The thermodynamic properties of α-Al and other phases (GP zones, θ'', θ' and θ) in the Al-rich part of the Al-Cu system have been obtained by means of the cluster expansion formalism in combination with statistical mechanics. This information was used to build the Al-rich part of the Al-Cu phase-diagram taking into account vibrational entropic contributions for θ', as those of the other phases were negligible. The simulation predictions of the phase boundaries between α-Al and either θ'', θ' or θ phases as a function of temperature are in good agreement with experimental data and extend the phase boundaries to a wider temperature range. The DFT calculations reveal the presence of a number of metastable Guinier-Preston-zone type configurations that may coexist with α-Al and θ'' at low temperatures. They also demonstrate that θ' is the stable phase below 550K but it is replaced by θ above this temperature due to the vibrational entropic contribution to the Gibbs energy of θ'. This work shows how the combination of cluster expansion and statistical mechanics can be used to expand our knowledge of the phase diagram of metallic alloys and to provide Gibbs free energies of different phases that can be used as input in mesoscale simulations of precipitation.
The phase diagram of Al-Li-Cu system in the Al-rich region was determined by means of first-principles calculations and statistical mechanics. The mixing enthalpies of many configurations for different lattices in the whole Al-Li-Cu system were determined by density functional theory simulations to find the stable phases in the convex hull. They were fitted with a cluster expansion to calculate the free energy of the configurations with different compositions as a function of temperature in the Al-rich region (Al content > 40 at. %) by means of Monte Carlo simulations. It was found that the gr…
Vacuum heat treatment of mechanically-alloyed powders of boron and aluminum leads to formation of a metastable Al-rich phase, which can be quenched. Its structure, composition, and thermal stability are established. With chemical formula Al1.28B the rhombohedral phase is unusually rich in Al. Parameters of the unit cell determined from X-ray powder diffraction are: a=18.3464(19) Å, c=8.9241(9) Å, 2601.3(6) Å3, space group R-3. It is stable at heating up to 630 °C. It is suggested that this phase is an important intermediate step in formation of AlB2 and, eventually, of other borides and its nu…
Heusler compounds have been intensively studied owing to the important technological advancements that they provide in the field of shape memory, thermomagnetic energy conversion and spintronics. Many of their intriguing properties are ultimately governed by their magnetic states and understanding and possibly tuning them is evidently of utmost importance. In this work we examine the \alloys alloys with Density Functional Theory simulations and $^{55}$Mn Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and combine these two methods to carefully describe their ground state magnetic order. In addition, we compare the…
Laves phases often form as secondary phases in metallic alloys and have a significant effect on their structural properties. Thus, phase stability studies for these chemically and structurally complex phases in addition to mechanical behavior studies are of great interest. In this work, we use the concept of metastable bulk phase and defect phase diagrams to augment the understanding of the bulk phase and defect phase stability in Laves phases in Mg-based alloys. In this way, we resolve the discrepancy between bulk phase diagrams and experimental observations regarding the formation of Mg-rich…
In this work, we experimentally establish the isothermal nanofacet evolution at an asymmetric tilt grain boundary in the Cu-Ag system using a diffusion couple approach. We investigate the nanofacet formation along the grain boundary in dependence of the Ag solute excess concentration. The initial grain boundary dissociates into asymmetric Ag-lean segments and Ag-rich symmetric (210) segments. Increasing Ag excess leads to an increase in Ag-rich facet segment length, while the length of the asymmetric facets remains constant. From this, we construct a grain boundary nanofaceting diagram deduced…
The many surface reconstructions of (110)-oriented lanthanum--strontium manganite (La$_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$MnO$_3$, LSMO) were followed as a function of the oxygen chemical potential ($μ_\text{O}$) and the surface cation composition. Decreasing $μ_\text{O}$ causes Mn to migrate across the surface, enforcing phase separation into A-site-rich areas and a variety of composition-related, structurally diverse B-site-rich reconstructions. The composition of these phase-separated structures was quantified with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and these results were used to build a 2D phase diagram of…
The phase diagram of water harbours many mysteries: some of the phase boundaries are fuzzy, and the set of known stable phases may not be complete. Starting from liquid water and a comprehensive set of 50 ice structures, we compute the phase diagram at three hybrid density-functional-theory levels of approximation, accounting for thermal and nuclear fluctuations as well as proton disorder. Such calculations are only made tractable because we combine machine-learning methods and advanced free-energy techniques. The computed phase diagram is in qualitative agreement with experiment, particularly…
We report a combined experimental and theoretical study of the PdSe2-xTex system. With increasing Te fraction, structural evolutions, first from an orthorhombic phase (space group Pbca) to a monoclinic phase (space group C2/c) and then to a trigonal phase (space group P-3m1), are observed accompanied with clearly distinct electrical transport behavior. The monoclinic phase (C2/c) is a completely new polymorphic phase and is discovered within a narrow range of Te composition (0.3 \leq x \leq 0.8). This phase has a different packing sequence from all known transition metal dichalcogenides to dat…
Ab initio High-Pressure Phase Diagrams of Al-Mg Alloys in the Low Solute Concentration Limit
University College London（伦敦大学学院）；AWE Nuclear Security Technologies（阿韦核安全技术公司）；London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London（伦敦大学学院纳米技术研究中心）；Dipartimento di Fisica Ettore Pancini, Università di Napoli Federico II（那不勒斯费德里科二世大学埃托雷·潘奇尼物理系）
Two unique behaviors of superelasticity and shape memory effect have made shape memory alloy such as NiTi, an interesting alloy for different applications. Recently, additive manufacturing (AM) as a powerful tool for fabricating NiTi has become of interest to make complex geometries. Selective laser melting (SLM) is an AM method that not only provides flexibility to make complex 3D shapes but also it can be possible to tailor the thermomechanical properties of the parts just by changing the process parameters. The non-homogeneous microstructure of as-fabricated parts as well as asymmetric mech…
The rich phase diagram of the prototypical iridate Ba$_2$IrO$_4$: Effective low-energy models and metal-insulator transition
Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, Sorbonne Université（矿物学、材料物理与宇宙化学研究所，索邦大学）；Laboratoire de Chimie et Physique Quantiques, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier（量子化学与物理学实验室，图卢兹第三大学-保罗·萨巴蒂尔大学）
Influence of Gd-rich precipitates on the martensitic transformation, magnetocaloric effect and mechanical properties of Ni-Mn-In Heusler alloys -- A comparative study
Technical University of Darmstadt（达姆施塔特工业大学）；Key Laboratory of Aerospace Materials and Performance (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beihang University（北京航空航天大学材料科学与工程学院航空航天材料与性能教育部重点实验室）
Topological materials host robust properties, unaffected by microscopic perturbations, owing to the global topological properties of the bulk electron system. Materials in which the topological invariant can be changed by easily tuning external parameters are especially sought after. Zirconium pentatelluride (ZrTe$_5$) is one of a few experimentally available materials that reside close to the boundary of a topological phase transition, allowing the switching of its invariant by mechanical strain. Here, we unambiguously identify a topological insulator - metal transition as a function of strai…
