Effects of temperature and stress on the creep behavior of a Ni3Al base single crystal alloy

The creep behavior and microstructure of a Ni3Al base single crystal alloy IC6SX with [001] orientation under the testing conditions of 760 ℃/593 MPa, 980 ℃/205 MPa, and 1100 ℃/75 MPa were investigated. The experimental results showed that Alloy IC6SX had good creep resistance and its creep resistance at elevated temperatures was similar to the second generation nickel-base single crystal alloy containing Re. TEM analysis indicated that the dislocation configuration and movement pattern were different under different temperature and stress conditions. It has been found that under the test condition of 1070 ℃/137 MPa the dislocations moved within the γ channel during the primary creep stage, and the motion of dislocations were prevented by the matrix of γ′ phase, which reduced the creep rate of the alloy. In the secondary creep stage, dislocations cut into the γ′ phase from the γ/γ′ interface. However in the third creep stage, the dislocation pileups were observed in both γ and γ′ phase, and dislocation multiplication occurred when the dislocations with different Burgers vector met and reacted each other.     

Creep behavior and dislocation mechanism of Ni3Al based single crystal alloy IC6SX at 760°C

The creep behavior and dislocation mechanism of Ni₃Al-based single crystal alloys IC6SX with crystal orientation [001] which was prepared by seed crystal method under the testing conditions of 760 ​°C/500 ​MPa,760 ​°C/540 ​MPa and 760 ​°C/580 ​MPa were investigated. The experimental results showed that the creep properties, dislocation morphology and mechanism of this alloy were different under different stress conditions. With the stress increasing from 500 ​MPa to 580 ​MPa, the creep life decreased from more than 1000h to 32.64h. The cubic degree of γ′ phase in single crystal alloy decreased obviously and the size of γ′ phase increased. The mechanism of dislocation movement also changed with the increasing stress. It was found that after the specimen was tested under the condition of 760 ​°C/500 ​MPa the dislocation network prevented the movement of dislocations and it was difficult for dislocations to enter the γ′ phase from the γ/γ′ interface. When the stress was 540 ​MPa, the dislocations cut into the γ′ phase by stacking fault. Furthermore, with the stress increasing to 580 ​MPa, the dislocation entered the γ′ phase in the form of extended dislocation and Lomer-Cottrell dislocation.     

Effects of Ru on the microstructure and phase stability of a single crystal superalloy

Two experimental single crystal superalloys, the Ru-free alloy and the Ru-containing alloy with[001] orientation, were cast in a directionally solidified furnace, while other alloying element contents were kept unchanged. The effects of Ru on the microstructure and phase stability of the single crystal superalloy were investigated. γ' directional coarsening and rafting were observed in the Ru-free alloy and Ru-containing alloy after long-term aging at 1070℃ for 800 h. Needle-shaped σ topologically close packed (TCP) phases precipitated and grew along the fixed direction in both the alloys. The precipitating rate and volume fraction of TCP phases decreased significantly by adding Ru. The compositions of γ and γ' phases measured using an energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscope (EDS) in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis showed that the addition of Ru lessened the partition ratio of TCP forming elements, Re, W and Mo, and decreased the saturation degrees of these elements in γ phase, which can enable the Ru-containing alloy to be more resistant to the formation of TCP phases. It is indicated that the addition of Ru to the Ni-based single crystal superalloy with high content of the refractory alloying element can enhance phase stability.     

Effect of temperature and stress on high temperature creep behavior of Ni3Al-based single crystal superalloy

The creep behavior and dislocations mechanism of the Ni₃Al-based single crystal alloy IC6SX with [001] orientation were investigated under the testing conditions of 1100 ?°C/137 ?MPa, 1100 ?°C/120 ?MPa and 1070 ?°C/137 ?MPa. It was observed that the temperature and stress had a significant effect on the high temperature creep life of the single crystal alloy. As the temperature was reduced from 1100 ?°C to 1070 ?°C, the creep life increased from 65.07 ?h to 313.8 ?h. As the stress was reduced to 120 ?MPa, the creep life increased to 243.3 ?h. Under the high temperature and low stress condition the dislocations entered the γ′ phase by climbing caused by the atomic diffusion, instead of slipping.     

