Evaluation of wear characteristics of Al3Tip/Mg composite

The dry sliding wear tests were performed for a novel developed Al₃Ti_p/Mg composite under the ambient temperatures at 25–200 °C and the loads of 25–150 N. The wear rate of the composite increased with increasing the load, but reduced with increasing the ambient temperature. The Al₃Ti_p/Mg composite had relatively lower wear rates than AZ91D alloy under the loads of less than 100 N at 25 °C. At 200 °C, the Al₃Ti_p/Mg composite presented an absolutely higher wear resistance than AZ91D alloy, and the mild-severe wear transition was delayed. These were attributed to Al₃Ti particulates and the mechanical mixing layer formed on the worn surfaces, which hindered the plastic deformation and thermal softening of the matrix. The mechanical mixing layer contained MgO, Fe–Ti–O, Al₃Ti, Mg₁₇Al₁₂ and Mg and thickened with increasing the ambient temperature. The predominant wear mechanisms of the composite were oxidation wear and delamination wear.     

Quantitative analysis on friction stress of hot-extruded AZ31 magnesium alloy at room temperature

Mg alloy AZ31 with ～79% (volume fraction of scattering less than 30°) basal-fiber texture through hot extrusion exhibits strong grain-size dependent yield strength. Samples with grain sizes varying from 4.5 to 22.3 μm were obtained by altering annealing time durations. The Hall-Petch relations of tension and compression are σ_0.2 = 86+200d^?1/2 and σ_0.2 = 17 + 327d^?1/2, respectively. Considering the correlation between grain orientation and deformation modes, a novel weighted average method of calculating friction stress σ₀ was proposed, and results of calculation agreed with the experimental ones, which can reasonably understand the yielding behavior in tension and compression.     

Effects of volume ratio on the microstructure and mechanical properties of particle reinforced magnesium matrix composite

In the present study, the AZ91 alloy reinforced by (submicron + micron) SiCp with four kind volume ratio was fabricated by the semisolid stirring casting technology. The influence of volume ratio between submicron and micron SiCp on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg matrix was investigated. Results show that the submicron SiCp is more conducive to grain refinement as compared with micron SiCp. With the increase of volume ratio, the submicron particle dense regions increase and the average grain size decreases. The yield strength of bimodal size SiCp/AZ91 composite is higher than monolithic micron SiCp/AZ91composite. Both Δσ_Hall–Petch and Δσ_CTE increase as the volume ratio changes from 0:10, 0.5:9.5, 1:9 to 1.5:8.5. Among the composite with different volume ratio, the S-1.5 + 10-8.5 composite has the best mechanical properties. The interface debonding is found at the interface of micron SiCp-Mg. As the increase of volume ratio, the phenomenon of interface debonding weakens and the amount of dimples increases.     

Evolution of microstructure and mechanical properties for 9Cr18 stainless steel during thixoforming

Hot compression tests were carried out in the semi-solid state of 9Cr18 stainless steel on Gleeble-1500 thermal simulation testing machine to investigate the effects of thixoforming parameters on its microstructure and mechanical properties. In this paper, microstructure was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and analyzed using energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), and true stress–stain curves of the specimens with different initial microstructures after thixoforming were obtained to study the deformation mechanism. The results showed that thixoforming parameters such as reheating temperature and the strain rate had a significant influence on microstructure and mechanical properties evolution of 9Cr18 semi-solid billet. With increasing reheating temperature or decreasing strain rate, average size of carbides decreased from 2 μm to 0.5 μm, and the phenomenon of liquid extrusion during thixoforming became more obvious. During thixoforming, carbon atoms diffused to molten metal from austenite in the centre of specimens. When thixoforming temperature reached 1300 °C, martensitic transformation occurred after rapid cooling. Flow stress of semi-solid billet was lower than traditional ingot casting and hot rolled state steel, when reheated to the semi-solid range, due to their different original microstructure.     

Extrusion textures in Al, 6061 alloy and 6061/SiCp nanocomposites

The 6061 alloy matrix composites reinforced with 10 wt.% and 15 wt.% of SiC nanoparticles with an average diameter of ~ 500 nm were hot extruded in strip shape from ball milled powders. The microstructures and textures of the hot extruded nanocomposites have been investigated by means of three dimensional orientation distribution functions and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) techniques. Pure Al and 6061 alloy extruded strips from atomised powders have been produced for comparison purposes. The results show that the non-deformable SiC particulates have a strong influence on the formation of extrusion textures in the matrix. Pure Al and 6061 alloy develop a typical β fibre texture after extrusion in strip shape. For 6061/SiC_p nanocomposites, the intensities of major texture components decrease with increasing amount of SiC particles. The total intensities of Brass, Dillamore and S components have decreased by 19% for 6061/10 wt.% SiC_p and 40% for 6061/15 wt.% SiC_p composites when compared with the 6061 alloy. EBSD analysis on local grain orientations shows limited Al grain rotations in SiC rich zones and decreased texture intensities.     

