Stress corrosion cracking induced by the combination of external and internal hydrogen in Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy

Tang, J.*; Wang, Y.*; Fujihara, Hiro*; Shimizu, Kazuyuki*; Hirayama, Kyosuke*; Ebihara, Kenichi; Takeuchi, Akihisa*; Uesugi, Masayuki*; Toda, Hiroyuki*

Scripta Materialia, 239, p.115804_1 - 115804_5, 2024/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2023.115804

Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behaviors induced by the combination of external and internal hydrogen (H) in an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy were systematically investigated via in situ 3D characterization techniques. SCC of the Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy could initiate and propagate in the potential crack region where the H concentration exceeded a critical value, in which the nanoscopic H-induced decohesion of -MgZn precipitates resulted in macroscopic cracking. External H that penetrated the alloy from the environment played a crucial role during the SCC of the Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy by generating gradient-distributed H-affected zones near the crack tips, which made Al alloys in water environment more sensitive to SCC. Additionally, the pre-existing internal H was driven toward the crack tips during plastic deformation. It was involved in the SCC and made contributions to both the cracks initiation and propagation.

Ionic radii in halites

Vauchy, R.; Hirooka, Shun; Murakami, Tatsutoshi

Materialia, 32, p.101943_1 - 101943_8, 2023/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtla.2023.101943

Quantitatively evaluating the huge Lders band deformation in an ultrafine grain stainless steel by combining neutron diffraction and digital image correlation analysis

Mao, W.; Gao, S.*; Gong, W.; Harjo, S.; Kawasaki, Takuro; Tsuji, Nobuhiro*

Scripta Materialia, 235, p.115642_1 - 115642_6, 2023/10

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2023.115642

In the present study, a hybrid neutron diffraction and digital image correlation measurement was performed on tensile deformation of an ultrafine grain (UFG) stainless steel exhibiting a huge Lders band deformation to evaluate the individual contribution of the austenite matrix and the deformation-induced martensite to the strain hardening during the propagation of the band. Quantitative analysis revealed that the strain hardening of the austenite matrix was insufficient to maintain a uniform deformation when the flow stress was greatly enhanced by the UFG structure. The strain hardening required for the Lders band to propagate was mostly provided by the formation of martensite and the high internal stress within it.

Quantitatively evaluating respective contribution of austenite and deformation-induced martensite to flow stress, plastic strain, and strain hardening rate in tensile deformed TRIP steel

Mao, W.; Gao, S.*; Gong, W.; Bai, Y.*; Harjo, S.; Park, M.-H.*; Shibata, Akinobu*; Tsuji, Nobuhiro*

Acta Materialia, 256, p.119139_1 - 119139_16, 2023/09

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2023.119139

Transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP)-assisted steels exhibit an excellent combination of strength and ductility due to enhanced strain hardening rate associated with deformation-induced martensitic transformation (DIMT). Quantitative evaluation on the role of DIMT in strain hardening behavior of TRIP-assisted steels and alloys can provide guidance for designing advanced materials with strength and ductility synergy, which is, however, difficult since the phase composition keeps changing and both stress and plastic strain are dynamically partitioned among constituent phases during deformation. In the present study, tensile deformation with neutron diffraction measurement was performed on an Fe-24Ni-0.3C (wt.%) TRIP-assisted austenitic steel. The analysis method based on stress partitioning and phase fractions measured by neutron diffraction was proposed, by which the tensile flow stress and the strain hardening rate of the specimen were resolved into factors associated with each phase, i.e., the austenite matrix, deformation-induced martensite, and the transformation rate of DIMT after differentiation, and then the role of each factor in the global strain hardening behavior was discussed. In addition, the plastic strain partitioning between austenite and martensite was indirectly estimated using the dislocation density measured by diffraction profile analysis, which constructed the full picture of stress and strain partitioning between austenite and martensite in the material. The results suggested that both the transformation rate and the phase stress borne by the deformation-induced martensite played important roles in the global tensile properties of the material. The proposed decomposition analysis method could be widely applied to investigating mechanical behavior of multi-phase alloys exhibiting the TRIP phenomenon.

