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At least 325 records · Page 18

Ultrafine-grained Al-Mg-Zr Alloy Processed by Shear-Assisted Extrusion with High Thermal Stability

Shear-assisted processing and extrusion (ShAPE) is used to consolidate Al-4.2Mg-1.6Zr-0.25Si-0.1Fe (wt.%) powders. The extruded alloy exhibits: (i) near-zero porosity; (ii) an attractive combination of tensile yield strength (~220 MPa), ultimate strength (330 MPa) and elongation (>20%); and (iii) excellent thermal stability at 400 ºC. The ultra-fine grain size in the gas-atomized powders – created and stabilized by primary L12-Al3Zr submicron precipitates - is maintained after consolidation and subsequent exposure at 400 ºC, contributing twice as much to strength as Mg in solid-solution. Electron microscopy reveals the microstructure of the L12-Al3Zr precipitates, and other precipitates (Mg2Si and Al3Fe) and dispersoids (oxides).

ShAPE, Friction Extrusion, aluminum powder, Shear ↗

L-H transition trigger physics in ITER-similar plasmas with applied n = 3 magnetic perturbations

The L–H transition power threshold PLH is observed to increase with applied n = 3 resonant magnetic perturbations (RMP) in ITER-similar-shape plasmas with balanced neutral beam torque injection in DIII-D. The increase is most pronounced with added electron–cyclotron heating: PLH increases with decreasing edge plasma collisionality as PLH/PLH-08 ~ (ν*)−0.5, where PLH-08 is the 2008 ITPA multi-machine power threshold scaling. This result raises concerns for H-mode access at low edge collisionality in ITER, where RMP may have to be applied before the L–H transition to safely suppress the first edge-localized mode. Non-axisymmetric modifications with RMP include a simultaneous reduction of the radial electric field (Er) well depth and E × B shear. This can be attributed to increasing edge toroidal co-current rotation, and is consistent with substantially increased local long-wavelength turbulence (measured via beam emission spectroscopy). At high RMP perturbation strength the edge electric field Er reverses sign locally (becomes positive), with changes in dominant turbulence modes. Edge magnetic stochasticity provides an attractive explanation of the observed modifications, and the observed changes in toroidal rotation and Er are consistent with a simple fluid model describing radial electron current flow along stochastic fieldlines. The observed collisionality dependence of the L-mode edge electric field with applied RMP is also qualitatively consistent with this model. Reflectometry data indicate a significant reduction of the normalized L-mode radial density gradient a/Ln at high RMP field with simultaneous increase in radial particle flux and electron thermal flux from power balance analysis. We conjecture that the increase of PLH with RMP results from the combined effects of reduced E × B flow shear (increasing turbulent transport levels) and toroidal/poloidal flow modulation due to edge stochasticity. Initial experiments indicate that non-resonant n = 3 magnetic perturbations lead only to relatively small changes in Er, E × B shear and fluctuation characteristics, and have less impact on the L–H transition power threshold. This motivates further exploration of the RMP spectrum dependence of PLH for possible mitigation of the observed threshold increase.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Superior plastic flow stability of self-patterned carbide – amorphous ceramic nanostructures

Amorphous ceramics and carbides exhibit superb strength but poor plasticity. Here, we synthesized TiC-SiOC nanostructures with TiC-nanocarbides embedded in amorphous ceramic SiOC by co-sputtering followed by high-temperature annealing and/or irradiation. TiC-SiOC nanostructures exhibit high strength and good plastic flow stability even after heavy irradiation, 7 GPa at room temperature and 3.6 GPa at 700 ℃ with a uniform strain of about 10%∼18%. The uniform deformation is accommodated by the shearing of amorphous ceramic and the rotation of nanocarbides. Nanocarbides inhibit the propagation of shear banding in amorphous SiOC, and amorphous-crystal interfaces act as sinks to manage irradiation-induced defects.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Predicted Melt Curve and Liquid Shear Viscosity of RDX up to 30 GPa

