Modeling the effect of Al3Sc precipitates on the yield stress and work hardening of an Al–Mg–Sc alloy

The yield stress and work hardening behaviour of precipitation hardening alloys is directly related to the nature of the interaction between mobile dislocations and precipitates. In commercial systems such as aluminium alloys, the understanding of this problem is complicated by the overlap between various mechanisms and the interplay between the volume fraction and size of precipitates and the residual solid solution content. In this study a model Al–2.8 wt.% Mg–0.16 wt.% Sc alloy has been chosen for examination since precipitation involves simple spherical precipitates, the absence of metastable phases and the solid solution effect is dominated by the magnesium content. Using a previously development precipitation model, it has been possible to develop an integrated yield stress/work hardening model in which the shearable/non-shearable transition and the size distribution of precipitates are explicitly accounted for. The agreement between the model and the experiments is excellent and the shearable/non-shearable transition radius is consistent with experimental observations.     

Hardening of pure metals by high-pressure torsion: A physically based model employing volume-averaged defect evolutions

A physically based model to predict the increment of hardness and grain refinement of pure metals due to severe plastic deformation by high-pressure torsion (HPT) is proposed. The model incorporates volume-averaged thermally activated dislocation annihilation and grain boundary formation. Strengthening is caused by dislocations in the grain and by grain boundaries. The model is tested against a database containing all available reliable data on HPT-processed pure metals. It is shown that the model accurately predicts hardening and grain size of the pure metals, irrespective of crystal structure (face-centred cubic, body-centred cubic and hexagonal close packed). Measured dislocation densities also show good correlation with predictions. The influence of stacking fault energy on hardening is very weak (of the order of ?0.03 GPa per 100 J mol^?1).     

Effect of Heat Treatments on Microstructures and Tensile Properties of Cu–3 wt%Ag–0.5 wt%Zr Alloy

The microstructures and tensile properties of Cu–3 wt%Ag–0.5 wt%Zr alloy sheets under different aging treatments are investigated in this research. As one kind of precipitate, Ag nanoparticles with coherent orientation relationship with matrix precipitate. However, after the peak-age point, most of Ag nanoparticles grow into short rod shape with the interface translating to semi-coherent, which leads to the lower strength of over-aging sample. The yield strength is estimated by considering solid solute, grain boundary and precipitation strengthening mechanisms. The result shows that the Ag precipitates provide the main strengthening role. Then a constitutive equation representing the evolution of dislocation density with plastic strain is built by considering work-hardening behavior coming from shearable and non-shearable precipitates which is mainly the particles containing Zr. The flow stress contributed by shearable particle hardening is higher than that of non-shearable one. Due to the coarsening of grain boundary precipitates and low rate of damage accumulation of these non-shearable particles, the micro-cracks nucleate easily at grain boundary which leads to intergranular fracture.     

HSLA钢组织—性能对应关系的预测模型

通过HSLA钢中各组成相的体积分数、铁素体晶粒尺寸、析出相的尺寸和体积分数等参数,分别考虑了细晶强化、相变强化和析出强化等强韧化机制对强度和韧性等机械性能的影响,建立了HSLA钢组织一性能对应关系的预测模型。模型的预测精度通过两种HSLA钢实验室控轧控冷的组织一性能实验数据获得验证。     

Ni-5Pt 合金在冷轧过程中的结构演变及力学性能

镍铂合金溅射靶材在半导体工业中用于制备镍铂硅化合物,实现接触和互连的功能。Ni-5Pt合金在冷轧过程中的结构演变及力学性能进行了研究。结果表明,Ni-5Pt 合金在冷轧过程中其微观演变为从位错缠结到位错墙,再到含位错墙和小角晶界的拉长亚晶粒,最后形成了具有明锐晶界的拉长晶粒。晶粒细化主要是受位错的聚集、湮灭和重排所导致。Ni-5Pt 的显微硬度随着轧制变形量的增加而增加,与强度的变化一致。Ni-5Pt 强度的增加可主要归因于冷轧诱导的位错密度增加和晶粒细化效应。     

Microstructure development of steel during severe plastic deformation

The microstructure development during plastic deformation was reviewed for iron and steel which were subjected to cold rolling or mechanical milling (MM) treatment, and the change in strengthening mechanism caused by the severe plastic deformation (SPD) was also discussed in terms of ultra grain refinement behavior. The microstructure of cold-rolled iron is characterized by a typical dislocation cell structure, where the strength can be explained by dislocation strengthening. It was confirmed that the increase in dislocation density by cold working is limited at 10¹⁶m⁻², which means the maximum hardness obtained by dislocation strengthening is HV3.7 GPa. However, the iron is abnormally work-hardened over the maximum dislocation strengthening by SPD of MM because of the ultra grain refinement caused by the SPD. In addition, impurity of carbon plays an important role in such grain refinement: the carbon addition leads to the formation of nano-crystallized structure in iron.     

