Shigeaki Kobayashi

Control of intermetallic compound layers at interface between steel and aluminum by diffusion-treatment

Abstract The toughening of Fe–Al intermetallic compound coating formed by aluminizing of carbon steel was investigated. The growth mechanism, morphology and mechanical properties of Fe–Al intermetallic compound layers on the surface of carbon steel were systematically evaluated for specimens diffused at temperatures ranging from 873 to 1323 K after hot dip aluminizing. Fe2Al5 was mainly formed on the specimen surfaces at the usual diffusion temperatures from 873 to 923 K. However, FeAl and Fe3Al layers having relatively high fracture resistance and oxidation resistance properties were preferentially formed in the specimens diffused at temperatures greater than 1273 K. The activation energies required for the growth of the FeAl and Fe3Al layers were QFeAl=180 and QFe3Al=260 kJ mol−1, respectively. It was identified that the formation and growth of Fe–Al intermetallic compound layers is controlled by the diffusion of Fe atoms into the intermetallic compound layers.

Structure-dependent triple junction hardening and intergranular fracture in molybdenum

The roles of grain boundaries and triple junctions in crack nucleation and propagation in polycrystalline molybdenum are discussed in connection with grain boundary and triple junction hardening. Hardness measurements were made by microindentation tests for molybdenum polycrystalline specimens. The character and the connectivity of grain boundaries at triple junctions were determined by OIM analysis prior to the indentation test. Grain boundary hardening at low-angle and low Σ coincidence boundaries was found to be smaller than at random boundaries. However, the hardening observed at the low-angle and Σ boundaries increased with increasing Brandons ratio up to almost the same level as that at random boundaries. Triple junction hardening depended on the grain boundary connectivity. The degree of triple junction hardening was smaller at the junctions composed of low-angle and Σ boundaries than at those composed of more random boundaries. The grain boundary connectivity and triple junction character favourable for preventing intergranular fracture is suggested on the basis of the results of structure-dependent grain boundary and triple junction hardening in brittle polycrystalline molybdenum.

In situ observations of crack propagation and role of grain boundary microstructure in nickel embrittled by sulfur

In situ observations of crack propagation in sulfur-doped coarse-grained nickel were performed for the specimens with grain boundary microstructure pre-determined by SEM/EBSD analysis. The role of grain boundary microstructure was studied in the crack propagation in nickel embrittled by grain boundary segregation of sulfur. It was found that the main crack tends to predominantly propagate along random boundaries, and the crack propagation rate can be locally accelerated at the grain boundary network with a high connectivity of random boundaries. On the other hand, the cracks can propagated along fracture-resistant low-Σ coincidence site lattice (CSL) boundary only when the trace of the grain boundary is arranged being almost parallel to slip bands in the adjacent grains. The local crack propagation rate was found to become lower when a crack propagated along low-Σ CSL boundaries. Moreover, when the crack propagation is inhibited by low-Σ CSL boundaries, the branching of propagating crack occurs at partially cracked triple junctions. The crack propagation can locally slow down due to the occurrence of crack branching. The optimum grain boundary microstructure for the control of sulfur segregation-induced brittle fracture is discussed on the basis of new findings obtained from the in situ observations on crack propagation and fracture processes in polycrystalline nickel.

Effect of Grain Boundary Microstructure on Superplastic Deformation of Al-Li-Cu-Mg-Zr Alloy

It is common knowledge that grain boundary sliding (GBS) is the most important deformation mechanism for superplastic deformation. In this investigation, Al-Li-Cu-Mg-Zr alloys having two distinct microstructures were produced to examine the effect of grain boundary (GB) microstructure on superplastic deformation. The effective GB microstructure to develop the superplastic deformation is discussed. Specimens with homogeneous and {011} textured grains, including high frequency of low-angle GBs showed superplastic behavior. The texture was weakened and most of low-angle GBs were changed into random GBs during deformation. Mean grain size increased slightly with deformation. On the other hand, specimens with heterogeneous and randomly oriented grains, with a high frequency of random GBs resulted in nonsuperplastic behavior. This microstructure was essentially unchanged by deformation. Extensive cavitation at GB triple junctions was also observed after superplastic deformation. In particular, cavities were most likely to form at the triple junctions composed of two or more random GBs. We will discuss the development of superplasticity through the optimization of GB microstructures in polycrystalline materials.

A new approach to grain boundary engineering for nanocrystalline materials

A new approach to grain boundary engineering (GBE) for high performance nanocrystalline materials, especially those produced by electrodeposition and sputtering, is discussed on the basis of some important findings from recently available results on GBE for nanocrystalline materials. In order to optimize their utility, the beneficial effects of grain boundary microstructures have been seriously considered according to the almost established approach to GBE. This approach has been increasingly recognized for the development of high performance nanocrystalline materials with an extremely high density of grain boundaries and triple junctions. The effectiveness of precisely controlled grain boundary microstructures (quantitatively characterized by the grain boundary character distribution (GBCD) and grain boundary connectivity associated with triple junctions) has been revealed for recent achievements in the enhancement of grain boundary strengthening, hardness, and the control of segregation-induced intergranular brittleness and intergranular fatigue fracture in electrodeposited nickel and nickel alloys with initial submicrometer-grained structure. A new approach to GBE based on fractal analysis of grain boundary connectivity is proposed to produce high performance nanocrystalline or submicrometer-grained materials with desirable mechanical properties such as enhanced fracture resistance. Finally, the potential power of GBE is demonstrated for high performance functional materials like gold thin films through precise control of electrical resistance based on the fractal analysis of the grain boundary microstructure.

