Improve stress corrosion cracking resistance and mechanical properties of Al‐Zn‐Mg‐Cu‐Zr alloy with heterogeneous lamellae structure produced by high pressure torsion

High pressure torsion experiment followed with heat treatment were carried out on as‐cast Al‐Zn‐Mg‐Cu‐Zr alloy at 400 °C under the pressure of 1 GPa. The microstructure, mechanical property and stress corrosion resistance properties for the as‐cast and high pressure torsion processed samples were studied. The results show that high pressure torsion processing can improve the mechanical property by the refinement of grains and grain boundary precipitates, as well as the homogeneous distribution of fine matrix precipitates. On the other side, the grain refinement, broken of coarse grain boundary precipitates and narrowed precipitates free zone caused by the high pressure torsion result in the improvement of stress corrosion cracking resistance. And due to the influence of heterogeneous lamellae structure, the sample after 0.5 high pressure torsion turn shows preferable mechanical property and stress corrosion cracking resistance than the sample after 2 high pressure torsion turns.     

A Study of Microstructures and Properties of High‐Carbon Si‐Cr Cast Steel Containing Rare Earth and Titanium

The microstructure, tensile and impact behaviour of high‐carbon Si‐Cr cast steel containing rare earth (RE) and titanium have been determined after austempering. The additions of RE and titanium refined the primary austenite grain size resulting in improving toughness. The addition of silicon handicapped the formation of carbide and carbide‐free bainitic ferrite and carbon enriched retained austenite could be obtained in the austempering structures of high‐carbon Si‐Cr cast steel, which had excellent mechanical properties and abrasion resistance. Moreover, the basic tendency of the mechanical properties of high‐carbon Si‐Cr cast steel influenced by the austempering temperature was that the hardness and tensile strength reduced and the impact toughness and fracture toughness increased with increasing temperature. The comprehensive properties were the best while austempering at 330^oC.     

Tough and Water‐Insensitive Self‐Healing Elastomer for Robust Electronic Skin

An electronic (e‐) skin is expected to experience significant wear and tear over time. Therefore, self‐healing stretchable materials that are simultaneously soft and with high fracture energy, that is high tolerance of damage or small cracks without propagating, are essential requirements for the realization of robust e‐skin. However, previously reported elastomers and especially self‐healing polymers are mostly viscoelastic and lack high mechanical toughness. Here, a new class of polymeric material crosslinked through rationally designed multistrength hydrogen bonding interactions is reported. The resultant supramolecular network in polymer film realizes exceptional mechanical properties such as notch‐insensitive high stretchability (1200%), high toughness of 12 000 J m^?2, and autonomous self‐healing even in artificial sweat. The tough self‐healing materials enable the wafer‐scale fabrication of robust and stretchable self‐healing e‐skin devices, which will provide new directions for future soft robotics and skin prosthetics.     

Lanthanide Contraction as a Design Factor for High‐Performance Half‐Heusler Thermoelectric Materials

Forming solid solutions, as an effective strategy to improve thermoelectric performance, has a dilemma that alloy scattering will reduce both the thermal conductivity and carrier mobility. Here, an intuitive way is proposed to decouple the opposite effects, that is, using lanthanide contraction as a design factor to select alloying atoms with large mass fluctuation but small radius difference from the host atoms. Typical half‐Heusler alloys, n‐type (Zr,Hf)NiSn and p‐type (Nb,Ta)FeSb solid solutions, are taken as paradigms to attest the validity of this design strategy, which exhibit greatly suppressed lattice thermal conductivity and maintained carrier mobility. Furthermore, by considering lanthanide contraction, n‐type (Zr,Hf)CoSb‐based alloys with high zT of ≈1.0 are developed. These results highlight the significance of lanthanide contraction as a design factor in enhancing the thermoelectric performance and reveal the practical potential of (Zr,Hf)CoSb‐based half‐Heusler compounds due to the matched n‐type and p‐type thermoelectric performance.     