Effects of volume fraction of SiC particles on mechanical properties of SiC/A1 composites

SiC particle reinforced pure aluminum composites were fabricated using a powder metallurgy method. The effect of the volume fraction of the SiC particles on the mechanical properties of the composites was studied by both model simulation and experiment. The results indicate that the yield strength and tensile strength increase, but the elongation decreases with the increase in the volume fraction of the SiC particles. Both the modified shear lag model and the multi-scale model predicted yield strength and normalized elongation show similar evolution trends with the experimental data. However, the modified shear lag model underestimates the yield strength due to the ignorance of the strengthening mechanisms caused by grain refinement and dislocations interaction by the introduction of the SiC particles, and the multi-scale model overestimates the normalized elongation due to the ignorance of the pores distributed in the matrix.     

Effect of high-pressure torsion on hydrogen trapping in Fe–0.01 mass% C and type 310S austenitic stainless steel

The effect of high-pressure torsion (HPT) on hydrogen trapping in Fe–0.01 mass% C and type 310S stainless steel was studied by metallographic characterization and hydrogen measurement after hydrogen gas charging. Hardening of both materials after processing by HPT was achieved through grain refinement. Hydrogen trapping in the Fe–0.01 mass% C was significantly increased by HPT processing, because of high binding energies of hydrogen with lattice defects such as dislocations and grain boundaries in body-centred cubic iron. In the type 310S processed by HPT, the hydrogen content that trapped by dislocations was less than that dissolved within the lattice and the contribution of grain boundaries on hydrogen trapping can be neglected. In the stable austenitic stainless steel processed by HPT, decreasing the dislocation density can reduce the trapped hydrogen to the solution-treated level while the hardening by grain refinement is retained.     

The effect of dispersoids on the grain refinement mechanisms during deformation of aluminium alloys to ultra-high strains

The effect of fine dispersoids on the mechanisms and rate of grain refinement has been investigated during the severe deformation of a model aluminium alloy. A binary Al–0.2Sc alloy, containing coherent Al₃Sc dispersoids, of ∼20 nm in diameter and ∼100 nm spacing, has been deformed by equal channel angular extrusion to an effective strain of ten. The resulting deformation structures were quantitatively analysed using high-resolution electron backscattered diffraction orientation mapping, and the results have been compared to those obtained from a single-phase Al–0.13Mg alloy, deformed under identical conditions. The presence of fine, non-shearable, dispersoids has been found to homogenise slip, retard the formation of a cellular substructure and inhibit the formation of microshear bands during deformation. These factors combine to reduce the rate of high-angle grain boundary generation at low to medium strains and, hence, retard the formation of a submicron grain structure to higher strains during severe deformation.     

The peak- and overaged states of particle strengthened materials: computer simulations

The glide of dislocations in peak- and overaged particle strengthened f.c.c. materials has been simulated in computers. The resistance of dislocations to bending has been described on the basis of Brown's (Phil. Mag. 10, 1964, 441) concept of the dislocations' self-stress. Hence even strongly bent dislocations have been treated accurately. The computer experiments have been conducted for three different types of spherical particles: (i) incoherent, i.e. non-shearable ones, (ii) long-range ordered shearable ones, and (iii) ones which have a lattice mismatch. The finite dimensions of the particles have been fully allowed for. These simulations yield numerical data for the critical resolved shear stress as a function of the volume fraction of the particles and their average radius. These functions can be well represented by amended versions of current analytical formulae derived from standard models of particle strengthening.     

