Influence of thermomechanical processing on superplastic forming of Mg–Al alloys

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to study the influence of the initial microstructure of several Mg–Al alloys on their superplastic formability and on their post-forming microstructure and mechanical properties. Various thermomechanical processing routes, such as annealing, conventional rolling, severe rolling and cross rolling, were used in order to fabricate AZ31 and AZ61 alloys with different grain sizes. These materials were then blow formed into a hat shaped die. It was found that the processing route has only a small effect in the formability of Mg–Al alloys or on the post-forming microstructures and properties due to rapid dynamic grain growth taking place at the forming temperatures. Nevertheless, good formability is achieved as a result of the simultaneous operation of grain boundary sliding and crystallographic slip during forming.     

Microstructural Design for Enhanced Elevated Temperature Properties in Sand‐castable Magnesium Alloys

The low pressure and gravity casting processing techniques offer the component designer an opportunity to produce pieces with increased complexity over those able to be fabricated via the high pressure die casting route. The design of appropriate microstructures for the enhancement of elevated temperature properties is dependent on the chosen processing route, with the low pressure and gravity techniques allowing for post‐cast manipulation of the microstructure through heat treatment. There are competing microstructural requirements for strength and creep resistance in casting alloys, and the optimised microstructure must, of necessity, be a compromise. The contributions from solid solution strengthening, grain boundaries and precipitation processes are described, with particular reference to elevated temperature magnesium alloys.     

织构化工艺在无铅压电陶瓷中的应用

近年来, 织构化工艺作为一种提高无铅陶瓷压电性能的有效方法, 在国内外得到了广泛地研究和关注. 本文综述了几种常用的织构化工艺, 包括热处理技术、非等轴粒子取向固化技术、模板晶粒生长技术、反应模板晶粒生长技术和多层晶粒生长法的发展与应用, 并详细讨论了每一种工艺对陶瓷微结构和织构化生长机制的影响.     

Interfacial precipitation in hot isostatically pressed diffusion bonds of 17-4 PH stainless steel

Abstract

The embrittlement of hot isostatically pressed (hipped) diffusion bonds manufactured from 17-4 PH stainless steel has been investigated by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) of in situ fracture specimens. Depth profiling by AES has revealed copper precipitation at the interface of the diffusion bond. This precipitation, up to a few monolayers in thickness, occurs during the ramp up to temperature and pressure of the hot isostatic pressing (hipping) cycle and is not readily removed by subsequent heat treatment. This effect is explained in terms of the metallurgical characteristics of copper within the steel. Results suggest that the extent of the precipitation decreases with increasing process temperature. In the case of PH 13-8 Mo stainless steel, where the precipitation hardening phase is NiAl, the interface is weakened by sulphur segregation and the formation of oxide particles.     

Effect of welding parameters on diffusion bonding of type 304 stainless steel–copper bimetal

Abstract

Stainless steel AISI type 304 and electrolytic cold rolled copper were joined by diffusion bonding at temperatures ranging from 650 to 950°C, for times from 5 to 45 min, and at pressures from 2 to 12 MPa. After bonding the microstructure of the interface was investigated, including the grain size, and shear and tensile strengths of the bonded specimens were determined. From the results, it was seen that the bond shear strength was dependent on interface grain boundary migration and on grain growth during the bonding process. In addition, attempts were made to find a relationship between grain size and shear strength in the bonding area. Taking into account the results of shear testing and microstructural observation, for a sound bond, optimum bonding conditions were obtained at temperatures of 800–850°C for 15–20 min at 4–6.5 MPa. The fracture behaviour of the diffusion bonded joint was investigated by means of shear and tensile testing under different bonding conditions. It was found that both shear and tensile strengths of the bonds were sensitive to the bonding conditions, and the intermetallic phases did not affect these parameters. Furthermore, the value of shear strength of the bond surface determined by shear testing was higher than the shear strength of the fracture surface determined by tensile testing.     

