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Purpose: The purpose of the work is a complex review of methods applied industrially as case hardening. The paper contains an overview of scientific and development works on surface case hardening methods, especially carburising and quenching, described in the literature from 2001-2020. Design/methodology/approach: State-of-the-art was reviewed by a critical review of the world literature published in 2001-2022, including theoretical work, scientific research, and industry reports. An additional examination of the state of the art was conducted in terms of patent works. Findings: The period of 2001-2020 was a time of intensive work on the modernisation of case hardening techniques to improve the repeatability and uniformity of the produced layers and minimise deformations after hardening. Developing computing technologies have played a large part in this progress. New technologies have also been developed. Research limitations/implications: The review of papers and patent databases was limited to databases providing English-language content options. Practical implications: Case hardening is a crucial stage of steel heat treatment in almost every industrial branch: mechanical, tool, automotive, railway, and aviation. Originality/value: A synthetic review of case hardening methods was presented, particularly carburizing and quenching methods; it also analysed the possibilities and directions of their development. conducted in terms of patent works. Findings: The period of 2001-2020 was a time of intensive work on the modernisation of case hardening improve the repeatability and uniformity of the produced layers and minimise deformations after hardening. computing technologies have played a large part in this progress. New technologies have also been developed. Research limitations/implications: The review of papers and patent databases was limited to databases Englishlanguage content options. Practical implications: Case hardening is a crucial stage of steel heat treatment in almost every industrial tool, automotive, railway, and aviation. Originality/value: A synthetic review of case hardening methods was presented, particularly carburizing methods; it also analysed the possibilities and directions of their development. Keywords. Heat treatment, hardening, quenching, distortions, carburizing, simulation Reference to this paper should be given in the following way: E. Wołowiec-Korecka, Case hardening development review (2001-2020). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the explicit modeling of the pseudoelastic response of porous shape-memory alloy (SMA) thick-walled cylinders under internal and external pressure. It discusses various constitutive models for SMAs and porous SMAs, including micro-mechanical and phenomenological models. The article proposes an explicit solution for a three-dimensional phenomenological model using the generalized differential quadrature method. It also discusses the initiation and propagation of phase transformations in porous SMAs, as well as the mechanical behavior of porous SMAs at low temperatures. The article presents a mathematical model for simulating the behavior of porous SMAs and describes the calculation of stress, transformation strains, and other variables. It discusses the discretization of a highly nonlinear differential relation using the GDQ method and validates the numerical solution through comparisons with analytical expressions and previous studies. The article analyzes stress and strain distribution in dense and porous SMA cylinders and discusses the use of an explicit model to analyze stress and deformation fields in pressurized cylinders. It examines the stress distribution along the wall of a cylinder under different temperatures and pressures, as well as the distribution of residual stresses and the recovery of transformation strains during unloading. The article also discusses the deformation behavior of SMAs under internal and external pressure and presents an explicit constitutive model for studying the behavior of dense and porous SMAs in pressurized cylinders. Finally, it provides a list of references to research papers and articles on materials science and engineering, covering various topics related to shape memory alloys. [Extracted from the article]

Grain boundaries (GBs), which are among the mechanical properties of a material, are a microstructural aspect that contributes to the overall behavior of metal. A deep understanding of the behavior of the GBs' deformation, dislocation, and fracture will encourage the rapid development of new materials and lead to the better operation and maintenance of materials during their designed lifetimes. In this study, an integrated image processing toolset is proposed to provide an expeditious approach to extracting GBs, tracking their location, and identifying their internal deformation. This toolset consists of three integrated algorithms: image stitching, grain matching, and boundary extraction. The algorithms are designed to simultaneously integrate high and low spatial resolution images for gathering high-precision boundary coordinates and effectively reconstructing a view of the entire material surface for the tracing of the grain location. This significantly reduces the time needed to acquire the dataset owing to the ability of the low spatial resolution lens to capture wider areas as the base image. The high spatial resolution lens compensates for any weakness of the base image by capturing views of specific sections, thereby increasing the observation flexibility. One application successfully described in this paper is tracking the direction of the metal grain deformation in global coordinates by stacking a specific grain before and after the deformation. This allows observers to calculate the direction of the grain deformation by comparing the overlapping areas after the material experiences a load. Ultimately, this toolset is expected to lead to further applications in terms of observing fascinating phenomena in materials science and engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The underlying atomistic mechanism of deformation is a central problem in mechanics and materials science. Whereas deformation of crystalline metals is fundamentally understood, the understanding of deformation of amorphous metals lacks behind, particularly identifying the involved temporal and spatial scales. Here, we reveal that at small scales the size-dependent deformation behavior of amorphous metals significantly deviates from homogeneous flow, exhibiting increasing deformation rate with reducing size and gradually shifted composition. This transition suggests the deformation mechanism changes from collective atomic transport by viscous flow to individual atomic transport through interface diffusion. The critical length scale of the transition is temperature dependent, exhibiting a maximum at the glass transition. While viscous flow does not discriminate among alloy constituents, diffusion does and the constituent element with higher diffusivity deforms faster. Our findings yield insights into nano-mechanics and glass physics and may suggest alternative processing methods to epitaxially grow metallic glasses. How matter deform is a central question in mechanics of materials science. Here, the authors reveal a size-dependent deformation in amorphous metals changing at ~100 nanometer sample size from collective homogeneous flow to interface diffusion realized through individual atomic transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Of great importance in materials science is the design of effective functional materials that can be used in various technological fields. Nanomodified materials, which have fundamentally new properties and provide previously unrealized properties, have acquired particular importance. When creating heating elements and materials for deformation measurement, it is necessary to understand the patterns of heat release under conditions of mechanical deformation of the material, as this expands the potential applications of such materials. A study of elastomers modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) has been carried at the MWCNTs concentration of 1–8 wt.%. The modes of heat release of nanomodified elastomers at a voltage of 50 V at different levels of tension are reported. The increment of the MWCNTs concentration to 7 wt.% leads to an increment in the power of heat emissions. It is worth noting the possibility of using the obtained elastomer samples with MNT as sensitive elements of strain sensors, which will allow obtaining information about physical and chemical parameters following the principles of measuring the change in electrical resistance that occurs during stretching and torsion. The changes in conductivity and heat emission under different conditions have been studied in parallel with Raman mapping and infrared thermography. The reported studies allow to make the next step to develop flexible functional materials for the field of electric heating and deformation measurement based on elastic matrices and nanoscale conductive fillers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon (Si) is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, and it is the most widely used semiconductor. Despite extensive study, some properties of Si, such as its behaviour under dynamic compression, remain elusive. A detailed understanding of Si deformation is crucial for various fields, ranging from planetary science to materials design. Simulations suggest that in Si the shear stress generated during shock compression is released via a high-pressure phase transition, challenging the classical picture of relaxation via defect-mediated plasticity. However, direct evidence supporting either deformation mechanism remains elusive. Here, we use sub-picosecond, highly-monochromatic x-ray diffraction to study (100)-oriented single-crystal Si under laser-driven shock compression. We provide the first unambiguous, time-resolved picture of Si deformation at ultra-high strain rates, demonstrating the predicted shear release via phase transition. Our results resolve the longstanding controversy on silicon deformation and provide direct proof of strain rate-dependent deformation mechanisms in a non-metallic system. Understanding the how silicon deforms under pressure is important for several fields, including planetary science and materials design. Laser-driven shock compression experiments now confirm that shear stress generated during compression is released via a high-pressure phase transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]