High shear dispersion technology prior to twin roll casting for high performance magnesium/SiCp metal matrix composite strip fabrication

SiC particulate (SiC_p) reinforced AZ31 magnesium alloy composite strips were produced by a novel process. In the process, a high shear technique was utilised to disperse the reinforcing particles uniformly into the matrix alloy, and AZ31/5 vol%SiC_p slurry was solidified into thin strip by a horizontal twin roll caster. The experimental results showed that the AZ31/5 vol%SiC_p strip obtained with high shear treatment exhibited a significantly refined microstructure and uniform distribution of reinforcing SiC particles. High cooling rate in the TRC process was also considered to contribute to the grain refinement of the matrix alloy, together with the possible heterogeneous nucleation effect of the reinforcing particles. The mechanical properties of the high shear treated composites strips showed enhanced modulus, yield strength and ductility by hardness and tensile tests. The experimental results were discussed in terms of the microstructural features and the macroscopic reliability, where necessary, analytical and statistical analyses were conducted.     

An investigation on the tribological behavior of AZ91 and AZ91 + 3 wt% RE magnesium alloys at elevated temperatures

The wear behavior of AZ91 and AZ91 + 3 wt% RE magnesium alloys was investigated under a normal load of 20 N at the wear testing temperatures of 25–250 °C and sliding speeds of 0.4 and 1 m s⁻¹. As the sliding speed increased from 0.4 to 1 m s⁻¹ at the wear temperature of 25 °C, the wear rates of AZ91 and AZ91 + 3 wt% RE alloys decreased by about 8% and 60%, respectively. With an increase in the wear temperature to 100 °C, the wear rate of AZ91 alloy was reduced by 58% at a sliding speed of 0.4 m s⁻¹, while the wear rate was sharply increased at a sliding speed of 1 m s⁻¹. At higher wear temperatures, the wear of the AZ91 alloy at both sliding speeds soared as a result of the softening of β-Mg₁₇Al₁₂ phase. However, the wear rate of AZ91 + 3 wt% RE alloy showed a minimum at the wear temperatures of 100 and 200 °C at sliding speeds of 1 and 0.4 m s⁻¹, respectively. Superior wear behavior of AZ91 + 3 wt% RE at the elevated temperatures could be attributed to its higher thermal stability and strength. Furthermore, a rise in sliding speed led to a 55% reduction in the wear rate of AZ91 + 3 wt% RE alloy at the wear temperature of 100 °C due to the formation of stable oxide layers on the wear surface.     

Correlation between microstructure and tensile properties in powder metallurgy AZ91 alloys

The ultrafine-grained (0.3–1.3 μm) AZ91 alloys, which were fabricated by powder extrusion in the range of 200 to 350 °C and subsequent aging at 100 °C for 8 h, exhibit a remarkable yield stress of 360–478 MPa and moderate tensile elongations of 6–8%. A composite structure was developed after extrusion with uniform β (Mg₁₇Al₁₂) particles dispersed in magnesium matrix. The extrusion temperature has an indirect role on yield stress since partial dissolution of β particles induced by high extrusion temperature fails to retard grain growth. Moreover, the strength was further enhanced by the formation of nano-scale precipitates during artificial aging. The high strength could be attributed to a combination effect of grain refinement, particle reinforcement and precipitation hardening.     

Influence of size and distribution of W phase on strength and ductility of high strength Mg-5.1Zn-3.2Y-0.4Zr-0.4Ca alloy processed by indirect extrusion

