Characterization of hot deformation behavior of a new Ni–Cr–Co based P/M superalloy

The hot deformation behavior of a new Ni–Cr–Co based P/M superalloy was studied in the temperature range of 950–1150 °C and strain rate range of 0.0003–1 s^? 1 using hot compression tests. It was characterized by true stress–true strain curves, constitutive equation, strain rate sensitivity m contour maps, power dissipation η maps and hot processing maps. The microstructural validation of processing maps was also done. The results show that the flow stress decreases with increasing temperature and decreasing strain rate. The hot deformation apparent activation energy of the Ni–Cr–Co based P/M superalloy at peak stress is 805 kJ/mol. The m and η contour maps are similar, and the values of m and η in the peak zones increase with increasing strain. When the strain is 0.5, a domain with its peak η of 40% and peak m of 25% occurs at 1050 °C and 0.0003 s^? 1, which corresponds to dynamic recrystallization and can be as an optimum condition for good workability.     

Quantitative Analysis of Work Hardening and Dynamic Softening Behavior of low carbon alloy Steel Based on the Flow Stress

In this study, the constitutive equation and DRX(Dynamic recrystallization) model of Nuclear Pressure Vessel Material 20MnNiMo steel were established to study the work hardening and dynamic softening behavior based on the flow behavior, which was investigated by hot compression experiment at temperature of 950 °C, 1050 °C, 1150 °C and 1250 °C with strain rate of 0.01 s⁻¹, 0.1 s⁻¹ and 10 s⁻¹ on a thermo-mechanical simulator THE RMECMASTOR-Z. The critical conditions for the occurence of dynamic recrystallization were determined based on the strain hardening rate curves of 20MnNiMo steel. Then the model of volume fraction of DRX was established to analyze the DRX behavior based on flow curves. At last, the strain rate sensitivity and activation volume V^* of 20MnNiMo steel were calculated to discuss the mechanisms of work hardening and dynamic softening during the hot forming process. The results show that the volume fraction of DRX is lower with the higher value of Z (Zener–Hollomon parameter), which indicated that the DRX fraction curves can accurately predicte the DRX behavior of 20MnNiMo steel. The storage and annihilation of dislocation at off-equilibrium saturation situation is the main reason that the strain has significant effects on SRS(Strain rate sensitivity) at the low strain rate of 0.01 s⁻¹ and 0.1 s⁻¹. While, the effects of temperature on the SRS are caused by the uniformity of microstructure distribution. And the cross-slip caused by dislocation piled up which beyond the grain boundaries or obstacles is related to the low activation volume under the high Z deformation conditions. Otherwise, the coarsening of DRX grains is the main reason for the high activation volume at low Z under the same strain conditions.     

Influence of oxygen on the processing maps for hot working of electrolytic tough pitch copper

Processing maps for the hot deformation of electrolytic tough pitch (ETP) copper (100 ppm oxygen) have been developed in the temperature range 600–950 °C and strain rate range 0.001–100 s^− 1, and compared with those published earlier on ETP copper with higher oxygen contents (180, 220 and 260 ppm). These reveal that dynamic recrystallization (DRX) occurs over a wide temperature and strain rate range and is controlled by different diffusion mechanisms. In ETP copper with 100 and 180 ppm oxygen, the apparent activation energy in the DRX domain occurring in the strain rate range 0.001–10 s^− 1 and temperature range 600–900 °C is about 198 kJ/mol which suggests lattice self-diffusion to be the rate-controlling mechanism. This DRX domain has moved to higher temperatures and lower strain rates in ETP copper with higher oxygen content. In the second domain occurring at strain rates in the range 10–100 s^− 1 and temperatures > 700 °C, the apparent activation energy is 91 kJ/mol and DRX is controlled by grain boundary self-diffusion. This domain is absent in the maps of ETP copper with oxygen content higher than 180 ppm and this is attributed to the pinning of the grain boundaries by the oxide particles preventing their migration.     

