Investigation on the interface of Cu/Al couples during isothermal heating

The evolutionary process and intermetallic compounds of Cu/A1 couples during isothermal heating at a constant bonding tem- perature of 550℃ were investigated in this paper. The interracial morphologies and microstructures were examined by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The results suggest that bonding is not achieved between Cu and A1 at 550℃ in 10 min due to undamaged oxide films. Upon increasing the bonding time from 15 to 25 min, however, metallurgical bonding is obtained in these samples, and the thickness of the reactive zone varies with holding time. In the interfacial region, the final microstructure consists of Cu9A14, CuAl, CuA12, and ct-A1 ＋ CuAl2. Furthermore, these results provide new insights into the mechanism of the imerfacial reaction between Cu and A1. Microhardness measurements show that the chemical composition exerts a signifi- cant influence on the mechanical properties of Cu/A1 couples.

Morphological transformation of elongated MnS inclusions in non-quenched and tempered steel during isothermal heating

Elongated MnS inclusions in rolled non-quenched and tempered steel tend to cause the mechanical anisotropy of steel,deteriorate the mechanical properties and degrade the quality and service life of the steel products.To reveal the mechanisms of morphological transformation of strip-shaped MnS inclusions during isothermal heating,the effects of heat treatment time and temperature on the morphology,number density and size distribution of elongated MnS inclusions were systematically studied and discussed.A diffusion couple experiment was also conducted to clarify the diffusion mode of MnS inclusions.The experimental results showed that with the increase in isothermal heating time(from 0 to 10 h at 1473 K)and temperature(from 1173 to 1573 K for 3.0 h),the number density and average aspect ratio of MnS inclusions generally showed an increase and decrease trend,respectively,while the area fraction remained stable and only slightly fluctuated around 0.4%.In the diffusion couple,after the isothermal heating at 1473 K for 3.0 h,the elements Mn and S in the steel near the steel-MnS interface were very stable without any concentration gradient.The morphology change sequence of the elongated MnS inclusions in the rolled non-quenched and tempered steel during the isothermal heating was strip→cylinderization→spindle→spheroidization.Relationship between the diameter of MnS inclusion and the spacing between two MnS inclusions after splitting,and the fitting goodness of different n values under different experimental time and temperature confirmed that the driving force for the transformation of MnS inclusions during the isothermal heating was surface diffusion,instead of volume diffusion.

Mechanisms of interfacial reactions between 316L stainless steel and MnO-SiO_(2) oxide during isothermal heating

Diffusion couple experiments were performed to study the thermodynamic and kinetic mechanisms of interfacial reactions between the 316L stainless steel and the composite MnO-SiO_(2) oxide during isothermal heating at 1473 K(1200℃)for 1,3,5,and 10 h and at 1173,1273,1373,1473,and 1573 K(900,1000,1100,1200,and 1300℃)for 3 h.Compositional variations in the 316L stainless steel and the composite MnO-SiO_(2) oxide in the vicinity of the steel-oxide interface in each diffusion couple specimen were determined.Before and after isothermal heating,thermodynamic equilibria between the oxide and steel at the interface were estimated in accordance with the calculation of the Gibbs free energy change in the interfacial steel-oxide reactions.The diffusion coefficients of Mn,Cr,and Si in 316L stainless steel under different experimental conditions were quantitatively acquired.The results showed that solid-state interfacial reactions occurred between the Cr in the 316L stainless steel and composite MnO-SiO_(2) oxide during isothermal heating,which resulted in the depletion of Cr and accumulation of Si and Mn in the steel in the vicinity of the steel-oxide interface.The widths of the Crdepleted zone,Mn-accumulated zone and Si-accumulated zone all showed increasing trends with increasing isothermal heating temperature and time.The average values of the diffusion coefficients of Mn,Cr,and Si in the steel at 1473 K(1200℃)were 1.21×10^(^(-14))±2.96×10^(-15),1.69×10^(-14)±2.54×10^(-15),and 1.00×10^(-14)±1.96×10^(-15) m^(2)s^(-1),respectively,and they continued to increase with increasing isothermal heating temperature.

