Effect of Cu addition on microstructures and tensile properties of high-pressure die-casting Al-5.5Mg-0.7Mn alloy

In this study, Cu was added into the high-pressure die-casting Al-5.5Mg-0.7Mn (wt%) alloy to improve the tensile properties. The effects of Cu addition on the microstructures, mechanical properties of the Al-5.5Mg-0.7Mn alloys under both as-cast and T5 treatment conditions have been investigated. Additions of 0.5 wt%, 0.8 wt% and 1.5 wt% Cu can lead to the formation of irregular-shaped Al₂CuMg particles distributed along the grain boundaries in the as-cast alloys. Furthermore, the rest of Cu can dissolve into the matrixes. The lath-shaped Al₂CuMg precipitates with a size of 15–20 nm × 2–4 nm were generated in the T5-treated Al-5.5Mg-0.7Mn-xCu (x = 0.5, 0.8, 1.5 wt%) alloys. The room temperature tensile and yield strengths of alloys increase with increasing the content of Cu. Increasing Cu content results in more Al₂CuMg phase formation along the grain boundaries, which causes more cracks during tensile deformation and lower ductility. Al-5.5Mg-0.7Mn-0.8Cu alloy exhibits excellent comprehensive tensile properties under both as-cast and T5-treated conditions. The yield strength of 179 MPa, the ultimate tensile strength of 303 MPa and the elongation of 8.7% were achieved in the as-cast Al-5.5Mg-0.7Mn-0.8Cu alloy, while the yield strength significantly was improved to 198 MPa after T5 treatment.     

Enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution of CdWO4 through polar organic molecule modification

In this work, a polar molecule 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA) is anchored on the surface of CdWO₄ by forming CdS and WS bond. Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution is significantly enhanced (about 3.41 times) after the modification. The reason is due to the modification of 4-MBA, which results in a polar surface and built-in electric field. The polar surface is confirmed by the steady state and time-resolved PL spectra, V_oc and SHG results.     

Effects of trimesic acid-Ni based metal organic framework on the hydrogen sorption performances of MgH2

A metal-organic framework based on Ni (II) as metal ion and trimasic acid (TMA) as organic linker was synthesized and introduced into MgH₂ to prepare a Mg-(TMA-Ni MOF)-H composite through ball-milling. The microstructures, phase changes and hydrogen storage behaviors of the composite were systematically studied. It can be found that Ni ion in TMA-Ni MOF is attracted by Mg to form nano-sized Mg₂Ni/Mg₂NiH₄ after de/rehydrogenation. The hydriding and dehydriding enthalpies of the Mg-MOF-H composite are evaluated to be −74.3 and 78.7 kJ mol⁻¹ H₂, respectively, which means that the thermodynamics of Mg remains unchanged. The absorption kinetics of the Mg-MOF-H composite is improved by showing an activation energy of 51.2 kJ mol⁻¹ H₂. The onset desorption temperature of the composite is 167.8 K lower than that of the pure MgH₂ at the heating rate of 10 K/min. Such a significant enhancement on the sorption kinetic properties of the composite is attributed to the catalytic effects of the nanoscale Mg₂Ni/Mg₂NiH₄ derived from TMA-Ni MOF by providing gateways for hydrogen diffusion during re/dehydrogenation processes.     

Significant effect of TiF3 on the performance of 2NaAlH4+Ca(BH4)2 hydrogen storage properties

Titanium fluoride (TiF₃) is doped into the reactive hydride composite of 2NaAlH₄ + Ca(BH₄)₂ by ball milling to enhance the hydrogen storage properties of the composite system. NaAlH₄ and Ca(BH₄)₂ phases were fully transformed to Ca(AlH₄)₂ and NaBH₄ phases after the ball-milling process (6 h). Four major stages were discovered in the undoped and TiF₃-doped system, which is corresponding to; (i) Ca(AlH₄)₂, (ii) CaAlH₅, (iii) CaH₂ and (iv) NaBH₄, respectively. The addition of TiF₃ to the studied composite resulted in both reduced decomposition temperature and enhanced sorption kinetics compared with the undoped composite. The onset desorption temperature was reduced from 125 °C to 60 °C for the first stage in the TiF₃-doped composite, compared with the undoped composite. From differential scanning calorimetry analysis, the decomposition temperature for all stages has shifted to a lower temperature after doping with TiF₃. The activation energy has greatly reduced by 63.6 and 21.9 kJ/mol for CaAlH₅ and NaBH₄ stages, respectively, as compared with the undoped 2NaAlH₄ + Ca(BH₄)₂ composite. During the dehydrogenation process, the formation of new active species of Al₃Ti together with CaF₂ played a vital role in accelerating the reactions in 5 wt% TiF₃ doped to the studied composite system.     

Role of grain boundary nature and residual strain in controlling sensitisation of type 304 stainless steel

The effects of residual strain and grain boundary character distribution on sensitisation of type 304 stainless steel at 525 °C were evaluated using electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation (EPR) technique. The results indicated that a very low level of residual strain and a high fraction of annealing twins significantly improved the resistance to sensitisation. Image analysis indicated that the fraction of area attacked during the EPR test correlated well with the EPR data. The volume loss, calculated using atomic force microscopic examinations, during the EPR tests also correlated well with the EPR results.     

