The Ni （001） surface, Ni3Nb （001） surface and Ni （001）/Ni3Nb （001） interfaces were studied using the first-principles pseudopotential plane-wave method. The adhesion work, thermal stability and electronic structure of Ni/Ni3Nb （001） interfaces were calculated to expound the influence of atom termination and stacking sequence on the interface strength and stability. Simulated results indicate that Ni and Ni3Nb （001） surface models with more than eight atomic layers exhibit bulk-like interior. The （Ni＋Nb）-terminated interface with hollow site stacking has the largest cohesive strength and critical stress for crack propagation and the best thermal stability among the four models. This interfacial Ni and the first nearest neighbor Nb atoms form covalent bonds across the interface region, which are mainly contributed by Nb 4d and Ni 3d valence electrons. By comparison, the thermal stability of Ni/Ni3Nb （001） interfaces is worse than Ni/Ni3A1 （001） interface, implying that the former is harder to form. But the Ni/Ni3Nb interface can improve the mechanical properties ofNi-based superalloys.
Two types of dendrite tip splitting including dendrite orientation transition and twinned-like dendrites in Fe-C alloys were investigated by phase-field method. In equiaxed growth, the possible dendrite growth directions and the effect of supersaturation on tip splitting were discussed; the dendrite orientation transition was observed, and it was found that the orientation regions of anisotropy parameters were reduced from three to two with increasing the supersaturation, which was due to the effect of interracial anisotropy controlled by the solute in front of S/L interface changing with the increase of supersaturation. In directional solidification, it was found that the twinned like dendrites were formed with the fixed anisotropy couples and no seaweed dendrites were observed; these were concluded from the results of competition between process anisotropy and inherent anisotropy. The formation process of twinned-like dendrite was investigated by tip splitting phenomenon, which was related to the chan ges of dendrite tips growth velocity. Then, the critical speed of tips splitting and solute concentration of twinned-like dendrites were investigated, and a new type of microsegregation in Fe-C alloys was proposed to supplement the dendrite growth theories.
Semi-solid slurry of ZL101 aluminum alloy was prepared using serpentine channel. The influences of the pouring temperature, the number of curves and the serpentine channel temperature on the microstructure of semi-solid ZL101 aluminum alloy were investigated. The results show that, satisfied semi-solid slurry of ZL101 aluminum alloy was prepared with pouring at 630-680℃. The morphology of primaryα（Al） grains transforms from rosette to spheroid with the decrease of pouring temperature. At the same pouring temperature, increasing the number of curves can improve the morphology of primaryα（Al） grains and decrease the grain size. Qualified slurry can be attained with lowering the pouring temperature when the serpentine channel temperature is higher. The alloy melt has the effect of“self-stirring”in the serpentine channel, which can make the primary nuclei gradually evolve into spherical and near-spherical grains.
