Impact Toughness of Ultrafine‐Grained Commercially Pure Titanium for Medical Application

This study aims at achieving the best combination of strength, ductility, and impact toughness in ultrafine‐grained (UFG) Ti Grade 4 produced by equal‐channel angular pressing via Conform scheme (ECAP‐C) with subsequent cold drawing. UFG structures with various parameters (e.g., size and shape of grains, dislocation density, conditions of boundaries) are formed by varying the treatment procedures (deformation temperature and speed at drawing, annealing temperature). The tensile and impact toughness tests were performed on samples with a V‐shaped notch and different structures of commercially pure Ti Grade 4 in the coarse‐grained and UFG states. The results demonstrated that grain refinement, higher dislocation density, and their elongated shape were obtained as a result of drawing at 200 °С, which led to a decrease in both the uniform elongation at tension and the impact toughness of Ti Grade 4. Short‐term annealing at 400–450 °C could improve the impact toughness of UFG Ti with a non‐significant decrease in strength. This short‐term annealing contributes to the dislocation density decrease without considerable grain growth as a result of the recovery and redistribution of dislocations. The dependence of impact toughness on the strain hardening ability of UFG Ti was discussed.

     

Enhancing tensile properties of ultrafine-grained medium-carbon steel utilizing fine carbides

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the influence of nano-sized carbides upon tensile behavior in UFG medium-carbon steels and to develop a material with improved tensile properties. UFG medium-carbon steels with fine carbides were successfully fabricated by multi-pass caliber rolling at 773 K. Alloying chromium and molybdenum resulted in thinner pearlitic lamellae, which were transformed into finer particles after severe plastic deformation. The UFG steel containing the alloying elements exhibited superior tensile properties, which was attributed to the enhanced strain hardening rate by the imbedded finer particles. Subsequent annealing induced growth of grains and particles, which also recovered elongation at the expense of strength. All UFG steels investigated here showed a yield-point phenomenon due to the decreased hardening rate and lack of mobile dislocations and their sources. The deteriorating effect of particle growth overwhelmed the improving effect of grain growth after annealing of the UFG medium-carbon steel, leading to a reduced strain hardening rate. This resulted in a positive correlation between a grain size and Lüders elongation in the investigated UFG steels.     

Effect of alloying elements on hydrogen diffusivity in α-iron

The effect of Cr, Ni, Mo, Si and Cu on the diffusivity of hydrogen in-iron is studied in the temperature range of 160 to 430° C at a hydrogen pressure of 1 atm. The diffusivity of hydrogen was determined by absorption rate experiments using Sievert's type apparatus. The results show that the diffusivity of hydrogen in iron alloys decreases and the activation energy increases, as the concentration of the alloying elements increases, except Cu and Ni. The trapping parameters of hydrogen in iron alloys on the basis of Oriani's approach are calculated. The results show that Si, Mo and Cr are in order of increasing trap energy and that Cu and Ni have a negligible effect on hydrogen trapping. This can be explained by taking account of both chemical affinity effects and elastic strain effects of alloying elements on hydrogen trapping.     

Plastic deformation behavior of ultrafine-grained Al–Mg–Sc alloy

Ultrafine-grained (UFG) Al–Mg–Sc alloy was obtained by friction stir processing. The UFG alloy was subjected to uniaxial tensile testing to study the tensile deformation behavior of the alloy. An inhomogeneous yielding (Lüdering phenomenon) was observed in the stress–strain curves of UFG alloy. This deformation behavior was absent in the coarse-grained alloy. The Lüdering phenomenon in UFG alloy was attributed to the lack of dislocations in UFG microstructure. A strong dependence of uniform ductility on the average grain size was exhibited by the UFG alloy. Below a critical grain size (0.5 μm), ductility was very limited. Also, with the decrease in grain size, most of the plastic deformation was observed to be localized in necked region of the tensile samples. The negative strain rate sensitivity (SRS) observed for the UFG alloy was opposite of the SRS values reported for UFG alloys in the literature. Based on activation volume measurement, grain boundary mediated dislocation-based plasticity was concluded to be the micro-mechanism operative during plastic deformation of UFG Al–Mg–Sc alloy.     

