Mechanical properties and interfacial characteristics of 6061 Al alloy plates fabricated by hot-roll bonding

This work aims to investigate the mechanical properties and interfacial characteristics of 6061 Al alloy plates fabricated by hotroll bonding(HRB)based on friction stir welding.The results showed that ultimate tensile strength and total elongation of the hot-rolled and aged joints increased with the packaging vacuum,and the tensile specimens fractured at the matrix after exceeding 1 Pa.Non-equilibrium grain boundaries were formed at the hot-rolled interface,and a large amount of Mg_(2)Si particles were linearly precipitated along the interfacial grain boundaries(IGBs).During subsequent heat treatment,Mg_(2)Si particles dissolved back into the matrix,and Al_(2)O_(3) film remaining at the interface eventually evolved into MgO.In addition,the local IGBs underwent staged elimination during HRB,which facilitated the interface healing due to the fusion of grains at the interface.This process was achieved by the dissociation,emission,and annihilation of dislocations on the IGBs.

Integrated Computational Materials Engineering for the Development and Design of High Modulus Al Alloys

Integrated computational materials engineering(ICME)is to integrate multi-scale computational simulations and key experimental methods such as macroscopic,mesoscopic,and microscopic into the whole process of Al alloys design and development,which enables the design and development of Al alloys to upgrade from traditional empirical to the integration of compositionprocess-structure-mechanical property,thus greatly accelerating its development speed and reducing its development cost.This study combines calculation of phase diagram(CALPHAD),Finite element calculations,first principle calculations,and microstructure characterization methods to predict and regulate the formation and structure of composite precipitates from the design of highmodulus Al alloy compositions and optimize the casting process parameters to inhibit the formation of micropore defects in the casting process,and the final tensile strength of Al alloys reaches420 MPa and Young's modulus reaches more than 88 GPa,which achieves the design goal of the high strength and modulus Al alloys,and establishes a new mode of the design and development of the strength/modulus Al alloys.

Effect of welding current on morphology and microstructure of Al alloy T-joint in double-pulsed MIG welding

The effect of current on the morphology of Al alloy T-joint in double-pulsed metal inert gas（DP-MIG） welding process was investigated by simulation and experiment.A three-dimensional finite element model and the DP-MIG heat source of double-ellipsoidal volumetric model were developed to simulate the temperature and stress fields under different welding conditions.The macro-morphology and microstructure of welding joints at the corresponding currents were observed in the experiment.The results show that the best condition is at an average current of 90 A and current difference of 40 A,when the maximum temperature is 200 °C higher than the fusion points,with the temperature difference of about 100 °C and stress change of 10 MPa between thermal pulse and thermal base.Under these conditions,Al alloy T-joint with proper fusion condition has smooth fish-scale welding appearance and finer microstructure.Furthermore,the thermal curves and stress distribution in the experiment are consistent with those in the simulation,verifying the precision of the welding simulation.

Effects of yttrium and strontium additions on as-cast microstructure of Mg-14Li-1Al alloys

Mg-14Li-1Al （LA141）, LA141-0.3Y, LA141-0.3Sr, and LA141-0.3Y-0.3Sr alloys were prepared in an induction furnace in the argon atmosphere. The microstructures of these alloys were investigated through scanning electron microscope （SEM）, X-ray diffractometer （XRD） and energy dispersive spectrometer （EDS）. The results show that yttrium and/or strontium additions produce a strong grain refining effect in LA141 alloy. The mean grain sizes of the alloys with addition of Y and/or Sr are reduced remarkably from 600 to 500, 260, 230 μm, respectively. Al 2 Y, Al 4 Sr and Mg 17 Sr 2 phases with different morphologies are verified and exist inside the grain or at the grain boundaries, thus possibly act as heterogeneous nucleation sites and pin up grain boundaries, which restrain the grain growth.

Effect of as-solidified microstructure on subsequent solution-treatment process for A356 Al alloy

For the compromise of mechanical properties and product cost, the end-chilled sand casting technique was applied to studying the microstructure evolution of A356 Al alloy with cooling rate and the effect of different as-cast microstructures on the subsequent solution-treatment process. The experimental results show that the secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) of primaryα(Al), the size of eutectic Si and the volume fraction of Al?Si eutectic are reduced with increasing the cooling rate. Eutectic Si, subjected to solution treatment at 540 °C for 1 h followed by water quenching to room temperature, is completely spheroidized at cooling rate of 2.6 K/s; is partially spheroidized atcooling rate of 0.6 K/s; and is only edge-rounded at cooling rates of 0.22 and 0.12 K /s. Whilst the microhardness is also the maximum at cooling rate of 2.6 K/s. It consequently suggests that subjected to modification by high cooling rate, the eutectic Si is more readily modified, thus shortening the necessary solution time at given solution temperature, i.e., reducing the product cost.

