Influence of polymeric binders on mechanical properties and microstructure evolution of silicon composite electrodes during electrochemical cycling
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Multifunctional porous materials are increasingly needed across various fields, but their complex microstructures create significant challenges due to the intricate microstructure-property relationships. This complexity, combined with limitations of traditional analysis methods, hinders efforts to understand and optimize microstructure–property relationships. Here, to address this, we integrate physics-based mesoscale modeling with interpretable machine learning (ML) to uncover how microstructural features govern effective diffusivity and elastic modulus. At constant porosity, we show diffusivity varies by over 150 × and modulus by ∼50 ×, highlighting the power of microstructure engineering. Statistical analysis reveals bimodal behavior in diffusivity and unimodal in modulus. ML identifies connectivity as the dominant factor, while modulus is also sensitive to domain size and feature interactions. Controlled simulations further highlight domain shape as a critical feature for modulus. This framework enables efficient exploration of microstructure-property correlations, offering new insights to guide the design of advanced porous materials.
Samples harvested from an HT-9 fuel test assembly (ACO-3) irradiated for six years in the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) reaching 2–147 dpa at 382–504°C were deformed in-situ while collecting high-energy X-ray diffraction data to monitor microstructure evolution. With the initiation of plastic deformation, all samples exhibited a clear load transfer from the ferrite matrix to carbide particulate. This behavior was confirmed by modeling of the control material. The evolution of dislocation density in the material as a result of deformation was characterized through full pattern line profile analysis. The dislocation densities increased substantially after deformation, the level of dislocation evolution observed was highly dependent upon the irradiation temperature of the sample. The differences in both the yield and hardening behavior between samples irradiated at higher and lower temperatures suggest the existence of a transition in tensile behavior at an irradiation temperature near 420°C dividing regions of distinct damage effects.
The report presents the microstructure and mechanical properties of 3D printed Inconel 718 to assess its potential use as a structural material for the Transformation Challenge Reactor (TCR). The structural components near the outlet of the core will experience significant neutron fluxes and outlet coolant temperatures from the hot standby temperature of 300°C to nearly 550°C at the center of the part. These components must support the core in appropriate loading conditions and require structural analysis at relevant temperatures. Strong spatial and chemical heterogeneity was found in as-built (ASB) Inconel 718. Three heat treatments were designed and conducted to simplify the microstructure and determine how each precipitating phase contributed to the overall strength. Baseline mechanical properties were measured from uniaxial tensile tests on subsize SS-J2 specimens at room temperature and at elevated temperatures of 300, 450, and 600°C. Microstructure electron microscopy was performed on ASB Inconel 718 and heat treated to correlate the observed mechanical properties with nanoscale features. Homogenization of the microstructure led to a highly ductile Inconel with lower strength compared with wrought Inconel 718. The tensile properties of additively manufactured 718 using a standard ASTMrecommended heat treatment were consistent with literature and with the ASTM for the properties of this alloy. A higher fraction of the δ phase led to shorter uniform elongation without altering other engineering properties.
Heat treatment has been widely applied for manipulating the microstructure and properties of metals with thermal energy. The thermal energy triggers the atomic diffusion accompanied by dislocation movement and results in the subsequent property variations in metals. One of the attractive efforts in the past decades is the development of a direct treatment of metals with electric current stressing as an alternative method for conventional heat treatment. Electric current treatment provides thermal energy from Joule heat (thermal effect) and kinetic energy from electron momentum (athermal effect). This article reviewed the practices of electric current treatment, microstructure-property variations and the physical metallurgy involved in a variety of metals. Both thermal and athermal effects have been well recognized in the literatures. An appropriate manipulation of the electric current treatment enables the control of both effects and thus the microstructure and properties of metals.
To understand the microstructure and mechanical property degradation of various Eurofer-97 steel variants being neutron irradiated at HFIR up to 2.5 and 20 dpa for the EUROfusion programme, it is necessary to develop a general understanding of these steels in non-irradiated form. In this context, room temperature mechanical property evaluation tests and multi-length scale microstructure characterization of the different Eurofer-97 steel variants: H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P and reference E series steels, was performed at ORNL. Mechanical tests consisted of Vickers hardness indentation measurements, uniaxial tensile tests and fracture toughness tests.
In this work we report the microstructure and magnetic property of single crystalline Nd2Fe14B ultrafine particles ball milled from HDDR Nd-Fe-B alloys. The average size of the particles is 283 nm, and TEM observation reveals that these particles are single crystalline. The coercivity of these particles is 6.0 kOe, which is much higher than that of the particles ball milled from sintered and hot pressed Nd-Fe-B magnets. Micromagnetic analysis shows that the coercivity degradation is caused by surface damage during ball milling. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
This report provides an update on the understanding of the effect of sodium exposures on microstructure and tensile properties of Grade 91 (G91) steel in support of the design and operation of G91 components in sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs). The report is a Level 3 deliverable in FY18 (M3NT- 18AN050503022), under the Work Package NT-18AN05050302, “G91 Sodium Compatibility” performed by the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), as part of the Advanced Materials Development Program for Fast Reactors.
