Microtextural evolution of different TRC AA8006 alloy sections with homogenization

Grain microtexture evolution in twin-roll cast AA8006 alloy sheets subjected to different treatments was investigated using electron backscatter diffraction. The textures of rolling-transverse and normal-transverse sections were characterized in original as-cast twin-roll casting and cold-rolled samples as well as samples homogenized at 500℃ for 8 h and at 580℃ for 4 h. It is found that grains on both the rolling-transverse and normal-transverse sections of cold-rolled samples are made finer by rolling deformation and coarsened after homogenization. Annealing temperature has a stronger effect on the microstructural evolution than annealing time. The grain growth direction is parallel to the normal-transverse section, while grain deformation is more stable on the rolling direction than on the normal direction. The rolling orientations display more obvious anisotropy on the normal-transverse sections than on the rolling-transverse sections. Grain recrystallization and growth occur much easier on the normal-transverse section than on the rolling-transverse section for samples homogenized at 500℃ for 8 h. A special misorientation relationship between cold deformation texture, such as S orientation {123}<634> and cube orientation <110>‖X_axis[cubic], and recrystallization texture after homogenization, such as R orientation {124}<211> and P orientation {011}<122>, is observed.     

Heat treatment of novel low-carbon multi-alloyed anti-wear marine steel

A low-carbon anti-wear steel,multi-alloyed with Si-Cr-Mn-Al-Ni-Mo-(Nb,RE),was designed for vane pumps of ships. The novel cast steel after various heat treatments was characterized by microstructure observations and mechanical properties measurement in order to achieve an optimal process correlated with good abrasive resistance for a long marine service.Differential scanning calorimetry and hardness analyses deduced a complete austenitizing temperature of 1 000℃,based on the alloying element homogenizati...     

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℃.     

Al-Cu-Mn合金铸锭均匀化工艺及组织性能分析

采用光学金相显微镜、扫描电子显微镜及能谱分析、电导率等检测手段,对铸态和均匀化态的2219合金微观组织、第二相分布及电导率进行研究分析。结果表明,2219合金铸态组织存在着枝晶偏析,在晶界上聚集大量的Al₂Cu相,并有长条状的脆性相Al₇Cu₂（Fe、Mn）穿插在晶界上。经525 ℃均匀化处理22 h后,晶界上Al₂Cu相回溶到基体中,枝晶网络被破坏,枝晶偏析消除,Cu元素从晶界到晶内的分布趋于平稳;处于亚稳态的溶质原子从过饱和固溶体中析出,在晶内呈细小、弥散地分布,基体溶质原子固溶度降低,电子散射作用减弱,电导率提高10 %IACS。     

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.     

Structural and mechanical properties of 7075 alloy strips fabricated by roll-casting in a static magnetic field

The influences of a 0.2 T static magnetic field on the microstructure of 7075 aluminum alloys sheets produced with a twin-roll continuous caster at 675°C were investigated in this paper. Under a uniform magnetic field, the primary dendrites were refined and tended to be equiaxed. The microstructure consisted of an intermediate case between dendritic and equiaxed grains. Moreover, the use of an external static field in the twin-roll casting process can reduce heat discharge, resulting in a decrease in undercooling, and may also account for the abatement of segregation bands. In addition, the static magnetic field effectively improved the solute mixing capacity, and the added atoms more easily diffused from precipitates to the α-Al matrix, which resulted in an increase in the mechanical properties of the rolled sheets. Specimens prepared both in the presence of a static magnetic field and in the absence of a static magnetic field exhibited brittle-fracture characteristics.     

Microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of a large-sized ingot of Mg-9Gd-3Y-1.5Zn-0.5Zr (wt%) alloy after a lower-temperature homogenization treatment

In this paper, a large-sized ingot of Mg-9Gd-3Y-1.5Zn-0.5Zr (wt%) alloy with a diameter of 600 mm was successfully prepared by the semi-continuous casting method. The alloy was subsequently annealed at a relatively low temperature of 430℃ for 12 h as a homogenization treatment. The microstructure and room-temperature mechanical properties of the alloy were investigated systematically. The results show that the as-cast alloy contained a mass of discontinuous lamellar-shaped 18R long-period stacking ordered (LPSO) phases with a composition of Mg₁₀ZnY and an α-Mg matrix, along with net-shaped Mg₅(Y,Gd) eutectic compounds at the grain boundaries. Most of the eutectic compounds dissolved after the homogenization treatment. Moreover, the amount and dimensions of the lamellar-shaped LPSO phase obviously increased after the homogenization treatment. The structure of the phase transformed into 14H-type LPSO with composition Mg₁₂Zn(Y,Gd). The mechanical properties of the heat-treated large-sized alloy ingot are uniform. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and tensile yield strength (TYS) of the alloy reached 207.2 MPa and 134.8 MPa, respectively, and the elongation was 3.4%. The high performances of the large-sized alloy ingot after the homogenization treatment is attributed to the strengthening of the α-Mg solid solution and to the plentiful LPSO phase distributed over the α-Mg matrix.     