A high strength Mg-5.1Zn-3.2Y-0.4Zr-0.4Ca(wt%) alloy containing W phase(Mg_3Y_2Zn_3) prepared by permanent mold direct-chill casting is indirectly extruded at 350?C and 400?C, respectively. The extruded alloys show bimodal grain structure consisting of fine dynamic recrystallized(DRXed) grains and unrecrystallized coarse regions containing fine W phase and β2' precipitates. The fragmented W phase particles induced by extrusion stimulate nucleation of DRXed grains, leading to the formation of fine DRXed grains, which are mainly distributed near the W particle bands along the extrusion direction. The alloy extruded at 350?C exhibits yield strength of 373 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 403 MPa and elongation to failure of 5.1%. While the alloy extruded at 400?C shows lower yield strength of 332 MPa,ultimate tensile strength of 352 MPa and higher elongation to failure of 12%. The mechanical properties of the as-extruded alloys vary with the distribution and size of W phase. A higher fraction of DRXed grains is obtained due to the homogeneous distribution of micron-scale broken W phase particles in the alloy extruded at 400?C, which can lead to higher ductility. In addition, the nano-scale dynamic W phase precipitates distributed in the un DRXed regions are refined at lower extrusion temperature. The smaller size of nano-scale W phase precipitates leads to a higher fraction of un DRXed regions which contributes to higher strength of the alloy extruded at 350?C.     

Fatigue lifetime of AZ91 magnesium alloy subjected to cyclic thermal and mechanical loadings

In the present paper, thermo-mechanical fatigue (TMF) and low cycle fatigue (LCF) or isothermal fatigue (IF) lifetimes of a cast magnesium alloy (the AZ91 alloy) were studied. In addition to a heat treatment process (T6), several rare elements were added to the alloy to improve the material strength in the first step. Then, the cyclic behavior of the AZ91 was investigated. For this objective, strain-controlled tension–compression fatigue tests were carried out. The temperature varied between 50 and 200 °C in the out-of-phase (OP) TMF tests. The constraint factor which was defined as the ratio of the mechanical strain to the thermal strain, was set to 75%, 100% and 125%. For LCF tests, mechanical strain amplitudes of 0.20%, 0.25% and 0.30% were considered at constant temperatures of 25 and 200 °C. Experimental fatigue results showed that the cyclic hardening behavior occurred at the room temperature in the AZ91 alloy. At higher temperatures, this alloy had a brittle fracture. But also, it was not significantly clear that the cyclic hardening or the cyclic softening behavior would be occurred in the material. Then, the high temperature LCF lifetime was more than that at the room temperature. The OP-TMF lifetime was the least value in comparison to that of LCF tests. At the end of this article, two energy-based models were applied to predict the fatigue lifetime of this magnesium alloy.     

Preparation of Al matrix nanocomposites by diluting the composite granules containing nano-SiCp under ultrasonic vibaration

In this work, an efficient process by diluting the nano-SiCp/Al composite granules in the molten matrix under ultrasonic vibration(UV) was developed to prepare metal matrix nano-composites(MMNCs).Millimeter-sized composite granules with high content of SiC particle(8 wt%) were specially fabricated by dry high-energy ball milling(HBM) without process control agent, and then remelted and diluted in molten Al alloy under UV. The MMNCs melt was finally squeeze cast under a squeeze pressure of 200 MPa, Microstructure of the composite granules during dry HBM was investigated, and the effect of UV on microstructure and mechanical properties of the MMNCs was discussed. The results indicate that nano-SiC particles are uniformly distributed in the nano-SiCp/Al composite granules, which are covered by vestures of pure Al. During diluting, nano-SiC particles released from the composite granules are quickly dispersed in the molten matrix by UV within 4 min. Microstructure of MMNCs is significantly refined under UV and squeeze casting, eutectic Si phase modified to fine islands with an average length of 1.4 μm. Tensile strength of the squeeze cast MMNCs with 1 wt% of nano-SiC particles is 269 MPa, which is improved by 25% compared with the A356 alloy matrix.     

Structural characteristics and elevated temperature mechanical properties of AJ62 Mg alloy

Structure and mechanical properties of the novel casting AJ62 (Mg–6Al–2Sr) alloy developed for elevated temperature applications were studied. The AJ62 alloy was compared to commercial casting AZ91 (Mg–9Al–1Zn) and WE43 (Mg–4Y–3RE) alloys. The structure was examined by scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction and energy dispersive spectrometry. Mechanical properties were characterized by Viskers hardness measurements in the as-cast state and after a long-term heat treatment at 250 °C/150 hours. Compressive mechanical tests were also carried out both at room and elevated temperatures. Compressive creep tests were conducted at a temperature of 250 °C and compressive stresses of 60, 100 and 140 MPa. The structure of the AJ62 alloy consisted of primary α-Mg dendrites and interdendritic nework of the Al₄Sr and massive Al₃Mg₁₃Sr phases. By increasing the cooling rate during solidification from 10 and 120 K/s the average dendrite arm thickness decreased from 18 to 5 μm and the total volume fraction of the interdendritic phases from 20% to 30%. Both factors slightly increased hardness and compressive strength. The room temperature compressive strength and hardness of the alloy solidified at 30 K/s were 298 MPa and 50 HV 5, i.e. similar to those of the as-cast WE43 alloy and lower than those of the AZ91 alloy. At 250 °C the compressive strength of the AJ62 alloy decreased by 50 MPa, whereas those of the AZ91 and WE43 alloys by 100 and 20 MPa, respectively. The creep rate of the AJ62 alloy was higher than that of the WE43 alloy, but significantly lower in comparison with the AZ91 alloy. Different thermal stabilities of the alloys were discussed and related to structural changes during elevated temperature expositions.     

