Effect of slow shot speed on externally solidified crystal,porosity and tensile property in a newly developed high-pressure die-cast Al-Si alloy

The effect of slow shot speed on externally solidified crystal(ESC),porosity and tensile property in a newly developed high-pressure die-cast Al-Si alloy was investigated by optical microscopy(OM),scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and laboratory computed tomography(CT).Results showed that the newly developed AlSi9MnMoV alloy exhibited improved mechanical properties when compared to the AlSi10MnMg alloy.The AlSi9MnMoV alloy,which was designed with trace multicomponent additions,displays a notable grain refining effect in comparison to the AlSi10MnMg alloy.Refining elements Ti,Zr,V,Nb,B promote heterogeneous nucleation and reduce the grain size of primaryα-Al.At a lower slow shot speed,the large ESCs are easier to form and gather,developing into the dendrite net and net-shrinkage.With an increase in slow shot speed,the size and number of ESCs and porosities significantly reduce.In addition,the distribution of ESCs is more dispersed and the net-shrinkage disappears.The tensile property is greatly improved by adopting a higher slow shot speed.The ultimate tensile strength is enhanced from 260.31 MPa to 290.31 MPa(increased by 11.52%),and the elongation is enhanced from 3.72%to 6.34%(increased by 70.52%).

Effect of Cooling Rates on Solidification Microstructures and Tensile Property of a Novel Wrought Superalloy

The effects of cooling rates on solidification behaviors,segregation characteristics and tensile property of GH4151 alloy were investigated using microstructure characterization and tensile test.Firstly,a relationship between the secondary dendrite arm spacing and cooling rate was determined and it was confirmed to be valid.Secondly,it can be found from microstructure observations that the morphology of(Nb,Ti)C carbides transits from blocky and script type to fine script type and spotty type,and the refinedγ'phase was observed due to decrease of segregation with increasing cooling rates.Thirdly,the solidification microstructures of the industrial-scale samples were analyzed.The morphology ofηphase changes from indistinguishable shape,fine needle-like shape to large block-like shape with increasing ingot diameter.As a result,the mechanical properties of alloy decrease due to increase of brittle precipitations.The experimental results show that the precipitation behavior of GH4151 is affected by segregation degree of elements,and the segregation degree is determined by solute distribution process and solid back-diffusion process.

Effect of glass fibre(GF) addition on microstructure and tensile property of GF/Pb composites fabricated by powder metallurgy

GF/Pb compositeswerefabricated by the method of powder metallurgy, and the density, microstructure and tensile propertywerecharacterized considering the size and content ofglass fibre （GF）. The results show that relative densities decrease with increasing GF fraction, and the 50μm-GF reinforced specimens exhibit a better densification than the 300μm-GF reinforced ones. The GF particles distribute quite uniformly inPb matrix, and the composites fabricated at low sintering temperature （〈200℃） possess fine-grain microstructure. The addition of GF significantly improves the strength of the Pb composites, and the ultimate tensile strength of the Pb composite reinforcedwith the addition of 50μm-0.5% GF（mass fraction）is about 30MPa higher than that of GF-free sample. For all composites groups, increasing the reinforcement content from 0.5%to 2%（mass fraction）results in a decrease in both tensile strength and ductility.

Microstructure and room temperature tensile property of as-cast Ti44Al6Nb1.0Cr2.0V alloy

The nominal Ti44Al6Nb1.0Cr2.0V alloy was newly designed and prepared by vacuum consumable melting technique with the ingot sizes of d225 mm×320 mm. The results show that the average lamella colony size is 780-1830 μm. This as-cast alloy has a modified near lamellar(M-NL) structure that is composed of mainly larger(α2+γ) lamella colonies and smaller(B2+equiaxed γ) blocky morphology. It exhibits the moderate tensile properties at room temperature, in which the Region(5) yields the ultimate tensile strength(UTS) about 499 MPa and the elongation about 0.53%. The obvious brittle fracture characteristics and trans-granular interlamellar fracture are the predominant modes. After room temperature tensile testing, there are some <101] and a few 1/2<112] superdislocations in the γ phase. The as-cast microcrack is the main factor to deteriorate the tensile property, which results in the premature fracture, poor ductility and few dislocations. The addition of Nb, Cr and V can decrease stacking fault energy(SFE) obviously, which is helpful to enhancing the ductility of the alloy.