Morphology and quantitative analysis of O phase during heat treatment of hot-deformed Ti<Subscript>2</Subscript>AlNb-based alloy

A 1040℃-hot-deformed Ti₂AlNb-based alloy solution-treated at 950℃ and aged at different temperatures was quantitatively investigated. The microstructure, size of the phase, and microhardness of the deformed alloys were measured. The results indicated that the microstructure of the deformed Ti₂AlNb-based alloy specimens comprise coarse O lath, fine O lath, equiaxed O/α₂, and acicular O phase. More O phase was generated in the deformed alloy after heat treatment because the acicular O phase was more likely to nucleate and grow along the deformation-induced crystal defects such as dislocations and subgrain boundaries. After deformation and subsequent heat treatment, the acicular O phase of the resultant alloy became finer compared to that of the undeformed alloy, and the acicular O phase became coarser and longer with the elevated aging temperature, while the width of the O lath exhibited unobvious variations. The hot deformation facilitated the dissolution of the O lath but accelerated the precipitation of the acicular O phase. When the 950℃-solution-treated deformed Ti₂AlNb-based alloy was then aged at 750℃ for different periods, the phase content was nearly invariable, O and B2 phases eventually reached equilibrium, and the microstructure became stable and homogeneous.     

Grain boundary characteristics and tensile properties of Ti14 alloy after semi-solid deformation

The microstructure and room-temperature tensile properties of Ti14, a new α+Ti₂Cu alloy, were investigated after conventional forging at 950℃ and semi-solid forging at 1000 and 1050℃, respectively. Results show that coarse grains and grain boundaries are obtained in the semi-solid alloys. The coarse grain boundaries are attributed to Ti₂Cu phase precipitations occurred on the grain boundaries during the solidification. It is found that more Ti₂Cu phase precipitates on the grain boundaries at a higher semi-solid forging temperature, which forms precipitated zones and coarsens the grain boundaries. Tensile tests exhibit high strength and low ductility for the semi-solid forged alloys, especially after forging at 1000℃. Fracture analysis reveals the evidence of ductile failure mechanisms for the conventional forged alloy and cleavage fracture mechanisms for the alloy after semi-solid forging at 1050℃.     

Deformation and damage behaviors of as-cast TiAl-Nb alloy during creep

By means of creep properties measurement and microstructure observation,the deformation and damage behavior of an as-cast TiAl-Nb alloy during creep at temperature near 750°C were investigated.The results showed that the microstructure of the alloy consisted of lamellarγ/α_2 phase,and the boundaries consisted ofγphase located in between lamellarγ/α_2 phases with different orientations.In the latter stage of creep,the dislocation networks appeared in the interfaces of lamellarγ/α_2 phases due to the coarsening of them,which made the coherent interface transforming into the semi-coherent one for reducing its adhesive strength.The deformation mechanism of the alloy during creep was twinning and dislocations slipping within lamellarγ/α_2 phases.In the later period of creep,significant amount of dislocations plied up in the interfaces of lamellarγ/α_2 phases,which may cause the stress concentration to promote the initiation and propagation of the cracks along the lamellarγ/α_2interfaces perpendicular to the stress axis.Wherein,some cracks on the various cross-sections were connected by tearing edge along the direction of maximum shear stress,up to the creep fracture,which is considered to be the damage and fracture mechanism of alloy during creep at 750°C.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of spark plasma sintered Ti-Mo alloys for dental applications

Ti-Mo alloys with various Mo contents from 6wt% to 14wt% were processed by spark plasma sintering based on elemental powders. The influence of sintering temperature and Mo content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the resulting alloys were investigated. For each Mo concentration, the optimum sintering temperature was determined, resulting in a fully dense and uniform microstructure of the alloy. The optimized sintering temperature gradually increases in the range of 1100–1300℃ with the increase in Mo content. The microstructure of the Ti-(6–12)Mo alloy consists of acicular α phase surrounded by equiaxed grains of β phase, while the Ti-14Mo alloy only contains single β phase. A small amount of fine α lath precipitated from β phase contributes to the improvement in strength and hardness of the alloys. Under the sintering condition at 1250℃, the Ti-12Mo alloy is found to possess superior mechanical properties with the Vickers hardness of Hv 472, the compressive yield strength of 2182 MPa, the compression rate of 32.7%, and the elastic modulus of 72.1 GPa. These results demonstrate that Ti-Mo alloys fabricated via spark plasma sintering are indeed a perspective candidate alloy for dental applications.     

