Major BCC Research Articles

Effect of sintering temperature on microstructure and mechanical properties of MoNbVTa0.5Cr high-entropy alloys fabricated by powder metallurgy method

To address the challenges posed by the high density and low plasticity at room temperature of traditional refractory high entropy alloys (RHEAs), the MoNbVTa0.5Cr RHEA was synthesized through a combination of mechanical alloying (MA) and spark plasma sintering (SPS) techniques. The effects of different sintering temperatures on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the alloy were systematically studied. The MoNbVTa0.5Cr RHEA milled up to 60 h was found to have a metastable dual-phase containing a major BCC (a = 3.1474 Å) and Nb-Ta (a = 3.3058 Å) phase. The sintered MoNbVTa0.5Cr RHEA was composed of BCC phase and a small amount of Ta2VO6 at different sintering temperatures. There were a lot of edge dislocations in the BCC matrix near the BCC/Ta2VO6 interface. With the increase of sintering temperature, the grain size of sintered MoNbVTa0.5Cr RHEA gradually increased, while the mechanical properties gradually decreased with the increase of sintering temperature. When the sintering temperature was 1500 °C, the grain size of the alloy was 2.33 μm, the yield strength was 2783 MPa, the compressive strength was 3346 MPa, and the fracture strain was 20.45 %, showing the best comprehensive properties. And the density of MoNbVTa0.5Cr RHEA was 9.11 g·cm−3 and 26 % lower than that of WNbMoTaV RHEA. The specific yield strength of MoNbVTa0.5Cr RHEA prepared in this research was 295.28 kPa·m3·kg−1, which was superior to most RHEAs reported so far. This sintered MoNbVTa0.5Cr RHEA showed an excellent room temperature compression performance, which can be attributed to the co-existence of BCC phase along with the minor Ta2VO6 phases. The high yield strength of MoNbVTa0.5Cr RHEA was mainly attributed to the substitutional solid solution strengthening of metal atoms, the interstitial solid solution strengthening of O atoms and the grain boundary strengthening of ultrafine grains, with contributions to yield strength of 41 %, 28 %, and 24 %, respectively.

Aging temperature effect on the phase composition, microstructure, and selected mechanical properties of non-equiatomic TiZrNbTaMo/Mn HEAs targeted for biomedical implants

High entropy alloys (HEAs) have been developed for many applications and recognized for their superior strength, ductility, and corrosion resistance, attracting the attention for biomedical applications. This study aims to evaluate the effect of aging treatment at distinct temperatures on the phase composition, microstructure, and selected mechanical properties of non-equiatomic TiZrNbTaMo and TiZrMoNbTaMn HEAs for potential use as biomedical implants. The TiZrNbTaMn sample exhibited a single BCC phase, while the TiZrNbTaMo a major BCC and minor HCP phases. The microstructure of the TiZrNbTaMo sample was composed of BCC grains with some acicular precipitations of the HCP phase in the grain boundaries, having the aging temperature acted in the grain growth and secondary phase precipitation. Contrarily, the TiZrNbTaMn sample exhibited larger BCC grains permeated with a minor amount of acicular structures, which were entirely decomposed with the aging treatments. The semi-quantitative chemical analysis indicated that the phase composition was a result of elemental chemical segregation, having the refractory metals (Mo, Ta, and Nb) preferentially located in the inner region of the grains, while the other ones (Ti, Zr, and Mn) in the grain boundary. The aging treatment acted in the phase precipitation/dissolution oppositely on the samples through the atomic diffusion mechanism induced by the temperature. The elastic modulus and Vickers microhardness were sensitive to the chemical and phase composition of the samples, having the TiZrNbTaMo aged at 773 K achieved better performance than the commercial Ti-6Al-4 V alloy for use as biomedical implants.

Superconductivity in high-entropy alloy system containing Th

Th-containing superconducting high entropy system with the nominal composition (NbTa)_{0.67}(MoWTh)_{0.33} was synthesized. Its structural and physical properties were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, specific heat, resistivity and magnetic measurements. Two main phases of alloy were observed: major bcc structure and minor fcc. The experimental results were supported by numerical simulation by the DFT Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker method with the coherent potential approximation (KKR-CPA).