Recent grain-scale simulations of HMX and TATB have shown that predictions for hot spot formation in high explosives are particularly sensitive to accurate determinations of the pressure-dependent melt curve and the shear viscosity of the liquid phase. These physics terms are poorly constrained beyond ambient pressure for the explosive RDX. Here we adopt an all-atom modeling approach using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to predict the melt curve of RDX near to detonation conditions (30 GPa) and determine the shear viscosity of the liquid as a function of temperature and pressure above the melt curve. Phase-coexistence simulations were used to determine the melt curve, which is predicted to vary by almost 1100 K as the pressure increases from 0 GPa to 30 GPa. Equilibrium MD simulations and the Green-Kubo formalism were used to obtain the pressure-temperature-dependent shear viscosity. The shear viscosity of RDX is predicted to be of similar magnitude to the viscosity of TATB at low GPa-range pressures, and to be roughly an order of magnitude lower than the viscosity of HMX. The temperature dependence of the shear viscosity is Arrhenius at a given pressure, and the exponential pre-factor and activation term exhibit a strong, yet complicated, pressure dependence. An empirical pressure-temperature dependent function for RDX shear viscosity is developed that simultaneously captures a wide range of MD predictions while taking an analytic form that extrapolates smoothly beyond the fitted regime. The relative strength of the pressure and temperature dependencies of these two physics terms is found to be of similar magnitude for RDX, HMX, and TATB, which motivates incorporating these results in future RDX grain-scale modeling.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Scalar Power Spectra and Scalar Structure Function Evolution in the Richtmyer–Meshkov Instability Upon Reshock

The Richtmyer–Meshkov instability of a twice-shocked gas interface is studied using high-speed planar laser-induced fluorescence in the Wisconsin Shock Tube Laboratory's vertical shock tube. The initial condition is a shear layer with broadband diffuse perturbations at the interface between a helium–acetone mixture and argon. Furthermore, this initial condition is accelerated by a shock of nominal strength M = 1.9, and then accelerated again by the transmitted shock that reflects off the end wall of the tube. Three individual experiments are analyzed, the energy spectrum and the structure functions of the light gas mole fraction field are calculated and compared.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Monsoon Depression Amplification by Horizontal Shear and Humidity Gradients: A Shallow Water Perspective

Transient, synoptic-scale vortices produce a large fraction of total rainfall in most monsoon regions and are often associated with extreme precipitation. However, the mechanism of their amplification remains a topic of active research. For monsoon depressions, which are the most prominent synoptic-scale vortex in the Asian–Australian monsoon, recent work has suggested that meridional gradients in zonal wind in the vortex environment may produce growth through barotropic instability, while meridional gradients in environmental humidity have also been proposed to cause amplification through coupling with precipitating convection. Here, a two-dimensional shallow water model on a sphere with parameterized precipitation is used to examine the relative role played by these two environmental gradients. By systematically varying the meridional moisture gradient and meridional wind shear for both weak, quasi-linear waves and finite-amplitude isolated vortices, we show that rotational winds in the initial vortex are amplified most strongly by meridional shear of the environmental zonal wind, while vortex precipitation rates are most sensitive to environmental moisture gradients. The growth rate in the presence of both gradients is less than the sum of growth rates in the presence of isolated gradients, as the phase relation between moisture and vorticity anomalies becomes distorted with increasing shear. In conclusion, these results suggest that background meridional gradients in both zonal wind and environmental humidity can contribute to the amplification of vortices to monsoon depression strength, but with some degree of decoupling of the dry rotational flow and the moist convection.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

The influence of temperature on the strain-hardening behavior of Fe-22/25/28Mn-3Al-3Si TRIP/TWIP steels

