Static coarsening of titanium alloys in single field by cellular automaton model considering solute drag and anisotropic mobility of grain boundaries

Static coarsening is an important physical phenomenon that influences microstructural evolution and mechanical properties. How to simulate this process effectively has become an important topic which needs to be dealt with. In this paper, a new cellular automaton (CA) model, which considers the effect of solute drag and anisotropic mobility of grain boundaries, was developed to simulate static grain coarsening of titanium alloys in the beta-phase field. To describe the effect of the drag caused by different solute atoms on coarsening, their diffusion velocities in beta titanium were estimated relative to that of titanium atoms (Ti). A formula was proposed to quantitatively describe the relationship of the diffusion velocity of Ti to that of solute atoms; factors influencing the diffusion velocity such as solute atom radius, mass, and lattice type were considered. The anisotropic mobility of grain boundaries was represented by the parameter c0, which was set to 1 for a fully anisotropic effect. These equations were then implemented into the CA scheme to model the static coarsening of titanium alloys Ti-6Al-4V, Ti17 (Ti-5Al-4Mo-4Cr-2Sn-2Zr, wt%), TG6 (Ti-5.8Al-4.0Sn-4.0Zr-0.7Nb-1.5Ta-0.4Si-0.06C, wt%) and TA15 (Ti-6Al-2Zr-1Mo-1V, wt%) in the beta field. The predicted results, including coarsening kinetics and microstructural evolution, were in good agreement with experimental results. Finally, the effects of time, temperature, and chemical composition on grain coarsening and the limitations of the model were discussed.     

Effects of initial grain size and strain on grain boundary engineering of high-nitrogen CrMn austenitic stainless steel

18Mn18Cr0.5N steel with an initial grain size of 28–177 μm was processed by 2.5%–20% cold rolling and annealing at 1000℃ for 24 h, and the grain boundary character distribution was examined via electron backscatter diffraction. Low strain (2.5%) favored the formation of low-Σ boundaries. At this strain, the fraction of low-Σ boundaries was insensitive to the initial grain size. However, specimens with fine initial grains showed decreasing grain size after grain boundary engineering processing. The fraction of low-Σ boundaries and the (Σ9 + Σ27)/Σ3 value decreased with increasing strain; furthermore, the specimens with fine initial grain size were sensitive to the strain. Finally, the effects of the initial grain size and strain on the grain boundary engineering were discussed in detail.     

Characterization of microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of the spray-deposited AZ31 magnesium alloy

The cylindrical billets of a Mg-3Al-1Zn (AZ31) alloy were synthesized by spray deposition processing. The microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of the alloy were investigated. The results reveal that the microstructure of the AZ31 alloy is refined significantly by spray deposition processing. A homogeneous and equiaxial-grain structure with an average grain size of 17 μm is obtained. Further grain refinement with an average grain size of 5 μm is attributed to dynamic recrystallization during extrusion processing. The great increase in the density of grain boundary nucleation sites by the finer initial grain sizes makes the dislocation pile-ups near subgrain boundaries being absorbed easily by the boundaries, resulting in an accelerated recrystallization process. The average tensile ultimate and yield strengths of the extruded rods are 321 MPa and 237 MPa, respectively, with an elongation of 15.2% at room temperature, which are remarkably higher than those of the conventional as-cast AZ31 alloy.     

6061铝合金半固态坯料ECAP?RAP制备工艺的优化

6061 aluminum alloy semisolid billet was prepared by the equal-channel angular processing (ECAP)?recrystallization and partial (RAP) process (a combination of equal-channel angular processing and recrystallization and partial remelting). The effects of different process parameters on the alloy microstructure were studied and the quantitative relationship between the process parameters and microstructure was established by response surface methodology (RSM) to optimize the process parameters. According to the orthogonal test, the holding temperature and holding time of the four ECAP?RAP process parameters were found to have the greatest impact on the microstructural characteristics, including average grain size and average shape factor. Through RSM, it was also found that when the average grain size or the average shape factor is optimized separately, another will be degraded. When the two indexes were simultaneously considered, the optimal process parameters were found to be a holding temperature of 623°C and holding time of 13 min, and the corresponding average grain size and average shape factor were 35.97 μm and 0.8535, respectively. Moreover, comparing the experimental and predicted values, the reliability of the established response surface model was verified.     