Research on the dynamic recrystallization behavior of GCr15 steel

The dynamical recrystallization (DRX) of GCr15 steel was investigated at deformation temperatures of 950–1150 °C and strain rates of 0.1–10 s^?1 on a Gleeble-3800 thermo-mechanical simulator. The stress–strain curves at lower strain rates are typical of the occurrence of DRX and exhibit a peak in the flow stress before reaching steady state. The flow stress at higher strain rates increases rapidly to the maximum too, but followed by a steady region. The microstructures after deformation certify that DRX takes place in all specimens. And the results show that DRX occurs more easily with the decrease of strain rate and the increase of deformation temperature. Using regression analysis, the DRX activation energy of the steel, the relationship of critical strain and deformation conditions were determined. In order to determine the recrystallized fraction under different conditions, an approximate model based on the stress–strain curves was investigated, and the kinetic model for DRX was established.     

Hot deformation behavior of an austenitic Fe–20Mn–3Si–3Al transformation induced plasticity steel

Hot deformation behavior of an austenitic Fe–20Mn–3Si–3Al transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steel was investigated by hot compression tests on Gleeble 3500D thermo-mechanical simulator in the temperature ranges of 900–1100 °C and the strain rate ranges of 0.01–10 s⁻¹. The results show that the flow stress is sensitively dependent on deformation temperature and strain rate, and the flow stress increases with strain rate and decreases with deformation temperature. The peak stress during hot deformation can be predicted by the Zener–Hollomon (Z) parameter in the hyperbolic sine equation with the hot deformation activation energy Q of 387.84 kJ/mol. The dynamic recrystallization (DRX) is the most important softening mechanism for the experimental steel during hot compression. Furthermore, DRX procedure is strongly affected by Z parameter, and decreasing of Z value lead to more adequate proceeding of DRX.     

Hot deformation behavior of the new Al–Mg–Si–Cu aluminum alloy during compression at elevated temperatures

The hot deformation behavior of the new Al–Mg–Si–Cu aluminum alloy was investigated by compression tests in the temperature range 350 °C–550 °C and strain rate range 0.005 s^− 1–5 s^− 1 using Gleeble-1500 system, and the associated structural changes were studied by observations of metallographic and TEM. The results show that the true stress–true strain curves exhibit a peak stress at a small strain (< 0.15), after which the flow stresses decrease monotonically until high strains, showing a dynamic flow softening. The stress level decreases with increasing deformation temperature and decreasing strain rate, which can be represented by a Zener-Hollomon parameter in an exponent-type equation with the hot deformation activation energy Q of 236 kJ/mol. The substructure in the deformed specimens consists of very small amount and fine precipitates with equaixed polygonized subgrains in the elongated grains and developed serrations in the grain boundaries, indicating that the dynamic flow softening is mainly as the result of dynamic recovery (DR) and recrystallization (RDX).     

Strength of deformation processed Cu–Fe–Ag in situ composites

Three Cu–Fe–Ag in situ composites, i.e. Cu–14 wt.%Fe–1 wt.%Ag, Cu–14 wt.%Fe–3 wt.%Ag and Cu–11 wt.%Fe–6 wt.%Ag, were prepared by cast and drawn process. Strength of the composites was investigated in detail. The results show that the presence of Ag can refine the primary Fe dendrites, leading to much higher strength of Cu–Fe–Ag composites, which reached 1578 and 1357 MPa for Cu–14Fe–3Ag and Cu–11Fe–6Ag respectively at η = 6.1, however that of the same processed Cu–12 wt.% Fe is only 978 MPa. Strength of Cu–Fe–Ag can be expressed as σ = 1319 × λ^− 1 / 2 + 57 × C_Fe–M^1 / 2 + Δσ_Ag, where λ is filament spacing, C_Fe–M is the Fe content in the matrix and Δσ_Ag is strengthening effect of Ag in the matrix. As Ag content is lower, Δσ_Ag = 100 × C_Ag ^1 / 2 and as it is near or beyond 6 wt.%, Δσ_Ag should be determined by specific experiment due to a second-stage work hardening of the matrix. The calculated strength of Cu–Fe–Ag composites fits the experimental results well.     

