Undercooling experiments on niobium–rhenium alloys from drop-tube processing

After studying nucleation and phase selection phenomena occurring in undercooled Re–W and Re–Ta alloys, attention is paid on the Nb–Re system where a compositional metastability of the σ phase is mainly identified. Some features on the growth of the complex σ and χ phases are also given.     

High temperature compressive deformation and fracture characteristics of the activated sintered W–Ni compacts

In order to determine the working conditions for the Ni-activated sintered W compact, a wide range of compression test was carried out under controlled temperature conditions between 900 and 1100 °C and a constant true strain rate of 1 × 10⁻³–1 × 10⁰/s. A moderate true strain up to 0.6 was obtained without a fracture at the testing temperature of 900 °C irrespectively of the strain rate for the specimen of an appropriate porosity and controlled grain size, being comparable to that of the pure W specimen. The relationship between the brittle features and the segregated Ni phase was able to be discussed on the basis of the microstructural analysis on the fracture surface and the true stress–strain curve analysis.     

Effect of interfacial solute segregation on ductile fracture of Al–Cu–Sc alloys

Three-dimensional atom probe analysis is employed to characterize the Sc segregation at θ′/α-Al interfaces in Al–2.5 wt.% Cu–0.3 wt.% Sc alloys aged at 473, 523 and 573 K, respectively. The interfacial Sc concentration is quantitatively evaluated and the change in interfacial energy caused by Sc segregation is assessed, which is in turn correlated to yield strength and ductility of the alloys. The strongest interfacial Sc segregation is generated in the 523 K-aged alloy, resulting in an interfacial Sc concentration about 10 times greater than that in the matrix and a reduction of ～25% in interfacial energy. Experimental results show that the interfacial Sc segregation promotes θ′ precipitation and enhances the strengthening response. A scaling relationship between the interfacial energy and precipitation strengthening increment is proposed to account for the most notable strengthening effect observed in the 523 K-aged alloy, which is ～2.5 times that in its Sc-free counterpart and ～1.5 times that in the 473 and 573 K-aged Al–Cu–Sc alloys. The interfacial Sc segregation, however, causes a sharp drop in the ductility when the precipitate radius is larger than ～200 nm in the 523 K-aged alloy, indicative of a transition in fracture mechanisms. The underlying fracture mechanism for the low ductility regime, revealed by in situ transmission electron microscopy tensile testing, is that interfacial decohesion occurs at the θ′ precipitates ahead of crack tip and favorably aids the crack propagation. A micromechanical model is developed to rationalize the precipitate size-dependent transition in fracture mechanisms by taking into account the competition between interfacial voiding and matrix Al rupture that is tailored by interfacial Sc segregation.     

High—temperature protective coatings on superalloys

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Stress aging of Al–xCu alloys: experiments

Exposure of age-hardenable aluminum alloys to an elastic loading, either for “age-forming” and other manufacturing processes or during utilization at relatively high temperature, may lead to microstructural changes such as a stress-orienting effect of plate-like coherent or semi-coherent precipitates in the alloys. Preferentially oriented θ″/θ′-precipitate structures were quantitatively examined in single-crystal Al–2.5Cu, Al–4Cu and cube-textured Al–5Cu alloys aged to peak strength under compressive stresses. The dependence of the stress orienting of the θ″/θ′-precipitates on the applied stress, aging temperature and the copper content were determined. The effect is discussed and explained within the frame of classical nucleation and growth theories that incorporate the interaction energy between the external stress and the strain fields due to the lattice misfits between the θ″/θ′-precipitates and the Al matrix.     

High temperature oxidation behaviors of Ti-Cr alloys with Laves phase TiCr2

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High temperature oxidation of Mo–Si–B alloys: Effect of low and very low oxygen partial pressures

The oxidation mechanism of a Mo–Si–B alloy in two different oxygen partial pressure ranges was investigated between 820 and 1200 °C. Oxygen partial pressures between 10^?19 and 10^?12 bar were applied in order to suppress Mo oxide formation. Weight gain kinetics were determined resulting from simultaneous external and internal oxidation. Silica scale formation was found to lead to a droplet shape because of the high evaporation rates of B₂O₃ and limited wetting of the silica. In the oxygen partial pressure range 10^?6–10^?4 bar Mo–Si–B alloys suffer from severe degradation due to continuous formation of volatile MoO₃. Catastrophic oxidation was observed as a consequence of the formation of a highly porous and non-protective silica scale.     

