Achieving High Strength and Tensile Ductility in Pure Nickel by Cryorolling with Subsequent Low-Temperature Short-Time Annealing

Ultra fine-grained pure metals and their alloys have high strength and low ductility.In this study,cryorolling under different strains followed by low-temperature short-time annealing was used to fabricate pure nickel sheets combining high strength with good ductility.The results show that,for different cryorolling strains,the uniform elongation was greatly increased without sacrificing the strength after annealing.A yield strength of 607 MPa and a uniform elongation of 11.7%were obtained after annealing at a small cryorolling strain(ε=0.22),while annealing at a large cryorolling strain(ε=1.6)resulted in a yield strength of 990 MPa and a uniform elongation of 6.4%.X-ray diffraction(XRD),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and electron backscattered diffraction(EBSD)were used to characterize the microstructure of the specimens and showed that the high strength could be attributed to strain hardening during cryorolling,with an additional contribution from grain refinement and the formation of dislocation walls.The high ductility could be attributed to annealing twins and micro-shear bands during stretching,which improved the strain hardening capacity.The results show that the synergistic effect of strength and ductility can be regulated through low-temperature short-time annealing with different cryorolling strains,which provides a new reference for the design of future thermo-mechanical processes.

Designing new low alloyed Mg-RE alloys with high strength and ductility via high-speed extrusion

Two new low-alloyed Mg-2RE-0.8Mn-0.6Ca-0.5Zn(wt%,RE=Sm or Y)alloys are developed,which can be produced on an in-dustrial scale via relatively high-speed extrusion.These two alloys are not only comparable to commercial AZ31 alloy in extrudability,but also have superior mechanical properties,especially in terms of yield strength(YS).The excellent extrudability is related to less coarse second-phase particles and high initial melting point of the two as-cast alloys.The high strength-ductility mainly comes from the formation of fine grains,nano-spaced submicron/nano precipitates,and weak texture.Moreover,it is worth noting that the YS of the two alloys can maintain above 160 MPa at elevated temperature of 250°C,significantly higher than that of AZ31 alloy(YS:45 MPa).The Zn/Ca solute segregation at grain boundaries,the improved heat resistance of matrix due to addition of RE,and the high melting points of strengthening particles(Mn,MgZn_(2),and Mg-Zn-RE/Mg-Zn-RE-Ca)are mainly responsible for the excellent high-temperature strength.

A new perspective to develop regiorandom polymer acceptors with high active layer ductility,excellent device stability,and high efficiency approaching 17%

The recently reported efficient polymerized small-molecule acceptors(PSMAs)usually adopt a regioregular backbone by polymerizing small-molecule acceptors precursors with a low-reactivity 5-brominated 3-(dicyanomethylidene)indan-1-one(IC)end group or its derivatives,leading to low molecular weight,and thus reduce active layer mechanical properties.Herein,a series of newly designed chlorinated PSMAs originating from isomeric IC end groups are developed by adjusting chlorinated positions and copolymerized sites on end groups to achieve high molecular weight,favorable intermolecular interaction,and improved physicochemical properties.Compared with regioregular PY2Se-Cl-o and PY2Se-Cl-m,regiorandom PY2Se-Cl-ran has a similar absorption profile,moderate lowest unoccupied molecular orbital level,and favorable intermolecular packing and crystallization properties.Moreover,the binary PM6:PY2Se-Cl-ran blend achieves better ductility with a crack-onset strain of 17.5% and improved power conversion efficiency(PCE)of 16.23% in all-polymer solar cells(all-PSCs)due to the higher molecular weight of PY2Se-Cl-ran and optimized blend morphology,while the ternary PM6:J71:PY2Se-Cl-ran blend offers an impressive PCE approaching 17% and excellent device stability,which are all crucial for potential practical applications of all-PSCs in wearable electronics.To date,the efficiency of 16.86% is the highest value reported for the regiorandom PSMAs-based all-PSCs and is also one of the best values reported for the all-PSCs.Our work provides a new perspective to develop efficient all-PSCs,with all high active layer ductility,impressive PCE,and excellent device stability,towards practical applications.

