Forming-Limit Diagrams for Magnesium AZ31B and ZEK100 Alloy Sheets at Elevated Temperatures

Modern design and manufacturing methodologies for magnesium (Mg) sheet panels require formability data for use in computer-aided design and computer-aided engineering tools. To meet this need, forming-limit diagrams (FLDs) for AZ31B and ZEK100 wrought Mg alloy sheets were developed at elevated temperatures for strain rates of 10^?3 and 10^?2 s^?1. The elevated temperatures investigated range from 250 to 450 °C for AZ31B and 300 to 450 °C for ZEK100. The FLDs were generated using data from uniaxial tension, biaxial bulge, and plane-strain bulge tests, all carried out until specimen rupture. The unique aspect of this study is that data from materials with consistent processing histories were produced using consistent testing techniques across all test conditions. The ZEK100 alloy reaches greater major true strains at rupture, by up to 60%, than the AZ31B alloy for all strain paths at all temperatures and strain rates examined. Formability limits decrease only slightly with a decrease in temperature, less than 30% decrease for AZ31B and less than 35% decrease for ZEK100 as the temperature decreases from 450 to 300 °C. This suggests that forming processes at 250-300 °C are potentially viable for manufacturing complex Mg components.     

The Effects of Specimen Geometry on the Plastic Deformation of AA 2219-T8 Aluminum Alloy Under Dynamic Impact Loading

The effects of specimen geometry on shear strain localization in AA 2219-T8 aluminum alloy under dynamic impact loading were investigated. The alloy was machined into cylindrical, cuboidal and conical (frustum) test specimens. Both deformed and transformed adiabatic shear bands developed in the alloy during the impact loading. The critical strain rate for formation of the deformed band was determined to be 2500 s^?1 irrespective of the specimen geometry. The critical strain rate required for formation of transformed band is higher than 3000 s^?1 depending on the specimen geometry. The critical strain rate for formation of transformed bands is lowest (3000 s^?1) in the Ø5 mm × 5 mm cylindrical specimens and highest (> 6000 s^?1) in the conical specimens. The cylindrical specimens showed the greatest tendency to form transformed bands, whereas the conical specimen showed the least tendency. The shape of the shear bands on the impacted plane was also observed to be dependent on the specimen geometry. Whereas the shear bands on the compression plane of the conical specimens formed elongated cycles, two elliptical shaped shear bands facing each other were observed on the cylindrical specimens. Two parallel shear bands were observed on the compression planes of the cuboidal specimens. The dynamic stress–strain curves vary slightly with the specimen geometry. The cuboidal specimens exhibit higher tendency for strain hardening and higher maximum flow stress than the other specimens. The microstructure evolution leading to the formation of transformed bands is also discussed in this paper.     

Effect of Quenching Process on Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of Fe-0.9Mn-0.5Cr-2.4Ni-0.5Mo-C Steel

To develop an appropriate quenching process to produce Fe-0.9Mn-0.5Cr-2.4Ni-0.5Mo-C steel, the microstructures and mechanical properties of this steel were investigated under the direct quenching and tempering (DQT) and the direct quenching, reheated quenching and tempering (DQQT) heat treatment processes. The microstructure of the DQQT specimen was basically tempered sorbite with spherical precipitates, while quite a bit of tempered martensite was in the DQT specimen with dispersive nanoscaled precipitates. The yield strengths of the DQT and DQQT specimens were 1154 and 955 MPa, respectively. The yield strength of the DQT specimen was higher than that of the DQQT specimen because of its finer grain size, higher density of dislocations and dispersed precipitates. The DQQT specimen had spherical precipitates, which hindered the propagation of the crack. Moreover, the high-angle grain boundaries in the DQQT specimen took a higher proportion. Therefore, the Charpy impact values of DQT and DQQT specimens at ? 60 °C were 38 and 75 J, respectively. Consequently, the mechanical properties of the Fe-0.9Mn-0.5Cr-2.4Ni-0.5Mo-C steel, which met the standard of 1000 MPa grade steel plate for hydropower station, were acquired by the DQQT process.     

