Lamellar Grains Research Articles

Exceptional tensile ductility and strength of a BCC structure CLAM steel with lamellar grains at 77 kelvin

The low-temperature tensile brittleness of body-centered cubic (BCC) metals and alloys can seriously compromise their service applications. In this study, we prepared a BCC structured China low activation martensitic steel (CLAM) steel with lamellar grains by regulating the rolling and heat-treatment processes, successfully reversing the decreasing trend of ductility in the steel with decrease in temperature. Compared with current face-centered cubic (FCC) structural steels and high-entropy alloys, the lamellar grained CLAM steel exhibits an excellent synergy of strength and ductility at 77K, but with lower raw material costs. The superior low temperature ductility of the lamellar grained steel can be attributed to an increase in grain strength at low temperatures which promotes the propagation of layered tearing cracks; this in turn leads to a significant increase in the necking area of the steel, thereby compensating for the decrease in ductility. We conclude that our lamellar grain structures can be utilized to significantly enhance the low-temperature tensile ductility of BCC metals and alloys, thereby expanding their service range to cryogenic temperatures.

Stepwise warm rolling for synergistic strength and ductility enhancement in heterolamellar medium-Mn steel

Medium manganese steel represents a promising third-generation advanced high-strength steel. However, achieving excellent plasticity in high-yield-strength medium manganese steel remains challenging, particularly with lower alloying element contents. In this study, we employed an innovative stepwise warm rolling process on 5Mn medium manganese steel, developing a heterolamellar microstructure along the rolling direction. The resulting steel exhibited a yield strength exceeding 1.5 GPa while maintaining a uniform elongation of approximately 29%. The high yield strength is attributed to fine lamellar grains with high dislocation density, while the excellent uniform elongation is due to the synergistic effect of multiple plastic deformation mechanisms, which promoted prolonged strain hardening and delayed the onset of necking. These mechanisms include hetero-deformation induced (HDI) hardening generated during the early deformation of the heterolamellar structure, transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) effect-induced work hardening, and delamination cracking that alleviates interface strain concentration and delays material failure. Collectively, these mechanisms enabled the material to achieve an exceptionally high product of yield strength and uniform elongation of 45 GPa·%. This work provides new insights into the design of high-strength, ductile medium manganese steels, advancing the application of high-performance medium manganese steels.

Design of tri-phase lamellar architectures for enhanced ductility in ultra-strong steel

Achieving exceptional ductility in ultra-high strength steels has long been a formidable challenge, particularly when the yield strength reaches 2.0 GPa. In this study, we have designed an innovative tri-phase lamellar microstructure in medium Mn steel that successfully achieves both an ultrahigh yield strength of approximately 2.0 GPa and an impressive uniform elongation ranging from 22.5 % to 24.5 %. The ultra-high yield strength of this steel is primarily due to the ultrafine lamellar grain with high-density dislocations and HDI strengthening resulting from meticulously designed tri-phase lamellae. The remarkable ductility is attributed to the synergistic action of multiple plasticity mechanisms. The inherently excellent plasticity of the lamellar ferrite, in coordination with the lamellar martensite, generates significant HDI hardening, thereby suppressing the onset of necking in the early stages of deformation. During the mid-stage of deformation, high strain activates the transformation-induced plasticity effect in the highly stable austenite, which remains stable due to substantial HDI hardening and effectively mitigates strain localization. In the later stages of deformation, delamination cracking relieves stress accumulation at the interfaces, delaying material failure. These mechanisms elevate yield strength and uniform elongation product to 47.3 GPa·%, showcasing the tri-phase lamellar structure’s potential for ultrahigh-strength, high-ductility steels.

