Grain Refinement Mechanisms of TiC0.5N0.5 Nanoparticles in Aluminum

Kui Wang; Haiyan Jiang; Qudong Wang; Yingxin Wang

doi:10.3390/ma16031214

Grain Refinement Mechanisms of TiC_0.5N_0.5 Nanoparticles in Aluminum

Materials (Basel). 2023 Jan 31;16(3):1214. doi: 10.3390/ma16031214.

Authors

Kui Wang^{1

2}, Haiyan Jiang^{1

2}, Qudong Wang^{1

2}, Yingxin Wang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ National Engineering Research Center of Light Alloys, Net Forming, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composite, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.

Abstract

In this study, TiC_0.5N_0.5 nanoparticles (NPs) are shown to induce a remarkable grain refinement of aluminum at various cooling rates. The grain refinement mechanisms are systematically investigated by microstructure observation, edge-to-edge matching (E2EM) model prediction, and first-principles calculations. The experimental results suggest that as the cooling rates increase from 10 K/s to 70 K/s, a transition from intergranular to intragranular distribution of NPs occurs and the Al/TiC_0.5N_0.5 interface varies from incoherent to coherent. Based on the E2EM analysis combined with first-principles calculation, it is found that TiC_0.5N_0.5 can act as a potent nucleant for the heterogeneous nucleation of α-Al. By analyzing the NP effects on the nucleation and growth of α-Al, the grain growth restriction and nucleation promotion mechanisms are proposed to elucidate the refinement phenomena at low and high cooling conditions, respectively.

Keywords: cooling rate; first-principles calculation; grain refinement; nanoparticle.

Grants and funding

2022YFC2905204/National Key Research and Development Program of China