Simulation of the Peritectic Phase Transition in Fe-C Alloys

In this work, a multi-phase cellular automaton (CA) model is extended for the quantitative simulation of peritectic phase transition. First, the effects of cooling rate/supersaturation and temperature on the peritectic transformation kinetics in Fe-C alloys are investigated by utilizing the present CA model. The CA simulations show that supersaturations in the parent phases (liquid and δ-ferrite) increase the L/γ interface growth velocity remarkably, but tinily for the δ/γ interface migration velocity. There exists a transition supersaturation for isothermal transformations, at which the growth rates of the two interfaces are equal. The transition supersaturation is found to increase with decreasing temperature. Microstructural evolution at different cooling rates during peritectic transformation is simulated using the experimental conditions. At low cooling rates, the δ/γ interface propagates at a higher velocity than the L/γ interface. At high cooling rates, however, the γ-phase grows more into the L-phase with a cellular morphology. Then, the proposed CA model is applied to simulate the microstructural evolution during peritectic reaction. It is observed that the γ-phase propagates along the L/δ interface and finally encircles the δ-phase. Meanwhile, the intervenient γ-phase grows in thickness through peritectic transformation. The CA simulations are compared reasonably well with the experimental data and analytical calculations.

Nanostructuring of Nb-Si-Cr Alloys by Electron Beam Melting to Improve the Mechanical Properties and the Oxidation Behavior

Materials processed by additive manufacturing often exhibit a very fine-scaled microstructures due to high cooling rates in the process. In this study, single-layer surface electron beam melting is used to create very high cooling rates similar to additive manufacturing processes to investigate the resulting microstructure. In the case of Nb-Si-Cr in-situ composites, a nano-scaled eutectic microstructure is beneficial for improving the mechanical and oxidational properties. Fast solidification results in the formation of supersaturated phases of Nbss and Cr2Nb with phase diameters down to 10 nm as well as in the stabilization of the metastable Nb9(Cr,Si)5 phase at room temperature. After processing with different solidification rates, the decomposition of the Nb9(Cr,Si)5 phase has been studied in detail with atom probe microscopy. The stabilization of mixed silicide phases by electron beam melting shows a new pathway for improving hardness and enhancing oxidation resistance of nanostructured eutectic in-situ composites, by which the inherent weaknesses of Nb-Si-Cr can be overcome without further alloying elements. Graphical Abstract

Intentionally Deadheading SAGD ESPs - An Unconventional Approach to Improve Run Life

SAGD ESPs run at the highest motor temperatures current technology allows. However, they cool very rapidly when shutdown. High cooling rates promote motor oil volumetric contraction, eventually leading to wellbore fluid ingress and short-circuited motors. The Paper presents successful field tests designed to decrease ESP cooling rates by inducing controlled deadheads, rather than shutting down ESPs. Various extended deadhead field trials (up to 70+ days duration) validated the approach, while confirming that no deadhead related ESP damage was induced. ESP temperature changes were measured using fiber optics strings installed as part of the usual completion in 60+ wells, during a four week-long field-wide plant maintenance turn-around. While cooling rates varied somewhat from well to well, they all showed very similar behavior and were very well fitted with a log-normal distribution, R2factor > 95%. Most ESP temperatures decreased between 50°C to 120°C in a week. This data was used as a general baseline to support the deadheading field trials. An ESP was fitted internally with an RTD at the base of the motor and externally with a clamped fiber optics string. This ESP was operated normally at 55 Hz for a few months. An 8-hour shut down test established an initial base line cooling rate of 6.6°C/hour. Subsequent 6-hour deadhead tests at 30Hz and 45 Hz showed decreased cooling rates of 4.0°C/hour and 2.2°C/hour, respectively. This result clearly established the potential to deadhead at different frequencies to obtain different lower cooling rates. Finally, two extended deadhead tests (3 and 10 weeks in duration) were executed to help determine if it was possible to induce damage in SAGD ESPs by deadheading, as is usually the case in most non-thermal applications. These ESPs operated normally after the extended tests and one was dismantled upon failure, looking for any signs of deadhead damage. Results presented show that deadheading SAGD ESPs provides the opportunity to safely minimize ESP thermal cycles, which could lead to a significant improvement in ESP run life.

Theoretical Estimation of Optimal Linear Cooling Rate for PK-15 Cell Suspension

Preservation of cells during crystallization of the cell suspension is influenced by two types of damaging factors. The first type of cryoinjury occurs during the crystallization of the extracellular environment and is caused by dehydration of cells, increasing the concentration and ionic strength of extracellular and intracellular solutions. As the cooling rate rises, the damage rate of the first type decreases as a result of the reduced time of action of damaging factors. The second type of cryoinjury is intracellular crystallization, the probability of which enhances at high cooling rates, is considered the most destructive to cells. The optimal linear cooling rate for PK-15 cells is determined using a physico-mathematical model, which describes the probability of cryoinjury of cells in the linear freezing mode and is based on the two-factor theory of cryoinjury, thermodynamic theory of homogeneous crystallization and general theory of activation-type processes. The findings have shown that within the range of cooling rates < 0.5 °C/min the cryoinjury of PK-15 cells occurs mainly due to the effects of the solution, and at cooling rates > 2.5 °C/min this was mainly resulted from an intracellular crystallization. The dependence of the percentage of damaged cells on the cooling rate has a relatively wide minimum within the range of cooling rates of 0.5 °C/min… 2.5 °C/min.

