Nanostructured component fabrication by electron beam-physical vapor deposition

Fabrication of cost-effective, nano-grained net-shaped components has brought considerable interest to Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Department of Energy. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the versatility of electron beam-physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) technology in engineering new nanostructured materials with controlled microstructure and microchemistry in the form of coatings and net-shaped components for many applications including the space, turbine, optical, biomedical, and auto industries. Coatings are often applied on components to extent their performance and life under severe environmental conditions including thermal, corrosion, wear, and oxidation. Performance and properties of the coatings depend upon their composition, microstructure, and deposition condition. Simultaneous co-evaporation of multiple ingots of different compositions in the high energy EB-PVD chamber has brought considerable interest in the architecture of functional graded coatings, nano-laminated coatings, and design of new structural materials that could not be produced economically by conventional methods. In addition, high evaporation and condensate rates allowed fabricating precision net-shaped components with nanograined microstructure for various applications. Using EB-PVD, nano-grained rhenium (Re) coatings and net-shaped components with tailored microstructure and properties were fabricated in the form of tubes, plates, and Re-coated spherical graphite cores. This paper will also present the results of various metallic and ceramic coatings including chromium, titanium carbide (TiC), titanium diboride (TiB₂), hafnium nitride (HfN), titanium-boron-carbonitride (TiBCN), and partially yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) TBC coatings deposited by EB-PVD for various applications. This paper was presented at the International Symposium on Manufacturing, Properties, and Applications of Nanocrystalline Materials sponsored by the ASM International Nanotechnology Task Force and TMS Powder Materials Committee, October 18–20, 2004, Columbus, OH.     

The distribution of grain boundary planes in polycrystals

During the last ten years, techniques have been developed to measure the distribution of grain boundaries in polycrystals as a function of both lattice misorientation and grain boundary plane orientation. This paper presents a brief overview of the techniques used for these measurements and the principle findings of studies implementing these techniques. The most significant findings are that grain boundary plane distributions are anisotropic, that they are scale invariant during normal grain growth, that the most common grain boundary planes are those with low surface energies, that the grain boundary populations are inversely correlated with the grain boundary energy, and that the coincident site lattice number is a poor predictor of the grain boundary energy and population.     

The atomic age challenge to steel

Some months ago the submarine Nautilus was in dock for refueling. It had traveled 60,000 miles, but the total uranium used would make a lump smaller than a light bulb. This is only one example that the Atomic Age is here with us, now! How and where does this incredible Atomic Age challenge the first and greatest of America’s basic industries?     

Effects of temperature and blank holding force on biaxial forming behavior of aluminum sheet alloys

Biaxial forming behavior is investigated for three aluminum sheet alloys (Al 5182 containing 1% Mn (5182+Mn), Al 5754, and 6111-T4) using a heated die and punch in the warm forming temperature range of 200–350 °C. It is found that, while all three alloys exhibit significant improvement in their formability compared with that at room temperature, the non-heat-treatable alloys 5182 + Mn and 5754 give higher part depths than that of heat-treatable 6111-T4. The formability generally increases with decreasing BHP (BHP), but increasing the forming temperature and/or BHP minimizes the wrinkling tendency and improves the forming performance. The stretchability of the sheet alloys increase with increasing temperature and increasing BHP. For the alloys and forming conditions involved in the current study, the formability, measured in terms of part depth, comes mainly from the drawing of metal into the die cavity, although stretching effects do influence the overall forming behavior. The optimum formability is achieved by setting the die temperature 50 °C higher than the punch temperature to enhance the drawing component. Setting the die temperature higher than the punch temperature also improves the strain distribution in a part in such a manner that postpones necking and fracture by altering the location of greatest thinning.     

Development of microstructure and mechanical properties of a Ni-base single-crystal superalloy by hot-isostatic pressing

Effects of the hot-isostatic pressing (HIP) process on microstructures and mechanical properties of Ni-base single crystal superalloy CMSX-4 were investigated. In the overall heat treatment process, the HIP treatment remarkably induced the healing behavior of micropores and decreased the pore size and porosity of superalloy CMSX-4 compared with normally treated specimens. The microstructure of γ′ phase after the HIP process showed rather a coarsening tendency and could be developed by the partially solution and aging treatment. Consequently, the elimination of cast micropores using the HIP step resulted in the inhibition of crack initiation in microstructure and improved the stress-rupture lives of Ni-base single crystal superalloy by 185%.     