Microstructure characteristics and tensile property of ultrasonic treated-thixocast A356 alloy

Billets of A356 aluminum alloy were treated using ultrasonic vibrations during solidification.The billets were reheated to the semisolid state at different routes to optimize the procedure.Billets were,then,thixocast using a die casting machine.The results showed that the ultrasonic-treated billets exhibited finely distributed α（Al） globules after reheating and thixocasting.The thixocast ultrasonic-treated billets showed higher ultimate tensile strength and elongation compared with the untreated billets.Moreover,the thixocast parts showed a tendency to ductile fracture under tension when made from ultrasonic-treated billets,while those made of untreated billets showed brittle fracture with obvious straight facets.These results revealed the feasibility and competence of ultrasonic melt treatment as a potential route for preparing billets for thixocasting.

Effect of heat treatment and thermomechanical processing on microstructure and tensile property of Ti-44Al-8Nb-0.2W-0.2B-0.5Y alloy

High Nb-TiAl (Ti-44Al-8Nb-0.2W-0.2B-0.5Y,at.%) ingot was fabricated by vacuum arc remelting (VAR).The as-cast ingot was hot-isostatic pressed (HIP) and homogenizing annealing processed.The influence of heat treatment temperature and thermomechanical processing on the microstructure and tensile property of the alloy was investigated by X-ray diffractometry (XRD),scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and tensile tests.It was found that the high Nb-TiAl alloy after HIP and annealing was mainly composed of coarse α2/γ lamellae,β/B2 phase and γ phase and the solidification path of this alloy was:L→L+β→β→α+β→α→α+β+γ→α2+β+γ.The water quenching results showed that the alloy was in α single phase region at 1,340 °C.After heating at 1,340 °C for 30 min followed by furnace cooling,the alloy showed a full lamellar microstructure and its ultimate tensile strength was about 538 MPa,with an elongation of 0.3% at room temperature.Free-crack forged pancakes with fine-grained fully lamellar structure (FFLS) were obtained with an initial deformation temperature of 1,340 °C and the ultimate tensile strength of forged alloy was about 820 MPa,with an elongation of 0.9% at room temperature,which was much higher than that of alloy after HIP and annealing because of microstructural refinement.

Effect of Zirconium on Tensile Property,Microstructure and Fracture Behaviour of Cast Ni_(3)Al Based Alloy

The effect of Zr on tensile property, microstructure and fracture behaviour of cast Ni 3Al based alloy strengthened with carbides has been studied. It was found that Zr distributes at interdendrites and grain boundaries in the form of ZrC particle and Ni 5Zr eutectic phase which can refine microstructure. Ni 5Zr phase can alleviate the crack initiation at grain boundaries and dendrite boundaries, which helps deformation to be harmonical between matrix and precipitates at elevated temperature.

Effect of Nano-silica Modification on the Tensile Property of SMA/GF/CF/Epoxy Super Hybrid Woven Fabric Composites

Tensile properties of epoxy casts together with shape memory alloy（SMA）, glass（GF） and carbon（CF） woven fabric reinforced epoxy matrix super hybrid composites were investigated, respectively. In order to enhance the mechanical strength of this advanced material, two categories of modifications including matrix blending and fiber surface coating by nano-silica were studied. Scanning electron microscopy（SEM） and fiber pull-out tests were adopted to complement the experimental results, respectively. Experimental results reveal that the toughness of epoxy matrix is enhanced significantly by adding 2 wt% nano-silica. The failure mechanism of SMA reinforced hybrid composites is different from that of GF/CF/epoxy composites. Compared with the matrix modification, the fibers modified by coating nano-silica on the surface have better tensile performances. Moreover, the fiber pull-out test results also indicate that composites with fiber surface modification have better interfacial performances. The modification method used in this paper can help to enhance the tensile performance of the mentioned composite materials in real engineering fields.

High Temperature Tensile Property and Fracture Behavior of Directionally Solidified Fe-Al-Ta Eutectic Composites

Fe-Al-Ta eutectic composites with solidification rates of 6,20,30,80 and 200μm/s were obtained by a modified Bridgman directional solidification technique and alloying.Moreover,tensile property and fracture behavior of Fe-Al-Ta eutectic composites were studied at 600℃.The relationship between mechanical property and microstructure at high temperature was studied.Microstructure of Fe-Al-Ta eutectic is composed of Fe_(2)Ta(Al)Laves phase and Fe(Al,Ta)matrix phase.In addition,the tensile strength at high temperatures is higher than that at room temperature.The tensile strength is increased with the increase of solidification rate.Moreover,fracture morphology transforms from cleavage fracture to dimple fracture as the solidification rate is increased at high temperatures.

