Effects of in-situZrB_2 nanoparticles and scandium on microstructure and mechanical property of 7N01 aluminum alloy

In this study, the in-situ synthesized ZrB_(2) nanoparticles and rare earth Sc were introduced to enhance the strength and ductility of 7N01 aluminum alloy, via the generation of high-melting and uniform nanodispersoids. The microstructure and mechanical property evolution of the prepared composites and the interaction between ZrB_(2) and Sc were studied in detail. The microstructure investigation shows that the introduction of rare earth scandium(Sc) can promote the distribution of ZrB_(2) nanoparticles, by improving their wettability to the Al melt. Meanwhile, the addition of rare earth Sc also modifies the coarse Al Zn Mg Mn Fe precipitated phases, refines the matrix grains and generates high-melting Al_3(Sc,Zr)/Al_3Sc nanodispersoids. Tensile tests of the composites show that with the combinatorial introduction of ZrB_(2) and Sc, the strength and ductility of the composites are improved simultaneously compared with the corresponding 7N01 alloy, ZrB_(2) /7N01 composite and Sc/7N01 alloy. And the optimum contents of ZrB_(2) and Sc are 3 wt% and 0.2 wt% in this study. The yield strength, ultimate strength and elongation of(3 wt% ZrB_(2) +0.2 wt% Sc)/7N01 composite are 477 MPa, 506 MPa and 9.8%, increased about 18.1%, 12.2%and 38% compared to 7N01 alloy. Furthermore, the cooperation strengthening mechanisms of ZrB_(2) and Sc are also discussed.

On tuning of ADRC with competing design indices:a quantitative study

Controller optimization has mostly been done by minimizing a certain single cost function.In practice,however,engineers must contend with multiple and conflicting considerations,denoted as design indices(DIs)in this paper.Failure to account for such complexity and nuances is detrimental to the applications of any advanced control methods.This paper addresses this challenge heads on,in the context of active disturbance rejection controller(ADRC)and with four competing DIs:stability margins,tracking,disturbance rejection,and noise suppression.To this end,the lower bound for the bandwidth of the extended state observer is first established for guaranteed closed-loop stability.Then,one by one,the mathematical formula is meticulously derived,connecting each DI to the set of controller parameters.To our best knowledge,this has not been done in the context of ADRC.Such formulas allow engineers to see quantitatively how the change of each tuning parameter would impact all of the DIs,thus making the guesswork obsolete.An example is given to show how such analytical methods can help engineers quickly determine controller parameters in a practical scenario.

Characteristics on microstructure and mechanical performances of 6111Al influenced by Ce-containing precipitates

In this work,the effects of Ce addition(0,0.1 wt%,0.3 wt%,0.5 wt%and 0.7 wt%)on the evolution of microstructure and mechanical properties of 6111 Al alloy and strengthening mechanism of 6111 Al-Ce alloy were systematically investigated by a polarizing microscope,a scanning electronic microscope,an energy dispersive spectroscope and a high-resolution transmission electron microscope.The results indicate that with 0.3 wt%Ce addition,theα-Al grains show the equiaxed crystal morphology with the average size decreasing from 137 to 57μm and numerous small AlCeSi phases with lump-like or platelike morphology are distributed closely along the grain boundary.The peak yield strength,ultimate tensile strength and elongation of 6111 Al-Ce alloy reach to 279 MPa,316 MPa and 12.1%,respectively,which is attributed to the grain refinement strengthening and the formation of nanosized Al11Ce3 precipitates.Eventually,this investigation gives us instructive suggestion to prepare the new kind of aluminum alloy with high strength and high ductility.

High strength and high creep resistant ZrB2/Al nanocomposites fabricated by ultrasonic-chemical in-situ reaction

In this study, the ZrB2/Al nanocomposites were fabricated via in-situ reaction of the Al-K2ZrF6-KBF4 system, assisted with ultrasonic vibration and spiral electromagnetic stirring. Microstructure, tensile property and creep behavior of the fabricated nanocomposites were further investigated. Microstructure observation showed that the ultrasonic vibration could prevent the fast growth as well as break the clusters of in-situ synthesized nanoparticles in melt, resulted in smaller size (10-50 nm) and relatively more uniform distribution of the in-situ nanoparticles located on the boundary of and/or inside the aluminum matrix grains in the final composites. The fabricated nanocomposites exhibited an enhancement in both strength and ductility, due to the elevated work hardening ability, i.e., improved dislocation propagating ability and decreased dynamic recovery of the existing dislocations induced by the in-situ nanoparticles. Meanwhile, the nanocomposites exhibited excellent creep resistance ability, which was about 2-18 times higher than those of the corresponding aluminum matrix. The stress exponent of 5 was identified for the fabricated nanocomposites, which suggested that their creep behavior was related to dislocation climb mechanism. The enhanced creep resistance of the nanocomposites was attributed to the Orowan strengthening and grain boundary strengthening induced by the ZrB2 nanoparticles. Thus, the ultrasonicchemical in-situ reaction promises a low cost but effective way to fabricate aluminum nanocomposites with high strength and high creep resistance.