Scientific Events

Room: BDS Seminar room Location: Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH

MPIE-Kolloquium: Sustainable Molten Salt Route for Electro-extraction & Electro-refining of Low-grade Ores to Yield High Purity Titanium

Sustainable Molten Salt Route for Electro-extraction & Electro-refining of Low-grade Ores to Yield High Purity Titanium
Titanium is the fourth most abundant engineering material in the Earth’s crust. Although it has many beneficial properties, the cost of extraction remains a challenge and over 90% of high grade titanium is derived from the expensive and time-consuming Kroll Process. Electro-refining methods show promise but present their own special challenges. We present an overview and update of a novel molten salt process to extract and refine low-grade ores to produce high-grade powder titanium. Titanium oxycarbide produced by carbothermic reduction is electro-refined in a molten eutectic bath of NaCl:KCl salt. Anodic dissolution causes the Ti product to be plated out in the form of a dendritic product which collects on the cathode while impurities are retained in the anode. A gentle introduction to the process will be given and recent studies to apply the method to include the effect of using ilmenite and ilmenite/rutile blends as a feedstock, as well as the applicability of the process to other metals, specifically niobium (Nb) and vanadium-baring minerals presented. [more]

Opportunities for bcc refractory-metal superalloys

Reinforcement with ordered intermetallic precipitates is a potent strategy for the development of strength alongside damage tolerance and is central to the success of fcc nickel-based superalloys. Such a strategy is equally of interest within bcc-based systems for their increased melting point and acceptable cost. However, only limited studies have been made on refractory metal (RM) or titanium based alloys strengthened by ordered-bcc precipitates (e.g. B2 or L21). Are such “bcc superalloys” possible? Do they offer useful properties? In this talk, opportunities for refractory-metal-based superalloys systems will be discussed, including a review of Cr-Ni2AlTi, Mo-NiAl, Ta-(Ti,Zr)2Al(Mo,Nb) and Nb-Pd2HfAl systems together with newly developed alloys. These alloys exploit an extensive two-phase field that exists between A2 (RM,Ti) and B2 TiFe to produce nanoscale precipitate reinforced microstructures that increase strength by over 500 MPa. This work was supported through EUROfusion Researcher Grant & EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowships, EPSRC ‘DARE’ (darealloys.org) EP/L025213/1 and Rolls-Royce/EPSRC Strategic Partnership EP/H022309/1 and EP/H500375/1. [more]

Diffusion and segregation of solutes in grain boundaries: from pure metals to high-entropy alloys

Diffusion and segregation of solutes in grain boundaries: from pure metals to high-entropy alloys
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Nitride coatings based on high-entropy alloys

Nitride coatings based on high-entropy alloys
The new alloying concept, known as high-entropy alloys (HEAs) or multi-principal elements alloys (MPEAs) are a new emerging class of perspective materials that possess a wide range of unique properties. Since the appearance of the first studies of HEAs, more than 1000 scientific works were published. It was investigated relationship between microstructure of new alloys, which can include SS (with BCC, FCC and HCP structures), IM and even amorphous state and their physical properties. It was shown that the HEAs possess different outstanding functional properties, like superconductivity with transition temperature Tc = 7.3 K, high level electrical resistivity, high saturated magnetization, high corrosion resistance, good hydrogen storage properties, as a template for graphene production. For achievement superior mechanical behavior and thermal stability it was designed and produced protective coatings based on HEAs. However, the research of nitride coatings based on HEA are still very limited. Clearly, the understanding of features of microstructure such non-homogeneous complex systems is essential in order to move in the improvement of the physical properties of high-entropy thin films with different intrinsic architecture. [more]

The Search For Charge Density Based Structure-Property Relationships

The Search For Charge Density Based Structure-Property Relationships
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New insights into interfaces of metals, oxides and nanoparticles via APT

New insights into interfaces of metals, oxides and nanoparticles via APT
In many materials, internal interfaces and surfaces are governing their properties. Due to the inherently atomic scale of interfaces, they have notoriously been elusive to structural and chemical analysis, limiting our current understanding about their behavior. Atom probe tomography, as a single atom sensitive mass spectrometry method with atomic resolution achievable, can significantly add to the understanding of interfaces. In this talk, I will present results on the analysis of local chemistry at grain boundaries in metals and oxides and the challenges associated with the data interpretation. This will also include nanomaterials such as nanoparticles and nanowires, where surface distributions of the chemical elements can be investigated and correlated with the particle’s properties. [more]
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