Microstructure Formation and Mechanical Properties of Multi-Phase Coating by Thermos Plasma Nitriding of Gradient Cu-Ti Films on C61900 Cu Alloy

To improve the processing efficiency and the surface properties of C61900 Cu alloy, a gradient Cu-Ti film with a Ti/Cu atom ratio of 7:1, 7:4, and 1:2 was pre-fabricated by the unbalanced magnetron sputtering process and then nitrided by thermos plasma nitriding. The phase structure, elemental composition, and morphology of the modified surface were characterized, and the mechanical properties, including the wear resistance and adhesion properties, were examined. Combining calculation by the first principle method with thermodynamic analysis, the microstructural formation and phase composition of the Cu-Ti-N system were investigated to reveal the mechanism of improved wear resistance, which indicated the possible formation of various Cu-Ti intermetallics and Ti-N compounds. The Al in the C61900 Cu substrate also participated in the generation of the AlCu2Ti compound, which is a ductile phase with good hardness and elastic modulus. Based on the results of a mechanical properties test, it was concluded that an optimized layer structure for the multi-phase coating should include Ti-N compounds as the surface layer and Cu-Ti intermetallics as the intermediate layer.

Mechanical and thermodynamics properties of Al2Ca and Mg2Ca under various pressure: A first principle study

The mechanical and thermodynamic properties of Al2Ca and Mg2Ca in the pressure range of 0~100 Gpa were investigated using first-principles calculations. The structural parameters, such as lattice constant ratio, unit cell volume ratio, density, were investigated. The calculated elastic constants satisfy the born’s stability criterion, indicating that they are mechanically stable at normal and high pressure. Mechanical parameters such as bulk modulus, shear modulus, and Young’s modulus of polycrystalline materials have been derived from single-crystal elastic constants. The Poisson’s ratio and anisotropy were investigated. The results show that the B/G value of Mg2Ca is greater than 1.75, indicating it is a ductile phase under various pressures. When the pressure was equal to 40 Gpa, Al2Ca was transferred brittle to toughness, and the bulk modulus, shear modulus, and Young’s modulus of Al2Ca were all larger than those of Mg2Ca, indicating that the comprehensive mechanical properties of Al2Ca are better than those of Mg2Ca. The constant heat capacity obtained by the quasi-harmonic approximation indicates that the ability of Mg2Ca to release or store heat is greater than that of Al2Ca. Moreover, the coefficient of thermal expansion (α) increases exponentially at lower temperatures and linearly at higher temperatures for both alloys.

Bayesian inversion for unified ductile phase-field fracture

The prediction of crack initiation and propagation in ductile failure processes are challenging tasks for the design and fabrication of metallic materials and structures on a large scale. Numerical aspects of ductile failure dictate a sub-optimal calibration of plasticity- and fracture-related parameters for a large number of material properties. These parameters enter the system of partial differential equations as a forward model. Thus, an accurate estimation of the material parameters enables the precise determination of the material response in different stages, particularly for the post-yielding regime, where crack initiation and propagation take place. In this work, we develop a Bayesian inversion framework for ductile fracture to provide accurate knowledge regarding the effective mechanical parameters. To this end, synthetic and experimental observations are used to estimate the posterior density of the unknowns. To model the ductile failure behavior of solid materials, we rely on the phase-field approach to fracture, for which we present a unified formulation that allows recovering different models on a variational basis. In the variational framework, incremental minimization principles for a class of gradient-type dissipative materials are used to derive the governing equations. The overall formulation is revisited and extended to the case of anisotropic ductile fracture. Three different models are subsequently recovered by certain choices of parameters and constitutive functions, which are later assessed through Bayesian inversion techniques. A step-wise Bayesian inversion method is proposed to determine the posterior density of the material unknowns for a ductile phase-field fracture process. To estimate the posterior density function of ductile material parameters, three common Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques are employed: (i) the Metropolis–Hastings algorithm, (ii) delayed-rejection adaptive Metropolis, and (iii) ensemble Kalman filter combined with MCMC. To examine the computational efficiency of the MCMC methods, we employ the $$\hat{R}{-}convergence$$ R ^ - c o n v e r g e n c e tool. The resulting framework is algorithmically described in detail and substantiated with numerical examples.

Welding of Copper to Aluminium With Laser Beam Wavelength of 515 nm

In laser joining of copper (Cu) and aluminum (Al) sheets, the Al sheet is widely chosen as the top surface for laser irradiation because of increased absorption of laser beam and lower melting temperature of Al in contrast to Cu. This research focus on welding from Cu side to Al sheet. The main objective of irradiating the laser beam from the copper side (Cu on top) is to exploit higher solubility of Al in Cu. A significantly lower laser power can be used with 515 nm laser in comparison to 1030 nm. In addition to low laser power, a stable welding is obtained with 515 nm. Because of this advantage, 515 nm is selected for the current research. By fusion of Cu and Al the two sheet metals are welded, with presence of beneficial Cu solid solution phase and Al+Al2Cu in the joint with the brittle phases intermixed between the ductile phase. Therefore the mixed composition strengthens the joint. However excessive mixing leads to formation of more detrimental phases and less ductile phases. Therefore optimum mixing must be maintained. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis indicate that large amount of beneficial Cu solid solution and Al rich phases is formed in the strong joint. From the tensile shear test for a strong joint, fracture is obtained on the heat-affected zone (HAZ) of Al. Therefore the key for welding from copper side is to have optimum melt with beneficial phases like Cu and Al+ Al2Cu and the detrimental phases intermixed between the ductile phases

Improved Tribocorrosion Resistance by Addition of Sn to CrFeCoNi High Entropy Alloy

Among the high entropy or complex concentrated alloys (HEAs/CCAs), one type of system is commonly based on CoCrFeNi, which as an equiatomic quaternary alloy that forms a single phase FCC structure. In this work, the effect of Sn in an equiatomic quinary system with CoCrFeNi is shown to lead to a great improvement in hardness and resistance to tribocorrosion. The addition causes a phase transition from a single FCC phase in CoCrFeNi to dual phase in CoCrFeNiSn with an Ni-Sn intermetallic phase, and a CoCrFeNi FCC phase. The presence of both the hard intermetallic and this ductile phase helps to resist crack propagation, and consequent material removal during wear. In addition, the high polarization resistance of the passive film formed at the surface and the high corrosion potential of the Ni-Sn phase contribute to preventing chloride corrosion attack during corrosion testing. This film is tenacious enough for the effect to persist under tribocorrosion conditions.