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At least 1,387 records · Page 77
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Microstructural and Textural Evolutions during β → α/ω Transformation in Biomedical Ti-15Mo Alloy and Its Effects on Mechanical Performance

This study investigated the precipitation behaviors and mechanical performance of Ti-15Mo alloy subjected to different treatment conditions. The microstructures were analyzed via scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The tensile properties and resultant fracture surfaces were investigated to determine the relationship between the phase transformation and mechanical performance. The Ti-15Mo alloy had a notable elongation due to no observable precipitation during solution treatment plus quenching (STQ). A high ultimate tensile strength (UTS) was obtained with a considerable amount of ω precipitates transformed during air cooling after solution treatment (ST). The coarse precipitates and additional precipitation free zones in the Ti-15Mo alloy treated with furnace cooling (FC) after ST induced a decrease in UTS. Furthermore, the absence of a continuous grain boundary α phase resulted in a lower strength in the specimen annealed at 600 °C after hot rolling. The alloy iso-aged after STQ exhibited good tensile properties with a UTS of 920 MPa and an elongation of 15%. The texture and variant relationship of the precipitates was analyzed with x-ray diffraction and electron backscatter diffraction. The common variants of the β matrix influenced the nucleation of precipitates in the Ti-15Mo alloy annealed after hot rolling, and the precipitates showed an obvious {01-10}α main texture. The variant selection of α precipitates at the grain boundary was caused by the two adjacent β grains in the alloy treated by FC after ST.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Cryogenic Treatment of CoCrFeMnNi(NbC) High-Entropy Alloys

The effect of cryogenic treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of CoCrFeMnNi and CoCrFeMnNi(NbC) high-entropy alloys was investigated during annealing. The heat-treated samples were characterized by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy–wavelength-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction technique, differential scanning calorimetry, Vickers hardness testing and tensile testing. The results showed a single-phase FCC crystal structure matrix in both alloys during cryogenic treatment and annealing. Cryogenic treatment altered the recrystallization behavior of CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy, while it did not influence the recrystallization of CoCrFeMnNi(NbC) high-entropy alloy. It was also found that cryogenic treatment changed the precipitation behavior of CoCrFeMnNi(NbC) high-entropy alloy during annealing. In both studied high-entropy alloys, the mechanical testing indicated that the cryogenic treatment can effectively reduce the yield strength of cold-rolled samples after annealing. This was primarily attributed to the effect of cryogenic treatment in enhancing crystalline defects annihilation. Furthermore, the cryogenic treatment increased the ultimate tensile strength of CoCrFeMnNi(NbC). A lager plastic deformation and precipitates were considered as the main reasons for the higher ultimate tensile strength.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Phase-Field Study on Internal to External Oxidation Transition in High-Temperature Structural Alloys

Structural alloys applied at high temperatures rely on an external dense layer of oxide scale for protection. As some reactive alloy components are selectively oxidized internally, understanding how these dispersed metal oxide particles reach the surface to form a protective scale—the so-called internal to external oxidation transition—is crucial for designing these alloys. While the literature is replete with experimental studies on oxidation of alloys, there is a lack of computational studies in this realm due to the complex nature of coupled reaction and diffusion processes in multicomponent multi-phase alloy systems. In this work, we apply a recently developed phase-field model to simulate the oxidation processes under different compositions and nucleation scenarios to gain insights into how a continuous oxide scale can be established. The results show that while alloy composition is critical for internal to external oxidation transition, the oxide nuclei size, shape and distribution also have significant impact on the transition kinetics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Cladding and Butt-Joining Dissimilar Aluminum Alloys Simultaneously via Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion

Shear assisted processing and extrusion has been used to fabricate multi-metallic tubing that incorporates regions with clad and butt-joined structures. In this work, aluminum alloys 6061, 7075, and 1100 are combined to create a monolithic extruded tubing with weldable ends (6061), a high strength center (7075), and a corrosion-resistant cladding (1100). Optical microscopy shows a gradual, defect-free, transition between alloys at the butt-joint interfaces and a sharp transition between alloys at the clad interface. Tensile testing proved the mechanical coherency of the joint, with failure occurring outside the tri-metallic structure. In conclusion, smoothed particle hydrodynamic simulations identified a spiral pattern of the cladding alloy that leads to inconsistent cladding thickness, and identified a simplified 2-alloy combination of aluminum alloys 6082 and 2014 that accomplished the design objectives of the tri-metallic structure.

Coatings↗
DOE OSTI2014

Temperature Dependence of the Mechanical Properties of Equiatomic Solid Solution Alloys with FCC Crystal Structures

We found that compared to decades-old theories of strengthening in dilute solid solutions, the mechanical behavior of concentrated solid solutions is relatively poorly understood. A special subset of these materials includes alloys in which the constituent elements are present in equal atomic proportions, including the high-entropy alloys of recent interest. A unique characteristic of equiatomic alloys is the absence of “solvent” and “solute” atoms, resulting in a breakdown of the textbook picture of dislocations moving through a solvent lattice and encountering discrete solute obstacles. Likewise, to clarify the mechanical behavior of this interesting new class of materials, we investigate here a family of equiatomic binary, ternary and quaternary alloys based on the elements Fe, Ni, Co, Cr and Mn that were previously shown to be single-phase face-centered cubic (fcc) solid solutions. The alloys were arc-melted, drop-cast, homogenized, cold-rolled and recrystallized to produce equiaxed microstructures with comparable grain sizes. Tensile tests were performed at an engineering strain rate of 10 -3 s -1 at temperatures in the range 77–673 K. Unalloyed fcc Ni was processed similarly and tested for comparison. The flow stresses depend to varying degrees on temperature, with some (e.g. NiCoCr, NiCoCrMn and FeNiCoCr) exhibiting yield and ultimate strengths that increase strongly with decreasing temperature, while others (e.g. NiCo and Ni) exhibit very weak temperature dependencies. Moreover, to better understand this behavior, the temperature dependencies of the yield strength and strain hardening were analyzed separately. Lattice friction appears to be the predominant component of the temperature-dependent yield stress, possibly because the Peierls barrier height decreases with increasing temperature due to a thermally induced increase of dislocation width. In the early stages of plastic flow (5–13% strain, depending on material), the temperature dependence of strain hardening is due mainly to the temperature dependence of the shear modulus. In all the equiatomic alloys, ductility and strength increase with decreasing temperature down to 77 K. Keywords

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Secondary phases in Al x CoCrFeNi high-entropy alloys: An in-situ TEM heating study and thermodynamic appraisal

Secondary phases, either introduced by alloying or heat treatment, are commonly present in most high-entropy alloys (HEAs). Understanding the formation of secondary phases at high temperatures, and their effect on mechanical properties, is a critical issue that is undertaken in the present paper, using the Al x CoCrFeNi (x = 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7) as a model alloy. The in-situ transmission-electron-microscopy (TEM) heating observation, an atom-probe-tomography (APT) study for the reference starting materials (Al 0.3 and Al 0.5 alloys), and thermodynamic calculations for all three alloys, are performed to investigate (1) the aluminum effect on the secondary-phase fractions, (2) the annealing-twinning formation in the face-centered-cubic (FCC) matrix, (3) the strengthening effect of the secondary ordered body-centered-cubic (B2) phase, and (4) the nucleation path of the σ secondary phase thoroughly. Finally, the present work will substantially optimize the alloy design of HEAs and facilitate applications of HEAs to a wide temperature range.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Crystal structure, energetics, and phase stability of strengthening precipitates in Mg alloys: A first-principles study

Magnesium alloys have attracted increasing interest due to their potential use as light-weight structural materials but their application is limited by their low strength compared to conventional alloys. Age hardening is commonly employed to form strengthening precipitates in such alloys, which impedes the motion of dislocations, and leads to improved strength. However, the exact composition, crystal structure, and energetics of many of these strengthening precipitates are either unknown or not clearly resolved, making the precise engineering and design of such alloys difficult. Toward this end, we use first-principles density functional theory calculations to elucidate the crystal structures and energetics of a very large set of precipitates in magnesium alloys. For cases where the precipitate crystal structure is not known, we comprehensively search over decorations of many prototype structures, including hcp superstructures, and in addition, perform global structural optimization using the Minima Hopping Method to predict suitable crystal structures. For all the strengthening precipitates, we calculate the formation energies, construct the respective zero temperature convex hulls, and analyze their stabilities. Here, we show that the bulk formation energies per solute atom (essentially, the solute chemical potentials) decrease along the observed sequences of precipitation, validating our calculations in Mg-{Nd, Gd, Y, Y-Nd, Nd-Zn, Gd-Zn, Y-Zn, Al, Zn, Sn, Al-Ca, Ca-Zn} alloy systems. In addition, we construct a monolayer model for the Guinier-Preston zones (GP zones) observed in the Mg-Nd-Zn system during early stages of age hardening, and thereby explain the formation of the γ" (Mg 5 (Nd,Zn)) phase from the GP zones, as observed in experiments.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

