Microstructural Characterization of a High-Strength Aluminum Alloy Subjected to High Strain-Rate Impact

The deformation and damage modes associated with the high strain-rate behavior of a high-strength aluminum alloy Al 2139 were analyzed. The microstructure was characterized at different physical scales to determine how the strengthening and toughening mechanisms of the alloy can inhibit and resist failure modes, such as shear localization and bending tensile failure, which occur due to high strain-rate impact. Grain morphology, precipitates (Ω and θ′), and Mn-bearing dispersed particles and inclusions were characterized by optical microscopy (OM), orientation imaging microscopy (OIM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy/high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM/HRTEM), selected area diffraction (SAD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigations of a 38-mm plate impacted by 4340 steel projectiles. Large grain sizes reduce grain boundary (GB) area and allow for more precipitation in the matrix, and these precipitates are shown to play a critical role in the toughening and strengthening of the alloy. Dispersed particles are associated with ductile failure, and inclusions are associated with ductile failure and shear failure. Different deformation modes were observed for the nanoscale precipitates, which affected overall behavior at size scales spanning the nano to the macro.     

高强韧铝合金非等温时效工艺的研究进展

非等温时效工艺作为一种新兴的时效处理方法,能够有效地提高高强韧铝合金的综合性能。通过简要归纳近些年来应用于高强韧铝合金的非等温时效工艺,总结出经不同非等温时效处理后高强韧铝合金析出相的特征、合金力学性能和腐蚀性能的变化情况。非等温时效工艺的效率相较于传统时效工艺有很大提高,并且能够同时调控高强韧铝合金内基体析出相和晶界析出相的种类、尺寸和分布情况,使高强韧铝合金兼具与T6峰值时效态相差不多的力学性能和近T7x过时效态的腐蚀性能。最后,对未来高强韧铝合金非等温时效工艺的研究和应用进行了展望。      

Metallurgical factors affecting fracture toughness of aluminum alloys

Crack extension in commercial aluminum alloys proceeds by the “ductile” or fibrous mode. The process involves the large, ~1 μm to ~10μm, Fe-, Si-, and Cu-bearing inclusions which break easily, and the growth of voids at the cracked particles. The linking-up of the voids is accomplished by the rupture of the intervening ligaments, and this is affected by the fine, ~0.01μm precipitate particles that strengthen the matrix. The ~0.1μm Cr-, Mn-, and Zr-rich intermediate particles are more resistant to cracking and may enter the process in the linking-up stage. The fracture toughness of aluminum alloys therefore depends on a) the extent of the heavily strained region ahead of the crack tip, which is a function of the yield strength arad modulus, b) the size of the ligaments which is related tof _c, the volume fraction of cracked particles, and c) the work of rupturing the ligaments. An approximate analysis predicts K_Ic varies asf _c-1/6, and this is in agreement with measurements on alloys with comparable yield strength levels. Studies in which the aging conditions are altered for the samef _cshow that the toughness decreases with increasing yield strength level. This degradation in toughness is related to the localization of plastic deformation. The tendency for localization is illustrated with the help of “plane strain” tension and bend specimens whose behavior is related to the toughness. Measurements of the strain distribution on the microscale show that slip is relatively uniformly distributed in a 7000-type alloy with low inclusion and particle content when the material is in the as-quenched and overaged conditions. In contrast the distribution is highly nonuniform in the peak aged condition where slip is concentrated in widely spaced superbands involving coarse slip bands with large offsets that crack prematurely. The connection between the tendency for slip localization and the fine precipitate particles which strengthen the matrix remains to be established. In overaged alloys grain boundary ruptures occur within the superbands. The amount of intergranular failure increases with grain size and is accompanied by a loss of fracture toughness.     

