Corrosion inhibition in magnesium-aluminium-based alloys induced by rapid solidification processing

The effect of rapid solidification on the corrosion behaviour in aerated 0.001 M NaCl solution of Mg-Al alloys containing 9.6 to 23.4wt% AI has been investigated in comparison with chill-cast material. Polarization studies show that rapid solidification decreases corrosion current by up to two orders of magnitude corresponding to a corrosion rate of 6 to 11 mil y^–1. Increasing the aluminium content in solid solution by rapid solidification gave rise to a steep increase in pitting potential between 10 and 23 wt% Al and resulted in development of an anodic plateau at 30Acm^–2 attributable to magnesium depletion for the alloy surface and formation of a protective film. Chemical analysis of the electrolyte as a function of dissolution time for the rapidly solidified material indicated that initially only magnesium dissolved and that this dissolution of magnesium ceased within 2 to 5 min. The results indicate the formation of an aluminium-enriched interdiffusion zone at the surface underlying a more stable surface oxide than for ingot-processed Mg-Al-based alloys.     

Effect of rapid solidification processing on corrosion resistance of Cu-Ni-Cr alloys

Cu-Ni-Cr ribbons produced by rapid solidification were studied for their corrosion resistance and compared with their counterparts produced by conventional metallurgy. The corrosion rate of the rapidly solidified Cu-Ni-Cr ribbons varies with composition and is many times lower than that of conventional alloy ingots for some compositions.     

Al-based nanocrystalline composites by rapid solidification of Al-Ni-Sm alloys

Nanophase composites (Al-based materials with α-Al particles dispersed in an amorphous matrix) can be produced by melt spinning and annealing Al₈₈Ni_{12 − x}Sm_x (x = 2 to 10 at%) master alloys. The structures and the thermal stability of the ribbons obtained, asquenched and after annealing, are characterised by X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. The mechanical properties of these composites, including hardness and abrasive wear resistance, are measured as a function of the volume fraction of α-Al nanocrystals in the amorphous matrix. The properties of these nanophase composites are compared with other industrial alloys in the aluminium family and show an exceptional hardness and wear resistance.     

Development and application of ferromagnetic alloys made by rapid solidification

Abstract

Amorphous alloys, made by rapid solidification, were first introduced in 1960 and precipitated a major new field of research in metallurgy. A part of this new field, dating from around 1975, involves magnetic alloys made by rapid solidification. These new magnetic alloys are critically assessed against the background of existing Si–Fe alloys and the new developments in high induction Si–Fe. It is concluded that these new alloys, of potentially very low cost, may be important in the highly automated manufacture of small transformers and small electricals machines.

MST/726     

Thermal analysis of copper-tin alloys during rapid solidification

A series of solidification experiments using a mirror furnace and a levitation technique were performed on different Cu-Sn alloys. Cooling curves during solidification were registered using a thermocouple of type K connected to a data acquisition system. The undercooling, cooling rates of the liquid and of the solid state, solidification times and temperatures were evaluated from the curves. The samples were found to solidify far below the liquidus temperature. The cooling curves for different samples and alloys were simulated using a FEM solidification program. The heat transfer coefficient, heat of fusion and specific heat were evaluated. It was found that the calculated values of the heat of fusion were much lower than the tabulated ones. The calculated values of the specific heat in the solid state were also found to be much higher than those quoted in the literature, especially for the mirror furnace experiments. The effect of rapid cooling on the thermodynamic state and the solidification process of the alloys has been evaluated. The effect of cooling rate on the formation and condensation of vacancies is discussed. It is proposed that a large number of vacancies form during rapid solidification and that they condense during and after the solidification. The influence of these defects on the thermodynamics and solidification of the alloys has been evaluated.     

Comparison of Fe-Ni based alloys prepared by ball milling and rapid solidification

Mechanical alloying (MA) and rapid solidification (RS) are two important routes to obtain amorphous alloys. An Fe-Ni based metal-metalloid alloy (Fe₅₀Ni₃₀P₁₄Si₆) prepared by these two different processing routes was studied by differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy with microanalysis, inductive coupled plasma, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission Mössbauer spectroscopy (TMS). The results were compared with that obtained from other Fe-Ni based alloys of similar compositions. The structural analyses show that the materials obtained by mechanical alloying are not completely disordered after 40 h of milling whereas fully amorphous alloys were obtained by rapid solidification. TMS analyses show that, independent of the composition, after milling for 40 h, about 7% of the Fe remains unreacted. Furthermore, the thermal stability of mechanically alloyed samples is lower than that of the analogous material prepared by rapid solidification. In the MA alloys, a broad exothermic process associated to structural relaxation begins at low temperature. XRD patterns of crystallized alloys indicate that the crystallization products are bcc(Fe,Ni), fcc(Ni,Fe), and (Fe,Ni)-phosphides and -silicides.     

