Thermo-plasticity of high-strength and high-ductility 7050 aluminum ingot

Thermo-plasticity of homogenized 7050 aluminum ingot was investigated by instantaneous tensile tests conducted at different temperatures. The results show that, with the increase of testing temperatures, the strength decreases, and the plasticity increases firstly and then decreases in homogenized 7050 ingot. When the studied alloy is deformed between 380 °C and 420 °C, the deformation resistance is lower and plasticity is better. And the actual heating temperature for ingot before hot extrusion should be controlled between 360 °C and 400 °C. At low tensile temperatures, the deformation structure is mainly composed of dislocation substructure. With the increase of testing temperatures, transgranular fracture transforms into intergranular fracture progressively during deformation. At high tensile temperatures, the grain boundaries are weakened, deformation is concentrated at the grain boundaries and the re-orientation of equilibrium phases at grain boundaries appears.     

Examination of dynamic recrystallization during compression of AZ31 magnesium

This study aimed to investigate dynamic recrystallization (DRX) behavior during compression of magnesium alloy AZ31. Cylinder samples were cut from the extruded rod and hot rolled sheet AZ31 for compression test. The samples were compressed using a Gleeble 1500D at a temperature of 300℃ and a strain rate of 0.01 s-1. Grain orientations and misorientation angles across grain boundaries for the tested samples were obtained by using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) technique. The results showed that strong basal texture was observed after 50% compression (ε = 0.69) on both the extruded and hot rolled samples, which have different initial textures. It was observed that with increased strain, DRX grains gradually rotated to basal orientation, and grain boundaries with misorientation angle of near 30° was formed in the samples. At the strain of 0.69, a high fraction of high-angle (> 60°) bounda-ries was present in the extruded sample, whereas almost no high angle boundaries were observed in the hot rolled sheet sample.     

Prediction of grain size for large-sized aluminium alloy 7050 forging during hot forming

A numerical approach for process optimization and microstructure evolution of lager-sized forging of aluminium alloy 7050 was proposed, which combined a commercial FEM code Deform 3D with empirical models. To obtain the parameters of empirical constitutive equation and dynamic recrystallization models for aluminium alloy 7050, the isothermal compression tests of 7050 samples were performed on Gleeble-1500 thermo-simulation machine in the temperature range of 250-450 ℃ and strain rate of 0.01-10 s-1, and the metallograph analysis of the samples were carried out on a Leica DMIRM image analyzer. The simulation results show that the dynamic recrystallization in the central area of the billet occurs more easily than that on the edge. Repetitious upsetting and stretching processes make the billet deform adequately. Among several forging processes e.g. upsetting, stretching, rounding and flatting, the stretching process is the most effective way to increase the effective strain and refine the microstructure of the billet. As the forging steps increase, the effective strain rises significantly and the average grain size reduces sharply. Recrystallized volume fractions in most parts of the final forging piece reach 100% and the average grain size reduces to 10 μm from initial value of 90 μm.     

Internal state variable models for microstructure in high temperature deformation of titanium alloys

There exists an interaction between microstructural evolution and deformation behavior in high temperature deformation of titanium alloys. And the microstructure of titanium alloys is very sensitive to the process parameters of plastic deformation process. In this paper, on the basis of plastic deformation mechanism of metals and alloys, a microstructural model including dislocation density rate equation and grain growth rate equation is established with the dislocation density rate being an internal state variable. Applying the model to the high temperature deformation process of Ti60 titanium alloy, the average relative errors of grain sizes between the experiments and the predictions are 9.47% for sampled data, and 13.01% for non-sampled data. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50475144), the NPU Foundation for Research (Grant No. NPU-FFR-006), and the National Basic Research Program of China (“973”) (Grant No. G20000672)     

Dynamic Recrystallization Prediction During Double Cup Extrusion by Cellular Automata Coupled with Finite Analysis Method

In order to investigate the microstructure evolution during a hot extrusion process, a cellular automata （CA） coupled with finite element method （FEM） was developed to numerically simulate the dynamic recrystallization （DRX）. Firstly, the cellular automata model was modified by introducing thermomeehanical parameters under the isothermal hot compression conditions. Then, the modified CA was verified by the experimental average grain size which was obtained by the hot compression of cylindrical specimens. After that, the modified CA was used to predict the microstructure evolution during a double cup extrusion by combining with the finite element method. The results showed that the strain rate and the temperature are sensitive to the average grain size while the strain can affect the DRX fraction greatly. In addition, the CA model can predict the final microstrueture successfully and is able to simulate the DRX phenomenon for a wide range of deformation conditions. It also revealed that the results obtained by CA model are consistent with the ones acquired by finite element analysis.     

