Microstructure and forming mechanism of metals subjected to ultrasonic vibration plastic forming: A mini review

Compared with traditional plastic forming,ultrasonic vibration plastic forming has the advantages of reducing the forming force and improving the surface quality of the workpiece.This technology has a very broad application prospect in industrial manufactur-ing.Researchers have conducted extensive research on the ultrasonic vibration plastic forming of metals and laid a deep foundation for the development of this field.In this review,metals were classified according to their crystal structures.The effects of ultrasonic vibration on the microstructure of face-centered cubic,body-centered cubic,and hexagonal close-packed metals during plastic forming and the mech-anism underlying ultrasonic vibration forming were reviewed.The main challenges and future research direction of the ultrasonic vibra-tion plastic forming of metals were also discussed.

Application of ultrasonic vibration to shape-casting based on resonance vibration analysis

The application of ultrasonic vibration during the casting process has been proven to refine the microstructure and enhance the properties of the casting.By using the direct inserting method,wherein the ultrasonic horn is inserted directly into the melt,ultrasonic treatment can be utilized in the semi-continuous casting process to produce aluminum ingots with simple shapes.However,due to the attenuation of ultrasound,it is challenging to apply the direct inserting method in the die casting process to produce complex castings.Thus,in this study,the impact of ultrasonic vibration on the microstructure of a gravity die-cast AlSi9Cu3end cap was investigated by applying ultrasonic vibration on the core(indirect method).It is found that the effect of ultrasonic vibration relies greatly on the resonance mode of the core.Selection of ultrasonic vibration schemes mainly depends on the core structure,and only a strong vibration can significantly refine the microstructure of the casting.For castings with complex structures,an elaborated ultrasonic vibration design is necessary to refine the microstructure of the specified casting.In addition,strong vibration applied on the feeding channel can promote the feeding ability of casting by breaking the dendrites during solidification,and consequently reduce the shrinkage porosity.

Effect of ultrasonic vibration on Fe-containing intermetallic compounds of hypereutectic Al-Si alloys with high Fe content

The Fe-containing intermetallic compounds with high melting point in hypereutectic Al-Si alloys can improve the heat resistance and wear resistance at elevated temperatures. However, the long needle-like Fe-containing compounds in the alloys produced by conventional casting process are detrimental to the strength of matrix. The effect of ultrasonic vibration （USV） on the morphology change of Fe-containing intermetallic compounds in the hypereutectic Al-17Si-xFe （x=2, 3, 4, 5） alloys was systematically studied. The results show that, the Fe-containing intermetallic compounds are mainly composed of long needle-like β-Al5FeSi phase with a small amount of plate-like δ-Al4FeSi2 phase in Al-17Si-2Fe alloy produced by conventional casting process. With the increase of Fe content from 2% to 5% in the alloys, the amount of plate-like or coarse needle-like δ-Al4FeSi2 phase increases while the amount of long needle-like β-Al5FeSi phases decreases. In Al-17Si-5Fe alloy, the Fe-containing intermetallic compounds exist mainly as coarse needle-like δ-Al4FeSi2 phase. After USV treatment, the Fe-containing compounds in the Al-17Si-xFe alloys are refined and exist mainly as δ-Al4FeSi2 particles, with average grain size ranging from 26 μm to 37 μm, and only a small amount of β-Al5FeSi phases remain. The mechanism of USV on the morphology of Fe-containing intermetallic compounds was also discussed.

Effects of ultrasonic vibration on solidification structure and properties of Mg-8Li-3Al alloy

Ultrasonic vibration was introduced into the Mg-8Li-3A1 alloy melt during its solidification process. The microstructure, corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of the Mg-8Li-3A1 alloy under ultrasonic vibration were investigated. The experiment results show that the morphology of a phase is modified from coarse rosette-like structure to fine globular one with the application of ultrasonic vibration. The fine globular structure is obtained especially when the power is 170 W, and the refining effect also gets better with prolonging the ultrasonic treatment time. The corrosion resistance of the alloy with 170 W of ultrasonic vibration for 90 s is improved apparently compared with the alloy without ultrasonic vibration. The mechanical properties of alloys with ultrasonic vibration are also both improved apparently. The tensile strength and elongation of alloy improve by 9.5% and 45.7%, respectively, with 170 W of ultrasonic treatment for 90 s.

