Effect of two-step solid solution on microstructure andδphase precipitation of Inconel 718 alloy

Inconel 718 is the most popular nickel-based superalloy and is extensively used in aerospace,automotive,and energy indus-tries owing to its extraordinary thermomechanical properties.The effects of different two-step solid solution treatments on microstructure andδphase precipitation of Inconel 718 alloy were studied,and the transformation mechanism fromγ″metastable phase toδphase was clarified.The precipitates were statistically analyzed by X-ray diffractometry.The results show that theδphase content firstly increased,and then decreased with the temperature of the second-step solid solution.The changes in microstructure andδphase were studied by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.An intragranularδphase formed in Inconel 718 alloy at the second-[100]_(δ)[011]γ step solid solution temperature of 925℃,and its orientation relationship withγmatrix was determined as//and(010)_(δ)//(111)γ.Furthermore,the Vickers hardness of different heat treatment samples was measured,and the sample treated by second-step solid solution at 1010℃ reached the maximum hardness of HV 446.84.

Temperature and stress fields in electron beam welded Ti-15-3 alloy to 304 stainless steel joint with copper interlayer sheet

Electron beam welding of Ti-15-3 alloy to 304 stainless steel （STS） using a copper filler metal was carried out. The temperature fields and stress distributions in the Ti/Fe and Ti/Cu/Fe joint during the welding process were numerically simulated and experimentally measured. The results show that the rotated parabola body heat source is fit for the simulation of the electron beam welding. The temperature distribution is asymmetric along the weld center and the temperature in the titanium alloy plate is higher than that in the 304 STS plate. The thermal stress also appears to be in asymmetric distribution. The residual tensile stress mainly exists in the weld at the 304 STS side. The copper filler metal decreases the peak temperature and temperature grade in the joint as well as the residual stress. The longitudinal and lateral residual tensile strengths reduce by 66 MPa and 31 MPa, respectively. From the temperature and residual stress, it is concluded that copper is a good filler metal candidate for the electron beam welding of Ti-15-3 titanium alloy to 304 stainless steel.

Wrinkling prediction in rubber forming of Ti-15-3 alloy

Wrinkling is a common failure in the sheet metal forming of titanium owing to the relatively poor ability to shrink. It is important to predict wrinkling accurately in the sheet metal forming without costly trials. The ABAQUS/Explicit code was utilized to predict the wrinkling behavior in the sheet metal forming of Ti-15-3 alloy sheets. In terms of the comparison of wrinkling behavior between the simulation and experiment of the Fukui＇s conical cup tests at room temperature, the sensitivities of wrinkling simulation to various input parameters were evaluated comprehensively and quantitatively. Prediction of wrinkling and influence of rubber hardness on the winkling behavior in the rubber forming of convex flange were investigated quantitatively and validated by the rubber forming experiments. The excellent agreements between the simulations and the experiments conIirmed the accuracy of the prediction.

Friction coefficient in rubber forming process of Ti-15-3 alloy

The forming limit diagram of Ti-15-3 alloy sheet was constituted at room temperature. The effects of different punch and rubber hardness on the limit principal strain distributions were investigated experimentally. Finite element analysis models of the samples with dimensions of 180 mm×180 mm were established to analyze the friction coefficients of different interfaces. Effects of various friction coefficients on the strain distributions were studied in detail. Finally, the friction coefficients in the cold forming were determined by contrasting the strain results between the experimental data and the simulated ones.

Intelligent method to develop constitutive relationship of Ti-6Al-2Zr-1Mo-1V alloy

The isothermal compression tests were carried out in the Thermecmastor-Z thermo-simulator at temperatures of 800, 850, 900, 950, 1000 and 1050 ℃ and the strain rates of 0.01, 0.1, 1 and 10 s-1. The influence of deformation temperature and strain rate on the flow stress of Ti-6Al-2Zr-IMo-IV alloy was studied. Based on the experimental data sets, the high temperature deformation behavior of Ti-6A1-2Zr-IMo-IV alloy was presented using the intelligent method of artificial neural network （ANN）. The results indicate that the predicted flow stress values by ANN model is quite consistent with the experimental results, which implies that the artificial neural network is an effective tool for studying the hot deformation behavior of the present alloy. In addition, the development of graphical user interface is implemented using Visual Basic programming language.

