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A new phase transformation route for the formation of metastable beta-Zr

  • Metals & corrosion
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Abstract

In this paper, we observe for the first time that a metastable beta-Zr in the body-centered cubic (BCC) structure can form via a new phase transformation route. The as-received alpha-Zr in the hexagonal closed-packed (HCP) structure transforms partially to the gamma-Zr in the face-centered cubic (FCC) structure via Shockley partial dislocations during deformation, while the gamma-Zr can continuously transform to the beta-Zr by a uniform shear along the \(\left\langle {112} \right\rangle_{{{\text{FCC}}}}\) direction on the \(\left\{ {111} \right\}_{{{\text{FCC}}}}\) plane during subsequent hot deformation. The beta phase is in a Pitsch–Schrader relationship \(((110)_{BCC}||(0001)_{HCP}, [1\overline{1}0]_{BCC}||[10\overline{1}0]_{HCP})\) with the matrix alpha phase and in a Nishiyama–Wassermann relationship \(((110)_{{{\text{BCC}}}} ||(1\overline{1}\overline{1})_{{{\text{FCC}}}} , [1\overline{1}0]_{{{\text{BCC}}}} ||[12\overline{1}]_{{{\text{FCC}}}} )\), with the gamma phase, both of which have not been reported in Zr previously. Combined with corresponding molecular dynamics simulations, the phase transition mechanism and stability of the beta phase are studied. The results show that the beta-Zr phase can be retained in the gamma phase when the cooling is fast enough.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the financial support from Natural Science Foundation of China (51901248, 51828102), Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (2018JJ3649) and Project of Innovation-driven Plan in Central South University (2019CX026). The Advanced Research Center of Central South University is sincerely appreciated for TEM technical support.

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    1. State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China

      Xinglong An, Keying An, Hao Zhang, Xiaoqin Ou, Song Ni & Min Song

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    1. Xinglong An
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    Correspondence to Xiaoqin Ou or Song Ni.

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    An, X., An, K., Zhang, H. et al. A new phase transformation route for the formation of metastable beta-Zr. J Mater Sci 56, 2672–2683 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-020-05387-8

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