Grain nucleation and growth behavior of a Sn-Pb alloy affected by direct current： An in situ investigation

In situ synchrotron X-ray radiography was used to study the effect of direct current（DC） on the grain nucleation and growth of Sn-50 wt.%Pb alloy. The results showed that applying DC adequately during solidification could effectively enhance the grain nucleation and inhibit its growth. Imaging of comparative experiments with varying DC intensity indicated that the final grain size, determined by the competition between grain nucleation and growth, was sensitively dependent on the DC intensity. It was found that the average grain size was decreased from 1632 to 567 μm with DC density of 1.5 A/mm^2 compared to the case without DC. Beyond this value, raising the current density may cause a significant decrease in the nucleation rate, and thus lead to a coarsening of the grain structure.

Enhancing mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of nickel-aluminum bronze via hot rolling process

The mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of as-cast, as-annealed and hot-rolled nickelaluminum bronze(NAB) alloy(Cu-9 Al-10 Ni-4 Fe-1.2 Mn, all in wt.%) in 3.5 wt.% Na Cl solution were investigated. The results show that annealing introduces a large number of k phases to precipitate in the k phase. However, after further hot rolling, the original continuous k phases are spheroidized and dispersed, increasing the strength, hardness, and elongation of the alloy. In addition to the enhanced mechanical properties, the corrosion resistance of the NAB samples is also improved significantly by hot rolling, as revealed by the mass loss measurements, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS), and cross-sectional corrosion morphology. Selective phase corrosion occurs by the preferential corrosion of the k phase, which acts as an anode to the k phases, and the uncorroded k phases are retained in the corrosion product film. The interfaces between the k phases and the surrounding corrosion products become discontinuous caused by the spheroidization of k phases, reducing the corrosion of the substrate by the corrosive medium via the channels. As a result, the corrosion rate and the maximum local corrosion depth of the hot-rolled NAB sample are greatly reduced.