High pressure experiments on the Mg2Ni and Mg2NiH4–H systems

Electrical resistance of the Mg₂Ni and Mg₂NiH₄ powders was measured under compressing up to 6 gigapascals (GPa), using the four-point probe method at 20°C. Effects induced by the high-pressure treatment and heating at 400°C with or without hydrogen source LiAlH₄ were also studied. The structure and hydrogenation properties of the samples recovered after quenching from high pressure and high temperature were investigated employing the techniques of X-ray diffraction and thermal analyses such as differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis. Decreased absorption/desorption temperatures were observed for the treated samples owing to the changes of microstructure and kinetic factor.     

The oxidation of cobalt—tungsten alloys

The oxidation behaviour of CoCrW alloys containing from 0–25%Cr and up to 30%W in oxygen at 900–1100°C has been studied. In CoW alloys there is a slight reduction in the oxidation rate as the tungsten content is increased, hwoever this is much mor emarked in Co15CrW alloys. Tungsten has little effect in Co25CrW alloys. On the binary alloys and CoCrW alloys which do not form Cr₂O₃, the scale has two layers: an outer, tungsten-free layer of columnar-grained CoO, and an inner layer of CoO containing CoWO₄ precipitates together with CoCr₂O₄ particles in the ternary alloys. The relative thicknesses of the two layers and the distribution of the constituents in the inner layer depends in temperature and alloy composition. The CoWO₄ and CoCr₂O₄ particles appear to be responsible for the reduction in oxidation rate by a blocking mechanism in the inner layer. There is some evidence to suggest that tungsten additions to Co?25%Cr alloys assist the exclusive formation of Cr₂O₃.     

Strength and fracture of two hot-rolled Ti–Al–Si–Nb dual phase alloys based on Ti3Al

Ti–Al–Si–Nb dual phase alloys are mainly composed of α₂-Ti₃Al matrix and Ti₅Si₃ silicide phases. In this paper, two alloys (402 and 405) whose Si contents are 2 and 5 at% respectively were arc melted and hot-rolled into sheets with different amounts of deformation. The silicide phase (Ti,Nb)₅(Si,Al)₃ was broken up into small pieces and redistributed in the α₂ matrix during the hot-rolling. Improved strength and ductility of the two alloys were observed after hot-rolling, which can be attributed to both the finely distributed reinforcement silicide phase and refinement of the matrix grain size. The mechanical properties of the two alloys are dependent on their volume fractions of the silicide phase: the strength of alloy 405 is higher than that of alloy 402, while alloy 402 is more ductile than alloy 405. The brittle–ductile transition temperature of the two dual phase alloys is between 600 and 800°C. The surface slip on the dual phase alloys was also observed. Obvious separation between the (Ti,Nb)₅(Si,Al)₃ particles and the α₂ matrix is found on the fracture surfaces obtained at high temperature, showing dimple-like morphology.     

The oxidation of nickel—tungsten alloys

The oxidation behaviour of NiW alloys and NiWCr alloys containing up to 40 wt%W has been studied in the temperature range 900–1200°C. The parabolic rate constant for oxidation increases with increasing tungsten content in the alloy. Addition of 10 or 15%Cr causes a significant reduction in the oxidation rate.In the Ni—7·5W alloy, spherical internal oxide particle of WO₃ are formed within the alloy, whereas as the tungsten content is increased the tendency to internal oxidation diminishes but the alloy/scale interface develops a highly irregular morphology. The roughened alloy/scale interface is less marked at the higher oxidation temperatures, and also when chromium is present in the alloy. The morphology of the interface is probably related to the relatively low interdiffusion coefficient in NiW alloys.     