High temperature thermal and mechanical stability of high-strength nanotwinned Al alloys

Al alloys have widespread applications, but often suffer from low yield strength. Recently, nanotwinned Al-Fe solid solution alloys have shown high flow stress (>1.5 GPa), ascribed to nanograins with abundant incoherent twin boundaries and solute-stabilized 9R phase. However, the high temperature mechanical behaviors of high-strength twinned Al-Fe alloys remain unknown. In this study, we show that nanotwinned microstructures are stable up to 280 °C, followed by recrystallization at 300 °C. In-situ uniaxial compression tests in a scanning electron microscope show that the nanotwinned Al alloys retain their high flow stress of ~1.3 GPa when tested up to 200 °C, and substantial softening occurs at a test temperature of 300 °C. This work reveals the superb thermal stability and high temperature mechanical behaviors of the nanotwinned Al-Fe alloys, and offers a new perspective to design future strong and thermally stable nanostructured Al alloys.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Coupled solute effects enable anomalous high-temperature strength and stability in nanotwinned Al alloys

Nanoprecipitates or grain refinement can effectively enhance the mechanical strength of Al alloys, but the room-temperature strengths of precipitation hardened and nanocrystalline Al alloys often fall below 1 GPa. Furthermore, they are largely plagued by precipitous mechanical softening at elevated temperature below 300°C, mostly due to degraded microstructural stability. Here, we report a mechanism of coupled solute effect in nanotwinned Al-Fe-Ti alloys that enables stability of nanograins up to 400°C and an unprecedented high-temperature flow stress of ~ 1.7 GPa at 300°C. The supersaturated Fe solutes in Al act as effective grain refiner, forming superstrong solid solution alloys. More importantly, empirical evidence combined with first principle calculations indicate that the Ti solutes delay the agglomeration of Fe solutes, thereby remarkably extending the temperature window for the stability of nanograins in nanotwinned Al alloys. Finally, this study highlights the opportunity to design ultrastrong and stable nanostructured alloys for potential high temperature applications via a coupled solute effect.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Bulk nanocrystalline Al alloys with hierarchical reinforcement structures via grain boundary segregation and complexion formation

Grain size engineering, particularly reducing grain size into the nanocrystalline regime, offers a promising pathway to further improve the strength-to-weight ratio of Al alloys. Unfortunately, the fabrication of nanocrystalline metals often requires non-equilibrium processing routes, which typically limit the specimen size and require large energy budgets. In this study, multiple dopant elements in ternary Al alloys are deliberately selected to enable segregation to the grain boundary region and promote the formation of amorphous complexions. Three different fully dense bulk nanocrystalline Al alloys (Al-Mg-Y, Al-Fe-Y, and Al-Ni-Y) with small grain sizes were successfully fabricated using a simple powder metallurgy approach, with full densification connected directly to the onset of amorphous complexion formation. All the compositions demonstrate densities above 99% with grain sizes <60 nm following consolidation via hot pressing at 585 °C. The very fine grain structure results in excellent mechanical properties, as evidenced by nanoindentation hardness values in the range of 2.2-2.8 GPa. Detailed microstructural characterization verifies the segregation of all dopant species to grain boundaries as well as the formation of amorphous complexions, which suggests their influential role in aiding effective consolidation and endowing thermal stability in the alloys. Moreover, nanorods with a core-shell structure are also observed at the grain boundaries, which likely contribute to the stabilization of the grain structure while also strengthening the materials. Lastly, intermetallic particles with sizes of hundreds of nanometers form in all systems. As a whole, the results presented here demonstrate a general alloy design strategy of segregation and boundary evolution pathway that enables the fabrication of multiple nanocrystalline Al alloys with hierarchical microstructures and improved performance.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Cavitation-resistant intergranular precipitates enhance creep performance of θ'-strengthened Al-Cu based alloys

