5 Werkstofftechnik
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Creep and creep damage behavior of stainless steel 316L manufactured by laser powder bed fusion
(2022)
This study presents a thorough characterization of the creep properties of austenitic stainless steel 316L produced by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF 316L) contributing to the sparse available data to date. Experimental results (mechanical tests, microscopy, X-ray computed tomography) concerning the creep deformation and damage mechanisms are presented and discussed. The tested LPBF material exhibits a low defect population, which allows for the isolation and improved understanding of the effect of other typical aspects of an LPBF microstructure on the creep behavior. As a benchmark to assess the material properties of the LPBF 316L, a conventionally manufactured variant of 316L was also tested. To characterize the creep properties, hot tensile tests and constant force creep tests at 600 °C and 650 °C are performed. The creep stress exponents of the LPBF material are smaller than that of the conventional variant. The primary and secondary creep stages and the times to rupture of the LPBF material are shorter than the hot rolled 316L. Overall the creep damage is more extensive in the LPBF material. The creep damage of the LPBF material is overall mainly intergranular. It is presumably caused and accelerated by both the appearance of precipitates at the grain boundaries and the unfavorable orientation of the grain boundaries. Neither the melt pool boundaries nor entrapped gas pores show a significant influence on the creep damage mechanism.
Characterization of Ti-6Al-4V fabricated by multilayer laser powder-based directed energy deposition
(2022)
Laser powder-based directed energy deposition (DED-L) is increasingly being used in additive manufacturing (AM). As AM technology, DED-L must consider specific challenges. It must achieve uniform volume growth over hundreds of layers and avoid heat buildup of the deposited material. Herein, Ti–6Al–4V is fabricated using an approach that addresses these challenges and is relevant in terms of transferability to DED–L applications in AM. The assessment of the obtained properties and the discussion of their relationship to the process conditions and resulting microstructure are presented. The quality of the manufacturing process is proven in terms of the reproducibility of properties between individual blanks and with respect to the building height. The characterization demonstrates that excellent mechanical properties are achieved at room temperature and at 400 °C.
Instead of foreseeing and preparing for all possible scenarios of machine failures, accidents, and other challenges arising in space missions, it appears logical to take advantage of the flexibility of additive manufacturing for “in-space manufacturing” (ISM). Manned missions into space rely on complicated equipment, and their safe operation is a great challenge. Bearing in mind the absolute distance for manned missions to the Moon and Mars, the supply of spare parts for the repair and replacement of lost equipment via shipment from Earth would require too much time. With the high flexibility in design and the ability to manufacture ready-to-use components directly from a computer-aided model, additive manufacturing technologies appear to be extremely attractive in this context. Moreover, appropriate technologies are required for the manufacture of building habitats for extended stays of astronauts on the Moon and Mars, as well as material/feedstock. The capacities for sending equipment and material into space are not only very limited and costly, but also raise concerns regarding environmental issues on Earth. Accordingly, not all materials can be sent from Earth, and strategies for the use of in-situ resources, i.e., in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), are being
envisioned. For the manufacturing of both complex parts and equipment, as well as for large infrastructure, appropriate technologies for material processing in space need to be developed.
The microstructure of an apatite-wollastonite (code name AP40) glass-ceramic is analyzed in this study by combining 2D microscopy, phase analysis, X-ray absorption and synchrotron X-ray refraction computed tomography (XCT and SXRCT, respectively). It is shown that this combination provides a useful toolbox to characterize the global microstructure in a wide scale range, from sub-micrometer to millimeter. The material displays a complex microstructure comprising a glassy matrix with embedded fluorapatite and wollastonite small crystals. In this matrix, large (up to 200 μm) spike-shaped structures are distributed. Such microstructural features are oriented around a central sphere, thereby forming a structure resembling a sea urchin. A unique feature of SXRCT, in contrast to XCT, is that internal interfaces are visualized; this allows one to show the 3D distribution of these urchins with exceptionally good contrast. Furthermore, it is revealed that the spike-shaped structures are not single crystals, but rather composed of sub-micrometric crystals, which are identified as fluorapatite and diopside phases by SEM-EDX analysis.
As humanity contemplates manned missions to Mars, strategies need to be developed for the design and operation of hospitable environments to safely work in space for years. The supply of spare parts for repair and replacement of lost equipment will be one key need, but in-space manufacturing remains the only option for a timely supply. With high flexibility in design and the ability to manufacture ready-to-use components directly from a computeraided model, additive manufacturing (AM) technologies appear extremely attractive. For the manufacturing of metal parts, laser-beam melting is the most widely used AM process. However, the handling of metal powders in the absence of gravity is one prerequisite for its successful application in space. A gas flow throughout the powder bed is successfully applied to compensate for missing gravitational forces in microgravity experiments. This so-called gas-flow-assisted powder deposition is based on a porous Building platform acting as a filter for the fixation of metal particles in a gas flow driven by a pressure difference maintained by a vacuum pump.
Additive manufacturing of SiSiC by layerwise slurry deposition and binder jetting (LSD-print)
(2019)
The current work presents for the first time results on the Additive Manufacturing of SiSiC complex parts based on the Layerwise Slurry Deposition (LSD) process. This technology allows to deposit highly packed powder layers by spreading a ceramic slurry and drying. The capillary forces acting during the process are responsible for the dense powder packing and the good joining between layers. The LSD process can be combined with binder jetting to print 2D cross-sections of an object in each successive layer, thus forming a 3D part. This process is named LSD-print.
By LSD-print and silicon infiltration, SiSiC parts with complex geometries and features down to 1mm and an aspect ratio up to 4:1 could be demonstrated.
The density and morphology were investigated for a large number of samples. Furthermore, the density and the mechanical properties, measured by ball-on-three-balls method, were in all three building directions close to isostatic pressed references.
Ceramic additive manufacturing (AM) requires a complex process chain with various post-processing steps that require expensive machines and special expertise. The key to further market penetration is AM that makes it possible to integrate into an already established ceramic process chain. Most successful AM technologies for ceramics are, however, based on processes that initially have been developed for polymeric materials. For ceramics AM, polymers or precursors are loaded with ceramic particles. This strategy facilitates the entry into AM, however the introduction of organic additives into the ceramic process chain represents a considerable technological challenge to ultimately obtain a ceramic component after additive shaping. In the present communication, two technologies based on ceramic suspensions will be introduced, the “layerwise slurry deposition” (LSD) and “laser induced slip casting” (LIS) technology. Both technologies take advantage of the high packing densities reached by conventional slip casting and moreover enable the processing of fines, even nanoparticles.
Future lunar exploration can benefit greatly from In-Situ Resource Utilization. Accordingly, the in-Situ Resource Utilization approach highlights the need for detailed analysis of lunar regolith. In this study, JSC-2A Simulant was studied regarding its sintering and melting behaviour using Differential Thermal Analysis under ambient and inert conditions. The minerals at the crystalline peaks were determined using X-Ray Diffraction analysis.
Moreover, melting droplet shape and wetting behaviour of pressed regolith samples of different particle size distributions were studied by Hot Stage Microscopy technique. Hot Stage Microscopy experiments were performed at different heating rates under ambient conditions. Bloating effects within the solidified samples were then qualitatively examined by X-ray tomography. Lastly, the optimization of processing strategies for the Additive Manufacturing of lunar regolith is discussed.
AbstractHigh-strength aluminum alloys used in aerospace and automotive applications obtain their strength through precipitation hardening. Achieving the desired mechanical properties requires precise control over the nanometer-sized precipitates. However, the microstructure of these alloys changes over time due to aging, leading to a deterioration in strength. Typically, the size, number, and distribution of precipitates for a quantitative assessment of microstructural changes are determined by manual analysis, which is subjective and time-consuming. In our work, we introduce a progressive and automatable approach that enables a more efficient, objective, and reproducible analysis of precipitates. The method involves several sequential steps using an image repository containing dark-field transmission electron microscopy (DF-TEM) images depicting various aging states of an aluminum alloy. During the process, precipitation contours are generated and quantitatively evaluated, and the results are comprehensibly transferred into semantic data structures. The use and deployment of Jupyter Notebooks, along with the beneficial implementation of Semantic Web technologies, significantly enhances the reproducibility and comparability of the findings. This work serves as an exemplar of FAIR image and research data management.
Aero-engine turbine disks are safety-relevant components which are operated under high thermal and mechanical stress conditions. The actual part qualification and certification procedures make use of spin-tests conducted on production-similar disks. While these tests provide, on the one hand, a reliable definition of the critical conditions for real components, on the other hand they represent a relevant cost item for engine manufacturers. The aim of this work is to present two alternative burst speed assessment methods under development based on the Failure Assessment Diagram (FAD) and a global stability criterion, respectively. In the scope of the fracture mechanics assessment, the failure modes hoop-burst and rim-peeling are investigated with semicircular surface cracks modelled at the critical regions on the turbine disk. The comparison of the predicted critical rotational speed shows good agreement between the assessment methods.
Grain boundaries (GBs) are planar lattice defects that govern the properties of many types of polycrystalline materials. Hence, their structures have been investigated in great detail. However, much less is known about their chemical features, owing to the experimental difficulties to probe these features at the atomic length scale inside bulk material specimens. Atom probe tomography (APT) is a tool capable of accomplishing this task, with an ability to quantify chemical characteristics at near-atomic scale. Using APT data sets, we present here a machine-learning-based approach for the automated quantification of chemical features of GBs. We trained a convolutional neural network (CNN) using twenty thousand synthesized images of grain interiors, GBs, or triple junctions. Such a trained CNN automatically detects the locations of GBs from APT data. Those GBs are then subjected to compositional mapping and analysis, including revealing their in-plane chemical decoration patterns. We applied this approach to experimentally obtained APT data sets pertaining to three case studies, namely, Ni-P, Pt-Au, and Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys. In the first case, we extracted GB specific segregation features as a function of misorientation and coincidence site lattice character. Secondly, we revealed interfacial excesses and in-plane chemical features that could not have been found by standard compositional analyses. Lastly, we tracked the temporal evolution of chemical decoration from early-stage solute GB segregation in the dilute limit to interfacial phase separation, characterized by the evolution of complex composition patterns. This machine-learning-based approach provides quantitative, unbiased, and automated access to GB chemical analyses, serving as an enabling tool for new discoveries related to interface thermodynamics, kinetics, and the associated chemistry-structure-property relations.
For more than half a century, spinodal decomposition has been a key phenomenon in considering the formation of secondary phases in alloys. The most prominent aspect of the spinodal phenomenon is the lack of an energy barrier on its transformation pathway, offering an alternative to the nucleation and growth mechanism. The classical description of spinodal decomposition often neglects the influence of defects, such as grain boundaries, on the transformation because the innate ability for like-atoms to cluster is assumed to lead the process. Nevertheless, in nanocrystalline alloys, with a high population of grain boundaries with diverse characters, the structurally heterogeneous landscape can greatly influence the chemical decomposition behavior. Combining atom-probe tomography, precession electron diffraction and density-based phase-field simulations, we address how grain boundaries contribute to the temporal evolution of chemical decomposition within the miscibility gap of a Pt-Au nanocrystalline system. We found that grain boundaries can actually have their own miscibility gaps profoundly altering the spinodal decomposition in nanocrystalline alloys. A complex realm of multiple interfacial states, ranging from competitive grain boundary segregation to barrier-free low-dimensional interfacial decomposition, occurs with a dependency upon the grain boundary character.
