The influence of the volume fraction of the long-period stacking ordered (LPSO) phase on the strengthening mechanisms acting in Mg/LPSO two-phase extruded alloys is discussed by focusing on compression tests of Mg₉₄Zn₂Y₄ and Mg₉₂Zn₃Y₅ alloys. An increase in the LPSO phase volume fraction increases the yield stress of these alloys, but the magnitude of the increase is not monotonic with the volume fraction. For deformation parallel to the extrusion direction, the rate of increase in the yield stress shows two large gaps between the Mg_99.2Zn_0.2Y_0.6/Mg₉₇Zn₁Y₂ and Mg₉₂Zn₃Y₅/Mg₈₉Zn₄Y₇ alloys. This is derived from the change in strengthening mechanisms. The upper gap between Mg₉₂Zn₃Y₅/Mg₈₉Zn₄Y₇ is derived from the change in the strengthening mechanism between short-fiber reinforcement and the simple rule of mixtures. The lower gap between Mg_99.2Zn_0.2Y_0.6/Mg₉₇Zn₁Y₂ corresponds to the existence of a short-fiber strengthening mechanism or not. As the volume fraction of the LPSO phase decreases, the magnitude of kink-band strengthening to the yield stress decreases; however, it is still effective even in alloys with a low volume fraction of the LPSO phase.

We first fabricated the single crystal of 316L stainless steel by laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF), focusing on the applicability of the µ-Helix scanning strategy with narrow pitch as a method for obtaining a single crystal. Various combinations of laser power and laser scanning speed were examined. The cubic block samples were orientated to 〈100〉 in the X-laser scanning direction, to 〈110〉 in the Y-laser scanning direction, and to 〈110〉 in the building direction, which is contrary to that obtained by the µ-Helix scanning strategy in electron beam melting (EBM), in which the X- and Y-laser scanning directions are orientated to 〈110〉, and Z-direction is oriented to 〈100〉 direction. Also, it has been demonstrated that melt pool monitoring by on-axis and off-axis dual photodiodes can detect the nonequivalence of ±X-scanning and ±Y-scanning, which is responsible for the unexpected crystal orientation.

Metal additive manufacturing enables producing complex geometric structures with high accuracy and breaks the design constraints of traditional manufacturing methods. Laser powder bed fusion, a typical additive manufacturing process, presents a challenge in experimentally understanding the nano-scaled microstructure-process relationship regarding the wide range of process parameters. In this study, we aim to reveal the novel nanoscale structural features by advanced scanning transmission electron microscopy to clarify the formation mechanisms in 316L stainless steel by laser powder bed fusion. Here we show that the slender columnar grains were confined to the centreline of the melt pool along the build direction, and the columnar cell structure at the side branching of the melt pool grew along orthogonal directions to follow drastic changes in thermal gradient across adjacent melt pools. Novel nano-scaled modulated structures have been observed in the dislocation cells parallel to the laser scan direction, which were mainly caused by the elastic strain involving the thermal gradient inside the melt pool and across adjacent melt pools as well as the effective strain field in the dislocation cell interiors. An in-depth understanding of microstructure developments is worthy of fabricating high-performance materials by controlling the additive manufacturing process.

In this work, we constructed machine learning models to predict structural descriptors that numerically represent the atomic structures in three dimensions from x-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectra. The neural network models that predict radial distribution functions (RDF) and orbital-field matrix (OFM), a descriptor that deals with the anisotropy of the local structure, the valence electron number of the ligand, and orbital information, were constructed. We used more than 120,000 O K-edge XAS spectra data from the Materials Project database as the training data set. We successfully constructed models that roughly predicted RDFs with 74% of the test data. Furthermore, the model that predicted OFM also captured an overview of OFM in 97% of the test data. These results demonstrate that the atomic structural information can be directly extracted from XANES spectra using neural network models.

