Growth and Deformation Simulation of Aluminum Bronze Grains Produced by Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing

When working out 3D building-up modes, it is necessary to predict the material properties of the resulting products. For this purpose, the crystallography of aluminum bronze grains after electron beam melting has been studied by EBSD analysis methods. To estimate the possibility of sample form changes by pressure treatment, we simulated structural changes by the method of molecular dynamics during deformation by compression of individual grains of established growth orientations. The analysis was carried out for free lateral faces and grain deformation in confined conditions. Simulation and experiments on single crystals with free lateral faces revealed the occurrence of stepwise deformation in different parts of the crystal and its division into deformation domains. Each domain is characterized by a shear along a certain slip system with the maximum Schmidt factor. Blocking the shear towards the lateral faces leads to selectivity of the shear along the slip systems that provide the required shape change. Based on the simulation results, the relationship between stress–strain curves and structural characteristics is traced. A higher degree of strain hardening and a higher density of defects were found upon deformation in confined conditions. The deformation of the columnar grains of the built material occurs agreed with the systems with the maximum Schmidt factor.

Growth of nanoporous high-entropy oxide thin films by pulsed laser deposition

High-entropy oxides (HEO) with entropic stabilization and compositional flexibility have great potential application in batteries and catalysis. In this work, HEO thin films were synthesized by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) from a rock-salt (Co0.2Ni0.2Cu0.2Mg0.2Zn0.2)O ceramic target. The films exhibited the target’s crystal structure, were chemically homogeneous, and possessed a three-dimensional (3D) island morphology with connected randomly shaped nanopores. The effects of varying PLD laser fluence on crystal structure and morphology were explored systematically. Increasing fluence facilitates film crystallization at low substrate temperature (300 °C) and increases film thickness (60–140 nm). The lateral size of columnar grains, islands (19 nm to 35 nm in average size), and nanopores (9.3 nm to 20 nm in average size) increased with increasing fluence (3.4 to 7.0 J/cm2), explained by increased kinetic energy of adatoms and competition between deposition and diffusion. Additionally, increasing fluence reduces the number of undesirable droplets observed on the film surface. The nanoporous HEO films can potentially serve as electrochemical reaction interfaces with tunable surface area and excellent phase stability. Graphical abstract

Pengelasan pada Stainless Steel dengan Tipe yang Berbeda Menggunakan Resistance Spot Welding untuk Aplikasi Gerbong Kereta

Salah satu jenis proses pengelasan yang banyak digunakan di dunia industri Kereta Api adalah proses <em>resistance spot welding</em>. Proses pengelasan ini mempunyai banyak keunggulan pada pengelasan pelat tipis dengan menggunakan sambungan tumpang yang diaplikasikan pada <em>side wall</em> kereta api. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan tujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh variasi parameter pengelasan yang meliputi <em>current</em>, <em>weld time</em>, dan <em>pulsation</em> terhadap <em>shear strength</em>, struktur mikro dan diameter <em>nugget</em>. Material yang digunakan adalah material SA-240 tipe 304 dan SA-240 tipe 201 dengan ketebalan 2 mm untuk material SA-240 tipe 304 dan tebal 3 mm untuk material SA-240 tipe 201. Pengujian <em>shear strength</em> diperoleh parameter<em> resistance spot welding</em> semakin tinggi, maka nilai <em>shear strength </em>juga semakin tinggi. Strukturmakro didapatkan semakin tinggi <em>current</em>, <em>weld time</em>, dan <em>pulsation</em>, maka <em>nugget</em> semakin lebar. Sedangkan pada hasil uji mikro pada daerah <em>base metal</em> struktur yang tebentuk adalah <em>austenite</em>, sedangkan pada daerah HAZ dan <em>weld metal</em> adalah struktur <em>ferrit</em> dan <em>austenite</em>. Ukuran butir pada daerah HAZ yang semakin mendekat ke daerah <em>weld metal</em> ukuran butirnya menjadi semakin besar. Struktur mikro yang terbentuk pada <em>weld metal</em> bentuknya memanjang (<em>columnar grains</em>) ke daerah yang mengalami pembekuan paling akhir.

Deformation Mechanisms in Orogenic Gold Systems During Aseismic Periods: Microstructural Evidence from the Central Victorian Gold Deposits, Southeast Australia

In many orogenic gold deposits, gold is located in quartz veins. Understanding vein development at the microstructural scale may therefore provide insights into processes influencing the distribution of gold, its morphology, and its relationship to faulting. We present evidence that deformation processes during aseismic periods produce characteristic quartz microstructures and crystallographic preferred orientations, which are observed across multiple deposits and orogenic events. Quartz veins comprise a matrix of coarse, subidiomorphic, and columnar grains overprinted by finer-grained quartz seams subparallel to the fault trace, which suggests an initial stage of cataclastic deformation. The fine-grained quartz domains are characterized by well-oriented quartz c-axis clusters and girdles oriented parallel to the maximum extension direction, which reveals that fluid-enhanced pressure solution occurred subsequent to grain refinement. Coarser anhedral gold is associated with primary quartz, whereas fine-grained, “dusty” gold trails are found within the fine-grained quartz seams, revealing a link between aseismic deformation and gold morphology. These distinct quartz and gold morphologies, observed at both micro- and macroscale, suggest that both seismic fault-valving and aseismic deformation processes are both important controls on gold distribution.

