Application of cyclic upsetting-extrusion to semi-solid processing of AZ91D magnesium alloy

The microstructural evolution of AZ91D magnesium alloy prepared by means of the cyclic upsetting-extrusion and partial remelting was investigated. The effects of remelting temperature and holding time on microstructure of semi-solid AZ91D magnesium alloy were studied. Furthermore, tensile properties of thixoextruded AZ91D magnesium alloy components were determined. The results show that the cyclic upsetting-extrusion followed by partial remelting is effective in producing semi-solid AZ91D magnesium alloy for thixoforming. During the partial remelting, with the increase of remelting temperature and holding time, the solid grain size increases and the degree of spheroidization tends to be improved. The tensile mechanical properties of thixoextruded AZ91D magnesium alloy components produced by cyclic upsetting-extrusion and partial remelting are better than those of the same alloy produced by casting.     

Microstructure development and thixoextrusion of magnesium alloy prepared by repetitive upsetting-extrusion

Thixoextrusion involves processing alloys with a spheroidal microstructure in the semi-solid state. Before thixoextrusion, repetitive upsetting-extrusion (RUE) is introduced into the strain induced metal activation (SIMA) process to predeform AZ80 magnesium alloy. Microstructure evolution of RUE formed AZ80 magnesium alloy during partial remelting is studied at temperatures for times. Tensile mechanical properties of thixoextruded components are determined and compared with those of AZ80 magnesium alloy thixoextruded from starting material produced by casting. The results show that with increasing number of RUE passes solid grain size decreases and the rate of liquation is improved. Prolonged holding time results in grain coarsening and the improvement of degree of spheroidization. The variation of the solid grains with holding time obeys the Lifshitz, Slyozov and Wagner law. Increasing the heating temperature is favorable for the formation of spheroidal solid grains. The tensile properties for AZ80 magnesium alloy thixoextruded from starting material produced by RUE are better than those of AZ80 magnesium alloy thixoextruded from starting material produced by casting.     

SSTT和RAP方法得到的ZK60镁合金的组织变化和力学性能

研究了分别由半固态热成形方法（SSTT）和部分重熔再结晶方法（RAP）得到的 ZK60镁合金在一定温度下显微组织随等温时间的变化和触变成形试样的力学性能。结果表明,合并长大机制在SSTT合金的组织变化中占主导地位,熟化机制在RAP 合金的组织变化中起主要作用。在相同的等温条件下,与SSTT方法相比,RAP方法可以得到更细小的半固态显微组织,RAP合金组织比SSTT合金组织更圆整。由SSTT方法和RAP方法得到的ZK60镁合金触变成形后均得到了较理想的成形件,触变成形工艺提高了材料的力学性能。与 SSTT 合金相比, RAP合金具有更优越的力学性能。     

Microstructural evolution and tensile mechanical properties of thixoformed AZ91D magnesium alloy with the addition of yttrium

The microstructure evolution of AZ91D magnesium alloy in the semi-solid state has been proposed or reported in previous literature. However, no detailed investigation has been conducted regarding the relationship between the microstructure and tensile mechanical properties of the thixoformed AZ91D magnesium alloy. In this paper, the microstructure of AZ91D alloy with the addition of yttrium was produced by the semi-solid thermal transformation (SSTT) route and the strain-induced melt activation (SIMA) route, respectively. Isothermal holding experiments investigated grain coarsening and the degree of spheroidization as a function of holding time in the semi-solid state. The SSTT route and the SIMA route were used to obtain the semi-solid feedstock for thixoforming. The results show that solid particles of the SSTT alloy are spheroidized to some extent but the previous irregular shape is still obvious in some of them. While the SIMA alloy exhibits ideal, fine microstructure, in which completely spheroidized solid particles contain little entrapped liquid. The microstructure of the SSTT alloy is less spheroidized compared with the SIMA alloy under the similar isothermal holding condition. As the holding time increases, the mean solid particle size of the SSTT alloy decreases initially, then increases, while the mean solid particle size of the SIMA alloy increases monotonously at 560 °C. Compared with the SSTT alloy, the SIMA alloy obtains finer grains under the similar isothermal holding condition. The mechanical properties of the thixoformed AZ91D alloy with the addition of yttrium produced by the SIMA route are better than those of the thixoformed alloy produced by the SSTT route. The ultimate tensile strength, yield strength and elongation for the thixoformed alloy produced by the SIMA route are 303.1 MPa, 147.6 MPa and 13.27%, respectively. The tensile properties for the AZ91D alloy with the addition of yttrium thixoformed from starting material produced by the SIMA route are better than those of the AZ91D alloy with the addition of yttrium thixoformed from starting material produced by the SSTT route.     