Effects of phosphorus addition on the magnetic properties of sintered Fe-50 wt.% Ni alloys

Phosphorus was added to Fe-50 wt.% Ni in the form of a coated composite powder via an electroless plating process. Addition of phosphorus to Fe-50 wt.% Ni facilitated increases in density and grain size, both of which were beneficial to magnetic performance. Because of the homogeneous distribution of phosphorus in the powder, the optimal phosphorus addition was much lower than for those using Fe₃P as the phosphorus precursor. The optimal phosphorus addition was close to its maximum solubility in Fe-50 wt.% Ni (about 0.5 wt.%), above which precipitation of excessive phosphorus in the form of iron nickel phosphide, (Fe,Ni)₃P, effectively degraded the magnetic properties of Fe-50 wt.% Ni. Without the addition of phosphorus, good magnetic properties could be achieved only when the sintering temperature was high enough (>1200 °C) to result in a high sintered density and large grains in the sintered structure.     

Numerically optimal design for the system with coupled complex transport phenomena-application to the Submerged Entry<Emphasis Type="Italic">Nozzle</Emphasis> in continuous slab caster

This study presents a simple and robust algorithm for the optimal design of the system with coupled complex transport phenomena: the transport phenomena comprise fluid flow, heat and mass transfer. The (1+1)-Evolution Strategy method is adopted as the optimization method. In order to analyze the transport phenomena in the complex geometry generated during the optimization procedure, thefinite volume method with a boundary fitted curvilinear coordinate system is used. To confirm the validity of the present method, the optimal design for the inner shape of the simplified two-dimensionalSubmerged Entry Nozzle in the continuous slab caster is conducted. It is shown that the resulting design of the nozzle is consistent with the purpose and constraints of the design.     

The Structure Stability of Carbide-Free Bainite Wheel Steel

Metallographic structures of carbide-free bainite steel wheel rim are mainly composed of supersaturated lath ferrite and retained austenite film among bainitic ferrite laths. It is suspected that supersaturated ferrite and retained austenite are likely to decompose under the influence of temperature change and mechanical stress. Stability of wheel rim structure is studied by means of x-ray diffraction, dye microscopy, and micro-hardness test. When the samples are tempered in the range of 150-350 °C, the retained austenite films are at the state of relative stability. Fifty percent of retained austenite is decomposed when the sample is tempered at 400 °C. Microhardness increases when the sample is tempered at 150 °C. The decrease in hardness is mild when the samples are tempered from 200 to 500 °C. The mechanical stability of retained austenite film is studied with tensile sample under the effect of tensile stress. The retained austenite appears to be stable in low and middle degree of deformation, and decomposition occurs at great amount of deformation. Diffraction peak of carbide is not found in all above experiments. The steel enriched silicon prevents the carbide precipitation during the transformation. It indicates the carbide-free bainite wheel steels have an excellent thermal and mechanical stability.     

Influence of the stress,strain, and temperature on the surface roughness of an AlSl 52100 steel due to an orthogonal cut

In recent years, the finite element method (FEM) has become the main tool for simulating the metal cutting process because research based on trial and error is time consuming and requires high investment. Early studies were done by different investigators. In this research AISI 52100, hardened steel (62 HRC) was selected for an orthogonal machining process as well as metal cutting simulation using the software DEFORM-2D. This software is based on a forging process and has been adapted to an orthogonal machining process. The results of simulated cutting forces were compared with experimental cutting force data to validate the orthogonal cut simulation. Also, the surface roughness was measured, and the influence of the stress, strain, and temperature on the surface roughness was studied.     

Power of a Unit‐Root Test and the Initial Condition

Abstract. It is now well known that how the initial observation is generated can have a significant effect on the power of a unit‐root test. In this article, we show that by taking a simple data‐dependent weighted average of the initial condition‐robust test of Elliott and Müller [Journal of Econometrics (2006), forthcoming] and the standard augmented Dickey–Fuller test, we are able to produce a new unit‐root test that can improve power, both asymptotically and in finite samples, over a wide range of possibilities governing the generation of the initial observation.