Identification of optimal deforming parameters from a large range of strain,strain rate and temperature for 3Cr20Ni10W2 heat-resistant alloy

The intrinsic workability of 3Cr20Ni10W2 was investigated using processing maps constructed from the stress–strain data generated by isothermal compression tests with a height reduction of 60% over a temperature range of 1203–1403 K and a strain rate range of 0.01–10 s⁻¹. As the true strain was −0.3, −0.5, −0.7 and −0.9, the responses of strain rate sensitivity (m-value), power dissipation efficiency (η-value) and instability parameter (ξ-value) to temperatures and strain rates were evaluated respectively. By the superimposition of power dissipation and instability maps, the stable regions with higher power dissipation efficiency (⩾0.3) and unstable regions were clarified clearly. As the true strain was −0.3, −0.5, −0.7 and −0.9, respectively, the area of instability regions decreased with increasing true strain from −0.3 to −0.7, while it increased with increasing true strain from −0.7 to −0.9. In further, in the stable area, on the basis of determination for domains with dynamic recrystallization (DRX) microstructural evolution, the DRX-predominant regions with higher power dissipation efficiency were identified and recommended. Then not only DRX-predominant domains were validated by the stable microstructures refined by DRX, but also the regimes of flow instabilities were validated by the microstructures involving cracks. The identification of optimal deforming parameters from a large range of strain, strain rate and temperature for 3Cr20Ni10W2 heat-resistant alloy contributes to designing reasonable hot deforming processes without resorting to expensive and time-consuming trial-and-error methods.     

Effect of Zn addition,strain rate and deformation temperature on the tensile properties of Sn–3.3 wt.% Ag solder alloy

Stress–strain characteristics of the binary Sn–3.3 wt.% Ag and the tertiary Sn–3.3 wt.% Ag–1 wt.% Zn solder alloys were investigated at various strain rates (SR, ε^·) from 2.6 × 10^− 4 to 1.0 × 10^− 2 s^− 1 and deformation temperatures from 300 to 373 K. Addition of 1 wt.% Zn to the binary alloy increased the yield stress σ_y and the ultimate tensile stress σ_UTS while a decrease of ductility (total elongation ε_T) was observed. Increasing the strain rate (ε^·) increased both σ_y and σ_UTS according to the power law σ = C ε^·m. A normal decrease of ε_T with strain rate was observed according to an empirical equation of the form ε_T = A exp (− λε^·); A and λ are constants. Increasing the deformation temperature decreased both σ_y and σ_UTS in both alloys, and decreased the total elongation ε_T in the Zn-free binary alloy, whereas ε_T was increased in the Zn-containing alloy. The activation energy was determined as 41 and 20 kJ mol^− 1 for these alloys, respectively. The results obtained were interpreted in terms of the variation of the internal microstructure in both alloys. The internal microstructural variations in the present study were evaluated by optical microscopy, electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The results show the importance of Zn addition in enhancing the mechanical strength of the Sn–3.3 wt.% Ag base alloy.     

Hot deformation behavior of a Nb-containing 316LN stainless steel

A Nb-containing 316LN stainless steel was compressed in the temperature range 900–1200 °C and strain rate range 0.01–10 s^?1. The mechanical behavior has been characterized using stress–strain curve analysis, kinetic analysis, processing maps, etc. The microstructural evolution was observed and the mechanism of flow instability was discussed. It was found that the work hardening rate and flow stress decreased with increasing deformation temperature and decreasing strain rate. On the contrary, the efficiency of power dissipation increased with them; Flow instability was manifested as cracking and flow localization; The hot deformation equation and the relationships between deformation condition and dynamic recrystallization grain size and fraction were obtained; For Nb-containing 316LN stainless steel, the favorite nucleation sites for dynamic recrystallization are in sequence of triple point, grain boundary, twin boundary and intragranular deformation band; The suggested processing window is given.     

Constitutive modeling of deformation in high temperature of a forging 6005A aluminum alloy

The 6005A aluminum alloy is one of the most widely used alloys in aeronautic and railway industries, yet its plastic deformation behavior under hot compression is still not fully understood. Isothermal compression tests of 6005A aluminum alloy were performed using a Gleeble-1500 device, up to a 70% height reduction of the sample at strain rates ranging from 0.01 s⁻¹ to 10 s⁻¹, and deformation temperatures ranging from 573 K to 773 K. Several modeling approaches, including flow stress–strain curves, a constitutive Arrhenius-type equation model, and processing maps were used to characterize the deformation behavior of the isothermal compression of 6005A aluminum alloy in this study. The related material constants (i.e. A, β and α) as well as the activation energy Q for 623–773 K and 573–623 K temperature regimes were determined. Two sets of constitutive exponent-type equations for the 6005A aluminum alloy were proposed. Furthermore, a change in deformation mechanism occurred when changing the temperature range from 623–773 K to 573–623 K.     

