Diffusion bonding of Al 7075 and Mg AZ31 alloys:Process parameters, microstructural analysis and mechanical properties

Al 7075 and Mg AZ31 alloys were joined by diffusion bonding method. Joining process was performed in pressure range of 10-35 MPa at temperatures of 430-450 ℃ for 60 min under a vacuum of 13.3 MPa. The microstructure evaluation, phase analysis and distribution of elements at the interface were done using scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （EDS） and X-ray diffraction （XRD）. The pressure of 25 MPa was determined as the optimum pressure in which the minimum amount of plastic deformation takes place at the joint. Different reaction layers containing intermetallic compounds, such as Al12Mg17, Al3Mg2 andα（Al） solid solution, were observed, in interfacial transition zone （ITZ）. Thickness of layers was increased with increasing the operating temperature. According to the results, diffusion of aluminum atoms into magnesium alloy was more and the interface movement towards the Al alloy was observed. The maximum bond strength of 38 MPa was achieved at the temperature of 440 ℃ and pressure of 25 MPa. Fractography studies indicated that the brittle fracture originated from Al3Mg2 phase.

As-cast microstructure and Sr-containing phases of AZ31 magnesium alloys with high Sr contents

The as-cast microstructure and Sr-containing phases in the AZ31 magnesium alloys with different Sr contents （0%, 0.3%, 2.5% and 5.0%, mass fraction） were investigated. The results indicate that after adding Sr to the AZ31 magnesium alloy, the dendrite/grain size is decreased, and with the Sr content increasing from 0 to 5.0%, the dendrite becomes finer, the dendrite morphology becomes more passive and the distribution of alloying phases at dendrite/grain boundary is dispersed. Furthermore, the morphology of the β-Mg 17 Al 12 phase in the alloy with addition of 0.3%Sr changes from continuously irregular strip-like shape to discontinuously irregular strip-like shape and/or fine granule-like shape. At the same time, some lamella-like eutectic phases are found in the alloys with additions of 2.5% Sr and 5.0% Sr, and the lamella spacing in the alloy with addition of 5.0% Sr is finer. Adding high Sr content to the AZ31 alloy can bring the new ternary eutectic and/or divorced eutectic phase of Mg 11 Al 5 Zn 4 in the alloy, and the Mg 17 Sr 2 and Mg 2 Sr phases are formed in the alloys with additions of 2.5% Sr and 5.0% Sr.

Effect of equal channel angular pressing on AZ31 wrought magnesium alloys

AZ31 wrought magnesium alloys are light weight materials which play an important role in order to reduces the environmental burdens in modern society because of its high strength to weight ratio,corrosion resistance,and stiffness and machinability.Applications of this material are mainly in structural component i.e.,in constructions,automobile,aerospace,electronics and marine industries.In the present work,the microstructure characterization of the AZ31 alloys up to four ECAP passes at temperature of 573 K was observed for route Bc.Average grain size of the material was reduced from 31.8μm to 8μm after four ECAP passes.Mechanical properties of the alloy improved with increase in number of ECAP passes.Moreover,X-ray diffraction analysis was carried out for as received and ECAP processed material.

Influence of temperature and strain rate on flow stress behavior of twin-roll cast, rolled and heat-treated AZ31 magnesium alloys

The effects of temperature and strain rate on the flow stress behavior of twin-roll cast, rolled and heat-treated AZ31 magnesium alloys were investigated under uniaxial tension. At high temperatures, dynamic recovery, continuous dynamic recrystallization, grain boundary sliding and the activation of additional slip systems lead to an improvement of the ductility of the alloys. The elongation to failure is nearly independent of the strain rate between 473 and 523 K at 10-2 s-1 and 10-1 s-1, which is related to the strain rate dependence of the critical resolved shear stress（CRSS） for nonbasal slip. Despite the high temperature, twins are even observed at 573 K and 10-3 s-1 because they have a low CRSS.