Microstructural evolution and dynamic recrystallization mechanisms of additively manufactured TiAl alloy with heterogeneous microstructure during hot compression

Microstructural evolution and dynamic recrystallization (DRX) mechanisms of a Ti−48Al−2Cr−2Nb (at.%) alloy prepared by selective electron beam melting (SEBM) during hot deformation at 1150 °C and 0.1 s−1 were investigated by hot compression tests, optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results show that the initial microstructure of the as-SEBMed alloy exhibits layers of coarse γ grains and fine γ+α2+(α2/γ) lamellar mixture grains alternately along the building direction. During the early stage of hot deformation, deformation twins tend to form within the coarse grains, facilitating subsequent deformation, and a small number of DRX grains appear in the fine-grained regions. With the increase of strain, extensive DRX grains are formed through different DRX mechanisms in both coarse and fine-grained regions, involving discontinuous dynamic recrystallization mechanism (DDRX) in the fine-grained regions and a coexistence of DDRX and continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX) in the coarse- grained regions.

Deformation behaviour and microstructure evolution of Ti-2.3Al-2.6Zr alloy in the temperature range of 700–1000 °C

Ti-2.3Al-2.6Zr alloy was hot deformed at temperatures from 700 to 1000 °C and strain rates from 10−2 −30 s−1. The uniaxial compression tests were conducted in vacuum to a true strain of 1 for this alloy. Strain rate sensitivity was calculated from the true stress- true strain data and plotted as contour plots to generate the strain rate sensitivity map. The hot working condition of this model α-Ti alloy was optimized by using the strain rate sensitivity map. The optimized hot workability domains were identified for α-phase as (a) 780–900 °C at strain rate of 10−2 to 0.3 s−1 and (b) 825–900 °C at strain rate of 3–30 s−1. The domain of hot processing condition for β-phase was found at 930–1000 °C for all strain rates. In α-phase domain the strain rate sensitivity was about 0.3, the stress exponent was 4.3 and the activation energy for deformation was 285 kJ mol−1 whereas in β-phase domain the strain rate sensitivity was about 0.34, the stress exponent was 5.3 and the activation energy for deformation was 210 kJ mol−1. These deformation parameters suggest the deformation process to be a dislocation based mechanism. Samples deformed within the high strain rate sensitivity domains showed microstructural features of dynamic recrystallization. In α-phase fine equiaxed recrystallized grains with high angle boundaries were observed. Deformation at 900 °C and 0.01 s−1 resulted in fully recrystallized equiaxed grains in the α-phase, whereas the β-phase showed lamellar grain morphology with very fine recrystallized grains.

Preparation of high-performance electroplated zinc coatings using modified DESs method

This study suggests a new process for zinc recycling in the iron and steel industry, that is, using RHF zinc-containing refined dust as the raw material and ChCl-urea DES (Reline) as the medium. The solid waste from the bottom-turning furnace is leached out, and the resulting zinc is plated directly onto automobile plates. This paper focuses on the utilization of EDTA as an additive to improve the overall performance of the zinc coatings. The results demonstrated that the addition of EDTA realized the modulation of the morphology of the coatings, which made the surface milky white and uniformly bright. The coating consists of hexagonal lamellar grains, dominated by (002) crystalline surfaces that grow at small angles, and the surface flatness is dramatically improved. Most importantly, the hardness of the modified coatings was increased by 70.0% and the coefficient of friction was reduced by about 29.2% compared with the coatings obtained in the pure solution. The addition of EDTA led to the formation of a surface passivation film during the corrosion process, which significantly improved the corrosion resistance of the material surface and the corrosion rate was reduced by 0.355 mm.A−1.

Cooling rate effects on microstructure and diffusion behaviour in Ti65 alloy: Insights from a modified diffusion model

In the continuous cooling process, the growth of the equiaxed α-phase grains in near-α high-temperature titanium alloys is controlled by the diffusion of alloying elements. Establishing a specific connection between the cooling rate and the diffusion behaviour of alloying elements aids in the precise prediction of the evolution of equiaxed α-phase grain size. This study meticulously controlled the cooling rate during the two-phase region annealing treatment of the Ti65 alloy. Using EPMA technology, the diffusion behaviour of solute elements during cooling was accurately characterized. The study found that slowing the cooling rate promotes the coarsening of the lamellar secondary α-phase grains and the growth of the primary equiaxed α-phase grains. At higher annealing temperatures, the growth of equiaxed α-phase grains can occur at faster cooling rates, while coarse lamellar secondary α-phase grains can be retained at slower cooling rates. The diffusion behaviour of solute elements Al, Ta, Mo, and W between the α-phase and transformed β-phase matrix is significantly influenced by the cooling rate, thus they are considered as the controlling elements for the growth of the equiaxed α-phase grains. Based on the diffusion behaviours of these controlling elements, their single-element diffusion models were categorized and integrated for predicting the grain size of the equiaxed α-phase. The predictions from the revised diffusion model show an excellent agreement with the actual results, with an error margin of about 5%.