等通道挤压AZ80镁合金的析出行为和性能

研究了AZ80镁合金经300℃等通道挤压(ECAP)后的组织、织构与力学性能的演变规律以及第二相析出行为的影响。结果表明:ECAP显著促进了粒状连续析出,可有效节省后续热处理时间。A路径多道次挤压最终获得基面织构;Bc路径挤压后形成基面近似平行于剪切面的织构;第二相析出对ECAP织构特征的形成没有显著影响。用该工艺可获得较高的延伸率(13%-19%),但是抗拉强度过低(300 MPa),综合机械性能不理想。可通过抑制挤压前的未溶粗大粒子的析出、减少挤压道次和降低挤压温度等措施优化AZ80的析出控制。     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welded 7136–T76 aluminium alloy

Abstract

The microstructure of the weld was examined by light and electron microscopy (scanning and transmission). The various regions, i.e. thermomechanically affected zone, heat affected zone and unaffected base material, were studied in detail to better understand the microstructural evolution during friction stir welding and its impact on basic mechanical properties. The change in morphology of the strengthening phases reflected the relative temperature profile and the amount of deformation across the welded joint during the stir welding process. The centre of the weld was composed of fine grains and coarse particles identified mainly as MgZn₂. In the thermomechanically and heat affected zones, the grain size was not uniform, and the strengthening phases filled the grain interiors, while grain boundaries were surrounded by precipitation free zones. The size of the strengthening phase decreased towards the base material. The hardness profile of the friction stir weld displayed the lowest hardness on the retreating side. Tensile properties of the weld itself were superior to those for material containing weld.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of low alloy steel T11–austenitic stainless steel 347H bimetallic tubes

Abstract

A low alloy steel (T11) has been bonded to an austenitic stainless steel 347H by hot coextrusion under industrial conditions. The final product was a seamless bimetallic tube with 347H cladding the exterior for corrosion resistance in severely corrosive environments at high temperatures. The microstructures of the coextruded bonding have been compared to those obtained in the laboratory, after diffusion bonding experiments, using hot isostatic pressing (hipping). In all cases both the interdiffusion of the different elements across the interface and the microstructure have been analysed by optical microscopy, SEM, and TEM. On the 347H side a profuse precipitation, mainly of NbC, was found in a region near the interface. Only in the hipped specimens, as result of nickel and chromium diffusion from the stainless steel to the T11 steel, a martensite band was observed parallel to the interface. The heat treatment performed on the bimetallic tubes, to obtain the optimum combination of mechanical properties and corrosion resistance, consisted of austenitisation between 1050–1100°C, water quenching, and a stabilisation treat ment at 850–900°C, followed by slow cooling.     

渗铜量对颗粒强化铁基材料显微组织的影响

采用烧结-熔渗和后续热处理工艺制备了Co-Cr-Mo-Si颗粒强化的铁基粉末冶金材料,利用光学显微镜、扫描电镜和能谱分析技术,研究了不同渗铜量对材料显微组织的影响.研究表明:Co-Cr-Mo-Si硬颗粒单独存在于基体中,起颗粒强化的作用;未渗铜时,孔洞多,硬颗粒与基体界面清晰可见,结合强度差,随着渗铜量的增多,合金元素扩散程度提高,硬颗粒与基体界面结合强度好;材料的孔隙度减小,碳化物弥散分布程度提高;采用熔渗工艺并合理控制渗铜量,可获得组织均匀化、各相界面结合较好的铁基粉末冶金材料.     

Flash butt resistance welding for duplex stainless steels

Duplex stainless steels were welded using flash butt resistance welding with temperature controlling system. Flash butt resistance welding is consisting of two stage processes of flash action and contact resistance. First stage is flashing action. The specimen produced flashing or arcing across the interface of the two butting ends of the specimens. Fine particles of metals near the surface were burned out towards the opposing surface of the specimen irregularity and then the melted particles were deposited on the surface. The second stage is resistance welding. The solid state bonding was performed in the region around the deposited particles. The cross-sectional microstructure of the weld bond region was observed using microscopy. The microstructure showed two types of a deposited fine particles region and a solid state bonding region. The grain growth was hardly observed in the weld region and the heat-affected zone. The tensile strength and the impact energy increased with increasing heating time up to 1373 K because of increasing fine grained deposited metal.     