Exploring the Nickel–Graphene Nanocomposite Coatings for Superior Corrosion Resistance: Manipulating the Effect of Deposition Current Density on its Morphology,Mechanical Properties,and Erosion‐Corrosion Performance

The use of graphene‐based composite as anti‐corrosion and protective coatings for metallic materials is still a provocative topic worthy of debate. Nickel–graphene nanocomposite coatings have been successfully fabricated onto the mild steel by electrochemical co‐deposition technique. This research demonstrates the properties of nickel–graphene composite coatings influenced by different electrodeposition current densities. The effect of deposition current density on the; surface morphologies, composition, microstructures, grain sizes, mechanical, and electrochemical properties of the composite coatings are executed. The coarseness of deposited coatings increases with the increasing of deposition current density. The carbon content in the composite coatings increases first and then decreases by further increasing of current density. The improved mechanical properties and superior anti‐corrosion performance of composite coatings are obtained at the peak value of current density of 9 A dm^?2. The incorporation of graphene sheets into nickel metal matrix lead to enhance the micro hardness, surface roughness, and adhesion strength of produced composite coatings. Furthermore, the presence of graphene in composite coating exhibits the reduced grain sizes and the enhanced erosion–corrosion resistance properties.

     

Gerichtet erstarrte Mo‐Zr‐B‐Legierungen

Two high temperature alloys, namely Mo‐13Zr‐25.9B and Mo‐17.4Zr‐34.8B (in at. %), which were specified as eutectic compositions according to the literature were produced with a zone melting (ZM) method [1, 2]. Investigations with a scanning electron microscope demonstrated that the microstructures of both alloys are not completely eutectic. The alloy Mo‐13Zr‐25.9B shows well‐aligned arrangements of their microstructural constituents along the crystallization direction. X‐ray diffraction analysis revealed the phases molybdenum solid solution and zirconium monoboride (ZrB) in each alloy and, additionally, in alloy Mo‐13Zr‐25.9B the phases Mo₂Zr and dimolybdenum boride (Mo₂B) and in alloy Mo‐17.4Zr‐34.8B the phase zirconium diboride (ZrB₂). Moreover, the microhardness of the individual phases was measured. The fracture toughness of both materials was determined using the SEVNB method according to DIN EN ISO 23146. Finally, the creep resistance of the alloys was tested at 1100 °C under compressive loading and compared with other molybdenum alloys and a single‐crystalline nickel based superalloy.     

High‐Performance Microwave‐Derived Multi‐Principal Element Alloy Coatings for Tribological Application

The authors report the development of Al_xCoCrFeNi (x = 0.1 to 3) high entropy alloy (HEA) coatings using a simple and straightforward microwave technique. The microstructure of the developed coatings is composed of a cellular structure and diffused interface with the substrate. The microstructure of the HEA coatings varies as a direct function of Al content. An increase in Al fraction shows structural transformation from FCC to BCC along with the evolution of σ and B₂ as the major secondary phases. The diffusion of Mo from the substrate enhances the mixing entropy and promotes σ‐phase formation. The HEA coatings show significantly high hardness compared to SS316L substrate steel (227 HV) with a maximum value of 726 HV observed for three‐molar composition. The fracture toughness exhibits an inverse correlation with the Al fraction with the highest value of around 49 MPa m^1/2 observed for Al_0.1CoCrFeNi coating. The equimolar coating composition shows lowest erosion rates among all the tested samples due to optimum combination of the mechanical properties. The erosion resistance of the equimolar coating is 2 to 5 times higher than steel substrate and around 1.5 times higher than the non‐equimolar counterparts depending upon the impingement angles.

     

Packaging‐related properties of protein‐ and chitosan‐coated paper

The mechanical and gas‐barrier properties of paper and paperboard coated with chitosan–acetic acid salt (chitosan), whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate and wheat gluten protein were studied. Paper sheets were solution‐coated using a hand applicator. In addition, bi‐layer composites of wheat gluten and paper or paperboard were produced by compression moulding, and the chitosan solution was also applied on paperboard using curtain coating. Young's modulus, fracture stress, fracture strain, tearing strength, air permeance and oxygen permeability were assessed. The mechanical and air permeance measurements of solution‐coated paper showed that chitosan was the most effective coating on a coat weight basis. This was due to its high viscosity, which limited the degree of penetration into the paper. The proteins, however, also enhanced the strength and toughness of the paper. Compression‐moulded wheat gluten/paper or paperboard, as well as curtain‐coated chitosan paperboard laminates, showed oxygen barrier properties comparable to those of paper and paperboard coated with commercial barrier materials. None of the composites could be delaminated without fibre rupture, indicating good adhesion between the coatings and the substrates. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transluzente oxidfaserverstärkte Glasmatrix‐Verbundwerkstoffe

Translucent oxide fiber reinforced glasmatrix composites The aim of the work is the developement of transparent glass matrix composites. Therefore besides the mechanical properties also the optical properties of the components have to be adapted. In this study the influence of different fiber coatings (boron nitride, titanium oxide and a boron nitride/titanium oxide double coating) on the mechanical and optical properties of Nextel 440‐fiber reinforced glass was investigated. Micromechanical investigations (push‐in‐tests) and 3‐point‐bending tests have shown the best improvement of the fracture toughness for the binary boron nitride/titanium oxide coating. For single coatings of boron nitride or titanium oxide the transparency was characterized by the transmission spectra.     