Achieving unexpected strength and ductility synergies in heterogeneous metastable lamellar steels

High-strength steel with excellent ductility is pivotal for the formability and safety of critical structural components. Here, a heterogeneous metastable lamellar steel, composed of alternating lamellar ferrite and austenite aligned with the rolling direction, was developed through an innovative combination of warm rolling and immediate annealing processes. This novel design overcomes the strength-ductility trade-off, achieving high ultimate tensile strength (∼1.2 GPa) and excellent uniform elongation (∼78%), pushing the product of ultimate tensile strength and uniform elongation to an ultra-high level (> 90 GPa %). The high tensile strength is attributed to ultrafine lamellar grains and significant work hardening induced by the hetero-deformation and transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) effect. The exceptional ductility is a result of the synergy of multiple plasticity mechanisms, including (i) the inherent plastic deformation ability of lamellar microstructure and the hetero-deformation-induced hardening in the early deformation period, (ii) the persistent TRIP effect induced by the lamellar austenite with high mechanical stability and the elimination of strain localization caused by prolonged strain hardening due to the coordinated deformation of lamellar austenite and ferrite in the middle deformation period, and (iii) delamination cracking in the late deformation period. This approach adopted in current work offers a straightforward and economically feasible pathway for fabricating advanced high-strength steel with superior performance.

Compressive behavior and deformation mechanisms of gradient microstructures in a dissimilar welded joint

In this study TC4/TC17 titanium alloy dissimilar joints were obtained via vacuum electron beam welding. The compressive behavior of base metals and joint at different strain levels was studied, along with microstructural and fracture surface observations. The true stress–strain curves of base metals and joint at different strains demonstrated smooth and continuous plastic deformation characteristics. The compressive yield strength of the joint (1065 MPa) was basically equivalent to that of TC17 alloy (1196 MPa), which was significantly higher than that of TC4 alloy (920 MPa) for the failed samples. However, the compressive fracture strain of the joint was lower than that of base metals. Comparison of the microstructures of base metals and joint deformed at different strains, it revealed that the equiaxed α phase in TC4 alloy mainly underwent the deformation, while the TC17 alloy mainly relied on the rotation of lamellar grains to resist the deformation. In the dissimilar joint with a large microstructural gradient, the compressive deformation of several zones, including the weld zone, far heat-affected zone and the base metal, was also related to the rotation of finer grains.

Realizing the outstanding strength-toughness combination of API X65 steel by constructing lamellar grain structure

The development of pipeline steels with exceptional cryogenic toughness is deemed imperative for their applications in various engineering fields. In this work, API X65 steel with lamellar grain (LG) structure is constructed through warm deformation techniques. Comparative analysis with raw API X65 steel revealed notable enhancements in both yield strength (YS) and ultimate strength (UTS), exhibiting increments of 315 MPa and 164 MPa, respectively, while retaining substantial fracture toughness (KIc = 251.14 MPa m0.5). Remarkably, the LG steel exhibits a distinct absence of a ductile-brittle transition behavior over a wide temperature range, maintaining an exceptionally high impact energy from room temperature (RT) to liquid nitrogen temperature (LNT), and the Charpy impact energy exceeding 330 J at LNT, nearly 16 times higher than the raw API X65 steel. This performance can be primarily attributed to the superior plastic deformation capability, coupled with the delamination toughening mechanism. The resultant tortuous path of crack propagation effectively facilitates the absorption of substantial energy, decreases notch tip sensitivity depending on the temperature, stress triaxiality, and strain rate, thereby fostering excellent cryogenic toughness.