Tensile and compressive creep properties of a quaternary Al-Cu-Mn-Zr (ACMZ) alloy and its commercial counterpart (Al-Cu-Mn-Zr with Ni, Co and Sb additions, RR350) are investigated at 300°C. At low stresses up to 30 MPa where diffusional creep dominates, creep resistance is the same in tension and compression and RR350 deforms more slowly than ACMZ, consistent with RR350 alloy's larger linear fraction of intergranular precipitates (Al7Cu2(NiFe) and Al9FeNi for RR350 vs. θ-Al2Cu for ACMZ) and a reduced fraction of precipitate-free zones near grain boundaries. At stresses between 30 and 80 MPa, dislocation creep with a stress exponent n ~ 3 becomes rate-limiting in compression, which is expected to be controlled by θ' precipitates within the grain bulk. By contrast, in tension, enhanced creep rate and higher apparent stress exponents are measured, consistent with cavitation at intergranular precipitates becoming increasingly dominant as the stress increases. In the dislocation creep regime, RR350 alloy is again more creep resistant than ACMZ alloy, which is related to three mechanisms (i) a reduced fraction of softer precipitate-free zones, (ii) more effective load transfer to intergranular precipitates, and (iii) reduced cavitation. A model for cavitation is applied to calculate tensile creep rates from compressive creep rates and the model successfully predicts the improved tensile creep resistance of the RR350 alloy. Overall, the present investigation underscores the importance of intergranular grain boundary precipitates, in addition to strengthening θ' precipitates, in enhancing the creep resistance of Al-Cu alloys.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Strong and ductile FeNiCoAl-based high-entropy alloys for cryogenic to elevated temperature multifunctional applications

The highly tunable properties of multi-principal element alloys, commonly known as high-entropy alloys (HEAs), provide a remarkable potential for the development of superior materials for critical structural applications that involve extreme conditions. However, the optimization of the properties of HEAs has been primarily limited to behavior at either low or high temperatures. We report on a non-equiatomic, heterostructured, high-entropy alloy FeNiCoAlTaB which possesses remarkable combinations of mechanical properties across a wide range of temperatures from 77 K to 1073 K. The current metastable alloy presents good ductility and superior engineering tensile strengths of 2.2 GPa, 1.4 GPa, 800 MPa, and 500 MPa at 77 K, 298 K, 873 K, and 1073 K, respectively. This behavior is achieved by a synergic sequence of individual mechanisms that are activated at different temperatures. The alloy even displays pseudoelasticity at 77 K with an applied load up to 2 GPa. This work provides a methodology for tailoring structural heterogeneity and metastability in the design and fabrication of multifunctional HEAs that will outperform known metals and alloys over a wide range of temperatures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

On the strength and fracture toughness of an additive manufactured CrCoNi medium-entropy alloy

An additively manufactured (nominally equiatomic) CrCoNi alloy was processed by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). At ambient temperatures (298 K), this medium-entropy alloy displayed a yield strength, σ y of ~691 ± 9 MPa, and an ultimate tensile strength, σ u of ~926 ± 15.2 MPa; at cryogenic temperatures (77 K), yield and tensile strengths increased respectively to σ y ~ 944 ± 6 MPa and σ u ~ 1382 ± 11 MPa. These strength levels are 57 and 44% higher than that of the wrought alloy, due to strengthening from the solidification cellular structures intertwined with dislocations in the LPBF CrCoNi. The crack-initiation fracture toughness, K JIc was measured to be ~183.7 ± 28 MPa√m at 298 K; this value marginally decreased by ~4% to ~176 ± 11 MPa√m at 77 K. These K JIc values of the LPBF CrCoNi were 11% and 35% lower than the wrought CrCoNi alloy at 298 K and 77 K, respectively. Here, the resistance to crack growth of the LPBF CrCoNi from its hierarchical micro- and meso-structures was evaluated using nonlinear-elastic fracture mechanics by measuring R-curve behavior in the form of the J-integral as a function of crack extension. The specific features of the hierarchical microstructures at different length-scales provide a basis for the strengthening and toughening properties of this additively manufactured medium-entropy alloy. This correlation between the deformation and the hierarchical microstructures at different length-scales may provide future guidance for improving the fracture toughness properties of medium-entropy alloys.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Evaluating the intrinsic resistance to balling of alloys: A High-throughput physics-informed and data-enabled approach

To date, the vast majority of work on metal additive manufacturing (AM) has been framed in terms of the need to tune processing conditions for a particular AM technology in order to print conventional alloys, oftentimes developed for fabrication methods other than AM. This approach overlooks the fact that historically, many engineering alloy system has been designed with a particular processing route in mind, e.g., ingot metallurgy, powder metallurgy, rapid quenching, etc. There are thus significant opportunities to design alloys specifically for AM. A key challenge is that alloy design requires performance metrics that can be optimized by exploring the alloy chemistry space. Here, we present a study in which we examine how intrinsic thermophysical properties can be used to estimate performance metrics related to the behavior of a solidifying metal droplet under AM-relevant conditions. By identifying these intrinsic properties, it is possible to directly incorporate ‘intrinsic printability’, specifically ‘intrinsic resistance to balling’, into AM-focused alloy design.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Impact of droplet oxidation on mechanical properties of an Al-7Si-0.4Mg alloy fabricated with liquid metal jetting