Lattice parameters of austenite and martensite during transformation for Fe-18Ni alloy investigated through neutron diffraction

Gong, W.; Harjo, S.; Tomota, Yo*; Morooka, Satoshi; Kawasaki, Takuro; Shibata, Akinobu*; Tsuji, Nobuhiro*

Acta Materialia, 250, p.118860_1 - 118860_16, 2023/05

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2023.118860

High-density nanoprecipitates and phase reversion via maraging enable ultrastrong yet strain-hardenable medium-entropy alloy

Kwon, H.*; Sathiyamoorthi, P.*; Gangaraju, M. K.*; Zargaran, A.*; Wang, J.*; Heo, Y.-U.*; Harjo, S.; Gong, W.; Lee, B.-J.*; Kim, H. S.*

Acta Materialia, 248, p.118810_1 - 118810_12, 2023/04

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2023.118810

Evolution of austenite lattice parameter during isothermal transformation in a 0.4 C low alloyed steel

Wang, Y.*; Tomota, Yo*; Omura, Takahito*; Gong, W.; Harjo, S.

Materialia, 27, p.101685_1 - 101685_9, 2023/03

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtla.2023.101685

Tensile overload-induced texture effects on the fatigue resistance of a CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy

Lam, T.-N.*; Chin, H.-H.*; Zhang, X.*; Feng, R.*; Wang, H.*; Chiang, C.-Y.*; Lee, S. Y.*; Kawasaki, Takuro; Harjo, S.; Liaw, P. K.*; et al.

Acta Materialia, 245, p.118585_1 - 118585_9, 2023/02

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2022.118585

Unexpected dynamic transformation from phase to phase in zirconium alloy revealed by in-situ neutron diffraction during high temperature deformation

Guo, B.*; Mao, W.; Chong, Y.*; Shibata, Akinobu*; Harjo, S.; Gong, W.; Chen, H.*; Jonas, J. J.*; Tsuji, Nobuhiro*

Acta Materialia, 242, p.118427_1 - 118427_11, 2023/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2022.118427

Ultrahigh yield strength and large uniform elongation achieved in ultrafine-grained titanium containing nitrogen

Chong, Y.*; Tsuru, Tomohito; Guo, B.*; Gholizadeh, R.*; Inoue, Koji*; Tsuji, Nobuhiro*

Acta Materialia, 240, p.118356_1 - 118356_15, 2022/11

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2022.118356

In this study, we systematically investigated the influences of nitrogen content and grain size on the tensile properties and deformation behaviors of titanium at room temperature. By high-pressure torsion and annealing, we obtained ultrafine-grained (UFG) Ti-0.3wt.%N alloy with a fully recrystallized microstructure, which combined an unprecedented synergy of ultrahigh yield strength (1.04 GPa) and large uniform elongation (10%). The hardening and strain-hardening mechanisms of Ti-0.3wt.%N alloy were comprehensively studied via deformation substructure observation and first-principles calculations. It is revealed that the contributions of nitrogen to the excellent strength/ductility balance in UFG Ti-0.3wt.%N were twofold. On one hand, nitrogen atoms inside the grains strongly impeded the motion of dislocations on prismatic plane due the shuffling of nitrogen from octahedral to hexahedral site, giving rise to a six-fold increase in the friction stress than pure Ti. Moreover, the greatly reduced stacking fault energy difference between prismatic and pyramidal planes in Ti-0.3wt.%N alloy facilitated an easier activation of dislocations, which contributed to an enhanced strain-hardening rate. On the other hand, some nitrogen atoms segregated near the grain boundaries, a phenomenon discovered in -titanium for the first time. These segregated nitrogen atoms served as an additional contributor to the yield strength of UFG Ti-0.3wt.%N, by raising the barrier against dislocation slip transfer between grains. Our experimental and theoretical calculation work provide insights for the design of affordable high strength titanium without a large sacrifice of ductility, shedding lights on a more widespread use of this high strength to weight material.