Strain-rate and size dependence of gradient lamellar nickel investigated by in-situ micropillar compression

Strain rate plays a nonnegligible role in the plastic deformation behavior of metallic materials with heterogeneous nanostructure, while little research focuses on the topic. In-situ compression tests at various strain rates were conducted on the micropillars located at different depths from the gradient lamellar Ni. These tests intended to reveal the strain-rate dependence of micropillars with different lamellar thicknesses and illustrated the competitive relationship between strain rate and intrinsic grain size on the plastic deformation behavior of metallic materials. In addition, due to the strain rate sensitivity related to not only intrinsic size but also external size, single Ni micropillars with different diameters were also compressed at various strain rates in order to clarify the competitive relationship between intrinsic size and external size on the strain rate sensitivity. It is found that lamellar thickness rather than strain rate has more effect on plastic deformation, and external size exhibits a more obvious impact on the strain rate sensitivity. The plastic deformation behaviors of different micropillars are mainly explained by transitions in the effect of lamellar grain boundaries on the dislocation motion at various strain rates and over different lamellar thicknesses, resulting in the change of dislocation multiplication and annihilation rate.

Microstructural stability and precipitate evolution of thermally treated 7075 aluminum alloy fabricated by cold spray

In this work, the effects of post-deposition heat treatment on microstructural stability of cold sprayed AA7075 aluminum coatings were thoroughly characterized. The as-atomized powder and annealed coatings were investigated using scanning electron microscopy, electron back-scattered diffraction, and microhardness measurements. Scanning transmission electron microscopy was further employed to evaluate grain/subgrain structure near the particle interface region. Precipitation in the coating was studied through differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction. The feedstock powder revealed dendritic/cellular-like structure accompanied by microsegregations of the main alloying elements at dendrite boundaries. The high-pressure Cold Spray process led to formation of lamellar subgrains and UFG grains via dynamic recovery/recrystallization mechanisms. GP zones present in the AA7075 powder continuously reprecipitated into more stable η´/η phases owing to propellant gas heating and extensive plastic strains induced during cold spraying. The applied annealing resulted in progressive softening of the AA7075 coatings and gradual transformation of LAGBs into HAGBs. The solute-rich grain boundary network observed in powder microstructure was fully retained after CS deposition but decomposed into coarse η and S precipitates upon high-temperature annealing. The CS AA7075 coating showed decent thermal stability up to 300 °C and rapid grain growth at 400 °C. The relationship between precipitate size and thermal stability was further discussed in terms of the Zener pinning theory.

One-step spray solution combustion synthesis of nanostructured spherical Ca3Co4O9: The fuel effect

In the research, a one-step method for the rapid preparation of spherical nanostructured particles of Ca3Co4O9, involving the combustion of reactive aerosol drops containing calcium and cobalt nitrates as the metal precursors and hexamethylenetetramine as the fuel, is reported. The results of thermodynamic analysis and study of crystalline structure of obtained materials suggest that the reaction in the investigated system proceeds with heat release, which indicates its self-sustaining nature. Applying hexamethylenetetramine fuel at φ range of 0.4 – 0.6 and ambient temperature of 900 ℃ resulted in formation of Ca3Co4O9 powders with narrow particle size distribution of 0.2 – 1 µm. Microstructural studies revealed that the Ca3Co4O9 particles are hollow with nanometer-scale wall thicknesses and their surface consists of lamellar grains with sizes ranging from 14 to 100 nm.

The Effect of Heat Treatment on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Powder Metallurgy Ti-48Al Alloy