Defects of friction stir welded 1060 aluminum alloy and their effects on joint tensile property

9. 6 mm thick 1060-H24 aluminum alloy plates were friction stir welded and the influencing factors on groove and tunnel defects were examined. Results show that the welding speed range for achieving a groove-free joint is enlarged with increasing the rotating speed. The tunnel size decreases with decreasing the welding speed under the same rotating speed. Excessive or insufficient shoulder plunge depth will cause defective joints. At a relatively low rotating speed and high welding speed, the tool having a larger shoulder diameter has a larger range of processing parameters to obtain a groove-free joint. Moreover, the tensile fracture behaviors of the defective and defect-free samples are different.

Manufacturing of T300 cobalt-free maraging steel and its tensile property

The 18Ni 300 grade cobalt-free maraging steel T300 was successfully manufactured on an industrial scale by application of vacuum induction melting （VIM） and vacuum arc remelting （VAR） process at Baosteel. With the content of O and N less than 15 ppm and 10 ppm respectively （ 1 ppm = 10 -6 ） ,the T300 steel produced by Baosteel obtained a high degree of purity and a good combination of ultra-high strength and fracture toughness. The effects of solution temperature and ageing temperature on tensile property of solution-treated and aged T300 steel were investigated. The results show that the solution temperature slightly influences the strength of the solution-treated steel, indicating that the solution strengthening rather than the grain boundary strengthening is more important to the solution-treated steel. For the solution-treated T300, the elongation and reduction of area don＇t change much with a rising solution temperature, and remain above 17% and 70% respectively at the solution temperature ranging from 800℃ to 1200℃. For the aged T300 steel,the strength and elongation are reduced with an increasing solution temperature, and the solution temperature has a greater effect on the reduction of area than that on the elongation. The reduction of area of the aged steel reaches a high peak when the solution temperature reaches 920℃. The experimental data indicates that precipitation strengthening makes a contribution of l 100 MPa to the tensile strength of the aged steel. The ageing temperature exerts a greater effect on the strength than on the elongation and reduction of area. The steel achieves a better combination of strength and toughness at the peak ageing temperature of 500℃.

MICROSTRUCTURE AND TENSILE PROPERTY OF AN AS-CAST DUPLEX STAINLESS STEEL

The effect of high temperature solution heat treatment on the microstructure and tensile property of as-cast 0Cr17Mnl4Mo2N duplex stainless steel was investigated. It was found that the morphology of δ-ferrite in the dual phases microstructures changed gradually from dendritic to lamellar and then to spheroidal, and its distribution became more uniform under appropriate treatment. When the treat temperature was lower than 1250°C, the spheroidal ratio and the homogeneous distribution of δ-ferrite increased with the increase of temperature, which corresponds to a better tensile property. In addition, when the treat temperature reached 1250°C and above, the microstructure consists of coarse equiaxial δ-ferrite grains with the needle austenite at its boundaries, which results in the decrease of the tensile properties of the steel.

Effect of Heat Treatment on Gradient Microstructure and Tensile Property of Laser Powder Bed Fusion Fabricated 15-5 Precipitation Hardening Stainless Steel

This work investigated the gradient microstructure evolution and tensile property of LPBF fabricated 15-5 precipitation hardening stainless steel in post-process direct ageing(DA)and solution treating&ageing(STA).The varied microstructures for austenite and small-sized oxide inclusions at different sample heights in the as-built(AB)condition was generally preserved after DA treatment.However,austenite was almost disappeared,and oxide particle grew significantly after the STA treatment.As a result,the tensile property differences in sample top and bottom for AB and DA conditions did not occur in the STA samples.For the influence of post-process heat treatment,the STA condition had the highest yield strength due to the highest volume fraction of nano-sized Cu precipitates.However,the DA specimen had the highest ultimate tensile strength and elongation owing to the considerable amount of austenite phase and associated transformation induced plasticity effect.

