High strain rate superplasticity in the fine-grained duplex stainless steel Fe-22Cr-5Ni-3Mo-0.3N

The fine-grained duplex stainless steel Fe-22Cr-5Ni-3Mo-0.3N consisting of α- and γ-Fe(Cr,Ni,Mo) solid solutions exhibits structural superplasticity at deformation temperatures of 900 to 1050°C. The equiaxed microstructure with an average grain size of d_α,γ ≈ 3 μm was produced by thermomechanical processing. This steel shows also superior superplastic properties at high strain rates up to ε ≈ 5 · 10^?2 s^?1. Maximum strain rate exponents of m ≈ 0.5 and elongations to failure of more than 800% were achieved. The superplastic deformability (m > 0.3) of this steel in a wide strain rate range enables near net shape deep drawing or blow forming of parts with complex shape applying low flow stresses. A deformation model is presented to describe the superplastic behaviour at high strain rates. Grain and interphase boundary sliding is accommodated by sequential steps of dislocation glide and climb. The maximum m -value of about 0.5 and an activation energy of 260 kJ/mol, which is comparable to that of self diffusion of Iron in γ-Fe (270 kJ/mol), and high dislocation densities indicate that dislocation climb in the slightly solid solution hardened γ-Fe phase (solid solution class II type of material) is the rate controlling step for superplastic flow.     

Structural superplasticity in a fine-grained eutectic intermetallic NiAl−Cr alloy

A rapidly solidified and thermomechanically processed fine-grained eutectic NiAl−Cr alloy of the composition Ni₃₃Al₃₃Cr₃₄ (at, pct) exhibits structural superplasticity in the temperature regime from 900°C to 1000°C at strain rates ranging from 10⁻⁵ to 10⁻³ s⁻¹. The material consists of a B2-ordered intermetallic NiAl(Cr) solid solution matrix containing a fine dispersion of bcc chromium. A high strain-rate-sensitivity exponent of m=0.55 was achieved in strain-rate-change tests at strain rates of about 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹. Maximum uniform elongations up to 350 pct engineering strain were recorded in superplastic strain to failure tests. Activation energy analysis of superplastic flow was performed in order to establish the diffusion-controlled dislocation accommodation process of grain boundary sliding. An activation energy of Q _c=288±15 kJ/mole was determined. This value is comparable with the activation energy of 290 kJ/mole for lattice diffusion of nickel and for ⁶³Ni tracer selfdiffusion in B2-ordered NiAl. The principal deformation mechanism of superplastic flow in this material is grain-boundary sliding accommodated by dislocation climb controlled by lattice diffusion, which is typical for class II solid-solution alloys. Failure in superplastically strained tensile samples of the fine-grained eutectic alloy occurred by cavitation formations along NiAl‖‖Cr interfaces.     

Structural Superplasticity at High Strain Rates of Super Duplex Stainless Steel Fe‐25Cr‐7Ni‐3Mo‐0.3N

The fine‐grained super duplex stainless steel Fe‐25Cr‐7Ni‐3Mo‐0.3N consisting of two phases (δ‐ferrite/austenite) exhibits structural super‐plasticity at higher strain rates of ? ≈ 10^?2s^?1 in the temperature range between 975 and 1100°C. The equiaxed microstructure with an average grain size of was produced by thermomechanical processing. Maximum strain‐rate‐sensitivity exponents of m ≈ 0.5 and elongations to failure of more than 500% were achieved. From thermal activation analysis an activation energy for superplastic flow of Q = 310 ± 20 kJ/mole was derived. The superplastic behaviour at higher strain rates is quantitatively described by a deformation model where grain or interphase boundary sliding is accommodated by sequential steps of dislocation glide and climb. The high strain‐rate‐sensitivity exponent and the observed dislocation density indicate that dislocation climb in the slightly solid solution strengthened austenite is the rate controlling step for superplastic flow. The deformation mechanism reveals that the investigated super duplex stainless steel exhibits superplastic behaviour that is typical for class II solid solution alloys.     

