Vol 118, No 1 (2017)

Effect of anisotropy of elastic energy on the phonon propagation in single-crystal nanowires made of Fe, Cu, MgO, InSb, and GaAs materials that are used to fabricate spintronics devices in the regime of the Knudsen flow of phonon gas has been studied. A new method of analyzing the focusing of quasi-transverse modes has been suggested, which made it possible to determine the average values of the densities of phonon states in the regions of focusing and defocusing slow and fast quasi-transverse modes. The effect of phonon focusing on the anisotropy of heat conductivity and lengths of the phonon free paths has been analyzed for all acoustic modes that exist in spintronics nanostructures. It has been shown that for all the nanowires investigated the angular dependences of the free paths of fast and slow transverse modes in the {100} and {110} planes correlate with the angular dependences of the densities of phonon states for these modes. Directions of the heat flux that ensure the maximum and minimum phonon heat conductivity in the nanowires have been determined.

The effect of the composition and cooling rate of the melt on the microhardness, phase composition, and fine-structure parameters of as-cast and splat-quenched (SQ) high-entropy (HE) Al–Cu–Fe–Ni–Si alloys was studied. The quenching was performed by conventional splat-cooling technique. The cooling rate was estimated to be ~10⁶ K/s. Components of the studied HE alloys were selected taking into account both criteria for designing and estimating their phase composition, which are available in the literature and based on the calculations of the entropy and enthalpy of mixing, and the difference between atomic radii of components as well. According to X-ray diffraction data, the majority of studied Al–Cu–Fe–Ni–Si compositions are two-phase HE alloys, the structure of which consists of disordered solid solutions with bcc and fcc structures. At the same time, the Al_0.5CuFeNi alloy is single-phase in terms of X-ray diffraction and has an fcc structure. The studied alloys in the as-cast state have a dendritic structure, whereas, after splat quenching, the uniform small-grained structure is formed. It was found that, as the volume fraction of bcc solid solution in the studied HE alloys increases, the microhardness increases; the as-cast HE Al–Cu–Fe–Ni–Si alloys are characterized by higher microhardness compared to that of splat-quenched alloys. This is likely due to the more equilibrium multiphase state of as-cast alloys.

Using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, Mössbauer spectroscopy, microdurometry, and microindentation, the effect of large plastic deformations (through shear under pressure in Bridgman anvils) on the structure, phase composition, and micromechanical properties of high-nitrogen (1.24 wt % N) 08Kh22GA1.24 steel has been investigated. The steel was obtained by the casting method with counterpressure of nitrogen and was subjected to different heat treatments (quenching from1180°С, aging at 450 and 550°С) that form an austenitic (FCC) structure of the metallic matrix with chromium nitrides. It has been established that deformation by shear under pressure at room temperature results in the dispersion and deformation-induced partial dissolution of primary nitrides Cr₂N in quenched and aged steel and in the complete (after aging at 450°С) and partial (after aging at 550°С) dissolution of secondary nitrides CrN. It has been noted that, for aged steel that contains finely dispersed secondary chromium nitrides upon shear deformation, as compared to the quenched state, the dispersion of the austenitic structure (down to nano- and submicrocrystalline states) is more intense and the enhancement in the microhardness and resistance to elastic–plastic deformations upon contact loading is more effective.

The rapid quenching of β-type titanium alloy from 800°C and cold deformation by drawing (ε = 24%) leads to the formation of a cellular-banded structure with a cell size of 200 × 400 nm and high density of dislocations (~5 × 10¹⁴ m^–2). During subsequent aging at 450°C, the decomposition of the β-phase occurs with a heterogeneous precipitation (at dislocations) of plates of the α phase with a thickness of 10–30 nm and length of 50–100 nm. The small size and high density of α crystals (5 × 10²¹ m^–3) provide a substantial increase in the strength characteristics of the alloy.

This work is devoted to the effect of processes initiated by the combined action of aging (A) and accumulative roll bonding (ARB) on the evolution of the microstructure and the mechanical characteristics of an Al–0.2 wt % Zr alloy. Upon solution treatment (ST), followed by aging at temperatures of 350 and 450°C, the specimens were subjected to deformation to a degree of deformation of 80% using ARB. The evolution of the microstructure was examined using atomic force microscopy and the mechanical characteristics of the specimens were determined using tensile tests and Vickers microhardness measurements. The results have shown that, upon ten ARB cycles, the grain size decreased to 0.3, 0.4, and 0.32 μm in the specimens subjected to ST followed by ARB (ST–ARB), ST followed by A at a temperature of 350°C and ARB (350°C–A–ARB), and ST followed by A at a temperature of 450°C and ARB (450°C–A–ARB), respectively. This study has also shown that the combined use of preliminary A and subsequent ARB holds promise in enhancing the mechanical characteristics of the alloy due to precipitates that appear in the course of annealing. Fracture surfaces of the rolled specimens subjected to the tensile tests were examined using scanning electron microscopy. The results of these examinations have shown that in the specimens subjected to ST followed by ARB brittle fracture has been observed at the stage of the final ARB cycles, while in the A–ARB specimens cleavage facets (sites of fracture over the cleavage plane) and river lines have appeared on the fracture surfaces.