Effects of holding temperature and time on semi-solid isothermal heat-treated microstructure of ZA84 magnesium alloy

The feasibility of fabricating ZA84 magnesium alloy with non-dendritic microstructure by a semi-solid isothermal heat treatment process and the effects of holding temperature and time on the semi-solid isothermal heat-treated microstructure of the alloy were investigated. The results indicate that it is possible to produce ZA84 alloy with non-dendritic microstructure by suitable semi-solid isothermal heat treatment. After being treated at 560-575℃ for 120min, ZA84 magnesium alloy can obtain a non-dendritic microstructure with 14.2%-25.6% liquid fraction and an average size of 56-65μm of the unmelted primary solid particles. With the increasing holding time from 30 to 120min or holding temperature from 560 to 575℃, the average size of unmelted primary solid particles decreases and globular tendency becomes more obvious. Under the experimental condition, the microstructural evolution of ZA84 alloy during semi-solid isothermal treatment is mainly composed of three stages of initial coarsening. structulseparation and spheroidization. The subsequent coarsening of spheroidal grains is not observed.     

Semisolid metal forming by novel sloping plate process

Semisolid metal forming by a novel sloping plate process was studied. A sloping plate with wavelike surface was used to prepare semisolid alloy. Semisolid billets and slurries with good microstructures and excellent property were prepared by cooling or preheating the sloping plate. During preparing semisolid alloy by the proposed process, the co-action of burst nucleation and dendrite fragmentation causes fine spherical microstructure formation, and casting temperature, cooling strength and sloping angle are the main factors influencing the alloy microstructure. Under the current experimental conditions, in order to prepare good quality semisolid billets, proper casting temperature ranges of 660-690 ℃ for AlMg3 alloy and 660-680 ℃ for AlSi6Mg2 alloy are suggcsted. A small car hub wheel of AlSi6Mg2 alloy was thixoformed, and its pattern and inner microstructure are fine. The reasonable technological conditions for preparing AISi6Mg2 slurry are also proposed： the sloping plate preheating temperature is 300 ℃, and the casting temperature is 680 ℃.     

Effects of processing parameters on microstructure of semi-solid magnesium alloy

In this paper, the effects of pouring temperature of magnesium melt, preheating temperature of the barrel of the screw mixer, and shear rate on the solidified microstructures of semi-solid slurry were investigated by a mechanical stirring semi-solid process. The appropriate processing parameters of slurry preparation were obtained, and the mold filling ability of semi-solid slurry for thin-walled casting was examined. Results indicate that the solid volume fraction of non-dendritic microstructure increases with a decrease in pouring temperature of magnesium melt and the barrel preheating temperature of the screw mixer. Also the grain size of primary α-phase is reduced. Furthermore, the solid volume fraction of semi-solid nondendritic structure decreases with an increase of shear rate. The fine and round granular microstructure with 30～50 μm in size of semi-solid AZ91D magnesium alloy was presented. Finally, a 1.0 mm thin-walled casting with a clear contour and good soundness was successfully made by semi-solid rheo-diecasting.     

Compound fabrication technology of semi-solid billet of A1-Si alloy based on SIMA method

Based on SIMA, the AI-Si alloy semi-solid billets were successfully fabricated by means of strain inducement and isothermal treatment for A1Si9Mg poured in the range of near-liquidus. Through orthogonal test, the effects of combination action of near-liquidus casting, strain inducement and isothermal treatment on the morphology of primary α-Al phase of AISi9Mg close to eutectic point were investigated, and the optimal match relation between the processing parameters of solidification, deformation parameters of strain inducement, processing parameters of isothermal treatment and microstructure parameters of semi-solid alloy was established. The results indicate that compared with the single near-liquidus casting or SIMA, the microstructure of primary a-Al phase in A1Si9Mg alloy prepared by compound fabrication process is more homogeneous, with more globular and finer particles, which has average grain size of 40-50 Brn and shape factor of greater than 0.75. After holding at 605 ℃ for 30-40 min under a certain cooling rate, increased deformation volume in SIMA benefits the refinement of the grain and the improvement of the morphology for primary phase.     

