Investigation on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a cast Mg–6Zn–5Al–4RE alloy

Mg–6Zn–5Al–4RE (RE = Mischmetal, mass%) alloy was prepared by metal mould casting method. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the as-cast and heat-treated alloys were investigated. The results show that the phase compositions of the as-cast state alloy are supersaturated solid solution -Mg, lamellar β-Al₁₂Mg₁₇, polygonal Al₃RE and cluster Al₂REZn₂ phases. The mechanical properties, especially the ultimate tensile strength and elongation of the alloy were significantly improved by the heat treatment. Fracture surface of tensile specimens was analyzed by optical microscope and scanning electron microscope.     

Surface alloying of an Mg alloy subjected to surface mechanical attrition treatment

A 100  200 μm thick Al-enriched surface alloyed layer was formed on an AZ91D Mg alloy subjected to surface mechanical attrition treatment and diffusion coating at temperature as low as 400 °C. Transmission electron microscopy observations indicated the formation of a large volume fraction of pearlite-like lamellar microstructure within the surface alloyed layer, which was identified to be Mg₁₇Al₁₂ precipitates (γ phase) in Mg solid solution matrix. The Al-enriched alloyed layer enhanced the wear resistance of the alloy in comparison with the un-treated AZ91D Mg alloy substrate under the same dry sliding wear condition. Examination of the worn surface indicated that the enhanced wear resistance of the alloyed layer was mainly attributed to the strengthening effect of γ phase.     

Microstructure evolution and mechanical properties' improvement of NiAl–Cr(Mo)–Hf eutectic alloy during suction casting and subsequent HIP treatment

A NiAl–Cr(Mo)–Hf eutectic alloy was prepared by suction-casting technique and subsequently hot isostatic pressing treatment. Microstructure and mechanical tests were performed and the results revealed that the suction-cast alloy possessed fine NiAl/Cr(Mo) lamellar, large area fraction of eutectic cell and semi-continuously distributed Ni₂AlHf phase at the cell boundaries. After the HIP treatment, the Ni₂AlHf particles became fine and distributed evenly in the alloy. Moreover, some of the Ni₂AlHf particles along the eutectic cell boundaries were transformed into Hf solid solution phase. Compared with the conventionally cast alloy, the room-temperature compressive ductility and strength of the suction-cast alloy attained significant improvement. In addition, the room-temperature ductility and elevated temperature strength of suction-cast alloy were markedly enhanced by HIP treatment.     

Microstructure evolution in CoNiGa shape memory alloys

Magnetic shape memory CoNiGa alloys hold great promise as new smart materials due to the good ductility and a wide range of martensitic transformation (MT) temperatures as well as magnetic transition points. This paper reports the results of investigations on the equilibrium phase constitution and microstructure evolution in quenched or aged CoNiGa alloys using the optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) methods. The dendritic γ phase decreases as lowering of Ga content in studied two series of samples (Co₅₀Ni_50 − xGa_x, x = 0–50 and Co_100 − 2yNi_yGa_y, y = 15–35). Some γ′ precipitates with different morphologies were found in given alloys conducted with water quenching (WQ) at 800 °C or long-time ageing at 300 °C. After 800 °C quenching, the γ′ phase has a rod-like shape for the Co₅₀Ni₃₀Ga₂₀ alloy but shows a Widmanstätten morphology as Ga increases to 25 at%, and trends to be block structure in further high Ga content alloy. In the case of 300 °C aged alloys, the γ′ particles prefer to nucleate in interior of γ phase or at the interface of β–γ. We also presented an illustrative vertical section phase diagram keeping 50 at% Co, and isothermal section phase diagram at 1150 and 800 °C of the CoNiGa system. Based on the schematic ternary phase diagram, the composition scope which potentially holds over the magnetic pure martensite phase structure at room temperature (RT) was pointed out. It is believed that this optimized range alloys would play an important role in the functional materials design for application.     

Effect of directional solidification and heat treatments on the microstructure and mechanical properties of multiphase intermetallic Zr-doped Ni–Al–Cr–Ta–Mo alloy

