In this study, the layered structures of immiscible Fe and Cu metals were employed to investigate the interface evolution through solid-state mixing. The pure Fe and Cu powders were cold-consolidated by high-pressure torsion (HPT) to fabricate a layered Cu-Fe-Cu structure. The microstructural evolutions and flow of immiscible Fe and Cu metals were investigated following different iterations of HPT processing. The results indicate that the HPTprocessed sample following four iterations showed a sharp chemical boundary between the Fe and Cu layers. In addition, the Cu powders exhibited perfect consolidation through HPT processing. However, the Fe layer contained many microcracks. After 20 iterations of HPT, the shear strain generated by HPT produced interface instability, which caused the initial layered structure to disappear.
We investigate the effect of phosphorous content on the microstructure and magnetic properties of Fe83.2Si5.33-0.33xB10.67-0.67xPxCu0.8 (x = 1–4 at.%) nanocrystalline soft magnetic alloys. The simultaneous addition of Cu and P to nanocrystalline alloys reportedly decreases the nanocrystalline size significantly, to 10–20 nm. In the P-containing nanocrystalline alloy, P atoms are distributed in an amorphous residual matrix, which suppresses grain growth, increases permeability, and decreases coercivity. In this study, nanocrystalline ribbons with a composition of Fe83.2Si5.33-0.33xB10.67- 0.67xPxCu0.8 (x = 1–4 at.%) are fabricated by rapid quenching melt-spinning and thermal annealing. It is demonstrated that the addition of a small amount of P to the alloy improves the glass-forming ability and increases the resistance to undesirable Fex(B,P) crystallization. Among the alloys investigated in this work, an Fe83.2Si5B10P1Cu0.8 nanocrystalline ribbon annealed at 460oC exhibits excellent soft-magnetic properties including low coercivity, low core loss, and high saturation magnetization. The uniform nanocrystallization of the Fe83.2Si5B10P1Cu0.8 alloy is confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis.
In this study, an AISI 316 L alloy was manufactured using a selective laser melting (SLM) process. The tensile and impact toughness properties of the SLM AISI 316 L alloy were examined. In addition, stress relieving heat treatment (650oC / 2 h) was performed on the as-built SLM alloy to investigate the effects of heat treatment on the mechanical properties. In the as-built SLM AISI 316 L alloy, cellular dendrite and molten pool structures were observed. Although the molten pool did not disappear following heat treatment, EBSD KAM analytical results confirmed that the fractions of the low- and high-angle boundaries decreased and increased, respectively. As the heat treatment was performed, the yield strength decreased, but the tensile strength and elongation increased only slightly. Impact toughness results revealed that the impact energy increased by 33.5% when heat treatment was applied. The deformation behavior of the SLM AISI 316 L alloy was also examined in relation to the microstructure through analyses of the tensile and impact fracture surfaces.
The effects of different spray angles (90°, 85°, 80°) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a Y2O3 coating layer prepared using the atmospheric plasma spray (APS) process were studied. The powders employed in this study had a spherical shape and included a cubic Y2O3 phase. The APS coating layer exhibited the same phase as the powders. Thickness values of the coating layers were 90°: 203.7 ± 8.5 μm, 85°: 196.4 ± 9.6 μm, and 80°: 208.8 ± 10.2 μm, and it was confirmed that the effect of the spray angle on the thickness was insignificant. The porosities were measured as 90°: 3.9 ± 0.85%, 85°: 11.4 ± 2.3%, and 80°: 12.7 ± 0.5%, and the surface roughness values were 90°: 5.9 ± 0.3 μm, 85°: 8.5 ± 1.1 μm, and 80°: 8.5 ± 0.4 μm. As the spray angle decreased, the porosity increased, but the surface roughness did not show a significant difference. Vickers hardness measurements revealed values of 90°: 369.2 ± 22.3, 85°: 315.8 ± 31.4, and 80°: 267.1 ± 45.1 HV. It was found that under the condition of a 90° angle with the lowest porosity exhibited the best hardness value. Based on the aforementioned results, an improved method for the APS Y2O3 coating layer was also discussed.