Effect of cooling condition on microstructure of semi-solid AZ91 slurry produced via ultrasonic vibration process

The effects of cooling conditions on the microstructure of semi-solid AZ91 slurry produced via ultrasonic vibration process were investigated. AZ91 melts were subjected to ultrasonic vibration in different temperature ranges under different cooling rates. The results show that fine and spherical α-Mg particles are obtained under ultrasonic vibration at the nucleation stage, which is mainly attributed to the cavitation and acoustic streaming induced by the ultrasonic vibration. The reduction of lower limit of ultrasonic vibration temperature between the liquidus and solidus increases the solid volume fraction and average particle size. Increasing cooling rate increases the solid volume fraction and reduces the average shape factor of particles. The appropriate temperature range for ultrasonic vibration is from 605 °C to 595 °C or 590 °C, and the suitable cooling rate is 2-3 °C/min.

Forming mechanism of ultrasonic vibration assisted compression

To study the mechanism of ultrasonic vibration assisted forming,the static and vibration assisted compression tests of aluminum 1050 were carried out via a 25 kHz high-frequency ultrasonic vibration device.It is found that vibration reduces the flow resistance and improves the surface topography.The force reduction level is proportional to the ultrasonic vibration amplitude.By using numerical simulation of static and vibration assisted compression tests,the deformation characteristics of material were investigated.Throughout the vibration,the friction between the materials and tools reduces.The stress superposition and friction effects are found to be two major reasons for reducing the force.However,the force reduction because of stress superposition and friction effects is still less than the actual force reduction from the tests,which suggests that softening effect may be one of the other reasons to reduce the force.

Microstructural characteristics of Al-20Si-2Cu-0.4Mg-1Ni alloy formed by rheo-squeeze casting after ultrasonic vibration treatment

A swash plate for air conditioning compressor of cars was formed by rheo-squeeze casting with semi-solid Al-Si alloy slurry prepared by ultrasonic vibration process, and the microstructure of this alloy was investigated. Besides the microstructures of primary Si particles and α(Al)+β-Si eutectic phases, non-equilibrium α(Al) particles or dendrites are discovered in the microstructure of the Al-20Si-2Cu-0.4Mg-1Ni alloy. Rapid cooling generated by squeeze casting process rather than the pressure is considered as the main reason for the formation of non-equilibrium α(Al) phase. The sound pressurizing effect of ultrasonic vibration also enables the non-equilibrium α(Al) phases to form above eutectic temperature and grow into non-dendritic spheroids in the process of semi-solid slurry preparation. Non-equilibrium α(Al) phases formed in the hypereutectic Al-Si alloy with ultrasonic vibration treatment, consist of round α(Al) grains formed above the eutectic temperature and a small amount of fine α(Al) dendrites formed under the eutectic temperature. The volume fraction of primary Si particles is decreased significantly by the effect of ultrasonic vibration through increasing the solid solubility of Si atoms in α(Al) matrix and decreasing the forming temperature range of primary Si particles. The average particle diameter and the volume fraction of primary Si particles in microstructure of the swash-plate by rheo-squeeze casting are 24.3 μm and 11.1%, respectively.

Flexible die drawing of magnesium alloy sheet by superimposing ultrasonic vibration

Combining solid granule medium forming technology with ultrasonic vibration plastic forming technology, ultrasonic vibration granule medium forming （UGMF） technology was proposed. To reveal the effect of ultrasonic vibration on flexible-die deep drawing, an ultrasonic vibration with a frequency of 20 kHz and a maximum output of 1.5 kW was on the solid granule medium deep drawing of AZ31B magnesium alloy sheet. The results revealed that ultrasonic vibration promotes the pressure transmission performance of the granule medium and the formability of the sheet. The forming load declines with the ultrasonic amplitude during the drawing process as a result of the combined influence of the ＂surface effect＂ and the ＂softening＂ of the ＂volume effect＂.