Processing and microstructural characterization of liquid phase sintered tungsten–nickel–cobalt heavy alloys

In this study, the effects of composition and sintering temperature on the microstructural characteristics of liquid phase sintered 90W–Ni–Co alloys were investigated. 90W–Ni–Co alloys having Ni/Co ratios of 3/1, 4/1 and 6/1 were examined. It was found that the alloys studied have reached almost to full density when sintered at and above 1475 °C. The microstructures of the alloys were typical of liquid phase sintered alloys, which consisted of rounded, nearly pure W grains embedded in a ternary Ni–Co–W binder matrix phase. The binder matrix phase in these alloys was observed to dissolve up to 42 wt.% W. The relative amount of the binder matrix phase and the average size of the W grains were found to increase with increasing sintering temperature. The activation energies for grain coarsening are determined for the investigated alloys by assuming that the coarsening process is mainly governed by Ostwald ripening mechanisms in the liquid state. The calculated activation energies, which were within 113–162 kJ/mol range, were found to be in rather close agreement to the literature data given for W–Ni–Fe alloys. This indicates that grain coarsening in W–Ni–Co and W–Ni–Fe alloys most probably takes place through similar diffusional processes.     

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.     

Influence of viscous medium temperature distribution on sheet fracture in viscous pressure forming at warm temperature

Viscous pressure forming （VPF） of aluminum alloy AA3003 sheet metal at warm temperature was investigated by using coupled thermo-elastoplastic-viscoplastic finite element method. The influence of viscous medium temperature distribution on sheet fracture location was studied and the distributions of fracture factor at different temperatures were obtained by using ductile fracture criterion. The results show that the failure of sheet metal varies with increasing initial temperature of viscous medium. When the initial temperature of viscous medium is near that of sheet metal, the failure location occurs at dome center, and when the initial temperature of viscous medium is too low, however, the failure location occurs at die comer. The occurrence of fracture can be postponed and even prevented through controlling the temperature distribution in viscous medium.     

Effect of trace tungsten on the microstructure of TiAl alloys containing Nb and B

New TiAl alloys, containing 45 at.% A1, 7 at.% Nb, x at.% W, and 0.15 at.% B （x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.7） were prepared by arc melting and drop casting consequently. Using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, and electron superprobe technologies, the effects of tungsten on the microstructural evolution of the TiA1 alloys, including the colony size and lamellar spacing, were analyzed. It was found that cellular structures and dendrites were formed in the as-cast TiA1 alloys, and heavy metals, such as niobium and tungsten, tend to segregate strongly at the interface of the cellular structures and dendrites. Trace tungsten can effectively impede the grain growth and narrow the interlamellar spacing. 0.4 at.% tungsten is more effective in refuting the microstructure of the TiAI alloys.     

Microstructure and properties of liquid-phase sintered tungsten heavy alloys by using ultra-fine tungsten powders

The microstructure and properties of liquid-phase sintered 93W-4.9Ni-2.1Fe tungsten heavy alloys using ultra-fine tungsten powders (medium particle size of 700 nm) and original tungsten powders (medium particle size of 3um) were investigated respectively. Commercial tungsten powders (original tungsten powders) were mechanically milled in a high-energy attritor mill for 35 h. Ultra-fine tungsten powders and commercial Ni, Fe powders were consolidated into green compacts by using CIP method and liquid-phase sintering at 1465℃ for 30 rain in the dissociated ammonia atmosphere. Liquid-phase sintered tungsten heavy alloys using ultra-fine tungsten powders exhibit full densification (above 99% in relative density) and higher strength and elongation compared with conventional liquidphase sintered alloys using original tungsten powders due to lower sintering temperature at 1465℃ and short sintering time. The mechanical properties of sintered tungsten heavy alloy are found to be mainly dependent on the particles size of raw tungsten powders and liquid-phase sintering temperature.     

Brazing alloys based on the Ni–Cr–Zr system for brazing creep-resisting nickel alloys

Summary

Offering the advantages of high welding speed and low heat distortion, laser welding is an attractive process for joining thin steel sheet. This paper describes an investigation of the static and fatigue strength of laser-welded lap joints in thin steel sheet with different sheet thicknesses and tensile strengths and compares the results with those obtained for spot-welded joints. To evaluate the static strength of the joints, a method for estimation of the joint strength and fracture mode is established. To evaluate the fatigue strength of the joints, the mixed-mode fracture-mechanics criterion of Erdogan and Sih is used, giving good characterisation of the fatigue strength, including that of the spot-welded joints.