Electronic effect on the ductility of alloyed TiAl compound

The bonding variation of γ-TiAl during deformation

To improve the ductility of γ-TiAl, the complicated interaction of Ti-Al chemical bonds, Al-Al covalent bonds, and Ti metallic bonds in the process of deformation should be evaluated. The electronic structure variation of γ-TiAl during deformation is investigated using first-principles calculation with the local energy schemes. The relative influence of these bonds on atomic stability is for the first time qualitatively evaluated by the combination of local energy schemes and Electron Localization Function (ELF) analysis. The discrepant influence pattern of some alloy elements on ductility is discussed based on the bonding analysis.

Phase stability, brittle-ductile transition, and electronic structures of the TiAl alloying with Fe, Ru, Ge, and Sn: a first-principle investigation

Phase stability, brittle-ductile transition, and electronic structures of M (M = Fe, Ru, Ge, and Sn) and content change of L10-TiAl (γ-TiAl) and B2-TiAl (β-TiAl) have been investigated using first-principle methods. It is found that M metal atoms preferentially occupy the Al (2e) sites in L10-TiAl and B2-TiAl. According to Pugh's ratio and Poisson's ratio, the brittle-ductile transition is predicted for L10-TiAl and B2-TiAl with Fe, Ru, Ge, and Sn. It is found that the brittle-ductile transition from brittle regions to ductile regions with the transition metal elements Fe and Ru in L10-TiAl and B2-TiAl at the low concentration is approximately from 0 to 6.25 at.%. However, the brittle-ductile transition of Ge and Sn at the high concentration approximates from 6.25 to 12.5 at.% in L10-TiAl, comparing with B2-TiAl which approximates from 12.5 to 18.75 at.%. Electronic structure analysis shows that the improvement of brittleness can be attributed to two factors, including different hybridizations of Al-2p (Ti-3d) orbits with Fe-3d (Ge-4p) and Ru-4d (Sn-5p) orbits and different bandwidths of pseudo-gap. Furthermore, the L10-TiAl and B2-TiAl at low concentration of Fe and Ru can increase the value of ELF, where Ge and Sn atoms become bigger at a high concentration in L10-TiAl and B2-TiAl. At last, elastic constant (C_ij), bulk modulus (B), shear modulus (G), and Young's modulus (E) of L10 and B2-TiAl with content change are systematically given.

Influences of Multicenter Bonding and Interstitial Elements on Twinned γ-TiAl Crystal

The bonding properties of the twin boundary in polysynthetic twinned γ-TiAl crystal and the effect of interstitial alloy elements on it are investigated by first principles. Among the three different kinds of interface relationships in the γ/γ interface, the proportion of true twin boundaries is the highest because it has the lowest interfacial energy, the reason for which is discussed by local energy and three-center bond. The presence of the interstitial atoms C, N, H, and O induces the competition for domination between their affinity to host atoms and three-center bonds, which eventually influences the values of unstable stacking fault energy (USFE) and intrinsic stacking fault energy (ISFE). The relative importance of different bonding with different alloy elements is clarified based on the analysis of local energy combined with Electron Localization Function (ELF) and Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules (QTAIM) schemes.

First-Principles Calculation for the Influence of C and O on the Mechanical Properties of γ-TiAl Alloy at High Temperature

The elastic constants of temperature dependence, thermal expansion coefficient and phonon dispersion relations of γ-TiAl doped with C/O have been investigated using first-principles calculations in order to gain insight into the mechanical performance of γ-TiAl in cases of high temperature. This study shows that γ-TiAl maintains stability at high temperatures introduced by C or O atoms. Importantly, the hardness increases and retains excellent resistance to external pressure. The results indicate that even if the TiAl alloy is doped with C or O atoms, it can also exhibit excellent mechanical properties at a high temperature.

Effects of O in a binary-phase TiAl-Ti3Al alloy: from site occupancy to interfacial energetics

We have investigated site occupancy and interfacial energetics of a TiAl-Ti(3)Al binary-phase system with O using a first-principles method. Oxygen is shown to energetically occupy the Ti-rich octahedral interstitial site, because O prefers to bond with Ti rather than Al. The occupancy tendency of O in TiAl alloy from high to low is α(2)-Ti(3)Al to the γ-α(2) interface and γ-TiAl. We demonstrate that O can largely affect the mechanical properties of the TiAl-Ti(3)Al system. Oxygen at the TiAl-Ti(3)Al interface reduces both the cleavage energy and the interface energy, and thus weakens the interface strength but strongly stabilizes the TiAl/Ti(3)Al interface with the O(2) molecule as a reference. Consequently, the mechanical property variation of TiAl alloy due to the presence of O not only depends on the number of TiAl/Ti(3)Al interfaces but also is related to the O concentration in the alloy.

Recent Advances in Gamma Titanium Aluminide Alloys

Gamma titanium aluminide alloys of current interest are two-phase alloys consisting of γ-TiAl phase as the matrix and a α2-Ti3Al phase as the second phase. The properties of these alloys depend on alloy composition, processing, microstructure, and their combination. Two major microstructural constituents are gamma grains and lamellar grains, the latter of which contain alternate layers of gamma (γ) and alpha-2 (α2) thin plates. The relative amounts and distribution of these two constituents are the main factors controlling mechanical properties. This paper reviews our current understanding of the composition/microstructure/property relationships. An extended discussion will be made on the fundamental aspects of the formation of lamellar structure during cooling and the evolution of microstructure occurring during thermomechanical treatments.

Empirical Interatomic Potentials for L1O Tial and B2 Nial

Recent studies have suggested a particular relationship between the degree of covalent bonding in TiAl and the mobility of dislocation[1,2]. Ultimately such electronic effects In ordered compounds must dictate the dislocation core structures and at the same time the dislocation mobility within a given compound. However, direct modelling of line defects Is beyond the capability of todays electronic structure techniques. Alternatively, significant steps toward extending our understanding of the flow behaviour of structural intermetallics may come through general application of empirical interatomic potential methods for calculating the structure and mobility of defects. Toward this end, we have constructed semi-empirical interatomic potentials within the embedded atom formalism for L1O and B2 type structures. These potentials have been determined by fitting to known bulk structural and elastic properties of TIAl and NiAl, using least squares procedures. Simple expressions that relate the parameters of the potentials to the bulk properties are used in the fitting procedure. Calculations of dislocation core structures and planar fault energies using these potentials are considered. The differences between the optimized bulk properties predicted from the potentials and the values for these properties are discussed in terms of non-spherical nature of the electron density distribution. Empirical methods which incorporate these effects into interatomic potentials are briefly discussed.

First-principles characterization of the anisotropy of theoretical strength and the stress-strain relation for a TiAl intermetallic compound

We perform first-principles computational tensile and compressive tests (FPCTT and FPCCT) to investigate the intrinsic bonding and mechanical properties of a γ-TiAl intermetallic compound (L 1(0) structure) using a first-principles total energy method. We found that the stress-strain relations and the corresponding theoretical tensile strengths exhibit strong anisotropy in the [001], [100] and [110] crystalline directions, originating from the structural anisotropy of γ-TiAl. Thus, γ-TiAl is a representative intermetallic compound that includes three totally different stress-strain modes. We demonstrate that all the structure transitions in the FPCTT and FPCCT result from the breakage or formation of bonds, and this can be generalized to all the structural transitions. Furthermore, based on the calculations we qualitatively show that the Ti-Al bond should be stronger than the Ti-Ti bond in γ-TiAl. Our results provide a useful reference for understanding the intrinsic bonding and mechanical properties of γ-TiAl as a high-temperature structural material.