A Hydrogel‐Film Casting to Fabricate Platelet‐Reinforced Polymer Composite Films Exhibiting Superior Mechanical Properties

The fabrication of mechanically superior polymer composite films with controllable shapes on various scales is difficult. Despite recent research on polymer composites consisting of organic matrices and inorganic materials with layered structures, these films suffer from complex preparations and limited mechanical properties that do not have even integration of high strength, stiffness, and toughness. Herein, a hydrogel‐film casting approach to achieve fabrication of simultaneously strong, stiff, and tough polymer composite films with well‐defined microstructure, inspired from a layer‐by‐layer structure of nacre is reported. Ca²⁺‐crosslinked alginate hydrogels incorporated with platelet‐like alumina particles are dried to form composite films composed of horizontally aligned alumina platelets and alginate matrix with uniformly layered microstructure. Alumina platelets are evenly distributed parallel without precipitations and contribute to synergistic enhancements of strength, stiffness and toughness in the resultant film. Consequentially, Ca²⁺‐crosslinked alginate/alumina (Ca²⁺‐Alg/Alu) films show exceptional tensile strength (267 MPa), modulus (17.9 GPa), and toughness (3.60 MJ m⁻³). Furthermore, the hydrogel‐film casting allows facile preparation of polymer composite films with controllable shapes and various scales. The results suggest an alternative approach to design and prepare polymer composites with the layer‐by‐layer structure for superior mechanical properties.     

Formation mechanism of NbSi2–Al2O3 nanocomposite subject to mechanical alloying

Silicide compounds such as NbSi₂ have many desirable properties such as high melting point, high resistance to oxidation and suitable electrical conductivity. However, they have limited practical use because of low ductility. To overcome this limit, we produced NbSi₂ based nanocomposite containing Alumina second phase by an exothermic reaction between Al and Nb₂O₅ in mechanical alloying of Al–Nb₂O₅–Si system. Structural and phase evolution throughout milling were investigated by using X-ray diffraction and microscopy methods. It followed that after 10 h of MA, the reaction between Al and niobium oxide began in a gradual mode and after around 40 h of milling; the reaction was successfully completed. The final product consisted of NbSi₂ intermetallic compound and nanocrystalline Al₂O₃ with a grain size of 15 and 45 nm, respectively. Microhardness and fracture toughness of nanocomposite were also measured which are greater than NbSi₂ intermetallic. As the result of this research we showed that high strength together with increased ductility could be gained in nanocomposite compounds.     

Mechanical Properties of an Fe‐Based SAM2×5‐630 Metallic Glass Matrix Composite with Tungsten Particle Additions

We present the role of tungsten additions on the mechanical properties of a Fe‐based structural amorphous metal (SAM2×5‐630) containing crystalline tungsten. Matrix cracking by microindentation is inhibited by the addition of tungsten and indicates that tungsten improves the fracture toughness. Response surfaces from nanoindentation arrays indicate that the hardness and modulus of the matrix phase are increased by tungsten additions. Bulk composites with 30 vol% tungsten subjected to 4‐point flexure exhibited brittle fracture behavior and the characteristic strength and Weibull modulus were 165 and 8.7 MPa, respectively. The addition of tungsten did not cause devitrification of the matrix phase.     

