A superior strength-ductility synergy of Al_(0.1)CrFeCoNi high-entropy alloy with fully recrystallized ultrafine grains and annealing twins

Grain refinement usually makes the materials stronger,while ductility has a dramatic loss.Here,a superior tensile strength–ductility synergy in a fully recrystallized ultrafine-grained(UFG)Al_(0.1)CrFeCoNi with abundant annealing twins was achieved by cold rolling at room temperature and short-time annealing.The microstructure characterization using electron backscattered scattering diffraction demonstrates that abundant geometrically necessary dislocations(GNDs)gather around the grain boundaries and twin boundaries after tensile deformation.Although coarse-grained(CG)samples undergo a larger plastic deformation than UFG samples,the GND density decreases with grain size ranging from UFG to CG.Transmission electron microscopy results reveal that the annealing twin boundary,which effectively hinders the dislocation slip and stores dislocation in grain interior,and the activation of multiple deformation twins are responsible for the superior strength–ductility synergy and work hardening ability.In addition,the yield strength of fully recrystallized Al_(0.1)CrFeCoNi follows a Hall–Petch relationship(σ_y=24+676d^(–1/2)),where d takes into account both grain boundaries and annealing twin boundaries.The strengthening effects of grain boundaries and annealing twin boundaries were also evaluated separately.

Growth behavior of ultrafine austenite grains in microalloyed steel

Ultrafine austenite gains （UFAGs） with size of 1-5 μm were prepared through repetitive treatment, four times, of rapid heating and quenching, and the growth behaviors of these UFACs during both the reheating and cooling stages were investigated. The results indicated that UFAGs without pinning particles appeared with significant coarsening when the reheating temperature reached 1000 ℃. Although coarsening still occurred in the cooling stage, the growth was obscured during the isothermal holding process at temperatures between 900 ℃ and At3.

Formation of Nano/Ultrafine Grains in AISI 321 Stainless Steel Using Advanced Thermo-Mechanical Process

Production of nano/ultrafine grains through deformation-induced martensite formation and its reversion to austenite in an AISI 321 stainless steel was studied. The repetitive cold rolling and subsequent annealing were conducted to obtain nanocrystalline structure. Heavy cold rolling （90% reduction） at ＋20 and -20 ℃ was carded out to induce the formation of α′-martensite from metastable austenitic material. The process was followed by annealing treatment at 700-900 ℃ for 0.5-30 min. Effects of process parameters, i.e., ＂reduction percentage,＂ ＂rolling temperature,＂ ＂annealing temperature＂ and ＂annealing time＂, on the microstructural development were considered. Microstructural evolutions were conducted using feritscope, X-ray diffractometer and scanning electron microscope. Hardness of the specimens was measured by Vickers method. Results revealed that the higher thickness reduction and lower rolling temperature provided more martensite volume fraction and further hardness. X-ray diffraction patterns and feritoscopic results indicated that saturated strain （εs） was reduced from 2.3 to 0.9 when temperature declined from ＋20 to -20 ℃. The smallest grain size （about 70 nm） was achieved in the condition of cold rolling at -20℃followed by annealing at 750 ℃for 5 min.

In situ neutron diffraction revealing the achievement of excellent combination of strength and ductility in metastable austenitic steel by grain refinement

The yield stress of Fe-24Ni-0.3C(wt%)metastable austenitic steel increased 3.5 times(158→551 MPa)when the average grain size decreased from 35μm(coarse-grained[CG])to 0.5μm(ultrafine-grained[UFG]),whereas the tensile elongation was kept large(0.87→0.82).In situ neutron diffraction measurements of the CG and UFG Fe-24Ni-0.3C steels were performed during tensile deformation at room temperature to quantitatively elucidate the influence of grain size on the mechanical properties and deformation mechanisms.The initial stages of plastic deformation in the CG and UFG specimens were dominated by dislocation slip,with deformation-induced martensitic transformation(DIMT)also occurring in the later stage of deformation.Results show that grain refinement increases the initiation stress of DIMT largely and suppresses the rate of DIMT concerning the strain,which is attributed to the following effects.(i)Grain refinement increased the stabilization of austenite and considerably delayed the initiation of DIMT in the<111>//LD(LD:loading direction)austenite grains,which were the most stable grains for DIMT.As a result,most of the<111>//LD austenite grains in the UFG specimen failed to transform into martensite.(ii)Grain refinement also suppressed the autocatalytic effect of the martensitic transformation.Nevertheless,the DIMT with the low transformation rate in the UFG specimen was more efficient in increasing the flow stress and more appropriate to maintain uniform deformation than that in the CG specimen during deformation.The above phenomena mutually contributed to the excellent combination of strength and ductility of the UFG metastable austenitic steel.

