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Item Open Access Migration mechanisms of a faceted grain boundary(2018) Hadian, Raheleh; Grabowski, Blazej; Finnis, Michael W.; Neugebauer, JörgWe report molecular dynamics simulations and their analysis for a mixed tilt and twist grain boundary vicinal to the Σ7 symmetric tilt boundary of the type {123} in aluminum. When minimized in energy at 0K, a grain boundary of this type exhibits nanofacets that contain kinks. We observe that at higher temperatures of migration simulations, given extended annealing times, it is energetically favorable for these nanofacets to coalesce into a large terrace-facet structure. Therefore, we initiate the simulations from such a structure and study as a function of applied driving force and temperature how the boundary migrates. We find the migration of a faceted boundary can be described in terms of the flow of steps. The migration is dominated at lower driving force by the collective motion of the steps incorporated in the facet, and at higher driving forces by the step detachment from the terrace-facet junction and propagation of steps across the terraces. The velocity of steps on terraces is faster than their velocity when incorporated in the facet, and very much faster than the velocity of the facet profile itself, which is almost stationary. A simple kinetic Monte Carlo model matches the broad kinematic features revealed by the molecular dynamics. Since the mechanisms seem likely to be very general on kinked grain-boundary planes, the step-flow description is a promising approach to more quantitative modeling of general grain boundaries.Item Open Access Hydrogen transport in thin films : Mg-MgH2 and Ti-TiH2 systems(2018) Hadjixenophontos, EfiHydrogen storage has become progressively important due to increasing energy demand. Magne-sium (Mg/MgH2) is one of the most promising elements of hydrogen uptake, however, the slow kinetics and need for high temperatures during dehydrogenation make this material challenging for mobile applications. Meanwhile, Titanium (Ti/TiH2/TiO2) draws attention due to its catalytic effect in hydrogenation of other metals with higher capacities. A comprehensive way to quantitatively char-acterize the kinetics of hydride formation in both systems (Mg and Ti) is shown here. A technique allowing a large range of pressures and temperatures (room temperature to 300 °C and from 0.05 bar up to 100 bar) is developed successfully. Thin films (50-1000 nm), deposited by ion beam sput-tering (PVD), are used because of their smooth surface and defined structure. In order to study hydrogen transport precisely, X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron microscopy (SEM/FIB/TEM) and electric resistance measurements are used. In the case of Mg, while a Pd coating is used as catalyst, the hydride is formed from the surface towards the substrate and transformation in the morpholo-gy is observed. Parabolic law is followed and the diffusion coefficient of hydrogen in MgH2 is ob-tained at room temperature (2.67 · 10-17 cm2/s). Additionally, a model is created to fit the experi-mental change in resistance during hydrogen loading and shows the changes in the behavior of thicker layers. The interface between Pd/Mg is discussed, since Mg5Pd2 and Mg6Pd are formed at high temperatures and are most dominant over dehydrogenation. However, at room temperature, this interface appears to be more stable. The activation energy of hydrogenation is calculated ex-perimentally from an Arrhenius plot to be equal to Ea = 22.6 ± 2.0 kJ/mol and the pre-factor D0 = 3904 cm2/s. Additional attention is given to magnesium hydride as an anode electrode in Li-ion bat-teries. TEM investigations of thin film electrodes demonstrate the complete lithiation of the mate-rial however, with drastic volume changes, leading to bad reversibility. In Ti the thin oxide layer naturally formed on the surface, appears to play a dominant role in the kinetics of hydrogen transport leading to a linear kinetics. A pressure dependency is observed, while an experimental evaluation of the permeation coefficient in the oxide is also discussed. Important information on the hydrogen transport is obtained in both systems, giving an input for further improvements of such hydrides.Item Open Access k-Space magnetism as the origin of superconductivity(2018) Krüger, EkkehardThe nonadiabatic Heisenberg model presents a nonadiabatic mechanism generating Cooper pairs in narrow, roughly half-filled "superconducting bands" of special symmetry. Here, I show that this mechanism may be understood as the outcome of a special spin structure in the reciprocal space, hereinafter referred to as "k-space magnetism". The presented picture permits a vivid depiction of this new mechanism highlighting the height similarity as well as the essential difference between the new nonadiabatic and the familiar Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer mechanism.Item Open Access Impact of asymmetric martensite and austenite nucleation and growth behavior on the phase stability and hysteresis of freestanding shape-memory nanoparticles(2018) Ko, Won-Seok; Grabowski, Blazej; Neugebauer, JörgMartensitic transformations in nanoscaled shape-memory alloys exhibit characteristic features absent for the bulk counterparts. Detailed understanding is required for applications in micro- and nanoelectromechanical systems, and experimental limitations render atomistic simulation an important complementary approach. Using a recently developed, accurate potential we investigate the phase transformation in freestanding Ni-Ti shape-memory nanoparticles with molecular-dynamics simulations. The results confirm that the decrease in the transformation temperature with decreasing particle size is correlated with an overstabilization of the austenitic surface energy over the martensitic surface energy. However, a detailed atomistic analysis of the nucleation and growth behavior reveals an unexpected difference in the mechanisms determining the austenite finish and martensite start temperature. While the austenite finish temperature is directly affected by a contribution of the surface energy difference, the martensite start temperature is mostly affected by the transformation strain, contrary to general expectations. This