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.

Repairing of exit-hole in friction-stir-spot welded joints for 2024-T4 aluminum alloy by resistance welding

The exit-hole in friction stir spot welded(FSSWed) 2024-T4 aluminum alloy joints was successfully repaired by using a three-phase secondary rectification resistance spot welding machine, which is termed as filling exit-hole based on resistance welding(FEBRW). The filling dynamic behavior of force was recorded by a device monitoring. Optical microscope(OM), electron backscatter diffraction(EBSD), and tensile shear tests and finite element modelling were conducted to investigate the repairing stages and bonding mechanisms of the repaired joints in detail. Results showed that exit-hole was completely filled and repaired experiencing three stages. Metallurgical bonding was achieved between plug and exit-hole wall in two forms, including melting bonding in the middle of the joints and partial diffusion bonding on both the upper and bottom of the joints. The highest tensile shear strength of the repaired joints was 7.43 kN, which was 36.3% higher than that of the as welded joints. Resistance welding paves an efficient way to repair the exit-hole in FSSWed joints.

Deformation behaviors of 21-6-9 stainless steel tube numerical control bending under different friction conditions

For contact dominated numerical control(NC) bending process of tube, the effect of friction on bending deformation behaviors should be focused on to achieve precision bending forming. A three dimensional(3D) elastic-plastic finite element(FE) model of NC bending process was established under ABAQUS/Explicit platform, and its reliability was validated by the experiment. Then, numerical study on bending deformation behaviors under different frictions between tube and various dies was explored from multiple aspects such as wrinkling, wall thickness change and cross section deformation. The results show that the large friction of wiper die-tube reduces the wrinkling wave ratio η and cross section deformation degree ΔD and increases the wall thinning degree Δt. The large friction of mandrel-tube causes large η, Δt and ΔD, and the onset of wrinkling near clamp die. The large friction of pressure die-tube reduces Δt and ΔD, and the friction on this interface has little effect on η. The large friction of bending die-tube reduces η and ΔD, and the friction on this interface has little effect on Δt. The reasonable friction coefficients on wiper die-tube, mandrel-tube, pressure die-tube and bending die-tube of 21-6-9(0Cr21Ni6Mn9N) stainless steel tube in NC bending are 0.05-0.15, 0.05-0.15, 0.25-0.35 and 0.25-0.35, respectively. The results can provide a guideline for applying the friction conditions to establish the robust bending environment for stable and precise bending deformation of tube bending.

Mechanical and tribological behaviors of graphene/Inconel 718 composites

Graphene/Inconel 718 composites were innovatively synthesized through selective laser melting,and the mechanical and tribological performances of the grapheme-reinforced Inconel 718 matrix composites were evaluated.The composite microstructures were characterized by XRD,SEM and Raman spectroscopy.The results show that selective laser melting is a viable method to fabricate Inconel 718 matrix composite and the addition of graphene nanoplatelets leads to a significant strengthening of Inconel 718 alloy,as well as the improvement of tribological performance.The yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of 1.0%graphene/Inconel 718 composites(mass fraction)are 42%and 53%higher than those of pure material,and the friction coefficient and wear rate are 22.4%and 66.8%lower than those of pure material.The decrease of fraction coefficient and wear rate is attributed to the improved hardness of composites and the formation of graphene nanoplatelet protective layer on the worn surfaces.

Influence of tool pin profile on the interface migration of friction stir lap joints＊

Friction stir lap joints of LY12 aluminum alloy plates with a thickness of 3 mm were fabricated using several tools with different pin profiles. The effects of tool pin profile on the interface migration of friction stir lap joints were investigated with the comparison of weld morphologies. The results show that the screw thread of the pin plays an important role in the migration of weld interface in the thickness direction. The interface between the sheets will move upwards to the top of the plate when the pin with left hand thread was used. Conversely, the interface will move downwards to the tip of the pin when the pin with right hand thread was used： As for a stir pin with smooth surface was used, the upward or downward migration of the weld interface was largely reduced, but the extension of weld interface to the weld center line from the retreating side becomes more serious. By analyzing the force on the pin according to the sucking-extruding theory for the weld formation, the obtained results have been well explained.

