Evaluation of hardness and surface quality of different wood species as function of heat treatment

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of heat treatment on surface roughness and hardness of four wood species, namely black alder (Alnus glutinosa L.), red oak (Quercus falcata Michx.), Southern pine (Pinus taeda L.) and yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera). Samples were exposed to heat treatment schedules having two temperature and exposure levels of 120 °C and 190 °C for 3 and 6 h, respectively. Average hardness value of red oak samples exposed to a temperature of 190 °C for 6 h was 41.7% lower than that recorded before the heat treatment. Temperature of 190 °C produced 7.9% lower hardness values for black alder with the increased exposure time from 3 h to 6 h. No significant differences were found between same type of Southern pine and yellow poplar specimens before and after the heat treatment in terms of their hardness values. Among the four species considered in this study red oak having the most porous anatomical structure showed the roughest surface. An improvement in surface quality (R_a) with 7.46% with extending exposure time from 3 h to 6 h at the temperature level of 190 °C was noticed. However all four types of wood species kept in the oven at 190° for 6 h presented smoother surface quality. It was found that increased temperature from 120 °C to 190 °C for both exposure times showed significant differences from the surface quality of nontreated samples at 95% confidence level. The anatomical structure of samples was also observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and some damage of the cell wall was determined due to heat treatment. The findings of this study demonstrated that heat treatment resulted in adverse effect on hardness characteristics of the samples. It appears that strength losses can be limited through alternative modified heat treatment techniques. On the other hand, surface quality of the samples from all species was enhanced as a result of heat treatment. Therefore such heat treatment would be considered to improve surface quality of the sample for furniture applications where smooth surfaces are ideal adding potential value on wood material to be used more effectively in furniture manufacturing.     

Effect of hot working on microstructure evolution of as-cast Nickel Aluminum Bronze alloy

In this work, influences of temperature and hot working on microstructure evolution of a Nickel Aluminum Bronze alloy (NAB) were studied. First, as-cast NAB alloy was annealed and subsequently cooled in air for obtaining homogeneous structure. Microstructure and mechanical properties of NAB specimens before and after annealing were characterized by tensile test, hardness test, optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Then, annealed NAB samples were heat treated at different temperatures between 750 °C and 1000 °C and rapidly cooled down to room temperature. The results showed that amounts and types of emerged microstructures and corresponding hardness strongly depended on the applied temperatures. Additionally, hot compression tests during the temperature range of 800 °C and 950 °C were performed for the annealed NAB alloy. After forming, specimens were cooled down with two different cooling rates of 40 °C/s and 100 °C/s. Developed microstructure and resulting hardness of the deformed NAB alloy were discussed regarding to the heat treating conditions.     

Strengthening of AISI 2205 duplex stainless steel by strain ageing

In this study, static strain ageing behavior of commercially available and solution heat treated duplex stainless steel was investigated and the effect of static strain ageing on the mechanical properties was also determined in detail. Some of as-received duplex stainless steel test specimens were pre-strained in tension by 5% and then aged at 100 °C, 200 °C, 300 °C, 400 °C, 500 °C and 600 °C for 30 min in furnace. Some of duplex stainless steel test specimens were solution heat treated at 1050 °C for 30 min, water quenched and then pre-strained for 5% in tension shortly after the solution heat treatment.In order to identify the effect of static strain ageing on the mechanical properties, the tensile strength, the change in the strength due to ageing (ΔY), elongation fracture and hardness were determined. The test results showed that the mechanical properties were affected by static strain ageing mechanism which was applied at different temperatures for same time interval.     

Study of effects of deep cryotreatment on mechanical properties of 1.2542 tool steel

Normally, increase in strength and wear resistance of tool steels is associated with a reduced ductility. However, deep cryotreatment (DCT) may be used to simultaneously increase tensile strength and hardness and improve ductility of tool steels. In this work, effects of different DCT cycles on mechanical properties of 1.2542 tool steel have been studied. Three sets of specimens were investigated: two sets of untreated specimens, for studying the effect of some hardening parameters on the metal properties, and a third set consisting of cryotreated specimens. Soaking and tempering temperatures were kept constant at −196 °C and 200 °C, respectively. Different cryotreatment cycles were implemented by varying soaking time (24, 36 and 48 h) and tempering duration (60, 120 and 180 min). In order to ensure optimum treatment conditions, time gaps between various treatment steps were kept to minimum. Results show that two cryotreatment cycles consisting of: (i) 36 h soaking at −196 °C and 1 h tempering at 200 °C, and (ii) 48 h soaking at −196 °C and 2 h tempering at 200 °C produce the best effects in the cryotreated 1.2542 tool steel specimens, namely 32–36% increase in tensile strength, 9–12% increase in hardness, and 12–35% improvement in ductility.     

