Search

Flash-annealing (FA) of metallic glasses (MGs) allows one to modulate their disordered structure. Here, we have flash-annealed a CuZr-based MG below the glass transition temperature at different cycles and generated MGs with various heterogeneous structures. We quantified the glassy structure via the relaxation enthalpy, ΔrelH, which did not significantly change for MGs flash-annealed at a low number of cycles. Their hardness monotonically reduced. However, when more than ten FA cycles were applied, ΔrelH, perceivably decreased, while corresponding hardness increased. High-energy x-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the medium-range ordering of the corresponding structure initially rose and then decreased with an increasing number of FA cycles. This structural change is accompanied by first a hardness decrease followed by an increase. Molecular dynamics simulations showed that throughout the shift from low to high cycles, the structural non-uniformity changed from being non-uniform to more uniform. Through a combination of experiments and simulations, we have shown the non-monotonic relationship between the structural heterogeneity of MGs and cyclic treatments, contributing to a better understanding of the relationship between structural control techniques, microstructure, and properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Figure 2 shows the location of the radars and the position of the circulation at 04:53:30 when it most likely produced a waterspout, based on the appearance of a small-scale couplet in the velocity data of the nearest radar (Hengqin). ([10]) studied the ability of numerical simulations to predict waterspouts by comparing simulated and observed radar data from a storm producing a weak waterspout near Hong Kong airport. Observational analysis of a waterspout sighted in Macao, China, on 1 June 2021 Waterspout in Macao on 1 June 2021 (provided by radio station of Macao). [Extracted from the article]

Intense landfalling hurricanes cause severe, but highly variable, wind damage to homes and the community infrastructure. Some buildings are destroyed while others nearby may survive relatively unscathed. It has been [...]

The phase formation and the glass-forming ability (GFA) of the Cu-Zr-Co system were studied. For the latter, predictions from a modified topological instability criterion were used to select six alloys. Five new glassy compositions were found and a good correlation was observed between the predicted GFA and characteristic thermal indicators. The addition of Co stabilizes a B2-type phase at room temperature in these alloys, which could be useful for the development of shape memory bulk metallic glass composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodegradable medical implants promise to benefit patients by eliminating risks and discomfort associated with permanent implantation or surgical removal. The time until full resorption is largely determined by the implant's material composition, geometric design, and surface properties. Implants with a fixed residence time, however, cannot account for the needs of individual patients, thereby imposing limits on personalization. Here, an active Fe-based implant system is reported whose biodegradation is controlled remotely and in situ. This is achieved by incorporating a galvanic cell within the implant. An external and wireless signal is used to activate the on-board electronic circuit that controls the corrosion current between the implant body and an integrated counter electrode. This configuration leads to the accelerated degradation of the implant and allows to harvest electrochemical energy that is naturally released by corrosion. In this study, the electrochemical properties of the Fe-30Mn-1C/Pt galvanic cell model system is first investigated and high-resolution X-ray microcomputed tomography is used to evaluate the galvanic degradation of stent structures. Subsequently, a centimeter-sized active implant prototype is assembled with conventional electronic components and the remotely controlled corrosion is tested in vitro. Furthermore, strategies toward the miniaturization and full biodegradability of this system are presented., (© 2024 The Authors. Small published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

A high-performance tool steel with the nominal composition Fe85Cr4Mo8V2C1 (wt%) was processed by three different manufacturing techniques with rising cooling rates: conventional gravity casting, centrifugal casting and an additive manufacturing process, using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). The resulting material of all processing routes reveals a microstructure, which is composed of martensite, austenite and carbides. However, comparing the size, the morphology and the weight fraction of the present phases, a significant difference of the gravity cast samples is evident, whereas the centrifugal cast material and the LPBF samples show certain commonalities leading finally to similar mechanical properties. This provides the opportunity to roughly estimate the mechanical properties of the material fabricated by LPBF. The major benefit arises from the required small material quantity and the low resources for the preparation of samples by centrifugal casting in comparison to the additive manufacturing process. Concluding, the present findings demonstrate the high attractiveness of centrifugal casting for the effective material screening and hence development of novel alloys adapted to LPBF-processing.

The setup and working principle of a device designed for thermoplastic embossing and investigating rheological changes during fast-resistive heating of bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) is presented. The device was developed and custom-built at the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Leibniz IFW Dresden) and is integrated into a universal testing machine. By varying the electrical-current pulse signal, the rate at which BMGs are resistively heated is controlled. Next to temperature and electrical resistance, the displacement of the punch, which penetrates the sample during rapid heating, is monitored. Additional pre-heating controlled by thermocouples allows for stable heating conditions to minimize heat extraction from the resistively heated specimen, which could eventually lead to damage of the device. The main focus of this device is to study fundamental phenomena under kinetic constraints evoked by fast heating conditions and to structure the surface of BMGs by thermoplastic embossing. A case study, which is carried out with Zr 52.5 Cu 17.9 Ni 14.6 Al 10 Ti 5 BMG, demonstrates the device's performance covering heating rate ranges of three magnitudes and the access to rheological changes during the devitrification and subsequent crystallization of the BMG during rapid heating. Furthermore, the present device was successfully used to nanostructure the surface of the BMG at elevated heating rates.