均匀化处理温度对6082铝合金组织和性能的影响

采用硬度、电导率测试、金相显微镜、X线衍射、扫描电镜、透射电镜和能谱分析技术,研究均匀化温度对合金组织和性能的影响.研究结果表明:铸态合金由α-Al固溶体和非平衡共晶相组成;490～510℃均匀化,Mg2Si相从过饱和固溶体中析出,在510℃以上均匀化,随着温度的升高,Mg2Si又逐步回溶到基体中,560℃均匀化,Mg2Si相和过剩单质Si完全溶解;随着均匀化温度的升高,非平衡析出物鱼骨状共晶形态逐渐消失,针状β-AlMnFeSi溶解、断裂,转变为具有更高(Mn+Fe)/Si比值颗粒状α-Al(MnFe)Si相,析出相在高温均匀化过程中聚集、球化;560℃均匀化,析出物的连续网状结构转变成链状结构,析出物演化为等轴粒状α-Al(MnFe)Si相.均匀化过程中合金中析出弥散α-Al(MnFe)Si相;在490～560℃保温6h均匀化处理,温度升高,合金的硬度和电导率分别升高和降低.     

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.     

Retrogression characteristics of a novel Al-Cu-Li-X alloy

Retrogression characteristics of a novel Al-Cu-Li-X alloy of 2A97 were studied by hardness testing, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The retrogression treatments of aging at 155℃ for 12 h followed by aging at 220 and 240℃ were chosen by determining the peak temperature of δ' precipitation at 230℃ by DSC. The retrogression treatment at a lower temperature of 220℃ causes the precipitation and coarsening of δ' and θ' phases in the matrix, resulting in an increase in hardness. Retrogression at a higher temperature of 240℃ causes the dissolution and coarsening of δ' and θ' precipitates in the matrix and on the grain boundaries, resulting in a decrease in hardness. Microstructural changes upon retrogression including the appearance of equilibrium precipitates such as T₁, T₂, δ', and θ are confirmed by the selected area electron diffraction and the bright and dark field image analysis.     

双辊薄带连铸低碳微合金钢的铸态组织

采用双辊薄带连铸技术制备了低碳微合金钢薄带，利用OM，SEM和TEM对铸态凝固组织、室温组织、析出及位错进行观察和分析.结果表明:低碳微合金钢铸带的凝固组织中二次枝晶间距约为12~15μm，相对于传统厚板坯和薄板坯连铸，铸带组织得到了明显细化.铸带的原奥氏体晶粒尺寸比较粗大，约为250~410μm，其组织由魏氏铁素体、珠光体和不规则铁素体组成.铸带组织中存在纳米级TiC析出和短棒状的渗碳体.TiC析出没有被薄带连铸的凝固过程及二次冷却过程明显抑制.铸带组织由于铸轧力及二次冷却速率不均匀导致大量位错的产生.     

Preparation of semi-solid aluminum alloy slurry poured through a water-cooled serpentine channel

A water-cooled serpentine channel pouring process was invented to produce semi-solid A356 aluminum alloy slurry for rheocasting, and the effects of pouring temperature and circulating cooling water flux on the microstructure of the slurry were investigated. The results show that at the pouring temperature of 640-680℃ and the circulating cooling water flux of 0.9 m3/h, the semi-solid A356 aluminum alloy slurry with spherical primary α(Al) grains can be obtained, whose shape factors are between 0.78 and 0.86 and the grain diameter can reach 48-68 μm. When the pouring temperatures are at 660-680℃, only a very thin solidified shell remains inside the serpentine channel and can be removed easily. When the serpentine channel is cooled with circulating water, the microstructure of the semi-solid slurry can be improved, and the serpentine channel is quickly cooled to room temperature after the completion of one pouring. In terms of the productivity of the special equipment, the water-cooled serpentine channel is economical and efficient.     

