Microstructures and compressive properties of AlxCoCrFeNi high entropy alloys prepared by arc melting and directional solidification

The AlxCoCrFeNi (molar radio, x=0.6 and 1.2) high entropy alloys (HEAs) were prepared by arc melting and directional solidification at the withdrawal rate of 150 μm/s. All microstructures were characterized by x-ray diffraction, optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with an energy-dispersive spectrometer. Strong similarities in phase constituent were observed between the as-cast samples and directionally solidified samples. The Al0.6CoCrFeNi HEA and Al1.2CoCrFeNi HEA fabricated by two different techniques respectively consisted of Cr-Fe-Co enriched FCC phase + Al-Ni enriched BCC phase and Al-Ni enriched B2 phase + Cr-Fe-Co enriched A2 phase. It was micromorphology found that directional solidification could not only make the microstructures arranged regularly but also coarsen the grains. This has been attributed to the preferred grain orientation and lower cooling rate during directional solidification process. Compression testing showed that the compressive ductility of directionally solidified samples decreased obviously. The ultimate compressive strength of Al0.6CoCrFeNi HEA increased from 1 675 MPa to 1 903 MPa, but the strength of Al1.2CoCrFeNi HEA decreased from 2 183 MPa to 1 463 MPa. The difference in strength has been suggested to be the result of micropores in the matrix.

Effect of ZrB2 Functionalized Nanoparticles Growth on Microstructural and Corrosion Resistance on Mild Steel through Electrodeposition Route

In other to have a better performance of Ni-P-Zn multifunctional applications, crystallite-like Ni-P-Zn-ZrB2 composite was actively fabricated by electrodeposition principle. The corrosion, structural evolution and surface active phenomena were investigated by various techniques. The influence of ZrB2 particulate on the morphology and corrosion properties was examined. The outcomes show an inclusive flower-like doped ZrB2 phase constituent and is uniformly distributed Ni-P-Zn-ZrB2 improved strengthening effect. The corrosion progression of the developed metal alloy was compared with other coating matrix from 10-25 minutes interval. The integration of ZrB2 on Ni-P-Zn phase especially for 25 min deposits significantly enhances corrosion resistance due to good grain refinement. Keywords: Ni-based composite, electrodeposition, time difference, coating, corrosion

Effects of Static Magnetic Field on Compression Properties of Mg-Al-Gd Alloys Containing Gd-Rich Ferromagnetic Phase

The Mg–0.6Al–20.8Gd (wt.%) alloys were homogenized at 620 °C for 20 min under 0 T and 1 T, followed by furnace cooling, quenching, and air cooling, respectively. The effects of the magnetic field on the phase constituent, microstructure, secondary phase precipitation, and mechanical properties of the Mg–Al–Gd alloys were investigated. The Mg–Al–Gd alloys contained α-Mg, Mg5Gd, Al2Gd, and GdH2 phases, and the phase constituents were hardly influenced by the applied magnetic field. However, the precipitation of the paramagnetic Mg5Gd upon cooling was accelerated by the magnetic field, and that of the ferromagnetic Al2Gd phases was inhibited. In addition, the Al2Gd phase was significantly refined and driven to segregate at the grain boundaries by the magnetic field, and the resultant pinning effect led to the microstructure change from dendritic α-Mg grains to rosette-like ones. When the magnetic field was only applied to the homogenization stage, the content of the Mg5Gd phase remained unchanged in the quenched alloy, whereas the Mg5Gd laths were significantly refined. By contrast, the contents of the Al2Gd and GdH2 phases were increased, while the precipitation sites were still within the α-Mg grains. The Mg5Gd laths were incapable of providing precipitation strengthening, while the Al2Gd and GdH2 particles brought positive effects on the enhancement of the mechanical properties. In the quenching condition, the hardness, compression strength, and ductility can be improved by the magnetic treatment, whereas these mechanical properties can be suppressed in the furnace cooled condition by the magnetic treatment.

Importance of SOA formation of α-pinene, limonene and <i>m</i>-cresol comparing day-and night-time radical chemistry

The oxidation of biogenic and anthropogenic compounds leads to the formation of secondary organic aerosol mass (SOA). The present study aims to investigate α-pinene, limonene and m-cresol with regards to their SOA formation potential dependent on relative humidity (RH) under night- (NO3 radicals) and day-time conditions (OH radicals) and the resulting chemical composition. It was found that SOA formation potential of limonene with NO3 significantly exceeds the one of the OH radical reaction, with SOA yields of 15–30 % and 10–21 %, respectively. Additionally, the nocturnal SOA yield was found to be very sensitive towards RH, yielding more SOA under dry conditions. On the contrary, the SOA formation potential of α-pinene with NO3 slightly exceeds that of the OH radical reaction, independent from RH. In average, α-pinene yielded SOA with about 6–7 % from NO3 radicals and 3–4 % from OH radical reaction. Surprisingly, unexpected high SOA yields were found for m-cresol oxidation with OH radicals (3–9 %) with the highest yield under elevated RH (9 %) which is most likely attributed to a higher fraction of 3-methyl-6-nitro-catechol (MNC). While α-pinene and m-cresol SOA was found to be mainly composed of water-soluble compounds, 50–68 % of nocturnal SOA and 22–39 % of daytime limonene SOA is water-insoluble. The fraction of SOA-bound peroxides which originated from α-pinene varied between 2–80 % as a function of RH. Furthermore, SOA from α-pinene revealed pinonic acid as the most important particle-phase constituent under day- and night-time conditions with fraction of 1–4 %. Further compounds detected are norpinonic acid (0.05–1.1 % mass fraction), terpenylic acid (0.1–1.1 % mass fraction), pinic acid (0.1–1.8 % mass fraction) and 3-methyl-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid (0.05–0.5 % mass fraction). All marker compounds showed higher fractions under dry conditions when formed during daytime and almost no RH effect when formed during night.

Nano-Scaled Creep Response of TiAlV Low Density Medium Entropy Alloy at Elevated Temperatures

A low density, medium entropy alloy (LD-MEA) Ti33Al33V34 (4.44 g/cm3) was successfully developed. The microstructure was found to be composed of a disordered body-centered-cubic (BCC) matrix and minor ordered B2 precipitates based on transmission electron microscopy characterization. Equilibrium and non-equilibrium modeling, simulated using the Calphad approach, were applied to predict the phase constituent. Creep behavior of {110} grains at elevated temperatures was investigated by nanoindentation and the results were compared with Cantor alloy and Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Dislocation creep was found to be the dominant mechanism. The decreasing trend of hardness in {110} grains of BCC TiAlV is different from that in {111} grains of face-centered-cubic (FCC) Cantor alloy due to the different temperature-dependence of Peierls stress in these two lattice structures. The activation energy value of {110} grains was lower than that of {111} grains in FCC Cantor alloy because of the denser atomic stacking in FCC alloys. Compared with conventional Ti-6Al-4V alloy, TiAlV possesses considerably higher hardness and specific strength (63% higher), 83% lower creep displacement at room temperature, and 50% lower creep strain rate over the temperature range from 500 to 600 °C under the similar 1150 MPa stress, indicating a promising substitution for Ti-6Al-4V alloy as structural materials.