Filling technique for keyhole of friction stir spot welding based on the principles of resistance spot welding

Keyhole at the end of a weld prepared by friction stir welding(FSW)is one of the major issues that impede the application of FSW.To address this issue,a keyhole filling technique was proposed in this paper,which is based on the principles of resistance spot welding(RSW).A three-phase secondary rectifier resistance spot welder was applied as the experimental instrument for filling the keyhole in the center of friction stir spot weld(FSSW).The test sheet is a 2024-T4 aluminium alloy with a thickness of 6.0mm.The experiments results show that the filled joint strength is improved by 26.12%since the area is increased for the plug in the keyhole.And there are two kinds of dimples in the tensile fracture-equiaxial dimples and long dimples.The filled joint involves the fusion welding zone(FWZ),pressure welding zone(PWZ),melted plug zone(MPZ),and plastic deformation zone(PDZ).The FWZ and the PWZ is the melting bond and diffusion bond between the plug and keyhole,respectively.The MPZ is the center part and the PDZ is upper or lower part of the plug.

Base material location dependence of corrosion response in friction-stir-welded dissimilar 2024-to-5083 aluminum alloy joints

The effects of the base material(BM)location on the mechanical properties and the exfoliation corrosion performance of friction-stir-welded(FSWed)dissimilar 2024-to-5083 aluminum alloy joints were investigated.Scanning electron microscopy(SEM),electron backscatter diffraction(EBSD),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),tensile tests and electrochemical experiments were conducted.The results revealed that the BM location had little effect on the tensile properties of the joints.The grain orientation spread(GOS)value of 2024 alloy side was lower than that of 5083 alloy side.Intergranular corrosion occurred mainly on the 2024 alloy side,while the grain interior of the 5083 alloy side was corroded due to the higher GOS value and dislocation density.The FSWed dissimilar joints with a superior exfoliation corrosion resistance could be achieved when the 5083 aluminum alloy with better corrosion performance was positioned on the retreating side.

Corrosion behaviors of thermally grown oxide films on Fe-based bulk metallic glasses

Oxide films formed on the surfaces of Fe-based bulk metallic glasses in the temperature range between 373 K and 573 K were characterized and their effects on the corrosion behaviors were investigated by microstructural and electrochemical analysis. The oxide film formed at 573 K is iron-rich oxide and it exhibits an n-type semiconductor at a higher potential than 0.35 V and a p-type semiconductor at a lower potential than 0.35 V. Capacitance measurements show that the donor density decreases with the increase in oxidation temperature, while the thickness of the space charge layer increases with the oxidation temperature rising. The result of immersion tests shows that the mass loss rate increases with the oxidation temperature rising. Therefore, the correlation between microstructure and corrosion resistance needs to be proposed because the corrosion resistance is deteriorated with the development of the oxide films.

Effect of upsetting force on microstructure of welds in resistance spot welding of 400 MPa ultra-fine grain steel

The ultra-fine grain （UFG） steel is welded by using resistance spot welding technique with or without requirement of upsetting force. Metallographic inspection shows that the grain size of weld nugget is larger than that of the base metal and the microstructure is altered significantly. In addition, contracting defects such as air holes can be found in the nugget center. The experiments show that the defects can be effectively avoided by the technique of adding upsetting force during the nugget cooling and crystallizing processes. In tensile shear tests, the welding joint starts to crack from the inner edge of the corona bond. The results of micro-hardness tests show that the newly born martensite structure dramatically improves the hardness of the joint. Under the interactions between residual stresses and regenerated fine grains, the micro-hardness of the heat-affected zone （ HAZ ） is lower than that of the nugget, but evidently higher than that of the base metal.

Effect of rotary direction and speed on mechanical properties in friction stir spot welding of A6061 sheets e

Friction stir spot welding of A6061 sheets was conducted using a tool with thread pin. The hook geometries, hook formation and mechanical properties of the joints welded with different rotary directions and speeds were investigated. The results show that the hook in the joint welded in clockwise was curved upwards and that in anticlockwise was curved downwards. The hook formation was related to the plastic material flow in the joint. With increasing the rotary speed in clockwise direction, the hook moved upwards and far way from the center of the keyhole, resulting in an increase in the effective weld width and a decrease in the effective sheet thickness. Three types of fractuces were observed and they were affected by the hook geometries. The tensile shear load increased firstly and then decreased when the rotary speed increased in clockwise direction, which was related to the hook geometries.

Microstructure and Hot Deformation Behavior of Mg-9Al-3Si-0.375Sr-0.78Y Alloy

Using Gleeble-3500 thermal simulator,the high temperature plastic deformation behavior and microstructure evolution of Mg-9Al-3Si-0.375Sr-0.78Y alloy are investigated at the temperature of 523 K?673 K and the strain rate of 10^(-3)s^(-1) 10 s^(-1).True strain-true stress curves show the characteristics of the typical dynamically recrystallization process.The Arrhenius constitutive equation of the hyperbolic model is established.The average activation energy and the strain rate sensitivity index are,respectively,221.578 kJ·mol^(-1) and 0.137.The result shows that theα-Mg phase exhibits dynamic recrystallization (DRX)characteristics obviously.But no DRX occurs in the β-Mg_(17)Al_(12) phase.Hot deformation does not affect the primary Mg_(2)Si phase.Under the conditions of low temperature (523 K?673 K) and high strain rate(1 s^(-1) 10 s^(-1)),the flow instability and macro-defects such as crack appear in the specimens.However,there are finer recrystallization grains.Under the conditions of high temperature(≥673 K)or low strain rate,the microstructure of the alloy shows good homogeneity.The size of the primary Mg_(2)Si phase is uniform,the size of the β-Mg_(17)Al_(12) phase is small,and the distribution of the β-Mg_(17)Al_(12) phase is uniform.

Hierarchical V_(3)S_(4)/C nanofibers with fast kinetics for superior alkali metal batteries

Owing to the numerous benefits,including low cost and great theoretical capacity,V3S4 has been a research hotspot for Li^(+)/Na^(+)/K^(+) storage.Nonetheless,the V_(3)S_(4) electrode with long cycling stability and high specific capacities continues to pose significant challenges.In this work,vacuum vulcanization is combined with electrospinning to synthesize V_(3)S_(4)/C composite nanofibers(V_(3)S_(4)@CNF).

Plastic deformation analysis and forming quality prediction of tube N C bending

Plane strain assumption and exponent hardening law are used to investigate the plastic deformation in tube bending. Some theoretical formulae including stress, curvature radius of neutral layer, angle of neutral layer deviation, bending moment, wall thickness variation and crosssection distortion, are developed to explain the phenomena in tube bending and their magnitudes are also determined. During unloading process, the springback angle is deduced using the virtual work principle, and springback radius is also given according to the length of the neutral layer which remains unchanged before and after springback. The theoretical formulae are validated by the experimental results or the validated simulation results in literature, which can be used to auicklv predict the forming aualitv of tube numerical control （NC） bending.

Grain growth behavior of Ti-6.5Al-3.5Mo-1.5Zr-0.3Si alloy during isothermal β heat treatments

Isothermal β heat treatments of Ti-6.5 Al-3.5 Mo-1.5 Zr-0.3 Si alloy were performed at the temperature of1040-1240 ℃ to examine the influence of heating conditions on grain growth of the alloy. The results show that the grain size increases with heating temperature and holding time increasing. Rapid β grain growth of the alloy takes place at the temperature of over 1140 ℃. The grain growth kinetics for the alloy follows the classical isothermal grain growth law.The growth time exponent(n) of 0.5651 and activation energy(Q) of 129.6 kJ mol-1 are determined. Finally, in order to determine the grain size under different heating conditions,the grain growth model of the alloy was established.

Multiscale modeling of mechanical behavior and failure mechanism of 3D angle-interlock woven aluminum composites subjected to warp/weft directional tension loading

The mechanical behavior and progressive damage mechanism of novel aluminum matrix composites reinforced with 3D angle-interlock woven carbon fibers were investigated using a multiscale modeling approach.The mechanical properties and failure of yarns were evaluated using a microscale model under different loading scenarios.On this basis,a mesoscale model was developed to analyze the tensile behavior and failure mechanism of the composites.The interfacial decohesion,matrix damage,and failure of fibers and yarns were incorporated into the microscopic and mesoscopic models.The stress–strain curves and fracture modes from simulation show good agreement with the experimental curves and fracture morphology.Local interface and matrix damage initiate first under warp directional tension.Thereafter,interfacial failure,weft yarn cracking,and matrix failure occur successively.Axial fracture of warp yarn,which displays a quasi-ductile fracture characteristic,dominates the ultimate composites failure.Under weft directional tension,interfacial failure and warp yarn rupture occur at the early and middle stages.Matrix failure and weft yarn fracture emerge simultaneously at the final stage,leading to the cata-strophic failure of composites.The weft directional strength and fracture strain are lower than the warp directional ones because of the lower weft density and the more serious brittle fracture of weft yarns.

Hot deformation behavior and process parameters optimization of Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy using constitutive modeling and 3D processing map

The isothermal compression test for Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy was conducted by using Gleeble-3800 thermal simulator.The hot deformation behavior of Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy was investigated in the deformation temperature ranges of 940-1030℃and the strain rate ranges of 0.001-10 s^(-1).Meanwhile,the activation energy of thermal deformation was computed.The results show that the flow stress of Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy increases with increasing the strain rate and decreasing the deformation temperature.The activation energy of thermal deformation for Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy is much greater than that for self-diffusion ofα-Ti andβ-Ti.Considering the influence of strain on flow stress,the strain-compensated Arrhenius constitutive model of Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy was established.The error analysis shows that the model has higher accuracy,and the correlation coefficient r and average absolute relative error are 0.9879 and 4.11%,respectively.The processing map(PM)of Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy was constructed by the dynamic materials model and Prasad instability criterion.According to PM and microstructural observation,it is found that the main form of instability zone is local flow,and the deformation mechanisms of the stable zone are mainly superplasticity and dynamic recrystallization.The optimal processing parameters of Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy are determined as follows:960-995℃/0.01-0.18 s^(-1)and 1000-1030℃/0.001-0.01 s^(-1).

Deformation Behavior of Ti-5.6Al-4.8Sn-2.0Zr-1.0Mo-0.35Si-0.85Nd Alloy in β/Quasi-β Forging Process

The hot deformation behavior of Ti 5.6Al-4.8Sn-2.0Zr-1.0Mo 0.35Si 0.85Nd alloy in β/quasi-β forging process was studied using isothermal compression tests over temperature range from 1040℃ to 1 100 ℃ and strain rates form 0. 001 s-1 to 70 s -1. The results show that the flow stress and mierostrueture are sensitive to thermomechanical parameters. The processing maps based on the dynamic materials model at strain of 0.3 and 0.7 were established. The optimum deformation thermomechanical parameters at a strain of 0.7 have two regions that exhibit the peak of power dissipation efficiency. One is the region of 1062-1100 ℃ and 10- 3 10-1.5 s -1 ; and another which represents dynamic recrystallization is 1040-1045 ℃ and 10-1.8 10- 0.5 s -1. The instable region is located where the strain rate is larger than 1 s 1 which corresponds to the mechanical instability.

Behavior of Element Vaporization and Composition Control of Fe-Ga Alloy during Vacuum Smelting

Saturated vapor pressure, critical evaporation temperature and evaporation loss rate of Fe-Ga alloy were calculated under different conditions of Ga and Fe contents with activity coefficients. The relationship between the change of Ga content and melting time was determined. The results demonstrated that saturated vapor pressure of Ga was higher than that of Fe under the same conditions. The difference value of critical evaporation temperature of Ga with and without Ar was nearly 800 K. The critical evaporation temperature of Fe was higher than that of Ga under vacuum, indicating that Ga was more volatile than Fe. At 1800 K, the evaporation rate of Ga was 84 times higher than that of Fe in the melt of Fe81Ga19 alloy. Under this condition, the change of Ga content and smelting time kept a linear relationship. The higher the temperature was, the faster the Ga content decreased, which was consistent with theoretical calculations.

A novel oscillator based on heterogeneous carbon@ MoS2 nanotubes

Oscillatory behavior of novel heterogeneous oscillators composed of carbon and molybdenum disulfide nanotubes （CNT@MST） was investigated for the first time, by using the methods of classical molecular dynamics. In the proposed oscillators, a molybdenum disulfide nanotube （MST） was set as an outer tube, leading to better compatibility with the semiconductor industry standards. A smooth and stable oscillator with a frequency reaching 20 GHz was obtained based on a double-walled CNT@MST hetero-nanotube for a wide range of gap widths, indicating that the proposed oscillators perform much better than those built from double-walled carbon nanotubes （CNTs） that require a narrow range of gap widths. In addition, the oscillation characteristics of CNT@MST oscillators containing different inner and outer tube chirality were significantly better than those of CNT@MST oscillators containing two tubes with the same chirality.