Microstructure and mechanical properties stability of pre-hardening treatment in Al-Cu alloys for pre-hardening forming process

The stability of the microstructure and mechanical properties of the pre-hardened sheets during the pre-hardening forming(PHF)process directly determines the quality of the formed components.The microstructure stability of the pre-hardened sheets was in-vestigated by differential scanning calorimetry(DSC),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),and small angle X-ray scattering(SAXS),while the mechanical properties and formability were analyzed through uniaxial tensile tests and formability tests.The results in-dicate that the mechanical properties of the pre-hardened alloys exhibited negligible changes after experiencing 1-month natural aging(NA).The deviations of ultimate tensile strength(UTS),yield strength(YS),and sheet formability(Erichsen value)are all less than 2%.Also,after different NA time(from 48 h to 1 month)is applied to alloys before pre-hardening treatment,the pre-hardened alloys possess stable microstructure and mechanical properties as well.Interestingly,with the extension of NA time before pre-hardening treatment from 48 h to 1 month,the contribution of NA to the pre-hardening treatment is limited.Only a yield strength increment of 20 MPa is achieved,with no loss in elongation.The limited enhancement is mainly attributed to the fact that only a limited number of clusters are transformed into Guinier-Preston(GP)zones at the early stage of pre-hardening treatment,and the formation ofθ''phase inhibits the nucleation and growth of GP zones as the precipitated phase evolves.

Microstructure and Hot Tearing Sensitivity Simulation and Parameters Optimization for the Centrifugal Casting of Al-Cu Alloy

Four typical theories on the formation of thermal tears:strength,liquid film,intergranular bridging,and solidifica-tion shrinkage compensation theories.From these theories,a number of criteria have been derived for predicting the formation of thermal cracks,such as the stress-based Niyama,Clyne,and RDG(Rapaz-Dreiser-Grimaud)criteria.In this paper,a mathematical model of horizontal centrifugal casting was established,and numerical simulation analysis was conducted for the centrifugal casting process of cylindrical Al-Cu alloy castings to investigate the effect of the centrifugal casting process conditions on the microstructure and hot tearing sensitivity of alloy castings by using the modified RDG hot tearing criterion.Results show that increasing the centrifugal rotation and pouring speeds can refine the microstructure of the alloy but increasing the pouring and mold preheating temperatures can lead to an increase in grain size.The grain size gradually transitions from fine grain on the outer layer to coarse grain on the inner layer.Meanwhile,combined with the modified RDG hot tearing criterion,the overall distribution of the castings’hot tearing sensitivity was analyzed.The analysis results indicate that the porosity in the middle region of the casting was large,and hot tearing defects were prone to occur.The hot tearing tendency on the inner side of the casting was greater than that on the outer side.The effects of centrifugal rotation speed,pouring temperature,and preheating temperature on the thermal sensitivity of Al-Cu alloy castings are summarized in this paper.This study revealed that the tendency of alloy hot cracking decreases with the increase of the centrifugal speed,and the maximum porosity of castings decreases first and then increases with the pouring temperature.As the preheating temperature increases,the overall maximum porosity of castings shows a decreasing trend.

Artificial Neural Network and Fuzzy Logic Based Techniques for Numerical Modeling and Prediction of Aluminum-5%Magnesium Alloy Doped with REM Neodymium

In this study, the mechanical properties of aluminum-5%magnesium doped with rare earth metal neodymium were evaluated. Fuzzy logic (FL) and artificial neural network (ANN) were used to model the mechanical properties of aluminum-5%magnesium (0-0.9 wt%) neodymium. The single input (SI) to the fuzzy logic and artificial neural network models was the percentage weight of neodymium, while the multiple outputs (MO) were average grain size, ultimate tensile strength, yield strength elongation and hardness. The fuzzy logic-based model showed more accurate prediction than the artificial neutral network-based model in terms of the correlation coefficient values (R).

