The application of some semi-solid forming magnesium alloys is restricted due to their weak mechanical properties. To improve the mechanical properties, it is necessary to research the regularity and theory of semi-so...The application of some semi-solid forming magnesium alloys is restricted due to their weak mechanical properties. To improve the mechanical properties, it is necessary to research the regularity and theory of semi-solid microstructure evolution of the alloy. In this study, microstructure evolution of ZA72 alloy during the partial remelting, and the effect of holding temperature and holding time on the semi-solid microstructure evolution of ZA72 magnesium alloy were investigated by means of OM, SEM and EDS analysis. The results indicate that the microstructure with small and spheroidal semi-solid particles which are available for thixo-forming can be obtained using proper heating parameters. After being isothermally treated at between 580 and 610 ℃ for 30 min, the equivalent size and shape factor of primary solid phase of ZA72 alloy decrease gradually, while the liquid volume fraction increases. When isothermally treated at 600 ℃ and held for different times from 15 to 60 min, with the increase of holding time, the equivalent size of primary particles decreases at first and then increases gradually; while the shape factor decreases gradually. The best heat treatment parameters in this experiment are to hold at 610 ℃for 30 min. Compared with as-cast ZA72 alloy, the sizes of the eutectic phase and second a-Mg phase obtained in semi-solid state are smaller due to the higher solidification rate and the higher under-cooling degree than as-cast state. These decrease the fracture probability during tensile stress and improve the properties of the ZA72 alloy by semi-solid forming.展开更多
The effects of Ti content and the alloying elements of Si and Cu on the microstructures of casting in situ Al3Ti-Al composites were investigated. Simultaneously, their corrosion properties were also discussed. The res...The effects of Ti content and the alloying elements of Si and Cu on the microstructures of casting in situ Al3Ti-Al composites were investigated. Simultaneously, their corrosion properties were also discussed. The results indicate that the aspect ratios of Al3Ti platelets in different Al based composites are different although all of them are in flaky shape. The morphologies of Al3Ti phase are not only determined by Ti content, but are also related to the alloying elements. The grain refining role of Al3Ti phase in the pure Al and Al-Cu based composites is more effective than that in the Al-Si based composite. The addition of Ti decreases the corrosion resistance of pure Al and Al alloys. The corrosion resistances of the composites are dependent on both the corrosion characteristics of the corresponding matrixes and the distribution of Al3Ti platelets.展开更多
Semisolid rheoforming （SSR） is a promising technology for the production of Mg wrought alloy in foundry settings. In order to realize SSR, it is necessary to characterize the grain structure evolution during slurry ...Semisolid rheoforming （SSR） is a promising technology for the production of Mg wrought alloy in foundry settings. In order to realize SSR, it is necessary to characterize the grain structure evolution during slurry preparation. In this paper, slurry of AZ31 alloy was produced by a novel rheocast process known as self-inoculation method （SIM）. Interrupted quenching technology was applied to investigate the primary a-Mg evolution during continuous cooling and isothermal holding. Results indicate that the initial microstructure of slurry produced by SIM is a mixture of irregular grains, which becomes ideally globular when the slurry slowly cools to 620 ~C and isothermally held for at least 30 s. The local solute diffusion leads to dendritic fragmentation and forms separated particles. During prolonged holding, the particle surface gradually becomes smooth because of protuberance melting and groove advancement. Coarsening of a-Mg grains in isothermal holding was analyzed using Lifshitz-Slyozov-Wagner theory. Results suggest that coalescence is most likely the dominant coarsening mechanism in the early stage while Ostwald ripening tends to be the principal one later. The EDS results indicate that a longer holding time leads to AI solute element segregation at the grain boundaries, but Zn distribution within liquid matrix has no obvious change.展开更多
The Al3Ti intermetallic reinforced pure Al,Al-13Si and Al-17Cu matrix composites were prepared by casting method.Their microstructures and dry sliding wear behaviors at room temperature and 100℃were particularly inve...The Al3Ti intermetallic reinforced pure Al,Al-13Si and Al-17Cu matrix composites were prepared by casting method.Their microstructures and dry sliding wear behaviors at room temperature and 100℃were particularly investigated.The results indicated that the Al3Ti phases in these composites were all in flaky form.But the aspect ratio of the Al3Ti platelets decreased with the increase of Ti content in the pure Al,Al-Cu and Al-Si matrix composites,in order of effectiveness.The effect of Si on the Al3Ti morphology seemed to be greater than that of Cu.The distributions of the Al3Ti platelets were different in the different matrix composites,leading to different grain refining effects.Except for the sub-wear regime of adhesive wear,the plastic deformation induced wear was a dominant wear mechanism for all of the composites at room temperature and 100℃.Increasing the testing temperature,decreasing the Al3Ti content or the hardness of materials could enhance these two wear mechanisms,and thus increase the wear rate.The Al-Cu matrix composite had the best wear resistance,while the pure Al matrix composite showed the worst for the same Ti content.These differences or changes were attributed to the differences in materials'hardness or the strengthening effects of the Al3Ti platelets.展开更多
