Grain boundary pseudopartial wetting

Usually one distinguishes partial and complete wetting of surfaces or interfaces. In case of partial wetting contact angle θ > 0 and the liquid droplet is surrounded by “dry” surface or interface. In the majority of cases the direct transition occurs from partial wetting into complete wetting, for example by increasing temperature or decreasing pressure. However, in some cases the state of pseudopartial wetting occurs between partial and complete wetting. In this case the contact angle θ > 0, the liquid droplet does not spread over the substrate, but the thin (few nm) precursor film exists around the droplet and separates substrate and gas. Such precursor film is very similar for the liquid “pancake” in case of complete wetting and deficit of the liquid phase. The pseudopartial wetting has been observed before only for liquid/liquid mixtures (alcanes/water solution of salt or glucose) or Pb and Bi on the Cu surface. We observed the pseudopartial wetting of Al/Al grain boundaries (GBs) by solid Zn in the Al – 10 wt.% Zn ultra-fine grained polycrystals. The solid Zn partially wets Al/Al GBs (with non-zero contact angle). Nevertheless, the Al/Al GBs contain the 2 nm thin uniform Zn-rich layer connected with Zn grains. Such thin layers are the reason of high ductility of ultra-fine grained Al–Zn alloys at room temperature. This phenomenon opens the way for development of novel light-weight alloys. The pseudopartieal GB wetting by a liquid phase exists also in the WC–Co hard alloys. The pseudopartieal GB wetting by various liquid and solid phases also controls the properties of Nd–Fe–B-based hard magnetic alloys

Friedel Oscillations and superconducting-gap enhancement by impurity scattering

Experiments observe an enhanced superconducting gap over impurities as compared to the clean-bulk value. In order to shed more light on this phenomenon, we perform simulations within the framework of Bogoliubov-deGennes theory applied to the attractive Hubbard model. The simulations qualitatively reproduce the experimentally observed enhancement effect; it can be traced back to an increased particle density in the metal close to the impurity site. In addition, the simulations display significant differences between a thin (2D) and a very thick (3D) film. In 2D pronounced Friedel oscillations can be observed, which decay much faster in (3D) and therefore are more difficult to resolve. Also this feature is in qualitative agreement with the experiment

Jerky Motion of the Reaction Front during Discontinuous Dissolution in a Fe-13.5 at.% Zn Alloy

This paper studies the go- and -stop movement of a receding reaction front (RF) during a discontinuous dissolution (DD) process. A special simulation procedure was applied for the DD reaction to predict a jerky motion of the RF. The Fe-13.5 at.% Zn alloy was selected in which go- and -stop behaviour was revealed in the form of characteristic lines (called “ghost lines”) showing successive positions of receding RF. The results presented for the DD process are quite different from those relevant for the DP reaction at the same Fe-13.5 at.% Zn alloy in terms of go- and -stop motion and movement distance. For the presented case, the go- and -stop periods are relatively long and obtain an order of several dozen seconds, while for the DP reaction, it was only a few seconds. A similar conclusion was formulated after a comparison of the movement distance which, for the DD reaction, is usually longer by 1–2 orders of magnitude. The simulation results of the DD reaction indicate a good agreement with the experimental data presented in the literature for the same dissolution rate. It is necessary to emphasize that the simulation is the only source of data for z parameter changes during the -stop period of the DD reaction

Influence of β-Stabilizers on the α-Ti→ω-Ti Transformation in Ti-Based Alloys

The development of next generation Ti-based alloys demand completely new processes and approaches. In particular, the Ti-alloys of next generation will contain not only α-Ti and β-Ti phases, but also small amounts of ω-phase and intermetallic compounds. The β→ω phase transformation induced by high-pressure torsion (HPT) has been studied in detail recently. In this work, we investigated the HPT-induced α→ω phase transformation. For this purpose, we added various β-stabilizers into α-Ti matrix of studied Ti-alloys. Ti-alloys with 4% Fe, 2% Cr, 3% Ni, and 4% Co (wt. %) have been annealed at the temperatures below their point of eutectoid decomposition, from β-Ti to α-Ti, and respective intermetallics (TiFe, Ti$_{2}$Co, Ti$_{2}$Ni, TiCr$_{2}$). Volume fraction of HPT-driven ω-phase (from ≤5 up to ~80%) depended on the amount of alloying element dissolved in the α-matrix. Evaluation of lattice parameters revealed accelerated mass transfer during HPT at room temperature corresponding to bulk diffusion in α-Ti at ~600 °С

Grain Boundary Wetting Phenomena in High Entropy Alloys Containing Nitrides, Carbides, Borides, Silicides, and Hydrogen: A Review

