Acta MaterialiaPub Date : 2025-06-17DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121266
Fang Xu , Bo Liu , Ran Ang
{"title":"Crystal symmetry-driven structural design for enhanced thermoelectric performance in lead-free cubic GeTe","authors":"Fang Xu , Bo Liu , Ran Ang","doi":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121266","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121266","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>GeTe-based materials have emerged as promising candidates for medium-temperature thermoelectric (TE) applications. However, their phase transition near ∼700 K significantly degrades mechanical properties. In this study, we present a novel approach to stabilize the cubic rock-salt phase of lead-free GeTe at room temperature through co-doping with Tb and Sb, which completely solves the phase transition problem. Tb substitution at Ge sites not only alters the valence band structure but also promotes the formation of orthorhombic Tb<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>3</sub>, effectively reducing the <em>c</em>/<em>a</em> lattice ratio. Simultaneously, Sb doping optimizes the carrier concentration, enhances band convergence, and suppresses the stereochemical activity of Ge<sup>2+</sup> 4<em>s</em><sup>2</sup> lone pair electrons, thereby improving the overall symmetry of GeTe. The introduction of hierarchical nano- and meso-structures, including nanoprecipitates (e.g., solid-solution point defects, Ge, Tb<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>3</sub>, and Sb<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>3</sub>) and an increased density of grain boundaries, further augments the material's performance. As a result, the optimized composition, Ge<sub>0.89</sub>Tb<sub>0.01</sub>Sb<sub>0.10</sub>Te, achieves a peak <em>ZT</em> of ∼2.0, an average <em>ZT</em> (<em>ZT</em><sub>avg</sub>) of ∼1.24, a theoretical conversion efficiency of ∼16.50%, and a Vickers hardness of ∼203.16 <em>H</em><sub>v</sub>. This study demonstrates that inducing orthorhombic structure and manipulating lone-pair electrons can effectively enhance the crystal symmetry of lead-free GeTe-based materials, offering valuable insights for the development of high-performance cubic-phase GeTe materials.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":238,"journal":{"name":"Acta Materialia","volume":"296 ","pages":"Article 121266"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144305339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta MaterialiaPub Date : 2025-06-17DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121268
Yang Yang , Yu Zhang , Chengyu Ding , Guisen Liu , Houyu Ma , Li Jin , Han Ding , Chang Ye , Jian Wang
{"title":"Enhancing the activity of 〈c + a〉 dislocations in Mg alloys via high-energy pulsed current","authors":"Yang Yang , Yu Zhang , Chengyu Ding , Guisen Liu , Houyu Ma , Li Jin , Han Ding , Chang Ye , Jian Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121268","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121268","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The activation of non-basal slip systems, especially 〈<em>c</em> <em>+</em> <em>a〉</em> dislocations, is crucial for enhancing plasticity of magnesium alloys at room temperature. Based on the concept of current induced local Joule heating along grain boundaries, we examined the effect of pulsed currents on enhancing the uniform elongation of strongly textured AZ31 magnesium alloys at near room temperature. The samples were subjected to uniaxial tension along the RD direction at near room temperature while a continuous current or wide-frequency pulsed current was applied, with careful control of the current parameters to avoid excessively high temperature rises. Using electron backscatter diffraction and two-beam transmission electron microscopy characterization, the textures and dislocations with/without applied pulsed current were analyzed. The uniform elongation is increased while the texture is weakened under pulsed current compared with under constant temperature or continuous current. Combined with numerical simulations, we propose that the enhanced activation of 〈<em>c</em> <em>+</em> <em>a〉</em> dislocations by pulsed currents provides plastic deformation and weakens the texture. This is attributed to the local high temperature generated by low-frequency pulsed currents near defects. These findings provide new insights into controlling the plastic deformation mode of hexagonal metals under near-room temperature conditions, which could have significant implications for the widespread application of such lightweight materials in critical areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":238,"journal":{"name":"Acta Materialia","volume":"296 ","pages":"Article 121268"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144312213","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta MaterialiaPub Date : 2025-06-15DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121264
Thomas Perrin , Arthur Després , Pierre Heugue , Alexis Deschamps , Frédéric De Geuser
