Strength and plasticity improvement induced by strong grain refinement after Zr alloying in selective laser-melted AlSiMg1.4 alloy

In order to enhance the mechanical properties of the selective laser-melted(SLM) high-Mg content AlSiMg1.4 alloy,the Zr element was introduced.The influence of Zr alloying on the processability,microstructure,and mechanical properties of the alloy was systematically investigated through performing microstructure analysis and tensile testing.It was demonstrated that the SLM-fabricated AlSiMg1.4-Zr alloy exhibited high process stability with a relative density of over 99.5% at various process parameters.Besides,the strong grain refinement induced by the primary Al3Zr particle during the melt solidification process simultaneously enhanced both the strength and plasticity of the alloy.The values for the yield strength,ultimate tensile strength,and elongation of the SLM-fabricated AlSiMg1.4-Zr were(343±3) MPa,(485±4) MPa,and(10.2±0.2)%,respectively,demonstrating good strengthplasticity synergy in comparison to the AlSiMg1.4 and other Al-Si-based alloys fabricated by SLM.

Effect of addition temperature on dispersion behavior and grain refinement efficiency of MgO introduced into Mg alloy

The effect of addition temperature of MgO particles(MgOp)on their dispersion behavior and the efficiency of grain refinement in AZ31 Mg alloy was investigated.In addition,the grain refinement mechanism was systematically studied by microstructure characterization,thermodynamic calculation,and analysis of solidification curves.The results show that the grain size of AZ31 Mg alloy initially decreases and then increases as the MgOp addition temperature is increased from 720 to 810℃,exhibiting a minimum value of 136μm at 780℃.The improved grain refinement efficiency with increasing MgOp addition temperature can be attributed to the reduced Mg melt viscosity and enhanced wettability between MgOp and Mg melt.Furthermore,a corresponding physical model describing the solidification behavior and grain refinement mechanism was proposed.

Effects of grain refining and modification on mechanical properties and microstructures of Al-7.5Si-4Cu cast alloy

Al-7.5Si-4Cu cast alloy melt modified by Al-5Ti-B, RE and Al-10Sr master alloys were poured in the chromite sand moulds, to investigate comparatively the effects of individual or combined additions of grain refiners and modifiers on the mechanical properties, microstructures, grain refining and modification, and intermetallic compounds of the alloy. The results show that the mechanical properties and the microstructures of Al-7.5Si-4Cu cast alloys are improved immensely by combining addition of 0.8%Al-5Ti-B, 0.1%RE and 0.1%Al-10Sr grain refiners and modifiers compared with the individual addition and cast conditions. For individual addition condition, addition of 0.8%Al-5Ti-B master alloy can obtain superior tensile strength, Brinell hardness and finer equiaxedα（Al） dendrites. The alloy with 0.1%RE master alloy shows the highest improvement in ductility because the rare earth can purify the molten metal and change the shape of intermetallic compounds. While the alloy with 0.1%Al-10Sr modifier shows only good improvement in yield strength, and the improvement of other performance is unsatisfactory. The Al-10Sr modifier has a significant metamorphism for the eutectic silicon, but will make the gas content in the aluminum alloy melt increase to form serious columnar grain structures. The effects of grain refining and modification on mean area and aspect ratio have the same conclusions obtained in the mechanical properties and the microstructures analyses.

Grain Refinement and Modification of Al-Cu Alloys with Yttrium

The refinement and modification of Al-Cu alloys can result in the change of solidification process,e.g.the nucleation temperature,eutectic arrest,solidification range and cooling rate.Specially,the refinement and modification of Al-Cu alloy can be achieved by addition of rare earth.In this paper,the effect of yttrium on the microstructure and solidification process of Al-Cu alloys was investigated by the method of thermal analysis.Meanwhile,the microstructure of Al-Cu alloy was observed by OM and SEM.The results show that θ(Al2Cu) phases change from mesh structure into fish-bone shape.Analysis indicates that yttrium causes a depression of solid-liquid coexistence zone and the disappearance of recalescence of the eutectic arrest.

