Assessing efficacy of standard impregnation techniques on die-cast aluminum alloys using X-ray micro-CT

Utilizing lightweight Al alloys in various industrial applications requires achieving precise pressure tightness and leak requirements.Vacuum pressure impregnation(VPI)with thermosetting polymers is commonly used to address leakage defects in die-cast Al alloys.In this study,the efficacy of the VPI technique in sealing alloy parts was investigated using a combination of nondestructive micro X-ray computed tomography(micro XCT)and a standard leak test.The results demonstrate that the commonly used water leak test is insufficient for determining the sealing performance.Instead,micro XCT shows distinct advantages by enabling more comprehensive analysis.It reveals the presence of a low atomic number impregnates sealant within casting defects,which has low grey contrast and allows for visualizing primary leakage paths in 3D.The effective atomic number of impregnated resin is 6.75 and that of Al alloy is 13.69 by dual-energy X-ray CT.This research findings will contribute to enhancing the standard VPI process parameters and the properties of impregnating sealants to improve quality assurance for impregnation in industrial metals.

High corrosion and wear resistant electroless Ni–P gradient coatings on aviation aluminum alloy parts

A Ni–P alloy gradient coating consisting of multiple electroless Ni–P layers with various phosphorus contents was prepared on the aviation aluminum alloy. Several characterization and electrochemical techniques were used to characterize the different Ni–P coatings’ morphologies, phase structures, elemental compositions, and corrosion protection. The gradient coating showed good adhesion and high corrosion and wear resistance, enabling the application of aluminum alloy in harsh environments. The results showed that the double zinc immersion was vital in obtaining excellent adhesion (81.2 N). The optimal coating was not peeled and shredded even after bending tests with angles higher than 90°and was not corroded visually after 500 h of neutral salt spray test at 35℃. The high corrosion resistance was attributed to the misaligning of these micro defects in the three different nickel alloy layers and the amorphous structure of the high P content in the outer layer. These findings guide the exploration of functional gradient coatings that meet the high application requirement of aluminum alloy parts in complicated and harsh aviation environments.

Simulation of Dynamic Recrystallization in 7075 Aluminum Alloy Using Cellular Automaton

The evolution of microstructure during hot deformation is key to achieving good mechanical properties in aluminum alloys.We have developed a cellular automaton(CA) based model to simulate the microstructural evolution in 7075 aluminum alloy during hot deformation.Isothermal compression tests were conducted to obtain material parameters for 7075 aluminum alloy,leading to the establishment of models for dislocation density,nucleation of recrystallized grains,and grain growth.Integrating these aspects with grain topological deformation,our CA model effectively predicts flow stress,dynamic recrystallization(DRX) volume fraction,and average grain size under diverse deformation conditions.A systematic comparison was made between electron back scattered diffraction(EBSD) maps and CA model simulated under different deformation temperatures(573 to 723 K),strain rates(0.001 to 1 s^(-1)),and strain amounts(30% to 70%).These analyses indicate that large strain,high temperature,and low strain rate facilitate dynamic recrystallization and grain refinement.The results from the CA model show good accuracy and predictive capability,with experimental error within 10%.

Effect of Sc on Al_(3)Fe phase and mechanical properties of as-cast AA5052 aluminum alloy

The AA5052 aluminum alloy is widely used in automobile and aerospace manufacturing,and with the development of light-weight alloys,it is required that these materials exhibit better mechanical properties.Previous studies have demonstrated that the addition of Sc to aluminum alloys can improve both the microstructure and properties of the alloys.In this study,the effect of Sc on the Fe-rich phase and properties of the AA5052 aluminum alloy was studied by adding 0%,0.05%,0.2%,and 0.3%Sc.The results show that with the increase of Sc,the coarse needle-like Fe-rich phase gradually transforms into Chinese-script and then nearly spherical particles,reduce the size of Fe-rich phase,and refine the grain with increase of high angle grain boundaries(HAGBs).These microstructure changes enhance the strength of the AA5052 alloy through Sc addition.The ductility of the alloy is obviously improved because the addition of a lower amount of Sc changes the morphology of Fe-rich phase from needle-like into a Chinese-script,and it is subsequently reduced as a result of significant increase in HAGBs with increasing Sc content.

