Precipitation Softening and Precipitate Free Zones of V_(55)Ti_(30)Ni_(15) Alloys During Heat Treatment

The microstructure, hardness, and precipitate free zones（PFZ） of V55Ti30Ni15 alloys during heat treatment have been investigated in this study. The microstructure resulting from different heat treatment conditions has a great influence on hardness. The microstructure resulting from different heat treatment conditions has a great influence on hardness. Fine Ni Ti particles precipitate from the supersaturated V-matrix solid solution at 750 °C, increase in quantity until 800 °C, and then dissolve back into the V-matrix at 850 °C. The resultant hardness decreases with temperature until 800 °C, and then increases from 800 to 850 °C. The microstructure containing small Ni Ti precipitates resulting from the treatment of 18 h at800 °C has a good soft condition for workability. PFZ formed at the grain boundary of V-matrix during heat treatment was observed. Vacancies depletion in V-matrix maybe led to the formation of PFZ.

Influence of quench transfer time on microstructure and mechanical properties of 7055 aluminum alloy

The influence of quench transfer time on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 7055 aluminum alloy with and without zirconium was investigated by tensile properties test,optical microscopy,scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.For the Zr-free alloy,the strength increases to the highest value at 20 s with transfer time,and then decreases slightly.The elongation decreases slowly with transfer time within 20 s,and more rapidly after 20 s.For the Zr-containing alloy,prolonging transfer time within 20 s results in slight decrease in the strength and elongation,and rapid drop of which is observed after 20 s.For the Zr-free alloy,prolonging transfer time can increase the percentage of intergranular fracture,which is mainly caused by wide grain boundary precipitate free zone.The failure mode of the Zr-containing alloy is modified from the predominant transgranular void growth and intergranular fracture to transgranular shear and intergranular fracture with increase in the transfer time,which is attributed to the wider grain boundary precipitate free zone and coarse equilibrium η phases in the matrix.

Effect of quenching rate on microstructure and mechanical properties of commercial AA7108 aluminium alloy

A commercial AA7108 aluminium alloy subjected to different quenching procedures from the solid solution temperature of 480 ℃ was considered. Both continuously cooling and quenching to intermediate temperatures （400, 300 and 200 ℃） followed by different holding times were applied. All the materials were subsequently subjected to the same industrial two-step artificial ageing procedure to obtain a maximum strength （T6）. Tensile testing of the different quenched materials in the T6 temper reveals a large deviation in strength dependent on the cooling/holding time, compared with the reference sample. A collection of the different quenched materials was chosen for further investigation of the precipitate structure by transmission electron microscopy （TEM） to explain the differences in mechanical properties.

Strength mismatch mechanism on friction stir welding joint of 7075 aluminum alloy

The precipitated phases in the WNZ,TMAZ,HAZ and BM of the friction stir welding(FSW)joint were observed using the transmission electron microscopy(TEM)and the lattice fringe spacing of the precipitated phases was measured.Combined with X-ray diffraction(XRD),the types of precipitated phases among the joint were confirmed and then the strength mismatch mechanism was revealed.The results show the precipitated phases of 7075 aluminum alloy FSW joint mainly consist of MgZn_(2),AlCuMg and Al_(2)CuMg.The microzone of the joint experienced different thermal cycles,the types and sizes of precipitated phases are different and the strengthening effect is different.The strengthening effect of the AlCuMg and Al_(2)CuMg are better than that of MgZn_(2).The precipitated phase in the WNZ mainly includes AlCuMg and Al_(2)CuMg,as well as the grain size is fine,the microhardness in this zone is pretty high.The number of precipitated phase AlCuMg and Al_(2)CuMg is smaller in the TMAZ and the MgZn_(2)is relatively more,which lead the microhardness decrease.The number of precipitated phase MgZn_(2)is relative larger in the HAZ,as well as the grain coarsening,the microhardness in this zone is lowest of the joint.At the same time,there are the precipitate free zones(PFZ)among the 7075 aluminum alloy FSW joint,which decreases the microhardness of the whole joint to some extent.

Simulation of PFZ on intergranular fracture based on XFEM and CPFEM

A unit cell including the matrix, precipitation free zone(PFZ) and grain boundary was prepared, and the crystal plasticity finite element method(CPFEM) and extended finite element method(XFEM) were used to simulate the propagation of cracks at grain boundary. Simulation results show that the crystallographic orientation of PFZ has significant influence on crack propagation, which includes the crack growth direction and crack growth velocity. The fracture strain of soft orientation is larger than that of hard orientation due to the role of reducing the stress intensity at grain boundary in intergranular brittle fracture. But in intergranular ductile fracture, the fracture strain of soft orientation may be smaller than that of hard orientation due to the roles of deformation localization.

Formation of PFZ and Its Effect in a RSP AI-Li Alloy

The formation of precipitation free zone (PFZ) and its effect in a RSP AI-Li alloy has been studied. The results show that PFZ is easy to form when aged at 190℃,but there is no equilibrium phase on grain boundaries.The growth of PFZ in the alloy is different from that in conventional AI-Li alloys, The effect of PFZ is of great importance because of its large volume fraction in the alloy.It offsets the beneficial effect of RSP,and is thought to be an important factor that leads to the poor toughness and low ductility of RSP AI-Li alloy sheet.