Structure uniformity and limits of grain refinement of high purity aluminum during multi-directional forging process at room temperature

The effect of forging passes on the refinement of high purity aluminum during multi-forging was investigated. The attention was focused on the structure uniformity due to deformation uniformity and the grain refinement limitation with very high strains. The results show that the fine grain zone in the center of sample expands gradually with the increase of forging passes. When the forging passes reach 6, an X-shape fine grain zone is initially formed. With a further increase of the passes, this X-shape zone tends to spread the whole sample. Limitation in the structural refinement is observed with increasing strains during multi-forging process at the room temperature. The grains size in the center is refined to a certain size （110 μm as forging passes reach 12, and there is no further grain refinement in the center with increasing the forging passes to 24. However, the size of the coarse grains near the surface is continuously decreased with increasing the forging passes to 24.

Numerical simulation of acoustic pressure field for ultrasonic grain refinement of AZ80 magnesium alloy

Ultrasound with different intensities was applied to treating AZ80 alloy melt to improve its solidification structure.The average grain size of the alloy could be decreased from 303 to 148 μm after the ultrasound with intensity of 30.48 W/cm2 was applied.To gain insight into the mechanism of ultrasonic treatment which affected the microstructure of the alloy,numerical simulations were carried out and the effects of different ultrasonic pressures on the behaviors of cavitation bubble in the melt were studied.The ultrasonic field propagation in the melt was also characterized.The results show that samples from different positions are subjected to different acoustic pressures and the effect of grain refinement by ultrasonic treatment for these samples is different.With the increase of ultrasonic intensity,the acoustic pressure is increased and the grain size is decreased generally.

Effect of electrodes and thermal insulators on grain refinement by electric current pulse

The application of electric current pulse（ECP） to a solidification process refers to the immersion of electrodes into the liquid metal and the employment of thermal insulators on the upper surface of metal.In order to ascertain the effects of these two factors on the structure refinement by the ECP technique,three groups of experiments were performed with different types of electrodes or various thermal insulators.By the comparison between solidification structures under different conditions,it is followed that the electrode and the thermal insulator have an obvious influence on the grain refinement under an applied ECP,and further analysis demonstrates that the thermal conditions of the liquid surface play a vital role in the modification of solidification structure.Also,the results support the viewpoint that most of the equiaxed grains originate from the liquid surface subjected to an ECP.

Effect of Al_2Ca intermetallic compound addition on grain refinement of AZ31 magnesium alloy

The Al2Ca intermetallic compound was prepared by melting process in a vacuum induction furnace. And the A12Ca compound was added in as-cast AZ31 alloys for grain refinement. The effect of its additional levels on grain refinement of as-cast AZ31 alloy was investigated and the mechanism of the grain refinement was discussed. The results reveal that the addition of 1.1% Al2Ca （mass fraction） decreases the average grain size of as-cast AZ31 alloy from 354 to 198 μm. And the thermal stability of the grains refined by Al2Ca is superior. The grain refining mechanism is attributed to the combined effects of solute and heterogeneous nucleation from the Al2Ca.

Effect of processing route on grain refinement in pure copper processed by equal channel angular extrusion

An experimental study of the microstructures in pure copper billets processed by 8 passes of equal channel angular extrusion （ECAE） via an extended range of processing routes with a 90° die is carried out. Each processing route is defined according to the inter-pass billet rotation angle （χ）, which varies from 0° to 180°. According to the generation of high-angle boundaries and reduction of grain size by electron backscatter diffraction （EBSD） measurements, the grain refinement is found to be most efficient for route with χ=90°and least efficient with χ=180°, among the seven routes studied. This trend is supported by supplementary transmission electron microscopy （TEM） measurements. Comparison of the EBSD and TEM data reveals the importance of considering the non-equiaxity of grain structures in quantitative assessment of microstructural differences in ECAE-processed materials.