Effect of hot isostatic pressure on the microstructure and tensile properties of γ'-strengthened superalloy fabricated through induction-assisted directed energy deposition

The microstructure characteristics and strengthening mechanism of Inconel738LC(IN-738LC) alloy prepared by using induction-assisted directed energy deposition(IDED) were elucidated through the investigation of samples subjected to IDED under 1050℃ preheating with and without hot isostatic pressing(HIP,1190℃,105 MPa,and 3 h).Results show that the as-deposited sample mainly consisted of epitaxial columnar crystals and inhomogeneously distributed γ’ phases in interdendritic and dendritic core regions.After HIP,grain morphology changed negligibly,whereas the size of the γ’ phase became increasingly even.After further heat treatment(HT,1070℃,2 h + 845℃,24 h),the γ’ phase in the as-deposited and HIPed samples presented a bimodal size distribution,whereas that in the as-deposited sample showed a size that remained uneven.The comparison of tensile properties revealed that the tensile strength and uniform elongation of the HIP + HTed sample increased by 5% and 46%,respectively,due to the synergistic deformation of bimodal γ’phases,especially large cubic γ’ phases.Finally,the relationship between phase transformations and plastic deformations in the IDEDed sample was discussed on the basis of generalized stability theory in terms of the trade-off between thermodynamics and kinetics.

Influence of laser shock peening on surface integrity and tensile property of high strength low alloy steel

Laser Shock Peening(LSP)is a well-established surface treatment commonly used to improve mechanical properties of material’s surfaces.To further understand the relationship between tensile property and fatigue life improvement of high strength low alloy steel in the LSP process,LSP treatment of 32 CrNi high strength low alloy steel was carried out by YAG laser with pulse energy of 15 J,and tensile property was tested by electronic universal material testing machine.Surface morphology,residual stress and tensile fracture of the specimens before and after LSP were observed by white light interferometer(WLI),X-ray measuring apparatus and scanning electron microscope(SEM).Result shows that LSP did not change tensile strength of 32 CrNi steel but cause yield characteristic transform from obvious yield point to no yield phenomenon which is the only factor benefiting fatigue life,indicating that the increment of fatigue life was probably related to the disappearance of yield phenomenon.Formation mechanisms of tensile fractures and yield phenomenon induced by LSP at room temperature were also discussed and completely revealed.Deeper compressive residual stress and flat grains contributed to the transition of yield characteristic and lower elongation rate of 32 CrNi steel subjected to LSP.

Microstructure and room-temperature tensile property of Ti-5.7Al-4.0Sn-3.5Zr-0.4Mo-0.4Si-0.4Nb-1.0Ta-0.05C with near equiaxed β grain fabricated by laser directed energy deposition technique

Near-equiaxed β grain was achieved in the near-α Ti60(Ti-5.7Al-4.0Sn-3.5Zr-0.4Mo-0.4Si-0.4Nb-1.0Ta-0.05C) titanium alloy via laser directed energy deposition(LDED). The microstructural evolution along the building direction and the room-temperature tensile properties along the horizontal and vertical directions(building direction) were systematically studied through SEM and OM. EBSD and XRD were utilized to accurately demonstrate the texture of the α and β phases. The results showed that the α phase presented a low texture intensity, which was ascribed to the weak textured β grain with near-equiaxed morphology, since there are Burgers orientation relationships during the β →α transition. In addition, numerical simulation, combined with the CET curve of Ti60 alloy considering the effect of multi-composition,was utilized to elucidate the formation mechanism of the near-equiaxed β grains. Furthermore, according to the solidification theory, we proposed that the solidification temperature range ΔTfwas more accurate than the growth restriction factor Q in predicting the formation tendency of equiaxed β grain in different titanium alloys. Tensile results showed that the horizontal and vertical samples had similar strength,while the former exhibited larger elongation than the latter. The effect of the near-equiaxed β grain and the internal α phase on mechanical properties were revealed at last.

Microstructure and high-temperature tensile property of TiAl alloy produced by selective electron beam melting

The microstructure and high-temperature tensile property of a Ti-47Al-2Cr-2 Nb alloy fabricated via selective electron beam melting(SEBM) with hatch spacings of 85,100,and 115 μm were systematically investigated.When the hatch spacing increased from 85 to 115 μm,the microstructure comprising the horizontal cross section changed from coarse lamellar(y/B2) colonies to an inhomogeneous structure and the grain morphology transformed from elongated grains to inhomogeneous and equiaxed grains along the building direction of the vertical cross section.The boundary population of the SEBMproduced TiAl alloy samples was dominated by high-angle grain boundaries(≥ 15°),and the volume fraction of these boundaries decreased with hatch spacing increasing.Additionally,the as-built TiAl alloy sample produced under a spacing of 100 μm exhibited the highest room-and elevated-temperature tensile strengths,with the ultimate tensile strength at room temperature(642 MPa) increasing to 674 MPa at 700 ℃.Furthermore,the mechanism of anomalous strengthening at 700 ℃ was discussed in detail.

