Gradient residual strain measurement procedure in surface impacted railway steel axles by using neutron scattering

Zhou, L.*; Zhang, H.*; Qin, T. Y.*; Hu, F. F.*; Xu, P. G.; Ao, N.*; Su, Y. H.; He, L. H.*; Li, X. H.*; Zhang, J. R.*; et al.

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, 11 Pages, 2024/00

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-024-07352-5

Local atomic displacements and sign of the structural transformation in medium-entropy alloys observed in extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectra

Ikeda, Yoichi*; Umemoto, Yoshihiko*; Matsumura, Daiju; Tsuji, Takuya; Hashimoto, Yuki*; Kitazawa, Takafumi*; Fujita, Masaki*

Materials Transactions, 64(9), p.2254 - 2260, 2023/09

https://doi.org/10.2320/matertrans.MT-M2023043

Effects of local bonding between solute atoms and vacancy on formation of nanoclusters in Al-Mg-Si alloys

Kurihara, Kensuke*; Lobzenko, I.; Tsuru, Tomohito; Serizawa, Ai*

Materials Transactions, 64(8), p.1930 - 1936, 2023/08

https://doi.org/10.2320/matertrans.MT-L2023006

Nanoclusters formed in Al-Mg-Si alloys affect the aging behavior of the alloys depending on the formation temperature. In the present study, first-principles calculations were carried out to evaluate the two- and three-body interactions between Mg, Si atoms and vacancies in the Al matrix and estimate the effect of local bonding on the formation of nanoclusters. Monte Carlo simulations were subsequently performed to investigate the stable structure of the nanocluster formed in Al-0.95 mass pct Mg-0.81 mass pct Si alloy. We found that the Mg-Si and Si-Vac pairs are stable in the Al matrix. The result shows that the solute atoms easily aggregate with different types of solute atoms and that the Si atom has a strong attractive interaction with a vacancy. Furthermore, Mg-Si-vacancy three-body clusters is more stable than Mg-Si and Si-vacancy pairs in the Al matrix. The nanoclusters in the Al matrix were thermally stabilized by the stable configurations between solute atoms and vacancy. Thus, the electronic structure calculations suggested that the local bondings within a nanocluster play a significant role in not only the thermal stability but also the formation and growth behavior of nanoclusters during aging at low temperatures.

Identification of hydrogen trapping in aluminum alloys muon spin relaxation method and first-principles calculations

Tsuru, Tomohito; Nishimura, Katsuhiko*; Matsuda, Kenji*; Nunomura, Norio*; Namiki, Takahiro*; Lee, S.*; Higemoto, Wataru; Matsuzaki, Teiichiro*; Yamaguchi, Masatake; Ebihara, Kenichi; et al.

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, 54(6), p.2374 - 2383, 2023/06

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-023-07024-w

Although hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of high-strength Al alloys is recognized as a critical issue in the practical use of Al alloys, identifying the hydrogen trapping or distribution has been challenging. In the present study, an effective approach based on experiment and simulation is proposed to explore the potential trap sites in Al alloys. Zero-field muon spin relaxation experiments were carried out for Al-0.5%Mg, Al-0.2%Cu, Al-0.15%Ti, Al-0.011%Ti, Al-0.28%V, and Al-0.015%V (at.%) in the temperature range from 5 to 300 K. The temperature variations of the dipole field widths have revealed three peaks for Al-0.5%Mg, four peaks for Al-0.2%Cu, three peaks for Al-0.011%Ti and Al-0.015%V. Atomic configurations of the muon trapping sites corresponding to the observed peaks are well assigned using the first-principles calculations for the trap energies of hydrogen around a solute and solute-vacancy pair. The extracted linear relationship between the muon peak temperature and the trap energy enables us to explore the potential alloying elements and their complex that have strong binding energies with hydrogen in Al alloys.

STEM-EELS/EDS chemical analysis of solute clusters in a dilute mille-feuille-type Mg-Zn-Y alloy

Sato, Yohei*; Egusa, Daisuke*; Miyazaki, Hidetoshi*; Kimura, Koji*; Itakura, Mitsuhiro; Terauchi, Masami*; Abe, Eiji*