Effect of trace Zn, P and Mg additions on microstructure and mechanical properties of Nb-Si-Ti alloys

The effects of Zn,P and Mg additions on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Nb-22Ti-3Si alloys were studied. The phases of Nbss and Nb_3Si presented in Nb-22Ti-3Si(AC1),Nb-22Ti-3Si-0.2Zn(AC2) and Nb-22Ti-3Si-0.2Mg alloys(AC3). The Nb-22Ti-3Si-0.2P(AC4) alloy consisted of Nbss,Nb_3Si network and eutectic cell of Nbss/α-Nb_5Si_3.By the addition of Zn,the Nb_3Si network was broken and the volume fraction of Nbss increased from 92%to 96%.The values of fracture toughness of the alloy AC2 at ambien...     

Effect of thermal exposure on the stress-rupture life and microstructure of a low Re-containing single crystal alloy

In this paper, the stress-rupture tests of a low Re-containing single crystal alloy IC21 before and after thermal exposure at 1100 ℃for various periods of time were conducted under the test condition of 1100 ℃/137 MPa, and the microstructure of the tested specimens was characterized by SEM and TEM. The experimental results showed that the stress rupture life of this alloy was over 150 h after the standard heat treatment of1320 ℃, 10 h/AC t 870, 32 h/AC, however the stress rupture life decreased with the increase of exposure time due to the microstructure degradation. The TEM analysis revealed that the interface mismatch dislocation networks were well established. It was observed that these mismatch networks could form at 1100 ℃ even after thermal exposure for 1 h without the external stress, which is quite different from that in the traditional single crystal superalloys.     

Effect of Co on the martensitic transformation,crystal structure and magnetization of Ni<Subscript>52.5</Subscript>Mn<Subscript>23.5</Subscript>Ga<Subscript>24</Subscript> based ferromagnetic shape memory alloys

Five(Ni52.5Mn23.5Ga24)100-xCox(x = 0,2,4,6,8) alloys were prepared by arc melting,and the effects of Co addition on the martensitic phase transformation,crystal structure and magnetization were investigated.The phase transformation temperatures Ms,Mf,As and Af are proportional to the content of Co in the(Ni52.5Mn23.5Ga24)100-xCox alloys,which appears to be due to the variation in the valance electron concentration.The Curie temperature is sensitive to the composition of the alloy.As the amount of Co changes,both the Co-Mn exchange interaction and the distance between Mn atoms change.These,in turn,affect the Curie temperature and magnetization behavior of the alloy.The martensite phases in all the alloys are domained in three different orientations,the domain boundary was determined to belong to the family of {112} lattice planes.     

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.     

Rapid cooling effect during solidification on macro-and micro-segregation of as-cast Mg–Gd alloy

The high performance of as-cast Mg-RE alloys is always related to their high RE additions.However,RE elements can be readily segregated in Mg alloys and the segregation becomes more significant with the increasing RE content.In this research,the effect of cooling rate on the macro-and micro-segregation in the as-cast Mg-8 Gd alloy was studied.The Gd content at the bottom of the fabricated ingot with the cooling rate of 4.6-6.9℃/s was～1.7 times of that at the top and coarse eutectics as well as some non-equilibrium phases of α-Gd,MgGd,Mg_2 Gd were distributed along the grain boundaries.The formation mechanisms of the specific gravity segregation and grain boundary segregation were also proposed.Upon the application of the water-cooled copper mold with the cooling rate of 27-200℃/s,only fine Mg5 Gd and some nanoscale metastable β_1 and β' phases were found to disperse uniformly in the grain interior,thus the homogeneity of the composition,microstructure,and performance within the whole ingot was considerably improved.It is expected that these results will facilitate the processing design for the fabrication of the highly-homogenized Mg-RE alloy castings.     