Optimization of ECAP-RAP process for preparing semisolid billet of 6061 aluminum alloy

6061 aluminum alloy semisolid billet was prepared by the equal-channel angular processing(ECAP)-recrystallization and partial(RAP) process(a combination of equal-channel angular processing and recrystallization and partial remelting). The effects of different process parameters on the alloy microstructure were studied and the quantitative relationship between the process parameters and microstructure was established by response surface methodology(RSM) to optimize the process parameters. According to the orthogonal test, the holding temperature and holding time of the four ECAP-RAP process parameters were found to have the greatest impact on the microstructural characteristics, including average grain size and average shape factor. Through RSM, it was also found that when the average grain size or the average shape factor is optimized separately, another will be degraded. When the two indexes were simultaneously considered, the optimal process parameters were found to be a holding temperature of 623°C and holding time of 13 min, and the corresponding average grain size and average shape factor were 35.97 μm and 0.8535, respectively. Moreover, comparing the experimental and predicted values, the reliability of the established response surface model was verified.     

A fractal-based model for the microstructure evolution of silicon bronze wires fabricated by dieless drawing

The back-propagation neural (BPN) network was proposed to model the relationship between the parameters of the dieless drawing process and the microstructures of the QSi3-1 silicon bronze alloy. Combined with image processing techniques, grain sizes and grain-boundary morphologies were respectively determined by the quantitative metallographic method and the fractal theory. The outcomes obtained show that the deformed microstructures exhibit typical fractal features, and the boundaries can be characterized quantitatively by fractal dimensions. With the temperature of 600–800℃ and the drawing speed of 0.67–1.00 mm·s-1, either a lower temperature or a higher speed will cause a smaller grain size together with an elevated fractal dimension. The developed model can be capable for forecasting the microstructure evolution with a minimum error. The average relative errors between the predicted results and the experimental values of grain size and fractal dimension are 3.9% and 0.9%, respectively.     

Microstructural analyses of aluminum–magnesium–silicon alloys welded by pulsed Nd: YAG laser welding

Revealing grains and very fine dendrites in a solidified weld metal of aluminum–magnesium–silicon alloys is difficult and thus,there is no evidence to validate the micro-and meso-scale physical models for hot cracks. In this research, the effect of preheating on the microstructure and hot crack creation in the pulsed laser welding of AA 6061 was investigated by an optical microscope and field emission electron microscopy. Etching was carried out in the gas phase using fresh Keller's reagent for 600 s. The results showed that the grain size of the weld metal was proportional to the grain size of the base metal and was independent of the preheating temperature. Hot cracks passed the grain boundaries of the weld and the base metal. Lower solidification rates in the preheated samples led to coarser arm spacing; therefore, a lower cooling rate. Despite the results predicted by the micro and meso-scale models, lower cooling rates resulted in increased hot cracks. The cracks could grow in the weld metal after solidification; therefore, hot cracks were larger than predicted by the hot crack prediction models.     

Austenite grain growth of medium-carbon alloy steel with aluminum additions during heating process

In this study, the effects of heating temperature(850–1100°C) and holding time(30–150 min) on the grain growth behavior of austenite in medium-carbon alloy steel were investigated by conducting experiments. The abnormal grain growth and mixed grain structure phenomenon are explained using an equilibrium precipitation phase diagram calculated by Thermo-Calc software package. The Al N particles were observed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM), and the amount of AlN precipitations was detected by electron probe microanalysis(EPMA). Based on the research results, it was found that the average grain size of austenite in the test steel increased continuously with the increase of temperature and holding time. Furthermore, the abnormal growth of austenite occurred in the test steel at 950°C, and the heating temperature affected the austenite grain size more significantly. In addition, the decline in the amount of AlN second-phase particle in the test steel, which weakened the "pinning" effect on austenite grain boundaries, resulted in abnormal growth and the development of mixed austenite grain structures. The prediction model for describing the austenite grain growth of medium-carbon alloy steel during heating was established by regression analysis of the experimental data, and the model was verified to be highly accurate.     

Microstructural analyses of aluminum–magnesium–silicon alloys welded by pulsed Nd: YAG laser welding

Revealing grains and very fine dendrites in a solidified weld metal of aluminum–magnesium–silicon alloys is difficult and thus,there is no evidence to validate the micro-and meso-scale physical models for hot cracks. In this research, the effect of preheating on the microstructure and hot crack creation in the pulsed laser welding of AA 6061 was investigated by an optical microscope and field emission electron microscopy. Etching was carried out in the gas phase using fresh Keller’s reagent for 600 s. The results showed that the grain size of the weld metal was proportional to the grain size of the base metal and was independent of the preheating temperature. Hot cracks passed the grain boundaries of the weld and the base metal. Lower solidification rates in the preheated samples led to coarser arm spacing;therefore, a lower cooling rate. Despite the results predicted by the micro and meso-scale models, lower cooling rates resulted in increased hot cracks. The cracks could grow in the weld metal after solidification;therefore, hot cracks were larger than predicted by the hot crack prediction models.     

