Synthesis of a bulk nanostructured metastable Al alloy with extreme supersaturation of Mg.

Nanostructuring of bulk metals is now well documented with the development of severe plastic deformation (SPD) for improving the physical and mechanical properties of engineering materials. Processing by high-pressure torsion (HPT), which was developed initially as a grain refinement technique, was extended recently to the mechanical bonding of dissimilar metals during nanostrcturing which generally involves significant microstructural heterogeneity. Here we introduce, for the first time, a bulk metastable Al-Mg supersaturated solid solution by the diffusion bonding of separate Al and Mg metal solids at room temperature using HPT. Exceptional hardness was achieved homogeneously throughout the metastable alloy with a record maximum supersaturated Mg content of ~38.5 at.% in the Al matrix having a grain size of ~35-40 nm. Our results demonstrate the synthesis of a bulk nanocrystalline metastable alloy with good microstructural stability at room temperature where such bulk solids are not yet reported for mechanical alloying by powder metallurgy.

Microstructural deformation process of shock-compressed polycrystalline aluminum.

Plastic deformation of polycrystalline materials under shock wave loading is a critical characteristic in material science and engineering. However, owing to the nanosecond time scale of the shock-induced deformation process, we currently have a poor mechanistic understanding of the structural changes from atomic scale to mesoscale. Here, we observed the dynamic grain refinement of polycrystalline aluminum foil under laser-driven shock wave loading using time-resolved X-ray diffraction. Diffraction spots on the Debye-Scherrer ring from micrometer-sized aluminum grains appeared and disappeared irregularly, and were shifted and broadened as a result of laser-induced shock wave loading. Behind the front of shock wave, large grains in aluminum foil were deformed, and subsequently exhibited grain rotation and a reduction in size. The width distribution of the diffraction spots broadened because of shock-induced grain refinement and microstrain in each grain. We performed quantitative analysis of the inhomogeneous lattice strain and grain size in the shocked polycrysalline aluminum using the Williamson-Hall method and determined the dislocation density under shock wave loading.

Charge-order melting in charge-disproportionated perovskite CeCu3Fe4O12.

A novel quadruple perovskite oxide CeCu3Fe4O12 has been synthesized under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions of 15 GPa and 1473 K. (57)Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy displays a charge disproportionation transition of 4Fe(3.5+) → 3Fe(3+) + Fe(5+) below ∼270 K, whereas hard X-ray photoemission and soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements confirm that the Ce and Cu valences are retained at approximately +4 and +2, respectively, over the entire temperature range measured. Electron and X-ray diffraction studies reveal that the body-centered cubic symmetry (space group Im3̅, No. 204) is retained at temperatures as low as 100 K, indicating the absence of any types of charge-ordering in the charge-disproportionated CeCu3Fe4O12 phase. The magnetic susceptibility and neutron powder diffraction data illustrate that the antiferromagnetic ordering of Fe ions is predominant in the charge-disproportionated CeCu3Fe4O12 phase. These findings suggest that CeCu3Fe4O12 undergoes a new type of electronic phase in the ACu3Fe4O12 series and that the melting of the charge-ordering in CeCu3Fe4O12 is caused by the substantial decrease in the Fe valence and the resulting large deviation from the ideal abundance ratio of Fe(3+):Fe(5+) = 1:1 for rock-salt-type charge-ordering.

In situ synchrotron high-energy X-ray diffraction analysis on phase transformations in Ti-Al alloys processed by equal-channel angular pressing.

Mixtures of 47-Al and 53-Ti powders (atomic %) have been consolidated using back pressure equal-channel angular pressing starting with both raw and ball-milled powders. In situ synchrotron high-energy X-ray diffraction studies are presented with continuous Rietveld analysis obtained upon a heating ramp from 300 K to 1075 K performed after the consolidation process. Initial phase distributions contain all intermetallic compounds of this system except Al, with distribution maxima in the outer regions of the concentrations (alpha-Ti, TiAl(3)). Upon annealing, the phase evolution and lattice parameter changes owing to chemical segregation, which is in favour for the more equilibrated phases such as gamma-TiAl, alpha(2)-Ti(3)Al and TiAl(2), were followed unprecedentedly in detail. An initial delta-TiH(2) content with a phase transition at about 625 K upon heating created an intermediate beta-Ti phase which played an important role in the reaction chain and gradually transformed into the final products.