Atomic stress, utilized in molecular mechanics and molecular dynamics, is valuable in analyzing complex phenomena such as heat transfer, crack propagation and void growth. However, traditional modeling techniques designed for large-scale systems may lack the precision achievable through first-principles calculations. To overcome this limitation, we propose an approach based on artificial neural network (ANN) potentials to compute atomic stress. A crucial aspect of this method is the use of central force decomposition to derive the atomic stress tensor of the ANN potential, ensuring compliance with the balance between linear and angular momentum. By comparing atomic stress calculations for surface systems in Fe and Al using the ANN and embedded-atom (EAM) potentials, we demonstrate that the ANN potential accurately reproduces the stress oscillations near the surface layer predicted by first-principles calculations. This scheme allows us to evaluate atomic stress with nearly the same accuracy as first-principles calculations, even in large-scale models with complex geometries and defect structures.

Surrogate-based microstructural optimization was applied to model the relationship between local crystallographic microstructure and intergranular hydrogen embrittlement in an Al–Zn–Mg alloy, and a support vector machine with an infill sampling criterion was used to realise high-accuracy optimisation with a limited data set. This methodology integrates thoroughgoing microstructural quantification, two coarsening processes, and surrogate modelling. An objective function was defined together with 66 design parameters that quantitatively express size, shape, orientation and damage during specimen machining for surface grain boundaries and grains. The number of design parameters was then reduced from 66 to 3 during the two-step coarsening process. It has been clarified that intergranular crack initiation can be described using the simple size of grains and grain boundaries together with grain boundary orientation with respect to the loading direction. It can be inferred that these design parameters are of crucial importance in crack initiation through elevation in stress normal to grain boundaries. Correlation between the selected design parameters and crack initiation was somewhat weak compared to past applications of a similar technique to particle damage. The reason for this is discussed. The present approach offers a cost-efficient solution for the prevention of hydrogen embrittlement through 3D design of crystallographic microstructure that cannot be obtained using conventional strategies for developing materials.

Suppressed hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) generation and practical H₂ oxidation reaction (HOR) activity of the anode catalyst surface is crucial to improve proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) performance. Here, the influence of surface modification on H₂O₂ generation and HOR activity by introducing tungsten suboxides (WO_x) was investigated for platinum catalyst surfaces. A Pt(111) single-crystal substrate surface was used as the model of Pt-nanoparticle anode catalyst surface and modified with WO_x through the reactive arc plasma deposition (APD) of W under an O₂ partial pressure (p(O₂) = 1 × 10⁻¹ or 10⁻³ Pa). The oxidation states of WO_x were estimated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and the resulting electrocatalytic properties of H₂O₂ generation and HOR activity were investigated using a scanning electrochemical microscope. The as-prepared oxidation states of WO_x were modified depending on p(O₂) during the APD. Contrarily, potential cycle (PC) loadings resulted in a similar oxidation state of WO_x: substoichiometric oxides containing W⁴⁺ or W⁵⁺, irrespective of the as-prepared oxidation states of the deposited tungsten. Regardless of the WO_x oxidation state, the WO_x/Pt(111) surfaces exhibited suppressed H₂O₂ generation, even accompanied by enhanced HOR activity compared with the clean Pt(111). Therefore, the WO_x surface modification can improve the properties of Pt-based anode catalysts and contribute to high-performance catalyst developments.

In the field of metals, especially in magnesium alloys, a new concept has been reported that introducing a kink by applying compression or other deformation to a material with an LPSO structure, in which hard and soft layers are alternately stacked, results in higher strength. Because crystalline polymers are alternately layered with a crystalline phase, the hard layer, and an amorphous phase, the soft layer, it is expected that crystalline polymers can be made stronger if kinks can be introduced by applying compression or other deformation. In this study, the effects of a high-pressure press on the tensile properties and morphology of polypropylene (PP) were investigated. We found that a high-pressure press reduced the strain at break but increased the tensile modulus and the stress at break in the stress–strain curves. Thus, we succeeded in developing high-strength PP using a high-pressure press. In addition, it is found that the tensile properties were isotropic with no directional dependence after press. This implies that the tensile strength can be increased isotropically. Observing the morphology parallel to the press direction by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), it was found that the crystal lamellae spread isotropically. Conversely, observation of the morphology perpendicular to the press direction by optical microscopy (OM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed the formation of a shear band where deformation was concentrated owing to pressure. In the shear band, it was found that lamella fragmentation occurred and a kinked structure was formed. In this region, the molecular chains may be constrained by pressure, and become a tension state, which leads to the improvement of the mechanical properties.

