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At least 1,387 records · Page 77

Transformation-induced fracture toughening in CuAlBe shape memory alloys: A phase-field study

Stress-induced transformation ahead of a crack tip can relax the stress concentration and produce fracture toughness in shape memory alloys (SMAs). In this manuscript, we utilize a nonisothermal phase-field model (PFM) to study the martensitic transformation induced crack tip toughening in CuAlBe SMA. The force-displacement curve, transformation zone and high stress zone in single crystalline samples show high dependency on the grain orientation with respect to the crack alignment. Comparison between isothermal and non-isothermal simulations reveals that the transformation-induced self-heating decreases the toughening capability by increasing the critical transformation stress. Investigating the high stress zones in CuAlBe and the nontransforming CuAl alloy shows that the toughening is obtained by redistributing the stress concentration far from the crack tip, as the high stress zone follows the tip of the transformation zone. Increasing the acuity of the crack tip is found to generate more symmetric martensite wings on both side of the crack axis and a more localized high stress zone. The polycrystal specimen displays higher toughening due to the internal constraints related to the presence of various grains with difference orientations. Depending on the orientation of the grain inclosing the crack tip, the toughening can be lower or higher. Finally, coincidence of the crack tip with a triple junction is found to improve the toughening behavior.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Large magnetic entropy change and magnetoresistance in a Ni 41 Co 9 Mn 40 Sn 10 magnetic shape memory alloy

A polycrystalline Ni 41 Co 9 Mn 40 Sn 10 (at. %) magnetic shape memory alloy was prepared by arc melting and characterized mainly by magnetic measurements, in-situ high-energy X-ray diffraction (HEXRD), and mechanical testing. A large magnetoresistance of 53.8% (under 5 T) and a large magnetic entropy change of 31.9 J/(kg K) (under 5 T) were simultaneously achieved. Both of these values are among the highest values reported so far in Ni-Mn-Sn-based Heusler alloys. The large magnetic entropy change, closely related to the structural entropy change, is attributed to the large unit cell volume change across martensitic transformation as revealed by our in-situ HEXRD experiment. Furthermore, good compressive properties were also obtained. Lastly, the combination of large magnetoresistance, large magnetic entropy change, and good compressive properties, as well as low cost makes this alloy a promising candidate for multifunctional applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

In-situ TEM analysis of the phase transformation mechanism of a Cu–Al–Ni shape memory alloy

We report that minimizing phase transformation (PT) hysteresis is of crucial importance for reliability of shape memory alloy (SMA)-based devices, where the lattice strain/stress caused by thermal hysteresis leads to functional degradation. As a result, understanding structural factors that control PT pathway is critical for development of materials with high reversibility. In this study, two distinct PT mechanisms (from γ$'\atop{1}$ martensite to β 1 austenite phase) in Cu–Al–Ni SMAs were revealed by in-situ TEM observation. A growth-dominant conventional PT mechanism shows in the fast quench sample, whereas a nucleation-dominant PT mechanism that suppresses interface propagation and induces high thermal hysteresis displays in the slow quench sample. By characterizing the atomic scale composition and microstructure we discover that slow quenching induces nanoprecipitation that changes chemistry of the matrix alloy, which in turn causes the higher PT hysteresis and temperature, while fast quenching avoids the formation of these nanoprecipitates. Lastly, our finding provides valuable insights into the fabrication of SMAs with better reliability.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

APOE effect on Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in older adults with significant memory concern

This study assessed apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 carrier status effects on Alzheimer's disease imaging and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers in cognitively normal older adults with significant memory concerns (SMC). Cognitively normal, SMC, and early mild cognitive impairment participants from Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative were divided by APOE ε4 carrier status. Diagnostic and APOE effects were evaluated with emphasis on SMC. Additional analyses in SMC evaluated the effect of the interaction between APOE and [ 18 F]Florbetapir amyloid positivity on CSF biomarkers. SMC ε4+ showed greater amyloid deposition than SMC ε4-, but no hypometabolism or medial temporal lobe (MTL) atrophy. SMC ε4+ showed lower amyloid beta 1-42 and higher tau/p-tau than ε4-, which was most abnormal in APOE ε4+ and cerebral amyloid positive SMC. Lastly, SMC APOE ε4+ show abnormal changes in amyloid and tau biomarkers, but no hypometabolism or MTL neurodegeneration, reflecting the at-risk nature of the SMC group and the importance of APOE in mediating this risk.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Determination of single crystal thermal expansion in Uranium-6wt%Niobium shape memory alloy using in-situ diffraction and modeling of textured polycrystalline samples