In this review, we analyze the structure of multicomponent alloys without principal components (they are also called high entropy alloys-HEAs), containing not only metals but also hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, boron, or silicon. In particular, we discuss the phenomenon of grain boundary (GB) wetting by the melt or solid phase. The GB wetting can be complete or incomplete (partial). In the former case, the grains of the matrix are completely separated by the continuous layer of the second phase (solid or liquid). In the latter case of partial GB wetting, the second solid phase forms, between the matrix grains, a chain of (usually lenticular) precipitates or droplets with a non-zero value of the contact angle. To deal with the morphology of GBs, the new GB tie-lines are used, which can be constructed in the two- or multiphase areas of the multidimensional HEAs phase diagrams. The GBs in HEAs in the case of complete or partial wetting can also contain hydrides, nitrides, carbides, borides, or silicides. Thus, GB wetting by the hydrides, nitrides, carbides, borides, or silicides can be used in the so-called grain boundary chemical engineering in order to improve the properties of respective HEAs.This research was funded by the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education (contract no. 075-15-2021-945 grant no. 13.2251.21.0013) Support from the University of the Basque Country under the GIU19/019 project is also acknowledged

The Enrichment of (Cu, Sn) Solid Solution Driven by High-Pressure Torsion

Cu–14 wt% Sn alloy was annealed at temperatures of 320 and 500 °C. The concentration of tin c$_{init}$ in the copper-based matrix increased with annealing temperature. The annealed samples were subjected to high-pressure torsion (HPT) at 6 GPa, 5 turns, 1 rpa. HPT led to the refinement of Cu grains. The shape of the colonies of α + ε phases changed only slightly. The HPT-driven enrichment of the Cu-based solid solution with Sn atoms c$_{HPT}$–c$_{init}$ decreased with increasing c$_{init}$. The performed theoretical analysis explained this behavior of the HPT-driven enrichment

Structure Refinement and Fragmentation of Precipitates under Severe Plastic Deformation: A Review

During severe plastic deformation (SPD), the processes of lattice defect formation as well as their relaxation (annihilation) compete with each other. As a result, a dynamic equilibrium is established, and a steady state is reached after a certain strain value. Simultaneously, other kinetic processes act in opposite directions and also compete with each other during SPD, such as grain refinement/growth, mechanical strengthening/softening, formation/decomposition of solid solution, etc. These competing processes also lead to dynamic equilibrium and result in a steady state (saturation), albeit after different strains. Among these steady-state phenomena, particle fragmentation during the second phase of SPD has received little attention. Available data indicate that precipitate fragmentation slows down with increasing strain, though saturation is achieved at higher strains than in the case of hardness or grain size. Moreover, one can consider the SPD-driven nanocrystallization in the amorphous phase as a process that is opposite to the fragmentation of precipitates. The size of these crystalline nanoprecipitates also saturates after a certain strain. The fragmentation of precipitates during SPD is the topic of this review

Ferromagnetic behaviour of ZnO: The role of grain boundaries

The possibility to attain ferromagnetic properties in transparent semiconductor oxides such as ZnO is very promising for future spintronic applications. We demonstrate in this review that ferromagnetism is not an intrinsic property of the ZnO crystalline lattice but is that of ZnO/ZnO grain boundaries. If a ZnO polycrystal contains enough grain boundaries, it can transform into the ferromagnetic state even without doping with “magnetic atoms” such as Mn, Co, Fe or Ni. However, such doping facilitates the appearance of ferromagnetism in ZnO. It increases the saturation magnetisation and decreases the critical amount of grain boundaries needed for FM. A drastic increase of the total solubility of dopants in ZnO with decreasing grain size has been also observed. It is explained by the multilayer grain boundary segregation

Thermodynamic aspects of the grain boundary segregation in Cu (Bi) alloys

AbstractÐThe grain boundary segregation of Bi in dilute polycrystalline Cu±Bi alloys was systematically studied as a function of temperature and composition. The temperature dependencies of the Gibbsian excess of Bi at the grain boundaries exhibited discontinuous changes at the temperatures close to, but dierent from the bulk solidus temperatures. The observed segregational phase transition was interpreted in terms of prewetting model.

Microstructure, microhardness and corrosion resistance of WE43 alloy based composites after high-pressure torsion

The structure and properties of a composite consisting of Mg-Y-Nd-Zr alloy (WE43) and various oxides are studied. The particles of the WE43 powder were coated by the nanocrystalline oxide layer by means of a wet chemical deposition process. After that the powder is compressed into solid samples and deformed using high-pressure torsion at room temperature. A second phase is present, both, in pure WE43 alloy and in the one with deposited oxides. We observed that the modification of the alloy by the oxide layer deposition and deformation by high-pressure torsion changes the phase composition and properties of the samples. The samples modified by TiO2 showed the best microhardness and corrosion resistanc