It has been demonstrated that the as-cast Nb40Ti30Ni30 duplex phase alloy, which consists of the primary (Nb, Ti) solid solution and the fine lamellar type eutectic {TiNi+(Nb, Ti)} phase, shows higher hydrogen permeability ¶ than that of pure Pd without the hydrogen embrittlement at 673K. In this alloy, the eutectic phase contributes to the suppression of the hydrogen embrittlement, while the primary one does mainly to the hydrogen permeation. It is important to note that even if the eutectic microstructure disappears and is replaced by the small spherical (Nb, Ti) phase embedded in the TiNi matrix by rolling and subsequent annealing, its high hydrogen permeability and large resistance to the hydrogen embrittlement are sustained. Furthermore, the present authors have observed that the primary (Nb, Ti) phase is largely elongated along the rolling direction. Consequently, it is expected that rolled and annealed Nb-Ti-Ni alloys show the large anisotropy of the microstructure and the hydrogen permeability. In the present work, the microstructure and hydrogen permeability ¶nof the Nb40Ti30Ni30 alloy after rolling and annealing treatments are examined in order to develop highly hydrogen permeable alloys utilizing the anisotropic microstructure.

The primary (Nb, Ti) phase and the very fine eutectic {TiNi+(Nb, Ti)} phase are observed in the as-cast Nb40Ti30Ni30 alloy by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The X-ray diffractometry (XRD) indicates that this alloy consists of the B2-TiNi intermetallic compounds and the bcc- (Nb, Ti) solid solution. The primary (Nb, Ti) phase is largely elongated along the rolling direction by forging and subsequent rolling at 1173 K. On the other hand, the eutectic microstructure becomes unclear with increasing the rolling reduction. The composite alloys in which the (Nb, Ti) phase is elongated along to the rolling direction are obtained by 69 % rolling reduction. ¶n of this sample is four times higher than that of as-cast one. On the other hand, ¶ for the sample vertical to the rolling direction is reduced to about one third of that of as-cast one. Thus, the hydrogen permeability of the Nb40Ti30Ni30 alloy varies about ten times or more depending on the direction of the primary¡]Nb, Ti¡^ phase. We conclude that it is possible to produce highly hydrogen permeable Nb-Ti-Ni alloys using the anisotropy of the microstructure prepared by hot forging and rolling.

FeCo-based nanostructured powders were prepared by mechanical alloying and subsequently heat treated in an attempt to reduce their coercivity, HC. Although the powders had grain sizes smaller than the magnetic exchange length, a low HC, as expected from Herzer's model, did not occur. The results of magnetic measurements on dilute and concentrated samples of the powder, as well as measurements of the temperature dependence of the magnetic properties from 10-300 K, indicate that the degree of magnetic interaction between the individual powder particles determines the relatively high HC of 10-20Oe at room temperature.

Magnesium binary and ternary alloy systems have been popular as a thermoelectric light-weight alloy to be working in the medium temperature range. The solid-state reactivity via the bulk mechanical alloying is applied to yield these types of alloys. The diffusion-controlled solid-state synthesis is first stated as a process to yield a binary compound, Mg2X (X = Ge, Sn and Pb). This processing is further applied to directly synthesize several ternary thermoelectric alloys Mg2Si1-xGex, Mg2Si1-ySny and Mg2Sn1-zPbz for 0.0 < x, y, z < 1.0 and to evaluate their thermoelectric properties. Hot pressing is used to make full-dense billets and samples for thermoelectric measurement. The effect of germanium and tin contents on their Seebeck coefficient and band-gap is investigated to describe the p-n transition behavior and to understand the change of electric structure with solid solution formation.

Al-based intermetallic coatings are widely used as bond coats and for oxidation protection of turbine blades and engine components. Here we present and discuss the structural and thermal properties of novel unbalanced-magnetron sputtered Al-based coatings (single-phase intermetallic Al2Au, binary Al-Zr, and nano-structured Al-Zr-Y) developed to protect gamma-TiAl from environmental attack at elevated temperatures. Al-Zr films exhibit a coarse-grained dual-phase Al3Zr2-Al2Zr structure and are nano-structured by alloying with ~5, 10, and 14 at% Y.

Combined dynamic differential-scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analyses up to a temperature of 1150 °C reveal that the Al2Au film is very stable with only marginal mass gain from oxidation found between 800 and 1000 °C. High temperature X-ray diffraction shows that this coating retains its (311) texture up to 900 °C where Al2O3 formation leads to the depletion of Al in Al2Au and subsequently the precipitation of intermetallic AlAu. When gamma-TiAl is coated with Al2Au and exposed to cyclic oxidation tests at 750 and 850 °C good oxidation resistance is obtained as a protective oxide layer is formed.

Dual-phase Al3Zr2-Al2Zr coatings form ZrO2 and Al2O3 in oxidizing atmosphere. However, the phase transition from monoclinic (m-)ZrO2 to tetragonal (t-)ZrO2 with the accompanying volume change causes flaking of the oxide. Yttrium addition to the Al-Zr films stabilizes the cubic (c-) and t-ZrO2 and hence avoids the fatal tetragonal-monocline transformation. The thermally grown c-ZrO2 based oxides allow good adhesion to thermal barrier coatings which are themselves based on c-ZrO2.

Using the first-principles calculations, we find that Fe-Co has a tendency for a structural transformation to a lower symmetry sheared L10 phase under the applied shear stresses. This tendency for structural transformation can have a significant influence on the mechanical properties of FeCo, as it might be closely connected with the intrinsic brittleness of Fe-rich and stoichiometric FeCo alloys and with the improved ductility of Co-rich FeCo alloys. We suggest that improved ductility in Co-rich FeCo alloys may originate from transformation toughening due to the B2→L10 structural transformation near the regions of high stress concentration, as the stress energy is fully dissipated by the decrease in the electronic energy due to the structural phase transformation into a lower energy structure. Similarly, in ZrCo, our first-principles calculations find that a B2→B33 martensitic phase transformation can occur under the applied shear stress, which may contribute to the good ductility of this alloy, despite the fact that ZrCo is a strongly ordered line compound.

We studied the thermoelectric and electrical properties of InSb thin films prepared by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The thermoelectric properties were evaluated using power factor (Pf =α2/Ï), which is an important criterion, and a value of 10-3 W/mK2 is a standard for practical use. Maximum value of Pf was 2.4×10-3W/mK2 at 600K for 1-μm-thick InSb, 3.4×10-3W/mK2 at 600K for 3-μm-thick InSb, and 5.8×10-3W/mK2 at 600K for 5-μm-thick InSb. On the other hand, the maximum Pf of bulk-InSb was 5.4×10-3W/mK2 at 600K.

High current pulsed electron beam (HCPEB) is a fairly new technique for surface modifications. The present contribution reviews some recent insights on the microstructure modifications encountered at the top surface of HCPEB treated (NiTi and FeAl) intermetallics. In particular, the potential of the technique for structure modifications associated with the use of the pulsed electron beam under “heating” and “melting” conditions is highlighted. The interesting surface modifications include the creation of an homogeneous protective layer under the melting mode while thermal stresses under the heating mode can induce surface hardening and stress enhanced rapid solid state alloying.