Microstructure and property of rheocasting AZ91 slurry produced via ultrasonic vibration process

The microstructure and mechanical properties of rheocasting AZ91 magnesium alloy were investigated. The semisolid slurry of this alloy was prepared by ultrasonic vibration （USV） process and then shaped by high pressure diecasting （HPDC）. The results show that fine and spherical a-Mg particles were obtained by USV at the nucleation stage, which was mainly attributed to the cavitation and acoustic streaming induced by the USV. Extending USV treatment time increased the solid volume fraction and average particle size, the shape factors were nearly the same, about 0.7. Excellent semisolid slurry of AZ91 magnesium alloy could be obtained within 6 rain by USV near its liquidus temperature. The rheo-HPDC samples treated by USV for 6 min had the maximum ultimate tensile strength and elongation, which were 248 MPa and 7.4%, respectively. It was also found that the ductile fracture mode prevailed in the rheocasting AZ91 magnesium alloy.

Surface roughness prediction model in ultrasonic vibration assisted grinding of BK7 optical glass

Pre-knowledge of machined surface roughness is the key to improve whole machining efficiency and meanwhile reduce the expenditure in machining optical glass components.In order to predict the surface roughness in ultrasonic vibration assisted grinding of brittle materials,the surface morphologies of grinding wheel were obtained firstly in the present work,the grinding wheel model was developed and the abrasive trajectories in ultrasonic vibration assisted grinding were also investigated,the theoretical model for surface roughness was developed based on the above analysis.The prediction model was developed by using Gaussian processing regression(GPR)due to the influence of brittle fracture on machined surface roughness.In order to validate both the proposed theoretical and GPR models,32sets of experiments of ultrasonic vibration assisted grinding of BK7optical glass were carried out.Experimental results show that the average relative errors of the theoretical model and GPR prediction model are13.11%and8.12%,respectively.The GPR prediction results can match well with the experimental results.

Effects of ultrasonic vibration on performance and microstructure of AZ31 magnesium alloy under tensile deformation

Ultrasonic vibration can reduce the forming force, decrease the friction in the metal forming process and improve the surface quality of the workpiece effectively. Tensile tests of AZ31 magnesium alloy were carried out. The stress–strain relationship, fracture modes of tensile specimens, microstructure and microhardness under different vibration conditions were analyzed, in order to study the effects of the ultrasonic vibration on microstructure and performance of AZ31 magnesium alloy under tensile deformation. The results showed that the different reductions of the true stress appeared under various ultrasonic vibration conditions, and the maximum decreasing range was 4.76%. The maximum microhardness difference among the 3 nodes selected along the specimen was HV 10.9. The fracture modes, plasticity and microstructure of AZ31 magnesium alloy also were affected by amplitude and action time of the ultrasonic vibration. The softening effect and the hardening effect occurred simultaneously when the ultrasonic vibration was applied. When the ultrasonic amplitude was 4.6 μm with short action time, the plastic deformation was dominated by twins and the softening effect was dominant. However, the twinning could be inhibited and the hardening effect became dominant in the case of high ultrasonic energy.

Combined effects of ultrasonic vibration and manganese on Fe-containing inter-metallic compounds and mechanical properties of Al-17Si alloy with 3wt.%Fe

The research studied the combined effects of ultrasonic vibration （USV） and manganese on the Fe-containing inter-metallic compounds and mechanical properties of AI-17Si-3Fe-2Cu-1Ni （wt.%） alloys. The results showed that, without USV, the alloys with 0.4wt.% Mn or 0.8wt.% Mn both contain a large amount of coarse plate-like δ-AI4（Fe,Mn）Si2 phase and long needle-like β-A15（Fe,Mn）Si phase. When the Mn content changes from 0.4wt.% to 0.8wt.% in the alloys, the amount and the length of needle-like β-AI5（Fe,Mn）Si phase decrease and the plate-like δ-A14（Fe,Mn）Si2 phase becomes much coarser. After USV treatment, the Fe- containing compounds in the alloys are refined and exist mainly as δ-AI4（Fe,Mn）Si2 particles with an average grain size of about 20μm, and only a small amount of β-AI5（Fe,Mn）Si phase remains. With USV treatment, the ultimate tensile strengths （UTS） of the alloys containing 0.4wt.%Mn and 0.8wt.%Mn at room temperature are 253 MPa and 262 MPa, respectively, and the ultimate tensile strengths at 350 ℃ are 129 MPa and 135 MPa, respectively. It is considered that the modified morphology and uniform distribution of the Fe-containing inter-metallic compounds, which are caused by the USV process, are the main reasons for the increase in the tensile strength of these two alloys.