国产Zn-5%Al-混合稀土合金镀层高钒封闭索丝耐久性研究

以国家速滑馆首次应用的国产Zn-5%Al-混合稀土合金镀层高钒封闭索丝为研究对象,对其使用性能、基本特性及耐久性等进行研究。采用了国家速滑馆内部高空索体实际服役环境处的大气暴露试验方式,综合考虑索在加工安装过程中易产生的损伤,对索丝试件进行了划痕、刮擦、焊点的预制缺陷设计,研究了含预制缺陷的国产Zn-5%Al-稀土合金镀层高钒封闭索丝在真实使用环境中的大气腐蚀行为规律,并采用力学性能测试研究了索丝在服役环境大气腐蚀作用下的力学性能变化规律及不同缺陷对力学性能的影响。结果表明,加工安装过程中在索丝表面合金镀层产生的划痕、刮擦、焊点等损伤,会破坏合金镀层的完整性。大气暴露试验和力学性能试验中,三类缺陷对索丝金属镀层防大气腐蚀性能和单丝抗拉强度均有负面影响,其中焊点缺陷影响最大,单丝抗拉强度下降约40%。

高强韧QT800-5材质的研究与应用

以铸态高强韧珠光体球铁的开发与应用为研究目标,使用万能材料试验机和金相显微镜分析了球墨铸铁经多元合金化及二次孕育处理后的组织和和性能。结果表明,同时添加Ni、Cu、Mo后,采用二次孕育(倒包孕育+随流孕育),可获得95%珠光体、2级球化等级、6级大小石墨的基体组织。其抗拉强度≥854 MPa、屈服强度≥537 MPa、延伸率≥6%,满足了高强韧球铁的力学性能要求。

Effects of Spinning Process on Intergranular Corrosion Behavior of 5A06 Aluminum Alloy

Aluminum alloy tubes were prepared by tube spinning.The intergranular and electrochemical corrosion tests were used to investigate the intergranular corrosion behavior of the 5A06 aluminum alloy blank sample and the spinning sample.Results showed that the intergranular corrosion resistance of the spinning sample was higher than that of the blank sample.In addition,the electrochemical corrosion resistance of the spinning sample was higher than that of the blank sample.The EDS maps indicated a uniform element distribution pattern of aluminum and magnesium.Moreover,the phase composition and lattice constant of the samples were obtained by XRD analysis.The differences in microstructure between the aluminum alloy subjected to the spinning process and the untreated aluminum alloy were determined by EBSD.The differences were mainly attributed to the complex interactions among grain size,dislocations and grain boundaries.

Effect of addition of minor amounts of Sb and Gd on hot tearing susceptibility of Mg-5Al-3Ca alloy

The effects of addition of minor amount of(0.5 wt.%) antimony(Sb) or gadolinium(Gd) and combined addition of Sb and Gd(0.5 wt.%,respectively) on the hot tearing susceptibility(HTS) of Mg-5Al-3Ca alloy were investigated experimentally using a “T-shaped” hot tearing measuring system. Various solidification parameters of the alloys were measured and calculated through thermal analysis experiments. The microstructure, grain size, and morphology of the crack zone were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction, and the crystal phases of the alloys were analyzed by X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The results showed that the addition of 0.5 wt.% Gd resulted in the increase in the vulnerable temperature range(Tv) and reduced the eutectic structure content that could participate in feeding, thereby improving the HTS of the alloy. However, addition of 0.5 wt.% Sb or combined addition of Gd and Sb(0.5 wt.%, respectively) to the Mg-5Al-3Ca alloy shortened the Tvand improved the skeleton strength of the alloy, thereby reducing HTS. Moreover, significantly refined structure of Mg-5Al-3Ca-0.5Gd-0.5Sb alloy improved the feeding ability of the eutectic structure, thus the alloy exhibited the lowest HTS.