Al-Si-P master alloy and its modification and refinement performance on Al-Si alloys

An Al-Si-P master alloy has been developed by an in-situ reaction and the electron probe microanalyzer （EPMA） results show that there are many pre-formed AlP particles contained in the master alloy. Silicon introduced into the system plays an important role in remarkably improving the distribution and content of AlP particles due to their similar crystal structure and lattice parameters. ZL109 alloys have shown fast modification response to the addition of 0.5% Al-15Si-3.5P master alloy at 720℃, with a mass of primary Si precipitating in size of about 15 μm. Also, coarse primary Si grains in AI-30Si alloy can be refined dramatically from 150 μm to 37 μm after the addition of 2.0% Al-15Si-3.5P master alloy at 850℃. The P recovery of the Al-15Si-3.5P master alloy is much higher than that of a Cu-8.5P master alloy due to the pre-formed AlP particles.

Modification and refinement mechanism of Mg_2Si phase in Sr-containing AZ61-0.7Si magnesium alloy

The effect of Sr on modification and refinement of the Mg 2 Si phase in an AZ61-0.7Si magnesium alloy has been investigated and analyzed.The results indicate that Sr can effectively modify and refine the Chinese-script shaped Mg2Si phase in the AZ61-0.7Si alloy.By adding 0.06wt.%-0.12wt.%Sr to AZ61-0.7Si alloy,the Mg2Si phase in the alloy can be changed from the initial coarse Chinese-script shape to fine granule and/or irregular polygonal shapes.Accordingly,the Sr-containing AZ61-0.7Si alloy exhibits higher tensile and creep properties than the AZ61-0.7Si alloy without Sr modification.The mechanism on modification and refinement of the Mg2Si phase in Sr-containing AZ61-0.7Si alloy is possibly related to the following two aspects:(1)adding Sr may form the Al4Sr phase which can serve as the heterogeneous nucleus for the Mg2Si particles and/or(2)adding Sr may lower the onset crystallizing temperature and increase the undercooling level.

Circumventing chemo-mechanical failure of Sn foil battery anode by grain refinement and elaborate porosity design

Tin (Sn) metal foil is a promising anode for next-generation high-energy–density lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to its high capacity and easy processibility. However, the pristine Sn foil anode suffers nonuniform alloying/dealloying reaction with lithium (Li) and huge volume variation, leading to electrode pulverization and inferior electrochemical performance. Herein, we proposed that reduced grain size and elaborate porosity design of Sn foil can circumvent the nonuniform alloy reaction and buffer the volume change during the lithiation/delithiation cycling. Experimentally, we designed a three-dimensional interconnected porous Sn (3DIP-Sn) foil by a facile chemical alloying/dealloying approach, which showed improved electrochemical performance. The enhanced structure stability of the as-fabricated 3DIP-Sn foil was verified by chemo-mechanical simulations and experimental investigation. As expected, the 3DIP-Sn foil anode revealed a long cycle lifespan of 4400 h at 0.5 mA cm^(−2) and 1 mAh cm^(−2) in Sn||Li half cells. A 3DIP-Sn||LiFePO_(4) full cell with LiFePO_(4) loading of 7.1 mg cm^(−2) exhibited stable cycling for 500 cycles with 80% capacity retention at 70 mA g^(−1). Pairing with high-loading commercial LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O_(2) (NCM622, 18.4 mg cm^(−2)) cathode, a 3DIP-Sn||NCM622 full cell delivered a high reversible capacity of 3.2 mAh cm^(−2). These results demonstrated the important role of regulating the uniform alloying/dealloying reaction and circumventing the localized strain/stress in improving the electrochemical performance of Sn foil anodes for advanced LIBs.

