Strain-induced Phase Research Articles

Kinetics of strain-induced phase transformation in TRIP steel

This paper discusses the kinetics of the fronts of localized plastic deformation in TRIP steel using a combination of DIC methods and magnetization measurements. It is shown that the kinetics of deformation fronts, which is mainly determined by the stages of the hardening curve, is consistent with changes in the phase composition. A phase transformation starts with the propagation of Lüders bands and then proceeds through the formation and propagation of Portevin–Le Chatelier bands, but only in the region of increasing strain hardening coefficient. After the transition to the stage where the hardening coefficient decreases, the γ → αʹ phase transformation decays and is no longer the predominant mechanism of jerky flow. Both types of plastic instability in TRIP steel can be described using the autowave concept of localized plasticity.

Defect-Enabled Phase Programming of Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Monolayers.

The ability to tune the local electronic transport properties of group VI transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) monolayers by strain-induced structural phase transformations ("phase programming") has stimulated much interest in the potential applications of such layers as ultrathin programmable and dynamically switchable nanoelectronics components. In this manuscript, we propose a new approach toward controlling TMD monolayer phases by employing macroscopic in-plane strains to amplify heterogeneous strains arising from tailored, spatially extended defects within the monolayer. The efficacy of our proposed approach is demonstrated via numerical simulations of emerging domains localized around arrays of holes, grain boundaries, and compositional heterointerfaces. Quantitative relations between the macroscopic strains required, spatial resolution of domain patterns, and defect configurations are developed. In particular, the introduction of arrays of holes is identified as the most feasible phase programming route.

Visualization of the strain-induced topological phase transition in a quasi-one-dimensional superconductor TaSe3

Control of the phase transition from topological to normal insulators can allow for an on/off switching of spin current. While topological phase transitions have been realized by elemental substitution in semiconducting alloys, such an approach requires preparation of materials with various compositions. Thus it is quite far from a feasible device application, which demands a reversible operation. Here we use angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to visualize the strain-driven band-structure evolution of the quasi-one-dimensional superconductor TaSe3. We demonstrate that it undergoes reversible strain-induced topological phase transitions from a strong topological insulator phase with spin-polarized, quasi-one-dimensional topological surface states, to topologically trivial semimetal and band insulating phases. The quasi-one-dimensional superconductor TaSe3 provides a suitable platform for engineering the topological spintronics, for example as an on/off switch for a spin current that is robust against impurity scattering.

Strain tuning of nematicity and superconductivity in single crystals of FeSe

Strain is a powerful experimental tool to explore new electronic states and understand unconventional superconductivity. Here, we investigate the effect of uniaxial strain on the nematic and superconducting phase of single crystal FeSe using magnetotransport measurements. We find that the resistivity response to the strain is strongly temperature dependent and it correlates with the sign change in the Hall coefficient being driven by scattering, coupling with the lattice and multiband phenomena. Band structure calculations suggest that under strain the electron pockets develop a large in-plane anisotropy as compared with the hole pocket. Magnetotransport studies at low temperatures indicate that the mobility of the dominant carriers increases with tensile strain. Close to the critical temperature, all resistivity curves at constant strain cross in a single point, indicating a universal critical exponent linked to a strain-induced phase transition. Our results indicate that the superconducting state is enhanced under compressive strain and suppressed under tensile strain, in agreement with the trends observed in FeSe thin films and overdoped pnictides, whereas the nematic phase seems to be affected in the opposite way by the uniaxial strain. By comparing the enhanced superconductivity under strain of different systems, our results suggest that strain on its own cannot account for the enhanced high $T_c$ superconductivity of FeSe systems.

Relaxation Mechanisms and Strain-Controlled Oxygen Vacancies in Epitaxial SrMnO3 Films.

