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At least 559 records · Page 31
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Effects of low-temperature neutron irradiation on the microstructure and tensile properties of duplex 2304 stainless steel and its electron-beam welds

A lean duplex stainless steel material (2304-grade) in its base metal and electron beam (e-beam) welded conditions were studied microstructurally and mechanically as a function of irradiation conditions to evaluate its use as a structural material at low temperatures (60–100 °C). Neutron irradiation up to a fluence of 1.40 × 10 19 n/cm 2 (E > 0.1 MeV) or ~0.011 dpa decreased the total elongation of both base metal and e-beam welded samples. Overall, radiation hardening was observed in all the samples. The transversely cut irradiated samples showed some nonuniform quasi-cleavage and shearing in their fracture surfaces, indicating the variance of ductile nature of the two-phased (deformable austenite and harder ferrite) duplex structure. The e-beam welded samples also showed quasi-cleavage fracture, which is a characteristic of radiation-induced embrittlement. Furthermore, these observations of the e-beam welded samples were attributed to the formation of coarse ferrites, grain boundary and intragranular phases such as γ 2 and γ 3 , and minor impurity phases such as CrN and Cr 2 N in the weld pool and/or heat-affected zone of the samples. Radiation-induced elemental segregation was also identified in the post-irradiated base metal.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1991

Microstructure and mechanical properties of a single crystal NiAl alloy with Zr or Hf rich G-phase precipitates

The possibility of producing NiAl reinforced with the G-phase (Ni16X6Si7), where X is Zr or Hf, has been investigated. The microstructure of these NiAl alloys have been characterized in the as-cast and annealed conditions. The G-phases are present as fine cuboidal precipitates (10 to 40 nm) and have lattice parameters almost four times that of NiAl. They are coherent with the matrix and fairly resistant to coarsening during annealing heat treatments. Segregation and nonuniform precipitate distribution observed in as-cast materials were eliminated by homogenization at temperatures near 1600 K. Slow cooling from these temperatures resulted in large plate shaped precipitates, denuded zones, and a loss of coherency in some of the large particles. Faster cooling produced a homogeneous fine distribution of cuboidal G-phase particles in the matrix. Preliminary mechanical properties for the Zr-doped alloy are presented and compared to binary single crystal NiAl. The presence of these precipitates appears to have an important strengthening effect at temperatures not less than 1000 K compared to binary NiAl single crystals.

Locci, I. E.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Influence of Processing on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of a NbAl3-Base Alloy

Induction melting and rapid solidification processing, followed by grinding to 75-micron powder and P/M consolidation, have been used to produce a multiphase, NbAl3-based, oxidation-resistant alloy of Nb-67Al-7Cr-0.5Y-0.25W composition whose strength and ductility are significantly higher than those of the induction-melted alloy at test temperatures of up to 1200 K. Attention is given to the beneficial role of microstructural refinement; the major second phase, AlNbCr, improves both oxidation resistance and mechanical properties.

Hebsur, Mohan G.↗
DOE OSTI2018

The Effect of Arc Current on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Hybrid LasTIG Welds of High-Strength Low-Alloy Steels

A hybrid laser-tungsten inert gas (LasTIG) welding system was applied for 3-mm-thick S460MC and S700MC high-strength low-alloy steel sheet butt welding with the aim to reduce the cooling rate compared with laser welding. The effect of the electric current was evaluated. Increasing arc current led to the increase of fused metal and heat-affected-zone (HAZ) dimensions. Fused metal grains were larger whereas the microhardness increase toward the base metal was lower at higher currents in this region. Microhardness peaks corresponding to the coarse-grained HAZ were reduced at higher currents for S460MC but were almost not affected in S700MC. The tensile strength of both the laser weld and LasTIG welds was comparable to the base metal for both alloys.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Influence of Packing Atmosphere on the Microstructures and Transport Properties of Bi-2223/AgAu Tapes