Quantitative study of microstructure evolution and the effect on mechanical properties of Super304H during aging

In this paper, the evolution of microstructure and mechanical properties of Super304H during aging at 650 °C is investigated, and the effect between microstructure evolution and properties change are discussed. The results shows that the precipitated phases in the material during aging mainly include Cu-rich and MX particles with nano-size dispersed in matrix, M₂₃C₆ and σ particles with micron-size located at the grain boundary. These precipitates change significantly in quantity and size with the aging time, which affect the mechanical properties of the material. It helps to improve the tensile performance and hardness of the material, but it has an adverse effect on the impact energy. In addition, it is found that the degradation of impact energy is divided into two stages. Stage I witnesses the rapid drop in impact energy caused by Cr-depletion, which occurs between 0 to 1000 h during aging at 650°C. The content of Cr near the grain boundary rapidly drops from 21% to about 16% due to the precipitation of M₂₃C₆ particles on the grain boundary. Stage II is the stage of impact energy drop relatively smoothly, which occurs after aging for 1000 h. In this stage, although the Cr content increases from 16% to about 20% and remains stable due to intracrystalline diffusion, the impact energy decreased slowly, besides the M₂₃C₆ particles located at grain boundaries, the micron-sized brittle σ precipitated is another important reason.     

Grain growth during spark plasma and flash sintering of ceramic nanoparticles: a review

Spark plasma and flash sintering process characteristics together with their corresponding sintering and densification mechanisms and field effects were briefly reviewed. The enhanced and inhibited grain growth obtained using these field-assisted densification techniques were reported for different ceramic nanoparticle systems and related to their respective densification mechanisms. When the densification is aided by plastic deformation, the kinetics of grain growth depends on the particles’ rotation/sliding rate and is controlled by lattice and pipe diffusion. When the densification is aided by spark, plasma, and the particles’ surface softening, grain growth kinetics is controlled by viscous diffusion and interface reactions. Grain growth in both cases is hierarchical by grain rotation, grain cluster formation and sliding, as long as the plastic deformation proceeds or as long as plasma exists. Densification by diffusion in a solid state via defects leads to normal grain growth, which takes over at the final stage of sintering. Various field effects, as well as the effect of external pressure on the grain growth behaviour were also addressed.     

Nature of the interface between AA7072 alloy explosively clad to AA8090 aluminium alloy

Aluminium-lithium based alloy plates were explosively clad with Al-1 wt% Zn alloy sheets. Clad plates were evaluated for bond continuity, interface shape, microstructure, variation of elemental concentrations across the bond interface, and bond strength. Comparisons of selected characteristics were made with roll clad sheets developed earlier.Ultrasonic tests revealed the bond to be continuous at all locations except over 50 mm wide edges of the plates. Both straight and wavy shaped interfaces were observed, often alternating arbitrarily. Microstructures on each side of the interface were distinct and characteristic of the individual alloys bonded. No localized melting was observed in the interface regions. Elemental concentration varied sharply across the bond line in the as-clad condition, later changing to a smooth profile after heat treatment. The diffusion widths, when expressed as a percentage of the cladding thickness, were much smaller than the corresponding values of previously studied roll clad sheets.'Tensile shear strength' of the clad samples exceeded the shear strength of monolithic Al-1%Zn alloy, thus indicating good bonding. The bond strength values were marginally lower than those of roll clad sheets. These differences could, perhaps, be due to the differences in the extent of elemental diffusion across the bond interface between the two techniques.     

Effect of transient liquid phase diffusion bonding on properties of ODS nickel alloy MA758

Abstract

An oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) MA758 nickel alloy was bonded in the fine grain and recrystallised conditions using transient liquid phase diffusion bonding at 1100°C for various hold times. A microstructural study was undertaken to investigate the effect of post-bond heat treatments at 1360°C for 1 hand changes in parent metal grain size on developments of bond microstructure. Shear and fatigue tests were carried out to determine the mechanical integrity of the bonded samples. Results showed that shear and fatigue strengths of diffusion bonds made in the recrystallised condition were higher than those of bonds made in the fine grain condition. The results from oxidation tests performed at 1000°C show that the oxidation rate for samples bonded in the fine grain condition is higher than for those bonded in the recrystallised condition. However, localised oxidation of the joint region was not observed and this indicated that compositional homogeneity across the diffusion bonds had been attained.     

Effect of Al2O3 particles on the growth kinetics of molybdenum grains in liquid nickel

Grain growth inhibition by inert third phase particles during liquid phase sintering has been investigated in Mo-Ni alloys containing Al₂O₃ particles sintered at 1460° C. The grain growth is inhibited slightly by the Al₂O₃ particles, and this result is explained in terms of the shielding of material precipitation at the contact area and of the suppression of material precipitation around the contact area, which is determined by the dihedral angle between the molybdenum grain and the Al₂O₃ particle. The result is compared to those obtained earlier with specimens containing highly soluble third phase particles.     