In-situ neutron diffraction and ex-situ dilatometry experiments were performed on a chemically banded, quenched uranium-6wt% niobium shape memory alloy to study the impact of deformation-(detwinning-) induced texture on the evolution of thermally induced strains (and associated stresses). Thermal heating and cooling cycles between 5K and 473K were performed in-situ with neutron diffraction, and the lattice strain evolution is reported for the observed monoclinic α" phase. Comparisons between the measured diffraction strains and macroscopic dilatometry experiments reveal relationships between micro- and macro-level thermal expansion. Softening of the texture during heating suggests that twin boundary motion can accommodate the large internal thermal strains which are approximately 2% greater than that typically observed during the 175K heating interval used to age more randomly oriented polycrystalline material. Assuming weak constraint of neighboring grains in randomly textured polycrystals, the single crystal thermal expansion tensor is extracted from measurements of lattice strains over the range 5K to 473K. Predictions of polycrystalline thermal expansion, based upon this single crystal thermal expansion tensor, are shown to compare favorably with bulk thermal expansion observations of the as quenched microstructure. However, such a lower-bound estimate is insufficient to explain all aspects of the behavior of the textured material, where the matrix is not isotropic. In conclusion, it is hypothesized that relaxation processes which occur within the quenched microstructure during heating are responsible for the distinct thermal expansion behavior observed during the initial heating cycle compared to cooling and subsequent cycling.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Modeling injection-induced fault slip using long short-term memory networks

Stress changes due to changes in fluid pressure and temperature in a faulted formation may lead to the opening/shearing of the fault. This can be due to subsurface (geo)engineering activities such as fluid injections and geologic disposal of nuclear waste. Such activities are expected to rise in the future making it necessary to assess their short- and long-term safety. Here, a new machine learning (ML) approach to model pore pressure and fault displacements in response to high-pressure fluid injection cycles is developed. The focus is on fault behavior near the injection borehole. To capture the temporal dependencies in the data, long short-term memory (LSTM) networks are utilized. To prevent error accumulation within the forecast window, four critical measures to train a robust LSTM model for predicting fault response are highlighted: (i) setting an appropriate value of LSTM lag, (ii) calibrating the LSTM cell dimension, (iii) learning rate reduction during weight optimization, and (iv) not adopting an independent injection cycle as a validation set. Several numerical experiments were conducted, which demonstrated that the ML model can capture peaks in pressure and associated fault displacement that accompany an increase in fluid injection. The model also captured the decay in pressure and displacement during the injection shut-in period. Further, the ability of an ML model to highlight key changes in fault hydromechanical activation processes was investigated, which shows that ML can be used to monitor risk of fault activation and leakage during high pressure fluid injections.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Comparative study of structure formation and mechanical behavior of age-hardened Ti–Nb–Zr and Ti–Nb–Ta shape memory alloys

This work sets out to study the peculiar effects of aging treatment on the structure and mechanical behavior of cold-rolled and annealed biomedical Ti–21.8Nb–6.0Zr (TNZ) and Ti–19.7Nb–5.8Ta (TNT) (at.%) shape memory alloys by means of transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry, functional fatigue and thermomechanical testing techniques. Dissimilar effects of aging treatment on the mechanical behavior of Zr- and Ta-doped alloys are explained by the differences in the ω-phase formation rate, precipitate size, fraction and distribution, and by their effect on the alloys' critical stresses and transformation temperatures. Even short-time aging of the TNZ alloy leads to its drastic embrittlement caused by “overaging”. On the contrary, during aging of the TNT alloy, formation of finely dispersed ω-phase precipitates is gradual and controllable, which makes it possible to finely adjust the TNT alloy functional properties using precipitation hardening mechanisms. To create in this alloy nanosubgrained dislocation substructure containing highly-dispersed coherent nanosized ω-phase precipitates, the following optimum thermomechanical treatment is recommended: cold rolling (true strain 0.37), followed by post-deformation annealing (600 °C, 15–30 min) and age-hardening (300 °C, 30 min) thermal treatments. It is shown that in TNT alloy, pre-transition diffraction effects (diffuse reflections) can “mask” the β-phase substructure and morphology of secondary phases. - Highlights: • TNZ alloy is characterized by much higher ω-phase precipitation rate than TNT alloy. • Difference in precipitation rates is linked to the difference in Zr and Ta diffusion mobility. • Aging of nanosubgrained TNZ alloy worsens its properties irrespective of the aging time. • Aging time of nanosubgrained TNT alloy can be optimized to improve its properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Microstructure and transformation behavior of Ni{sub 24.7}Ti{sub 50.3}Pd{sub 25} high temperature shape-memory alloy with Sc micro-addition