Microstructural evolution and tensile property of 1Cr15Ni36W3Ti superalloy during thermal exposure

1Cr15Ni36W3Ti was thermally exposed at 580℃and 680℃,respectively,up to 3000 h.Theγ’phase and intergranular TiC carbides continuously coarsened during exposure.None ofη,laves orσphase was discovered in the exposed samples,indicating good microstructure stability under the present exposure conditions.The ripening process of theγ’phase could be well modelled utilizing the LSW theory.The evolutions of the yield and tensile strengths were monotonous during exposure at 580℃.However,a transition point in strengths was detected in the tensile samples exposed at 680℃for 300 h.Accordingly,the criticalγ’diameter was measured to be 13-14 nm.Theγ’/dislocations interaction mechanism transformed from shearing to looping with theγ’diameter exceeding the critical point.The combination of the weakly coupled dislocations model and the Orowan looping model yielded a critical diameter of 13.1 nm which coincided well with the measured one,indicating the applicability of these two strengthening models for 1 Cr15Ni36W3Ti.The present exposure conditions did not exert a profound effect on the fracture mode.All the tensile samples underwent a typically ductile fracture with a dimple pattern dominating the fracture surface.The dispersed deformation induced by the prevalence of dislocation looping in the over-aged tensile samples retarded the propagation of intergranular cracks.The declined precipitation hardening increment and the enhanced deformation homogeneity partially recovered the tensile ductility in the over-aged samples exposed at 680℃.

Effects of magnesium and copper additions on tensile properties of Al-Si-Cr die casting alloy under as-cast and T5 conditions

Aluminum high pressure die casting(HPDC)technology has evolved in the past decades,enabling stronger and larger one-piece casting with significant part consolidation.It also offers a higher design freedom for more mass-efficient thin-walled body structures.For body structures that require excellent ductility and fracture toughness to be joined with steel sheet via self-piercing riveting(for instance,shock towers and hinge pillars,etc.),a costly T7 heat treatment comprising a solution heat treatment at elevated temperatures(450℃-500℃)followed by an over-ageing heat treatment is needed to optimize microstructure for meeting product requirement.To enable cost-efficient mass production of HPDC body structures,it is important to eliminate the expensive T7 heat treatment without sacrificing mechanical properties.Optimizing die cast alloy chemistry is a potential solution to improve fracture toughness and ductility of the HPDC components.The present study intends to tailor the Mg and Cu additions for a new Al-Si-Cr type die casting alloy(registered as A379 with The Aluminum Association,USA)to achieve the desired tensile properties without using T7 heat treatment.It was found that Cu addition should be avoided,as it is not effective in enhancing strength while degrades tensile ductility.Mg addition is very effective in improving strength and has minor impact on tensile ductility.The investigated Al-Si-Cr alloy with a nominal composition of Al-8.5wt.%Si-0.3wt.%Cr-0.2wt.%Fe shows comparable tensile properties with the T7 treated AlSi10MnMg alloy which is currently used for manufacturing shock towers and hinge pillars.

Effect of Electromagnetic Stirring on Fine Grain Formation and Tensile Property Improvement for Fe-Ni Superalloy

Due to its excellent creep rupture strength and low cost,superalloy GH2984 has becoming a promising material to be used as heat exchanger in the prospective 700 oC fossil power plant.The mechanical strength,which is a particularly important indicator for the superalloy,strongly depends on the grain size and crabide distribution.In current study,we have investigated the influence of a rotating magnetic field(RMF)on the solidified microstructures and tensile properties of superalloy GH2984.RMF has been applied to provide a forced convection within the solidifying melt.The melt stirring by a sufficiently high magnetic field provides homogeneous grain size and elements distribution in the sample volume.Meanwhile,yield strength is found to be effectively enhanced for the sample solidified under magnetic field.The result has demonstrated that the RMF method on the melt solidification process shows a promising perspective for refining the grains and promoting the mechanical strength of superalloy GH2984.