In this paper, the diversity of complicated dendrite microstructure and its evolution behavior during solidification in different magnesium alloys under various processing conditions were illustrated using synchrotron X-ray imaging technique. A variety of dendritic morphologies and branching structures were revealed, i.e., sixfold plate-like symmetric structure in Mg–Al-based structure, 12-branch structure

The production of non-weldable nickel-based superalloys, especially single-crystal superalloys, is important for additive manufacturing. Single-crystal specimens of non-weldable nickel-based superalloys were produced by electron beam selective melting using an IN-738 alloy. In this study, single-crystal nickel-based superalloy specimens of different sizes were prepared by a multiple preheating process

Electron beam additive manufacturing is an effective method for the fabrication of complex metallic components. With rapid solidification, the characteristics of microsegregation within the interdendritic region are interesting and important for the subsequent phase transformation and final mechanical properties. However, in view of the microsecond lifetime and the small length scale of the molten

Here, we compare the porosity, microstructure and mechanical property of 4047 Al–Si alloys prepared by wire-arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) and conventional casting. X-ray microscopy reveals that WAAM causes a higher volume fraction of gas pores in comparison with conventional casting. Effective refinements of α-Al dendrites, eutectic Si particles and Fe-rich intermetallic compounds are achieved

The wide application of Mg is hindered by its low corrosion resistance, especially for recycled Mg. In this work, a novel plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) process was conducted on a recycled Mg alloy with a high content of Al (~ 2.3 wt%), which results in a polycrystalline PEO coating. The PEO coating displays a three-layered structure with a uniform elemental distribution. Unlike the outer layer

The AZ31 and AM60 alloys were used for dissimilar friction stir welding (FSW) in this study. The microstructure characteristics of the joint and its three-point bending performance were investigated. The electron backscattered diffraction results showed that the grains in the nugget zone (NZ) were more uniform and refined to a certain extent after FSW, but the grain size of AM60 in the NZ was larger

Friction stir processing (FSP) was used to modify the microstructure and improve the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of an Mg–Al–Ca alloy. The results demonstrated that, after FSP, the grain size of the Mg–Al–Ca alloy was decreased from 13.3 to 6.7 μm. Meanwhile, the Al8Mn5 phase was broken and dispersed, and its amount was increased. The yield strength and ultimate tensile strength

CoCrNiCux (x = 0.16, 0.33, 0.75, and 1) without macro-segregation medium-entropy alloys (MEAs) was prepared using laser directed energy deposition (LDED). The microstructure and mechanical properties of CoCrNiCux alloys with increasing Cu content were investigated. The results indicate that a single matrix phase changes into a dual-phase structure and the tensile fracture behaviors convert from brittle

Fe-rich intermetallic phases in recycled Al alloys often exhibit complex and 3D convoluted structures and morphologies. They are the common detrimental intermetallic phases to the mechanical properties of recycled Al alloys. In this study, we used synchrotron X-ray tomography to study the true 3D morphologies of the Fe-rich phases, Al2Cu phases and casting defects in an as-cast Al-5Cu-1.5Fe-1Si alloy

Gastrointestinal tumors are common malignant tumors in the digestive tract, of which gastric cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death and colorectal cancer is the fourth most deadly cancer. Nowadays, surgical resection remains to be one of the main measures for treating digestive tract tumors, and gastrointestinal anastomosis remains to be a key step in gastrointestinal surgery. Mg and its

The oxidation behaviour of a fourth-generation single-crystal superalloy without coating and with two types of MCrAlY coatings at 1140 °C was studied. The results showed that both coatings greatly improved the oxidation resistance of the superalloy, and the addition of Hf further improved the oxidation resistance by pinning the oxide layer into the coating. Before and after oxidation, obvious Cr and

Four tools with different pin centerline deviations were fabricated to friction stir weld (FSW) thick plates of Al–Mg–Zn–Cu alloys. The results show that, compared with the pin without pin centerline deviation, the applying of pin centerline deviation is favorable to improve the flowability of plastic material, enlarging the size of nugget zone, refining the grains and reprecipitated phase particles

