Microstructure evolution and deformation features of single crystal nickel-based superalloy containing 4.2% Re during creep

By means of microstructure observation and measurement of creep properties,the high temperature creep behaviors of a single crystal nickel-based superalloy containing Re were investigated.Results show that the single crystal nickel-based superalloy containing 4.2% Re possesses a better creep resistance at high temperature.After being crept up to fracture,the various morphologies are displayed in the different areas of the sample,and the γ＇ phase is transformed into the rafted structure along the direction vertical to the applied stress axis in the regions far from the fracture.But the coarsening and twisting extents of the rafted γ＇ phase increase in the regions near the fracture,which is attributed to the occurrence of the larger plastic deformation.In the later stage of creep,the deformation mechanism of the alloy is that the dislocations with [01^-1]and [011] trace features shear into the rafted γ＇ phase.The main/secondary slipping dislocations are alternately activated to twist the rafted γ＇ phase up to the occurrence of creep fracture,which is thought to be the fracture mechanism of the alloy during creep.

Analytical model for predicting time-dependent lateral deformation of geosynthetics-reinforced soil walls with modular block facing

To date,few models are available in the literature to consider the creep behavior of geosynthetics when predicting the lateral deformation(d)of geosynthetics-reinforced soil(GRS)retaining walls.In this study,a general hyperbolic creep model was first introduced to describe the long-term deformation of geosynthetics,which is a function of elapsed time and two empirical parameters a and b.The conventional creep tests with three different tensile loads(Pr)were conducted on two uniaxial geogrids to determine their creep behavior,as well as the a-Pr and b-Pr relationships.The test results show that increasing Pr accelerates the development of creep deformation for both geogrids.Meanwhile,a and b respectively show exponential and negatively linear relationships with Pr,which were confirmed by abundant experimental data available in other studies.Based on the above creep model and relationships,an accurate and reliable analytical model was then proposed for predicting the time-dependent d of GRS walls with modular block facing,which was further validated using a relevant numerical investigation from the previous literature.Performance evaluation and comparison of the proposed model with six available prediction models were performed.Then a parametric study was carried out to evaluate the effects of wall height,vertical spacing of geogrids,unit weight and internal friction angle of backfills,and factor of safety against pullout on d at the end of construction and 5 years afterwards.The findings show that the creep effect not only promotes d but also raises the elevation of the maximum d along the wall height.Finally,the limitations and application prospects of the proposed model were discussed and analyzed.

Microstructural evolution and creep deformation behavior of novel Ti-22Al-25Nb-1Mo-1V-1Zr-0.2Si(at.%) orthorhombic alloy

The microstructural evolution and creep deformation behavior which were adjusted and controlled by age treatment of a novel Ti-22Al-25Nb-1Mo-1V-1Zr-0.2Si(mole fraction,%)alloy,were investigated.The microstructures were obtained at different heat treatment temperatures and analyzed by SEM and TEM techniques.The creep behavior of the alloy was studied at 650℃,150 MPa for 100 h in air.The results showed that the initial microstructure mainly contained lath-likeα2,B2,and O phases.The precipitated O phase was sensitive to aging temperature.With the aging temperature increasing,the thickness of the precipitated O phase was also increased,and the length was shortened.The creep resistance of this alloy was relevant to the morphology and volume faction of the lamellar O phase.The increase of lamellar O phase in thickness was the main reason for the improved creep properties.

Effects of cold rolling deformation on microstructure,hardness,and creep behavior of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel

Effects of cold rolling deformation on the microstructure, hardness, and creep behavior of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel （HNASS） are investigated. Microstructure characterization shows that 70% cold rolling deformation results in significant refinement of the microstructure of this steel, with its average twin thickness reducing from 6.4 μm to 14 nm. Nanoindentation tests at different strain rates demonstrate that the hardness of the steel with nano-scale twins （nt-HNASS） is about 2 times as high as that of steel with micro-scale twins （mt-HNASS）. The hardness of nt-HNASS exhibits a pronounced strain rate dependence with a strain rate sensitivity （m value） of 0.0319, which is far higher than that of mt-HNASS （m = 0.0029）. nt-HNASS shows more significant load plateaus and a higher creep rate than mt-HNASS. Analysis reveals that higher hardness and larger m value of nt-HNASS arise from stronger strain hardening role, which is caused by the higher storage rate of dislocations and the interactions between dislocations and high density twins. The more significant load plateaus and higher creep rates of nt-HNASS are due to the rapid relaxation of the dislocation structures generated during loading.

