High strength and high electrical conductivity CuMg alloy prepared by cryorolling

The microstructure, mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of the room-temperature and cryogenically rolled Cu-0.2wt.%Mg alloy were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD), hardness measurement, tensile tests and electrical conductivity measurement. The results show that for the cryorolled sample, the grain size is decreased by 41% compared with the sample processed at room temperature. With increasing thickness reduction, the microhardness of the alloy continuously increases and the electrical conductivity decreases. For the sample with 90% thickness reduction rolled at cryogenic temperature, the tensile strength and the electrical conductivity are 726 MPa and 74.5% IACS, respectively. The improved tensile strength can be mainly attributed to the grain boundaries strengthening and dislocation strengthening.

Preparation and characterization of porous NiTi alloys synthesized by microwave sintering using Mg space holder

To obtain the lightweight,high strength,and high damping capacity porous NiTi alloys,the microwave sintering coupled with the Mg space holder technique was employed to prepare the porous NiTi alloys.The microstructure,mechanical properties,phase transformation behavior,superelasticity,and damping capacity of the porous NiTi alloys were investigated.The results show that the porous NiTi alloys are mainly composed of the B2 NiTi phase with a few B19'NiTi phase as the sintering temperature is lower than or equal to 900℃.With increasing the sintering temperature,the porosities of the porous NiTi alloys gradually decrease and the compressive strength increases first,reaching the maximum value at 900℃,and then decreases.With increasing the Mg content from 1 wt.%to 7 wt.%,the porosities of the porous NiTi alloys increase from 37.8%to 47.1%,while the compressive strength decreases from 2058 to 1146 MPa.Compared with the NH4HCO3 space holder,the phase transformation behavior of the porous NiTi alloys prepared with Mg space holder changes,and all of the compressive strength,superelasticity,shape memory effect and damping capacity are greatly improved.

Evolution of TiNi precipitates in TiNi alloy during equal channel angular pressing

The evolution of Ti3Ni4 precipitates in Ti49.2Ni50.8 alloy during equal channel angular pressing(ECAP) and intermediate annealing was investigated by transmission electron microscopy. The solution-treated Ti49.2Ni50.8 alloy was aged at 450 ℃ for 10 to 60 min to obtain Ti3Ni4 precipitates ranging from 37 to 75 nm. After ECAP at 450 ℃ for one pass, Ti3Ni4 precipitates introduced by aging for 10 and 30 min totally dissolve into the matrix;however, those produced by aging for 60 min become smaller. The critical size of Ti3Ni4 precipitates to totally dissolve into matrix is determined to be in the range of 37-68 nm. The dislocation density of ECAP-processed samples depends on the initial size of Ti3Ni4 precipitates after aging. With increasing the duration of initial aging from 10 to 60 min, the dislocation density firstly increases and then decreases.

Effect of thermal treatment and ball milling on microstructure and phase transformation of Ni-Mn-Ga-Nb alloys

To clarify phase transformation evolution of Nb-doped Ni-Mn-Ga bulk alloys after aging and ball milling, the microstructure and phase transformation of the aged and ball-milled dual-phase Nb-doped Ni-Mn-Ga alloys were investigated by SEM, EDS, XRD, DSC and susceptibility measurements. The as-cast alloys were mainly composed of the second phase with layer-shape and presented a reduced martensitic transformation with increasing the second phase content. The second phase transformed from layer-shape to dense bar-shape and the martensitic transformation was enhanced after being quenched at 1173 K. After aging at 673 and 873 K, the 3% Nb alloy with less second phase exhibited a single-step phase transformation, whereas the 6% Nb and 9% Nb alloys with more second phase exhibited a two-step martensitic transformation and Curie transition. The martensitic transformation and Curie transition of the as-milled dual-phase particles disappeared and were retrieved after annealing at 1073 K due to the recovery of high ordered structure of the matrix.

Microstructure,phase transformation and mechanical properties of NiMnGa particles/Cu composites fabricated by SPS

Microstructure,phase transformation and mechanical properties of NiMnGa particles/Cu composites prepared by spark plasma sintering method were investigated by SEM,EDS,XRD,susceptibility measurements and mechanical tests.The NiMnGa particles were found to react with Cu matrix and the composites exhibited a similar crystal structure to the Cu matrix.The martensitic transformation and Curie transition of the composites were weakened due to the composition change of NiMnGa particles caused by reactions.With increasing NiMnGa particles content,the martensitic transformation and Curie transition of the composites were enhanced to some extent.However,the martensitic transformation temperature and Curie transition temperature were decreased by~50 K as compared to those of the original NiMnGa particles.The compressive strength of the composites increased with the increase of NiMnGa particles content,whereas the compressive strain was decreased gradually.