Oxygen partial pressure was the key factor to tune the phase evolution mechanism of Bi-2223 system. In order to investigate the influence of packing atmosphere on the phase formation rate of Bi-2223, microstructures‚ and the current capacity of final tapes‚ 37-filamentary Bi-2223/AgAu tapes were fabricated by powder-in-tube (PIT) process, and the powder packing process operated in the glove box under different atmosphere of pure O{sub 2}‚ air, and N{sub 2}–7.5%O{sub 2}, with the oxygen partial pressure of 100%‚ 25%, and 7.5%, respectively. With different packing atmosphere, the phase formation rate of Bi-2223 increased obviously during the first heat treatment process (HT1). While, based on the same HT1 process, the maximum Bi-2223 phase content was obtained in the tapes with packing atmosphere of N{sub 2}–7.5%O{sub 2}‚ which should be attributed to the suitable Bi-2223 content and distribution. Due to the improvement of superconducting phase content and better texture structure, the critical current density increased with decreasing oxygen partial pressure of packing atmosphere and the maximum value of 19.9 kA/cm{sup 2} was reached. Moreover‚ the in-field current capacities of these Bi-2223/AgAu tapes have also been enhanced with low oxygen partial pressure in packing atmosphere, attributed to the improvements of intergrain connectivity.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
NASA NTRS1977

Microstructural and wear properties of sputtered carbides and silicides

Sputtered Cr3C2, Cr3Si2, and MoSi2 wear-resistant films (0.05 to 3.5 microns thick) were deposited on metal and glass surfaces. Electron transmission, electron diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy were used to determine the microstructural appearance. Strong adherence was obtained with these sputtered films. Internal stresses and defect crystallographic growth structures of various configurations within the film have progressively more undesirable effects for film thicknesses greater than 1.5 microns. Sliding contact and rolling element bearing tests were performed with these sputtered films. Bearings sputtered with a duplex coating (0.1-micron-thick undercoating of Cr3Si2 and subsequently 0.6-micron coating of MoS2) produced marked improvement over straight MoS2 films.

Spalvins, T.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Microstructural and wear properties of sputtered carbides and silicides

Sputtered Cr3C2, Cr3Si2, and MoSi2 wear-resistant films (0.05 to 3.5 microns thick) were deposited on metal and glass surfaces. Electron transmission, electron diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy were used to determine the microstructural appearance. Strong adherence was obtained with these sputtered films. Internal stresses and defect crystallographic growth structures of various configurations within the film have progressively more undesirable effects for film thicknesses greater than 1.5 microns. Sliding contact and rolling-element bearing tests were also performed with these sputtered films.

Spalvins, T.↗
DOE OSTI2018

Relationship between microstructure and mechanical properties of M50 ultra-high strength steel via quenching-partitioning-tempering process

Highlights: • The impact energy of M50 steels treated by QPT process increases by 35–93% than QT. • Cracks distribution inside impact fracture specimens is studied by 3D X-ray tomography. • The work indicates that QPT process can be applied to high-C steel with little Si. Novel quenching-partitioning-tempering (Q-P-T) and traditional quenching-tempering (Q-T) processes are conducted for M50 ultra-high strength steel. An excellent combination of strength and toughness is obtained via the Q-P-T process. The highest impact absorption energy of the Q-P-T specimen increases by 93% compared to the Q-T specimen. However, the yield and ultimate tensile strength of Q-P-T specimens are almost the same as those of Q-T specimens. Microstructure analysis indicates that the maximum fraction of retained austenite in the Q-P-T specimen is 7.5%, which is much higher than that in the Q-T (2.0%) specimen. Meanwhile, more fine cracks appear in the fracture Q-P-T specimen. The precipitation of fine and diffuse ω phase, Fe{sub 3}C and Cr{sub 23}C{sub 6} is observed during the partitioning process. The present work also reveals that the Q-P-T/Q-P process can be applied to high‑carbon steel with little Si or Al.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Copper Billets Fabricated by the Repetitive Extrusion and Free Forging Process