Tuning the hydride stability of the TiVNb-based alloys by equimolar Cr/Al addition

Body-centered multi-principal element alloys (BCC-MPEAs) based only on hydride-forming elements have low equilibrium plateau pressures during reaction with hydrogen and, consequently, high decomposition temperatures due to the high thermodynamic stability of related hydrides. In this work, we present a strategy to decrease the stability of the final hydrides formed in the BCC TiVNb alloy by simultaneous addition of two non-hydride forming elements, Cr and Al. The (TiVNb)100-x(CrAl)x alloys with x = 10, 20, 30, and 40 at.% crystallize as major BCC solid solutions with dendritic microstructures. Pressure-Composition-Temperature diagrams revealed that the combined addition of Cr and Al thermodynamically destabilizes the dihydride formation for x = 10 and 20 at.%. For higher Cr/Al contents the destabilization is too large to form stable hydrides under maximum 100 bar pressure. The absorption/desorption plateau pressure at room temperature for (TiVNb)80(CrAl)20 alloy are 9 and 0.6 bar, respectively, enabling a reversible capacity of about 0.8 H/M (1.4 wt%) at ambient conditions. The present results provide important insights into the effects of simultaneous Cr and Al additions in BCC-MPEAs and shed light on the design of new alloys with hydrogen absorption and desorption ability at ambient conditions.

Additive manufacturing of a functionally graded high entropy alloy using a hybrid powder-bed wire-based direct energy deposition approach

A functionally graded AlxCoCrFeNi high entropy alloy with a variation in Al concentration along the building direction was in-situ produced using a hybrid powder-bed wire-based direct energy deposition process. A continuous transition from a single FCC structure to a major BCC+minor FCC dual-phase structure was achieved, benefiting from the remelting and reheating process during the deposition. In the FCC→BCC transition zone, the dendritic core region is identified as an FCC matrix decorated by AlNi-rich ordered B2 precipitates. The interdendritic area shows B2 precipitating in the FeCr-rich disordered A2 matrix. Additionally, the interface between the two regions shows that the A2 phase and ordered Cr3Fe intermetallic phase precipitate at the B2 phase. The mechanical properties show a tendency for higher strength and hardening rate but lower plasticity corresponding to the areas with higher Al content. Through quantitative estimation of different strengthening mechanisms, the contribution from precipitation strengthening became increasingly apparent as Al content increased. Other strengthening modes, including solid solution and dislocations, also contribute to the total strength. This investigation realises a novel additive manufacturing method combining powder bed and wire feeding, which can produce a more convenient and cost-effective gradient material with a complex composition.

Tuning the hydrogen storage properties of Ti-V-Nb-Cr alloys by controlling the Cr/(TiVNb) ratio

This work presents an effective way to tune the thermodynamic properties of hydrogen absorption/desorption of body-centered multicomponent alloys (BCC-MCAs). A two-fold computational design was applied to screen the (TiVNb)100−xCrx system. First, the calculation of phase diagrams (CALPHAD) approach was used, aiming to BCC alloys. Secondly, a modeling was employed to predict the thermodynamics of the metal-hydrogen systems. The (TiVNb)100−xCrx alloys with x = 30, 35 and 40 were produced by arc-melting. The (TiVNb)70Cr30 and (TiVNb)65Cr35 alloys crystallize as a major BCC phase, while the (TiVNb)60Cr40 is composed mainly of a C15 Laves-type phase. The CALPHAD approach well predicted this tendency. The BCC (TiVNb)70Cr30 and (TiVNb)65Cr35 alloys absorb a large amount of hydrogen up to 2 H/M forming a dihydride. On the contrary, the (TiVNb)60Cr40 alloy displays a reduced capacity due to the low hydrogen uptake of the C15 phase. The thermodynamic of hydrogen absorption/desorption of BCC-MCAs was experimentally investigated via the acquisition of pressure-composition-temperature (PCT) diagrams. The experimental values are in good agreement with the modeling, confirming the accuracy of the computational approach. Moreover, it was demonstrated that increasing Cr content up to 35 at.% significantly impacts the thermodynamic properties, enabling reversible hydrogen absorption/desorption (for H/M ≈ 1) at room temperature.

