Parametric Analysis of Tensile Properties of Bimodal Al Alloys by Finite Element Method

An axisymmetrical unit cell model was used to represent a bimodal Al alloy that was composed of both nano-grained （NG） and coarse-grained （CG） aluminum. Effects of microstructural and materials parameters on tensile properties of bimodal AI alloy were investigated by finite element method （FEM）. The parameters analyzed included aspect ratios of CG Al and the unit cell, volume fraction of CG Al （VFCG）, and yield strength and strain hardening exponent of CG Al. Aspect ratios of CG Al and the unit cell have no significant influence on tensile stress-strain response of the bimodal Al alloy. This phenomenon derives from the similarity in elastic modulus and coefficient of thermal expansion between CG AI and NG Al. Conversely, tensile properties of bimodal Al alloy are extremely sensitive to VFCG, yield strength and strain hardening exponent of CG Al. Specifically, as VFCG increases, both yield strength and ultimate tensile strength （UTS） of the bimodal Al alloy decreases, while uniform strain of bimodal AI alloy increases. In addition, an increase in yield strength of CG Al results in an increase in both yield stress and UTS of bimodal AI alloy and a decrease in uniform strain of bimodal Al alloy. The lower capability in lowering the increase of stress concentration in NG Al due to a higher yield strength of CG Al causes the lower uniform strain of the bimodal AI alloy. When strain hardening exponent of CG Al increases, 0.2% yield stress, UTS, and uniform strain of the bimodal Al alloy increases. This can be attributed to the increased work-hardening ability of CG Al with a higher strain hardening exponent.

Influence of size and distribution of W phase on strength and ductility of high strength Mg-5.1Zn-3.2Y-0.4Zr-0.4Ca alloy processed by indirect extrusion

A high strength Mg-5.1Zn-3.2Y-0.4Zr-0.4Ca （wt%） alloy containing W phase （Mg3Y2Zn3） prepared by permanent mold direct-chill casting is indirectly extruded at 350 ℃ and 400 ℃, respectively. The extruded alloys show bimodal grain structure consisting of fine dynamic recrystallized （DRXed） grains and unre- crystallized coarse regions containing fine W phase and β2′ precipitates. The fragmented W phase particles induced by extrusion stimulate nucleation of DRXed grains, leading to the formation of fine DRXed grains, which are mainly distributed near the W particle bands along the extrusion direction. The alloy extruded at 350 ℃ exhibits yield strength of 373 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 403 MPa and elongation to failure of 5.1%. While the alloy extruded at 400 ℃ shows lower yield strength of 332 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 352 MPa and higher elongation to failure of 12%. The mechanical properties of the as-extruded alloys vary with the distribution and size of W phase. A higher fraction of DRXed grains is obtained due to the homogeneous distribution of micron-scale broken W phase particles in the alloy extruded at 400 ℃, which can lead to higher ductility. In addition, the nano-scale dynamic W phase precipitates distributed in the unDRXed regions are refined at lower extrusion temperature. The smaller size of nano-scale W phase precipitates leads to a higher fraction of unDRXed regions which contributes to higher strength of the alloy extruded at 350 ℃.