Characterization of superplastic deformation behavior of a fine grain 5083 Al alloy sheet

Superplastic deformation behavior of a fine grain 5083 Al sheet (Al-4.2 pct Mg-0.7 pct Mn, trade name FORMALL 545) has been investigated under uniaxial tension over the temperature range of 500 °C to 565 °C. Strain rate sensitivity values >0.3 were observed over a strain rate range of 3 × 10⁻⁵ s⁻¹ to 1 × 10⁻² s⁻¹, with a maximum value of 0.65 at 5 × 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹ and 565 °C. Tensile elongations at constant strain rate exceeded 400 pct; elongations in the range of 500 to 600 pct were obtained under constant crosshead speed and variable strain rates. A short but rapid prestraining step, prior to a slower superplastic strain rate, provided enhanced tensile elongation at all temperatures. Under the two-step schedule, a maximum tensile elongation of 600 pct was obtained at 550 °C, which was regarded as the optimum superplastic temperature under this condition. Dynamic and static grain growth were examined as functions of time and strain rate. It was observed that the dynamic grain growth rate was appreciably higher than the static growth rate and that the dynamic growth rate based on time was more rapid at the higher strain rate. Cavitation occurred during superplastic flow in this alloy and was a strong function of strain rate and temperature. The degree of cavitation was minimized by superimposition of a 5.5 MPa hydrostatic pressure during deformation, which produced a tensile elongation of 671 pct at 525 °C. R. VERMA, formerly Visiting Scientist, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan     

A study of superplasticity in a modified 5083 Al-Mg-Mn alloy

The superplastic (SP) properties of a modified 5083 alloy (Al-4.7Mg-1.6Mn) were evaluated by tensile tests and microstructural characterization over a range of strain rates from 0.0005 to 0.1 s⁻¹, temperatures from 500 °C to 550 °C, and initial grain sizes from 8.7 to 17 μm. The fine-grained material was found to exhibit strain-rate sensitivity values of greater than 0.5 over the strain-rate range of 0.002 to 0.1 s⁻¹, while the coarser-grained material appeared to deform as a Class I solid solution by glide-controlled dislocation creep. It was found that the mechanical properties could be adequately represented by a semiempirical constitutive equation which reflected the flow hardening due to dynamic grain growth, the change in m with strain and strain rate, and the transition between SP deformation and dislocation creep with strain rate. Microstructural examination revealed the presence of several pre-existing cavities associated with intermetallic particles. Tensile elongations of up to 525 pct were obtained at a strain rate of 10⁻³s⁻¹.     

Superplastic behavior and microstructure evolution in a commercial Al-Mg-Sc alloy subjected to intense plastic straining

A commercial Al-6 pct Mg-0.3 pct Sc-0.3 pct Mn alloy subjected to equal-channel angular extrusion (ECAE) at 325 °C to a total strain of about 16 resulted in an average grain size of about 1 μm. Superplastic properties and microstructural evolution of the alloy were studied in tension at strain rates ranging from 1.4 × 10⁻⁵ to 1.4 s⁻¹ in the temperature interval 250 °C to 500 °C. It was shown that this alloy exhibited superior superplastic properties in the wide temperature range 250 °C to 500 °C at strain rates higher than 10⁻² s⁻¹. The highest elongation to failure of 2000 pct was attained at a temperature of 450 °C and an initial strain rate of 5.6 × 10⁻² s⁻¹ with the corresponding strain rate sensitivity coefficient of 0.46. An increase in temperature from 250 °C to 500 °C resulted in a shift of the optimal strain rate for superplasticity, at which highest ductility appeared, to higher strain rates. Superior superplastic properties of the commercial Al-Mg-Sc alloy are attributed to high stability of ultrafine grain structure under static annealing and superplastic deformation at T ≤ 450 °C. Two different fracture mechanisms were revealed. At temperatures higher than 300 °C or strain rates less than 10⁻¹ s⁻¹, failure took place in a brittle manner almost without necking, and cavitation played a major role in the failure. In contrast, at low temperatures or high strain rates, fracture occurred in a ductile manner by localized necking. The results suggest that the development of ultrafine-grained structure in the commercial Al-Mg-Sc alloy enables superplastic deformation at high strain rates and low temperatures, making the process of superplastic forming commercially attractive for the fabrication of high-volume components.     