Synthesis and characterization of Cu-Cr-O nanocomposites

Cu-Cr-O nanocomposites that can be used as additives for the catalytic combustion of AP（ammonium perchlorate）-based solid-state propellants were synthesized via a citric acid（CA） complexing approach. Techniques of TG-DTA, XRD as well as TEM were employed to characterize the thermal decomposition procedure, crystal phase, micro-structural morphologies and grain size of the as-synthesized materials respectively. The results show that well-crystallized Cu-Cr-O nanocomposites can be produced after the CA-Cu-Cr precursors are calcined at 500℃ for 3 h. Phase composition of the as-obtained Cu-Cr-O nanocomposites depends on the molar ratio of Cu to Cr in the starting reactants. Addition of the as-synthesized Cu-Cr-O nanocomposites as catalysts enhances the burning rate as well as lowers the pressure exponent of the AP-based solid-state propellants considerably. Noticeably, catalyst with a Cu/Cr molar ratio of 0.7 exhibits promising catalytic activity with high burning rate and low pressure exponent at all pressures, due to the effective phase interaction between the spinel CuCr2O4 and delafossite CuCrO2 contained in the as-synthesized Cu-Cr-O nanocomposites.     

Grain size model for continuous dynamic recrystallization of titanium alloy in hot deformation

The continuous dynamic recrystallization(CDRX) through a progressive transformation of a subgrain structure into a grain structure with the increasing of misorientation occurred in the hot deformation of titanium alloy. A grain size model for CDRX of titanium alloy in hot deformation considering work hardening effect, dynamic softening effect and non-homogeneous deformation effect was established. The β grain size was described as functions of the deformation temperature, strain rate and strain by using the dislocation density as an internal state variable. The inside dislocation storage and dislocation annihilation,which respectively resulted from work hardening effect and dynamic softening effect, were described by the Kocks-Mecking and Picu-Majorell theories correspondingly. The dislocation density rate associated with non-homogeneous deformation effect was done in terms of the Ashby theory. The material constants in the present model were determined via genetic algorithm(GA)-based objective optimization technique. Applying the grain size model to the hot deformation of Ti-5Al-2Sn-2Zr-4Mo-4Cr, the maximum difference between the calculated and experimental β grain size was 8.2%. Moreover, the effect of deformation temperature and strain rate on the β grain size in the hot deformation of Ti-5Al-2Sn-2Zr-4Mo-4Cr was calculated, indicating that the β grain size increased with the increasing of deformation temperature and the decreasing of strain rate.     

Dynamic recrystallization behaviour of Nb-Ti microalloyed steels

The dynamic recrystallization （DRX） behavior of Nb-Ti microalloyed steels was investigated by isothermal single compression tests in the temperature range of 900-1 150 ℃ at constant strain rates of 0.1-5 s^-1. DRX was retarded effectively at low temperature due to the onset of dynamic precipitation of Nb and Ti carbonitrides, resulting in higher values of the peak strain. An expression was developed for the activation energy of deformation as a function of the contents of Nb and Ti in solution as well as other alloying elements. A new value of corrective factor was determined and applied to quantify the retardation produced by increase in the amount of Nb and Ti dissolved at the reheating temperature. The ratio of critical strain to peak strain decreases with increasing equivalent Nb content. In addition, the effects of Ti content and deformation conditions on DRX kinetics and steady state grain size were determined. Finally, the kinetics of dynamic precipitation was determined and effect of dynamic precipitation on the onset of DRX was clarified based on the comparison between precipitate pinning force and recrystallization driving force.     

Influence of electromagnetic stirring on microstructure of AZ91-0.8%Ce magnesium alloy

1 INTRODUCTION In recent years, magnesium alloys have been used in the automobile industry to save fuel and lower emission levels, and about 60 different types of components of magnesium alloys have been applied in automobile parts, in which AZ91magnesium alloy (Mg-Al system) approximately accounts for 90%[1?4]. It is well known that grain size has very important effect on material properties. According to Hall-Petch equation, when grain size decreases, the mechanical properties such as…     

Influence of nano-scaled dispersed second phase on substructure of deformed dispersion strengthened copper alloy

The deformation behavior of dispersion strengthened copper alloy Cu-Al₂O₃ was studied by TEM. The results show that nano-scaled dispersed second phase not only increases dislocation density in matrix, but also has an important influence on the dislocation substructure. The presence of fine dispersed Al₂O₃ particles results in a uniform and random dislocation distribution in matrix copper and causes the difficulty in formation of dislocation cell structure and the decrease in the amount of cell structure during deformation. Deformation gives rise to much more dislocations and dislocation cells form more difficultly and the decrease in the cell size with the increase of dispersion degree. Foundation item: Project (2002AA302505) supported by the National Advanced Materials Committee of China     