High-ductility fine-grained Mg-1.92Zn-0.34Y alloy fabricated by semisolid and then hot extrusion

The combination of semisolid and hot extrusion processing was applied to refine the icosahedral quasicrystalline phase(I-phase) in an extruded Mg-1.92Zn-0.34Y(wt.%) alloy for the first time. The semisolid isothermal heat treatment transformed the micron-sized I-phase particles into nano lamellar eutectic(α-Mg + I-phase) with a lamellar spacing of ?86 nm. After subsequent hot extrusion at 250 ℃, the nano lamellar eutectic phases were broken into uniformly dispersed nanoscale I-phase particles. What’s more, the matrix microstructure was significantly refined with an equiaxed average grain size of 2.59 ± 0.81 μm, and an unusual texture component(most of the grains’ c-axis is parallel to the extrusion direction) was observed. The processed alloy exhibited a high tensile elongation to failure(EL) of 44 ± 2.6%with an ultimate tensile strength(UTS) of 258 ± 2.0 MPa and a tensile yield strength(TYS) of 176 ± 1.6 MPa at room temperature.The high ductility from the combined effects of the grain refinement, dispersion of nanoscale I-phase particles, and the unusual texture.The uniform dispersion of nanoscale I-phase particles could promote grain refinement by particle stimulated nucleation mechanism, and thus bring the unusual texture(where the c-axis is aligned parallel to the extrusion direction during dynamic recrystallization, which contributed to ductility).

Relations of Microstructural Attributes and Strength-Ductility of Zirconium Alloys with Hydrides

As the first safety barrier of nuclear reactors,zirconium alloy cladding tubes have attracted extensive attention because of its good mechanical properties.The strength and ductility of zirconium alloy are of great significance to the service process of cladding tubes,while brittle hydrides precipitate and thus deteriorate the overall performance.Based on the cohesive finite element method,the effects of cohesive strength,interfacial characteristics,and hydrides geometric characteristics on the strength and ductility of two-phase material(zirconium alloy with hydrides)are numerically simulated.The results show that the fracture behavior is significantly affected by the cohesive strength and that the overall strength and ductility are sensitive to the cohesive strength of the zirconium alloy.Furthermore,the interface is revealed to have prominent effects on the overall fracture behavior.When the cohesive strength and fracture energy of the interface are higher than those of the hydride phase,fracture initiates in the hydrides,which is consistent with the experimental phenomena.In addition,it is found that the number density and arrangement of hydrides play important roles in the overall strength and ductility.Our simulation provides theoretical support for the performance analysis of hydrogenated zirconium alloys during nuclear reactor operation.

Experimental Investigation on the Strength and Ductility Performance of Steel-Timber-Steel Joints with Screw and Steel-Tube Fasteners

This article presents experimental results of steel-timber-steel(STS)joints loaded parallel to grain.Eight groups of specimens were designed,and tensile tests were performed.The fastener types and fastener numbers were considered to evaluate the tensile strengths and ductility performances of the STS joints.The screws with 6 mm diameter and the innovative steel-tubes with 18 mm diameter were adopted as connecting fasteners.The experimental results were discussed in terms of yielding and ultimate strengths,slip stiffness,and ductility factors.The ductility classification and failure mechanisms of each group of specimens were analyzed.It was demonstrated that the STS joint with large diameter steel-tubes showed acceptable ductility,which was close to the ductility of the STS joint with small diameter screws,thanks to the hollow structure of the steel-tube.The theoretical strengths of various failure modes for the joints with small diameter screws or large diameter steel-tubes were calculated and compared with the experimental results.The ductile performance of the STS joint was discussed by comparing the theoretical strengths of various failure modes.The effective number of the STS joint with multifasteners was also analyzed by considering the failure mechanisms in aspects of tensile strength and slip stiffness.

Toward the development of Mg alloys with simultaneously improved strength and ductility by refining grain size via the deformation process

Magnesium(Mg) alloys, as the lightest metal engineering materials, have broad application prospects.However, the strength and ductility of traditional Mg alloys are still relativity low and difficult to improve simultaneously.Refining grain size via the deformation process based on the grain boundary strengthening and the transition of deformation mechanisms is one of the feasible strategies to prepare Mg alloys with high strength and high ductility.In this review, the effects of grain size on the strength and ductility of Mg alloys are summarized, and fine-grained Mg alloys with high strength and high ductility developed by various severe plastic deformation technologies and improved traditional deformation technologies are introduced.Although some achievements have been made, the effects of grain size on various Mg alloys are rarely discussed systematically and some key mechanisms are unclear or lack direct microscopic evidence.This review can be used as a reference for further development of high-performance fine-grained Mg alloys.