TENSILE CREEP DEFORMATION AND DAMAGE BEHAVIOR IN A NICKEL-BASE SUPERALLOY AT 900℃

The tensile creep deformation and damage evolution in a Ni-base superalloy at 900℃/170MPa were investigated. At the first creep stage, abnormal creep occured due to the resolution of fine particles, and the deformation initiated from grain boundary areas. It is evident that nearly all of the dislocations were in γ matrix channels in form of dislocation pairs and the dislocations were impeded at γ/γ' interfaces, thus the dislocation networks developed deformation. At the steady creep stage, impeded dislocations atγ/γ' interfaces climbed over γ' phases by diffusion-dominant mechanism. At the last creep stage, voids were formed around carbides at grain boundary which leaded to accumulated damage and caused creep rate accelerated. With the dislocation networks being broken, the voids connected and grew into micro-cracks gradually. Finally the cracks propagated along grain boundary area and resulted in failure.

A NEW METHOD FOR MEASURING LONG-TERMCREEP DEFORMATION IN A SMALL REGION

Creep deformation localization is generally found in structures at high temperamture,typically in weldments. As the heat affected zone (HAZ) in a weldment is very narrow, deformation in HAZ region can hardly be measured by conventional displacement gauge. A new method for measuring long-term local creep deformation was developed by quartz optical fiber and technique of digital image analysis. The creep deformations of base metal, weld metal and HAZ in weldments are thereby determined with crossweld specimens.

IN SITU OBSERVATION OF DEFORMATION AND FRACTURE FOR SUPERALLOY GH169 UNDER COMBINED FATIGUE-CREEP ACTION

In Situ observation of deformation and fracture for superalloy GH169 under combined fatigue-creep action is made by using high temperature metalloscope,it is shown that under the test conditions the deformution takes place by merely of slipping,twinning and grain houndary sliding,and the mode of failure depends on the microstructure of specimen. lntergranular cracks arise.from W-type voids produced by the stress concentration at triple point which could not be relaxed by the interior deformation of grains and the local deformathm region along grain bounaries.And the crack propagation mechanism is the nucleation,growth and linkage of carities at the grain boundaries.Transgranular cracks form from deformatiom damages within the grain,and its propagation mechanism is shear rupture along the slip phme.

Modification of the linear viscoelastic deformation prediction model of asphalt mixture

A deformation prediction model for the dynamic creep test is deduced based on the linear viscoelastic（LVE）theory.Then,the defect of the LVE deformation prediction model is analyzed by comparing the prediction of the LVE deformation model with the experimental data.To improve accuracy,a modification of the LVE deformation prediction model is made to simulate the nonlinear property of the deformation of asphalt mixtures,and it is verified by comparing its simulation results with the experimental data.The comparison results show that the LVE deformation prediction model cannot simulate the nonlinear property of the permanent deformation of asphalt mixtures,while the modified deformation prediction model can provide more precise simulations of the whole process of the deformation and the permanent deformation in the dynamic creep test.Thus,the proposed modification greatly improves the accuracy of the LVE deformation prediction model.The modified model can provide a better understanding of the rutting behavior of asphalt pavement.

Modeling of deformation energy at elevated temperatures and its application in Mg-Li-Al-Y alloy

To control the superplastic flow and fracture and examine the variation in deformation energy,the stress and grain size of Mg-7.28Li-2.19Al-0.091Y alloy were obtained using tensile testing and microstructure quantification,and new high temperature deformation energy models were established.Results show that the grain interior deformation energy increases with increasing the strain rate and decreases with increasing the temperature.The variation in the grain boundary deformation energy is opposite to that in the grain interior deformation energy.At a given temperature,critical cavity nucleation energy decreases with increasing strain rate and cavity nucleation becomes easy,whereas at a given strain rate,critical cavity nucleation energy increases with increasing temperature and cavity nucleation becomes difficult.The newly established models of the critical cavity nucleation radius and energy provide a way for predicting the initiation of microcrack and improving the service life of the forming parts.