Effect of processing parameters on the hot deformation behavior of as-cast TC21 titanium alloy

Isothermal compression tests of as-cast Ti–6A1–2Zr–2Sn–3Mo–1Cr–2Nb (TC21) titanium alloy are conducted in the deformation temperature ranging from 1000 to 1150 °C with an interval of 50 °C, strain rate ranging from 0.01 to 10.0 s⁻¹ and height reductions of 30%, 45%, 60% and 75% on a computer controlled Gleeble 3500 simulator. The true stress–strain curves under different deformation conditions are obtained. Based on the experimental data, the effects of deformation parameters on the hot deformation behavior of as-cast TC21 alloy were studied. The deformation mechanisms of the alloy in the whole regimes are predicted by the power dissipation efficiency and instability parameter and further investigated through the microstructure observation. It is found that at the height reductions of 30%, 45% and 60%, the softening of stress–strain curves at high strain rate (>1.0 s⁻¹) is mainly associated with flow localization, which is caused by local temperature rise, whereas at low strain rate, the softening is associated with dynamic recrystallization (DRX). However, the instability showed in flow localization occurs at low strain rate of 0.01 s⁻¹ when the height reduction reaches 75%. In addition, the effects of strain rate, deformation temperature and height reduction on microstructure evolution are discussed in detail, respectively.     

Hot deformation behavior of spray-deposited Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy

The flow behavior of spray-deposited Al–10.21Zn–2.76Mg–1.45Cu–0.16Zr (wt.%) alloy has been systematically investigated by thermal compression tests with temperature and strain rate ranging from 613 K to 733 K and 0.001–1 s⁻¹, respectively. Microstructural observations revealed that the average grain size of spray-deposited alloy was below 25 μm due to the high cooling rate. Both relatively high temperature and low strain rate could promote the formation of dynamic recrystallization (DRX). The stress level of the alloy decreased with increasing deformation temperature and decreasing strain rate, which could be characterized by a Zener–Hollomon parameter in the hyperbolic-sine equation. Furthermore, the strain-dependent constitutive equation could lead to a good agreement between the calculated and measured flow stresses in the elevated temperature range for spray-deposited alloy. The deformation activation energy for spray-deposited alloy was relatively lower than that of the as-cast alloy owing to ultrafine grains and high supersaturated solid solubility.     

Stacking fault energy and tensile deformation behavior of high-carbon twinning-induced plasticity steels: Effect of Cu addition

Three experimental fully austenitic high-carbon twinning-induced plasticity (TWIP) steel grades were produced and the stacking fault energy (SFE) was investigated based on the thermodynamic modeling approach. The SFE of Fe–20Mn–xCu–1.3C (x = 0, 1.5 and 3.0) steels varied from 24.36 to 28.74 mJ m⁻² at room temperature. In order to study the correlation between the SFE and the mechanical behavior of TWIP steels, tensile tests were performed at room temperature and the deformed microstructures were examined at different strain levels by transmission electron microscopy. The Cu additions resulted in a remarkable increase in total elongation without a slight loss of tensile strength. In addition, the critical strain for serration start on the tensile stress–strain curves (i.e. required strain to generate mechanical twinning) was found to increase with increasing Cu content. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) observations also indicated that the occurrence of mechanical twinning was suppressed by increasing the Cu addition. The strain hardening mechanism and the superior ductility in deformation are dominated by the interaction of twins and dislocations. The mechanical behavior of TWIP steels is related to the Cu addition, the SFE, the interaction of twins and dislocations.     

The thermal stability of high-energy ball-milled nanostructured Cu

The thermal stability of nanostructured (NS) Cu prepared by high-energy ball milling was investigated. The as-prepared samples were isothermal annealed for 1 h in the temperature range of 200–1000 °C. Effects of annealing on NS Cu samples were studied by means of Vickers hardness test, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and stress relaxation test. The exceptional high microhardness of as-prepared Cu sample of 1.7 GPa was not detected to decrease after annealing at 500 °C for 1 h with corresponding small value of activation volumes V^* of 22.6b³ and high value of strain rate sensitivity m of 0.0176. A prominent decrease of microhardness was detected after higher temperature annealing with a rapidly increase of activation volume and decrease of strain rate sensitivity. The present investigation demonstrates that the thermal stability of NS Cu prepared by high-energy ball milling is determined by not only the grain size but also the microstructure of grain boundaries, and during annealing process, the strain release process occurred prior to the grain growth process, therefore, the NS Cu has a relatively high thermal stability.     

