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Nanomaterials
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Mechanical Properties and Applications for Nanostructured Alloys
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Mechanical Properties and Applications for Nanostructured Alloys

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanofabrication and Nanomanufacturing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 July 2025 | Viewed by 3032

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Zhongwu Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China
Interests: steels; high entropy alloys; mechanical properties; microstructure-property relationships
Prof. Dr. Yang Zhang

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China
Interests: high entropy alloys; nanoprecipitate-strengthened steels; mechanical properties; deformation mechanism; irradiation effect

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Alloy materials are one of the most common inorganic materials and are widely used in a variety of high-stress environments, such as aerospace components, automotive parts and medical devices. These applications demand the mechanical properties of the material. In recent years, new synthetic technologies have been used in the manufacturing process of alloy materials, such as additive manufacturing and cryomilling, which can create nanostructured alloys with tailored microstructures to enhance the mechanical properties of the material.

However, the increasingly changing environment presents more serious challenges for nanostructured alloys, such as further enhancement of strength-ductility synergies, extraordinary strain hardening, enhanced fracture and fatigue resistance, and significant wear and corrosion resistance. Although some recently reported innovative methods, such as the introduction of precipitates, can significantly improve the mechanical properties of nanostructured alloys, more extensive exploration of their mechanical properties and applications is still urgently needed. As motivated by this, the Research Topic welcomes articles on, but not limited to, the following list of subjects, calling for either experimental and/or modelling results:

  1. Alloy design and microstructure control
  2. Mechanical properties and microstructure-property relationships
  3. Atomistic simulations on nanostructure alloys
  4. Characterization of nanostructure alloys
  5. Processing methods for strengthening nanostructure alloys
  6. Study of Strengthening mechanisms of nanostructure alloys
  7. Progress in nanostructure alloys: the new development in controlling and characterization technologies of nanostructure alloys, the development of new methods for strengthening nanostructure alloys and novelty applications for nanostructure alloys

Prof. Dr. Zhongwu Zhang
Prof. Dr. Yang Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nanostructured alloys
  • strengthening method
  • strengthening mechanisms
  • mechanical properties
  • alloy manufacturing