{"title":"Precipitate evolution and related strengthening during long term ageing of 2618A aluminium alloy","authors":"Thomas Perrin , Arthur Després , Pierre Heugue , Alexis Deschamps , Frédéric De Geuser","doi":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121264","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121264","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The 2618A alloy is used for aerospace applications where high resistance to long-term thermal ageing is required. Being able to predict the evolution of mechanical properties during long-term ageing is therefore crucial to determine the end-of-life of these products. It requires an in-depth understanding of the evolution of hardening precipitates during extended ageing, which happens along a complex sequence of metastable and stable phases. Here we used a high-throughput experimental methodology to gather systematic microstructure and related mechanical properties data resolved in time and temperature, using samples aged within a temperature gradient up to 10,000 h. Hardness maps were used to monitor the evolution of the mechanical properties along samples aged in this temperature gradient. Local transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with scanning precession electron diffraction (SPED) and atom probe tomography (APT) were used to identify the nano-precipitates for selected conditions, while systematic small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) was used to evaluate the evolution of sizes and volume fractions of the precipitates along the graded samples. Our results evidence for the first time the important contribution of Si-containing L-phase to the initial strength of the T851. In the first stages of long-term ageing up to 5,000h at 200°C the strength loss is controlled by the partial dissolution of this L phase together with coarsening of S precipitates. Subsequently, the Q phase appeared to form, which destabilised partly the S phase and results in an accelerated loss of mechanical properties.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":238,"journal":{"name":"Acta Materialia","volume":"296 ","pages":"Article 121264"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144290057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta MaterialiaPub Date : 2025-06-14DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121263
Prince Sharma , Prashant Singh , Ganesh Balasubramanian
{"title":"Influence of isoelectronic mass modulation on phonon decay and transport in layered pnictogen-carbon systems","authors":"Prince Sharma , Prashant Singh , Ganesh Balasubramanian","doi":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121263","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121263","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study systematically investigates the structural, electronic, and thermal transport properties of layered pnictogen–carbon (Pn<sub>2</sub>C<sub>2</sub>; Pn = <em>P</em>, As, Sb, Bi) monolayers, revealing a profound influence of isoelectronic mass modulation on phonon dynamics and thermal conductivity. Through first-principles calculations and lattice dynamics analysis, we demonstrate that increasing the atomic mass of pnictogens leads to elongated Pn-C bonds, weakened interatomic interactions, and enhanced phonon-phonon scattering, resulting in a dramatic reduction in lattice thermal conductivity (κ). Specifically, κ decreases exponentially from 65.6 W/m-K in P<sub>2</sub>C<sub>2</sub> to an ultralow 0.37 W/m-K in Bi<sub>2</sub>C<sub>2</sub>, driven by suppressed acoustic-optical phonon gaps <span><math><msubsup><mstyle><mi>Δ</mi></mstyle><mrow><mi>A</mi><mo>−</mo><mi>O</mi></mrow><mstyle><mi>Γ</mi></mstyle></msubsup></math></span>, increased anharmonicity, and reduced phonon lifetimes and group velocities. The transition from semiconducting to metallic behavior in heavier pnictogen-based systems further enhances phonon-electron scattering, contributing to thermal conductivity suppression. Structural analysis highlights the strengthening of out-of-plane C<img>C bonds and the contraction of C<img>Pn<img>C bond angles, which disrupt in-plane phonon transport. These findings establish a design framework for engineering ultralow-κ materials through chemical substitution and structural tuning, offering significant potential for thermoelectric and thermal management applications. This work provides fundamental insights into phonon decay mechanisms and thermal transport in 2D materials, paving the way for advanced phononic and energy-efficient devices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":238,"journal":{"name":"Acta Materialia","volume":"296 ","pages":"Article 121263"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144288170","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta MaterialiaPub Date : 2025-06-13DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121262
Vanessa Cascos , Mónica Chivite-Lacaba , Jesús Prado-Gonjal , María Teresa Fernández-Díaz , José Antonio Alonso
