Wagner interaction coefficient between nitrogen and cobalt in liquid nickel-based alloy

The report describes a simple theory of thermodynamic properties of nitrogen solutions in liquid Ni– Co alloys. This theory is completely analogous to the theory for liquid nitrogen solutions in alloys of the Fe– Cr system proposed previously by the authors in 2019. The theory is based on lattice model of the Ni– Co solutions. The model assumes FCC lattice. In the sites of this lattice are the atoms of Ni and Co. Nitrogen atoms are located in octahedral interstices. The nitrogen atom interacts only with the metal atoms located in the lattice sites neighbouring to it. This interaction is pairwise. The initial values for the calculation are the Sieverts law constants for nitrogen solubility of in liquid nickel and in liquid cobalt. The result of the calculation is the value of the Wagner interaction coefficient in liquid nickel-based alloys at 1873 K = –1,35. This value is in good agreement with the experimental data (Kowanda and Speidel, 2003).

Nitrogen Dissolution in Liquid Ga and Fe: Comprehensive Ab Initio Analysis, Relevance for Crystallization of GaN

The dissolution of molecular nitrogen in Ga and Fe was investigated by ab initio calculations and some complementary experiments. It was found that the N bonding inside these solvents is fundamentally different. For Ga, it is between Ga4s and Ga4p and N2p states whereas for Fe this is by N2p to Fe4s, Fe4p and Fe3d states. Accordingly, the energy of dissolution of N2 for arbitrarily chosen starting atomic configurations was 0.535 eV/mol and −0.299 eV/mol for Ga and Fe, respectively. For configurations optimized with molecular dynamics, the difference between the corresponding energy values, 1.107 eV/mol and 0.003 eV/mol, was similarly large. Full thermodynamic analysis of chemical potential was made employing entropy-derived terms in a Debye picture. The entropy-dependent terms were obtained via a normal conditions path to avoid singularity of ideal gas entropy at zero K. Nitrogen solubility as a function of temperature and N2 pressure was evaluated, being much higher for Fe than for Ga. For T=1800 K and p=104 bar, the N concentration in Ga was 3×10−3 at. fr. whereas for Fe, it was 9×10−2 at. fr. in very good agreement with experimental data. It indicates that liquid Fe could be a prospective solvent for GaN crystallization from metallic solutions.

Excellent mechanical properties of taenite in meteoric iron

Meteoric iron is the metal that humans first obtained and used in the earliest stage of metal culture. Advances in metallographic analysis techniques have revealed that meteoric iron largely comprises kamacite, taenite, and cohenite, which correspond to ferrite, austenite, and cementite in artificial steel, respectively. Although the mechanical properties of meteoric irons were measured previously to understand their origin and history, the genuine mechanical properties of meteoric iron remain unknown because of its complex microstructure and the pre-existing cracks in cohenite. Using micro-tensile tests to analyse the single-crystalline constituents of the Canyon Diablo meteorite, herein, we show that the taenite matrix exhibits excellent balance between yield strength and ductility superior to that of the kamacite matrix. We found that taenite is rich in nitrogen despite containing a large amount of nickel, which decreases the nitrogen solubility, suggesting that solid-solution strengthening via nitrogen is highly effective for the Fe–Ni system. Our findings not only provide insights for developing advanced high-strength steel but also help understand the mysterious relationship between nitrogen and nickel contents in steel. Like ancient peoples believed that meteoric iron was a gift from the heavens, the findings herein imply that this thought continues even now.

Effect of Heat Treatment on the Microstructure of Duplex Stainless Steel Welds

Duplex stainless steels (DSS) are gaining in popularity due to their characteristic features, excellent mechanical properties, and corrosion resistance. The microstructure of DSSs consists of ferrite up to 50 %, and the rest is built up from austenite. The ferritic microstructure can cause chromium-nitride precipitation because the nitrogen solubility in the ferrite phase is very low below 700 °C. Our research showed that electrochemical etching is an acceptable process for revealing chromium-nitrides. Additionally, our research points out that chromium-nitride acts as a secondary austenite nucleation site.