Transformation of nanoscale inclusions in 316L stainless steel processed by laser beam powder bed fusion during isothermal heating

Transformation mechanisms and reaction kinetics for formation of nanoscale inclusions in as-built 316L stainless steel produced by laser beam powder bed fusion(LB-PBF)during subsequent isothermal heating process were investigated and clarified experimentally and theoretically.The resulting changes in morphologies,size distributions,number densities,and chemical compositions of the inclusions were measured and discussed,along with microstructure and texture of the steel.The results showed that with increasing isothermal heating time and temperature,the columnar grains in the as-built LB-PBF 316L stainless steel transformed into equiaxed grains,which grew gradually and exhibited a large number of twins in the FCC structure.During isothermal heating,the reaction of Si in the steel with MnO–Cr_(2)O_(3)in the nanoscale inclusion resulted in a transformation from the homogeneous oxide MnO–SiO_(2)–Cr_(2)O_(3)to an inclusion with an obvious core–shell structure,and the core part was eventually rich in Si and the shell part was predominantly rich in Mn and Si,depending on the heating temperature and time.An Ostwald ripening model used for predicting the growth of nanoscale inclusions during isothermal heating verified that the observed effects of isothermal heating time and temperature were predicted for Si diffusion control.

Effect of isothermal heat treatment on semi-solid microstructure of AZ91D magnesium alloy containing rare earth Gd

The AZ91 D magnesium alloy containing rare earth Gd was prepared in this study, and the effect of semi-solid isothermal heat treatment on the microstructure of the alloy was investigated to obtain an optimum semi-solid structure. Results show that Gd can refine the microstructure of AZ91 D magnesium alloy, and the optimum semi-solid AZ91 D microstructure can be achieved by adding 1.5wt.% Gd. After treated at 585 °C for 30 min, the well distributed rose-shaped and near-spherical semi-solid microstructures of AZ91D+1.5wt.%Gd alloy can be obtained. The liquid phase of the semi-solid alloy consists of three components, namely, the molten pool, the "entrapped liquid" pool and the liner liquid film which separates two neighbor particles. The solid phase is composed of two phases, the primary α-Mg particles and the α-Mg phase formed in the second stage of solidification. With the increase of holding time, melting which causes the decrease of the primary α-Mg particle size is the dominant mechanism in the initial stage while coalescence and Ostwald ripening tend to be the principles later.

Microstructure evolution of semi-solid Mg-10Gd-3Y-0.5Zr alloy during isothermal heat treatment

In this study,the microstructure evolution of semi-solid Mg-10Gd-3Y-0.5Zr alloy during isothermal heat treatment has been investigated.The results show that primary particles coarsen continuously during the holding.Coarsening rate decreases with the increase of isothermal temperature.When isothermal temperature increases from 600℃ to 620℃,the dominant mechanism for coarsening changes from particle coalescence to Ostwald ripening.Equiaxed as-cast microstructure is beneficial to the semi-solid microstructure after isothermal heat treatment,which brings about the refinement and spheroidization of primary particles,and shortening of holding time.Significant modification of second phases can also be achieved after isothermal heat treatment,due to its unique solidification process.The optimum processing parameters for Mg-10Gd-3Y-0.5Zr alloy in isothermal heat treatment are isothermal temperature of 610℃-620℃ and holding time of 20-40 min.

Investigation on microstructures and properties of semi-solid Al_(80)Mg_(5)Li_(5)Zn_(5)Cu_(5)light-weight high-entropy alloy during isothermal heat treatment process

The Al_(80)Mg_(5)Li_(5)Zn_(5)Cu_(5)light-weight high-entropy alloy with globular microstructure was fabricated by isothermal heat treatment.The effects of isothermal temperatures and holding times on the semi-solid microstructure evolution were investigated.The results indicate that,with increase of the isothermal temperature,the average grain size increases and the spheroidization time shortens.With prolongation of holding time,the shape factor increases firstly and then decreases,and the average grain size decreases at first and then increases when the isothermal temperature is below 520°C,however it increases gradually at 540℃.The optimal semi-solid microstructure is obtained at 520℃ for 30 min,whose shape factor and average grain size are 0.90 and 56.4μm,respectively.Compared with as-cast Al_(80)Mg_(5)Li_(5)Zn_(5)Cu_(5) light-weight high-entropy alloy,the compressive strength and plasticity of semi-solid Al_(80)Mg_(5)Li_(5)Zn_(5)Cu_(5) light-weight high-entropy alloy are increased by 36%and 108%,respectively.The formation of semi-solid microstructures includes three stages:melting separation,spheroidization,and coarsening growth.The sluggish diffusion effect of Al_(80)Mg_(5)Li_(5)Zn_(5)Cu_(5) light-weight high-entropy alloy leads to a low coarsening rate,resulting in slow grain growth.