Strengthening mechanisms of a new 700 MPa hot rolled Ti-microalloyed steel produced by compact strip production

A new hot rolled titanium-microalloyed steel with yield strength of 700 MPa has been developed by CSP (compact strip production) process based on commercial weather resistant steel. EBSD results showed that the average size of its grains with high angle boundaries (>15°) was 3.3 μm. High-density dislocations and large number of nanometer particles were observed in the steel product by TEM. X-ray analysis on the electrolytically extracted phase from the steel indicated that fraction of MX phase was 0.0793 wt%, in which the particles smaller than 10 nm accounted for 33.7%. The contribution of precipitation hardening resulting from nanometer particles was calculated as approximate 158 MPa. The commercial weather resistant steel, reference steel for comparison with 450 MPa yield strength, was also prepared and investigated. It can be concluded that grain refinement is still a major strengthening mechanism in this high strength steel, but precipitation hardening of nanometer TiC precipitates is the dominant factor to increasing the yield strength in new developed steel compared with the reference steel.     

Dispersoid Formation and Stability in Alloys

Analysis of dispersoid formation and stability indicates that in-situ formation of an adequate volume fraction of fine particles can be thermodynamically incompatible with stability against high-temperature coarsening. The theory of particle coarsening is extended to include the effects of grain boundaries and dislocations. Theoretical analysis predicts that particle dragging by migrating grain boundaries combined with enhanced coarsening by grain boundary diffusion can give denuded regions near grain boundaries. These predictions of enhanced coarsening and particle dragging are in accord with experimental observations on α-Ti and Ti₃Al based alloys.     

Plastic flow characteristics of ultrafine grained low carbon steel during tensile deformation

In order to explain steady-state plastic deformation, i.e. the absence of strain hardening in ultrafine grained low carbon steel during tensile deformation, steel of different ferrite grain sizes was prepared by intense plastic straining followed by static annealing and then tensile-tested at room temperature. A comparison between the ferrite grain size of ultrafine grained steel and the dislocation cell size of coarse grained steel formed during tensile deformation revealed that uniform dislocation distribution with high density and cell formation were unlikely to occur in this ultrafine grained steel. This is ascribed to the fact that the ultrafine grain size is comparable to or smaller than the cell size at the corresponding stress level. In addition, from a consideration of dynamic recovery, it was found that the characteristic time for trapped lattice dislocations to spread into the grain boundaries was so fast that the accumulation of lattice dislocation causing strain hardening could not occur under this ultrafine grain size condition. Therefore, the extremely low strain hardening rate of ultrafine grained low carbon steel during tensile deformation is attributed to the combined effects of the two main factors described above.     

Grain refinement of AZ31 by (SiC)P: Theoretical calculation and experiment

Grain refinement of gravity die-cast Mg-alloys can be achieved via two methods: in situ refinement by primary precipitated metallic or intermetallic phases, and inoculation of the melt via ceramic particles that remain stable in the melt due to their high thermodynamic stability. In order to clarify grain refinement mechanisms and optimize possible potent refiners in Mg-alloys, a simulation method for heterogeneous nucleation based on a free growth model has been developed. It allows the prediction of the grain size as a function of the particle size distribution, the volumetric content of ceramic inoculants, the cooling rate and the alloy constitution. The model assumptions were examined experimentally by a study of the grain refinement of (SiC)_P in AZ31. Additions of (SiC)_P result in significant grain refinement, if appropriate parameters for ceramic particles are chosen. The model makes quantitatively correct predictions for the grain size and its variation with cooling rate.     

Mechanisms for initial grain refinement in OFHC copper during equal channel angular pressing

The stages of microstructural evolution during the first pass of equal channel angular pressing in polycrystalline oxygen-free, high conductivity (OFHC) copper are identified using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Microstructural features are generated in the following order: randomly distributed dislocations, dislocation cell structures, elongated laminar substructures (ELSs), and if a transition in activated slip systems takes place, secondary ELSs and/or microbands. TEM analysis suggests that primary and secondary ELSs form along certain {1 1 1} slip planes via a self-organized gliding of dislocations. Prior to reaching the main shear plane (MSP), many ELS boundaries are nearly perpendicular to the MSP. After crossing it, they are most often nearly parallel to it (±15°). The initial grain orientation determines if such a transition in slip pattern occurs. Mechanisms for initial grain refinement are proposed and the final dimension of refined grains is found to be directly associated with some initial substructure characteristics prior to reaching the MSP.     