Characterization of Dynamic Tensile Testing Using Aluminum Alloy 6061-T6 at Intermediate Strain Rates

Dynamic tensile tests are conducted on aluminum alloy (AA) 6061-T6 using a high-speed servohydraulic machine at intermediate strain rates to validate the testing technique and to investigate the strain-rate effect on the material’s stress-strain behavior and failure mode. We present the experimental procedures and results discussing the constitutive response of the alloy at strain rates up to approximately 200??s-1. The predominant frequencies of the high-speed testing machine were characterized by modal analysis, and we analyzed the effect from vibration of the system and loading rate on flow stress by using a single degree-of-freedom (SDOF) spring-mass-damper model. We tested two different specimen sizes at a wide range of actuator velocities to achieve the desired strain rates. Results show that the yield strength, ultimate strength, and failure strain were dependent on strain rate. We fitted the data to the Johnson-Cook (JC) constitutive model, and the resulting parameters are comparable to published results in the literature. The fracture surface of specimens tested at different strain rates obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the ductile failure mode was dominant for the alloy, and strain rates within the range examined affected the fracture morphology.     

Tensile properties and fracture toughness of a Ti-45Al-1.6Mn alloy at loading velocities of up to 12 m/s

A γ-base TiAl alloy with duplex microstructure of lamellar colonies and equiaxed γ grains was prepared with a reactive sintering method. Tensile tests and fracture toughness tests at loading velocities up to 12 m/s (strain rate for tensile tests up to 3.2×10²/s) were carried out. The micro-structure of the alloy before and after tensile deformation was carefully examined with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a transmission electron microscope (TEM). The fractography of the tensile specimens and fracture toughness specimens was studied. The experimental results demonstrated that the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and yield strength (YS) increase with increasing strain rate up to 10/s and subsequently level off. The UTS and YS exhibited similar strain rate sensitivity. The strain rate sensitivity exponent at strain rates lower than 10/s is about 1.5×10⁻² and at higher strain rates is almost zero. In this study, fracture toughness was found to be less sensitive to the loading velocity, having values of around 25 MPa √m, which is believed to be attributed to the high strain rate experienced at the crack tip. The predominant deformation mechanism for the strain rates used in this study was found to be twinning. However, in the low strain rate range, the dislocation motion mechanism was operative at the initial deformation stage and twinning dominated the later stage of the deformation process. In the high strain rate range, the entire deformation process was dominated by twinning. The interaction between deformation twinning and grain boundaries resulted in intergranular fracture in the γ grains and delamination of α ₂/γ interfaces in the lamellar colonies.     

Mechanical strength of thermally aged Sn-3.5Ag/Ni-P solder joints

This work presents an investigation on the influence of the solder/under bump metallization (UBM) interfacial reaction to the tensile strength and fracture behavior of Sn-3.5Ag/Ni-P solder joints under different thermal aging conditions. The tensile strength of Sn-3.5Ag/Ni-P solder joints decreases with aging temperature and duration. Four types of failure modes have been identified. The failure modes shift from the bulk solder failure mode in the as-soldered condition toward the interfacial failure modes. Kirkendall voids do not appear to affect the tensile strength of the joint. The volume change of Ni-P phase transformation during the thermal aging process generates high tensile stress inside the Ni-P layer; this stress causes mudflat cracks on the remaining Ni-P coating and also leads to its delamination from the underlying Ni substrate. In general, interfacial reaction and the subsequent growth of Ni₃Sn₄ intermetallic compound (IMC) layer during solid-state reaction are the main reasons for the decrease of tensile strength of the solder joints. The current study finds there is an empirical linear relation between the solder joint strength and the Ni₃Sn₄ intermetallic compound (IMC) thickness. Therefore, the IMC thickness may be used as an indication of the joint strength.     

Interpretation of the Effects of High Austenitizing Temperature on Toughness Behavior in a Low Alloy,High Strength Steel

