Strain-Mediated Defect Engineering toward Rapid Atomic Migration in Fe-Al Diffusion Couples.

In the pursuit of rapid atomic migration in lightweight Fe-Al diffusion couples, rationally designing short-circuit diffusion paths has become paramount. Herein, a strain-mediated defect engineering strategy was proposed for reducing the vacancy activation energy and enhancing diffusion behaviors along dislocations (DLs) and grain boundaries (GBs). Combining the modified Arrhenius-type relationship, an interfacial apparent activation energy of 139 kJ mol-1 was acquired utilizing defect engineering, which was decreased by about 49%. This was closely related to high-density vacancies, DLs, and GBs formed in strained Fe and Al materials, which provided more low activation energy paths for atomic migration. First-principles calculations indicated that the lattice diffusion barrier mediated by monovacancy was reduced with strain incorporation, attributed to the weakened atom-vacancy bond as a consequence of less electron transport. The synergistic effect of abnormal electron-charge distribution in the bulk and strong attraction force at the Al/Fe interface radically resulted in rapid atomic migration, collectively regulating the "breaking-forming bond" process.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of IN690 Ni-Based Alloy/316LN Stainless-Steel Dissimilar Ring Joint Welded by Inertia Friction Welding.

Inertia friction welding (IFW) was used to join large-diameter hollow bars made of Inconel 690 and 316LN successfully. The interfacial characteristics, microstructure, mechanical properties and fracture mechanism of welded joints under different process parameters were investigated. The results indicated that a joining mechanism with mechanical interlocking and metallurgical bonding was found in IFW joints. There was a significant mechanical mixing zone at the welding interface. The elemental diffusion layer was found in the "wrinkles" of the mechanical mixing zone. A tiny quantity of C elements accumulated on the friction and secondary friction surfaces. The tensile strength and impact toughness of the joints increased with the total welding energy input. Increasing the friction pressure could make the grain in all parts of the joint uniformly refined, thus enhancing the mechanical properties of welded joints. The maximum tensile strength and impact toughness of the welded joint were 639 MPa and 146 J/cm2, reaching 94% and 68% of that for Inconel 690, respectively, when the flywheel was initially set at 760 rpm, 200 MPa for friction pressure, and 388 kg/m2 for rotary inertia. Due to the Kirkendall effect in the welded joint, superior metallurgical bonding was at the welding interface close to the Inconel 690 side compared to the 316LN side.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Powder Metallurgy Superalloy Joints Welded by Inertia Friction Welding.

In recent years, for the structural characteristics and design requirements of the integral rotor and disc shaft of the integrated engine, the welding quality and mechanical properties of superalloy weldments have received increasing attention. In this paper, inertia friction welding (IFW) of FGH96 alloy was carried out using different welding parameters, and the homogeneous connection of FGH96 alloy hollow bars was successfully realized. The microstructure evolution, mechanical properties and fracture failure of the welded joints at room and high temperatures were investigated. The FGH96 alloy IFW joints were divided into the weld nugget zone (WNZ), the thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ), the heat-affected zone (HAZ) and the base metal (BM), and there were significant differences in grain structure and distribution of the γ' phase in each of the characteristic zones. The microhardness and tensile properties of the IFW joints were investigated, and the results showed an "M"-shaped curve in the microhardness distribution, with the lowest point of hardness observed in the HAZ. The tensile test results indicated that the fracture position moved from the BM to the WNZ with the increase in temperature, the microstructure at the fracture changed significantly and the tensile strength decreased from 1512.0 MPa at room temperature to 1201.3 MPa at 750 °C. The difference in the mechanical properties of the joints was mainly attributed to the changes in the dissolution and precipitation of the γ' phase.

Metabolic Engineering Mevalonate Pathway Mediated by RNA Scaffolds for Mevalonate and Isoprene Production in Escherichia coli.