Interfacial reaction behavior and mechanical properties of 5A06 Al alloy soldered with Sn-1Ti-xGa solders at a low temperature

Active soldering of 5A06 Al alloy was performed at 300 ℃ by using Sn-1Ti and Sn-1Ti-0.3Ga active solders, respectively. Theeffects of soldering time on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the joints were investigated. The results showed that the Sn-1Tisolder broke the oxide film on the surface of the Al substrate and induced intergranular diffusion in the Al substrate. When Ga was added tothe solder, severe dissolution pits appeared in the Al substrate due to the action of Sn-1Ti-0.3Ga solder, and many Al particles were flakedfrom the matrix into the solder seam. Under thermal stress and the Ti adsorption effect, the oxide film cracked. With increasing solderingtime, the shear strength of 5A06 Al alloy joints soldered with Sn-1Ti and Sn-1Ti-0.3Ga active solders increased. When soldered for 90 min,the joint soldered with Sn-1Ti-0.3Ga solder had a higher shear strength of 22.12 MPa when compared to Sn-1Ti solder.

合金元素及热处理工艺对5×××系铝合金性能的影响

5×××系铝合金属于Al-Mg合金系,Mg为该合金的主要元素,是一种变形铝合金。5×××系铝合金具有较好的耐腐蚀性能,常作为防锈铝合金,被广泛应用于海洋工程建造领域。5×××系铝合金还具有质量轻、强度高等优点,在汽车零件制造及船舶结构制作等领域也广泛应用。文章总结了近年来合金元素及热处理工艺对5×××系铝合金综合性能影响的研究进展,重点分析了稀土元素对5×××系铝合金组织性能的影响,为后续研发具有更高综合力学性能的5×××系铝合金提供理论指导。

微量稀土Ce对Al-Cu5合金组织和力学性能的影响

制备了稀土Ce添加量分别为0、0.05%、0.10%、0.15%、0.20%的Al-Cu5合金。通过金相显微组织分析和力学性能测试,研究了微量稀土Ce对Al-Cu5合金铸态及相同热处理后的显微组织和力学性能的影响。结果表明:相同热处理条件下,稀土对铝铜合金组织性能的影响取决于它对铸态组织结构的影响,当稀土添加量为0.10%Ce时,稀土对Al-Cu5合金熔体的净化、细化和微合金化综合效应显著,铝合金铸态及热处理后的抗拉强度和伸长率同时达到最大值,分别为180.1 MPa、8.8%和387.4 MPa、7.9%。此时,铸态组织中呈黑色点状分布的析出相较少,大小较均匀,树枝状的共晶组织变得分散,且短而薄。

Grain refinement of Al-5%Cu aluminum alloy under mechanical vibration using meltable vibrating probe

A mechanical vibration technique to refine solidified microstructure was reported. Vibration energy was directly introduced into a molten alloy by a vibrating horn, and the vibrating horn was melted during vibration. Effects of vibration acceleration and mass ratio on the microstructure of Al-5% Cu alloy were investigated. Results show that the present mechanical vibration could provide localized cooling by extracting heat from the interior of molten alloy, and the cooling rate is strongly dependent on vibration acceleration. It is difficult to refine the solidified microstructure when the treated alloy keeps full liquid state within the entire vibrating duration. Significantly refined microstructure was obtained by applying mechanical vibration during the initial stage of solidification. Moreover, mechanisms of grain refinement were discussed.

Effects of external stress aging on morphology and precipitation behavior of θ'' phase in Al-Cu alloy

The exposure of Al-5Cu alloy to an external stress with normal aging was carried out. The effects of external stress-aging on the morphology and precipitation behavior of θ＂ phase were investigated by transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, differential scanning calorimetry （DSC） and first principle calculation. The size of the θ＂ phase precipitated plates in stress-aging （453 K, 6 h, 50 MPa） is 19.83 nm, which is smaller than that of those present （28.79 nm） in stress-flee aging （453 K, 6 h）. The precipitation process of θ＂ phase is accelerated by loading external stress aging according to the analysis of DSC results. The apparent activation energy for the external stress-aging is 10% lower than the stress-free one. The first principle calculation results show that the external stress makes a decrease of 6% in the interface energy. The effects of the stress on aging process of the alloy are discussed on the basis of the classical theory. The external stress changes the morphology and precipitation behavior of θ＂ phase because the critical nucleation energy is decreased by 19% under stress aging.