Analysis of permanent deformations of railway embankments under repeated vehicle loadings in permafrost regions

By large-scale dynamic tests carried out on a traditional sand-gravel embankment at the Beilu River section along the Qinghai-Tibet Railroad, we collected the acceleration waveforms close to the railway tracks when trains passed. The dynamic train loading was converted into an equivalent creep stress, using an equivalent static force method. Also, the creep equation of frozen soil was introduced according to the results of frozen soil rheological triaxial tests. A coupled creep model based on a time-hardening power function rule and the Druker-Prager yield and failure criterion was estab- lished to analyze the creep effects of a plain fill embankment under repeated train loads. The temperature field of the embankment in the permafrost area was set at the current geothermal conditions. As a result, the permanent deformation of the embankment under train loading was obtained, and the permanent deformation under the train loads to the total embankment deformation was also analyzed.

Deformation behavior of in situ permafrost on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Creep is an important mechanical behavior of frozen soils, one which can cause many problems for the infrastructures in permafrost regions on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. To access the natural creep properties of in situ permafrost for explaining the engineering instability and predicting long-term deformation, conducting field tests is necessary. The paper reports on a group of plate loading tests we carried out over many years on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The results show that the ground temperature at the loading plates ranged from-0.29 °C to-3.03 °C, and the mean annual ground temperature increased year by year in a linear fashion. Affected by the ground-temperature variations, two forms of deformation curves, a step-form and a wave-form occurred, depending on the relative extent of settlement in warm seasons and frost heave in cold seasons. Overall, the deformations of permafrost were characterized by settlement. The deformation magnitudes and curve styles of permafrost are different at different locations attributing to the influence of ground temperature and moisture content. Due to the existence of much unfrozen water in warm frozen soils, consolidation resulting from migration of unfrozen water along seepage channels may play a significant role in the settlement of permafrost. The research can provide a credible reference for engineering in the permafrost regions and the numerical computation of settlement.

Novel experimental techniques to assess the time-dependent deformations of geosynthetics under soil confinement

A new experimental approach to assess the impact of soil confinement on the long-term behavior of geosynthetics is presented in this paper.The experimental technique described herein includes a novel laboratory apparatus and the use of different types of tests that allow generation of experimental data suitable for evaluation of the time-dependent behavior of geosynthetics under soil confinement.The soil-geosynthetic interaction equipment involves a rigid box capable of accommodating a cubic soil mass under plane strain conditions.A geosynthetic specimen placed horizontally at the mid-height of the soil mass is subjected to sustained vertical pressures that,in turn,induce reinforcement axial loads applied from the soil to the geosynthetic.Unlike previously reported studies on geosynthetic behavior under soil confinement,the equipment was found to be particularly versatile.With minor setup modifications,not only interaction tests but also in-isolation geosynthetic stress relaxation tests and soil-only tests under a constant strain rate can be conducted using the same device.Also,the time histories of the reinforcement loads and corresponding strains are generated throughout the test.Results from typical tests conducted using sand and a polypropylene woven geotextile are presented to illustrate the proposed experimental approach.The testing procedure was found to provide adequate measurements during tests,including good repeatability of test results.The soilegeosynthetic interaction tests were found to lead to increasing geotextile strains with time and decreasing reinforcement tension with time.The test results highlighted the importance of measuring not only the time history of displacements but also that of reinforcement loads during testing.The approach of using different types of tests to analyze the soilegeosynthetic interaction behavior is an innovation that provides relevant insight into the impact of soil confinement on the time-dependent deformations of geosynthetics.

Practical method and application study for predicting cyclic accumulative deformations of the saturated soft clay