High-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steels show excellent toughness when trace amounts of transition elements are added. In steels, prior austenite grain size (PAGS), which is often determined by the number of added elements, is a critical factor in determining the mechanical properties of the material. In this study, we used two etching methods to measure and compare the PAGS of specimens with bainitic HSLA steels having different Nb contents These two methods were nital etching and picric acid etching. Both methods confirmed that the sample with high Nb content exhibited smaller PAGS than its low Nb counterpart because of Nb’s ability to hinder austenite recrystallization at high temperatures. Although both etching approaches are beneficial to PAGS estimation, the picric acid etching method has the advantage of enabling observation of the interface containing Nb precipitate. By contrast, the nital etching method has the advantage of a very short etching time (5 s) in determining the PAGS, with the picric acid etching method being considerably longer (5 h).
In this study, a ZnS film of 8-mm thickness was prepared on graphite using a hot-wall-type CVD technique. The ZnS thick film was then hot isostatically pressed under different pressures (125–205 MPa) in an argon atmosphere. The effects of pressure were systematically studied in terms of crystallographic orientation, grain size, density, and transmittance during the HIP process. X-ray diffraction pattern analysis revealed that the preferred (111) orientation was well developed after a pressure of 80 MPa was applied during the HIP process. A high transmittance of 61.8% in HIPZnS was obtained under the optimal conditions (1010oC, 205MPa, 6 h) as compared with a range of approximately 10% for the CVD-ZnS thick film under a 550-nm wavelength. In addition, the main cause of the improvement in transmittance was determined to be the disappearance of the scattering factor due to grain growth and the increase in density.
The effects of drying temperature on the microstructure of porous W fabricated by the freeze-casting process of tert-butyl alcohol slurry with WO3 powder was investigated. Green bodies were hydrogen-reduced at 800oC for 1 h and sintered at 1000oC for 6 h. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that WO3 powders were completely converted to W without any reaction phases by hydrogen reduction. The sintered body showed pores aligned in the direction of tertbutyl alcohol growth, and the porosity and pore size decreased as the amount of WO3 increased from 5 to 10v ol%. As the drying temperature of the frozen body increased from -25oC to -10oC, the pore size and thickness of the struts increased. The change in microstructural characteristics based on the amount of powder added and the drying temperature was explained by the growth behavior of the freezing agent and the degree of rearrangement of the solid powder during the solidification of the slurry.
In this study, a nanocrystalline FeNiCrMoMnSiC alloy was fabricated, and its austenite stability, microstructure, and mechanical properties were investigated. A sintered FeNiCrMoMnSiC alloy sample with nanosized crystal was obtained by high-energy ball milling and spark plasma sintering. The sintering behavior was investigated by measuring the displacement according to the temperature of the sintered body. Through microstructural analysis, it was confirmed that a compact sintered body with few pores was produced, and cementite was formed. The stability of the austenite phase in the sintered samples was evaluated by X-ray diffraction analysis and electron backscatter diffraction. Results revealed a measured value of 51.6% and that the alloy had seven times more austenite stability than AISI 4340 wrought steel. The hardness of the sintered alloy was 60.4 HRC, which was up to 2.4 times higher than that of wrought steel.
Because of its unique properties, tungsten is a strategic and rare metal used in various industrial applications. However, the world's annual production of tungsten is only 84000 t. Ammonium paratungstate (APT), which is used as the main intermediate in industrial tungsten production, is usually obtained from tungsten concentrates of wolframite and scheelite by hydrometallurgical treatment. Intermediates such as tungsten trioxide, tungsten blue oxide, tungstic acid, and ammonium metatungstate can be derived from APT by thermal decomposition or chemical attack. Tungsten metal powder is produced through the hydrogen reduction of high-purity tungsten oxides, and tungsten carbide powder is produced by the reaction of tungsten powder and carbon black powder at 1300–1700oC in a hydrogen atmosphere. Tungsten scrap can be divided into hard and soft scrap based on shape (bulk or powder). It can also be divided into new scrap generated during the production of tungsten-bearing goods and old scrap collected at the end of life. Recycling technologies for tungsten can be divided into four main groups: direct, chemical, and semi-direct recycling, and melting metallurgy. In this review, the current status of tungsten smelting and recycling technologies is discussed.