Aging behavior and mechanical properties of 6013 aluminum alloy processed by severe plastic deformation

Structural features, aging behavior, precipitation kinetics and mechanical properties of a 6013 Al–Mg–Si aluminum alloy subjected to equal channel angular pressing （ECAP） at different temperatures were comparatively investigated with that in conventional static aging by quantitative X-ray diffraction （XRD） measurements, differential scanning calorimetry （DSC） and tensile tests. Average grain sizes measured by XRD are in the range of 66-112 nm while the average dislocation density is in the range of 1.20×10^14-1.70×10^14 m^-2 in the deformed alloy. The DSC analysis reveals that the precipitation kinetics in the deformed alloy is much faster as compared with the peak-aged sample due to the smaller grains and higher dislocation density developed after ECAP. Both the yield strength （YS） and ultimate tensile strength （UTS） are dramatically increased in all the ECAP samples as compared with the undeformed counterparts. The maximum strength appears in the samples ECAP treated at room temperature and the maximum YS is about 1.6 times that of the statically peak-aged sample. The very high strength in the ECAP alloy is suggested to be related to the grain size strengthening and dislocation strengthening, as well as the precipitation strengthening contributing from the dynamic precipitation during ECAP.

Numerical simulation of ductile fracture behavior for aluminum alloy sheet under cyclic plastic deformation

A numerical analysis of mechanical behavior of aluminum alloy sheet under cyclic plastic deformation was investigated.Forming limit at fracture was derived from Cockcroft-Latham ductile damage criterion.The strain path of bending center of incremental roller hemming could be accepted as a kind of plane strain bending deformation process.Incremental rope roller hemming could be used to alleviate ductile fracture behavior by changing the stress state of the hemming-effected area.SEM observation on the fracture surface indicates that cyclic plastic deformation affects ductile fracture mechanism.

Structure,strength and superplasticity of ultrafine-grained 1570C aluminum alloy subjected to different thermomechanical processing routes based on severe plastic deformation

A comparative study of the structure and mechanical behavior of an Al-5 Mg-0.18 Mn-0.2 Sc-0.08 Zr-0.01 Fe-0.01 Si(wt.%)alloy ingot subjected to multidirectional isothermal forging(MIF)to a strain of 12 or equal-channel angular pressing(ECAP)to a strain of 10 at 325℃,and subsequent warm and cold rolling(WR and CR)at 325 and 20℃,was performed.The results showed that the MIF process of ultrafine-grained structure with a(sub)grain size dUFG=2μm resulted in enhanced room-temperature ductility and superplastic elongation up to 2800%.Further grain refinement under WR as well as development of a heavily-deformed microstructure with high dislocation density by subsequent CR resulted in a yield/ultimate tensile strength increase from 235/360 MPa after MIF to 315/460 and 400/515 MPa after WR and CR,respectively.Simultaneously,WR led to improved superplastic elongation up to 4000%,while after CR the elongation remained sufficiently high(up to 1500%).Compared with MIF,ECAP resulted in more profound grain refinement(dUFG=1μm),which promoted higher strength and superplastic properties.However,this effect smoothed down upon WR,ensuring equal properties of the processed sheets.CR of the ECAPed alloy,in contrast,led to higher strengthening and slightly better superplastic behavior than those after CR following MIF.

Construction and solution of strain model along thickness of aluminum alloy plate under plastic deformation

A thickness strain model of aluminium alloy plate under plastic deformation,based on thin plate assumption was proposed.It is found that when ratio of stress fractions is constant during in-plane loading,ratios of strain components under various loading conditions are linearly related and these points of ratios form a η-η line.Under these simple loadings,strains in thickness direction can be easily calculated by the η-η line equation without integral and differential work.When the plate is under more complicated loading conditions,the thickness can be computed by the proposed optimization and piecewise calculation model.Validation computations indicate that the relative error of the results of the presented model is less than 0.75% compared with the proven theories and FE simulation.Therefore,the developed model can be applied to engineering calculation,e.g.pre-stretching analysis of aerospace aluminium thick plate,with acceptable accuracy.

