The Role of Grain Boundary Diffusion in the Solute Drag Effect

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are applied to study solute drag by curvature-driven grain boundaries (GBs) in Cu–Ag solid solution. Although lattice diffusion is frozen on the MD timescale, the GB significantly accelerates the solute diffusion and alters the state of short-range order in lattice regions swept by its motion. The accelerated diffusion produces a nonuniform redistribution of the solute atoms in the form of GB clusters enhancing the solute drag by the Zener pinning mechanism. This finding points to an important role of lateral GB diffusion in the solute drag effect. A 1.5 at.%Ag alloying reduces the GB free energy by 10–20% while reducing the GB mobility coefficients by more than an order of magnitude. Given the greater impact of alloying on the GB mobility than on the capillary driving force, kinetic stabilization of nanomaterials against grain growth is likely to be more effective than thermodynamic stabilization aiming to reduce the GB free energy.

Study of Nb Solubility in Hot Charging Process

The aim of this work is to investigate the dissolution behavior of Nb in hot charging hot rolling configurations. To do so, an indirect experimental procedure is used to quantify the amount of Nb present in solution before rolling. The method is based on the effect of dissolved Nb on static recrystallization kinetics due to its solute drag effect. After different thermal cycles, simulating cold and hot charging conditions, double hit torsion tests have been performed with a 0.23%C steel microalloyed with 0.03% Nb. By means of these tests, the static softening behavior has been determined. Comparison of the recrystallization times allows indirect evaluation of the amount of Nb in solid solution after each treatment. The results have been correlated with the precipitation state of the samples.

Probing Solute-Drag Effect and its Role in Stabilizing Orthorhombic Phase in Bulk La-doped HfO2 by X-ray and gamma ray Spectroscopy

The recent observation of ferroelectricity in ultra thin film of Hafnium Oxide (HfO2) has been attributed to the orthorhombic (o) phase of HfO2 with space group Pca21. Although this oxide...

Austenite Grain Growth Simulation in Welding Heat-Affected Zone

To predict austenite grain growth behavior in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) in low alloy steels, a new calculation model is proposed herein. This model mainly considers the solute-drag effect and pinning effect, which restrain the austenite grain growth. To calculate the solute-drag effect, the grain boundary concentration of each element is obtained by Hillert’s Law. Calculations are performed by simulating the HAZ with a temperature gradient using the phase field method for two dimensions. This calculation demonstrates the possibility of quantitatively predicting the pinning force for welding heat inputs.