High entropy steel processed through mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering: Alloying behaviour, thermal stability and mechanical properties

In present investigation, a non-equiatomic high entropy steel (HES) was synthesized by mechanical alloying (MA) followed by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The Fe40Mn14Ni10Ti10Al15Si10–C1 HES milled up to 30 h was found to have a metastable dual-phase containing a major BCC (a = 2.872 Å; cI2) and a γ-brass type (a = 8.890 Å; cI52) phase having nanostructured grains of ∼10 ± 2 nm. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) thermogram exhibited the four exothermic heating events at 530 °C, 690 °C, 860 °C and 1000 °C. The phase transformation corresponding to the heating events was correlated with the ex-situ XRD of the as-milled powder. The phases evolved were Fe–Si solid solution, FCC, Fe5Si3 type and TiC phases. Fe40Mn14Ni10Ti10Al15Si10–C1 milled HES powder was consolidated through SPS at 900 °C and at 50 MPa. The SPSed HES were found to have a dual-phase structure containing a major FCC phase (a = 3.602 Å; cF4) and a minor BCC phase (a = 2.876 Å; cI2) along with the intermetallic phases like Fe5Si3 type (a = b = 6.808 Å, c = 4.745 Å; hP16) and TiC (a = 4.301 Å; cF8). The mechanical properties of these SPSed samples were discerned through instrumented microhardness and compression tests. The microhardness, elastic modulus, ultimate compressive strength and strain were found to be ∼10.4 GPa, ∼209 GPa, ∼2305 MPa and ∼15% respectively. This SPSed HES showed an excellent room temperature microhardness and strength which can be attributed to the co-existence of FCC phase along with the minor phases and hard intermetallics. The strengthening mechanism suggested that the grain boundary, dislocation, and precipitates strengthening were dominant. Attempts have been made to understand the phase evolution and the consequent mechanical properties in these HES.

Study of the stabilization process of gas atomized Al0.5CoCrFeNi2Ti0.5 high-entropy alloy in phase transformation

The phase and microstructure evolution of a precipitation-hardening high entropy alloy (HEA), Al0.5CoCrFeNi2Ti0.5, were studied. In order to promote the applications in surface modification, the proposed HEA was made into powders by using a gas-atomization process. The as-obtained powders presented a spherical shape with uniform element distribution; moreover, their phase constitution transferred from BCC to FCC-dominated structure while particle size varied from several to 120 µm. Further annealing treatments were conducted with the metastable fine powders to investigate the size effect in the microstructure. Below 500 °C, the structure kept a major BCC phase, but the size of grains arranged along (110) plane were getting smaller with temperature. FCC crystal became the dominant structure while the temperature was higher than 550 °C, and the transitional sigma phase existed at 700–800 °C. After annealed at 900 °C, the metastable fine Al0.5CoCrFeNi2Ti0.5 powders fully transferred to a stable structure composed of a dominant FCC plus minor BCC phases. Elemental mappings showed that the Al0.5CoCrFeNi2Ti0.5 HEA transformed from a microstructure with uniform element distribution to a coarsened system comprised of (Fe, Cr)-rich FCC matrix and (Al, Ti)-rich order BCC precipitate. Furthermore, the hardness of the Al0.5CoCrFeNi2Ti0.5 HEA increased by more than 20% on annealing treatment, from 5.50 ± 0.75–6.91 ± 1.49 GPa due to the solid solution and the precipitation strengthening effect brought about by Ti addition.

