Preparation, interfacial regulation and strengthening of Mg/Al bimetal fabricated by compound casting: A review

Mg/Al bimetal combines the advantages of both aluminum and magnesium and has broad application prospects in automotive, aerospace,weapons, digital products and so on. The compound casting has the characteristics of low cost, easy to achieve metallurgical combination and suitable for the preparation of complex bimetallic parts. However, bimetallic joint strength is low due to differences of physical properties between Al and Mg, oxide film on metallic surface and interfacial Al-Mg IMCs, which is closely related to the interfacial microstructure and properties. Therefore, how to control the interface of the bimetal to achieve performance enhancement is the focus and difficulty in this field. At present, there are mainly the following strengthening methods. First, the “zincate galvanizing” and “electrolytic polishing+anodic oxidation” technology were exert on the surface of Al alloy to remove and break the oxide film, which improved the wettability between Al and Mg. Second, the undesirable Al-Mg IMCs were reduce or elimination by adding the interlayers(Zn, Ni and Ni-Cu). Thirdly, the evolution process of interfacial microstructure was changed and fine strengthening phases were formed by adding Si element to Al alloy or rare earth element to Mg alloy. Fourthly, mechanical vibration and ultrasonic vibration were applied in the process of the filling and solidification to refine and homogenize the interfacial structure. Finally, some other methods, including secondary rolling, thermal modification, heat treatment and constructing exterior 3D morphology, also can be used to regulate the interfacial microstructure and compositions. The above strengthening methods can be used alone or in combination to achieve bimetallic strengthening. Finally, the future development direction of the Mg/Al bimetal is prospected, which provides some new ideas for the development and application of the Mg/Al bimetal.

Experimental Study of Moso Bamboo to-Steel Connections with Embedded Grouting Materials

Moso bamboos have attracted excessive attention as a renewable green building material to the concept of sustainable development.In this paper,the 20 bolted Moso bamboo connection specimens with embedded steel plates and grouting materials were designed according to connection configurations with different bolt diameters and end distance of bolt holes,and their bearing capacities and failure modes were analyzed by static tension tests.According to the test results of all connectors,the failure modes of the specimens are divided into four categories,and the effects of bolt diameter and bolt hole end distance on the connection bearing capacity and failure mode are analyzed.The test results show that the deformation and failure process can be divided into four stages.The main influence factor of connector bearing capacity is bolt diameter.Connectors can be divided into four failure modes,and brittle failure can be avoided by adopting certain structural measures.Filling with grouting material can improve the bearing capacity of joints.Due to the large variability of bamboo,further experiments are needed.

Effect of vibration on interfacial microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg/Al bimetal prepared by a novel compound casting

In this work,a vibration was applied in the preparation of the Mg/Al bimetal by a novel compound casting in order to improve the mechanical properties of the Mg/Al bimetal,and the effect of the vibration on the interfacial microstructure and mechanical properties of the Mg/Al bimetal was investigated.The results indicated that the vibration had a significant effect on the interfacial microstructure and mechanical properties of the Mg/Al bimetal,but it did not change the phase compositions of the interface,which was composed of layerⅠ(Al3Mg2+Mg2Si),layerⅡ(Al_(12)Mg_(17)+Mg_(2)Si)and layerⅢ(Al_(12)Mg_(17)/δ-Mg).Without vibration,the Mg_(2)Si phase with a needle-like morphology mainly aggregated in the layerⅡof the interface.After the application of the vibration,the SEM and EBSD analysis results showed that the Mg_(2)Si and Al3Mg2phases in the interface were obviously refined,and the distribution of the Mg_(2)Si became more uniform,due to the strong forced convection of the molten metal resulting from the vibration.The TEM analysis indicated that the interface between the A_(l3)Mg_(2) and Mg_(2)Si phases was non-coherent,suggesting the Mg_(2)Si particles cannot act as a heterogeneous nucleation base during the solidification process of the interface.Compared to the Mg/Al bimetal without vibration,the shear strength of the Mg/Al bimetal with vibration increased by about 50%from 31.7 MPa on average to 47.5 MPa,and the hardness of the layer I of the interface increased,and the hardness of the layerⅢdecreased.The fracture surface transformed from a flat fracture morphology without vibration to an irregular zigzag fracture morphology.

Numerical study on combustion efficiency of aluminum particles in solid rocket motor

The combustion of aluminum particles in solid rocket motor plays an important role in energy release of propellants. However, due to the limited residence time, aluminum particles may not be burned completely, thus hindering the improvement of specific impulse. This study aims to explore the characteristics of aluminum combustion efficiency and its influencing factors by experiments and numerical simulations, providing a guideline for engine performance improvement. As an input of simulation, the initial agglomerate size was measured by a high pressure system. Meanwhile, the size distribution of the particles in plume was measured by ground firing test to validate the numerical model. Then, a two-phase flow model coupling combustion of micro aluminum particle was developed, by which the detailed effects of particle size, detaching position and nozzle convergent section structure on aluminum combustion efficiency were explored. The results suggest that the average combustion temperature in the chamber drops with increasing initial particle size,while the maximum temperature increases slightly. In the tested motors, the aluminum particle burns completely as its diameter is smaller than 50 μm, and beyond 50 μm the combustion efficiency decreases obviously with the increase of initial size. As the diameter approaches to 75 μm, the combustion efficiency becomes more sensitive to particle size. The combustion efficiency of aluminum particle escaping from end-burning surfaces is significantly higher than that from internal burning surface, where the particle combustion efficiency decreases during approaching the convergent section. Furthermore, the combustion efficiency decreases slightly with increasing nozzle convergent section angle. And theoretically it is feasible to improve combustion efficiency of aluminum particles by designing the convergent profile of nozzle.

Effect of La on microstructure,mechanical properties and fracture behavior of Al/Mg bimetallic interface manufactured by compound casting

To improve the Al/Mg bimetallic interface,La was added into the Al/Mg bimetallic interface manufactured by a compound casting process.The effect of La addition on the microstructure,mechanical properties and fracture behavior of the Al/Mg bimetallic interface and the formation mechanism of the interface were studied in detail.Al_(11)La_(3),Al_(8)Mn_(4)La,Al_(20)Ti_(2)La,and other rare earth precipitates(RE precipitates)preferentially precipitated at the interface with La addition,while the number of the Al_(11)La_(3)and Al_(8)Mn_(4)La located in eutectic structure area(E area)gradually increased and aggregated in the interface with the increase of the La content.Besides,the matrix structure in different areas of the Al/Mg interface changed in different degrees,and the eutectic structure and primaryγ(Mg_(17)Al_(12))dendrites in the E area were refned,but the intermetallic compounds area(IMC area)had no obvious change.With the addition of the La,the interface was strengthened under the comprehensive effect of refnement strengthening and precipitation strengthening from the E area.When the La content increased to 1.0%,the shear strength of the Al/Mg bimetal reached the maximum of 51.54 MPa,which was 30.95%higher than the group without La addition.However,with the further increase of the La content,the large area aggregation of the Al_(11)La_(3)and Al_(8)Mn_(4)La occurred in the interface,leading to the separation of the matrix structure of the E area and the decrease of the shear strength of the Al/Mg interface.