insight not only explains the reduced transformation temperature but also the reduced thermal hysteresis in freestanding nanoparticles.Item Open Access A machine learning approach to model solute grain boundary segregation(2018) Huber, Liam; Hadian, Raheleh; Grabowski, Blazej; Neugebauer, JörgEven minute amounts of one solute atom per one million bulk atoms may give rise to qualitative changes in the mechanical response and fracture resistance of modern structural materials. These changes are commonly related to enrichment by several orders of magnitude of the solutes at structural defects in the host lattice. The underlying concept - segregation - is thus fundamental in materials science. To include it in modern strategies of materials design, accurate and realistic computational modelling tools are necessary. However, the enormous number of defect configurations as well as sites solutes can occupy requires models which rely on severe approximations. In the present study we combine a high-throughput study containing more than 1 million data points with machine learning to derive a computationally highly efficient framework which opens the opportunity to model this important mechanism on a routine basis.Item Open Access GB code: a grain boundary generation code(2018) Hadian, Sherry; Grabowski, Blazej; Neugebauer, JörgGrain boundaries (GBs) are crystalline borders between single crystals in materials microstructure. They play an important role in mechanical, chemical or electronic response of materials and are therefore essential to materials science and physics.Item Open Access Anomalous phonon lifetime shortening in paramagnetic CrN caused by spin-lattice coupling: a combined spin and ab Initio molecular dynamics study(2018) Stockem, Irina; Bergman, Anders; Glensk, Albert; Hickel, Tilmann; Körmann, Fritz; Grabowski, Blazej; Neugebauer, Jörg; Alling, BjörnWe study the mutual coupling of spin fluctuations and lattice vibrations in paramagnetic CrN by combining atomistic spin dynamics and ab initio molecular dynamics. The two degrees of freedom are dynamically coupled, leading to nonadiabatic effects. Those effects suppress the phonon lifetimes at low temperature compared to an adiabatic approach. The dynamic coupling identified here provides an explanation for the experimentally observed unexpected temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity of magnetic semiconductors above the magnetic ordering temperature.Item Open Access Dislocation slip transmission through a coherent Σ3{111} copper twin boundary: strain rate sensitivity, activation volume and strength distribution function(2018) Malyar, Nataliya V.; Grabowski, Blazej; Dehm, Gerhard; Kirchlechner, ChristophWe present the first measurement of the strain rate sensitivity of the ideal dislocation slip transmission through a coherent Σ3{111} copper twin boundary. For this purpose we have deformed 129 geometrically identical samples at different strain rates. The micron-sized samples are either single crystalline (87 pillars) or contain one vertical Σ3{111} twin boundary (42 pillars). The strain rate sensitivity of the ideal slip transmission event is 0.015 ± 0.009. This value is considerably lower than the strain rate sensitivity observed for nano-twinned bulk materials, which is addressed to multiple simultaneously activated deformation processes present in the latter case. The activation volume of the ideal slip transmission points towards a cross-slip like transmission process of dislocations through the twin boundary. Furthermore, the high number of geometrically identical samples is used to discuss the ability to identify the strength distribution function of micropillars.Item Open Access Constraining forces stabilizing superconductivity in Bismuth(2018) Krüger, EkkehardAs shown in former papers, the nonadiabatic Heisenberg model presents a mechanism of Cooper pair formation generated by the strongly correlated atomic-like motion of the electrons in narrow, roughly half-filled "superconducting bands'' of special symmetry. The formation of Cooper pairs is not only the result of an attractive electron-electron interaction but is additionally the outcome of quantum mechanical constraining forces. There is theoretical and experimental evidence that only these constraining forces operating in superconducting bands may produce eigenstates in which the electrons form Cooper pairs. Here we report evidence that also the experimentally found superconducting state in bismuth at ambient as well as at high pressure is stabilized by constraining forces.Item Open Access Temperature dependence of the stacking-fault Gibbs energy for Al, Cu, and Ni(2018) Zhang, Xi; Grabowski, Blazej; Körmann, Fritz; Ruban, Andrei; Gong, Yilun; Reed, Roger C.; Hickel, Tilmann; Neugebauer, JörgThe temperature-dependent intrinsic stacking fault Gibbs energy is computed based on highly converged density-functional-theory (DFT) calculations for the three prototype face-centered cubic metals Al, Cu, and Ni. All relevant temperature-dependent contributions are considered including electronic, vibrational, magnetic, and explicit anharmonic Gibbs energy contributions as well as coupling terms employing state-of-the-art statistical sampling techniques. Particular emphasis is put on a careful comparison of different theoretical concepts to derive the stacking fault energy such as the axial-next-nearest-neighbor-Ising (ANNNI) model or the vacuum-slab approach. Our theoretical results are compared with an extensive set of previous theoretical and experimental data. Large uncertainties in the experimental data highlight the necessity of complementary parameter-free calculations. Specifically, the temperature dependence is experimentally unknown and poorly described by thermodynamic databases. Whereas calphad derived data shows an increase of the stacking fault energy with temperature for two of the systems (Cu and Ni), our results predict a decrease for all studied systems. For Ni, the temperature induced change is in fact so strong that in the temperature interval relevant for super-alloy applications the stacking fault energy falls below one third of the low temperature value. Such large changes clearly call for a revision of the stacking fault energy when modeling or designing alloys based on such elements.