High-strength dilute Mg–Y–Zn alloys with cluster-arranged layer/nanoplate (CAL/CANaP) precipitates were developed via combined processes of low-cooling-rate solidification and extrusion techniques. The effects of CANaP morphology and deformation kink bands installation on the tensile properties of the extruded Mg–Y–Zn alloys were investigated. A slow-cooling solidification process with a cooling rate range of 0.1–0.01 K·s⁻¹ produces a CAL-aggregated region in the α-Mg matrix. The CAL-aggregated region comprises long-period stacking ordered (LPSO) nanoplates with an intergrowth structure and the solo-CAL precipitates. The area fraction of the CAL-aggregated region increased with decreasing cooling rate. The microstructure of the extruded Mg_99.2Y_0.6Zn_0.2 alloys prepared from low cooling rate-solidified ingots consisted of three characteristic regions: (i) dynamically recrystallized (DRXed) fine α-Mg grains, (ii) worked coarse α-Mg grains with a CAL-aggregated region, and (iii) worked blocky LPSO grains. The strength and ductility of the extruded Mg–Y–Zn alloys may be controlled by the volume fractions of the worked and DRXed grains, respectively. It is desirable to control the CANaP thickness and spacing to ∼1 µm and ∼0.8 µm or more, respectively, to promote DRX. Conversely, it is necessary to control the CANaP thickness and spacing to ∼1 µm and ∼0.8 µm or less, respectively, to form the worked grains in which kink bands are introduced.

To ascertain the effect of solution pH of Na₂MoO₄ chemical conversion treatment for aluminum/steel joints on corrosion resistance, AA5083 aluminum alloy and AISI 1045 carbon steel were immersed in 50 mM Na₂MoO₄ at pH ranges of 8–12 under galvanically coupled condition. Subsequently, in diluted synthetic seawater, the galvanic corrosion resistance of the AA5083 alloy connected to the AISI 1045 carbon steel was assessed. The number of localized corrosion damages was counted, and AA5083 treated at pH 11 was found to be the better corrosion resistance. The oxygen reduction current on bulk Al₆(Fe, Mn) decreased with increasing solution pH of the conversion treatment. The Al₆(Fe, Mn) particles on AA5083 were not preferential cathodes, and alkalization through oxygen reduction would not occur when the treatment was performed above pH 9. Auger electron spectroscopy analysis showed that Mo-accumulation, Fe-removal, and film thickening occurred on the particles of AA5083 treated at pH 11. These factors contributed to the suppression of the cathodic activity of the Al₆(Fe, Mn) particles, resulting in the improved galvanic corrosion resistance of AA5083.

CeNF/Al-based composites were prepared using CeNFs collected by a non-woven aluminum filter, followed by hot extrusion to obtain plates. Gel-like CeNFs were collected by an aluminum non-woven filter and compacted by a warm press to obtain a compressed form with a lighter specific density than pure aluminum. The compressed forms were hot extruded to fabricate bars and plates. Both bars and plates were observed in the macro-and microstructural morphology and XRD measurements. They were not significantly carbonized to graphite only, which was inferred to be present as CeNF under the present experimental conditions. Microstructural observations show that CeNFs are aggregated and present in the pores/cracks between the Al filters in the compressed forms. Al filters and CeNF aggregates were more finely mixed when the material was fabricated into hot extruded plates with a higher extrusion ratio. The maximum tensile strength of the CeNF/Al composite extruded plate was about 1.5 times higher than pure aluminum. In addition, the extruded plates could be cold-rolled by about 30%, and the maximum tensile strength of the extruded sheets was found to be about twice that of pure aluminum.

