Effects of forced cooling on mechanical properties and fracture behavior of heavy section ductile iron

To develop materials suitable for spent-nuclear-fuel containers, the effect of forced cooling on mechanical properties and fracture toughness of heavy section ductile iron was investigated. Two cubic castings with different cooling processes were prepared: casting A was prepared in a totally sand mold, and casting B was prepared in a sand mold with two chilling blocks placed on the left and right sides of the mold. Three positions in each casting with different solidification cooling rates were chosen. In-situ SEM tensile experiment was used to observe the dynamic tensile process. Fracture analysis was conducted to study the influence of vermicular and slightly irregular spheroidal graphite on the fracture behavior of heavy section ductile iron. Results show that the tensile strength, elongation, impact toughness and fracture toughness at different positions of the two castings all decrease with decreasing cooling rate. With the increase of solidification time, the fracture mechanism of conventional casting A changes from ductile fracture to brittle fracture, and that of casting B with forced cooling changes from ductile fracture to a mixture of ductile-brittle fracture.

Effect of Cu content on microstructures and mechanical properties of ADI treated by twostep austempering process

The effect of Cu content on the microstructures and mechanical properties (yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, impact energy, fracture toughness) of austempering ductile iron (ADI) treated by two-step austempering process were investigated. High Cu content in nodular cast irons leads to a significant volume fraction of retained austenite in the iron after austempering treatment, but the carbon content of austenite decreases with the increasing of Cu content. Moreover, austenitic stability reaches its maximum when the Cu content is 1.4% and then drops rapidly with further increase of Cu. The ultimate tensile strength and yield strength of the ADI firstly increases and then decreases with increasing the Cu content. The elongation keeps constant at 6.5% as the Cu content increases from 0.2% to 1.4%, and then increases rapidly to 10.0% with further increase Cu content to 2.0%. Impact toughness is enhanced with Cu increasing at first, and reaches a maximum 122.9 J at 1.4% Cu, then decreases with the further increase of Cu. The fracture toughness of ADI shows a constant increase with the increase of Cu content. The influencing mechanism of Cu on austempered ductile iron (ADI) can be classified into two aspects. On the one hand, Cu dissolves into the matrix and functions as solid solution strengthening. On the other hand, Cu reduces solubility of C in austenite and contributes more stable retained austenite.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of twostep Cu-alloyed ADI treated by different second step austempering temperatures and times

Austempering ductile iron (ADI) is an attractive material due to its excellent comprehensive mechanical properties. However, the deficit in elongation and toughness always threatens its security application. Two-step austempering process is an effective way to improve elongation and toughness simultaneously. In the present work, the influence of the amount, morphology and distribution of ferrite and austenite on mechanical properties of ADI under different second-step austempering parameters has been analyzed. Results show that the amount of austenite and its carbon content decrease with increasing of second-step temperature. Carbide begins to precipitate as second-step austempering temperature reaches 380 °C. These factors together influence the mechanical properties of two-step Cu-alloyed ADI. Impact energy and fracture toughness are strongly affected by second-step austempering temperature, and are dramatically decreased with increase of second-step austempering temperature. Elongation remains constant when the second-step temperature is below 360 °C, and then it is rapidly decreased with further increase of second-step temperature. Strength is slightly influenced by second-step temperature. Ferrite morphology is not influenced by second-step austempering duration, while blocky retained austenite size is slightly decreased with the increasing of second-step austempering time. The amount of retained austenite is decreased while the carbon content of retained austenite is increased with the extending of second-step austempering time. The substructure of austenite is transformed from dislocation to twin when second-step austempering time exceeds 60 min. Strength and elongation are improved slightly with extending of second-step time. Impact energy and fracture toughness initially decrease with the extending of second-step time, and then remain constant when the time is longer than 60 min. This is a result of austenite content decreasing and carbon content of austenite increasing. The second-step austempering time mainly influences austenite content and its carbon content, which is a result of carbon diffusion behavior variation.

Microstructure,mechanical properties and fracture behavior of a new WE43 alloy

The microstructures,mechanical properties and fracture behaviors of a new WE43 alloy(Mg-4 Y-1.6 Nd-2 Sm-0.5 Zr)were investigated.The microstructure of the as-cast alloy includes a Mg matrix,Mg_(41)Sm_(5),Mg_(41)Nd_(5)and Mg_(24)Y_(5)eutectic phases,as well asβ-phase.After an optimal solution treatment,the eutectic phases are almost completely dissolved;only a few spots of blocky Mg-Y compounds remain at grain boundaries.After an aging treatment,a large amount ofβ’-phases are dispersed and precipitated at the grain interior,which provides good comprehensive mechanical properties of the alloy,particularly in the under-aged state.The tensile strength is up to290 MPa,the yield strength reaches 209 MPa,and the elongation is slightly improved.Furthermore,the fracture behaviors of the studied alloy in different states significantly differ.In addition,a comparison of mechanical properties of the new WE43,traditional WE43 and other modified WE43 alloys is presented.

Constitutive equation and hot processing maps of Al-5Ti-1B master alloy

The isothermal compression tests of A1-5Ti- 1B master alloy were conducted on the thermal mechanical simulator Gleeble-1500D at the deformation temperature range of 300-450 ℃,the strain rate range of 0.01- 10.00 s^-l, and the engineering strain of 50 %. The effects of deformation temperatures and strain rates on the flow stress were analyzed by the true stress-true strain curves. The result indicates that the flow stress increases with the increase of strain rate, while it decreases with the increase of temperature. The hot deformation activation energy of A1-5Ti-IB master alloy is calculated to be 250.9 kJ.mol^-1, and the constitutive equation is established as ε=1.97 x lO^19[sinh（O.O15δ）^11.14exp（-250.9/RT）, and the validity of this constitutive equation is verified. Based on dynamic material model （DMM） criterion, the hot processing map of AI-5Ti-1B master alloy is obtained. The optimum hot extrusion conditions are determined as deformation temperature of 400℃ and strain rate of 1.00 s^-1, and the flow instability only appears at the temperature range of 300-340℃ at the base of the hot processing map.