A fundamental study on Ti–6Al–4V's thermal and electrical properties and their relation to EDM productivity

There are strong needs for productive/quality machining strategies of notoriously “difficult-to-machine” aerospace materials. The current means of machining these materials is dominated by mechanical cutting methods, which are costly due to high tooling costs, poor surface quality and limitations in the workpiece features and operations that can be machined. The newest EDM technology may be able to circumvent problems encountered in mechanical machining methods. In this paper, the EDM technology has been used to machine titanium alloy Ti–6Al–4V to investigate the effect of Ti–6Al–4V's thermal and electrical properties on the EDM productivity. In the study, temperature measurements have been made for Ti–6Al–4V workpieces with various duty factors to clarify the essential causes of difficulty in machining titanium alloys and observe the optimal duty factor in terms of productivity and quality.     

Deformation behavior of an ordered B2 phase in Ti–25Al–25Zr alloy

The mechanical behavior of the B2 phase in alloy Ti–25Al–25Zr has been studied under compression. True stress–strain curve exhibits similar behavior to those of typical B2 intermetallics such as NiAl and FeAl. The alloy exhibits highest yield strength in comparison to those reported in other titanium based B2 alloys with around 2% plastic strain. The microstructural characterization of specimen after compression reveals that the B2 phase transforms to an orthorhombic martensitic phase during compression.     

Thermodynamic activity measurements in the B2 phases of the Fe–Al and Ni–Al systems

The vaporisation of Fe–Al and Ni–Al alloys has been investigated in the temperature range 1140–1600 K and 1178 to 1574 K, respectively, by Knudsen effusion mass spectrometry (KEMS). Eleven different Fe–Al and also eleven Ni–Al compositions have been investigated in the composition ranges 30–51 at.% Al and 38–53 at.% Al, respectively. The Fe–Al samples have been investigated mostly in the B2 region of the phase diagram. The partial pressures and thermodynamic activities were evaluated directly from the measured ion intensities formed from the equilibrium vapour over the alloy and the pure element. From the temperature dependence of the activities the partial and integral molar enthalpies and entropies of mixing have been obtained. These are the most accurate data obtained by mass spectrometry on Fe–Al and Ni–Al systems so far. Nearly temperature independent integral enthalpies and entropies of mixing over the wide temperature range investigated were found, with the mixing entropies being large and negative.     

Surface tension and wetting behaviour of molten Bi–Pb alloys

The present work represents an experimentally based investigation on the surface properties of molten Bi, Pb and Bi–Pb alloys. The surface tensions of the two pure elements and of seven alloys were measured by the sessile-drop method over the temperature range 623–773 K. In addition the wetting behaviour of the eutectic Bi–Pb alloy on AISI 316L substrate was also investigated in the same temperature range. The results obtained show general agreement with other reported measurements on pure elements and their alloys as well as with calculated surface tension values obtained by the application of the compound formation model (CFM).     

A study of the microstructure and hardness of two titanium alloys: Commercially pure and Ti–6Al–4V

In this paper, the microstructure and hardness of two titanium alloys was determined and the results are presented and briefly discussed. Samples of the alloy for microstructural examination were prepared from the as-provided stock using standard metallographic procedures and then examined in a low magnification light optical microscope. Both microhardness and macrohardness measurements were made across the polished surfaces of the two titanium materials. Both the microhardness and macrohardness of the Ti–6Al–4V alloy was noticeably higher than the commercially pure counterpart. The intrinsic influence of alloy composition and secondary processing, i.e., annealing, on microstructural development is presented and hardness of the two alloys is highlighted. The role of microstructure in governing the hardness of the two titanium materials is discussed.     

Electronic transport properties of liquid Ga–Zn alloys

In the present work, the electrical resistivity and the absolute thermoelectric power (Seebeck coefficient) of the liquid Ga_x–Zn_1−x alloys have been measured at different concentrations as functions of temperature. The liquid alloy is contained in a quartz cell fitted with tungsten and tungsten-rhenium electrodes. The thermal conductivity is deduced using Wiedemann–Franz law. To interpret our experimental data, we used a quantum mechanical calculation of the electrical resistivity ρ and of the thermoelectric power S of Ga_x–Zn_1−x alloys known as the “Faber–Ziman” formalism.     