A study of casting high‐boron high‐speed steel roll materials

In this paper, we design and prepare five kinds of high‐boron high‐speed steel roll materials. The microstructure, mechanical property and wear resistance of high‐boron high‐speed steel roll materials were studied by means of optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and hardness measurement, impact test and abrasion test. The results show that as‐cast microstructure of high‐boron high‐speed steel consists of martensite, retained austenite and borocarbide. Hardness of as‐cast high‐boron high‐speed steel excels 64 HRC. In unmodified high‐boron high‐speed steel, eutectic borocarbide is distributed in a network along the grain boundary. With the addition of RE‐Mg‐Ti compound modifier, the networks of borocarbide is broken. The hardness of high‐boron high‐speed steel gradually decreased with the increase of tempering temperature. Under the same conditions, the impact toughness of unmodified high‐boron high‐speed steel roll material is slightly lower than that of modified steel. The wear resistance of modified high‐boron high‐speed steel roll material is greater than that of high‐carbon high‐vanadium high‐speed steel roll.     

Verbundstrangpressen von Titan‐Aluminium‐Verbindungen

Rod Extrusion of Titanium‐Aluminum Composites The combination of different metals enables the processing of materials with local optimized properties. Thus, the production of metallic composites is associated with high standards in manufacturing technologie. Focus of the following investigations is the rod extrusion process of titanium‐aluminum‐composites. Besides the mechanical properties, the formation of the bonding zone and the mechanisms of adhesion in the bonding zone were investigated. The influence of specimens’ preparation and of different coatings used improve bonding were a matter of particular interest. Whereas coatings of copper or nickel inhibit the formation of a strong bonding due to the formation of oxide layers, sealed titanium cores can reach a mechanical strength of up to 100 MPa after rod extrusion. Compared to other joining technologies, an impairment of the base metal via formation of heat affected zones, pores or grain coarsening does not occur.     

The effect of fatigue pre‐cracking forces on fracture toughness

Testing procedures for the determination of the fracture toughness of a material by monotonic loading of fatigue pre‐cracked specimens are well established in standards such as BS 7448, BS EN ISO 15653, ISO 12135, ASTM E1820 and ASTM E1921. However, a review of these standards indicates a wide range of permitted fatigue pre‐cracking forces, whilst the underlying assumption in each standard is that the pre‐cracking conditions do not affect the fracture toughness determined. In order to establish the influence of different fatigue pre‐cracking forces on the fracture toughness, tests were carried out on specimens from an API 5L X70 pipeline steel. Single‐edge notch bend specimens of Bx2B geometry were notched through thickness and tested at temperatures of +20 °C, ?80 °C and ?140 °C to show the fracture behaviour in different regions of the fracture toughness ductile‐to‐brittle transition curve. Fatigue pre‐cracking was conducted on a high‐frequency resonance fatigue test machine over a range of pre‐cracking forces permissible within the various standards and beyond. The results showed that an excessively high pre‐cracking force can result in a significant overestimation of the value of fracture toughness for material exhibiting brittle behaviour, whilst very low fatigue pre‐cracking forces appeared to result in an increase in scatter of fracture toughness. A review of standards indicated that there was a possibility to misinterpret the intention of the ISO 12135 standard and potentially use excessively high pre‐cracking forces. Suggested clarifications to this standard have therefore been proposed to avoid the risk of overestimating fracture toughness.     

Reinforcement of Hadfield steel matrix by oriented high‐chromium cast iron bars

To attain a wear‐resistant material compatible with high hardness and high toughness, Hadfield steel matrix was reinforced by oriented high chromium cast iron bars, through inserting high chromium alloys flux‐cored welding wires into Hadfield steel melt at 1500 ± 10 °C. The obtained composites were investigated by XRD, SEM, micro‐hardness, three‐body abrasion wear and impact toughness testers. The results show that the alloy powders inside the flux‐cored welding wires can be melted by the heat capacity of Hadfield steel melt and in situ solidified into high chromium cast iron bar reinforcements tightly embedded in the matrix. The micro‐hardness of reinforcements of the water‐quenched composite is about four times higher than that of the matrix. The impact toughness of the water‐quenched composite is higher than that of the as‐cast composite and lower than that of Hadfield steel, and its fracture mechanism is very complicated and refers to brittle and ductile mixture fracture mode. The excellent impact toughness and better wear resistance of the water‐quenched composite are attributed to combine fully the advantages and avoid the drawbacks of both Hadfield steel and high chromium cast iron. Additionally, in industrial application, the pulverizer plate produced by this composite, has also better wear resistance compared to the reference Hadfield steel pulverizer plate.     