Precipitate Behavior in Fe–20Cr–30Ni–2Nb Austenitic Heat-Resistant Steel

In this study, the precipitation behavior of a new austenitic heat-resistant steel （Fe-20Cr-30Ni-2Nb, in at%） was investigated. The effects of alloying addition of boron （B） and lanthanum （La） on the microstructure of the austenitic steel were scrutinized using SEM, EPMA, TEM, and XRD. The results showed that the addition of B enhanced the precipitation of bar-type Laves phase. A small precipitate with high La concentration was observed at the grain boundary in the alloy without aging; similar precipitates without La also presented in region adjacent to the La single phase. This result indicates that La can exist independently and does not contribute to the formation of new compounds. However, in both B- and La-modified alloy, B appeared in the precipitate free zone. In the alloy containing both B and La, only Fe2Nb Laves- phase precipitates, as indicated by the XRD result.

Investigation on Precipitation Hardening High Strength IF Steel Sheet for Automotive Application

High strength IF steel sheets with sufficient formability had been extensively used in automotive industry.In this paper,a new type of high strength cold-rolled IF steel with higher carbon and niobium contents was studied.Thermal plastic and continuous annealing were performed on thermo-mechanical simulator.The transformation points were tested by thermal expansion apparatus.Optical microscopy and transmission election microscope (TEM) were used to analyze the microstructure and the secondary precipitates of the steel.The results showed,the ductibility temperature range was from 950℃ to 1250℃ and the transformation points were 887℃ and 913℃ respectively.The grain size of this steel was smaller than that of conventional high strength IF steel.At the mean time,there were many fine Nb(C,N) precipitates distributed in the intra-granular regions and the PFZ (precipitate free zone) were formed in the neighborhood of grain boundaries.Due to the unique micro-structural feature,the yield strength and the yield ratio of the steel were decreased while the tensile strength was increased.With the increasing of the annealing temperature,the strength decreased,the total elongation A50,r-value at 15% strain and n-value were all increased.In order to obtain the favorable mechanical properties,the skin-pass rolling rate should be chosen at 0.6-0.8%.

Effect of Solution Annealing on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of a Ni-Cr-W-Fe Alloy

The effect of solution annealing on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a Ni-Cr-W-Fe alloy developed for advanced 700？C ultra-supercritical power plants was investigated. Test samples in this study were subjected to different solution treatments and the same aging treatment（at 760？C for 1 h）.When solution annealing temperature was elevated from 1020？C to 1150？C, the stress-rupture life at750？C/320 MPa was increased from 60 h to 300 h, the stress-rupture elongation was enhanced from12% to 17%, and the elongation of the tensile at 750？C was improved from 11% to 24%. All tensile and stress-rupture samples displayed an intergranular dimple mixed fracture. Intergranular micro-cracks had a great relationship with the morphology of grain boundary carbides. Most carbides retained the morphology of globular shape and continuous thin plate. After tensile and stress-rupture tests, a few carbides were converted into lamellar. The results showed that intergranular micro-cracks were easier to form at continuous thin plate carbides than at globular shape carbides. Lamellar carbides hardly caused the nucleation of micro-cracks. Besides, grain boundaries sliding and elements diffusion during stressrupture tests led to the formation of precipitate free zones, which accelerated the extension of microcracks and influenced the stress-rupture life.

Effects of Ag Addition on Precipitation and Fatigue Crack Propagation Behavior of a Medium-Strength Al–Zn–Mg Alloy

Effects of trace addition of Ag on the fatigue crack propagation behavior and microstructure of a mediumstrength aged AI-Zn-Mg alloy were investigated in the present work. The results show that a combination of enhanced tensile strength and improved fatigue crack propagation resistance in Al-Zn-Mg alloys is achieved with small addition of Ag. The enhanced strength is attributed to the high density of η＇ precip- itates within the grains and narrow precipitate free zones in the vicinity of grain boundaries. The main contribution to the improvement of fatigue crack propagation resistance comes from the coarser precipitates within the grains. When subjected to two-step aging. Ag-added alloy shows larger semi-coherent matrix precipitates. These relatively coarser precipitates increase the homogeneity of deformation and therefore improve the fatigue crack propagation resistance. In addition, microstructure analysis indicates that the size and distribution of inclusions as well as the grain structures of Al-Zn-Mg alloys are independent of Ag addition.

Advanced HSLA Steels for Automotive Use

Characteristic HSLA steels for automotive use are introduced in which both of precipitation and microstructure is controlled to obtain suitable mechanical properties.For outer panels such as fender,the combination of low yield strength,high tensile strength and deep-drawability were realized by controlling the distribution of NbC and precipitation free zone.The other steel,developed for chassis parts such as lower arm,utilizes extremely fine interphase precipitation to obtain high yield strength and excellent hole expansionability.Both steels have contributed to the reduction of weight in car body.