KenHee Ryou | Searcharxiv

arXiv2026

Unravelling the mechanisms underlying crack initiation in additively manufactured steel

Metal additive manufacturing (AM) is increasingly adopted for safety-critical applications across the biomedical, aerospace, and energy sectors. However, many AM alloys exhibit substantially lower fracture toughness and shorter fatigue lives than their wrought counterparts, limiting their structural reliability. The microscale mechanisms governing this deficit remain obscured because the evolution of crack-tip deformation cannot be directly resolved using conventional characteriza-tion techniques. Here, we combine in situ multimodal synchrotron X-ray diffraction with phase-contrast tomography to directly observe the three-dimensional evolution of crack-tip plasticity dur-ing loading. We find that wrought steel develops a localized crack-tip process zone characterized by extensive geometrically necessary dislocation (GND) accumulation, effective stress relaxation, and crack-tip blunting. This plastic zone provides shielding of the crack tip by redistributing defor-mation and reducing the local driving force for crack initiation. In contrast, the AM alloy exhibits suppressed GND evolution, limited crack-tip blunting, and persistent elevated stresses over an ex-tended region ahead of the crack tip, indicating ineffective stress relaxation and premature crack initiation. These findings demonstrate that fracture resistance is governed by the spatial evolution of crack-tip plasticity, providing a mechanistic framework for improving the damage tolerance of AM structural alloys.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Ultrastrong and ductile CoNiMoAl medium-entropy alloys enabled by L12 nanoprecipitate-induced multiple deformation mechanisms

L12 precipitates are known to significantly enhance the strength and ductility of single-phase face-centered cubic (FCC) medium- or high-entropy alloys (M/HEAs). However, further improvements in mechanical properties remain untapped, as alloy design has historically focused on systems with specific CrCoNi- or FeCoCrNi-based FCC matrix and Ni3Al L12 phase compositions. This study introduces novel Co-Ni-Mo-Al alloys with L12 precipitates by systematically altering Al content, aiming to bridge this research gap by revealing the strengthening mechanisms. The (CoNi)81Mo12Al7 alloy achieves yield strength of 1086 MPa, tensile strength of 1520 MPa, and ductility of 35 %, demonstrating an impressive synergy of strength, ductility, and strain-hardening capacity. Dislocation analysis via transmission electron microscopy, supported by generalized stacking fault energy (GSFE) calculations using density functional theory (DFT), demonstrates that Mo substitution for Al in the L12 phase alters dislocation behavior, promoting the formation of multiple deformation modes, including stacking faults, super-dislocation pairs, Lomer-Cottrell locks, and unusual nano-twin formation even at low strains. These behaviors are facilitated by the low stacking fault energy (SFE) of the FCC matrix, overlapping of SFs, and dislocation dissociation across anti-phase boundaries (APBs). The increased energy barrier for superlattice intrinsic stacking fault (SISF) formation compared to APBs, due to Mo substitution, further influences dislocation activity. This work demonstrates a novel strategy for designing high-performance M/HEAs by expanding the range of FCC matrix and L12 compositions through precipitation hardening.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