SrMnO3 has a rich epitaxial strain-dependent ferroic phase diagram, in which a variety of magnetic orderings, even ferroelectricity, and thus multiferroicity, are accessible by gradually modifying the strain. Different relaxation processes, though, including the presence of strain-induced oxygen vacancies, can severely curtail the possibility of stabilizing these ferroic phases. Here, we report on a thorough investigation of the strain relaxation mechanisms in SrMnO3 films grown on several substrates imposing varying degrees of strain from slightly compressive (−0.39%) to largely tensile ≈+3.8%. First, we determine the strain dependency of the critical thickness (tc) below which pseudomorphic growth is obtained. Second, the mechanisms of stress relaxation are elucidated, revealing that misfit dislocations and stacking faults accommodate the strain above tc. Yet, even for films thicker than tc, the atomic monolayers below tc are proved to remain fully coherent. Therefore, multiferroicity may also emerge even in films that appear to be partially relaxed. Last, we demonstrate that fully coherent films with the same thickness present a lower oxygen content for increasing tensile mismatch with the substrate. This behavior proves the coupling between the formation of oxygen vacancies and epitaxial strain, in agreement with first-principles calculations, enabling the strain control of the Mn3+/Mn4+ ratio, which strongly affects the magnetic and electrical properties. However, the presence of oxygen vacancies/Mn3+ cations reduces the effective epitaxial strain in the SrMnO3 films and, thus, the accessibility to the strain-induced multiferroic phase.

Timely and atomic-resolved high-temperature mechanical investigation of ductile fracture and atomistic mechanisms of tungsten

Revealing the atomistic mechanisms for the high-temperature mechanical behavior of materials is important for optimizing their properties for service at high-temperatures and their thermomechanical processing. However, due to materials microstructure’s dynamic recovery and the absence of available in situ techniques, the high-temperature deformation behavior and atomistic mechanisms of materials are difficult to evaluate. Here, we report the development of a microelectromechanical systems-based thermomechanical testing apparatus that enables mechanical testing at temperatures reaching 1556 K inside a transmission electron microscope for in situ investigation with atomic-resolution. With this unique technique, we first uncovered that tungsten fractures at 973 K in a ductile manner via a strain-induced multi-step body-centered cubic (BCC)-to-face-centered cubic (FCC) transformation and dislocation activities within the strain-induced FCC phase. Both events reduce the stress concentration at the crack tip and retard crack propagation. Our research provides an approach for timely and atomic-resolved high-temperature mechanical investigation of materials at high-temperatures.

Developing a nanostructured surface layer on AISI 316 stainless steel by ultrasonic surface nanocrystallization and evaluating its tribological properties

Austenitic stainless steels have received a lot of attention for a wide range of applications, including petrochemical, automotive industry, building architecture, and bioengineering; however, their poor mechanical properties such as high wear rate are always challenging. In this research, ultrasonic surface nanocrystallization treatment (USNT) has been used for surface modification and improvement of tribological characteristics of AISI 316 stainless steel. For this purpose, 375 N accompanied with 20 kHz vibration frequency was applied on the surface to provide static and dynamic forces simultaneously, increase dislocations density, and fabricate a nanocrystalline surface. After this process, the untreated and USN-treated specimens were characterized by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction analysis, Vickers microhardness measurements, and surface profilometry. Also, a reciprocating pin-on-plate test was used to evaluate the tribological features of the surface. After the wear test, the untreated sample showed approximately twice weight loss, in comparison with the USN-treated specimen. The friction coefficient during 500 m sliding was reduced from around 1 (for the untreated specimen) to 0.4 after USNT. Also, the SEM investigations showed that the abrasive wear is decreased after USNT. The improved tribological properties of AISI 316 in this research was attributed to the residual compressive stress, nanocrystallization, strain-induced phase transformation, microhardness enhancement, and surface roughness reduction after USNT.