NiTiPd shape-memory alloys (SMAs) are potential functional materials for use as solid-state actuators in the temperature range 100–250 °C. The present study investigates the effect of 1.0 at.% Sc micro-addition to Ni{sub 24.7}Ti{sub 50.3}Pd{sub 25} alloy, Sc replacing either Ti or Ni. Results show that all the three alloys studied have stable transformation behavior on stress-free thermal cycling and hence, are suitable for cyclic actuation applications. However, the addition of Sc to NiTiPd alloy leads to decrease of transformation temperatures, the magnitude of decrease being greater for the alloy with Sc replacing Ni. The martensite finish (M{sub f}) temperature of 181 °C for the NiTiPd alloy decreased to 139 °C for Sc replacing Ti and 83 °C for Sc replacing Ni. Also, the indentation modulus of NiTiPdSc (Sc replacing Ni) alloy is found to be significantly low compared to the other alloys. Analysis indicates that the observed differences in the alloy properties are related to the solubility of Sc in the NiTiPd matrix. While the quaternary NiTiPdSc alloy, Sc replacing Ti, has a single phase microstructure, the alloy with Sc replacing Ni shows the presence of Sc-rich and TiPd-type second phases in the microstructure. TEM examination revealed that the TiPd-type phase has a distinct rod-like morphology (30–50 nm) arranged in a grid-like structure. The transformation and indentation behavior of the alloys is elucidated using thermodynamic calculations of frictional energy and an electronic structure based analysis. - Highlights: • TEM of Ni{sub 23.7}Ti{sub 50.3}Pd{sub 25}Sc{sub 1} showed distinct grid of TiPd-type phase nanorods < 50 nm. • Stress-free thermal cycling of all the three alloys showed stable transformation behavior. • Ni{sub 24.7}Ti{sub 49.3}Pd{sub 25}Sc{sub 1} and Ni{sub 23.7}Ti{sub 50.3}Pd{sub 25}Sc{sub 1} showed single and multiphase structures. • Sc micro-addition (1 at.%) to Ni{sub 24.7}Ti{sub 50.3}Pd{sub 25} alloy decreased TTs significantly. • Ni{sub 23.7}Ti{sub 50.3}Pd{sub 25}Sc{sub 1} exhibited lower modulus of 67 GPa to 85 GPa of Ni{sub 24.7}Ti{sub 50.3}Pd{sub 25}.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Study of the microstructure evolution of heat treated Ti-rich NiTi shape memory alloy

Martensitic evolution in Ti-rich NiTi alloy, Ti50.5Ni49.5, has been investigated as a function of annealing, solution treatment and a combination thereof and a detailed electron microscopic investigation carried out. Self-accommodated martensite plates resulted in all heat treated samples. Martensitic < 011 > type II twins, which are common in NiTi shape memory alloys, was found in both as-received and heat-treated samples. Solution treated samples, additionally, showed {11-1} type I twinning was also found in samples that have been annealed after solution-treatment. Another common feature of the microstructure in both as-received and heat treated samples is the formation of Ti{sub 2}Ni precipitates. The size, number and dispersions of these precipitates can be controlled by resorting to a suitable heat treatment e.g. solution treatment.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Microstructure and phase composition characterization in a Co{sub 38}Ni{sub 33}Al{sub 29} ferromagnetic shape memory alloy

Transmission electron microscopy was performed to investigate the microstructures of a secondary phase and its surrounding matrix in a Co{sub 38}Ni{sub 33}Al{sub 29} ferromagnetic shape memory alloy. The secondary phase shows a γ′ L1{sub 2} structure exhibiting a dendritic morphology with enclosed B2 austenite regions while the matrix shows the L1{sub 0} martensitic structure. A secondary phase-austenite-martensite sandwich structure with residual austenite ranging from several hundred nanometers to several micrometers wide is observed at the secondary phase-martensite interface due to the depletion of Co and enrichment of Al in the chemical gradient zone and the effect of the strong martensitic start temperature dependency of the element concentrations. The crystallographic orientation relationship of the secondary phase and the B2 austenite fits the Kurdjumov-Sachs relationship. - Highlights: •The secondary phase has a γ′ L1{sub 2} structure exhibiting a dendritic morphology. •A secondary phase-austenite-martensite sandwich structure is observed. •The structural sandwich structure is due to elemental composition variation. •The secondary phase and the B2 austenite fit the Kurdjumov-Sachs relationship.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Effect of different stages of deformation on the microstructure evolution of Ti-rich NiTi shape memory alloy