Effect of asymmetric rolling process on the microstructure,mechanical properties and texture of AZ31 magnesium alloys sheets produced by twin roll casting technique

Symmetric rolling(SR)and asymmetric rolling(ASR)processes were carried out on 6 mm thick AZ31 magnesium alloy sheets that were produced by twin roll casting(TRC)technique.Before rolling processes,sheets were heat treated in order to obtain a homogenized microstructure.In this study,for the ASR process the rolling speed ratio between upper roller and lower was selected as 1.25.Both SR and ASR processes were utilized with 40%reduction per passes using 2 pass schedule for a total reduction ratio of 0.67.Symmetric and asymmetric rolled sheets were characterized using optical microscopy(OM),scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and transmission electron microscopy(TEM)techniques.Texture measurements were performed by using X-ray diffraction(XRD)technique and mechanical properties were investigated by tensile tests and also hardness measurements.

Effect of limestone ores on grain refinement of as-cast commercial AZ31 magnesium alloys

The grain refinement of the as-cast AZ31 alloys by limestone particles was investigated by grain refining tests and microstructure observations. The results show that the limestone particles have a good grain refining potency, which is deeply related to the addition level of limestone and melting temperature. The optimal addition level and melting temperature are 2.0%（mass fraction） and 720 ℃, respectively. The average grain size of AZ31 alloy is reduced from（556±60） to（236±22） μm. The sound grain refining by raw limestone particles has a good anti-fading capacity without any significant grain coarsening in a 40 min holding time. The concerned grain refining mechanism should be attributed to the inoculated Al-C and Al-C/Al-Mn-（Fe） nuclei. Ultrasonic treatment can enhance the grain refining efficiency of limestone particles through cavitation-enhanced nucleation mechanism.

Characteristics of hot tensile deformation and microstructure evolution of twin-roll cast AZ31B magnesium alloys

High temperature tensile properties and microstructure evolutions of twin-roll-cast AZ31B magnesium alloy were investigated over a strain rate range from 10-3 to 1 s-1.It is suggested that the dominant deformation mechanism in the lower strain rate regimes is dislocation creep controlled by grain boundary diffusion at lower temperature and by lattice diffusion at higher temperatures,respectively.Furthermore,dislocation glide and twinning are dominant deformation mechanisms at higher strain-rate.The processing map,the effective diffusion coefficient and activation energy map of the alloy were established.The relations of microstructure evolutions to the transition temperature of dominant diffusion process,the activation energy platform and the occurrence of the full dynamic recrystallization with the maximum peak efficiency were analyzed.It is revealed that the optimum conditions for thermo-mechanical processing of the alloy are at a temperature range from 553 to 593 K,and a strain rate range from 7×10-3 to 2×10-3 s-1.

Improved Mechanical Properties in AZ31 Magnesium Alloys Induced by Impurity Reduction

Mechanical properties and microstructures of AZ31 magnesium alloys containing different impurity levels but having the same alloying element content, were investigated at ambient temperature. These AZ31 alloys were produced by semi-continuous casting, wherein the content of impurity was varied systematically. Microstructure observation shows that finer grains are existent in the alloy with lower impurity level. Tensile testing reveals that a reduction of impurity content results in a noticeable increase of the strength and elongation in the alloys in the cast, homogenized and extruded states. As the impurity content decreases from 0.0462wt% to 0.0163wt%, the ultimate tensile strength is evidently enhanced by 62 MPa and the elongation is nearly doubled in the homogenized specimen. The observed property improvement was discussed in terms of the microstructure variation with impurity reduction.

Experimental and simulation research on hollow AZ31 magnesium alloy three-channel joint by hot extrusion forming with sand mandrel

Magnesium alloy is one of the lightest metal structural materials.The weight is further reduced through the hollow structure.However,the hollow structure is easily damaged during processing.In order to maintain the hollow structure and to transfer the stresses during the high temperature deformation,the sand mandrel is proposed.In this paper,the hollow AZ31 magnesium alloy three-channel joint is studied by hot extrusion forming.Sand as one of solid granule medium is used to fill the hollow magnesium alloy.The extrusion temperatures are 230℃ and 300℃,respectively.The process parameters(die angle,temperature,bottom thickness,sidewall thickness,edge-to-middle ratio in bottom,bottom shape)of the hollow magnesium alloy are analyzed based on the results of experiments and the finite element method.The results are shown that the formability of the hollow magnesium alloy will be much better when the ratio of sidewall thickness to the bottom thickness is 1:1.5.Also when edge-to-middle ratio in bottom is about 1:1.5,a better forming product can be received.The best bottom shape in these experiments will be convex based on the forming results.The grain will be refined obviously after the extrusion.Also the microstructures will be shown as streamlines.And these lines will be well agreement with the mold in the corner.