Upconverting nanoparticles are essential in modern photonics due to their ability to convert infrared light to visible light. Despite their significance, they exhibit limited brightness, a key drawback that can be addressed by combining them with plasmonic nanoparticles. Plasmon-enhanced upconversion has been widely demonstrated in dry environments, where upconverting nanoparticles are immobilized, but constitutes a challenge in liquid media where Brownian motion competes against immobilization.
This study employs optical tweezers for the three-dimensional manipulation of an individual upconverting nanoparticle, enabling the exploration of plasmon-enhanced upconversion luminescence in water. Contrary to expectation, experiments reveal a long-range (micrometer scale) and moderate (20%) enhancement in upconversion luminescence due to the plasmonic resonances of gold nanostructures. Comparison between experiments and numerical simulations evidences the key role of Brownian motion. It is demonstrated how the three-dimensional Brownian fluctuations of the upconverting nanoparticle lead to an “average effect” that explains the magnitude and spatial extension of luminescence enhancement.
Effects of various geometrical and physical factors, as well as the method of data reduction (analysis of
experimental forceedisplacement curves) on the values of local interfacial strength parameters (local IFSS, td, and critical energy release rate, Gic) determined by means of a single fiber pull-out test are discussed. Experimental results of our pull-out tests on several fiberepolymer matrix systems showed that td and Gic weakly depended on geometrical factors. However, the pull-out test appeared to be sensitive to the conditions of specimen formation and testing, such as changing the nature of the contacting surfaces (fiber sizing) and the fiber pull-out rate. Of several methods of td and Gic Determination from a forceedisplacement curve, the most reliable and reproducible one is the approach based on the values of the maximum force recorded in a pull-out test and the interfacial frictional force immediately after fiber debonding.
According to the definition of the ASM handbook [1,3], a defect is "an imperfection. that can be shown to cause failure by a quantitative analysis and that would not have occurred in the absence of the imperfection". The topic of the present three-part review is a discussion of defects which can cause failure in cyclically loaded structures. The features discussed comprise material defects such as non-metallic inclusions, pores or micro-shrinkages, etc. and geometric defects such as surface roughness and secondary notches which have their origin in manufacturing, and defects such as surface damage due to scratches, impact events or contact fatigue as well as corrosion pits which arise in service. In this first part, the discussion is prefaced by an introduction to basic aspects which are essential for a deeper understanding of the characteristics and mechanisms how the defects influence fatigue crack initiation and propagation. These include the life cycle of a fatigue crack from initiation up to fracture, crack arrest, multiple crack initiation and coalescence, and the material and geometrical properties affecting these.
This third part of the review on defects as root cause of fatigue failure addresses cavities (pores, micro-shrinkages, unmelted regions), defective microstructures and microcracks as material defects and defects due to local damage during manufacturing, service and maintenance such as dents, scratches and localized corrosion. In addition, damage due to contact fatigue and the effect of surface roughness are discussed in the context of fatigue failure. Also addressed is the competition between different kinds of defects in controlling the initiation and early growth of fatigue cracks.
Defects as a root cause of fatigue failure of metallic components. II: Non-metallic inclusions
(2019)
This second part of the review on defects as root cause of fatigue failure comprises the origin, the nature and the effects of non-metallic inclusions. Topics addressed are the different kinds of inclusions formed during the manufacturing process, various types of mis-match causing local stresses and, as a consequence, fatigue crack initiation, and effects of characteristics such as size, morphology, localization, spatial distribution and orientation of the defects on the fatigue behavior. Methods for inclusion counting and sizing are discussed along with statistical aspects necessary to be considered when evaluating structural components.
Spherical mesoporous bioactive glasses in the silicon dioxide (SiO2)-phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5)–calcium oxide (CaO) system with a high specific surface area of up to 300m2/g and a medium pore radius of 4 nm were synthesized by using a simple one-pot surfactant-assisted sol–gel synthesis method followed by calcination at 500–700°C. The authors were able to control the particle properties by varying synthesis parameters to achieve microscale powders with spherical morphology and a particle size of around 5–10 mm by employing one structure-directing agent. Due to a high Calcium oxide content of 33·6mol% and a phosphorus pentoxide content of 4·0mol%, the powder showed very good bioactivity up to 7 d of immersion in simulated Body fluid. The resulting microspheres are promising materials for a variety of life science applications, as further processing – for example, granulation – is unnecessary. Microspheres can be applied as materials for powder-based additive manufacturing or in stable suspensions for drug release, in bone cements or fillers.
Understanding the mechanical behavior of silicon nanowires is essential for the implementation of advanced nanoscale devices. Although bending tests are predominantly used for this purpose, their findings should be properly interpreted through modeling. Various modeling approaches tend to ignore parts of the effective parameter set involved in the rather complex bending response. This oversimplification is the main reason behind the spread of the modulus of elasticity and strength data in the literature. Addressing this challenge, a surface-based nanomechanical model is introduced in this study. The proposed model considers two important factors that have so far remained neglected despite their significance: (i) intrinsic stresses composed of the initial residual stress and surface-induced residual stress and (ii) anisotropic implementation of surface stress and elasticity. The modeling study is consolidated with molecular dynamics-based study of the native oxide surface through reactive force fields and a series of nanoscale characterization work through in situ threepoint bending test and Raman spectroscopy. The treatment of the test data through a series of models with increasing complexity demonstrates a spread of 85 GPa for the modulus of elasticity and points to the origins of ambiguity regarding silicon nanowire properties, which are some of the most commonly employed nanoscale building blocks. A similar conclusion is reached for strength with variations of up to 3 GPa estimated by the aforementioned nanomechanical models. Precise consideration of the nanowire surface state is thus critical to comprehending the mechanical behavior of silicon nanowires accurately. Overall, this study highlights the need for a multiscale theoretical framework to fully understand the size-dependent mechanical behavior of silicon nanowires, with fortifying effects on the design and reliability assessment of future nanoelectromechanical systems.
In this work, we employed glow discharge optical emission spectrometry (GD-OES) depth profiling as a fast and semi-quantitative method to investigate the aluminum (Al) current collector degradation in commercial lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) pouch cells with no Al2O3 pretreatment. After battery aging, a heterogeneous deposit was found on the surface of the cathode. Gray hotspot areas within an extensive pale white region were formed. Consistent with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis of micro-cross sections milled via targeted focused ion beam (FIB), an Al-containing layer of approximately 3 µm can be observed using GD-OES. We attribute one main cause of this layer is the degradation of the Al current collector. The nonuniform growth of this layer was investigated by performing GD-OES depth profiling at different in-plane positions. We found that the gray area has a higher mass concentration of Al, probably in metallic form, whereas the white area was probably covered more homogeneously with Al2O3, resulting from the inhomogeneous distribution of the pitting positions on the current collector. Compared to FIB-EDX, GD-OES enables a faster and more convenient depth profile analysis, which allows the more productive characterization of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), and consequently benefits the development of preferable battery materials.
Trace elements play an important role in the fine-tuning of complex material properties. This study focuses on the correlation of microstructure, lattice misfit and creep properties. The compositionally complex alloy Al10Co25Cr8Fe15Ni36Ti6 (in at. %) was tuned with high melting trace elements Hf and W. The microstructure consists of a γ matrix, γ' precipitates and the Heusler phase and it is accompanied by good mechanical properties for high temperature applications. The addition of 0.5 at.% Hf to the Al10Co25Cr8Fe15Ni36Ti6 alloy resulted in more sharp-edged cubic γ′ precipitates and an increase in the Heusler phase amount. The addition of 1 at.% W led to more rounded γ′ precipitates and the dissolution of the Heusler phase. The shapes of the γ' precipitates of the alloys Al9.25Co25Cr8Fe15Ni36Ti6Hf0.25W0.5 and Al9.25Co25Cr8Fe15Ni36Ti6Hf0.5W0.25, that are the alloys of interest in this paper, create a transition from the well-rounded precipitates in the alloy with 1% W containing alloy to the sharp angular particles in the alloy with 0.5% Hf. While the lattice misfit has a direct correlation to the γ' precipitates shape, the creep rate is also related to the amount of the Heusler phase. The lattice misfit increases with decreasing corner radius of the γ' precipitates. So does the creep rate, but it also increases with the amount of Heusler phase. The microstructures were investigated by SEM and TEM, the lattice misfit was calculated from the lattice parameters obtained by synchrotron radiation measurements.
Bioactive glass ceramics have excellent biocompatibility and osteoconductivity; and can form direct chemical bonds with human bones; thus, these ceramic are considered as “Smart” materials. In this study, we develop a new type of bioactive glass ceramic (AP40mod) as a scaffold containing Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and Mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) to repair critical-sized bone defects in rabbit mandibles. For in vitro experiments:
AP40mod was prepared by Dgital light processing (DLP) system and the optimal ratio of EPCs/BMSCs was screened by analyzing cell proliferation and ALP activity, as well as the influence of genes related to osteogenesis and angiogenesis by direct inoculation into scaffolds. The scaffold showed suitable mechanical properties, with a Bending strength 52.7 MPa and a good biological activity. Additionally, when EPCs/BMSCs ratio were combined at a ratio of 2:1 with AP40mod, the ALP activity, osteogenesis and angiogenesis were significantly increased. For in vivo experiments: application of AP40mod/EPCs/BMSCs (after 7 days of in vitro spin culture) to repair and reconstruct critical-sized mandible defect in rabbit showed that all scaffolds were successfully accurately implanted into the defect area. As revealed by macroscopically and CT at the end of 9 months, defects in the AP40mod/EPCs/BMSCs group were nearly completely covered by normal bone and the degradation rate was 29.9% compared to 20.1% in the AP40mod group by the 3D reconstruction. As revealed by HE and Masson staining analyses, newly formed blood vessels, bone marrow and collagen maturity were significantly increased in the AP40mod/EPCs/BMSCs group compared to those in the AP40mod group. We directly inoculated cells on the novel material to screen for the best inoculation ratio. It is concluded that the AP40mod combination of EPCs/BMSCs is a promising approach for repairing and reconstructing large load bearing bone defect.
In this paper, columnar cellular growth with kinetic effects including kinetic undercooling and solute trapping in rapid directional solidification of alloys was investigated by using a recent quantitative phase-field model for rapid solidification. Morphological transition and primary spacing selection with and without kinetic effects were numerically investigated. Numerical results show that doublon structure is an intermediate state in the primary spacing adjustment of cellular arrays. It was found that the inclusions of kinetic effects result in the increase of the solute in the solid phase and the solute enrichment in the interdendritic liquid channel. Moreover, predicted results indicate that the growth directions of the cellular arrays in rapid directional solidification with and without kinetic effects are independent of the Péclet number. Therefore, the kinetic effects play important roles in numerical simulations of the growth pattern selection and solute distribution during rapid solidification. Neglecting them will result in the inaccurately predicted results.
Technically relevant P92 steel (9% Cr) was coated with a micron-thick porous alumina layer prepared by sol-gel technique and treated with flue gas (60 CO2-30 H2O-2 O2-1 SO2-7 N2 (mole fraction in %)) at 650 ° to mimic an oxyfuelcombustion process. Local defects in the coating were marked using focused ion beam (FIB) technique and were inspected after exposition to hot flue gas atmosphere at 300, 800, and 1300 h, respectively. Local defects like agglomerated alumina sol particles tend to spall off from the coating uncovering the underlying dense chromia scale. Re-coating was found to restore the protection ability from oxidation when repeatedly treated with hot flue gas. Cracks and voids did not promote the local oxidation due to the formation of crystalline Mn/S/O species within and on top of the coating. The protective character of the steel-coating system is a result of (i) the fast formation of a dense chromia scale at the surface of sol-gel alumina-coated P92 steel bars in combination with (ii) the porous alumina coating acting as diffusion barrier, but also as diffusion partner in addition with (iii) fast Mn outward diffusion capturing the S species from flue gas.