Hot ductility behavior of V-N and V-Nb microalloyed steels

The hot ductility of V-N and V-Nb microalloyed steels was investigated on a Gleeble-1500 thermomechanical simulator, and the results were compared with those of V and Nb microalloyed steels. A ductility trough is found in both the steels in the temperature range of 700 to 1050℃. Compared to the V steel, the V-N steel has a wider and deeper ductility trough with the increase of N content, due to the in- creased precipitation of V（C, N） in the steel. Above 930℃, when 0.047wt% V is added to the 0.028wt% Nb-containing steel, the ductility becomes worse, owing to the rise of the onset dynamic recrystallization temperature. However, the ductility gets better at 800 to 930℃ be- cause of the coarsening of precipitates in austenite. With the improvement in ductility, the fracture mechanism is changed from intergranular to high ductile fracture in the temperature range of 800 to 1050℃.

Ductility demands on buckling-restrained braced frames under earthquake loading

Accurate estimates of ductility demands on buckling-restrained braced frames(BRBFs)are crucial to performance-based design of BRBFs.An analytical study on the seismic behavior of BRBFs has been conducted at the ATLSS Center,Lehigh University to prepare for an upcoming experimental program.The analysis program DRAIN-2DX was used to model a one-bay,four-story prototype BRBF including material and geometric nonlinearities.The buckling- restrained brace(BRB)model incorporates both isotropic and kinematic hardening.Nonlinear static pushover and time- history analyses were performed on the prototype BRBF.Performance objectives for the BRBs were defined and used to evaluate the time-history analysis results.Particular emphasis was placed on global ductility demands and ductility demands on the BRBs.These demands were compared with anticipated ductility capacities.The analysis results,along with results from similar previous studies,are used to evaluate the BRBF design provisions that have been recommended for codification in the United States.The results show that BRB maximum ductility demands can be as high as 20 to 25.These demands significantly exceed those anticipated by the BRBF recommended provisions.Results from the static pushover and time- history analyses are used to demonstrate why the ductility demands exceed those anticipated by the recommended provisions. The BRB qualification testing protocol contained in the BRBF recommended provisions is shown to be inadequate because it requires only a maximum ductility demand of at most 7.5.Modifications to the testing protocol are recommended.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of a high ductility Mg–Zn–Mn–Ce magnesium alloy

A high-ductility ZME200(Mg–2.3Zn–0.4Mn–0.2Ce^(1))alloy was newly developed for vehicle closure and structure applications,based on an earlier ZE20(Mg–2.0Zn–0.2Ce)alloy for extrusion applications.Previous study indicates that the hot deformation behavior of as-cast ZME200 alloy varies with processing parameters,namely temperature and strain rate.In this follow-up study,a conventional rolling process was optimized to obtain magnesium sheets with a very fine grain structure and high ductility.The microstructure,mechanical properties,and corrosion resistances of ZME200 alloy were investigated,and compared with those of commercial AZ31 magnesium alloy.It was demonstrated that the ZME200 alloy sheet exhibits extraordinarily higher ductility(36%in tensile elongation),much superior stretch formability(an Erichsen value of 9.5),lower anisotropy,comparable strength and corrosion resistance to AZ31 alloy.The unique RD–TD double split texture with remarkably reduced intensity and grain refinement gives rise to the significantly improved ductility and formability at room-temperature.

Influence of grain size on the tensile ductility and deformation modes of rolled Mg–1.02 wt.%Zn alloy

The influence of grain size on the tensile deformation and ductility for Mg–1.02%Zn(wt.%)alloy was investigated.The uniform elongation is nearly insensitive to the increase of grain size,but the post-uniform elongation is significantly decreased with increasing grain size.The high ductility in the fine-grained samples is due to the lower frequency of twins and increased dynamic recovery from the enhanced activation of prismatic<a>slip.

Development of a high-strength Mg alloy with superior ductility through a unique texture modification from equal channel angular pressing

In the current study,a homogenous ultra-fine grained microstructure with average grain size of 1.0μm is achieved in the Mg-Zn-Ca-Mn alloy through the reduplicative equal channel angular pressing(ECAP)at 300℃,and the mechanical properties are remarkably improved,with room-temperature yield strength of 269.6 MPa and elongation of 22.7%.The twinning deformation results in a discontinuous recrystallization behavior in the initial stage of ECAP.With further deformation,the continuously dynamic recrystallization contributes to an obvious grain refinement effect.The activation of non-basal slip system leads to the formation of a unique basal texture,which is related to the elevated ECAP temperature and the decreased grain size.Both grain refinement and texture modification derived from ECAP process result in the increase of yield strength,while the cracked secondary phase particles are beneficial to the enhanced ductility,through reducing the stress concentration and hindering premature failure.

