Effect of Zr Content on the Microstructure and Corrosion Resistance of Al–Cu–Mn Alloy

Russian Journal of Non-Ferrous Metals - In order to improve the overall properties of cast Al–Cu–Mn alloy, the effect of Zr content on the microstructure and corrosion resistance of...     

Effect of Rare Earths and Nitrogen on Graphite Structure of Gray Cast Iron

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Structural,Micromechanical and Tribological Analyses of Electrodeposited Nickel–Graphite Coatings with Different Fractions of Graphite Microparticles

Nickel–graphite composite coatings were electrodeposited on a steel substrate from typical watts bath and with specific operating conditions for different weight fractions of graphite microparticles. The weight percentage of particles in coatings and the microstructure were studied, respectively, by atomic absorption, scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction. The influence of graphite fraction on roughness and microhardness were also investigated. It was found that roughness increases with the increase of particle content while microhardness decreases. The tribological response was examined against high chromium steel ball using linear reciprocating tribometer. The results indicated that the friction coefficient decreases when graphite content increases. This was ascribed to the development of tribo-layer on the wear track and transfer film on the counterface. However, it was found that the improvement of wear resistance was obtained until an optimal value of graphite concentration, which provided the best condition that promoted the tribo-layer stability and maintained the matrix integrity.     

Effect of Deep Cryogenic Treatment on Wear and Corrosion Resistance of an Al–Zn–Mg–Cu Alloy

Russian Journal of Non-Ferrous Metals - The 7075 aluminum alloy was subjected to deep cryogenic treatment (DCT) at –196°C with liquid nitrogen for different hours. The wear and corrosion...     

Ultrafine-grained W–Cu–SiC composites prepared by mechanical alloying and infiltration of copper into pre-sintered skeleton

ABSTRACT

In this paper, a combined processing method of mechanical alloying and infiltration was used to prepare the WCu-x wt-%SiC (x?=?0.5, 1, 2, 3) composites. The microstructure, density, electrical conductivity and compressive behaviour of the composites were studied comparatively. First a decreasing and then an increasing particle growth trend was obtained, indicating that a small content of SiC below 1 wt-% was beneficial for particle refinement. Besides this, with the increase of the SiC content, both the density and electrical conductivity decreased gradually. Consistent with the particle–particle contiguity of the highest value of 0.404, the WCu-1 wt-%SiC composite showed the best compressive properties. Further electron backscattering diffraction results revealed that the ultrafine-grained SiC particles, which are distributed homogeneously in the composite with lower Schmid factor values would perturb the dislocation motion to make proliferation of more dislocations, exhibiting unordinary strain-hardening during deformation.     

Production of Al–Cu and Al–Cu–Si Alloys by PM Methods

Abstract

The possibilities of the production of aluminium-base copper and/or silicon alloys by conventional powder compaction and sintering methods have been studied. The effects of various lubricants, pressing, and sintering conditions on the behaviour of Al–Cu and Al–Cu–Si alloys were evaluated systematically. The role of copper and silicon additions during compaction and sintering and their advantages or disadvantages are discussed. All alloys underwent large dimensional changes (sudden swelling followed by rapid contraction) during sintering at temperatures greater than Al–Cu eutectic temperature and it is suggested that a process of particle rearrangement is largely responsible for this behaviour. The mechanical properties of the alloys were highly dependent on the sintering temperature. PM/0215     

Effect of Vacuum Hot Pressing Temperature on the Mechanical and Tribological Properties of the Fe–Cu–Ni–Sn–VN Composites

Powder Metallurgy and Metal Ceramics - The mechanical (hardness and elastic modulus) and tribological (friction force and wear rate) properties of the Fe–Cu–Ni–Sn–VN...     

Effect of reinforcement volume fraction on mechanical alloying of Al–SiC nanocomposite powders

Abstract

Mixtures of aluminium powder and nanoscaled SiC particles (n-SiC) at various volume fractions of 0, 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10 are comilled in a high energy planetary ball mill under an argon atmosphere to produce nanocrystalline Al–SiC nanocomposites. High resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) method, laser particle size analysis and powder density measurement were used to study the morphological changes and microstructural evolution occurred during mechanical alloying. Al–SiC composite powder with microscaled SiC particles (1 m m) was also synthesised and characterised to examine the influence of reinforcement particle size on the milling process. It was found that with increasing volume fraction of n-SiC, a finer composite powder with more uniform particle size distribution is obtained. The morphology of the particles also became more equiaxed at shorter milling times. Furthermore, the analysis of XRD patterns by Williamson–Hall method indicated that the crystallite size of the aluminium matrix decreases with increasing reinforcement volume content while the lattice strain changes marginally. As compared with microscaled SiC particles, it appeared that the effect of n-SiC on the milling stages is more pronounced. The results clearly show that the reinforcement particles influence the work hardening and fracture of the metal matrix upon milling, affecting the structural evolution. With decreasing size of the ceramic particles to nanoscale, this influence becomes more pronounced as the surface to volume fraction increases.     