The main objective of this work was to investigate the thermomechanical behavior and microstructural changes of a Ti-rich NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA). The microstructural and texture evolution of aged NiTi alloy at different degrees of deformation were elicited by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). An effort was made to correlate results obtained from the tensile test with results from microstructure studies. The undeformed sample reveals a self-accommodated morphology with straight and well defined twin boundaries. At different stages of deformation, diverse mechanisms were involved. These mechanisms include marstraining, detwinning accompanied by dislocation movement, and finally, severe plastic deformation, subdivision and amorphization of the matrix. Under increasing strains, high density lattice defects were generated and the morphology of B19’ became disordered. - Graphical abstract: The summary of microstructure changes of the martensite twins during tensile deformation in polycrystalline NiTi SMAs. - Highlights: • Initial elastic response, dislocation avalanche and deformation bands were studied. • < 011 > Type II twin accompanied by detwinned area after 2% cold work was observed. • Visible parallel fine stacking faults showed plastic flow of the material. • At higher strains, subgrains changed to recrystallized, finely amorphous structure.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Martensite crystal structure in Ru-based high temperature shape memory alloys

Highlights: • A three level twinned microstructure is recognized in the β″ phase. • Wavy contrast boundaries which are typical for translation interfaces • Displacements are translations of tetragonal β′ phase, lost during transformation. • Six times bigger monoclinic cell is characterized by the disappearance of 5 translations. - Abstract: High temperature shape memory alloys RuNb and RuTa were investigated by X-ray diffraction in order to determine the structure of the low temperature β” martensite. Powder X-ray diffraction and Rietveld analysis confirm the monoclinic symmetry and allow a precise determination of the atom positions. The low temperature microstructure is the result of a martensitic transformation from a tetragonal β′ martensite. The analysis of how it is controlled by the space groups of the two phases and by their relative orientation is performed by transmission electron microscopy. A three level twinned microstructure is recognized in the β” phase. The investigation at the smallest scale twins reveals the presence of wavy contrast boundaries which are typical for translation interfaces. High resolution transmission electron microscopy images, accompanied by phase contrast imaging analysis, have been used to determine the translation vectors associated to the interfaces. These displacements are the translations of the tetragonal β′ phase which are lost during the transformation. The combination of X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy investigation allows the suggestion of a global distortion mechanism that explains the atomic displacements in the β” form.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Shape memory and superelasticity of nanograined Ti-51.2 at.% Ni alloy processed by severe plastic deformation via high-ratio differential speed rolling

A novel method of producing nanograined Ni-rich superelastic NiTi alloys in sheet form was proposed using a combination of severe plastic deformation via high-ratio differential speed rolling (HRDSR) and post-deformation annealing. The HRDSR-processed microstructure was composed of heavily deformed austenite and martensite grains, and amorphous phases. After annealing at 673 K, the severely deformed microstructure with no functional properties evolved to the nanograined structure (20–70 nm) composed of austenite and martensite nanograins and sub-nanograins through static recovery or continuous static recrystallization process. The nanograined microstructure had a high resistance to martensitic transformation upon cooling and slip deformation during straining. As a result, the HRDSR-processed alloy annealed at 673K exhibited superior superelasticity compared to the alloys with coarse grains. At the higher annealing temperature of 873 K, the micron-sized recrystallized grains with low dislocations developed through discontinuous static recrystallization process. In this case, deformation during straining was governed by the detwinning of twinned martensite, and as a result, shape memory effect was more significantly pronounced than superelasticity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Shape memory effect in metallic glasses

Shape memory effect (SME), mainly present in crystalline Ti-Ni alloys, is basically missing in metallic glasses (MGs) that lack the long-range periodic order of crystals. In this work, we report experimental results of SME in annealed MGs, in which the low-energy configuration state recovery is observed by both differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy. We elucidate the origin of SME in MGs under the potential energy landscape framework, i.e., after annealing, the energy of MGs enters into a deep basin and atoms are located in the low-energy configuration state. Albeit deviating from their relative stable configurations by temperature changes, atoms in the annealed MGs tend to return to the low-energy atomic configurations along certain trajectories as pre-annealing temperature is approached, These results could extend the application of MGs as functional materials by directionally manipulating their energy states via annealing and rejuvenation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

In-situ TOF neutron diffraction studies of cyclic softening in superelasticity of a NiFeGaCo shape memory alloy

