Microstructure and mechanical properties of WC Ni–Si based cemented carbides developed by powder metallurgy

In this paper the influence of the Ni binder metal and silicon as an additional alloying element on the microstructure and mechanical properties of WC-based cemented carbides processed by conventional powder metallurgy was studied. Microstructural examinations of specimens indicated the presence of a very low and even distributed porosity and the presence of islands of metal binder in the microstructure of the cemented carbides. Furthermore, despite the addition of silicon and carbon in the cemented carbides, it was not observed the presence of small fractions of undissolved SiC and free graphite nodules in their microstructure. Vickers hardness and Flexural strength tests indicated that the cemented carbide WC–Ni–Si with 10 wt.% of binder presented bulk hardness similar to the conventional WC–Co cemented carbides and superior flexure strength and fracture toughness.     

Fine platelet-like grained WC–Co cemented carbides: Preparation,characterization, properties and application in PVD coating substrates

Strengthening of the adhesion strength and its stability of PVD coated cemented carbides has always been the focus of attention. Commercial ultrafine WC–12Co composite powder by spray conversion processing was used as the raw material. WC–12Co–0.05La₂O₃, WC–12Co–0.9Cr₃C₂–0.05La₂O₃, WC–12Co–0.5Cr₃C₂–0.4VC–0.05La₂O₃ and WC–12Co–0.9Cr₃C₂–0.4VC–0.05La₂O₃ alloys were prepared by a conventional long-time ball-milling. The results show that fine platelet-like grained WC–12Co–0.9Cr₃C₂–0.4VC–0.05La₂O₃ alloy is characterized with a homogenous microstructure, the best property combination of high strength, high hardness and high toughness and the highest WC (0001) texture coefficient. By using fine platelet-like grained WC–Co cemented carbides as the substrates, larger than 100 N adhesion strength expressed by critical load L_C2 for AlCrN, AlTiN and (AlCrSiWN + AlCrN) PVD coatings is achieved. The related strengthening mechanisms are discussed.     

Effect of Y addition on microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg–Zn–Mn alloy

The effects of Y on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg–6Zn–1Mn alloy were investigated. The results show that the addition of Y has significant effect on the phase composition, microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg–6Zn–1Mn alloy. Varied phases compositions, including Mg₇Zn₃, I-phase (Mg₃YZn₆), W-phase (Mg₃Y₂Zn₃) and X-phase (Mg₁₂YZn), are obtained by adjusting the Zn to Y mass ratio. Mn element exists as the fine Mn particles, which are well distributed in the alloy. Thermal analysis and microstructure observation reveal that the phase stability follows the trend of X>W>I>Mg₇Zn₃. In addition, Y can improve the mechanical properties of Mg–Zn–Mn alloy significantly, and the alloy with Y content of 6.09% has the best mechanical properties. The high strength is mainly due to the strengthening by the grain size refinement, dispersion strengthening by fine Mn particles, and introduction of the Mg–Zn–Y ternary phases.     

Effect of Si addition on microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti–Al–N coating

Ti–Al–N coatings are widely used to prevent the untimely consumption of cutting tools exposed to wear. Increasing requirements on high speed and dry cutting application open up new demands on the quality of wear-protective quaternary or multinary Ti–Al–N based coating materials. Here, we investigated the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti–Al–N and Ti–Al–Si–N coatings deposited on cemented carbide by cathodic arc evaporation. The formation of nanocomposite nc-TiAlN/a-Si₃N₄ structure by incorporation of Si into Ti–Al–N coating causes a significant increase on hardness from ∼ 35.7 GPa of Ti–Al–N to ∼ 42.4 GPa of Ti–Al–Si–N. Both coatings behave age-hardening during thermal annealing, however Ti–Al–Si–N coating reveal better thermal stability. Therefore, the improved cutting performance of Ti–Al–Si–N coated inserts is obtained compared to Ti–Al–N coated inserts.     

Effects of Ca addition on microstructure and properties of AZ63 magnesium alloy

1　INTRODUCTIONMg Alalloyshaveaverywideapplicationbecauseoftheirexcellentproperties ,lowmanufacturecost ,easymeltingtechniqueandnoexpensiveele mentscontent[1] .Oneofthiskindalloys ,AZ6 3mag nesiumalloy ,isawidelyappliedmagnesiumsacrifi cialanodewhichisusedextensivelyinundergroundandfreshwateratpresent .However ,compared withthataboard ,homesacrificialanodehassomedemer its :lowcurrentefficiencyandweakprotectionfunc tion ,soinvestigatingthehighdriving potentialandhighefficiencysacrificiala…     

Quantitative characterization of the microstructure and properties of nanocrystalline WC–Co bulk

Microstructure of the nanocrystalline WC–Co cermet bulk was quantitatively described by transmission electron microscopy based precession electron diffraction technology. It is discovered that the fraction of the Σ2 grain boundaries increases with the decrease of WC grain size. The effect of microstructure on mechanical properties depends on Co distribution, Σ2 boundaries fraction and WC grain contiguity.