The distribution of saturated soft clay is greatly wide in China. The current main measures adopted to deal with soft soil foundations may lead to environmental pollution, even some engineering accidents may happen on soft soil foundations. In order to solve engineering problems of saturated soft soil foundations well, researches of mechanical properties of them are necessary. One of the most important mechanical characteristics of saturated soft clay is its cyclic accumulative deformation under cyclic loadings. For saturated soft clay, the cyclic accumulative deformation is similar to the creep behavior under static loadings. Therefore, the cyclic accumulative deformation is equivalent to the creep, the number of loading cycles is seen as the time, and this study develops a practical method for predicting the cyclic accumulative deformation of saturated soft clay with the creep theory. The method is a pseudostatic elasto-plastic finite element method implemented by ABAQUS software. A fitted equation between cyclic accumulative strain and number of loading cycles and the empirical relationship of parameters of fitted equation were established with aseries of cyclic triaxial compression tests. Then with this empirical relationship of parameters, the method developed by this study was employed to predict the cyclic accumulative deformation under cyclic triaxial tension tests. Predicted results were in good agreement with test results, and the effectiveness of this method was thus validated for different stress states. The method was then applied in analyzing the cyclic accumulative deformation for soft soil foundation of a pile-supported wharf structure.

Hot Load Deformation of Light-weight Insulating Fireclay Bricks

The hot load deformation tests of four kinds of insulating fireclay bricks were carried out using a high temperature creep furnace from Sinosteel Luoyang hlstitute of Refractories Reseorch Co. , Ltd. The testing load was fixed at 0. 069 MPa and the total testing time was with- in 6 h including the holding time of 1.5 h. The hot load defi〉rmation process of insulating fireclay bricks can be divided into three steps ： （ 1 ） expansion step from room temperature to RUL Tmax;（ 2 ） quick shrinkage step be- tween. RUL T and Ttest; 3 ） relatively slow shrinkage step during holding process. The deformation rate at the beginning of holding process （D0h） should be controlled withi, ＋0. 1%. The hot load deformation testing tem- perature of insulating fireclay bricks was optimized as the value of RUL T plus 220℃.

Effect of tension deformation on microstructure and mechanism of electrodeposited nickel coating

Nickel coating deposits with better ductility on a lower carbon steel sheet were produced by electrodeposition method and the electrodeposited nickel coating was deformed with the strain of 10%. Then the surface morphology,the deformation texture and the mechanical properties were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),X-ray diffractometry(XRD) and nano-indentation measurement,respectively. The principle of nano-indentation to measure the hardness and elastic modulus of nickel coating was introduced. The relation curves of the load and displacement were obtained,including the original electrodeposited samples and the samples under tension. The results show that:1) there are only two main texture components Ni(111) and Ni(200) in the nickel coating,and no new texture component is found due to the elongation;2) after tensile deformation in the coating,the surface roughness increases and the microcrack is found;3) The hardness and the elastic modulus decrease after tensile deformation;and 4) for the original electrodeposited sample,the indentation depths change with the load,the hardness and the elastic modulus decrease with the increase of the depth. In addition,the investigation of creep shows that the value of creep increases when the tensile strain ε>10%.

Enhanced creep resistance in Mg-Y-Nd alloy via regulating prior thermo-mechanical treatment

In this study,the tensile creep behavior of a hot-rolled Mg-4Y-3.5Nd alloy subjected to different prior thermo-mechanical treatments was investigated at 220℃.Five groups of samples were prepared using different combinations of the solid solution(S),aging treatment at 220℃ for 30 h(A),and hot compression at 490℃ to a true strain of 0.25(C).The abbreviations for the samples are S,SA,SC,SAC,and SCA.Upon examining the yield strength and creep resistance,it was found that creep resistance could not be directly predicted by the yield strength.The stability of the deformation bands(DBs)induced by prior thermo-mechanical treatment plays an important role in determining the creep resistance.The dislocation of the DBs and demonstrated the best creep resistance in the SAC sample,which were prepared using a solid solution,aging treatment,and subsequent hot compression.However,despite the highest yield strength,frequent dislocation motions destroyed the stability of the DBs and deteriorated the creep resistance of the SCA sample,which were prepared using a solid solution,hot compression,and subsequent aging treatment.Among the thermo-mechanical treatments used in this study,the application of aging treatment was important to obtain the resultant creep resistance.When the aging treatment was performed prior to hot compression,the creep resistance could be further enhanced based only on hot compression.Accordingly,the sequence from the strongest to the weakest creep resistance was SAC>SC>S>SCA>SA.