Transformations of the Microstructure and Phase Compositions of Titanium Alloys during Ultrasonic Impact Treatment. Part I. Commercially Pure Titanium

Experimental and theoretical studies helped to reveal patterns of surface roughening and the microstructure refinement in the surface layer of commercial pure titanium during ultrasonic impact treatment. Applying transmission electron microscopy technique, a gradient microstructure in the surface layer of the ultrasonically treated sample, where the grain size is varied from nano- to micrometers was revealed. It was shown that the surface plastic strains of the titanium sample proceeded according to the plastic ploughing mechanism, which was accompanied by dislocation sliding, twinning, and the transformations of the microstructure and phase composition. The molecular dynamics method was applied to demonstrate the mechanism of the phase transformations associated with the formation of stacking faults, as well as the reversible displacement of atoms from their sites in the hcp lattice, causing a change in coordination numbers. The role of the electronic subsystem in the development of the strain-induced phase transformations during ultrasonic impact treatment was discussed.

Searching for Aquamelt Behavior among Silklike Biomimetics during Fibrillation under Flow.

In this paper, we elucidate a generic mechanism behind strain-induced phase transition in aqueous solutions of silk-inspired biomimetics by atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. We show the results of modeling of homopeptides polyglycine Gly30 and polyalanine Ala30 and a heteropeptide (Gly-Ala-Gly-Ala-Gly-Ser)5, i.e., the simplest and yet relevant sequences that could mimic the behavior of natural silk under stress conditions. First, we analyze hydrophobicities of the sequences by calculating the Gibbs free energy of hydration and inspecting the interchain hydrogen bonding and hydration by water. Second, the force-extension profiles are scanned and compared with the results for poly(ethylene oxide), the synthetic polymer for which the aquamelt behavior has been proved recently. Additionally, the conformational transitions of oligopeptides from coiled to extended states are characterized by a generalized order parameter and by the dependence of the solvent-accessible surface area of the chains on applied stretching. Fibrillation itself is surveyed using both the two-dimensional interchain pair correlation function and the SAXS/WAXS patterns for the aggregates formed under stress. These are compared with experimental data found in the literature on fibril structure of silk composite materials doped with oligoalanine peptides. Our results show that tensile stress introduced into aqueous oligopeptide solutions facilitates interchain interactions. The oligopeptides display both a greater resistance to extension as compared to poly(ethylene oxide) and a reduced ability for hydrogen bonding of the stretched chains between oligomers and with water. Fiber formation is proved for all simulated objects, but the most structured one is made of a heteropeptide (Gly-Ala-Gly-Ala-Gly-Ser)5: For this sequence, we obtain the highest degree of the secondary structure motifs in the fiber. We conclude that this is the most promising candidate among considered sequences to find the aquamelt behavior in further experimental studies.

Displacement field measurements in traditional and rotational diamond anvil cells

A digital image correlation-based method has been developed to measure the displacement field during compression in a traditional diamond anvil cell (DAC) and torsion in rotational DAC (RDAC) employing ruby fluorescence microscopy imaging. The optical arrangements for these measurements are adaptable at any commercial or customized micro-confocal system used for in situ high-pressure Raman or ruby fluorescence spectroscopy. In this paper, we describe details of the setup developed at Iowa State University along with a few demonstrative measurements for a zirconium sample. In particular, under compression in DAC, no adhesion zone is found, and relative sliding increases almost linearly along the radius. During torsion in RDAC, actual angular displacement of the material is found to be 5 times smaller than the rotation angle of an anvil, which is routinely used in the definition of the plastic shear for the determination of stress–strain curves and plastic strain-induced kinetics of phase transformations and grain refinement in materials. Obtained displacements can be used as the boundary conditions for finite element method (FEM) simulations of processes in DAC and RDAC instead of hypothetical friction conditions. After iterative fitting of FEM simulations and all measured fields from x-ray diffraction and absorption experiments, this will allow us to more precisely determine contact friction conditions and material parameters in the constitutive equations for elastoplastic flow and strain-induced phase transformations.