Structural superplasticity of a fine-grained and rapidly solidified ultra-high carbon-alloy tool steel X 245 VCr 10 5

The fine-grained ultra-high carbon-alloy tool steel X 245 VCr 10 5, containing large volume fractions of special vanadium and chromium carbides within a ferritic solid solution matrix has been produced by rapid solidification – meltatomization – and powder metallurgical techniques. This steel exhibits structural superplasticity in the temperature regime from 900 to 1150°C at initial strain rates of about ?? = 10^?3 s^?1. High strain-rate sensitivity parameters of m > 0.4 and uniform tensile elongations up to 950% were recorded. The dominant deformation mechanism in the superplastic region is grain-boundary sliding accommodated by lattice diffusion. The failure of superplastically strained samples is caused by interlinkages of cavities at matrix/carbide interfaces.     

Enhancement of Superplastic Properties in Ultrahigh Carbon Steel through Silicon Addition

The superplastic behaviour of ultrahigh carbon steels (UHCS) has been greatly improved by silicon additions and thermomechanical processing. A UHC steel containing 3 wt% Si shows superplastic behaviour in a wide temperature range from 650 to 900°C. This behaviour is observed even at high strain rates, i.e. 10^‐2 s^‐1, in the temperature range between 800 and 825°C. Furthermore, the flow stress required for superplastic deformation is reduced drastically, i.e. σ=12 MPa at a strain rate of 10^‐4 s^‐l. Finally, it is found that the flow stress at a given strain rate is relatively constant over a wide range of temperatures (750‐900°C) due to a unique transformation behaviour in the UHCS‐3Si alloy.     

Experimental studies on the superplastic forming of square shaped components from sheets of Ti-6Al-4V alloy

Superplasticity is the ability of a polycrystalline material to exhibit, in a relatively isotropic manner, large elongations when deformed in tension. This property is exploited during superplastic forming in the fabrication of complex shaped components which are otherwise technically difficult or economically costly to form by conventional methods. The ability of some titanium alloys to undergo superplastic deformation coupled with their diffusion bonding capability (SPF/DB) provides excellent opportunities to fabricate intricate parts in a single operation resulting in significant cost and weight savings, particularly in the manufacture of aerospace structures. In the present work, experimental studies to characterize the superplastic behaviour of an as-received titanium Ti-6Al-4V alloy sheet commonly used in aerospace structural applications are reported. Tensile test coupons prepared from the alloy sheet were subjected to high temperature tensile tests in the temperature range of 1123 K (850°C) to 1223 K (950°C) and strain rate range of 10^?4 s^?1 to 10^?2 s^?1 in order to characterize the superplastic deformation behaviour. Suitable dies, for superplastic forming of 80 mm × 80 mm square components to depths of 43 and 50 mm, were designed and fabricated. Components were superplastically formed at a temperature of 1200 K (927°C) and 0.7 MPa constant argon pressure. The components were characterized for their thickness distribution, mechanical and metallurgical properties and the results are presented.     

Characterization of hot deformation behavior of brasses using processing maps: Part I. α Brass

The constitutive flow behavior of α brass in the temperature range of 500°C to 850°C and strain rate range of 0.001 to 100 s⁻¹ has been characterized with the help of a power dissipation map generated on the basis of the principles of the Dynamic Materials Model. The map revealed a domain of dynamic recrystallization in the temperature range of 750°C to 850°C and in the strain rate range of 0.001 to 1 s⁻¹, with a maximum efficiency of power dissipation of about 54 pct. The optimum hot working conditions are 850°C and 0.001 s⁻¹, and these match with those generally employed in industrial practice. In the temperature range of 550°C to 750°C and strain rates lower than 0.01 s⁻¹, the efficiency of power dissipation decreases with decreasing strain rate, with its minimum at 650°C. In this regime, solute drag effects similar to dynamic strain aging occur to impair the hot workability. The material undergoes microstructural instabilities at temperatures of 500°C to 650°C and at strain rates of 10 to 100 s⁻¹, as predicted by the continuum instability criterion. The manifestations of the instabilities have been observed to be adiabatic shear bands.     