Influence of Non-Natural Ageing Temperature on the Microstructural Characteristics and Mechanical Properties of Cast Aluminum 6063 Alloy

This research considered the effect of non-natural aging on the microstructural characteristics and mechanical properties of as-cast aluminum 6063 alloys. The samples were developed through a sand casting process and machined into tensile and impact test samples before carrying out solution heat treatment at 550?C (0.83 Tm) on two parts of the samples while retaining one part as the control. The two parts were further divided into sets denoted A and B and were aged at 180?C (0.27 Tm) and 160?C (0.24 Tm), respectively, for 12 hours. The results showed that sample A has the optimal yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of 192 and 206 MPa, respectively. Likewise, the sample gave the highest impact strength value of about 9.63 J/mm2. The observed results were supported by the optical micrograph, which revealed that the sample has evenly dispersed precipitates in its microstructure. This is deemed responsible for the observed increase in strength of the sample.

Influence of Production Sequence of Aluminum Alloy Hot Rolling on Strip Surface Quality

With the intensification of market competition in the aluminum alloy strip processing industry,it is dif-ficult to control the mass production of the same specifications,which is bound to affect the hot rolling production.This paper studied the effect of the hot rolling order of aluminum alloy on the surface quality of strip,such as roll printing,color difference,anodic oxidation,etc.,reasonable discharge sequence and corresponding optimization measures were formulated.

Effects of Spinning Process on Intergranular Corrosion Behavior of 5A06 Aluminum Alloy

Aluminum alloy tubes were prepared by tube spinning.The intergranular and electrochemical corrosion tests were used to investigate the intergranular corrosion behavior of the 5A06 aluminum alloy blank sample and the spinning sample.Results showed that the intergranular corrosion resistance of the spinning sample was higher than that of the blank sample.In addition,the electrochemical corrosion resistance of the spinning sample was higher than that of the blank sample.The EDS maps indicated a uniform element distribution pattern of aluminum and magnesium.Moreover,the phase composition and lattice constant of the samples were obtained by XRD analysis.The differences in microstructure between the aluminum alloy subjected to the spinning process and the untreated aluminum alloy were determined by EBSD.The differences were mainly attributed to the complex interactions among grain size,dislocations and grain boundaries.

Fatigue crack propagation of 7050 aluminum alloy FSW joints after surface peening

The surface composite modification of the 7050 aluminum alloy friction stir-welded joints was performed by shot peening(SP)/multiple rotation rolling(MRR)and MRR/SP,and the fatigue performance of the nugget zone(NZ)was investigated.The results demonstrated that the fatigue life of SP/MRR samples is longer than that of MRR/SP.On the plane 150μm below the surface.The grains with high angle grain boundary account for 71.5%and 34.3%for MRR/SP and SP/MRR samples,respectively.The crack propagation path of the MRR/SP is transgranular and intergranular,and it is intergranular for the MRR/SP.Multitudinous fatigue striations and some voids appeared at the fracture during the stable crack propagation stage.However,fatigue striations for SP/MRR are with smaller spacing,fewer holes,and smaller size under SP/MRR compared with fatigue fracture of MRR/SP.The differences in fatigue properties and fracture characteristics of the NZ are related to the microstructure after the two combined surface modifications.

Influence of samarium content on microstructure and mechanical properties of recycled die-cast YL112 aluminum alloys

The influence of Sm(Samarium) content on microstructure and mechanical properties of recycled die-cast YL112 aluminum alloys was investigated.The results show that many small Sm-rich particles form in the recycled die-cast YL112 alloys with Sm addition.At the same time,the secondary dendrite arm spacing in the YL112 alloys modified with Sm is smaller than that of the unmodified alloy.The eutectic Si of recycled diecast YL112-xSm alloys transforms from coarse acicular morphology to fine fibres,Mechanical properties of the investigated recycled die-cast YL112 aluminum alloys are enhanced with Sm addition,and a maximal ultimate tensile strength value(276 MPa) and elongation(3.76%) are achieved at a Sm content of 0.6wt.%.Due to the modification of eutectic Si by Sm,numerous tearing ridges and tiny dimples on the fractures of tensile samples are observed.