A glass of the composition 37BaO·16CaO·47SiO2 wt% produced on an industrial scale is crystallized at 970 °C for times ranging from 15 min to 2 h. The crystallization at the immediate surface as well as the crystal growth into the bulk are analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) including energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) as well as X-ray diffraction in the Θ–2Θ setup (XRD). The immediate surface shows the oriented nucleation of walstromite as well as the formation of wollastonite and an unknown phase of the composition BaCaSi3O8. All three phases also grow into the bulk where walstromite ultimately dominates the kinetic selection and grows throughout the bulk due to a lack of bulk nucleation. Walstromite shows systematic orientation changes as well as twinning during growth. A critical analysis of the XRD-patterns acquired from various crystallized samples indicates that their evaluation is problematic and that phases detected by XRD in this system should be verified by another method such as EDXS.
We discuss a refined simulation approach which treats Kikuchi diffraction patterns in electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD). The model considers the result of two combined mechanisms: (a) the dynamical diffraction of electrons emitted coherently from point sources in a crystal and (b) diffraction effects on incoherent diffuse intensity distributions. Using suitable parameter settings, the refined simulation model allows to reproduce various thickness- and energy-dependent features which are observed in experimental Kikuchi diffraction patterns. Excess-deficiency features are treated by the effect of gradients in the incoherent background intensity. Based on the analytical two-beam approximation to dynamical electron diffraction, a phenomenological model of excess-deficiency features is derived, which can be used for pattern matching applications. The model allows to approximate the effect of the incident beam geometry as a correction signal for template patterns which can be reprojected from pre-calculated reference data. As an application, we find that the accuracy of fitted projection centre coordinates in EBSD and TKDcan be affected by changes in the order of 10−3–10-2 if excess-deficiency features are not considered in the theoreticalmodel underlying a best-fit pattern matching approach. Correspondingly, the absolute accuracy of simulation-based EBSD strain determination can suffer frombiases of a similar order of magnitude if excess-deficiency effects are neglected in the simulation model.
We discuss a refined simulation approach which treats Kikuchi diffraction patterns in electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD). The model considers the result of two combined mechanisms: (a) the dynamical diffraction of electrons emitted coherently from point sources in a crystal and (b) diffraction effects on incoherent diffuse intensity distributions. Using suitable parameter settings, the refined simulation model allows to reproduce various thickness- and energy-dependent features which are observed in experimental Kikuchi diffraction patterns. Excess-deficiency features are treated by the effect of gradients in the incoherent background intensity. Based on the analytical two-beam approximation to dynamical electron diffraction, a phenomenological model of excess-deficiency features is derived, which can be used for pattern matching applications. The model allows to approximate the effect of the incident beam geometry as a correction signal for template patterns which can be reprojected from pre-calculated reference data. As an application, we find that the accuracy of fitted projection centre coordinates in EBSD and TKDcan be affected by changes in the order of 10−3–10−2 if excess-deficiency
features are not considered in the theoreticalmodel underlying a best-fit pattern matching approach. Correspondingly, the absolute accuracy of simulation-based EBSD strain determination can suffer frombiases of a similar order of magnitude if excess-deficiency effects are neglected in the simulation model.
For the precise determination of orientations in polycrystalline materials, electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) requires a consistent calibration of the diffraction geometry in the scanning electron microscope (SEM). In the present paper, the variation of the projection center for the Kikuchi diffraction patterns which are measured by EBSD is calibrated using a projective transformation model for the SEM beam scan positions on the sample. Based on a full pattern matching approach between simulated and experimental Kikuchi patterns, individual projection center estimates are determined on a subgrid of the EBSD map, from which least-square fits to affine and projective transformations can be obtained. Reference measurements on single-crystalline silicon are used to quantify the orientation errors which result from different calibration models for the variation of the projection center.
We describe a lattice-based crystallographic approximation for the analysis of distorted crystal structures via Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) in the scanning electron microscope. EBSD patterns are closely linked to local lattice parameter ratios via Kikuchi bands that indicate geometrical lattice plane projections. Based on the transformation properties of points and lines in the real projective plane, we can obtain continuous estimations of the local lattice distortion based on projectively transformed Kikuchi diffraction simulations for a reference structure. By quantitative image matching to a projective transformation model of the lattice distortion in the full solid angle of possible scattering directions, we enforce a crystallographically consistent approximation in the fitting procedure of distorted simulations to the experimentally observed diffraction patterns. As an application example, we map the locally varying tetragonality in martensite grains of steel.
Orientation determination does not necessarily require complete knowledge of the local atomic arrangement in a crystalline phase. We present a method for microstructural phase discrimination and orientation analysis of phases for which there is only limited crystallographic information available. In this method, experimental Kikuchi diffraction patterns are utilized to generate a self-consistent master reference for use in the technique of Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD). The experimentally derived master data serves as an application-specific reference in EBSD pattern matching approaches. As application examples, we map the locally varying orientations in samples of icosahedral quasicrystals observed in a Ti40Zr40Ni20 alloy, and we analyse AlNiCo decagonal quasicrystals.
This paper investigates fast and inexpensive measurement methods for defect detection in parts produced by Additive Manufacturing (AM) with special focus on lattice parts made of ceramics. By Lithography-based Ceramic Manufacturing, parts were built both without defects and with typical defects intentionally introduced. These defects were investigated and confirmed by industrial X-ray Computed Tomography. Alternative inexpensive methods were applied afterwards on the parts such as weighing, volume determination by Archimedes method and gas permeability measurement. The results showed, that defects resulting in around 20% of change in volume and mass could be separated from parts free of defects by determination of mass or volume. Minor defects were not detectable as they were in the range of process-related fluctuations. Permeability measurement did not allow to safely identify parts with defects. The measurement methods investigated can be easily integrated in AM process chains to support quality control.
Physical storage of gaseous hydrogen under high-pressure in glassy micro-containers such as spheres and capillaries is a promising concept for enhancing safety and the volumetric capacity of mobile hydrogen storage systems. As very low permeation through the container wall is required for storage of compressed hydrogen, development of glasses of minimal hydrogen permeability is needed. For this purpose, one has to understand better the dependence of hydrogen permeability on glass structure. The paper points out that minimizing the accessible free volume is as one strategy to minimize hydrogen permeability. Based on previously measured and comprehensive literature data, it is shown that permeation is independently controlled by ionic porosity and network modifier content. Thus, ionic porosity in modified and fully polymerized networks can be decreased equally to the lowest hydrogen permeability among the glasses under study. Applying this concept, a drop of up to 30,000 with respect to the permeation of hydrogen molecules through silica glass is attainable.
Hydrogen gas diffusivity of fourteen glasses of the Na2O-Al2O3-SiO2 system are studied along the joins quartzalbite-jadeite-nepheline (Qz-Ab-Jd-Np, fully polymerized) and albite-sodium disilicate (Ab-Ds, depolymerized).
Density measurements show that ionic porosity decreases from 54.4% (Qz) to 51.5% (Np) and from 52.4% (Ab) to 50.2% (Ds). Hydrogen diffusivity D follows similar trends but at another scale. D at 523 K decreases from 4×10−12 to 3×10−14m2 s−1 (Qz-Np) and from 4×10−13 to 3×10−15m2 s−1 (Ab-Ds). Charge compensating Na+ acting as a filling agent in fully polymerized network structures leads to up to one order of Magnitude higher diffusivities as depolymerized glass structures of the same SiO2 content where Na+ takes the role of a
modifier ion. Temperature dependence of the diffusivity indicates that both the activation energy involved with the moving H2 molecule as well as the accessible volume in the structure contribute to this compositional trend.
The precise analysis of cation diffusion profiles through corrosion scales is an important aspect to evaluate corrosion phenomena under multicomponent chemical load, as during high‐temperature corrosion under deposits and salts. The present study shows a comprehensive analysis of cation diffusion profiles by electron microprobe analysis and microbeam X‐ray absorption near edge structure (µ‐XANES) spectroscopy in mixed oxide/sulfide scales grown on Fe–Cr model alloys after exposing them to 0.5% SO2. The results presented here correspond to depth‐dependent phase identification of oxides and sulfides in the corrosion scales by µ‐XANES and the description of oxidation‐state‐dependent diffusion profiles. Scales grown on low‐ and high‐alloyed materials show both a well‐pronounced diffusion profile with a high concentration of Fe3+ at the gas and a high concentration of Fe2+ at the alloy interface. The distribution of the cations within a close‐packed oxide lattice is strongly influencing the lattice diffusion phenomena due to their different oxidation states and therefore different crystal‐field preference energies. This issue is discussed based on the results obtained by µ‐XANES analysis.
In the past few years, a new phase, Ba0.5Sr0.5Zn2Si2O7 with negative thermal expansion has been described in the literature. Some excess of SiO2 is necessary to produce glasses from which the Ba0.5Sr0.5Zn2Si2O7 phase can be crystallized.
Unfortunately, in such glasses usually surface crystallization occurs; however, the addition of nucleating agents such as trace quantities of platinum or relatively high quantities of ZrO2 is necessary to achieve bulk nucleation. These additional components also affect the crystal growth velocity, which furthermore is different for crystal growth from the surface and in the bulk. In this paper, three different chemical compositions containing different ZrO2 concentrations, where one composition additionally contains 100 ppm platinum, are studied with respect to their crystallization behaviour. Although the compositions do not differ much, the crystallization behaviour and also the Crystal growth velocities are surprisingly different.
Crack growth velocity in alkali silicate glasses was measured in vacuum across 10 orders of magnitude with double cantilever beam technique. Measured and literature crack growth data were compared with calculated intrinsic fracture toughness data obtained from Young´s moduli and the theoretical fracture surface energy estimated from chemical bond energies. Data analysis reveals significant deviations from this intrinsic brittle fracture behavior. These deviations do not follow simple compositional trends. Two opposing processes may explain this finding: a decrease in the apparent fracture surface energy due to stress-induced chemical changes at the crack tip and its increase due to energy dissipation during fracture.
Stable crack growth was measured for nominal dry and water-bearing (6 wt%) soda-lime silicate glasses in double cantilever beam geometry and combined with DMA studies on the effects of dissolved water on internal friction and glass transition, respectively. In vacuum, a decreased slope of logarithmic crack growth velocity versus stress intensity factor is evident for the hydrous glass in line with an increase of b-relaxation intensity indicating more energy Dissipation during fracture. Further, inert crack growth in hydrous glass is found to be divided into sections of different slope, which indicates different water related crack propagation mechanism. In ambient air, a largely extended region II is observed for the hydrous glass, which indicates that crack growth is more sensitive to ambient water.
Irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) is a form of intergranular stress corrosion cracking that occurs in irradiated austenitic alloys. It requires an irradiated microstructure along with high temperature water and stress. The process is ubiquitous in that it occurs in a wide range of austenitic alloys and water chemistries, but only when the alloy is irradiated. Despite evidence of this degradation mode that dates back to the 1960s, the mechanism by which it occurs has remained elusive. Here, using high resolution electron backscattering detection to analyze local stress-strain states, high resolution transmission electron microscopy to identify grain boundary phases at crack tips, and decoupling the roles of stress and grain boundary oxidation, we are able to unfold the complexities of the phenomenon to reveal the mechanism by which IASCC occurs. The significance of the findings impacts the mechanical integrity of core components of both current and advanced nuclear reactor designs worldwide.
