Nanostructured materials have received a surge of interest in recent years since it has become apparent that reducing the size of a material often leads to heightened mechanical behavior. From a fundamental standpoint, this stems from the confinement of dislocations. Applications in microelectromechanical devices, lithium ion batteries, gas sensing and catalysis are realized by combining the improvements in mechanical behavior from material size reduction with the heightened chemical activity offered by materials with a high surface-area-to-volume ratio. In this study, films of nanoporous Si-Mg were produced through magnetron sputtering, followed by dealloying using an environmentally benign process with distilled water. The film composition and structure was characterized both at the surface and throughout the film thickness, while the mechanical behavior was explored with nanoindentation. Dispenser cathodes operate via thermionic emission and are an important area of interest in vacuum electron devices. While scientists have known for many years what elemental constituents are used to manufacture dispenser cathodes of excellent emission behavior, a fundamental understanding has yet to be realized. In this study, components of a scandate cathode that exhibited excellent emission behavior were characterized and used to inform the study of model thin films. Isolating relevant components of the scandate cathode for careful study could help inform future breakthroughs in understanding the working mechanism(s) of the scandate cathode. The structure, composition and electronic behavior of model W-Al alloy films were characterized experimentally and compared to computation. Moreover, a unique vacuum chamber was designed to activate modern thermionic dispenser cathodes, observe residual gas species present, and measure the work function through various state-of-the-art techniques.

Abstract Austenitic high-Mn (15–30 wt.%) based twinning-induced plasticity (TWIP) steels provide great potential in applications for structural components in the automotive industry, owing to their excellent tensile strength-ductility property combination. In certain cases, these steels might also substitute austenitic Cr-Ni stainless steels. The aim of this present work is to investigate the high-temperature flow resistance, recrystallisation and the evolution of microstructure of high-Mn steels by compression testing on a Gleeble simulator. The influence of Al alloying (0–8 wt.%) in the hot rolling temperature range (800°C–1100°C) is studied in particular, but also some observations are made regarding the influence of Cr alloying. Microstructures are examined in optical and electron microscopes. The results are compared with corresponding properties of carbon and austenitic stainless steels. In addition, the mechanical properties are studied briefly, using tension tests over the temperature range from -80°C to 200°C. Finally, a preliminary study is conducted on the corrosion behaviour of TWIP steels in two media, using the potentiodynamic polarization technique. The results show that the flow stress level of high-Mn TWIP steels is considerably higher than that of low-carbon steels and depends on the Al concentration up to 6 wt.%, while the structure is fully austenitic at hot rolling temperatures. At higher Al contents, the flow stress level is reduced, due to the presence of ferrite. The static recrystallisation kinetics is slower compared to that of carbon steels, but it is faster than is typical of Nb-microalloyed or austenitic stainless steels. The high Mn content is one reason for high flow stress as well as for slow softening. Al plays a minor role only; but in the case of austenitic-ferritic structure, the softening of the ferrite phase occurs very rapidly, contributing to overall faster softening. The high Mn content also retards considerably the onset of dynamic recrystallisation, but the influence of Al is minor. Similarly, the contribution of Cr to the hot deformation resistance and static and dynamic recrystallisation, is insignificant. The grain size effectively becomes refined by the dynamic and static recrystallisation processes. The tensile testing of TWIP steels revealed that the Al alloying and temperature have drastic effects on the yield strength, tensile strength and elongation. The higher Al raises the yield strength because of the solid solution strengthening. However, Al tends to increase the stacking fault energy that affects strongly the deformation mechanism. In small concentrations, Al suppresses martensite formation and enhances deformation twinning, leading to high tensile strength and good ductility. However, with an increasing temperature, SFE increases, and consequently, the density of deformation twins decreases and mechanical properties are impaired. Corrosion testing indicated that Al alloying improves the corrosion resistance of high-Mn TWIP steels. The addition of Cr is a further benefit for the passivation of these steels. The passive film that formed on 8wt.% Al-6wt.%Cr steel was found to be even more stable than that on Type 304 steel in 5–50% HNO3 solutions. A prolonged pre-treatment of the steel in the anodic passive regime created a thick, protective and stable passive film that enhanced the corrosion resistance also in 3.5% NaCl solution.