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Effect of Pr addition on microstructure and mechanical properties of AZ61 magnesium alloy

To improve the strength, hardness and heat resistance of Mg-6Al-1Zn(AZ61) alloy, the effects of Pr addition on the as-cast microstructure and mechanical properties of AZ61 alloy were investigated at room and elevated temperatures by means of Brinell hardness measurement, optical microscope(OM), scanning electron microscope(SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS), X-ray diffractometer(XRD) and DNS100 electronic universal testing machine. The results show that the microstructures of Pr-containing AZ61 alloys were refined, with primary β-Mg17Al12 phase distributed homogeneously. When the addition of Pr is up to 1.2wt.%, the β phase becomes fi ner, and new needle-like or short-rod shaped Al11Pr3 phase and blocky AlPr phase appear. As a result, optimal tensile properties are obtained. However, greater than 1.2wt.% Pr addition leads to poorer mechanical properties due to the aggregation of the needle-like phase and large size of grains. The present research fi ndings provide a new way for strengthening of magnesium alloys at room and elevated temperatures, and a method of producing thermally-stable AZ61 magnesium alloy.     

Effects of cerium on the microstructure and mechanical properties of AZ31 alloy

AZ31 alloy with Ce addition was studied. The influence of Ce contents on the microstructure and tensile properties of the alloy was analyzed. Ce addition results in the formation of AlzCe and the annealed microstructure is improved by the addition. There was no recrystallization of the alloy after rolling, however, it did occur after annealing. The alloy can be strengthened by adding Ce and the alloy with 1.05 wt.% Ce possessed the best synthetical properties of all the tested alloys. As rolled, σb and δof this alloy are 321 MPa and 6.9%, and as annealed, they are 259 MPa and 21.8%.     

Effect of Mo content on the structure and mechanical properties of TiAlMoN films deposited on WC–Co cemented carbide substrate by magnetron sputtering

TiAlMoN films with different Mo contents were deposited by magnetron sputtering at various duty ratios of sputtering Mo target power source, after depositing a Ti interlayer. The concentrations and structure of the films were determined by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The Mo content of TiAlMoN films gradually increased with increasing the duty ratio. The structure of TiAlMoN films changed from blocky to featurelessness, and ultimately changed to columnar at 12.1 at.% Mo. The TiAlMoN films exhibited the single TiN-based phase with a TiN(111) preferred orientation, and the intensity of this diffraction peak gradually increased with increasing Mo content. Nanoindentation tests indicated that the hardness of TiAlMoN films continuously increased with Mo content, while the H/E ratio reached a peak at 8.3 at.% Mo. All the films exhibited a good adhesion to WC–Co substrates because of the internal Ti interlayer. The ball-on-disk wear properties of TiAlMoN films showed that the lowest wear rate and best wear resistance were for 8.3 at.% Mo, resulting from the formation of molybdenum trioxide on the surface of wear track.     

Effects of major alloying additions on the microstructure and mechanical properties of γ-TiAl

The microstructure and mechanical properties of eight γ-TiAl based alloys with compositions in the range Ti–44Al–8(Nb,Ta,Zr,Hf)–(0–0.2)Si–(0–1)B have been investigated to assess the possibility of improving the properties of γ-TiAl through heavy alloying. It has been shown that the microstructures of these alloys can be significantly different from those of the binary or 48–2–2 type alloys as a result of differences in the phase equilibria. As expected with large additions of beta stabilisers such as Nb, Zr and Ta, the beta phase was stabilised to much lower temperatures than that in the Ti–44Al binary alloy. In some of the alloys the ω phase, which is a transformed product of the beta phase, is stable at room temperature and up to >900°C. In alloys which contain both beta- and gamma- stabilisers, there is no single α phase field in the transformation sequence and instead there is a (α+β+γ) three phase regime. The mechanical data obtained from these alloys indicate that heavy alloying can be used to increase the strength and creep resistance of γ-TiAl significantly although ductility generally remains poor. The addition of boron appears to be beneficial in that both strength and ductility are improved, particularly for materials with the duplex microstructure.     