等温处理对挤压态AZ80A镁合金半固态组织的影响

采用应变诱发熔化激活法(SIMA)工艺制备了AZ80A镁合金半固态坯料,研究了保温温度和保温时间对半固态组织的影响。结果表明:随着保温温度的升高和保温时间的增加,AZ80A镁合金的平均晶粒尺寸与液相率都呈上升趋势,形状因子呈先增大后减小的趋势。半固态组织由α-Mg晶粒、Al、Zn元素富集形成的晶界处液相和晶内“小液池”组成,其组织演变分为初始晶粒合并长大,晶粒球化、彼此分离,最终合并粗化3个阶段。采用该种方法制备AZ80A镁合金半固态坯料时合适的保温温度为550 ℃、保温时间为45 min,此时半固态组织的平均晶粒尺寸、形状因子和液相率分别为89 μm、0.795和26.7%。     

挤压铸造制备半固态AZ61镁合金的组织演变及力学性能(英文)

采用挤压铸造后直接二次重熔的方法制备半固态AZ61镁合金。首先通过挤压铸造预成形铸态AZ61镁合金,以获得细小的枝晶;然后在半固态区间进行二次重熔,细小的枝晶演变成球状晶,完全球化的晶粒被液相均匀包裹。研究结果表明:通过挤压铸造预成形的铸态AZ61镁合金与传统铸造预成形的铸态AZ61镁合金相比,在相同的二次重熔条件下,挤压铸造预成形的铸态AZ61镁合金获得更细小的半固态组织。此外,挤压铸造加上二次重熔触变成形的AZ61镁合金,力学性能优于传统铸造后二次重熔触变成形的AZ61镁合金。     

Mg-Al系镁合金半固态坯料制备及触变挤压研究

采用拉伸试验机、金相显微镜和等径道角挤压等试验方法对Mg-Al系镁合金半固态坯料制备及触变挤压过程进行了研究.结果表明,等径道角挤压工艺对Mg-Al系镁合金有很好的应变诱导效果.经过等径道角挤压的Mg-Al系镁合金力学性能高,晶粒细小.等径道角挤压+等温处理方法制备的Mg-Al系镁合金半固态坯的微观组织晶粒细小,球化程度高,微观组织非常均匀.生产的AZ61、AZ80、AZ91D和AM60镁合金角框零件的微观组织细小,抗拉强度分别达到306.8、308.3、299.8、321.6MPa.伸长率分别达到21.6%、28.4%、14.6%和29.6%.     

加热工艺对AZ91D镁合金部分重熔组织的影响

提出半固态金属坯料先在液相线以上温度适当加热再降低温度至两相区温度继续等温保温的二次加热工艺。采用该工艺对晶粒细化AZ91D镁合金坯料进行部分重熔,研究了其组织演变规律,并与等温二次加热工艺进行比较。结果表明,与等温二次加热工艺相比,坯料先在液相线以上温度适当加热再降低温度至两相区温度继续保温,坯料重熔速度明显加快,相同加热时间时,晶粒更加细小和圆整。组织演变机理分析表明,加快液相形成速度可适当抑制晶粒的合并,降低晶粒长大速度,并促进晶粒球化。     

Microstructure Evolution of Semi-Solid 7075 Aluminum Alloy During Reheating Process

Microstructural evolution of semi-solid 7075 Al alloy manufactured by strain-induced melt activation (SIMA) process was investigated. The effects of different processing parameters, such as isothermal temperature and holding time on the semi-solid microstructures (the liquid volume fraction, average grain size, and degree of spheroidization of the solid particles) during partial remelting have been investigated on 7075 Al alloy that was extruded by an extrusion ratio of 20 before remelting. Experiments of remelting were carried out in the range of 560-610 °C for 10, 20, and 30 min holding time and then the specimens were quenched in cold water. Microstructure of quenched samples were observed under optical microscope and then analyzed via image analysis. The results showed that high semi-solid isothermal temperature would increase the liquid volume fraction and accelerate the spherical processing of the solid particles. Furthermore at long holding time, the globular grains coarsened slightly and the average grains size are increased. The experimental results showed that the optimum process parameters, should be chosen at isothermal temperature of 580 °C with the holding time, <30 min.     