Alloying design and microstructural control strategies towards developing Mg alloys with enhanced ductility

Nowadays,magnesium(Mg)alloys are promising lightweight structural materials,especially in transportation and aerospace fields,due to their inherent low density and high specific strength.Most of the high-strength Mg alloys exhibit poor formability and ductility at room temperature,which limit their wide applications.However,by proper alloying design and/or delicate microstructural control,some newly developed Mg alloys,including rare-earth(RE)and RE-free ones,show enhanced ductility without significant loss of strength.To identify the critical reasons,recent researches on ductile Mg alloys have been reviewed from the aspects of alloying design strategies and microstructural control via advanced processing technologies.Moreover,some outlooks on enhanced ductility of Mg alloys are suggested,e.g.enhancing the beneficial effect of solute atoms,introducing second phase particles,tailoring bimodal-grained structures,introducing pre-twinning structures,etc.The current research progresses in alloying design and/or novel microstructural control have shed some lights on designing and producing Mg alloys with enhanced ductility.

Tailoring bimodal grain structure of Mg-9Al-1Zn alloy for strength-ductility synergy:Co-regulating effect from coarse Al_(2)Y and submicron Mg_(17)Al_(12) particles

Grain boundary strengthening is an effective strategy for increasing mechanical properties of Mg alloys.However,this method offers limited strengthening in bimodal grain-structured Mg alloys due to the difficultly in increasing the volume fraction of fine grains while keeping a small grain size.Herein,we show that the volume fraction of fine grains(FGs,~2.5μm)in the bimodal grain structure can be tailored from~30 vol.%in Mg-9 Al-1 Zn(AZ91)to~52 vol.%in AZ91-1Y(wt.%)processed by hard plate rolling(HPR).Moreover,a superior combination of a high ultimate tensile strength(~405 MPa)and decent uniform elongation(~9%)is achieved in present AZ91-1Y alloy.It reveals that a desired bimodal grain structure can be tailored by the co-regulating effect from coarse Al_(2)Y particles resulting in inhomogeneous recrystallization,and dispersed submicron Mg_(17)Al_(12)particles depressing the growth of recrystallized grains.The findings offer a valuable insight in tailoring bimodal grain-structured Mg alloys for optimized strength and ductility.

Enhancing the strain hardening and ductility of Mg-Y alloy by introducing stacking faults

Due to the insufficient slip systems,Mg and its alloys exhibit poor ductility during plastic deformation at room temperature.To solve this problem,alloying is considered as a most effective method to improve the ductility of Mg alloys,which attracts wide attentions of industries.However,it is still a challenge to understand the ductilization mechanism,because of the complicated alloying elements and their interactions with Mg matrix.In this work,pure Mg and Mg-Y alloys were comparatively studied to investigate the effect of Y addition on microstructure evolution and mechanical properties.A huge increase of uniform elongation,from 5.3%to 20.7%,was achieved via only 3 wt%addition of yttrium.TEM results revealed that the only activated slip system in pure Mg was basalslip,led to its poor ductility at room temperature.In contrast,a large number of stacking faults and non-basal dislocations with<c>component were observed in the deformed Mg-Y alloy,which was proposed as the main reason for significant improvement of strain hardening and ductility.High resolution TEM indicated that most of the stacking faults were II and 12 intrinsic faults,which played a critical role in improving the ductility of Mg-Y alloy.Addition of Y into Mg alloy decreased the stacking fault energy,which induced high density stacking faults in the grain interior.

Effect of pre-induced twinning on microstructure and tensile ductility in GW92K magnesium alloy during multi-direction forging at decreasing temperature

Effect of pre-induced twinning on the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of extruded Mg-9.26Gd-2.08Y-0.36Zr(GW92K)alloy have been investigated during multi-direction forging with large strains at decreasing temperature from 400℃ to 300℃.The results showed that,whether there pre-induced twinning existing in the initial microstructure by pre-deformation or not,a mixed microstructure of residual coarse grains and notably refined grains formed under both conditions,combing with some residual coarse grains with less deformation inside grains and lots of dispersed nano-precipitates distributed along refined grain boundaries.However,a significant improvement with the tensile ductility was obtained by the pre-induced twinning in the former alloy.It was suggested that,the pre-induced twinning largely contributed to the grain refinement and lead to an increase in the ratio of fine grain structure which would be responsible for the better properties.Furthermore,during subsequent forging deformation in the pre-deformed sample,the grain refinement mechanism by gradual grain orientation rotation around the surface section in residual coarse-grains was a little different from that by the macro-shear deformation in the as-extruded condition.

