Preparation of ultra-fine grain Ni-Al-WC coating with interlocking bonding on austenitic stainless steel by laser clad and friction stir processing

The ultra-fine structured Ni?Al?WC layer with interlocking bonding was fabricated on austenitic stainless steel by combination of laser clad and friction stir processing (FSP). Laser was initially applied to Ni?Al elemental powder preplaced on the austenitic stainless steel substrate to produce a coating for further processing. The as-received coating was subjected to FSP treatment, processed by a rotary tool rod made of WC?Co alloy, to obtain sample for inspection. Microstructure, phase constitutions, hardness and wear property were investigated by methods of scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) microanalysis, and X-ray diffraction (XRD), hardness test alongside with dry sliding wear test. The results show that the severe deformation effect exerted on the specimen resulted in an ultra-fine grain layer of about 100μmin thickness and grain size of 1?2μm. Synergy between introduction of WC particles to the deformation layer and deformation strengthening contributes greatly to the increase in hardness and friction resistance. An interlocking bonding between the coating and matrix which significantly improves bonding strength was formed due to the severe deformation effect.

Evaluation of ultra-fine grained tungsten under transient high heat flux by high-intensity pulsed ion beam

Pure tungsten, oxide dispersion strengthened tungsten and carbide dispersion strengthened tungsten were fabricated by high-energy ball milling and spark plasma sintering process. In order to evaluate the properties of the tungsten alloys under transient high heat flues, four tungsten samples with different grain sizes were tested by high-intensity pulsed ion beam with a heat flux as high as 160 MW/（m^2·s^-1/2）. Compared with the commercial tungsten, the surface modification of the oxide dispersion strengthened tungsten by high-intensity pulsed ion beam is completely different. The oxide dispersion strengthened tungsten shows inferior thermal shock response due to the low melting point second phase of Ti and Y2O3, which results in the surface melting, boiling bubbles and cracking. While the carbide dispersion strengthened tungsten shows better thermal shock response than the commercial tungsten.

Microstructures of ultra-fine grained FeCoV alloys processed by ECAP plus cold rolling and their evolutions during tempering

A new processing method,equal channel angular pressing(ECAP)plus cold rolling(CR),was applied to producing ultra-fine grained FeCoV alloy.The microstructures of ultra-fine grained FeCoV alloy after ECAP,ECAP plus CR,and the effect of tempering treatment on the microstructure of FeCoV alloy produced by ECAP plus CR were investigated.The results show that an elongated substructure with a width of about 0.3μm is obtained after four-pass ECAP using Route A.Cold rolling after ECAP cannot change the morphologies of elongated substructure,and it results in higher fraction of high-angle boundaries and higher dislocation density compared with the identical ECAP without rolling.Subsequent tempering for 30 min at 853 K brings about many nano-phases precipitating at subgrain boundaries and insides the grains,and the size of precipitated phase is measured to be about 10 nm.Nano-phases grow up with increasing tempering temperature and equiaxed structure forms at 883 K.

Improving the Fatigue Performance of the Welded Joints of Ultra-Fine Grain Steel by Ultrasonic Peening

Contrast tests were carried out to study the fatigue performance of the butt joints treated by ultrasonic peening, aiming at the improvement of ultrasonic peening treatment(UPT) on welded joints of a new material. The material is a new generation of fine grain and high purity SS400 steel that has the same ingredients as the traditional low carbon steel. The specimens are in two different states:welded and ultrasonic peening conditions. The corresponding fatigue testing data were analyzed according to the regulation of the statistical method for fatigue life of the welded joints established by International Institute of Welding(IIW). Welding residual stress was considered in two different ways: the constant stress ratio R=0.5 and the Ohta method. The nominal stress-number (σ-N)curves were corrected because of the different plate thickness compared to the standard and because there was no mismatch or angular deformation. The results indicated that: 1) Compared with the welded specimens, when the stress range was 200 MPa, the fatigue life of the SS400 steel specimens treated by ultrasonic peening is prolonged by over 58 times, and the fatigue strength FAT corresponding to 106 cycles is increased by about 66%; 2) As for the SS400 butt joint (single side welding double sides molding), after being treated by UPT, the nominal S-N curve (m=10) of FAT 100 MPa(R=0.5) should be used for fatigue design. The standard S-N curves of FAT 100 MPa(R=0.5, m=10) could be used for fatigue design of the SS400 steel butt joints treated by ultrasonic peening.

