Mechanical tests on small-volume materials show that in addition to the usual attributes of strength and ductility, the controlla- bility of deformation would be crucial for the purpose of precise plastic shaping. In our present work, a ＂mechanical controlla- bility index＂ （MCI） has been proposed to assess the controllability of mechanical deformation quantitatively. The index allows quantitative evaluation of the relative fraction of the controllable plastic strain out of the total strain. MCI=0 means completely uncontrollable plastic deformation, MCI=∞ means perfectly controllable plastic shaping. The application of the index is demonstrated here by comparing two example cases： 0.273 to 0.429 for single crystal A1 nanopillars that exhibit obvious strain bursts, versus 3.17 to 4.2 for polycrystalline A1 nanopillars of similar size for which the stress-strain curve is smoother.
Using nanoscale electrical-discharge-induced rapid Joule heating, we developed a method for ultrafast shape change and joining of small-volume materials. Shape change is dominated by surface-tension-driven convection in the transient liquid melt, giving an extremely high strain rate of N106 s-1. In addition, the heat can be dissipated in small volumes within a few microseconds through thermal conduction, quenching the melt back to the solid state with cooling rates up to 108 K.s-1. We demonstrate that this approach can be utilized for the ultrafast welding of small-volume crystalline Mo （a refractory metal） and amorphous Cu49Zr51 without introducing obvious microstructural changes, distinguishing the process from bulk welding.
Cheng-Cai WangQing-Jie LiLiang ChenYong-Hong ChengJun SunZhioWei ShanJu LiEvan Ma
Prof.Shan Zhiwei’s group at Xi’an Jiaotong University discovered a novel mechanism for room temperature plastic deformation in magnesium(Nature Communications,2014,5:3297).Magnesium and its alloys have been intensively studied for several decades due to their potential applications in automobile and aerospace industry.Deformation twinning and dislocation slip are known to be
Magnesium alloys, while boasting light weight, suffer from a major drawback in their relatively low strength. Identifying the microstructural features that are most effective in strengthening is therefore a pressing challenge. Deformation twinning often mediates plastic yielding in magnesium alloys. Unfortunately, due to the complexity involved in the twinning mechanism and twin-precipitate interactions, the optimal precipitate morphology that can best impede twinning has yet to be singled out. Based on the understanding of twinning mechanism in magnesium alloys, here we propose that the lamellar precipitates or the network of plate-shaped precipitates are most effective in suppressing deformation twinning. This has been verified through quantitative in situ tests inside a transmission electron microscope on a series of magnesium alloys containing precipitates with different morphology. The insight gained is expected to have general implications for strengthening strategies and alloy design. 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science ＆ Technology.
