Effectiveness of Sodium Silicate on the Corrosion Protection of AA7075-T6 Aluminium Alloy in Sodium Chloride Solution

The influence of sodium silicate on the corrosion behaviour of aluminium alloy 7075-T6 in 0.1 M sodium chloride solution was studied by open circuit potential (OCP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to characterize the AA7075-T6 surface. Silicate can significantly reduce corrosion deterioration and the inhibition efficiency increases with the concentration of Na2SiO3. The corrosion inhibition mechanism involves the formation of a protective film over the alloy surface by adsorption of aluminosilicate anions from solution, as has also been suggested by others in literature.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of ceramic coatings formed on 6063 aluminium alloy by micro-arc oxidation

The microstructure and mechanical properties of ceramic coatings formed on 6063 aluminium alloy obtained in silicate-,borate- and aluminate-based electrolyte without and with nanoadditive Al2O3 and TiO2 by micro-arc oxidation（MAO） were studied by scanning electron microscopy（SEM）,energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy（EDS）,X-ray diffraction（XRD）,microhardness and friction-abrasion tests,respectively.SEM results show that coatings with nanoadditive have less porosities than those without nanoadditive.XRD results reveal that nanoadditive-containing coatings contain more oxides compared with nanoadditive-free coatings in all cases,which are consistent with the EDS analysis.Mechanical properties tests show that nanoadditive Al2O3-containing coatings have higher microhardness values compared with the other coatings obtained in silicate-,borate- and aluminate-based electrolyte.On the other hand,nanoadditive has a positive effect on improving the wearing-resistance of MAO coatings in all cases.Furthermore,the borate-MAO coatings present an inferior anti-wearing property compared with the silicate- and aluminate-MAO coatings for both the nanoadditive-free and nanoadditive-containing coatings.

Shear deformation and plate shape control of hot-rolled aluminium alloy thick plate prepared by asymmetric rolling process

Asymmetric rolling （ASR）, as one of severe plastic deformation （SPD） methods to make ultra-fine materials with enhanced performance is mainly used to prepare foil and thin strip. The asymmetrical rolling was achieved by adjusting the diameters of the upper roll and the bottom roll and was used to prepare hot-rolled thick plate of 5182 aluminium alloy. The shear deformation and plate shape control were experimentally studied. The experimental results show that asymmetrical rolling has a significant effect on metal deformation stream and can somehow refine microstructure and improve the uniformity of microstructure and properties. The asymmetrical rolling process can also reduce the rolling force. However, bending of rolling plate often happens during asymmetrical rolling process. The factors affecting the bending were discussed.

Visualization and simulation of plastic material flow in friction stir welding of 2024 aluminium alloy plates

Thin copper sheets as marker material were embedded into weld path of 2024 aluminium alloy plates and their final position after friction stir welding was examined by metallographic techniques. Referring to the visualized material flow patterns, a three-dimensional model was developed to conduct the numerical simulation of the temperature profile and plastic material flow in friction stir welding. The calculated velocity contour of plastic flow in close proximity of the tool is generally consistent with the visualized results. As the tool rotation speed increases at a constant tool travel speed, the material flow near the pin gets stronger. The predicted shape and size of the weld nugget zone match with the experimentally measured ones.

Fatigue behavior and life prediction of A7N01 aluminium alloy welded joint

Fatigue characteristics of A7N01 aluminium alloy welded joint were investigated and a fatigue crack initiation life-based model was proposed. The difference of fatigue crack initiation life among base metal, weld metal and heat affected zone (HAZ) is slight. Furthermore, the ratio of fatigue crack initiation life (Ni) to fatigue life to failure(Nf) is a material dependent parameter, 26.32%, 40.21% and 60.67% for base metal, HAZ and weld metal, respectively. Total fatigue life predicted using the presented model is in good agreement with the experimental data and that using Basquin’s model. The observation results of fatigue fracture surfaces, using scanning electron microscope (SEM), demonstrate that fatigue crack initiates from smooth surface due to welding process for weld metal, blowhole in HAZ causes fatigue crack initiation, and the crushed second phase particles play an important part in fatigue crack initiation in base metal.

Effect of pre-stretching on microstructure of aged 2524 aluminium alloy

The effects of pre-stretching following solution treatment on the hardness and microstructures of aged 2524 aluminium alloy at 170 ℃ were studied.Ageing hardness values under different pre-stretching conditions were measured,and the corresponding microstructures were characterized by transmission electron microscopy（TEM）.The results show that compared with unstretched samples,the peak hardness is increased and the time to reach the peak hardness is reduced with the increase of pre-strain;the number density of S（Al2CuMg） phases is increased and the length is shortened in pre-stretched alloy.Additionally,the number density of GPB zones is decreased with the increase of pre-strain in peak-aged samples.When the pre-strain is up to 5%,S phases play the predominant contribution to the peak hardness.Fine and uniformly distributed S phases lead to a higher hardness than GPB zones together with S phases existing in conventionally aged 2524 alloy.