Microstructure and properties of Al-0.70Fe-0.24Cu alloy conductor prepared by horizontal continuous casting and subsequent continuous extrusion forming

A novel process for manufacturing A1-0.70Fe-0.24Cu alloy conductor was proposed, which includes horizontal continuous casting and subsequent continuous extrusion forming （Conform）. The mechanical properties, electrical conductivity and the compressed creep behaviour of the alloy were studied. The results indicate that the Conform process induces obvious grain refinement, strain-induced precipitation of AI7CuzFe phase and the transformation of crystal orientation distribution. The processed alloy has good comprehensive mechanical properties and electrical conductivity. Moreover, a better creep resistance under the conditions of 90 ~C and 76 MPa is shown compared with pure A1 and annealed copper, and the relationship between primary creep strain and time may comply with the logarithmic law. The enhanced properties are attributed to the grain refinement as well as the fine and homogeneously distributed thermally stable A1Fe and A17Cu2Fe precipitation phases.

Electron beam welding of Ti-15-3 titanium alloy to 304 stainless steel with copper interlayer sheet

Electron beam welding of Ti-15-3 titanium alloy to 304 stainless steel with a copper sheet as interlayer was carried out.Microstructures of the joint were studied by optical microscopy(OM),scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and X-ray diffractometry(XRD).In addition,the mechanical properties of the joint were evaluated by tensile test and the microhardness was measured.These two alloys were successfully welded by adding copper transition layer into the weld.Solid solution with a certain thickness was located at the interfaces between weld and base metal in both sides.Regions inside the weld and near the stainless steel were characterized by solid solution of copper with TiFe2 intermetallics dispersedly distributed in it.While weld near titanium alloy contained Ti-Cu and Ti-Fe-Cu intermetallics layer,in which the hardness of weld came to the highest value.Brittle fracture occurred in the intermetallics layer when the joint was stretched.

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.

Force-displacement characteristics of simply supported beam laminated with shape memory alloys

As a preliminary step in the nonlinear design of shape memory alloy（SMA） composite structures,the force-displacement characteristics of the SMA layer are studied.The bilinear hysteretic model is adopted to describe the constitutive relationship of SMA material.Under the assumption that there is no point of SMA layer finishing martensitic phase transformation during the loading and unloading process,the generalized restoring force generated by SMA layer is deduced for the case that the simply supported beam vibrates in its first mode.The generalized force is expressed as piecewise-nonlinear hysteretic function of the beam transverse displacement.Furthermore the energy dissipated by SMA layer during one period is obtained by integration,then its dependencies are discussed on the vibration amplitude and the SMA＇s strain（Ms-Strain） value at the beginning of martensitic phase transformation.It is shown that SMA＇s energy dissipating capacity is proportional to the stiffness difference of bilinear model and nonlinearly dependent on Ms-Strain.The increasing rate of the dissipating capacity gradually reduces with the amplitude increasing.The condition corresponding to the maximum dissipating capacity is deduced for given value of the vibration amplitude.The obtained results are helpful for designing beams laminated with shape memory alloys.

Prediction and Simulation of Microstructure of Ti-15-3 Alloy

Ti-15-3 alloy is a new metastableβ-type titanium. The influence of hot deformation parameters on the microstructureof Ti-15-3 alloy after solution treatment has been studied by isothermal compression tests as well as quantitativemetallographic analysis. On the basis of the data obtained from the tests, predicting models for equivalent grainsize and recrystallization volume fraction have been established with an artificial neural network method. An FEnumerical simulation system has been developed to simulate the distribution of microstructure in Ti-15-3 alloy afterhot back extrusion and solution treatment by combining the neural network model with thermal-mechanical coupledrigid-viscoplastic FE model. Corresponding experimental research is performed. The agreement of the simulatedresults with measured ones shows that the simulation system is reliable.

