Molecular-dynamic simulations have been used to study the structure evolution in iron melts rapidly cooled under different pressures. An extreme cooling rate (4×1012K/s) was adopted in the cooling process. The simulation results show that at the ambient pressure, martensitic transformation happened. However, at a pressure of 1.4GPa, the system passes from bcc structure to a less closed packed structure which is composed of both full icosahedra clusters and bcc structure. With the increase of pressures, an amorphous state was observed, and a compacted local structure with more defected icosahedra is obtained. This work contributes to a better understanding about the dynamics of phase transitions in iron under high pressure, especially during the extremely fast cooling process.

Effects of forming pores in Zr70Cu30 metallic glass on the deformation behaviour is investigated through molecular dynamics simulations. The formation of pores leads to only a small reduction in strength, but dramatically enhanced plasticity in compression. The large plasticity of glass is attributed to the large effective free space induced by forming pores. It can also promote formation of crystalline phases in the amorphous matrix during deformation. Simulation reproduces the images of the evolution of pores in the metallic glass. The simulation results are in good agreement with experimental results.

A simple chemical synthetic route has been developed to prepare nanocrystalline titanium nitride (TiN) in an autoclave, by the reaction of metallic Ti with NaNH2 at low temperature of 500-600 °C. The samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectra. The possible reaction mechanism of this process is also discussed. This method may be extended to the synthesis of other metal nitrides.