Dynamic Recrystallization and Grain Growth Behavior of 20SiMn Low Carbon Alloy Steel

A series of thermodynamics experiments were used to optimize the hot forging process of 20SiMn low-carbon alloy steel. A dynamic recrystallization and grain growth model was developed for the 20SiMn steel for common production conditions of heavy forgings by doing a nonlinear curve fit of the experiment data. Optimized forging parameters were developed based on the control of the dynamic recrystallization and the MnS secondary phase. The data shows that the initial grain size and the MnS secondary phase all affect the behavior of the 20SiMn dynamic recrystallization and grain growth.     

Derivation of Hillert-type 3D grain growth rate model with topological considerations and discussion on its grain size parameter

A Hillert-type three-dimensional grain growth rate model was derived through the grain topology-size correlation model,combined with a topology-dependent grain growth rate equation in three dimensions. It shows clearly that the Hillert-type 3D grain growth rate model may also be described with topology considerations of microstructure. The size parameter bearing in the model is further discussed both according to the derived model and in another approach with the aid of quantitative relationship between the grain size and the integral mean curvature over grain surface. Both approaches successfully demonstrate that, if the concerned grains can be well approximated by a space-filling convex polyhedra in shape, the grain size parameter bearing in the Hillert-type 3D grain growth model should be a parameter proportional to the mean grain tangent radius.     

Effect of heat treatment on microstructures and mechanical properties of a bulk nanostructured Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy

A bulk nanostructured Al-10.0Zn-2.8Mg-1.8Cu alloy was synthesized by cryomilling first and then by spark plasma sintering (SPS), and the effect of heat treatment on the microstructures and mechanical properties of this alloy were studied. Most MgZn₂ particles with a coarse size lie on the grain boundaries of the SPS-processed sample. After solid solution and artificial aging, fine spherical-like MgZn₂ particles precipitate uniformly in the grain interiors. No obvious grain growth is found after the heat treatment. A nanoindentation study indicates that no clear change is found in the Yong's modulus of the nanostructured alloy after the heat treatment. However, the hardness of the nanostructured alloy increases by about 33% after the heat treatment, which is attributed to the effect of precipitation-hardening.     

Intergranular precipitation of copper-nickel alloys induced by seawater corrosion

This paper presents the observed grain boundary structure of Cu：Ni 70：30 alloy tubes before and after exposure to seawater. The results show that the thin platelet precipitates along grain boundaries of the alloys nucleated in the process of heat treatment and coarsened when they were exposed to seawater, indicating that the coarsening was induced by seawater corrosion. The diffraction image of the precipitate is fringe structure and possessed its own wave lengths. The fine scale structure is susceptible to intergranular corrosion, which could be confirmed by corrosion morphology observation of specimens after a long-time seawater exposure. The experiments were carried out by means of scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, optical metallography （OM） and tensile testing etc., detecting corrosion morphology, microstructure and the mechanical property change due to the precipitation coarsening induced at grain boundaries of the specimens during exposure in seawater.     

Microstructure and properties of A2017 alloy strips processed by a novel process by combining semisolid rolling, deep rolling, and heat treatment

A novel short process for producing A2017 alloy strips with notable features of near net shape, saving energy, low cost, and high product performance was developed by combining semisolid rolling, deep rolling, and heat treatment. The microstructure and properties of the A2017 alloy strips were investigated by metallographic microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, tensile testing, and hardness measurement. The cross-sectional microstructure of the A2017 alloy strips is mainly composed of near-spherical primary grains. Many eutectic phases CuAl₂ formed along primary grain boundaries during semisolid rolling are crushed and broken into small particles. After solution treatment at 495℃ for 2 h the eutectic phases at grain boundaries have almost dissolved into the matrix. When the solution treatment time exceeds 2 h, grain coarsening happens. More and more grain interior phases precipitate with the aging time prolonging to 8 h. The precipitated particles are very small and distribute homogenously, and the tensile strength reaches its peak value. When the aging time is prolonged to 12 h, there is no obvious variation in the amount of precipitated phases, but the size and spacing of precipitated phases increase. The tensile strength of the A2017 alloy strips produced by the present method can reach 362.78 MPa, which is higher than that of the strips in the national standard of China.     

