Microstructure and properties of Al-0.70Fe-0.24Cu alloy conductor prepared by horizontal continuous casting and subsequent continuous extrusion forming

A novel process for manufacturing A1-0.70Fe-0.24Cu alloy conductor was proposed, which includes horizontal continuous casting and subsequent continuous extrusion forming （Conform）. The mechanical properties, electrical conductivity and the compressed creep behaviour of the alloy were studied. The results indicate that the Conform process induces obvious grain refinement, strain-induced precipitation of AI7CuzFe phase and the transformation of crystal orientation distribution. The processed alloy has good comprehensive mechanical properties and electrical conductivity. Moreover, a better creep resistance under the conditions of 90 ~C and 76 MPa is shown compared with pure A1 and annealed copper, and the relationship between primary creep strain and time may comply with the logarithmic law. The enhanced properties are attributed to the grain refinement as well as the fine and homogeneously distributed thermally stable A1Fe and A17Cu2Fe precipitation phases.

Method of fabricating artificial rock specimens based on extrusion free forming(EFF)3D printing

Three-dimensional(3D)printing technology has been widely used to create artificial rock samples in rock mechanics.While 3D printing can create complex fractures,the material still lacks sufficient similarity to natural rock.Extrusion free forming(EFF)is a 3D printing technique that uses clay as the printing material and cures the specimens through high-temperature sintering.In this study,we attempted to use the EFF technology to fabricate artificial rock specimens.The results show the physico-mechanical properties of the specimens are significantly affected by the sintering temperature,while the nozzle diameter and layer thickness also have a certain impact.The specimens are primarily composed of SiO_(2),with mineral compositions similar to that of natural rocks.The density,uniaxial compressive strength(UCS),elastic modulus,and tensile strength of the printed specimens fall in the range of 1.65–2.54 g/cm3,16.46–50.49 MPa,2.17–13.35 GPa,and 0.82–17.18 MPa,respectively.It is capable of simulating different types of rocks,especially mudstone,sandstone,limestone,and gneiss.However,the simulation of hard rocks with UCS exceeding 50 MPa still requires validation.

Deformation mechanisms and microstructural characteristics of AZ61 magnesium alloys processed by a continuous expansion extrusion approach

The unique continuous extrusion-based severe plastic deformation approaches were proposed recently to process high-performance magnesium(Mg)alloys,while the in-depth deformation mechanisms under such complicated thermomechanical conditions were not well understood.In the present work,the fundamental deformation behaviors of AZ61 Mg alloy from 25 to 400°C were firstly examined under uniaxial compression deformation.Then the deformation mechanisms and microstructural characteristics of AZ61 Mg alloy during continuous expansion extrusion forming(CEEF)were systematically investigated by microstructural observations,finite element and cellular automata simulations.The results showed that the continuous evolutions of temperature,larger strain level and complex stress state with strain rate range of 0∼5.98 s−1 during CEEF brought the distinctive dynamic recrystallization behaviors and texture development in AZ61 Mg alloy,which were different to that of uniaxial compression deformation.In details,a remarkable grain refinement was achieved via CEEF processing due to the simultaneous actions of continuous dynamic recrystallization(CDRX)and discontinuous dynamic recrystallization(DDRX).Gradually enhanced CDRX were observed from center to edge region,which had significant effects on the texture distribution and texture strength.The c-axis of most grains rotated under distinctive shear strain following parabolic metal flow,resulting in stable fiber texture.In addition,the evolution of the internal texture of the alloy led to an obvious increase in the Schmid factor for the activation of basalc+aslip system.©2022 Chongqing University.Publishing services provided by Elsevier B.V.on behalf of KeAi Communications Co.Ltd.

Microstructure and Properties of 7075Al Alloy Fabricated by Directly Combined of Spray Forming and Continuous Extrusion Forming under Different Atomization Gas Pressures

A new process consisting of the spray forming and the continuous extrusion forming for manufacturing 7075A1 alloy was proposed. The microstructure evolution, mechanical properties and the resistance to stress corrosion cracking of the alloy were studied. The results indicate that the spray forming process induces obviously grain refinement and greatly lower segregation microstructure. Besides, the Conform process produces finer grains and conduces to more uniform distribution of the precipitates of A1Cu and MgZn2 phases. The fabricated alloy shows good comprehensive mechanical properties and superb performance of stress corrosion resistance. Moreover, a better combination of the mechanical properties and the resistance to stress corrosion cracking could then be obtained under a certain condition of atomization gas pressure of 0.19 MPa. The enhanced properties are attributed to the following factors, which include the grain refinement, the fine and homogeneous distribution of A1Cu and MgZn2 phases, the high density of the extruded products, as well as the discontinuous distribution of the grain boundaries after retrogression and reaging （RRA） heat treatment.

Micro Extrusion of Ultrafine Grained Titanium Prepared by ECAP

Micro compression and micro extrusion experiments of ultrafine grained titanium cylindrical specimens in diameters of 4, 2, and 1 mm prepared by equal channel angular pressing（ECAP） were conducted on the micro plastic forming test machine. The effects of specimen size, grain size, deformation temperature and extrusion speed on the flow stress and forming properties of the ultrafine grained pure titanium were investigated. The flow stress of ultrafine grained pure titanium specimen decreases with decreasing specimen size. The yield limit of pure titanium with refined grain prepared by ECAP is significantly greater than that of coarse grained specimen. Also the research results show that the flow stress of specimen increases with decreasing deformation temperature and with the increase of the strain rate, and the ultrafine grained pure titanium possesses good micro forming properties at deformation temperature of 300 ℃.

Microstructure, mechanical properties and deformation characteristics of Al-Mg-Si alloys processed by a continuous expansion extrusion approach

In the present work,a double-pass continuous expansion extrusion forming(CEEF) process was proposed for an Al-Mg-Si alloy,in which the diameter of rods was gradually expanded.The microstructural evolution,mechanical properties and deformation characteristics were investigated by utilizing microstructural observations,mechanical testing and a finite element method coupled with a cellular automata model.The results showed that the strength and ductility of the double-pass CEEF processed Al-Mg-Si alloys were improved synchronously,especially in artificially aged alloys.The grain size of the processed Al-Mg-Si alloy rods was refined remarkably by continuous dynamic recrystallization(CDRX)and geometric dynamic recrystallization(GDRX),and the homogeneity of microstructure was gradually improved with increasing number of processing passes.The artificially aged alloy processed with double-pass CEEF and water quenching contained fine(sub)grains and high-density dislocations,which resulted in more needle-shaped β" precipitates and a larger precipitate aspect ratio than the as-received and air-cooled CEEF alloys owing to the different precipitation kinetics.The severe cumulate strain and microshear bands were found to accelerate CDRX and GDRX for grain refinement between adjacent positions of the parabolic metal flow due to the special temperature characteristics and la rge shear straining during the CEEF process.