In the present study, with the aim of obtaining a weakened texture, grain refinement and improved mechanical properties, copper billets were successfully fabricated using the severe plastic deformation method of repetitive extrusion and free forging (REFF) without using any additional tools or devices. The evolution of the microstructure, texture and mechanical behavior of the ultrafine grain copper billets over an increasing number of REEF cycles was also systematically studied. Our results show that the effective strain per REFF process was ε = 2.35. After two cycles of REFF process, the sum effective strain became ε = 4.7, leading to high efficiency of grain refinement. The grain size was refined from 50 to 0.8 μm; the yield strength was increased to 462 MPa, and we obtained a weakened texture in the pure copper billets. By increasing the number of cycles, the grain refinement ability was decreased, and the texture was thus strengthened further. Therefore, two cycles of REFF were a reasonable process for producing ultrafine-grained copper billets.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

A Comparative Study on Microstructure, Mechanical and Tribological Properties of A4, AE41, AS41 and AJ41 Magnesium Alloys

Microstructure, tensile and wear properties of as-cast A4 (Mg-4Al), AE41 (Mg-4Al-0.5Ce-0.5La), AS41 (Mg-4Al-1Si) and AJ41 (Mg-4Al-1Sr) alloys were investigated, and the results were compared with each other in this study. Microstructures were investigated by XRD, optical and scanning electron microscopes. Tensile tests were conducted at both room and elevated temperatures. Tribological properties were examined by pin-on-disk wear tests under different applied loads. Microstructure characterizations revealed that the volume fraction of second phases considerably increased by alloying additions of 1 wt.% Ce/La, Si and Sr. The microstructure of A4 alloy consisted of α-Mg grains and divorced β-Mg{sub 17}Al{sub 12} phases. After individual alloying additions of 1 wt.% Ce/La, Si and Sr, the secondary phases were primarily replaced by needle-shaped and massive blocky-shaped Al{sub 11}(Ce,La){sub 3} phases in AE41 alloy, Chinese-script-type Mg{sub 2}Si phases in AS41 alloy and divorced globular-like and massive blocky-shaped Al{sub 4}Sr and (Mg,Al){sub 17}Sr{sub 2} phases in AJ41 alloy. The tensile tests showed that at both room and elevated temperatures alloying additions of 1 wt.% Ce/La, Si and Sr resulted in an increase in the strength but a decrease in the ductility. Among the studied alloys, AS41 alloy exhibited the best strength. Wear test results showed that AE41 and AJ41 alloys similarly exhibited the best wear resistance owing to the presence of hard and dense intermetallics. Abrasion was the main wear mechanism under low applied loads while delamination, adhesion and oxidation mechanisms were majorly observed under high applied loads.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of the AA7075 Tube Fabricated using Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE)

Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE) experimental setup and tooling were adopted for extruding thin-walled AA7075 aluminum tube from as-cast non-homogenized billet material in a single run. The mechanical and microstructural characterizations were performed on the extrudate in the as-extruded condition without subsequent heat treating. It was shown that the ShAPE process developed a significantly refined microstructure with uniform and almost equiaxed grain structure on both hoop and axial cross-sections of the extrudate as well as through the thickness of the material. The pole figures and inverse pole figures of the EBSD data showed an strong shear texture development, and it was found out that axial shear is the dominant deformation mechanism in the regions near the inner surface of the tube, while combined axial and torsional shears are the two dominant modes of deformation near the outer surface of the extrudate. As for the mechanical properties, there was an increase of 150% and 73% in the yield and ultimate strengths of the tube produced using ShAPE process, respectively, and a 18% decrease in maximum uniform plastic elongation compared to the conventionally extruded AA7075-O tube.

Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion, Friction ↗
DOE OSTI2018

Analyzing the Effect of CeB{sub 6} on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of High-Speed Steel Consolidated by Powder Metallurgy

