Probability Distributions.- Linear Models for Regression.- Linear Models for Classification.- Neural Networks.- Kernel Methods.- Sparse Kernel Machines.- Graphical Models.- Mixture Models and EM.- Approximate Inference.- Sampling Methods.- Continuous Latent Variables.- Sequential Data.- Combining Models.

Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning

Magnesium alloys have received an increasing interest in the past 12 years for potential applications in the automotive, aircraft, aerospace, and electronic industries. Many of these alloys are strong because of solid-state precipitates that are produced by an age-hardening process. Although some strength improvements of existing magnesium alloys have been made and some novel alloys with improved strength have been developed, the strength level that has been achieved so far is still substantially lower than that obtained in counterpart aluminum alloys. Further improvements in the alloy strength require a better understanding of the structure, morphology, orientation of precipitates, effects of precipitate morphology, and orientation on the strengthening and microstructural factors that are important in controlling the nucleation and growth of these precipitates. In this review, precipitation in most precipitation-hardenable magnesium alloys is reviewed, and its relationship with strengthening is examined. It is demonstrated that the precipitation phenomena in these alloys, especially in the very early stage of the precipitation process, are still far from being well understood, and many fundamental issues remain unsolved even after some extensive and concerted efforts made in the past 12 years. The challenges associated with precipitation hardening and age hardening are identified and discussed, and guidelines are outlined for the rational design and development of higher strength, and ultimately ultrahigh strength, magnesium alloys via precipitation hardening.

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Precipitation and Hardening in Magnesium Alloys

The compelling need for lightweight, energy-efficient, environmentally benign engineering systems is driving the development of a wide range of structural and functional materials for energy generation, energy storage, propulsion, and transportation. These challenges motivate wider spread use of magnesium—the eighth most common element in the earth's crust and also extractable from seawater. In addition, the ease of recycling, compared with polymers, makes magnesium alloys environmentally attractive. Importantly, with a density of 1.74 g/cm3—about 30% less than aluminum, one-quarter that of steel, and nearly the same as many polymers—magnesium is attractive for lightweight structural systems and, most notably, automotive systems. A typical car weighing 1525 kg currently contains about 975 kg of steel, 127 kg of Al, 114 kg of polymeric materials, and 5 to 6 kg of magnesium ( 1 ). It is estimated that 22.5 kg of mass reduction would improve fuel efficiency by around 1%; thus, automotive manufacturers worldwide have goals to increase the Mg content of automobiles to between 45 and 160 kg ( 1 , 2 ).

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/328/5981/986.full.pdf

Weight Loss with Magnesium Alloys

Selective electron beam melting (SEBM) belongs to the additive manufacturing technologies which are believed to revolutionise future industrial production. Starting from computer-aided designed data, components are built layer by layer within a powder bed by selectively melting the powder with a high power electron beam. In contrast to selective laser melting (SLM), which can be used for metals, polymers and ceramics, the application field of the electron beam is restricted to metallic components since electric conductivity is required. On the other hand, the electron beam works under vacuum conditions, can be moved at extremely high velocities and a high beam power is available. These features make SEBM especially interesting for the processing of high-performance alloys. The present review describes SEBM with special focus on the relationship between process characteristics, material consolidation and the resulting materials and component properties.

Additive manufacturing of metallic components by selective electron beam melting — a review

Metallic materials are fundamental to advanced aircraft engines. While perceived as mature, emerging computational, experimental and processing innovations are expanding the scope for discovery and implementation of new metallic materials for future generations of advanced propulsion systems.

Alloy design for aircraft engines

Polycrystalline γ-γ′ superalloys with varying grain sizes and unimodal, bimodal, or trimodal distributions of precipitates have been studied. To assess the contributions of specific features of the microstructure to the overall strength of the material, a model that considers solid-solution strengthening, Hall–Petch effects, precipitate shearing in the strong and weak pair-coupled modes, and dislocation bowing between precipitates has been developed and assessed. Cross-slip-induced hardening of the Ni3Al phase and precipitate size distributions in multimodal microstructures are also considered. New experimental observations on the contribution of precipitate shearing to the peak in flow stress at elevated temperatures are presented. Various alloys having comparable yield strengths were investigated and were found to derive their strength from different combinations of microconstituents (mechanisms). In all variants of the microstructure, there is a strong effect of antiphase boundary (APB) energy on strength. Materials subjected to heat treatments below the γ′ solvus temperature benefit from a strong Hall–Petch contribution, while supersolvus heat-treated materials gain the majority of their strength from their resistance to precipitate shearing.

Strengthening Mechanisms in Polycrystalline Multimodal Nickel-Base Superalloys

The present article will describe aspects of the science and technology of titanium aluminide (TiAl) alloy system and summarise the low and high temperature mechanical and environmental properties exhibited by different alloy generations. In terms of processing developments, conventional gravity casting and near net shape casting would be discussed in detail. Also newer and non-conventional forging and additive manufacturing routes would be briefly highlighted. Extensive investigations of TiAl alloys have enabled their commercial implementation in aerospace and automotive industries. The GEnx™ engine is the first commercial aircraft engine that used TiAl (alloy 48–2–2) for their low pressure turbine blades. Among non GE engines, recently, new β-stabilised TiAl alloy (TNM) is being used to manufacture LPT blades for PW1100G™ engines. TiAl materials and design processes can reduce engine weight and improve engine performance.

Akane Suzuki

Papers

Strengthening Mechanisms in Polycrystalline Multimodal Nickel-Base Superalloys

TiAl alloys in commercial aircraft engines

High-temperature strength and deformation of γ/γ′ two-phase Co–Al–W-base alloys

Solidification paths and eutectic intermetallic phases in Mg-Al-Ca ternary alloys

Flow stress anomalies in γ/γ′ two-phase Co–Al–W-base alloys