Strain engineering of epitaxial oxide heterostructures beyond substrate limitations

Strain engineering of epitaxial oxide heterostructures beyond substrate limitations

Uniaxial strain-induced phase transition in the 2D topological semimetal IrTe2

Strain is ubiquitous in solid-state materials, but despite its fundamental importance and technological relevance, leveraging externally applied strain to gain control over material properties is still in its infancy. In particular, strain control over the diverse phase transitions and topological states in two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides remains an open challenge. Here, we exploit uniaxial strain to stabilize the long-debated structural ground state of the 2D topological semimetal IrTe2, which is hidden in unstrained samples. Combined angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy data reveal the strain-stabilized phase has a 6 × 1 periodicity and undergoes a Lifshitz transition, granting unprecedented spectroscopic access to previously inaccessible type-II topological Dirac states that dominate the modified inter-layer hopping. Supported by density functional theory calculations, we show that strain induces an Ir to Te charge transfer resulting in strongly weakened inter-layer Te bonds and a reshaped energetic landscape favoring the 6×1 phase. Our results highlight the potential to exploit strain-engineered properties in layered materials, particularly in the context of tuning inter-layer behavior.

Effect of ausforming parameters on strain-induced phase transformation and isothermally transformed bainite

The presence of strain-induced phases formed in the course of ausforming step has been proven by thermodynamic calculation, microstructural observation and hardness examination, besides that, the effect of ausforming parameters on isothermally transformed bainite during austempering step was also essentially investigated. The results indicated that the types of strain-induced phases were determined by ausforming temperature and strain, for instance, the trace of strain-induced martensite could be detected in the sample subjected to ausforming at 300 °C for 20% strain. However, ausforming would introduce strain-induced bainite at a higher ausforming temperature (500 °C) instead of strain-induced martensite, which could gradually increase the average thickness of bainitic ferrite lath and impair bulk hardness with raising ausforming strain. Although ausforming process lessened the maximum attainable volume fraction of bainitic ferrite formed during austempering stage due to austenite mechanical stabilization, the existence of strain-induced martensite and the refined bainitic sheaves would make a contribution to hardness improvement when ausformed at 300 °C.

Autowave Description of Plasticity of Materials with an Unstable Phase Structure at the Macroscale Level

We consider the regularities of a plastic flow in materials with strain-induced phase transformation in titanium nickelide and trip steel as examples. The experimental analysis of plastic deformation processes has been carried out using the technique of digital correction of speckle images, which makes it possible to describe quantitatively the behavior of plasticity fronts associated with phase transformation in the given materials. The mechanisms of formation of the Luders fronts as well as the Portevin–Le Chatelier fronts at different stages of the plastic flow are considered.

Stationary dislocation motion at stresses significantly below the Peierls stress: Example of shuffle screw and [formula omitted] dislocations in silicon

The stationary motion of shuffle screw and 60∘ dislocations in silicon when the applied shear, τap, is much below the static Peierls stress,τpmax, is proved and quantified through a series of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations at 1 K and 300 K, and also by solving the continuum-level equation of motion, which uses the atomistic information as inputs. The concept of a dynamic Peierls stress, τpd, below which a stationary dislocation motion can never be possible, is built upon a firm atomistic foundation. In MD simulations at 1 K, the dynamic Peierls stress is found to be 0.33GPa for a shuffle screw dislocation and 0.21GPa for a shuffle 60∘ dislocation, versus τpmax of 1.71GPa and 1.46GPa, respectively. The critical initial velocity v0c(τap) above which a dislocation can maintain a stationary motion at τpd<τap<τpmax is found. The velocity dependence of the dissipation stress associated with the dislocation motion is then characterized and informed into the equation of motion of dislocation at the continuum level. A stationary dislocation motion below τpmax is attributed to: (i) the periodic lattice resistance smaller than τpmax almost everywhere; and (ii) the change of a dislocation’s kinetic energy, which acts in a way equivalent to reducing τpmax. The results obtained here open up the possibilities of a dynamic intensification of plastic flow and defects accumulations, and consequently, the strain-induced phase transformations. Similar approaches can be applicable to partial dislocations, twin and phase interfaces.