Effects of annealing temperature on the microstructure and hardness of TiAlSiN hard coatings

TiAlSiN hard coatings were synthesized on high-speed steel using an arc ion enhanced magnetic sputtering hybrid system.The microstructure and hardness of the coatings at different annealing temperatures were explored by means of XRD,TEM,EDAX and Vickers indentation.The as-deposited TiAlSiN coatings were confirmed to be amorphous due to high depositing rate and low deposition temperature during the film growth.The transformation from amorphous to nanocomposites of nano-crystallites and amorphousness were observed after the annealing treatment,the microstructure of TiAlSiN coatings annealed at 800°C and 1000°C were consisted of crystalline hcp-AlN,fcc-TiN and amorphous phase,however,the coatings were only consisted of fcc-TiN and amorphous phase when annealing at 1100°C and 1200°C.Meanwhile,the formation of Al2O3 was detected on the coating surface after annealing at 1200°C and it indicated the excellent oxidation resistance of the TiAlSiN coatings under the present experimental conditions.Furthermore,the average grain size of the TiAlSiN coatings after high temperature annealing even at 1200°C was less than 30 nm and the size increased with the increasing temperature.However,the hardness of the so-deposited coatings with HV0.2N=3300 dramatically decreased with the increase of temperature and reached nearly to the hardness of TiN coatings with HV0.2N=2300.     

Kinetics of recrystallization for twin-roll casting AZ31 magnesium alloy during homogenization

The kinetics of recrystallization for twin-roll casting AZ31 magnesium alloy with different thicknesses during homogenization was analyzed. It is shown that fine grains are first formed at the boundaries of deformed bands in the twin-roll casting slab. The recrystallized grains with no strain are gradually substituted for the deformed microstructure of twin-roll casting AZ31 magnesium alloy. The incubation temperature and time for the recrystallization of a twin-roll casting AZ31 magnesium alloy strip with a thickness of 3 mm are lower and shorter than those of the 6-mm thick strip, respectively. The 3-mm thick twin-roll casting magnesium alloy has finer grains than the 6-mm thick strip. The activation energies of recrystallization for twin-roll casting AZ31 magnesium alloy slabs with the thickness of 3 and 6 mm are 88 and 69 kJ/mol, respectively. The kinetics curves of recrystallization for twin-roll casting AZ31 magnesium alloy were obtained.     

超轻细晶Mg-8.4Li合金的低温超塑性

Mg-8.4Li合金铸锭经573 K×24 h均匀化处理和473 K温轧得到1.5 mm厚板材,总加工率为92.5%.该板材经盐浴再结晶退火后在473 K,应变速率1.67×10-3s-1条件下获得500%的超塑延伸率.唯象学计算的应变速率敏感性指数为0.47,反映晶界滑移是其主要变形机理.利用透射电子显微镜和光学显微镜研究了板材573 K×1 h盐浴退火和超塑性变形后的组织,发现盐浴退火后的晶粒尺寸为2.4μm,超塑变形后标距内晶粒尺寸为5.8μm,发生了一定程度的晶粒长大,这与原子扩散机理有关.利用扫描电镜观察了超塑变形后试样的断口形貌,发现断口中韧窝细小而深,呈圆形分布,保持了晶粒等轴化...     

Improvement of tensile behaviours of a γ'-Co3(Al,W) strengthened polycrystalline Co-9Al-4.5W-4.5Mo-2Ta-0.02B alloy at room-and high-temperatures by doping Ce

The microstructures and tensile behaviours of cerium (Ce) doped polycrystalline Co-9Al-4.5W-4.5Mo-2Ta-0.02B alloys (doped 0.05 and 0.2 at.% Ce) at room temperature (RT) and 600–800 °C were investigated. In-suit tensile test under SEM was conducted to understand the deformation and damage mechanisms at RT. Aged at 800 °C for 50 h, the 0.05Ce alloy consisted of a Co solid-solution matrix (γ-Co_SS) and nano-scale cuboidal γ′-Co₃(Al, W) precipitates, while for the 0.2Ce alloy, κ-Co₃(W, Mo) precipitates and γ′-depleted zone were present at the grain boundaries in addition to the γ/γ′ microstructure. The 0.05Ce alloy exhibited flow stress anomalies at 700 °C. With higher Σ1∼3 boundary fraction and cleaned-up grain boundary, the 0.05Ce alloy always showed greater strength and elongation than the 0.2 Ce alloy with the grain boundary precipitates at temperatures up to 800 °C. Doped 0.05 at.% Ce made the Co-9Al-4.5W-4.5Mo-2Ta-0.02B alloy have an excellent elongation of 6.1% at 700 °C, owing to a mixed transgranular dimple plus intergranular cleavage fracture. The slip bands transferring through the low-angle grain boundary and slipping of the γ′-Co₃(Al, W) in the 0.5Ce alloy resulted in excellent ductility of 20.4% at RT.     