Effect of welding heat input on HAZ character in ultra-fine grain steel welding

In this essay, we studied how heat input affected the microstructure, hardness, grain size and heat-affected zone(HAZ) dimension of WCX355 ultra-fine grain steel which was welded respectively by the ultra narrow-gap welding (UNGW) process and the overlaying process with CO 2 as protective atmosphere and laser welding process. The experimental results show when the heat input changed from 1.65 kJ/cm to 5.93 kJ/cm, the width of its HAZ ranged from 0.6 mm to 2.1 mm.The average grain size grew up from 2～5 μm of base metal to 20～70 μm and found no obvious soften phenomenon in overheated zone. The width of normalized zone was generally wide as 2/3 as that of the whole HAZ, and the grain size in this zone is smaller than that in base metal. Under the circumstance of equal heat input, the HAZ width of UNGW is narrower than that of the laser welding.

Microstructural Evolution and Thermal Stability of Ultra-fine Grained Al-4Mg Alloy by Equal Channel Angular Pressing

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the grain refinement and thermal stability of ultra-fine grained Al-4Mgalloy introduced by equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) at 473 K. The results show that the intensities of X-ray(111/222) and (200/400) peaks for the alloy processed by ECAP decrease significantly and the peak widths of halfheight become broadening compared with the corresponding value in the annealed alloy. The microstructure of 2passes ECAPed alloy consists of both elongated and equiaxed subgrains. The residual strain in the alloy increaseswith increasing passes numbers, that appears as increasing dislocation density and lattice constant of matrix. Anequiaxed ultra-fine grained structure of～0.2μm is obtained in the present alloy after 8 passes. The ultra-fine grainsare stable below 523 K, because the alloy retains extremely fine grain size of～1μm after static annealing at 523 Kfor 1 h.

Effect of upsetting force on microstructure of welds in resistance spot welding of 400 MPa ultra-fine grain steel

The ultra-fine grain （UFG） steel is welded by using resistance spot welding technique with or without requirement of upsetting force. Metallographic inspection shows that the grain size of weld nugget is larger than that of the base metal and the microstructure is altered significantly. In addition, contracting defects such as air holes can be found in the nugget center. The experiments show that the defects can be effectively avoided by the technique of adding upsetting force during the nugget cooling and crystallizing processes. In tensile shear tests, the welding joint starts to crack from the inner edge of the corona bond. The results of micro-hardness tests show that the newly born martensite structure dramatically improves the hardness of the joint. Under the interactions between residual stresses and regenerated fine grains, the micro-hardness of the heat-affected zone （ HAZ ） is lower than that of the nugget, but evidently higher than that of the base metal.

Effect of Strain Ratio on Fatigue Model of Ultra-fine Grained Pure Titanium

The ultra-fine grained(UFG)pure titanium was prepared by equal channel angular pressing(ECAP)and rotary swaging(RS).The strain controlled low cycle fatigue(LCF)test was carried out at room temperature.The fatigue life prediction model and mean stress relaxation model under asymmetrical stress load were discussed.The results show that the strain ratio has a significant effect on the low cycle fatigue performance of the UFG pure titanium,and the traditional Manson-coffin model can not accurately predict the fatigue life under asymmetric stress load.Therefore,the SWT mean stress correction model and three-parameter power curve model are proposed,and the test results are verified.The final research shows that the threeparameter power surface model has better representation.By studying the mean stress relaxation phenomenon under the condition of R≠-1,it is revealed that the stress ratio and the strain amplitude are the factors that significantly afiect the mean stress relaxation rate,and the mean stress relaxation model with the two variables is calculated to describe the mean stress relaxation phenomenon of the UFG pure titanium under different strain ratios.The fracture morphology of the samples was observed by SEM,and it was concluded that the final fracture zone of the fatigue fracture of the UFG pure titanium was a mixture of ductile fracture and quasi cleavage fracture.The toughness of the material increases with the increase of strain ratio at the same strain amplitude.

Surface Cracking Behaviors of Ultra-Fine Grained Tungsten Under Edge Plasma Loading in the HT-7 Tokamak

Tests of the candidate plasma facing materials（PFMs） used in experimental fusion devices are essential due to the direct influence of in-situ plasma loading.A type of ultrafine grained（UFG） tungsten sintered by resistance sintering under ultra-high pressure（RSUHP） method has been exposed in the edge plasma of the HT-7 tokamak to investigate its performance under plasma loading.Under cychc edge plasma loading,the UFG tungsten develops both macro and micro cracks.The macro cracks are attributed to the low temperature brittleness of the tungsten material itself,while the micro cracks are generated from local intense power flux deposition.

Investigation on fracture behavior of the welded joint HAZ of ultra-fine grain steel SS400

The critical crack dimensions of both base-metal specimen and HAZ specimen are measured via wide-plate tensile tests. Based on the “fitness for purpose” principle, the fracture behavior of the ultra-fine grain steel SS400 welded joint HAZ is assessed. The test results indicate that overmatching is benefit for the whole capability’s improvement of ultra-fine grain steel SS400. The test results are confirmed by using finite element method (FEM).