Effect of Ti and Ce Microalloy on Microstructure and Properties of Al-Si-Cu-Zr-Sr Cast Aluminum Alloy

The effect of Ti and Ce microalloying on the mechanical properties of Al-9Si-3.5Cu-0.2Zr-0.1Sr cast aluminum alloy was investigated,and it was hoped that the cast aluminum alloy with excellent comprehensive properties could be obtained.On the basis of Zr-Sr microalloyed cast aluminum alloy(Al-9Si-3.5Cu-0.2Zr-0.1Sr),the effects of 0.2Zr-0.1Sr-0.16Ti ternary microalloying and 0.2Zr-0.1Sr-0.16Ti-0.1Ce quaternary microalloying on the microstructure and properties of the alloy were investigated.The experimental results show that compared with Zr-Sr microalloying,Zr-Sr-Ti microalloying and Zr-Sr-Ti-Ce microalloying can effectively refine the microstructure,improve the modification effect of Si phase,and promote the improvement of Al_(2)Cu phase,thus improving the properties.The higher the degree of microalloying,the hardness is gradually increasing,but the electrical conductivity is gradually decreasing.Zr-Sr-Ti microalloying can increase the tensile strength of the alloy to 400.07 MPa and the elongation to 9.5%.Zr-Sr-Ti-Ce microalloying do not continue to improve the properties of the alloy,and the tensile strength and elongation after fracture decrease to a certain extent due to the addition of Ce.Therefore,the best comprehensive properties can be obtained by ZrSr-Ti microalloying(Al-9Si-3.5Cu-0.2Zr-0.1Sr-0.16Ti).

Effect of Thermal-cold Cycling Treatment on Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of 6061 Aluminum Alloy

The influence of thermal-cold cycling treatment on mechanical properties and microstructure of 6061 aluminum alloy was investigated by means of tensile test, optical microscopy(OM), X-ray diffraction(XRD) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM). The cryogenic treatment mechanism of the alloys was discussed. The results show that thermal-cold cycling treatment is beneficial since it produces a large number of dislocations and accelerates the ageing process of the alloy and yields the finer dispersed β" precipitates in the matrix. This variation of microstructural changes leads to more favorable mechanical properties than the other investigated states, while grain boundary precipitation is coarse and distributed discontinuously along grain boundaries, with a lower precipitation free zone(PEZ) on the both sides of precipitated phase. As a result, the tensile strength, elongation and conductivity of 6061 aluminum alloy after thermal-cold cycling treatment are 373.37 MPa, 17.2% and 28.2 MS/m, respectively. Compared with conventional T6 temper, the mechanical properties are improved significantly.

Evaluation of Surface Roughness of Aluminum Alloy in Burnishing Process Based on Chaos Theory

Burnishing experiments with different burnishing parameters were performed on a computer numerical control milling machine to characterize the surface roughness of an aluminum alloy during burnishing.The chaos theory was employed to investigate the nonlinear features of the burnishing system.The experimental results show that the power spectrum is broadband and continuous,and the Lyapunov exponentλis positive,proving that burnishing has chaotic characteristics.The chaotic characteristic parameter,the correlation dimension D,is sensitive to the time behavior of the system and is used to establish the corresponding relationship with the surface roughness.The correlation dimension was the largest,when the surface roughness was the smallest.Furthermore,when the correlation dimension curve decreases,the roughness curve increases.The correlation dimension and surface roughness exhibit opposite variation trends.The higher the correlation dimension,the lower the surface roughness.The surface roughness of the aluminum alloy can be characterized online by calculating the correlation dimension during burnishing.