A characterization for the flow behavior of 42CrMo steel

In order to evaluate the flow stress and the dynamic softening characteristics of casting 42CrMo steel, isothermal upsetting experiments with height reduction 60% were performed at the temperatures of 1123 K, 1198 K, 1273 K and 1348 K, and the strain rates of 0.01 s⁻¹, 0.1 s⁻¹, 1 s⁻¹ and 10 s⁻¹ on thermal physics simulator Gleeble 1500. The flow behavior of the applied stress as a function of strain, strain rate and temperature exhibits a more pronounced effect of temperature than strain rate, and a typical characteristic of dynamic recrystallization softening. To characterize the flow behavior more factually and accurately, the traditional Fields–Backofen equation was amended, and an innovative mathematical model containing a softening item s, n-value and m-value variable functions was brought forth. The stress–strain curves calculated by the derived flow stress equation are fit with the experimental results well not only at the hardening stage but also at softening stage.     

Hot shear deformation constitutive analysis and processing map of extruded Mg–12Li–1Zn bcc alloy

The hot shear deformation behavior of an extruded Mg–12Li–1Zn alloy was studied by shear punch test (SPT) in the temperature range 200–300 °C, and in the shear strain rate range 1.2 × 10⁻³–6.0 × 10⁻² s⁻¹. Based on the constitutive analysis of the SPT data, it was found that a sine hyperbolic function could properly describe the hot shear deformation behavior of the material. The activation energy of 108 kJ mol⁻¹ calculated from sine hyperbolic function together with the power-law stress exponents of 3.6–4.7 is indicative of lattice-diffusion-controlled dislocation climb mechanism as an operative deformation mechanism. As a new approach, the shear processing map was developed in order to determine the optimum processing condition, which was found to be 300 °C and 1.2 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹. Domains of the processing map are also interpreted on the basis of the associated microstructural observations. It was found that the post-deformation microstructure is sensitive to the Zener–Hollomon parameter, so that DRX was encouraged with decreasing Z-value.     

Microstructure characteristic for high temperature deformation of powder metallurgy Ti–47Al–2Cr–0.2Mo alloy

Hot compression tests of a powder metallurgy (P/M) Ti–47Al–2Cr–0.2Mo (at. pct) alloy were carried out on a Gleeble-3500 simulator at the temperatures ranging from 1000 °C to 1150 °C with low strain rates ranging from 1 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹ to 1 s⁻¹. Electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were employed to investigate the microstructure characteristic and nucleation mechanisms of dynamic recrystallization. The stress–strain curves show the typical characteristic of working hardening and flow softening. The working hardening is attributed to the dislocation movement. The flow softening is attributed to the dynamic recrystallization (DRX). The number of β phase decreases with increasing of deformation temperature and decreasing of strain rate. The ratio of dynamic recrystallization grain increases with the increasing of temperature and decreasing of strain rate. High temperature deformation mechanism of powder metallurgy Ti–47Al–2Cr–0.2Mo alloy mainly refers to twinning, dislocations motion, bending and reorientation of lamellae.     

Study of hot forging behavior of as-cast Mg–3Al–1Zn–2Ca alloy towards optimization of its hot workability

Mg–3Al–1Zn–2Ca (AZX312) alloy has been forged in the temperature range of 350–500 °C and at speeds in the range of 0.01–10 mm s⁻¹ to produce a rib-web shape with a view to validate the processing map and study the microstructural development. The process was simulated through finite-element method to estimate the local and average strain rate ranges in the forging envelope. The processing map exhibited two domains in the following ranges: (1) 350–450 °C/0.0003–0.05 s⁻¹ and (2) 450–500 °C/0.03–0.7 s⁻¹ and these represent dynamic recrystallization (DRX) and intercrystalline cracking, respectively. The optimal workability condition according to the processing map is 425–450 °C/0.001–0.01 s⁻¹. A wide flow instability regime occurred at higher strain rates diagonally across the map, which caused flow localization that should be avoided in forming this alloy. The experimental load–stroke curves correlated well with the simulated ones and the observed microstructural features in the forged components matched with the ones predicted by the processing map.