The effects of grain refining parameters on grain size of AM60B magnesium alloy have been investigated using an Al-5Ti-IB master alloy as refiner; and an appropriate refining technique has been developed. The results ...The effects of grain refining parameters on grain size of AM60B magnesium alloy have been investigated using an Al-5Ti-IB master alloy as refiner; and an appropriate refining technique has been developed. The results indicate that the Al-Ti-B master alloy is an effective grain refiner for AM60B alloy and the grain size can be decreased from 348 μm to 76 μm. Raising the addition temperature or the poudng temperature is beneficial for grain refinement; while for the addition amount and holding time, there is an optimal value. The appropriate grain refining technique is that 0.3% Al-Ti-B master alloy is added at 780℃ and then the melt is held for 30 min before pouring. The above phenomena can be explained by the refining mechanisms that have been proposed from the related studies on Al and Mg alloys and theoretical analysis.展开更多
The microstructural evolution process of fined-grained ZA27 alloy during partial remelting has been investigated. The relationship between the as-cast and semi-solid microstructures has been discussed in particular. T...The microstructural evolution process of fined-grained ZA27 alloy during partial remelting has been investigated. The relationship between the as-cast and semi-solid microstructures has been discussed in particular. The results indicate that a semi-solid microstructure with small and spheroidal primary particles can be obtained when the ZA27 alloy is partially remelted. The microstructural evolution can be divided into four stages, the initial coarsening of the dendrites due to coalescence of dendrite arms, structural separation resulted from the melting of residual interdendritic eutectic, spheroidization due to the partial melting of solid particles and final coarsening attributed to the coalescence and Ostwald ripening. An equiaxed dendrite in the as-cast microstructure may evolve into one spheroidal particle in the semi-solid microsturucture after being partially remelted. The more equiaxed the dendrites in an as-cast microstructure are, the more spheroidal the solid particles in the semi-solid microstructure will be. Finer primary particles could be obtained if the alloy with finer as-cast microstructure was partially remelted. However, due to the coalescence effect, their sizes cannot be reduced further if the refined as-cast microstructure reached a certain extent.展开更多
The microstructural evolution of AZ91D magnesium alloy processed by equal channel angular pressing during isothermal heat treatment at 570℃was investigated.The results indicated that the equal channel angular pressin...The microstructural evolution of AZ91D magnesium alloy processed by equal channel angular pressing during isothermal heat treatment at 570℃was investigated.The results indicated that the equal channel angular pressing followed by semi-solid isothermal heat treatment was an effective method to prepare semi-solid nondendritic slurry of AZ91D magnesium alloy.During this process,its microstructure change underwent four stages,the initial coarsening stage,the structure separation stage,the spheroidization stage and the final coarsening stage.The microstructural spheroidization effect was the best after being heated for 15 min for the alloy pressed for four passes,and the grain size was the smallest.With the further increase of heating time,the grain size and shape factor increased.When the heating time was kept constant,the grain size and shape factor decreased with the increase of pressing passes.展开更多
The effects of silicon particle content and testing temperature on friction and wear properties of casting in-situ silicon particle reinforced ZA27 composites were investigated.The wear mechanisms were mainly discusse...The effects of silicon particle content and testing temperature on friction and wear properties of casting in-situ silicon particle reinforced ZA27 composites were investigated.The wear mechanisms were mainly discussed by observations of both worn surfaces and their side views.The results indicated that the variations of wear resistance with increasing of silicon particle content,at all of the testing temperatures applied,showed a similar tendency with a manner of non-monotonous change.It was surprised that the wear resistance decreased with the increase of silicon particle content from 2 vol.%to 5 vol.%,while it increased when the content was less than 2 vol.%or more than 5 vol.%.Similarly,the friction coefficient also did not change monotonously.The dominative wear mechanism changed from a relatively severe regime of plastic deformation accompanied by adhesion wear to a mild regime of smear,then to a very severe regime of severe plastic deformation induced wear,and finally again to a relatively mild regime of smear accompanied by abrasive wear as the silicon content increased.The wear resistance always decreased with elevating testing temperature,but the decrease ranges were different for the composites with different silicon contents.The friction coefficients changed irregularly for the different composites with the increase of testing temperature.Correspondingly,the wear mechanism alternated from a mild regime of smear accompanied by abrasive wear to a severe regime of plastic deformation accompanied by adhesion wear.展开更多