In the past two decades, numerous relaxation or physical aging experiments of metallic glasses have revealed signatures of intermittent atomic-scale processes. Revealed via intensity cross-correlations from coherent scattering using X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS), the observed abrupt changes in the time-domain of atomic motion does not fit the picture of gradual slowing down of relaxation times and their origin continues to remain unclear. Using a binary Lennard-Jones model glass subjected to microsecond-long isotherms, we show here that temporally and spatially heterogeneous atomic-cluster activity at different length-scales drive the emergence of highly non-monotonous intensity cross-correlations. The simulated XPCS experiments reveal a variety of time-dependent intensity-cross correlations that, depending on both the structural evolution and the 𝑞-space sampling, give detailed insights into the possible structural origins of intermittent aging measured with XPCS.
The freeze casting technique assisted with cryo thiol-ene photopolymerization is successfully employed for the fabrication of macroporous polymer-derived silicon oxycarbide with highly aligned porosity. It is demonstrated that the free radical initiated thiol-ene click reaction effectively cross-linked the vinyl-containing liquid polysiloxanes into infusible thermosets even at low temperatures. Furthermore, mixed solution- and suspension-based freeze casting is employed by adding silica nanopowders. SiOC/SiO2 foams with almost perfect cylindrical shapes are obtained, demonstrating that the presence of nano-SiO2 does not restrict the complete photoinduced cross-linking. The post-pyrolysis HF acid treatments of produced SiOC monoliths yields hierarchical porosities, with SiOC/SiO2 nanocomposites after etching demonstrating the highest specific surface area of 494 m2/g and pore sizes across the macro-, meso- and micropores ranges. The newly developed approach gives a versatile solution for the fabrication of bulk polymer-derived ceramics with controlled porosity.
From molecular dynamics simulations and the capillary fluctuation method, the solid-liquid interfacial free energy has been computed for the B2-liquid interface in the Cu-Zr system. Consistent with previous results for the FCC-liquid interface in Cu-Zr and Al-Sm but atypical of most alloys, was found to increase as the temperature is lowered. In addition, the temperature dependence was obtained for model Lennard-Jones B2-liquid alloys. In all cases the unusual temperature dependence of is correlated with an atomic structure of the interfacial region characterized by a misalignment of the number density peaks between solvents and solutes. In cases where the number density peaks are aligned, the typical temperature dependence is observed. The results are discussed in terms of the Gibbs theory of the thermodynamics of interfaces. It is proposed that the unique interfacial structure and the atypical temperature dependence of are hallmarks of an easy glass forming alloy.
Phase diagrams are the roadmaps for designing bulk phases. Similar to bulk, grain boundaries can possess various phases, but their phase diagrams remain largely unknown. Using a recently introduced density-based model, here we devise a strategy for computing multi-component grain boundary phase diagrams based on available bulk (CALPHAD) thermodynamic data. Fe-Mn-Cr, Fe-Mn-Ni, Fe-Mn-Co, Fe-Cr-Ni and Fe-Cr-Co alloy systems, as important ternary bases for several trending steels and high-entropy alloys, are studied. We found that despite its solute segregation enrichment, a grain boundary can have lower solubility limit than its corresponding bulk, promoting an interfacial chemical decomposition upon solute segregation. This is revealed here for the Fe-Mn-base alloy systems. The origins of this counter-intuitive feature are traced back to two effects, i.e., the magnetic ordering effect and the low cohesive energy of Mn solute element. Different aspects of interfacial phase stability and GB co-segregation in ternary alloys are investigated as well. We show that the concentration gradient energy contributions reduce segregation level but increase grain boundary solubility limit, stabilizing the GB against a chemical decomposition. Density-based grain boundary phase diagrams offer guidelines for systematic investigation of interfacial phase changes with applications to microstructure defects engineering.
The phase-like behavior of grain boundaries (GBs), recently evidenced in several materials, is opening up new possibilities in the design of alloy microstructures. In this context, GB phase diagrams are contributing to a predictive description of GB segregation and (interfacial) phase changes. The influence of chemo-mechanical solute-GB interactions on the GB phase diagram remains elusive so far. This is particularly important for multi-component alloys where the elastic interactions among solute atoms, of various sizes and bonding energies, can prevail, governing a complex co-segregation phenomenon. Recently, we developed a density-based model for GB thermodynamics that intrinsically accounts for GB elasticity in pure elements. In this work, we incorporate the homogeneous and heterogeneous elastic energies associated with the solutes into the density-based framework. We derive the multi-component homogeneous elastic energy by generalizing the continuum misfitting sphere model and extend it for GBs. The density-based free energy functional directly uses bulk CALPHAD thermodynamic data. The model is applied to binary and ternary Al alloys. We reveal that the elastic energy can profoundly affect the GB solubility and segregation behavior, leading to Cu segregation in otherwise Cu-depleted Al GBs. Consequently, GB segregation transition, i.e., a jump in the GB segregation as a function of alloy composition, is revealed in Al-Cu and Al-Cu-Mg alloy systems with implications for subsequent GB precipitation in these alloys. CALPHAD-informed elasticity-incorporated GB phase diagrams enable addressing a broader range of GB phenomena in engineering multi-component alloys.
Along with the desire for developing novel multi-principal element alloys, also known as high-entropy alloys, the concern about their safe application is also increasingly growing. This relates to the alloys’ phase stability, in particular, the control required over unexpected phase decompositions resulting from solute segregation at grain boundaries. Yet, the mechanisms of co-segregation and grain boundary phase decomposition in multi-component alloys are rather challenging to explore. In fact, quantitative investigation of grain boundary behaviors is mostly conducted for binary and a few ternary alloys. In this work, we apply the recently introduced CALPHAD-integrated density-based formalism [RSC Advances 10 (2020) 26728-26741] for considering co-segregation phenomena in alloys with an arbitrary number of components —the term ‘co-segregation’ here refers to co-evolution and any mutual interplay among the solute atoms during their interaction with a grain boundary. Quaternary Fe-Co-Mn-Cr alloy system is studied. We present two major advances beyond previous results: First, a co-segregation-induced multi-component grain boundary spinodal decomposition is quantitatively simulated for the first time. We found that in addition to its low cohesive energy and asymmetrical mixing enthalpy due to magnetic ordering, Mn plays a leading role in triggering interfacial phase decomposition by having a relatively large, concentration-dependent atomic mobility. Second, as an alternative to grain boundary phase diagrams proposed for binary and ternary alloys, we introduce the concept of co-segregation maps for grain boundary segregation screening and design in multi-component alloys. Applying the co-segregation maps, the nonlinear Mn and Cr co-segregation are discussed. Depicted on the alloying composition and phase space, the co-segregation maps enable the required insights to guide a safer, more controlled design of high-entropy alloys.
Grain boundaries (GBs)’s role in determining the functional and mechanical properties of polycrystalline materials is inscribed in both their structure and chemistry. Upon solute segregation, the structure and composition of a GB can change concurrently. We study the co-evolution of GB’s structure and segregation by enhancing the density-based phase-field model to account for the in-plane structural variations in the GB. Significant mutual coupling is revealed between the GB’s chemical and structural states during Mn segregation in Fe-Mn alloys. We found that the structural degrees of freedom in a GB (the ability of the GB structure to respond to the chemical variation) amplifies Mn segregation transition, even when the GB structure stays unchanged. When the GB structure is not uniform, that is the usual case, the coupling between GB structure and segregation evolution also enables the spinodally formed low- and high-Mn phases (upon segregation transition) to co-exist within the GB region. These findings explain the stabilizing mechanism of pronounced interfacial segregation fluctuations, experimentally evidenced in Fe-Mn GBs, and give new insights on the structural sensitivity of GBs’ segregation phenomena and the mutual chemo-structural interplay.
Werkstoffe im Hochtemperatureinsatz verändern mit der Zeit ihre Mikrostruktur. Mit diesem Alterungsprozess einher geht eine Veränderung der mechanischen Eigenschaften ebenso wie eine Veränderung des Schädigungsverhaltens. Im Rahmen des FVV Vorhabens „Alterung und Lebensdauer“ haben das Fraunhofer IWM in Freiburg und die BAM in Berlin die weit verbreitete warmfeste Aluminiumlegierung EN AW-2618A in verschiedenen Alterungszuständen experimentell charakterisiert und darauf aufbauend Modelle für die Lebensdauerbewertung mit der Finite-Elemente- Methode implementiert.
Materials subjected to high-temperature service conditions will change their microstructure with time. Associated with this aging process is a change of mechanical properties as well as a change of damage mechanisms. Within the scope of the FVV project Aging and Lifetime, Fraunhofer IWM in Freiburg and BAM in Berlin (both Germany) experimentally characterized the widespread high-temperature aluminum alloy EN AW-2618A in different overaging states. Based on the experimental findings, models for numerical lifetime assessment with the finite-element method were implemented.
Optimizing the properties of next-generation high-temperature and corrosion-resistant alloys is rooted in balancing structure-property relationships and phase chemistry. Here, we implement a complementary approach based on transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atom probe tomography (APT) to ascertain aspects of hierarchical phase separation behavior, by understanding the microstructural evolution and the three-dimensional (3D) nanochemistry of a single crystal Fe79.5Si15.5V5.0 (at%) alloy. A maze-like hierarchical microstructure forms, in which a complex network of metastable disordered α plates (A2 phase) emerges within ordered α1 precipitates (D03 phase). The supersaturation in α1 (D03) precipitates with Fe and V drives the formation of α (A2) plates. The morphology of α (A2) plates is discussed concerning crystal structure, lattice misfit, and elastic strain. Phase compositions and a ternary phase diagram aid the thermodynamic assessment of the hierarchical phase separation mechanism via the Gibbs energy of mixing. A perspective on the stabilization of hierarchical microstructures beyond Fe79.5Si15.5V5.0 is elaborated by comparing hierarchical alloys. We find that the ratio of elastic anisotropy (Zener ratio) serves as a predictor of the hierarchical particles’ morphology. We suggest that the strengthening effect of hierarchical microstructures can be harnessed by improving the temporal and thermal stability of hierarchical particles. This can be achieved through phase-targeted alloying aiming at the hierarchical particles phase by considering the constituents partitioning behavior. Beyond Fe79.5Si15.5V5.0, our results demonstrate a potential pathway for improving the properties of high-temperature structural materials.
Hierarchical microstructures are created when additional γ particles form in γ’ precipitates and they are linked to improved strength and creep properties in high-temperature alloys. Here, we follow the formation and evolution of a hierarchical microstructure in Ni86.1Al8.5Ti5.4 by in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction at 1023 K up to 48 h to derive the lattice parameters of the γ matrix, γ’ precipitates and γ particles and misfits between phases. Finite element method-based computer simulations of hierarchical microstructures allow obtaining each phase's lattice parameter, thereby aiding peak identification in the in situ X-ray diffraction data. The simulations further give insight into the heterogeneous strain distribution between γ’ precipitates and γ particles, which gives rise to an anisotropic diffusion potential that drives the directional growth of γ particles. We rationalize a schematic model for the growth of γ particles, based on the Gibbs-Thomson effect of capillary and strain-induced anisotropic diffusion potentials. Our results highlight the importance of elastic properties, elastic anisotropy, lattice parameters, and diffusion potentials in controlling the behavior and stability of hierarchical microstructures.
The application and benefits of Semantic Web Technologies (SWT) for managing, sharing, and (re-)using of research data are demonstrated in implementations in the field of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE). However, a compilation and classification are needed to fully recognize the scattered published works with its unique added values. Here, the primary use of SWT at the interface with MSE is identified using specifically created categories. This overview highlights promising opportunities for the application of SWT to MSE, such as enhancing the quality of experimental processes, enriching data with contextual information in knowledge graphs, or using ontologies to perform specific queries on semantically structured data. While interdisciplinary work between the two fields is still in its early stages, a great need is identified to facilitate access for nonexperts and develop and provide user-friendly tools and workflows. The full potential of SWT can best be achieved in the long term by the broad acceptance and active participation of the MSE community. In perspective, these technological solutions will advance the field of MSE by making data FAIR. Data-driven approaches will benefit from these data structures and their connections to catalyze knowledge generation in MSE.
Wood treated with nano metal fluorides is found to resist fungal decay. Sol−gel synthesis was used to synthesize MgF2 and CaF2 nanoparticles. Electron microscopy images confirmed the localization of MgF2 and CaF2 nanoparticles in wood. Efficacy of nano metal fluoride-treated wood was tested against brown-rot fungi Coniophora puteana and Rhodonia placenta. Untreated wood specimens had higher
mass losses (∼30%) compared to treated specimens, which had average mass loss of 2% against C. puteana and 14% against R. placenta, respectively. Nano metal fluorides provide a viable alternative to current wood preservatives.
Ni-Cu alloys are promising for application at temperatures between 400–900 °C and reducing atmospheres with high C-contents. Typically, under such conditions, metallic materials in contact with the C-rich atmosphere are degraded by a mechanism called metal dusting (MD). Ni-Cu-alloys do not form protective oxide scales, but their resistance is attributed to Cu, which catalytically inhibits the C-deposition on the surface. Adding other alloying elements, such as Mn or Fe, was found to enhance the MD attack of Ni-Cu alloys again. In this study, the effect of the Mn and Fe is divided into two affected areas: the surface and the bulk. The MD attack on binary Ni-Cu alloys, model alloys with Fe and Mn additions, and commercial Monel Alloy 400 is experimentally demonstrated. The surface electronic structure causing the adsorption and dissociation of C-containing molecules is investigated for model alloys. Analytical methods such as scanning electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, electron probe microanalysis combined with wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure measurements were used. The results are correlated to CALPHAD calculations and atomistic simulations combining density functional theory calculations and machine learning. It is found that the Cu content plays a significant role in the surface reaction. The effect of Mn and Fe is mainly attributed to oxide formation. A mechanism explaining the enhanced attack by adding both Fe and Mn is proposed.
The damage mechanisms of metallic components produced by process laser powder bed fusion differ significantly from those typically observed in conventionally manufactured variants of the same alloy. This is due to the unique microstructures of additively manufactured materials. Herein, the focus is on the study of the evolution of creep damage in stainless steel 316L specimens produced by laser powder bed fusion. X-ray computed tomography is used to unravel the influence of the process-specific microstructure from the influence of the initial void distribution on creep damage mechanisms. The void distribution of two specimens tested at 600 °C and 650 °C is analyzed before a creep test, after an interruption, and after fracture. The results indicate that the formation of damage is not connected to the initial void distribution. Instead, damage accumulation at grain boundaries resulting from intergranular cracking is observed.
Rapid cooling rates and steep temperature gradients are characteristic of additively manufactured parts and important factors for the residual stress formation. This study examined the influence of heat accumulation on the distribution of residual stress in two prisms produced by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) of austenitic stainless steel 316L. The layers of the prisms were exposed using two different border fill scan strategies: one scanned from the centre to the perimeter and the other from the perimeter to the centre. The goal was to reveal the effect of different heat inputs on samples featuring the same solidification shrinkage. Residual stress was characterised in one plane perpendicular to the building direction at the mid height using Neutron and Lab X-ray diffraction. Thermography data obtained during the build process were analysed in order to correlate the cooling rates and apparent surface temperatures with the residual stress results. Optical microscopy and micro computed tomography were used to correlate defect populations with the residual stress distribution. The two scanning strategies led to residual stress distributions that were typical for additively manufactured components: compressive stresses in the bulk and tensile stresses at the surface. However, due to the different heat accumulation, the maximum residual stress levels differed. We concluded that solidification shrinkage plays a major role in determining the shape of the residual stress distribution, while the temperature gradient mechanism appears to determine the magnitude of peak residual stresses.
Методом рентгеноструктурного анализа в интервале температур 18—1150 °С определены температурные зависимости периодов кристаллических решеток γ- и γ'-фаз, их размерно-го несоответствия (мисфит) и объемной доли γ'-фазы экспериментального монокристал-лического жаропрочного никелевого сплава. Определены диапазоны температур, в которых происходят интенсивные изменения структурно-фазовых характеристик исследованного сплава.
The temperature dependences of the periods of the crystal lattices of the γ and γ' phases, their dimensional mismatch (misfit), and volume fraction of the γ' phase of an experimental single-crystal hightemperature nickel-based alloy have been determined by X-ray diffraction analysis in the temperature range of 18–1150°C. The temperature ranges in which intense changes in the structural and phase characteristics of the alloy under study take place have been determined.
An effective method for evaluating the fatigue strength of thick unidirectional composite laminates of wing spar caps has been presented here. A typical width-tapered bending specimen has been developed for a four-point loading set up. Static and fatigue loading was performed at a load ratio R = -1. The complex stress state has been investigated numerically by finite element analysis. Finally, the concept is proven experimentally on specimens made of pultruded fibre rods.
The fatigue behavior of the continuously tapered width by water Jet cutting has been compared to discrete tapering via rod-drop. The new method enables a screening of material fatigue behavior caused by normal and shear loading.
Signal optimization for transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD) measurements in the scanning electron microscope is investigated by a comparison of different sample holder designs. An optimized design is presented, which uses a metal shield to efficiently trap the electron beam after transmission through the sample. For comparison, a second holder configuration allows a significant number of the transmitted electrons to scatter back from the surface of the sample holder onto the diffraction camera screen. It is shown that the secondary interaction with the sample holder leads to a significant increase in the background level, as well as to additional noise in the final Kikuchi diffraction signal. The clean TKD signal of the optimized holder design with reduced background scattering makes it possible to use small signal changes in the range of 2% of the camera full dynamic range. As is shown by an analysis of the power spectrum, the signal-to-noise ratio in the processed Kikuchi diffraction patterns is improved by an order of magnitude. As a result, the optimized design allows an increase in pattern signal to noise ratio which may lead to increase in measurement speed and indexing reliability.
We present an easy-to-apply method to predict structural trends in the internal nucleation tendency of oxide glasses. The approach is based on calculated crystal fracture surface energies derived from easily accessible diatomic bond energy and crystal lattice data. The applicability of the method is demonstrated on literature nucleation data for isochemically crystallizing oxide glasses.
Oriented surface crystallization on polished diopside glass surfaces has been studied with scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and laser scanning microscopy.
An orientation preference of [001] parallel to the glass surface was detected for separately growing diopside crystals even as small as 700 nm in size. This finding shows that crystal orientation occurs in the outermost surface layer without crystal-crystal interaction and indicates that the crystal orientation is a result of oriented nucleation. Depending on surface preparation, monomodal crystal orientation distributions with [100] perpendicular to the surface or bimodal distributions with [100] and [010] perpendicular to the glass Surface were detected. It was also shown that the degree of crystal orientation increases with decreasing Surface roughness. The observed orientation of diopside crystals could be explained in terms of the interfacial energies of different crystal faces.
The crack propagation rate of environmental stress cracking was studied on high-density polyethylene compact tension specimens under static loading. Selected environmental liquids are distilled water, 2 wt% aqueous Arkopal N100 solution, and two model liquid mixtures, one based on solvents and one on detergents, representing stress cracking test liquids for commercial crop protection products. The different surface tensions and solubilities, which affect the energetic facilitation of void nucleation and craze development, are studied. Crack growth in surface-active media is strongly accelerated as the solvents induce plasticization, followed by strong blunting significantly retarding both crack initiation and crack propagation. The crack propagation rate for static load as a function of the stress intensity factor within all environments is found to follow the Paris–Erdogan law. Scanning electron micrographs of the fracture surface highlight more pronounced structures with both extensive degrees of plasticization and reduced crack propagation rate, addressing the distinct creep behavior of fibrils. Additionally, the limitations of linear elastic fracture mechanisms for visco-elastic polymers exposed to environmental liquids are discussed.
Four typical high-density polyethylene container materials were used to investigate damage or stress cracking behavior in contact with model liquids for crop protection products. These model liquids are established in German regulations for the approval of dangerous goods containers and consist of typical admixtures used for crop protection products but without biological active ingredients. This study is performed with the standardized method of Full Notch Creep Test, adapting the media temperature to 40 °C according to the usual conditions where these test liquids are applied. The two model liquids differ into a water-based solution and a composition based on different organic solvents which are absorbed by the material up to significant levels. Therefore, extensive sorption measurements are performed. The fracture surfaces obtained are analyzed in detail not only by light microscopy, but also by laser scanning microscopy as well as scanning electron microscopy. Influence of pre-saturation and applied stress are addressed by respective systematic series of experiments.
The phenomenon of environmental stress cracking is still a major issue in materials engineering as well as from a scientific perspective. Especially in the case of packaging materials made of high-density polyethylene, assessing the potential of premature damage due to environmental stress cracking is complex because of the large number of components in possible liquid filling goods. As a first guideline, the well-known effect of detergents and dispersants is usually considered, but the interplay with other components, such as organic solvents is often unknown. Particularly challenging in this respect are crop protection products, consisting of several different admixtures in addition to the biologically active ingredients. This study is based on two model liquids representing these admixtures that were established for testing in this context. The model liquids as well as their constituting components were used as liquid media in the Full Notch Creep Test to characterize the environmental stress cracking behavior of a typical high-density polyethylene. Complementary to the time-to failure of a notched specimen obtained from these tests, the crack opening was monitored optically, and the fracture surface was analyzed post-failure by laser scanning microscopy as well as scanning electron microscopy. Based on the results, the effect of various surfactants as well as the influence of organic solvents on environmental stress cracking are discussed.
The residual stress distribution in IN718 elongated prisms produced by Selective Laser Melting was studied by means of neutron (bulk) and laboratory X-ray (surface) diffraction.
Two deposition hatch lengths were considered. A horizontal plane near the top surface (perpendicular to the building direction) and a vertical plane near the lateral surface (parallel to the building direction) were investigated. Samples both in as-built (AB) condition and removed (RE) from the base plate were characterized.
While surface stress fields seem constant for AB condition, X-ray diffraction shows stress gradients along the hatch direction in the RE condition. The stress profiles correlate with the distortion maps obtained by tactile probe measurements.
Neutron diffraction shows bulk stress gradients for all principal components along the main sample directions. We correlate the observed stress patterns with the hatch length, i.e. with its effect on temperature gradients and heat flow. The bulk stress gradients partially disappear after removal from the baseplate.
