Influence of heat treatment and aging on microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg‐1.8Zn‐0.7Si‐0.4Ca alloy

In order to optimize the aging treatment of Mg‐1.8Zn‐0.7Si‐0.4Ca alloy, different times and temperatures of solid solution and age hardening were applied to the alloy specimens. Microstructures and mechanical properties of the specimens were investigated using the optical microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy equipped with an energy dispersive x‐ray spectrometer, x‐ray diffraction, hardness, and shear punch tests. The lowest hardness and strength were achieved by solution treating of the alloy at 500 °C for 8 h, presenting the optimal condition for solution treatment of the alloy. The microstructural examinations revealed three different precipitates consisting of CaMgSi, Ca₂Mg₆Zn₃, and Mg₂Si in the solid solution specimens. It was found that the highest peak hardness and strength are obtained by aging the alloy at 150 °C for 16 h. This condition was confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) tests performed on the solid solution and aged specimens.     

The effect of retrogression and re‐aging treatment on mechanical and tribological features of AA7075 aluminium alloy

In this study, T651‐applied AA7075 alloy was subjected to retrogression and re‐aging (RRA) process. Various retrogression temperatures (180 °C, 280 °C, 370 °C) and times (15 min, 30 min, 90 min) were used to determine the effects of temperature and time on the mechanical and tribological properties of the AA7075 alloy. All re‐aging stages were performed at 120 °C for 24 hours. Retrogression and re‐aging‐applied specimens were characterized by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, x‐ray diffraction, Charpy V‐notch impact and tensile tests. Brinell hardness measurements and ball‐on‐disc type tribometer measurements by using AISI 316 ball as a counterpart have also been conducted. Grain boundary precipitates in the T651‐applied specimen was transformed from continuous to the discontinuous structure after retrogression and re‐aging process. Continuous MgZn₂ precipitates at grain boundaries were disintegrated and re‐precipitated along the grain boundaries. The sizes of intragranular precipitates have become coarsened by comparison with the T651 condition. Hardness, tensile strength and wear resistance were decreased whereas impact toughness values were increased with increasing retrogression temperature and time. The best wear resistance was obtained in the sample treated at 180 °C for 15 minutes.     

Microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of CoCrFeNiMnTix high-entropy alloys

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of titanium addition on the microstructure and properties of an equitaomic CoCrFeNiMn high-entropy alloy. Homogenized microstructures of CoCrFeNiMnTi_x (x = 0.1 and 0.3) alloys consist of face-centered cubic phase; however, addition of more titanium led to formation of a (chromium, titanium)-rich σ phase in CoCrFeNiMnTi_0.4 alloy. The average electron hole number calculations indicate the higher possibility of σ phase formation by adding more titanium. Furthermore, addition of an atom like titanium with a larger atomic radius in comparison with other elements can affect stability of face-centered cubic structure. Chromium and manganese has a destabilizing influence on the single face-centered cubic phase and manganese may reject chromium to facilitate the formation of a (chromium, titanium)-rich phase in alloys containing more than 5.5 at.% titanium (x>0.3). The mechanical properties revealed an improvement in strength without losing the ductility drastically by adding titanium up to 5.5 at.% (x = 0.3). Nevertheless, the strength remarkably increased and ductility significantly decreased in CoCrFeNiMnTi_0.4 alloy due to formation of brittle σ phase in the microstructure.     

A study of microstructure and performance of cast Fe–8Cr–2B alloy

The effects of quenching temperature on microstructure and hardness of cast Fe–8Cr–2B alloy containing 0.3 wt% C, 2.0 wt% B, 8.0 wt% Cr, 0.6 wt% Si, and 0.8 wt% Mn were investigated by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Rockwell hardness and Vickers microhardness testers. The experimental results indicate that the as‐cast microstructure of cast Fe–8Cr–2B alloy consists of M₂B (M = Fe, Cr), M₇(C, B)₃, α‐Fe, and γ‐Fe. The dendritic matrix composed of lath martensite mixed with a small amount of retained austenite, and the netlike boride M₂B distribute in the grain boundary. After quenching between 950 °C and 1100 °C, the netlike eutectic boride are broken up and a new phase‐M₂₃(C, B)₆ which is distributed in the shape of sphere or short rod‐like are precipitated from the matrix. Both the macrohardness and microhardness of specimens increase with the increasing quenching temperature. At about 1050 °C, the hardness reaches the maximum value. However, when the temperature exceeds 1050 °C, the hardness will decrease slightly. With the increase of tempering temperature, the hardness of cast Fe–8Cr–2B alloy quenching from 1050 °C decreases gradually and its impact toughness increases slightly. Crusher hammer made of cast Fe–8Cr–2B alloy quenching from 1050 °C and tempering from 300 °C has good application effect, and its service life improves by 150–180% than that of high manganese steel hammer.     

On a numerical strategy to simulate nanotube‐reinforced composite materials

The application of carbon nanotubes as the reinforcing phase in composite materials is considered. A literature review in regards to the simulation approaches that have been done in order to study the behavior of nanotube‐reinforced composites from several aspects is provided. After that, a new approach for investigating the mechanical properties of the composites reinforced with randomly oriented fibers using the finite element method is proposed. The main idea is to create regular shaped islands around the distributed fibers and to connect these islands to each other and to the representative volume element. Two application examples show the flexibility and the reliability of the proposed method. It has been shown that this approach can handle both aligned and arbitrary distributions of the nanotubes.