Simulations and Experiments of Hot Forging Design and Evaluation of the Aircraft Landing Gear Barrel Al Alloy Structure

In the present study, the hot forging design of a typical landing gear barrel was evolved using finite element simulations and validated with experiments. A DEFORM^3D software was used to evolve the forging steps to obtain the sound quality part free of defects with minimum press force requirements. The hot forging trial of a barrel structure was carried out in a 30 MN hydraulic press based on the simulation outputs. The tensile properties of the part were evaluated by taking samples from all three orientations (longitudinal, long transverse, short transverse). The hardness and microstructure of the part were also investigated. To study the soundness of the product, fluorescent penetrant inspection and ultrasonic testing were performed in order to identify any potential surface or internal defects in the part. From experiments, it was found that the part was formed successfully without any forging defects such as under filling, laps, or folds that validated the effectiveness of the process simulation. The tensile properties of the part were well above the specification limit (>10%) and the properties variation with respect to the orientation was less than 2.5%. The part has qualified the surface defects level of Mil Std 1907 Grade C and the internal defects level of AMS 2630 Class A (2 mm FBh). The microstructure shows mean grain length and width of 167 and 66 µm in the longitudinal direction. However, microstructure results revealed that the coarse grain structure was observed on the flat surface near the lug region due to the dead zone formation. An innovative and simple method of milling the surface layer after each pressing operation was applied to solve the problem of the surface coarse grain structure.     

Formation of hardened layers on aluminium alloy surfaces by the plasma transferred arc process

A new criterion for stability analysis of the gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process is proposed and presented in this work, based on acoustic emission generated by the arc during short-circuiting metal transfer. For the experimental development an AWS ER70S-6 wire with a diameter of 0.8 mm and a DEP 401 rectifier were used. The weld bead was carried out on a 4-mm-thick AISI 1020 steel plate. Several welding conditions were studied with variation of the process parameters during the deposition of the beads. The acoustic emission signals were acquired using a measurement system composed of a MV-201 microphone, with a sensitivity of 10 ± 3 mV Pa^? 1 and frequency bandwidth of 20 Hz to 170 dB to 100 kHz, and a data acquisition card coupled to a PC. A stability index was proposed. Eventually, a statistical analysis for validation of the obtained experimental results was carried out. The outputs allowed obtained a relationship between the acoustic signals and the arc voltage signals. The feasibility of the proposed index, and the effectiveness of the method as a novel means of analysing the stability of arc welding, was demonstrated based on acoustic emission for analyses of GMAW process stability.     

Fabrication of Entangled Tough Titanium Wires Materials and Influence on Three-Dimensional Structure and Properties

Pure titanium (Ti) TA1 fibers/wires with 0.08 and 0.15 mm diameters were processed by a novel method that combined press forming, vacuum sintering (≥10^?2 Pa), and heat treatment to fabricate entangled Ti wire materials (ETWMs). The ETWMs exhibited a total porosity ranging from 44.2 ± 0.1 to 81.2 ± 0.1% and an open porosity ranging from 43.5 ± 0.1 to 80.9 ± 0.1%. The processing parameters of fiber diameter, formation pressure, sintering temperature, and sintering time were applied to examine porous ETWM morphology, porosity, pore size, and mechanical properties. The importance of primary factors controlling porous structure and porosity in ETWMs were found to be fiber/wire diameter > formation pressure > sintering temperature > sintering time. Furthermore, Ti fiber diameter was shown to directly impact pore size. High formation pressure resulted in a fine, uniform porous structure with low porosity. Sintering at high temperature for long-time periods promoted sintering point formation, resulting in neck coarsening. This effect contributed to the characteristic mechanical properties observed in these ETWMs. If the sintering effect is considered in isolation, ETWMs fabricated with 0.08 mm diameter Ti fibers/wires and sintered at 1300 °C for 90 min achieved smaller, more uniform porous structures that further exhibited improved connections among fibers/wires and excellent mechanical properties.     