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (grant No. 2010CB635106)the High School Basic Scientific Research Program of Gansu Province
文摘The application of some semi-solid forming magnesium alloys is restricted due to their weak mechanical properties. To improve the mechanical properties, it is necessary to research the regularity and theory of semi-solid microstructure evolution of the alloy. In this study, microstructure evolution of ZA72 alloy during the partial remelting, and the effect of holding temperature and holding time on the semi-solid microstructure evolution of ZA72 magnesium alloy were investigated by means of OM, SEM and EDS analysis. The results indicate that the microstructure with small and spheroidal semi-solid particles which are available for thixo-forming can be obtained using proper heating parameters. After being isothermally treated at between 580 and 610 ℃ for 30 min, the equivalent size and shape factor of primary solid phase of ZA72 alloy decrease gradually, while the liquid volume fraction increases. When isothermally treated at 600 ℃ and held for different times from 15 to 60 min, with the increase of holding time, the equivalent size of primary particles decreases at first and then increases gradually; while the shape factor decreases gradually. The best heat treatment parameters in this experiment are to hold at 610 ℃for 30 min. Compared with as-cast ZA72 alloy, the sizes of the eutectic phase and second a-Mg phase obtained in semi-solid state are smaller due to the higher solidification rate and the higher under-cooling degree than as-cast state. These decrease the fracture probability during tensile stress and improve the properties of the ZA72 alloy by semi-solid forming.
基金supported by the Development Program for Outstanding Young Teachers in Lanzhou University of Technologythe Opening Foundation of Gansu Key Laboratory of Advanced Nonferrous Materials
文摘The effects of Ti content and the alloying elements of Si and Cu on the microstructures of casting in situ Al3Ti-Al composites were investigated. Simultaneously, their corrosion properties were also discussed. The results indicate that the aspect ratios of Al3Ti platelets in different Al based composites are different although all of them are in flaky shape. The morphologies of Al3Ti phase are not only determined by Ti content, but are also related to the alloying elements. The grain refining role of Al3Ti phase in the pure Al and Al-Cu based composites is more effective than that in the Al-Si based composite. The addition of Ti decreases the corrosion resistance of pure Al and Al alloys. The corrosion resistances of the composites are dependent on both the corrosion characteristics of the corresponding matrixes and the distribution of Al3Ti platelets.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(50964010)
文摘Semisolid rheoforming （SSR） is a promising technology for the production of Mg wrought alloy in foundry settings. In order to realize SSR, it is necessary to characterize the grain structure evolution during slurry preparation. In this paper, slurry of AZ31 alloy was produced by a novel rheocast process known as self-inoculation method （SIM）. Interrupted quenching technology was applied to investigate the primary a-Mg evolution during continuous cooling and isothermal holding. Results indicate that the initial microstructure of slurry produced by SIM is a mixture of irregular grains, which becomes ideally globular when the slurry slowly cools to 620 ~C and isothermally held for at least 30 s. The local solute diffusion leads to dendritic fragmentation and forms separated particles. During prolonged holding, the particle surface gradually becomes smooth because of protuberance melting and groove advancement. Coarsening of a-Mg grains in isothermal holding was analyzed using Lifshitz-Slyozov-Wagner theory. Results suggest that coalescence is most likely the dominant coarsening mechanism in the early stage while Ostwald ripening tends to be the principal one later. The EDS results indicate that a longer holding time leads to AI solute element segregation at the grain boundaries, but Zn distribution within liquid matrix has no obvious change.
基金supported by the Development Program for Outstanding Young Teachers in Lanzhou University of Technology
文摘The Al3Ti intermetallic reinforced pure Al,Al-13Si and Al-17Cu matrix composites were prepared by casting method.Their microstructures and dry sliding wear behaviors at room temperature and 100℃were particularly investigated.The results indicated that the Al3Ti phases in these composites were all in flaky form.But the aspect ratio of the Al3Ti platelets decreased with the increase of Ti content in the pure Al,Al-Cu and Al-Si matrix composites,in order of effectiveness.The effect of Si on the Al3Ti morphology seemed to be greater than that of Cu.The distributions of the Al3Ti platelets were different in the different matrix composites,leading to different grain refining effects.Except for the sub-wear regime of adhesive wear,the plastic deformation induced wear was a dominant wear mechanism for all of the composites at room temperature and 100℃.Increasing the testing temperature,decreasing the Al3Ti content or the hardness of materials could enhance these two wear mechanisms,and thus increase the wear rate.The Al-Cu matrix composite had the best wear resistance,while the pure Al matrix composite showed the worst for the same Ti content.These differences or changes were attributed to the differences in materials'hardness or the strengthening effects of the Al3Ti platelets.