Zn添加对挤压态Mg-Zn-Ce-Zr合金微观组织及力学性能的影响

通过光学显微镜(OM)、扫描电镜(SEM)、背散射电子衍射(EBSD)和力学性能检测,研究不同Zn含量(0.5%、1.5%和2.0%(质量分数))的Mg-Zn-Ce-Zr合金在温度为350℃,挤压比为9,挤压速率为10 mm/s条件下挤压后的微观组织和力学性能。结果表明:随着Zn含量的增加,铸态下晶间析出相明显增多;挤压后,Zn含量对合金晶粒度的影响不大,但棒材的丝织构随Zn含量增加而增强。由于第二相粒子的强化作用,随Zn含量增加,合金的拉伸屈服强度从158 MPa增加到192 MPa,而抗拉强度从219 MPa提高到246 MPa。由于丝织构强度增加,合金塑性随Zn含量增加从33%降低至18%,添加0.5%Zn合金的伸长率和拉压对称性最好。     

铝锂合金材料研究应用现状与展望

铝锂合金是一类具有广阔应用前景的航空航天结构材料，已经历经90余年的发展历程.从铝锂合金的研发、生产和应用角度看，我国与国外仍存有不小差距.按成型方式铝锂合金可分为变形和铸造2大类, 目前研究较多和广泛应用的是变形铝锂合金.文中从析出相、热处理、腐蚀性和焊接性等方面介绍了变形铝锂合金的研究现状.同时从发展应用以及合金开发等方面, 总结了铸造铝锂合金的研究现状.结合当前国内外铝锂合金的研究现状对铝锂合金的未来发展做出了展望.      

Low cycle fatigue of an extruded Mg–3Nd–0.2Zn–0.5Zr magnesium alloy

The purpose of this study was to evaluate strain-controlled cyclic deformation behavior of an extruded Mg–3Nd–0.2Zn–0.5Zr (NZ30K) magnesium alloy. The microstructure of this alloy consisted of a bimodal microstructure with equiaxed recrystallized grains and unrecrystallized coarse grains along with a large number of smaller second-phase particles present inside the grains and larger particles along the grain boundaries alongside a characteristic precipitate free zone (PFZ). The average grain size was about approximately 5–7 μm. It was observed that unlike the higher RE-containing Mg–10Gd–3Y–0.5Zr (GW103K) magnesium alloy, the NZ30K alloy exhibited asymmetrical hysteresis loops in tension and compression in the fully reversed strain-control tests at a strain ratio of R_ε = −1. This was mainly due to the presence of relatively stronger crystallographic texture, PFZ, and the resultant twinning–detwinning activities during cyclic deformation. While this alloy exhibited cyclic softening at lower strain amplitudes and cyclic hardening at higher strain amplitudes, it had an equivalent fatigue life to that of other extruded Mg alloys. Fatigue crack was observed to initiate from the specimen surface with some isolated facets of the cleavage-like planes near the initiation site. Crack propagation was basically characterized by serrated fatigue striations.     

Reversible hydrogen sorption behaviors of the 3NaBH4-(x)YF3-(1-x)GdF3 system: The effect of double rare earth metal cations

In the present work, NaBH₄ based hydrogen storage materials, 3NaBH₄-(x)YF₃-(1-x)GdF₃ composites, were prepared via mechanical ball milling with different values of x (2/3, 1/2, 1/3). The de-/rehydrogenation thermodynamic and kinetic behaviors of 3NaBH₄-(x)YF₃-(1-x)GdF₃ composites were systematically investigated. These composites showed a single endothermal peak of hydrogen desorption even though two metal fluorides were added simultaneously into NaBH₄. All the 3NaBH₄-(x)YF₃-(1-x)GdF₃ composites showed reversible hydrogen sorption ability and the best hydrogen absorption kinetics was observed in the 3NaBH₄-0.5YF₃-0.5GdF₃ composite, with about 2 wt% hydrogen absorbed at 370 °C under 3.2 MPa H₂ pressure in 1 h. Its hydrogen absorption kinetic behaviors were correlated closely to a First-order reaction model based on experimental results. According to the pressure-composition-temperature (PCT) tests, the reversible hydrogen storage capacity increases, and the hydrogen desorption enthalpy decreases along with more GdF₃ addition. In particular, the desorption enthalpy with regard to the apparent Pauling's electronegativity (χ_p) of added metal cations can be described as ΔH_d = −2748.21χ_p+3852.99 kJ/mol H₂, where χ_p=(x)∙χ_p(Y³⁺)+(1-x)∙χ_p(Gd³⁺). This research helps us to clarify the effect of co-addition of two rare earth metal fluorides on reversible hydrogen sorption in NaBH₄.     

Microstructure,mechanical and wear properties of aluminum borate whisker reinforced aluminum matrix composites

The microstructural features and the consequent mechanical properties were characterized in aluminium borate whisker (ABOw) (5, 10 and 15 wt.%) reinforced commercially-pure aluminium composites fabricated by conventional powder metallurgy technique. The aluminium powder and the whisker were effectively blended by a semi-powder metallurgy method. The blended powder mixtures were cold compacted and sintered at 600 °C. The sintered composites were characterized for microstructural features by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Porosity in the composites with variation in ABOw contents was determined. The effect of variation in content of ABOw on mechanical properties, viz. hardness, bending strength and compressive strength of the composites was evaluated. The dry sliding wear behaviour was evaluated at varying sliding distance at constant loads. Maximum flexural strength of 172 MPa and compressive strength of 324 MPa with improved hardness around HV 40.2 are obtained in composite with 10 wt.% ABOw. Further increase in ABOw content deteriorates the properties. A substantial increase in wear resistance is also observed with 10 wt.% ABOw. The excellent combination of mechanical properties of Al−10wt.%ABOw composites is attributed to good interfacial bonds, less porosity and uniformity in the microstructure.