Microstructure evolution of gas-atomized Fe–6.5 wt% Si droplets

The magnetic Fe–6.5 wt% Si powder was produced by gas atomization and its microstructure was also investigated. The secondary dendritic arm spacing (SDAS) is related to the droplet size, λ = 0.29 · D⁰·⁵, and the numerical solidification model was applied to the system, giving rise to the correlation of microstructure to the solidification process of the droplet. It is found that the solid fraction at the end of recalescence is strongly dependent on the undercooling achieved before nucleation; the chances for the smaller droplets to form the grain-refined microstructures are less than the larger ones. Furthermore, the SDAS is strongly influenced by the cooling rate of post-recalescence solidification, and the relationship can be expressed as follows, λ = 74.2 · (T)⁻⁰·³⁴⁷. Then, the growth of the SDAS is driven by the solute diffusion of the interdendritic liquids, leading to a coarsening phenomenon, shown in a cubic root law of local solidification time, λ = 10.73 · (tf)⁰·²⁹⁶

Investigating the Formation Process of Sn-Based Lead-Free Nanoparticles with a Chemical Reduction Method

Nanoparticles of a promising lead-free solder alloy (Sn3.5Ag (wt.%, SnAg) and Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu (wt.%, SAC)) were synthesized through a chemical reduction method by using anhydrous ethanol and 1,10-phenanthroline as the solvent and surfactant, respectively. To illustrate the formation process of Sn-Ag alloy based nanoparticles during the reaction, X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to investigate the phases of the samples in relation to the reaction time. Different nucleation and growth mechanisms were compared on the formation process of the synthesized nanoparticles. The XRD results revealed different reaction process compared with other researchers. There were many contributing factors to the difference in the examples found in the literature, with the main focus on the formation mechanism of crystal nuclei, the solubility and ionizability of metal salts in the solvent, the solid solubility of Cu in Ag nuclei, and the role of surfactant on the growth process. This study will help define the parameters necessary for the control of both the composition and size of the nanoparticles

Deformation induced structural evolution in bulk metallic glasses

The structural behavior of binary Cu50Zr50 and ternary Cu50Zr45Ti5 bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) under applied stress was investigated by means of in-situ high energy X-ray synchrotron diffraction. The components of the strain tensors were determined from the shifts of the maxima of the atomic pair correlation functions (PDF) in real space. The anisotropic atomic reorientation in the first-nearest-neighbor shell versus stress suggests structural rearrangements in short-range order. Within the plastic deformation range the overall strain of the metallic glass is equal to the yield strain. After unloading, the atomic structure returns to the stress-free state, and the short-range order is identical to that of the undeformed state. Plastic deformation, however, leads to localized shear bands whose contribution to the volume averaged diffraction pattern is too weak to be detected. A concordant region evidenced by the anisotropic component is activated to counterbalance the stress change due to the atomic bond reorientation in the first-nearest-neighbor shell. The size of the concordant region is an important factor dominating the yield strength and the plastic strain ability of the BMGs

Deformation induced structural evolution in bulk metallic glasses

The structural behavior of binary Cu50Zr50 and ternary Cu50Zr45Ti5 bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) under applied stress was investigated by means of in-situ high energy X-ray synchrotron diffraction. The components of the strain tensors were determined from the shifts of the maxima of the atomic pair correlation functions (PDF) in real space. The anisotropic atomic reorientation in the first-nearest-neighbor shell versus stress suggests structural rearrangements in short-range order. Within the plastic deformation range the overall strain of the metallic glass is equal to the yield strain. After unloading, the atomic structure returns to the stress-free state, and the short-range order is identical to that of the undeformed state. Plastic deformation, however, leads to localized shear bands whose contribution to the volume averaged diffraction pattern is too weak to be detected. A concordant region evidenced by the anisotropic component is activated to counterbalance the stress change due to the atomic bond reorientation in the first-nearest-neighbor shell. The size of the concordant region is an important factor dominating the yield strength and the plastic strain ability of the BMGs

Nucleation and grain formation of pure Al under Pulsed Magneto-Oscillation treatment

The grain structure of commercially pure Al can be significantly refined by the Pulsed Magneto-Oscillation (PMO) treatment. When PMO was applied to the melt during solidification, the thermal undercooling increased not only near the mold wall but also in the center of the melt. PMO treatment promoted more vigorous convection of the melt, resulting in a significant decrease in the temperature gradient from the mold wall to the center of the casting compared to the case without PMO treatment. The resulting lower temperature gradient led to a more uniform temperature field in the melt, which in turn favored the survival of the Al grains and allowed them to grow rather than remelt. Consideration of the thermal environment during solidification provides a more complete description of the mechanism of grain refinement of pure metals when PMO is applied