The longitudinal and transverse strength of three unidirectional thermoplastic prepreg systems: carbon fiber/polypropylene (CF/PP), polyamide 6 (CF/PA6), and polyphenylene sulfide (CF/PPS) are studied and analytical formulas are proposed for the estimation of matrix and fiber/matrix interface properties from composites properties. Since the matrices are semi-crystalline thermoplastics, the influence of cooling rate on the strength is statistically evaluated. While the 0° tensile strength is found to be independent of the cooling rate, the 90° tensile strength is strongly influenced by the matrix type and cooling rate. The matrix modulus increases as the cooling rate is decreased; the degree of crystallinity also increases. The matrix residual stress, interfacial shear strength, and mode II interlaminar fracture toughness are also found to depend on the cooling rate, with the trends different for different matrices.
Simulation of the θ′ Precipitation Process with Interfacial Anisotropy Effects in Al-Cu Alloys
(2021)
The effects of anisotropic interfacial properties and heterogeneous elasticity on the growth and ripening of plate-like θ′-phase (Al2Cu) in Al-1.69 at.% Cu alloy are studied. Multi-phase-field simulations are conducted and discussed in comparison with aging experiments. The precipitate/matrix interface is considered to be anisotropic in terms of its energy and mobility. We find that the additional incorporation of an anisotropic interfacial mobility in conjunction with the elastic anisotropy result in substantially larger aspect ratios of the precipitates closer to the experimental observations. The anisotropy of the interfacial energy shows comparably small effect on the precipitate’s aspect ratio but changes the interface’s shape at the rim. The effect of the chemo-mechanical coupling, i.e., the composition dependence of the elastic constants, is studied as well. We show that the inverse ripening phenomenon, recently evidenced for δ’ precipitates in Al-Li alloys (Park et al. Sci. Rep. 2019, 9, 3981), does not establish for the θ′ precipitates. This is because of the anisotropic stress fields built around the θ′ precipitates, stemming from the precipitate’s shape and the interaction among different variants of the θ′ precipitate, that disturb the chemo-mechanical effects. These results show that the chemo-mechanical effects on the precipitation ripening strongly depend on the degree of sphericity and elastic isotropy of the precipitate and matrix phases.
Advanced ceramics printed with photon-based additive manufacturing deals with anisotropic mechanical properties from the layer-by-layer manufacturing. Motivated by the success in using highly filled transparent slurries containing nanoparticles for powder-based two-photon-polymerization (2PP) for advanced ceramic printing, this works approach is the transfer to Xolography, a volumetric additive manufacturing technology based on linear two-photon excitation and without recoating steps. This paper reports the results of a preliminary investigation optimizing the photocurable slurry to the requirements of Xolography in terms of transparency, over a significantly larger mean free path, compared to 2PP. A feedstock filled with 70 % weight fraction of ceramic particles (∼30 vol%) exhibiting an exceptionally high degree of transparency in the relevant wavelength range of 400–800 nm was prepared from 5 nm zirconia nanoparticles. The high transparency of the photocurable slurry is attributed to the near-monomodal particle size distribution of the zirconia nanoparticles used.
Stereolithography processes such as lithography-based ceramic manufacturing (LCM) are technologies that can produce centimeter-sized structures in a reasonable time frame. However, for some parts specifications, they lack resolution. Two-photon-polymerization (2PP) ensures the highest geometric accuracy in additive manufacturing so far. Nevertheless, building up parts in sizes as large as a few millimeters or even centimeters is a time-consuming process, which makes the production of 2PP printed parts very costly. Regarding feedstock specification, the requirements for 2PP are different to those for LCM, and generally, feedstocks are designed to meet requirements for only one of these manufacturing technologies. In an attempt to fabricate highly precise ceramic components of a rather large size, it is necessary to develop a feedstock that suits both light-based technologies, taking advantage of LCM’s higher productivity and 2PP’s accuracy. Hybridization should bring the desired precision to the region of interest on reasonably large parts without escalating printing time and costs. In this study, specimens gained from a transparent feedstock with yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) particles of 5 nm at 70 wt% were presented. The resin was originally designed to suit 2PP, while being also printable with LCM. This work demonstrates how hybrid parts can be sintered into full YSZ ceramics.
Methods and materials are presented here, which enable the manufacturing of fine structures using a 3D-printing method known as two-photon polymerization (2PP). As traditional photolithography methods for structuring ceramic slurries do not function with 2PP, due to light scattering on ceramic particles, a novel water-based photoresist with high ceramic loading of extremely well dispersed ceramic nano particles was developed. This photoresist is basically a ceramic slurry containing a photocurable agent and a photoinitiator to be crosslinkable with the 780 nm wavelength femtosecond laser light source of the 2PP machine. It is demonstrated that it is possible to gain a highly transparent and low viscous slurry suitable for 2PP processing. This work shows the development of the slurry, first printing results and the post-printing processes required to form three dimensional ceramic microstructures consisting of alumina toughened zirconia (ATZ).
Filigree structures can be manufactured via two-photon-polymerization (2PP) operating in the regime of non-linear light absorption. For the first time it is possible to apply this technique to the powder processing of ceramic structures with a feature size in the range of the critical defect size responsible for brittle fracture and, thus, affecting fracture toughness of high-performance ceramics. In this way, tailoring of advanced properties can be achieved already in the shaping process. Traditionally, 2PP relies on transparent polymerizable resins, which is diametrically opposed to the usually completely opaque ceramic resins and slurries. Here we present a transparent and photocurable suspension of nanoparticles (resin) with very high mass fractions of yttria-stabilized zirconia particles (YSZ). Due to the extremely well dispersed nanoparticles, scattering of light can be effectively suppressed at the process-relevant wavelength of 800 nm. Sintered ceramic structures with a resolution of down to 500 nm were obtained. Even at reduced densities of 1 to 4 g/cm³, the resulting compressive strength with 4,5 GPa is equivalent or even exceeding bulk monolithic yttria stabilized zirconia. A ceramic metamaterial is born, where the mechanical properties of yttria stabilized zirconia are altered by changing geometrical parameters and gives access to a new class of ceramic materials.
AbstractTwo‐photon polymerization (2PP) additive manufacturing (AM) utilizes feedstocks of ceramic nanoparticles of a few nanometers in diameter, enabling the fabrication of highly accurate technical ceramic design with structural details as small as 500 nm. The performance of these materials is expected to differ from conventional AM ceramics, as nanoparticles and three‐dimensional printing at high resolution introduce new microstructural aspects. This study applies 2PP‐AM of yttria‐stabilized zirconia to investigate the mechanical response behavior under compressive load, probing the influence of smallest structural units induced by the line packing during the printing process, design of sintered microblocks, and sintering temperature and thereby microstructure. We find a dissipative mechanical response enhanced by sintering at lower temperatures than conventional. The pursued 2PP‐AM approach yields a microstructured material with an increased number of grain boundaries that proposedly play a major role in facilitating energy dissipation within the here printed ceramic material. This microplastic response is further triggered by the filigree structures induced by hollow line packing at the order of the critical defect size of ceramics. Together, these unique aspects made accessible by the 2PP‐AM approach contribute to a heterogeneous nano‐ and microstructure, and hint toward opportunities for tailoring the mechanical response in future ceramic applications.
AbstractTwo‐photon polymerization (2PP) additive manufacturing (AM) utilizes feedstocks of ceramic nanoparticles of a few nanometers in diameter, enabling the fabrication of highly accurate technical ceramic design with structural details as small as 500 nm. The performance of these materials is expected to differ from conventional AM ceramics, as nanoparticles and three‐dimensional printing at high resolution introduce new microstructural aspects. This study applies 2PP‐AM of yttria‐stabilized zirconia to investigate the mechanical response behavior under compressive load, probing the influence of smallest structural units induced by the line packing during the printing process, design of sintered microblocks, and sintering temperature and thereby microstructure. We find a dissipative mechanical response enhanced by sintering at lower temperatures than conventional. The pursued 2PP‐AM approach yields a microstructured material with an increased number of grain boundaries that proposedly play a major role in facilitating energy dissipation within the here printed ceramic material. This microplastic response is further triggered by the filigree structures induced by hollow line packing at the order of the critical defect size of ceramics. Together, these unique aspects made accessible by the 2PP‐AM approach contribute to a heterogeneous nano‐ and microstructure, and hint toward opportunities for tailoring the mechanical response in future ceramic applications.
Irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) is known to be a combination of applied stress, and a corrosive environment in irradiated materials, but an appropriate understanding of how each of these components affects cracking is not yet clear. In this work, we isolate the role of grain boundary (GB) oxidation in IASCC. For this purpose, solution-annealed 304L stainless steel irradiated in reactor to 5.4 or 69 dpa was studied using a miniaturized four-point bend technique. Two modes of bend tests were conducted; straining in simulated pressurized water reactor primary water (PW) at 320 ◦C in an incremental manner, and pre-oxidation in PW at 320 ◦C without application of stress followed by dynamic straining in purified Ar at the same temperature until crack initiation. Exposure of the 5.4 dpa sample for 210 h in high temperature water initiated cracks in Ar at 60% of the yield stress (0.6YS), whereas the companion sample of the same dose exposed for 1010 h cracked in Ar at 0.5YS. The long-term exposure in water led to GB oxidation that ultimately lowered the crack initiation stress. Dynamic straining in water resulted in larger crack lengths and greater crack depths indicating stress accelerated oxidation and cracking. Dislocation pile-ups at dislocation channel-grain boundary sites provide an amplification of the applied stress to a level consistent with the fracture stress of the grain boundary oxide, providing an explanation for IASCC that occurs at applied stresses well below the irradiated yield stress of the alloy. There was no evidence of cracking upon straining of an unoxidized 69 dpa sample in Ar to well above yield, confirming that the irradiated state is not inherently susceptible to intergranular (IG) cracking and that oxidized GBs are responsible for initiation of IG cracking.
A nickel-based eutectic alloy with a γ/γ'-NbC structure was directionally solidified with a planar front. The specimens were tested for creep under sawtooth thermal cycling in the temperature range from 600 to 1100°C. It has been established that the lifetime under the conditions of thermal cycling is about five times shorter than it is predicted by the linear damage accumulation rule on the basis of results of isothermal creep tests. Faster creep under thermal cycling is caused by the rapid coarsening of the γ/γ' microstructure due to the periodic partial dissolution and reprecipitation of the γ' phase in heating and cooling half-cycles.
Refractory chemically complex alloys with bcc-based microstructures show great potential for high-temperature applications but most of them exhibit limited room-temperature ductility, which remains a challenge. One such example is the AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr alloy, mainly consisting of a nano-scaled structure with an ordered B2 matrix and a high-volume fraction of aligned cuboidal and coherently embedded A2 precipitates. This work aims to investigate how the cooling rate after hot isostatic pressing of the AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr alloy affects its microstructure and its resulting hardness and fracture toughness at room temperature. A slow cooling rate of 5 °C/min leads to a coarse microstructure consisting of aligned slabs (mean A2 precipitate ≈ 25 nm) with a nanohardness of about 8 GPa. In contrast, after the fastest cooling rate (30 °C/min), the A2 precipitates become more cubic with an edge length of ≈ 16 nm, resulting in an increase in nanohardness by 10 %. The fracture toughness is roughly independent of the cooling rate and its mean value (≈ 4.2 MPa∙m1/2) resembles that of some B2 intermetallics and other A2/B2 alloys. As the lattice misfit between the A2 and B2 phases is known to play a key role in microstructure formation and evolution, its temperature dependence between 20 and 900 °C was investigated. These findings offer insights into the evolution of the microstructure and room-temperature mechanical properties of the AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr alloy, which could help the development of advanced chemically complex alloys.