Effect of Zr addition on properties of Al–Mg–Si aluminum alloy used for all aluminum alloy conductor

The effects of Zr addition on mechanical property in the aged Al–Mg–Si alloy exposed to thermal-resistant treatment (180–250 °C) have been studied by using both Brinell Hardness tests and tensile tests. The softening process at 180 °C and 230 °C has been investigated by transmission electron microscope (TEM). The Arrhenius Model is introduced to simulate the strength evolution in the thermal-resistant treatment. The results show that tensile strength and thermal-resistant property are improved by addition of Zr, and both the Brinell Hardness and Tensile Strength could maintain no less than 90% of their initial values when the alloy is exposed to heat treatment at 180 °C for 400 h and 230 °C for 2 h. The presence of rod-shaped phases and coarsening particles results in decreasing the hardness of the sample. The relationship between thermal-resistant life and temperature is derived by the Arrhenius Model. When the Al–Mg–Si–Zr alloy is heated at 130 °C, the duration described in the Arrhenius plot could reach to 40 years.     

Characterization of heat treated wood species

The objective of this work is to investigate the effect of heat treatment on swelling, hardness and surface quality of samples from four species, namely mindi (Melia azedarch L.), mahogany (Swietenia macrophyla), red oak (Quercus falcate Michx.) and Southern pine (Pinus taeda L.). Specimens were exposed to temperature levels of 130 °C and 200 °C for 2 and 8 h. Swelling values of the control and heat treated samples were evaluated by soaking them in water for 2 h. Surface quality and hardness of the species were also determined using a stylus technique and Janka hardness, respectively. Based on the findings in this study dimensional stability of all four types of samples improved with heat treatment. Surface quality of the specimens was also significantly enhanced by exposing them to heat. Micrographs taken from scanning electron microscope revealed that there was some distortion and modification of the cells due to heat treatment. Overall hardness of the samples was adversely influenced by heat treatment. It seems that properties of the species evaluated in this investigation were more pronounced with increasing temperature and time span.     

Sintering of grey cast iron powder recycled via jet milling

Porous grey cast iron powder metallurgy parts were made from grey cast iron powder manufactured via target jet milling of machining scraps. The powders were used in the as-milled state without any further physical or heat treatment.Sintering was conducted at 1025, 1100 and 1175 °C in an argon atmosphere and the effect of sintering temperature on microstructure, sintered density and apparent hardness of the grey cast iron specimens pressed to 5.8 g/cm³ was investigated.Although diffusion processes were partially activated at 1025 °C, it was determined that a temperature of 1175 °C proved to be the ideal temperature for solid state sintering of grey cast iron parts. The hardness value and sintered density for the specimens sintered at 1175 °C were found to be 96 BHN and 6.1 g/cm³ (around 15% porosity) respectively, all of which lends itself to promising properties for making self-lubricating bearings and parts with sliding properties.     

Effects of Al–5Ti–1B on the structure and hardness of a super high strength aluminum alloy produced by strain-induced melt activation process

In this study the effect of Al–5Ti–1B grain refiner on the structural characteristics and hardness of Al–12Zn–3Mg–2.5Cu aluminum alloy has been investigated. The alloy was produced by modified strain-induced melt activation (SIMA) process. Reheating condition to obtain a fine globular microstructure was optimized. The specimens subjected to deformation ratio of 40% (at 300 °C) and various heat treatment times (5–40 min) and temperature (550–620 °C) regimes were characterized in this study. Microstructural study was carried out on the alloy by the use of optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in both unrefined and Ti-refined conditions. The results showed that for the desired microstructures of the alloy during SIMA process, the optimum temperature and time are 575 °C and 20 min respectively. The hardness test results of the alloy also revealed that T6 heat treatment is more effective in hardness enhancement of all specimens in comparison with SIMA processing.     