Mechanism of Grain Refinement Induced by Laser Shock Processing in AZ31 Magnesium Alloy

In order to study the mechanism of grain refinement induced by laser shock processing （LSP） in AZ31 magnesium alloy, the specimens were processed with Nd：glass pulse laser shocking and the microstructures of LSP specimens near the surface were examined by optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Optical microstructure pictures show that the size of grains formed in the top surface layer is about 4-6 μm, which is obviously different from the original grains （with an average size of 20-30 μm） in the substrate in AZ31 magnesium alloy. Transmission electron microscopic observations show that the grain refinement process of AZ31 alloy by laser shock processing includes three stages. At the early stage of LSP, the lower strain and strain rate activates the three dislocation slip systems which include basal plane system, prismatic plane system and pyramidal plane system, with the deformation governed mainly by dislocation. At the intermediary stage, dislocation slip is hindered at grain boundaries and becomes more difficult to continue during LSP. Then, parallel twins appear, which divide the original coarse grains into finer twin platelets. Finally, high-density dislocation walls are formed and subdivide twins into sub-grains. Dynamic recrystallization occurs in the process of further deformation and forms recrystallized grains when strain energy reaches the value needed by recrystallization, which leads to refinement of the grains in the top surface layer.

Complicated hollow turbine blades and surface grain refinement process

The control of grain size in superalloys is critical in the manufacture of gas turbine blades.The aim of the present research is to provide the technology for producing complicated hollow turbine blades with fine surface grains and better comprehensive mechanical properties.By melt superheating treatment and coating the internal surfaces of shell mould using a cobalt aluminate-bearing coating material,the in-uence of cobalt aluminate as inoculant on the surface grain sizes of turbine blade was studied with addition of cobalt aluminate:0,35%,45%-65% and 100% respectively.At the same time,the effects of cooling circumstances of the blades on surface grain sizes were also experimented under the same addition of cobalt aluminate.The results showed that the melt superheating treatment plays a significant role in the grain size and carbide morphology;and fine surface grains were obtained when the internal surfaces of shell mould were coated using cobalt aluminate coatings.When the addition of cobalt aluminate in coating is between 45%-65%,and the melt is poured into preheated shell moulds with fine silica sand as backing sand,the blades satisfied the surface grain size requirement is over 90%.In addition,comparisons of the surface grain size and the mechanical properties were also conducted between home-made and foreign-made blades.

Role of C and Fe in Grain Refinement of an AZ63B Magnesium Alloy by Al-C Master Alloy

In this study, grain refining effect of Al-1.5℃ master alloy was examined on an AZ63B magnesium alloy, and the refining mechanism was studied through investigating the role of C and Fe in this process. The results show that addition of Al-1.5℃ master alloy leads to significant decrease of the mean grain size from about 270μm to 50μm at the center of the AZ63 alloy ingot. Grain refinement by carbon addition is mainly due to the heterogeneity nucleation on the Al-, C-, O-, Fe- and Mn-rich particles, but not constitutional undercooling caused by the carbon solute element. Fe plays an important role in the formation of the nucleating particles, but not acts as an inhibiting element.

Influence of grain refinement on the corrosion behavior of metallic materials:A review

Grain refinement can strengthen the mechanical properties of materials according to the classical Hall-Petch relationship but does not always result in better corrosion resistance.During the past few decades,various techniques have been dedicated to refining grain,along with relevant studies on corrosion behavior,including general corrosion,pitting corrosion,and stress corrosion cracking.However,the funda-mental consensus on how grain size influences corrosion behavior has not been reached.This paper reviews existing literature on the beneficial and detrimental effects of grain refinement on corrosion behavior.Moreover,the effects of microstructural changes(i.e.,grain boundary,dislo-cation,texture,residual stress,impurities,and second phase)resulting from grain refinement on corrosion behavior are discussed.The grain re-finement not only has an impact on the corrosion performance,but also results in microstructural changes that have a non-negligible effect on corrosion behavior or even outweigh that of grain refinement.Grain size is not the only factor affecting the corrosion behavior of metallic ma-terials;thus,the overall influence of microstructures on corrosion behavior should be understood.