Features of the Sintering of Fe–Cu–Sn–Ni and Cu–Ti–Sn–Ni Powders during Hot Pressing

Powder Metallurgy and Metal Ceramics - The efficiency and durability of a diamond tool fabricated using powder metallurgy methods depend on several factors. These are the quality of diamond...     

Effect of Barothermal Treatment on the Structure and the Mechanical Properties of a High-Strength Eutectic Al–Zn–Mg–Cu–Ni Aluminum Alloy

The effect of barothermal treatment by hot isostatic pressing (HIP) on the structure and the properties of castings of a promising high-strength cast aluminum alloy, namely, nikalin ATs6N4 based on the Al?Zn–Mg–Cu–Ni system, has been studied using two barothermal treatment regimes different in isothermal holding temperature. It is shown that the casting porosity substantially decreases after barothermal treatment; eutectic phase Al3Ni particles are additionally refined during exposure to the barothermal treatment temperature: the higher the HIP temperature, the more substantial the refinement. The improvement of the casting structure after HIP increases their mechanical properties. It is found, in particular, that the plasticity of the alloy in the state of the maximum hardening increases by a factor of more than 8 as compared to the initial state (from 0.82 to 6.9%).     

Effect of lead on the structure and phase composition of an Al–5% Si–4% Cu casting alloy

The phase transformations in the Al–Cu–Si–Pb system have been studied using calculations. It is shown that the aluminum-based solid solution is in equilibrium only with the Al₂Cu, (Si), and (Pb) phases, which correspond to the relevant binary systems. Reported polythermal and isothermal sections show that the Al–Cu–Si–Pb system is characterized by a significant liquid miscibility gap. The effect of lead on the structure and phase composition of an Al–5% Si–4% Cu alloy in the as-cast and annealed states is studied. Lead inclusions are located at the boundaries of dendritic (Al) cells and are globular in the as-cast alloy and after annealing at 500°C. The presence of lead phase does not affect the precipitation hardening upon quenching and aging.     

Cu redistribution during sintering of Fe–2Cu and Fe–2Cu–0·5C compacts

Abstract

The effective use of alloying elements in powder metallurgical steels requires a deep understanding of their redistribution kinetics during sintering. In this work, interrupted sintering trials of Fe–2Cu and Fe–2Cu–0·5C compacts were performed. Moreover, diffusion simulations of Cu in γ-Fe using Dictra were performed. It is found that transient liquid phase penetrates the Fe interparticle and grain boundaries in less than 3 min of holding time. However, C addition limits the penetration of liquid Cu, particularly into grain boundaries of large Fe particles. The results also show that the mean diffusion distance of Cu in γ-Fe in the C added system is slightly lower than that in the C-free system at 3 min of holding time; however, after 33 min, the mean diffusion distance is similar in both systems. The diffusion distances of Cu in γ-Fe, predicted by Dictra, are in good agreement with the measured values.     

Effect of Speed on the Tribological Behavior of Fe–Cu–C Based Self Lubricating Composite

In this work, the effect of different speeds on the tribological properties of sintered iron–copper–graphite (Fe–Cu–C) based self lubricating composites have been studied. Fe–Cu–C based self-lubricating composites were prepared by powder metallurgical compaction and sintering method. CaF₂, a solid lubricant in weight percentages of 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 was added to the base matrix consisting of Fe-2Cu-0.8C. The fabricated samples were tested for friction and wear at a constant load of 10 N and three different speeds of 0.5, 5 and 10 m/s. The surface properties of unworn and worn surfaces were analyzed using optical and scanning electron microscope. The friction and wear test of the composites exhibited decrease in coefficient of friction and increase in wear loss with the increase in speed. The results also revealed different trends in the friction behavior of the developed composites at low (0.5 m/s) and high speeds(5 and 10 m/s). However, at all test speeds, COF of samples with 3, 6 and 9 wt.% was less than the base matrix, and wear loss of 3 wt.% CaF₂ sample was the lowest at all speeds. Ploughing, adhesive and delamination wear were the dominant wear mechanism as revealed by SEM. Based upon the findings, the developed material could be used for low and high speed antifriction applications.     