Control System Development and Experimental Study on Ultrasonic Vibration Feeding

Ultrasonic vibration feeding（UVF） method which can quantitatively feed and precisely deposit fine powder is a potential technique for micro feeding.The excitation sources transmit vibration to capillary though the third medium for most UVF devices.The vibrator is directly touched with the capillary can transmit mechanical energy on the capillary as much as possible,and the powder feeding can be controlled more precise.However,there are few reports about it.A direct UVF system which integrates the function of micro feeding,process observing,and powder forming was developed in this work.In order to analyze the effect of the system factors on feeding,a group of L9（3^3） orthogonal experiments are selected to confirm the effect of level change of factors.The three factors are capillary nozzle diameter,amplitude and signal.The flow rate was stable for each combined factors,and the optimum combination for the minimum flow rate are choosing small capillary,small amplitude,and triangular wave orderly.The whole process of feeding includes start point,middle stage and stop stage.Starting of feeding was synchronized to vibration when the amplitude of capillary nozzle is larger than critical amplitude.Then,the feeding process enters the middle stage,the feeding state is observed by the CCD,and it is very stable in the middle stage.Overflow of feeding can＇t be eliminated during the stop stage.The features of the deposited powder lines are analyzed; the overflow can be diminished by choosing small capillary and appropriate ratio of the capillary nozzle diameter to the particle size.Chinese characters lattices were deposited to validate the ability of quantitatively feeding and fixed feeding of UVF.Diameters of all powder dots show normal distribution,and more than 60% dots are concentrated from 550 μm to 650 μm,and the average diameter for all the dots is 597 μm.Most dots positions are well approached to their scheduled positions,and the maximum deviation is 0.27 mm.The new direct UVF system is used to implement experiments,which confirms the precise controllable of feeding.According improve the feeding technique,it suits well for rapid prototyping,chemistry,pharmaceutics and many other fields,which require precise measurement and feed minim powder.

Frictional characteristics of sheet metals with superimposed ultrasonic vibrations

The forming performance of sheet metals in the deep-drawing process with ultrasonic vibrations can be improved by the surface effect between the sheet metal and the die.A sheet metal friction test with ultrasonic vibrations is performed to explore the cause of the surface effect.The frictional characteristics are investigated,and the corresponding friction expressions are established based on the contact mechanics and the elastic–plastic contact model for rough surfaces.Friction is caused by the elastic–plastic deformation of contacting asperities under normal loads.The actual contacting region between two surfaces increases with normal loads,whereas the normal distance decreases.The normal distance between the contacting surfaces is changed,asperities generate a tangential deformation with ultrasonic vibrations,and the friction coefficient is eventually altered.Ultrasonic vibrations are applied on a 40Cr steel punch at the frequency of 20 kHz and the amplitude of 4.2μm.In the friction tests,the punch is perpendicular to the surface of the magnesium alloy AZ31B sheet metals and is sliding with a relative velocity of 1 mm/s.The test results show that the friction coefficient is decreased by approximately 40%and the theoretical values are in accordance with the test values;Ultrasonic vibrations can clearly reduce wear and improve the surface quality of parts.

Degassing effect of ultrasonic vibration in molten melt and semi-solid slurry of Al-Si alloys

In the process of semi-solid slurry preparation with direct ultrasonic vibration (UV) by dipping the horn into the melt, one of the questions is whether the gas content in the melt would be increased or not by the cavitation effect of ultrasonic vibration. By application of quantitative gas content measurement technique, this paper investigated the effect of the ultrasonic vibration on the gas content of both the melt and the semi-solid slurry of Al-Si alloys, and the variations of the gas contents in two kinds of aluminum alloys, i.e., A356 alloy and Al-20Si-2Cu-1Ni-0.6RE alloy (Al-20Si for short). The results show that ultrasonic vibration has an obvious degassing effect on the molten melt, especially on the semi-solid slurry of Al-Si alloy which is below the liquidus temperature by less than 20 ℃. The ultrasonic degassing efficiency of the A356 alloy decreases with the reduction of the initial gas content in the melt, and it is nearly unchanged for the Al-20Si alloy. The gas content of both alloys decreases when the ultrasonic vibration time is increased. The best vibration time for Al-20Si alloy at the liquid temperature of 710 ℃ and semi-solid temperature of 680 ℃ is 60 s and 90 s, respectively; and the degassing efficiency is 48% and 35%, respectively. The mechanism of ultrasonic degassing effect is discussed.