In the present study, a series of AlCoCrxFeNi2.1 (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0) eutectic high entropy alloys (EHEAs) have been designed and prepared. And the effect of Cr content on the microstructures and mechanical properties of the AlCoCrxFeNi2.1 alloys was systematically investigated. The results indicate that the AlCoCrxFeNi2.1 (x > 0) alloys exhibit almost complete lamellar eutectic microstructures

In order to refine the microstructure and improve the performance of direct energy deposited (DED) additively manufactured Al–Mg–Sc–Zr alloy, TiC-modified Al–Mg–Sc–Zr composites were prepared by DED and the effect of TiC content on the microstructure and performance was studied. In the absence of TiC particle, the microstructure of Al–Mg–Sc–Zr alloy prepared by DED consisted of fine grains with average

Metastable phases formed during vitrification or devitrification open an avenue to study the intrinsic structural hierarchy in amorphous materials. The phase transformation sequence of Al89Ce11 amorphous ribbon was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry, in situ high energy X-ray diffraction (HEXRD) and ex situ high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscope. The results reveal

Initial oxidation behavior of NiCoCrAlY coating prepared by arc-ion plating has been studied in air at 900, 1000 and 1100 °C. The results showed that phase transformation from transient θ-Al2O3 to α-Al2O3 was highly related to the temperature and oxidation time. The oxide scale in the initial stage was mainly composed of θ-Al2O3 at 900 °C. Instead, more amount of α-Al2O3 emerged out with increasing

Increasing nanoparticle volume fraction has been proved to be effective in improving the strength of nanoparticle reinforced Al matrix nanocomposite. However, the underlying mechanisms for the ultrahigh strength of those nanocomposites with high volume fraction (> 10 vol.%) nanoparticles are short of experimental research. In this study, the strengthening mechanisms of high strength Al matrix nanocomposite

Multi-species biofilms are found in various bacterial habitats and have industrial relevance. These complex bacterial communities have synergetic effects, unlike a single species. Therefore, it is critical to evaluate these complex communities as a whole. Here, the inhibitory effect of single- and dual-species biofilms of Vibrio neocaledinocus sp. and Pseudoalteromonas piscicida for A36 carbon steel

A 3D multi-scale finite element model was developed to predict the effective thermal conductivity of graphene nanoplatelet (GNP)/Al composites. The factors influencing the effective thermal conductivity of the GNP/Al composites were investigated, including the orientation, shape, aspect ratio, configuration and volume fraction of GNPs. The results show that GNPs shape has a little influence on the

This study investigates the microstructure and local corrosion behavior of an Al–Mg–Si–Cu alloy, which has been subjected to cold-rolling with different deformation strain ratios (DSRs) and followed by artificial aging. Accelerated corrosion tests show that peak-aged samples with a small DSR (5–10%) are sensitive to inter-granular corrosion (IGC) along both the normal and rolling directions. When the

The evolution of the 3D Fe-rich phases of Al–7.0Si–1.2Fe alloys with different Mn contents was visualized and characterized using synchrotron X-ray computed tomography, and the effect of Fe-rich phases with typical morphologies on the fracture behavior during tensile testing was analyzed. The results showed that the Fe-rich phase changed from platelet-like β-Al5FeSi into α-Al15(FeMn)3Si2 with various

The isothermal repetitive upsetting extrusion (RUE) was implemented to process ZK60 magnesium alloy at 380 °C. Then, the relationship between the microstructural characters, including grain refinement and texture evolution, and the mechanical performance of the alloy was investigated. Results showed that after 3 passes of RUE, the average grain size was refined from 115.0 to 26.5 μm, which was mainly

As is well known, titanium alloy precipitates when subjected to aging treatment, which poses great influence on its mechanical properties. Thus, solution and solution-aging treatments were conducted in this work, and the wear performance was investigated under different normal loads. The results showed that acicular α′ martensite in the original selective laser melted Ti–6Al–4V was decomposed into

