Effect of WO3 Nanoparticle Loading on the Microstructural, Mechanical and Corrosion Resistance of Zn Matrix/TiO2-WO3 Nanocomposite Coatings for Marine Application

In this study, for marine application purposes, we evaluated the effect of process parameter and particle loading on the microstructure, mechanical reinforcement and corrosion resistance properties of a Zn-TiO2-WO3 nanocomposite produced via electrodeposition. We characterized the morphological properties of the composite coatings with a Scanning Electron Microscope （SEM） equipped with an Energy Dispersive Spectrometer （EDS）. We carried out mechanical examination using a Dura Scan hardness tester and a CERT UMT-2 multi-functional tribological tester. We evaluated the corrosion properties by linear polarization in 3.5% NaCl. The results show that the coatings exhibited good stability and the quantitative particle loading greatly enhanced the structural and morphological properties, hardness behavior and corrosion resistance of the coatings. We observed the precipitation of this alloy on steel is greatly influenced by the composite characteristics.

EFFECT OF REINFORCEMENT VOLUME FRACTION ON PRECIPITATION IN MATRIX OF SiC_p/AI COMPOSITE

The differential scanning calorimetric(DSC) and transmission electron microanalysis (TEM) techniques were used to study the kinetic process of precipitation in matrix of cast SiC_p/2024 composites.The results showed that precipitation reactions of GP zone and intermediate phase S'(Al_2CuMg)in the composites were accelerated compared with SiC-free material,the peak temperatures of both reactions were decreased.The reaction enthalpies of both the GP zone and intermediate phase S' formation in the matrix were substantially decreased after the addition of SiC.TEM analysis found that the alloying element Mg segregated at the SiC/Al interfaces,and was depleted in the matrix near the interface.The precipitation-free zones(PFZ) and precipitation-sparse zones(PSZ) formed near the interfaces,as a results,the volume fraction of precipitates in matrix was reduced.

Evolution of precipitate and precipitate/matrix interface in Al-Zn-Mg-Cu(-Ag)alloys

Evolution of precipitate and precipitate/matrix interface in artificially aged Al-Zn-Mg-Cu(-Ag)alloys has been systematically studied.In the early stage of ageing,Ag,as a fast diffuser,can promote the formation of solute pairs and small clusters.Solute clusters are further demonstrated to be able to act as precursors forη’precipitates by in-situ STEM heating.With prolonged ageing time,the precipitate/matrix interface evolves from the Zn-dominated interface between early-stageη’and Al matrix to the Zn and Mg co-segregatedη’/Al andη_(2)/Al interfaces.Theη’/Al interfacial layers are shown to precede the formation ofη’,while theη_(2)/Al interfaces are found to be closely related to the thickening process ofη_(2)and the involved particular atomic movements are specified.Experimental observations and DFT calculations re-veal that forη’andη_(2),Ag can dissolve into the precipitate as well as locate at the precipitate/matrix interface without showing preference.For Cu,its dissolution in the precipitate and segregation on the interface mainly occur forη_(2)rather thanη’.The incorporation of Ag and Cu does not change the defined precipitate structure.

Changes of microstructure of different quench sensitivity 7,000 aluminum alloy after end quenching

The quench sensitivity and their influential factors of 7,021, 7,085, and 7,050 alloys were investigated by the end quenching test method and the measurement of electrical conductivity, hardness, and microstructure after aging. The results indicate that 7,050 alloy has the largest changes with hardness decreasing from HV 199 to HV 167,and electrical conductivity increases from 16.6 to18.2 MS m-1when the distance from quenched end increases from 2 to 100 mm. Alloys 7,085 and 7,021 have relatively smaller changes. According to the relationship between the hardness and electrical conductivity of a supersaturated solid solution, 7,050 alloy has higher quench sensitivity than 7,085 and 7,021 alloys. The microstructure of 7,050 alloy with higher major alloy element（Zn ？ Mg ？ Cu） addition and Cu element addition is mostly affected by the changes of distance from quenched end. In 7,050 alloy, the size of intragranular precipitates is from about 10-200 nm, and the（sub） grain boundary precipitates are about 20-300 nm. Alloy 7,085 with lower Cu content is moderately affected, while 7,021 is least affected. It is found that with the increase of distance from quenched end, quenched-induced precipitate preferentially nucleates and grows in the（sub） grain boundary and then on the pre-existing Al3 Zr particles.

Charting the ‘composition–strength’ space for novel austenitic,martensitic and ferritic creep resistant steels

We report results of a large computational ＇alloy by design＇ study, in which the ＇chemical composition-mechanical strength＇ space is explored for austenitic, ferritic and martensitic creep resistant steels. The approach used allows simultaneously optimization of alloy composition and processing parameters based on the integration of thermodynamic, thermo-kinetics and a genetic algorithm optimization route. The nature of the optimisation depends on both the intended matrix（ferritic, martensitic or austenitic） and the desired precipitation family. The models are validated by analysing reported strengths of existing steels. All newly designed alloys are predicted to outperform existing high end reference grades.