Additive Manufacturing of Bulk Metallic Glasses—Process, Challenges and Properties: A Review

Bulk Metallic Glasses (BMG) are metallic alloys that have the ability to solidify in an amorphous state. BMGs show enhanced properties, for instance, high hardness, strength, and excellent corrosion and wear resistance. BMGs produced by conventional methods are limited in size due to the high cooling rates required to avoid crystallization and the associated detrimental mechanical properties. Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques are a potential solution to this problem as the interaction between the heat source, e.g., laser, and the feedstock, e.g., powder, is short and confined to a small volume. However, producing amorphous parts with AM techniques with mechanical properties comparable to as-cast samples remains a challenge for most BMGs, and a complete understanding of the crystallization mechanisms is missing. This review paper tries to cover recent progress in this field and develop a thorough understanding of the correlation between different aspects of the topic. The following subjects are addressed: (i) AM techniques used for the fabrication of BMGs, (ii) particular BMGs used in AM, (iii) specific challenges in AM of BMGs such as the control of defects and crystallization, (iv) process optimization of mechanical properties, and (v) future trends.

Effect of Quenching Strategy and Nb-Mo Additions on Phase Transformations and Quenchability of High-Strength Boron Steels

The application of direct quenching after hot rolling of plates is being employed in the production of ultra-high-strength hot rolled plates. When heavy gauge plates are produced, the complexity involve in achieving high cooling rates in the plate core is increased and the formation of undesirable soft phases within martensite is common. In the current paper, both direct quenching and conventional quenching (DQ and CQ) processing routes were reproduced by dilatometry tests and continuous cooling transformation (CCT) diagrams were built for four different high-strength boron steels. The results indicate that the addition of Mo and Nb-Mo suppresses the ferritic region and considerably shifts the CCT diagram to lower transformation temperatures. The combination of DQ strategy and the Mo-alloying concept provides the best option to ensure hardenability and the formation of a fully martensitic microstructure, and to avoid the presence of soft phases in the center of thick plates.

PoreAnalyzer—An Open-Source Framework for the Analysis and Classification of Defects in Additive Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing processes offer high geometric flexibility and allow the use of new alloy concepts due to high cooling rates. For each new material, parameter studies have to be performed to find process parameters that minimize microstructural defects such as pores or cracks. In this paper, we present a system developed in Python for accelerated image analysis of optical microscopy images. Batch processing can be used to quickly analyze large image sets with respect to pore size distribution, defect type, contribution of defect type to total porosity, and shape accuracy of printed samples. The open-source software is independent of the microscope used and is freely available for use. This framework allows us to perform such an analysis on a circular area with a diameter of 5 mm within 10 s, allowing detailed process maps to be obtained for new materials within minutes after preparation.

Crystallization of Random Metallocene-Catalyzed Propylene-Based Copolymers with Ethylene and 1-Hexene on Rapid Cooling

Propylene-based random copolymers with either ethylene or 1-hexene as comonomer, produced using a metallocene catalyst, were studied regarding their crystallization behaviors, with a focus on rapid cooling. To get an impression of processing effects, fast scanning chip calorimetry (FSC) was used in addition to the characterization of the mechanical performance. When comparing the comonomer type and the relation to commercial grades based on Ziegler–Natta-type catalysts, both an interaction with the catalyst-related regio-defects and a significant difference between ethylene and 1-hexene was observed. A soluble-type nucleating agent was found to modify the behavior, but to an increasingly lesser degree at high cooling rates.

Multimodal Freezing System for Cryogenic 3D Printing

Cryogenic 3D Printing (Cryo-3DP) creates 3D objects by deposition-then-freezing of aqueous solutions of various materials layer-by-layer. The process generally takes place at the temperature ranging from -20 °C to -25°C. At the beginning of the process, cryo-3DP demands a high cooling rate to reduce the work envelope’s temperature rapidly. After the work envelope reaches the working temperature (-20 to -25°C), lower cooling rates are enough. The proposed multimodal freezing system uses two modes of cooling. Rapid injection of the CO2 gas in the chamber is suitable for achieving high cooling rates (0.5 °Cs-1) initially and Vapor Compression Refrigeration (VCR) for sustained heat removal from the system (0.5 °Cmin-1). The results show that the proposed multimodal system performs faster than the conventional system.