Droplet-on-demand liquid metal jetting (DOD-LMJ) is a new method for additive manufacturing of bulk structural alloys. Here, we report on the microstructure, tensile, and fatigue properties of an Al-7Si-0.4Mg (A356) alloy fabricated with LMJ. Liquid metal droplets were shielded by high-purity Ar gas shroud during deposition. Atom probe tomography revealed that a few nanometers thick (Al-Mg-Si)-O oxide film formed on the droplets despite Ar gas shielding. Tensile tests on peak-aged LMJ A356 alloy showed that yield strength was isotropic (250 MPa), but ductility was lower in the build direction (6.1 ± 1.4 %) compared to the transverse direction (9.4 ± 1.0 %). Lower ductility in the build direction was attributed to delamination of metal-oxide interfaces at layer boundaries. The ductility and yield strength of LMJ A356 were similar to cast A356 and laser powder bed fused (LPBF) A357 alloys, indicating the limited impact of oxide film on tensile properties. The oxide film severely impacted the fatigue properties. Fatigue resistance of LMJ A356 was limited by fatigue crack initiation at lack-of-fusion defects and fatigue crack propagation along layer boundaries by delamination of the metal-oxide interface. The fatigue strength of LMJ A356 at 60 MPa was lower than cast A356 and LPBF A357 alloys in the peak-aged condition. This research underscores the need for managing droplet oxidation during LMJ additive manufacturing of structural alloys.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2015

The corrosivity and passivity of sputtered Mg-Ti alloys

Our study explored the possibility of forming a “stainless” Mg–Ti alloy. The electrochemical behavior of magnetron-sputtered Mg–Ti alloys was measured in a NaCl solution, and the surface films on the alloys were examined by XPS, SEM and TEM. Increased corrosion resistance was observed with increased Ti content in the sputtered Mg–Ti alloys, but passive-like behavior was not reached until the Ti level (atomic %) was higher than the Mg level. Moreover, the surface film that formed on sputtered Mg–Ti based alloys in NaCl solution was thick, discontinuous and non-protective, whereas a thin, continuous and protective Mg and Ti oxide film was formed on a sputtered Ti–Mg based alloy.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

History, present status, and future directions of vanadium alloys for fusion reactors

Since the need for low-activation fusion reactor materials was recognized in the mid-1980s, vanadium alloys have been researched and developed as promising candidates for blanket structural materials. Vanadium alloys are non-ferromagnetic and ductile materials and thus have advantages different from other candidates. However, since vanadium alloys are still at a premature industrial stage, research and development have been carried out not only on issues specific to fusion reactors but also on those related to industrial materials. Blankets using vanadium alloys as structural materials and liquid Li as a tritium breeder and coolant (self-cooled V/Li blankets) have unique characteristics, and research and development of issues specific to V/Li blankets have been conducted in conjunction with the development of vanadium alloys. In this paper, the progress of this research and development is reviewed, and the remaining issues are pointed out. As a result, the future direction of vanadium alloy research and development is discussed, considering recent changes in the environment surrounding fusion energy.

Liquid Li blanket↗
DOE OSTI2021

Characterization data of an (AlFeNiTiVZr) 1-x Cr x multi-principal element alloy continuous composition spread library

The data provided in this article is related to the research article entitled “Phase stabilization and oxidation of a continuous composition spread multi-principal element (AlFeNiTiVZr) 1-x Cr x alloy”. This data article describes the high-throughput synthesis and characterization processes of an (AlFeNiTiVZr) 1-x Cr x alloy system. Continuous composition spread (CCS) thin-film libraries were synthesized by co-depositing an AlFeNiTiVZr metal alloy target and Cr target via magnetron sputtering. Post-processing was performed on the sample libraries with a vacuum anneal at 873 K and an air anneal at 873 K. Compositional data was determined via WDS in order to verify parameters provided by an in-house sputter model. Crystallographic data was captured via synchrotron diffraction and diffractograms were compared as a function of the change in Cr concentration. These measurements were taken in order to observe phase behavior after oxidation throughout the composition library. Furthermore, vibrational spectrographic data is provided of the oxidized library to show surface speciation along the composition gradient of the alloy system. The structural and oxidative behavior of the (AlFeNiTiVZr) 1-x Cr x alloy can be analysed using the data provided in this article. Additionally, this characterization dataset can be utilized in machine learning algorithms for determining important features and parameters for future hypothesis generation of functional multi-principal element alloys (MPEAs).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