Characterization and modeling studies towards Al_(3)Ti/Mg interfaces in Ti reinforced AZ31 alloys

The interfaces between in-situ Al3Ti particles and magnesium(Mg)matrix are crucial role in highperformance titanium(Ti)reinforced AZ31 alloy.Herein,the interfaces between Al3Ti particles and the Mg matrix are fabricated and investigated using advanced characterization tools and first-principles calculations.The orientation relationship(OR)and atomic interface structure between the Al_(3)Ti particles and matrix are characterized using a high-resolution transmission electron microscope.The OR is determined to be(1010)Mg//(001)Al3Ti;[1213]Mg//[100]Al3Ti.Based on the characterized OR,the interface properties(including atomic structure,work of adhesion,interface energy,and fracture mechanism)are investigated using first-principles calculations.The relaxed interface structure indicates that the TiAl-terminated bridge site configurations(MT1)and hollow site configurations(HCP1)are unstable and would convert into other bridge site configurations(MT).Furthermore,the work of adhesion and interface energy suggests that Al-terminated hollow site configurations(HCP)and bridge site configurations(MT)are more stable than other configurations.In addition,the calculations of work of fracture show that fracture of the interfaces with Al-MT1,Al-HCP,and TiAl-MT configurations may initiate from bulk Mg interior.The findings may help to understand and tailor the deformation mechanisms and mechanical properties of Ti-reinforced Mg alloys.

Paint-bake response of AZ80 and AZ31 Mg alloys

Aging behaviors of extruded and rolled AZ80 and AZ31 Mg alloys were investigated under conditions similar to the paint-bake cycle currently used in automotive industry.Artificial aging at 170℃ from 0.5 to 12 h was conducted on solution-treated specimens to study the effects of aging on mechanical properties.SEM observations and EDS data show thatβ-phase of Al12Mg17 precipitates continuously or discontinuously fromα-Mg matrix and distributes along grain boundaries of the AZ80 alloy during artificial aging.Data of tensile tests and Vickers hardness tests show that an optimum mechanical property is achieved after baking at 170℃ for 6-8 h when Vickers hardness,tensile strength,and elongation are increased by 6.35%,15.30%,and 7.88%,respectively, while the AZ31 alloy does not exhibit significant hardening behavior over the aging period.

Microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of AZ31 Mg alloy fabricated by a novel bifurcation-equal channel angular pressing

In this work,a novel type of short-process deformation technology of Mg alloys,bifurcation-equal channel angular pressing(B-ECAP),was proposed to refine grain and improve the basal texture.The cylindrical billets were first compressed into the die cavity,then sequentially flowed downward through a 90°corner and two 120°shear steps.The total strain of B-ECAP process could reach 3.924 in a single pass.The results of microstructure observation showed that DRX occurred at upsetting process in the die cavity and completed at position D.The grains were refined to 6.3μm at being extruded at 300℃ and grew obviously with the extrusion temperature increase.The shear tress induced by 900 corner and two 120°shear steps resulted in the basal poles of most grains tilted to extrusion direction(ED)by±25°.Compared with the original billets,the extruded sheets exhibited higher yield strengths(YS),which was mainly attributed to the grain refinement.The higher Schmid factor caused by ED-tilt texture resulted in a fracture elongation(FE)more than that of the original bar in ED,while was equivalent to that in transverse direction(TD).As the extrusion temperature increased,the variation of UTS and YS in ED and TD decreased gradually without ductility obviously decrease.

Study of HCP→FCC phase transformation mechanism under different hot compression rates of AZ31 magnesium alloy

At present,there are few studies on the phase transition during the thermocompression plastic deformation of magnesium alloy.In this study,the evolution model of thermal compression plastic of AZ31 magnesium alloy was constructed by molecular dynamics,and the phase transition relationship between HCP and FCC at different thermal compression rates was studied.By combining GLEEBLE thermal compression experiment with transmission electron microscopy experiment,high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images were taken to analyze the transition rules between HCP and FCC during plastic deformation at different thermal compression rates,and the accuracy of molecular dynamics analysis was verified.It is found that the slip of Shockley’s incomplete dislocation produces obvious HCP→FCC phase transition at low strain rate and base plane dislocation at high strain rate,which makes the amorphous phase transition of HCP→OTHER more obvious,which provides theoretical guidance for the formulation of forming mechanism and preparation process of magnesium alloy.