Effect of melt temperature on the oxidation behavior of AZ91D magnesium alloy in 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane/air atmospheres

The oxidation behaviors of AZ91D magnesium alloy in 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane/air atmospheres at temperatures between 660 °C and 760 °C have been studied. The experimental results show that with the increase of melt temperature, the oxidation rate of molten AZ91D magnesium alloy in 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane/air atmospheres increased and the oxidation kinetics changed from parabolic law to linear law. On the other hand, the amount of MgF₂ in the oxide film formed on AZ91D decreased, and the amount of MgO increased. The effect of melt temperature on the oxidation behaviors is primarily related to the relative content of MgO and MgF₂ in the film, as well as the diffusion rate and the evaporation rate of magnesium through the film.     

Microstructure evolution,mechanical properties and diffusion behaviour of Mg-6Zn-2Gd-0.5Zr alloy during homogenization

The microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of Mg-6Zn-2Gd-0.5Zr alloy during homogenization treatment were investigated. The as-cast alloy was found to be composed of dendritic primary α-Mg matrix, α-Mg + W (Mg₃Zn₃Gd₂) eutectic along grain boundaries, and icosahedral quasicrystalline I (Mg₃Zn₆Gd) phase within α-Mg matrix. During homogenization process, α-Mg + W (Mg₃Zn₃Gd₂) eutectic and I phase gradually dissolved into α-Mg matrix, while some rod-like rare earth hydrides (GdH₂) formed within α-Mg matrix. Both the tensile yield strength and the elongation showed a similar tendency as a function of homogenization temperature and holding time. The optimized homogenization parameter was determined to be 505 °C for 16 h according to the microstructure evolution. Furthermore, the diffusion kinetics equation of the solute elements derived from the Gauss model was established to predict the segregation ratio of Gd element as a function of holding time, which was proved to be effective to evaluate the homogenization effect of the experimental alloy.     

Corrosion resistance of AZ91D magnesium alloy with electroless plating pretreatment and Ni–TiO2 composite coating

In this paper, a protective multilayer coating, with electroless Ni coating as bottom layer and electrodeposited Ni–TiO₂ composite coating as top layer, was successfully prepared on AZ91D magnesium alloy by a combination of electroless and electrodeposition techniques. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction were employed to investigate the surface, cross-section morphologies and phase structure of coatings, respectively. The electrochemical corrosion behaviors of coatings in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solutions were evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, open circuit potential and potentiodynamic polarization techniques. The results showed that the corrosion process of Ni–TiO₂ composite coating was mainly composed of three stages in the long-term immersion test in the aggressive media, and could afford better corrosion and mechanical protection for the AZ91D magnesium alloy compared with single electroless Ni coating. The micro-hardness of the Ni–TiO₂ composite coating improved more than 5 times than that of the AZ91D magnesium alloy.     

Effects of Zr,Ti and Sc additions on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-0.4Cu-0.14Si-0.05Mg-0.2Fe alloys

The evolution of microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-0.4Cu-0.14Si-0.05Mg-0.2Fe (wt.%) alloys, micro-alloyed with Zr, Ti and Sc, were investigated. The addition of 0.2%Zr to base alloy accelerates the precipitation of Si-rich nano-phase in α-Al matrix, which plays an important role in improving the mechanical properties of an alloy. The tensile strength increases from 102 MPa for the base alloy to 113 MPa for the Zr-modified alloy. Adding 0.2%Zr + 0.2%Ti to base alloy effectively refines α-Al grain size and accelerates the precipitation of Si and Cu elements, leading to heavy segregation at grain boundary. By further adding 0.2%Sc to Zr + Ti modified alloy, the segregation of Si and Cu elements is suppressed and more Si and Cu precipitates appeared in α-Al matrix. Accompanied with the formation of coherent Al₃Sc phase, the tensile strength increases from 108 MPa for the Zr + Ti modified alloy to 152 MPa for the Sc-modified alloy. Due to excellent thermal stability of Al₃Sc phase, the Sc-modified alloy exhibits obvious precipitation hardening behavior at 350 °C, and the tensile strength increases to 203 MPa after holding at 350 °C for 200 h.     