Constitutive equations for high temperature flow stress prediction of 6063 Al alloy considering compensation of strain

In order to develop the appropriate constitutive equation which can precisely model high temperature flow stress of 6063 Al alloy, a series of isothermal hot compression tests were performed at temperatures from 573 to 773 K and strain rates from 0.5 to 50 s?1 on a Gleeble?1500 thermo-simulation machine. Zener–Hollomon parameter in an exponent-type equation was used to describe the combined effects of temperature and strain rate on hot deformation behaviour of 6063 Al alloy, whereas the influence of strain was incorporated in the developed constitutive equation by considering material constants (α,n,Q andA) to be 4th order polynomial functions of strain. The results show that the developed constitutive equation can accurately predict high temperature flow stress of 6063 Al alloy, which demonstrates that it can be suitable for simulating hot deformation processes such as extrusion and forging, and for properly designing the deformation parameters in engineering practice.

Contact reactive brazing of Al alloy/Cu/stainless steel joints and dissolution behaviors of interlayer

Contact reactive brazing of 6063 Al alloy and 1Cr18Ni9Ti stainless steel was researched by using Cu as interlayer. Effect of brazing time on microstructure of the joints, as well as the dissolution behaviors of Cu interlayer was analyzed. The results show that the product of reaction zone near 1Cr18Ni9Ti is composed of Fe2Al5, FeAl3 intermetallic compound （IMC）, and Cu-Al IMC; the near by area is composed of Al-Cu eutectic structure with Al （Cu） solid solution. With increasing the brazing time, the thickness of IMC layer at the interface increases, while the width of Al-Cu eutectic structure with Al（Cu） solution decreases. Calculation shows the dissolution rate of Cu interlayer is very fast. The complete dissolution time is about 0.47 s for Cu interlayer with 10 μm in thickness used in this study.

Behavior of CeO2 additive in in-situ TiB_2 particles reinforced 2014 Al alloy composite

In-situ TiB2 particles reinforced 2014 aluminum alloy composite was prepared using an exothermic reaction process with K2TiF6 and KBF4 salts. The effects of CeO2 additive on the microstructure and properties of in-situ TiB2/2014 composite were investigated. The results showed that CeO2 at high temperature exhibits the same function as Ce. When 0.5% （mass fraction） CeO2 additive was added, the dispersion of TiB2 particles in the matrix is improved significantly, and particles have no obvious settlement. The dispersing mechanism of TiB2 particles in 2014 Al alloy matrix was explained. Compared with the composite without CeO2, the hardness, tensile strength, yield strength and elongation of the composite with CeO2 addition are greatly increased in as-cast condition.

Microstructure evolution of semi-solid 7075 Al alloy slurry during temperature homogenization treatment

Semi-solid 7075 Al slurry was prepared by inverted cone-shaped pouring channel process （ICSPC） and temperature homogenization （TH） treatment was combined to make the slurry uniform and have a controllable solid fraction suitable for the follow-up rheocasting. The influence of cooling rate on the microstructure evolution of primary α（Al） during TH treatment was investigated. The results show that as the cooling rate of the slurry after being prepared reduces, the growth of primaryα（Al） in the slurry tends to be nearly spherical and the uniformity of the organization is also enhanced. This may be due to the fact that lower cooling rate plays an important role in achieving the uniformity of temperature and composition in the remaining liquid, which is crucial to the formation of the spherical and homogeneous microstructure. However, a too low cooling rate will lead to a significant increase in grain growth time, which makes too coarse grains and more particles coalesce, so a certain abnormal growth of grain appears and the shape factor decreases slightly.

Deformation behaviors and processing maps of CNTs/Al alloy composite fabricated by flake powder metallurgy

Deformation behaviors of CNTs/Al alloy composite fabricated by the method of flake powder metallurgy were investigated by hot compression tests, which were performed in the temperature range of 300?550 °C and strain rate range of 0.001? 10 s?1 with Gleeble?3500 thermal simulator system. Processing maps of the CNTs/Al alloy at different strains were calculated to study the optimum processing domain. Microstructures before and after hot compressions were characterized by electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) method. Stress?strain curves indicate that the flow stress increases with the increase of strain rate and the decrease of temperature. The processing maps of the CNTs/Al alloy at different strains show that the optimum processing domain is 500?550 °C, 10 s?1 for hot working. EBSD analysis demonstrates that fully dynamic recrystallization occurs in the optimum processing domain (high strainrate 10 s?1), whereas the main soften mechanism is dynamic recovery at low strain rate (0.001 s?1).