NaF assisted preparation and the improved corrosion resistance of high content ZnO doped plasma electrolytic oxidation coating on AZ31B alloy

In the present research,the NaF assisted plasma electrolytic oxidation(PEO)is designed to fabricate the high-content ZnO nanoparti-cles doped coating on AZ31B alloy.The microstructure,phase constituents and corrosion behavior of the PEO coatings are investigated systematically.The results reveal that the introduction of NaF promotes the formation of MgF2 nanophases in the passivation layer on Mg alloy,decreasing the breakdown voltage and discharge voltage.As a result,the continuous arcing caused by high discharge voltage is alleviated.With the increasing of NaF content,the Zn content in the PEO coating is enhanced and the pore size in the coating is decreased correspondingly.Due to the high-content ZnO doping,the PEO coating protected AZ31B alloy demonstrates the better corrosion resistance.Compared with the bare AZ31B alloy,the high-content ZnO doped PEO coated sample shows an increased corrosion potential from-1.465 V to-1.008 V,a decreased corrosion current density from 3.043×10^(-5) A·cm^(-2) to 3.960×10^(-8) A·cm^(-2) and an increased charge transfer resistance from 1.213×10^(2) ohm·cm^(2) to 2.598×10^(5) ohm·cm^(2).Besides,the high-content ZnO doped PEO coated sample also has the excellent corrosion resistance in salt solution,exhibiting no obvious corrosion after more than 2000 h neutral salt spraying and 28 days’immersion testing.The improved corrosion resistance can be ascribed to the relative uniform distribution of ZnO in PEO coating which can transform to Zn(OH)2 and form a continuous protective layer along the corrosion interface.

Enhancing fatigue performance of AZ31 magnesium alloy components fabricated by cold metal transfer-based wire arc directed energy deposition through LPB

Cold Metal Transfer-Based Wire Arc Directed Energy Deposition(CMT-WA-DED)presents a promising avenue for the rapid fabrication of components crucial to automotive,shipbuilding,and aerospace industries.However,the susceptibility to fatigue of CMT-WA-DED-produced AZ31 Mg alloy components has impeded their widespread adoption for critical load-bearing applications.In this study,a comprehensive investigation into the fatigue behaviour of WA-DED-fabricated AZ31 Mg alloy has been carried out and compared to commercially available wrought AZ31 alloy.Our findings indicate that the as-deposited parts exhibit a lower fatigue life than wrought Mg alloy,primarily due to poor surface finish,tensile residual stress,porosity,and coarse grain microstructure inherent in the WA-DED process.Low Plasticity Burnishing(LPB)treatment is applied to mitigate these issues,which induce significant plastic deformation on the surface.This treatment resulted in a remarkable improvement of fatigue life by 42%,accompanied by a reduction in surface roughness,grain refinement and enhancement of compressive residual stress levels.Furthermore,during cyclic deformation,WA-DED specimens exhibited higher plasticity and dislocation density compared to both wrought and WA-DED+LPB specimens.A higher fraction of Low Angle Grain Boundaries(LAGBs)in WA-DED specimens contributed to multiple crack initiation sites and convoluted crack paths,ultimately leading to premature failure.In contrast,wrought and WA-DED+LPB specimens displayed a higher percentage of High Angle Grain Boundaries(HAGBs),which hindered dislocation movement and resulted in fewer crack initiation sites and less complex crack paths,thereby extending fatigue life.These findings underscore the effectiveness of LPB as a post-processing technique to enhance the fatigue performance of WA-DED-fabricated AZ31 Mg alloy components.Our study highlights the importance of LPB surface treatment on AZ31 Mg components produced by CMT-WA-DED to remove surface defects,enabling their widespread use in load-bearing applications.