Co-localizing biochemical processes is a great strategy when expressing the heterologous metabolic pathway for product biosynthesis. The RNA scaffold is a flexible and efficient synthetic compartmentalization method to co-localize the enzymes involved in the metabolic pathway by binding to the specific RNA, binding domains fused with the engineered enzymes. Herein, we designed two artificial RNA scaffold structures─0D RNA scaffolds and 2D RNA scaffolds─using the reported aptamers PP7 and BIV-Tat and the corresponding RNA-binding domains (RBDs). We verified the interaction of the RBD and RNA aptamer in vitro and in vivo. Then, we determined the efficiencies of these RNA scaffolds by co-localizing fluorescent proteins. We employed the RNA scaffolds combined with the enzyme fusion strategies to increase the metabolic flux involved in the enzymes of the mevalonate pathway for mevalonate and isoprene production. Compared with the no RNA scaffold strain, the mevalonate levels of the 0D RNA scaffolds and 2D RNA scaffolds increased by 84.1% (3.13 ± 0.03 g/L) and 76.5% (3.00 ± 0.09 g/L), respectively. We applied the 0D RNA scaffolds for increasing the isoprene production by localizing the enzymes involved in a heterologous multi-enzyme pathway. When applying the RNA scaffolds for co-localizing the enzymes mvaE and mvaS, the isoprene production reached to 609.3 ± 57.9 mg/L, increasing by 142% compared with the no RNA scaffold strain. Our results indicate that the RNA scaffold is a powerful tool for improving the efficiencies of the reaction process in the metabolic pathway.

Composition rules of Ni-base single crystal superalloys and its influence on creep properties via a cluster formula approach.

The present work investigated the composition evolution of the TMS series of Ni-base single crystal (SC) superalloys in light of the cluster formula approach systematically. The cluster formula of SC superalloys could be expressed with [Formula: see text], in which all the alloying elements were classified into three groups, Al series ([Formula: see text]), Cr series ([Formula: see text]), and Ni series ([Formula: see text]). It was found that the total atom number (Z) of the cluster formula units for TMS series of superalloys varies from Z ~ 17 to Z ~ 15.5, and then to Z ~ 16 with the alloy development from the 1st to the 6th generation, in which the superalloys with prominent creep resistance possess an ideal cluster formula of [Formula: see text] with Z = 16. Similar tendency of composition evolution also appears in the PWA and CMSX series of SC superalloys. Typical TMS series of superalloys with prominent creep properties generally exhibit a moderate lattice misfit of γ/γ' which could render alloys with appropriate particle size of cuboidal γ' precipitates to acquire a maximum strength increment by precipitation strengthening mechanism. More importantly, the relationship between the lattice misfit (δ) of γ/γ' and the creep rupture lifetime (tr) of superalloys was then established, showing a linear correlation in the form of lgtr-lg|δ|3/2 at both conditions of 900 °C/392 MPa and 1100 °C/137 MPa. Combined with the lattice misfit, the cluster formula approach would provide a new way to modify or optimize the compositions of Ni-base superalloys for further improvement of creep property.

The Effects of Heat Straightening Temperature on the Microstructure and Properties of 7N01 Aluminum Alloy.

The 7N01 aluminum alloys are always used in vehicles, but heat treatment can deteriorate mechanical properties and corrosion resistance, which limits its utilization. In this paper, the influences of the temperature of heat straightening on the corrosion behavior and mechanical properties of 7N01 aluminum alloy are investigated. Most of the initial Guinier Preston (GP) zones dissolve into the matrix during heat treatment process, while the grain boundary precipitates have no obvious change. The precipitates of the samples after heat treatment mainly consist of high density GP zones due to the natural aging effect, which result in the recovery of micro-hardness. Although heat treatment decreases the mechanical properties of 7N01 aluminum alloy, there is no obvious difference in mechanical properties of the specimens after different heat treatment conditions. The corrosion resistance of heat treatment samples decreases significantly compared with the base metal, which is attributed to enhancing the difference between the potential of the alloy matrix and the grain boundary.

Quenching Sensitivity of Al-Zn-Mg Alloy after Non-Isothermal Heat Treatment.

Type Al-Zn-Mg alloy has a wide ranges of application in vehicles, but corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of this alloy after heat treatment or heat straightening limits its utilization. This paper investigates the effect of quenching condition during non-isothermal heat treatment on corrosion behavior and mechanical properties of Al-Zn-Mg alloy. The corrosion resistance of Al-Zn-Mg alloy decreases after non-isothermal heat treatment and the sample after air quenching has the lowest corrosion resistance, the specimens can get better corrosion resistance when suffered 5 min air cooling followed by water quenching process. The evolution of mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of heat-treated specimens is caused by the modification of distribution of precipitates at grain boundary and the microchemistry of precipitates at grain boundary, precipitate-free zones and the matrix.