The influence of the bilayer number on the microstructure, mechanical properties, adhesion strength and tribological behaviors of the WB2/Cr multilayer films was systematically investigated in the present study. Five groups of WB2/Cr films with the same modulation ratio were synthesized by magnetron sputtering technique. The crystalline structure of the films was determined by X-ray diffraction. The

The formation of highly coherent double-shelled L12 nano-precipitates in dilute Al–Er–Sc–Zr alloys was investigated with the combined use of Cs-corrected transmission electron microscopy characterization and first-principles energetics calculations. The double-shelled nano-precipitates are primarily featured with an Er-rich core surrounded by a Sc-rich inner shell and a Zr-rich outer shell. First-principles

A typical high-efficiency solar cell device needs the best lattice matching between different constituent layers to mitigate the open-circuit voltage loss. In the present work, the physical properties of CdS thin films are investigated where films with 100 nm thickness were fabricated on the different types of substrates viz. soda–lime glass, indium-doped tin oxide (ITO)- and fluorine-doped tin oxide

The composition dependence of the crystal structure and magnetism of the 6 M martensite for the Cu-doped Ni43.75Mn37.5In12.5Co6.25 alloy at different site occupations (Cu substitution for Ni, Mn, In, and Co, respectively) is investigated in detail with the first-principles calculations. Results show that the austenite (A) phase exhibits a ferromagnetic (FM) state in all occupation manners, the 6 M

A novel non-keyhole friction stir welding technique was proposed to weld the butt joint of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy with the thickness of 6 mm. A sound joint was obtained by this technique, simultaneously eliminating the flash, shoulder mark and keyhole defects. The sleeve directly affected zone (SDAZ) and the sleeve indirectly affected zone (SIAZ) were divided into the joint according to the plunging

The corrosion evolution of steel disposal container largely depends on the evolution of surrounding bentonite environment in the long-term geological disposal of high-level radioactive wastes. This study focused on the influence of the deteriorated bentonite sediments on the corrosion behavior of NiCu low alloy steel in the top supernatant and bottom slurry formed by Gaomiaozi bentonite and 0.05 M

Transition metal oxides gain considerable research attentions as potential anode materials for lithium ion batteries, but their applications are hindered due to their poor electronic conductivity, weak cycle stability and drastic volume change. Here, a NiO@graphene composite with a unique 3D conductive network structure is prepared through a simple strategy. When applied as anode material for Li-ion

The ageing hardening mechanism of a newly designed Fe–Cr-based Fe65Cr13Cu3(CoMnMoNiAlTi)19 medium-entropy stainless alloy (ME-SA) with a simple bcc solid solution matrix was studied. This kind of ME-SA possessed a higher ageing hardness of approximately 584 HV and higher compressive stress and corrosion resistance than those of the conventional precipitation hardening stainless steel 17-4PH (Cr17Ni4Cu4Nb)

The composition is a significant issue for corrosion resistance of metallic materials. To reveal the correlation of corrosion behavior between multiprinciple alloys and their constituents, a series of single-phase equiatomic alloys of CoCrNi, CoCrNiFe and CoCrNiFeMn was fabricated. The electrochemical and scanning electron microscope results demonstrated that corrosion resistance of the equiatomic

In the original publication of the article, the Chinese title and author names appeared inadvertently in the Ref. [24].

Phase transformation is one of the essential topics in the studies on high entropy alloys (HEAs). However, characterization of the nucleation behavior in the phase transformation for HEAs is still challenging through experimental methods. In the present work, HfNbTaTiZr HEA was chosen as the representative material, and molecular dynamics/Monte Carlo (MD/MC) simulations were performed to investigate

Entropy-stabilized multi-component alloys have been considered to be prospective structural materials attributing to their impressive mechanical and functional properties. The local chemical complexions, microstates and configurational transformations are essential to reveal the structure–property relationship, thus, to promote the development of advanced multi-component alloys. In the present work

The detrimental effects of carbides and porosity on the fatigue crack initiation and propagation of nickel-based single-crystal superalloys have been reported by many previous studies. However, few studies have quantitatively compared the fatigue damaging effects of carbides and pores on the fatigue crack evolution. In this study, a high-resolution X-ray computed tomography (XCT) characterization of

