Re-dissolution and re-precipitation behavior of nano-precipitated phase in Al-Cu-Mg alloy subjected to rapid cold stamping

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy(TEM),X-ray diffractometry(XRD),energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS)and hardness test were used to study the re-dissolution and re-precipitation behavior of nano-precipitates of the spray-formed fine-grained Al-Cu-Mg alloy during rapid cold stamping deformation.Results show that the extruded Al-Cu-Mg alloy undergoes obvious re-dissolution and re-precipitation during the rapid cold-stamping deformation process.The plasticθ′phase has a slower re-dissolution rate than the brittle S′phase.The long strip-shaped S′phases and the acicularθ′phases in Al-Cu-Mg alloy after three passes of cold stamping basically re-dissolved to form a supersaturated solid solution.A large number of fine granular balanceθphases precipitate after four passes of rapid cold-stamping deformation.Rapid cold stamping deformation causes the S′phase andθ′phase to break and promote the nano-precipitate phases to re-dissolve.The high distortion free energy of the matrix promotes the precipitation of the equilibriumθphase,and the hardness of the alloy obviously increases from HB 55 to HB 125 after the rapid cold stamping process.

Nitride-inclusion characterization in lightweight steel and re-precipitation behavior of AlN during heat treatment:effect of Al content

The composition,morphology,size,and number of inclusions in Fe-22Mn-xAl-0.7C(x=0.5%,5.2%,and 10.5%)lightweight steels after smelting and heat treatment experiments are characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy from both 2D and 3D perspectives.The inclusions are classified into eight categories according to chemistry and morphology.For the steel sample with a low Al content(0.5%),the inclusions are MnS,AlN-MnS,and Al_(2)O_(3)-MnS,among which Al_(2)O_(3)-MnS is the primary type.With the increase in Al content in the steel sample(to 5.2%),the populations of AlN and AlN-MnS inclusions of 1-3μm in diameter increase.A further increase in Al content(to 10.5%)leads to a significant decrease in the amount of AlN inclusions of 1-3μm in diameter,and an increase in the amount of AlN-MnS inclusions.The precipitation behavior during the phase transformation is also studied by FactSage 8.0 thermodynamic software,and a precipitation mechanism is proposed based on the calculation results.During the heat treatment,AlN inclusions re-precipitate out,due to the interactions between Al and dissolved N in the steel matrix.However,AlN inclusions cannot grow large because of unfavorable kinetic conditions.The re-precipitation phenomenon of AlN is predominant under low Al and high N conditions but not at high Al cases.

Effect of flame rectification on corrosion property of Al-Zn-Mg alloy

The corrosion resistance of Al？Zn？Mg alloy subjected to different times in flame rectification was investigated based on the exfoliation corrosion test. The results indicate that the flame rectification deteriorates the exfoliation corrosion resistance of Al？Zn？Mg alloy. The corrosion resistance of Al-Zn-Mg alloy is ranked in the following order： base metal〉two times〉three times〉one time of flame rectification. The exfoliation corrosion behavior was discussed based on the transformation of precipitates at grain boundaries and matrix. With increasing the number of times in flame rectification, the precipitate-free zones disappeared and the precipitates experienced dissolution and re-precipitation. The sample was seriously corroded after one time of flame rectification, because the precipitates at grain boundaries are more continuous than those in other samples.