An experimental investigation into the effects of high temperature austenitizing treatment (h.t.a.) on the microstructure and the mechanical properties, and micromechanisms of fracture in a variety of test conditions has been carried out on a Ni-Cr high strength steel. H.t.a. increased the fracture toughness, but decreased the tensile ductilities and notch toughness of this steel with a slight reduction in strength in the condition of strain-controlled fracture mode. However, the fracture toughness and notch toughness of steel were simultaneously improved by h.t.a. in the condition of stress-controlled fracture mode. This behavior of ductility and notch toughness is because the micro structural variations arising from h.t.a. have different roles in different fracture modes. It appears that the general effect of microstructural changes is beneficial to stress-controlled fracture, but the reverse is true to straincontrolled fracture. The fracture toughness behavior was greatly affected by the change in characteristic distance with austenitizing temperature, but the characteristic distance obtained from the best fitting of experimental results does not have clear physical meaning. It is observed that the application of macroscopic fracture stress or strain in analyzing local failure behavior ahead of the crack tip can be justified if the characteristic distance is consistent with the microstructural parameters related to the fracture process. The improvement in fracture toughness for stress controlled fracture mainly results from the large characteristic distance; whereas in the case of strain controlled fracture, this is caused by the much higher local fracture strain ahead of the crack tip of h.t.a. structure compared to that observed in structures produced by conventional austenitizing.     

Anisotropy in Mechanical Properties and Fracture Behavior of an Oxide Dispersion Fe20Cr5Al Alloy

Anisotropy of fracture toughness and fracture behavior of Fe20Cr5Al oxide dispersion-strengthened alloy has been investigated by means of compression tests, hardness tests, and wedge splitting test. The results show a small effect of the compression direction on yield strength (YS) and strain hardening. The YS is minimum for longitudinal direction and maximum for the tangential direction. The transverse plastic strain ratio is similar for tangential and longitudinal directions but very different from that in normal direction. Hardness depends on the indentation plane; it is lower for any plane parallel to the L-T plane and of similar magnitude for the other orthogonal planes, i.e., the L-S and T-S planes. Macroscopically, two failure modes have been observed after wedge-splitting tests, those of LS and TS specimens in which fracture deviates along one or two branches normal to the notch plane, and those of LT, TL, SL, and ST specimens in which fracture propagates along the notch plane. Besides LT and TL specimens present delaminations parallel to L-T plane. Both, the fracture surface of branching cracks and that of the delaminations, show an intergranular brittle fracture appearance. It is proposed that the main cause of the delamination and crack branching is the alignment in the mesoscopic scale of the ultrafine grains structure which is enhanced by the 〈110〉-texture of the material and by the presence in the grain boundaries of both yttria dispersoids and impurity contaminations. An elastoplastic finite element analysis was performed to study what stress state is the cause of the branches and delaminations. It is concluded that the normal to the crack branches and/or the shear stress components could determine the crack bifurcation mechanism, whereas the delamination it seems that it is controlled by the magnitude of the stress component normal to the delamination plane.     

Creep and low-cycle fatigue behavior of ferritic Fe-24Cr-4Al alloy in the dynamic strain aging regime: Effect of aluminum addition

Creep and low-cycle fatigue behavior of ferritic Fe-24Cr-4Al alloy was studied in the temperature range of 673 to 873 K, where dynamic strain aging (DSA) occurrence was found. The DSA of the alloy manifested in the form of serrated flow, negative strain rate sensitivity, and the peak or plateau in the variations of yield strength (YS) and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) with temperature. The characteristic creep behavior of the alloy was experimentally verified as that for a class I solid solution. However, this ferritic alloy showed an anomalous high stress exponent (n=5.7) and high activation energy (Q _c =285 kJ/mol) of the secondary creep, which were commonly exhibited by class II solid solutions. During cyclic deformation, the alloy displayed serration in the stress-strain hysteresis loops, increased cyclic hardening, and enhanced planarity of dislocations. On the basis of the observed experimental results and proper analysis, it was proposed that there was strong elastic interaction between solute aluminum atoms and dislocations in the DSA temperature domain. The anomalous creep and fatigue features were interpreted in terms of the interaction of aluminum with the dislocations.     