Residual stress with asymmetric spray quenching for thick aluminum alloy plates

Solution and quenching heat treatments are generally carried out in a roller hearth furnace for large-scale thick aluminum alloy plates.However,the asymmetric or uneven spray water flow rate is inevitable under industrial production conditions,which leads to an asymmetric residual stress distribution.The spray quenching treatment was conducted on self-designed spray equipment,and the residual stress along the thickness direction was measured by a layer removal method based on deflections.Under the asymmetric spray quenching condition,the subsurface stress of the high-flow rate surface was lower than that of the low-flow rate surface,and the difference between the two subsurface stresses increased with the increase in the difference in water flow rates.The subsurface stress underneath the surface with a water flow rate of 0.60 m^(3)/h was 15.38 MPa less than that of 0.15 m^(3)/h.The simulated residual stress by finite element(FE)method of the high heat transfer coefficient(HTC)surface was less than that of the low HTC surface,which is consistent with the experimental results.The FE model can be used to analyze the strain and stress evolution and predict the quenched stress magnitude and distribution.

A Review of Research on Galvanic Corrosion of Aluminum Alloys

When aluminum alloys are coupled with dissimilar materials,they often act as corrosion anodes and are suscepted to accelerated corrosion.Therefore,deepening our knowledge of such corrosion phenomena,related mechanisms,and elaborating new prediction model is of great theoretical and practical significance.In this paper,such mechanisms are explained from both macroscopic and microscopic points of view by considering several aspects such as the second phase particle type,grain size,and environmental ions.More specifically,different perspectives on such a problem are elaborated,which take into account:the properties of the coupling pair materials,geometrical characteristics,environmental media characteristics,the corrosion regularity of different types of aluminum alloys,the influence of area ratio on anode corrosion current density,the interference of the solution primary ions represented by Cl-and the accompanying ions represented by Al3+.A review is also conducted of the standard test methods used in the study of aluminum alloys galvanic corrosion and of research methods such as the Wire Beam Electrodes Technology(WBE),the Scanning Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy(SKPFM)technology.Finally,three kinds of inhibition technologies are discussed,including the anodic oxidation treatment,the corrosion inhibitor treatment and the coating protection method.

Weld Defects in Laser-Welded 7A52 High-Strength Aluminum Alloy Plates with Varying Thicknesses

This study aims to explore a method suitable for welding 7A52 high-strength aluminum alloy plates with continuously varying thicknesses and the causes of microscopic defects in welds in order to improve welding quality.Comparative tests were conducted to analyze weld defects and deformation when welding the aluminum alloy plates with varying thicknesses at constant laser power.The laser power required for melting welds at varying-thickness positions was estimated.Weld defects and deformation when welding aluminum alloy plates with varying thicknesses at con-tinuous variable laser power were detected.The causes of microscopic weld defects during constant-power welding were analyzed.The welding defects and deformation and the welding quality were improved by welding aluminum alloy plates at continuous variable power.

Impact Damage Identification of Aluminum Alloy Reinforced Plate Based on GWO-ELM Algorithm

As a critical structure of aerospace equipment,aluminum alloy stiffened plate will influence the stability of spacecraft in orbit and the normal operation of the system.In this study,a GWO-ELM algorithm-based impact damage identification method is proposed for aluminum alloy stiffened panels to monitor and evaluate the damage condition of such stiffened panels of spacecraft.Firstly,together with numerical simulation,the experimental simulation to obtain the damage acoustic emission signals of aluminum alloy reinforced panels is performed,to establish the damage data.Subsequently,the amplitude-frequency characteristics of impact damage signals are extracted and put into an extreme learning machine(ELM)model to identify the impact location and damage degree,and the Gray Wolf Optimization(GWO)algorithm is employed to update the weight parameters of the model.Finally,experiments are conducted on the irregular aluminum alloy stiffened plate with the size of 2200 mm×500 mm×10 mm,the identification accuracy of impact position and damage degree is 98.90% and 99.55% in 68 test areas,respectively.Comparative experiments with ELM and backpropagation neural networks(BPNN)demonstrate that the impact damage identification of aluminum alloy stiffened plate based on GWO-ELM algorithm can serve as an effective way to monitor spacecraft structural damage.