Microstructures and Toughness of Weld Metai of Ultrafine Grained Ferritic Steel by Laser Welding

3 mm thick 400 MPa grade ultrafine grained ferritic steel plates were bead-on-plate welded by CO2 laser with heat input of 120-480 J/mm. The microstructures of the weld metal mainly consist of bainite, which form is lower bainite plates or polygonal ferrite containing quantities of dispersed cementite particles, mixed with a few of low carbon martensite laths or ferrite, depending on the heat input. The hardness and the tensile strength of the weld metal are higher than those of the base metal, and monotonously increase as the heat input decreases. No softened zone exists in heat affected zone (HAZ). Compared with the base metal, although the grains of laser weld are much larger, the toughness of the weld metal is higher within a large range of heat input. Furthermore, as the heat input increases, the toughness of the weld metal rises to a maximum value, at which point the percentage of lower bainite is the highest, and then drops.

Microstructure and tensile properties of ultrafine grained copper processed by equal-channel angular pressing

Equal-channel angular pressing （ECAP） process was applied to a 12 mm ×12 mm ×80 mm billet of pure copper （99.98 wt.%） at room temperature. The shear deformation characteristics, microstructure evolution, and tensile properties were investigated. A combination of high strength （-420 MPa） and high elongation to failure （-25%） was achieved after eight ECAP passes at room temperature. The mixing of ultrafme grains （-0.2 μm） with nanocrystalline grains （-80 nm） resulted in high tensile strength and ductility.

Microstructures of an Ultrafine Grained SS400 Steel in an Industrial Scale

The microstructures of a SS400 steel after thermomechanical control process（TMCP） in an industrial production were observed by optical microscope,scanning electron microscope（SEM） and transmission electron microscope（TEM）.The results indicated that the size of ferrite grains was 4-5μm,and transmission of ferrite was around 70%.The types of the ultrafine ferrite grains were analyzed and the strengthening mechanisms were discussed.The results show that the ultrafine ferrite grains came from three processes,i.e.deformation induced ferrite transformation（DIFT）.dynamic recrystallization of ferrite and accelerated cooling process.The increase in the strength of the material was mainly due to the grain refining.

Underwater friction stir welding of ultrafine grained 2017 aluminum alloy

2017 aluminum alloy plates with an ultrafine grained （UFG） structure were produced by equal channel angular processing （ECAP） and then were joined by underwater friction stir welding （underwater FSW）. X-ray diffractometer （XRD）, transmission electron microscope （TEM）, scanning electron microscope （SEM） and microhardness tester were adopted to investigate the microstructural and mechanical characteristics of the FSW joint. The results indicate that an ultrafine grained microstructure with the mean grain size of-0.7 Ixm is obtained in the weld nugget by using water cooling. However, The FSW joint exhibits softening compared with the ultrafine grained based material and the heat affected zone （HAZ） has the lowest hardness owing to the coarsening of the strengthening precipitates.

Ultrafine Grain Tungsten Heavy Alloys with Excellent Performance Prepared by Spark Plasma Sintering

Ultrafine grain tungsten heavy alloys (WHAs) were successfully produced from the nano-crystalline powders using spark plasma sintering.The present study mainly discussed the effects of sintering temperature on the density,microstructure and mechanical properties of the alloys.The relative density of 98.12% was obtained at 1 050 ℃,and the tungsten grain size is about 871 nm.At 1 000 ℃-1 200 ℃,the mechanical properties of the alloys tend to first rise and then goes down.After SPS,the alloy exhibits improved hardness (84.3 HRA at 1 050 ℃) and bending strength (987.16 MPa at 1 100 ℃),due to the ultrafine-grained microstructure.The fracture mode after bending tests is mainly characterized as intergranular or intragranular fracture of W grains,interfacial debonding of W grains-binding phase and ductile tearing of binding phase.The EDS analysis reveals a certain proportion of solid solution between W and Ni-Fe binding phase.The good mechanical properties of the alloys can be attributed to grain refinement and solid solution strengthening.