时效制度对7B04高强铝合金力学及腐蚀性能的影响

采用常规力学性能、标准紧凑拉伸、电导率、慢应变速率拉伸(SSRT)及剥落腐蚀测试等手段,研究了不同热处理状态下7B04铝合金预拉伸板的力学及腐蚀性能。结果表明,合金的强度、韧性和腐蚀性能与时效制度密切相关。单级峰时效(T6)状态下合金的强度最高,但是其抗应力腐蚀(SCC)性能及断裂韧性最低;双级过时效(T74和T73)状态下材料的断裂韧性和抗SCC性能明显提高,但是其强度牺牲较多;与T6相比,RRA时效处理可明显提高合金的抗SCC性能,且强度牺牲较少,仅下降2%左右,同时断裂韧性也有一定提高。     

Metallurgical factors affecting fracture toughness of aluminum alloys

Crack extension in commercial aluminum alloys proceeds by the “ductile” or fibrous mode. The process involves the large, ~1 μm to ~10μm, Fe-, Si-, and Cu-bearing inclusions which break easily, and the growth of voids at the cracked particles. The linking-up of the voids is accomplished by the rupture of the intervening ligaments, and this is affected by the fine, ~0.01μm precipitate particles that strengthen the matrix. The ~0.1μm Cr-, Mn-, and Zr-rich intermediate particles are more resistant to cracking and may enter the process in the linking-up stage. The fracture toughness of aluminum alloys therefore depends on a) the extent of the heavily strained region ahead of the crack tip, which is a function of the yield strength arad modulus, b) the size of the ligaments which is related tof _c, the volume fraction of cracked particles, and c) the work of rupturing the ligaments. An approximate analysis predicts K_Ic varies asf _c-1/6, and this is in agreement with measurements on alloys with comparable yield strength levels. Studies in which the aging conditions are altered for the samef _cshow that the toughness decreases with increasing yield strength level. This degradation in toughness is related to the localization of plastic deformation. The tendency for localization is illustrated with the help of “plane strain” tension and bend specimens whose behavior is related to the toughness. Measurements of the strain distribution on the microscale show that slip is relatively uniformly distributed in a 7000-type alloy with low inclusion and particle content when the material is in the as-quenched and overaged conditions. In contrast the distribution is highly nonuniform in the peak aged condition where slip is concentrated in widely spaced superbands involving coarse slip bands with large offsets that crack prematurely. The connection between the tendency for slip localization and the fine precipitate particles which strengthen the matrix remains to be established. In overaged alloys grain boundary ruptures occur within the superbands. The amount of intergranular failure increases with grain size and is accompanied by a loss of fracture toughness. This paper is based on an invited presentation made at a symposium on “Advances in the Physical Metallurgy of Aluminum Alloys” held at the Spring Meetings of TMS-IMD in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 29 to June 1, 1973. The symposium was co-sponsored by the Physical Metallurgy Committee and the Non-Ferrous Metals Committee of TMS-IMD     

Behavior of Plate Load Tests on Soil Layers Improved with Cement and Fiber

The load-settlement response from three plate load tests (300 mm diameter, 25.4 mm thick) carried out directly on a homogeneous residual soil stratum, as well as on a layered system formed by two different top layers (300 mm thick)—sand-cement and sand-cement fiber—overlaying the residual soil stratum, is discussed in this technical note. The utilization of a cemented top layer increased bearing capacity, reduced displacement at failure, and changed soil behavior to a noticeable brittle behavior. After maximum load, the bearing capacity dropped towards approximately the same value found for the plate test carried out directly on the residual soil. The addition of fiber to the cemented top layer maintained roughly the same bearing capacity but changed the postfailure behavior to a ductile behavior. A punching failure mechanism was observed in the field for the load test bearing on the sand-cement top layer, with tension cracks being formed from the bottom to the top of the layer. A completely distinct mechanism was observed in the case of the sand-cement-fiber top layer, the failure occurring through the formation of a thick shear band around the border of the plate, which allowed the stresses to spread through a larger area over the residual soil stratum.     