High temperature mechanical properties of WC–Co hard metals

Understanding of the load situation and consequently the lifetime of cutting tools made of WC–Co hard metal requires quantitative data for thermo-mechanical properties. For the elevated temperatures present in application, these data are currently rather rare. The present work does discuss elastic material properties up to 1100 °C and compressive yield strength up to 900 °C, both as a function of Co content. The fracture toughness was determined as a function of the WC grain size and Co content up to 800 °C. Young's modulus and yield strength decrease with increasing temperature. A significant rise in fracture toughness was observed at 800 °C with increasing Co content and decreasing WC grain size. A possible reason for this increase is an increase in the plastic zone size at elevated temperatures.     

Effects of minor Sc on microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-Zn-Mg-Zr alloy welded joint

Two kinds of AI-6.0Zn-2.0Mg-0.12Zr and AI-6.0Zn-2.0Mg-0.2Sc-0.12Zr alloy plates were prepared by ingot-metallurgy. The alloy plates with 3 mm thickness were welded by argon shield welding method, and the mechanical properties and microstructures of the two welded joints filled with AI-Mg-Sc welding wire were studied comparatively. The results show that firstly, minor Sc can raise the mechanical properties of the Al-Zn-Mg-Zr base alloy greatly. The reason for the increment is the fine grain strengthening, precipitation strengthening and the substructure strengthening caused by Al3（Sc, Zr）. Secondly, η phase （MgZn2） and grain size in the heat-affected zone of the alloy without Sc become coarse obviously, the η＇ phase （MgZn2） in the heat-affected zone of the alloy with Sc becomes coarse also, but the grain size has no visible change. Al3（Sc, Zr） particles are rather stable and can inhibit the movement of dislocation/land sub-grain boundaries, overaging softening is not serious. Thirdly, adding minor Sc can raise the strength of welded joint remarkably, the tensile strength of alloy with Sc increases from 395 MPa to 447 MPa and the welding coefficient increases from 0.7 to 0.8 as well. The reason for the high strength of welded joint with Sc addition is the fine grain strengthening, precipitation strengthening and the increasing of resistance to thermal cycling softening caused by Al3（Sc, Zr）.     

A computational study of the temperature dependence of interface and surface energies in WC–Co cemented carbides

Interfaces and surfaces often play a vital role for the properties of polycrystalline materials, such as cemented carbides, and the study of these planar defects is, therefore, of great importance. Cemented carbides (or hardmetals) is a unique class of materials where hard carbide (WC) grains, usually micrometer sized, are embedded in a more ductile metal binder phase (usually Co) in order to combine superb strength with high hardness, making them ideal as tool material in e.g. metal machining. In the manufacturing and industrial usage of cemented carbides temperatures reach high levels, especially in the former case where the material is sintered at temperatures where the binder phase is a liquid.This is a computational study of the temperature dependence of interface and surface energies in WC–Co cemented carbides upto and above the melting temperature of Co. We make use of an analytical bond order potential (ABOP) fitted to density functional theory (DFT) data in order to make the free energy calculations feasible. A variety of free energy methods are used: including quasi harmonic approximation, temperature and thermodynamic integration, and calculation of liquid surface tension and work of adhesion for phase boundaries. We present the temperature dependent interface and surface energies for some typical cases, data which should be useful as a supplement to other studies limited to 0 K.     

Effects of Ag addition on mechanical properties and microstructures of Al-SCu-0.5Mg alloy

The mechanical properties and microstructures of Al-8Cu-0.5Mg alloy with and without Ag addition were studied at both room- and elevated-temperatures. The results show that the alloy with Ag is strengthened by a homogeneous distribution of coexistent θ＇ and Ω precipitates on the matrix （001） and （111） planes, respectively, whereas the alloy without Ag by θ＇ precipitates only. The small size and high volume fraction of θ＇ and Ω precipitates in the Ag-containing alloy improve the tensile strength and yield strength, especially those at the elevated temperatures. However, it is also responsible for the decrease in elongation, compared with the alloy without Ag, which is due to the microcracks initiated from the inherent incompatibility between the particles and the AI matrix during deformation.     