Influence of High-Speed Milling Process on Mechanical and Microstructural Properties of Ultrafine Grained Profiles Produced by Linear Flow Splitting

The effects of milling parameters on the surface quality,microstructures and mechanical properties of machined parts with ultrafine grained(UFG)gradient microstructures are investigated.The effects of the cutting speed,feed per tooth,cutting tool geometry and cooling strategy are demonstrated.It has been found that the surface quality of machined grooves can be improved by increasing the cutting speed.However,cryogenic cooling with CO_2 exhibits no significant improvement of surface quality.Microstructure and hardness investigations revealed similar microstructure and hardness variations near the machined groove walls for both utilized tool geometries.Therefore,cryogenic cooling can decrease more far-ranging hardness reductions due to high process temperatures,especially in the UFG regions of the machined parts,whilst it cannot prevent the drop in hardness directly at the groove walls.

DAMPING BEHAVIOR OF ULTRAFINE-GRAINED PURE ALUMINUM L2 AND THE DAMPING MECHANISM

Ultrafine-grained pure aluminum L2 with a mean grain size of 1.01μm was produced by equal channel angular pressing （ECAP） and annealing at 150℃ for 2h. Damping behavior of the alloy was measured using a dynamic mechanical thermal analyzer. The alloy had an excellent damping capacity Q^-1 with the ambient value being 9.8×10^-3 at 1.0Hz when the strain amplitude was 2.0×10^-5. The damping behavior of the alloy showed a non-linear damping variation tendency, that is, with an increase in temperature and a decrease of frequency, the damping capacity of the alloy increased. The damping capacity increased with the strain amplitude when the strain amplitude was less than 4.6×10^-5. When the strain amplitude was higher than 4.6×10^-5, the damping capacity became a constant and independent of strain amplitude. The high damping capacity was attributed to dislocation unpinning and a drag of dislocation on pinning points.

Texture evolution and mechanical anisotropy of an ultrafine/nano-grained pure copper tube processed via hydrostatic tube cyclic expansion extrusion

Texture evolution and mechanical anisotropic behavior of an ultrafine-grained(UFG)pure copper tube processed by recently introduced method of hydrostatic tube cyclic expansion extrusion(HTCEE)was investigated.For the UFG tube,different deformation behavior and a significant anisotropy in tensile properties were recorded along the longitudinal and peripheral directions.The HTCEE process increased the yield strength and the ultimate strength in the axial direction by 3.6 and 1.67 times,respectively.Also,this process increased the yield strength and the ultimate strength in the peripheral direction by 1.15 and 1.12 times,respectively.The ratio of ultimate tensile strength in the peripheral direction to that in the axial direction,as a criterion for mechanical anisotropy,are 1.7 and 1.16 for the as-annealed coarse-grained and the HTCEE processed UFG tube,respectively.The results are indicative of a reducing effect of the HTCEE process on the mechanical anisotropy.Besides,after HTCEE process,a low loss of ductility was observed in both directions,which is another advantage of HTCEE process.Hardness measurements revealed a slight increment of hardness values in the peripheral direction,which is in agreement with the trend of tensile tests.Texture analysis was conducted in order to determine the oriental distribution of the grains.The obtained{111}pole figures demonstrate the texture evolution and reaffirm the anisotropy observed in mechanical properties.Scanning electron microscopy micrographs showed that different modes of fracture occurred after tensile testing in the two orthogonal directions.