Development and Characterization of Zr‐Based Multi‐Component Nanocomposite Coatings Prepared Using Single Alloying Target

Nanocomposite coatings comprising multiple phases on the nanoscale are increasingly used for automobile engine systems as they offer high thermal stability, high hardness, and low coefficient of friction. Since it is not easy to fabricate alloying targets, multiple targets have been used to prepare conventional nanocomposite coatings, resulting in the need for complex equipment and processes. Therefore, single alloying targets with homogeneous compositions and high toughness will simplify mass production of nanocomposite coatings. In this study, amorphous alloys are introduced to prepare the alloying target because of their homogeneous composition, good mechanical properties, and design rules that are similar to those for nanocomposites. Multi‐component alloying targets comprising Zr, Al, Mo, and Cu are successfully prepared by atomization and spark plasma sintering, both of which are powder metallurgical processes. The targets with amorphous structure are subsequently heat‐treated in a vacuum at ≈800 °C to crystallize the microstructure and improve the mechanical properties for sputtering. This study is the first report on modification of the fracture toughness of Zr‐based intermetallic compounds by changing the grain size. Improved fracture toughness of these compounds with a specific range of grain size is obtained by heat treatment of the amorphous target.

     

Atomic Structures of Precipitates in Al–Mg–Si Alloys with Small Additions of Other Elements

In Al–Mg–Si alloys, additions of only a few weight percent of Mg and Si enable formation of hardening precipitates during heat treatment. The precipitation is complex and is influenced by chemical compositions and thermo‐mechanical treatment. Structural analysis at the atomic scale has played an important role for understanding the Al–Mg–Si system. This review paper gives a summary of the influence of elements on the precipitate structures of Al–Mg–Si alloys at the atomic scale. The structures are modified by small additions of different elements, but all the encountered precipitates are structurally connected with the Si network, except for the main hardening phase which exhibit a partially discontinuous Si network. The influence of the selected elements (Li, Cu, Zn, Ge, Ag, Ni, Co, and Au) is discussed in detail.

     

Microstructural Influences on Young's Modulus for Fe‐V‐C and Fe‐Mo‐C Alloys

The Young modulus E exhibits a coefficient in the Hooke's law. It is influenced by external parameters as temperature, forming forces, forming velocity, delay time, static or dynamic straining, stress state in tension or compression, and by internal, material‐related parameters as chemical composition, textures, lattice defect contents and results of occurred diffusion processes. Iron‐base alloys and steels – as here on single‐phase to three‐phase Fe‐V‐C and Fe‐Mo‐C alloys – showed the dependence of E on the microstructure (grain size and phase arrangement). The influence of annealing temperature yields grain growth with corresponding grain sizes. From this an equilibrium ratio of E to a distinct grain size D̄ after heat treatment in the γ‐range of iron alloys, dependent on the concentration of alloying elements, is adjusted. Besides the equilibrium E/−ln D̄ also non‐equilibrium states occur, and therefore the possibilities exist to reduce the Young modulus till to a concentration‐dependent minimum (equilibrium), and to raise it into the non‐equilibrium stages. The influences of texture and remaining dislocation content are small. With the specific variation of E it is possible to improve the stiffness of thin steel sheet materials, preferred this is interesting for the car industry.     

ECAP‐Umformung mittel‐ und hochfester ausscheidungshärtbarer Aluminiumknetlegierungen

Equal‐channel angular pressing of medium‐ to high‐strength precipitation hardening aluminium wrought alloys The study deals with the optimisation of medium‐ to high‐strength aluminium wrought alloys. The goal is to define processing routes in order to improve the mechanical properties if compared to their commercial counterparts. It is shown for the Al‐Mg‐Si and the Al‐Cu‐Mg‐Si system that the application of ECAP enables a significant increase in strength. The strengthening as well as the grain size reduction respectively, benefit from increasing alloying as well as from the degree of aging. It is also shown that the presence of a considerably fine particulate reinforcement hardens the material tremendously during ECAP. The combination of a pre‐ or post‐ECAP heat treatment enables the improvement of the workability on the one hand, reducing the loads on the die, and also gives a better ductility on the other hand. This positive effect is particularly pronounced for low alloying contents and high aging temperatures and can be attributed to the interaction of deformation induced defects and the precipitation activity. The combination of an appropriate set of ECAP parameters (heat treatment condition, ECAP‐strain, ‐temperature, ‐backpressure) enables the efficient production of outstanding properties. Due to the low workability of AA7075 (Al‐Zn‐Mg‐Cu system) no significant improvement in properties was achieved.     