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 7227 KiB  
Article
Dislocation Transformations at the Common 30°⟨0001⟩ Grain Boundaries During Plastic Deformation in Magnesium
by Yulong Zhu, Yaowu Sun, An Huang, Fangxi Wang and Peng Chen
Nanomaterials 2025, 15(3), 232; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15030232 - 31 Jan 2025
Viewed by 367
Abstract
After the thermal-mechanical processing of Mg alloys, extensive 30°⟨0001⟩ grain boundaries (GBs) are present in the recrystallized structure, which strongly affects the mechanical properties via interactions with lattice dislocations. In this work, we systematically investigate how the 30°⟨0001⟩ GBs influence the slip transmission [...] Read more.
After the thermal-mechanical processing of Mg alloys, extensive 30°⟨0001⟩ grain boundaries (GBs) are present in the recrystallized structure, which strongly affects the mechanical properties via interactions with lattice dislocations. In this work, we systematically investigate how the 30°⟨0001⟩ GBs influence the slip transmission during plastic deformation. We reveal that basal dislocations can be transmuted into its neighboring grain and continue gliding on the basal plane. The prismatic dislocation can transmit the GB remaining on the same Burgers vector. However, a mobile pyramidal c+a dislocation can be absorbed at GBs, initiating the formation of new grain. These findings provide a comprehensive understanding on GB-dislocation interaction in hexagonal close-packed (HCP) metals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Properties and Applications for Nanostructured Alloys)
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23 pages, 7326 KiB  
Article
Significance of Tool Coating Properties and Compacted Graphite Iron Microstructure for Tool Selection in Extreme Machining
by Anna Maria Esposito, Qianxi He, Jose M. DePaiva and Stephen C. Veldhuis
Nanomaterials 2025, 15(2), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15020130 - 16 Jan 2025
Viewed by 589
Abstract
This study aims to determine the extent to which coating composition and workpiece properties impact machinability and tool selection when turning Compacted Graphite Iron (CGI) under extreme roughing conditions. Two CGI workpieces, differing in pearlite content and graphite nodularity, were machined at a [...] Read more.
This study aims to determine the extent to which coating composition and workpiece properties impact machinability and tool selection when turning Compacted Graphite Iron (CGI) under extreme roughing conditions. Two CGI workpieces, differing in pearlite content and graphite nodularity, were machined at a cutting speed of 180 m/min, feed rate of 0.18 mm/rev, and depth of cut of 3 mm. To assess the impact of tool properties across a wide range of commercially available tools, four diverse multilayered cemented carbide tools were evaluated: Tool A and Tool B with a thin AlTiSiN PVD coating, Tool C with a thick Al2O3-TiCN CVD coating, and Tool D with a thin Al2O3-TiC PVD coating. The machinability of CGI and wear mechanisms were analyzed using pre-cutting characterization, in-process optical microscopy, and post-test SEM analysis. The results revealed that CGI microstructural variations only affected tool life for Tool A, with a 110% increase in tool life between machining CGI Grade B and Grade A, but that the effects were negligible for all other tools. Tool C had a 250% and 70% longer tool life compared to the next best performance (Tool A) for CGI Grade A and CGI Grade B, respectively. With its thick CVD-coating, Tool C consistently outperformed the others due to its superior protection of the flank face and cutting edge under high-stress conditions. The cutting-induced stresses played a more significant role in the tool wear process than minor differences in workpiece microstructure or tool properties, and a thick CVD coating was most effective in addressing the tool wear effects for the extreme roughing conditions. However, differences in tool life for Tool A showed that tool behavior cannot be predicted based on a single system parameter, even for extreme conditions. Instead, tool properties, workpiece properties, cutting conditions, and their interactions should be considered collectively to evaluate the extent that an individual parameter impacts machinability. This research demonstrates that a comprehensive approach such as this can allow for more effective tool selection and thus lead to significant cost savings and more efficient manufacturing operations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Properties and Applications for Nanostructured Alloys)
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22 pages, 11357 KiB  
Article
Enhancement of Fracture Toughness of NiTi Alloy by Controlling Grain Size Gradient
by Kai Huang, Zhongzheng Deng and Hao Yin
Nanomaterials 2025, 15(2), 125; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15020125 - 16 Jan 2025
Viewed by 446
Abstract
Fracture toughness is a critical indicator for the application of NiTi alloys in medical fields. We propose to enhance the fracture toughness of NiTi alloys by controlling the spatial grain size (GS) gradient. Utilizing rolling processes and heat treatment technology, three categories of [...] Read more.
Fracture toughness is a critical indicator for the application of NiTi alloys in medical fields. We propose to enhance the fracture toughness of NiTi alloys by controlling the spatial grain size (GS) gradient. Utilizing rolling processes and heat treatment technology, three categories of NiTi alloys with distinct spatial GS distributions were fabricated and subsequently examined through multi-field synchronous fracture tests. It is found that the one with a locally ultra-high GS gradient (20 nm−3.4 μm) has significantly enhanced fracture toughness, which is as high as 412% of that of the normally distributed nano-grains with an average GS of 8 nm and 178% of that of the coarse-grains with an average GS of 100 nm. Theoretical analysis reveals that in such a gradient structure, phase transition in the coarse-grained matrix greatly absorbs the surface energy of subcritical and stable propagation. Meanwhile, the locally non-uniform GS distribution leads to deviation and tortuosity of the crack path, increasing the critical fracture stress. Furthermore, the nanocrystalline clusters distributed in the form of network nodes reduce the stress intensity factor due to their higher elastic modulus compared to the coarse-grained matrix. This work provides guidance for developing new gradient nanostructured NiTi alloys with high fracture toughness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Properties and Applications for Nanostructured Alloys)
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13 pages, 6959 KiB  
Article
Effects of Cold Deformation and Heat Treatments on the Microstructure and Properties of Fe-15Cr-25Ni Superalloy Cold-Drawn Bars
by Yunfei Zhang, Zhen Zhang, Zhiyan Sun, Yingli Zhao, Yi Cui and Zhongwu Zhang
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(23), 1949; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14231949 - 4 Dec 2024
Viewed by 595
Abstract
The combination of cold deformation and solution aging is an important technological route for the bar processing of superalloy fasteners. The microstructure evolution and mechanical properties are intimately related to the process parameters. In this study, we systematically elucidate the mechanical properties and [...] Read more.
The combination of cold deformation and solution aging is an important technological route for the bar processing of superalloy fasteners. The microstructure evolution and mechanical properties are intimately related to the process parameters. In this study, we systematically elucidate the mechanical properties and microstructure evolution of Fe-15Cr-25Ni alloys in different treatment processes and conduct in-depth analysis of the synergistic strengthening mechanism of fine-crystal strengthening, second-phase strengthening, and work hardening on Fe-15Cr-25Ni alloys. The results show that the tensile strength and yield strength at room temperature increase with the increase in grain refinement and dislocation density but decrease with the increase in elongation. After solid-solution treatment, most of the precipitates dissolve into the matrix, and the dislocation density is greatly reduced, resulting in a decrease in strength and an increase in plasticity. After aging, a large amount of γ′ phase was precipitated. Due to the two strengthening effects of dislocation strengthening and second-phase strengthening, the strength of the aging state is more improved than that of the cold-drawing state. The purpose of this study is to provide valuable insights for the industrial production of Fe-15Cr-25Ni superalloys. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Properties and Applications for Nanostructured Alloys)
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23 pages, 128368 KiB  
Article
Optimization of Soft X-Ray Fresnel Zone Plate Fabrication Through Joint Electron Beam Lithography and Cryo-Etching Techniques
by Maha Labani, Vito Clericò, Enrique Diez, Giancarlo Gatti, Mario Amado and Ana Pérez-Rodríguez
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(23), 1898; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14231898 - 26 Nov 2024
Viewed by 668
Abstract
The ability to manufacture complex 3D structures with nanometer-scale resolution, such as Fresnel Zone Plates (FZPs), is crucial to achieve state-of-the-art control in X-ray sources for use in a diverse range of cutting-edge applications. This study demonstrates a novel approach combining Electron Beam [...] Read more.
The ability to manufacture complex 3D structures with nanometer-scale resolution, such as Fresnel Zone Plates (FZPs), is crucial to achieve state-of-the-art control in X-ray sources for use in a diverse range of cutting-edge applications. This study demonstrates a novel approach combining Electron Beam Lithography (EBL) and cryoetching to produce silicon-based FZP prototypes as a test bench to assess the strong points and limitations of this fabrication method. Through this method, we obtained FZPs with 100 zones, a diameter of 20 µm, and an outermost zone width of 50 nm, resulting in a high aspect ratio that is suitable for use across a range of photon energies. The process incorporates a chromium mask in the EBL stage, enhancing microstructure precision and mitigating pattern collapse challenges. This minimized issues of under- and over-etching, producing well-defined patterns with a nanometer-scale resolution and low roughness. The refined process thus holds promise for achieving improved optical resolution and efficiency in FZPs, making it viable for the fabrication of high-performance, nanometer-scale devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Properties and Applications for Nanostructured Alloys)
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