Sintering of Tungsten and Tungsten Heavy Alloys of W–Ni–Fe and W–Ni–Cu: A Review

Tungsten is a refractory metal possessing good mechanical properties of high strength, high yield point, and high resistance to creep. Therefore, tungsten and its alloys are used in many high temperature applications. Due to the high melting point, they are generally processed through powder metallurgy method. The powders are compacted using die pressing or isostatic pressing. The compacts are sintered in a sintering furnace to achieve high density, thereby, making the metal suitable for further processing. This article reviews the recent research findings of consolidating tungsten and its alloys (W–Ni–Fe and W–Ni–Cu), from preparation of powder alloys to sintering of the compact. The advances in sintering are based on the objective of achieving good densification of the metal at lower temperature and at faster rate. The use of microwave sintering and spark plasma sintering techniques resulted in significant reduction in sintering time and producing products of good mechanical properties.     

Study of Tribological and Mechanical Properties of A356–Nano SiC Composites

In the present investigation, the microstructural, wear, tensile and compressive properties of Al?C7Si alloy matrix nano composites have been discussed. It is noted that the composites contain higher porosity level in comparison to the matrix and increasing amount of porosity is observed with the increasing volume fraction of the reinforcement phase in the matrix. The wear sliding test disclosed that the wear resistance of the nano SiC reinforced composites is higher than that of the unreinforced alloy. It is believed that the presence of SiC particles could shield the matrix and silicon phase from directly experiencing the applied load from the counterface. It was revealed that the presence of nano-SiC reinforcement also enhanced the hardness, tensile and compressive yield strength of Al?C7Si alloy which can be attributed to small particle size and good distribution of the SiC particles and grain refinement of the matrix. The highest yield strength and UTS was obtained by the composite with 3.5?vol% SiC nano-particles. The results show that the addition of nano-particles reduces the elongation of A356 alloy.     

Solid-State Reactions of SiC–TiO2–MgO System and Phase Relations in SiC–SiO2–TiC–TiO2–MgO System

Powder Metallurgy and Metal Ceramics - Preliminary experiments revealed solid-state reactions in the SiC–TiO2–MgO system that resulted in forming TiC compound, providing, thus, a new...     

Effect of cutting parameters on cutting force and surface roughness in milling alumina reinforced Al–6Zn–2Mg–2Cu composites

Abstract

This paper presents the effect of main cutting parameters on cutting force and surface roughness in machining of alumina reinforced Al–6Zn–2Mg–2Cu composites. The composites were produced using powder metallurgy route. After an application of annealing heat treatment to these composites, their microstructural and mechanical characterisations were carried out. Then, machining was performed using the face milling operation with three different cutting tools and at various cutting speeds and feed rates for comparison. Results show that both cutting force and surface roughness increased with increasing the feedrate significantly. Furthermore, the cutting speed practically did not affect the cutting force in milling operation.     

Mechanical Properties and Tribological Behavior of Al6061–SiC–Gr Self-Lubricating Hybrid Nanocomposites

In the present investigation, a newly fabricated Al6061 reinforced with various quantity (0.4–1.6 wt%) of nano SiC in steps of 0.4 and fixed quantity (0.5 wt%) of micro graphite particle’s hybrid nanocomposites were prepared by ultrasonic assisted stir casting method. The influence of nano SiC and graphite content on the mechanical and tribological properties of Al6061 hybrid nanocomposites were studied. The pin-on-disc equipment was used to carry out experiment at 10–40 N applied load, 0.5 m/s sliding speed and 1000 m sliding distance. The Al/SiC/Gr hybrid nano-composite and matrix alloy wear surfaces were characterized by FESEM equipped with an EDS, 3D profilometer to understand the wear mechanisms. The results of Al/SiC/Gr self-lubricating hybrid nano-composites showed improved wear resistance than the Al6061 matrix alloy. The co-efficient of friction of Al/SiC/Gr hybrid nano-composites were lower than those of the unreinforced alloy at various applied load. Compared to matrix alloy, the surface roughness of Al/SiC/Gr hybrid nano-composites had significantly reduced to 66% at low load and 75% at high load. Self-lubricating Al/SiC/Gr hybrid nanocomposites showed superior surface smoothness compared to matrix alloy.