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While conventional Gibson–Ashby models provide a general insight into how elastic modulus and yield strength degrade with increasing overall porosity in materials, very limited work has investigated the effects of pore size and distribution on the mechanical properties of metals. One key question is whether and how pores can be utilized for improved mechanical properties rather than being eliminated or minimized for full densification. To fill in this gap, austenitic stainless steel 316L samples with intentional pores of varying diameters and distributions were fabricated by spark plasma sintering using starting powders with different morphologies. Characterization of pore features was not limited to the total volume percentage but also addressed the pore size, shape, interpore spacing, and pore surface area. The mechanical properties of those samples were investigated at multiple length scales to investigate the effect of pore characteristics, including macro-scale compression testing, Vickers micro-indentation, nanoindentation, and nanoscratch. Results suggested incorporating submicron pores improved both the yield strength and strength to weight ratio. The sample containing submicron pores represented an outlier in the classical Hall–Petch relation between yield strength and grain size, and it achieved a yield strength of 482 MPa, compressive strength of ~ 1.4GPa at a strain of 0.3 without fracture, and a specific yield strength of 67.7 MPa cm3/g. The mechanism was attributed to local stiffening and (Cr, Mn)-rich precipitates surrounding the submicron pores. It was discovered, for the first time, the specific yield strength and the pore diameter followed a Hall–Petch type correlation.

Spark plasma sintering (SPS) utilizes joule heating to achieve rapid heating to densify a powder compact. Thermal gradients during SPS lead to microstructural and property gradients in the sintered parts. To elucidate the effect of starting powder morphology on these gradients, the present work investigated location-specific microstructure and mechanical properties of austenitic stainless steels fabricated via SPS of unsymmetrical powder compacts by paring three types of powders: spherical, plate-like and flakey. Local mechanical properties as a function of radial distance from the center of the sample were investigated via microhardness tests, nanoindentation, and nanoscratch. Radially graded microstructure (porosity and grain size) resulting from the thermal gradients in SPS led to gradients in local microhardness (ΔH = 120–150 MPa) and Young’s modulus (ΔE = 30–65 GPa), yielding higher wear resistance at the sample surface and higher elastic modulus at the sample center, suggesting that higher powder morphology aspect ratios lead to larger thermal gradients.

Mayenite electride has attracted increasing research interests because of its unique electronic properties. The thermionic emission behavior of the mayenite electride is relatively unknown. Previous studies revealed that mayenite electride exhibited a bare work function ranged from 2.1–2.6 eV when the thermionic emission was tested in vacuum, and enhanced emission currents could be achieved by applying a super-high external electric field. In this paper, the thermionic emission behavior and the corresponding effective work function of two types of mayenite electride based composites, mayenite electride-titanium and mayenite electride-carbon, were investigated in an Ar glow discharge plasma at elevated temperatures (400–1000 K) without applying a high external electric field, which is critical for the application in electric propulsion and other aerospace apparatus, yet never had been done before. During the testing, the thermal equilibrium process and plasma sheath expansion were observed. The effective work function of the two mayenite electride composites were determined as a function of temperature. The Rasor-Warner model was applied to determine the bare work function and adsorption-site density of the mayenite electride based composites. Results suggested that the adsorption of Ar ions led to the enhanced thermionic emission (~30 A/m2 at 985 K) and low effective work functions (0.9–2.2 eV) of mayenite electride based composites, without the need of applying high electric fields. Our findings will pave the ways for the application of mayenite electride and its composites as the thrust cathode materials for electric propulsion where plasma is present.

The influence of nanoparticle surface facets on electrochromic properties remains largely unexplored in nanostructured “smart” materials. Here, we explore how surface facets influence the coloratio...

Traditionally, WC-based composites use Co as the metal binder phase to consolidate using liquid-phase sintering with a small percentage of Co, but a potentially lower cost binder phase can be made with a different approach when using large amount of metal binder phase. FeNi as a metal binder material is much cheaper than Co. WC can be liquid-phase sintered and melt infiltrated with FeNi, but by making FeNi in situ, costs lower even further. Composites of WC-(Fe-Ni) were made by first pressing a mixture of WC and Fe powders and subsequently melt infiltrating Ni in an amount corresponding to less volume than the porosity of the preform to ensure high WC content. The research objective was to make highly dense composites via melt infiltration with a low-cost metal binder phase in situ. This method has the potential to make fully dense composites, rather than hardmetals, with suitable properties at lower costs. The density and hardness are 97.4%TD and 6.72 GPa, respectively.

High-density WC-FeNi ceramic-metal (cermet) composites were fabricated using liquid-phase spark plasma sintering/field-assisted sintering technology (SPS/FAST) with in-situ formation of metal binder phase. The precursor materials were micron-sized powders of WC, Fe, Ni, and C. A low melting point from a eutectic reaction of the powders enabled the in-situ formation of FeNi alloy and facilitates liquid-phase sintering of the WC. The carbon powder was added to stabilize the formation of the binder phase. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) was performed to measure grain size and orientation. The composite exhibited a 99% theoretical density and a microstructure consisting of rounded and contiguous WC grains. The average grain size is 10.5 μm. The composite has a maximum hardness of 16.1 GPa. This research provides a fast and cost-effective approach to fabricate hard metals.