SNICAR-ADv3: a community tool for modeling spectral snow albedo

The Snow, Ice, and Aerosol Radiative (SNICAR) model has been used in various capacities over the last 15 years to model the spectral albedo of snow with light-absorbing constituents (LACs). Recent studies have extended the model to include an adding-doubling two-stream solver and representations of non-spherical ice particles; carbon dioxide snow; snow algae; and new types of mineral dust, volcanic ash, and brown carbon. New options also exist for ice refractive indices and solar-zenith-angle-dependent surface spectral irradiances used to derive broadband albedo. The model spectral range was also extended deeper into the ultraviolet for studies of extraterrestrial and high-altitude cryospheric surfaces. Until now, however, these improvements and capabilities have not been merged into a unified code base. Here, we document the formulation and evaluation of the publicly available SNICAR-ADv3 source code, web-based model, and accompanying library of constituent optical properties. The use of non-spherical ice grains, which scatter less strongly into the forward direction, reduces the simulated albedo perturbations from LACs by ∼9 %–31 %, depending on which of the three available non-spherical shapes are applied. The model compares very well against measurements of snow albedo from seven studies, though key properties affecting snow albedo are not fully constrained with measurements, including ice effective grain size of the top sub-millimeter of the snowpack, mixing state of LACs with respect to ice grains, and site-specific LAC optical properties. The new default ice refractive indices produce extremely high pure snow albedo (>0.99) in the blue and ultraviolet part of the spectrum, with such values only measured in Antarctica so far. More work is needed particularly in the representation of snow algae, including experimental verification of how different pigment expressions and algal cell concentrations affect snow albedo. Representations and measurements of the influence of liquid water on spectral snow albedo are also needed.

Effect of Cooling Rate on The Microstructure And Cryogenic Impact Toughness of HAZ in 9% Ni Steel

The effects of cooling rate on the microstructure and cryogenic impact toughness of coarse-grained heat-affected zone (CGHAZ) and inter-critically reheated coarse-grained HAZ (IC CGHAZ) in 9% Ni steel were investigated. CGHAZ and IC CGHAZ specimens were prepared from 9% Ni steel by controlling the cooling rate of the simulated welding process. The microstructure of the CGHAZ specimens consisted of autotempered martensite and lath martensite. As the cooling rate increased, the volume fraction of the autotempered martensite and the effective grain size decreased. A large amount of fine carbides was distributed inside the auto-tempered martensite, the dislocation density was low, and high angle grain boundaries were not observed. The microstructure of the IC CGHAZ specimens consisted of tempered martensite and lath martensite. As the cooling rate increased, the volume fraction of the tempered martensite and effective grain size decreased. Finer carbides were distributed inside the tempered martensite than in the auto-tempered martensite, the dislocation density was low, and high angle grain boundaries were not observed. Cryogenic fracture revealed that ductile fracture occurred in the auto-tempered martensite and tempered martensite, and brittle fracture occurred in the lath martensite. The crack propagation path was zig-zag in the high angle grain boundaries of the lath martensite. The volume fraction of auto-tempered martensite and tempered martensite and the effective grain size in the HAZ specimens had a significant effect on cryogenic impact toughness. In the IC CGHAZ specimens, cryogenic impact toughness decreased and then became constant as the cooling rate increased, due to a decrease in the volume fraction of the tempered martensite and effective grain size.