Effect of electropulsing on anisotropy in strength of laser metal deposited Ti-6Al-4V alloy

The effect of electropulsing treatment on microstructure and mechanical strength of laser metal deposited Ti−6Al−4V alloy was investigated in order to eliminate the anisotropy in strength of laser metal deposited Ti−6Al−4V alloy by tensile tests,optical microscopy,scanning electron microscopy,electron back-scattered diffraction analyses and transmission electron microscopy.With increasing applied voltages from 0 to 130 V,the evolution of microstructure within columnarβgrains followed the sequence ofα′martensite→colonyαstructure→basket-weaveαstructure.The electropulsing treated at 130 V weakened the texture of martensite withinβgrains.The as-built Ti−6Al−4V alloy showed an anisotropy in yield strength(6.2%).After processing at 130 V,the anisotropy in yield strength was reduced to 0.6%,which was attributed to the almost equivalent distribution of Schmid factor in the samples deformed along different orientations.

Microstructure and martensitic transformation in quaternary NiTiHfV alloy

The effect of age hardening on the microstructure,martensitic transformation behavior,and shape memory properties of the(Ni_(50)Ti_(30)Hf_(20))_(95)V_(5)alloy was investigated by scanning electron microscopy,transmission electron microscopy,X-ray diffraction,differential scanning calorimetry,microhardness,and bending tests.The results demonstrate a significant influence of V addition on the microstructure of the alloy.V addition leads to the formation of a(Ni,V)_(2)(Ti,Hf)-type Laves phase,which coexists with B19'martensite at room temperature.Aging at 550℃results in precipitation hardening due to the formation of nano-scale orthorhombic H-phase,with the peak hardness observed after 3 h of aging.The alloy at peak hardness state exhibits higher transformation strain and lower unrecovered strain compared to the solution-treated sample.The aged sample achieves a maximum transformation strain of 1.56%under 500 MPa.

Martensitic Transformation and Its Thermal Cycling Stability in Ni_(56)Mn_(21)Cu_4Ga_(19)High-Temperature Shape Memory Ribbon

The microstructure, martensitic transformation, and thermal cycling stability of Ni56Mn21Cu4Ga19 high-tem- perature shape memory ribbons subjected to different annealing conditions were investigated and compared with that of the bulk master alloy. It was shown that 7 phases precipitated in the bulk and the ribbons annealed for 5 h at 800 and 900 ℃, which lead to the same poor thermal cycling stability. However, the formation of 7 phase was inhibited in the ribbons annealed at 700 ℃ for 30 rnin and 5 h, which remarkably improved the thermal cycling stability and also shifted the martensitic transformation to a lower temperature with a drop of about 60 ℃ than other three samples.

New Formulas of Shear Strain during Equal-channel Angular Pressing Process with Consideration of Influences of Velocity and Motion Trajectory

The influences of die parameters on shear strain were investigated by using two-dimensional finite element simulation.New formulas of shear strain were proposed.According to the results of formulas,the shear strain showed a linear dependence on the difference between internal and external fillet radius and the slope was determined by the intersection angle.The simulation results indicated that the velocities of the points from different zones were different in the specimen and the motion trajectories of different points did not follow geometrical laws.The influences of the average velocity and the motion trajectory on shear strain were incorporated in the formula to calculate the shear strain produced during equalchannel angular pressing process.The reliability of simulation results has been partially validated by experiments.

Martensitic transformation and magnetic properties of Ti-doped NiCoMnSn shape memory alloy

Martensitic transformation, microstructure, and magnetic properties of Ti-doped Ni43-xTixCo7Mn43Sn7（at%）（x = 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0） shape memory alloys were investigated. The results show that transformation temperatures of Ni43Co7Mn43Sn7 can be efficiently adjusted by the substitution of Ti for Ni. For example, the martensitic transformation starting temperature（Ms） is reduced by about 278 K with 4 at% addition of Ti. Room temperature microstructure evolves from single tetragonal martensite for the Ti-free alloy to dual phases（tetragonal martensite ＋ second phase） with 0.5 at%, 1.0 at%, and2.0 at% addition of Ti to dual phases（cubic austenite ＋ second phase） for 4.0 at% Ti-doped alloy. The mechanical properties can be obviously improved by adding an appropriate amount of Ti. A noteworthy point is that magnetic-field-induced reverse transformation is observed in Ni39Ti4Co7Mn43Sn7 alloy.

Achieving High Strength and High Electrical Conductivity in a CuCrZr Alloy Using Equal-Channel Angular Pressing

In the present work, a CuCrZr alloy characterized by ultrafine grains and nanoscale particles was prepared by equalchannel angular pressing （ECAP） at 450℃. A desired combination of a tensile strength （580 MPa） and an electrical conductivity （81% International Annealed Copper Standard） is simultaneously obtained in the as-ECAP-processed CuCrZr alloy without additional aging treatment. The improved properties can be mainly attributed to the ultrafine grains and nanoscale precipitates. This processing may pave a way to develop the CuCrZr alloys having high strength and high electrical conductivity for engineering applications.