Arrhenius-type constitutive model and dynamic recrystallization behavior of V-5Cr-5Ti alloy during hot compression

To clarify the high temperature flow stress behavior and microstructures evolution of a V-5Cr-5Ti （mass fraction, %） alloy, the isothermal hot compression tests were conducted in the temperature range of 1423-1573 K with strain rates of 0.01, 0.1, and 1 s-1. The results show that the measured flow stress should be revised by friction and the calculated values of friction coefficient m are in the range of 0.45-0.56. Arrhenius-type constitutive equation was developed by regression analysis. The comparison between the experimental and predicted flow stress shows that the R~ and the average absolute relative error （AARE） are 0.948 and 5.44%, respectively. The measured apparent activation energy Qa is in the range of 540-890 kJ/mol. Both dis-continuous dynamic recrystallization （DDRX） and continuous dynamic recrystallization （CDRX） mechanisms are observed in the deformed alloy, but dynamic recovery （DRV） is the dominant softening mechanism up to a true strain of 1.5.

Grain structure and microtexture evolution during superplastic deformation of 5A90 Al-Li alloy

The microstructural evolution of banded 5A90 A1-Li alloy during superplastic deformation at 475℃ with an initial strain rate of 8× 10^-4 S^-1 was studied using EBSD technique. The results showed that, before deformation, the grain shape appeared to be banded, the most grain boundaries belonged to low-angle boundaries, and the initial sheet had a dominate of { 110}（112） brass texture. During deformation, there were grain growth, grain shape change, misorientation increasing and textural weakening. The fraction of high-angle boundaries increased rapidly once the flow stress reached the peak value. Corresponding deformation mechanism for various stages of deformation was suggested. Dislocation activity was the dominant mechanism in the first stage, then dynamic recrystallization occurred, and grain rotation was expected as an accommodation for grain boundary sliding （GBS）. At large strains, GBS was the main mechanism.

Interfacial morphology evolution in directionally solidified Al-1.5%Cu alloy

The solid-liquid interracial morphology evolution was investigated in directional solidification （DS） of Al-1.5%Cu alloy （mass fraction）. The results show that the solidified microstructural evolution is gradual other than sharp, and the microstructure patterns are interesting and diversiform at the pulling rate ranging from 30 μm/s to 1500 μm/s. Indeed, dendrite to cell transition follows this sequence： dendrites→→banded cellular dendrites→elongated cells and part of dendrites→main elongated cells and little dendrites. Moreover, the present microstructure is not normal microstructure as we saw before. Further, according to the experimental phenomenon, the dendrite to cell transition was studied theoretically. Dendrite tip shape is an important parameter to characterize the dendrite to cell transition. As the dendrite to cell transition is far from equilibrium solidification, non-equilibrium solidification is taken into consideration in calculation. Finally, it is speculated that the dendrite to cell transition would occur at the minimum tip radius.

Effect of surface diffusion alloying on erosion wear property of ZM5 magnesium alloy

Specimens of ZM5 magnesium alloy were dipped into the mixed powder of Al and Zn at （390±5） ℃ for 8 h in argon gas protective environment and subjected to surface diffusion alloying processing （SDAP）. The erosion wear behaviors of ZM5 magnesium alloy before and after SDAP were investigated in two different erosion wear environments： oil and quartz environment; tap water and quartz environment. The surfaces of erosion wear specimens exhibited cutting scratch grooves in the oil and quartz environment. Corrosive attack was weak and cutting wear mechanism was responsible for the mass loss. When the erosion wear medium was changed to tap water and quartz environment, corrosion pits and cracks were obviously observed after erosion wear test. The corrosion from tap water and the scour from quartz intensified mass losses. Compared with the untreated specimens, the application of SDAP improved the erosion wear resistance in the same environment.