基金financially supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (grant No.G2007CB613706)the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University of China (grant No. NCET-10-0023)
文摘The effects of grain refining parameters on grain size of AM60B magnesium alloy have been investigated using an Al-5Ti-IB master alloy as refiner; and an appropriate refining technique has been developed. The results indicate that the Al-Ti-B master alloy is an effective grain refiner for AM60B alloy and the grain size can be decreased from 348 μm to 76 μm. Raising the addition temperature or the poudng temperature is beneficial for grain refinement; while for the addition amount and holding time, there is an optimal value. The appropriate grain refining technique is that 0.3% Al-Ti-B master alloy is added at 780℃ and then the melt is held for 30 min before pouring. The above phenomena can be explained by the refining mechanisms that have been proposed from the related studies on Al and Mg alloys and theoretical analysis.
基金supported by the Development Program for Outstanding Young Teachers and Doctor Foundation of Lanzhou University of Technology
文摘The microstructural evolution process of fined-grained ZA27 alloy during partial remelting has been investigated. The relationship between the as-cast and semi-solid microstructures has been discussed in particular. The results indicate that a semi-solid microstructure with small and spheroidal primary particles can be obtained when the ZA27 alloy is partially remelted. The microstructural evolution can be divided into four stages, the initial coarsening of the dendrites due to coalescence of dendrite arms, structural separation resulted from the melting of residual interdendritic eutectic, spheroidization due to the partial melting of solid particles and final coarsening attributed to the coalescence and Ostwald ripening. An equiaxed dendrite in the as-cast microstructure may evolve into one spheroidal particle in the semi-solid microsturucture after being partially remelted. The more equiaxed the dendrites in an as-cast microstructure are, the more spheroidal the solid particles in the semi-solid microstructure will be. Finer primary particles could be obtained if the alloy with finer as-cast microstructure was partially remelted. However, due to the coalescence effect, their sizes cannot be reduced further if the refined as-cast microstructure reached a certain extent.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(grant No.G2007CB613706)the Development Program for Outstanding Young Teachers in Lanzhou University of Technologythe Opening Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Advanced Non-ferrous Materials.
文摘The microstructural evolution of AZ91D magnesium alloy processed by equal channel angular pressing during isothermal heat treatment at 570℃was investigated.The results indicated that the equal channel angular pressing followed by semi-solid isothermal heat treatment was an effective method to prepare semi-solid nondendritic slurry of AZ91D magnesium alloy.During this process,its microstructure change underwent four stages,the initial coarsening stage,the structure separation stage,the spheroidization stage and the final coarsening stage.The microstructural spheroidization effect was the best after being heated for 15 min for the alloy pressed for four passes,and the grain size was the smallest.With the further increase of heating time,the grain size and shape factor increased.When the heating time was kept constant,the grain size and shape factor decreased with the increase of pressing passes.
基金supported by the Doctor Foundation of Lanzhou University of Technology
文摘The effects of silicon particle content and testing temperature on friction and wear properties of casting in-situ silicon particle reinforced ZA27 composites were investigated.The wear mechanisms were mainly discussed by observations of both worn surfaces and their side views.The results indicated that the variations of wear resistance with increasing of silicon particle content,at all of the testing temperatures applied,showed a similar tendency with a manner of non-monotonous change.It was surprised that the wear resistance decreased with the increase of silicon particle content from 2 vol.%to 5 vol.%,while it increased when the content was less than 2 vol.%or more than 5 vol.%.Similarly,the friction coefficient also did not change monotonously.The dominative wear mechanism changed from a relatively severe regime of plastic deformation accompanied by adhesion wear to a mild regime of smear,then to a very severe regime of severe plastic deformation induced wear,and finally again to a relatively mild regime of smear accompanied by abrasive wear as the silicon content increased.The wear resistance always decreased with elevating testing temperature,but the decrease ranges were different for the composites with different silicon contents.The friction coefficients changed irregularly for the different composites with the increase of testing temperature.Correspondingly,the wear mechanism alternated from a mild regime of smear accompanied by abrasive wear to a severe regime of plastic deformation accompanied by adhesion wear.