Microstructure features and formation mechanism in a newly developed electroslag welding

Electroslag welding (ESW) is known to show higher heat input than electrogas welding (EGW), resulting in poor low-temperature toughness. However, a newly developed ESW (dev. ESW) method using low-resistivity slag bath exhibited excellent low-temperature toughness as a result of lower effective heat input than conventional EGW, as demonstrated by the faster cooling rates measured in weld metals and estimated using finite element method analyses. This led to much shallower molten pool in the dev. ESW, resulting in much finer columnar grains and thinner centerline axial grains. High cooling speed in the dev. ESW method appeared to contribute to increased acicular ferrite proportion. The uniform microstructure with large acicular ferrite proportion and small number of inclusions in the weld metal permitted the dev. ESW weld metal to possess little variation in Charpy impact energy across the center of weld metal.

Requirements for Processing High-Strength AlZnMgCu Alloys with PBF-LB/M to Achieve Crack-Free and Dense Parts

Processing aluminum alloys employing powder bed fusion of metals (PBF-LB/M) is becoming more attractive for the industry, especially if lightweight applications are needed. Unfortunately, high-strength aluminum alloys such as AA7075 are prone to hot cracking during PBF-LB/M, as well as welding. Both a large solidification range promoted by the alloying elements zinc and copper and a high thermal gradient accompanied with the manufacturing process conditions lead to or favor hot cracking. In the present study, a simple method for modifying the powder surface with titanium carbide nanoparticles (NPs) as a nucleating agent is aimed. The effect on the microstructure with different amounts of the nucleating agent is shown. For the aluminum alloy 7075 with 2.5 ma% titanium carbide nanoparticles, manufactured via PBF-LB/M, crack-free samples with a refined microstructure having no discernible melt pool boundaries and columnar grains are observed. After using a two-step ageing heat treatment, ultimate tensile strengths up to 465 MPa and an 8.9% elongation at break are achieved. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that not all nanoparticles used remain in the melt pool during PBF-LB/M.

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Tensile Mechanical Responses of Selective Laser-Melted Aluminum with Different Crystalline Forms

The mechanical deformation of cellular structures in the selective laser melting (SLM) of aluminum was investigated by performing a series of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of uniaxial tension tests. The effects of crystalline form, temperature, and grain orientation of columnar grains on the mechanical properties of SLM aluminum were examined. The MD results showed that the tensile strength of SLM aluminum with columnar grains at different temperatures was lower than that of single-crystal aluminum, but greater than that of aluminum with equiaxed grains. The tensile strength and Young’s modulus both decreased approximately linearly upon increasing the temperature. The deformation mechanisms of equiaxed and columnar grains included dislocation slip, grain boundary migration, and torsion, while the deformation mechanisms of single crystals included stacking fault formation and amorphization. Finally, the influence of the columnar grain orientation on the mechanical properties was studied, and it was found that the Young’s modulus was almost independent of the grain orientation. The tensile strength was greatly affected by the columnar grain orientation. Reasonable control of the grain orientation can improve the tensile strength of SLM aluminum.

Characteristics of the Structure, Mechanical, and Tribological Properties of a Mo-Mo2N Nanocomposite Coating Deposited on the Ti6Al4V Alloy by Magnetron Sputtering

Mo-Mo2N nanocomposite coating was produced by reactive magnetron sputtering of a molybdenum target, in the atmosphere, of Ar and N2 gases. Coating was deposited on Ti6Al4V titanium alloy. Presented are the results of analysis of the XRD crystal structure, microscopic SEM, TEM and AFM analysis, measurements of hardness, Young’s modulus, and adhesion. Coating consisted of a-Mo phase, constituting the matrix, and g-Mo2N reinforcing phase, which had columnar structure. The size of crystallite phases averaged 20.4 nm for the Mo phase and 14.1 nm for the Mo2N phase. Increasing nitrogen flow rate leads to the fragmentation of the columnar grains and increased hardness from 22.3 GPa to 27.5 GPa. The resulting coating has a low Young’s modulus of 230 GPa to 240 GPa. Measurements of hardness and Young’s modulus were carried out using the nanoindentation method. Friction coefficient and tribological wear of the coatings were determined with a tribometer, using the multi-cycle oscillation method. Among tested coatings, the lowest friction coefficient was 0.3 and wear coefficient was 10 × 10−16 m3/N∙m. In addition, this coating has an average surface roughness of RMS < 2.4 nm, determined using AFM tests, as well as a good adhesion to the substrate. The dominant wear mechanism of the Mo-Mo2N coatings was abrasive wear and wear by oxidation. The Mo-Mo2N coating produced in this work is a prospective material for the elements of machines and devices operating in dry friction conditions.

Development of a New Cold Metal Transfer Arc Additive Die Manufacturing Process

Due to its high efficiency, cold metal transfer (CMT) arc additive manufacturing presents considerable potential in the aluminium alloy additive manufacturing industry. However, during CMT arc additive manufacturing, the surrounding air environment promotes the lateral flow of liquid aluminium and the instability of the molten pool, reduces the surface quality and material utilisation of deposition walls, and causes internal hydrogen pores and coarse columnar grains, which negatively affect the structure and mechanical properties of the deposition walls. This study developed a CMT arc additive die manufacturing process to control the substrate material and deposition path to improve the physical properties of the deposition wall. The experimental results indicated that the copper plates can affect molten pool flow and material formation in the additive process, minimise hydrogen pores, and refine columnar grains. The porosity dropped from 2.03% to 0.93%, and the average grain size decreased from 16.2 ± 1.4 to 13.6 ± 1.3 μm, thereby enhancing the structure and mechanical properties of the deposition wall to attain standard additive manufacturing products.