We investigated how dwell fatigue loading accelerates the crack propagation in bi-modal Ti–6Al–4V alloy. A fatigue test was programmed to include displacement holding for only one cycle at several ΔK. We found (1) crack tip strain evolved during the displacement holding, (2) the displacement holding increased fatigue striation spacing, and (3) the strain increment during the displacement holding was linearly correlated with spacing of the displacement-holding-extended striations. These facts indicate that the dwell loading assisted crack opening, which accelerated the crack propagation. Other analyses results and discussion are also presented, in terms of crack propagation mode, crack closure, and dislocation structure.

Non-equiatomic high-entropy alloys (HEAs) for which the mixing (S_mix), configuration (S_config), and equivalent ideal (S_ideal) entropies satisfy S_mix > S_config = S_ideal were reported for Co–Cr–V–Fe–(Al, Ru, or Ni) systems. Three Co₂₀Cr₂₀Fe₂₀V₁₀X₃₀ (X = Al, Ru, or Ni) alloys (referred to as Al₃₀, Ru₃₀, and Ni₃₀ alloys) were studied here using conventional arc melting and subsequent annealing. The X-ray diffraction profiles revealed that the Al₃₀, Ru₃₀, and Ni₃₀ alloys annealed at 1600 K for 1 h exhibited B2 ordered, hcp, and fcc structures, respectively. A single structure was verified by scanning electron microscopy observations combined with elemental mapping via energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Thermodynamic calculations of S_mix normalized by the gas constant (S_mix/R) revealed that Al₃₀, Ru₃₀, and Ni₃₀ alloys at 1600 K had S_mix/R = 0.833, 1.640, and 1.618, respectively, where the latter two alloys exceeded S_config/R = 1.557. A compositionally optimized Al-containing HEA for S_mix with a single bcc structure was computationally predicted and verified experimentally for the Al₆Co₂₇Cr₃₄Fe₁₉V₁₄ alloy (Al₆ alloy). The non-equiatomic Al₆ alloy with S_config/R = 1.480 exhibited S_mix/R of 1.703 at 1600 K, surpassing S_config/R = ln 5 = 1.609 for the exact equiatomic (EE) quinary alloy. The bcc Al₆, hcp Ru₃₀, and fcc Ni₃₀ alloys were regarded as ultra-high mixing entropy alloys (UMHEAs) according to S_mix > S_config. Structure-dependent S_mix and the mixing enthalpy of constituent binary EE alloys are useful for future UHMEAs as a subset of HEAs.

The relationship between the mechanism of high temperature deformation and the evolution behavior of microstructure and the texture during deformation, which has been found in various solid solution alloys, is clarified. It is shown that the preferential dynamic grain growth (PDGG) mechanism proposed by the authors can explain the behavior of microstructure change as well as texture change of all studied alloys without contradiction. The essential aspect of the PDGG mechanism is the preferential growth of crystal grains with the orientation stable for deformation and with low Taylor factor in the given deformation mode. It is concluded that the Taylor factor corresponds to dislocation density and stored energy during the high temperature deformation of solid solution alloys when viscous glide of dislocations is the rate controlling process. The possibility of the occurrence of the PDGG mechanism in materials other than solid solution alloys is also discussed.

High thermal conductivity, high strength and non-flammability have successfully been achieved concurrently for the first time in Mg–4.5Al–2.5Ca, Mg–5Al–3Ca, Mg–6Al–4Ca, and Mg–4Al–2Ca–0.03Be (at%) alloys, which are produced by hot extrusion of the heat-treated cast alloys. These alloys consist of α-Mg, and C36, C14 and C15 compounds, and exhibit a high thermal conductivity of 111–119 Wm⁻¹K⁻¹, a high ignition temperature of 1343–1408 K and a high tensile yield strength of 318–363 MPa.

A method for predicting the lifetime of fatigue crack network formation in die-attach joints is considered through experiments on high-speed thermal cycling using a Si/solder/Si joint specimen and the mechanism is identified. Equibiaxial stresses are generated in the solder layer because thermal deformation of the solder is constrained by the Si, which causes continuous initiation and propagation of crisscross-shaped cracks. When the crack density is sufficiently high, crack growth is arrested by collisions between cracks, and the formation of the fatigue crack network is completed. Based on these results, development of the damaged area and arrest of the development by collisions between the cracks is expressed in terms of extended volume theory incorporating crack initiation and propagation functions for solder as well as considering the damage rate equation. The experimental result for the relationship between the damage ratio in the die-attach joint and the number of cycles under each thermal condition are reproduced by the damage rate equation.