Effects of inter-critical temperatures on martensite morphology,volume fraction and mechanical properties of dual-phase steels obtained from direct and continuous annealing cycles

Homogenizing and normalizing heat treatments were performed on low carbon–manganese steel. Then, direct and continuous annealing heat treatments were carried out at 800 °C, 770 °C, 750 °C and 725 °C. Finally; dual phase ferrite–martensite steel was obtained. Thereafter, hardness and tensile tests were applied at ambient temperature, and impact tests for the initial sample and the dual-phase steels obtained from continuous and direct annealing heat treatment in the temperature ranges of (−67 to +70), (−70 to +60), (−70 to +29), respectively, were accomplished. The ductile–brittle transition temperature (DBTT) and the fracture modes of the samples were obtained, and the fracture surface of the steel was observed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results revealed that the best mechanical properties in dual-phase steels, like impact toughness and flexibility, appear at the inter-critical temperature of 725 °C for both continuous and direct annealing cycles. The (DBTT) for the specimens obtained from direct and continuous annealing and the initial sample were −49 °C, −6 °C, and −34 °C, respectively. The dual-phase specimen achieved through the direct annealing method had better toughness and impact properties than the initial specimen or the one obtained through continuous annealing.     

Effect of heat treatment on microstructure,hardness and rollability of V55Ti30Ni15 alloy membranes

The effect of heat treatment on the microstructure, hardness and rollability of V₅₅Ti₃₀Ni₁₅ alloy membranes has been investigated in this study. The microstructure resulting from different heat treatment conditions has a great influence on hardness. Fine NiTi particles precipitate from the supersaturated V-matrix solid solution at temperatures above 600 °C, increase in quantity until 800 °C, then dissolve back into the V-matrix with a further increase in temperature up to 950 °C. The resultant hardness decreases with temperature until 800 °C, and then increases from 800 to 950 °C. In the present study, a comparison has been made between the rollability of the as-cast and the heat treated state selected for deformation at different rolling temperatures. The percent reduction in thickness of the heat-treated alloy (800 °C/18 h) has been found to be up to 30% higher than that of the as-cast alloy, even at room temperature (cold rolling).     

Analysis of heat-treated bovine cortical bone by thermal gravimetric and nanoindentation

Xenograft bone has been widely used as a bone grafting material because it gains advantages in biological and mechanical properties as compare with the use of an allograft bone. Heat-treatment of bone is recognized as one of the simple and practical methods to lower the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and overcome the risks of rejection and disease transfer during the bone transplantation. Therefore, understanding the change of bone’s organic matrix after heat treatment has become a significant topic. In this study, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to investigate the condition of organic constituents of a bovine cortical bone. In order to well characterize the microstructural and mechanical property of the bone after heat treatment, nanoindention technique was also employed to measure the localized elastic modulus (E) and hardness (H) of its interstitial lamellae and osteons lamellae at the temperatures of 23 °C (RT), 37 °C, 90 °C, 120 °C and 160 °C, respectively.The TGA results demonstrated that heat-treated bones had three stages of weight loss. The first stage was the loss of water, which started from RT to 160 °C. Follow by a weight loss of organic constituents starting from 200 °C to 600 °C. Upon reaching 600 °C, the organic constituents were decomposed and mineral phase loss started taking place until 850 °C. From the nanoindentation results, it showed the values of E and H measured for the interstitial lamellae were higher than that of the osteons lamellae. This phenomenon indicates that the interstitial lamellae are stiffer and easy to be mineralized than osteons lamellae. For a specimen heat-treated at 90 °C, the values of E and H of interstitial lamellae and osteons lamellae were similar to a non-heat-treated specimen. For a specimen heat-treated at 120 °C, its interstitial lamellae had higher E and H values than osteons lamellae. When a specimen was heat-treated at 160 °C, both interstitial lamellae and osteons lamellae demonstrated a slight decrease of their E and H values. An ANOVA statistical analysis was used to analyze the difference in elastic properties and hardness in various temperature ranges.     

Aluminum matrix composites reinforced with multi-walled boron nitride nanotubes fabricated by a high-pressure torsion technique

Aluminum matrix composites loaded with various fractions of multi-walled, well-structured boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs), up to 5 wt.% fractions, were fabricated using powder constituents by means of a high pressure torsion technique (HPT) at room temperature under 5 GPa pressurization. Transient ultrathin amorphous-like layers, with a thickness of 2–5 nm, composed of Al(BNO) phases, which formed under severe plastic deformation and developed under further heat treatments of the composites at 350 °C and 450 °C, were detected at the interfacial regions between Al grains and tightly embracing them BN layers. Room temperature hardness and tensile tests on fabricated composites before and after heat treatments were conducted. The highest value of room temperature tensile strength was obtained on Al-5 wt.% BNNT samples annealed at 450 °C, that reached up to ~ 420 MPa, thus exhibiting more than a doubled increase in strength compared to HPT-fabricated pure Al samples under identical compacting conditions.     