Effects of holding temperature and time on semi-solid isothermal heat-treated microstructure of ZA84 magnesium alloy

The feasibility of fabricating ZA84 magnesium alloy with non-dendritic microstructure by a semi-solid isothermal heat treatment process and the effects of holding temperature and time on the semi-solid isothermal heat-treated microstructure of the alloy were investigated. The results indicate that it is possible to produce ZA84 alloy with non-dendritic microstructure by suitable semi-solid isothermal heat treatment. After being treated at 560-575℃ for 120min, ZA84 magnesium alloy can obtain a non-dendritic microstructure with 14.2%-25.6% liquid fraction and an average size of 56-65μm of the unmelted primary solid particles. With the increasing holding time from 30 to 120min or holding temperature from 560 to 575℃, the average size of unmelted primary solid particles decreases and globular tendency becomes more obvious. Under the experimental condition, the microstructural evolution of ZA84 alloy during semi-solid isothermal treatment is mainly composed of three stages of initial coarsening. structulseparation and spheroidization. The subsequent coarsening of spheroidal grains is not observed.     

Effects of predeformation and semi-solid processing on microstructure and mechanical properties of Cr–V–Mo steel

An energy-efficient process route for manufacturing machine tools and dies of high quality was proposed based on recrystallization and partial melting (RAP) method and semi-solid forming technology. To verify its feasibility, the effects of parameters such as predeformation, heating rate, and holding time on the microstructure and mechanical properties of cast Cr–V–Mo steel were studied experimentally. Recrystallization, austenization, grain growth and partial melting occur during heating of predeformed cast billet. These behaviors refine the microstructure and improve the mechanical properties. The refinement of microstructure and improvement of mechanical properties become more significant, when RAP is conducted with larger predeformation (50%), higher heating rate (50 °C/s) and shorter isothermal holding time (20 s).     

脉冲电场下制备AZ91D镁合金部分重熔过程的组织演变

研究利用低压脉冲电场技术制备的AZ91D镁合金在部分重熔过程中的组织演变,考察加热温度和保温时间对不同脉冲电压制备的AZ91D合金初生相形态和尺寸的影响。结果表明:经低压脉冲电场处理后,将AZ91D镁合金进行部分重熔可得到非枝晶的半固态合金,随坯料制备的脉冲电压增加,重熔时初生相变得圆整且尺寸减小,但制备坯料的脉冲电压过高,重熔时初生相尺寸有所增加;脉冲电场处理后的AZ91D镁合金坯料经适当的部分重熔处理可获得具备触变过程所需要的组织状态。     

流变铸轧AZ91D镁合金半固态组织演变特点

采用旋转管浇注法制得AZ91D镁合金半固态浆料,在水平双辊铸轧机上进行了流变铸轧试验研究,对铸轧前后组织的特点进行了分析比较.结果表明,铸轧可使初晶更加圆整,620 ℃浇注温度下,静置时间短,铸轧对初晶圆整化效果更加显著;铸轧后初晶尺寸略微减小,分布更加均匀;铸轧后薄板面上的初晶晶粒密度低于半固态浆料的晶粒密度,620 ℃浇注温度下,铸轧后晶粒密度显著下降.     

Preparation of semi-solid billet of magnesium alloy and its thixoforming

Preparation of semi-solid billet of magnesium alloy and thixoforming was investigated by applying equal channel angularextrusion to magnesium alloy.The results show that mechanical properties of AZ91D alloy at room temperature,such as yieldstrength(YS),ultimate tensile strength(UTS)and elongation,are enhanced greatly by four-pass equal channel angularextrusion(ECAE)at 573 K and microstructure of AZ91D alloy is refined to the average grain size of 20μm.Through using ECAE asstrain induced step in SIMA and completing melt activated step by semi-solid isothermal treatment,semi-solid billet with finespheroidal grains of 25μm can be prepared successfully.Compared with common SIMA,thixoformed satellite angle framecomponents using semi-solid billet prepared by new SIMA have higher mechanical properties at room temperature and hightemperature of 373 K.     