By adding various amounts of CeB{sub 6}, high-speed steel (M3:2) was consolidated by powder metallurgy in the form of sintering. The addition of CeB{sub 6} improved the density of the sintered steel and the formation of M{sub 6}C phase in microstructure. It is speculated that CeB{sub 6} was decomposed into boron and cerium. Boron atoms were enriched in M{sub 6}C carbide phases, but cerium atoms were mainly clustered on grain boundary while they were converted to oxides, whereby the mechanical properties were improved. For example, upon the sintering at 1210 °C, relative density ~ 98.5% and average grain size ~ 18 μm were obtained with CeB{sub 6} content at 0.3 wt.%. Excellent mechanical properties, e.g., the Rockwell hardness ~ 52 HRC, flexural strength ~ 3.05 GPa, and fracture toughness ~ 40.92 MPa m{sup 1/2}, were achieved in the sample containing 0.3 wt.% CeB{sub 6}, which implies accordingly remarkable increases by 23.5, 38.1, and 23.7%, of the properties compared with those in the sample free of CeB{sub 6}.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Microstructures and mechanical properties of a modified 9Cr ferritic-martensitic steel in the as-built condition after additive manufacturing

A newly developed nano-structured high-Mn 9Cr ferritic-martensitic (FM) steel designed for additive manufacturing (Additive-manufactured Nanostructured Alloy, ANA) was fabricated via the direct energy deposition method. The as-printed ANA2 showed tensile properties (strength and elongation) and Charpy impact toughness (upper-shelf energy and ductile-brittle transition temperature) comparable to oxide-dispersion-strengthened (ODS) Eurofer and PM2000. Compared with wrought P91, the as-built ANA2 showed significantly higher yield strength but inferior Charpy impact toughness and ductility. Microstructural characterization revealed uniformly distributed sub-micron pores, an extremely high dislocation density, and a high density of ultrafine nano-structured precipitates in the matrix. The microstructures indicated the dislocations as the dominant strengthening element and the ultrafine precipitates as the primary contribution to estimated irradiation sink density. This work demonstrates the ability to exploit the unique consolidation properties of additive manufacturing to fabricate steels which marry the benefits of both ODS alloys and conventionally processed FM steels.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Microstructure and mechanical properties of ultrasonic spot welding of AA7075-T6 and A380 casting aluminum alloy

Ultrasonic spot welding (USW) was employed to join AA7075-T6 and casting Al alloy A380. Under a constant welding power, the influence of the welding time duration (from 1 s to 3 s) on peak temperature, microstructure, hardness, and mechanical strength of the joints were studied. It was found that the peak temperature increased with welding time. A sound solid-state metallurgical bonding was obtained at the joint interface. The cracks occurred at the edge of the joints were eventually eliminated as the welding time increased. A layer of refined grains formed in A380 adjacent to the bonding line. Further, hardness reduction occurred in AA7075 at the joint interface and the degree of hardness reduction and the volume increased with the peak temperature. By increasing welding time, lap shear tensile tests show that the peak load increased from 5.3 kN to 6.55 kN. The corresponding interfacial shear strength ranged from 96.29 MPa to 99.72 MPa, lower than the shear strength of both base materials (331 MPa for AA7075 and 185 MPa for A380). All joint samples exhibited interfacial fracture after lap shear tensile testing, with a thin layer of A380 remnant attached to AA7075 at the center of the fractured surface.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Microstructure and tensile properties of laser engineered net shaped reduced activation ferritic/martensitic steel

Highlights: • A RAFM steel has been successfully manufactured by laser engineered net shaping (LENS), which is one of laser additive manufacturing technologies. • Columnar dendrites in vertical section and a mixture of equiaxed and columnar grains in horizontal section have been observed. • The anisotropic tensile properties are induced by LENS process, which can be eliminated well through the heat treatment. - Abstract: A laser additive manufacturing technique, laser engineered net shaping (LENS), was successfully applied to manufacture a reduced activation ferritic/martensitic (RAFM) steel with nominal composition of Fe-9Cr-0.11C-1.5W-0.4Mn-0.2V-0.12Ta (wt%). The as-deposited LENS-RAFM steels were normalized and tempered. The microstructures of as-deposited and heat treated LENS-RAFM steels were characterized by using optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The tensile tests of as-deposited and heat treated samples in different directions were carried out at room temperature and 873 K. The results showed that columnar dendrites grow epitaxially along the direction of deposition in vertical section (YOZ) and a mixture of equiaxed and columnar grains appears in horizontal section (XOY). No precipitates are observed in the as-deposited sample while Cr-rich M{sub 23}C{sub 6} and Ta-rich MX type carbides appear in the heat treated sample. The as-deposited sample showed anisotropic tensile properties which could be eliminated by heat treatment. The tensile strength of the LENS-RAFM steel is similar to conventional RAFM steels such as EUROFER 97 and CLAM.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Influence of Annealing on Microstructure, Electrochemical, and Magnetic Properties of Co-Doped SrTiO{sub 3} Nanocubes