In this work, the influence of temperature and stacking fault energy (SFE) on the strain-hardening behavior and critical resolved shear stress for twinning was investigated for three Fe–22/25/28Mn–3Al–3Si wt.% transformation- and twinning-induced plasticity (TRIP/TWIP) steels. The SFEs were calculated by two different methods, density functional theory and statistical thermodynamic modeling. The dislocation structure, observed at low levels of plastic deformation, transitions from “planar” to “wavy” dislocation glide with an increase in temperature, Mn content, and/or SFE. The change in dislocation glide mechanisms from planar to wavy reduces the strain hardening rate, in part due to fewer planar obstacles and greater cross slip activity. Additionally, the alloys exhibit a large decrease in strength and ductility with increasing temperature from 25 to 200 °C, attributed to a substantial reduction in the thermally activated component of the flow stress, predominate suppression of TRIP and TWIP, and a significant increase in the critical resolved shear stress for mechanical twinning. Interestingly, the increase in SFE with temperature had a rather minor influence on the critical resolved shear stress for mechanical twinning, and other temperature dependent factors which likely play a more dominant role are discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Self-assembly of aramid amphiphiles into ultra-stable nanoribbons and aligned nanoribbon threads

Small molecule self-assembly is an established route for producing high surface area nanostructures with readily customizable chemistries and precise molecular organization. However, these structures are fragile, exhibiting molecular exchange, migration, and rearrangement - among other dynamic instabilities - and ultimately disassociate upon drying. Here we show a small molecule platform, the aramid amphiphile (AA), that overcomes these dynamic instabilities by incorporating a Kevlar-inspired domain into the molecular structure. Strong, anisotropic interactions between AAs suppress molecular exchange and elicit spontaneous self-assembly in water to form nanoribbons with lengths of up to 20 microns. The nanoribbons have a Young’s modulus of 1.7 GPa and tensile strength of 1.9 GPa. Here, we exploit this stability to extend small molecule self-assembly to hierarchically ordered macroscopic materials outside of solvated environments. Through an aqueous shear alignment process, we organize AA nanoribbons into arbitrarily long flexible threads that support 200 times their weight when dried. Tensile tests of the threads provide a benchmark for Young’s moduli (between ~400 and 600 MPa) and extensibilities (between ~0.6 and 1.1%) that depend on the counterion chemistry in solution. This bottom-up approach to macroscopic materials could benefit solid-state applications, historically inaccessible by self-assembled nanomaterials.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

A Nonlocal Magneto-curvature Instability in a Differentially Rotating Disk

A global mode is shown to be unstable to nonaxisymmetric perturbations in a differentially rotating Keplerian disk containing either vertical or azimuthal magnetic fields. In an unstratified cylindrical disk model, using both global eigenvalue stability analysis and linear global initial-value simulations, it is demonstrated that this instability dominates at strong magnetic fields where local standard magnetorotational instability (MRI) becomes stable. Unlike the standard MRI mode, which is concentrated in the high flow shear region, these distinct global modes (with low azimuthal mode numbers) are extended in the global domain and are Alfvén-continuum-driven unstable modes. As its mode structure and relative dominance over MRI are inherently determined by the global spatial curvature as well as the flow shear in the presence of a magnetic field, we call it the magneto-curvature (magneto-spatial-curvature) instability. Consistent with the linear analysis, as the field strength is increased in the nonlinear simulations, a transition from MRI-driven turbulence to a state dominated by global nonaxisymmetric modes is obtained. This global instability could therefore be a source of nonlinear transport in accretion disks at a higher magnetic field than predicted by local models.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Effect of various post-extrusion tempering on performance of AA2024 tubes fabricated by shear assisted processing and extrusion

