Precipitate hardening and aging in Ni-rich Ni-Re alloys

通过从头算方法和团簇展开成功地确定了富Ni的Ni-W和Ni-Re合金（第一阶段）的基态性质，导致了一些令人惊讶的结构结果：我们预测在Ni-Re中可能存在沉淀相。最近，有一些来自实验研究的暗示，表明这样的阶段可能确实存在。在一年之内，我们计划与Reed教授（英国牛津）和Motura博士（英国伯明翰）的团队合作描述这个未知相的沉淀和老化，以便与实验数据进行定量比较成为可能。Ni-Re中沉淀相的存在对于我们理解所谓的Re效应（即通过向材料中添加Re来使技术相关的Ni基高温合金硬化）将是非常重要的。

The successful determination of the ground-state properties in Ni-rich Ni-W and Ni-Re alloys (first period) via ab-initio methods and cluster expansion has lead to some surprising structural results: We predict the existence of a possible precipitate phase in Ni-Re. Recently, there are some hints from experimental studies that such a phase may exist, indeed. Within one year, we plan to describe the precipitation and aging of this unknown phase in collaboration with the groups of Prof. Reed (Oxford, UK) and Dr. Motura (Birmingham, UK), so that a quantitative comparison with experimental data becomes possible. The existence of a precipitate phase in Ni-Re would be of tremendous importance for our understanding of the so-called Re-effect, i.e. the hardening of technologically relevant Ni-based superalloys by adding Re to the materials.