Effects of process parameters on the microstructure during the hot compression of a TC6 titanium alloy

The effects of process parameters on the microstructural evolution, including grain size and volume fraction of the α phase during hot forming of a TC6 alloy were investigated using compression tests. Experiments were conducted on the material with (α β) phases at deformation temperatures of 800, 860, 920, and 950℃, swain rates of 0.001, 0.01, 1, and 50 s^-1, and height direction reductions of 30%, 40%, and 50%. After reaching a peak value near 920, the gram size and volume fraction decrease with further increase of deformation temperature. The strain rate affects the morphologies and grain size of α phase of the TC6 titanium alloy. At a lower strain rate, the effect of the swain rate on the volume fraction is greater than that at a higher swain rate under the experimental conditions. The effects of the swain rate on the microstructure also result from deformation heating. The grain size of the α phase increases with an increase in height direction reduction after an early drop. The effect of height direction reduction on the volume fraction is similar to that of the grain size. All of the optical micrographs and quantitative metallography show that deformation process parameters affect the microstructure during hot forming of the TC6 alloy, and a correlation between the temperature, strain, and strain rate appears to be a significant fuzzy characteristic.     

Infiltration kinetics of pressureless infiltration in SiCp／Al composites

The pressureless infiltration kinetics was investigated by plotting the infiltration distance as function of the infiltration time. The effects of key process parameters such as time, temperature, Mg content on the pressureless infiltration of silicon carbide particle compacts were studied and quantified. The preform with high volume fraction SiC was obtained by mixing SiC particles with bimodal size distribution, whose diameters are 5 and 50 btm, respectively. The results show that an incubation period exists before infiltration, the influence of temperature on the incubation time exceeds that of Mg content, infiltration rate increases with the increasing temperature and Mg content, infiltration rate decreases as Mg consumes. A model of macroscopical infiltration and microscopical infiltration of liquid alloy in porous SiC preform was proposed.     

SEMI-SOLID MICROSTRUCTURE AND ITS EVOLUTION OF WROUGHT ALUMINUM ALLOY BY DIRECTLY HEATING-ISOTHERMAL TREATMENT

Microstructure evolution of wrought aluminum alloy extruded rods and the mechanism of liquid phase formation during reheating were investigated. And the relation between the volume fraction of liquid phase and the recrystallization microstructure was proposed. The results show that increase in reheating temperature and time can augment the volume fraction of liquid phase and accelerate the grain spheroidization, as a result of which the requirement of semi-solid forming can be satisfied. Due to the higher aberration energy of grain boundary, the melting point is lowered as a result of the easy diffusion of atoms. At higher reheating temperature the grain boundary melts, the growth of the recrystallized grain is inhibited and the grain is refined. The composition of the low melt-point phase along the recrystallized grains was determined using EDS. It can be seen from the experimental results that when the extrusion rod of the wrought aluminum alloy is reheated at 610℃ for 20min, perfect fine equiaxial grains can be obtained, the average grain size is about 66.34μm and the volume fraction of solid phase is about 68%.     

Microstructural evolution of equal channel angular pressed AZ91D magnesium alloy during semi-solid isothermal heat treatment

The microstructural evolution of AZ91D magnesium alloy processed by equal channel angular pressing during isothermal heat treatment at 570℃ was investigated. The results indicated that the equal channel angular pressing followed by semi-solid isothermal heat treatment was an effective method to prepare semisolid nondendritic slurry of AZ91D magnesium alloy. During this process, its microstructure change underwent four stages, the initial coarsening stage, the structure separation stage, the spheroidization stage and the final coarsening stage. The microstructural spheroidization effect was the best after being heated for 15 min for the alloy pressed for four passes, and the grain size was the smallest. With the further increase of heating time, the grain size and shape factor increased. When the heating time was kept constant, the grain size and shape factor decreased with the increase of pressing passes.     