Deformation behavior of an Al-3.37 Wt Pct Li alloy

Al-3.37 wt pct Li alloy was deformed by differential strain rate and constant initial strain rate test techniques to investigate deformation and failure behavior over the strain rate range of 10^-5 to 10^-2 s^-1 and the temperature range of 22 °C to 580 °C. Flow stress first increases then decreases with an increase in test temperature, whereas ductility shows a sigmoidal relationship with the test temperature. The maximum ductility of about 80 pct is obtained at intermediate strain rate and 550 °C. Failure is noted to occur by cavity interlinkage and crack formation. Strain rate sensitivity (m) and activation energy (Q) for deformation are determined to be 0.04 to 0.13 and 96.2 to 157.4 kJ/mol, respectively. Toward lower test temperatures, both them andQ are found to have lower values. Deformation at high temperature is suggested to be controlled by dislocation climb. However, under non-steady-state conditions due to cavitation,m andQ both vary with strain. Formerly B. Tech. Final Year Student, Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.     

New aspects on the superplasticity of fine-grained 7475 aluminum alloys

Thermomechanical processes were developed which give fine grain sizes of 6 and 8 μm in the 7475 Al alloy. Superplastic properties of this material were evaluated in the temperature range of 400 °C to 545 °C over the strain-rate range of 2.8 x 10^-4 to 2.8 X 10^-2 s^-1. The maximum ductility exhibited by the alloy was approximately 2000 pct, and optimum superplasticity was achieved at a strain rate of 2.8 X 10^-3 s^-1 which is higher by an order of magnitude than other 7475 Al alloys. This result is attributed to the presence of fine dispersoids which maintain the fine grain size at high homologous temperatures. The flow stress and strain-rate sensitivity strongly depend on the grain size. The superplastic 7475 Al alloy has strain-rate sensitivities of 0.67 (6 μm) and 0.5 (13 μm) and an activation energy which is similar to the one for grain boundary diffusion of aluminum. Microstructural investigation after superplastic tests revealed zones free of dispersoid particles at grain boundaries primarily normal to the tensile direction. These dispersoidfree zones (DFZs) appear even after 100 pct elongation and are occasionally as large as 5 μm across. This result demonstrates the importance of diffusional flow in superplastic deformation of the fine-grained 7475 Al alloy especially at low elongations.     

Superplastic behavior of spray-deposited 5083 Al

A 5083 Al alloy was synthesized using spray deposition processing with N₂ as the atomization gas. It was noted that the grains that were present in as-spray-deposited 5083 Al were equiaxed with an average size of 15.2 μm. The matrix of the material was supersaturated with Mg and Mn. The asspray-deposited microstructure contained irregular pores with porosity in the range of 0.1 to 5.4 vol pct, depending on spatial location in the preform. The spray-deposited alloy was thermomechanically processed using extrusion and multiple-pass warm rolling to reduce grain size and close porosity. It was observed that spray-deposited 5083 Al exhibited superplasticity following thermomechanical processing by extrusion followed by rolling. Superplasticity was observed in the 500 °C to 550 °C temperature range and 3 × 10⁻⁵ to 3 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹ strain rate range. The corresponding strain-rate-sensitivity factors were in the 0.25 to 0.5 range and increased with decreasing strain rate. A maximum elongation of 465 pct was noted at 550 °C and 3 × 10⁻⁵ s⁻¹. The spray-deposited 5083 Al, thermomechanically processed by direct rolling, exhibited superplasticity in the same temperature and strain rate ranges as those for the extruded and rolled materials. The superplastic elongation of the spray-formed and rolled material was relatively low, being in the range of 250 to 300 pct. The deformation behavior is discussed in light of the presence of porosity in the microstructure.     