Properties of welded joints made of Weldox 1100 steel

This study evaluated both the joint strength of copper wire on a copper substrate with tin plating and the joint reliability of copper wire bonding after heat treatment. The suitable tin thickness and bonding conditions, which are stage temperature, wire bonding power and bonding time, were chosen by the peel test after copper wire bonding. Tin thickness of 10 m showed a high bonding rate under the conditions of stage temperature 373 K, bonding power 500–700 mW and bonding time 30 50 ms. Before heat treatment, the peel strength of the copper wire on the copper substrate with tin plating conditions was weaker than that of gold wire on a gold substrate. After heat treatment for more than 70 h at 298 K, the peel strength of the copper wire became higher than that of the gold wire and twice as high as the initial bonding strength. The tin layer remained between the copper wire and copper substrate before heat treatment. When the samples were held at 298 K, tin reacted with copper and turned into a Cu–Sn intermetallic compound. Upon completion of this reaction at 298 K for over 70 h, the soft tin layer between the copper wire and copper substrate disappeared. Therefore, the peel strength of copper wire after heat treatment increased. These results were observed by scanning electron microscope images of the interface between the copper wire and copper substrate before and after heat treatment.     

Room-Temperature Charpy Impact Property of 3D-Printed 15-5 Stainless Steel

In this study, the room-temperature Charpy impact property of 3D-printed 15-5 stainless steel was investigated by a combined experimental and finite element modeling approach. The experimentally measured impact energy is 10.85 ± 1.20 J/cm², which is comparable to the conventionally wrought and non-heat treated 15-5 stainless steel. In parallel to the impact test experiment, a finite element model using the Johnson–Cook material model with damage parameters was developed to simulate the impact test. The simulated impact energy is 10.46 J/cm², which is in good agreement with the experimental data. The fracture surface from the experimentally tested specimen suggests that the 3D-printed specimens undergo predominately brittle fracture.     

The Effect of Material Removal on the Corrosion Resistance and Biocompatibility of Nitinol Laser-Cut and Wire-Form Products

Laser cutting and wire forming are two of the most commonly used processes in the manufacture of Nitinol medical devices. This study explores how varying the amount of material removed during the final surface treatment steps affects the corrosion resistance of Z-type stents that have either been laser-cut from tube or shape set from wire. All parts were subjected to a typical heat treatment process necessary to achieve an Austenite finish (A_f) temperature of 25 ± 5 °C, and were subsequently post-processed with an electrochemical passivation process. The total weight loss during post-processing was recorded and the process adjusted to create groups with less than 5%, less than 10%, and less than 25% amounts of weight loss. The parts were then crimped to 6 mm and allowed to expand back to their original diameter. The corrosion test results showed that on average both groups of Z-stents experienced an increase in the corrosion breakdown potential and a decrease in the standard deviation with increasing amounts of material removal. In addition, less material removal is required from the wire-form Z-stents as compared to the laser-cut Z-stents to achieve high corrosion resistance. Finally, 7 day nickel ion release tests performed on the wire-formed Z-stents showed a dramatic decrease from 0.0132 mg of nickel leached per day for the low weight loss group to approximately 0.001 mg/day for the medium and high weight loss groups.     

Analysis of Wire Position and Operating Conditions on Functioning of NiTi Wires for Shape Memory Actuators

In this work an experimental-numerical approach was used to analyze the thermo-mechanical behavior of thin NiTi wires, electrically heated, finalized to defining the influence of both wire position and the operating conditions of the actuator functioning. Tests were carried out on wires having diameters of 80 and 150 ??m, loaded by constant stresses of 100 and 200 MPa and characterized by DSC and strain/temperature hysteresis measurements. Two wire positions (horizontal and vertical) were adopted in single cycle tests and designed to obtain different typologies of the heating and cooling transients. In general, the heating time was selected to reach a steady state condition while the cooling time always allowed decreasing the wire temperature to the ambient one. Data concerning strain, applied current and voltage were simultaneously acquired during the tests. Moreover, for the optimization and validation of a numerical model, for the 150 ??m wire in diameter was used, its temperature was recorded by IR thermographic system. On the basis of the collected experimental data, a simple model was tested to reproduce the experimental results and data regarding the heat exchange coefficient and wire electrical resistivity dependence on temperature were obtained. The influence of the experimental wire positioning and wire diameter on the free convection coefficient is reported and the results indicate that the heating transient is associated with different convection coefficients depending on the heating modalities.     