Current–voltage and capacitance–voltage characteristics of a Sn/Methylene Blue/p-Si Schottky diode

Electrical and interfacial properties of Sn/Methylene Blue (MB)/p-Si Schottky diode have been determined by using current–voltage (I–V) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurements of the device at room temperature. Cheung functions and modified Norde functions have been used to obtain the electrical characteristics such as barrier height and series resistance of the diode. It has been seen that the MB layer modifies the effective barrier height of the structure because the layer creates the physical barrier between the metal and the semiconductor. Electrical properties of the device obtained from C–V characteristics have been compared with the ones obtained from its I–V characteristics. It has been seen that at sufficiently high frequencies, the charge at the interface cannot follow an ac signal. The interface state density of the diode has been also calculated.     

Mechanical and microstructural behaviour of 2024–7075 aluminium alloy sheets joined by friction stir welding

The aim of the present work is to investigate on the mechanical and microstructural properties of dissimilar 2024 and 7075 aluminium sheets joined by friction stir welding (FSW). The two sheets, aligned with perpendicular rolling directions, have been successfully welded; successively, the welded sheets have been tested under tension at room temperature in order to analyse the mechanical response with respect to the parent materials. The fatigue endurance (S–N) curves of the welded joints have been achieved, since the fatigue behaviour of light welded sheets is the best performance indicator for a large part of industrial applications; a resonant electro-mechanical testing machine load and a constant load ratio R=σ_min/σ_max =0.1 have been used at a load frequency of about 75 Hz. The resulted microstructure due to the FSW process has been studied by employing optical and scanning electron microscopy either on ‘as welded’ specimens and on tested specimen after rupture occurred.     

Mixed numerical–experimental identification of elastic properties of orthotropic metal plates

This paper compares results of three different methods to determine the in-plane elastic properties of sheet materials. Results obtained with standard resonant beam and tensile tests are used to assess a mixed numerical–experimental technique developed to determine the in-plane elastic properties of orthotropic plates from the resonance frequencies of rectangular plate samples (the so-called ‘Resonalyser’ technique). Test materials were selected on the basis of an expected low degree of elastic anisotropy in order to put the accuracy and sensitivity of the different techniques to assess anisotropic materials to a test. Therefore, aluminium alloy and stainless steel samples were prepared from hot-rolled plates, deliberately avoiding pronounced cold-rolling textures. The differences between the results obtained with the three experimental approaches are critically evaluated.In the case of very thin plates, the existing mixed numerical–experimental Resonalyser procedure succeeded in accurately identifying the elastic material properties. A slightly adapted procedure is proposed to extend the applicability of the Resonalyser procedure to thicker plates.     

On the application of modelling to study the surface and interfacial phenomena in liquid alloy–ceramic substrate systems

The wetting phenomena of molten alloy/ceramic substrate depend on the bonding characteristics of liquid alloys and ceramics as well as on the magnitude of interactive forces at the interface. According to this, the first step of this investigation is to determine the surface properties of Ag–Cu, Ag–Ti and Cu–Ti liquid alloys. The energetics of mixing in liquid alloys has been analysed through the study of surface properties (surface tension and surface composition) and microscopic functions (concentration fluctuations in the long-wavelength limit and chemical short-range order parameter) in the frame of statistical mechanical theory in conjunction with the quasi-lattice theory (QLT). The results obtained for these binary systems have been extended to the ternary Ag–Cu–Ti system. Combining the Young and the Dupré equations, the computed results of surface tension together with contact angle data have been used to calculate the work of adhesion and, in the case of non-reactive wetting, the interfacial tension between the solid substrate and the liquid alloys over the whole concentration range. The evaluation of the interfacial tension values is determined from calculated and measured data using solid surface tension data from literature. These results provide more information on the characteristics of metal–ceramic systems, and are therefore useful in guiding experiments, or in predicting the surface properties of metallic systems with similar characteristics as well as their wetting behaviour in contact with ceramic materials.     