Gradient Ultra-fine Grained Surface Layer in 6063 Aluminum Alloy Obtained by Means of Rotational Accelerated Shot Peening

Gradient ultra-fine grained surface layer in 6063 aluminum alloy was obtained by means of a novel surface self-nanocrystallization technique,namely rotational accelerated shot peening(RASP)treatment.The average grain sizes along the vertical section vary from hundreds of nanometers in the top surface to micrometers in the matrix.By using orthogonal experimental design to compare roughness values and hardness values,we synthesized the processing parameters to obtain sample of smaller roughness values and higher hardness.

Corrosion behavior of ultra-fine grained industrial pure Al fabricated by ECAP

Corrosion behavior of ultra-fine grained(UFG) industrial Al fabricated by equal channel angular pressing(ECAP) for 16 pass times was investigated by potentiodynamic polarization test,potentiostatic polarization test,electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS) measurement,immersion test and surface analyses (OM and SEM). The microstructures including grain size,grain boundaries and dislocations were also observed by TEM. The results show that the UFG industrial pure Al has more positive pitting potential,less corrosion current density and five times larger passive film resistance compared with the coarse grained(CG) one. It was found that the increased pitting resistance is profited from the more stable passive film kept in the Cl-aggressive solution due to more grain boundaries,larger fraction of non-equilibrium grain boundaries and residual stress of the UFG industrial pure Al.

Groove Design and Microstructure Research of Ultra-Fine Grain Bar Rolling

New flat-oval groove rolling process of multi-direction deformation is proposed to manufacture ultra-fine grain bar. Application of new groove series can introduce uniform large plastic strain into whole cross section of the material, and meanwhile satisfy the requirements of shape and size. Principle of grain refinement, based on experimental research of small specimen, is that grain refinement of ferrite is mainly dynamic recrystallization when low-carbon alloy steel is at low temperature deformation. Relationship of grain size and z-factor is also obtained through experimental research, as well as ultra-fine ferrite grain less than 1 micron. To predict strain, shape, dimensions and grain size of the material in rolling process, numerical simulation model of the warm groove bar rolling process is established via nonlinear finite element method, and distribution of grain size of the final section is obtained via finite element subroutine. The result indicates that ultra-fine grain bar rolling can accomplish at low temperature region.

An in vivo Evaluation of Ultra-fine Grained Titanium Implants

The present work focuses mainly on an in vivo evaluation of ultra fine grained titanium （UFG-Ti） obtained by severe plastic deformation （SPD）. The SPD on commercially produced Grade 2 titanium （Cp-Ti） resulted in the refinement of the grain size by several orders of magnitude. Polished surfaces having similar roughness from both UFG-Ti and Cp-Ti were prepared. In vitro test revealed the presence of fibronectin, which was involved in the attachment of the cells to the substrate. Phase contrast micrographs showed the highest signal of fibronectin in UFG-Ti, indicating that it is more cytocompatible than Cp-Ti. In vivo tests, by subcutaneous implantation of the metals in the rats showed the better biocompatibility of UFG-Ti over Cp-Ti. The improved biocompatibility of UFG-Ti was attributed to the presence of surface discontinuities （in the form of nano-defects）, surface energy, higher wettability, surface stress and stable TiO2 films, which increased the protein adsorption on the surface.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of ultra-fine grained MoNbTaTiV refractory high-entropy alloy fabricated by spark plasma sintering

The MoNbTaTiV refractory high-entropy alloy(RHEA)with ultra-fine grains and homogeneous microstructure was successfully fabricated by mechanical alloying(MA)and spark plasma sintering(SPS).The microstructural evolutions,mechanical properties and strengthening mechanisms of the alloys were systematically investigated.The nanocrystalline mechanically alloyed powders with simple bodycentered cubic(BCC)phase were obtained after 40 h MA process.Afterward,the powders were sintered using SPS in the temperature range from 1500℃to 1700℃.The bulk alloys were consisted of submicron scale BCC matrix and face-centered cubic(FCC)precipitation phases.The bulk alloy sintered at 1600℃had an average grain size of 0.58μm and an FCC precipitation phase of 0.18μm,exhibiting outstanding micro-hardness of 542 HV,compressive yield strength of 2208 MPa,fracture strength of 3238 MPa and acceptable plastic strain of 24.9%at room temperature.The enhanced mechanical properties of the MoNbTaTiV RHEA fabricated by MA and SPS were mainly attributed to the grain boundary strengthening and the interstitial solid solution strengthening.It is expectable that the MA and SPS processes are the promising methods to synthesize ultra-fine grains and homogenous microstructural RHEA with excellent mechanical properties.

