The IF Spectrum of Fe-C-N and Fe-17%Cr-C-N Alloys Measured by the Impulse Excitation Technique

The temperature dependence of the dynamic Young’s modulus, E, and the damping, Q-1, of Fe-C-N and Fe-17%Cr-C-N alloys with different C, N contents were studied in the temperature range of 25°C to 600°C by the impulse excitation internal friction technique at 1KHz. Hot rolled samples were cold rolled to a thickness of 1.2mm and recrystallization annealed at 820°C for 30sec then gas jet cooled (-50°C/sec). Samples were subsequently tensile strained 6% and 16%. A Snoek peak was observed at 120°C in the undeformed sample and a Snoek-Koster peak was observed at 400°C after deformation. In the case of the Fe-Cr-C-N alloy, a high damping background due to magneto-mechanical damping was observed in the temperature range of 25°C to 400°C. A broaden Snoek peak in FeCr was observed at 300°C. The internal friction peaks observed in this study showed the strong dependence of the amount of interstitial contents and deformation and were well correlated to previous internal friction studies measured mainly by torsion pendulum and inverted torsion pendulum.

Snoek-Type and Zener Relaxation in Fe-Si-Al Alloys

Carbon-containing Fe - Si and Fe - Si - Al alloys were studied with respect to the carbonrelated Snoek-type and Zener relaxation using different mechanical spectroscopy techniques. In all alloys the temperature-dependent profile of the Snoek peak, relative to that in pure iron, is modified on its high-temperature side by the substitutional atoms. At least two components, an Fe - C - Fe (which correspond to C atom jumps (diffusion) in areas where it is surrounded by Fe atoms only) and Fe - C - Me peaks, where Me = Si, Al, can be distinguished in the Snoek-peak profile. In both binary Fe - Al and Fe - Si and ternary Fe - Si - Al alloys, a higher annealing temperature prior to quenching leads to an increase in the Fe - C - Fe and a decrease in the Fe - C - Me component of the Snoek peak. Heating to 1173K and above often lowers the peak height due to thermal vacancies. Low-temperature (<670K) ageing of quenched Fe - Si - Al and Fe – Si specimens reduces both the Fe – C - Fe and Fe – C – Al / Si peaks. Ageing at T > 670 K changes the temperature- as well as the amplitude-dependent parts of internal friction due to a redistribution of carbon between solid solution and dislocations. Both the Snoek-type peak height and the dislocation mobility – as can be concluded from the slope of the amplitude-dependent internal friction – increase, and a new peak appears at temperatures higher than that of the Snoek peak, which probably is a Snoek-Köster peak resulting from the motion of weakly pinned dislocations. A Zener peak appears if the concentration of substitutional atoms is > 6 at. %. The Zener peak relaxation strength is much lower in ternary alloys than in the binary ones probably due to mutual compensation of elastic distortions in presence of Al and Si atoms which are bigger and smaller, respectively, than Fe atoms.

Mechanical Damping of the Snoek Peak in Tantalum – Oxygen System

Interstitial solutes in body-centered cubic metals, such as oxygen in tantalum, produce ideally Snoek effects when they are in solutions enough diluted. However, for higher concentration of these solutes, more complex relaxation process can occur, as interaction between interstitial solutes and dislocations. Anelastic relaxation measurements were carried out in polycrystalline tantalum samples, using torsion pendulum inverted, operating between 300 K and 680 K and oscillation frequencies in the hertz bandwidth, for three different experimental sample conditions: as received sample, annealed and annealed followed by a treatment in an oxygen atmosphere. These measurements have revealed the following behavior: the intensity of the internal friction peak associated to matrix-interstitial interaction Ta-O decreased between the first run and the next runs, and this phenomenon did not occur for the others conditions. The variation of relaxation strength of Ta-O peak, with number of runs is due to a decrease of an amount of oxygen in solid solution, which can be associated with the precipitation of new phases in Ta sample and with the trapping of oxygen atoms by dislocations.

N--H Interaction in Nitrided Fe--Nb Alloys

Internal friction of nitrogen in α iron has known as Snoek peak of N atom resolv ed in the octahedral interstitial site of bcc. When M atom ( Mn, Mo, Si, et.al) which has the affinity bigger than Fe were added ,another peaks due to the jump of N from Fe-Fe site to Fe-M site appear in the upper temperature side and complicate the Snoek peak curve of N. In this paper, the Snoek peak curve was studied in Fe-0.4wt%Nb-0.02wt%N alloys. This alloy showed no other peaks in the upper side to 373K and had only the single peak of N in Fe-Fe site. Internal friction measured by torsion pendulum method at about 1 Hz. After that this alloy was cooled from 373K to room temperature and reheated to 373K, but Snoek peak of N which showed on the first measurement just after nitriding disappeared completely and internal friction was only background. One of the reasons of it is the precipitation of Fe16N2 under heating and resolved N atoms disappeared. So these specimens were reheated to 873K and quenched, but Snoek peak of N was not measured. This shows the disappearance of N atom from Fe-Fe site. The mixture gas of a few % NH3 and H2 was used in this study. Therefore after nitriding much of H atoms were resolved in α iron alloys. Because the diffusion rate of H atom in α iron is bigger than N atom , it expected that H atoms can combine with Nb atoms before coming N atoms. And the appearance of Snoek peak of N in these alloys is considered. After that, in the heating to 373K H atom leave Nb and go away from the surface, and N atoms combine with Nb in place of H atoms. Nb has the very strong affinity with N, so these alloys have no peaks. When they reheated to the nitriding temperature N atoms can not diffuse from Fe-Nb site to Fe-Fe site. Then Snoek peak of N can not appears again in these alloys. Therefore, when Fe-Nb alloys were nitrided in NH3 and H2 mixture gas H atom plays very important part and it needs that the interaction of N-H atoms will be considered in these nitrided Fe-Nb alloys.

The Snoek Effect in Ternary BCC Alloys. A Review

The Snoek relaxation is associated with the redistribution of interstitial atoms in the bcc lattice under the application of the oscillatory stress. Addition of substitutional solutes introduces new peaks or broadening of the normal Snoek peak. The experimental and theoretical investigations of the effect are briefly reviewed.

Study of Fe3Al-Based Alloys by Internal Friction and 59Fe Radiotracer Diffusion Measurements

Anelastic effects caused by carbon and vacancy diffusion in Fe3Al based alloys with and without strong carbide forming elements (Ti and Nb) are investigated by internal friction measurements. The decrease of the Snoek peak in Fe–26Al–2Ti and Fe–26Al–0.3Nb alloys with respect to the Fe–26Al alloy is related to a decrease in the amount of interstitially dissolved carbon (C). The so-called X peak, which is observed in the Fe–26Al alloy, also almost disappears after alloying. In order to elucidate the vacancy contribution to the origin of the X peak radiotracer measurements of 59Fe diffusion were performed. The results indicate that the change in the interstitially dissolved C concentration is the main reason of the observed changes in the X peak, although a certain influence of Ti and Nb alloying on the total vacancy concentration may be deduced from the diffusion study.