Improvement of mechanical properties of stainless maraging steel laser weldments by post-weld ageing treatments

The response of stainless maraging steel weldments to post-weld ageing treatment has been investigated. Post-weld ageing was performed at five different temperatures, viz., 420 °C, 460 °C, 500 °C, 540 °C, and 580 °C. Metallographic characterization of weldment revealed three zones, namely fusion zone, heat-affected zone (HAZ) and unaffected parent metal zone. Hardness and tensile properties were evaluated after ageing at different temperatures. Hardness in HAZ and fusion zone varied with ageing temperature differently from that of the parent metal; it became higher in HAZ and fusion zone than in parent metal zone above 420 °C. Among the applied ageing treatments, ageing at 460 °C achieved the highest tensile strength. A graph was constructed for determination of fracture location and post-weld heat treatment efficiency based on experimental results, using hardness ratio of HAZ to the treated parent material and hardness ratio of HAZ to the as-received parent material.     

Mechanical properties of sinter-hardened Cr–Si–Ni–Mo based steel foam

Highly porous sinter-hardenable Cr–Si–Ni–Mo based steel foam for automotive applications was produced by space holder method. Steel powders were mixed with binder (polyvinylalcohol) and space holder (carbamide), and compacted. Carbamide in the green compacts was removed by water leaching at room temperature. The green specimens were then sintered at temperatures between 1100 °C and 1250 °C for sintering times of 15, 30 and 45 min. In addition, the steel foams were sinter-hardened to enhance mechanical properties. Sinter-hardening combines sintering and heat treatment in one step by increasing the post-sintering cooling rate. This reduces the cost of operation and makes powder metallurgy more competitive. Effects of sinter-hardening process parameters on compressive strength, Young’s modulus, hardness and energy absorption of the steel foams were investigated.     

Influence of the impact sintering temperature on the structure and properties of samples from the different iron powders

The studies of the consolidation, structure and mechanical properties of samples from two types of iron powder are carried out. The coarse and less pure PZH3M2 as well as fine and purer DIAFE5000 powders were used. The samples are obtained by means of impact sintering method in the temperatures range of 500–1100 °C. The impact energy was 1200 J/cm³, and the initial deformation velocity - 6.5 m/s. Samples are obtained in the form of disks with a diameter of 25–27 mm and 9–10 mm high. For carrying out different mechanical tests the bars were cut out from disks. The tensile, compression, three-point bend of notched samples tests were carried out, as well as the Brinell hardness was measured after the corresponding processing of the bars. The characteristics of strength and plasticity of samples depending on the impact sintering temperature are determined. The polished surface of different samples and the fracture surface are investigated. It is established that the high density of samples is reached at a temperature of 600 and 700 °C respectively for fine and coarse powders. The samples obtained at these impact sintering temperatures possess rather low electrical resistivity, high strength, hardness, but the lowered plasticity. Namely, the samples from the PZH3M2 and DIAFE5000 powders sintered at the temperature of 700 °C have respectively: ultimate tensile strength - 406 and 336 MPa, yield stress - 353 and 190 MPa, contraction ratio - 26 and 78%, limit stress (at the fracture) - 501 and 933 MPa, the maximum crack tip stress – 738 and 876 MPa, the fracture energy at a bend of the notched samples - 4.8 and 51.2 J/cm³ and also Brinell hardness - 1467 and 847 MPa. The increase of the samples impact sintering temperature leads to grain growth, decrease of the samples strength and increase of their plasticity. At the same time the structure of samples from the DIAFE5000 powder is more fine-grained than at samples from the PZH3M2 powder.     

Structure and mechanical properties of the annealed TZAV-30 alloy

The Ti–30Zr–5Al–3V (wt.%, TZAV-30) alloy having good mechanical properties is a potential structural material to apply in the aerospace industry. The microstructure and mechanical properties of ZTAV-30 alloy underwent various annealing heat treatments were investigated. The specimens annealed from 500 to 800 °C are composed of α and β two phases. No compound is detected in specimens annealed in that temperature range. The microstructure of annealed specimens is characterized as a typical basketweave microstructure. Three microstructural parameters, thickness of plate α phase, relative fraction of β phase and aspect ratio of α grains, were measured in those annealed specimens. As the alloy annealed in the range from 500 to 800 °C, the average thickness of plate α grains increases with the increasing annealing temperature from 500 to 700 °C but decreases while annealed at 800 °C. The fraction of retained β phase increases with annealing temperature. And the aspect ratio of plate α grains decreases firstly but increases while the annealing temperature is higher than 700 °C. As the variation of those three microstructural parameters, the strength of examined alloy varies from 1269 to 1355 MPa for tensile strength and from 1101 to 1190 MPa for yield strength, inversely, the elongation changes in the range from 12.7% to 8.4%. The strengthening and toughening mechanism of the TZAV-30 alloy with basketweave microstructure is also discussed in this paper.     

