RHEOLOGY FEATURE OF SIMPLE METAL MELT

The rheology feature of Sb, Bi melt and alloys was studied using coaxial cylinder high-temperature viscometer. The results showed that the curve of torsion-rotational speed for Sb melt presents a linear relation in all measured temperature ranges, whereas for the Bi melt, the curve presents obvious non-Newtonian feature within the low temperature range and at relative high shear stress. The rheology feature of Sb80Bi20 and Sb20Bi80 alloy melts was well correlated with that of Sb and Bi, respectively. It is considered that the rheology behavior of Sb melt plays a crucial role in Sb80Bi20 alloy and that of Bi melt plays a crucial role in Sb20Bi80 alloy.     

Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of a Newly Developed Austenitic Heat Resistant Steel

The effect of heat treatment on the microstructures and mechanical properties of a newly developed austenitic heat resistant steel(named as T8 alloy) for ultra-supercritical applications have been studied. Results show that the main phases in the alloy after solution treatment are γ and primary MX. Subsequent aging treatment causes the precipitation of M_(23)C_6 carbides along the grain boundaries and a small number of nanoscale MX inside the grains. In addition, with increasing the aging temperature and time, the morphology of M_(23)C_6 carbides changes from semi-continuous chain to continuous network.Compared with a commercial HR3C alloy, T8 alloy has comparable tensile strength, but higher stress rupture strength. The dominant cracking mechanism of the alloy during tensile test at room temperature is transgranular, while at high temperature, intergranular cracking becomes the main cracking mode, which may be caused by the precipitation of continuous M_(23)C_6 carbides along the grain boundaries. Typical intergranular cracking is the dominant cracking mode of the alloy at all stress rupture tests.     

The 15th Global Foundry Sourcing Conference 2014held in Qingdao China

Organized by Suppliers China Co., Ltd and co-organized by the National Technical Committee 54 on Foundry of Standardization Administration of China, the 15th Global Foundry Sourcing Conference 2014 （hereinafter referred to as FSC 2014） was successfully held on Sep. 23rd in Grand Regency Hotel, Qingdao. More than 500 delegates from home and abroad attended this conference, including over 130 purchasers from 20 countries and 380 domestic and foreign suppliers.     

LASER CLADDED TiCN COATINGS ON THE SURFACE OF TITANIUM

Laser cladded coatings of TiCN were produced on the surface of titanium. To obtain the optimal techniques, several conditions were tested by varying the laser scanning rate. The choice of shielding gas was also studied. The cladded coatings were then evaluated from the surface mechanics point of view based on their microhardness. The microstructure of some interesting samples was investigated by optical micrographs (OM). The results showed that under the condition of fixed pulse frequency and pulse width, the laser scanning rate and the shielding gas are the main factors influencing the components of coatings. TiCN coatings were decompounded and oxidized during the cladding process in the condition of no shielding gas of N2. X-ray diffraction results indicated that the composite coatings composed of TiCN, TiC, Ti2N, and TiO2 were produced using appropriate techniques. The results indicated that the best condition in terms of the surface microhardness is obtained when the scanning rate is 1.5mm / s, the pulse frequency is 15Hz, the pulse width is 3.0ms, and N2 is chosen as the shielding gas. The microhardness of the composite coatings is about 1331kg · mm - 2, which is about 4 times that of the substrate. The optical micrographs indicated that the cladding zone is made up of TiCN, TiO2, and some interdendritic Ti, but the diffusion zone mainly consists of the dendrites phase, and the cladded depth is about 80m, which is more than 2 times that of the laser nitrided sample. There were no microcracks or air bubbles in the cladded sample, which was cladded using the above optimal techniques.     

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of X80 Pipeline Steel Joints by Friction Stir Welding Under Various Cooling Conditions

X80 pipeline steel plates were friction stir welded(FSW) under air, water, liquid CO_2 + water, and liquid CO_2 cooling conditions, producing defect-free welds. The microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of these FSW joints were studied. Coarse granular bainite was observed in the nugget zone(NZ) under air cooling, and lath bainite and lath martensite increased signifi cantly as the cooling medium temperature reduced. In particular, under the liquid CO_2 cooling condition, a dual phase structure of lath martensite and fi ne ferrite appeared in the NZ. Compared to the case under air cooling, a strong shear texture was identifi ed in the NZs under other rapid cooling conditions, because the partial deformation at elevated temperature was retained through higher cooling rates. Under liquid CO_2 cooling, the highest transverse tensile strength and elongation of the joint reached 92% and 82% of those of the basal metal(BM), respectively, due to the weak tempering softening. A maximum impact energy of up to 93% of that of the BM was obtained in the NZ under liquid CO_2 cooling, which was attributed to the operation of the dual phase of lath martensite and fi ne ferrite.     

