Provided are methods and devices for forming high nitrogen steel. The processes include heating a steel precursor to a temperature that transforms the steel into an austenite of FCC wherein the heating is in a nitrogen containing atmosphere. After an optional nitrogen uptake time, the precursor is further heated to a temperature above the T.sub.γN of the steel yet below the melting point of the steel thereby preserving a solid and creating a solid solution of nitrogen. The second temperature is optionally maintained for a nitride conversion time, optionally wherein the nitride conversion time is too short to result in sintering of the steel. The process further includes rapid quenching of the precursor powder to maintain the nitrogen solid solution and prevent nitride formation thereby forming a high nitrogen steel with little to no nitride content and including nitrogen in solid solution.

Provided are methods and devices for forming high nitrogen steel. The processes include heating a steel precursor to a temperature that transforms the steel into an austenite of FCC wherein the heating is in a nitrogen containing atmosphere. After an optional nitrogen uptake time, the precursor is further heated to a temperature above the T.sub.γN of the steel yet below the melting point of the steel thereby preserving a solid and creating a solid solution of nitrogen. The second temperature is optionally maintained for a nitride conversion time, optionally wherein the nitride conversion time is too short to result in sintering of the steel. The process further includes rapid quenching of the precursor powder to maintain the nitrogen solid solution and prevent nitride formation thereby forming a high nitrogen steel with little to no nitride content and including nitrogen in solid solution.

A magnet structure includes columnar grains of rare earth permanent magnet phase aligned in a same direction and arranged to form bulk anisotropic rare earth alloy magnet having a boundary defined by opposite ends of the columnar grains and lacking triple junction regions, and rare earth alloy diffused onto opposite ends of the bulk anisotropic rare earth alloy magnet.

This invention provides methods for fabricating a hard or soft magnet with tailorable magnetic and crystallographic orientations. Methods are disclosed to individually tailor three-dimensional voxels for selected crystallographic orientations and, independently, selected magnetic orientations with location specificity throughout a magnet. Some variations provide a method of making a magnet, comprising: providing a feedstock composition containing magnetic or magnetically susceptible materials; exposing the feedstock composition to an energy source for melting, thereby generating a first melt layer; solidifying the first melt layer in the presence of an externally applied magnetic field, thereby generating a magnetic metal layer containing a plurality of individual voxels; optionally repeating to generate a plurality of solid layers; and recovering a magnet comprising the magnetic metal layer(s), wherein the externally applied magnetic field has a magnetic-field orientation that is selected to control a magnetic axis and a crystallographic texture within the magnetic metal layer(s).

Methods and materials are disclosed for simultaneously optimizing both the piezoelectric and mechanical properties of wurtzite piezoelectric materials based on the AlN wurtzite and alloyed with one or two end-members from the set BN, YN, CrN, and ScN.

A novel medium entropy alloy having the chemical formula Mo.sub.xCrNiCo (atomic %) where (x ranges from ˜0.4 to ˜1.0).

A method and apparatus for manufacturing an equiaxed crystal aluminum alloy cast ingot by using additive manufacturing and rapid solidification techniques are provided. The apparatus comprises: a metal heating mechanism and a negative pressure cooling mechanism. The metal heating mechanism is located above the negative pressure cooling mechanism and is connected thereto by a nozzle. The negative pressure cooling mechanism comprises a vacuum chamber having an air inlet hole and an air outlet hole, and a three-dimensional moving ingot mechanism disposed inside the vacuum chamber. The three-dimensional moving ingot mechanism comprises a moving ingot and a two-dimensional moving platform vertically connected to the moving ingot. A water cooling mechanism is disposed outside the moving ingot, and the moving ingot is driven by a precision motor to precisely move up and down.

A method includes depositing a layer of alloy particles including rare earth permanent magnet phase above a substrate, laser scanning the layer while cooling the substrate to melt the particles, selectively initiate crystal nucleation, and promote columnar grain growth in a same direction as an easy axis of the rare earth permanent magnet phase. The method also includes repeating the depositing and scanning to form bulk anisotropic rare earth alloy magnet with aligned columnar grains.

An additively manufactured body including a Ni—Cr—Mo based alloy that is excellent in mechanical properties. An additively manufactured body of the present invention is a member including a Ni-based alloy that includes Ni at the largest content by a mass ratio, and Cr and Mo at second largest contents by a mass ratio; and includes segregation of Mo in at least a part of a crystal grain(s). This crystal grain(s) has columnar cell structures (CL), and preferably the segregation of Mo exists between adjacent cell structures. A tensile strength of 850 MPa or higher and an elongation of 50% or higher can be obtained.

An additively manufactured body including a Ni—Cr—Mo based alloy that is excellent in mechanical properties. An additively manufactured body of the present invention is a member including a Ni-based alloy that includes Ni at the largest content by a mass ratio, and Cr and Mo at second largest contents by a mass ratio; and includes segregation of Mo in at least a part of a crystal grain(s). This crystal grain(s) has columnar cell structures (CL), and preferably the segregation of Mo exists between adjacent cell structures. A tensile strength of 850 MPa or higher and an elongation of 50% or higher can be obtained.