Microstructure and impact behavior of Mg-4Al-5RE-xGd cast magnesium alloys

This work investigated the microstructure and impact behavior of Mg-4Al-5RE-xGd(RE represents La-Ce mischmetal;x=0,0.2,0.7 wt.%)alloys cast by high-pressure die casting(HPDC),permanent mold casting(PMC),and sand casting(SC)techniques.The results indicated that with increasing Gd content,the grain sizes of the HPDC alloy had a slight change,but the grains of the PMC and SC alloys were significantly refined.Besides,the acicular Al_(11)RE_(3)phase was modified into the short-rod shape under the three casting conditions.The impact toughness of the studied alloy was mainly dominated by the absorbed energy during the crack initiation.With increasing Gd content,the impact toughness of the studied alloy monotonically increased due to the lower tendency of the modified second phase toward crack initiation.The impact stress was higher than the tensile stress,exhibiting a strain rate sensitivity for the mechanical response;however,the HPDC alloy had an inconsistent strain rate sensitivity during the impact event due to the transformation of the deformation mechanism from twinning to slip with increasing strain.Abundant dimples covered the fracture surface of the fine-grained HPDC alloys,indicating a typical ductile fracture.Nevertheless,due to the deficient{1012}twinning activity and the suppressed grain boundary sliding during the impact event,the HPDC alloys showed insufficient plastic deformation capacity.

Damping performance of SiC nanoparticles reinforced magnesium matrix composites processed by cyclic extrusion and compression

This work dealt with the damping performance and its underlying mechanism in SiC nanoparticles reinforced AZ91D composite(SiC_(np)/AZ91D)processed by cyclic extrusion and compression(CEC).It was found that the CEC process significantly affects the damping performance of the composite due to alterations in the density of dislocations and grain boundaries in the matrix alloy.Although there would be dynamic precipitation of the Mg17Al12 phase during processing which increases the phase interface and limits the mobility of dislocations and grain boundaries.The results also showed that the damping capacity of 1%SiC_(np)/AZ91D composite continuously decreases with adding CEC pass number and it consistently increases with rising the applied temperature.Considering the first derivative of the tanδ-T curve,the dominant damping mechanism based on test temperature can be divided into three regions.These three regions are as follows(i)dislocation vibration of the weak pinning points(≤T_(cr)),(ii)dislocation vibration of the strong pinning points(T_(cr)∼T_(V)),and(iii)grain boundary/interface sliding(≥T_(V))

Effective inhibition of anomalous grain coarsening in cast AZ91 alloys during fast cooling via nanoparticle addition

In this work, the effects of Ti CN and γ-Al_(2)O_(3) nanoparticle(NP) addition on the microstructural evolution of cast AZ91 alloys at the cooling rate ranging from 15 to 120 K/s have been systematically investigated. Experimental results reveal that grain coarsening occurs in cast AZ91 alloys when the cooling rate exceeds 90 K/s, while it can be effectively inhibited upon addition of NPs. The marked inhibition effect may originate from the formation of Ti CN or γ-Al_(2)O_(3) NP-induced undercooling zone ahead of solid/liquid(S/L) front of α-Mg, which not only can restrict grain growth effectively, but also can reactivate the native nucleants that are inactive in AZ91 melts to participate in nucleation events. And if possessing high nucleation potency, NPs can also promote further nucleation events and lead to significant grain refinement. An analytical model has been established to quantitatively account for the restriction effect of NPs on grain growth. The present work may shed a new light on the grain coarsening of cast alloys during fast cooling and provide an effective approach to circumvent it.

Effects of Zr,Ti and Sc additions on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-0.4Cu-0.14Si-0.05Mg-0.2Fe alloys

The evolution of microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-0.4 Cu-0.14 Si-0.05 Mg-0.2 Fe（wt.%）alloys, micro-alloyed with Zr, Ti and Sc, were investigated. The addition of 0.2%Zr to base alloy accelerates the precipitation of Si-rich nano-phase in α-Al matrix, which plays an important role in improving the mechanical properties of an alloy. The tensile strength increases from 102 MPa for the base alloy to 113 MPa for the Zr-modified alloy. Adding 0.2%Zr + 0.2%Ti to base alloy effectively refines a-Al grain size and accelerates the precipitation of Si and Cu elements, leading to heavy segregation at grain boundary.By further adding 0.2%Sc to Zr + Ti modified alloy, the segregation of Si and Cu elements is suppressed and more Si and Cu precipitates appeared in α-Al matrix. Accompanied with the formation of coherent Al;Sc phase, the tensile strength increases from 108 MPa for the Zr + Ti modified alloy to 152 MPa for the Sc-modified alloy. Due to excellent thermal stability of Al;Sc phase, the Sc-modified alloy exhibits obvious precipitation hardening behavior at 350℃, and the tensile strength increases to 203 MPa after holding at 350 ℃ for 200 h.

Review on corrosion resistance of mild steels in liquid aluminum

The corrosion of mild steels by liquid aluminum is an intractable issue in aluminum industry.This review aims to provide an overview of the corrosion behavior of mild steels in the static liquid aluminum with an emphasis on the thermodynamic and kinetic aspects.The corrosion mechanisms of mild steels in liquid aluminum are discussed systematically,based on which four corrosion control approaches including alloying,introducing secondary phase,matrix microstructure control and surface treatment are introduced.Currently,a combination of improvement approaches may have a great potential for further enhancement in corrosion resistance.

Tensile and Isothermal Fatigue Behaviors of Mg-12Gd-3Y-0.5Zr Alloy at High Temperature

Tensile and isothermal fatigue tests were carried out on an as-rolled Mg-12Gd-3Y-0.5Zr alloy and its heat-treated counterpart at different temperatures. The experimental results show that the ultimate tensile strengths of two alloys decrease very slowly with increasing temperature up to 200℃. The ultimate tensile strength of heat-treated Mg-12Gd-3Y-0.5Zr is slight lower than that of as-rolled counterpart; however, the fatigue strength of heat-treated alloy is higher. The mechanism of fatigue failure was investigated by scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. It shows that cyclic slip combined with environmental effect may be the main crack initiation mechanism.

Effects of Gd Addition on the Microstructure and Tensile Properties of Mg–4Al–5RE Alloy Produced by Three Different Casting Methods

This work deals with the effect of 0.67 wt%Gd addition on the microstructure and tensile properties of Mg–4 Al–5 RE(where RE represents La–Ce mischmetal)alloy produced by sand casting(SC),permanent mold casting(PMC),and high-pressure die casting(HPDC).The results show that Gd addition could refine the grains,but its efficiency decreases by increasing the cooling rate due to the shifting from SC to PMC and finally to the HPDC method.Meanwhile,the acicular Al11 RE3 phase is modified into the short-rod or granular-like shape under the three casting conditions.Such refined and modified microstructures are due to the Al2(Gd,RE)phases,which act as the nucleation sites in both theα-Mg matrix and Al11 RE3 phase.Also,the weakening grain refinement effect in the increased cooling rates can be attributed to the narrow constitutional undercooling zone.After Gd addition,the 0.2%proof strength of the SC and PMC alloys increases by about 16.9%and 12.7%,respectively,while in the HPDC alloy,it decreases by about 5.9%.The main factor in the strength increment of the SC and PMC alloys is the grain boundary strengthening due to grain refinement which is proved by modeling the related mechanisms,whereas weak secondary phases and grain boundary strengthening mechanisms in the HPDC alloy lead to strength reduction.After Gd addition,the elongation to failure of the SC,PMC,and HPDC alloys is significantly enhanced by about 34.8%,20.2%,and 12.3%,respectively,due to the crack resistance nature of the modified short-rod/granular Al11(RE,Gd)3 phase compared to the acicular one.