INDUSTRY NEWS

China Securities News reported on March 21, 2014： Guangdong Hongtu Wuhan Die Casting Co., Ltd. （Wuhan Hongtu）, a wholly owned subsidiary of Guangdong Hongtu Technology （Holdings） Co., Ltd., held a groundbreaking ceremony recently. With the registered capital of 50 million Yuan, Wuhan Hongtu has a total land area of 100,000 square meters and a plant construction area of 72,000 square meters. It is expected to have a production capacity of about 30,000 tonnes of aluminum castings annually after it is put into production.     

STUDY ON PROPERTIES OF PULSE ELECTRODEPOSITED RE-Ni-W-P-SiC COMPOSITE COATINGS

The effects of pulse frequency f and duty cycle r on the deposition rate, composition, morphology, and hardness of pulse electrodeposited RE （rare earth）-Ni-W-P-SiC composite coatings have been studied. The results indicate that pulse current can improve the deposition rate of RE-Ni-W-P-SiC composite coatings; W, P, and SiC contents in the coating decrease with the increase of pulse frequency and reach the lowest value at f = 33Hz, whereas the RE content in the composite coatings increases with the increase of pulse frequency. SiC content decreases with the increase of duty cycle, W content reaches the lowest value, and P content reaches the highest value at r = 0.4; pulse current and RE can lead to smaller size of the crystalline grains; however, the effects of different pulse frequency and duty cycle on the morphologies of RE-Ni-W-P-SiC composite coatings are not obvious. The hardness of RE-Ni-W-P-SiC composite coatings is the highest when the duty cycle is at 0.6 and 0.8 and pulse frequency is at 50Hz. At the same pulse frequency, the hardness of RE-Ni-W-P-SiC composite coatings at r= 0.8 is higher than that at r= 0.6.     

GROWTH MORPHOLOGIES OF A BINARY ALLOY WITH LOW ANISOTROPY IN DIRECTIONAL SOLIDIFICATION

Two new classes of growth morphologies, called doublons and seaweed, were simulated using a phase-field method. The evolution of doublon and seaweed morphologies was obtained in directional solidification. The influence of orientation and velocity on the growth morphology was investigated. It was indicated that doublons preferred growing with its crystallographic axis aligned with the heat flow direction. Seaweed, on the other hand, could be obtained by tilting the crystalline axis to 45°. Stable doublons could only exist in a range of velocity regime. Beyond this regime the patterns formed would be unstable. The simulation results agreed with the reported experimental results qualitatively.     

THERMODYNAMICS STUDY ON THE DECOMPOSITION OF CHROMITE WITH KOH

Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, has proposed a method for oxidative leaching of chromite with potassium hydroxide. Understanding the mechanism of chromite decomposition, especially in the potassium hydroxide fusion, is important for the optimization of the operating parameters of the oxidative leaching process. A traditional thermodynamic method is proposed and the thermal decomposition and the reaction decomposition during the oxidative leaching of chromite with KOH and oxygen is discussed, which suggests that chromite is mainly destroyed by reactions with KOH and oxygen. Meanwhile, equilibrium of the main reactions of the above process was calculated at different temperatures and oxygen partial pressures. The stable zones of productions, namely, K2CrO4 and Fe2O3, increase with the decrease of temperature, which indicates that higher temperature is not beneficial to thermodynamic reactions. In addition, a comparison of the general alkali methods is carried out, and it is concluded that the KOH leaching process is thermodynamically superior to the conventional chromate production process.     

INFLUENCE OF HEAT TREATMENT ON DAMPING BEHAVIOUR OF THE MAGNESIUM WROUGHT ALLOY AZ61

The effect of isochronal heat treatments for 1h on variation of damping, hardness and microstructural change of the magnesium wrought alloy AZ61 was investigated. Damping and hardness behaviour could be attributed to the evolution of precipitation process. The influence of precipitation on damping behaviour was explained in the framework of the dislocation string model of Granato and Lücke.     

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN J-INTEGRAL AND FRACTURE SURFACE AVERAGE PROFILE

To investigate the causes that led to the formation of cracks in materials, a novel method that only considered the fracture surfaces for determining the fracture toughness parameters of J-integral for plain strain was proposed The principle of the fracture-surface topography analysis （FRASTA） was used. In FRASTA, the fracture surfaces were scanned by laser microscope and the elevation data was recorded for analysis. The relationship between J-integral and fracture surface average profile for plain strain was deduced. It was also verified that the J-integral determined by the novel method and by the compliance method matches each other well.     

PRECIPITATION AND GROWTH OF PEROVSKITE PHASE IN TITANIUM BEARING BLAST FURNACE SLAG

The effects of transformation of slag composition and additive agents on the morphology, the precipitation behavior, the crystal growth, and the volume fraction (VF) of perovskite (CaO·¤TiO_2) crystal in the Ti-bearing blast furnace slags were investigated. As the morphology of perovskite is dispersed in molten slags, the crystal growth mechanism of the melting of fine dendrites and the coarsening of large grains exist throughout the solidification of molten slags. With the increase of CaO and Fe_2O_3 content, VF of perovskite obviously increases. However, high basicity leads to the viscosity of slag, which results in the reduction of the average equivalent diameter (AED). The experimental results showed that the presence of the additives CaF_2 and MnO efficiently decreased the viscosity of the slags, and obviously improved the morphology of perovskite and promoted its growth.     