Direct preparation of semi-solid billets by the semi-solid isothermal heat treatment for commercial cold-rolled ZL104 aluminum alloy

Semi-solid isothermal heat treatment was proposed to directly process cold-rolled ZL104 aluminum alloys and obtain semi-solid bil-lets.The effects of two process parameters,namely,temperature and processing time,on the microstructure and hardness of the resulting bil-lets were also experimentally examined.Average grain size(AGS)increased and the shape factor(SF)of the grain improved as the process temperature increased.The SF of the grain also increased with increasing processing time,and the AGS was augmented when the processing time was prolonged from 5 to 20 min at 570℃.The hardness of the aluminum alloy decreased because of the increase in AGS with increasing temperature and processing time.The optimal temperature and time for the preparation of semi-solid ZL104 aluminum alloys were 570℃and 5 min,respectively.Under optimal process parameters,the AGS,SF,and hardness of the resulting alloy were 35.88μm,0.81,and 55.24 MPa,respectively.The Lifshitz-Slyozov-Wagner relationship was analyzed to determine the coarsening rate constant at 570℃,and a rate constant of 1357.2μm3/s was obtained.

Grain growth of Al-4Cu-Mg alloy during isothermal heat treatment

The microstructure of an Al-4Cu-Mg alloy during isothermal heat treatment in the Strain Induced Melt Activation （SIMA） process was investigated and the kinetics of grain growth was analyzed, The grain growth during isothermal heat treatment of the Al-4Cu-Mg alloy coincided with the Ostwald ripening theory. During isothermal heat treatment, both grain shape and the high volume fraction of solid phase have significant effects on grain growth. Therefore, a new grain growth model based on the Ostwald ripening theory was proposed taking into consideration the grain shape and the volume fraction of solid phase. By comparing the calculated results with the experimental results, it was confirmed that the present model could be applied to grain growth during isothermal heat treatment of the Al-4Cu-Mg alloy in the SIMA process.

Effect of Semi-solid Isothermal Heat Treatment on Microstructure of VW63Z Alloy

The effects of isothermal heat treatment on the semi-solid microstructure evolution of VW63Z(Mg-6Gd-3Y-0.4Zr,wt.%)alloy are studied.It shows that the microstructure of VW63Z alloy could transform from equiaxed crystal to semi-solid spherical crystal after isothermal heat treatment above 620℃.With the heating temperature elevating from 620℃ to 635℃ and the holding time prolonging from 10 min to 35 min,the liquid fraction increases gradually.The semi-solid microstructure evolution of VW63Z alloy can be divided into three stages,i.e.,particle coarsening and spheroidization;particle necking,coalescence,and Ostwald ripening;and dynamic equilibrium.The semi-solid process window of VW63Z alloy ranges from 620℃ to 635℃,where the best process parameters are holding at 635℃ for 20 min-30 min.The solid fraction,the average particle size,and the shape factor are 41.1%-53.8%,81.5μm-83.2μm,and 0.70-0.75,respectively.The maximum relative deviations of the solid fraction,the particle size,and the shape factor at different heights of the same billet are 44.6%,17.4%,and 16.6%,respectively,which means that it should pay attention to the uniformity of edge and core of VW63Z alloy during isothermal heat treatment.The driving force of microstructure is supposed to be the reduction of solid-liquid interface free energy.

Fabrication of high-quality three-dimensional photonic crystal heterostructures

Three-dimensional photonic crystal （PC） heterostructures with high quality are fabricated by using a pressure controlled isothermal heating vertical deposition technique. The formed heterostructures have higher quality, such as deeper band gaps and sharper band edges, than the heterostructures reported so far. Such a significant improvement in quality is due to the introduction of a thin TiO2 buffer layer between the two constitutional PCs. It is revealed that the disorder caused by lattice mismatch is successfully removed if the buffer layer is used once. As a result, the formed heterostructures possess the main features in the band gap of constitutional PCs. The crucial role of the thin buffer layer is also verified by numerical simulations based on the finite-difference time-domain technique.