Microstructure and mechanical properties of cryo-rolled AA6061 Al alloy

The microstructure and mechanical properties of the age hardening AA6061 Al alloy subjected to cryo-rolling（CR） and room temperature rolling（RTR） treatments were investigated. The rolled and aged alloys were analyzed by using DSC, EBSD, TEM, Vickers hardness analysis and tensile test. The results show that the cryo-rolled treatment has an effect on the precipitation sequence of AA6061 Al alloy. The ultrafine grain structures are formed to promote the fine second phase particles to disperse in the aluminum matrix after the peak aging, which is attributed to lots of dislocations tangled in the rolling process. Therefore, the strength and ductility of AA6061 Al alloy are simultaneously modified after the cryo-rolling and aging treatment compared with room temperature rolled one.

Microstructure evolution along thickness in double-side friction stir welded 7085 Al alloy

The microstructure evolution in the weld zone of double-side friction stir welded（DS-FSWed） 7085-T7452 Al alloy was investigated by the electron backscatter diffraction method.The results indicate that DS-FSW process results in substantial grain refinement.The misorientation angle distribution shows a very high volume fraction of high angle grain boundary（HAGB）（above 75%） under DS-FSW condition at rotational rate of 300 r/min.The fraction of HAGB rapidly decreases with increasing the rotational rate from 300 to 950 r/min,and the obvious growth of grain in the weld nugget zone（WNZ） is presented.The average grain sizes in the elongated grains of thermal-mechanical affected zone（TMAZ） and partially equiaxed and coarser grains of thermal affected zone（HAZ） are 7.3 and 15.7 μm with the fractions of HAGBs less than 43% and 30%,respectively.The intensities of（100）,（110） and（111） pole figures in the WNZ obviously decrease when compared with those in the BM and present significantly difference along the thickness direction of plate.

Microstructure and thermal stability of mechanically alloyed Al_3Ti/Al alloy

The microstructure stability of Al 3Ti/Al alloy prepared by mechanical alloying (MA) was investigated in the simulating environment in which they may be used. The results show that the MA alloy possesses fine microstructure (the grain size is about 0.5 μm). After cycling loaded followed by heat exposure at 350 ℃ for 24 h, no microstructure coarsening of the alloy occurred, which means that the Al 3Ti/Al alloy behaves good microstructure stability at high temperature. The compression yield strength of the alloy reaches up to 247 MPa at 350 ℃. [

Simulation on deposition and solidification processes of 7075 Al alloy droplets in 3D printing technology

In order to study the successive deposition and solidification processes of uniform alloy droplets during the drop-on-demand three dimensional（3D） printing method,based on the volume of fluid（VOF） method,a 3D numerical model was employed.In this model,the 7075 alloy with larger temperature range for phase change was used.The simulation results show that the successive deposition and solidification processes of uniform 7075 alloy droplets can be well characterized by this model.Simulated droplets shapes agree well with SEM images under the same condition.The effects of deposition and solidification of droplets result in vertical and L-shaped ridges on the surface of droplets,and tips of dendrites appear near the overlap of droplets due to rapid solidification.

Porosity sensitivity of A356 Al alloy during fiber laser welding

In order to decrease the metallurgical porosity and keyhole-induced porosity during deep penetration laser welding of Al and its alloys, and increase the mechanical properties of work-piece, the effects of welding parameters such as laser power, welding speed and defocusing value on both kinds of porosities were systemically analyzed respectively, and the shape and fluctuation of plume of the keyhole were observed to reflect the stability of the keyhole. The results show that increasing laser power or decreasing laser spot size can lead to the rising of both number and occupied area of pores in the weld; meanwhile, the plume fluctuates violently over the keyhole, which is always companied with the intense metallic vapor, liquid metal spatter and collapsing in the keyhole, thus more pores are generated in the weld. The porosity in the weld reaches the minimum at welding velocity of 2.0 m/min when laser power is 5 kW and defocusing value is 0.

