Vol 118, No 11 (2017)

Based on a two-dimensional micromagnetic simulation, the dependence of the period of a stripe domain structure on the thickness of Co(0001) and Ni(111) films has been obtained, which agrees well with the experimental data. A comparison has been carried out of the calculated and experimental hysteresis loops for a 50-nm Co film and 200-nm Ni film.

Processes of quasistatic and dynamic magnetization reversal have been studied for the case of planar 6 × 6 lattices of magnetic nanodipoles that possess a cubic crystallographic anisotropy. The response of the total magnetic moment to a magnetic-field pulse of various duration and polarization have been determined for different equilibrium configurations of the lattices. Along with the in-plane configurations of magnetic moments, configurations with one and two dipoles oriented perpendicular to the plane of the lattices have been considered.

The results of an experimental-theoretical study of the effect of thin-film coatings on residual microstrains, microstresses, and local microdistortions of the atomic structure of powder tungsten mechanically activated in the centrifugal ball mill have been presented. It has been shown that microdistortions of the crystal structure of different system-hierarchical levels arise in the surface-oxidized powders, which increase with an increase in the time of the activation process. It has been shown that this should lead to a significant increase in the reactivity of the mechanically activated powder tungsten. In contrast, the adsorption films that plasticize the near-surface layer of particles can decrease the efficiency of the mechanoactivation process of the tungsten powder.

The features of austenite formation upon continuous heating of low-carbon steel at the rates of 90–0.15 K/s in the intercritical temperature range (ICTR) have been studied. It has been found that, in the initially high-tempered, initially quenched, and initially cold-deformed steel, the α → γ transition in the ICTR consists of three stages. The thermokinetic diagrams of the austenite formation with the indication of the positions of the critical points Ac₁ and Ac₃ and also of the temperature ranges of the development of each identified stage of the α → γ transformation have been constructed. A complex of structural studies has been carried out, and a scheme of the austenite formation upon continuous heating at a rate of 90 K/s in the ICTR for the initially high-tempered steel, initially quenched steel, and initially cold-deformed low-carbon steel has been suggested, which reflects all stages of this process.

A quantitative analysis of the influence of aluminum concentration on the phase composition of TNM-type Ti–Al–Nb–Mo γ-alloys has been carried out using the Thermo-Calc software and experimental methods. Isothermal and polythermal sections of the corresponding phase diagram have been calculated; the critical temperatures of phase transformations in the alloys of the system, and the chemical compositions of phases formed in them (β, α, α₂, γ) have been determined. The influence of the annealing temperature on the microstructure and phase composition of the alloys containing 43 and 40% Al has been studied.

Metallography, electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction have been used to investigate structural transformations that take place in a 10-μm-thick surface layer in aluminum and Al–17% Si alloy under conditions of sliding friction and subsequent oxidation at 100 and 200°C for 1 h. Friction-induced deformation has been carried out at room temperature in air and at–196°C in liquid nitrogen by reciprocating sliding of a cylindrical indenter made of cubic boron nitride at a rate of 0.014 m/s and a load of 98 N. It is shown that deformation under these conditions forms nanocrystalline structures in the surface layer in aluminum and Al–17% Si alloy and increases their microhardness by a factor of 1.8–3.5. A high contact deformation and a high affinity of oxygen to aluminum and silicon cause the formation of anomalously supersaturated solid solutions of oxygen in aluminum and silicon in the surface layer of the alloy during friction. Oxidation at 100°C (1 h) of the deformed Al–17% Si alloy increases its microhardness due to the decomposition of anomalously supersaturated solid solutions of oxygen in aluminum and silicon and the formation of their oxides.

The amorphous W/WN films with various thickness (10, 30 and 40 nm) and excellent thermal stability were successfully prepared on SiO₂/Si substrate with evaporation and reactive evaporation method. The W/WN bilayer has technological importance because of its low resistivity, high melting point, and good diffusion barrier properties between Cu and Si. The thermal stability was evaluated by X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). In annealing process, the amorphous W/WN barrier crystallized and this phenomenon is supposed to be the start of Cu atoms diffusion through W/WN barrier into Si. With occurrence of the high-resistive Cu₃Si phase, the W/WN loses its function as a diffusion barrier. The primary mode of Cu diffusion is the diffusion through grain boundaries that form during heat treatments. The amorphous structure with optimum thickness is the key factor to achieve a superior diffusion barrier characteristic. The results show that the failure temperature increased by increasing the W/WN film thickness from 10 to 30 nm but it did not change by increasing the W/WN film thickness from 30 to 40 nm. It is found that the 10 and 40 nm W/WN films are good diffusion barriers at least up to 800°C while the 30 nm W/WN film shows superior properties as a diffusion barrier, but loses its function as a diffusion barrier at about 900°C (that is 100°C higher than for 10 and 40 nm W/WN films).

M–B–(N) (M = Mo, Cr, Ti) coatings were obtained by the magnetron sputtering of MoB, CrB₂, TiB, and TiB₂ targets in argon and in gaseous mixtures of argon with nitrogen. The structure and composition of the coatings have been investigated using scanning electron microscopy, glow-discharge optical emission spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The mechanical and tribological properties of the coatings have been determined by nanoindentation, scratch-testing, and ball-on-disk tribological tests. The experiments on estimating the oxidation resistance of coatings were carried out in a temperature range of 600–1000°С. A distinctive feature of TiB₂ coatings was their high hardness (61 GPa). The Cr–B–(N) coatings had high maximum oxidation resistance (900°С (CrB₂) and 1000°С (Cr–B–N)) and possessed high resistance to the diffusion of elements from the metallic substrate up to a temperature of 1000°С. The Mo–B–N coatings were significantly inferior to the Ti–B–(N) and Cr–B–(N) coatings in their mechanical properties and oxidation resistance, as well as had а tendency to oxidize in air atmosphere after long exposure at room temperature. All of the coatings with nitrogen possessed a low coefficient of friction (in a range of 0.3–0.5) and low relative wear ((0.8–1.2) × 10^–6 mm3 N^–1 m^–1.

The results of comparative studies of the structure, mechanical properties, and resistance to stresscorrosion cracking (SCC) in the chloride solutions of a Cr–Mn–Ni austenitic nitrogen-containing steel (20Cr–6Ni–11Mn–1.5Mo–N–V–Nb) produced with the use of different regimes of the high-temperature thermomechanical treatment (HTTMT) have been presented. An unfavorable effect of the grain-boundary precipitates of the nitride phase on the impact toughness and resistance to SCC has been found. It has been shown that the strengthening of nitrogen-containing steel upon HTTMT, which ensures an increase in the yield stress by 1.8 times compared to the austenitized state, does not decrease the resistance to SCC.