Effect of annealing on microstructure, electrochemical, and magnetic properties of Co-doped SrTiO{sub 3} nanocubes obtained by the hydrothermal method was studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results of all as-prepared and annealed Co-doped SrTiO{sub 3} samples revealed a cubic perovskite structure with the second phases of SrCO{sub 3} and Co{sub 3}O{sub 4}in as-prepared and annealed SrTi{sub 0.90}Co{sub 0.10}O{sub 3} samples, respectively. Agglomerated nanocubes could be clearly observed in all as-prepared and annealed Co-doped samples by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) results suggested the presence of Co{sup 2+} cations in as-prepared Co-doped SrTiO{sub 3} samples, while both of Co{sup 2+} and Co{sup 3+} cations were found in annealed Co-doped SrTiO{sub 3} samples. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) results of as-prepared and annealed SrTi{sub 1-x}Co{sub x}O{sub 3} (x = 0.05, 0.075 and 0.10) electrodes revealed pseudocapacitor behavior of the Faradaic redox reaction type. The specific capacitance (Csc) was affected by the increase of Co content in all as-prepared and annealed Co-doped SrTiO{sub 3} samples with an excellent cycling stability after 200 cycle test of 97.24% and the highest value of 75.28 F g{sup −1} at 1 A g{sup −1} in an annealed SrTi{sub 0.925}Co{sub 0.075}O{sub 3} electrode. Magnetization measurements at room temperature using vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) revealed diamagnetic behavior of as-prepared SrTiO{sub 3} sample, whereas paramagnetic behavior was observed in all as-prepared Co-doped SrTiO{sub 3} samples. After annealing, undoped sample exhibited paramagnetic behavior, whereas ferromagnetic behavior was observed in all Co-doped SrTiO{sub 3} samples with the increase of saturation magnetization (M{sub s}) at 10 kOe from 0.58 to 1.63 emu/g and the coercive field (H{sub c}) from 43.71 to 123.87 Oe, suggested to originate from the face-center exchange (FCE) mechanism.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Response of 14YWT alloys under neutron irradiation: A complementary study on microstructure and mechanical properties

Nanostructured ferritic alloys (NFAs) having sub-micron grain size with a high density of nano-oxides (NOs) (size of ~2-3 nm) are one of the best candidates for structural components in Generation IV nuclear systems. In this study, 14YWT NFA cladding tubes were irradiated in BOR60 reactor up to 7 dpa at 360-370 °C. Detailed microstructural analysis has been conducted using bright field transmission electron microscopy, bright field scanning transmission electron microscopy, energy filtered transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy and transmission Kikuchi diffraction techniques. This revealed cavities, <100> and <111> type dislocation loops, and α' precipitates forming after irradiation with relationships between cavities and NOs, and α' precipitates and NOs. Cavities mostly form on the NOs; whereas, α' precipitates form between the NOs where the point defect concentration is high. Moreover, α' precipitates are distributed homogenously on and around the dislocation loops which is consistent with the observation that there is no Cr segregation on dislocation loops. Grain boundaries were found to be mostly depleted in Cr; however, the characteristics of each grain boundary determines the Cr behavior and the α' denuded zone around the grain boundaries. Mechanical properties of the irradiated tubes have been determined by using both low force and high force nanoindentation techniques, resulting in 1.03±0.33 GPa and 0.82±0.20 GPa hardening, respectively. Dispersed barrier hardening calculations and nanoindentation measurements are in good agreement. In this paper, 14YWT NFA has been systematically studied after neutron irradiation to better understand its superior performance: low α' concentration, low swelling and low radiation-induced hardening.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