Chemisches Abscheiden von NiP‐Nanokomposit‐schichten

Electroless deposition of NiP nanocomposite coatings The electrolytic and electroless deposition of nickel‐based nanocomposites gains increasing interest in worldwide science. Due to the high specific surface of nanoscaled reinforcements, major properties are determined by surface properties. On the other hand, nanoscaled particles offer technological advantages in the production of very thin coatings, e.g. in microsystems technology. But in particular the process parameters in the deposition of electroless microscaled dispersion coatings are not transferable to nanoscaled ones. This article deals with the development and modification of processes for stable electroless deposition of nanoscaled NiP dispersion coatings and their effect on selected coating properties (hardness, photocatalytic activity). The objective to obtain homogeneous and non‐agglomerated incorporation of the particles has been achieved to a large extent. The effect of ultrasound on the incorporation and desagglomeration is discussed.     

Correlation of fracture toughness with microstructural features for ultrafine‐grained 6082 Al alloy

In the present work, cryorolling (CR) and room temperature rolling (RTR) followed by annealing (AN) at 200°C were carried out to investigate the effects of grain size, precipitates (Mg‐Si‐phases), and AlFeMnSi‐phases on the fracture toughness of 6082 Al alloy. Using the values of the conditional fracture toughness, (K_Q), in the critical fracture toughness (K_IC) validation criteria, it was found that the sample size is inappropriate, which implies that the conditional fracture toughness obtained cannot be considered as the critical fracture toughness. Therefore, to establish the relative improvement in fracture toughness, the equivalent energy fracture toughness (K_ee) and J‐integral were calculated and used. The results show that the values of K_ee (89.91 MPa √m) and J (89.86 kJ/m²) obtained for the sample processed via CR followed by AN (CR + AN) are the highest when compared with the other samples processed through CR, RTR, and RTR followed by AN, RTR + AN. Microstructural features such as high fraction of low Taylor factor, high fraction of kernel average misorientation, Si‐rich particles, small size AlFeMnSi‐phases, and mixed mode of failure (transgranular shear and micro‐void coalescence) also support the high fracture toughness in the CR + AN sample. It was also observed that the effect of residual stresses on the fracture toughness of CR and RTR samples is minimal. Therefore, the correlation between microstructure and residual stresses is not considered in the present work due to very small values of the residual stresses for CR and RTR samples and the absence of residual stress from the heat‐treated samples.     

Solid state synthesis of amorphous and/or nanocrystalline Al40Zr40Si20 alloy by mechanical alloying

Mechanical alloying of Al₄₀Zr₄₀Si₂₀ powder blend has been carried out in a high-energy shaker ball mill up to 50 h. Microstructural evolution at different stages of milling has been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). During milling, elemental Zr seems to undergo a HCP→FCC polymorphic transformation that is closely related to grain refinement and plastic strain. On the other hand, nanocrystallization and mutual dissolution of the elemental blend lead to partial solid state amorphization and development of a composite microstructure comprising of varying proportion of an amorphous phase and nanocrystalline FCC-Zr based solid solution by appropriate hours of milling. In general, the present results compare well with that from our earlier studies on mechanical alloying of Al₄₀Nb₄₀Si₂₀ and mechanical milling of elemental Zr, respectively.     

ECAP‐Umformung mittel‐ und hochfester ausscheidungshärtbarer Aluminiumknetlegierungen

Equal‐channel angular pressing of medium‐ to high‐strength precipitation hardening aluminium wrought alloys The study deals with the optimisation of medium‐ to high‐strength aluminium wrought alloys. The goal is to define processing routes in order to improve the mechanical properties if compared to their commercial counterparts. It is shown for the Al‐Mg‐Si and the Al‐Cu‐Mg‐Si system that the application of ECAP enables a significant increase in strength. The strengthening as well as the grain size reduction respectively, benefit from increasing alloying as well as from the degree of aging. It is also shown that the presence of a considerably fine particulate reinforcement hardens the material tremendously during ECAP. The combination of a pre‐ or post‐ECAP heat treatment enables the improvement of the workability on the one hand, reducing the loads on the die, and also gives a better ductility on the other hand. This positive effect is particularly pronounced for low alloying contents and high aging temperatures and can be attributed to the interaction of deformation induced defects and the precipitation activity. The combination of an appropriate set of ECAP parameters (heat treatment condition, ECAP‐strain, ‐temperature, ‐backpressure) enables the efficient production of outstanding properties. Due to the low workability of AA7075 (Al‐Zn‐Mg‐Cu system) no significant improvement in properties was achieved.