Depth to the bottom of magnetic layer in South America and its relationship to Curie isotherm,Moho depth and seismicity behavior

We have estimated the DBML（depth to the bottom of the magnetic layer） in South America from the inversion of magnetic anomaly data extracted from the EMAG2 grid. The results show that the DBML values, interpreted as the Curie isotherm, vary between -10 and -60 km. The deepest values（〉-45） are mainly observed forming two anomalous zones in the central part of the Andes Cordillera. To the east of the Andes, in most of the stable cratonic area of South America, intermediate values（between -25 and-45 km） are predominant. The shallowest values（〈-25 km） are present in northwestern corner of South America, southern Patagonia, and in a few sectors to the east of the Andes Cordillera. Based on these results, we estimated the heat flow variations along the study area and found a very good correlation with the DBML. Also striking is the observation that the thermal anomalies of low heat flow are closely related to segments of flat subduction, where the presence of a cold and thick subducting oceanic slab beneath the continent, with a virtual absence of hot mantle wedge, leads to a decrease in the heat transfer from the deeper parts of the system.After comparing our results with the Moho depths reported by other authors, we have found that the Curie isotherm is deeper than Moho in most of the South American Platform（northward to -20°S）, which is located in the stable cratonic area at the east of the Andes. This is evidence that the lithospheric mantle here is magnetic and contributes to the long wavelength magnetic signal. Also, our results support the hypothesis that the Curie isotherm may be acting as a boundary above which most of the crustal seismicity is concentrated. Below this boundary the occurrence of seismic events decreases dramatically.

Precipitation kinetics of carbides during cyclical and isothermal aging of 2.25Cr–1Mo steel and its effect on mechanical properties

The carbide precipitation was analyzed during aging of 2.25Cr–1Mo steel at 550℃.The as-received steel was aged in two different manners:the first treatment was an isothermal aging at 550℃ for time up to 1000 h,and the second one was carried out by a cyclical aging,which consisted of aging at 550℃ for 1 h,water quenching at room temperature and then newly heating at 550℃.This procedure was repeated up to 300 times.The M_(23)C_(6) and M6C carbide precipitation took place intragranularly and intergranularly for both aging treatments.The carbide coarsening was detected to occur with the increasing aging time.Nevertheless,the growth kinetics of precipitation occurred more rapidly in the case of cyclical aging.The specimen hardness decreased with the aging time in both cases;however,it occurred in shorter aging time for the cyclical aging.Nanoindentation testing indicated the increase in ductility with the aging time,and the cyclically aged specimens showed larger ductility than the isothermally aged specimens.

The Effect of Self-nucleation on Isothermal Crystallization Kinetics of Poly(butylene succinate)(PBS) Investigated by Differential Fast Scanning Calorimetry

Differential fast scanning calorimetry（DFSC） was employed on the study of self-nucleation behavior of poly（butylene succinate）（PBS）.The ultra-fast cooling ability of DFSC allows investigating the effect of self-nucleation on the isothermal crystallization kinetics over a wide temperature range.Crystallization half-time,instead of crystallization peak temperature,was used to describe the self-nucleation behavior,and the self-nucleation domain for the samples crystallized at different temperatures was determined.Due to the competition between homogenous nucleation and self-nuclei,the effect of self-nucleation was less pronounced at high supercooling than that for the sample isothermally crystallized at higher temperature.An efficiency scale to judge the efficiency of nucleating agents from the crystallization half-time was also introduced in this work.

Effects of Semi-solid Isothermal Heat Treatment on Microstructures and Damping Capacities of Fly Ash Cenosphere/AZ91D Composites

The fly ash cenosphere/AZ91D composites were successfully prepared and isothermally heat-treated at different tem- peratures for different time. The effects of semi-solid isothermal heat treatment on the microstructures and damping capacities of fly ash cenosphere/AZ91D composites were investigated. With the increase in isothermal temperature or holding time, the small liquid droplets within grains increased in size but decreased in quantity. The average size and shape factor of Mg2Si particles increased with the rise of isothermal temperature. The damping capacities of the composites were improved by isothermal heat treatment. At room temperature, the composites after heat treatment at 520 and 550 ℃ had a higher damping capacity due to interface damping when the strain amplitude was lower than about 8.8 × 10^-5, and the composite after heat treatment at 580 ℃ had a better damping capacity because of the dislocation damping under the condition of high strain amplitude. The damping capacities of the composites increased with the rise of the test temper- ature, and the damping mechanisms varied depending on different test temperatures. The interface damping played an important role when the test temperature was below about 100 ℃, and the dislocation damping and grain boundary damping took effect with the rise of test temperature.

