Open AccessFirst Evidence for Mechanism of Inverse Ripening from In-situ TEM and Phase-Field Study of δ′ Precipitation in an Al-Li Alloy
Author(s) -
Ji Won Park,
Reza Darvishi Kamachali,
Sung Dae Kim,
Su-Hyeon Kim,
Chang Woo Oh,
Christian Schwarze,
Ingo Steinbach
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
scientific reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.24
H-Index - 213
ISSN - 2045-2322
DOI - 10.1038/s41598-019-40685-5
Subject(s) - ostwald ripening , precipitation , materials science , radius , alloy , coupling (piping) , inverse , ripening , phase (matter) , in situ , critical radius , number density , chemical physics , composite material , thermodynamics , chemistry , nanotechnology , physics , mathematics , geometry , computer security , food science , organic chemistry , meteorology , computer science , spheres , astronomy
In-situ TEM investigation of aging response in an Al–7.8 at.% Li was performed at 200 °C up to 13 hours. Semi-spherical δ ′ precipitates growing up to an average radius of 7.5 nm were observed. The size and number of individual precipitates were recorded over time and compared to large-scale phase-field simulations without and with a chemo-mechanical coupling effect, that is, concentration dependence of the elastic constants of the matrix solid solution phase. This type of coupling was recently reported in theoretical studies leading to an inverse ripening process where smaller precipitates grew at the expense of larger ones. Considering this chemo-mechanical coupling effect, the temporal evolution of number density, average radius, and size distribution of the precipitates observed in the in-situ experiment were explained. The results indicate that the mechanism of inverse ripening can be active in this case. Formation of dislocations and precipitate-free zones are discussed as possible disturbances to the chemo-mechanical coupling effect and consequent inverse ripening process.