Deformation behavior and microstructural evolution of Al-Zn-Cu-Mg-Sc-Zr alloy during high temperature compression

The deformation behavior of a new Al-Zn-Cu-Mg-Sc-Zr alloy was investigated with compression tests in temperature range of 380–470 °C and strain rate range of 0.001–10 s⁻¹ using Gleeble 1500 system, and the associated microstructural evolutions were studied by metallographic microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results show that true stress—strain curves exhibit a peak stress, followed by a dynamic flow softening at low strains (ɛ<0.05). The stress decreases with increasing deformation temperature and decreasing strain rate, which can be represented by a Zener-Hollomon exponential equation with the activation energy for deformation of 157.9 kJ/mol. The substructure in the deformed specimens consists of few fine precipitates with equaixed polygonized subgrains in the elongated grains and developed serrations at the grain boundaries. The dynamic flow softening is attributed mainly to dynamic recovery and dynamic recrystallization. Foundation item: Project(2006AA03Z523) supported by the National High-Tech Research and Development Program of China     

Effect of homogenization treatment on microstrucmre and properties of Al-Mg-Mn-Sc-Zr alloy

The effect of homogenization on the hardness, tensile properties, electrical conductivity and microstructure of as-cast Al-6Mg-0.4Mn-0.25Sc-0.12Zr alloy was studied. The results show that during homogenization as-cast studied alloy has obviously hardening effect that is similar to aging hardening behavior in traditional Al alloys. The precipitates are mainly Al3（Sc,Zr） and Al6Mn When homogenization temperature increases the hardness peak value is declined and the time corresponding to hardness peak value is shortened. The electrical conductivity of the alloy monotonously increases with increasing homogenization temperature and time. The decomposition of the supersaturated solid solution containing Sc and Zr which is formed during direct chilling casting and the precipitation of Al3（Sc, Zr） cause hardness increasing. The depletion of the matrix solid solubility decreases the ability of electron scattering in the alloy, resulting in the electrical conductivity increased. Tensile property result at hot rolling state shows that the optimal homogenization treatment processing is holding at 300-350℃ for 6-8 h.     

Effects of Ag on microstructure and mechanical properties of 2519 aluminum alloy

The effects of Ag on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 2519 aluminum alloy were investigated by means of tensile test, micro-hardness test, transmission electron microscope and scanning electron microscope. The results show that the addition of 0.3 % （mass fraction） Ag accelerates 2519 aluminum alloy＇s age-hardening, increases its peak hardness and reduces 4 h of peak aged time at 180 ℃. The addition of 0. 3% （mass fraction） Ag increses the tensile strength at room temperature and elevated temperature. This increment at room temperature and 200 ℃ is 24 MPa and 78 MPa, respectively. In contrast, the elongation of 2519 aluminum alloy is decreased with Ag addition. The increase of tensile strength of 2519 aluminum alloy with Ag addition is attributed to the high volume fraction of Ω phase.     

Plastic deformation of nanocrystalline nickel

A high-resolution electron microscopy study has uncovered the plastic behavior of accommodating large strains in nanocrystalline (NC) Ni subject to cold rolling at liquid nitrogen temperature. The activation of grain-boundary-mediated-plasticity is evidenced in NC-Ni, including twinning and formation of stacking fault via partial dislocation slips from the grain boundary. The formation and storage of 60° full dislocations are observed inside NC-grains. The grain/twin boundaries act as the barriers of dislocation slips, leading to dislocation pile-up, severe lattice distortion, and formation of sub-grain boundary. The vicinity of grain/twin boundary is where defects preferentially accumulate and likely the favorable place for onset of plastic deformation. The present results indicate the heterogeneous and multiple natures of accommodating plastic strains in NC-grains. Supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 50571000, 10721202) and the National Basic Research Program of China (“973” Program) (Grant No. 2004CB619305)     

Effect of CaO doping on corrosion resistance of Cu/（NiFe2O4-10NiO） cermet inert anode for aluminum electrolysis

The CaO-doped Cu/（NiFe2O4-10NiO） cermet inert anodes were prepared by the cold isostatie pressing-sintering process, and their corrosion resistance to Na3AlF6-K3AlF6-Al203 melt was studied. The results show that the relative density of 5Cu/（NiFe2O4-10NiO） cermet sintered at 1 200 ℃ increases from 82.83% to 97.63% when 2% CaO （mass fraction） is added. During the electrolysis, the relative density of cermet inert anode descends owing to the chemical dissolution of additive CaO at ceramic grain boundary, which accelerates the penetration of electrolyte. Thus, the corrosion resistance to melts of Cu/（NiFe2O4-10NiO） cermet inert anode is reduced. To improve the corrosion resistance of the cermet inert anode, the content of CaO doped should be decreased and the technology of cleaning the ceramic grain boundary should be applied.     

