The mechanism of hot crack formation in Ti-6Al-4V during cold crucible continuous casting

Hot crack is one of common defects in castings, which often results in failure of castings. This work studies the formation of hot crack during cold crucible continuous casting by means of experiments and theoretical analysis. The results show that hot crack occurs on the surface and in the circumference of ingots, where the solidified shell and the solidification front meet each other. The tendency of hot cracking decreases with the increase of withdrawal velocities in some extent. The hot crack is caused mainly by the friction force between the shell and the crucible inner wall, and it takes place when the stress resulting from friction exceeds the tensile strength of the shell. The factors of μ_m, η_t, η_s and η_m, affecting hot cracks are analyzed and verified. In order to decrease the tendency of hot cracks, technical parameters should be optimized by decreasing μ_m, η_t, η_s and η_m.     

Influence of pitting and iron oxide formation during corrosion of carbon steel in unbuffered NaCl solutions

The corrosion evolution over time of a carbon steel rotating disk immersed in aerated NaCl solutions was analyzed using a superposition model. Using this approach, partial polarization curves for iron oxidation and oxygen reduction were synthesized from experimental current-potential data at different corrosion time in order to determine the kinetics parameters, corrosion potential and current density of the underlying anodic and cathodic subprocesses. The distinctive features of the polarization curves are well described in terms of the simplifying assumptions of the model. In particular, the time evolution of the corrosion current density was linked to the morphology of the corroding surface under different NaCl concentrations.     

Oxide Layers on (0001) Plane of Zircaloy-4 After Corrosion at 360 °C in Lithiated Aqueous Solution

The microstructures of the oxide layers formed on near (0001) plane of Zircaloy-4 were investigated by autoclave tests at 360 °C in lithiated aqueous solution. Oxygen-rich regions with hcp structure were observed at the undulating O/M interface, and the inner surface morphology of the oxide layers formed on (0001) was only concave-convex. Monoclinic, tetragonal and cubic phases and a kind of zirconium sub-oxide with bcc structure were detected in the oxide layer near the metal matrix. This zirconium sub-oxide layer had a coherent relationship with α-Zr matrix, and the growth direction of the zirconium sub-oxide layer was nearly parallel to the [0001] direction of α-Zr regardless of the orientation of metal matrix. The orientations scattering of columnar grains formed on near (0001) plane differ from that formed on near () plane.     

Microscopic Approach of Adhesion and Wetting of Liquid Metal on Solid Ionocovalent Oxide Surface

The adhesion and wetting of non-reactive liquid metals with solid ionocovalent oxides are studied on thebasis of the experimental work of adhesion W data obtained with the sessile drop method.An analysis of theexperimental W values of different liquid metals on various solid oxides is first performed to evidence the de-pendence of the work of adhesion of a metal/oxide system on the electron density of the metal and on thethermodynamic stability of the oxide.An electronic model is then proposed to describe the microscopic mech-anism of metal-oxide interactions.Based on the model,the contact angle and the work of adhesion of differentliquid metals on various solid oxides can be interpreted and estimated,and their correlations to the variousphysical quantities of the oxides can be easily deduced.The basic consideration of the model is that the adhe-sion between a metal and an oxide is assured by the electron transfer from the metal into the oxide valenceband which is not completely filled of electrons at high temperatures,and is enhanced when this electron trans-fer at the metal/oxide interface is intensified.The influence of interface defects on the wetting and adhesion issuggested and discussed.     

Study of magnetite film formation at metal-scale interface during cooling of steel products

A thin layer of magnetite is sometimes observed in the scales of hot-rolled sheets and wire rod at the scale-metal interface. The results of this study show that this layer of magnetite is produced, during the cooling of the products, by the wustite decomposition. The time/temperature field in which it appears has been defined. This inner layer is composed of pure magnetite, in epitaxy with the neighboring wustite, and the metal surface is not essential to its nucleation. The proeutectod reaction which, during cooling, produces an increase in the oxygen concentration of the wustite in contact with the metal favors the subsequent growth of the magnetite layer.This work was conducted with the technical collaboration of M. Malleret.     

New insight into the pit-to-crack transition from finite element analysis of the stress and strain distribution around a corrosion pit

A finite element (FE) analysis has been undertaken to evaluate the stress and strain distribution associated with a single corrosion pit in a cylindrical steel specimen stressed remotely in tension. A key observation was the localisation of plastic strain to the pit walls (just below the surface of the specimen). Simulation of a growing pit in a static stress field indicated corresponding plastic strain rates that were commensurate with values associated with stress corrosion cracking. This observation introduces a wholly new concept in understanding of the evolution of stress corrosion cracks from pits and correlates with recent X-ray tomography measurements.     

Interface structure and formation mechanism of vacuum-free vibration liquid phase diffusion-bonded joints of SiCp/ZL101A composites

The vacuum-free vibration liquid phase(VLP) diffusion-bonding of SiCp/ZL101A composites was investigated. The effects of vibration on the interface structure, the phase transformation and the tensile strength of bonded joints were examined. Experimental results show that the oxide film on the surface of the composites is a key factor affecting the tensile strength of boned joints. The distribution of the oxide layers at the interface changes from a continuous line to a discontinuous one during vibration. The tensile strength of the VLP diffusion-bonded joints increases with the vibration time, and is up to the maximum of 172 MPa when the vibration time is 30 s. The phase structure of the bond region changes from the Zn-Al-Cu hyper-eutectic (η (β η) (β η ε)) phases to Al-rich Al-base solid solution (α-Al) with increasing the vibration time.     

氧化镧对TC4钛合金固体渗硼的影响

对固体渗硼剂(碳化硼+碳化硅)中添加氧化镧对钛合金渗硼层的表面形貌与相组成、渗层厚度、渗层硬度、渗层与基体的界面结合力以及渗层摩擦磨损性能的影响进行了研究。结果表明,固体渗硼剂中添加氧化镧(4.0%,质量分数)细化了渗层表面形貌组织;显著提高了渗层的厚度与表面硬度(增幅分别为50.7%和34.8%);提高了渗层与基体的界面结合力(增幅为37.25%);大幅提高了渗层在摩擦磨损过程中抗剥落性能以及渗层自身的抗裂性能。自身抗裂性能的提高与渗层中含有Ti金属物相从而提高渗层的韧性有关。添加氧化镧渗层与未添加氧化镧渗层相比,具有低的摩擦系数(0.12)且摩擦磨损表面无对摩件中Fe元素。