Effect of grain boundary sliding on the toughness of ultrafine grain structure steel: A molecular dynamics simulation study

Molecular dynamics simulations are carried out to investigate the mechanisms of low-temperature impact toughness of the ultrafine grain structure steel. The simulation results suggest that the sliding of the {001 }/{ 110} type and { 110}/{ 111 } type grain boundary can improve the impact toughness. Then, the mechanism of grain boundary sliding is studied and it is found that the motion of dislocations along the grain boundary is the underlying cause of the grain boundary sliding. Finally, the sliding of the grain boundary is analyzed from the standpoint of the energy. We conclude that the measures which can increase the quantity of the {001}/{110} type and {110}/{ 111} type grain boundary and elongate the free gliding distance of dislocations along these grain boundaries will improve the low-temperature impact toughness of the ultrafine grain structure steel.

Effect of long-period stacking ordered structure on very high cycle fatigue properties of Mg-Gd-Y-Zn-Zr alloys

Magnesium alloys with a long-period stacking ordered(LPSO)structure usually possess excellent static strength,but their fatigue behaviors are poorly understood.This work presents the effect of the LPSO structure on the crack behaviors of Mg alloys in a very high cycle fatigue(VHCF)regime.The LPSO lamellas lead to a facet-like cracking process along the basal planes at the crack initiation site and strongly prohibit the early crack propagation by deflecting the growth direction.The stress intensity factor at the periphery of the faceted area is much higher than the conventional LPSO-free Mg alloys,contributing higher fatigue crack propagation threshold of LPSO-containing Mg alloys.Microstructure observation at the facets reveals a layer of ultrafine grains at the fracture surface due to the cyclic contact of the crack surface,which supports the numerous cyclic pressing model describing the VHCF crack initiation behavior.

Role of extrusion rate on the microstructure and tensile properties evolution of ultrahigh-strength low-alloy Mg-1.0Al-1.0Ca-0.4Mn(wt.%)alloy

Mg-1.0Al-1.0Ca-0.4Mn(AXM1104, wt.%) low alloy was extruded at 200 ℃ with an extrusion ratio of 25 and different ram speeds from 1.0 to 7.0 mm/s. The influence of extrusion rate on microstructure and mechanical properties of the AXM1104 alloy was systematically studied. With the increasing of extrusion rate, the mean dynamically recrystallized(DRXed) grain size of the low alloy and average particles diameter of precipitate second phases were increased, while the degree of grain boundary segregation and the intensity of the basal fiber texture were decreased. With the rising of extrusion rate from 1.0 to 7.0 mm/s, the tensile yield strength(TYS) of the as-extruded AXM1104 alloy was decreased from 445 MPa to 249 MPa, while the elongation to failure(EL) was increased from 5.0% to 17.6%. The TYS, ultimate tensile strength(UTS) and EL of the AXM1104 alloy extruded at the ram speed of 1.5 mm/s was 412 MPa, 419 MPa and 12.0%, respectively,exhibiting comprehensive tensile mechanical properties with ultra-high strength and excellent plasticity. The ultra-high TYS of 412 MPa was mainly due to the strengthening from ultra-fine DRXed grains with segregation of solute atoms at grain boundaries. The strain hardening rate is increase slightly with increasing extrusion speed, which may be ascribed to the increasing mean DRXed grain size with rising extrusion speed. The higher strain hardening rate contributes to the higher EL of these AXM1104 samples extruded at higher ram speed.

Enhanced Strength-Ductility Synergy in Submerged Friction Stir Processing ER2319 Alloy Manufactured by Wire-Arc Additive Manufacturing via Creating Ultrafine Microstructure

Submerged friction stir processing(SFSP)with flowing water was employed to alleviate the porosities and coarse-grained structure introduced by wire-arc manufacturing.As a result,uniform and ultrafine grained(UFG)structure with average grain size of 0.83μm was achieved with the help of sharply reduced heat input and holding time at elevated temperature.The optimized UFG structure enabled a superior combination of strength and ductility with high ultimate tensile strength and elongation of 273.17 MPa and 15.39%.Specifically,grain refinement strengthening and decentralized θ(Al_(2)Cu)phase in the sample subjected to SFSP made great contributions to the enhanced strength.In addition,the decrease in residual stresses and removal of pores substantially enhance the ductility.High rates of cooling and low temperature cycling,which are facilitated by the water-cooling environment throughout the machining process,are vital in obtaining superior microstructures.This work provides a new method for developing a uniform and UFG structure with excellent mechanical properties.