Enhanced Strength and Ductility Due to Microstructure Refinement and Texture Weakening of the GW102K Alloy by Cyclic Extrusion Compression

The cyclic extrusion compression （CEC） was applied to severely deform the as-extruded GW102K （Mg- 10.0Gd-2.0Y-0.5Zr, wt%） alloy at 350, 400, and 450 ℃, respectively. The microstructure, texture, and grain boundary character distribution of the CECed alloy were investigated in the present work. The mechan- ical properties were measured by uniaxial tension at room temperature. The crack initiation on the longitudinal section near the tensile fracture-surface was investigated by high-resolution scanning elec- tron microscopy （SEM）. The result shows that the microstructure was dramatically refined by dynamic recrystallization （DRX）. The initial fiber texture was disintegrated and obviously weakened. The 8-passes/ 350 ℃ CECed alloy exhibited yield strength of 318 MPa with an elongation-to-fracture of 16.8%, increased by 41.3% and 162.5%, respectively. Moreover, the elongation-to-fracture of the 8-passes/450 ℃ CECed alloy significantly increased more than 3 times than that of the received alloy. The cracks were mainly initi- ated at twin boundaries and second phase/matrix interfaces during tensile deformation. The microstructure refinement was considered to result in the dramatically enhanced of the strength and ductility. In ad- dition, the texture randomization during CEC is beneficial for enhancing ductility. The standard positive Hall-Petch relationships have been obtained for the CECed GW102K alloy.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Overcast 6101–6101 Wrought Al Alloy Joint by Squeeze Casting

The wrought Al alloy-wrought Al alloy overcast joint was fabricated by casting liquid 6101 Al alloy onto 6101 Al extrusion bars and solidifying under applied pressure. The joint interfacial microstructure was investigated; the effect of applied pressure on the microstructure and mechanical properties was evalu- ated. The mechanism of joint formation and mechanical behaviors of both squeeze cast 6101 and 6101- 6101 overcastjoint material were analyzed. The results show that with the application of pressure during solidification process, wrought Al alloy 6101 could be cast directly into shape successfully. Excellent met- allurgical bonding was then formed in the overcast joint by electro-plating 6101 solid insert with a layer of zinc coating, and a transition zone formed in the joint region. During the tensile test, the fracture occurs in the 6101 solid insert part with the ultimate tensile strength （UTS） of 200 MPa, indicating that the strength of the overcast joint is higher than 200 MPa, and the tensile strength of overcast joint material is inde- pendent on the magnitude of applied pressure. For Al-Al overcast joint material, if a clean and high strength joint is formed, the UTS and yield strength （YS） are determined by the material with the lower value, while for EL, the value is determined by the length proportion and the stress-strain behavior of both components.

Effects of additive NaI on electrodeposition of Al coatings in AlCl_(3)-NaCl-KCl molten salts

Effects of NaI as an additive on electrodeposition of Al coatings in AlCl_(3)-NaCl-KCl(80-10-10 wt-%)molten salts electrolyte at 150°C were investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry,chronopotentiometry,scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction(XRD).Results reveal that addition of NaI in the electrolyte intensifies cathodic polarization,inhibits growth of Al deposits and increases number density of charged particles.The electrodeposition of Al coatings in the AlCl_(3)-NaCl-KCl molten salts electrolyte proceeds via three-dimensional instantaneous nucleation which however exhibits irrelevance with NaI.Galvanostatic deposition results indicate that NaI could facilitate the formation of uniform Al deposits.A compact coating consisting of Al deposits with an average particle size of 3μm was obtained at a current density of 50 mA∙cm^(−2) in AlCl_(3)-NaCl-KCl molten salts electrolyte with 10 wt-%NaI.XRD analysis confirmed that NaI could contribute to the formation of Al coating with a preferred crystallographic orientation along(220)plane.

Effect of homogenization on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the repetitive-upsetting processed AZ91D alloy

The current research investigates the effect of homogenization on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the AZ91 D alloy processed by repetitive upsetting（RU）. Results show that during RU processing, the initial large Mg;Al;particles in the as-cast specimen accelerate the dynamic recrystallization（DRX） due to the particle stimulating nucleation（PSN） mechanism. With the progress of RU,the inherent large strain breaks the large second phases into small fragments, which indicates the PSN gradually disappears, while the pinning effect becomes obvious. As for the homogenized specimen, a pre-heat treatment leads to the absence of Mg;Al;particles but a uniform distribution of Al atoms in the Mg alloy. Though the subsequent RU promotes the precipitation of Mg;Al;particles, the relatively small particle size and the uniform distribution are more favorable to act as obstacles for grain growth than contributors to PSN. Finally, a more homogeneous and refined microstructure is obtained in the specimen with prior homogenization than the as-cast one.