Recrystallization behavior of Ti40 burn-resistant titanium alloy during hot working process

The recrystallization behavior of deformed Ti40 alloy during a heat-treatment process was studied using electron backscatter diffraction and optical microscopy. The results show that the microstructural evolution of Ti40 alloy is controlled by the growth behavior of grain-boundary small grains during the heating process. These small grains at the grain boundaries mostly originate during the forging process because of the alloy’s inhomogeneous deformation. During forging, the deformation first occurs in the grain-boundary region. New small recrystallized grains are separated from the parent grains when the orientation between deformation zones and parent grains exceeds a certain threshold. During the heating process, the growth of these small recrystallized grains results in a uniform grain size and a decrease in the average grain size. The special recrystallization behavior of Ti40 alloy is mainly a consequence of the alloy’s high β-stabilized elemental content and high solution strength of the β-grains, which partially explains the poor hot working ability of Ti–V–Cr-type burn-resistant titanium alloys. Notably, this study on Ti40 burn-resistant titanium alloy yields important information related to the optimization of the microstructures and mechanical properties.     

Effects of subgrain size and static recrystallization on the mechanical performance of polycrystalline material: A microstructure-based crystal plasticity finite element analysis

In this paper, the effects of subgrain size and static recrystallization on the mechanical performance of polycrystalline material were investigated using a microstructure-based crystal plasticity finite element(CPFE) model. Firstly, polycrystalline microstructures with different mean subgrain sizes were prepared using simple assumption based on experimental observations, and intermediate microstructures during static recrystallization(SRX) were simulated by a cellular automata model adopting curvature driven grain/subgrain growth mechanism. Then, CPFE method was applied to perform stress analysis of plane strain tension on these virtual microstructures. The results show that the subgrains inside pre-existing grains have an effect on the heterogeneity of the stress distributions. The average stress decreases with increasing the mean subgrain radius. As grain/subgrain grows during SRX, the average stress also decreases. It can be deduced that well-defined and finer subgrain structure may strengthen the polycrystalline material, while grain/subgrain growth during SRX process will degrade the strength.     

Effects of crystallization on corrosion behaviours of a Ni-based bulk metallic glass

The effects of microstructure change on the corrosion behaviours of Ni₅₅Nb₂₀Ti₁₀Zr₈Co₇ bulk glass-forming alloy were investigated in 1 mol/L HCl and 0.5 mol/L H₂SO₄ solutions. Different microstructures of the Ni-based alloy were achieved by annealing the bulk glassy rod prepared by copper mould casting. The microstructure, grain size, grain distribution, and phase composition were characterized. Electrochemical behaviours of the Ni-based alloy were revealed by static immersion and anodic potentiodynamic polarization tests. It is indicated that the corrosion behaviours of the Ni-based bulk glass-forming alloy are related to its microstructures, while the fully crystallized alloy exhibits a relatively lower corrosion resistance than those of the amorphous states.     

Monte Carlo study on abnormal growth of Goss grains in Fe-3%Si steel induced by second-phase particles

The selective abnormal growth of Goss grains in magnetic sheets of Fe-3%Si (grade Hi-B) induced by second-phase particles (AlN and MnS) was studied using a modified Monte Carlo Potts model. The starting microstructures for the simulations were generated from electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) orientation imaging maps of recrystallized samples. In the simulation, second-phase particles were assumed to be randomly distributed in the initial microstructures and the Zener drag effect of particles on Goss grain boundaries was assumed to be selectively invalid because of the unique properties of Goss grain boundaries. The simulation results suggest that normal growth of the matrix grains stagnates because of the pinning effect of particles on their boundaries. During the onset of abnormal grain growth, some Goss grains with concave boundaries in the initial microstructure grow fast abnormally and other Goss grains with convex boundaries shrink and eventually disappear.     

Effects of Deformation Conditions on Dynamic Recrystallization of a Nb Microalloyed Anti-seismic Rebar

The hot deformation behavior of a Nb microalloyed anti-seismic rebar was investigated at deformation temperatures of 950-1 100 ℃ and strain rates of 0. 01-0. 1 s- 1 on a Gleeble-3800 thermo-mechnical simulator. The flow stress-strain curves show the typical dynamic recrystallization with a peak,before reaching the steady state flow at higher deformation temperatures and lower strain rates. The constitutive equation governing the dynamic recrystallization( DRX) was obtained and the average activation energy of deformation was calculated as Q = 389. 5 kJ / mol by the regression analysis. The DRX grain size was also found to decrease with the increasing strain rate and the decreasing deformation temperature. The austenite grain size was refined from 118. 0 μm to 15. 07-40. 01 μm by DRX. The DRX grain size under diverse deformation conditions predicted by mathematical model agrees well with experimental results.