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.

Effect of milling time on microstructure of Ti35Nb2.5Sn/10HA biocomposite fabricated by powder metallurgy and sintering

A new β-Ti based Ti35Nb2.5Sn/10 hydroxyapitite（HA） biocompatible composite was fabricated by mechanical milling and pulsed current activated sintering（PCAS）.The microstructures of Ti35Nb2.5Sn/10HA powder particles and composites sintered from the milled powders were studied.Results indicated that α-Ti phase began to transform into β-Ti phase after the powders were mechanically milled for 8 h.After mechanical milling for 12 h,α-Ti completely transformed into β-Ti phase,and the ultra fine Ti35Nb2.5Sn/10HA composite powders were obtained.And ultra fine grain sized Ti35Nb2.5Sn/10HA sintered composites were obtained by PCAS.The hardness and relative density of the sintered composites both increased with increasing the ball milling time.

Microstructure refinement and second phase particle regulation of Mo-Y_(2)O_(3) alloys by minor TiC additive

The oxide dispersion strengthened Mo alloys(ODS-Mo)prepared by traditional ball milling and subsequent sintering technique generally possess comparatively coarse Mo grains and large oxide particles at Mo grain boundaries(GBs),which obviously suppress the corresponding strengthening effect of oxide addition.In this work,the Y_(2)O_(3) and TiC particles were simultaneously doped into Mo alloys using ball-milling and subsequent low temperature sintering.Accompanied by TiC addition,the Mo-Y_(2)O_(3) grains are sharply refined from 3.12 to 1.36μm.In particular,Y_(2)O_(3) and TiC can form smaller Y-Ti-O-C quaternary phase particles(~230 nm)at Mo GBs compared to single Y_(2)O_(3) particles(~420 nm),so as to these new formed Y-Ti-O-C particles can more effectively pin and hinder GBs movement.In addition to Y-Ti-O-C particles at GBs,Y_(2)O_(3),TiOx,and TiCx nanoparticles(<100 nm)also exist within Mo grains,which is significantly different from traditional ODS-Mo.The appearance of TiOx phase indicates that some active Ti within TiC can adsorb oxygen impurities of Mo matrix to form a new strengthening phase,thus strengthening and purifying Mo matrix.Furthermore,the pure Mo,Mo-Y_(2)O_(3),and Mo-Y_(2)O_(3)-TiC alloys have similar relative densities(97.4%-98.0%).More importantly,the Mo-Y_(2)O_(3)-TiC alloys exhibit higher hardness(HV0.2(425±25))compared to Mo-Y_(2)O_(3) alloys(HV0.2(370±25)).This work could provide a relevant strategy for the preparation of ultrafine Mo alloys by facile ball-milling.

Laser directed energy deposited, ultrafine-grained functional titanium-copper alloys tailored for marine environments: Antibacterial and anti-microbial corrosion studies

The microorganism-rich nature of the ocean imposes great challenges to the structural integrity of met-als over their service lifespan,including titanium(Ti)alloys,which are usually prone to microbiologically influenced corrosion(MIC).So,multifunctional anti-MIC Ti alloys need to be developed and studied.This paper investigates the effect of copper(Cu)concentration on the MIC resistance of a series of additively manufactured,ultrafine-grained Ti-x Cu(x=3.5,6.5 and 8.5 in wt.%)alloys.The dependence of the cor-rosion resistance and MIC resistance on the Cu concentration of Ti-Cu alloy is interpreted considering all conceivable mechanisms.The mechanisms for excellent corrosion resistance of Ti-Cu alloy in seawater are attributed to the strong passive film and small surface potential difference between phases.Microstruc-tural characterization reveals that uniformly distributed,nanosized Ti_(2) Cu phase led to increased reactive oxygen species in the bacterial membrane,which is the root reason for the superb anti-bacterial property(99.2%)for Ti-8.5Cu.Compared to pure Ti and Ti-6Al-4V,Ti-8.5Cu alloy features both high strength(yield stress>1000 MPa)and the best MIC resistance(97.5%).The combination of such balanced properties enables this functional 3D printed Ti-Cu alloy to become an ideal material for load-bearing applications in the marine environment.