Effect of minor Sc addition on microstructure and stress corrosion cracking behavior of medium strength Al–Zn–Mg alloy

Influence of Sc content on microstructure and stress corrosion cracking behavior of medium strength AI-Zn-Mg alloy have been investigated by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and slow strain rate test. The results indicate that the addition of Sc results in the formation of the quaternary coherent AI3（Sc, Zr, Ti） dispersoids during homogenization treatment, which will inhibit the dynamic recrystallization behavior. The number density ofAl3（Sc, Zr, Ti） particles increases with the increase of Sc content, and thus the recrystallization fraction of hot-extruded alloy is reduced and the peak strength in two-stage artificial aging sample is enhanced. At the same time, the wide of precipitation free zone is reduced, and the content of Zn and Mg in grain boundary particles and precipitation free zone is increased with the increase of Sc content. In peak-aged state, the 0.06 wt% Sc added alloy shows the better stress corrosion cracking resistance than the Sc-free alloy because of the reduction of recrystallization fraction and the interrupted distribution of grain boundary precipitates along grain boundary. However, the further addition of Sc to 0.11 wt% will result in the deterioration of stress corrosion cracking resistance due to the increase of electrochemical activity of grain boundary particles and precipitation free zone as well as hydrogen embrittlement.2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science ＆ Technology.

Role ofδ-ferrite in fatigue crack growth of AISI 316 austenitic stainless steel

FF sample(nearly free ofδ-ferrite)and CF sample(containing∼4%δ-ferrite)were prepared from the AISI 316 austenitic stainless steel plate to elucidate the role ofδ-ferrite in the fatigue crack growth under the solution treated and accelerated aged conditions.It is found that the fatigue crack growth resistance of the CF sample is higher than the FF sample under the solution treated condition.However,a significant deterioration of the fatigue crack growth resistance is observed in the CF sample while little variation is found in the FF sample after accelerated aging treatment at 750°C for 10 h.In the solution treated condition,deflected crack growth path is present when the main crack encounters theδ-ferrite in the CF sample due to the differences in the fatigue responses between austenite andδ-ferrite.The measured growth rate of the deflected crack is significantly slower than that of the flat crack of the same length.After the accelerated aging treatment,microcracks are produced at the M_(23)C_(6)/δinterface due to the strain incompatibility between M_(23)C_(6) and retainedδ-ferrite when the decomposedδ-ferrite is subject to plastic deformation in the crack tip plastic zone.The preexisting microcracks in the front of crack tip provide a viable path for crack propagation,resulting in the relatively flat crack path.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of a CuCrZr Welding Joint After Continuous Extrusion

The effect of continuous extrusion forming(CEF) process on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a CuCrZr welding joint was investigated. The experimental results showed that after the CEF process the grains were refined to submicron-scale through dynamic recrystallization,which improved the mechanical properties of the welding joint as well as the base material. Meanwhile,the micron-scale precipitates aggregated at the grain boundaries in the welding process were broken down to smaller ones and recrystallized grains of several micrometers formed around the precipitates after CEF process,which could alleviate the negative effect induced by the micron-scale precipitates during plastic deforming process. Finer grains and smaller micronscale precipitates made contributions to improve the properties of a CuCrZr alloy with a welding joint.

Effect of Mo Addition on the Microstructure and Properties of TiNiNb Alloy

The influence of Mo addition on the microstructure and properties of TiNiNb alloy with 4.5 at.% Nb has been investigated systemically. The experimental results indicated that the uniform distribution of Mo depresses the appearance of coarse 13-Nb particles at the grain boundaries and short stripped texture consisting of abundant fine disperse Nb-rich particles appears around the grain boundaries. The yield strength of the alloy was enhanced from 450 to 600 MPa due to the solution strengthening of Nb and Mo and the elongation reached 18% when the Mo content is 0.5 at.%. At the same time, the shape memory effect of the alloy also is improved significantly by the Mo addition. The maximum recoverable strain of the alloy with 0.5 at.% Mo is near 8% and has reached the high level of Ni-Ti binary alloys. This novel high- strength alloy is promising to be used for high pressure tube and the macro-scale coupling with higher-quality requirements.

Effect of Cooling Rate on Microstructure and Effective Grain Size for a Ni–Cr–Mo–B High-Strength Steel

The effect of cooling rate on microstructure and effective grain size(EGS)of a Ni-Cr-Mo-B high-strength steel has been studied by dilatometer,field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM)and electron backscattered diffraction(EBSD).The results show that the microstructure of the Ni-Cr-Mo-B steel is dependent on cooling rate in the following sequence:lath martensite(LM),mixed LM and lath bainite(LB),mixed LB and granular bainite(GB)and GB.The critical cooling rates for appearance of LB and GB are about 10℃/s and 0.5℃/s,respectively.The LM(>10℃/s)consists of few blocky regions with a width of several micros.Compared with the lath regions,the blocky regions in LM form at higher actual transformation temperatures during cooling.The blocky region area percentage in LM keeps almost constant about 8%at different cooling rates(>10℃/s)due to similar martensite transformation starting temperature(M_(s)).The LB percentage in mixed LM/LB increases gradually with decreasing cooling rate(10-0.5℃/s).The EBSD results show that different microstructures have different EGS.The mixed LM/LB exhibits the smallest EGS due to the separation of the prior austenite grains by the pre-formed LB and the refinement of the LM.Meanwhile,the mixed LM/LB at different cooling rates(10-0.5℃/s)exhibits almost the same EGS because the LB and LM in the mixed LM/LB have a similar high-angle grain boundary density and similar EGS.Because the blocky regions contain few high-angle grain boundaries and have similar area percentages in the LM,the LM at different cooling rates(>10℃/s)exhibits almost the same EGS.The ferrite in GB exhibits as a whole with few high-angle grain boundaries;thus,the mixed LB/GB exhibits the largest EGS.