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In the modern world, many products are disposable or have a very short lifespan, while at the same time, those products are made from materials that will remain in the environment in the form of waste for hundreds or even thousands of years. It is a serious problem; non-biodegradable polymer wastes are part of environmental pollution and generate microplastics, which accumulate in the organisms of living beings. One of the proposed solutions is biodegradable polymers and their composites. In our work, three types of polylactide-based composites with plant-derived fillers: microcellulose powder, short flax fibers, and wood flour at 2 wt.% were prepared. Poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based biocomposite properties were characterized in terms of mechanical and surface properties together with microscopic analysis and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), before and after a UV (ultraviolet)-light-aging process to determine the effects of each cellulose-based additive on the UV-induced degradation process. This research shows that the addition of a cellulose additive can improve the properties of the material in terms of the UV-aging process, but the form of the chosen cellulose form plays a crucial role in this case. The testing of physicochemical properties demonstrated that not only can mechanical properties be improved, but also the time of degradation under UV light exposure can be controlled by the proper selection of the reinforcing phase and the parameters of the extrusion and injection molding process. The obtained results turned out to be very interesting, not only in terms of the cost reduction of the biocomposites themselves, as mainly the waste from the wood industry was used as a low-cost filler, but also that the additive delays the aging process occurring during UV light exposure. Even a small, 2 wt.% addition of some of the tested forms of cellulose delayed surface degradation, which is one of the most important factors affecting the biodegradation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steel designs with superior mechanical properties have been urgently needed in automotive industries to achieve energy conservation, increase safety, and decrease weight. In this study, the aging process is employed to enhance the yield strength (YS) by tailoring the distribution of V-rich precipitates and to improve ductility by producing high volume fractions of recrystallized ferrite in cold-rolled medium-Mn steel. A reliable method to acquire ultra-high strength (1.0–1.5 GPa), together with ductility (>40%), is proposed via utilizing non-recrystallized austenite and recrystallized ferrite. Similarly to conventional medium-Mn steels, the TRIP effect, along with the mild TWIP effect, is responsible for the main deformation mechanisms during tensile testing. However, the coupled influence of precipitation strengthening, grain refinement strengthening, and dislocation strengthening contributes to an increase in YS. The studied steel, aged at 650 °C for 5 h, demonstrates a YS of 1078 MPa, ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 1438 MPa, and tensile elongation (TE) of 30%. The studied steel aged at 650 °C for 10 h shows a UTS of 1306 MPa and TE of 42%, resulting in the best product in terms of of UTS and TE, at 55 GPa·%. Such a value surpasses that of the previously reported medium-Mn steels containing equal mass fractions of various microalloying elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cu–Cr-based alloys exhibit excellent electrical conductivity and strength, but their poor thermal stability limits their application in industry. In this paper, Cu–0.2Cr (at. %) and Cu–0.2Cr–0.12Ag (at. %) alloys were prepared to study the effect of Ag on the properties, microstructure, and thermal stability of the Cu–Cr alloy. Microstructure and precipitation were observed by an optical microscope (OM) and a transmission–electron microscope (TEM). After cold-drawing by 99.9% and aging at 450 °C for 2 h, the peak hardness and electric conductivity of the Cu–Cr alloy were 120.3 HV and 99.5% IACS, respectively, and those of the Cu–Cr–Ag alloy were 135.8 HV and 98.3% IACS, respectively. The softening temperature of the Cu–Cr alloy was 500~525 °C, and that of the Cu–Cr–Ag alloy was about 550 °C. The creep strains of the Cu–Cr and Cu–Cr–Ag alloys at 40 MPa and 400 ℃ for 50 h were 0.18% and 0.05%, respectively. Ag elements improved the thermal stability of the Cu–Cr alloy. Recovery and recrystallization occurred before the coarsening of precipitates during the softening process. Ag atoms mainly improved the softening resistance of the alloy by delaying recrystallization, and mainly increased creep resistance by preventing the increase in mobile-dislocation density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The precipitation sequence of a Cu-Ni-Be alloy is: α-Cu supersaturated solid solution → Guinier-Preston (G.P.) zones → metastable γ″ → γ′ → stable γ (NiBe) phase. The micro-hardness and electrical conductivity during the aging process were measured. The precipitation characteristics and the distribution of the γ″ phase, under peak aging conditions, were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area diffraction pattern (SADP), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The results show that the orientation relationship of the γ″ phase/α-Cu matrix is: (001)p//(001)α; [100]p//[110]α (p: Precipitates, α: α-Cu supersaturated solid solution), which is in accordance with the Bain relationship in a FCC/BCC (face centered cubic/body centered cubic) structure, with the unique habit plane being {001}α. While the zone axis is parallel to [001]α, three forms of γ″ phases are distributed on the projection surface at the same time. The (001) reciprocal-lattice positions of γ″ phase in SADP are diffusely scattered, which is consistent with the variation of the d(001) value of the γ″ phase. The intra-range variation is related to the distortion of the (001) plane of the γ″ phase, due to interfacial dislocations and distortion strain fields. The lattice of the γ″ phase in the HRTEM images was measured as a = b = 0.259 ± 0.002 nm and c = 0.27–0.32 nm. With the increase of thermal exposure time, the stable γ phase has a NiBe phase structure (Standard Card Number: PDF#03-1098, a = b = c = 0.261 nm), and the long diffuse scattering spots will transform into single bright spots. The edge dislocation, generated by interfacial mismatch, promotes the formation of an optimal structure of the precipitated phase, which is the priority of growth in the direction of [110]p. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]