We are happy to share the publication of our latest paper titled “Comparative analysis of experimental techniques for microstructural characterization of novel nanostructured aluminium alloys” on Materials Characterization.
In this study, we delve into the intricacies of using various experimental techniques to analyze the microstructures of an ultrafine-grained AlMgZnCuAg crossover alloy under themal loading. Through both ex situ and in situ heating experiments using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), we discovered significant differences in the kinetics of precipitate formation, leading to notable modifications in the alloy’s microstructure.
Our research highlighted several fascinating phenomena, particularly regarding the behavior of solute atoms such as magnesium (Mg) under different experimental conditions. During in situ TEM with MEMS heating, Mg atoms were prone to evaporation, a thin film phenomenon not observed with ex situ TEM using TEM foil heating, where Mg instead formed a protective oxide layer. This difference in behavior influenced the kinetics, with the fastest changes observed in ex situ TEM with TEM foil heating, followed by the ex situ bulk method, and the slowest changes during in situ TEM with MEMS heating. These findings provide valuable insights into optimizing experimental techniques for the characterization of advanced nanostructured aluminium alloys.
This is one more excellent scientific work from Patrick Willenshofer, who is soon completing his Dr. mont. degree in the group of Professor Pogastcher at Nichteisenmetallurgie! Congratulations Patrick!
#MaterialsScience #NanostructuredAlloys #TEM #MicrostructuralCharacterization #AluminiumAlloys #Research #MaterialEngineering #AdvancedMaterials
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