Creep behavior and effect factors of a TiAl–Nb alloy at high temperature

The effect of solution treatment on the microstructure and creep properties of forged TiAl–Nb alloys was investigated. The results showed that the microstructure of forged alloy mainly consisted of γ/α₂ lamellar colonies and fine equiaxed recrystallized γ/α₂ grains. During the solution treatment the microstructure of the alloy transformed into a fully lamellar structure due to the lamellar colonies growth by consuming equiaxed grains. Compared with the forged alloy the creep life of the solution treated alloy at 800 ?°C/220 ?MPa increased from 116 ?h to 339 ?h. The better creep resistance may be attributed to the transform of fine equiaxed γ/α₂ grain to the lamellar colonies with serrated grain boundaries due to the solution treatment. The deformation mechanism of the solution treated alloy during creep is considered to be dislocation slipping within the lamellar γ/α₂ phases, and the dislocation movement may be hindered by the γ/α₂ interface and the formation of dislocation tangles. The interaction of the dislocations with the tangles may increase the resistance of the dislocation motion and hence improve the creep resistance of the alloy. It was found that during the creep of the forged alloys the cracks mainly initiated at the equiaxed grain, and in the solution treated alloy the cracks initiated at the grain boundaries. As creep continued the cracks propagated and connected to each other, leading to the damage and rupture of the forged and solution treated alloys.     

Effects of Ru on microstructure stability and mechanical properties of Ni_3Al single crystal alloy

The effect of Ru on microstructure stability and stress rupture properties of a Ni_3Al single-crystal alloy was investigated. The experimental results showed that the addition of 2%Ru(mass fraction) improved the microstructure stability due to the restraint of harmful Y-NiMo phase formation during the thermal exposure at the high temperature above 1 000℃.And the reason may be that the addition of Ru increased the degree of Mo supersaturation in bothγandγ' phases,and hence suppressed the precipitation of ...     

Effect of the withdrawal rate on the microstructure and thermal durability of a third-generation single crystal superalloy

Single crystal Ni-based superalloys are the typical structural materials for high-pressure turbine blades, and their microstructure is critical in determining their mechanical properties. The withdrawal rate is a key parameter affecting the microstructure during the single crystal growth process. In the present work the effect of the withdrawal rate on the microstructure of a third-generation single crystal superalloy containing 6.8 ?wt% Re has been investigated, and the creep resistance of the alloy determined. The results showed that increased withdrawal rate refined the dendritic structure, reduced dendritic arm spacing, promoted the growth of secondary tertiary dendrites and decreased solidification segregation with a reduced size of γ′ phase. The porosity density of the as-cast alloy first decreased and then increased with the withdrawal rate, while the minimum porosity densityoccurred when the alloy was under the solidification condition of withdrawal rate of 4.5 ?mm/min. The maximum creep rupture life of 326.4 ?h of the heat-treated alloys under the test condition of 1100 ?°C/140 ?MPa also appeared at the alloys under the withdrawal rates of 4.5 ?mm/min. It is believed that the minimum porosity density and reduced size of the γ′ phase may be the main reasons for the enhanced creep rupture life of the alloys with withdrawal rates of 4.5 ?mm/min. This investigation provides theoretical support and a practical basis for the development of third-generation single crystal superalloys.     

Sintering mechanism of Cu-9Al alloy prepared from elemental powders

The sintering behavior of Cu-9Al alloys prepared from die pressing of elemental powders was investigated. The experimental results and kinetic analysis showed the formation of three consecutive layers of Al₂Cu, Al₄Cu₉, and AlCu phases, with Al₂Cu appearing first in the initial solid phase sintering stage. A liquid phase formed in the intermediate stage, resulting from the eutectic reaction between Al and Al₂Cu phases at 500 °C, which is 47 °C lower than the equilibrium reaction temperature. Swelling occurred when the liquid phase infiltrated the gaps between the copper particles, leaving pores at the original sites of Al particles and Al₂Cu. In the final stage of sintering, the Al-rich phases (Al₂Cu and AlCu) transformed to Al-poor phases (Al₄Cu₉ and α-Cu) in the temperature range of 500–565 °C. Al₄Cu₉ and α-Cu then transformed to AlCu₃ (β) above the eutectoid reaction temperature (565 °C), whereas AlCu₃ transformed to α-Cu and eutectoid phases (α-Cu + Al₄Cu₉) during cooling. The pure copper transformed to AlCu₃, and the pore volume decreased at 1000 °C. The microstructure study helps manipulate precisely the sintering process of Cu-Al alloys and optimize the microstructure with a high dimensional accuracy.     