Detailed microstructural characterization of the AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr refractory high entropy superalloy in the as-cast state is reported for first time and compared with the state annealed at 1400 oC for 24 h. The former shows a dendritic structure, with a mixture of A2/B2 phases < 20 nm in both the dendritic and interdendritic regions. A mostly amorphous phase, rich in Al and Zr, is found within the interdendritic region. The annealed state reproduced the combination of A2/B2/Al-Zr-rich phases reported previously. Calculations from two relevant ThermoCalc databases were compared with the experimental results. Equilibrium calculations were compared with results for the annealed alloy, whereas solidification paths calculated using Scheil-Gulliver model were used for comparison with the as-cast alloy. A previously hypothesized spinodal decomposition during cooling as the mechanism responsible for the patterned A2/B2 microstructure is confirmed via the CALPHAD calculations, pointing to its use as an efficient design tool for such alloys. Finally, the comparison between the experimental and computational findings allowed better understanding the solidification path and equilibrium stability of this alloy, giving a base to make better decisions on the field of new refractory superalloy design.
This contribution contains the raw data used to compare experimental results with thermodynamic calculations using the CALPHAD method, which is related to the research article “The AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr refractory high entropy superalloy: experimental findings and comparison with calculations using the CALPHAD method” [1] , and therefore this article can be used as a basis for interpreting the data contained therein. The AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr refractory superalloy was characterized in the cast and annealed condition (1400 °C for 24 h) in order to measure grain size and to identify and measure the size and area fraction of the phases present. The raw data of this article include X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements, microstructural characterization by scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), and elemental analysis by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). XRD includes the determination of phases and the lattice parameters (A2, B2, and hexagonal structure). Microstructural analysis by scanning and transmission electron microscopy includes (1) identification of composition, size, and volume fraction of the present phases and (2) determination of grain size. Based on these experimental data, it is possible to identify similarities and discrepancies with the data calculated using the CALPHAD method for the alloy under study in Ref. [1] , which provides the basis for better and more efficient development of reliable databases.
Advanced experimental and numerical approaches are being developed to
capture the localization of plasticity at the nanometer scale as a function of the multiscale and heterogeneous microstructure present in metallic materials.
These innovative approaches promise new avenues to understand microstructural effects on mechanical properties, accelerate alloy design, and enable more accurate mechanical property prediction. This article provides an overview of emerging approaches with a focus on the localization of plasticity by crystallographic slip. New insights into the mechanisms and mechanics of strain localization are addressed. The consequences of the localization of plasticity by deformation slip for mechanical properties of metallic materials are also detailed.
Surface degradation phenomena of two model equiatomic alloys from the CrMnFeCoNi alloy system were investigated in 2% O2 and 10% H2O (pO2 = 0.02 and 10−7 atm, respectively) at 800 °C for times up to 96 h. The crystallographic structures, morphologies, and chemical compositions of the corrosion layers developing on CrMnFeCoNi and CrCoNi were comparatively analyzed by mass gain analysis, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and electron backscatter diffraction. The oxidation resistance of CrMnFeCoNi is relatively poor due to the fast growth of porous Mnoxide(s). CrCoNi forms an external chromia layer that is dense and continuous in a dry 2% O2 atmosphere. This layer buckles and spalls off after exposure to 10% H2O atmosphere. Beneath the chromia layer, a Cr-depleted zone forms in the CrCoNi alloy in both environments. As the oxide scale spalls off in the H2O-containing
atmosphere, a secondary chromia layer was observed and correspondingly enlarges the Cr-depleted zone. In contrast, as the chromia layer remains without significant spallation when CrCoNi is exposed to a dry oxidizing atmosphere, the region depleted in Cr is narrower.
Insights into early damage mechanisms during high-temperature gas corrosion provide important aspects for the prediction of the long-term stability of hightemperature materials exposed to a hot and corrosive environment. The current work presents a real time study concerning the combined oxidation and sulfidation of ferritic model alloys in a hot SO2 containing atmosphere using energy dispersive X-ray diffraction. The applied high temperature reactor allows the transmittance of high energetic X-rays in order to collect X-ray diffraction pattern of the sample surface in situ during the reaction with the reactive environment. The results revealed that the first phases crystallizing on iron with 2 wt% chromium and with 9 wt% chromium are oxides. The aging experiments at T = 650° C with 0.5% SO2 and 99.5% Ar were followed in situ and caused an external mixed oxide-sulfide layer on top of iron with 2 wt% chromium. On the higher alloyed material the external scale consists of iron oxides and the inner scale of mixed (Fe,Cr)-oxides and chromium-sulfides. The oxide content continuously increases parallel to an increase of the sulfide amount. Thus, the initially formed (Fe,Cr)-oxides do not have a protective character and support the transport of sulfur through the growing oxide scale.
The early stages of corrosion of Fe-Cr-model alloys (2 and 9 % Cr) were investigated after exposure at 650 °C in0.5 % SO2containing gas by electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM). The impact of the grain orientation of the base alloy on the orientation relations of the corrosion productsis presented. After 2 min–5 min exposure the formation of a multi-layered corrosion zone was discovered. Aclear orientation relationship between ferrite and the (Fe,Cr)3O4 spinel could be demonstrated. The obtainedresults show the importance of the grain orientation on oxidation resistance.
Interpreting high-temperature corrosion induced by mixed-gas atmospheres is challenging due to the different contributions of oxidizing gases. Here, a comprehensive study on the combined oxidation/sulfidation using label molecules is presented. Fe-Cr model alloys with 2 wt% and 9 wt% Cr were isothermally exposed using a volumetric mixture of 0.5%S16O2/27%H218O and 0.5%S16O2/7%H218O at 650 ◦C for 5 h and then characterized by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). Additionally, the reactions were followed in-situ utilizing energy dispersive X-ray diffraction. The study showed that both S16O2 and H218O contribute to the oxidation of the alloys but to different extents depending on the Cr-content.
This study examines the relationship between the magnetic mesostructure with the microstructure of low carbon steel tungsten inert gas welds. Optical microscopy revealed variation in the microstructure of the parent material, in the heat affected and fusion zones, correlating with distinctive changes in the local magnetic stray fields measured with high spatial resolution giant magneto resistance sensors. In the vicinity of the heat affected zone high residual stresses were found using neutron diffraction.
Notably, the gradients of von Mises stress and triaxial magnetic stray field modulus follow the same tendency transverse to the weld. In contrast, micro-X-ray fluorescence characterization indicated that local changes in element composition had no independent effect on magnetic stray fields.
A widespread recovery of waste heat requires a cost‐effective production of thermoelectric generators. Thermoelectric oxides are predestined for use at high temperatures. For manufacturing reasons, a multilayer generator design will be easily scalable and cost‐effective. To evaluate the potential of ceramic multilayer technology for that purpose, a multilayer of the promising thermoelectric oxides calcium cobaltite (Ca3Co4O9), calcium manganate (CMO, CaMnO3), and glass–ceramic insulation layers is fabricated. Cracks and reaction layers at the interfaces are observed in the microstructure. The compositions of these reaction layers are identified by energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction. Mechanical and thermal properties of all layers are compiled from literature or determined by purposeful sample preparation and testing. Based on this data set, the internal stresses in the multilayer after co‐firing are calculated numerically. It is shown that tensile stresses in the range of 50 MPa occur in the CMO layers. The reaction layers have only a minor influence on the level of these residual stresses. Herein, it is proven that the material system is basically suitable for multilayer generator production, but that the co‐firing process and the layer structure must be adapted to improve densification and reduce the tensile stresses in the CMO.
This study reports on the stress relaxation potential of stress-relieving heat treatments for laser powder bed fused 316L. The residual stress is monitored non-destructively using neutron diffraction before and after the heat treatment. Moreover, the evolution of the microstructure is analysed using scanning electron microscopy. The results show, that a strong relaxation of the residual stress is obtained when applying a heat treatment temperature at 900°C. However, the loss of the cellular substructure needs to be considered when applying this heat treatment strategy.
It is widely accepted that the magnetic state of a ferromagnetic material may be irreversibly altered by mechanical loading due to magnetoelastic effects. A novel standardized nondestructive testing (NDT) technique uses weak magnetic stray fields, which are assumed to arise from inhomogeneous deformation, for structural health monitoring (i.e., for detection and assessment of damage). However, the mechanical and microstructural complexity of damage has hitherto only been insufficiently considered. The aim of this study is to discuss the phenomenon of inhomogeneous “self-magnetization” of a polycrystalline ferromagnetic material under inhomogeneous deformation experimentally and with stronger material-mechanical focus. To this end, notched specimens were elastically and plastically deformed. Surface magnetic states were measured by a three-axis giant magnetoresistant (GMR) sensor and were compared with strain field (digital image correlation) and optical topography measurements. It is demonstrated that the stray fields do not solely form due to magnetoelastic effects. Instead, inhomogeneous plastic deformation causes topography, which is one of the main origins for the magnetic stray field formation. Additionally, if not considered, topography may falsify the magnetic signals due to variable lift-off values. The correlation of magnetic vector components with mechanical tensors, particularly for multiaxial stress/strain states and inhomogeneous elastic-plastic deformations remains an issue.
This study investigates the room‐ and high‐temperature (650 °C) tensile and low‐cycle‐fatigue behavior of Inconel 718 produced by laser powder bed fusion (PBF‐LB/M) with a four‐step heat treatment and compares the results to the conventional wrought material. The microstructure after heat treatment is characterized on different length scales. Compared to the wrought variant, the elastic and yield properties are comparable at both test temperatures while tensile strength, ductility, and strain hardening capacity are lower. The fatigue life of the PBF‐LB/M variant at room temperature is slightly lower than that of the wrought material, while at 650 °C, it is vice versa. The cyclic stress response for both material variants is characterized by cyclic softening, which is more pronounced at the higher test temperature. High strain amplitudes (≥0.7%) at room temperature and especially a high testing temperature result in the formation of multiple secondary cracks at the transitions of regions comprising predominantly elongated grain morphology and columns of stacked grains with ripple patterns in the PBF‐LB/M material. This observation and pronounced crack branching and deflection indicate that the cracks are controlled by sharp micromechanical gradients and local crystallite clusters.
This article refers to the research article entitled “Creep-Fatigue of P92 in Service-Like Tests with Combined Stress- and Strain-Controlled Dwell Times” [1]. It presents experimental mechanical data from complex service-like creep-fatigue experiments performed isothermally at 620 °C and a low strain amplitude of 0.2 % on tempered martensite-ferritic grade P92 steel. The data sets in text file format provide cyclic deformation (min. and max. stresses) and the total (hysteresis) data of all recorded fatigue cycles for three different creep-fatigue experiments: 1) a standard relaxation fatigue (RF) test with symmetrical dwell times of three minutes introduced at minimum and maximum strain, 2) a fully strain-controlled service-like relaxation (SLR) test combining these three-minute peak strain dwells with a 30-minute dwell in between at zero strain, and 3) a partly stress-controlled service-like creep (SLC) test combining the three-minute peak strain dwells with 30-minute dwells at constant stress. Such service-like (SL) tests with additional long-term stress- and strain-controlled dwell times are non-standard, rare, and expensive, making these data very valuable. They may be used to approximate cyclic softening in the technically relevant range, for the design of complex SL experiments, or for detailed analyses of stress-strain hystereses (e.g., for stress or strain partitioning methods, for the determination of hysteresis energies (work), inelastic strain components, etc.). In addition, the latter analyses may supply important input for advanced parametric lifetime modeling of components under creep-fatigue loading or model calibration parameters.