Hardmetals prepared from WC-W2C eutectic particles and AlCrFeCoNiV high entropy alloy as a binder

AlCrFeCoNiV high entropy alloy (HEA) was used as a binder for the densification of WC-W2C eutectic particles by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at different sintering temperatures (1000–1400 °C). The relationship between phase composition and microstructure of (WC–W2C) – 10 wt% AlCrFeCoNiV metal-matrix composites depending on the sintering temperature was investigated and mechanical properties were determined. The bcc solid solution of HEA binder formed during mixing with WC-W2C by ball milling is metastable in nature and transforms to a mixture of bcc and fcc solid solutions during consolidation by SPS at 1100 °C. The increase of sintering temperature to 1200 °C and 1400 °C resulted in formation of a major bcc phase and a minor fcc phase, which are more thermodynamically stable. It is shown that a partial dissolution of the W2C phase in the HEA matrix occurs at 1000 °C. As the sintering temperature increases to 1400 °C, the W2C phase completely dissolves, releasing WC plates. As a result, the composites after sintering at 1200–1400 °C were free from the (Fe,Co,Ni)3W3C phase due to the dissolution of W2C. The highest hardness (HV30) of 15.9–16.4 GPa and Palmqvist toughness of 16.6–17.2 MPa m1/2 was achieved in hardmetals SPSed at 1200 °C and 1400 °C.

Effects of the Chromium Content in (TiVNb)100−xCrx Body-Centered Cubic High Entropy Alloys Designed for Hydrogen Storage Applications

In this paper, we report an investigation of adding a non-hydride forming element in the multicomponent Ti-V-Nb-M system. By the Calculation of Phase Diagrams approach (CALPHAD), the thermodynamic phase stability of the TiVNbT (T = Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni) was investigated, and Cr was selected as the fourth alloying element due its high tendency to stabilize body-centered cubic solid solutions (BCC). The (TiVNb)100−xCrx alloys (with x = 15, 25, and 35 at.% Cr) were synthesized by arc-melting. The structural characterization reveals that the three alloys were composed of a major BCC phase, which agrees with the thermodynamic calculations. The three alloys absorb hydrogen at room temperature without any activation treatment, achieving a hydrogen uptake of about H/M = 2. The Pressure-Composition-Isotherms curves (PCI) has shown that increasing the Cr amount increases the equilibrium pressures, indicating that tunable H storage properties can be achieved by controlling the alloys’ Cr content.

Investigation of a novel CuFeNiTiV high entropy alloy on phase component, microstructure and mechanical properties

The phase components, microstructures, and compressive properties of a novel 3d transition metal high entropy alloy, CuFeNiTiV, in the as-cast condition were investigated. Thermodynamic simulations showed that the phases separation during solidification occurred in the order: (V, Fe) dendrites, Cu-rich phase, TiFeNi-like laves phase and (Ni, Ti)-rich phase. The simulation results were confirmed by determining the as-cast alloy’s phase components using XRD, which mainly consisted of BCC and FCC phases. The BCC phase corresponded to (V, Fe)-rich dendrites, while the FCC phase contained a Ni(Ti, Fe)-like C15 Laves phase, a Cu-rich phase, and a (Ni, Ti)-rich FCC phase. An outstanding fracture strength of 2086 MPa was obtained in the as-cast alloy, which was attributed to the deformation resistance of both the major BCC phase and laves phase.

Synthesis, microstructural investigation and compaction behavior of Al0.3CrFeNiCo0.3Si0.4 nanocrystalline high entropy alloy

This research article focused on developing Al0.3CrFeNiCo0.3Si0.4 nanocrystalline high-entropy alloy (HEA) by mechanical alloying. The initial powders mixture was ball milled for 1 hr (HEA-1 h), 5 hr (HEA-5 h), 15 hr (HEA-15 h) and 25 hr (HEA-25 h) at ball to powder mass ratio (BPR) of 15:1 and a speed of 300 rpm. The mechanical alloying time was varied from 1 to 25 hr to ensure the nanocrystalline nature and attainment of steady state in HEA powders. The structure of the developed HEAs was characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Laser particle size analyzer (LPSA), and various electron microscopes (TEM and FEGSEM with EDS). HEA-25hr sample exhibited the crystallite size of 13.8 nm with lattice strain of 0.67% obtained from XRD which matched the result by TEM. The formation of a solid solution (SS) with a uniform elemental dispersion was observed with a major BCC stable structure and a minor FCC structure in HEA-25 h sample. The HEA-25 h sample revealed an average particle size of 386.2 nm (89.8% peak intensity) with Polydispersity Index (PDI) value of 0.364 which confirmed the uniform distribution of particles over a narrow range of particle size. The synthesized powders were consolidated to green compacts with a loading rate of 1 mm/min at different compaction pressures (25, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, and 1100 MPa) for examining the powder particles packing. Several compaction models (both linear and non-linear) were discussed to establish the density-pressure relationship of developed HEAs. The results revealed that the milling time has influenced the relative density. HEA-1 h sample was exhibited the relative density of 0.76 whereas HEA-25 h sample was produced the relative density of 0.6 indicating more strength and more amount of strain hardening occurs in MAed HEA-25 sample in addition to the entropy effect for the same composition.