Phase transformation behavior and wire drawing properties of Ti-Ni-Mo shape memory alloys

Transformation behavior and wire drawing properties of Ti-Ni-Mo shape memory alloys have been investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements, X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, tensile tests and wire drawing tests. Mo addition to a Ti-Ni binary alloy induced the R phase transformation, and consequently Ti-Ni-Mo alloys showed two stage transformation, i.e., from the B2(cubic) parent phase to the R(rhombohedral) phase, and then from the R phase to B19(monoclinic) phase. In the thermo-mechanically treated 51Ti-48.3Ni-0.7Mo alloy, reverse transformation temperature, Af, kept constant, irrespective of thermo-mechanical treatment conditions, while it changed in the thermo-mechanically treated 51Ti-49Ni and 51Ti-48.5Ni-0.5Mo alloys. Mo addition to Ti-Ni binary alloy decreased wire drawing stress. Wire drawing stress decreased with raising intermediate annealing temperature monotonously when the annealing treatment was made in vacuum. When the annealing treatment was made in air, however, it decreased with raising annealing temperature up to 923 K, and then increased. Optimum intermediate annealing temperature of Ti-Ni-Mo alloys for wire drawing was 823 K, above which a thick oxide film which reduced the drawability of the alloys was formed on the surface of alloy wires.     

In Situ Diffraction Experiments for the Investigation of Phase Fractions and Ordering Temperatures in Ti‐44 at% Al‐(3‐7) at% Mo Alloys

Being a strong β stabilizer, Mo has gained importance as an alloying element for so‐called β/γ‐TiAl alloys. Intermetallic TiAl‐based alloys which contain a significant volume fraction of the body‐centered cubic β‐phase at elevated temperatures have proven to exhibit good processing characteristics during hot‐working. Unfortunately, the effect of Mo on the appearing phases and their temperature dependence is not well known. In this work, sections of the Ti‐Al‐Mo ternary phase diagram derived from thermodynamic calculations as well as experimental data are presented. The phase transition temperatures stated in these phase diagrams are compared with the results of high‐temperature diffraction studies using high‐energy synchrotron radiation. Additionally, the disordering temperature of the β_o‐phase is determined.     

Microstructure,Phase Composition,and Thermal Stability of Two Zirconium Alloys Subjected to High‐Pressure Torsion at Different Temperatures

The structure, phase composition, and thermal stability of the industrial zirconium alloys, namely, E110 (Zr–1% Nb) and E635 (Zr–1% Nb–0.3% Fe–1.2% Sn), which are subjected to high‐pressure torsion (HPT) at room temperature (RT), 200, and 400 °С have been studied. HPT of Zr‐alloys at RT (10 revolutions) leads to the formation of grain–subgrain nano‐sized structure and to increase the microhardness by 2.1…2.8 times. The increase in the HPT temperature to 200–400 °С leads to the increase in the structural‐element average size. The structural‐element size in the complexly alloyed E635 alloy in all cases is lower compared with the E110 alloy. The hardening of the alloys after HPT at RT and 200 °С is close, and at 400 °С is much less. HPT initiates the α‐Zr → (ω‐Zr + β‐Zr) transformation, which is the main factor for alloys hardening. The α‐Zr → (ω‐Zr + β‐Zr) transformation in the E635 alloy occurs less quickly. The maximum amount (ω‐Zr + β‐Zr) phase in the structure of the alloys is observed after HPT at RT and 200 °C, and the minimum ? at 400 °C. During heating, the alloys undergo the reverse (ω‐Zr + β‐Zr) → α transformation which depends on both the alloy composition and HPT temperature.

     

Fatigue Damage Evolution in Ultrafine‐Grained Interstitial‐Free Steel

The current work presents the crack propagation behavior in ultrafine‐grained (UFG) interstitial‐free (IF) steel, and in particular, focuses on the damage evolution in UFG IF steel under cyclic loading. The current results indicate that equal‐channel angular pressing (ECAP) has a major influence on the cyclic deformation response of the UFG IF steel, such that the failure and the crack path depend on the inclination plane during ECAP. Furthermore, the UFG IF steel demonstrates significant notch sensitivity in comparison to its coarse‐grained counterpart. This is attributed to the ultrafine grains with a large volume fraction of high‐angle grain boundaries, where glide of dislocations is hindered and the resulting internal stresses increase the stress concentration further in the presence of a pre‐existing notch.     