Creep-fatigue of P92 in service-like tests with combined stress- and strain-controlled dwell times
(2023)
Complex service-like relaxation- and creep-fatigue tests with strain- and stress-controlled dwells and fatigue cycle durations of approx. 2200 s were performed exemplarily on a grade P92 steel at 620 ◦C in this study. The results indicate deviations in the prevailing creep mechanisms of long-term relaxation and creep dwells, affecting subsequent dwells, load shifts, and the macroscopic softening behavior quite differently. In addition, fracture surfaces and longitudinal metallographic sections reveal intergranular crack growth for complex loading with stress-controlled dwells, whereas complex strain-controlled tests enhance oxidation and transgranular crack propagation. These findings substantiate the limited transferability of relaxation-fatigue to creep-fatigue conditions.
Abstract While classically used to visualise the magnetic microstructure of functional materials (e.g., for magnetic applications), in this study, the Bitter technique was applied for the first time to visualise macroscopic deformation gradients in a polycrystalline low-carbon steel. Spherical indentation was chosen to produce a multiaxial elastic–plastic deformation state. After removing the residual imprint, the Bitter technique was applied, and macroscopic contrast differences were captured in optical microscopy. To verify this novel characterisation technique, characteristic “hemispherical” deformation zones evolving during indentation were identified using an analytical model from the field of contact mechanics. In addition, near-surface residual stresses were determined experimentally using synchrotron radiation diffraction. It is established that the magnetic domain distribution contrast provides deformation-related information: regions of different domain wall densities correspond to different “hemispherical” deformation zones (i.e., to hydrostatic core, plastic zone and elastic zone, respectively). Moreover, the transitions between these three zones correlate with characteristic features of the residual stress profiles (sign changes in the radial and local extrema in the hoop stress). These results indicate the potential of magnetic domain distribution imaging: visualising macroscopic deformation gradients in fine-grained ferromagnetic material with a significantly improved spatial resolution as compared to integral, mean value-based measurement methods.
In the current study, the 3D nature of the melt pool boundaries (MPBs) in a 316 L austenitic steel additively manufactured by laser-based powder bed fusion (L-PBF) is investigated. The change of the cell growth direction and its relationship to the MPBs is investigated by transmission electron microscopy. A hitherto unreported modulated substructure with a periodicity of 21 nm is further discovered within the cell cores of the cellular substructure, which results from a partial transformation of the austenite, which is induced by a Ga+ focused ion beam. While the cell cores show the modulated substructure, cell boundaries do not. The diffraction pattern of the modulated substructure is exploited to show a thickness ≥200 nm for the MPB. At MPBs, the cell walls are suppressed, leading to continuously connecting cell cores across the MPB. This continuous MPB is described either as overlapping regions of cells of different growing directions when a new melt pool solidifies or as a narrow planar growth preceding the new melt pool.
The typical experimental conditions inside a transmission electron microscope (TEM), such as ultra-high vacuum, high-energy electron irradiation, and surface effects of ultrathin TEM specimens, can be the origin of unexpected microstructural changes compared with that of bulk material during in situ thermal-annealing experiments. In this paper, we report on the microstructural changes of a Fe–15%Si alloy during in situ TEM annealing, where, in its bulk form, it exhibits an ordering transformation from D03 to B2 at 650 °C. Using a heating-pot type double tilt holder with a proportional–integral–differential control system, we observed the precipitation of α-Fe both at the sample surface and inside the sample. Surface precipitates formed via surface diffusion are markedly large, several tens of nm, whereas precipitates inside the specimen, which are surrounded by Fe-poor regions, reach a maximum size of 20 nm. This unexpected microstructural evolution could be attributed to vacancies on Si sites, which are induced due to high-energy electron irradiation before heating, as well as enhanced thermal diffusion of Fe atoms.
Giant magneto-resistive (GMR) sensor based metal magnetic memory (MMM) technique is proposed for mapping of deformation-induced self-magnetic leakage fields (SMLFs) in carbon steel. The specimens were subjected to different amounts of tensile deformation and the deformation-induced SMLFs were measured using a GMR sensor after unloading the specimens. 3D-nonlinear finite element modeling was performed to predict stress–strain state in a steel specimen under tensile load. The experimentally obtained SMLF images were correlated with the finite element model predicted stress–strain states. Studies reveal that the MMM technique can detect the plastic deformation with signal-to-noise ratio better than 20 dB. The technique enables the mapping of plastic deformation in carbon steels for the evaluation of the severity of deformation. The study also reveals that deformation-induced SMLF is influenced by the presence of initial surface residual stress, introduced by shot peening. The intensity of SMLF signal is found to increase with increase in tensile load and decrease with shot peening.
The effect of two types of scanning strategies on the grain structure and build-up of Residual Stress (RS) has been investigated in an as-built IN718 alloy produced by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF). The RS state has been investigated by X-ray diffraction techniques. The microstructural characterization was performed principally by Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD), where the application of a post-measurement refinement technique enables small misorientations (< 2°) to be resolved. Kernel average misorientation (KAM) distributions indicate that preferably oriented columnar grains contain higher levels of misorientation, when compared to elongated grains with lower texture. The KAM distributions combined with X-ray diffraction stress maps infer that the increased misorientation is induced via plastic deformation driven by the thermal stresses, acting to self-relieve stress. The possibility of obtaining lower RS states in the build direction as a consequence of the influence of the microstructure should be considered when envisaging scanning strategies aimed at the mitigation of RS.
The sintering behavior and the thermoelectric performance of Ca3Co4O9 multilayer laminates were studied, and a multilayer thermoelectric generator was fabricated. Compacts and multilayer samples with anisotropic microstructure and residual porosity were obtained after conventional sintering at 920 °C, whereas dense and isotropic multilayer samples were prepared by firing at 1200 °C and reoxidation at 900 °C. A hot-pressed sample has a dense and anisotropic microstructure. Samples sintered at 920 °C exhibit low electrical conductivity due to the low density, whereas the Seebeck coefficient is not sensitive to preparation conditions. However, thermal conductivity of multilayers is very low, and, hence acceptable ZT values are obtained. A ransversal multilayer thermoelectric generator (TMLTEG) was fabricated by stacking layers of Ca3Co4O9 green tapes, AgPd conductor printing, and co-firing at 920 °C. The TMLTEG has a power output of 3 mW at ΔT =200 K in the temperature interval of 25 °C to 300 °C.
High energy X-ray synchrotron diffraction is used to investigate the elastic anisotropy of the nickel-based superalloy IN718 produced by laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB). This material is characterized by a columnar grain morphology with some crystallographic texture. The material is subjected to elastic loading to determine the diffraction elastic constants (DECs). Furthermore, the single-crystal elastic constants (SCEC) are refined from these experiments using different micromechanical models. The results show that each micromechanical model predicts a specific set of SCEC that well describes the elastic anisotropy of PBF-LB/IN718.
Additive manufacturing techniques, such as laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB), are well known for their exceptional freedom in part design. However, these techniques are also characterized by the development of large thermal gradients during production and thus residual stress (RS) formation in produced parts. In this context, neutron diffraction enables the non-destructive characterization of the bulk RS distribution. By control of the thermal gradients in the powder-bed plane by scan strategy variation we study the impact of in-process scan strategy variations on the microstructure and the three-dimensional distribution of RS. Microstructural analysis by means of electron backscatter diffraction reveals sharp microstructure transitions at the interfaces ranging from 100-200 µm. The components of the RS tensor are determined by means of neutron diffraction and the principal stress directions and magnitudes are determined by eigenvalue decomposition. We find that the distribution of RS in the powder-bed plane corresponds to the underlying scan strategy. When the alternating scan vectors align with the x- and y sample coordinate axes, the principal stress directions co-align. In the present geometry, nearly transverse isotropic stress states develop when the scan vectors are either aligned 45° between x and y or continuously rotated by 67° between each layer.
The manufacturability of metallic alloys using laser-based additive manufacturing methods such as laser powder bed fusion has substantially improved within the last decade. However, local melting and solidification cause hierarchically structured and crystallographically textured microstructures possessing large residual stress. Such microstructures are not only the origin of mechanical anisotropy but also pose metrological challenges for the diffraction-based residual stress determination. Here we demonstrate the influence of the build orientation and the texture on the microstructure and consequently the mechanical anisotropy of as-built Inconel 718. For this purpose, we manufactured specimens with [001]/[011]-, [001]- and [011]/[111]-type textures along their loading direction. In addition to changes in the Young’s moduli, the differences in the crystallographic textures result in variations of the yield and ultimate tensile strengths. With this in mind, we studied the anisotropy on the micromechanical scale by subjecting the specimens to tensile loads along the different texture directions during in situ neutron diffraction experiments. In this context, the response of multiple lattice planes up to a tensile strain of 10% displayed differences in the load partitioning and the residual strain accumulation for the specimen with [011]/[111]-type texture. However, the relative behavior of the specimens possessing an [001]/[011]- and [001]-type texture remained qualitatively similar. The consequences on the metrology of residual stress determination methods are discussed.
Although layer-based additive manufacturing methods such as laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB) offer an immense geometrical freedom in design, they are typically subject to a build-up of internal stress (i.e. thermal stress) during manufacturing. As a consequence, significant residual stress (RS) is retained in the final part as a footprint of these internal stresses. Furthermore, localized melting and solidification inherently induce columnar-type grain growth accompanied by crystallographic texture. Although diffraction-based methods are commonly used to determine the RS distribution in PBF-LB parts, such features pose metrological challenges in their application. In theory, preferred grain orientation invalidates the hypothesis of isotropic material behavior underlying the common methods to determine RS. In this work, more refined methods are employed to determine RS in PBF-LB/M/IN718 prisms, based on crystallographic texture data. In fact, the employment of direction-dependent elastic constants (i.e. stress factors) for the calculation of RS results in insignificant differences from conventional approaches based on the hypothesis of isotropic mechanical properties. It can be concluded that this result is directly linked to the fact that the {311} lattice planes typically used for RS analysis in nickel-based alloys have high multiplicity and less strong texture intensities compared with other lattice planes. It is also found that the length of the laser scan vectors determines the surface RS distribution in prisms prior to their removal from the baseplate. On removal from the baseplate the surface RS considerably relaxes and/or redistributes; a combination of the geometry and the scanning strategy dictates the sub-surface RS distribution.
Polyether and -ester urethanes (PU) were exposed to artificial weathering at 40 °C and artificial UV radiation in a weathering chamber. In 3 parallel exposures, humidity was varied between dry, humid, and wet conditions. Material alteration was investigated by various analytical techniques like size exclusion chromatography
(SEC), liquid chromatography-infrared spectroscopy (LC-FTIR), thermal-desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS), fluorescence mapping and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Our results show that depending on the weathering conditions, different degradation effects can be observed. By means of SEC an initial strong decrease of the molar masses and a broadening of the mass distributions was found. After a material dependent time span this was followed by a plateau where molar mass changes were less significant. A minor moisture-dependent degradation effect was only found for polyester PU. Fluorescence measurements on two materials revealed an increase in the luminescence intensity upon weathering process reaching a saturation level after about 500 h. The changes in the optical properties observed after different exposure conditions and times were very similar. The TD-GC-MS data showed the fate of the stabilizers and antioxidant in the course of weathering. LC-FTIR measurements revealed a change in peak intensities and the ratio of urethane and carbonyl bands.