Developing effective strategies to directly control material microstructure, property, and anisotropy is an active research area in metal additive manufacturing. This work develops a wiggle deposition pattern for wire-laser directed energy deposition (DED) of 316L stainless steel (SS) to modify the solidification texture, particularly in the building direction, in as-deposited samples. Through multi-physics simulation, operando near-infrared imaging, and synchrotron x-ray characterization, it is found that the wiggle deposition strategy induces highly dynamic melt flow and oscillating thermal gradient in the melt pool, which is responsible for the variation of preferable grain growth direction and crystallographic texture in the sample. The specific texture reduces the anisotropy in the tensile strength of as-printed 316L SS samples cut along different directions. Also, it largely increases the ductility along the build direction. Crystal plasticity simulation is performed to correlate the sample texture with mechanical property. In conclusion, this work offers a unique approach for tailoring local properties through the control of melt pool instability by applying different tool paths.
Microstructural control in metal-dielectric hybrid metamaterials presents enormous opportunities in tailoring the physical properties including the magnetic and optical properties. In this paper, we demonstrate a strong tunability achieved in the microstructure of self-assembled ordered three-phase Au-BaTiO 3 –ZnO hybrid metamaterial along with its optical properties, grown by a pulsed laser deposition method. Varying the growth temperature, deposition frequency, and template thickness evolves the microstructure by tuning the Au and ZnO pillar geometry as well as the shape and size of the Au nanoparticles capping the ZnO nanowires. The three-phase hybrid metamaterials exhibit unique optical properties, including enhanced nonlinear optical properties, hyperbolic dispersion in the visible and near-infrared wavelength region, and tuned epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) wavelength upon varying the deposition parameters. This study suggests that the three-phase hybrid metamaterials present great potential in the microstructure and optical property tuning that can also be applied to other two-phase and three-phase nanocomposite systems.
Cast Monel alloys are used in many industrial applications that require a combination of good mechanical properties and excellent resistance to corrosion. Despite relative widespread use, there has been limited prior research investigating the fundamental composition–structure–property relationships. Here in this work, microstructural characterization, thermal analysis, electron probe microanalysis, tensile testing, and Varestraint testing were used to assess the effects of variations in nominal composition on the solidification path, microstructure, mechanical properties, and solidification cracking susceptibility of cast Monel alloys. It was found that Si segregation caused the formation of silicides at the end of solidification in grades containing at least 3 wt pct Si. While increases to Si content led to significant improvements in strengthening due to the precipitation of β 1 -Ni 3 Si, the silicide eutectics acted as crack nucleation sites during tensile loading which severely reduced ductility. The solidification cracking susceptibility of low-Si Monel alloys was found to be relatively low. However, increases to Si concentration and the onset of associated eutectic reactions increased the solidification temperature range and drastically reduced cracking resistance. Increases in the Cu and Mn concentrations were found to reduce the solubility limit of Si in austenite which promoted additional eutectic formation and exacerbated the reductions in ductility and/or weldability.
In this work, the location-specific microstructures in terms of grain morphology, texture, γ′ precipitates, carbides, and residual strains were investigated in a series of laser-wire direct energy deposition (LW-DED) Haynes 282 alloys with varied processing parameters. A bimodal grain distribution was found in these as-printed and heat-treated alloys with columnar grains within the layers and fine equiaxed grains at the interlayer regions. Dominant <001> texture along the build direction with more obvious <111> orientation preference exists at the bottom layers, compared to the top layers. The gradient γ′-precipitates size distribution contributes predominantly to the observed gradient hardness distribution in the as-printed samples. The heat-treated 282 exhibit comparable yield strengths to those conventionally-processed counterparts, while the observed small deviation in their yield strengths is attributed to the Hall-Petch effect. This work establishes the correlation between location-specific microstructures and mechanical properties, providing valuable insights into future printing parameters and heat-treatment optimization.
The scope of this work is to show the effects of multiple applications of a rejuvenation treatment studied for IN-738 on both the microstructure and the mechanical properties of the creep-damaged superalloy and to check the recovery obtained after one and two rejuvenation cycles through creep and tensile tests, whose results will be compared with the performance of the virgin material. This work will show that this rejuvenation treatment is able to recover the microstructure of creep-damaged specimens after one and two applications and that the mechanical properties of the rejuvenated alloy are very similar to the virgin material even after two rejuvenation cycles.