Magnetic properties and microstructural characteristics of bulk Nd–Al–Fe–Co glassy alloys

Bulk Nd–Al–Fe–Co glassy alloys with diameter up to 5 mm were investigated by magnetic measurements, magnetic force microscopy (MFM) and high resolution electron microscopy (HREM) at room temperature. The results from the measurement of vibrating sample magnetometer show that these samples with compositions Nd₆₅Al₁₀Fe_25-xCo_x (x=0–10 at.%) and Nd₆₀Al₁₀Fe₂₀Co₁₀ display hard magnetic properties with H_C of 300 kAm⁻¹, M_S of 10 Am² kg⁻¹, and M_r of 7 Am² kg⁻¹. The MFM measurements of the Nd₆₀Al₁₀Fe₂₀Co₁₀ bulk metallic glass (BMG) reveal the existence of magnetic domains with a period of about 0.36 μm, and the ordered clusters with the averaged size of about 5 nm was observed by the HREM on the sample. The domain structure or cluster is believed to be associated with the appearance of hard-magnetic properties in this alloy system. The existence of the large-size domains demonstrates that magnetic moment of a great deal of ordered atomic clusters in the BMG has been aligned by exchange-coupling.     

Study of Mn activities in Mn–Ni–C alloys by EMF measurements

The activities of manganese in Mn–Ni–C alloys have been studied by solid-state galvanic cell technique with CaF₂ as the solid electrolyte. The measurements of electromotive force (EMF) have been carried out in the temperature range 920–1240 K. The main phase compositions of the alloys have been analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was established that the substitution of Mn by Ni in the (MnNi)₂₃C₆ carbide was limited, that the lattice parameter decreased slightly with increase in the Ni content and that a solid solution is formed between Mn and Ni. It was also found that the activity of manganese decreases with increase in the nickel content when the ratio of C/(Mn+C) is less than 8.3 wt.%, and that the negative effect of Ni on the activity of Mn in Mn–Ni–C ternary system decreases as the carbon content increases. However, when the ratio of C/(Mn+C) is equal to 8.3 wt.% or more, the activity of manganese is independent of the nickel content.     

Martensitic transformation and anomalies in resistivity of (Ti–50Ni)1−xCx (x = 0.1, 0.5 at.%) shape memory alloys

Phase transformation of solid solution (Ti–50Ni)_1−xC_x (x = 0.1, 0.5 at.%) alloys have been studied by using differential scanning calorimetry, physical property measurement system and optical microscope. The transformation temperature decreases due to the existence of titanium carbide (TiC) particles compared with that of near-equiatomic Ti–Ni shape memory alloy. The resistivity vs. temperature curves show hysteresis. Thermoelastic martensitic transformation occurred in two alloys despite the difference in TiC content. Nevertheless, the resistivity results show different martensitic transformation routes. A one-step B2 → B19′ transformation occurred in the low TiC content alloy and an R transformation appeared in another alloy, suggesting that the martensitic transformation routes depended on the TiC content. The cumulative effect of the TiC particles causes the local stress field and lattice distortion to restrain the transformation of the B19′. On the other hand, the TiC content has an effect on the temperature coefficient of electrical resistivity (TCR) of alloys. The Ti–Ni–0.5C alloy shows a negative TCR in the range 100–300 K during which transformation occurs. Another alloy shows the opposite result. The cause of the negative TCR is briefly discussed.     

