Co-Ni

Abstract: Complex concentrated alloys (CCAs) are a new generation of metallic alloys composed of three or more principal elements with physical and mechanical properties that can be tuned by adjusting their compositions. The extensive compositional workspace of CCAs makes it impractical to perform a comprehensive search for a specific material property using experimental measurements. The use of computational methods can rapidly narrow down the search span, improving the efficiency of the design process. We carried out a high-throughput parameterization of modified embedded atom method (MEAM) interatomic potentials for combinations of Cu, Ti, Ni, Cr, Co, Al, Fe, and Mn using a genetic algorithm. Unary systems were parameterized based on DFT calculations and experimental results. MEAM potentials for 28 binary and 56 ternary combinations of the elements were parameterized to DFT results that were carried out with semi-automated frameworks. Specific attention was made to reproduce properties that impact compositional segregation, material strength, and mechanics.

Abstract: Alloying of Ni with Fe or Co has been shown to reduce primary damage production under ion irradiation. Similar results have been obtained from classical molecular dynamics simulations of 1, 10, 20, and 40 keV collision cascades in Ni, NiFe, and NiCo. In all cases, a mix of imperfect stacking fault tetrahedra, faulted loops with a 1/3⟨111⟩ Burgers vector, and glissile interstitial loops with a 1/2⟨110⟩ Burgers vector were formed, along with small sessile point defect complexes and clusters. Primary damage reduction occurs by three mechanisms. First, Ni-Co, Ni-Fe, Co-Co, and Fe-Fe short-distance repulsive interactions are stiffer than Ni-Ni interactions, which lead to a decrease in damage formation during the transition from the supersonic ballistic regime to the sonic regime. This largely controls final defect production. Second, alloying decreases thermal conductivity, leading to a longer thermal spike lifetime. The associated annealing reduces final damage production. These two mechanisms are especially important at cascades energies less than 40 keV. Third, at the higher energies, the production of large defect clusters by subcascades is inhibited in the alloys. A number of challenges and limitations pertaining to predictive atomistic modeling of alloys under high-energy particle irradiation are discussed.

Abstract: Interatomic potentials for the Ni-Co binary and Ni-Al-Co ternary systems have been developed on the basis of the second nearest-neighbor modified embedded-atom method (2NN MEAM) formalism. The potentials describe structural, thermodynamic, deformation and defect properties of solid solution phases or compound phases in reasonable agreements with experiments or first-principles calculations. The results demonstrate the transferability of the potentials and their applicability to large-scale atomistic simulations to investigate the effect of an alloying element, cobalt, on various microstructural factors related to mechanical properties of Ni-based superalloys on an atomic scale.

Abstract: Ni–Al–Co is a promising system for ferromagnetic shape memory applications. This paper reports on the development of a ternary embedded-atom potential for this system by fitting to experimental and first-principles data. Reasonably good agreement is achieved for physical properties between values predicted by the potential and values known from experiment and/or first-principles calculations. The potential reproduces basic features of the martensitic phase transformation from the B2-ordered high-temperature phase to a tetragonal CuAu-ordered low-temperature phase. The compositional and temperature ranges of this transformation and the martensite microstructure predicted by the potential compare well with existing experimental data. These results indicate that the proposed potential can be used for simulations of the shape memory effect in the Ni–Al–Co system.