Search

The effect of rare earth Y on precipitates and textures of the grain-oriented silicon steels, the composition, morphology, size, quantity of inclusions and texture evolution of hot-rolled and cold-rolled oriented silicon steel containing rare earth Y were studied using transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscope, and electron backscatter diffraction. The results show that there are mainly spherical or ellipsoidal Y2O2S precipitates in the Y bearing silicon steel. Rare earth treatment effectively improves the precipitates’ morphology and restrains the precipitation of the long-strip MnS in the hot-rolled plate. Meanwhile, the microstructure is more uniform, and the recrystallized grains on the surface and the fiber structure in the central layer are larger after hot rolling compared with Y-free steel. Furthermore, with the addition of rare earth Y, the unfavorable brass texture and rotational cube texture in the hot-rolled plate are reduced. Meanwhile, the number of shear bands is increased and the strength of the favorable {111} 〈112〉 texture is improved in the cold-rolled plate, which helps develop the Goss texture during the annealing process.

In order to study the effect of cold-rolling deformation and rare earth Y on the microstructure and texture of 3.0% Si-oriented silicon steel, the microstructure and texture of cold-rolled oriented silicon steel with 60, 72, and 86% deformation are analyzed using electron backscatter diffraction and image analysis software. The experimental results show that the deformation band becomes narrower and the distribution of shear bands becomes denser with increasing cold-rolling deformation. Compared to the Y-free steel, cold-rolled sheet containing rare earth Y has greater shear bands. The pinning effect of rare earth Y hinders the dislocation movement, which leads to the increase of kernel average misorientation value and shear bands. With the increase of cold-rolling deformation, the texture concentrates on α and λ. This is mainly due to the change from {100} 〈001〉 to {001} 〈110〉, intensifying λ texture, and the change from {111} 〈112〉 to {111} 〈110〉, thus strengthening the α texture. The texture strength of cold-rolled sheets can be decreased by rare earth Y. But the γ texture strength in cold-rolled sheets containing Y is significantly higher than in those without Y. The γ texture strength can reach up to 7.3, and the strong points are mainly {111} 〈112〉. This is because the number of inclusions in steel increases with the addition of rare earth Y. In the process of grain nucleation, the {111} oriented grains nucleate heterogeneously on the inclusions. It forms a large number of {111} oriented grains and improves the γ texture strength.

0.3 mm‐thick grain‐oriented silicon steel sheets with varying Y contents are produced via twin‐roll strip‐casting and two‐stage cold rolling process. This study primarily investigates the evolution of microstructure, texture, and precipitation along the processing. Specifically, the effect of rare earth Y on second‐phase particle precipitation in ultralow carbon grain‐oriented silicon steel is examined. Results indicate that higher Y content will consume beneficial inhibitor elements such as S and N, leading to the formation of coarse rare earth inclusions (≈10 μm) in the cast strip. This significantly diminishes inhibition ability and magnetic induction (B8 = 1.58 T≈1.71 T). On the contrary, the addition of trace Y can accelerate the precipitation of inhibitors. During the intermediate annealing stage, steel with trace Y exhibits a significant enhancement in precipitate distribution density (from 2.8 μm−2 to 13.6 μm−2), and the final magnetic induction B8 increases from 1.86 T to 1.91 T compared to steel without Y. In addition, the results of first‐principle calculations based on density functional theory reveal that the doped Y atom prefers to segregate at the Al–N interface, and the interface energy reduces from 1.871 J m−2 to 1.024 J m−2, thereby promoting the precipitation of AlN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ulcerative colitis (UC), as a chronic inflammatory disease, presents a global public health threat. However, the mechanism of Poria cocos (PC) in treating UC remains unclear. Here, LC-MS/MS was carried out to identify the components of PC. The protective effect of PC against UC was evaluated by disease activity index (DAI), colon length and histological analysis in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced UC mice. ELISA, qPCR, and Western blot tests were conducted to assess the inflammatory state. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry techniques were employed to evaluate the expression of tight junction proteins. The sequencing of 16S rRNA was utilized for the analysis of gut microbiota regulation. The results showed that a total of fifty-two nutrients and active components were identified in PC. After treatment, PC significantly alleviated UC-associated symptoms including body weight loss, shortened colon, an increase in DAI score, histopathologic lesions. PC also reduced the levels of inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β, as evidenced by the suppressed NF-κB pathway, restored the tight junction proteins ZO-1 and Claudin-1 in the colon, and promoted the diversity and abundance of beneficial gut microbiota. Collectively, these findings suggest that PC ameliorates colitis symptoms through the reduction in NF-κB signaling activation to mitigate inflammatory damage, thus repairing the intestinal barrier, and regulating the gut microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]