This study investigates the effects of shot peening (SP) on the wear behavior of laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) manufactured Co-Cr-Mo alloys in as-built and heat-treated (HT) conditions. SP significantly increased surface hardness, reaching 685 HV via sub-structural refinement and strain-induced gamma-to-epsilon martensitic transformation (63.04% ɛ-HCP in HT + SP), confirmed by XRD analysis. The results show that the transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) effect and dynamic work-hardening provide superior wear resistance (4.95 × 10 −5 mm 3 /Nm) in the HT + SP condition. Furthermore, SP-induced surface reactivity facilitates the formation of protective tribo-oxide films, thereby transitioning the mechanism into a self-lubricating regime. Wear test findings demonstrate that SP enhances surface integrity and may eliminate the need for post-process heat treatment in industrial and biomedical applications.

This review focuses on of the role of Ce in aluminum melt purification and aluminum matrix, its influence on the properties of aluminum and aluminum alloys, including both cast and wrought alloys. Ce exhibits excellent degassing and refining properties in aluminum melts, leading to improved metallurgical quality. In addition, Ce plays a significant role in aluminum matrices, including grain refinement, modification, alteration of solidification behaviour, and compound formation. Through these effects, Ce can have a substantial impact on the properties of aluminum and its alloys. This systematic review comprehensively elucidates the role and impact of Ce in aluminum and its alloys, providing a comprehensive understanding for materials researchers.

Particle impurities deposition on solid surfaces can destabilize the matrix material. Moving bubbles can remove particles without damaging the matrix material. In this study, CaCO 3 particles were utilized to simulate impurities, and samples were prepared using a deposition method. The effects of bubble-particle interactions were assessed by analyzing the gray value of the sample surface. Prolonging bubble exposure and tilting the granular sample at 30°-45° effectively removed surface particles. Finite element simulations indicate that particle removal results from the combined actions of bubble impact stress, bubble surface tension, and fluid shear force. This study deepens the understanding of the bubble cleaning principle and lays a theoretical foundation for the development of more efficient cleaning technology.

The trade-off between strength and corrosion resistance is an important challenge facing aluminum alloys. Here, we report the design of aluminum composite alloy combining novel corrosion resistant strain-hardening alloy and T-phase precipitation-hardened alloy prepared by hot rolling. Good metallurgical bonding is achieved due to the uniform gradient diffusion of the elements near the bonding interface. We find that the strong strain field in the diffusion layer resulted in semi-coherent precipitates compared with the single alloy. The discontinuous distribution of the grain boundary precipitates and the absence of precipitation free zone contribute to the improved corrosion resistance of the coating alloy on each side. The composite achieves 502 MPa tensile strength, 400 MPa yield strength, 10% elongation, and superior corrosion resistance, surpassing conventional aluminum alloys in overall performance.

Nanocomposites reinforced with MoS 2 offer strong potential for lightweight engineering applications, yet AZ91D magnesium alloy faces limitations in strength and wear resistance. This study overcomes these issues using an ultrasonication-assisted stir-squeeze casting method to improve wettability, densification, and uniform distribution of MoS 2 . AZ91D composites with 0.5, 1 and 1.5 wt.% MoS 2 were fabricated and examined through microstructural, XRD, density, porosity, mechanical and tribological tests. Results showed refined grains, uniform nanoparticle dispersion and mechanical properties improved significantly up to 1 wt.%. TOPSIS, ANOVA, and RSM optimisation showed that the 1 wt.% composite made the biggest significance (82%). The optimal conditions yielded major reductions in wear rate (61.7%) and COF (44%). Confirmation tests validated the predictions, establishing 1 wt.% MoS 2 as the optimal for enhanced performance.

This study characterizes CuCrZr/304 stainless steel dissimilar welds using HR-TEM and EDS. A 1.5–2.0 μm interfacial diffusion layer was identified, driven primarily by Cu migration. Analysis confirmed the formation of brittle Fe-Cu intermetallic compounds (FeCu 3 , Fe 2 Cu 5 ) and significant sulfur segregation (FeS, Cu 2 S), leading to grain boundary embrittlement and hot cracking. Furthermore, high-density dislocation networks and twin boundaries indicated strain-induced martensitic transformation in the heat-affected zone. Based on these nanoscale insights, employing diffusion barriers and post-weld heat treatment is proposed to mitigate defects and enhance joint stability.

In this study, titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanoparticles were synthesized via a sol-gel method and immobilized onto humic acid (HA) extracted from leonardite to enhance their photocatalytic efficiency under both UV and visible light. The nanomaterial containing 0.03 g of HA (per 0.1 g TiO 2 ) exhibited the highest performance, achieving a degradation efficiency of 99.36% for Methyl Orange (MO) under UV irradiation within 25 min and 98.43% under visible light within 180 min. The apparent reaction rate constant (k) of the optimized TiO 2 /HA nanomaterial reached 1.3252 min −1 under UV irradiation and 0.0957 min −1 under visible light. These values are approximately 39.3 and 15.4 times higher, respectively, than those of pure TiO 2 , indicating a substantial enhancement in catalytic activity.

The inhomogeneous strains associated with Lüders bands in FeCo-2V have been studied. Mechanical testing revealed distinct elastic, Lüders band propagation, and work-hardening regimes. Digital Image Correlation (DIC) strain maps confirmed localised deformation during band propagation, transitioning to homogeneous plasticity post-saturation. Electron Backscatter Diffraction Kernel Average Misorientation (EBSD-KAM) analysis showed elevated misorientation angles in deformed regions, correlating with increased dislocation density. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed peak broadening during Lüders band propagation, attributed to dislocation-induced lattice distortions that were quantified through Williamson-Hall analysis. The results demonstrate that Lüders bands in FeCo-2V arise from dislocation accumulation, with uniform peak width regions in XRD maps correlated with band propagation, while post-plateau work-hardening increased average peak widths. These findings provide insights into strain localisation in FeCo-2V.

Mold flux crystallization behavior dictates its continuous casting metallurgical performance, yet how static magnetic fields affect its crystallization kinetics remains unclear. This study explored 0 and 40 mT magnetic field effects on mold flux isothermal crystallization at 1150–1300 °C via FactSage simulations, isothermal experiments and microstructural characterizations. Magnetic fields altered crystallization kinetics and structural evolution, advancing nucleation, prolonging total crystallization time at all temperatures but 1300 °C and changing pathways, lowering activation energy and pre-exponential factor to facilitate nucleation but reduce growth rate. They suppressed phase separation and coarsening for uniform, dense microstructures, with no obvious effects on precipitate phases or elemental segregation. This work supports optimized magnetic field application in continuous casting mold flux design theoretically and experimentally.

In this work, the application of fatigue load cycles has been monitored by using the Electrical Resistance Change (ERC) method on unnotched C45 carbon steel samples. The experimental test plan involved static tests and fatigue tests at different maximum stress (55–65% of UTS) and different stress ratios (R = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5). In static tests the electrical resistance underwent an initial reduction in the elastic field and then grew regularly with an increase of 40% in the plastic phase. The variations in electrical resistance measured as the fatigue life varied were instead characterised by a rapid initial increase, followed by a constant trend until final failure. This trend was justified because of the evident progressive deformation of the transversal section.