Effect of cooling rate during quenching on the microstructure and creep property of nickel-based superalloy FGH96

The effect of cooling rate during quenching on the microstructure and creep property of nickel-based superalloy FGH96 was investigated. Three groups of samples were quenched continuously with three fixed cooling rates, respectively, then subjected to a creep test under a constant load of 690 MPa at 700℃. Clear differences in size of secondary γ′ precipitates, creep properties and substructure of creep-tested samples were observed. The quantitative relationship among cooling rate, the size of secondary γ′ precipitates, and steady creep rate was constructed. It was found that with increasing cooling rate, the size of secondary γ′ precipitates decreases gradually, showing that the relationship between the size of secondary γ′ precipitates and the cooling rate obeys a power law, with an exponent of about –0.6, and the creep rate of steady state follows a good parabola relationship with cooling γ′ precipitate size. For 235℃/min, FGH96 alloy exhibited very small steady creep rate. The density of dislocation was low, and the isolated stacking fault was the dominant deformation mechanism. With decreasing cooling rates, the density of dislocation increased remarkably, and deformation microtwinning was the dominant deformation process. Detailed mechanisms for different cooling rate were discussed.

EFFECT OF CARBON MIGRATION ON CREEP PROPERTIES OF Cr5Mo DISSIMILAR WELDED JOINTS WITH Ni-BASED AND AUSTENITIC WELD METAL

In this paper, the effect of carbon migration on creep properties of Cr5Mo dissimilar welded joints with Ni-based (Inconel 182) and Cr23Nil3 (A302) austenitic weld metal was investigated. Carbon migration near the weld metal/ferritic steel interface of Cr5Mo dissimilar welded joints was analyzed by aging method. Local creep deformations of the dissimilar welded joints were measured by a long-term local creep deformation measuring technique. The creep rupture testing was performed for Cr5Mo dissimilar welded joints with Inconel 182 and A302 weld metal. The research results show that the maximum creep strain rate occurs in the decarburized zone located on heat affect zone (HAZ) of Cr5Mo ferritic steel. The creep rupture life of Cr5Mo dissimilar welded joints with A 302 weld metal decreases due to carbon migration and is about 50% of that welded with Inconel 182 weld metal.

The slope creep law for a soft rock in an open-pit mine in the Gobi region of Xinjiang, China

The lithology of the strata in the Gobi region of the Xinjiang autonomous region of China is mainly composed of mudstone,silty mudstone,and other soft rocks.Because of the low strength of the rock mass and the serious effects of physical weathering in this area,the slope stability in open-pit mines is poor,and creep deformation and instability can readily occur.Taking the Dananhu No.2 open-pit mine as a typical example,the creep test of a mudstone sample under different stress levels was studied.Then,based on a bottom friction experiment and a FLAC3D numerical simulation,the deformation and failure processes of the slope were analyzed.The stress–displacement curve and the displacement–time curve for the monitoring points were plotted to obtain the relationship between the stress and displacement for the slope of the soft rock.The results showed that the long-term strength of the mudstone was between 8.0 and 8.8 MPa,and that stable creep occurred when the slope was under low stress.The potential failure mode for this type of slope is that the front edge creeps along the weak layer and then a crack is formed at the trailing edge of the slope.When the crack penetrates the weak layer,cutting bedding and bedding sliding occur.The deformation process of the stable creep slope includes an initial deformation stage,an initial creep stage,a constant velocity creep stage and a deceleration creep stage.

Understanding effects of microstructural inhomogeneity on creep response-New approaches to improve the creep resistance in magnesium alloys

Previous investigations indicate that the creep resistance of magnesium alloys is proportional to the stability of precipitated intermetallic phases at grain boundaries.These stable intermetallic phases were considered to be effective to suppress the deformation by grain boundary sliding,leading to the improvement of creep properties.Based on this point,adding the alloying elements to form the stable intermetallics with high melting point became a popular way to develop the new creep resistant magnesium alloys.The present investigation,however,shows that the creep properties of binary Mg-Sn alloy are still poor even though the addition of Sn possibly results in the precipitation of thermal stable Mg_(2)Sn at grain boundaries.That means other possible mechanisms function to affect the creep response.It is finally found that the poor creep resistance is attributed to the segregation of Sn at dendritic and grain boundaries.Based on this observation,new approaches to improve the creep resistance are suggested for magnesium alloys because most currently magnesium alloys have the commonality with the Mg-Sn alloys.