Influence of extrusion temperature and process parameter on microstructures and tensile properties of a particulate reinforced magnesium matrix nanocomposite

Particulate reinforced magnesium matrix nanocomposites fabricated by semisolid stirring assisted ultrasonic vibration were subjected to extrusion. The results showed that grains of matrix in the SiCp/AZ91 nanocomposites were gradually refined while the amount of SiC nanoparticle bands was decreased with the extrusion temperature increasing from 250 to 350 °C. Under the same extrusion conditions, the grain size of the matrix was gradually decreased while the distribution of SiC nanoparticles was improved in the extruded nanocomposites fabricated by decreasing the stirring time. The yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of the nanocomposites were gradually enhanced with increasing the extrusion temperature. Significant improvement of tensile strength was obtained in the nanocomposites fabricated by decreasing the stirring time.     

The influence of initial microstructure and temperature on the deformation behavior of AZ91 magnesium alloy

The deformation behavior of AZ91 magnesium alloy has been investigated using uniaxial compression tests at a temperature range of 100–300 °C. The different processing routes including homogenization treatment, hot rolling and annealing have been employed to study the effect of initial microstructure on the compressive mechanical response of the AZ91 alloy. The results show that the hot-rolled material presents an enhanced compressive workability at temperatures as low as 100 °C. The experimental alloy exhibit dynamic recrystallization during compression in any of the initial microstructures. The maximum and minimum DRX (dynamic recrystallization) fraction has been obtained in hot-rolled and homogenized conditions, respectively. The recrystallized fraction increases with raising the temperature. In addition the effect of initial microstructure on the peak stress diminishes with increasing temperature while its effect on the peak strain remains remarkable. The softening fraction has been increased with temperature, where a pronounced effect has been recorded in the case of homogenized (un-rolled) material.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of hot extruded 6016 aluminum alloy/graphite composites

The incorporation of graphite particles into AA6016 aluminum alloy matrix to fabricate metal/ceramic composites is still a great challenge and various parameters should be considered. In this study, dense AA6016 aluminum alloy/(0-20 wt%) graphite composites have successfully been fabricated by powder metallurgy process. At first, the mixed aluminum and graphite powders were cold compacted at 200 MPa and then sintered at 500 ℃ for 1 h followed by hot extrusion at 450 ℃. The influence of ceramic phases(free graphite and in-situ formed carbides) on microstructure, physical and mechanical properties of the produced composites were finally investigated. The results show that the fabricated composites have a relative density of over 98%. SEM observations indicate that the graphite has a good dispersion in the alloy matrix even at high graphite content. Hardness of all the produced composites was higher than that of aluminum alloy matrix. No cracks were observed at strain less than 23% for all hot extruded materials.Compressive strength, reduction in height, ultimate tensile stress, fracture stress, yield stress, and fracture strain of all Al/graphite composites were determined by high precision second order equations. Both compressive and ultimate tensile strengths have been correlated to microstructure constituents with focusing on the in-situ formed ceramic phases, silicon carbide(SiC) and aluminum carbide(Al_4 C_3). The ductile fracture mode of the produced composites became less dominant with increasing free graphite content and in-situ formed carbides. Wear resistance of Al/graphite composites was increased with increasing graphite content. Aluminum/20 wt% graphite composite exhibited superior wear resistance over that of AA6016 aluminum alloy.     

Microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of backward thixoextruded 7075 aluminum alloy

The present work deals with the microstructure evolution of 7075 aluminum alloy which has been backward thixoextruded in the temperature range of 550–600 °C using different ram diameters and ram displacement velocities. The recrystallization and partial melting (RAP) route has been used to obtain the semi-solid feedstocks for thixoforming. The results indicate that the back extruded microstructures mostly consist of semisolid grains which have been elongated along extrusion direction. The finest semisolid grain size has been obtained at lower deformation temperature and higher equivalent strain. This is attributed to the higher imposed shearing force on the liquid phase which could in turn fragment the grains. The current work also explores the room temperature mechanical properties of thixoformed work-pieces using shear punch testing method. It is found that the room temperature shear strength and ductility values have been substantially influenced by the deformation temperature, ram displacement velocity, and ram diameter.