The effect of directional solidification and heat treatments on the microstructure and mechanical properties of intermetallic Ni–21.29Al–7.04Cr–1.46Ta–0.64Mo–0.57Zr (at.%) alloy was studied. Increasing growth rate is found to decrease primary dendrite arm spacing and to increase volume fraction of β(NiAl)-based dendrites and low melting point γ′(Ni₃Al)/Ni₅Zr eutectic. Room-temperature tensile yield strength and ultimate tensile strength increase and plastic elongation to fracture decreases with the increasing growth rate. Two types of heat treatments of directionally solidified (DS) specimens including two-step ageing at temperatures of 1273 and 1123 K and two-step solution annealing at 1373 and 1493 K were performed. Ageing at 1273 and 1123 K decreases volume fractions of the dendrites and eutectic regions and leads to a coarsening of spherical -Cr and needle-like γ′ precipitates within the β-phase. Annealing at 1373 K for 100 h is shown to be sufficiently long to completely dissolve the eutectic regions. Compressive yield strength increases with increasing temperature reaching a peak value at about 1023 K and then decreases at higher temperatures. Minimum creep rate is found to depend strongly on the applied stress and temperature according to a power law. The power law stress exponent n is determined to be 5.1 and apparent activation for creep Q_a is measured to be 326 kJ/mol.     

Influence of deformation on precipitation process in Mg–15 wt.%Gd alloy

Mg–Gd is a promising light hardenable alloy with a high creep resistance at elevated temperatures. The supersaturated solid solution of Gd in Mg decomposes in a sequence of the following phases: β″ (D0₁₉) → β′ (c-base centered orthorhombic-c-bco) → β (fcc) stable. Formation of the metastable β′ phase causes a strong hardening. Dislocations facilitate nucleation of precipitates. Dislocation density is, therefore, an important parameter which influences the precipitation process. This effect was examined in the present work by comparison the decomposition sequences in Mg–15 wt.%Gd alloy cold rolled to various thickness reductions. It was found that precipitation of the β′ phase starts at lower temperatures in the cold rolled specimens.     

Creep behavior of ingot and powder metallurgy 6061Al

The creep behavior of 6061Al alloy obtained by ingot metallurgy and powder metallurgy, IM and PM, respectively, has been investigated in the context of published studies on this alloy. The behavior of the IM alloy in a given range of temperatures where the β, Mg₂Si, precipitates are formed, is dominated by dislocation climb-controlled creep and aluminum self-diffusion as rate controlling process. A dependence of the β inter-particle distance, λ, with the applied stress, σ, of the form is found when the creep data are analyzed in the context of the sub-structure invariant model. The superior creep resistance of the PM material can be explained if a threshold stress, σ₀, is brought into the creep equation. This term is the difference between the applied stresses needed to reach a given strain rate in the PM and the IM alloys, and correlates well with a particle–dislocation interaction mechanism according to the Artz–Wilkinson model.     

The microstructure, tensile properties, and creep behavior of as-cast Mg–(1–10)%Sn alloys

The microstructure, tensile properties, and creep behavior of Mg–(1–10)wt%Sn alloys were studied in this paper. The microstructure of as-cast Mg–Sn alloys consisted of dendrite -Mg and second Mg₂Sn phases and the secondary dendrite arm spacing (DAS) of the -Mg phase was decreased with the increase of tin content. The micro-hardness of the alloys increased when tin content rises, while the greatest tensile and elongation were exhibited by Mg–5 wt%Sn. The indentation creep experiments were conducted at 150 °C for applied loads of 30 kg, it suggested that the indentation creep resistance of Mg–Sn alloys could be obviously improved with the increase of tin content, and Mg–10%Sn alloy had better indentation creep resistance than that of AE42.     

Solid-state hot pressing of elemental aluminum and titanium powders to form TiAl (γ + α2) intermetallic microstructure

The elemental powder metallurgy (EPM) process is used to prepare TiAl-base intermetallics. An EPM process conducted by two-stage solid-state hot pressing was employed to prepare TiAl-base intermetallics and to investigate the resulting microstructural changes. The results showed that the TiAl₃ phase forms in the first stage. During the temperature increase to the second sintering stage, lamellar phases start to precipitate in the TiAl₃ matrix. Further, the TiAl₃ phase transforms to TiAl, and Ti₃Al layers develop in the remaining titanium particles. Meanwhile, the lamellar phases grow into ring-type structures between the TiAl matrix and the Ti₃ Al layers. After the second stage, the remaining titanium particles are fully reacted, and a microstructure of Ti₃Al phases enclosed by fine-grained lamellar rings in the TiAl matrix is developed.     