Fracture toughness of coated TiCN–WC–Co cermets with graded composition

Mixed TiCN–WC–Co cermets are developed to improve at the same time toughness and resistance to deformation of materials for cutting tool applications. Moreover, graded materials joining optimum properties according to the functional part of the tool are elaborated. To this end, TiCN–WC–Co cermets are interesting because they develop a WC–Co layer at the surface during the sintering. This tough layer at the surface limits the crack propagation that can lead to the rupture of the tool. Such materials show a good resistance to the deformation in the bulk and a good toughness at the surface, where the cracks are initiated upon machining. Cutting tools are often coated by CVD to improve the wear resistance. This paper proposes a method to measure the toughness K_IC at high temperature by using this CVD coating for initial crack formation. The coating thickness is the precrack length of traditional K_IC measurements. Samples are fractured by three point bend tests. The rupture stress is measured by Weibull statistics. This method is particularly interesting for graded structure materials where the influence of surface layers on toughness must be estimated. The comparison between cermets with and without WC–Co layer shows an improvement of 28% of the toughness when the layer is present. The possible bias of internal stresses on the results is discussed.     

Influence of oxygen content on grain growth in Pr–Fe–B/Nd–Fe–B sintered magnets

An investigation into the effects of intermediate/variable final oxygen contents, in relation to the resultant microstructures and final magnetic properties of Pr–Fe–B- and Nd–Fe–B-type magnets in the as-sintered state has been undertaken. For low oxygen contents the Pr–Fe–B and Nd–Fe–B sintered magnets exhibited excessive grain growth on sintering. A high oxygen content resulted in the elimination of abnormal grain growth for both materials, on sintering, where the level of oxygen contamination appeared to affect the grain growth process, although not the grain growth mechanism. Differences, however, in grain growth behaviour for the Pr–Fe–B and Nd–Fe–B sintered magnets have been observed. A changing oxygen content resulted in a variable grain size and grain size distribution for both the Pr–Fe–B and Nd–Fe–B sintered magnets, resulting in a progressive change in intrinsic coercivity, with oxygen content.     

A room temperature cured sol–gel anticorrosion pre-treatment for Al 2024-T3 alloys

The inherent reactivity of the Al–Cu alloys is such that their use for structural, marine, and aerospace components and structures would not be possible without prior application of a corrosion protection system. Historically these corrosion protection systems have been based upon the use of chemicals containing Cr(VI) compounds. Organic–inorganic hybrid silane coatings are of increasing interest in industry due to their potential application for the replacement of current toxic hexavalent chromate based treatments. In the present study, a hybrid epoxy–silica–alumina coating with or without doped cerium nitrate has been prepared using a sol–gel method. The hybrid coatings were applied by a dip-technique to an Al–Cu alloy, Al 2024-T3, and subsequently cured at room temperature. The anticorrosion properties of the coatings within 3.5% NaCl were studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and conventional DC polarisation. An exfoliation test method involving immersion in a solution of 4 M NaCl, 0.5 M KNO₃ and 0.1 M HNO₃ was also used. The cerium nitrate doped sol–gel coating exhibited excellent anticorrosion properties providing an adherent protection film on the Al 2024-T3 substrate. The resistance to corrosion of the sol–gel coating was also evaluated by analysing the morphology of the coating before and after corrosion testing using scanning electron microscopy.     

The effects of lanthanum on microstructure and electrochemical properties of Al–Zn–In based sacrificial anode alloys

In order to improve the non-uniform corrosion of Al–0.5Zn–0.03In–1Mg–0.05Ti alloys, Al–5Zn–0.03In–1Mg–0.05Ti–xLa (x = 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7 wt.%) alloys were developed. Microstructures and electrochemical properties of the alloys were investigated. The results show that the optimal microstructures and electrochemical properties are obtained in Al–5Zn–0.03In–1Mg–0.05Ti–0.5La alloy. The main precipitate phase is Al₂LaZn₂ particles. The excellent electrochemical properties of Al–5Zn–0.03In–1Mg–0.05Ti–0.5La alloy is mainly attributed to fine grains and grain boundaries containing fine Al₂LaZn₂ precipitates. At the same time the fine grains can improve the non-uniform corrosion of Al–0.5Zn–0.03In–1Mg–0.05Ti alloy.