Al-7Si-0.5 Mg-0.5Cu alloy specimens have been fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM). In this study, the effects of solution treatment, quenching, and artificial aging on the microstructural evolution, as well as mechanical and wear properties, have been investigated. The as-prepared samples show a heterogeneous cellular microstructure with two different cell sizes composed of α-Al and Si phases

This work deals with the effect of 0.67 wt% Gd addition on the microstructure and tensile properties of Mg–4Al–5RE (where RE represents La–Ce mischmetal) alloy produced by sand casting (SC), permanent mold casting (PMC), and high-pressure die casting (HPDC). The results show that Gd addition could refine the grains, but its efficiency decreases by increasing the cooling rate due to the shifting from

The effect of Cu-riched clusters on strength and impact toughness in a tempered Cu-bearing high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steel is investigated. With increasing the tempering temperature, it is found that the yield strength increases firstly, achieving the maximum value (~ 1053 MPa) at the tempering temperature of 450 °C, and then decreases significantly with the rise of tempering temperature. The

A 16Cr-25Ni superaustenitic stainless steel weld metal for austenitic stainless steel/ferrite heat-resistance steel dissimilar metal weld was designed and prepared through tungsten inert-gas welding. The precipitate evolution and its correlation with mechanical properties were investigated during post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) at 690 °C for up to 12 h. The primary precipitates in the as-welded weld

The segregation behavior of trace amount of phosphorus (P) and the mechanical properties of dual-phase (DP) steels have been systematically studied. The microstructure of DP steels is mainly composed of martensite, ferrite and nanoscale carbides. For the DP steels with different trace amounts of P (≤ 0.015 wt%), P has almost no effect on the mechanical properties. Atom probe technology (APT) analyses

The redistribution of C and N atoms during cryogenic treatment is crucial for the microstructure evolution and properties of high nitrogen martensitic steel. Here, the distinct redistribution behavior of C and N atoms in a martensitic stainless steel with 0.3 wt% C and 0.5 wt% N after cryogenic treatment were investigated by the atom probe tomography. Carbon clusters begin to form after cryogenic treatment

TiN and TiAlN coatings were deposited by arc ion plating on titanium alloys to study their hot corrosion resistance when they were exposed to NaCl at 600 °C. The microstructure and corrosion behaviors of nitride coatings were studied using scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, electro-probe microanalyzer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results showed that nitride coatings with

Mechanical properties of high-entropy alloys (HEAs) with the face-centered cubic (fcc) structure strongly depend on their initial grain orientations. However, the orientation-dependent mechanical responses and the underlying plastic flow mechanisms of such alloys are not yet well understood. Here, deformation of the equiatomic FeMnCoCrNi HEA with various initial orientations under uniaxial tensile

High-entropy alloys have attracted broad research interests due to their unique and intriguing mechanical properties. As a category of high-entropy alloys, eutectic high-entropy alloys combine the advantages of eutectic and high-entropy alloys, with excellent mechanical properties and casting properties. Some eutectic high-entropy alloys have been developed and shown exciting properties. In this paper

Hydrophobic Mg(OH)2/calcium myristate (Ca[CH3(CH2)12COO]2, CaMS) and Mg(OH)2/magnesium myristate (Mg[CH3(CH2)12COO]2, MgMS) composite coatings were prepared on the alkali-treated AZ31 substrates via both electrodeposition and dipping methods. The morphologies, compositions, and constitutes of the coatings were investigated by using field-emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron

The radiation generated by nuclear reaction is harmful to human body and equipment, thus the radiation shielding materials that employ the shielding ability from neutron and gamma rays are the best candidates according to application situations and radiation sources. In this paper, the researches of metal-based neutron and gamma rays or multiple purpose shielding materials are systematically summarized

This study examined the mechanical properties, springback behavior from three-point bending loading–unloading tests and biocompatibility from human osteoblast cell adhesion and proliferation experiments in Ti-15Mo alloy with different microstructures. The springback ratio increased after the appearance of deformation microstructures including {332} < 113 > twins and dislocations, due to the increased