Heat treatment is the critical step in achieving a refined microstructure and enhanced mechanical properties of TiAl-based alloys. This study investigated the influence of heat treatment temperature, cooling method, and heat treatment time on the microstructure and mechanical properties of an extruded powder metallurgy Ti-48Al alloy, and achieved the control of fully lamellar fine microstructures and the enhancement of performance through a simple heat treatment, rather than the traditional approach of homogenization followed by heat treatment. The results indicate that the heat treatment temperature determines the type of microstructure, while the cooling rate dictates the lamellar width. As the heat treatment temperature was increased from the two-phase region to the α single-phase region, the microstructure transitioned from duplex to near lamellar, and the alloy strength initially increased and then decreased, influenced by both the lamellar colony ratio and grain size. A rapid cooling rate (water quenching) induces a non-diffusive massive phase transformation, whereas a slow cooling rate (air cooling) gradually forms α2/γ lamellar colonies. Therefore, a suitable heat treatment regime for the powder metallurgy Ti-48Al alloy was determined to be 1340 °C/5 min/air cooling. The microstructure of the alloy was near lamellar, consisting of lamellar colonies approximately 50 μm and a small number of γ equiaxed grains of about 10 μm. Subsequently, the alloy exhibited a room temperature tensile strength of 784 MPa and a yield strength of 763 MPa, representing improvements of 17.0% and 38.7% over the extruded alloy, respectively. This research provides a reference for establishing a heat treatment process for powder metallurgy TiAl alloys.

Damping and mechanical behavior of graphene nanoplatelets reinforced Al-30Zn alloy matrix bioinspired laminated composites by two steps flake powder metallurgy

Damping and mechanical properties are often incompatible in metallic materials. In this paper, bio-inspired laminated graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) reinforced Al-30Zn alloy matrix composites with an outstanding combination of damping-mechanical properties are prepared using a flake powder metallurgy (FPM) process. The increased grain/phase boundary owing to grain refinement improves the intrinsic damping properties of the composites, while the lamellar grains promote the oriented alignment and crack deflection of GNPs. The multilayered GNPs with large specific surface area experienced repeated stretching and compression during cyclic bending deformation, leading to intense interfacial frictional slip, and GNPs' high intrinsic thermal conductivity also helped to dissipate heat quickly, which promoted mechanical energy dissipation. The improvement in mechanical properties is mainly attributed to grain refinement, the load transfer effect of GNPs and their interaction with dislocations. The Al-30Zn-0.5GNPs composites showed the best combination of damping properties and mechanical properties.

Effect of warm rolling and heat treatment on heterogeneous austenite morphology and tensile property of 3Mn steel

Facing the current lack of clarity in temperature selection mechanisms for warm rolling in medium Mn steel, three warm rolling methods were conducted in 3Mn steel according to the rolling temperatures in the dual-phases region or ferrite region. Subsequently, the effect of heat treatment on the austenite morphologies and tensile properties of warm-rolling samples was studied. Rolling in dual-phase regions (750 °C) led to heterogeneous austenite morphology composed of equiaxed and lamellar grains while rolling in the ferrite region (600 °C) resulted in significant cementite precipitation and the absence of retained austenite. Warm rolling promoted the formation of dislocation cells in the lath-like grains, and they did not evolve into grain boundaries completely because low deformation temperature didn’t trigger the complete dynamic recrystallization. Tempering after rolling provided a significant enhancement in plasticity through the enrichment of C and Mn in austenite and the formation of multiple heterogeneous austenite morphologies with equiaxed, coarse lath-like and fine lamellar grains. In addition, superlattice structures in the matrix are formed through the formation of stacking fault networks and the spinodal decomposition. Ultimately, the exceptional properties were achieved in 3Mn steel, with an ultimate tensile strength of 1409 MPa and a total elongation of 27.3 %.

High-temperature strength and kink-band formation in mille-feuille-structured Ti/FeTi eutectic alloys

To develop ultrahigh-strength and lightweight structural materials, the temperature dependence of the deformation behavior of Ti/FeTi eutectic alloys was examined using compression tests. An extremely high yield stress of ∼2.3 GPa was obtained at room temperature accompanied by ∼5 % of plastic strain by the alignment of a “flower-like” lamellar microstructure. High stress was maintained up to 400 °C; however, the yield stress considerably decreased to ∼0.8 GPa at 600 °C. Shear deformation was observed at room temperature. However, at high temperatures, at 600 °C and above, the formation of a deformation kink band was observed for the first time as the deformation mechanism, and this resulted in a rapid decrease in yield stress. The size of the kink bands was governed by the diameter of the aligned lamellar grains, which was termed the colony size. Large kink bands were formed in the alloy containing coarse colonies, resulting in the buckling of the specimen. The introduction of primary β-Ti grains in the eutectic microstructure improved the ductility at low temperatures, which was only accompanied by the marginal decrease in yield stress to ∼1.9 GPa. Furthermore, the high-temperature strength of the hypoeutectic alloy at 600 °C showed a higher value of ∼1.0 GPa compared to that in eutectic alloys. The refinement of the colony microstructure of the hypoeutectic alloy suppressed the formation of kink bands. The experimental results suggest that microstructural control is extremely important for improving the high-temperature strength of Ti/FeTi eutectic alloys by increasing the formation stress of the kink bands.