Thin-Wall Aluminum Die-Casting Technology for Development of Notebook Computer Housing

Silicon-based aluminum casting alloys are known to be one of the most widely used alloy systems mainly due to their superior casting characteristics and unique combination of mechanical and physical properties. However,manufacturing of thin-walled aluminum die-casting components,less than 1.0 mm in thickness,is generally known to be very difficult task to achieve aluminum casting alloys with high fluidity.Therefore,in this study,the optimal die-casting conditions for producing 297 mm×210 mm×0.7 mm thin-walled aluminum component was examined experimentally by using 2 different gating systems,tangential and split type,and vent design.Furthermore,computational solidification simulation was also conducted.The results showed that split type gating system was preferable gating design than tangential type gating system at the point of view of soundness of casting and distortion generated after solidification.It was also found that proper vent design was one of the most important factors for producing thin-wall casting components because it was important for the fulfillment of the thin-wall cavity and the minimization of the casting distortion.

Simulation of α-Al grain formation in high vacuum die-casting Al-Si-Mg alloys with multi-component quantitative cellular automaton method

Al-Si-Mg alloys are the most commonly used material in high vacuum die-casting(HVDC),in which the morphology and distribution ofα-Al grains have important effect on mechanical properties.A multi-component quantitative cellular automaton(CA)model was developed to simulate the microstructure and microsegregation of HVDC Al-Si-Mg alloys with different Si contents(7%and 10%)and cooling rates during solidification.The grain number and average grain size with electron backscatter diffraction(EBSD)analysis were used to verify the simulation.The relationship between grain size and nucleation order as well as nuclei density was investigated and discussed.It is found that the growth of grains will be restrained in the location with higher nuclei density.The influence of composition and cooling rate on the solute transport reveals that for AlSi7Mg0.3 alloy the concentration of solute Mg in liquid is higher at the beginning of eutectic solidification.The comparison between simulation and experiment results shows that externally solidified crystals(ESCs)have a significant effect for samples with high cooling rate and narrow solidification interval.

Analysis of Metallographic Characteristics of Aluminum Alloy for Turbocharged Impellers

In this paper, the composition, two-dimensional and three-dimensional microstructure of heat-resistant wrought aluminum alloy with strong oxidation resistance, heat resistance and easy processing are analyzed by using direct reading spectrometer, metallographic microscope and scanning electron microscope. The main alloy elements of heat-resistant forging aluminum alloy include Cu, Mg, Si, Ni and Fe. The α solid solution of each element in aluminum consists of S phase (Al2CuMg), Mg2Si phase, bright gray Al2CuNi phase and dark brown Al9FeNi phase. The distribution of each phase in the aluminum alloy is determined by the three-dimensional energy spectrum analysis of the microstructure, and the distribution of each phase in the crystal position is analyzed. The mechanism of heat resistance, easy processing type and wear resistance is obtained, which provides the theoretical basis for the development and use of heat-resistant forged aluminum alloy.

Fatigue Life Estimation of High Strength 2090-T83 Aluminum Alloy under Pure Torsion Loading Using Various Machine Learning Techniques

The ongoing effort to create methods for detecting and quantifying fatigue damage is motivated by the high levels of uncertainty in present fatigue-life prediction approaches and the frequently catastrophic nature of fatigue failure.The fatigue life of high strength aluminum alloy 2090-T83 is predicted in this study using a variety of artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques for constant amplitude and negative stress ratios(R?1).Artificial neural networks(ANN),adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems(ANFIS),support-vector machines(SVM),a random forest model(RF),and an extreme-gradient tree-boosting model(XGB)are trained using numerical and experimental input data obtained from fatigue tests based on a relatively low number of stress measurements.In particular,the coefficients of the traditional force law formula are found using relevant numerical methods.It is shown that,in comparison to traditional approaches,the neural network and neuro-fuzzy models produce better results,with the neural network models trained using the boosting iterations technique providing the best performances.Building strong models from weak models,XGB helps to predict fatigue life by reducing model partiality and variation in supervised learning.Fuzzy neural models can be used to predict the fatigue life of alloys more accurately than neural networks and traditional methods.