{"title":"Mixed ionic and electronic behaviour in SrCo1-xScxO3-δ (x = 0.1 and 0.2) perovskites: novel cathode materials for SOFC","authors":"Vanessa Cascos , Mónica Chivite-Lacaba , Jesús Prado-Gonjal , María Teresa Fernández-Díaz , José Antonio Alonso","doi":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121262","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121262","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The oxygen deficient perovskite SrCoO<sub>3-δ</sub> could outperform as cathode material in intermediate-temperature solid-oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFC) if a three-dimensional (3C-type) framework were stabilized under the stringent working conditions of SOFC. Here, we demonstrate that the inclusion of moderate amounts of <em>Sc</em> at the octahedral sites leads to the stabilization of a tetragonal <em>P</em>4/<em>mmm</em> perovskite superstructure, where the desired 3C framework is preserved, rather than the undesirable 2H polytype-corresponding hexagonal phase. As SOFC cathodes, we studied the thermal, electrical, and electrochemical characteristics of SrCo<sub>1−x</sub>Sc<sub>x</sub>O<sub>3-δ</sub> (<em>x</em> = 0.1 and 0.2) perovskite oxides. These oxides suit the requirements for mixed ionic and electronic conductors (MIEC) oxides because they have a high concentration of oxygen vacancies, strong electrical conductivity, and great thermal stability. With H<sub>2</sub> as fuel and air as the oxidant, single-cell tests for these compositions, in conjunction with La<sub>0.8</sub>Sr<sub>0.2</sub>Ga<sub>0.83</sub>Mg<sub>0.17</sub>O<sub>3−δ</sub> (LSGM) as electrolyte and SrMo<sub>0.8</sub>Fe<sub>0.2</sub>O<sub>3−δ</sub> as the anode, produce power densities exceeding 700 mW/cm² at 850 °C.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":238,"journal":{"name":"Acta Materialia","volume":"296 ","pages":"Article 121262"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144288171","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta MaterialiaPub Date : 2025-06-13DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121253
Kexuan Li , Hongze Fang , Xiaokang Yang , Lingyan Zhou , Xianfei Ding , Ruirun Chen
{"title":"Superior strength-plasticity integrated TiAl based alloys relying on the dynamic precipitation phase and crystal orientation evolution","authors":"Kexuan Li , Hongze Fang , Xiaokang Yang , Lingyan Zhou , Xianfei Ding , Ruirun Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121253","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121253","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The precise control of carbides is key factor in improving service performance of TiAl alloys. We reported a dynamic precipitation strategy that endows TiAl alloys with excellent strength and plasticity. Results show that after doping 0.1 at% C, TiAl matrix is refined, without carbide precipitation, and the relative content of β<sub>0</sub> phase is reduced. After tensile test at 800°C, Ti48Al5Nb2Cr0.6Re alloy exhibits softening characteristics of dynamic recrystallization and planar dislocation-slip, while nano Cr-Re phase and Ti<sub>2</sub>AlC particles are precipitated in Ti48Al5Nb2Cr0.6Re0.1C alloy. The γ phase, α<sub>2</sub> phase, and Ti<sub>2</sub>AlC particle exhibit specific orientation relationship of (111)<sub>γ</sub> // (0001}<sub>α2</sub> // (0001)<sub>Ti2AlC</sub> and <110><sub>γ</sub> // <11<span><math><mover><mn>2</mn><mo>¯</mo></mover></math></span>0><sub>α2</sub> // <10<span><math><mover><mn>1</mn><mo>¯</mo></mover></math></span>0><sub>Ti2AlC</sub>. After tensile test at 900°C, Ti48Al5Nb2Cr0.6Re alloy is in the plastic deformation stage, whereas Ti48Al5Nb2Cr0.6Re0.1C alloy begins to transition from brittle to ductile behavior. High-temperature and stress accelerate the diffusion of C, high-density dislocations and mechanical twinning provide rapid pathways for Ti<sub>2</sub>AlC precipitation. Nano precipitates and unique (0001)<sub>Ti2AlC</sub> texture evolution retard the softening of Ti48Al5Nb2Cr0.6Re0.1C alloy. As temperature increases from 750 to 900°C, the tensile properties of Ti48Al5Nb2Cr0.6Re alloy decrease from 594MPa and 4.11% to 440MPa and 10.51%, while that of Ti48Al5Nb2Cr0.6Re0.1C alloy first increase from 493MPa and 2.23% to 722MPa and 4.41%, and then stabilize above 520MPa with more than 8% elongation. The improvement in tensile properties is attributed to the reduction of β<sub>0</sub> phase, refinement of microstructure, the interaction between nano Cr-Re phase and dislocations, and the dynamic precipitation of nano Ti<sub>2</sub>AlC particles.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":238,"journal":{"name":"Acta Materialia","volume":"296 ","pages":"Article 121253"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144289923","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta MaterialiaPub Date : 2025-06-12DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121260
J.J. Gao , P. Castany , T. Gloriant