TiAl合金全片层组织的热稳定性研究

研究了Al含量、冷却速率和添加硼元素对TiAl合金全片层组织在1150℃的热稳定性的影响。研究表明：Al含量在46％～48％（原子分数,下同）范围的二元TiAl合金的Al含量越高,γ偏析程度越严重,铸造片层组织的热稳定性越差;Ti-48AI合金α单相区固溶处理后炉冷的粗片层组织的稳定性远远优于空冷的细片层组织,空冷细片层组织容易在晶界处发生不连续粗化转变,并且空冷片层晶粒内的魏氏片层（LW）与基体的界面往往与晶界一同成为片层组织发生分解的起始部位;Ti-48A1合金中添加0．8％B因晶界TiB2相的存在能有效抑制细片层组织的晶界不连续粗化,但γ相从TiB2／基体界面和晶界重新形核生长可使片层组织转变为均匀的细晶近γ组织。     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of large size Ti-43Al-9V-0.2Y alloy pancake produced by pack-forging

A pancake of Ti-43Al-9V-0.2Y (at.%) alloy with dimensions of ϕ480 mm × 46 mm was fabricated by pack-forging with a thick reduction of 80%. The as-forged Ti-43Al-9V-0.2Y alloy pancake has a duplex (DP) microstructure, which is composed of B2/α₂/γ lamellar colonies and massive B2 and γ phase regions distributed along the boundaries between the lamellar colonies. Different microstructures were obtained by heat treatment of samples cut from the as-forged Ti-43Al-9V-0.2Y alloy pancake. A fully lamellar (FL) structure consisting of B2/α₂/γ lamellar colonies was obtained after the heat treatment of 1350 °C/8 h. Tensile test results exhibited that the yield strength (YS) and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the alloy with DP microstructure were decreased from 680.7 MPa to 834.3 MPa at room temperature to 589.5 MPa and 693.1 MPa at 700 °C, respectively, and the elongation (δ) of the alloy with DP microstructure was increased from 1.99% at room temperature to 12.12% at 700 °C; the elongation (δ) of the alloy with FL microstructure was increased from 1.52% at room temperature to 85.84% at 800 °C.     

Microstructural characterization of NiCr1BSiC laser clad layer on titanium alloy substrate

Laser cladding of NiCrBSiC powders on Ti–6Al–4V alloy substrate was carried out, and the microstructure of the laser clad layer was characterized by TEM and SEM. Results show that the phases of TiC, TiB₂, CrB and M₂₃C₆ were formed in situ in the clad layer. The TiC phase exists in the form of dendrites with two types of interface morphology including the non-faceted and the faceted one. The TiB₂ phase nucleates on the facets of TiC dendrites, and can grow to form a special morphology of microstructure in which the TiC dendrite is encased by the TiB₂ phase. The CrB and M₂₃C₆ phases exist in the form of rod-shaped morphology, inside which stacking faults could be observed. The clad layer matrix consists of primary γ_p-Ni dendrites and lamellar eutectics of γ_e-Ni+Ni₃B. The formation mechanism of the microstructure of the clad layer was discussed.     

CREEP OF POLYCRYSTALLINE NEAR γ-TiAl WITH A LAMELLAR MICROSTRUCTURE

Creep of a polycrystalline near γ-TiAl alloy in two fully lamellar conditions is presented. A lamellar structure with fine interface spacing and planar grain boundaries provides improved creep resistance. The lamellar structure with wide interface spacing and interlocked grain boundaries has <1/2 the creep life, five times the minimum strain rate and greater tertiary strain.Creep strain is accommodated by dislocation motion in soft grains, but the strain rate is controlled by hard grains. The resistance to fracture is controlled by the grain boundary morphology, with planar boundaries causing intergranular fracture.To maximize the creep resistance of near γ-TiAl with a lamellar microstructure requires narrow lamellar interface spacing and interlocked lamellae along grain boundaries.     

Effect of lamellar spacing on microstructural instability and creep behavior of a lamellar TiAl alloy

Finer lamellar spacing in the lamellar structure of a Ti–45Al–2Nb–2Mn + 0.8 vol.%TiB₂ (45XD) alloy does improve the primary creep resistance. However, the unstable nature of the fine plate contributes largely to the degradation of the lamellar structure and a rapid increase in the tertiary creep rate, indicating that a fine lamellar structure has a detrimental effect on the long-term creep.     

Effect of a high axial magnetic field on the microstructure in a directionally solidified Al–Al2Cu eutectic alloy

The effect of a high axial magnetic field (up to 12 T) on the microstructure in a directionally solidified Al–Al₂Cu eutectic alloy has been investigated experimentally. The results show that a high magnetic field decreases the eutectic spacing and degenerates the lamellar structure into a wavy one at a low growth speed. X-ray diffraction, selected-area electron diffraction and high-resolution electron microscopy analyses indicate that the field changes the preferred orientation. The Al₂Cu crystal is oriented with the 0 0 1-crystal direction along the solidification direction (i.e., the magnetic field direction). At a pulling velocity of 0.5 μm/s, the magnetic field (B  4T) is responsible for the segregation; which consists of Al striations on the longitudinal section and Al-rich zones on the transverse section. The effects of the field may be attributed to the orientation of the Al₂Cu and the Al crystals and the decrease of the diffusion coefficient caused by the magnetic field.     