A new model to describe effect of plastic deformation on elastic modulus of aluminum alloy

In order to improve the prediction capability of spring-back in aluminum sheet metal forming, the influence of the plastic deformation on elastic modulus is considered when the material undergoes a large plastic deformation. The present work focused on establishing a new model to accurately describe the relation of elastic modulus and plastic deformation. The tensile tests were performed to investigate the influence of plastic deformation on elastic modulus at low strain rate. Two different aluminum sheets were used, AA2024-T3 and LY12-CZ, and the thickness of sheet metals was 1.3 mm and 2.0 mm, respectively. In order to overcome the drawback, which is directly measuring the slope of tension curve to obtain elastic modulus, an extrapolation method was adopted. The proposal macroscopic piecewise sinusoidal function can accurately model the elastic modulus variation.

Strengthening of aluminium alloy 7005 through imposition of severe plastic deformation supplemented by different ageing treatments

Strengthening of aluminium alloys 7xxx through the imposition of severe plastic deformation supplemented by ageing treatments is a challenge due to the limited workability of these alloys in cold deformation regimes.This study aims to comprehensively investigate the strengthening of aluminium alloy 7005 through the imposition of severe plastic deformation supplemented by two different ageing treatments:pre-deformation artificial ageing or postdeformation natural ageing.For this purpose,microstructure evolutions of the alloy processed through mentioned procedures were studied using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy while the alloy strengthening was evaluated using Vickers hardness measurement.Results show that a superlative strengthening is obtained through the imposition of severe plastic deformation supplemented by post-deformation natural ageing.For instance,the yield strength of the alloy increases to more than 400 MPa,about one-third greater than the counterpart amount after the usual T6 treatment.This superlative strength mainly occurs due to refinement of grains,an increase of dislocation density and an increase of volume fraction of the precipitates that appeared during natural ageing.Considering the applied models,it is inferred that the increase of volume fraction of precipitates that appeared during natural ageing has a determinative role in the strengthening of the alloy.

Processing map and hot deformation behavior of squeeze cast 6082 aluminum alloy

The hot deformation behavior and microstructure evolution of 6082 aluminum alloy fabricated through squeeze casting(SC)under different pressures were studied.The alloy was subjected to hot compression tests and 3D hot processing maps were established.The microstructure evolution was studied by optical microscope(OM),scanning electron microscope(SEM),and electron backscattered diffraction(EBSD).It is found that more dynamic recrystallization(DRX)grains are generated during the deformation of the specimen fabricated under higher SC pressure.At high temperature the effect of SC pressure on microstructure evolution weakens due to the dissolution of second phase particles.In addition,uneven second phase particles in specimens fabricated under higher SC pressure compressed with low temperature and middle strain rate would result in flow localization instability.Finally,the optimum deformation conditions for the 6082 aluminum alloy fabricated by SC were obtained at the temperatures of 430−500℃ and the strain rates of 0.01−1 s^(−1).

Significant improvements in mechanical properties of AA5083 aluminum alloy using dual equal channel lateral extrusion

Dual equal channel lateral extrusion (DECLE), as a severe plastic deformation (SPD) process, was employed forimproving the mechanical properties of AA5083 aluminum alloy. Several experiments were conducted to study the influences of theroute type, namely A and B, and pass number on mechanical properties of the material. The process was conducted up to 6 passeswith decreasing process temperature, specifically from 573 to 473 K. Supplementary experiments involving metallography, hardnessand tensile tests were carried out in order to evaluate the effects of the process variables. The hardness measurements exhibitedreasonably uniform distributions within the product with a maximum increase of 64% via a 6-pass operation. The yield and ultimatestrengths also amended 107% and 46%, respectively. These significant improvements were attributed to the severe shear deformationof grains and decreasing pass temperature, which intensified the grain refinement. TEM images showed an average grain sizereduction from 100 μm for the annealed billet to 200 nm after 6 passes of DECLE. Finally, the experimental findings for routes A andB were compared and discussed and some important conclusions were drawn.