Phase structure and electrochemical properties of La_(0.7)Ce_(0.3)Ni_(3.75)Mn_(0.35)Al_(0.15)Cu_(0.75-x)Fe_x hydrogen storage alloys

La0.7Ce0.3Ni3.75Mn0.35Al0.15Cu0.75-xFex （x=0-0.20） hydrogen storage alloys were synthesized by induction melting and subsequent annealing treatment, and phase structure and electrochemical characteristics were investigated. All alloys consist of a single LaNi5 phase with CaCu5 structure, and the lattice constant a and the cell volume （V） of the LaNi5 phase increase with increasing x value. The maximum discharge capacity gradually decreases from 319.0 mA？h/g （x=0） to 291.9 mA？h/g （x=0.20） with the increase in x value. The high-rate dischargeability at the discharge current density of 1200 mA/g decreases monotonically from 53.1% （x=0） to 44.2% （x=0.20）. The cycling stability increases with increasing x from 0 to 0.20, which is mainly ascribed to the improvement of the pulverization resistance.

Effects of Mn and Sn on microstructure of Al-7Si-Mg alloy modified by Sr and Al-5Ti-B

The effects of Mn and Sn on the microstructure of Al?7Si?Mg alloy modified by Sr and Al?5Ti?B were studied. The results show that the columnar dendrites structure is observed with high content of Sr, indicating a poisoning effect of the Al?5Ti?B grain refinement. In addition, Sr intermetallic compounds distribute on the TiB2 particles, which agglomerate inside the eutectic Si. The mechanism responsible for such poisoning was discussed. The addition of Mn changes the morphology of iron intermetallic compounds fromβ-Al5FeSi toα-Al(Mn,Fe)Si. Increasing the amount of Mn changes the morphology ofα-Al(Mn,Fe)Si from branched shape to rod-like shape with branched distribution, and finally convertsα-Al(Mn,Fe)Si to Chinese script shape. The microstructure observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) shows that Mg is more likely to interact with Sn in contrast with Si under the effect of Sn. Mg2Sn compound preferentially precipitates between the Si/Si interfaces and Al/Si interfaces.

Effects of Al-Ti-B-RE grain refiner on microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-7.0Si-0.55Mg alloy

To investigate the effects of Al-Ti-B-RE grain refiner on microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-7.0Si-0.55Mg （A357） alloy, some novel Al-7.0Si-0.55Mg alloys added with different amount of Al-STi-1B-RE grain refiner with different RE composition were prepared by vacuum-melting. The microstructure and fracture behavior of the AI-7.0Si-0.55Mg alloys with the grain refiners were observed by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, optical microscopy （OM）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, and the mechanical properties of the alloys were tested in mechanical testing machine at room temperature. The observation of AI-Ti-B-RE morphology and internal structure of the particles reveals that it exhibits a TiAl3/Ti2Al20RE core-shell structure via heterogeneous TiB2 nuclei. The tensile strength of Al-7.0Si-0.55Mg alloys with Al-5Ti-1B-3.0RE grain refiner reaches the peak value at the same addition （0.2%） of grain refiner.

Microstructure and crystal growth direction of Al-Cu alloy

The microstructures and crystal growth directions of permanent mould casting（PMC） and directionally solidified（DS） Al-Cu alloys with different contents of Cu were investigated. Simultaneously, the effects of pouring temperature on the microstructure and crystal growth direction of permanent mould casting pure Al were also discussed. The results indicate that the α（Al） crystals in the pure Al do not always keep common columnar grains, but change from the columnar grains to columnar dendrites with developed arms as the pouring temperature rises. The growth direction also varies with the change of pouring temperature. Cu element has similar effects on the microstructures of the PMC and DS casting Al-Cu alloys and the α（Al） crystals gradually change from columnar crystals in turn to columnar dendrites and developed equiaxed dendrites as the Cu content increases. The crystal growth direction in the PMC alloys gradually approaches （110） orientation with increasing Cu content. But the resulting crystals with growth direction of （110） do not belong to feathery grains. There are also no feathery grains to form in all of the DS Al-Cu alloys.