Development of mechanical properties in AA 8090 alloy produced by extrusion processing

Abstract

The effects of extrusion processing parameters on the mechanical properties of an AA 8090 alloy were monitored using a combination of hardness, tensile, andfracture toughness tests, and using light, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. It was found that variations in the processing parameters affect the tensile properties to a greater extent in the as extruded condition than in the heat treated condition. In the former, the property changes occur as a result of both variation of grain structure and the solutionising effect during the process. In the latter, the tensile properties are controlled by the precipitation processes that occur, and the toughness remains essentially unaffected by changes in the processing conditions. Improved combinations of strength, ductility, and toughness are achieved when the material is subjected to suitable preaging treatments, which modify the precipitate morphology within the microstructure; the fracture surface characteristics of both tensile and fracture toughness test specimens reflect the microstructural changes.

MST/1115     

扭转圈数对高压扭转SiC_P/Al复合材料界面扩散行为和组织性能的影响

采用OM和EDS研究不同扭转圈数下高压扭转法制备SiC_P/Al复合材料的显微组织和界面扩散行为,并结合组织特点和界面特征分析扭转圈数对复合材料拉伸性能和断裂机理的影响。结果表明:扭转圈数的增加可以有效提高SiC颗粒分布的均匀性,闭合孔隙,界面处Al元素扩散能力增强,扩散距离增大,Al扩散系数实际计算值较理论值增大了10~(17)倍,形成以元素扩散和界面反应为主的强界面结合,试样抗拉强度和伸长率不断提高,少量的SiC颗粒均匀分布在断口韧窝中,断裂主要以基体的韧性断裂为主;当扭转圈数较大时,SiC颗粒在剧烈剪切作用下破碎加剧,颗粒"再生团聚"导致孔隙率增大,潜在裂纹源增多,形成大量结合强度较低的断裂新生界面,试样抗拉强度和伸长率显著降低,在团聚位置易形成尺寸较大的深坑韧窝,复合材料断裂呈现韧性断裂与脆性断裂的混合模式。     

Design aspects of processing of aluminium 6061 based metal matrix composites via powder metallurgy

Abstract

Acceptance of metal matrix composites for industrial applications depends upon improving properties using an economic production route, which includes the processing design. Two powder metallurgical routes have been used in the manufacture of Al 6061 metal matrix composites. The first involves blending, vacuum canning, and hot pressing from prealloyed powders and the second involves blending of elemental powders, liquid phase sintering, and subsequent hot rolling. These composites comprise 7·5 or 15 vol.-% of 7, 23, or 45 μm SiC particles. In this paper, the composite microstructure at each stage of the different processing routes has been examined and the aging behaviour investigated. Effects on the tensile properties of fabrication techniques, SiC particle size, and volume fraction are presented and discussed.

MST/3020     

Corrosion–microstructure interrelations in new low-lead and lead-free brass alloys

ABSTRACT

Stress-relieving heat treatment has been reported to deplete the corrosion resistance of new low-lead and lead-free brass alloys. How the heat treatment, processing and material composition relates to the microstructure and corrosion performance is not well understood. The present study aims to fill this knowledge gap by mapping stress-relieving annealing conditions and different standardised compositions to their respective microstructures and dezincification performance. It was found that loss of corrosion resistance was only the most severe for alloys with higher aluminium and iron content. These alloys displayed significant precipitation of intermetallic aluminium arsenide particles on grain boundaries, twins and lead particles, as well as the formation of β-phase along grain boundaries.

This paper is part of a Thematic Issue on Copper and its Alloys.     

Microstructural Analysis of the Reinforced Al‐Cu5mgti/Tib2 5 wt % Alloy for Investment Casting Applications

The paper describes the influence of 5 wt % titanium diboride (TiB₂) particles on the microstructure of an Al‐Cu alloy produced by plaster casting process. The elaboration route leads to a composite material with 1% of in situ TiB₂ particles and 4% ex situ of TiB₂ particles. The comparison of the reinforced alloy with the corresponding non‐reinforced counterpart makes clear that the presence of TiB₂ particles has a large influence in the observed microstructure. The presence of TiB₂ particles decreases the grain sizes and the porosity level. It is also found that TiB₂ particles play an important role in the precipitation events of Al₂Cu precipitates that are formed during solidification at the TiB₂/aluminum matrix interfaces.