Solid-state cold spraying of FeCoCrNiMn high-entropy alloy:an insight into microstructure evolution and oxidation behavior at 700-900℃

About 3 mm thick five-element equimolar high-entropy alloy(HEA) FeCoCrNiMn was successfully deposited by solid-state cold spraying(CS).The high-temperature oxidation behavior of the CSed HEA was investigated at 700-900℃.Heat treatment was performed on the CSed HEA before oxidation to heal the incomplete interfaces between the deposited particles.Results show that the microstructure of the CSed HEA is characterized by grain refinement and abundant interparticle incomplete interfaces.Post-spray heat treatment promotes recrystallization and grain growth in the CSed HEA.After oxidation testing,the oxide scales are composed of multi-layers:a Mn_(2)O_(3)(or Mn_(3)O_(4)) outer layer,a Mn-Cr spinel intermediate layer and a Cr_(2)O_(3) inner layer.The CSed HEA exhibits higher parabolic rate constants and more favorable internal oxidation than the bulk HEAs that have similar compositions in the literature.Such a discrepancy becomes pronounced at higher temperatures.The grain refinement and numerous particle boundaries are responsible for such a distinctive performance of the CSed HEA.

Thermal protection mechanism of heat pipe in leading edge under hypersonic conditions

Sharp local structure, like the leading edge of hypersonic aircraft, confronts a severe aerodynamic heating environment at a Mach number greater than 5. To eliminate the danger of a material failure, a semi-active thermal protection system is proposed by integrating a metallic heat pipe into the structure of the leading edge. An analytical heat-balance model is established from traditional aerodynamic theories, and then thermal and mechanical characteristics of the structure are studied at Mach number 6–8 for three refractory alloys, Inconel 625, C-103, and T-111. The feasibility of this simple analytical method as an initial design tool for hypersonic aircraft is assessed through numerical simulations using a finite element method. The results indicate that both the isothermal and the maximum temperatures fall but the von Mises stress increases with a longer design length of the leading edge. These two temperatures and the stress rise remarkably at a higher Mach number. Under all investigated hypersonic conditions, with a 3 mm leading edge radius and a0.15 m design length, the maximum stress exceeds the yield strength of Inconel 625 at Mach numbers greater than 6, which means a material failure. Moreover, both C-103 and T-111 meet all requirements at Mach number 6–8.

σ-Phase in Lean Duplex Stainless Steel Sheets

The precipitation kinetics of secondary phases in two austeno-ferritic lean duplex stainless steels（lean DSS）were examined after aging the materials at 800 ℃.Owing to the instability of ferrite,all DSS are known to be sensitive to solid-state phase transformations in the critical temperature range 600-1,000 ℃ and different secondary phases may form,depending on composition and microstructure.The performed thermodynamic simulations revealed the proneness to the precipitation of such phases also have been done in lean DSS,but only information on the equilibrium microstructures were achieved.Therefore,the materials were aged at various times,in order to verify the simulations and determine the precipitation kinetics.The occurred structural modifications were observed and quantified by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction measurements,determining phase type,composition and volumetric fraction.At 800 ℃,grade 2101 was found to be only affected by Cr_2N nitrides precipitation,whereas a significant amount of σ-phase was found to form in LDX 2404 for treatment longer than 1 h,almost totally replacing ferrite after 50 h.Up to now,the intermetallic σ-phase has been observed only in the high alloyed DSS,and the unexpected precipitation in grade 2404 highlighted that the increased content of molybdenum in this steel might be considered as determinant for the formation.

Effect of Star-shaped Chain Architectures on the Polylactide Stereocomplex Crystallization Behaviors

Linear and star-shaped polylactides（PLA） with similar molecular weights of each arm are synthesized via ringopening polymerization of LA with 3-butyn-1-ol and pentaerythritol as initiators,respectively.By solution blending of equivalent mass of poly（L-lactic acid）s（PLLAs） and poly（D-lactic acid）s（PDLAs）,perfect PLA stereocomplexes（sc PLAs） are prepared and confirmed by WAXD and FTIR analysis.Effect of chain architectures on stereocomplex crystallization is investigated by studying the non-isothermal and isothermal crystallization of linear and star-shaped polylactide stereocomplexes.In dynamic DSC and POM test,star-shaped PLLA（4s PLLA）/PDLA and PLLA/star-shaped PDLA（4s PDLA） stereocomplexes reach rapid crystallization and higher crystallinity due to larger spherulite density of star-shaped chain and excellent chain mobility of linear chain.In isothermal crystallization test,much faster crystallization and less crystallization half-time is obtained with the increase of star-shaped chain.Meanwhile,4s PLLA/PDLA and PLLA/4s PDLA are found to have the highest crystallinity,suggesting limitation of too much star-shaped chain for 4s PLLA/4s PDLA and restriction of linear chain in nucleation capacity for PLLA/PDLA.The results reveal that star-shaped chain has an important influence on the crystallization of sc PLAs.