Effect of electromagnetic field on microstructure and macrosegregation of flat ingot of 2524 aluminium alloy

Low frequency electromagnetic casting （LFEC） process with the application of an induction coil outside the conventional direct chill （DC） casting mould was used to prepare the flat ingot of 2524 alloy and the effect of electromagnetic field on the microstructure and macrosegregation of this alloy was systematically studied. The results show that the fiat ingot prepared by the LFEC process has a finer and more uniform as-cast microstructure and the grain morphology is transformed from dendrite and rosette-like to equiaxed structure. The LFEC process also shows a significant effect on macrosegregation, and with the application of electromagnetic field during casting process, the segregation in the centre of the ingot is obviously reduced. The mechanism of these effects was also discussed.

Effect of post weld heat treatment on properties of variable polarity TIG welded AA2219 aluminium alloy joints

AA2219 aluminium alloy joints were fabricated by variable polarity tungsten inert gas （VPTIG） welding process and the effects of post weld heat treatment （PWHT） on the tensile properties, microstructure and fatigue behaviour of the welded joints were investigated. The VPTIG welding process was adopted because it could meet the need of cathode cleaning and meanwhile it could reduce the deterioration of tungsten electrode furthest. The welded samples were divided into as-welded （AW） sample and PWHT sample. The PWHT method used on the samples was solution treatment （535 ℃, 30 rain）, water quenching and artificial aging （175 ℃, 12 h）. The experimental results show that, compared with the AW samples, the microstructure characteristics and mechanical properties of the AA2219 joints after PWHT were significantly improved. The improvement of yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and fatigue strength are 42.6%, 43.1% and 18.4%, respectively.

CORROSION BEHAVIOR OF A ZIRCONIUM-TITANIUM BASED PHOSPHONIC ACID CONVERSION COATING ON AA6061 ALUMINIUM ALLOY

The conversion coating was formed by dipping AA6061 in a fluorotitanate/zirconate acid and amino trimethylene phosphonic acid （ATMP） solution at room temperature. The formation process and the anti-corrosion performance of the conversion coating were investigated using electrochemical test and salt spray test （SST）, respectively. The electrochemical test shows that the Zr/Ti and ATMP coating improves the corrosion resistance of AA6061 as good as the chromate （VI） coating. But the results of SST show that the corrosion resistance of Zr/Ti and ATMP coating is not as good as the chromate （VI） coating. The corrosion area is less than 2% after 72 h.

Heat treatment of 7xxx series aluminium alloys—Some recent developments

The 7xxx series alloys are heat treatable wrought aluminium alloys based on the Al-Zn-Mg（-Cu） system. They are widely used in high-performance structural aerospace and transportation applications. Apart from compositional, casting and thermo-mechanical processing effects, the balance of properties is also significantly influenced by the way in which the materials are heat-treated. This paper describes the effects of homogenisation, solution treatment, quenching and ageing treatments on the evolution of the microstructure and properties of some important medium to high-strength 7xxx alloys. With a focus on recent work at Monash University, where the whole processing route from homogenisation to final ageing has been studied for thick plate products, it is reported how microstructural features such as dispersoids, coarse constituent particles, fine-scale precipitates, grain structure and grain boundary characteristics can be controlled by heat treatment to achieve improved microstructure-property combinations. In particular, the paper presents methods for dissolving unwanted coarse constituent particles by controlled high- temperature treatments, quench sensitivity evaluations based on a systematic study of continuous cooling precipitation behaviour, and ageing investigations of one-, two- and three-step ageing treatments using experimental and modelling approaches, in each case, the effects on both the microstructure and the resulting properties are discussed.

DEFORMATION BEHAVIOR OF AA6063 ALUMINIUM ALLOY AFTER REMOVING FRICTION EFFECT UNDER HOT WORKING CONDITIONS

The hot deformation behavior of AA6063 aluminium alloy has been investigated by means of compression tests at temperatures between 400 and 520℃, and strain rates ranging from 2.5 to 10 s^-1. Owing to the barreling, the theoretical model on the basis of Hills general method is used to calculate the flow stress of a cylindrical specimen under uniaxial simple compression so as to consider the friction effect at the die-specimen interface. A method of evaluating the friction coefficient by combining compression tests with the finite element method is presented. The real flow behavior of AA6063 aluminium alloy can be described with sinh-Arrhenius equation. The hot deformation activation energy Q derived from the corrected stress and strain data is 232. 350 kJ/mol.