Architecting strength: Innovative microstructural design of Aluminum/Alumina Nanocomposites via cold-welded flaky-shaped particles and pressure-assisted sintering

Aluminum/alumina (Al/ Al2O3) nanocomposites with three different microstructural architectures were prepared using flake powder metallurgy, which involves the conversion of spherical Al powder into nanoflakes by ball milling, the introduction of Al2O3 by natural oxidation, the control of the powder microstructure by cold welding, and then powder by densification, sintering, and extrusion. The experimental results showed that the shape of the Al matrix grains and the distribution of native Al2O3, the so-called Al/Al2O3 architectures, could be precisely controlled by BM. The nanolaminate architecture, in which the Al2O3 nanoplatelets were aligned along the boundaries of lamellar or elongated grains, exhibited a more balanced combination of tensile strength and ductility than the random architecture with non-uniformly distributed Al2O3 nanoplatelets within equiaxed grains. This improvement can be attributed to the combined effect of higher Al2O3 strengthening efficiency and better work hardening ability. The research results suggest that the presence of Al2O3 nanoplatelets at high-angle grain boundaries significantly hinders the main mechanism of subgrain rotation for the formation of new boundaries. Moreover, the simulation accurately predicts the higher degree of grain faceting in finer-grained samples, which is consistent with the experimental data indicating more pronounced hexagonal grain shapes. Consequently, flake powder metallurgy offers a promising approach for the production of strong and ductile Al-matrix composites through the design of their microstructural architecture.

Discontinuous coarsening leads to unchanged tensile properties in high-entropy alloys with different recrystallization volume fractions

Heterogeneous microstructure alloys provide a possibility for the combination of strength and ductility. As a typical heterogeneous microstructure, partially recrystallized microstructure is attractive because of the convenient processing route and great potential for industrial applications. However, the mechanical properties of this microstructure vary dramatically with different morphology factors, especially the recrystallization fraction, which restricts the processing window and the property consistency. In this study, we found that the yield strength (∼1.3 GPa) and ductility (∼20 %) of the partially recrystallized Ni2CoCrFeTi0.24Al0.2 do not change when the recrystallization fraction increases from 21 % to 72 %. This novel phenomenon is attributed to an additional hetero-deformation induced (HDI) strain hardening effect produced by heterogeneous precipitates. With the increased recrystallization fraction, this additional HDI stress keeps the ductility unchanged by offsetting the decreased HDI stress arising from the hetero-deformation between recrystallized (RX) and non-recrystallized (NRX) areas. The unchanged yield strength comes from the increased strengthening effects of the lamellar precipitates and grain boundaries. We also confirmed that the discontinuous coarsening contributes to the formation of heterogeneous precipitates. These findings would open a new pathway for enhancing the consistency and processability of hetero-structured alloys and thus promote their broader industrial applications.

Synergistic control of plastic instability behavior by multi-heterogeneous austenite morphologies and stacking fault networks in 3Mn steel

A multi-heterogeneous austenite morphologies consisting of equiaxed + coarse lath-like + fine lamellar austenite grains is constructed in 3Mn steel through warm rolling in the dual-phase region and tempering. Lower tempering temperature induces a more uniform distribution of multi-heterogeneous austenite morphologies and effectively preserves the stacking fault network formed during warm rolling, which catches exceptional mechanical properties (ultimate tensile strength of 1591 MPa and total elongation of 24.5 %) as well as suppresses plastic instability behaviors including yield plateau and stress serrations in 3Mn steel.