In this work, friction stir processing (FSP) was applied to the high-strength and high-melting-point Ni–Fe-based superalloy (HT700) for the first time with negligible wear of the stir tool. Different rotation rates were chosen to investigate the effect of heat input on microstructure and tensile properties at different temperatures of friction stir processed Ni–Fe-based superalloy. The results showed

In-plane uniaxial tension of AZ31 magnesium alloy sheet with non-basal texture has been conducted in order to demonstrate the effects of loading direction on the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties at ambient temperature. Loading axes are chosen to be along five directions distributed between rolling direction (RD) and transverse direction (TD), allowing various activities in involved

15 vol.% SiC/Al-6.5Zn-2.8 Mg-1.7Cu (wt%) composites with varying particle sizes (3.5, 7.0, 14 and 20 μm), i.e., C-3.5, C-7.0, C-14, and C-20, respectively, were fabricated by powder metallurgy (PM) method and subjected to microstructural examination. The effect of particle size on mechanical properties and fracture behaviors of the T6-treated composites was revealed and analyzed in detail. Element

An ultrasonic vibration-assisted air-cooled stirring rod process (ACSR + UV) was used to efficiently prepare a large-volume semisolid slurry with a mass of more than 40 kg. A low-cost Al–Si–Fe–Mg–Cu–Zn die-casted alloy with high thermal conductivity, high plasticity and medium strength was developed. The alloy was used to manufacture large, thin-walled parts for 5G base stations by using the ACSR + UV

Nowadays, as an emerging technology, additive manufacturing (AM) has received numerous attentions from researchers around the world. The method comprises layer-by-layer manufacturing of products according to the 3D CAD models of the objects. Among other things, AM is capable of producing metal matrix composites (MMCs). Hence, plenty of works in the literature are dedicated to developing different types

The effect of thermoacidophilic archaeon Metallosphaera cuprina (M. cuprina) on the corrosion of Q235 carbon steel in its culture medium was investigated in this work. In the sterile culture medium, the carbon steels showed uniform corrosion morphologies and almost no corrosion products covered the sample surface during 14 days of immersion test. In the presence of M. cuprina, some corrosion pits appeared

This study investigated the oxidation behavior of a new casting Ni-based superalloy K4750 at 750 °C-1000 °C in air for 100 h-1000 h by isothermal oxidation tests. The oxidation-kinetic curves were plotted by the static discontinuous weight gain method. Observation and identification of oxidation products were conducted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS),

Hydrogen embrittlement of steels is directly linked to hydrogen diffusion and trapping in the microstructure, which can hardly be precisely measured by modern experimental techniques. A phase-field model, in which a chemical potential well of hydrogen in the grain boundaries is introduced, is proposed to simulate hydrogen diffusion and trapping in the polycrystalline iron. It was interestingly found

Nuclear grade 304 stainless steel was irradiated by 3.5 MeV Fe ions, with fluxes of 3.05E+15 ions/cm2 and 1.55E+16 ions/cm2. Irradiation effects were studied by positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and nanoindentation techniques. PAS results showed that different types of defects were produced after irradiation and that there was significant variance in defects

In this paper, the influence of the Sn element on the melt viscosity, grain size, shrinkage, and tensile properties of the sub-rapidly solidified Mg-6Al-4Zn alloy was studied. The results showed that the melt viscosity of the Mg-6Al-4Zn alloy was greatly decreased because of the addition of Sn. As the content of Sn increased from 0 to 1.8 wt.%, the grain size of the alloy was refined, and the dendrite

The present article aims at elucidating the effect of thermo-mechanical controlled processing (TMCP), especially the finish cooling temperature, on microstructure and mechanical properties of high strength low alloy steels for developing superior low temperature toughness construction steel. The microstructural features were characterized by scanning electron microscope equipped with electron backscatter

The influence of simple thermomechanical processing such as hot deformation and heat treatment on the microstructure and hardness of an Al0.3CoCrFeNi high-entropy alloy has been investigated. Results show that the relatively high deformation temperature can induce discontinuous dynamic recrystallization with fine grains initially nucleating at the elongated grain boundaries. The transition from partial