Effects of IR Laser Shots on the Surface Hardness and Electrical Resistivity of High-Purity Iron

Annealed specimens of 99.99% pure iron were irradiated with 500, 750, 1000, and 1250 Nd:YAG laser shots. The laser fluence and laser intensity at the laser irradiation spot on the target surface were 4.4 × 10³ J/cm² and 4.8 × 10¹¹ W/cm², respectively. Vickers hardness of irradiated specimens was measured at various points separated by 0.5 mm in four different mutually perpendicular directions around the laser irradiation spot. The surface hardness profile for each irradiated specimen shows an increasing trend in surface hardness till a distance of 3.5 mm from the reference point. The average surface hardness (ASH) is found to increase up to 21% and electrical resistivity increases up to 50% as the number of laser shots is increased to 1250. A linear relationship between electrical resistivity and ASH is observed. Moreover, the ASH follows the well-known Hall-Petch relation, indicating that the crystallite boundaries impede the motion of dislocations to a greater extent as the crystallite size gets smaller.     

Rapid cyclic oxidation tests,using joule heating of wire and foil materials

As part of a programme to establish a thermal cyclic oxidation test standard for metallic materials at elevated temperatures (COTEST) a programme of work has been undertaken on the rapid cyclic oxidation of wire and foil materials, using Joule heating. By way of introduction, alternative technologies for rapid thermal cyclic tests are reviewed. Following this the benefits of adopting a modified existing ASTM standard is discussed. The aims of the project were, first, to define a suitable test matrix to evaluate the effect of critical material parameters, to undertake the test to a prescribe standard and then evaluate the performance of materials under rapid thermal cycling, using Joule heating. The performance of the testing methodology is assessed using two materials, Kanthal A1 (reference temperature 1250°C) and Alloy 800 (reference temperature 1000°C). In this paper tests on Kanthal A1 at 1200, 1250 and 1300°C are reported. These tests have been undertaken in laboratory air. Other parameters include the upper dwell time (2, 5 and 10 min), the lower dwell time (constant at 2 min) and specimen geometry. Kanthal A1 material was available as 0.4 mm diameter wire, 0.7 mm diameter wire and 70 μm × 1.25 mm ribbon. The results of these tests were analysed statistically using a 3 × 3 × 3 test matrix with triplicate repeat specimens. The lifetime of the wire or foil samples could be measured using either of two parameters: 1) the number of cycles to failure or the accumulated hot time to failure (accumulated upper dwell time). The cyclic lifetime was critically dependent on temperature, hot dwell time and sample geometry. For these rapid cycle tests on Kanthal A1 wire and foil cycle life decreased with increase in temperature and increase in hot dwell time. The wire/foil endurance (accumulated hot time to failure) decreased slightly with increase in temperature, but increased with hot dwell time (fewer cycles). The endurance of foil samples was shorter than wire samples. Thus for wire/foil endurance only hot dwell time was a statistically significant parameter, over the temperature range studied.     

Welding experiments of aluminium pipe by space GHTA welding in aircraft-borne simulated space environment

The gas hollow tungsten arc (GHTA) welding experiments on aluminum pipe were carried out in a simulated space environment using an aircraft. A vacuum chamber and welding machine for GHTA welding test were placed in the cabin of the aircraft and the 10^? 2 G gravity environment was produced by a parabolic flight of the aircraft. The square butt welding joints with non root gap on aluminum pipe were made by orbital welding in the vacuum chamber without wire filler metal using DC or DC-pulsed power supply under the 10^? 2 and 1 G gravity conditions. The welding phenomenon during the aluminum GHTA welding recorded in the high-speed video image was analysed and also the macrostructure and mechanical properties of butt weld joints were investigated. The welding experiments under simulated space environment showed that the DC-pulsed GHTA process could make the welding joints without the weld defects such as a lack of fusion, oxide film inclusion and spattering, though throat thickness decreased by the impulsive arc pressure of pulsed current. It was also clarified that the arc discharge phenomenon and melting characteristic at the molten pool surface during the DC-pulsed GHTA welding were insensitive to the gravity condition. However, the sagging weld metal made at 1 G gravity condition increases a little more than that welded under the 10^? 2 G gravity condition.     