Effect of friction stir processing on the kinetics of superplastic deformation in an Al-Mg-Zr alloy

The effect of friction stir processing on the superplastic behavior of extruded Al-4Mg-1Zr was examined at 350 °C to 600 °C and at initial strain rates of 1×10⁻³ to 1 s⁻¹. A combination of a fine grain size of 1.5 μm and high-angle grain boundaries in the friction stir-processed (FSP) alloy led to considerably enhanced superplastic ductility, much-reduced flow stress, and a shift to a higher optimum strain rate and lower optimum temperature. The as-extruded alloy exhibited the highest superplastic ductility of 1015 pct at 580 °C and an initial strain rate of 1×10⁻²s⁻¹, whereas a maximum elongation of 1280 pct was obtained at 525 °C and an initial strain rate of 1×10⁻¹s⁻¹ for the FSP alloy. The FSP alloy exhibited enhanced superplastic deformation kinetics compared to that predicted by the constitutive relationship for superplasticity in fine-grained aluminum alloys. A possible origin for enhanced superplastic deformation kinetics in the FSP condition is proposed.     

Microstructures and superplastic behavior of eutectic Fe-C and Ni-Cr white cast irons produced by rapid solidification

Superplastic behavior of two commercial grade white cast irons, eutectic Fe-C and Ni-Cr white cast irons, was investigated at intermediate temperatures (650 to 750 °C). For this purpose, rapidly solidified powders of the cast irons were fully consolidated by compaction and rolling at about 650 °C. The volume fractions of cementite in the eutectic cast iron and in the Ni-Cr cast iron were 64 pct and 51 pct, respectively, and both cast irons consisted of fine equiaxed grains of cementite (1 to 2 μm) and ferrite (0.5 to 2 μm). The cast iron compacts exhibited high strain-rate sensitivity (strain-rate-sensitivity exponent of 0.35 to 0.46) and high tensile ductility (total elongation of 150 pct to 210 pct) at strain rates of 10^-4 to 10^-3 s^-1 and at 650 °C to 750 °C. Microstructure evaluations were made by TEM, SEM, and optical microscopy methods. The equiaxed grains in the as-compacted samples remained unchanged even after large tensile deformation. It is concluded that grain boundary sliding (e.g., along cementite grain boundaries in the case of the eutectic cast iron) is the principal mode of plastic deformation in both cast irons during superplastic testing conditions. Formerly with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University Formerly Visiting Scholar, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University     

Hot Ductility and Compression Deformation Behavior of TRIP980 at Elevated Temperatures

The hot ductility tests of a kind of 980 MPa class Fe-0.31C (wt pct) TRIP steel (TRIP980) with the addition of Ti/V/Nb were conducted on a Gleeble-3500 thermomechanical simulator in the temperatures ranging from 873 K to 1573 K (600 °C to 1300 °C) at a constant strain rate of 0.001 s^?1. It is found that the hot ductility trough ranges from 873 K to 1123 K (600 °C to 850 °C). The recommended straightening temperatures are from 1173 K to 1523 K (900 °C to 1250 °C). The isothermal hot compression deformation behavior was also studied by means of Gleeble-3500 in the temperatures ranging from 1173 K to 1373 K (900 °C to 1100 °C) at strain rates ranging from 0.01 s^?1 to 10 s^?1. The results show that the peak stress decreases with the increasing temperature and the decreasing strain rate. The deformation activation energy of the test steel is 436.7 kJ/mol. The hot deformation equation of the steel has been established, and the processing maps have been developed on the basis of experimental data and the principle of dynamic materials model (DMM). By analyzing the processing maps of strains of 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9, it is found that dynamic recrystallization occurs in the peak power dissipation efficiency domain, which is the optimal area of hot working. Finally, the factors influencing hot ductility and thermal activation energy of the test steel were investigated by means of microscopic analysis. It indicates that the additional microalloying elements play important roles both in the loss of hot ductility and in the enormous increase of deformation activation energy for the TRIP980 steel.     

