for void nucleation and growth in the nanocrystalline metal is considerably lower than in the monocrystalline case by virtue of the availability of nucleation sites at grain boundaries (von Mises stress ～0.05G). This suggests a hierarchy of nucleation sites in materials, starting with dispersed phases, triple points and grain boundaries, and proceeding with vacancy complexes up to divacancies.     

Fabrication and characterization of pure tungsten using the hot-shock consolidation

Crack-free pure W bulks have been fabricated by SHS assisted hot-shock consolidation (HSC). The tungsten powders were preheated by the heat released through a SHS (self-propagating high-temperature synthesis) reaction before shock wave loading. The duration of preheating was less than 3 min and the preheating temperature was controlled in the range of 700 ~ 1300 °C by adjusting the mass of the SHS mixture. The highest relative density of compacted samples can reach 96.7% T.D. (theoretical density) at 1300 °C under the shock pressure of 3.14GPa. The grain sizes of all compacted samples are nearly the same as the initial powder size of 2 μm. The hardness and modulus of the consolidated pure W bulks were measured using nanoindentation test; and the microstructure was investigated using light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It is found that the shock pressure plays a more important role than preheating temperature, after the pressure exceeding the crush strength of tungsten powder during the sintering process. At the preheating temperature of 1300 °C, the increase in shock pressure leads to obvious surface melting. For HSC of pure tungsten, the void collapse and surface melting are the main sintering mechanisms. The former one contributes to the densification behavior of powders, and the later one is responsible for the inter-particle bonding; and both of which are dominated by the shock pressure. The advantage of preheating for eliminating the cracks is also demonstrated by the experimental results.     

Ultrahigh-pressure consolidation and deformation of tantalum carbide at ambient and high temperatures

The deformation mechanism of the ultrahigh-temperature ceramic, tantalum carbide (TaC), consolidated at room temperature at a very high hydrostatic pressure of 7.7 GPa is investigated using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The deformation behavior of TaC at room temperature is also compared with that consolidated at high temperature (1830 °C) at a similar pressure. TaC could be consolidated to a bulk structure (90% theoretical density) at room temperature. The deformation mechanisms operating at room temperature and 1830 °C are found to be significantly different. The room-temperature deformation is dominated by the short-range movement of dislocations in multiple orientations, along with nanotwinning, grain rotation, crystallite misorientation with low-angle grain boundary formation and lattice structure destruction at interfaces. In contrast, at high temperature, the strain is accommodated mostly by a single slip system, forming a parallel array of dislocations. The consolidation at room temperature occurs by heavy deformation with the support from short range diffusion, whereas the consolidation at high temperature is mostly diffusion dominated, indicating a classic sintering mechanism. The improved degree of consolidation with fewer defects results in significantly improved elastic modulus and hardness in the case of high-temperature consolidate.     

Grain-size effect on plastic flow in nanocrystalline cobalt by atomistic simulation

Molecular dynamics simulation is employed to investigate the plastic flows in nanocrystalline (nc) hexagonal close-packed cobalt under uniaxial tensile deformation. In nc-Co samples modeled by a semi-empirical tight-binding potential, different deformation behaviors such as nucleation and growth of disordered atom segments (DAS) inside grains, deformation-induced hexagonal close-packed to faced-centered cubic transformation, partial dislocation activities are identified at different grain sizes (4–12 nm). At high stresses (1.2–3.2 GPa) and low temperatures (77–470 K), growth of DAS and their interaction with stacking faults are found to dominate the deformation process, even when the grain size is as small as 4 nm. A model for plastic flow generated by DAS inside grains is proposed. The strain rates and the inverse Hall–Petch-like behaviors in nc-Co with sub-10 nm grain sizes can be well described by the DAS plastic-flow model.     

The influences of temperature and microstructure on the tensile properties of a CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy

An equiatomic CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy, which crystallizes in the face-centered cubic (fcc) crystal structure, was produced by arc melting and drop casting. The drop-cast ingots were homogenized, cold rolled and recrystallized to obtain single-phase microstructures with three different grain sizes in the range 4–160 μm. Quasi-static tensile tests at an engineering strain rate of 10^?3 s^?1 were then performed at temperatures between 77 and 1073 K. Yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and elongation to fracture all increased with decreasing temperature. During the initial stages of plasticity (up to ～2% strain), deformation occurs by planar dislocation glide on the normal fcc slip system, {1 1 1}〈1 1 0〉, at all the temperatures and grain sizes investigated. Undissociated 1/2〈1 1 0〉 dislocations were observed, as were numerous stacking faults, which imply the dissociation of several of these dislocations into 1/6〈1 1 2〉 Shockley partials. At later stages (～20% strain), nanoscale deformation twins were observed after interrupted tests at 77 K, but not in specimens tested at room temperature, where plasticity occurred exclusively by the aforementioned dislocations which organized into cells. Deformation twinning, by continually introducing new interfaces and decreasing the mean free path of dislocations during tensile testing (“dynamic Hall–Petch”), produces a high degree of work hardening and a significant increase in the ultimate tensile strength. This increased work hardening prevents the early onset of necking instability and is a reason for the enhanced ductility observed at 77 K. A second reason is that twinning can provide an additional deformation mode to accommodate plasticity. However, twinning cannot explain the increase in yield strength with decreasing temperature in our high-entropy alloy since it was not observed in the early stages of plastic deformation. Since strong temperature dependencies of yield strength are also seen in binary fcc solid solution alloys, it may be an inherent solute effect, which needs further study.     

Deformation mechanisms in nanocrystalline palladium at large strains

The mechanical behaviour and microstructure evolution of nanocrystalline palladium was investigated. Material with an initial grain size ～10 nm was prepared by inert gas condensation. Instrumented high-pressure torsion straining was used to characterize the flow stress during plastic deformation to shear strains up to 300. A change in primary deformation mechanism was induced by stress-induced grain growth. For grain sizes <40 nm, grain boundary mediated processes (shear banding, grain boundary sliding and grain rotation) controlled the deformation, with dislocation slip, twinning, and grain boundary diffusion providing the accommodation. For larger grain sizes, the operative deformation mechanism was dislocation slip.     

Strengthening gold thin films with zirconia nanoparticles for MEMS electrical contacts

Thin gold films can be strengthened by the incorporation, during reactive sputtering, of nanosized dispersions of monoclinic zirconia. Micron-thick films containing ∼2 vol.% zirconia particles having a particle size of 1–3 nm are found to have an indentation hardness of 3.8 GPa after annealing for 60 h at 500 °C in air. Sputtered gold films of the same thickness and annealed under the same conditions had a hardness of 2.3 GPa. The nanoparticles of zirconia resist coarsening with no change in diameter between deposition and after 60 h at 500 °C. They also suppress grain growth of the gold grains. The electrical resistivity of the strengthened gold films was 4.5 μΩ cm, about 55% higher than gold films. The temperature coefficient of resistivity was unaffected.