Microstructure Evolution during Strain-Induced Transformation of Austenite in an Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI)

Microstructural evolution during the strain-induced phase transformation of austenite in an Austempered ductile iron (ADI) under various thermomechanical processing conditions is studied in the present study. An alloyed ductile iron is taken as the base material, and thermomechanical treatment is carried out on a Gleeble 3800 thermomechanical simulator coupled with dilatometry. The effect of deformation on the austempering process has been studied by microstructure characterization using optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The variations in retained austenite volume fraction and its carbon content with respect to different austempering times are analyzed to study the effect of strain-induced transformation of austenite. It has been observed that the thermomechanical treatment significantly influences the phase transformation kinetics during the austempering process. The thermomechanical treatment produced a martensite free ausferritic microstructure for all austempering times with a high volume fraction of carbon enriched retained austenite as compared to the conventional heat treatment.

Unusual kinetics of strain-induced diffusional phase transformations in Cu-Cr-Zr alloy

This paper reports experimental results demonstrating nonmonotonic changes of the solid solution concentration in the process of high-pressure torsion of the preliminary aged Cu-Cr-Zr alloy. The solid solution concentration which is very low in the initial state passes through a maximum before it finally stabilizes at a lower value. Such a behavior is, strictly speaking, impossible for a purely diffusion-controlled process under stationary conditions. Observations on the evolution of the second phases particles in the course of deformation suggest a possible mechanism behind this phenomenon. Severe deformation causes refinement of the particles initially present in the alloy by, most probably, quasi-brittle fracture, what creates fragments with sharp edges and makes possible their partial dissolution by Gibbs-Thomson mechanism. The morphology and sizes of the partially dissolved fragments as well as of newly precipitated particles make them less susceptible to fracture than those formed by the preliminary aging. So, under severe deformation, unlike the usually considered models, a “dissolving” subset of particles evolves not only due to diffusion; in the other words, the deformation creates a difference between “dissolving” and “precipitating” subsets of particles. As combined fracture and dissolution transform the initial ensemble of particles, the dissolution gradually slows down unlike the precipitation, which rate is controlled by the solution concentration and density of precipitation sites. As a result, these processes first reach a transitional balance, corresponding to the maximum concentration, and later a stable dynamic equilibrium on its lower level.

Strain-induced quantum phase transition in the C3Sc4 monolayer: towards multiple gapless fermions.

Most two dimensional (2D) topological materials host only one kind of fermionic state. However, realizing multiple gapless fermions in a single 2D material is rarely reported. Furthermore, researchers face challenges in regulating various gapless fermion transitions using specific methods. Herein, we perform a study based on the first-principles calculation to investigate the electronic structures and the related fermionic states of strained 2D C3Sc4. C3Sc4 is an ideal system in the ground state with twelve Dirac points. The dynamical, mechanical, and thermal stabilities of the proposed C3Sc4 monolayer are demonstrated in detail. Interestingly, under the condition of 9.5% biaxial tensile strain, gapless and quadratic Weyl fermionic states are observed at the Γ point. A gapless and massless pseudospin-1 fermion appears at the Γ point in the 2D C3Sc4 system under 13% biaxial tensile strain and with hole doping. The Fermi velocity of this massless pseudospin-1 fermion is 2.1 × 105 m s-1, comparable to that of well-known 2D gapless topological materials. The results indicate that 2D C3Sc4 is an ideal playground to explore interesting behaviors of quantum phase transitions and rich gapless fermionic states and also reveal its potential applications in high-speed nano-devices.

Enhancement of piezoelectricity in spin-coated Bi1/2Na1/2TiO3-BaTiO3epitaxial films by strain engineering

Strain-induced phase boundaries were successfully constructed in the (100-x)% Bi1/2Na1/2TiO3-x%BaTiO3films by elaborately tailoring the film thickness, contributing to the remarkable enhancement of the piezoelectricity of the films.

Unusual strain-induced martensite and absence of conventional grain refinement in twinning induced plasticity high-entropy alloy processed by high-pressure torsion

A Fe40Mn40Co10Cr10 twinning induced plasticity high-entropy alloy was processed by high-pressure torsion, and its microstructure and mechanical properties were studied. The results indicate the absence of typical grain refinement, but rather the original grain size was retained with the formation of strain-induced HCP martensitic phase.