Numerical analysis of joint temperature evolution during friction stir welding based on plastic deformation heat

3D numerical model for friction stir welding （FSW） was developed by using ABAQUS software considering the plastic deformation heat. Effects of the rotation and welding speeds on the temperature field of FSW 2024-73 aluminum alloy were systematicaUy investigated. The temperature measurement was performed to validate the reliability of the model. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experiments. Results show that changing the rotation speed has no influence on the time for reaching the peak temperature at certain point in the workpiece at a constant welding speed. While increasing the welding speed has significant effect on the time for reaching the peak temperature but the value of peak temperature changes little.

Influence of Mechanical Behavior between the Grains on Stress Fluctuation of Aluminum Alloy Thick Plate

The research on fluctuation and inhomogeneity of internal stress of aluminum alloy thick plate is theoretical and technological base for stress control technology. By using X-ray diffraction technique and mechanical test method, aluminum alloy with typical fine sub-grains, coarse recrystallized grains, and second phase was analyzed; the interactive mechanical model between grains was built for analysis of variation of internal stress within the local micro structure by imitating the actual distribution of grains. The experimental result shows that the mechanical model can effectively explain the reason for fluctuation of microscopic stress, which also proves that the inhomogeneous distribution of metal organization is the cause for the complex distribution of microscopic stress. The model can well describe stress distribution of thick plate caused by thermal deformation. Besides, it well describes mechanism of stress fluctuation.

Microstructure evolution and dislocation configurations in nanostructured Al-Mg alloys processed by high pressure torsion

Microstructure evolution and dislocation configurations in nanostructured Al–Mg alloys processed by high pressure torsion （HPT） were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy （TEM） and high-resolution TEM （HRTEM）. The results show that the grains less than 100 nm have sharp grain boundaries （GBs） and are completely free of dislocations. In contrast, a high density of dislocation as high as 1017 m^-2 exists within the grains larger than 200 nm and these larger grains are usually separated into subgrains and dislocation cells. The dislocations are 60° full dislocations with Burgers vectors of 1/2〈110〉and most of them appear as dipoles and loops. The microtwins and stacking faults （SFs） formed by the Shockley partials from the dissociation of both the 60° mixed dislocation and 0° screw dislocation in ultrafine grains were simultaneously observed by HRTEM in the HPT Al–Mg alloys. These results suggest that partial dislocation emissions, as well as the activation of partial dislocations could also become a deformation mechanism in ultrafine-grained aluminum during severe plastic deformation. The grain refinement mechanism associated with the very high local dislocation density, the dislocation cells and the non-equilibrium GBs, as well as the SFs and microtwins in the HPT Al-Mg alloys were proposed.

Deformation and heat treatment ability of three-layer 6009/7050/6009 Al alloy clad slab prepared by direct-chill casting

Three-layer6009/7050/6009aluminum alloy clad slab was fabricated by an innovative direct-chill casting process.To study the response of the clad slab to plastic deformation and heat treatments,homogenization annealing,hot rolling,solution and aging were successively performed on the as-cast6009/7050/6009clad samples.The results revealed that excellent metallurgical bonding between7050alloy layer and6009alloy layer was achieved under optimal parameters.The clad ratio obviously decreased when the annealed sample was rolled to55%hot reduction level,and then changed slightly with further rolling.Furthermore,the content of rodlike Zn-rich phases increased significantly in7050alloy layer in the homogenized clad samples after rolling at55%,65%and75%hot reduction levels,and the higher level of hot reduction resulted in narrower diffusion layer.Subsequent solution and aging significantly improved the hardness in7050alloy layer,interfaces and6009alloy layers of the rolled samples except for the thin side for the75%hot reduction sample.