Evolution of second phases and mechanical properties of 7075 Al alloy processed by solution heat treatment

The effects of solution treatment on the evolution of the second phases and mechanical properties of7075Al alloy werestudied with scanning electron microscopy(SEM),energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry(EDS),differential scanning calorimetry(DSC),hardness and tensile tests.The results show that Mg(Zn,Cu,Al)2phases gradually dissolve into the matrix,yet the size andmorphology of Al7Cu2Fe phase exhibit no change with the increase of the solution treatment temperature and time due to its highmelting point.When the solution treatment temperature and time continue to increase,the formation of coarse black Mg2Si particlesoccurs.Compared to the as-cast alloy,the microhardness,tensile strength,and elongation of the sample under solution heat treatmentat460°C for5h are increased by55.1%,40.9%and109.1%,respectively.This is because the eutectic Mg(Zn,Cu,Al)2phases almostcompletely dissolve and basically no coarse black Mg2Si particles are formed.

Effect of yttrium on the microstructure of a semi-solid A356 Al alloy

The semi-solid slurry of an A356 Al alloy, which was grain-fined by yttrium, was manufactured by low temperature pouring, The effects of grain-refining on the morphology and the grain size of the primary α phase in the semi-solid A356 Al alloy were researched. The results indicate that the semi-solid A356 AI alloy with particle-like and rosette-like primary α-Al can be prepared by low temperature pouring from a liquid grain-refined A356 alloy. The grain size and particle morphology of primary α-Al in the A356 Al alloy are markedly improved by the addition of 0.5 wt,% Y. The fining mechanism of Y on the morphology and grain size of the primary α-Al in the semi-solid A356 Al alloy was delved.

Effect of Y on microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of Mg−4Li−3Al alloys

To obtain magnesium alloys with a low density and improved mechanical properties,Y element was added into Mg−4Li−3Al(wt.%)alloys,and the effect of Y content on microstructure evolution and mechanical properties was investigated by using optical microscopy,scanning electron microscopy and tensile tests.The results show that mechanical properties of as-cast Mg−4Li−3Al alloys with Y addition are significantly improved as a result of hot extrusion.The best comprehensive mechanical properties are obtained in hot-extruded Mg−4Li−3Al−1.5Y alloy,which possesses high ultimate tensile strength(UTS=248 MPa)and elongation(δ=27%).The improvement of mechanical properties of hot-extruded Mg−4Li−3Al−1.5Y alloy was mainly attributed to combined effects of grain refinement,solid solution strengthening and precipitation strengthening.

Machine-learning-assisted prediction of the mechanical properties of Cu–Al alloy

The machine-learning approach was investigated to predict the mechanical properties of Cu–Al alloys manufactured using the powder metallurgy technique to increase the rate of fabrication and characterization of new materials and provide physical insights into their properties.Six algorithms were used to construct the prediction models, with chemical composition and porosity of the compacts chosen as the descriptors.The results show that the sequential minimal optimization algorithm for support vector regression with a puk kernel(SMOreg/puk) model demonstrated the best prediction ability. Specifically, its predictions exhibited the highest correlation coefficient and lowest error among the predictions of the six models. The SMOreg/puk model was subsequently applied to predict the tensile strength and hardness of Cu–Al alloys and provide guidance for composition design to achieve the expected values. With the guidance of the SMOreg/puk model, Cu–12Al–6Ni alloy with a tensile strength(390 MPa) and hardness(HB 139) that reached the expected values was developed.

Experimental study and numerical analysis on dry friction and wear performance of co-continuous SiC/Fe-40Cr against SiC/2618 Al alloy composites

The dry friction and wear behaviors of co-continuous composites SiC/Fe–40Cr against SiC/Al 2618 alloy were investigated on a ring-on-ring friction and wear tester at sliding speed of 30-105 m/s under the load of 1.0-2.5 MPa. The experimental result reveals that the characteristic of two body abrasive wear and oxidation wear mechanisms are present for SiCn/2618 Al composite under higher load and sliding speed. SiC ceramic continuous network as the reinforcement can avoid composite from the third body wear that usually occurs in traditional particle reinforced composite. The mechanically mixed layer (MML) controls greatly the wear rate and friction coefficient of the composites. The composites tested at higher sliding speed exhibit higher value of friction coefficient and fluctuation, which is associated with the intermittent formation and removal of the MML. The wear and stress—strain behaviors of SiCn/Fe–40Cr against SiCn/Al 2168 at 30-105 m/s under 1.0-2.5 MPa were analyzed by finite element method with the software Solidwork2012 Simulation, respectively. The wear and stress–strain behavior of the composite predicted by the FEM correlated well with the experimental results.