Effect of Process Parameters on Morphology and Grain Refinement Efficiency of TiAl_3 and TiB_2 in Alumimum Casting

This paper presents the effects of different process parameters in producing Al-STi-1B grain refiner,i.e.various sequences and reaction time,on grain refinement efficiency of aluminum castings.It was found that different process parameters resulted in different morphology and size distribution of TiAl-3 and TiB-2 in grain refiner. The experiment was carried out by adding KBF-4 and K-2TiF-6 to molten aluminum.The melting temperature was controlled at 800℃in an electric resistance furnace.Three different sequences of KBF-4 and K-2TiF-6 additions were applied,i.e.,adding KBF-4 before K-2TiF-6,adding K-2TiF-4 before KBF-4 and mixing both KBF-4 and K-2TiF-6 before adding to molten aluminum.Three different holding time at 1 min,30 min and 60 min were applied.The results showed that no significant difference of morphology and size distribution was found by varying three different sequences.Whereas,the different holding time provided major differences in both morphology and size distribution,which are technically expectable from diffusion and agglomeration between particles resulting in larger particle size and wider range of size distribution of TiAI3 and TiB2.If the reaction time was longer than 30 rain,morphology of both TiAl-3 and TiB-2 became too large.If the reaction time was too short,less reaction between TiAl-3 and TiB2 to form would be obtained.For grain refinement efficiency, it was found that mixing KBF-4 and K-2TiF-6 before adding to molten aluminum with a holding time of 30 min resulted in best grain refinement efficiency.

The role of Al_(2)Y in grain refinement in Mg-Al-Y alloy system

A series of Mge10(AlþY)alloys with various weight ratios of Al to Y were cast to investigate the role of Al_(2)Y in grain refinement in MgeAleY ternary system.Thermal analysis combined with microstructural and EDX analysis was used to determine the phase transformation temperatures during solidification process.Experimental results show that when the Al content is below 4 wt%,a peritectic reaction,LþAl_(2)Y/a-Mg,occurs after the intermetallic Al_(2)Y forms directly from the melt as a pro-peritectic phase.Once the Al content is above 4 wt%,an eutectic reaction occurs at a lower temperature.The presence of the pro-peritectic phase can lead to nucleation of a-Mg directly through a peritectic reaction although grain refining efficiency is also closely related to the active particle size.In the case where solidification does not involve a peritectic reaction,the growth restriction factor,quantitatively the Q-value,governs the grain refining efficiency.Higher Q-value corresponds to finer grains.

Mechanism of pulse magneto-oscillation grain refinement on pure Al

Pulse magneto-oscillation (PMO) was developed as a novel technique to refine the solidification structure of pure aluminium.Its grain refining mechanism was proposed.The PMO refinement mechanism is that the nucleus falls off from the mould wall and drifts into the melt under the action of PMO.The solidification structure of Al melt depends on the linear electric current density,and also the discharge and oscillation frequencies.The radial pressure of PMO sound wave is the major factor that contributes to the migration of nucleus into the melt.

Effect of Strain Rate on the Ferrite Grain Refinement in a Low Carbon Nb-Ti Microalloyed Steel during Low Temperature Deformation

Grain refinement is one of the effective methods to develop new generation low carbon microalloyed steels possessing excellent combination of mechanical properties. The microstructural evolution and ferrite grain refinement at the deformation temperature of 865℃, above Ar3, with different strain rates were investigated using single pass isothermal hot compression experiments for a low carbon Nb-Ti microalloyed steel. The physical processes that occurred during deformation were discussed by observing the optical microstructure and analyzing the true stress-true strain responses. At strain rates of 0.001 and 0.01s^-1, there is no evidence of work hardening behavior during hot deformation and strain-induced transformation （SIT） leads to dynamic flow softening in flow curves. Optical microscopy observation shows that ultrafine and equiaxed ferrite with grain sizes of 2μm can be obtained by applying deformation with strain rate of 0.1 s^-1 due to SIT just after deformation. Furthermore, increasing the strain rate from 0.001 to 0.1 s^-1 reduces both the grain size of the equiaxed ferrite and the amount of deformed ferrite.