Fe-based metal amorphous nanocomposites, consisting of dispersed nanocrystallites within an amorphous metallic glass matrix, are used as low-loss soft-magnetic components in energy conversion devices. The nanocrystallites are formed by partial devitrification of the amorphous matrix and the properties of the composite are a result of the devitrification process. Understanding the rate-dependent crystallisation kinetics is therefore essential for tailoring the properties of such nanocomposites. In this study, we monitor the devitrification process in situ during rapid heating of metallic glasses with composition (Fe0.75Co0.25)95−xNb5Bx, x=15, 20 at.%, by using high-energy wide angle X-ray scattering. The results are compared to samples devitrified at low heating rates, analysed using differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, and magnetometry. Additionally, we present a model describing the crystallisation kinetics based on classical nucleation and growth theory coupled with thermodynamic data for a generalised Fe-B system. The model successfully reproduces the onset of devitrification as a function of time, temperature, and B-concentration, thereby providing valuable insights for the design of advanced soft-magnetic metal amorphous nanocomposites.

Metallic glasses exhibit unique mechanical properties. For metallic glass composites (MGC), composed of dispersed nanocrystalline phases in an amorphous matrix, these properties can be enhanced or deteriorated depending on the volume fraction and size distribution of the crystalline phases. Understanding the evolution of crystalline phases during devitrification of bulk metallic glasses upon heating is key to realizing the production of these composites. Here, results are presented from a combination of in situ small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS and WAXS) measurements during heating of Zr-based metallic glass samples at rates ranging from 102 to 104 Ks-1 with a time resolution of 4ms. By combining a detailed analysis of scattering experiments with numerical simulations, for the first time, it is shown how the amount of oxygen impurities in the samples influences the early stages of devitrification and changes the dominant nucleation mechanism from homogeneous to heterogeneous. During melting, the oxygen rich phase becomes the dominant crystalline phase whereas the main phases dissolve. The approach used in this study is well suited for investigation of rapid phase evolution during devitrification, which is important for the development of MGC. Oxygen impurities impact on phase-transformations during rapid heating of Zr-based metallic glass Zr59.3Cu28.8Al10.4Nb1.5 is thoroughly investigated using a multi-technique approach. During devitrification, the extracted phase evolutions reveal that the phase fraction hierarchy correlates with the oxygen impurity concentration. Numerical simulations with a heterogeneous nucleation mode capture the experimental observations. During melting, the oxygen-rich phase becomes the dominant phase. image

In additive manufacturing, the presence of residual stresses in produced parts is a well-recognized phenomenon. These residual stresses not only elevate the risk of crack formation but also impose limitations on in-service performance. Moreover, it can distort printed parts if released, or in the worst case even cause a build to fail due to collision with the powder scraper. This study introduces a thermo-mechanical finite element model designed to predict the impact of various scanning strategies in order to mitigate the aforementioned unwanted outcomes. The investigation focuses on the deformation and residual stresses of two geometries manufactured by laser-based powder bed fusion (PBF-LB). To account for relaxation effects during the process, a mechanism-based material model has been implemented and used. Additionally, a purely mechanical model, based on the inherent strain method, has been calibrated to account for different scanning strategies. To assess the predicted residual stresses, high-energy synchrotron measurements have been used to obtain values for comparison. The predictions of the models are evaluated, and their accuracy is discussed in terms of the physical aspects of the PBF-LB process. Both the thermo-mechanical models and the inherent strain method capture the trend of experimentally measured residual stress fields. While deformations are also adequately captured, there is an overall underprediction of their magnitude. This work contributes to advancing our understanding of the thermo-mechanical behavior in PBF-LB and provides valuable insights for optimizing scanning strategies in additive manufacturing processes.

Ni-based superalloys, essential for high-temperature applications, derive strength from coherent second-order precipitates that impede dislocation motion through coherency misfit and elastic mismatch. This study employs multi-component phase-field crystal (PFC) simulations to explore the elastic deformation of such precipitates. Using a binary ordered square structure for the precipitate and a single species square structure for the matrix, elastic properties and lattice parameters are fitted to data from ab initio density functional theory calculations for Ni and Ni3Ti systems. Simulations reveal a smooth strain gradient across the matrix-precipitate interface with coherency misfit influenced by precipitate size and strain state. These findings highlight the utility of PFC simulations for understanding strain distribution and deformation in precipitate-matrix systems with the potential to offer insights for both experimental and computational studies.