Microtexture evolution during annealing and superplastic deformation of Al-5 pct Ca-5 pct Zn

The microtexture and grain boundary misorientation distributions (i.e., mesotexture) of the superplastic alloy Al-5 pct Ca-5 pct Zn have been investigated in the as-processed condition, after annealing at 520 °C (for times ranging from 7 minutes to 90 hours) and after tensile straining in the transverse direction (TD). Three different superplastic straining conditions were considered: 550 °C/10⁻² s⁻¹, 550 °C/10⁻¹ s⁻¹, and 400 °C/10⁻² s⁻¹. Microtexture data were obtained by means of computer-aided electron backscatter diffraction analysis methods. The retention of the deformation texture of the as-received material and the development of an increasingly bimodal grain boundary misorientation distribution following static annealing are consistent with the occurrence of recovery and continuous recrystallization. During superplastic straining, deformation texture components are also retained, but with a change in the grain boundary misorientation distribution toward random, indicating that grain switching occurs during grain boundary sliding (GBS). At the midlayer, however, a change from an initial texture component near the Cu-type texture component toward the Brass texture component, {011}〈211〉, was observed even as the misorientation distribution became more random. This change in texture component is associated with the occurrence of single slip during superplastic flow.     

Carburizing of Duplex Stainless Steel (DSS) Under Compression Superplastic Deformation

A new surface carburizing technique which combines superplastic deformation with superplastic carburizing (SPC) is introduced. SPC was conducted on duplex stainless steel under compression mode at a fixed 0.5?height reduction strain rates ranging from 6.25?×?10^?5?to 1?×?10^?3?s^?1?and temperature ranging from 1173?K to 1248?K (900?°C to 975?°C). The results are compared with those from conventional and non-superplastic carburizing. The results show that thick hard carburized layers are formed at a much faster rate compared with the other two processes. A more gradual hardness transition from the surface to the substrate is also obtained. The highest carburized layer thickness and surface hardness are attained under SPC process at 1248?K (975?°C) and 6.25?×?10^?5?s^?1?with a value of (218.3?±?0.5)???m and (1581.0?±?5.0) HV respectively. Other than that, SPC also has the highest scratch resistance.     

Plastic-flow and microstructure evolution during hot deformation of a gamma titanium aluminide alloy

The hot workability of a near gamma titanium aluminide alloy, Ti-49.5Al-2.5Nb-1.1Mn, was assessed in both the cast and the wrought conditions through a series of tension tests conducted over a wide range of strain rates (10⁻⁴ to 10⁰ s⁻¹) and temperatures (850 °C to 1377 °C). Tensile flow curves for both materials exhibited sharp peaks at low strain levels followed by pronounced necking and flow localization at high strain levels. A phenomenological analysis of the strain rate and temperature dependence of the peak stress data yielded an average value of the strain rate sensitivity equal to 0.21 and an apparent activation energy of ∼411 kJ/mol. At low strain rates, the tensile ductility displayed a maximum at ∼ 1050 °C to 1150 °C, whereas at high strain rates, a sharp transition from a brittle behavior at low temperatures to a ductile behavior at high temperatures was noticed. Dynamic recrystallization of the gamma phase was the major softening mechanism controlling the growth and coalescence of cavities and wedge cracks in specimens deformed at strain rates of 10⁻⁴ to 10⁻² s⁻¹ and temperatures varying from 950 °C to 1250 °C. The dynamically recrystallized grain size followed a power-law relationship with the Zener-Hollomon parameter. Deformation at temperatures higher than 1270 °C led to the formation of randomly oriented alpha laths within the gamma grains at low strain levels followed by their reorientation and evolution into fibrous structures containing γ + α phases, resulting in excellent ductility even at high strain rates.