Microstructural evolution of aluminum alloy during friction stir welding under different tool rotation rates and cooling conditions

The microstructural evolution during friction stir welding(FSW) has long been studied only using one single welding parameter. Conclusions were usually made based on the final microstructure observation and hence were one-sided. In this study, we used the "take-action" technique to freeze the microstructure of an Al-Mg-Si alloy during FSW, and then systematically investigated the microstructures along the material flow path under different tool rotation rates and cooling conditions. A universal characteristic of the microstructural evolution including four stages was identified, i.e. dynamic recovery(DRV), dislocation multiplication, new grain formation and grain growth. However, the dynamic recrystallization(DRX)mechanisms in FSW depended on the welding condition. For the air cooling condition, the DRX mechanisms were related to continuous DRX associated with subgrain rotation and geometric DRX at high and low rotation rates, respectively. Under the water cooling condition, we found a new DRX mechanism associated with the progressive lattice rotation resulting from the pinning of the second-phase particles.Based on the analyses of the influencing factors of grain refinement, it was clearly demonstrated that the delay of DRV and DRX was the efficient method to refine the grains during FSW. Besides, ultra-high strain rate and a short duration at high temperatures were the key factors to produce an ultrafine-grained material.

High temperature deformation behavior and mechanism of spray deposited Al-Fe-V-Si alloy

Al-8.5Fe-1.3V-1.7Si alloy was prepared by spray deposition and hot extrusion. The high temperature plastic deformation behavior of the spray deposited Al-8.5Fe-1.3V-1.7Si alloy was investigated in the strain rate range of 2.77×10-4-2.77×10-2 s-1 and temperature range of 350-550 ℃ by Gleebe-1500 thermomechanical simulator. The mechanism of the high temperature plastic deformation of the alloys was studied by TEM associated with the analysis of Rosler-Artz physical constitutive relationship based on the model of dislocation detaching from dispersion particles. The results show that Al-Fe-V-Si alloy has low strain hardening coefficient, and even exhibits work softening. Stress exponent n and activation energy Q were calculated based on Zener-Hollomon relation and Rosler-Artz physical model respectively. The Rosler-Artz physical model can give a good prediction for the abnormal behavior of high temperature deformation of spray deposited Al-Fe-V-Si alloy, that is, n larger than 8 and Q higher than 142 kJ/mol. However, because of the highly refined microstructure, the high temperature deformation behavior of spray deposited Al-Fe-V-Si alloy deviates more or less from the law predicted by using Rosler-Artz physical model.

Special nanostructures in Al-Mg alloys subjected to high pressure torsion

Deformation twins and stacking faults were observed in nanostructure A1-Mg alloys subjected to high pressure torsion. These observations are surprising because deformation twinnings have never been observed in their coarse-grained counterparts under normal conditions. Experimental evidences are introduced on non-equilibrium grain boundaries, deformation twinnings and partial dislocation emissions from grain boundaries. Some of these features can be explained by the results reported from molecular-dynamics simulations of pure FCC metals. Special emphasis is laid on the recent observations of high density hexagonal and rhombic shaped nanostructures with an average size of 3 nm in the A1-Mg alloys processed by high pressure torsion. A possible formation process of these nanostructures is proposed based on molecular-dynamics simulations.

