Effects of Pre-Strain on Bake Hardenability and Precipitation Behavior of Al-Mg-Si Automotive Body Sheets

The study investigates the effects of pre-strain on the bake hardenability and precipitation behavior of Al-Mg-Si automotive body sheets. The scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, tensile test, Vickers hardness test, and differential scanning calorimetry were conducted for the purpose. It was found that the pre-strain treatment partially inhibits the natural aging hardening effect but cannot completely eliminate it. The pre-straining significantly enhances the bake hardening effect, with the 5% pre-strain sample showing the highest increase in yield strength and hardness. The formation of fine β" precipitates and dislocation structures contribute to the observed strengthening. Additionally, the study highlights the importance of optimizing pre-strain levels to achieve the best balance between strength and ductility in bake-hardened aluminum alloys.

Application of Artificial Neural Network to Predicting Hardenability of Gear Steel

The prediction of the hardenability and chemical composition of gear steel was studied using artificial neural networks. A software was used to quantitatively forecast the hardenability by its chemical composition or the chemical composition by its hardenability. The prediction result is more precise than that obtained from the traditional method based on the simple mathematical regression model.

Evaluating data-driven algorithms for predicting mechanical properties with small datasets:A case study on gear steel hardenability

Data-driven algorithms for predicting mechanical properties with small datasets are evaluated in a case study on gear steel hardenability.The limitations of current data-driven algorithms and empirical models are identified.Challenges in analysing small datasets are discussed,and solution is proposed to handle small datasets with multiple variables.Gaussian methods in combination with novel predictive algorithms are utilized to overcome the challenges in analysing gear steel hardenability data and to gain insight into alloying elements interaction and structure homogeneity.The gained fundamental knowledge integrated with machine learning is shown to be superior to the empirical equations in predicting hardenability.Metallurgical-property relationships between chemistry,sample size,and hardness are predicted via two optimized machine learning algorithms:neural networks(NNs)and extreme gradient boosting(XGboost).A comparison is drawn between all algorithms,evaluating their performance based on small data sets.The results reveal that XGboost has the highest potential for predicting hardenability using small datasets with class imbalance and large inhomogeneity issues.

Effect of Mn on hardenability of 25CrMo axle steel by an improved end-quench test

With the sixth large-scale railway speed-up,the quality of the axles is essential to the safety of the locomotive.According to the high-speed axle technical standard for the control of alloy elements in axle steel,optimization experiments of 25CrMo steel composition were performed by vacuum inductive melting.In order to study the hardenability of high-speed rail axles,an improved end-quench test was put forward.The advantage is that it enables the heat to transfer along the axial direction,thus avoiding edge effects.The hardenability of 25CrMo axle steels with Mn content of 0.60wt.% and 0.80wt.% was investigated mainly by means of optical microscopy and hardness tests.The experimental results indicate that the Mn has a pronounced effect on the hardenability of the steel.With an increase in Mn content from 0.60wt.% and 0.80wt.%,the hardenability of 25CrMo axle steel increases and the hard microstructure is maintained at an increasing distance from the quenched end.From the surface of the water quenched end to the center of the sample,the microstructure is martensite,martensite with bainite,and bainite.

Fabrication of End Quenched Machine: Hardenability Evaluation

The Jominy end quench machine was designed, manufactured and tested. The manganese steel was developed. The as-cast manganese steels were quenched in water at different austenising temperatures and hardenability test was carried out on the samples cut at different distances from the quenched surface with the use of the manufactured Jominy end quench machine. The optical microscope was used to investigate the microstructure of the cut samples. Results revealed that the Jominy end quench machine worked effectively with short cycle time and improved water management system. The extremely rapid cooling prevents the decomposition of the chromium carbides. However, the hardness values of the samples decreased with increase in the distance from the quenched surface and the size of the chromium carbides increased with austentic temperatures which is responsible for reduction in the hardness values of the quenched samples at higher austentinic temperature. The manufactured Jominy end quench machine has advantages of improved water management system and short processing time over the existing ones.

Effect of controlled rolling on the martensitic hardenability of dual phase steel

The C-Mn and C-Mn-Nb steels were thermo-mechanically processed to develop dual phase steel and to study the effect of controlled rolling on the martensitic hardenability of austenite. The steel specimens were intercritically annealed at 790℃, rolled at that temperature to the reductions of 10%, 23%, and 47% and immediately cooled at different rates. Quantitative metallography was used to construct the microstructure map, which illustrated that increasing deformation progressively reduced the proportion of new ferrite formed at all cooling rates and increased the amount of martensite at fast and intermediate rates. The martensitic hardenability of austenite remaining after all the rolling reductions was plotted as a function of cooling rates. It was observed that for the austenite-martensite conversion efficiencies greater than about 25%, controlled rolling increased the martensitic hardenability of austenite.

Determination and Analysis of Hardenability for Hot-Forging Die Steels with Deep-Hardening

ERH end-quenching method was used to determine the hardenability of four kinds hot-forging die steels with deep-hardening and hence the order of their hardenability was given.The tempering hardness of the steels was measured and the tempering resistance was studied.It was approved that ERH method is effective for the determination of hardenability of deep-hardening steel and the beginning of hardness drop in the ERH specimen is caused by bainite occurring.

COMPOSITION DESIGN FOR A BEARING STEEL WITH LIMITED HARDENABILITY

The composition of a bearing steel was designed for limited hardenability by use of Grossmann's method. A medium frequency induction Process was applied to heat bearings to ensure penetrant heating and suitable solving of carbon and other elements in the matrix. The hardened depth measured from the end quenching test samples and actual bearings matches well with the designed one.

Effects of deformation temperatures on microstructures,aging behaviors and mechanical properties of Mg-Gd-Er-Zr alloys fabricated by hard-plate rolling

In this investigation,a high-strength Mg-12Gd-1.0Er-0.5Zr(wt.%)alloy sheet was produced by hot extrusion(HE)and subsequent hard-plate rolling(HPR)at different temperatures.The results indicate that the microstructures of these final-rolled sheets are inhomogeneous,mainly including coarse deformed grains and dynamic recrystallized(DRXed)grains,and the volume fraction of these coarse deformed grains increases as the rolling temperature increases.Thus,more DRXed grains can be found in R-385℃sheet,resulting in a smaller average grain size and weaker basal texture,while the biggest grains and the highest strong basal texture are present in R-450℃sheet.Amounts of dynamic precipitation ofβphases which are mainly determined by the rolling temperature are present in these sheets,and its precipitation can consume the content of Gd solutes in the matrix.As a result,the lowest number density ofβphase in R-450℃sheet is beneficial to modify the age hardening response.Thus,the R-450℃sheet displays the best age hardening response because of a severe traditional precipitation ofβ’(more)andβH/βM(less)precipitates,resulting in a sharp improvement in strength,i.e.ultimate tensile strength(UTS)of∼518±17 MPa and yield strength(YS)of∼438±18 MPa.However,the elongation(EL)of this sheet reduces greatly,and its value is∼2.7±0.3%.By contrasting,the EL of the peak-aging R-385℃sheet keeps better,changing from∼4.9±1.2%to∼4.8±1.4%due to a novel dislocation-induced chain-like precipitate which is helpful to keep good balance between strength and ductility.

Flow characteristics and hot workability of a typical low-alloy high-strength steel during multi-pass deformation

Heavy components of low-alloy high-strength(LAHS) steels are generally formed by multi-pass forging. It is necessary to explore the flow characteristics and hot workability of LAHS steels during the multi-pass forging process, which is beneficial to the formulation of actual processing parameters. In the study, the multi-pass hot compression experiments of a typical LAHS steel are carried out at a wide range of deformation temperatures and strain rates. It is found that the work hardening rate of the experimental material depends on deformation parameters and deformation passes, which is ascribed to the impacts of static and dynamic softening behaviors. A new model is established to describe the flow characteristics at various deformation passes. Compared to the classical Arrhenius model and modified Zerilli and Armstrong model, the newly proposed model shows higher prediction accuracy with a confidence level of 0.98565. Furthermore, the connection between power dissipation efficiency(PDE) and deformation parameters is revealed by analyzing the microstructures. The PDE cannot be utilized to reflect the efficiency of energy dissipation for microstructure evolution during the entire deformation process, but only to assess the efficiency of energy dissipation for microstructure evolution in a specific deformation parameter state.As a result, an integrated processing map is proposed to better study the hot workability of the LAHS steel, which considers the effects of instability factor(IF), PDE, and distribution and size of grains. The optimized processing parameters for the multi-pass deformation process are the deformation parameters of 1223–1318 K and 0.01–0.08 s^(-1). Complete dynamic recrystallization occurs within the optimized processing parameters with an average grain size of 18.36–42.3 μm. This study will guide the optimization of the forging process of heavy components.

A refined deviatoric hardening plastic model for sand

The classical deviatoric hardening models are capable of characterizing the mechanical response of granular materials for a broad range of degrees of compaction.This work finds that it has limitations in accurately predicting the volumetric deformation characteristics under a wide range of confining/consolidation pressures.The issue stems from the pressure independent hardening law in the classical deviatoric hardening model.To overcome this problem,we propose a refined deviatoric hardening model in which a pressure-dependent hardening law is developed based on experimental observations.Comparisons between numerical results and laboratory triaxial tests indicate that the improved model succeeds in capturing the volumetric deformation behavior under various confining/consolidation pressure conditions for both dense and loose sands.Furthermore,to examine the importance of the improved deviatoric hardening model,it is combined with the bounding surface plasticity theory to investigate the mechanical response of loose sand under complex cyclic loadings and different initial consolidation pressures.It is proved that the proposed pressure-dependent deviatoric hardening law is capable of predicting the volumetric deformation characteristics to a satisfactory degree and plays an important role in the simulation of complex deformations for granular geomaterials.

Hardening mechanism and thermal-solid coupling model of laminar plasma surface hardening of 65 Mn steel

In the present work,the laminar plasma surface hardening method is employed to enhance the service life of metal components fabricated from 65 Mn steel.The mechanical and wear behaviors of the laminar plasma surface hardened 65 Mn steel were analyzed.The martensite transition transformation of the temperature of the laminar plasma-hardened 65 ferrite Mn steel was determined by a thermal-solid coupling model.Based on the orthogonal experimental results,the optimal hardening parameters were confirmed.The scanning velocity,quenching distance and arc current are 130 mm/min,50 mm and 120 A,respectively.The pearlites and ferrites are transformed into martensites in the hardened zone,while the ratio of martensite in the heataffected zone decreases with the increase in the hardening depth.Compared to the untreated 65Mn steel,the average hardness increases from 220 HV_(0.2)to 920 HV_(0.2)in the hardened zone and the corresponding absorbed power increases from 118.7 J to 175.5 J.At the same time,the average coefficient of friction(COF)decreases from 0.763 to 0.546,and the wear rate decreases from 5.39×10^(-6)mm^(3)/(N·m)to 2.95×10^(-6)mm^(3)/(N·m),indicating that the wear resistance of 65Mn steel could be significantly improved by using laminar surface hardening.With the same hardening parameters,the depth and width of the hardened zone predicted by the thermal-solid coupling model are 1.85 mm and 11.20 mm,respectively,which are in accordance with the experimental results;depth is 1.83 mm and width is 11.15 mm.In addition,the predicted hardness distributions of the simulation model are in accordance with the experimental results.These results indicate that the simulation model could effectively predict the microstructure characteristics of 65 Mn steel.

Achieving High Strength and Tensile Ductility in Pure Nickel by Cryorolling with Subsequent Low-Temperature Short-Time Annealing

Ultra fine-grained pure metals and their alloys have high strength and low ductility.In this study,cryorolling under different strains followed by low-temperature short-time annealing was used to fabricate pure nickel sheets combining high strength with good ductility.The results show that,for different cryorolling strains,the uniform elongation was greatly increased without sacrificing the strength after annealing.A yield strength of 607 MPa and a uniform elongation of 11.7%were obtained after annealing at a small cryorolling strain(ε=0.22),while annealing at a large cryorolling strain(ε=1.6)resulted in a yield strength of 990 MPa and a uniform elongation of 6.4%.X-ray diffraction(XRD),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and electron backscattered diffraction(EBSD)were used to characterize the microstructure of the specimens and showed that the high strength could be attributed to strain hardening during cryorolling,with an additional contribution from grain refinement and the formation of dislocation walls.The high ductility could be attributed to annealing twins and micro-shear bands during stretching,which improved the strain hardening capacity.The results show that the synergistic effect of strength and ductility can be regulated through low-temperature short-time annealing with different cryorolling strains,which provides a new reference for the design of future thermo-mechanical processes.

Effect of Pre-strain on Microstructure and Stamping Performance of High-strength Low-alloy Steel

In this study,pre-strain ranging from 0 to 0.12 was applied through uniaxial tension on high-strength low-alloy(HSLA)specimens with four kinds of grain size.Effect of pre-strain and grain size on me-chanical property was investigated through tensile tests.Microstructures of the pre-strained and tensile tested samples were analyzed,respectively.The 30.8°v-bending and following flattening,as well as Erichson cupping tests,were performed on the pre-strained samples.Results show the elongation ratio of grain and dislocation density increases with pre-strain.Yielding platform is removed when pre-strain is larger than 0.06 while yielding plateau period decreases with pre-strain less than 0.06 due to reduction of pinning effect.The 30.8°v-bending and the following flattening tests are successfully accomplished on all the pre-strained samples with different grain size.Decrease in grain size,along with increase in pre-strain,causes increase in strength and decrease in elongation rate as well as cupping value.Pre-strain causes very slight effect on bending ability,much less than that on mechanical property and cupping test value.Reciprocal impact of the pre-strain and grain size on HSLA steel deformability is inconspicuous.

Quickly obtaining densely dispersed coherent particles in steel matrix and its related mechanical property

Densely distributed coherent nanoparticles(DCN)in steel matrix can enhance the work-hardening ability and ductility of steel simultaneously.All the routes to this end can be generally classified into the liquid-solid route and the solid-solid route.However,the formation of DCN structures in steel requires long processes and complex steps.So far,obtaining steel with coherent particle enhancement in a short time remains a bottleneck,and some necessary steps remain unavoidable.Here,we show a high-efficiency liquid-phase refining process reinforced by a dynamic magnetic field.Ti-Y-Mn-O particles had an average size of around(3.53±1.21)nm and can be obtained in just around 180 s.These small nanoparticles were coherent with the matrix,implying no accumulated dislocations between the particles and the steel matrix.Our findings have a potential application for improving material machining capacity,creep resistance,and radiation resistance.

A Correlation-Based Stochastic Model for Massive MIMO Channel

In this paper,the channel impulse response matrix(CIRM)can be expressed as a sum of couplings between the steering vectors at the base station(BS)and the eigenbases at the mobile station(MS).Nakagami distribution was used to describe the fading of the coupling between the steering vectors and the eigenbases.Extensive measurements were carried out to evaluate the performance of this proposed model.Furthermore,the physical implications of this model were illustrated and the capacities are analyzed.In addition,the azimuthal power spectrum(APS)of several models was analyzed.Finally,the channel hardening effect was simulated and discussed.Results showed that the proposed model provides a better fit to the measured results than the other CBSM,i.e.,Weichselberger model.Moreover,the proposed model can provide better tradeoff between accuracy and complexity in channel synthesis.This CIRM model can be used for massive MIMO design in the future communication system design.

In situ TEM investigation of electron irradiation and aging-induced high-density nanoprecipitates in an Mg-10Gd-3Y-1Zn-0.5Zr alloy

In-situ electron irradiation and aging are applied to introduce high-density precipitates in an Mg-10Gd-3Y-1Zn-0.5Zr(GWZ1031K,wt.%)alloy to improve the hardness.The results show that the hardness of the Mg alloy after irradiation for 10 h and aging for 9 h at 250℃ is 1.64 GPa,which is approximately 64% higher than that of the samples before being treated.It is mainly attributed to γ'precipitates on the basal plane after irradiation and the high-density nanoscale β'precipitates on the prismatic plane after aging,which should be closely related to the irradiation-induced homogenous clusters.The latter plays a key role in precipitation hardening.This result paves a way to improve the mechanical properties of metallic materials by tailoring the precipitation through irradiation and aging.

Deformation behavior of Mg-Y-Ni alloys containing different volume fraction of LPSO phase during tension and compression through in-situ synchrotron diffraction

The deformation behavior of the as-extruded Mg-Y-Ni alloys with different volume fraction of long period stacking ordered(LPSO)phase during tension and compression was investigated by in-situ synchrotron diffraction.The micro-yielding,macro-yielding,tension-compression asymmetry and strain hardening behavior of the alloys were explored by combining with deformation mechanisms.The micro-yielding is dominated by basal slip of dynamic recrystallized(DRXed)grains in tension,while it is dominated by extension twinning of non-dynamic recrystallized(non-DRXed)grains in compression.At macro-yielding,the non-DRXed grains are still elastic deformed in tension and the basal slip of DRXed grains in compression are activated.Meanwhile,the LPSO phase still retains elastic deformation,but can bear more load,so the higher the volume fraction of hard LPSO phase,the higher the tensile/compressive macro-yield strength of the alloys.Benefiting from the low volume fraction of the non-DRXed grains and the delay effect of LPSO andγphases on extension twinning,the as-extruded alloys exhibit excellent tension-compression symmetry.When the volume fraction of LPSO phase reaches∼50%,tension-compression asymmetry is reversed,which is due to the fact that the LPSO phase is stronger in compression than in tension.The tensile strain hardening behavior is dominated by dislocation slip,while the dominate mechanism for compressive strain hardening changes from twinning in theα-Mg grains to kinking of the LPSO phase with increasing volume fraction of LPSO phase.The activation of kinking leads to the constant compressive strain hardening rate of∼2500 MPa,which is significantly higher than the tensile strain hardening rate.

Mechanical behavior of nanorubber reinforced epoxy over a wide strain rate loading

Nanorubber/epoxy composites containing 0,2,6 and 10 wt%nanorubber are subjected to uniaxial compression over a wide range of strain rate from 8×10^(-4) s^(-1) to~2×10^(4) s^(-1).Unexpectedly,their strain rate sensitivity and strain hardening index increase with increasing nanorubber content.Potential mechanisms are proposed based on numerical simulations using a unit cell model.An increase in the strain rate sensitivity with increasing nanorubber content results from the fact that the nanorubber becomes less incompressible at high strain,generating a higher hydro-static pressure.Adiabatic shear localization starts to occur in the epoxy under a strain rate of 22,000 s^(-1) when the strain exceeds 0.35.The presence of nanorubber in the epoxy reduces adiabatic shear localization by preventing it from propagating.

An Elastoplastic Fracture Model Based on Bond-Based Peridynamics

Fracture in ductile materials often occurs in conjunction with plastic deformation.However,in the bond-based peridynamic(BB-PD)theory,the classic mechanical stress is not defined inherently.This makes it difficult to describe plasticity directly using the classical plastic theory.To address the above issue,a unified bond-based peridynamics model was proposed as an effective tool to solve elastoplastic fracture problems.Compared to the existing models,the proposed model directly describes the elastoplastic theory at the bond level without the need for additional calculation means.The results obtained in the context of this model are shown to be consistent with FEM results in regard to force-displacement curves,displacement fields,stress fields,and plastic deformation regions.The model exhibits good capability of capturing crack propagation in ductile material failure problems.