Mechanical properties of 2024-T4 aluminium alloy joints in ultrasonic vibration enhanced friction stir welding

Ultrasonic vibration enhanced friction stir welding （UVeFSW） is a recent modification of conventional friction stir welding （FSW）, which transmits ultrasonic vibration directly into the localized area of the workpiece near and ahead of the rotating tool. In this study, a high strength aluminium alloy （2024-T4） was welded by this process and conventional FSW, respectively. Then tensile tests, microhardness tests and fracture surface analysis were performed successively on the welding samples. The tests results reveal that ultrasonic vibration can improve the tensile strength and the elongation of welded joints. The microhardness of the stir zone also increases.

Effect of ultrasonic vibration on the dechromisation corrosion of a CuCr alloy in HCl solution

The effect of ultrasonic vibration on the dechromisation corrosion of a CuCr alloy in HC1 solution was studied and the corrosion mechanisms were analyzed. It is found that ultlasonic vibration reduces the dechromisation incubation time, accelerates the dechromisafion corrosion rate, decreases the temperature and concentration of HC1 solution, and when the dechromisation occurs it seriously weakens the microstmcture of dechromisation layer. It is concluded that ultrasonic vibration can accelerate destruction of the passivation film on the Cr surface and increase the activities of Cl^- and Cr.

Effect of ultrasonic vibration on the friction stir weld quality of aluminium alloy

A novel variant of friction stir welding process, referred as ultrasonic vibration enhanced friction stir welding, is developed to transmit ultrasonic vibration energy directly into the localized area of the workpiece near and ahead of the rotating tool. Experiments are conducted on 6061-T4 aluminium alloy plates by this new process and the conventional friction stir welding process, respectively. The morphology and macrograph of the welds under both conditions are observed and contrasted. The experimental results show that ultrasonic vibration enhanced friction stir welding can improve the weld formation quality and increase the welding efficiency. And it just needs a smaller axial downward force. Because that the added action of ultrasonic vibration energy may enhance the localized softening extent and the plastic flow around the tool. In addition, it also improves the mechanical properties of the welded joints.

Research on Ultrasonic Vibration Grinding of the Hard and Brittle Materials

It is well known that grinding techniques are main methods to machine hard and brittle materials such as engineering ceramics. But the conventional grinding has many shortcomings such as poorer surface finish, quicker wear and tear of grinding tools, lower efficiency and so on. Ultrasonic vibration grinding （UVG） which combines ultrasonic machining and grinding emerged as a developing and promising technique in recent years. In this paper, experimental studies on UVG were conducted on several kinds of hard and brittle material by altering processing parameters such as vibration frequency and its amplitude, diamond abrasive grit size, cutting depth, feeding speed and rotary speed of tools. The experimental results show that alteration in any of above mentioned parameters will bring effects on the processed surface finish of these materials. Of them, the diamond abrasive grit size has the greatest. Moreover, conventional grinding experiments were also carried out on these materials. By comparison, it was found that the UVG is superior to the conventional method in terms of the ground surface quality, the working efficiency and the wear rate of tools.

Review: Progress and Trends in Ultrasonic Vibration Assisted Friction Stir Welding

This paper aims to reviewthe state-of-the-art of ultrasonic vibration assisted friction stir welding(UVAFSW) process. Particular attention has been paid on the modes of ultrasonic exertion,experimental results and effects of ultrasonic vibrations on process effectiveness and joint quality. The trends of various aspects with and without ultrasonic vibrations in FSW process are studied and presented. The influence of ultrasonic vibrations on welding loads, temperature history, weld morphology, material flow, weld microstructure and mechanical properties are revisited. Ultrasonic assisted FSW offers numerous advantages over the conventional FSW process. The superimposing of high-frequency vibrations improves various phenomena of the process and the physical,metallurgical,mechanical and tribological properties of the welded joint. The ultrasonic assisted FSW process has a potential to benefit the industry sector. A checklist listing the materials and process parameters used in the documented studies has been presented for quick reference.