SNICAR-AD v3: A Community Tool for Modeling Spectral Snow Albedo

The Snow, Ice, and Aerosol Radiative (SNICAR) model has been used in various capacities over the last 15 years to model the spectral albedo of snow with light-absorbing constituents (LAC). Recent studies have extended the model to include an adding-doubling two-stream solver and representations of non-spherical ice particles, carbon dioxide snow, snow algae, and new types of mineral dust, volcanic ash, and brown carbon. New options also exist for ice refractive indices and solar zenith angle-dependent surface spectral irradiances used to derive broadband albedo. The model spectral range was also extended deeper into the ultraviolet for studies of extraterrestrial and high-altitude cryospheric surfaces. Until now, however, these improvements and capabilities have not been merged into a unified code base. Here, we document the formulation and evaluation of the publicly-available SNICAR-ADv3 source code, web-based model, and accompanying library of particle optical properties. The use of non-spherical ice grains, which scatter less strongly into the forward direction, reduce the simulated albedo perturbations from LAC by ~9–31 %, depending on which of the three available non-spherical shapes are applied. The model compares very well against measurements of snow albedo from seven studies, though key properties affecting snow albedo are not fully constrained with measurements, including ice effective grain size of the top sub-millimeter of the snowpack, mixing state of LAC with respect to ice grains, and site-specific LAC optical properties. The new default ice refractive indices produce extremely high pure snow albedo (> 0.99) in the blue and ultraviolet part of the spectrum, with such values measured so far only in Antarctica. More work is needed particularly in the representation of snow algae, including experimental verification of how different pigment expressions and algal cell concentrations affect snow albedo. Representations and measurements of the influence of liquid water on spectral snow albedo are also needed.

Effect of Tempering on the Bainitic Microstructure Evolution Correlated with the Hardness in a Low-Alloy Medium-Carbon Steel

A low-alloy medium-carbon bainitic steel was isothermally tempered at 300 °C for up to 24 hours which led to a significant hardness decrease. In order to explain the decreasing hardness, extensive microstructural characterization using scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and atom probe tomography was conducted. The experimental work was further supplemented by thermodynamic and kinetic simulations. It is found that the main underlying reason for the hardness reduction during tempering is related to dislocation annihilation, possibly also with corresponding changes in Cottrell atmospheres. On the other hand, cementite precipitate size, effective grain size of the bainite, and retained austenite fraction appear unchanged over the whole tempering cycle.

Mechanical Behavior of Fresh and Tempered Martensite in a CrMoV-Alloyed Steel Explained by Microstructural Evolution and Strength Modeling

The mechanical behavior of a wear-resistant CrMoV-alloyed martensitic steel in quenched and tempered conditions has been investigated and correlated with the microstructure. The steel has a combination of ultra-high tensile strength of 2065 MPa and total elongation of 7.4 pct in the as-quenched condition. The strength and ductility of the steel change initially during tempering and thereafter remain quite stable during tempering at either 450 °C or 550 °C. A good combination of yield strength and total elongation is achieved after tempering at 550 °C for 2 to 8 hours (about 1300 MPa and 14 pct). The evolution of the mechanical properties can be mainly related to an initial condition with high density of dislocations (in the order of 1015) and carbon in solid solution, while quite early during tempering, dislocations will start to annihilate and carbide precipitates form. On the other hand, there is a negligible evolution of the effective grain size during tempering. Modeling of the individual strengthening mechanisms and the overall yield strength is in good agreement with the tensile test results, in particular for the tempered samples. Finally, the relatively low yield strength of the fresh martensite, significantly lower than for the tempered conditions, is discussed in relation to the two available theories.

Microstructure Characterization of SAW and TIG Welded 25Cr2Ni2MoV Rotor Steel Metal

Low pressure turbine rotors are manufactured by welding thick sections of 25Cr2Ni2MoV rotor steel using tungsten inert gas (TIG) backing weld, and submerged arc welding (SAW) filling weld. In this study, the microstructure of columnar grain zones and reheated zones in weld metal was characterized meticulously by Optical Microscope (OM), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Electron Back-Scatter Diffraction (EBSD). The results showed that, compared with SAW weld metal microstructure, TIG weld metal microstructure was relatively fine and homogeneous, due to its lower heat input and faster cooling rate than SAW. The maximum effective grain size in TIG and SAW weld were 7.7 μm and 13.2 μm, respectively. TIG weld metal was composed of lath bainite (LB) and blocky ferrite (BF), while SAW weld metal was composed of acicular ferrite (AF), lath bainite (LB)and ferrite side plate (FSP). Tempered martensite (TM) was detected along columnar grain boundaries in both TIG and SAW weld metals, which was related to the segregation of solute elements during weld solidification. Electron Probe Micro-Analysis (EPMA) results showed that the contents of Ni and Mn at the dendritic boundaries were 50% higher than those at the dendritic core in TIG weld. Similarly, 30% of Ni and Mn segregation at dendritic boundaries was also found in SAW weld. In addition, the microhardness of the two welded joints was tested.