稀土元素Er对Ti-6Al-4V-0.5Si合金组织与性能的影响

利用粉末冶金工艺制备了Ti-6Al-4V-0.5Si-xEr(wt%)合金,随后采用OM、XRD、TEM和拉伸试验机等分析手段研究了Er元素含量对固溶时效态(950 ℃×30 min(WQ)+480 ℃×4 h(AQ))试验合金显微组织和性能的影响。结果表明:试验合金经固溶时效处理后均为等轴和片状的双态组织。烧结过程中产生的Er₂O₃氧化物颗粒可以作为形核中心促进α相和β相的析出,起到细化晶粒的作用。随着Er元素含量的增加,晶粒尺寸由10~20 μm细化至5~10 μm。当Er元素含量为1.2%时,试验合金的抗拉强度达到峰值,为930.5 MPa,此时伸长率为9.24%,比未添加Er元素时Ti-6Al-4V-0.5Si合金分别提高了22.3%和10.0%。试验合金的拉伸断口形貌显示有韧窝出现,仅有少量的解理台阶,韧窝的存在可以分散材料断裂时产生的应力,使材料断裂前承受更大的变形。     

Microstructural evolution during controlled ball milling of (Mg2Ni+MgNi2) intermetallic alloy

Nearly dual-phase Mg–Ni alloy fabricated by ingot metallurgy (IM) and comprising 30 vol% Mg₂Ni and 61 vol% MgNi₂ intermetallic compounds (remaining 9 vol% of unreacted Mg) was mechanically (ball) milled under controlled shearing for 10, 30, 70 and 100 h. The majority of the medium- and small-sized powder particles exhibited a relatively homogeneous microstructure of milled Mg₂Ni and MgNi₂. A fraction of large-sized particles developed the ‘core and mantel’ microstructure after milling for 70 and 100 h. The ‘core’ contains poorly milled MgNi₂ particles and the ‘mantel’ is a thoroughly milled mixture of Mg₂Ni, MgNi₂ and, possibly, residual Mg. X-ray diffraction provides evidence of nanostructurization and eventual amorphization of a fraction of a heavily ball milled Mg₂Ni phase. The remnant Mg₂Ni developed a nanocrystalline/submicrocrystalline structure. The co-existing MgNi₂ phase developed a submicrocrystalline structure within the powder particles. The results are rationalized in terms of enthalpy effects by the application of Miedema’s semi-empirical model to the phase changes in ball milled intermetallics.     

脉冲电流冲击处理对TC11钛合金组织与性能的影响

利用光学显微镜、扫描电镜、X射线衍射仪、万能材料试验机和显微硬度计等研究了脉冲电流冲击处理(EST)对TC11钛合金微观组织和力学性能的影响。结果表明:不同脉冲数对TC11钛合金微观组织中α相的比例、β转变组织的板条尺寸和残余压应力大小影响明显,随EST脉冲数的提升,α相含量及板条状β转变组织中次生α相含量呈现先增加后减少的趋势。经最佳工艺参数(900 A、50 Hz、25个脉冲)脉冲电流冲击处理后,TC11钛合金中α相细小均匀,β转变组织板条长度、厚度和间距较处理前试样分别减小了51.9%、58.0%和36.8%,此时合金力学性能提升最为明显:伸长率提高了12.7%,显微硬度增加了4.7%,残余压应力增加48.4%。     

Formation of a tetragonal phase hydride in Ti–Mo–H system

The structural relationship between the hydride phases in Ti–Mo–H solid solution system (Mo content up to 15 at% in the alloy) during dehydrogenation process under annealing has been studied by conventional and in situ X-ray powder diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. During dehydrogenation, the saturated hydrides of the Ti–Mo alloys with fcc δ-phase structure transfer into bcc β-phase at higher temperatures. An associated hydrogen concentration reduction for the δ-phase hydride is observed in the process. However, as the hydrogen concentrations decrease to certain values (H/M  1.1–1.7), the unsaturated δ-phase formed at high temperature would become unstable at lower temperature, and transfer into a tetragonal phase (denoted the -phase here). Unlike that of the -phase in Ti–H system, the phase transition does not occur for the saturated δ-phase with hydrogen concentration close to the stoichiometric limit. The hydrogen concentration of this -phase hydride is in between that of the tetragonal γ and -phase in Ti–H system, but more close to the γ-phase. The occurrence region of this -phase expands along with the increase of the Mo content in the alloys. The phase has a lattice similar to that of the -phase in Ti–H system with corresponding fct unit-cell c/a < 1.