Some amorphous alloys in Zr-Ru-Mo and Zr-Ru-W systems prepared by rapid solidification

All binary systems of the ternary systems Zr-Mo-Ru and Zr-W-Ru show at least one eutectic point. This indicates the existence of low melting eutectic alloys in these ternary systems (∼ 1200–1300°C). As starting materials, homogeneous Zr-Mo-Ru and Zr-W-Ru samples of different compositions were prepared by rapid solidification (∼10⁶Ks⁻¹) in a splat-cooling apparatus with a rf levitation coil and a high-velocity two-piston arrangement driven by solenoids. The possibility of obtaining alloys in amorphous state from low-melting areas of these ternary systems with the addition of boron or silicon has been investigated.     

Applications of irreversible thermodynamics to rapid solidification of multicomponent alloys

Abstract

Solidification, as the key step in physical metallurgy, plays a decisive role in tuning the various properties of materials. From a thermodynamic perspective, the solidification processes can be considered as the evolution of non-equilibrium systems, where the metastable melts become the stable solids with lower free energy. In contrast to equilibrium thermodynamics, which focus on the static equilibrium states, irreversible thermodynamics is a powerful tool to describe the evolution of non-equilibrium systems and has been successfully applied to various fields in materials science. In the present paper, we review the basic philosophy for the phenomenological irreversible thermodynamics, the methods to obtain the governing equations for the evolution of multicomponent solidifying systems and the potential applications to other metallurgical phenomena.     

Structure of nanocomposites of Al-Fe alloys prepared by mechanical alloying and rapid solidification processing

Structures of Al-based nanocomposites of Al-Fe alloys prepared by mechanical alloying (MA) and subsequent annealing are compared with those obtained by rapid solidification processing (RSP). MA produced only supersaturated solid solution of Fe in Al up to 10 at.% Fe, while for higher Fe content up to 20 at.% the nonequilibrium intermetallic Al₅Fe₂ appeared. Subsequent annealing at 673 K resulted in more Al₅Fe₂ formation with very little coarsening. The equilibrium intermetallics, Al₃Fe (Al₁₃Fe₄), was not observed even at this temperature. In contrast, ribbons of similar composition produced by RSP formed fine cellular or dendritic structure with nanosized dispersoids of possibly a nano-quasicrystalline phase and amorphous phase along with α-Al depending on the Fe content in the alloys. This difference in the product structure can be attributed to the difference in alloying mechanisms in MA and RSP.     

Al-Pb合金快速定向凝固的数值模拟

在考虑凝固界面前沿第二相液滴形核、长大以及迁移综合作用的基础上 ,提出了描述偏晶合金在快速定向凝固条件下微观组织形成过程的数学模型 ,并对Al-Pb轴承合金在垂直Bridgeman定向凝固条件下的凝固组织进化过程进行了计算分析 .结果表明 :在大的凝固速度条件下 ,凝固界面前沿存在成分过冷区 ,液 -液相分解在此区域内进行 ;在恒定的温度梯度条件下 ,凝固速度越快 ,第二相液滴的形核速率越大 ,液滴的数量密度越高 ,平均半径越小 ;凝固界面前沿液滴的平均半径 (R)与凝固速度 (v)之间存在如下指数关系 :R(z =0 ) =C2 v-0 .3 9± 0 .0 1     

The status of rapid solidification of alloys in research and application

The status of rapid solidification is discussed in terms of recent progress in modelling methods of achieving solidification at high cooling rates and its effects on alloy constitution and microstructure. Applications currently in view are reviewed under the following headings: high-strength structural materials; tool and bearing materials; high-temperature materials, corrosion-resistant, catalytic and storage materials; and electrical and magnetic materials. It is concluded that the future of rapid solidification is not identifiable with any one process, activity or application and that many unresolved questions remain to challenge both the scientific and business communities.     

Effect of rapid solidification on mechanical properties of Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloys

Mechanical properties of -phase shape memory alloys with the addition of small amounts of chromium or zirconium were studied at various temperatures. In addition to the conventional casting process, Cu-Al-Ni-Zr alloys were produced by rapidly solidified processes, including the gas atomization and melt spinning methods. Buck materials were also made by hot-press sintering from the Cu-Al-Ni-Zr alloy powders and chopped ribbons. It was found that the brittleness of Cu-Al-Ni alloys was improved by the addition of either chromium or zirconium. It is suggested that this improvement is due to increase of grain-boundary strength, not just because of grain refining. The better mechanical properties were obtained in the rapidly solidified and sintered alloys which show fine grain size, fracture strength as high as 780 MPa and 7% fracture strain.     

Electron-beam melting and centrifugal splat-quenching technique for rapid solidification of titanium alloys

An electron-beam melting and centrifugal splat-quenching technique for the production of microflakes of Ti-6A1-4V (wt%) alloy quenched at an average cooling rate of about 105 K sec^–1 is described. The effect of substrate angle on the shape, size, microstructure and average cooling rate of the flakes of major sieve fractions is discussed. Morphologies of particles of minor sieve fractions are dealt with briefly.