Effect of heat treatment on microstructures and properties of a novel Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy for oil drilling

In view of the special requirements for strength, heat resistance and corrosion resistance of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy for oil drilling, the Al-6.2 Zn-2.5 Mg-1.6 Cu alloy was prepared by increasing Cu content on basis of Russian Series 1953 alloy. The effect of heat treatment on the microstructures and properties of the alloy was characterized by optical microscope(OM), scanning electron microscope(SEM) and transmission electron microscope(TEM), and investigated by tensile test at room temperature, thermal exposure test and corrosion test. The results show that the strength after T6 aging treatment exhibit a decrease trend as an increase of the solution temperature from465 °C to 480 °C. After the solution treated by the rate of 470 °C/1 h, second phases dissolve into the matrix very well and the strength property reaches optimum. The alloy has better comprehensive properties treated by a solution treatment of 470 °C/1 h and then followed by an aging treatment of 120 °C/24 h + 170 °C/1 h + 120 °C/24 h. Under the aging state, the precipitated phases inside the grains are suitable in size, while on the grain boundary distribute discontinuously and the precipitate-free zone is obvious. Besides, the alloy still maintain high tensile properties. The yield strength, tensile strength and elongation are 650 MPa, 686 MPa,12.0%, respectively. The yield strength retention after heat exposure is 92%. The alloy has good corrosion resistance and the exfoliation corrosion degree. The average corrosion rate in the H_2S and CO_2 environment is 0.0024 mm/a, which is far less than the required 0.12 mm/a. It is insensitive to H_2S and CO_2 environments.     

Effects of homogenization on the dissolution and precipitation behaviors of intermetallic phase for a Zr and Er containing Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy

The effects of homogenization on dissolution and precipitation behaviors of intermetallic phase in a novel Zr and Er containing Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy were investigated.In this work,single-stage(SS:475℃/24 h) and doublestage(DS:400℃/12 h+475℃/24 h) homogenization treatments were carried out for the ingots with the heating rates of 300℃/h,50℃/h and 25℃/h,respectively.It was found that Er tended to segregate at the grain boundary in the form of Al_8Cu_4Er,and the formation mechanism was determined to be the eutectic reaction in the front of the solid/liquid interface during solidification.Also,Al_8Cu_4Er phase was detected to possess high melting point(～573.8℃),which fully remained after the homogenization.Meanwhile,a significant impact of heating rate on the dissolution of intermetallic phases for the studied alloy under the DS homogenization was determined,but little impact was observed under the SS homogenization.Morever,the size and distribution of the dispersoids after homogenization were fully analyzed.It was found that slow heating rates was helpful to refine the particles size,and increase the density as well as volume fraction of the precipitation under both SS and DS homogenization.However a higher density and volume fraction of the precipitated particles,and a relatively larger average particle size were gained with DS homogenization.     

Microstructures and mechanical properties of a new titanium alloy for surgical implant application

A new titanium alloy Ti12.5Zr2.5Nb2.5Ta (TZNT) for surgical implant application was synthesized and fully annealed at 700℃ for 45 min. The microstructure and the mechanical properties such as tensile properties and fatigue properties were investigated. The results show that TZNT mainly consists of a lot of lamella α-phase clusters with different orientations distributed in the original β-phase grain boundaries and a small amount of β phases between the lamella α phases. The alloy exhibits better ductility, lower modulus of elasticity, and lower admission strain in comparison with Ti6Al4V and Ti6Al7Nb, indicating that it has better biomechanical compatibility with human bones. The fatigue limit of TZNT is 333 MPa, at which the specimen has not failed at 107 cycles. A large number of striations present in the stable fatigue crack propagation area, and many dimples in the fast fatigue crack propagation area are observed, indicating the ductile fracture of the new alloy.