Anisotropic plastic deformation behavior of as-extruded ZK60 magnesium alloy at room temperature

The anisotropic plastic deformation behavior of as-extruded ZK60 magnesium alloy at room tempera-ture (RT) was investigated by compressive and tensile testing in different directions, i.e. the loading axis oriented at 0°, 45° and 90° to the extrusion direction. The relationship between texture and plastic deformation behavior were examined. The results show that the extruded ZK60 alloy exhibits a strong ring fiber texture. The mechanical properties are strongly orientation dependent. In tension testing, the 0° specimen exhibited higher yield strength and lower elongation. In compression testing, however, ZK60 alloy exhibited almost the same yield strength in three directions. The anisotropic plastic defor-mation behavior is due to strong fiber texture and the lower symmetry of the hexagonal close packed (hcp) structure of ZK60 alloy. The correlation between texture and mechanical behaviour offers the possibility to improve the mechanical properties of magnesium alloy by optimization of the material production process.     

Deformation behavior of Cu-12wt%Al alloy wires with continuous columnar crystals in dieless drawing process

The microstructure and mechanical properties of Cu-12wt%Al alloy wires which are composed of continuous columnar crystals after dieless drawing forming at drawing speed of 1.0―1.4 mm/s and deformation temperature of 600―900℃ were analyzed, and deformation behavior of the alloy during dieless drawing forming was experimentally investigated. The results showed that in the abovemen-tioned conditions, recrystallization phenomenon was not found during dieless drawing forming. When a drawing speed of 1.0 mm/s was...     

High temperature scaling of Ni-15Cu-5Al alloy in 1×105 Pa pure oxygen

The oxidation of the ternary alloy Ni-15Cu-5Al in 1×10⁵ Pa pure oxygen at 700 °C and 800 °C was studied. The results show that the behavior of the Ni-rich alloy is similar to that of the binary Ni-Al alloy with the same Al content in the form of an external NiO layer coupled to the internal oxidation of aluminium. The presence of 15% (mole fraction) Cu cannot modify substantially the values of relevant parameters affecting the transition from the internal to the external oxidation of aluminium. The presence of 5% Al reduces the oxidation rate of the corresponding Ni-Cu alloy during the whole oxidation stages, though 5% Al is still insufficient to form protective external alumina scales. Foundation item: Project (50071058; 50271079) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China     

Effect of heat treatments on tensile properties and microstructure of 2195 alloy

Effect of various aging treatments on the tensile properties and microstructure of 2195 alloy has been investigated. The experimental results show that promising combination of strength and ductility is achievable under T₈ temper. The lower aging temperature reduces T₁ precipitation on the subgrain or grain boundaries and favors uniform dispersion of T₁ phases in the matrix, resulting in better strength and ductility. Prior deformation before aging has improved tensile strength with a slight decrease in ductility. Pre-aging after prior deformation had little effect on the age-hardening behavior of 2195 alloy. Project supported by the Key Program of the 9th Five-year Plan of China Synopsis of the first author Zheng Ziqiao, professor, born in 1944, major research fields: physical metallurgy of aluminum alloys; functionally gradient materials; self-propagation high temperature synthesis.     

Design and micro mechanical properties of nano-SiO2 strengthened composite coatings towards remanufacturing

Nano-SiO₂ particles strengthened Ni-based composite coating was designed and prepared on steel substrate. The structures and nanoparticle content of the nano-SiO₂/Ni composite coating were determined by SEM, EDS and TEM; and the micro mechanical properties were tested by nano-indentation technique. The results show that 56% of particles in the solution are dispersed in size of less than 100 nm, the content of nanoparticles co-deposited in the coating doubles and structure of the coating is more compact and uniform than that of Ni coating. Nano-SiO₂/Ni coating exhibits excellent micro mechanical properties, and the nanohardness and elastic modulus are 7.81 GPa and 198 GPa, respectively, which are attributed to finer crystal strengthening, dispersion strengthening and high-density dislocation strengthening of nano-SiO₂ particles to the composite coatings. Foundation item: Project (50235030) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China; Project (G1999065009) supported by the National Basic Research Program of China