Materials Transactions, 64(5), p.950 - 954, 2023/05

https://doi.org/10.2320/matertrans.MT-MD2022023

Dilute Mg-Zn-Y alloy with a mille-feuille structure (MFS) exhibits a mechanical strength comparable to Mg-Zn-Y alloy with long period stacking/ordered (LPSO) structure through kink deformation. In order to deepen understanding the thermal stability of the MFS-type Mg alloys, it is required to clarify the solute cluster structures composed of Zn and Y in solute enriched stacking faults (SESFs). In this study, electron energy-loss and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy based on scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM-EELS/EDS) were conducted to investigate the electronic structure and composition of Zn and Y in the SESFs of the MFS-Mg alloy. Zn-L2,3 spectra indicated that the valence charges of Zn in the dilute Mg alloy were different from that of the LPSO-type Mg-Zn-Y alloy. In addition, the intensity ratio of L3/L2 in Y-L2,3 spectrum of the dilute MFS-Mg alloy was larger than that of the LPSO-Mg alloy, reflecting the electron occupancies of 4d3/2 and 4d5/2 orbitals of Y atoms were different from those of the LPSO-Mg alloys. STEM-EELS analysis of the SESF composition in the dilute MFS-Mg alloy indicated that the Zn/Y ratio should be lower than that of the LPSO-Mg alloy, which was confirmed also by STEM-EDS measurements. These results indicate that the cluster structure in the SESFs of the dilute MFS-Mg alloy should be different from the ideal Zn6Y8 cluster in the LPSO-type Mg-Zn-Y alloys.

Effect of extrusion ratio in hot-extrusion on kink deformation during compressive deformation in an Mg/LPSO dual-phase magnesium alloy monitored by neutron diffraction

Harjo, S.; Gong, W.; Aizawa, Kazuya; Kawasaki, Takuro; Yamasaki, Michiaki*; Mayama, Tsuyoshi*; Kawamura, Yoshihito*

Materials Transactions, 64(4), p.766 - 773, 2023/02

https://doi.org/10.2320/matertrans.MT-MD2022004

Time dependence of corrosion behavior on Ta in NaOH solutions

Ishijima, Yasuhiro; Ueno, Fumiyoshi; Abe, Hitoshi

Materials Transactions, 63(4), p.538 - 544, 2022/04

https://doi.org/10.2320/matertrans.MT-C2021005

The time dependence of the corrosion behavior of tantalum (Ta), which is used in nuclear fuel reprocessing equipment, in sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solutions was investigated by immersion tests, and the mechanism of the time dependence was examined via surface observations and electrochemical measurements. The immersion tests were conducted at room temperature with NaOH concentrations ranging from 1 to 7 mol/L for immersion periods of 24 to 168 h. The corrosion rate increased with the NaOH concentration but peaked with the immersion period and then decreased. The time to peak of the corrosion rate was shorter with higher NaOH concentration. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and Raman spectra of the surfaces of the specimens immersed in the 7 mol/L NaOH solution for more than 48 h showed NaTaO formation. The polarization resistance decreased with immersion time for all NaOH concentrations up to about 24 h after immersion. Thereafter, the polarization resistance increased with immersion time in 7 mol/L NaOH solution and remained almost constant in the other NaOH concentrations. Findings suggested that the change in the corrosion rate was affected by the film formation during immersion, since the time dependence of the polarization resistance and the sum of film resistance and charge transfer resistance had the same tendencies. The precipitation film was mainly NaTaO formed by the dissolution of the passivity film on Ta.

Wettability of pure metals with liquid sodium and liquid tin

Saito, Junichi; Kobayashi, Yohei*; Shibutani, Hideo*

Materials Transactions, 62(10), p.1524 - 1532, 2021/10

https://doi.org/10.2320/matertrans.MT-M2021107

no abstracts in English

Investigation of Cu diffusivity in Fe by a combination of atom probe experiments and kinetic Monte Carlo simulation

Zhao, C.*; Suzudo, Tomoaki; Toyama, Takeshi*; Nishitani, Shigeto*; Inoue, Koji*; Nagai, Yasuyoshi*

Materials Transactions, 62(7), p.929 - 934, 2021/07

https://doi.org/10.2320/matertrans.MT-M2021028

We succeeded in measuring the diffusion coefficient of Cu in Fe in a low temperature range that had not been measured so far. Since the diffusion couple, which is a general method for measuring the diffusion coefficient, can be applied only at high temperature, atom probe tomography and Cu precipitation rate theory were used in this study. The estimated diffusion coefficient was found to be more reliable than that obtained in previous studies. Therefore, it is considered that the estimation by the atom probe provided higher accuracy. Furthermore, the kinetic Monte Carlo simulation revealed that the diffusion coefficient estimated by this method tends to be slightly overestimated as the temperature decreases.

Synergistic effects of metal cations and sodium gluconate on the inhibition of freshwater corrosion of mild steel

Otani, Kyohei; Sakairi, Masatoshi*

Materials Transactions, 62(6), p.815 - 820, 2021/06

https://doi.org/10.2320/matertrans.MT-M2021002

The synergistic effects of metal cations in a solution on the ability of sodium gluconate to inhibit the corrosion of mild steel were investigated quantitatively focus on the parameter Y, which represents the "corrosion inhibitory effect of cations" by immersion and electrochemical tests. The results of the investigations showed that the inhibition ability of gluconates improved with increasing Y value of the metal cations in model freshwater. The electrochemical and surface analyses indicated that gluconate ligands and large-Y metal cations formed a protective film with few defects on the mild steel.