Synthesis and performance of Ca-α/β-SiAlON composites from tailings

Ca-α/β-SiAlON composites were prepared using Ca-α/β-SiAlON powder synthesized from gold ore tailings, which contained abundant Si and Al elements as the major raw materials together with minor additives, through a pressure-less sintering method. The influences of sintering temperature on the phase composition and microstructure of the composites were analyzed. The scanning electron microscopy images of the composites show the interlacing of grains with elongated columnar, short columnar and plate-like morphologies. The composites sintered at 1520℃ for 6 h have a flexural strength of 352 MPa, Vickers hardness of 11.2 GPa, and fracture toughness of 4.8 MPa·m1/2. The relative content of each phase in the products is I(Ca-α-SiAlON):I(β-SiAlON):I(Fe₃Si) = 23:74:3, where I_i stands for the diffraction peak intensity of phase i.     

Synthesis of glass ceramics from kaolin and dolomite mixture

Cordierite-and anorthite-based binary glass ceramics of the CaO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ (CMAS) system were synthesized by mixing local and abundant raw minerals (kaolin and doloma by mass ratio of 82/18). A kinetics study reveals that the activation energy of crystallization (Ea) calculated by the methods of Kissinger and Marotta are 438 kJ·mol-1 and 459 kJ·mol-1, respectively. The Avrami parameter (n) is estimated to be approximately equal to 1, corresponding to the surface crystallization mechanism. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis shows that the anorthite and cordierite crystals are precipitated from the parent glass as major phases. Anorthite crystals first form at 850℃, whereas the μ-cordierite phase appears after heat treatment at 950℃. Thereafter, the cordierite allotropically transforms to α-cordierite at 1000℃. Complete densification is achieved at 950℃; however, the density slightly decreases at higher temperatures, reaching a stable value of 2.63 kg·m-3 between 1000℃ and 1100℃. The highest Vickers hardness of 6 GPa is also obtained at 950℃. However, a substantial decrease in hardness is recorded at 1000℃; at higher sintering temperatures, it slightly increases with increasing temperature as the α-cordierite crystallizes.     

Effect of long-term aging treatment on the tensile strength and ductility of GH 605 superalloy

Aging treatment is an effective way to optimize the mechanical properties of Co-based superalloys. In this study, commercial GH 605 superalloy was subjected to aging treatment at 650 ?°C in a wide time range up to 1000 ?h. The effects of aging time on the tensile characteristics, microstructure evolution and mechanical properties were systematically investigated at room temperature (RT) and 900 ?°C. The results showed that the volume fractions of M₆C and M₂₃C₆ carbide increased with the aging time. After long-term aging treatment, the yield strength (YS) at RT was enhanced from 490.3 ?MPa to 805.9 ?MPa, while the alloy still had high tensile ductility (above 20%). Microscopic observations by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicated that the strengthening mechanism was related to carbide precipitation inside the grains and the change in the dislocation slipping mode. Moreover, long-term aging treatment can increase the elongation from 24.1% to 47.3% at 900 ?°C accompanied by a slight increase of YS from 299.3 ?MPa to 313.9 ?MPa. Based on detailed microstructure analysis the strengthening mechanism can be attributed to the refined grains as well as carbide precipitation inside the grains and around the grain boundaries.     

Effects of aging treatment and heat input on the microstructures and mechanical properties of TIG-welded 6061-T6 alloy joints

Aging treatment and various heat input conditions were adopted to investigate the microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of TIG welded 6061-T6 alloy joints by microstructural observations, microhardness tests, and tensile tests. With an increase in heat input, the width of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) increases and grains in the fusion zone (FZ) coarsen. Moreover, the hardness of the HAZ decreases, whereas that of the FZ decreases initially and then increases with an increase in heat input. Low heat input results in the low ultimate tensile strength of the welded joints due to the presence of partial penetrations and pores in the welded joints. After a simple artificial aging treatment at 175℃ for 8 h, the microstructure of the welded joints changes slightly. The mechanical properties of the welded joints enhance significantly after the aging process as few precipitates distribute in the welded seam.