高强高韧损伤容限型钛合金TC21研制

介绍了西北有色金属研究院新研制的高强高韧损伤容限钛合金TC21的情况。合金经实验室、中试及工业规模3个周期的深入研究，其各种力学性能稳定，具有良好的强度、塑性、断裂韧性、裂纹扩展速率的匹配，是1种非常有应用前景的高强高韧损伤容限型结构钛合金。     

双级时效对7075合金应力腐蚀性能影响

双级时效处理虽能有效提高7075铝合金抗应力腐蚀开裂(SCC)性能,但同时会导致合金力学性能降低。为了同时提高7075铝合金的拉伸性能和抗SCC性能,并优化双级时效参数,对双级时效处理7075合金进行了正交试验。通过扫描电镜和透射电镜在慢应变速率实验中研究7075合金的SCC行为。结果发现,在130 ℃条件下保温4 h后,在170 ℃条件下保温8 h,合金抗拉强度、伸长率和应力腐蚀指数I_SSRT分别为488 MPa、10.8%和0.095。      

High-temperature creep in an Al-8.5Fe-1.3V-1.7Si alloy processed by rapid solidification

The creep behavior of an Al-8.5Fe-1.3V-1.7Si alloy processed by rapid solidification is investigated at three temperatures ranging from 623 to 723 K. The measured minimum creep strain rates cover seven orders of magnitude. The creep behavior is associated with the true threshold stress, decreasing with increasing temperature more strongly than the shear modulus of aluminum. The minimum creep strain rate is controlled by the lattice diffusion in the alloy matrix, and the true stress exponent is close to 5. The apparent activation energy of creep depends strongly on both applied stress and temperature and is generally much higher than the activation enthalpy of lattice self-diffusion in aluminum. Also, the apparent stress exponent of minimum creep strain rate depends on applied stress as well as on temperature and is generally much higher than the true stress exponent. This behavior of both the apparent activation energy and apparent stress exponent is accounted for by the strong temperature dependence of the threshold stress-to-shear modulus ratio. The true threshold creep behavior of the alloy is interpreted in terms of athermal detachment of dislocations from fine incoherent Al₁₂(Fe, V)₃Si phase particles, admitting a temperature dependence of the relaxation factor characterizing the strength of the attractive dislocation/particle interaction.     

Deformation and fracture of a particle-reinforced aluminum alloy composite: Part II. Modeling

In this article, the tensile and fracture properties of a discontinuously reinforced aluminum (DRA) alloy composite are modeled to determine the influence of constituent parameters on material behavior. Comparison of the elastic-modulus calculations to the experimental data suggest that the angular particles are more effective in load transfer than spherical particles, and that a unit cylinder geometry is a good representation of the particles under elastic conditions. This same geometry is used in the finite element-based elastic-plastic model of Bao et al., and reasonably good agreement is obtained between the experimental and predicted yield strengths. A fracture-mechanics model is proposed for predicting the elongation to failure. The model assumes the existence of particle cracks, and criticality is based on the strain required for matrix rupture between cracked particles. The damage criterion of Cockcroft and Latham is utilized, and model predictions are compared to data from different investigations. It is shown that the volume fraction of particles and the work-hardening coefficient of the matrix have a strong influence on the strain to failure. Fracture toughness modeling one again exposes the limitations of existing zero-degree crack-propagation models, such as that of Hahn and Rosenfield, which predict increased toughness with yield strength rather than a decrease, which is observed experimentally. A shear-failure model along a 45-deg direction is proposed for the higher-strength conditions, where concentrated slip bands were observed. The model exhibits the inverse toughness dependence on strength and better correlation to peak-aged (PA) data, but shows poorer agreement with underaged (UA) data. Thus, a transition from zero-degree propagation to 45-deg propagation with increasing strength is suggested. A simplified method for extracting particle stresses is illustrated and is used to estimate a Weibull modulus of 4.9 and a Weibull strength of 2450 MPa for the SiC particles of an average diameter of 10 μm. This article is based on a presentation made in the Symposium “Mechanisms and Mechanics of Composites Fracture” held October 11–15, 1998, at the TMS Fall Meeting in Rosemont, Illinois, under the auspices of the TMS-SMD/ASM-MSCTS Composite Materials Committee.     