Effect of microstructural features on the corrosion behavior of severely deformed Al–Mg–Si alloy

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of severe plastic deformation processing and the changes in microstructure resulting therefrom on the corrosion resistance of an Al–Mg–Si alloy. The alloy was processed using incremental equal channel angular pressing, which caused a reduction in grain size from 15 to 0.9 µm. The grain refinement was accompanied by an increase in the number of grain boundaries and dislocations, and by changes in grain orientation. However, there was no change in the size and number of intermetallic particles, which presumably resulted in a constant number of galvanic couplings. Electrochemical experiments revealed only slight differences between the samples before and after processing. Higher potential transients/oscillations upon immersion and increased corrosion currents in the vicinity of corrosion potential point to slightly higher reactivity of the most refined material. This indicates that intermetallic particles are the most crucial microstructural elements in terms of corrosion resistance. Their impact exceeds that of grain boundaries, in particular, at the stage of corrosion initiation. The development of corrosion attack is controlled more by the microstructure of the matrix as the grain refinement resulted in a less pronounced corrosion attack in comparison with the coarse-grained sample.     

The influence of boron-doping on the effectiveness of grain boundary hardening in Ni3Al

The influence of boron-doping on the effectiveness of grain boundary hardening in Ni₃Al has been investigated by measuring microhardness profiles across grain boundaries of binary and boron-doped Ni₃Al bicrystals. It was found that although boron gives rise to significant solution strengthening in Ni₃Al, the effectiveness of grain boundary hardening in Ni₃Al is lessened by the addition of boron. Furthermore, the contribution of grain boundary hardening to the overall strength decreases as the segregation extent of boron at the grain boundary increases. A theoretical model of grain boundary hardening considering the various effects of boron-doping has been developed. Application of the model can deconvolute the individual effects of boron-doping on solution hardening, distribution of microcavities along grain boundaries and the interaction of dislocations on different slip systems. Analyzing the experimental results with the model suggests that boron-doping can (i) improve the transfer efficiency of shear stress across a grain boundary by reducing the amount of microcavities along the grain boundary; (ii) suppress the hardening effect from the interaction of dislocations moving on different slip systems and (iii) cause a significant solution hardening effect.     

Mechanical properties and microstructures of Al-Cu Thin films with various heat treatments

The relationship between microstructure and mechanical properties has been investigated in Al-Cu thin films. The Cu content in Al-Cu samples used in this study ranges from 0 to 2 wt.% and substrate curvature measurement was used to measure film stress. In thin films, the constraints on the film by the substrate influence the microstructure and mechanical properties. Al-Cu thin films cooled from high temperatures have a large density of dislocations due to the plastic deformation caused by the thermal mismatch between the film and substrate. The high density of dislocations in the thin film enables precipitates to form inside the grain even during a very rapid quenching. The presence of a large density of dislocations and precipitates will in turn cause precipitation hardening of the Al-Cu films. The precipitation hardening is dominant at lower temperatures, and solid solution hardening is observed at higher temperatures in the tensile regime. Pure Al films showed the same values of tensile and compressive yield stresses at a given temperature during stress-temperature cycling.     

超声滚压剧烈塑性变形诱导金属材料结构演变的研究进展

首先,对表面完整性的基本概念和内涵进行了概述,同时简要介绍了超声实现滚压技术的基本原理及其优点。随后,对比分析了不同剧烈塑性变形方法的特点和局限性,引出了实现表面完整性的相关剧烈塑性变形协调机制。在此基础上,随后结合其他剧烈塑性变形强化工艺,重点总结了超声滚压剧烈塑性变形对金属材料表面微观结构演变的影响。具体探讨了剧烈塑性变形诱导晶粒细化机制、晶粒生长机制以及合金元素偏聚机制等,主要分别论述了不同层错能的面心立方、体心立方以及密排六方等不同金属晶体结构的晶粒细化机制(以位错滑移、变形孪晶为主导)、晶粒长大机制(以晶界迁移、晶粒旋转为主要)与合金元素偏聚机制(晶界偏聚、位错核心偏聚)等。最后,对以上内容进行了综合总结,并针对超声滚压技术研究中存在的问题给出进一步研究和发展的建议,从而为实现超声滚压金属材料的表面完整性的主动精准控制及提高其服役寿命与可靠性提供一定的参考。