The effect of microstructure and texture evolution on mechanical properties of low carbon steel in a non-circular drawing sequence

In this study, a new process sequence of non-circular and circular drawing is designed using finite element simulations and is proposed to produce strengthened wires in a simple continuous way for industrial applications. The developed non-circular drawing (NCD) sequence was experimentally applied to low carbon steel at room temperature. Mechanical properties, microstructure and texture evolution of the specimen processed by the newly proposed process and conventional wire drawing (WD) were investigated by tension test, electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) for comparison. According to the present investigation, the specimen processed by the NCD sequence achieved 10.7% higher ultimate tensile strength (UTS) with slightly higher reduction of area at fracture than the one processed by the WD for the two-pass with the same area reductions. Furthermore, the UTS value (612 MPa) of the drawn wire by the two-pass NCD sequence was equivalent to the level of 602 MPa processed by the three-pass WD. From the EBSD results, the areal fraction of the low angle grain boundaries (1.12 μm⁻¹) of the specimen processed by the NCD was higher than that (0.78 μm⁻¹) of the specimen processed by the WD for the two-pass. The pole figures and ODFs of the specimen processed by the NCD sequence showed typical drawing and rolling textures. It is demonstrated that the non-circular drawing sequence could be beneficial in producing high-strength wires with comparable ductility through grain refinement according to the observations made in the present work.     

Superplasticity and Micro-arrayed Deep-Drawing Behavior of Ni-Co/GO Nanocomposite

In this article, Ni-Co/GO nanocomposite was fabricated by AC pulse electrodeposition method. The room temperature strength tests and the superplasticity of the nanocomposite were investigated by the tensile tests. A 5 × 5 micro-arrayed deep-drawing die was designed to explore the feasibility of micro-forming. The as-deposited material has a narrow grain size distribution with a mean grain size of 50 nm. The addition of GO as a reinforcing phase can effectively enhance the room temperature tensile strength of the nanocomposite, but reduce the plasticity. When adding GO to the plating bath, a maximum elongation of 467% was observed for the specimen with a GO content of 0.01 g/L at 773 K and a strain rate of 1.67 × 10^?3 s^?1 by tensile tests. Micro-arrayed deep-drawing tests were subsequently performed with male die diameter of 0.58 mm and female die diameter of 0.8 mm. The experimental relative drawing height values were measured and compared with the deep-drawing parts without GO additive. It is found that the micro-arrayed deep-drawing with rigid male die at high temperature was feasible and forming parts with good shape could be got. The thickness distribution analysis of the deep-drawing parts showed that wall thickness changed ranging from 53 to 95 μm, and the thickness reduction at the punch fillet is the most obvious.     

Effect of chemical composition on bead formation in TIG arc welding. Effect of chemical composition on weldability in fabrication in high alloyed steel (2nd Report)

The flux cored arc welding process has grown in use in recent times as a function of its characteristics of high rate of deposition, associated with suitable mechanical properties in the welded joint. However, many aspects still remain obscure in regard to greater utilization of this process. As a result, the intention of this work is the analysis and optimization of the voltage, wire feed speed and contact tip part distance welding parameters, in a process using tubular wire with shielding gas, on the penetration and convex index of the weld. By means of statistical techniques, a mathematical model was developed with subsequent optimization of the responses. Based on the results obtained, the strong influence of the wire feed speed on the process was seen, followed by the voltage and, with less intensity, the contact tip to workpiece distance (CTWD). Statistical analyses indicated that the best condition for the parameters analysed was obtained with voltage values between 32 and 34 V, associated with a wire feed speed of 12 m/min and a CTWD of 20 mm. On the other hand, tensions at around 36 V caused surface defects that prejudiced the quality of the weld. Later tests showed an acceptable forecast of the results of the mathematical models when compared to the actual results.     

Influence of Heat Treatments on Microstructure and Toughness of 9%Ni Steel

The 9%Ni low-carbon steel is applied to utilities and processes at temperatures as low as ??196 °C. However, the microstructural features play an important role on the mechanical properties. Notably, the cryogenic toughness and mechanical strength are strongly dependent on the final heat treatment. In this paper, the microstructure of a 9%Ni low-carbon steel was modified by different heat treatments. The hardness and cryogenic toughness were measured and correlated to microstructural features. The material shows a temper embrittlement with intergranular cracking and minimum cryogenic toughness after tempering around 400 °C. Austempering at 480 °C also produced very low toughness results. On the other hand, excellent cryogenic toughness was obtained with single tempering at 600 °C after quenching or normalizing. Even higher toughness was obtained with the double tempering at 670 °C/2 h plus 600 °C/2 h. The amount of reversed austenite and its morphology in the specimen quenched and tempered at 600 °C were shown in the paper.     