Thermoelectric SnTe with Band Convergence,Dense Dislocations,and Interstitials through Sn Self‐Compensation and Mn Alloying

SnTe is known as an eco‐friendly analogue of PbTe without toxic elements. However, the application potentials of pure SnTe are limited because of its high hole carrier concentration derived from intrinsic Sn vacancies, which lead to a high electrical thermal conductivity and low Seebeck coefficient. In this study, Sn self‐compensation and Mn alloying could significantly improve the Seebeck coefficients in the whole temperature range through simultaneous carrier concentration optimization and band engineering, thereby leading to a large improvement of the power factors. Combining precipitates and atomic‐scale interstitials due to Mn alloying with dense dislocations induced by long time annealing, the lattice thermal conductivity is drastically reduced. As a result, an enhanced figure of merit (ZT) of 1.35 is achieved for the composition of Sn_0.94Mn_0.09Te at 873 K and the ZT_ave from 300 to 873 K is boosted to 0.78, which is of great significance for practical application. Hitherto, the ZT_max and ZT_ave of this work are the highest values among all single‐element‐doped SnTe systems.     

Optimization of Strength‐Electrical Conductivity Properties in Al–2Fe Alloy by Severe Plastic Deformation and Heat Treatment

High‐pressure torsion at room temperature followed by two processing routes, either 1) annealing at 200 °C for 8 h or 2) elevated temperature (200 °C) high‐pressure torsion, are employed to obtain simultaneous increase in mechanical strength and electrical conductivity of Al–2 wt%Fe. The comparative study of microstructure, particle distribution, mechanical properties, and electrical conductivity for both processing routes gives the optimal combination of high mechanical strength and high electrical conductivity in Al–2Fe alloy. It is shown that while the mechanical strength is approximately the same for both processing routes (>320 MPa), high‐pressure torsion at elevated temperature results in higher conductivity (≥52% IACS) due to reduction of Fe solute atom concentration in Al matrix compared to annealing treatment. High‐pressure torsion at 200 °C has been demonstrated as a new and effective way for obtaining combination of high mechanical strength and electrical conductivity in Al–Fe alloys.

     

Nickel-Molybdän-Sinterstähle für hochbeanspruchte Teile

Nickel-Molybdenum Sintered Steels for High Duty Parts . Fe-Ni-Mo steels without additions and with 0,45% P resp. 0,5% C added were sintered at 1150°C resp. 1250°C for 1 h in H₂. 2% Ni and 1,5% Mo resp. 4% Ni and 3% Mo were added as alloying elements. The strength of the sintered Fe-Ni-Mo alloys without additional elements did not exceed remarkably that of the sintered steels used up to now. Fe-Ni-Mo steels with 4% Ni and 3% Mo sintered at 1250°C with an addition of 0,45% P resp. 0,5% C have a tensile strength of 740 N/mm² resp; 830 N/mm². However the impact toughness of the alloy with P is remarkably higher than that of the alloy with C. The C-content determines mainly the strength properties of the alloys with C and influences the diffusion of the Mo too. The influence of the Ni and Mo on the properties of the alloys with P is more obvious. Alloys with 4% Ni and 3% Mo containing 0,45% P have good static and dynamic strength and therefore are capable for high duty parts.     

Fabrication of large-bulk ultrafine grained 6061 aluminum alloy by rolling and low-heat-input friction stir welding

In this study, the ultrafine grained (UFG) 6061 Al alloys fabricated by cold rolling were friction stir welded (FSW) with different rotation rates under both air cooling and rapid cooling in water. Low-heat-input parameters of 400 rpm rotation rate in water (400-Water) could effectively inhibit the coarsening of recrystallized grains, reduce the precipitation rate, and retain more dislocations of the UFG 6061 Al parent metal. 400-Water joint showed high lowest-hardness value, narrow low-hardness zone, and high tensile strength, attributing to the effect of dislocation, grain boundary, solid-solution, and precipitation hardening. This work provides an effective strategy to fabricate large-sized bulk UFG Al alloy by cold rolling with large deformation and low-heat-input FSW.     

Ratcheting of 304 Stainless Steel Alloys subjected to Stress‐Controlled and mixed Stress‐ and Strain‐Controlled Conditions evaluated by Kinematic Hardening Rules

The present study predicts ratcheting response of SS304 tubular stainless steel samples using kinematic hardening rules of Ohno–Wang (O–W), Chen‐Jiao‐Kim (C–J–K) and a newly modified hardening rule under various stress‐controlled, and combined stress‐ and strain‐controlled histories. The O–W hardening rule was developed based on the critical state of dynamic recovery of backstress. The C–J–K hardening rule further developed the O–W rule to include the effect of non‐proportionality in ratcheting assessment of materials. The modified rule involved terms , and in the dynamic recovery of the Ahmadzadeh–Varvani (A–V) model to respectively track different directions under multiaxial loading, account for non‐proportionality and prevent plastic shakedown of ratcheting data over multiaxial stress cycles. The O–W model persistently overestimated ratcheting strain over the multiaxial loading paths. The C–J–K model further lowered this overprediction and improved the predicted ratcheting curves. The predicted ratcheting curves based on the modified model closely agreed with experimental data under various loading paths.     

