Evolution characteristics of microstructure and properties in AZ31 alloy during high cycle fatigue processes

In order to investigate the microstructure and properties evolution of the AZ31magnesium alloy in different cycles(including104(sample1),106(sample2)and none(sample3,no fatigue tests on the samples))of high cycle deformation,thescanning electron microscopy(SEM)and electron back-scattered diffraction technique(EBSD)were fully used.It is found that many{1012}tension twins(near21%,volume fraction),a few{1011}compression twins and{1011}?{1012}secondary twins aregenerated during tension?compression cyclic deformation.The volume fractions of{1012}twins in samples1,2and3are8%,21%and4%,respectively.By analyzing the fatigue fracture of the samples,larger area of fatigue striations and cleavage fracture insamples are also observed,as well as the shallower dimples.The twin laminae are likely to occur in the crack initiation zone whiledimples are in the final fracture region and the dimple size increases with the increase of the cycle number.The dimple diameters ofsamples1,2and3are14.8,31.2and8.5μm,respectively.It turns out that both the fatigue strength and elongation of the samplesslightly decrease with increasing the cycle number.

Effect of Frequency on Fatigue Lifetime of Extruded Mg-3%Al-1%Zn Alloy

Samples prepared from as-extruded magnesium alloy Mg-3%Al-1%Zn （AZ31） billets were utilized in low-cycle fatigue tests in order to investigate the frequency-dependent fatigue life. Fully reversed strain-controlled tension-compression fatigue tests were carried out at frequencies of 1 Hz and 10 Hz in air. The microstructures were examined by optical microscopy （OM） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）.When the strain amplitude was lower than 0.2%, the fatigue life exhibited a positive correlation with loading frequency, and the activity of twinning was increased at 10 Hz. When the strain amplitude was higher than 0.2%, significant twinning was observed both at these two frequencies, and the fatigue life was found to be independent of frequency. The possible reasons for this frequency-related fatigue lifetime may be due to the dependence of twinning upon loading frequency and strain amplitude.

DEFORMATION AND FRACTURE OF TiAl PST CRYSTALS UNDER MONOTONIC AND CYCLIC LOADING

Plastic behaviour of TiAl polysynthetically twinned (PST) crystals is reviewed to show our knowledge and understanding for receiving a good combination of strength and ductility of two phase TiAl alloys under monotonic and cyclic loading conditions. Anisotropy and mechanism of strength, ductility, toughness. cyclic hardening and fatigue life are described focusing on the effect of lamellar structure.

Fatigue Behaviour of Metal Matrix Composites

Based mainly on the work done at the authors' laboratory in recent years,this paper examines what is currently known about the cyclic deformation and fatigue properties of metal matrix composites, with particular emphasis on discontinuous fiber (whisker or particulate)-reinforced Al composites. The following items are discussed:fatigue strength and life,cyclic deformation and microstructural evolution,microcrack initiation and growth,fatigue crack propagation behaviour.

Analysis of meso-inhomogeneous deformation on a metal material surface under low-cycle fatigue

A polycrystalline Voronoi aggregation with a free surface is applied as the representative volume element（RVE）of the nickel-based GH4169 superalloy.Considering the plastic deformation mechanism at the grain level and the Bauschinger effect,a crystal plasticity model reflecting the nonlinear kinematic hardening of crystal slipping system is applied.The microscopic inhomogeneous deformation during cyclic loading is calculated through numerical simulation of crystal plasticity.The deformation inhomogeneity on the free surface of the RVE under cyclic loading is described respectively by using the following parameters：standard deviation of the longitudinal strain in macro tensile direction,statistical average of first principal strains,and standard deviation of longitudinal displacement.The relationship between the fatigue cycle number and the evolution of inhomogeneous deformation of the material’s free surface is investigated.This research finds that：（1）The inhomogeneous deformation of the material free surface is significantly higher than that of the RVE inside;（2）the increases of the characterization parameters of inhomogeneous deformation on the free surface with cycles reflect the local maximum deformation of the RVE growing during cyclic loading;（3）these parameters can be used as criteria to assess and predict the low-cycle fatigue life rationally.

What is going on in magnesium alloys？

China has been developed into one of the most active regions in terms of both fundamental and applied research on magnesium （Mg） and its alloys in the world from a solid base laid by its prominent metallurgist and materials scientists over the past decades. Nowadays, a large number of young-generation researchers have been inspired by their predecessors and become the key participants in the fields of Mg alloys, which consequently led to the establishment of China Youth Scholar Society for Magnesium Alloys Research in 2015. Since then, the first two China Youth Scholars Symposiums on Mg Alloys Research had been held at Harbin （2015） and Chongqing （2016） China, respectively. A number of crucial research inter- ests related to fundamental and applied Mg research were discussed at the conferences and summarized in this short perspective, aiming to boost far-reaching initiatives for development of new Mg-based materials to satisfy the requirements for a broad range of industrial employments. Herein, four main aspects are included as follows： i） Plastic deformation mechanism and strengthening strategy, ii） Design and development of new Mg-based materials, iii） Key service properties, and iv） New processing technologies.

Experimental investigation of asphalt mixture containing Linz-Donawitz steel slag

Standard asphalt mixtures for road infrastructures consist of natural aggregate and bitumen. A number of research efforts have successfully investigated the possibility of replacing the conventional aggregate skeleton with industrial by-products such as slag originating from steel production process. However, little is known on the effect of steel slag on the mixtures performance properties such as resistance to low-temperature cracking and to permanent deformation, stiffness and fatigue. This paper presents a comprehensive investigation on the fundamental performance properties of different types of asphalt mixtures prepared with 100% LD slag aggregate and a conventional asphalt mixture containing natural Gabbro aggregate. Sophisticated testing methods were used to evaluate the key performance parameters for the set of asphalt mixtures investigated. In this study, low temperature cracking was addressed through thermal stress restrained specimen tests. Penetration tests and cyclic compression tests were used to evaluate the response of asphalt binder and asphalt mixture to permanent deformation due repeated loading, respectively. The cyclic indirect tensile test was selected for investigating both stiffness properties and fatigue resistance. For this purpose the complex stiffness modulus was measured to quantify material stiffness under different temperature and loading conditions providing information on the visco-elasto-plastic material behavior. Fatigue tests were used to determine the progressive and localized material damage caused by cyclic loading. The experimental results indicate that asphalt mixtures prepared with LD slag are suitable for asphalt pavement construction and that in most cases they perform better than conventional asphalt mixtures prepared with Gabbro aggregate.