The correlation of texture and magnetic properties in Co-Cr films

This investigation focuses on the correlation between the crystallographic orientation of grains with respect to magnetic properties in Co-Cr films. Based on a distribution measured for the (0002) crystallographic pole densities, modified formulae describing the texture were used to calculate the coercivity Hc, the squareness ratio Rs (Mr⊥/TMs) and the anisotropy field Ha for Co-Cr films. In general, calculated values for the coercive force He agreed well with the measured values. The calculated Rs⊥. values were much larger than the measured ones, however, indicating that the influence of the demagnetizing field and the magnetostriction on the orientation of the magnetization cannot be neglected. On leave from Institute of Computing Technology, Academia Sinica, P.O.Box 2704-6, Beijing, P.R. China.     

Textural evolution in electrodeposits under the influence of adsorbed foreign species: Part I Textural evolution in iron electrodeposits affected by hydrogen co-deposition

Textural evolution in electrodeposits is strongly affected by foreign species in the electrolyte and also by the co-deposition of hydrogen. The effects of foreign species on textural development in electrodeposits were studied by employing a Monte Carlo model. This model is based on physical principles and incorporates parameters which are used to control electrodeposition processes. An attempt was made in the simulation to reflect the basic process of the deposit growth, and to identify the factors responsible for the texture formation and its variation with the deposition condition. It is assumed that the texture of the deposit results from the minimization of the free energy of the system. Based on this assumption, it was demonstrated that the surface-energy anisotropy played an important role in the formation of fibre texture. In particular, the model can be used to simulate textural evolution under the influence of adsorbed foreign species, because the surface-energy anisotropy is modified by the adsorbed foreign species. Part I of the paper presents results of our studies on iron electrodeposition with the emphasis on the effect of hydrogen adsorption on iron deposit texture. Relevant experimental results have also been presented to corroborate the simulation study. Part II of the paper presents simulation studies of textural evolution in copper deposits under the influence of adsorbed potassium and chloride ions. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Phase Composition of Oxide Scales during Reheating in Hot Rolling of Low Carbon Steel

Low carbon steel was oxidized over the temperature range 1000‐1250°C in O₂‐CO₂‐H₂O‐N₂, O₂‐H₂O‐N₂, and O₂‐CO₂‐N₂ gas mixtures. Oxidation times were 12‐120 min. and the scales were 50‐2000 μm thick. The variations of these parameters were chosen to elucidate the phase composition of oxide scales under conditions similar to those of reheating furnaces in hot strip mills, using either thin slab casting or conventional casting and rolling technology. Two types of scales have been observed which are influenced by the furnace atmosphere, oxidation time, and temperature. The first type is a crystalline scale with an irregular outer surface, composed mostly of wustite (FeO), and a negligible amount of magnetite (Fe₃O₄). The second type is the classical three‐layer scale, composed of wustite (FeO), magnetite (Fe₃O₄), and hematite (Fe₂O₃). In general, the experiments showed that an increase in oxidation time decreased the percentage of wustite while the percentages of magnetite and hematite increased. A rise in oxygen concentration in the gas mixture increased the percentages of magnetite and hematite, confirming earlier experimental findings. In water vapour‐free atmospheres O₂‐CO₂‐N₂, the oxide scales had a low percentage of wustite, and high percentage of magnetite and hematite. Carbon dioxide showed a small influence at 1100°C, and a negligible one at 1250°C.     

Determination of Active Slip/Twinning Modes in AZ31 Mg Alloy Near Room Temperature

In order to determine the deformation modes in AZ31 magnesium alloy at room temperature, computer simulations of deformation texture development and calculation of formability have been carried out. The simulation results were compared with the measured texture results. Based on agreement between the experiments and simulations the active deformation modes were determined. A Visco Plastic Self Consistent model was employed for the simulation of plastic deformation. Simulations and experiments were performed for different initial textures. The goal of the study was to develop the understanding of deformation texture evolution and its effects on mechanical properties of magnesium, with an ultimate goal of improving room temperature formability of magnesium alloys. This article was presented at Materials Science & Technology 2006, Innovations in Metal Forming symposium held in Cincinnati, OH, October 15-19, 2006.     

Applications of texture in thin films

Thin films are important in a variety of applications, including optical, magnetic,and electronic devices. The origin of microstructure in films formed by physical vapor deposition depends primarily on the homologous deposition temperature, which determines the grain structure and substructure. Texture is coupled to grain structure development through several kinetic parameters, principally surface diffusivity and interfacial energy. The representation of such fiber textures is facilitated by simplified pole intensity versus tilt angle plots rather than entire pole figures. The reliability of thin film interconnection materials such as aluminum alloys is heavily leveraged on both texture and grain structure. The properties of thin magnetic films depend on both the crystallographic texture and the grain shape anisotropy.     

Juvenile laryngeal papillomatosis

A patient is reported who developed progressive hypothermia during therapy for adult respiratory distress syndrome. Electrocardiographic changes (sinus bradycardia, prolonged PR interval, prolonged QTc interval, "Osborn waves") were documented and correlated with body temperature. The significance of these changes is discussed and the relationship between the degree of hypothermia and the presence of "Osborn waves" is noted.     

Direct electrodeposition of highly ordered magnetic nickel nanowires on silicon wafer

Highly ordered nickel nanowire (50 and 12 nm in diameter) arrays were successfully deposited into the nanoporous alumina template film on a gold-coated silicon wafer. The electrodeposited nickel nanowires have a preferred (220) fibre texture, that is the [110] direction parallel to the wire axis. With electropolishing, nanoporous alumina template with ordered and uniform pores was prepared by anodisation. By complete removal of the barrier layer and careful control of electrodeposition procedures, nearly 100% pore filling of uniform nanowires can be directly deposited onto the Au-coated silicon substrate, therefore no pattern transfer is necessary and incorporation of these nanowires into silicon-based devices is readily possible     

Effect of different microstructural parameters on hydrogen induced cracking in an API X70 pipeline steel

In this study, the surface and cross section of an as-received API X70 pipeline steel was studied by SEM and EDS techniques in order to categorize the shape and morphology of inclusions. Then, an electrochemical hydrogen charging using a mixed solution of 0.2 M sulfuric acid and 3 g/l ammonium thiocyanate has been utilized to create hydrogen cracks in X70 steel. After hydrogen charging experiments, the cross section of this steel has been accurately checked by SEM in order to find out hydrogen cracks. The region of hydrogen cracks was investigated by SEM and EBSD techniques to predict the role of different microstructural parameters involving hydrogen induced cracking (HIC) phenomenon. The results showed that inclusions were randomly distributed in the cross section of tested specimens. Moreover, different types of inclusions in as-received X70 steel were found. However, only inclusions which were hard, brittle and incoherent with the metal matrix, such as manganese sulfide and carbonitride precipitates, were recognized to be harmful to HIC phenomenon. Moreover, HIC cracks propagate dominantly in transgraular manner through differently oriented grains with no clear preferential trend. Moreover, a different type of HIC crack with about 15-20 degrees of deviation from the rolling direction was found and studied by EBSD technique and role of micro-texture parameters on HIC was discussed.