Positron lifetime studies and coincidence Doppler broadening spectroscopy of Al–6Mg–<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis>Sc (<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis> = 0 to 0.6 wt.%) alloy

Positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS), comprising of both positron lifetime and coincidence Doppler broadening measurements, has been employed for studying the phase decomposition behaviour of scandium doped Al–6Mg alloys. Micro structural and age hardening studies have also been conducted to substantiate the explanation of the results of PAS. Samples with scandium concentration ranging from 0 to 0.6 wt.% have been studied. The measured positron lifetimes of undoped alloy reveal that GP zones are absent in the as-prepared Al–6Mg alloy. The observed positron lifetimes and the results of coincidence Doppler broadening measurements largely stem from the entrap of positrons at the interface between aluminium rich primary dendrites and the magnesium enriched interdendritic eutectic mixture of Mg₅Al₈ (β) and the primary solid solution of aluminium (α). The study also provides evidence of the formation of scandium vacancy complexes in Al–6Mg alloys doped with scandium upto a concentration of 0.2 wt.%. However such complex formation ceases to continue beyond 0.2 wt.% Sc; instead, the formation of fine coherent precipitates of Al₃Sc is recorded in the as prepared alloy containing 0.6 wt.% scandium. The positron annihilation studies coupled with CDBS have also corroborated with the fact that the fine coherent precipitates of Al₃Sc are formed upon annealing the Al–6Mg alloys doped with scandium of concentration 0.2 wt.% and above. Transmission electron microscopic studies have provided good evidence of precipitate formation in annealed Al–6Mg–Sc alloys. Elevated temperature annealing leads to dissociation of the scandium-vacancy complexes, thereby leading to the enhancement of the mobility of magnesium atoms. This has facilitated fresh nucleation and growth of Mg₅Al₈ precipitates in the above alloys at 673 K.     

Structural evolution during mechanical milling and subsequent annealing of Cu–Ni–Al–Co–Cr–Fe–Ti alloys

This study reports the structural evolution of high-entropy alloys from elemental materials to amorphous phases during mechanical alloying, and further, to equilibrium phases during subsequent thermal annealing. Four alloys from quaternary Cu_0.5NiAlCo to septenary Cu_0.5NiAlCoCrFeTi were analyzed. Microstructure examinations reveal that during mechanical alloying, Cu and Ni first formed a solid solution, and then other elements gradually dissolved into the solid solution which was finally transformed into amorphous structures after prolonged milling. During thermal annealing, recovery of the amorphous powders begins at 100 °C, crystallization occurs at 250–280 °C, and precipitation and grain growth of equilibrium phases occur at higher temperatures. The glass transition temperature usually observed in bulk amorphous alloys was not observed in the present amorphous phases. These structural evolution reveal three physical significances for high-entropy alloys: (1) the annealed state of amorphous powders produces simple equilibrium solid solution phases instead of complex phases, confirming the high-entropy effect; (2) amorphization caused by mechanical milling still meets the minimum criterion for amorphization based on topological instability proposed by Egami; and (3) the nonexistence of a glass transition temperature suggests that Inoue's rules for bulk amorphous alloys are still crucial for the existence of glass transition for a high-entropy amorphous alloy.     

Effects of grain refinement on age hardening behavior and precipitation kinetics of Al–Si–Cu–Mg alloys

The influences of grain refinement on precipitation kinetics were investigated for an Al–11 wt% Si–1.5 wt% Cu–0.3 wt% Mg casting alloy doped with B and and with La–B respectively by microstructure observation, hardness test and Johnson–Mehl–Avrami (JMA) equation. Co‐alloying of La–B facilitates the faster hardening response with higher hardness value for the alloy. The calculated Avarmi exponent indicates that the nucleation of θ′‐Al₂Cu precipitates occurs on grain boundaries for the refined alloys. The activation energies for the precipitation are of 42 kJ/mol and 30 kJ/mol for B‐doped and La–B co‐doped alloys, respectively.