• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.229-235
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• 2014

In this paper, the effects of precipitates and Mn-solute atoms on the recrystallization behavior of an Al-Mn alloy was studied using micro-Vickers hardness, electrical conductivity measurements and optical microscopy. Various thermo-mechanical processes were designed to investigate the different morphologies, and the solute concentration, of Mn in the matrix. The results indicate that the recrystallization temperature, $T_R$ and time, $t_R$, are influenced by the amount of M-solute atoms in the matrix, and that the recrystallization microstructure is influenced by the amount of precipitates. Recrystallization in the Slow-Cooling specimen was rapid due to its low concentration of Mn-solute atoms, and the crystal-grain size was the smallest due to finely distributed precipitates. However, in the case of the No-Holding specimen, elongated grains were observed at the low annealing temperature and the largest recrystallized grains were observed at the high annealing temperatures (compared with Slow-Cooling and Base specimens) due to the high Mn-solute atoms in the matrix.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.422-429
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• 2023

High-strength low-alloy steel is one of the widely used materials in onshore and offshore plant engineering. We investigated the alloying effect of solute atoms in α-Fe based alloy using ab initio calculations. Empirical equations were used to establish the effect of alloying on the Vicker's hardness, screw energy coefficient, and edge dislocation energy coefficient of the steel. Screw and edge energy coefficients were improved by the addition of V and Cr solute atoms. In addition, the addition of trace quantities of V, Cr, and Mn enhanced abrasion resistance. Solute atoms and contents with excellent mechanical properties were selected and their thermal conductivity and thermal expansion behavior were investigated. The addition of Cr atom is expected to form alloys with low thermal conductivity and thermal expansion coefficient. This study provides a better understanding of the state-of-the-art research in low-alloy steel and can be used to guide researchers to explore and develop α-Fe based alloys with improved properties, that can be fabricated in smart and cost-effective manners.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.958-967
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• 2023

This work studies the defect features in a dilute FeMnNi alloy by an Object Kinetic Monte Carlo (OKMC) model based on the "grey-alloy" method. The dose rate effect is studied at 573 K in a wide range of dose rates from 10^-8 to 10^-4 displacement per atom (dpa)/s and demonstrates that the density of defect clusters rises while the average size of defect clusters decreases with increasing dose rate. However, the dose-rate effect decreases with increasing irradiation dose. The model considered two realistic mechanisms for producing <100>-type self-interstitial atom (SIA) loops and gave reasonable production ratios compared with experimental results. Our simulation shows that the proportion of <100>-type SIA loops could change obviously with the dose rate, influencing hardening prediction for various dose rates irradiation. We also investigated ways to compensate for the dose rate effect. The simulation results verified that about a 100 K temperature shift at a high dose rate of 1×10^-4 dpa/s could produce similar irradiation microstructures to a lower dose rate of 1×10^-7 dpa/s irradiation, including matrix defects and deduced solute migration events. The work brings new insight into the OKMC modeling and the dose rate effect of the Fe-based alloys.