In this report aluminum alloy 2024 (AA2024) tubes were extruded using the shear assisted processing and extrusion (ShAPE) method. As a ubiquitous aerospace alloy, AA2024 has reached a high degree of maturity with respect to manufacturing processes, alloy chemistry and heat treatment to maximize material strength. Therefore, over the eight decades since the introduction of this alloy, the mechanical properties have plateaued, and the extrusion speed has reached a 3.5 m/min ceiling using conventional extrusion. The ShAPE technique enabled an extrusion speed of AA2024 up to 7.4 m/min at 480 °C which is surpassing the extrudability chart of this alloy. Variation of the standard T3510 and T8510 post extrusion heat treatments were applied to improve the mechanical performance of the ShAPE extruded AA2024 tube. The ultimate tensile strength and yield strength of AA2024-T8510 ShAPE extruded tube are 522.0 ± 3.3 MPa and 510.7 ± 3.3 MPa, which are respectively 18% and 32% higher than ASM-typical and ASTM minimum values. The elongation at break of ShAPE extruded AA2024-T8510 tubes is two times higher than the ASM-typical and ASTM-minimum values. This improved ductility is attributed to the refinement of grain size and secondary phases as well as due to the uniform dispersion of sub-micron strengthening precipitates formed during the ShAPE process.

42 ENGINEERING↗

The role of cellular structure, non-equilibrium eutectic phases and precipitates on quasi-static strengthening mechanisms of as-built AlSi10Mg parts 3D printed via laser powder bed fusion

The quasi-static loading strengthening mechanism in the as-built state of an AlSi10Mg alloy 3D-printed via Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) was thoroughly identified and quantified using state-of-the-art electron microscopy and synchrotron X-ray diffraction techniques. The yield strength was comprehensively modelled through an in-depth characterization and quantification of the microstructural features as well as their effective volumes for strengthening. In particular, the non-equilibrium eutectic network was characterized with a two-fold structure: cell boundary particles as well as intracellular lamellar/fibrous networks, each consisting of discrete phases exhibiting a thru-thickness compositional gradient, a semi-coherent interface with the matrix and an abundance of crystal defects such as nano-sized sub-grains, microstrains and stacking faults. Further, these altogether made the eutectic phase the most potent contributor to the yield strength accounting for ~30–40% of the estimated value (i.e., cell boundary and eutectic network strengthening combined). Precipitates strengthening was identified as the second most potent mechanism via a shearing process only. Moreover, the presented methodology was able to capture the effect of LPBF processing variables on the individual strengthening contributions, e.g., the effect of a lower laser scanning speed on increasing the cell size as well as the mean precipitate size, which are shown to exhibit opposing impacts on strengthening.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Design and Analysis of an Advanced Three-Point Bend Test Approach for Miniature Irradiated Disk Specimens

Candidate tungsten armor materials in a magnetic confinement fusion device must be able to withstand thermal variation that leads to internal stresses caused by the impinging heat load. In addition, the thermomechanical properties of these materials are degraded by irradiation-induced defect accumulation. Fission reactor–based irradiation data are used to predict the fusion neutron damage and property change. This study examines the motivation and design of a custom-designed three-point bend test for neutron-irradiated disk specimens that are 3 mm in diameter to be able to define the flexural strength of advanced tungsten materials, alloys, and composites—and to the extent that embrittlement occurs after neutron irradiation. The theory provided shows a calculation for the flexural deflection and shear deflection due to the small-geometry constraints. A finite element deformation analysis is performed to evaluate the mechanical stress field of disk bend specimens. The stress values above 80% of the maximum stress are concentrated in 2.4 mm of the 3.0-mm length of the centerline across the tungsten disk diameter. A bend test fixture has been designed and fabricated to enable testing of these specimens with precisely engineered tolerance and minimal machine compliance. This fixture will be able to be placed inside a universal testing frame at elevated temperatures for the mechanical property evaluation of future neutron-irradiated disk specimens.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Functionally graded coatings and claddings

A shear assisted extrusion process for producing cladded materials wherein a cladding material and a material to be cladded are placed in sequence with the cladded material positioned to contact a rotating scroll face first and the material to be cladded second. The two materials are fed through a shear assisted extrusion device at a preselected feed rate and impacted by a rotating scroll face to generate a cladded extrusion product. This process allows for increased through wall strength and decreases the brittleness in formed structures as compared to the prior art.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Shear assisted extrusion process

