Incoherent tilt grain boundaries stabilized by stacking faults and solute-cluster segregation: a case-study of an Mg-Gd alloy

Zhengqing Liu, Qi Qian, Yong Jiang, Yiren Wang, Yuman Zhu, Jian Feng Nie

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Despite their wide presence in hcp metals, incoherent tilt grain boundaries (ITGBs) are rarely studied. In this work, first-principles calculations were combined with atomic-resolution HAADF-STEM analyses to investigate the structure and formation of one special type ITGB in an Mg-Gd alloy featured with a unique Gd-rich cluster segregation pattern. Our results suggested this ITGB as a mirror-glide boundary formed by gliding the atoms along [2021] of a {1014} <2021> coherent twin boundary due to its interaction with stacking faults. The ITGB can be further stabilized by partial-column Gd substitution, leading to the observed unique segregation pattern.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)268-274
Number of pages7
JournalMaterials Research Letters
Volume8
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020

Keywords

  • density functional theory
  • grain boundary
  • Mg
  • segregation
  • stacking fault

Cite this