{"title":"Grain size dependent martensitic twinning behavior in superelastic Ti-20Zr-12Nb-2Sn alloy: A comparative study","authors":"J.J. Gao , P. Castany , T. Gloriant","doi":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121260","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121260","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The superelastic Ti-20Zr-12Nb-2Sn (at. %) alloy is investigated before and after deformation by cyclic/conventional tensile tests, optical microscopy, <em>in situ</em> synchrotron X-ray diffraction (SXRD), electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) after 700 °C and 900 °C solution treatments for 30 min. Both of the specimens show the same {111}<101><sub>β</sub> recrystallization texture, but a different average grain size of respectively 8 μm and 105 μm. Occurrence of the reversible stress-induced martensitic (SIM) α\" transformation is validated through <em>in situ</em> SXRD. After plastic deformation, this alloy displays a grain size dependent martensitic twinning behavior. In the fine grain material, only residual SIM α\" phase is observed with no twinning up to rupture, which was never reported in plastically deformed Ti-based superelastic alloys. In the coarse grain material, twins are observed in residual SIM α\" phase. For the 5 % strained specimen, primary/secondary martensitic α\" band undergoes a novel three-step twinning process (primary {130}<310><sub>α\"</sub> twinning + <211><sub>α\"</sub> type II twinning + secondary {130}<310><sub>α\"</sub> twinning). We also showed that the final product of this three-step process can be misinterpreted as {021}<512><sub>α\"</sub> type II twinning. This primary/secondary α\" twin band is then further partially twinned again by a third {130}<310><sub>α\"</sub> twinning or {110}<110><sub>α\"</sub> twinning at 8 % of strain, highlighting an unprecedented fourth step twinning process. {130}<310><sub>α\"</sub> twins are systematically reorientated by <211><sub>α\"</sub> type II twinning in order to maximize the transformation strain value with respect to their β phase counterpart. This work comprehensively sheds light on the mechanism of superelasticity optimization via grain size refinement strategy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":238,"journal":{"name":"Acta Materialia","volume":"296 ","pages":"Article 121260"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144322877","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta MaterialiaPub Date : 2025-06-12DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121227
Zexuan Wang , A.M. Döring , O. Vasylkiv , Xin Tang , K.P. Skokov , N. Terada , T. Ohkubo , O. Gutfleisch , H. Sepehri-Amin
{"title":"Enhanced mechanical performance of HoB2-based compounds without sacrificing cryogenic magnetocaloric effects","authors":"Zexuan Wang , A.M. Döring , O. Vasylkiv , Xin Tang , K.P. Skokov , N. Terada , T. Ohkubo , O. Gutfleisch , H. Sepehri-Amin","doi":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121227","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121227","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cryogenic magnetic cooling based on magnetocaloric effect is a promising technology for green and efficient hydrogen gas liquefaction. One of the major challenges for practical application is the lack of magnetocaloric materials that exhibit excellent cyclic performance in both magnetocaloric properties and fracture toughness. HoB₂, an intermetallic compound, exhibits a giant magnetocaloric effect, but its brittleness under mechanical stress hinders practical applications. In this work, we report a 12-fold increase in the fracture toughness by doping 10 at. % Cu into the HoB₂ system, from 2.6 to 35.1 MPa·m<sup>1/2</sup>. Vickers indentation tests followed by the microstructural evaluation revealed that the formation of (Ho, Cu)-rich intergranular phases with a fine distribution in the microstructure, encircling HoB<sub>2</sub>, suppresses the propagation of initiated cracks in HoB₂-based compounds, thereby improving their fracture toughness. In the 10 at. % Cu-doped sample, a (Ho, Cu)-rich intergranular phase was formed with an areal fraction of ∼18 %, while the content of the secondary HoB₄ phase, commonly observed in the Cu-free sample, was reduced. Notably, no Cu dissolution was found in the matrix phase. The fracture toughness improved significantly with minimal impact on magnetocaloric performance: the isothermal field-induced entropy change (Δ<em>S<sub>T</sub></em>) was marginally reduced from 20.1 to 18.2 J kg<sup>−1</sup> K<sup>−1</sup><sub>,</sub> and the adiabatic temperature change (∆<em>T</em><sub>ad</sub>) from 5.1 to 4.7 K in a 2 T magnetic field. The physical property analysis revealed that the sample containing the (Ho, Cu)-rich intergranular phase has lower magnetostriction, which can extend the life of the material in practical applications by reducing internal stress.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":238,"journal":{"name":"Acta Materialia","volume":"296 ","pages":"Article 121227"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144268923","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta MaterialiaPub Date : 2025-06-12DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121148
Yandi Jia , Yingjie Ma , Rongpei Shi , Yuexin Zhou , Qian Wang , Sensen Huang , Min Qi , Dong Wang , Jiafeng Lei , Rui Yang
