Analysis of acoustic emission during the melting of embedded indium particles in an aluminum matrix: a study of plastic strain accommodation during phase transformation

Acoustic emission is used here to study melting and solidification of embedded indium particles in the size range of 0.2 to 3 um in diameter and to show that dislocation generation occurs in the aluminum matrix to accommodate a 2.5% volume change. The volume averaged acoustic energy produced by indium particle melting is similar to that reported for bainite formation upon continuous cooling. A mechanism of prismatic loop generation is proposed to accommodate the volume change and an upper limit to the geometrically necessary increase in dislocation density is calculated as 4.1 x 10^9 cm^-2 for the Al-17In alloy. Thermomechanical processing is also used to change the size and distribution of the indium particles within the aluminum matrix. Dislocation generation with accompanied acoustic emission occurs when the melting indium particles are associated with grain boundaries or upon solidification where the solid-liquid interfaces act as free surfaces to facilitate dislocation generation. Acoustic emission is not observed for indium particles that require super heating and exhibit elevated melting temperatures. The acoustic emission work corroborates previously proposed relaxation mechanisms from prior internal friction studies and that the superheat observed for melting of these micron-sized particles is a result of matrix constraint.Comment: Presented at "Atomistic Effects in Migrating Interphase Interfaces - Recent Progress and Future Study" TMS 201

Discontinuous Precipitation in Ni-Base Superalloys During Solution Heat Treatment

Discontinuous precipitation in single-crystal Ni-base superalloys during solution heat treatment has been studied. It is found that discontinuous precipitation occurs at temperatures approaching the solvus, where volume diffusion is dominant. Diffusion of Al ahead of the boundary leads to gamma prime precipitation and is accompanied by a loss in the driving force available for advancement of the grain boundary. The rate of gamma prime precipitation was tracked using in situ neutron diffraction during isothermal hold. Gamma prime precipitation is accompanied by super-saturation of Cr and W within the channels ahead of the interface. The driving force calculated for the initial stages of DP was [10-5 to 10-4] N/[μm2 of the grain boundary]. The results provide an insight into discontinuous precipitation during solution heat treatment of Ni-base single-crystal alloys and are useful in optimizing the heat treatment process to avoid surface defect formation

Formation of Nanostructures in Severely Deformed High-Strength Steel Induced by High-Frequency Ultrasonic Impact Treatment

Surface modification by the generation of a nanostructured surface layer induced via ultrasonic impact treatment was performed at the weld toe of a welded high-strength quenched and tempered structural steel, S690QL1 (Fe-0.16C-0.2Si-0.87Mn-0.33Cr-0.21Mo (wt pct)). Such high-frequency peening techniques are known to improve the fatigue life of welded components. The nanocrystallized structure as a function of depth from the top-treated surface was characterized via a recently developed automated crystal orientation mapping in transmission electron microscopy. Based on the experimental observations, a grain refinement mechanism induced by plastic deformation during the ultrasonic impact treatment is proposed. It involves the formation of low-angle misoriented lamellae displaying a high density of dislocations followed by the subdivision of microbands into blocks and the resulting formation of polygonal submicronic grains. These submicronic grains further breakdown into nano grains. The results show the presence of retained austenite even after severe surface plastic deformation. The average grain size of the retained austenite and martensite is (Formula presented).35 nm, respectively. The in-grain deformation mechanisms are different in larger and smaller grains. Larger grains show long-range lattice rotations, while smaller grains show plastic deformation through grain rotation. Also the smaller nano grains exhibit the presence of short-range disorder. Surface nanocrystallization also leads to an increased fraction of low angle and low energy coincident site lattice boundaries especially in the smaller grains ((Formula presented). nm).SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe