Interface characteristics in an {\alpha}+{\beta} titanium alloy

The alpha/beta interface in Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-6Mo (Ti-6246) is investigated via centre of symmetry analysis, both as-grown and after 10% cold work. Semi-coherent interface steps are observed at a spacing of 4.5 +/-1.13 atoms in the as-grown condition, in good agreement with theory prediction (4.37 atoms). Lattice accommodation is observed, with elongation along [-1 2 -1 0]alpha and contraction along [1 0 -1 0]alpha . Deformed alpha exhibited larger, less coherent steps with slip bands lying in {110}beta. This indicates dislocation pile-up at the grain boundary, a precursor to globularisation, offering insight into the effect of deformation processing on the interface, which is important for titanium alloy processing route design.Comment: Revised after revie

Obtaining strong ferromagnetism in diluted Gd-doped ZnO thin films through controlled Gd-defect complexes

We demonstrate the fabrication of reproducible long-range ferromagnetism (FM) in highly crystalline Gdx Zn 1−xO thin films by controlling the defects. Films are grown on lattice-matched substrates by pulsed laser deposition at low oxygen pressures (≤25 mTorr) and low Gd concentrations (x ≤ 0.009). These films feature strong FM (10 μB per Gd atom) at room temperature. While films deposited at higher oxygen pressure do not exhibit FM, FM is recovered by post-annealing these films under vacuum. These findings reveal the contribution of oxygen deficiency defects to the long-range FM. We demonstrate the possible FM mechanisms, which are confirmed by density functional theory study, and show that Gd dopants are essential for establishing FM that is induced by intrinsic defects in these films

Precipitate dissolution during deformation induced twin thickening in a CoNi-base superalloy subject to creep

The tensile creep performance of a polycrystalline Co/Ni-base superalloy with a multimodal γ ′ distribution has been examined at 800 ∘C and 300 MPa. The rupture life of the alloy is comparable to that of RR1000 tested under similar conditions. Microstructural examination of the alloy after testing revealed the presence of continuous γ ′ precipitates and M 23C 6 carbides along the grain boundaries. Intragranularly, coarsening of the secondary γ ′ precipitates occurred at the expense of the fine tertiary γ ′. Long planar deformation bands, free of γ ′, were also observed to traverse individual grains. Examination of the deformation bands confirmed that they were microtwins. Long sections of the microtwins examined were depleted of γ ′ stabilising elements across their entire width, suggesting that certain alloy compositions are susceptible to precipitate dissolution during twin thickening. A mechanism for the dissolution of the precipitates is suggested based on the Kolbe reordering mechanism

The role of microstructure and local crystallographic orientation near porosity defects on the high cycle fatigue life of an additive manufactured Ti-6Al-4V

Titanium alloys such as Ti-6Al-4V built by most of the additive manufacturing processes are known to contain process induced defects, non-conventional microstructure and strong crystallographic texture; all of which can affect the fatigue strength. In this study we evaluated the effect of crystallographic orientation of α and α lath width around gas pore defects on the high cycle fatigue life of Wire + Arc Additive Manufactured Ti-6Al-4V by means of Electron Back Scattered Diffraction. Here we show that variations in crystallographic orientation of α lath and its width in the vicinity of the crack initiating defect were the main reasons for the considerable scatter in fatigue life. Pyramidal slip systems with high Schmid factor active around the defects resulted in longer fatigue life compared to pyramidal slip with lower Schmid factor. In the absence of pyramidal slip, cracks initiated from active prismatic slip systems. When considering the influence of the microstructure, a higher number of smaller α laths around the defect resulted in longer fatigue life, and vice versa. Overall, the fatigue crack initiation stage was controlled collectively by the complex interaction of porosity characteristics, α lath width and its crystallographic orientation at the crack initiation locatio

Quantitative precipitate classification and grain boundary property control in Co/Ni-base superalloys

A correlative approach is employed to simultaneously assess structure and chemistry of (carbide and boride) precipitates in a set of novel Co/Ni-base superalloys. Structure is derived from electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) with pattern template matching, and chemistry obtained with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). It is found that the principal carbide in these alloys is Mo and W rich with the M6C structure. An M2B boride also exhibiting Mo and W segregation is observed at B levels above approximately 0.085 at. pct. These phases are challenging to distinguish in an SEM with chemical information (EDS or backscatter Z-contrast) alone, without the structural information provided by EBSD. Only correlative chemical and structural fingerprinting is necessary and sufficient to fully define a phase. The identified phases are dissimilar to those predicted using ThermoCalc. We additionally perform an assessment of the grain boundary serratability in these alloys, and observe that significant amplitude is only obtained in the absence of pinning intergranular precipitates

Interface characteristics in an α+β titanium alloy

The α/β interface in Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-6Mo (Ti-6246) was investigated via center of symmetry analysis, both as-grown and after 10% cold work. Semicoherent interface steps are observed at a spacing of 4.5±1.13 atoms in the as-grown condition, in good agreement with theory. Lattice accommodation is observed, with elongation along [1210]α and contraction along [1010]α. Deformed α exhibited larger, less coherent steps with slip bands lying in {110}β. This indicates dislocation pile-up at the grain boundary, a precursor to globularization during heat treatment. Atom probe tomography measurements of secondary α plates in the fully heat-treated condition showed a Zr excess at the interface, which was localized into regular structures indicative of Zr association with interface defects, such as dislocations. Such chemo-mechanical stabilization of the interface defects would both inhibit plate growth during elevated temperature service and the interaction of interface defects with gliding dislocations during deformation

Design of a high strength, high ductility 12 wt% Mn medium manganese steel with hierarchical deformation behaviour

A novel medium Mn steel of composition Fe-12Mn-4.8Al-2Si-0.32C-0.3V was manufactured with 1.09 GPa yield strength, 1.26 GPa tensile strength and 54% elongation. The thermomechanical process route was designed to be industrially translatable and consists of hot and then warm rolling followed by a 30 min intercritical anneal. The resulting microstructure comprised of coarse elongated austenite grains in the rolling direction surrounded by necklace layers of fine austenite and ferrite grains. The tensile behaviour was investigated by in-situ neutron diffraction and the evolution of microstructure studied with Electron Backscattered Diffraction (EBSD). It was found that the coarse austenite grains contributed to the first stage of strain hardening by transforming into martensite and the fine austenite necklace grains contributed to the second stage of strain hardening by a mixture of twinning and transformation induced plasticity (TWIP and TRIP) mechanisms. This hierarchical deformation behaviour contributed to the exceptional ductility of this steel