Mechanistic origin of oxygen-induced twin suppression in titanium

Chong, Y.*; Tsuru, Tomohito; Gholizadeh, R.*; Minor, A. M.*; Tsuji, Nobuhiro*

Acta Materialia, 301, p.121523_1 - 121523_12, 2025/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121523

Twinning is essential for achieving large ductility in hexagonal close-packed (HCP) titanium alloys that inherently lack independent slip systems due to an asymmetrical HCP crystal structure. Unfortunately, twinning is in principle suppressed by a trace amount of interstitial oxygen, resulting in a substantially deteriorated ductility in titanium. However, the underlying mechanism remains in dispute so far. Here, we report a systematic multiscale study on the twinning/detwinning behaviors of Ti-O alloys that provides a clear mechanistic view of how interstitial oxygen inhibits twinning. We reveal for the first time that oxygen atoms segregate to both {102}2} compression twin boundaries using atom probe tomography. Combined with theoretical simulations that unravel a strong pinning effect of oxygen atoms on twin boundary due to an oxygen shuffling mechanism, we explain the distinctive migration abilities of twin boundaries in Ti-O alloys at different temperatures. The insights from our experimental and computational work provide a rationale for the design of titanium alloys with increased tolerance to variations in interstitial impurity content, with significant implications for more widespread use of this high strength, light weight material.

Grain refinement of dual phase steel maximizes deformation ability of martensite, leading to simultaneous enhancement of strength and ductility

Park, M.-H.*; Shibata, Akinobu*; Harjo, S.; Tsuji, Nobuhiro*

Acta Materialia, 292, p.121061_1 - 121061_13, 2025/06

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121061

On the role of austenite stability in yielding behavior of a medium Mn steel with a duplex austenite-martensite microstructure

Wang, Y.*; Gong, W.; Harjo, S.; 7 of others*

Acta Materialia, 288, p.120840_1 - 120840_14, 2025/04

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2025.120840

Effect of carbon segregation at prior austenite grain boundary on hydrogen-related crack propagation behavior in 3Mn-0.2C martensitic steels

Okada, Kazuho*; Shibata, Akinobu*; Kimura, Yuji*; Yamaguchi, Masatake; Ebihara, Kenichi; Tsuji, Nobuhiro*

Acta Materialia, 280, p.120288_1 - 120288_14, 2024/11

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2024.120288

Microscopic insights of the extraordinary work-hardening due to phase transformation

Ma, Y.*; Naeem, M.*; Zhu, L.*; He, H.*; Sun, X.*; Yang, Z.*; He, F.*; Harjo, S.; Kawasaki, Takuro; Wang, X.-L.*

Acta Materialia, 270, p.119822_1 - 119822_13, 2024/05

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2024.119822

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.

Strengthening of Mg and long-period stacking ordered phases in a Mg-Zn-Y alloy by hot-extrusion with low extrusion ratio

Harjo, S.; Gong, W.; Aizawa, Kazuya; Kawasaki, Takuro; Yamasaki, Michiaki*

Acta Materialia, 255, p.119029_1 - 119029_12, 2023/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2023.119029

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

Competitive strengthening between dislocation slip and twinning in cast-wrought and additively manufactured CrCoNi medium entropy alloys

Woo, W.*; Kim, Y. S.*; Chae, H. B.*; Lee, S. Y.*; Jeong, J. S.*; Lee, C. M.*; Won, J. W.*; Na, Y. S.*; Kawasaki, Takuro; Harjo, S.; et al.

Acta Materialia, 246, p.118699_1 - 118699_13, 2023/03

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2023.118699

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