Effect of Bainitic Microstructure on Low-Temperature Toughness of High-Strength API Pipeline Steels

In this study the correlation between bainitic microstructure and the low-temperature toughness of high-strength API pipeline steels was discussed in terms of crack initiation and propagation in the microstructure. Three types of API pipeline steels with different bainitic microstructures were fabricated using varying alloying elements and thermo-mechanical processing conditions, and then their microstructure was characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopy, and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). In particular, the effective grain size and microstructure fraction of the steels were quantitatively measured by EBSD analysis. Although all the steels were composed of polygonal ferrite (PF), and complex bainitic microstructures such as acicular ferrite (AF), granular bainite (GB), and bainitic ferrite (BF), they had different effective grain sizes and microstructure fraction, depending on the alloying elements and thermomechanical processing conditions. Charpy impact test results showed that when the martensite-austenite constituent fraction was lowest, it resulted in higher upper-shelf energy, and absorbed energy at room temperature due to the decrease in crack initiation. In contrast, excellent low-temperature toughness, such as lower ductile-brittle transition temperature and higher absorbed energy at low temperatures, could be achieved with a bainitic microstructure with fine effective grain size and high fraction of high-angle grain boundaries, which act as obstacles to prevent cleavage crack propagation.

EBSD Study of the Effect of Hot Deformation on Low Carbon Bainitic Structure

The effect of deformation temperature (DT) and thickness reduction on the bainitic structure was investigated under various test conditions by using hot compression on a Gleeble-1500 thermo-mechanical simulation machine, and electron back scattering diffraction (EBSD) technique. In the case of the bainitic structure consisting of granular bainite (GB), lath bainite (LB) and a little ferrite (AF) under the given deformation conditions, DT and thickness reduction have remarkable effect on the transformation kinetics, starting temperature (B) of bainite fast transformation, and the type of bainitic structure. With the decreasing of DT from 810 °C to 730 °C, the starting temperature of transformation B increase from 585 °C to 595 °C. When the thickness reduction was 0 % and 20 %, the microstructure consists of GB, LB and a little AF, whereas as the thickness reduction increase to 40 %, large grain size of LB and GB disappear, and only AF and M/A remained. With the thickness reduction increases from 0 % to 40 %, the effective grain size decreases from 4 μm to 2 μm, and the fraction of HGB increases from 48 % to 57 %.

The Effect of Lath Martensite Microstructures on the Strength of Medium-Carbon Low-Alloy Steel

Different austenitizing temperatures were used to obtain medium-carbon low-alloy (MCLA) martensitic steels with different lath martensite microstructures. The hierarchical microstructures of lath martensite were investigated by optical microscopy (OM), electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that with increasing the austenitizing temperature, the prior austenite grain size and block size increased, while the lath width decreased. Further, the yield strength and tensile strength increased due to the enhancement of the grain boundary strengthening. The fitting results reveal that only the relationship between lath width and strength followed the Hall–Petch formula of. Hence, we propose that lath width acts as the effective grain size (EGS) of strength in MCLA steel. In addition, the carbon content had a significant effect on the EGS of martensitic strength. In steels with lower carbon content, block size acted as the EGS, while, in steels with higher carbon content, the EGS changed to lath width. The effect of the Cottrell atmosphere around boundaries may be responsible for this change.