Phase Evolution and Thermal Stability of Low-Density MgAlSiCrFe High-Entropy Alloy Processed Through Mechanical Alloying

An equiatomic MgAlSiCrFe high-entropy alloy was synthesized by mechanical alloying. The alloying behavior, phase evolution, phase composition and thermal stability of as-milled nanostructured powders of HEA were ascertained through X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), respectively. The milling of elemental powders for 60 h led to the formation of HEA with a major BCC phase having lattice parameter of 0.2887 ± 0.005 nm very close to that of the α-Fe and a minor fraction of undissolved Si. The nanocrystalline HEA powder formed during milling has crystallite size of 19 ± 0.8 nm. The STEM–EDS mapping of these milled powders confirms the homogenous elemental distribution after 60 h of mechanical alloying. The DSC thermogram of 60 h milled HEA powder shows the thermal stability of milled powder up to ~ 400 °C. The exothermic heating events observed in the DSC thermogram correspond to phase transformation of MgAlSiCrFe HEA powder, and it may be correlated with the phases observed through the ex situ XRD of HEA powders annealed at different temperatures up to 700 °C. After annealing the 60 h milled powder, various phases along with parent BCC phase have evolved, i.e., B2 type Al–Fe phase, FCC phases (Al–Mg solid solution), Cr5Si3, Mg2Si, Al13Fe4. Further, the experimental findings were correlated with various thermodynamic parameters for understanding the phase evolution and stability.

Influence of processing route on the alloying behavior, microstructural evolution and thermal stability of CrMoNbTiW refractory high-entropy alloy

Abstract

Mg-containing multi-principal element alloys for hydrogen storage: A study of the MgTiNbCr0.5Mn0.5Ni0.5 and Mg0.68TiNbNi0.55 compositions

Recently, there has been growing interest in multi-principal element alloys for hydrogen storage. However, most of the papers published so far report compositions based only on transition metal elements, which limit the gravimetric storage capacities due to their densities. Since Mg is a low-density element promising for hydrogen storage, the study of Mg-containing multi-principal element compositions is opportune. In the present work, we report for the first time the structural characterization and hydrogen storage properties of the A2B type MgTiNbCr0.5Mn0.5Ni0.5 alloy and its derivative Mg0.68TiNbNi0.55 alloy. These Mg-containing multi-principal element alloys form major BCC phase (W-type, Im3¯m) and major FCC hydride (MH2 with CaF2-type structure) when synthesized by mechanical alloying (MA) and reactive milling (RM), respectively. Hydrogen is desorbed from both RM samples in two steps, with some overlap, from different hydrides formed during synthesis. The microstructure of the Mg0.68TiNbNi0.55 composition is more homogeneous (less secondary phases), but both alloys present a total gravimetric capacity of around 1.6 wt% H2.

Novel Multicomponent Powders from the AlCrFeMnMo Family Synthesized by Mechanical Alloying

High‐entropy alloys (HEAs) and multicomponent alloys are known for their promising properties and the almost infinite possibilities of the design of new compositions. The Al–Cr–Fe–Mn–Mo family of HEAs is chosen to promote the formation of a body‐centered cubic (bcc) structure that exhibits high hardness and yield strength. Powder metallurgy is preferred to the liquid route to avoid segregation problems. Two compositions of alloyed powder, equiatomic and optimized, are successfully prepared by mechanical alloying. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) indicates the formation of two major bcc phases: bcc#1 (a1 = 3.13–3.14 Å) and bcc#2 (a2 = 2.87–2.94 Å). Energy transferred during milling depends greatly on the milling device and process conditions. Scanning electron microscopy–energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDX) images reveal that high‐energy shocks of balls enable to elaborate homogeneous powder with controlled Fe contamination coming from the grinding vial and balls, whereas low‐energy shocks enable to produce powder free of contamination by Fe, with heterogeneous particles. Finally, the milling process is optimized to obtain a homogeneous alloyed powder with as little contamination as possible.

