Kink bands promote exceptional fracture resistance in a NbTaTiHf refractory medium-entropy alloy.

Single-phase body-centered cubic (bcc) refractory medium- or high-entropy alloys can retain compressive strength at elevated temperatures but suffer from extremely low tensile ductility and fracture toughness. We examined the strength and fracture toughness of a bcc refractory alloy, NbTaTiHf, from 77 to 1473 kelvin. This alloy's behavior differed from that of comparable systems by having fracture toughness over 253 MPa·m1/2, which we attribute to a dynamic competition between screw and edge dislocations in controlling the plasticity at a crack tip. Whereas the glide and intersection of screw and mixed dislocations promotes strain hardening controlling uniform deformation, the coordinated slip of <111> edge dislocations with {110} and {112} glide planes prolongs nonuniform strain through formation of kink bands. These bands suppress strain hardening by reorienting microscale bands of the crystal along directions of higher resolved shear stress and continually nucleate to accommodate localized strain and distribute damage away from a crack tip.

Exceptional fracture toughness of CrCoNi-based medium- and high-entropy alloys at 20 kelvin.

CrCoNi-based medium- and high-entropy alloys display outstanding damage tolerance, especially at cryogenic temperatures. In this study, we examined the fracture toughness values of the equiatomic CrCoNi and CrMnFeCoNi alloys at 20 kelvin (K). We found exceptionally high crack-initiation fracture toughnesses of 262 and 459 megapascal-meters½ (MPa·m½) for CrMnFeCoNi and CrCoNi, respectively; CrCoNi displayed a crack-growth toughness exceeding 540 MPa·m½ after 2.25 millimeters of stable cracking. Crack-tip deformation structures at 20 K are quite distinct from those at higher temperatures. They involve nucleation and restricted growth of stacking faults, fine nanotwins, and transformed epsilon martensite, with coherent interfaces that can promote both arrest and transmission of dislocations to generate strength and ductility. We believe that these alloys develop fracture resistance through a progressive synergy of deformation mechanisms, dislocation glide, stacking-fault formation, nanotwinning, and phase transformation, which act in concert to prolong strain hardening that simultaneously elevates strength and ductility, leading to exceptional toughness.

Magnetically driven short-range order can explain anomalous measurements in CrCoNi.

The presence, nature, and impact of chemical short-range order in the multi-principal element alloy CrCoNi are all topics of current interest and debate. First-principles calculations reveal that its origins are fundamentally magnetic, involving repulsion between like-spin Co-Cr and Cr-Cr pairs that is complemented by the formation of a magnetically aligned sublattice of second-nearest-neighbor Cr atoms. Ordering models following these principles are found to predict otherwise anomalous experimental measurements concerning both magnetization and atomic volumes across a range of compositions. In addition to demonstrating the impact of magnetic interactions and resulting chemical rearrangement, the possible explanation of experiments would imply that short-range order of this type is far more prevalent than previously realized.

On the Origins of Fracture Toughness in Advanced Teleosts: How the Swordfish Sword's Bone Structure and Composition Allow for Slashing under Water to Kill or Stun Prey.

The osseous sword of a swordfish (Xiphias gladius) is specialized to incapacitate prey with stunning blows. Considering the sword's growth and maturation pattern, aging from the sword's base to the tip, while missing a mechanosensitive osteocytic network, an in-depth understanding of its mechanical properties and bone quality is lacking. Microstructural, compositional, and nanomechanical characteristics of the bone along the sword are investigated to reveal structural mechanisms accounting for its exceptional mechanical competence. The degree of mineralization, homogeneity, and particle size increase from the base toward the tip, reflecting aging along its length. Fracture experiments reveal that crack-growth toughness vastly decreases at the highly and homogeneously mineralized tip, suggesting the importance of aging effects. Initiation toughness, however, is unchanged suggesting that aging effects on this hierarchical level are counteracted by constant mineral/fibril interaction. In conclusion, the sword of the swordfish provides an excellent model reflecting base-to-tip-wise aging of bone, as indicated by increasing mineralization and decreasing crack-growth toughness toward the tip. The hierarchical, structural, and compositional changes along the sword reflect peculiar prerequisites needed for resisting high mechanical loads. Further studies on advanced teleosts bone tissue may help to unravel structure-function relationships of heavily loaded skeletons lacking mechanosensing cells.

Osteocyte-Intrinsic TGF-ß Signaling Regulates Bone Quality through Perilacunar/Canalicular Remodeling.

Poor bone quality contributes to bone fragility in diabetes, aging, and osteogenesis imperfecta. However, the mechanisms controlling bone quality are not well understood, contributing to the current lack of strategies to diagnose or treat bone quality deficits. Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-ß) signaling is a crucial mechanism known to regulate the material quality of bone, but its cellular target in this regulation is unknown. Studies showing that osteocytes directly remodel their perilacunar/canalicular matrix led us to hypothesize that TGF-ß controls bone quality through perilacunar/canalicular remodeling (PLR). Using inhibitors and mice with an osteocyte-intrinsic defect in TGF-ß signaling (TßRIIocy-/-), we show that TGF-ß regulates PLR in a cell-intrinsic manner to control bone quality. Altogether, this study emphasizes that osteocytes are key in executing the biological control of bone quality through PLR, thereby highlighting the fundamental role of osteocyte-mediated PLR in bone homeostasis and fragility.

Bioinspired Hydroxyapatite/Poly(methyl methacrylate) Composite with a Nacre-Mimetic Architecture by a Bidirectional Freezing Method.

Using a bidirectional freezing technique, combined with uniaxial pressing and in situ polymerization, "nacre-mimetic" hydroxyapatite/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) composites are developed by processing large-scale aligned lamellar ceramic scaffolds. Structural and mechanical characterization shows "brick-and-mortar" structures, akin to nacre, with interesting combinations of strength, stiffness, and work of fracture, which provide a pathway to making strong and tough lightweight materials.