Process Parameter Optimizing and Studies on Microstructure and Properties of AZ31 Alloy Prepared by Semisolid Rolling Process

A novel continuous semisolid rolling process for producing AZ31 alloy strip was developed. The process parameters were optimized, and microstructure and properties of AZ31 alloy prepared by the process were studied. The results reveal that primary grains of the strip become coarse, and the grain structure transforms from round shape to dendrite with the increment of casting temperature gradually. Eutectic phase fraction and primary grain size increase with the increment of roll speed. The primary grain size decreases firstly and then increases with the increment of the vibration frequency correspondingly. When the casting temperature is from 650℃ to 690℃, the roll speed is 0.069 m·s-1 , and the vibration frequency is about 80 Hz, AZ31 alloy strip with a cross section size of 4 mm×160 mm was prepared by the proposed process. The ultimate tensile strength and elongation are improved 1% and 57%, respectively.     

等温热处理工艺参数对Mg-8%Al-1%Si合金半固态显微组织的影响(英文)

采用等温热处理工艺制备具有半固态显微组织的Mg-8%Al-1%Si合金,研究等温热处理工艺参数(等温温度和等温时间)对Mg-8%Al-1%Si合金显微组织的影响。结果表明:通过等温热处理工艺可以得到具有非枝晶组织的Mg-8%Al-1%Si合金。随着等温温度从560°C升高至575°C或等温时间从5min延长至30min,半固态组织中的液相体积分数增加,α-Mg晶粒尺寸变大并且其球化趋势明显。此外,在半固态组织中的共晶Mg2Si相从汉字状转变成为颗粒状。研究等温热处理Mg-8%Al-1%Si合金中的共晶Mg2Si相的形貌转变机制。     

自孕育法制备AZ31镁合金半固态流变成形组织(英文)

采用新型自孕育流变铸造技术对变形镁合金半固态组织进行控制。该工艺过程为将合金熔体与一定量的合金固体颗粒(自孕育剂)混合,然后将混合金属通过一个多流股导流器浇入铸型或收集器。结果表明:采用自孕育工艺,合金熔体处理温度690~710℃,孕育剂的加入量为3%~7%时能有效将AZ31镁合金传统铸造中的粗大枝晶组织转变为细小、近球状的非枝晶组织;当合金熔体处理温度较高时,增加孕育剂的加入量或减小导流器的倾斜角度有利于获得非枝晶组织。自孕育工艺制备的AZ31镁合金半固态浆料在620℃等温保温30s后能有效改善初生α-Mg颗粒的圆整度;延长保温时间有助于减小颗粒的圆整度,但同时颗粒发生粗化。利用Lifshitz-Slyozov-Wagner(LSW)理论对初生相颗粒在等温保温过程中的组织圆整、粗化过程进行了分析。     

添加0.5%富铈混合稀土AZ91D镁合金半固态组织的形成

半固态浆料的固相颗粒尺寸、形态和分布主要取决于熔化过程中液相的形成与演化过程。采用添加0.5%富铈混合稀土来改善AZ91D镁合金的铸态组织,研究在半固态等温热处理中的组织演变以及非枝晶组织制备与控制的机理。结果表明:稀土合金化处理可促进初生相在等温热处理过程中由枝晶向粒状晶的转变,可获得更加细小、均匀的球状固相颗粒,并且其粗化速度较慢。半固态等温热处理过程中,整个系统处于熔化和结晶的动态平衡,铸态组织中枝晶根部高溶质浓度区或系统的温度、浓度起伏是固相颗粒内液相形成的内在和外在条件。     

Effects of melt treatment temperature and isothermal holding parameter on water-quenched microstructures of A356 aluminum alloy semisolid slurry

The semisolid slurry of the A356 aluminum alloy was prepared by self-inoculation method (SIM), the effects of melt treatment temperatures and isothermal holding parameters on water-quenched microstructures of A356 aluminum alloy semisolid slurry were investigated, and the solidification behavior of the remaining liquid phase (secondary solidification) was analyzed. The results indicate that the melt treatment temperature has significant effects on the final semisolid microstructures. The semisolid slurry which is suitable for the rheological forming can be produced when the melt treatment temperature is between 680 and 690 °C. During the isothermal holding process, the growth rate of the primary particles conforms to the dynamic equation of D_t³–D₀³=Kt, and the coarsening rate of the primary particles is the fastest when the isothermal holding temperature is 600 °C. Additionally, the isothermal holding time also has obvious effect on the secondary solidification microstructures. The secondary particles are the smallest and roundest when the isothermal holding time is 3 min. The amount of the secondary particles gradually increases with the increase of isothermal holding temperature, and the eutectic reaction therefore is confined into small intergranular areas, contributing to the compactness of the final solidified eutectic structures.     