Experimental and numerical investigation on under-water friction stir welding of armour grade AA2519-T87 aluminium alloy

Friction stir welding(FSW) is a promising welding process that can join age hardenable aluminium alloys with high joint efficiency. However,the thermal cycles experienced by the material to be joined during FSW resulted in the deterioration of mechanical properties due to the coarsening and dissolution of strengthening precipitates in the thermo-mechanical affected zone(TMAZ) and heat affected zone(HAZ). Under water friction stir welding(UWFSW) is a variant of FSW process which can maintain low heat input as well as constant heat input along the weld line. The heat conduction and dissipation during UWFSW controls the width of TMAZ and HAZ and also improves the joint properties. In this investigation, an attempt has been made to evaluate the mechanical properties and microstructural characteristics of AA2519-T87 aluminium alloy joints made by FSW and UWFSW processes. Finite element analysis has been used to estimate the temperature distribution and width of TMAZ region in both the joints and the results have been compared with experimental results and subsequently correlated with mechanical properties.? 2016 China Ordnance Society. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modified constitutive model and workability of 7055 aluminium alloy in hot plastic compression

To obtain flow behavior and workability of 7055 aluminium alloy during hot deformation,hot compression tests at different temperatures and strain rates are conducted.True stress?strain curves of 7055 aluminium alloy under different conditions are obtained and the flow stress increases with ascending strain rate and descending temperature.For Arrhenius constitutive equation,each material parameter is set as a constant,which will bring forth large error for predicting flow behavior.In this work,material parameters are fitted as a function of temperature or strain rate based on experimental results and a modified constitutive equation is established for more accurate prediction of flow behavior of 7055 aluminium alloy.The effects of temperature and strain rate on power dissipation and instability are analyzed to establish a processing map of 7055 aluminium alloy.The dominant deformation mechanism for microstructure evolution at different deformation conditions can be determined and high efficiency of power dissipation may be achieved from power dissipation map.Meanwhile,proper processing parameters to avoid flow instability can be easily acquired in instability map.According to the processing map,optimized processing parameters of 7055 aluminium alloy are temperature of 673?723 K and strain rate of 0.01?0.4 s^?1,during which its efficiency of power dissipation is over 30%.Finite element method(FEM)is used to obtain optimized parameter in hot rolling process on the basis of processing map.

Effect of Pulsed Current TIG Welding Parameters on Pitting Corrosion Behaviour of AA6061 Aluminium Alloy

Medium strength aluminium alloy （Al-Mg-Si alloy） has gathered wide acceptance in the fabrication of light weight structures requiring a high strength-to weight ratio, such as transportable bridge girders, military vehicles, road tankers and railway transport systems. The preferred welding process for aluminium alloy is frequently TIG （tungsten inert gas） welding due to its comparatively easier applicability and better economy.In the case of single pass TIG welding of thinner section of this alloy, the pulsed current has been found beneficial due to its advantages over the conventional continuous current process. The use of pulsed current parameters has been found to improve the mechanical properties of the welds compared to those of continuous current welds of this alloy due to grain refinement occurring in the fusion zone. A mathematical model has been developed to predict pitting corrosion potential of pulsed current TIG welded AA6061 aluminium alloy.Factorial experimental design has been used to optimize the experimental conditions. Analysis of variance technique has been used to find out the significant pulsed current parameters. Regression analysis has been used to develop the model. Using the developed model pitting corrosion potential values have been estimated for different combinations of pulsed current parameters and the results are analyzed in detail.

Prediction and optimization of friction welding parameters for joining aluminium alloy and stainless steel

Friction welding （FW） is a process of solid state joining which is used extensively in recent years due to its advantages such as low heat input,production efficiency,ease of manufacture and environment friendliness.Friction welding can be used to join different types of ferrous metals and non-ferrous metals that cannot be welded by traditional fusion welding processes.The process parameters such as friction pressure,forging force,friction time and forging time play the major roles in determining the strength of the joints.In this investigation an attempt was made to develop an empirical relationship to predict the tensile strength of friction welded AA 6082 aluminium alloy and AISI 304 austenitic stainless steels joints,incorporating above said parameters.Response surface methodology （RSM） was applied to optimizing the friction welding process parameters to attain the maximum tensile strength of the joint.