Induction heating is used in many industrial applications to heat electrically conductive materials. The coupled electromagnetic-thermal induction heating process is non-linear in general, and for ferromagnetic materials it becomes challenging since both the electromagnetic and the thermal responses are non-linear. As a result of the existing non-linearities, simulating the induction heating process is a challenging task. In the present work, a coupled transient electromagnetic-thermal finite element solution strategy that is appropriate for modeling induction heating of ferromagnetic materials is presented. The solution strategy is based on the isothermal staggered split approach, where the electromagnetic problem is solved for fixed temperature fields and the thermal problem for fixed heat sources obtained from the electromagnetic solution. The modeling strategy and the implementation are validated against induction heating experiments at three heating rates. The computed temperatures, that reach above the Curie temperature, agree very well with the experimental results.

Rolling contact fatigue is a unique mode of fatigue that components under cyclic contact loading experience. In this work, the impact of induction hardening residual stresses in rolling contact fatigue lifetime is investigated experimentally and numerically using the Dang Van multiaxial criterion. Various residual stress fields from induction hardening are simulated using the finite element method and are mapped into a classical monocontact finite element model. The impact of induction hardened residual stresses on the lifetime of a component has been investigated, and the importance of incorporating the residual stress profile into fatigue life assessments is affirmed.

Crystallization is a major challenge in metallic glass production, and predictive models may aid the development of controlled microstructures. This work describes a modeling strategy of nucleation, growth and the dissolution of crystals in a multicomponent glass-forming system. The numerical model is based on classical nucleation theory in combination with a multicomponent diffusion-controlled growth model that is valid for high supersaturation. The required thermodynamic properties are obtained by coupling the model to a CALPHAD database using the Al-Cu-Zr system as a demonstrator. The crystallization of intermetallic (Al, Cu)(m)Zr-n phases from the under-cooled liquid phase were simulated under isothermal as well as rapid heating and cooling conditions (10(-1)-10(6) Ks(-1)). The obtained time-temperature transformation and continuous-heating/cooling transformation diagrams agree satisfactorily with the experimental data over a wide temperature range, thereby, demonstrating the predictability of the modeling approach. A comparison of the simulation results and experimental data is discussed.

The usage of induction hardening in the industry has increased in the last years due to its efficiency and repeatability. Induction hardening produces a hard martensitic layer on the specimen surface, which is accompanied by the generation of compressive residual stresses in the hardened case and tensile stresses in the untreated core. Residual stresses generated by induction hardening greatly impact on fatigue performance, as they act as crack growth retardants. In this work, a multiphysical coupled finite element model is developed to simulate induction hardening and compute the final residual stress state of the specimens along the microstructural transformations and hardness evolution. The impact of the transformation induced plasticity strain in the stress-state of the specimen during the process is also studied. The experimental validation shows that considering the transformation induced plasticity in induction hardening simulations improves the residual stress predictions, concluding that this effect should be included to achieve good residual stress predictions, especially in the subsurface region.

Induction hardening is widely used in the industry as a surface heat treatment that improves the surface and the subsurface hardness of components greatly. The hardened case, which usually is a few mm, highly impacts the surface and structural integrity of the component. In this work, we simulate the scanning induction hardening process by means of finite element modeling. The computed hardness, microstructure, and residual stress profile are compared with experimentally measured data using several surface and subsurface characterization techniques. A very good agreement is found between the simulated and experimentally measured residual stresses, which were characterized by the incremental hole drilling technique.

Residual stresses in metal additive manufactured components are a well-known problem. It causes dis-tortion of the samples when removing them from the build plate, as well as acting detrimental with regard to fatigue. The understanding of how residual stresses in a printed sample are affected by process parameters is crucial to allow manufacturers to tune their process parameters, or the design of their com-ponent, to limit the negative influence of residual stresses. In this paper, residual stresses in additive manufactured samples are simulated using a thermo-mechanical finite element model. The elasto-plastic behavior of the material is described by a mechanism-based material model that accounts for microstructural and relaxation effects. The heat source in the finite element model is calibrated by fitting the model to experimental data. The residual stress field from the finite element model is compared with experimental results attained from synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements. The results from the model and measurement give the same trend in the residual stress field. In addition, it is shown that there is no significant difference in trend and magnitude of the resulting residual stresses for an alterna-tion in laser power and scanning speed.(c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).