Anisotropic and temperature-dependent growth mechanism of S-phase precipitates in Al-Cu-Mg alloy in relation with GPB zones

By employing atomic-resolution imaging and first principles energy calculations, the growth behavior of S-phase precipitates in a high strength A1-Cu-Mg alloy was investigated. It is demonstrated that the nucleation and growth of the S-phase precipitate are rather anisotropic and temperature-dependent companying with low dimensional phase transformation. There are actually two types of Guinier-Preston （GP） zones that determine the formation mechanism of S-phase at high aging temperatures higher than 180 ℃. One is the precursors of the S-phase itself, the other is the structural units or the precursors of the well-known Guinier-Preston-Bagaryatsky （GPB） zones. At high temperatures the later GPB zone units may form around S-phase precipitate and cease its growth in the width direction, leading to the formation of rod-like S-phase crystals; whereas at low temperatures the S-phase precipitates develop without the interference with GPB zones, resulting in S-phase orecioitates with lath-like momhology.

Microstructure of Mg-8Zn-4Al-1Ca aged alloy

The microstructure of Mg-8Zn-4Al-1Ca aged alloy was investigated by TEM and HRTEM. The results show that the hardening produced in the Mg-8Zn-4Al-1Ca alloy is considerably higher than that in the Mg-8Zn-4A1 alloy. A dense dispersion of disc-like Ca2Mg6Zn3 precipitates are formed in Mg-8Zn-4Al-1Ca alloy aged at 160 ℃ for 16 h. In addition, the lattice distortions, honeycomb-looking Moir＆#233; fringes, edge dislocations and dislocation loop also exist in the microstructure. The precipitates of alloy aged at 160 ℃ for 48 h are coarse disc-like and fine dispersed grainy. When the alloy is subjected to aging at 160 ℃ for 227 h, the microstructure consists of numerous MgZn2 precipitates and Ca2Mg6Zn3 precipitates. All the analyses show that Ca is a particularly effective trace addition in improving the age-hardening and postponing the formation of MgZn2 precipitates in Mg-8Zn-4Al alloy aged at 160 ℃.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of extruded Mg-8.5Gd-2.3Y-1.8Ag-0.4Zr alloy

The microstructure, age hardening behavior and mechanical properties of an Mg-8.5Gd-2.3Y-1.8Ag-0.4Zr alloy prepared by casting and hot extrusion techniques were investigated. The solution-treated （T4 temper） alloys were extruded at 400, 450 and 500 °C with an extrusion ratio of 10：1, respectively. Optimized mechanical properties were obtained by extrusion at 400 °C followed by T5 treatment under the combined effects of grain refinement and precipitation strengthening. The alloy exhibits a grain size of about 5.0 μm, initial and peak microhardness of HV 109 and HV 129, respectively. The tensile yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and elongation at room temperature are 391 MPa, 430 MPa and 5.2%, respectively.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of high strength Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys used for oil drill pipes

Three Al?Zn?Mg?Cu alloys used for oil drill pipes (Alloy A: Al?6.9Zn?2.3Mg?1.7Cu?0.3Mn?0.17Cr; Alloy B: Al?8.0Zn?2.3Mg?2.6Cu?0.2Zr, Alloy C: Al?8.0Zn?2.3Mg?1.8Cu?0.18Zr) were studied by hardness tests, tensile tests and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that the ultimate tensile strength, yield strength and elongation for Alloys A, B and C are 736 MPa, 695.5 MPa and 7%; 711 MPa, 674 MPa and 12.5%; 740.5 MPa, 707.5 MPa and 13%, respectively after solid solution treatment ((450 °C, 2 h)+(470 °C, 1 h)) followed by aging at 120 °C for 12 h. The dominant strengthening phases in Alloy A are GPII zone andη′ phase, the main precipitate in Alloy B isη′ phase, and the main precipitates in Alloy C are GPI zone, GPII zone andη′ phase, which are the reason for better comprehensive properties of Alloy C. The increase of zinc content leads to the improvement of the strength. The increase of copper content improves the elongation but slightly decreases the strength. Large second-phase particles formed by the increase in the manganese content induce a decrease in the elongation of alloys.

In situ thermomechanical processing to avoid grain boundary precipitation and strength-ductility loss of age hardening alloys

To avoid grain boundary(GB) precipitation during aging, a new strategy of in situ thermomechanical processing for age hardening alloys was proposed. Specifically, high-density nanoscale precipitates were introduced into ultrafine grain(UFG) interiors of 7075 Al alloy by equal-channel-angular(ECAP) processing at 250 ℃ for 8 passes, thus avoiding GB precipitation. Tensile test results indicated that the UFG 7075 Al alloy exhibits superior mechanical properties(yield strength of 350 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 500 MPa, uniform elongation of 18% and tensile ductility of 19%) compared with the UFG 1050 Al counterpart(yield strength of 170 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 180 MPa, uniform elongation of 2.5% and tensile ductility of 7%). Fracture surface morphology studies revealed numerous homogeneous micro shear bands in necking shrinkage areas of both UFG 7075 Al and 1050 Al alloys, which are controlled by cooperative GB sliding. Moreover, the introduction of nanoscale precipitates in UFG 7075 Al matrix weakened the tendency of shear fracture, resulting in a higher tensile ductility and more homogeneous deformation. Different from the GB precipitation during postmortem aging, in situ thermomechanical treatment dynamically formed GBs after precipitation, thus avoiding precipitation on GBs.

铍青铜材料的热处理

铍青铜是一种典型的固溶时效强化合金，正确的选择热处理工艺，对铍青铜零件的加工成形和机械性能有着决定性的作用，本文主要阐述了热处理最佳工艺的选择及工艺参数对材料性能的影响。