Phase evolution of refractory high-entropy alloy CrMoNbTiW during mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering

Abstract

Impact of tungsten on phase evolution in nanocrystalline AlCuCrFeMnWx (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.5 mol) high entropy alloys

The present study describes the synthesis and preliminary characterization of a novel nanocrystalline AlCuCrFeMnWx (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.5 mol) high entropy alloy (HEA) powders via mechanical alloying (MA). During MA, the formation of a supersaturated solid solution with the formation major BCC 1 and BCC 2 phase with minor FCC fraction in AlCuCrFeMnWx (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.5 mol) HEAs. The average crystallite size of all HEA powder samples after 20 h of milling was less than 20 nm as determined by using Debye–Scherrer formula. The particle morphology and composition of present HEAs were investigated utilizing scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). TEM–SAED analysis of AlCuCrFeMnWx (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.5 mol) HEAs concurred with XRD results. Phase and thermodynamical properties have been correlated in the case of AlCuCrFeMnWx (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.5 mol) high entropy alloys. Differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) of these alloys suggested that there is no significant phase change occur up to 1000 °C.

Influence of Ti addition and sintering method on microstructure and mechanical behavior of a medium-entropy Al 0.6 CoNiFe alloy

Abstract The influence of Ti addition and sintering method on the microstructure and mechanical behavior of a medium-entropy alloy, Al0.6CoNiFe alloy, was studied in detail. Alloying behavior, microstructure, phase evolution and mechanical properties of Al0.6CoNiFe and Ti0.4Al0.6CoNiFe alloys were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), as well as by mechanical testing. During the mechanical alloying (MA) process, a supersaturated solid solution consisting of both BCC and FCC phases was formed in the Al0.6CoNiFe alloy. With Ti addition, the Ti0.4Al0.6CoNiFe alloy exhibited a supersaturated solid solution with a single FCC phase. Following hot pressing (HP), the HP sintered (HP’ed) Al0.6CoNiFe bulk alloy was composed of a major BCC phase and a minor FCC phase. The HP’ed Ti0.4Al0.6CoNiFe alloy exhibited a FCC phase, two BCC phases and a trace unidentified phase. Nanoscale twins were present in the HP’ed Ti0.4Al0.6CoNiFe alloy, where deformation twins were observed in the FCC phase. Our results suggest that the addition of Ti facilitated the formation of nanoscale twins. The compressive strength and Vickers hardness of HP’ed Ti0.4Al0.6CoNiFe alloy were slightly lower than the corresponding values of the HP’ed Al0.6CoNiFe alloy. In contrast with HP’ed Al0.6CoNiFe alloy, spark plasma sintered (SPS’ed) Al0.6CoNiFe alloy exhibited a major FCC phase and a minor BCC phase. Moreover, the SPS’ed Al0.6CoNiFe alloy exhibited a lower compressive strength and Vickers hardness, but singificantly higher plasticity, as compared to those of the HP’ed counterpart material.

The Impact of an Intensive Preparatory Academic Module on Novice University Students

This paper deals with the results of a research project carried out with novice male English language major students studying the Intensive English Language Program at Qassim University. A total of 105 students and 9 non-native English speaking teachers volunteered to participate in this study which seeks to examine the effectiveness of a proposed Intensive Preparatory Academic Module in preparing novice English major BCC students for the transfer from high school education environment to learning environment in a university setting. It also aims to identify factors and practices associated with the module effectiveness so that achievements can be replicated and pitfalls would be avoided. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through employing evaluation forms, interviews and classroom observations. Results reveal the effectiveness of the proposed module in achieving regularity of the educational process from the first day of study and bridging between the levels of English language Saudi students have at secondary schools and what Buraydah Community College offers to students joining the English language program. The study recommends replication of similar modules on a wider scale, so as to provide opportunities for novice university students to develop their EFL learning at the beginning of each academic semester.