The temperature dependence of fatigue crack growth in stage IIb was investigated in Ti–0.49 mass%O with an alpha single phase. It was found that the fatigue crack growth rate in stage IIb was temperature independent at temperatures above 300 K. EBSD maps beside the fatigue crack showed that prismatic slips with 〈a〉 dislocations were dominantly activated during the fatigue crack growth. The reason why the prismatic slips were dominantly activated is discussed with numerical crystal plasticity analysis. It was shown that the local strain rate at the notch tip was higher than the macroscopic strain rate, which leads to the suppression of non-prismatic slips at the fatigue crack tip.

An improved combination of strength and ductility is generally a trade-off relationship, and it remains a major research topic in the field of structural materials. A bimodal grained microstructure, consisting of a coarse-grained region “core” and a surrounding fine-grained region “shell”, exhibits a good balance between strength and ductility. Therefore, the exact reason for the strengthening mechanism needs to be investigated. In the present study, we conducted nanomechanical characterization to evaluate the individual strengthening factors, including matrix strength (σ₀), and grain boundary effect (k), in the Hall–Petch model for each region of the core and shell to clarify the strengthening mechanism in the bimodal grained microstructure. The nanoindentation technique was applied locally in the “grain interior” to evaluate σ₀, and “on grain boundary” and “near grain boundary” to assess the grain boundary effect associated with the k value. The grain interior nanohardness was found to be higher in the core region than that in the shell, which is explained by the higher pre-existing dislocation density in the core region. The nanomechanical characterization of the “on grain boundary” and the “near grain boundary” regions show a higher barrier effect due to the grain boundary in the shell than that in the core, which is presumably dominated by the higher internal strain at the shell grain boundary. Furthermore, a Hall–Petch plot was constructed using nanohardness, Vickers hardness, and grain size to estimate the k value. The plot showed a higher k value in the shell, which is consistent with the higher strengthening effect of the shell grain boundary that is evaluated independently in the local region. Therefore, the macroscopic strength of the shell region is significantly affected by both grain boundary effect as well as fine grain size.

The kinetics of phase transformation in the Fe–C system during cooling are of great importance for controlling its microstructure and mechanical properties. However, real-time observation of the phase transformation has been a challenging task because of experimental difficulties. Here, we developed an analytical technique for time-resolved observation of the phase transformation of an Fe–C system during cooling via X-ray absorption spectroscopy with a time resolution of 200 µs. The technique was applied to model specimens: Fe, Fe–0.044C, and Fe–1.24C. The incubation time before phase transformation and the multiple steps of phase transformation from γ-Fe to α-Fe (+ Fe₃C) could be clearly observed by the proposed technique, and the behaviors were significantly different among the specimens. Through the developed technique, change in atomic structures at a short-range scale was detected, which is complementary to X-ray diffraction that detects atomic structures only in long-range order. The developed technique can detect structure changes at early stage of phase transformations, where structures changes often begin at a short-range scale, and provide inevitable information on the kinetics.

Silicon single crystals were deformed in tensile tests along the [134] direction between 1173 K and 1373 K. The yield point phenomenon was observed in the specimens deformed below 1273 K, while a continuous yield was observed in the specimens deformed above 1323 K. The values of work-hardening rate in stage II were the same as those reported in other single crystals. Orientation maps of the specimen obtained by using electron backscattered electron diffraction method indicated that stage II starts before the Schmid factor of the secondary slip system became larger than that of the primary slip system. Because of the constraint due to the gripping of the test piece, kink bands are formed during stage I before the onset of stage II, and then the stress state becomes non-uniaxial. This suggests that the formation of kink bands triggers the activation of the secondary, i.e., conjugate slip system to increase the resolved shear stress on the conjugate slip systems.