Control of grain boundary microstructures in molybdenum polycrystals by thermomechanical processing of single crystals

The formation of grain structures and grain boundary microstructures in polycrystalline molybdenum, produced by thermomechanical processing from cylindrical single crystals with different initial surface normal orientations of ⟨110⟩, ⟨111⟩ and ⟨112⟩, were investigated with the objective of controlling grain boundary microstructures. The polycrystalline specimens displayed different microstructures depending on the initial orientation of the single crystal and the deformed microstructure. The recrystallized microstructure was composed of some oriented-grain clusters, in which grains possessing a similar orientation were assembled. The frequency of low-angle boundaries was very high in the oriented-grain clusters. A close relationship also existed between the grain boundary character distribution (GBCD) and the triple junction distribution. Grain boundary microstructures were compared of bcc molybdenum and fcc polycrystalline materials with reference to path-dependent percolation resistance.

Control of Grain Boundary Microstructures in Sputtered Gold Thin Films by Surface Energy-Driven Grain Growth

The evolution of grain boundary microstructures in gold thin films during annealing was investigated in order to find a clue to the development of high performance thin films by grain boundary engineering. The {111} oriented grains with the lowest surface energy were preferentially grown by surface energy-driven grain growth during annealing. The sharp {111} texture was developed by annealing at the temperature more than 873K. The remarkably high fraction of low-Σ coincidence site lattice (CSL) boundaries occurred when the area fraction of {111} texture increased to more than 95%. In particular, the fraction of some low-Σ CSL boundaries (Σ1,Σ3,Σ7) for the most sharply {111} textured specimen was found to be one order higher than those predicted for a random polycrystal. The utility of grain boundary engineering is discussed for controlling the performance degradation caused by the percolation phenomena of grain boundary diffusion in gold thin films.

Grain boundary character distribution and texture evolution during surface energy-driven grain growth in nanocrystalline gold thin films

Abstract The evolution of grain boundary microstructure during annealing in sputtered gold thin films was investigated on the basis of FEG-SEM/EBSD/OIM analyses of nanocrystalline microstructure, in order to find a clue to the precise control of grain boundary microstructure for development of high performance polycrystalline thin films. Remarkably high fractions of coincidence site lattice (CSL) boundaries with specific Σ values such as Σ1, Σ3, Σ7, Σ13, Σ19 and Σ21 occurred in the gold thin film specimens on Pyrex glass substrate by annealing in air. The occurrence of higher fraction of these specific low-Σ boundaries is probably attributed to the evolution of a very sharp {111}-textures of different degrees which results from the preferential growth of {111}-oriented grains due to surface energy-driven grain growth. The fraction of low-Σ CSL boundaries increased with increasing area fraction of {111}-texture. The grain boundary character distribution in the gold thin film specimens was strongly affected by the annealing atmosphere and substrate materials. The sharpness of {111}-texture in the specimen annealed in low-vacuum was weaker than that in the specimen annealed in air, and an extraordinarily high fraction of Σ3 CSL boundaries occurred. The grain growth of gold thin film specimens on SiO2 glass substrate was much slower than that of specimens on Pyrex glass substrate. The fraction of low-Σ CSL boundaries observed for the gold thin film specimens on SiO2 glass substrate was lower than that in the specimens on Pyrex glass substrate. The inverse cubic root Σ dependence of low-Σ CSL boundaries in the gold thin film specimens was discussed in connection with the process of the evolution of grain boundary microstructure.

Surface crack nucleation and propagation in electrodeposited nanocrystalline Ni-P alloy during high cycle fatigue

The morphology of specimen surface after fatigue fracture was evaluated in connection with grain orientation distribution and grain boundary microstructure to reveal a mechanism of fatigue fracture in nanocrystalline materials. The electrodeposited and sharply {001} textured Ni -2.0 mass% P alloy with the average grain size of ca. 45 nm and high fractions of low-angle and ?3 boundaries showed 2 times higher fatigue limit than electrodeposited microcrystalline Ni polycrystal. The surface features of fatigued specimen were classified into two different types of morphologies characterized as brittle fracture at the central area and as ductile fracture at the surrounding area.

The State-of-the-Art of Controlling Intergranular Fracture and Brittleness by Grain Boundary Engineering

In last two decades it has been extensively studied whether the grain boundary engineering can be effectively applied to controlling intergranular fracture and brittleness of different kinds of brittle materials. Grain boundary engineering has been well established. A new processing method based on magnetic field application has reached a new stage of grain boundary engineering.