Effects of thermal exposure on mechanical behavior of carbon fiber composite pyramidal truss core sandwich panel

An experimental study was performed to investigate the effect of high temperature exposure on mechanical properties of carbon fiber composite sandwich panel with pyramidal truss core. For this purpose, sandwich panels were exposed to different temperatures for different times. Then sandwich panels were tested under out-of-plane compression till failure after thermal exposure. Our results indicated that both the thermal exposure temperature and time were the important factors affecting the failure of sandwich panels. Severe reductions in residual compressive modulus and strength were observed when sandwich panels were exposed to 300 °C for 6 h. The effect of high temperature exposure on failure mode of sandwich panel was revealed as well. Delamination and low fiber to matrix adhesion caused by the degradation of the matrix properties were found for the specimens exposed to 300 °C. The modulus and strength of sandwich panels at different thermal exposure temperatures and times were predicted with proposed method and compared with measured results. Experimental results showed that the predicted values were close to experimental values.     

Effect of heat treatment on mechanical properties of low alloy steel foams

Effect of heat treatment on compressive properties of low alloy steel foams (Fe–1.75 Ni–1.5 Cu–0.5 Mo–0.6 C) having porosities in the range of 47.4–71.5% with irregular pore shape, produced by the space holder-water leaching technique in powder metallurgy, was investigated. Low alloy steel powders were mixed with different amounts of space holder (carbamide), and then compacted at 200 MPa. Carbamide in the green compacts was removed by water leaching at room temperature. The green specimens were sintered at 1200 °C for 60 min in hydrogen atmosphere. Sintered compacts were heat treated by austenitizing at 850 °C for 30 min and then quenched at 70 °C in oil and tempered at 210 °C for 60 min. In this porosity range, compressive yield strengths of as-sintered and heat treated specimens were 28–122 MPa and 18–168 MPa, respectively. The resultant Young’s moduli of the as-sintered and heat treated specimens were 0.68–3.12 GPa and 0.47–3.47 GPa, respectively. The heat treatment enhanced the Young’s modulus and compressive yield strength of the foams having porosities in the range of 47.4–62.3%, as a consequence of matrix strengthening. However, the compressive yield stress and Young’s modulus of the heat treated foam having 71.5% porosity were lower than that of the as-sintered foam’s, as a result of cracks in the structure. The results were discussed in light of the structural findings.     

Elevated temperature low cycle fatigue of grey cast iron used for automotive brake discs

This paper evaluates the fatigue life properties of low carbon grey cast iron (EN-GJL-250), which is widely used for automotive brake discs. Although several authors have examined mechanical and fatigue properties at room temperatures, there has been a lack of such data regarding brake discs operating temperatures. The tension, compression and low cycle fatigue properties were examined at room temperature (RT) and at brake discs’ working temperatures: 500 °C, 600 °C and 700 °C. The microstructure of the material was documented and analysed. Tensile stress–strain curves, cyclic hardening/softening curves, stress–strain hysteresis loops, and fatigue life curves were obtained for all the above-mentioned temperatures. It was concluded, that Young’s modulus is comparable with both tension and compression, but yield its strength and ultimate strength are approximately twice as great in compression than in tension. All the mechanical properties remained quite stable until 500 °C, where at 700 °C all deteriorated drastically. During fatigue testing, the samples endured at 500 °C on average at around 50% of cycles at room temperature. Similar to other materials’ properties, the cycles to failure have dropped significantly at 700 °C.     

Processing of a new high strength high toughness steel with duplex microstructure (Ferrite + Austenite)

In this investigation a new third generation advanced high strength steel (AHSS) has been developed. This steel was synthesized by austempering of a low carbon and low alloy steel with high silicon content. The influence of austempering temperature on the microstructure and the mechanical properties including the fracture toughness of this steel was also examined. Compact tension and cylindrical tensile specimens were prepared from a low carbon low alloy steel and were initially austenitized at 927 °C for 2 h and then austempered in the temperature range between 371 °C and 399 °C to produce different microstructures. The microstructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and optical metallography. Test results show that the austempering heat treatment has resulted in a microstructure consisting of very fine scale bainitic ferrite and austenite. A combination of very high tensile strength of 1388 MPa and fracture toughness of 105 MPa √m was obtained after austempering at 371 °C.