铝合金塑性成形粗晶现象的研究进展

铝合金经过热塑性变形或者塑性变形+热处理后,可能发生晶粒异常长大而形成粗晶。粗晶会大幅降低构件的力学性能、耐腐蚀性能和抗疲劳性能,因此必须得到有效控制。对铝合金塑性成形粗晶的研究主要集中在2×××、6×××、7×××系热处理可强化型铝合金以及5×××系热处理不可强化型铝合金,研究内容已经覆盖塑性成形工艺、热处理制度、微观组织演变、数值仿真模拟等方面。为了明晰铝合金塑性成形构件粗晶现象的研究现状,为相关研究提供参考,对铝合金塑性成形粗晶现象的研究进展进行了梳理。首先,分析了材料成分、变形温度、变形速度、固溶温度、固溶时间和模具结构对晶粒异常长大的影响;其次,从晶粒取向分布、应变诱导储能和第二相钉扎作用的角度总结了晶粒异常长大的机理;再次,归纳了包括改变坯料初始状态、合理的锻造技术和中间形变热处理等有效抑制粗晶产生的方法;最后对未来的研究方向进行了展望。

超声喷丸对6061铝合金表面性能及拉伸性能影响

为研究超声喷丸对6061铝合金表面性能及拉伸性能的影响。采用光学显微镜、三维形貌仪、显微硬度仪、电子拉伸试验机、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)分析不同喷丸时间下6061铝合金试样的微观组织、表面形貌、表面粗糙度、显微硬度、拉伸性能及拉伸断口形貌。喷丸处理后,试样表面发生塑性变形,晶粒得到细化,表面显微硬度由105Hv增加到144.1Hv,硬化层厚度约500μm,表面粗糙度随喷丸时间先增加后减小;相比于未喷丸试样,喷丸处理后试样的拉伸性能有不同程度改善。试验结果表明,超声喷丸处理能有效改善6061铝合金的表面性能和拉伸性能,不同时间的喷丸处理效果存在差异,喷丸时间为180s时,试样拉伸性能较好。

无模无铆连接接头的塑性变形行为及工艺参数研究

为克服传统无铆连接工艺模具结构复杂、对中要求高等不足,提出了一种新型无模无铆连接工艺,并针对2 mm厚AA5052-H32铝合金板材开展了无模无铆接头塑性变形行为及工艺参数的研究。通过单轴拉伸实验和参数拟合获取了铝合金材料模型,并以此为材料数据建立了无模无铆接头成形过程有限元模型。此外,还分析了成形过程中板料的等效塑性应变、等效应力和材料流动情况,研究了冲头工艺参数对接头塑性变形行为的影响规律。实验与仿真结果表明,所建立的有限元模型具有较好的精度,[JP3]可以有效预测接头的成形过程,接头的颈部厚度、互锁值和凸起高度的预测误差均在10%以内,分别为9.4%、1.8%和0.1%;冲头直径、冲头圆角半径、冲头高度和冲头拔模斜度4种冲头工艺参数对接头的塑性变形行为和最终的接头形状有重要影响。

汽车车身铝合金3层板自冲铆连接性能研究

采用金相显微镜、电子背散射衍射、拉伸-剪切试验、剥离试验和模拟分析,对汽车车身铝合金3层板的自冲铆连接性能进行了研究。结果表明,铆接速度对3层5182铝合金板材搭接头的互锁值和残余底厚产生显著影响,当铆接速度为270mm·s^(-1)时,接头具有最大的互锁值0.29mm和最小的残余底厚0.17mm。选取互锁值最大的试样作为研究对象,在拉伸-剪切和剥离试验中,发现试样的失效方式均为上层板从下层板中拉脱,其平均剪切峰值载荷可以达到3.05k N,而平均剥离峰值载荷仅为0.67k N,接头的峰值剪切载荷远大于峰值剥离载荷。由于铆接接头的力学性能受接头附近材料组织特征影响较大,对接头进行显微组织和电子背散射衍射分析,可以看到上层板越靠近铆钉附近区域的材料变形量越大,中间层板变形较为剧烈,上层板和中间层板晶粒均被拉长变形,但中间层板形成了明显的纤维状组织,而底层板的塑性变形程度小于上层和中间层板,仅在靠近铆钉处晶粒呈现明显的变形组织特征,而其他区域的组织则为等轴晶粒。