等温热处理对Mg-Gd-Zn-Zr合金半固态组织的影响

选择稍高于共晶反应温度作为等温热处理温度,对铸态Mg-15Gd-2Zn-0.6Zr合金进行等温热处理,获得了半固态球化组织。研究了热处理温度和保温时间对半固态组织的影响,探讨了半固态组织演变机制及适用于低温等温热处理的半固态Mg-Gd-Zn-Zr合金成分设计。结果表明,液相组织具有低的温度敏感性,其组织演变主要机制为α-Mg表面熔化和α-Mg动态再析出,而固相颗粒球化机制为:α-Mg树枝晶→枝晶臂粗化→枝晶臂合并、不规则多边形化→球化。     

Coarsening rate of microstructure in semi-solid aluminium alloys

The rate of microstructural coarsening of recrystallisation and partial melting (RAP) and cooling slope (CS) processed materials in the semi-solid state is compared with rates found in the literature. The rate of coarsening depended on the liquid fraction but RAP route 2014 alloy with 37% liquid coarsened slightly more slowly than the CS route 2014 alloy with a lower liquid fraction of 17%, contrary to expectations. For the CS route, an increase in liquid fraction resulted in faster coarsening. A modified 2014 alloy with Fe, Mn and Zn stripped out of the composition gave a relatively high coarsening rate. The coarsening rate was also relatively high for CS 201 alloy in comparison with either RAP 2014 or CS 2014. Low coarsening rates are thought to be associated with the presence of particles which inhibit the migration of liquid film grain boundaries. This could be the result of pinning or of the liquid film impeding diffusion at the boundary.     

Microstructural evolution of equal channel angular pressed AZ91D magnesium alloy during semi-solid isothermal heat treatment

The microstructural evolution of AZ91D magnesium alloy processed by equal channel angular pressing during isothermal heat treatment at 570℃ was investigated. The results indicated that the equal channel angular pressing followed by semi-solid isothermal heat treatment was an effective method to prepare semisolid nondendritic slurry of AZ91D magnesium alloy. During this process, its microstructure change underwent four stages, the initial coarsening stage, the structure separation stage, the spheroidization stage and the final coarsening stage. The microstructural spheroidization effect was the best after being heated for 15 min for the alloy pressed for four passes, and the grain size was the smallest. With the further increase of heating time, the grain size and shape factor increased. When the heating time was kept constant, the grain size and shape factor decreased with the increase of pressing passes.     

Microstructural evolution during partial remelting of AM60B magnesium alloy refined by MgCO3

AM60B magnesium alloy was refined by MgCO₃ and its microstructural evolution was investigated during partial remelting. The results indicate that MgCO₃ is an effective grain refiner for AM60B alloy and can decrease the grain size from 329 μm of the unrefined alloy to 69 μm. A semisolid microstructure with small and spheroidal primary particles can be obtained after being partially remelted. The microstructure evolution can be divided into four steps: the initial rapid coarsening, structure separation, spheroidization and final coarsening. Correspondingly, these four steps result from the phase transformations of β→α, α+β→L and α→L, α→L and two reverse reactions of α→L and L→α, respectively. One spheroidal primary particle in the semisolid microstructure usually originates one dendrite in the as-cast microstructure. The variation of primary particle size with holding time does not obey the LSW law, D_t³?D₀³=Kt, after the semisolid system is in its solid-liquid equilibrium state. Longer heating duration makes the primary particles more globular, but it makes their size larger at the same time.     

Microstructural evolution of fine-grained ZA27 alloy during partial remelting

The microstructural evolution process of fined-grained ZA27 alloy during partial remelting has been investigated.The relationship between the as-cast and semi-solid microstructures has been discussed in particular.The results indicate that a semi-solid microstructure with small and spheroidal primary particles can be obtained when the Z.A27 alloy is partially remelted.The microstructural evolution can be divided into four stages,the initial coarsening of the dendrites due to coalescence of dendrite arms,structural separation resulted from the melting of residual interdendritic eutectic,spheroidization due to the partial melting of solid particles and final coarsening attributed to the coalescence and Ostwald ripening.An equiaxed dendrite in the as-cast microstructure may evolve into one spheroidal particle in the semi-solid microsturucture after being partially remelted.The more equiaxed the dendrites in an as-cast microstructure are,the more spheroidal the solid particles in the semi-solid microstructure will be.Finer primary particles could be obtained if the alloy with finer as-cast microstructure was partially remelted.However,due to the coalescence effect,their sizes cannot be reduced further if the refined as-cast microstructure reached a certain extent.     

添加铈对高压压铸AM50镁合金显微组织和力学性能的影响

研究添加铈对高压压铸AM50镁合金显微组织和力学性能的影响.结果表明:添加铈能使AM50镁合金晶粒细化,并使其室温和高温力学性能得到显著改善.相对于未添加Ce和添加0.5％Ce(质量分数)的AM50镁合金,添加1％Ce(质量分数)的镁合金的晶粒更细,力学性能更优.