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  4. Precipitation Strengthening in Al-Mg-Si Alloys
 
doctoral thesis

Precipitation Strengthening in Al-Mg-Si Alloys

Hu, Yi  
2021

Precipitation strengthening is one of the key strengthening strategies in many industrial alloys like aluminum alloys, nickel-based superalloys, etc. The yield strength of alloy is improved by forming precipitates in materials and employing them as obstacles for dislocation movement. In this study, we calibrate Discrete Dislocation Dynamics (DDD) to include one of the essential atomistic information, dislocation core energy, to make quantitative strength predictions. Then we attempt to predict peak-aged strength of Al--Mg--Si alloys using experimental characterizations and via modeling the Orowan mechanism in DDD. Extensive mesoscale studies show that matrix misfit stress has small effects on Critical Resolved Shear Stress (CRSS). In contrast, CRSS depends largely on the precipitate edge-to-edge spacing and the dislocation core energy within 5.4 b. However, with the most faithful mesoscale simulation, the alloy tensile yield strength is overestimated by about 33%. Detailed analysis of forces on precipitates shows that multiple precipitates are sheared prior to be looped. Then atomistic simulations using the near-chemically-accurate Al--Mg--Si Neural Network Potential are performed to investigate dislocation-precipitate interactions. Results show that a given precipitate can show shearing or looping depending on the relative orientation of the precipitate and dislocation, as influenced by the precipitate internal misfit stresses, direction-dependence of precipitate shearing energies, and dislocation line tension. Analytic models for shearing and calibrated discrete dislocation models of looping can accurately capture the trends and magnitudes of strengthening in most cases. Reasonable quantitative agreement with experiments is then achieved by using the theories together with the more-accurate first-principles material properties. The combination of theories and simulations demonstrated here constitutes a quantitative path for understanding and predicting the role of chemistry and microstructure on alloy strength that can be applied in many different alloys.

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Type
doctoral thesis
DOI
10.5075/epfl-thesis-8723
Author(s)
Hu, Yi  
Advisors
Curtin, William  
Jury

Prof. Tobias Schneider (président) ; Prof. William Curtin (directeur de thèse) ; Prof. Peter Derlet, Prof. Javier Segurado, Prof. Derek Warner (rapporteurs)

Date Issued

2021

Publisher

EPFL

Publisher place

Lausanne

Public defense year

2021-12-17

Thesis number

8723

Total of pages

153

Subjects

dislocation core energy

•

non-singular theory

•

Discrete Dislocation Dynamics

•

precipitation strengthening

•

Orowan mechanism

•

shearing mechanism

•

atomistis simulation

•

Neural Network Potential

•

yield strength prediction

EPFL units
LAMMM  
Faculty
STI  
School
IGM  
Doctoral School
EDME  
Available on Infoscience
December 9, 2021
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/183769
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