Real-time in-situ neutron diffraction was conducted during uniaxial cycling compression of a Ni 49.3 Fe 18 Ga 27 Co 5.7 shape memory alloy to explore the mechanism on its superelasticity at room temperature, which was manifested by the almost recoverable large strains and the apparent cyclic softening. Based on the Rietveld refinements, the real-time evolution of volume fraction of martensite was in-situ monitored, indicating the incremental amount of residual martensite with increasing load cycles. Real-time changes in intensities and lattice strains of { hkl } reflections for individual phase were obtained through fitting individual peaks, which reveal the quantitative information on phase transformation kinetics as a function of grain orientation and stress/strain partitioning. Moreover, a large compressive residual stress was evidenced in the parent phase, which should be balanced by the residual martensite after the second unloading cycle. As a result, the large compressive residual stress found in the parent austenite phase may account for the cyclic effect on critical stress required for triggering the martensitic transformation in the subsequent loading.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Enhanced working memory performance via transcranial direct current stimulation: The possibility of near and far transfer

Although working memory (WM) training programs consistently result in improvement on the trained task, benefit is typically short-lived and extends only to tasks very similar to the trained task (i.e., near transfer). It is possible that pairing repeated performance of a WM task with brain stimulation encourages plasticity in brain networks involved in WM task performance, thereby improving the training benefit. In the current study, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) was paired with performance of a WM task (n-back). In Experiment 1, participants performed a spatial location-monitoring n-back during stimulation, while Experiment 2 used a verbal identity-monitoring n-back. In each experiment, participants received either active (2.0 mA) or sham (0.1 mA) stimulation with the anode placed over either the right or the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the cathode placed extracephalically. In Experiment 1, only participants receiving active stimulation with the anode placed over the right DLPFC showed marginal improvement on the trained spatial n-back, which did not extend to a near transfer (verbal n-back) or far transfer task (a matrix-reasoning task designed to measure fluid intelligence). Here, in Experiment 2, both left and right anode placements led to improvement, and right DLPFC stimulation resulted in numerical (though not sham-adjusted) improvement on the near transfer (spatial n-back) and far transfer (fluid intelligence) task. Results suggest that WM training paired with brain stimulation may result in cognitive enhancement that transfers to performance on other tasks, depending on the combination of training task and tDCS parameters used.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Experimental study on rheological and settling properties of shape memory polymer for fracture sealing in geothermal formations

This article studies the rheology and annular flow of a smart lost circulation material (LCM) at 160 °C, using a high-temperature flow loop. The smart LCM is a shape memory polymer (SMP) that activates at high temperatures, and its particle size increases to seal fractures in geothermal formations. SMP was mixed with the base fluid in two different concentrations, 1.0 and 3.0 wt%, to study rheology, wellbore hydraulics, activation process, and settling behavior under different testing conditions. The results of this study showed that the SMP could be activated at high temperatures. An increase of 80–100% in the particle size was observed at 160 °C. The mud samples showed a high shear-thinning behavior at the two concentrations with a Power-law flow index (n) ranging between 0.025 and 0.101. No additional frictional pressure losses were observed when SMP was added to the base fluid. SMP particles showed an excellent suspension at 1.0 wt% while, at 3.0 wt%, a bed was formed at a low flow rate and without pipe rotation. Increasing the drill pipe rotational speed or flow rate effectively removed the bed and homogeneously dispersed the SMP particles, ensuring a better sealing efficiency. SMP particle dispersion in inclined wells was better than in horizontal wells. Moreover, the findings of this study help optimize the lost circulation treatment by considering a wide range of operating parameters that can further be extended to different systems and geometries.

02 PETROLEUM↗

Fast-responding bio-based shape memory thermoplastic polyurethanes

Fast response shape-memory polyurethanes were prepared from bio-based polyols, diphenyl methane diisocyanate and butane diol. The bio-based polyester polyols were synthesized from 9-hydroxynonanoic acid, a product obtained by ozonolysis of fatty acids extracted from soy oil and castor oil. The morphology of polyurethanes was investigated by synchrotron ultra-small angle X-ray scattering, which revealed the inter-domain spacing between the hard and soft phases, the degree of phase separation, and the level of intermixing between the hard and soft phases. We also conducted thorough investigations of the thermal, mechanical, and dielectric properties of the polyurethanes, and found that high crystallization rate of the soft segment gives these polyurethanes unique properties suitable for shapememory applications, such as adjustable transition temperatures, high degree of elastic elongations, and good mechanical strength. In conclusion, these materials are also potentially biodegradable and biocompatible, therefore suitable for biomedical and environmental applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