DYNAMIC COMPACTION OF PURE COPPER POWDER USING PULSED MAGNETIC FORCE

The compaction of pure Cu powder was carried out through a series of experiments using dynamic magnetic pulse compaction, and the effects of process parameters, such as discharge energy and compacting direction, on the homogeneity and the compaction density of compacted specimens were presented and discussed. The results indicated that the compaction density of specimens increased with the augment of discharge voltage and time. During unidirectional compaction, there was a density gradient along the loading direction in the compacted specimen, and the minimum compaction density was localized to the center of the bottom of the specimen. The larger the aspect ratio of a powder body, the higher the compaction density of the compacted specimen. And high conductivity drivers were beneficial to the increase of the compaction density. The iterative and the double direction compaction were efficient means to manufacture the homogeneous and high-density powder parts.     

MODELING AND EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH OF FOUR-STRAND LOW-FREQUENCY ELECTROMAGNETIC CASTING ALUMINUM ALLOY

With the aid of ANSYS software, the effect of different mould external part materials on magnetic flux density in the aluminum melt and magnetic field interaction of four coils applied with same currents were investigated. Calculating results showed that magnetic flux density in the aluminum melt was greatly improved and the magnetic field interaction among different coils was decreased when external part of mould is made of soft magnetic material. Based on the finding, a four-strand low-frequency electromagnetic casting 6063 aluminum alloy experiment was carried out in the laboratory. The experiment showed that the surface of the billet was smooth and had no exudations and cold shuts, the as-cast microstructures were fine, uniform, equiaxed, net-globular or globular under low-frequency electromagnetic field. The microstructure becomes finer with increased current value.     

Microstructure and Texture Evolution During the Direct Extrusion and Bending–Shear Deformation of AZ31 Magnesium Alloy

AZ31 alloys were extruded by direct extrusion and bending–shear deformation(DEBS). The microstructure characteristic and texture evolution of DEBSed AZ31 sheets were investigated by electron backscattered diffraction(EBSD). It is found that DEBS technique could effectively refine grains and weaken texture. Besides, we also investigate how twinning affects dynamic recrystallization during hot extrusion. {10–12} extension twins can offer nucleation sites and enough energy to trigger dynamic recrystallization. Moreover, the character of direct extrusion and bending–shear die can lead to the activation of non-basal slip system and further dramatically weaken the basal texture of the microstructure with many preactivated basal slip systems.     

电化学噪声数据处理方法概述

综述了常见的电化学噪声数据处理方法,介绍了直流趋势剔除、统计分析、快速傅立叶变换(FFT)法计算功率谱密度(PSD)以及小波变换处理电化学噪声信号的基本过程,并阐释了各种数学处理及所得参数的物理意义。     

季铵型阳离子捕收剂在一水硬铝石和高岭石表面的吸附机理

研究十二烷基三甲基氯化铵（DTAC）和十六烷基三甲基氯化铵（CTAC）对一水硬铝石和高岭石的浮选行为。通过残余浓度法测定吸附等温线,荧光探针法和Zeta电位测试方法研究季铵型阳离子捕收剂在矿物表面的吸附机理。浮选结果表明：将DTAC和CTAC作为捕收剂,一水硬铝石的浮选回收率随着pH的增大而增加,而高岭石的浮选回收率随着pH的增大反而下降。当捕收剂的碳链增长时,矿物浮选回收率提高,但高岭石的增加幅度小于一水硬铝石的。在低浓度范围内,阳离子表面活性剂通过静电作用吸附在一水硬铝石表面,而对于高岭石,还存在离子交换作用。当浓度增大时,阳离子表面活性剂通过碳链间疏水缔合作用在两种矿物表面进一步吸附。矿物表面微极性研究表明：CTAC的疏水性比DTAC强,相同溶液浓度下CTAC在一水硬铝石表面能形成比在高岭石表面更大的胶团,这也说明阳离子表面活性剂碳链的增长对一水硬铝石吸附的影响要大,与浮选结果相吻合。     

铝合金板预腐蚀坑萌生疲劳裂纹的几何构型

由于腐蚀坑不同位置的应力状态的差异,由腐蚀坑萌生的裂纹扩展行为仅仅用应力强度因子分析无法得到准确预测。考虑裂纹闭合效应的存在,本工作对于这种裂纹的应力场进行了分析,研究了其几何尺寸在裂纹扩展过程中的变化,理论分析表明这种几何形状的变化与材料形状以及应力范围的大小关系不大。对于裂纹扩展的几何形状变化的验证性试验的试验结果与理论分析的结果吻合程度良好。