Corrosion resistance of cerium-doped zinc calcium phosphate chemical conversion coatings on AZ31 magnesium alloy

Zinc calcium phosphate （Zn-Ca-P） coating and cerium-doped zinc calcium phosphate （Zn-Ca-Ce-P） coating were prepared on AZ31 magnesium alloy. The chemical compositions, morphologies and corrosion resistance of coatings were investigated through energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （EDS）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, electron probe micro-analysis （EPMA） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM） together with hydrogen volumetric and electrochemical tests. The results indicate that both coatings predominately contain crystalline hopeite （Zn3（PO4）2·4H2O）, Mg3（PO4）2 and Ca3（PO4）2, and traces of non-crystalline MgF2 and CaF2. The Zn-Ca-Ce-P coating is more compact than the Zn-Ca-P coating due to the formation of CePO4, and displays better corrosion resistance than the Zn-Ca-P coating. Both coatings protect the AZ31 Mg substrate only during an initial immersion period. The micro-galvanic corrosion between the coatings and their substrates leads to an increase of hydrogen evolution rate （HER） with extending the immersion time. The addition of Ce promotes the homogenous distribution of Ca and formation of hopeite. The Zn-Ca-Ce-P coating has the potential for the primer coating on magnesium alloys.

Superplasticity of AZ31 magnesium alloy prepared by friction stir processing

Microstructure and tensile behaviors of AZ31 magnesium alloy prepared by friction stir processing（FSP） were investigated.The results show that microstructure of the AZ31 hot-rolled plate with an average grain size of 92.0 μm is refined to 11.4 μm after FSP.The FSP AZ31 alloy exhibits excellent plasticity at elevated temperature,with an elongation to failure of 1050% at 723 K and a strain rate of 5×10-4 s-1.The elongation of the FSP material is 268% at 723 K and 1×10-2 s-1,indicating that high strain rate superplasticity could be achieved.On the other hand,the hot-rolled base material,which has a coarse grain structure,possesses no superplasticity under the experimental conditions.

Simulation on dynamic recrystallization behavior of AZ31 magnesium alloy using cellular automaton method coupling Laasraoui Jonas model

The dynamic recrystallization （DRX） process of AZ31 magnesium alloy including microstructure and dislocation density evolution during hot compression was simulated by adopting the cellular automaton （CA） method coupling the Laasraoui-Jonas model （LJ model）. The reliability of simulation depended on the accuracy of the hardening parameter, the recovery parameter and the strain rate sensitivity in the LJ model. The hardening parameter was calculated in terms of the LJ model and the Kocks-Mecking model （KM model）, and then the recovery parameter and the strain rate sensitivity were obtained by using the equation of steady state flow stress for DRX. Good agreements between the simulations and the experimental observations were achieved.

Crystal anisotropy of AZ31 magnesium alloy under uniaxial tension and compression

To investigate the deformation twinning and the plastic anisotropy of the hexagonal-close-packed（HCP） single crystal, the crystal plastic constitutive model including slip and twinning deformation was established with finite element method based on crystal plasticity theory. The model was verified by test data. Newton-Raphson iteration method was developed with the stress components directly as the basic variables of iteration. The plastic deformation behavior of single crystal AZ31 alloy was analyzed numerically under monotonic tension and compression, respectively, in four different strain paths（i.e. along 〈2110〉, 〈 0110〉, 〈0001〉 and 〈0111〉） with this model. The stress-strain curves were obtained in the above paths. The numerical calculation results show that this crystal model is feasible to predict the activity of slip/twinning system and to describe the number of active twin variants, the types of dominant twin variants and twin intersection. Due to the polar nature of mechanical twinning in inelastic deformation of the material, the plastic behavior of the single crystal material is demonstrated to be notably anisotropic and high asymmetry.

Microstructure control of AZ31 alloy by self-inoculation method for semisolid rheocasting

A novel rheocasting process, self-inoculation method （SIM）, was developed for the microstructure control of semisolid wrought Mg alloy. This process involves mixing between liquid alloy and particles of solid alloy （self-inoculants）, subsequently pouring the mixed melt into a special designed multi-stream fluid director. The primary phase with dendritic morphology in the conventionally cast AZ31 alloy has readily transformed into near spherical one in the slurry produced by SIM from melt treatment temperature between 690 ℃ and 710 ℃ and self-inoculants addition of 3%-7%. Achievement of the non-dendritic microstructure at the higher melt treatment temperature requires more self-inoculants addition or decreases in the slope angle of fluid director. Primary phase in the slurry thus produced has attained an ideally globular morphology after isothermal holding at 620 ℃ for 30 s. The increasing holding time leads to decrease of shape factor but the coarsening of particle size. The spheroidization and coarsening evolution process of solid particles during the isothermal holding were analyzed by Lifshitz-Slyozov-Wagner （LSW） theory.