Tornadoes cause damage, injury, and death when intense winds impact structures. Quantifying the strength and extent of such winds is critical to characterizing tornado hazards. Ratings of intensity and size are based nearly entirely on postevent damage surveys [R. Edwards et al., Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 94, 641-653 (2013)]. It has long been suspected that these suffer low bias [C. A. Doswell, D. W. Burgess, Mon. Weather Rev. 116, 495-501 (1988)]. Here, using mapping of low-level tornado winds in 120 tornadoes, we prove that supercell tornadoes are typically much stronger and wider than damage surveys indicate. Our results permit an accurate assessment of the distribution of tornado intensities and sizes and tornado wind hazards, based on actual wind-speed observations, and meaningful comparisons of the distribution of tornado intensities and sizes with theoretical predictions. We analyze data from Doppler On Wheels (DOW) radar measurements of 120 tornadoes at the time of peak measured intensity. In striking contrast to conventional damage-based climatologies, median tornado peak wind speeds are ∼60 m⋅s -1 , capable of causing significant, Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF)-2 to -3, damage, and 20% are capable of the most intense EF-4/EF-5 damage. National Weather Service (NWS) EF/wind speed ratings are 1.2 to 1.5 categories (∼20 m⋅s -1 ) lower than DOW observations for tornadoes documented by both the NWS and DOWs. Median tornado diameter is 250 to 500 m, with 10 to 15% >1 km. Wind engineering tornado-hazard-model predictions and building wind resistance standards may require upward adjustment due to the increased wind-damage risk documented here., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interest., (Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.)

The constraint in sample size imposed by the critical cooling rate necessary for glass formation using conventional casting techniques is possibly the most critical limitation for the extensive use of bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) in structural applications. This drawback has been recently overcome by processing glass-forming systems via additive manufacturing, finally enabling the synthesis of BMGs with no size limitation. Although processing by additive manufacturing allows fabricating BMG objects with virtually no shape limitation, thermoplastic forming of additively manufactured BMGs may be necessary for materials optimization. Thermoplastic forming of BMGs is carried out above the glass transition temperature, where these materials behave as highly viscous liquids; the analysis of the viscosity is thus of primary importance. In this work, the temperature dependence of viscosity of the Zr 52.5 Cu 17.9 Ni 14.6 Al 10 Ti 5 metallic glass fabricated by casting and laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is investigated. We observed minor differences in the viscous flow of the specimens fabricated by the different techniques that can be ascribed to the higher porosity of the LPBF metallic glass. Nevertheless, the present results reveal a similar overall variation of viscosity in the cast and LPBF materials, which offers the opportunity to shape additively manufactured BMGs using already developed thermoplastic forming techniques.

Details of fast-resistive-heating setups, controlled heating ranging from ∼10 1 K s -1 to ∼10 3 K s -1 , to study in situ phase transformations (on heating and on cooling) in metallic glasses by high-energy synchrotron x-ray diffraction are discussed. Both setups were designed and custom built at the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (IFW Dresden) and have been implemented at the P02.1 Powder Diffraction and Total Scattering Beamline and the P21.1 Swedish Materials Science Beamline at PETRA III storage ring, DESY, Hamburg. The devices are interchangeable at both beamlines. Joule heating is triggered automatically and is timed with the incident beam and detector. The crystallization process can be controlled via a feedback circuit by monitoring the change in the time-dependent resistivity and temperature of glasses. Different ambient atmospheres, such as vacuum and inert gases (He and Ar), can be used to control oxidation and cooling. The main focus of these devices is on understanding the crystallization mechanism and kinetics in metallic glasses, which are brittle and for which fast heating gives defined glass-crystal composites with enhanced plasticity. As an example, phase-transformation sequence(s) in a prototyped Cu-Zr-based metallic glass is described on heating, and a crystalline phase beneficial to the plasticity is identified.

Tailoring the intrinsic length-scale effects in bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) via post-heat treatment necessitates a systematic analyzing strategy. Although various achievements were made in the past years to structurally enhance the properties of different BMG alloys, the influence of short-term sub-glass transition annealing on the relaxation kinetics is still not fully covered. Here, we aim for unraveling the connection between the physical, (thermo)mechanical and structural changes as a function of selected pre-annealing temperatures and time scales with an in-house developed Cu46Zr44Al8Hf2 based BMG alloy. The controlled formation of nanocrystals below 50 nm with homogenous distribution inside the matrix phase via thermal treatment increase the material's resistance to strain softening by almost an order of magnitude. The present work determines the design aspects of metallic glasses with enhanced mechanical properties via nanostructural modifications, while postulating a counter-argument to the intrinsic property degradation accounted for long-term annealing.