Highlights: • T8 duplex aging greatly promoted the precipitation of strengthening phases. • Heavy precipitation of strengthening phases led to enhancing of tensile properties. • Intergranular corrosion sensibility can be reduced by T8 duplex aging greatly. - Abstract: The influence of aging treatment on microstructures, tensile properties and corrosion properties of Al–Cu–Li alloy was investigated. The results show that the T8 duplex aging treatment was more effective than T6 and T8 single aging treatment in enhancing the tensile properties and improving the intergranular corrosion (IGC) resistance. Based on the microstructure observation, tensile test, electrochemical experiment and IGC measurement, the factors which affect the microstructures, tensile properties and IGC behavior changing of Al–Cu–Li alloy during aging treatments were discussed in detail.
In this work, microstructure, mechanical properties and formability of cryorolled and annealed AA5083 alloy sheets have been characterized and a comparison has been made with cold rolled and annealed sheets. Five-millimeter-thick sheets of this alloy were cryorolled in multiple passes to a final thickness of 1 mm (80% reduction with a true strain of 1.6). Effect of annealing time and temperature on hardness has been studied, and it has been found that a short annealing at 275 °C for 15 min after cryorolling would yield a good combination of strength and ductility. Microstructural investigations showed that the cryorolled and short annealed samples possess bimodal grain structure which is responsible for better mechanical properties than cold rolled sheets. From the experimentally determined forming limit diagrams, the limit strains of cryorolled sheets have been found to be almost equal to conventional cold rolled and annealed sheets in all modes of deformation. No major differences have been found in strain distribution also. This work clearly demonstrates that cryorolling of AA5083 alloy sheets followed by a short annealing with bimodal grain structure can be used for sheet metal forming applications with higher strength and toughness than conventional sheets without any reduction in formability.
The room temperature electronic transport properties of 1 μm thick Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 (BST) films correlate with overall microstructural quality. Films with homogeneous composition are deposited onto fused silica substrates, capped with SiN to stop both oxidation and Te loss, and postannealed to temperatures ranging from 200 to 450 °C. BST grain sizes and (00l) orientations improve dramatically with annealing to 375 °C, with smaller increases to 450 °C. Tiny few-nanometer-sized voids in the as-deposited film grain boundaries coalesce into larger void sizes up to 300 nm with annealing to 350 °C; the smallest voids continue coalescing with annealing to 450 °C. These voids are decorated with few-nanometer-sized Sb clusters that increase in number with increasing annealing temperatures, reducing the Sb content of the remaining BST film matrix. Resistivity decreases linearly with increasing temperature over the entire range studied, consistent with improving crystalline quality. The Seebeck coefficient also improves with crystalline quality to 350 °C, above which void coalescence and reduced Sb content from the BST matrix correlate with a decrease in the Seebeck coefficient. Yet, a plateau exists for an optimal power factor between 350 and 450 °C, implying thermal stability to higher temperatures than previously reported.
AZ31 magnesium alloy was produced via variable-plane rolling (VPR) under different temperatures. The effects of rolling temperature on the microstructure, texture and mechanical properties were investigated. A double-peak basal texture was formed during VPR treatment. Dynamic recrystallization (DRX) was observed during the VPR treatment, and it can reduce the texture intensity owing to the coalescence of sub-grains. Four types of twins were observed in the VPR treatment: {10-12} extension twins, {10-13}, {10-11} contraction twins and {10-11}-{10-12} double twins. The suitable temperature of AZ31 magnesium alloy for VPR treatment is determined as 623 K through experiments with tensile yield strength of 240 MPa, compressive yield strength of 162 MPa and elongation of 13%. Owing to the important impact of temperature on mechanical properties, the alloy was further VPRed with a decrease in temperature pass-by-pass. The high temperature of 623 K at the initial passes randomized the texture, which led to notably high ductility.
Gas separation membranes have attracted academic and industrial attention, and crosslinking has been identified to be one of the most effective ways to enhance membrane stability. In this paper, a series of crosslinked Matrimid®-like films with unimodal network structures are prepared via thermally end-linking phenylethnyl-terminated BTDA-DAPI oligomers with well-controlled molecular weight (i.e., 3000–15,000 g/mol), wherein the crosslink density (the inter-crosslink chain length) of resulting unimodal networks is systematically varied by using oligomers with various molecular weight. Comprehensive characterizations of chemical structure, thermal properties, microstructures are performed. Pure-gas permeation measurements are performed focusing on H 2 /CH 4 and CO 2 /CH 4 separations as a function of crosslink density. In sharp contrast to the commonly observed permeability reduction in randomly crosslinked networks, all the crosslinked unimodal films, even when densely crosslinked, present markedly enhanced permeability and well-maintained ideal selectivity relative to the uncrosslinked linear counterpart, leading to almost horizontal movements towards upper bounds along with expectedly enhanced membrane stability. In conclusion, it is concluded that introducing bulky groups at the crosslink sites provide a practical means to counteract the densification effect induced by crosslinking and the construction of unimodal networks exemplifies a fundamentally new strategy to regulate the microstructure and property of crosslinked membranes for gas separations.