The influence of load ratio on fatigue crack growth in 7090-t6 and in9021-t4 p/m aluminum alloys

The rate of fatigue crack growth has been studied over a wide range of growth rates in two high strength P/M aluminum alloys as a function ofR, with particular attention given to crack closure and near-threshold behavior. A principal difference between the two alloys was grain size, being less than oneμm for the alloy IN9021* and greater than five μm for the alloy 7090. No closure was found in the fine-grained alloy nor was there any dependency of the threshold level onR. In contrast, closure was observed in the coarser grained alloy and there was also a dependency of the threshold level onR. The observations are discussed in terms of current models for threshold behavior. Consideration is also given to the overall fatigue crack growth behavior of these P/M in comparison to that of a conventional high strength I/M aluminum alloy. K. Minakawa, formerly Assistant Professor, Metallurgy Department, University of Connecticut G. Levan, formerly Graduate Assistant, Metallurgy Department, University of Connecticut     

Thermal residual stresses in functionally graded and layered 6061 Al/SiC materials

The thermal residual stresses that develop in spray atomized and codeposited functionally graded and layered 6061 Al/SiC metal-matrix composites (MMCs) during cooling from the codeposition temperature to ambient temperature were studied using thermo-elastoplastic finite element analysis. In an effort to investigate the effect of layered and graded structures on the residual stress distribution, the composites with homogeneous distribution of SiC particulates were also analyzed. The effect of SiC volume fraction in the SiC-rich layers and the effect of SiC-rich layer thickness on the residual stresses were investigated. Based on the present study, it was found that the residual stress distribution is very distinct for the aluminum and the SiC-rich layers in the layered materials. As the volume fraction of SiC increases in the SiC-rich layer, the magnitude of residual stresses also increases. The radial stress was found to be tensile in the aluminum layers and compressive in the SiC-rich layers. It was also found that, as the thickness of the SiC-rich layer increases, the magnitude of radial stress in the aluminum layers increases, and that in the SiC-rich layers decreases. In the graded material, the lower region of each layer exhibits tensile radial stress, and the upper region of each layer shows compressive radial stress in order to maintain continuity between layers during cooldown. In general, the layered and the graded materials have greater residual stresses and more complicated stress distribution, as compared with those in the composite materials with homogeneous distribution of SiC particulates.     

The strength,fracture toughness,and low cycle fatigue behavior of 17-4 PH stainless steel

The influence of microstructure on the strength, fracture toughness and low cycle fatigue behavior of 17-4 PH stainless steel has been examined. Aging hardening involves initial formation of coherent copper-rich clusters which transform to incoherent fee ∈-copper precipitates upon further aging. The changes in strength level and strain hardening rates observed during aging are consistent with previously suggested models for precipitation hardening based on differing elastic moduli. The fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth rates were shown to be a function of microstructure and environment. At equivalent strength levels overaging resulted in a higher fracture toughness than did underaging. The fatigue crack growth rates increased with increasing strength level and humidity but were not a function of toughness level. Attempts to correlate the fatigue crack growth rates with monotonie tensile properties were unsuccessful. However when final failure obeyed a critical strain criteria, the fracture toughness behavior could be reasonably described and related to preferential void nucleation and growth at δ-ferrite-matrix interfaces.     

2524铝合金的热压缩变形行为

利用Gleeble-1500热模拟实验机,对2524铝合金进行高温等温压缩试验,实验变形温度为300～500℃,应变速率为0.01～10 s-1的条件下,研究了2524铝合金的流变变形行为。结果表明:合金流变应力的大小跟变形温度和应变速率有很大关联,2524铝合金真应力-应变曲线中,流变应力开始随应变增加而增大,达到峰值后趋于平稳,表现出动态回复特征,而峰值流变应力随变形温度的降低和应变速率的升高而增大;在流变速率ε为10 s-1,变形温度300℃以上时,应力出现锯齿波动,合金表现出动态再结晶特征。采用温度补偿应变速率Zener-Hollomon参数值来描述2524铝合金在高温塑性变形流变行为时,其变形激活能Q为216.647 kJ/mol。在等温热压缩形变中,合金可加工条件为:高应变速率(>0.5 s-1)或低应变速率(0.01 s-1～0.02 s-1)、高应变温度(440℃～500℃)。