A shear assisted extrusion process for producing cladded materials wherein a cladding material and a material to be cladded are placed in sequence with the cladded material positioned to contact a rotating scroll face first and the material to be cladded second. The two materials are fed through a shear assisted extrusion device at a preselected feed rate and impacted by a rotating scroll face to generate a cladded extrusion product. This process allows for increased through wall strength and decreases the brittleness in formed structures as compared to the prior art.

Joshi, Vineet V.↗

Electronic density of states as the descriptor of elastic bond strength, ductility, and local lattice distortion in BCC refractory alloys

Although electronic density of states (DOS) is fundamental to materials properties, its general relationship to mechanical properties of alloys is not well established. In this paper, using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we show that the electronic occupancy at the Fermi level, N(E f ), obtained from DOS is a key descriptor of alloy strength and ductility. Our comprehensive analysis of numerous body centered cubic (BCC) refractory high entropy alloys (RHEAs) shows an overwhelming correlation that low N(E f ) indicates strong bonds that have high stiffness resulting in high elastic constants. High bond stiffness indicates presence of covalent nature of bonds that are directional in nature resulting in resistance to deformation leading to high bulk (B) and shear (G) moduli. Consequently, N(E f ) provides a direct correlation to the tendency of alloy ductility evidenced in the Pugh ratio (G/B). As stiffer bonds result in lower local lattice distortion (LLD), N(E f ) are LLD are also found to be corelated which opens up a correlation to solid solution strengthening and yield strength. Thus, this work unveils fundamental correlations between N(E f ) and (1) elastic bond strength, (2) ductility, and (3) LLD. These correlations open opportunities for the design of high strength high ductile RHEAs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Solid Phase Processing of Mg-Al-Mn-Ca for High Strength and Ductility

While rare-earth Mg alloys have remarkable properties for high strength applications, lower cost alternatives are necessary for the widespread industry use of Mg. Ca added Mg alloys have shown promise as an alternative to rare-earth alloys. Ca-based precipitates can reduce basal texture, reduce casting porosity, and increase mechanical strength. However, the accumulation of Ca-based precipitates along inter-dendritic regions can severely limit ductility. Here, we apply two solid phase processing techniques, friction stir processing and shear assisted processing and extrusion, to produce wrought microstructure sheet and extruded tubes from a cast Mg-Al-Mn-Ca alloy. Ductility of the alloy is enhanced by densification under applied force and elevated temperature, grain refinement, and refinement of (Al,Mg)-Ca based precipitate.

Garcia, David↗

Process Intensification for Nanocomposite Aluminum Extrusions: CRADA 411 (Final Report)

The project evaluated the feasibility of using Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE) for the fabrication of extrusions with a diameter of 0.5” and higher from an Al-alloy powder feedstock that contains nanoscale second phases for achieving enhanced elevated temperature strength. PNNL has previously extruded 0.2” diameter rods with high strength aluminum alloy powder Al-12.4TM. This project aimed to scale the process up to a diameter of 1.0” at a length of >24” while retaining the excellent mechanical properties achieved for the 0.2” diameter rods. As part of the project, extrusion dies were fabricated with various design features. As an example, scroll features on the tool die face was introduced to enhance powder mixing, and reduce extrusion load. Varying extrusion ratios were used to obtain better microstructural homogeneity. Use of tool design features together with the optimization of process parameters helped in the fabrication of extrusions that were up to 48” long with a diameter of 0.5” using Al-12.4 TM powder feedstock in a two-step process involving cold compaction followed by extrusion. Extrusions with a diameter of 1.0” could also be fabricated, but limitations on the extent of consolidation were experienced as a result of the torque and ram force capacity of the current ShAPE machine.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