The Microstructure of Fe-Based Laminated Metal Composite Produced by Powder Metallurgy

Powder metallurgy (PM) is a versatile process to manufacture nearly net-shaped metallic materials in industry. In this study, the PM process was used to fabricate two Fe-based laminated metal composites (LMCs), Fe-4Ni-3Cr-0.5Mo-0.5C/Fe and 410/304L. The results showed that after sintering, the LMCs were free of interfacial cracks and distortion, indicating that the PM process is a feasible means for producing these LMCs. In the Fe-4Ni-3Cr-0.5Mo-0.5C/Fe LMC, the diffusion of C resulted in the generation of a continuous pearlite layer between the Fe-4Ni-3Cr-0.5Mo-0.5C and Fe layers and a ferrite/pearlite mixture in the Fe layer. In the 410/304L LMC, the difference in the chemical potentials of C between the 304L and 410 layers led to the uphill diffusion of C from the 410 layer to the 304L layer. A continuous ferrite layer was thus formed near the interface of the 410 layer. Furthermore, a martensite layer of about 50 μm thickness was generated at the interface due to the high Cr and Ni content.

Extended Larché–Cahn framework for reactive Cahn–Hilliard multicomponent systems

At high temperature and pressure, solid diffusion and chemical reactions between rock minerals lead to phase transformations. Chemical transport during uphill diffusion causes phase separation, that is, spinodal decomposition. Thus, to describe the coarsening kinetics of the exsolution microstructure, we derive a thermodynamically consistent continuum theory for the multicomponent Cahn–Hilliard equations while accounting for multiple chemical reactions and neglecting deformations. Our approach considers multiple balances of microforces augmented by multiple component content balance equations within an extended Larché–Cahn framework. As for the Larché–Cahn framework, we incorporate into the theory the Larché–Cahn derivatives with respect to the phase fields and their gradients. We also explain the implications of the resulting constrained gradients of the phase fields in the form of the gradient energy coefficients. Moreover, we derive a configurational balance that includes all the associated configurational fields in agreement with the Larché–Cahn framework. We study phase separation in a three-component system whose microstructural evolution depends upon the reaction–diffusion interactions and to analyze the underlying configurational fields. This simulation portrays the interleaving between the reaction and diffusion processes and how the configurational tractions drive the motion of interfaces.

Anomalous tracer diffusion in hard-sphere suspensions

Coupled equations describing diffusion and cross-diffusion of tracer particles in hard-sphere suspensions are derived and solved numerically. In concentrated systems with strong excluded volume and viscous interactions the tracer motion is subdiffusive. Cross diffusion generates transient perturbations to the host-particle matrix, which affect the motion of the tracer particles leading to nonlinear mean squared displacements. Above a critical host-matrix concentration the tracers experience clustering and uphill diffusion, moving in opposition to their own concentration gradient. A linear stability analysis indicates that cross diffusion can lead to unstable concentration fluctuations in the suspension. The instability is a potential mechanism for the appearance of dynamic and structural heterogeneity in suspensions near the glass transition.

Stationary currents in long-range interacting magnetic systems

We construct a solution for the 1d integro-differential stationary equation derived from a finite-volume version of the mesoscopic model proposed in Giacomin and Lebowitz (J. Stat. Phys. 87(1), 37–61, 1997). This is the continuous limit of an Ising spin chain interacting at long range through Kac potentials, staying in contact at the two edges with reservoirs of fixed magnetizations. The stationary equation of the model is introduced here starting from the Lebowitz-Penrose free energy functional defined on the interval [−ε− 1, ε− 1], ε > 0. Below the critical temperature, and for ε small enough, we obtain a solution that is no longer monotone when opposite in sign, metastable boundary conditions are imposed. Moreover, the mesoscopic current flows along the magnetization gradient. This can be considered as an analytic proof of the existence of diffusion along the concentration gradient in one-component systems undergoing a phase transition, a phenomenon generally known as uphill diffusion. In our proof uniqueness is lacking, and we have clues that the stationary solution obtained is not unique, as suggested by numerical simulations.

Interdiffusion of major elements at 1 atmosphere between natural shoshonitic and rhyolitic melts

The diffusive mass exchange of eight major elements (Si, Ti, Al, Fe, Mg, Ca, Na, and K) between natural, nominally dry shoshonitic and rhyolitic melts was studied at atmospheric pressure and temperatures between 1230 and 1413 °C using the diffusion couple method. For six elements, effective binary diffusion coefficients were calculated by means of a concentration-dependent method to obtain an internally consistent data set. Among these components, the range in diffusivities is restricted, pointing to a coupling of their diffusive fluxes. We find that the calculated diffusivities fit well into the Arrhenius relation, with activation energies (Ea) ranging from 258 to 399 kJ/mol in rhyolitic (70 wt% SiO2) melt and from 294 to 426 kJ/mol in the latitic melt (58 wt% SiO2). Ti shows the lowest Ea, while Si, Fe, Mg, Ca, and K have a similar value. A strong linear correlation is observed between logD0 and Ea, confirming the validity of the compensation law for this system. Uphill diffusion is observed in Al in the form of a concentration minimum in the rhyolitic side of the couple, (at ca. 69 wt% SiO2), and in Na indicated by a maximum in the shoshonitic side (ca. 59 wt% SiO2). Fe shows weak signs of uphill diffusion, possibly due to the contribution of ferric iron. The data presented here extend the database of previously published diffusivities in the shoshonite-rhyolite system (González-García et al. 2017) toward the water-free end and allows us to better constrain the water-dependence of major element diffusion at very low water concentrations. Combining both data sets, we find that logD is proportional to the square root of water concentration for a range between 0 and 2 wt% H2O. These results are of particular interest in the study of mass transfer phenomena in alkaline volcanic systems.

Physicochemical fundamentals of phase formation in silicon layers implanted with oxygen and carbon

The thermodynamic and kinetic regularities of processes occurring during heat treatment in silicon layers implanted with oxygen and carbon ions have been considered. We have analyzed the regularities of silicon deformation, impurity distribution and defect formation after different annealing modes. Diffusion smearing of implanted impurities in these layers has not been observed during carbon and oxygen implantation. As-annealed carbon does not occupy sites of the silicon lattice, in contrast to the implantation behavior of other impurities, e.g. boron and phosphorus. Phase formation regularities in implanted layers during subsequent heat treatment have been analyzed. Changes in the free energy of the system during heterogeneous and homogeneous precipitate nucleation have been compared. Sequential implantation with carbon and oxygen ions has been found to initiate diffusion flows of carbon and oxygen toward the center of the ion doped layer (the uphill diffusion phenomenon). The possibility of uphill diffusion has been analyzed from the standpoints of the Onsager theory. We show that the contribution of the chemical interaction between oxygen and carbon is far greater than the entropy contribution to the diffusion flux. We have demonstrated the high efficiency of ion doping with oxygen and carbon for gettering of uncontrolled impurities from active regions of silicon structures. The efficiency of this gettering process has been assessed for epitaxial structures in which layers had been grown on silicon wafers implanted with these impurities. Uphill diffusion in the layers after double doping with carbon and oxygen has led to the formation of more defects which may provide for efficient gettering. We have found the optimal oxygen and carbon implantation dose ratio for maximal gettering efficiency.