Effects of micro-alloying with Sc and Mn on microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-Mg based alloys

1INTRODUCTIONAluminum alloys containing scandium havemany excellent properties,such as high strengthtogether with high ductility,good neutron-irradia-tion and corrosion-resistance,and superior weld-ability[14],thus can serve as high-performancestructural materials.They are mainly used formanufacturing aerospace,defense and militaryfacilities.However,a critical Sc content must bereachedin the alloys in order to obtain a good per-formance[57],suggesting that a relatively largequantity of Sc…     

Effect of Al addition on microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg−Gd−Zn alloys

The microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of Mg?15.3Gd?1Zn alloys with different Al contents (0, 0.4, 0.7 and 1.0 wt.%) were investigated. Microstructural analysis indicates that the addition of 0.4 wt.% Al facilitates the formation of 18R-LPSO phase (Mg₁₂Gd(Al, Zn)) in the Mg?Gd?Zn alloy. The contents of Al₁₁Gd₃ and Al₂Gd increase with the increase of Al content, while the content of (Mg, Zn)₃Gd decreases. After homogenization treatment, (Mg, Zn)₃Gd, 18R-LPSO and some Al₁₁Gd₃ phases are transformed into the high-temperature stable 14H-LPSO phases. The particulate Al?Gd phases can stimulate the nucleation of dynamic recrystallization by the particle simulated nucleation (PSN) mechanism. The tensile strength of the as-rolled alloys is improved remarkably due to the grain refinement and the fiber-like reinforcement of LPSO phase. The precipitation of the β′ phase in the peak-aged alloys can significantly improve the strength. The peak-aged alloy containing 0.4 wt.% Al achieves excellent mechanical properties and the UTS, YS and elongation are 458 MPa, 375 MPa and 6.2%, respectively.     

Effect of carbon addition on microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-based bulk metallic glass forming alloys

A kind of novel Ti-based composites was developed by introducing different amounts of carbon element to the Ti50 Cu23 Ni20 Sn7 bulk metallic glass forming alloys. The thermal stability and microstructural evolution of the composites were investigated. Room temperature compression tests reveal that the composite samples with 1% and 3% （mass fraction） carbon additions have higher fracture strength and obvious plastic strain of 2 195 MPa, 3. 1% and 1 913 MPa, 1.3% respectively, compared with those of the corresponding carbon-free Ti50 Ni20 Cu23 Sn7 alloys. The deformation mechanisms of the composites with improved mechanical properties were also discussed.     

Effects of Fe content on microstructure and properties of Cu–Fe alloy

Cu–Fe alloys with different Fe contents were prepared by vacuum hot pressing. After hot rolling and aging treatment, the effects of Fe content on microstructure, mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of Cu–Fe alloys were studied. The results show that, when w(Fe)<60%, the dynamic recrystallization extent of both Cu phase and Fe phase increases. When w(Fe)≥60%, Cu phase is uniformly distributed into the Fe phase and the deformation of alloy is more uniform. With the increase of the Fe content, the tensile strength of Cu–5wt.%Fe alloy increases from 305 MPa to 736 MPa of Cu–70wt.%Fe alloy, the elongation decreases from 23% to 17% and the electrical conductivity decreases from 31%IACS to 19%IACS. These results provide a guidance for the composition and processing design of Cu–Fe alloys.     

Effects of Sm addition on microstructure and mechanical properties of a Mg-10Y alloy简

To further increase the mechanical properties, 0.5wt.% Sm was introduced to a Mg-10Y alloy in this study. The effects of Sm addition on the microstructures and mechanical properties of the Mg-10Y alloy, especially the aged Mg-10Y alloy, were investigated. The microstructure observation and tensile tests were performed by using an optical microscopy, a scanning electron microscopy and a universal material testing machine, respectively. The phase analysis was performed using X-ray diffractometer. The results show that the 0.5wt.% Sm addition can not only promote the formation of fine and dispersed Mg24Y5 phases, but also improve their morphology and distribution; it also increases the thermal stability of Mg24Y5 phases. Sm addition is seen to increase the ultimate tensile strength of Mg-10Y alloy at elevated temperatures(200, 250, 300 and 350 ℃), while decrease the elongation. But the elongation is still up to 7.5% even at 350 ℃. In the range of 250 ℃ to 300℃, the ultimate tensile strength of the alloy reaches its maximum(with a range average of 235 MPa) and is not sensitive to the temperature change, which is very useful to the application of heat-resistant magnesium alloys. Even at 350 ℃, the ultimate tensile strength of Mg-10Y-0.5Sm is still up to 155 MPa. Considering both of the ultimate tensile strength and elongation, the maximum application temperature of the Mg-10Y-0.5Sm alloy can be up to 300 ℃. The strengthening mechanisms of Mg-10Y-0.5Sm alloy are mainly attributed to dispersion strengthening of Mg24Y5 phase particles with a certain solubility of Sm and grain refinement strengthening of α-Mg matrix.