Rheo-diecasting of AZ91D magnesium alloy

A rheo-diecasting process (RDC) was investigated for semisolid processing of an AZ91D magnesium alloy. The results of the RDC samples in as-cast state indicate that the microstructure of primary α-Mg particles has a fine size, nearly spherical morphology, and uniform distribution throughout the components. Due to the advanced microstructure and reduced level of defects, the RDC AZ91D Mg alloy exhibits an apparent improvement in mechanical properties. The quantitative metallographic investigations reveal that increasing the intensity of forced convection during the slurry preparation results in a promoted nucleation and reduced volume fraction of the primary phase solidified in the slurry maker.     

Microstructure evolution during reheating of extruded Mg-Gd-Y-Zr alloy into semisolid state

The microstructure evolution of an extruded Mg-8.57Gd-3.72Y-0.54Zr (mass fraction, %, GW94) alloy during reheating into the semisolid state was investigated using optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Typical semisolid microstructure with globular solid particles distributed in the liquid matrix is obtained over 600 °C. The solid content of (Gd+Y) in the primary a-Mg particles decreases with increasing the semisolid temperature. With the prolongation of isothermal holding time, the liquid fraction does not change significantly, while the grains grow up and spheroidize. Three methods used to determine the liquid fraction as a function of temperature, namely quantitative metallography on quenched microstructures, cooling curve thermal analysis, and thermodynamic calculations were further compared.     

Effects of isothermal process parameters on the microstructure of semisolid AZ91D alloy produced by SIMA

The effects of isothermal process parameters on the microstructure evolution of semisolid AZ91D alloy produced by strain-induced melt activation (SIMA) were investigated using the self-programmed analysis software based on quantitative metallography. The results showed that long isothermal time could make the semisolid particles more globular, but the size of the particles would grow larger; high semisolid isothermal temperature would reduce the solid volume fraction and accelerate the spherical evolution of the solid particles. It was found that the optimal process parameters should be 570 °C and 10–20 min of isothermal temperature and time respectively based on the conditions of this paper. The mechanism of the particles’ formation was also discussed during the isothermal treatment.     

Al-4Cu-Mg合金半固态重熔时的组织演变

文章研究了Al-4Cu-Mg合金半固态重熔过程中加热温度和保温时间对微观组织形貌和α晶粒尺寸的影响,并对组织演化机制进行了探讨。实验结果表明,当加热温度较低或保温时间较短时,晶粒尺寸小且均匀性差。由于液相分数少,α晶粒之间粘连严重。随着加热温度的升高或保温时间的延长,α晶粒发生了长大和圆整化。对于Al-4Cu-Mg合金来说,合适的半固态重熔参数为:加热温度为540℃~580℃;保温时间小于10min。在半固态重熔过程中,α晶粒的合并长大和Ostwald长大是其微观组织演化的主要机制,两种晶粒长大机制在重熔过程中所起的作用受液相体积分数的影响。     

Microstructure and Element Distribution during Partial Remelting of an Al-4Cu-Mg alloy

The effects of the isothermal temperature and holding time on the microstructure and element distribution have been investigated during partial remelting of the semisolid Al-4Cu-Mg alloy. The experimental results show that the optimal process parameter should be chosen at isothermal temperature of 540-580 °C with the holding time of less than 10 min. Coalescence and coarsening of α grains occur at low liquid fraction. At high liquid fraction, coarsening of α grains and melting of small grains were promoted by an increase of the isothermal temperature and the holding time. The coalescence of grains and Ostwald ripening are two main mechanisms of the microstructural evolution during partial remelting. Meanwhile, the higher the isothermal temperature and the longer the holding time, the more segregation of Cu at the grain boundary would be, which conform to the theory of element distribution affected by heating condition.