Dual phase equal-atomic NbTaTiZr high-entropy alloy with ultra-fine grain and excellent mechanical properties fabricated by spark plasma sintering

Super-high strength NbTaTiZr high-entropy alloys(NbTaTiZr HEAs)have been successfully fabricated by the mechanical alloying(MA)with spark plasma sintering(SPS)technology,which is 2-fold compared with that of NbTaTiZr HEAs prepared by vacuum arc melting(VAM).After the SPS process,the bulk NbTaTiZr alloy samples are provided with dual-phase body-centered cubic(BCC)structure and nanoscale grain size about 500 nm that is obviously smaller than that of NbTaTiZr HEA fabricated by VAM.When the sintering temperature is 800℃,the compressive fracture strength is the highest reaching at 2511±78 MPa.When the sintering temperature is 1000℃,the fracture strain is the highest reaching at 12.8%,and compressive fracture strength and yield strength also reach at 2274±91 MPa and 2172±47 MPa,respectively.The excellent mechanical properties of bulk NbTaTiZr alloy samples are attributed to the merits of MA and SPS,and the collaboration effect of ultra-fine grains strengthening,solid solution strengthening and interstitial solid solution strengthening.

Isothermal Growth Kinetics of Ultra-fine Austenite Grains in a Nb-V-Ti Microalloyed Steel

Ultra-fine austenite grains with size of i-3 μm were prepared in a Nb-V-Ti steel through repetitive treatment of rapid heating and quenching. A model for the growth kinetics of these ultra-fine austenite grains was successfully created through successive 2 processes, and the activation energy Q for growth was estimated to be about 693.2 kJ/mol, which directly shows the inhibition effect of microalloy elements on the growth of ultra-fine austenite grains.

Mechanical and Microstructural Properties of Ultra-fine Grained AZ91Magnesium Alloy Tubes Processed via Multi Pass Tubular Channel Angular Pressing(TCAP)

Ultra-fine grained （UFG） cylindrical tubes were produced via recently developed tubular channel angular pressing （TCAP） process through different passes from as-cast AZ91 magnesium alloy. The microstructure and mechanical properties of processed tube through one to four passes of TCAP process at 200℃ were investigated. Microhardness of the processed tube was increased to 98.5 HV after one pass from an initial value of 67 Hr. An increase in the number of passes from one to higher number of passes has no more effect on the microhardness. Yield and ultimate strengths were increased by 4.3 and 1.4 times compared to those in as-cast condition. Notable increase in the strength was achieved after one pass of TCAP while higher number of passes has no more effect. Microstructural investigation shows notable decrease in the grain size to around 500 nm from the primary value of - 150 μm. Dissolution and distribution of hard MglTAI12 phase in the grain boundaries of dynamically recrystallized UFG AZ91 with a mean grain size of - 500 nm was an interesting issue of TCAP processing at 200 ℃ compared to other severe plastic deformation processes.

Ultra-fine ferrite grains obtained in the TSDR process

By careful design of rolling schedule,ultra-fine （～2μm） ferrite grains in a low carbon high niobium （0.09wt%Nb） microalloying steel with average austenite grain sizes above 800 μm can be achieved in the simulated thin slab direct rolling process. The 5-pass deformation was divided into two stages： the refinement of austenite through complete recrystallization and the refinement of ferrite through dynamic strain-induced transformation. The effects of Nb in solution and strain-induced NbCN precipitates on the ferrite transformation were also extensively discussed.

Microstructures and bio-corrosion resistances of as-extruded Mg-Ca alloys with ultra-fine grain size

Electrochemical and immersion tests were conducted to characterize the bio-corrosion resistance of asextruded Mg-Ca binary alloys with submicron grain size.The microstructures were further characterized by optical microscopy(OM),scanning electronic microscopy and transmission electron microscope(TEM).The grain size was estimated from OM and TEM images.Three samples and at least 20 images were used to evaluate the average grain size.Macro-textures of the as-extruded samples were measured via X-ray diffraction.The Mg-2Cu alloy extruded at 300℃(2Ca-300)exhibits the lowest current density of 1.683 mA·cm^(-2)and corrosion rate of 22.14 g·m^(-2)·day^(-1)in simulated body fluid,which is comparable with that of pure Mg.The Ca addition can reduce grain size of as-extruded Mg alloy and decrease the corrosion rate.The formed Mg2Ca phases would accelerate the local galvanic corrosion and protect theα-Mg matrix simultaneously due to the lower electrode potential.The lower defect density,finer grain size and weaker basal texture intensity contribute to the excellent bi-corrosion resistance of the 2Ca-300 alloy.