{"title":"Probing nanoscale variant distribution in a heterogenous α/β titanium alloy","authors":"Yandi Jia , Yingjie Ma , Rongpei Shi , Yuexin Zhou , Qian Wang , Sensen Huang , Min Qi , Dong Wang , Jiafeng Lei , Rui Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121148","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121148","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In titanium alloys, engineering highly heterogeneous <em>α</em>-phase precipitate microstructure—comprising micron-scale primary <em>α</em> and nano-scale secondary <em>α</em> precipitates—offers a promising strategy to bypass the strength-ductility trade-off. Beyond classical microstructure descriptors (e.g., volume fraction, size, shape, orientation, coherency state, and spatial distribution), the variant distribution of precipitates crucially governs mechanical properties. However, the variant distribution behavior remains poorly understood for super-refined <em>α</em> precipitate (<span><math><mrow><mo><</mo><mn>100</mn><mspace></mspace><mtext>nm</mtext></mrow></math></span>). For the first time, this work systematically investigates the size-dependent variant distribution of <em>α</em> precipitates in an <em>α</em>/<em>β</em> Ti alloy by integrating Transmission Kikuchi Diffraction (TKD) characterization and crystallographic analysis. Notably, inter-variant misorientation is quantified using misorientation axis analysis rather than conventional angular thresholds. A precipitate size-dependent variant distribution is identified, where the spatial correlation and occurrence frequency of <em>α</em> variants linked by the Type B misorientation axis-angle pair <span><math><mrow><msub><mrow><mo>[</mo><mover><mrow><mn>1</mn></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover><mn>2</mn><mover><mrow><mn>1</mn></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover><mn>0</mn><mo>]</mo></mrow><mi>α</mi></msub><mo>/</mo><mn>60.0</mn><mtext>°</mtext></mrow></math></span> strengthens as precipitate size decreases. These experimental observations are validated through phase-field simulations that generate <em>α</em> precipitates with varying sizes and number densities. Mechanistic analysis reveals that finer <em>α</em> precipitates, formed via an <em>ω</em>-assisted nucleation mechanism, amplify elastic interactions that promote strain-induced correlated nucleation, driving the stronger preference of Type B inter-variant correlations. The study provides crucial insights into the distribution and characteristics of the super-refined <em>α</em> phase in titanium alloys and may contribute to the understanding of deformation mechanism of the highly heterogeneous precipitate microstructure.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":238,"journal":{"name":"Acta Materialia","volume":"296 ","pages":"Article 121148"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144263723","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta MaterialiaPub Date : 2025-06-12DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121256
Ran Ni , Carl J. Boehlert , Bo Chen , Yuanshuai Zhang , Ying Zeng , Jiang Zheng , Hao Zhou , Qudong Wang , Dongdi Yin
{"title":"Temperature-dependent interplay of intra- and inter-granular deformation mechanisms in Mg-10Y: Statistical analysis from an HRDIC perspective","authors":"Ran Ni , Carl J. Boehlert , Bo Chen , Yuanshuai Zhang , Ying Zeng , Jiang Zheng , Hao Zhou , Qudong Wang , Dongdi Yin","doi":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121256","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121256","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To uncover the anomalous temperature-dependent slip activity (decreased non-basal slip activity with increasing temperature) in polycrystalline Mg-10Y (wt. %) during compression, the deformation mode activity was quantitatively investigated using high-resolution digital image correlation (HRDIC) and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) data fusion. The deformed microstructural patches that were characterized contained ∼300 grains and ∼800 grain boundaries (GBs), and ∼45 million measured strain data were acquired to statistically interrogate both intra- and inter-granular mechanisms. From a strain-partitioning perspective, the competition between slip bands (SBs) and grain mantles (GMs, the region near GBs) was quantified. At 25 °C, the SB deformation, in terms of the mean effective shear strain ratio (SR), was ∼2.5 times greater than that of the GM. As temperature increased (up to 300 °C), the SR discrepancy between the SB and the GM decreased significantly. The prevalent SB mode transitioned from multiple slip at 25–200 °C to single slip at 300 °C. Basal slip was dominant at 25 °C and the percentage of non-basal slip increased from 22.4% at 25 °C to 41.5% at 200 °C and then it anomalously decreased to 10.6% at 300 °C. At 300 °C, the surface GB sliding (GBS) increased significantly compared to that at 25 °C, with mean value of the GBS displacements increasing from 1.2±7.8 to 18.3±27.9 nm and the percentage of GBs in which displacements were observed increased from 4.2% to 53.9%. This work emphasizes the importance of simultaneously evaluating both intra- and inter-granular deformation mechanisms for polycrystalline microstructures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":238,"journal":{"name":"Acta Materialia","volume":"296 ","pages":"Article 121256"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144268922","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}