Prediction of flow stress of Ti-15-3 alloy with artificial neural network

Hot compression experiments were conducted on Ti 15 3 alloy specimens using Gleeble 1500 Thermal Simulator.These tests were focused to obtain the flow stress data under various conditions of strain,strain rate and temperature. On the basis of these data, the predicting model for the nonlinear relation between flow stress and deformation strain,strain rate and temperature for Ti 15 3 alloy was developed with a back propagation artificial neural network method. Results show that the neural network can reproduce the flow stress in the sampled data and predict the nonsampled data well. Thus the neural network method has been verified to be used to tackle hot deformation problems of Ti 15 3 alloy. [

Refinement and fracture mechanisms of as-cast QT700-6 alloy by alloying method

The as-cast QT700-6 alloy was synthesized with addition of a certain amount of copper, nickel, niobium and stannum elements by alloying method in a medium frequency induction furnace, aiming at improving its strength and toughness. Microstructures of the as-cast QT700-6 alloy were observed using a scanning-electron microscope （SEM） and the mechanical properties were investigated using a universal tensile test machine. Results indicate that the ratio of pearlite/ferrite is about 9：1 and the graphite size is less than 40 tJm in diameter in the as-cast QT700-6 alloy. The predominant refinement mechanism is attributed to the formation of niobium carbides, which increases the heterogeneous nucleus and hinders the growth of graphite. Meanwhile, niobium carbides also exist around the grain boundaries, which improve the strength of the ductile iron. The tensile strength and elongation of the as-cast QT700-6 alloy reach over 700 MPa and 6%, respectively, when the addition amount of niobium is 0.8%. The addition of copper and nickel elements contributed to the decrease of eutectoid transformation temperature, resulting in the decrease of pearlite lamellar spacing （about 248 rim）, which is also beneficial to enhancing the tensile strength. The main fracture mechanism is cleavage fracture with the appearance of a small amount of dimples.

Influence of rare earth elements on corrosion resistance of BFe10-1-1 alloys in flowing marine water

The corrosion behavior of BFe10-1-1 alloy with different rare earth （RE） contents in simulated flowing marine water was investigated by X-ray diffractometer and scanning electron microscope （SEM）. It was demonstrated that the corrosion rate of BFel0-1-1 alloy with the same chemical compositions in faster flow velocity of marine water was higher than that in a lower flow velocity of marine water. Fixing the flow velocity, BFe 10-1-1 alloy had the best flushing corrosion resistance when the RE content was 0.04wt.%. The consequence of such good corrosion resistance was attributed to the formation of compact protective film on alloy surface containing RE phase such as CeNis. The RE-contained film combines with other corrosion products firmly, which was difficult to fall off from the alloy surface in the flowing marine water. Additionally, SEM analysis confirmed that pitting mechanism, which would be transformed to spalling mechanism gradually with further increasing RE content, was the prevalent mechanism when the alloy contained 0.04wt.%RE.

Thermomechanical Behavior of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy

Ti-6AI-4V, among the Ti alloys, is the most widely used. In the present work, the behavior of Ti-6AI-4V alloy has been investigated by the uniaxial hot isothermal compression tests and a series of dilatometric experiments were also carried out to determine the transformation temperatures at different cooling rates. Specimens for hot compression tests were homogenized at 1050℃ for 10 min and then quickly cooled to different straining temperatures from 1050 to 850℃. Cooling rates were chosen fast enough to prevent high temperature transformation during cooling. Compression tests were conducted at temperatures from 1050 to 850℃ in steps of 50℃ at constant true strain rates of 10-3 or 10-2 s-1. The apparent activation energy for compression in two-phase region was calculated 420 kJ·mol-1. Partial globularization of a phase was observed in the specimen deformed at low strain rates and at temperatures near the transformation zone and annealed after deformation.

Yield strength prediction of rolled Al-(1.44-12.40)Si-0.7Mg alloy sheets under T4 condition

The effects of Si content on the microstructure and yield strength of Al-(1.44-12.40)Si-0.7 Mg(wt.%)alloy sheets under the T4 condition were systematically studied via laser scanning confocal microscopy(LSCM),DSC,TEM and tensile tests.The results show that the recrystallization grain of the alloy sheets becomes more refined with an increase in Si content.When the Si content increases from 1.44 to 12.4 wt.%,the grain size of the alloy sheets decreases from approximately 47 to 10μm.Further,with an increase in Si content,the volume fraction of the GP zones in the matrix increases slightly.Based on the existing model,a yield strength model for alloy sheets was proposed.The predicted results are in good agreement with the actual experimental results and reveal the strengthening mechanisms of the Al-(1.44-12.40)Si-0.7 Mg alloy sheets under the T4 condition and how they are influenced by the Si content.