Effects of alloy elements on ductility and thermal conductivity of compacted graphite iron

The infl uence of Si, Sn, Mo and Ni on the ductility and thermal conductivity of compacted graphite iron(CGI) was investigated. Metallographic observation and Differential Scanning Calorimetry(DSC) experiments were carried out to analyze the roles of various additions in the eutectoid reaction. The experimental results showed that the ductility of CGI is proportional to the ferrite fraction, so moderate Si content could dramatically improve the ductility by increasing the ferrite fraction. DSC measurements showed that Mo has moderate inhibition on eutectoid transformation during both the heating and cooling processes, while the sample without Sn obviously broadens the three-phase region. Vermicularity and ferrite are known to improve thermal conductivity, and the former plays a more important role. Besides, among the alloy elements investigated, Sn has the greatest negative effect on conductivity, followed by Ni and Mo having the smallest effects.

Effects of chromium on the microstructure and hot ductility of Nb-microalloyed steel

It is well-known that the surface quality of the niobium microalloy profiled billet directly affects the comprehensive mechanical properties of the H-beam.The effects of chromium on theγ/αphase transformation and high-temperature mechanical properties of Nb-microalloyed steel were studied by Gleeble tensile and high-temperature in-situ observation experiments.Results indicated that the starting temperature of the γ→αphase transformation decreases with increasing Cr content.The hot ductility of Nb-microalloyed steel is improved by adding 0.12wt% Cr.Chromium atoms inhibit the diffusion of carbon atoms,which reduces the thickness of grain boundary ferrite.The number fractions of high-angle grain boundaries increase with increasing chromium content.In particular,the proportion is up to 48.7% when the Cr content is 0.12wt%.The high-angle grain boundaries hinder the crack propagation and improve the ductility of Nb-microalloyed steel.

HOT DUCTILITY OF 304HC STAINLESS STEEL AND THE MODEL OF RESISTANCE TO DEFORMATION

The ductility map of 304HC stainless was determined by using the Gleeble-1500 dynamic thermal-mechanical simulator. The effect of Cu on the hot ductility of 304HC stainless steel was analyzed and the mathematical model of resistance to deformation was established. The microstructure, inclusion and fracture surface were studied by using the method of micro structure analysis, scanning, energy spectrum and electron microscope. The results show that Cu has effect on the hot ductility, and the hot ductility of 304HC stainless steel decrease with the increase of content of Cu. The deformation temperature also has much effect on the hot ductility, the suitable deformation temperature are 1100-1200℃. The reason of it is that the Cu rich chemical compounds were precipitated from austenite phase during cooling. The Cu rich chemical compounds are brittle substance such as Cu2S, Cu2O and ε-Cu etc.

Hot ductility behavior of a Fe-0.3C-9Mn-2Al medium Mn steel

The hot ductility of a Fe-0.3C-9Mn-2Al medium Mn steel was investigated using a Gleeble3800 thermo-mechanical simulator.Hot tensile tests were conducted at different temperatures(600-1300℃)under a constant strain rate of 4×10^(−3)s^(−1).The fracture behavior and mechanism of hot ductility evolution were discussed.Results showed that the hot ductility decreased as the temperature was decreased from 1000℃.The reduction of area(RA)decreased rapidly in the specimens tested below 700℃,whereas that in the specimen tested at 650℃was lower than 65%.Mixed brittle-ductile fracture feature is reflected by the coexistence of cleavage step,intergranular facet,and dimple at the surface.The fracture belonged to ductile failure in the specimens tested between 720-1000℃.Large and deep dimples could delay crack propagation.The change in average width of the dimples was in positive proportion with the change in RA.The wide austenite-ferrite intercritical temperature range was crucial for the hot ductility of medium Mn steel.The formation of ferrite film on austenite grain boundaries led to strain concentration.Yield point elongation occurred at the austenite-ferrite intercritical temperature range during the hot tensile test.