Anodising of 2024-T3 aluminium alloy in electrolyte of sulphuric-boric-phosphoric mixed acid containing cerium salt as corrosion inhibitor

The effect of cerium salt as an inhibitor in anodising of the2024-T3aluminium alloy was studied.Scanning electronmicroscopy equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy was used to study the surface composition of the alloy before andafter surface preparation.A mixed electrolyte of10%sulphuric acid,5%boric acid and2%phosphoric acid containing0.1mol/Lcerium sulphate salt was used as the anodising electrolyte.Sealing treatment was also done in boiling water and molten stearic acid.Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and salt spray techniques were performed in order to investigate the corrosion behaviourand durability of the oxide films,respectively.It was concluded that the presence of cerium ions in anodising electrolyte resulted inthe increase in homogeneity,the rate of oxide film growth and also the thickness of the oxide layer,owing to the high oxidisingpower of cerium ion.

Effect of Process Parameters on Tensile Strength of Friction Stir Welded Cast LM6 Aluminium Alloy Joints

This paper reports the effect of friction stir welding （FSW） process parameters on tensile strength of cast LM6 aluminium alloy. Joints were made by using different combinations of tool rotation speed, welding speed and axial force each at four levels. The quality of weld zone was investigated using macrostructure and microstructure analysis. Tensile strength of the joints were evaluated and correlated with the weld zone hardness and microstructure. The joint fabricated using a rotational speed of 900 r/min, a welding speed of 75 mm/min and an axial force of 3 kN showed superior tensile strength compared with other joints. The tensile strength and microhardness of the welded joints for the optimum conditions were 166 MPa and 64.8 Hv respectively.

Mechanical and metallurgical properties of friction stir welded dissimilar joints of AZ91 magnesium alloy and AA 6082-T6 aluminium alloy

In the present research work,AZ91 magnesium alloy and AA6082-T6 aluminium alloy were joined by friction stir welding process.The comparison of microstructure and mechanical properties between different joints by varying the different materials on advance and retreating sides were mainly studied.Four different welds have been prepared to find the material mixing between the similar and dissimilar joints.The joint interfaces of the welds have been investigated by employing an optical microscope and scanning electron microscope.When Mg was placed on advancing side(AS),more aluminium content was soluble in nugget zone than the case where Mg was placed on the retreating side(RS).Thin intermetallic layer in the joint interface of Mg/Al and thick intermetallic layer with poor adhesion of the aluminium and magnesium have been observed in the dissimilar joints varying the sides.The highest UTS of 172.3 MPa was found for Mg-Al when Mg was placed on AS and lower UTS of 156.25 MPa was obtained when Mg was placed on RS.Hardness of 86 Hv and 89 Hv were observed in the Stir zone for the dissimilar AZ91 Mg alloy and AA6082-T6 Al alloy when AZ91Mg alloy was placed on the AS and on the RS respectively.Fractography was also carried out to find the mode of failure.

Kinetic behaviour of TiB particles in Al melt and their effect on grain refinement of aluminium alloys

Solidification experiments were carried out to investigate the kinetic behaviour of TiB2 particles in Al melt and their effect on the grain refinement of commercially-pure Al.A model was proposed to describe the kinetic behaviour of TiB2 particles during the whole process from the addition of TiB2 to the melt to the freezing of the melt.The results indicate that TiB2 particles are not stable in Al melt.They may dissolve and coarsen during the holding period and grow during the cooling period of the melt.The kinetic behaviour of TiB2 particles in the melt has a great influence on their number density and the grain refinement.Solute Ti addition can suppress the dissolution,Ostwald ripening and growth behaviours of TiB2 particles.

Fatigue life prediction of aviation aluminium alloy based on quantitative pre-corrosion damage analysis

A new method of quantitative pre-corrosion damage of aviation aluminium(Al-Cu-Mg)alloy was proposed,whichregarded corrosion pits as equivalent semi-elliptical surface cracks.An analytical model was formulated to describe the entire regionof fatigue crack propagation(FCP).The relationship between the model parameters and the fatigue testing data obtained in thepre-corroded experiments,crack propagation experiments and S-N fatigue experiments was discussed.The equivalent crack sizesand the FCP equation were used to calculate the fatigue life through numerical integration based on MATLAB/GUI.The resultsconfirm that the sigmoidal curve fitted by the FCP model expresses the whole change from Region I to Region III.In addition,thepredicted curves indicate the actual trend of fatigue life and the conservative result of fatigue limit.Thus,the new analytical methodcan estimate the residual life of pre-corroded Al-Cu-Mg alloy,especially smooth specimens.