Diffusion bonding behaviour of β-γTiAl alloys containing high niobium with Ti interlayer by spark plasma sintering

High niobium β-γ TiAl alloy(HNBG) was diffusion bonded using spark plasma sintering with pure Ti as interlayer. The joint microstructural evolution, growth kinetics and mechanical properties were investigated. The joint included three diffusion zones. The β/B2 phase formed in the Zone Ⅰ, α_(2)phase in the Zone Ⅱ, and β-Ti and α-Ti phases in the Zone Ⅲ. The thickness of β/B2 phase, the average grain size of α_(2)phase and the amount of β-Ti phase increased with the increase of bonding temperature or bonding time. The growth activation energies of β/B2 and α_(2)phases were 582 and 253 kJ/mol, respectively. The joint acquired at 1000 °C, 10 min and 10 MPa showed the maximum shear strength of 308 MPa. Fracture mainly occurred along the interfaces between Zone Ⅰ and HNBG alloy, and between Zone I and Zone Ⅱ. Fracture mechanism of the joint was characterized by brittleness rupture along the phase boundary.

Enhanced strengthening by two-step progressive solution and aging treatment in AM50-4%(Zn,Y) magnesium alloy

AM50-4%(Zn,Y)alloy with a Zn/Y mole ratio of6:1was subjected to thermal analysis,and the results were used for designing a two-step progressive solution treatment process.The effects of solution and aging treatments on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the AM50-4%(Zn,Y)alloy were investigated using OM,XRD,SEM/EDS,TEM,tensile test and hardness test.The experimental results demonstrated that the two-step progressive solution treatment could make theΦandβphases sufficiently dissolve into the matrix which possessed higher supersaturated degree of the dissolved solute compared with the one-step solution treatment.This resulted in a certain enhancement of the precipitation strengthening effect during the subsequent aging process.The precipitation of theФphase had a greater impact on the comprehensive mechanical properties of the alloy thanβphase precipitation when the aging treatment was performed at180℃.The peak aging strength of the AM50-4%(Zn,Y)alloy which was subjected to the two-step progressive solution treatment process(345℃for16h and375℃for6h)was obtained after the aging treatment at180℃for12h.

Key Problems of Cold Power Spinning of Ti-15-3 Alloy

The key problems of cold power spinning of Ti-15-3 alloy are studied. Reasonable billet preparation methods are presented to improve crystal structure and avoid crack of billet. Influences of original wall thickness, reduction rate and feed rate on expanding in diameter are analyzed and some methods to prevent expanding in diameter are given.

First-principles study of the band gap tuning and doping control in CdSexTe1-x alloy for high efficiency solar cell

CdTe is one of the leading materials for low cost,high efficiency thin-film solar cells with a nearly ideal band gap of 1.48 eV.However,its solar to electricity power conversion efficiency(PCE)is hindered by the relatively low open circuit voltage(VOC)due to intrinsic defect related issues.Here,we propose that alloying CdTe with CdSe could possibly improve the solar cell performance by reducing the"ideal"band gap of CdTe to gain more short-circuit current from long-wavelength absorption without sacrificing much VOC.Using the hybrid functional calculation,we find that the minimum band gap of the CdTe1-xSex alloy can be reduced from 1.48 eV at x=0 to 1.39 eV at x=0.32,and most of the change come from the lowering of the conduction band minimum.We also show that the formation of the alloy can improve the p-type doping of CuCdimpurity based on the reduced effective formation energy and nearly constant effective transition energy level,thus possibly enhance VOC,thus PCE.

Effect of aging in an electric field on microstructures and properties of 1420 Al-Li alloy

After solution treatment, the 1420 Al-Li alloy samples were aged at different temperatures in an electric field with different intensity. The measurements made showed that the electric field increased the strength of the 1420 Al-Li alloy, and best properties were obtained when they were aged at 120 ℃ with E=4 kV/cm for 12 hrs. The electric field promoted the nucleation of δ′ phase, increased the quantity of the δ′ phase, and made the size of the δ′ phase particles smaller. The electric field restrained the formation and growth of PFZ, and increased the intensity of the electric field while the width of the PFZ was decreased.