Cobalt Ferrite in YSZ for Use as Reactive Material in Solar Thermochemical Water and Carbon Dioxide Splitting, Part II: Kinetic Modeling

The kinetics of 10 wt.% cobalt ferrite (CoFe₂O₄) in 8 mol.% yttria-stabilized zirconia, synthesized via the co-precipitation method and formed into a porous structure, are investigated in support of simulating the performance of a solar thermochemical reactor. Kinetic parameters for the thermal reduction (T-R) of CoFe₂O₄ at temperatures of 1325–1500°C were investigated by thermogravimetry. A nonlinear best fit of a uniform conversion model was used to determine kinetic parameters from experimental data. In the temperature range of 1375–1450°C, the activation energy and preexponential term were found to be 386 ± 13 kJ mol^?1 and 8.8 × 10⁹ ± 2.0 × 10⁸ min^?1, respectively, while increasing at higher temperatures. Simultaneous thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry studies showed an increase in the reaction rate of T-R upon the onset of melting (1440°C). Oxidation studies of the material using CO₂ yield an activation energy and preexponential term of 52.1 ± 6.8 kJ mol^?1 and 2.86 ± 0.2 min^?1, respectively, which is in good agreement with past work. The reaction order for CO₂ was determined to be 0.750 ± 0.08. The reaction kinetics for oxidation using CO₂ were best described by a 3-D diffusion Jander model.     

Microstructure,Mechanical Properties,and Flatness of SEBM Ti-6Al-4V Sheet in As-Built and Hot Isostatically Pressed Conditions

Sheet (0.41–4.80 mm thick) or thin plate structures commonly exist in additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V components for load-bearing applications. A batch of 64 Ti-6Al-4V sheet samples with dimensions of 210/180 mm × 42 mm × 3 mm have been additively manufactured by selective electron beam melting (SEBM). A comprehensive assessment was then made of their density, surface flatness, microstructure, and mechanical properties in both as-built and hot isostatically pressed conditions, including the influence of the hot isostatic pressing (HIP) temperature. In particular, standard long tensile (156 mm long, 2 mm thick) and fatigue (206 mm long, 2 mm thick) test sheet samples were used for assessment. As-built SEBM Ti-6Al-4V sheet samples with machined surfaces fully satisfied the minimum tensile property requirements for mill-annealed TIMETAL Ti-6Al-4V sheet products, whereas HIP-processed samples (2 mm thick) with machined surfaces achieved a high cycle fatigue (HCF) strength of 625 MPa (R = 0.06, 10⁷ cycles), similar to mill-annealed Ti-6Al-4V (500–700 MPa). The unflatness was limited to 0.2 mm in both the as-built and HIP-processed conditions. A range of other revealing observations was discussed for the additive manufacturing of the Ti-6Al-4V sheet structures.     

Microstructure,Tensile and Fatigue Properties of Al–5 wt.%Mg Alloy Manufactured by Twin Roll Strip Casting

This study investigated the microstructure, tensile and fatigue properties of Al–5 wt.%Mg alloy manufactured by twin roll strip casting. Strips cast as a fabricated (F) specimen and a specimen heat treated (O) at 400 °C/5 h were produced and compared. In the F specimen, microstructural observation discovered clustered precipitates in the center area, while in the O specimen precipitates were relatively more evenly distributed. Al, Al₆(Mn, Fe), Mg₂Al₃ and Mg₂Si phases were observed. However, most of the Mg₂Al₃ phase in the heat-treated O specimen was dissolved. A room temperature tensile test measured yield strength of 177.7 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 286.1 MPa and elongation of 11.1% in the F specimen and 167.7 MPa (YS), 301.5 MPa (UTS) and 24.6% (EL) in the O specimen. A high cycle fatigue test measured a fatigue limit of 145 MPa in the F specimen and 165 MPa in the O specimen, and the O specimen achieved greater fatigue properties in all fatigue stress conditions. The tensile and fatigue fracture surfaces of the above-mentioned specimens were observed, and this study attempted to investigate the tensile and fatigue deformation behavior of strip cast Al–5 wt.%Mg based on the findings.