Microstructure evolution and thermal expansion of Cu-Zn alloy after high pressure heat treatment

The thermal expansion coefficients of Cu-Zn alloy before and after high pressure treatment were measured by thermal expansion instrument in the temperature range of 25？700 ℃,and the microstructure and phase transformation of the alloy were examined by optical microscope,X-ray diffractometer（XRD） and differential scanning calorimeter（DSC）.Based on the experimental results,the effects of high pressure treatment on the microstructure and thermal expansion of Cu-Zn alloy were investigated.The results show that the high pressure treatment can refine the grain and increase the thermal expansion coefficient of the Cu-Zn alloy,resulting in that the thermal expansion coefficient exhibits a high peak value on the α-T curve,and the peak value decreases with increasing the pressure.

Effects of high-pressure heat treatment on the solid-state phase transformation and microstructures of Cu_(61.13)Zn_(33.94)Al_(4.93) alloys

The phase transformation activation energy of the Cu61.13Zn33.94A14.93 alloys, which were treated at 4 GPa and 700 ℃ for 15 minutes, was calculated by means of differential scanning calorimetry curves obtained at various heating and cooling rates. Then, the effects of high-pressure heat treatments on the solid-state phase transformation and the microstructures of Cu61.13Zn33.94A14.93 alloys were investigated. The results show that high-pressure heat treatments can refine the grains and can change the preferred orientation from （111） to （200） of α phase. Compared with the as-cast alloy, the sample with high-pressure heat treatment has finer grains, lower β＇→β and/β→β＇ transformation temperature and activation energy. Furthermore, we found that high cooling rate favours the formation of fine needle-like α phase in the range of 5-20℃/min.

Effect of High Pressure Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Compressive Properties of Low Carbon Steel

The effect of high pressure heat treatment on microstructure and compressive properties of low carbon steel were investigated by optical microscope,transmission electron microscope,hardness tester and compression test methods.The results show that martensite appears in low carbon steel at 1-5GPa GPa and 950°C for 15 minutes treatment,high pressure heat treatment can improve the hardness and compressive properties of the steel,the yield strength of the steel increases with increasing pressure,and its compressive properties are better than that treated under normal pressure quenching.

Effect of high temperature heat treatment on pH value of Masson Pine wood

Heat-treated wood has good dimensional stability,corrosion resistance and visual quality,but it is prone to mold,which limits its application.Based on the pH value of heat-treated wood,this study examines the factors affecting the pathogenesis causing heat-treated wood mold.Normally,the pH value of the heat-treated wood is between 4.38 and 5.10,which is suitable for the growth of mold.However,the pH of the heat-treated copper-containing material is between 6.63 and 7.12,which deviates the treated wood from the comfortable growth conditions for the mold,thereby reducing the occurrence of mold.

High temperature mechanical behavior of low-pressure sand-cast Mg-Gd-Y-Zr magnesium alloy

The aim of this work is firstly to optimize T6 heat-treatment of low-pressure sand-cast Mg-10Gd-3Y-0.5Zr alloy,and then systematically investigate the mechanical behavior of the T6-treated alloy from room temperature to 300℃.It turned out that the optimum T6 heat-treatments for the tested alloy are 525℃×12 h+225℃×14 h and 525℃×12 h+250℃×12 h which integrated age-hardening and tensile properties into account,respectively.The strength of the T6-treated alloy indicates obvious anomalous temperature dependence from room temperature to 300℃,namely both ultimate tensile strength and yield strength of the tested alloy firstly increase with tensile temperature,and then decrease as temperature increases further.Elongation increased with temperature monotonously.The tensile fracture mode of the tested alloy changes from transgranular fracture to intergranular fracture with the increasing of test temperature.

INFLUENCE OF HEAT TREATMENT ON OXIDATION PROPERTIES OF C/C COMPOSITES FABRICATED BY HIGH PRESSURE IMPREGNATION CARBONIZATION

Felt base carbon/carbon composites fabricated by super-high pressure impregnation carbonization process (SPIC) were heat treated at high temperature 2773K. The oxidation properties of felt base carbon/carbon composites were investigated at different temperatures (773-1173K), and the microstructures of carbon/carbon composites were studied by SEM and X-ray diffraction. The experimental results showed that the inter-laminar distance of (002) plane (d002) deceased while the microcrystalline stack height (Lc) increased. The oxidation rate of felt base carbon/carbon composites was invari-able at certain temperatures. The oxidation mechanism of carbon/carbon composites changed remarkably at the oxidation temperature 973K. At the initial oxidation stage of carbon/carbon composites, carbon matrix was oxidized much more rapidly than carbon felt.

Flexible Furnace Concepts for Vacuum Heat Treatment Combined with High-pressure Gas Quenching

IN the past five years the process combination of vacuum hardening, respectively vacuum carburizing with high-pressure gas quenching was successfully introduced to the market, especially in the manufacture of gears. In the meantime furnace concepts for various applications are available to the industry. In the following report three plant varieties are introduced, which differ in process flexibility and throughput. This report also explains criteria for the selection of a furnace in view of the existing application requirements. Besides this a short introduction is given into the vacuum carburizing process and the high-pressure gas quenching technology.

Formability and strengthening mechanism of AA6061 tubular components under solid granule medium internal high pressure forming

A new technological process of tube forming was developed, namely solution treatment → granule medium internal high pressure forming → artificial aging. During this process, the mechanical properties of AA6061 tube can be adjusted by heat treatment to satisfy the process requirements and the processing method can also be realized by granule medium internal high pressure forming technology with the features of convenient implementation, low requirement to equipment and flexible design in product. Results show that, at a solution temperature of 560 ℃ and time of 120 min, the elongation of AA6061 increases by 313%, but the strength and the hardness dramatically decrease. At an aging temperature of 180 ℃ and time of 360 min, the strength and hardness of AA6061 alloy are recovered to the values of the as-received alloy. The maximum expansion ratio（MER） of AA6061 tube increases by 25.5% and the material properties of formed tube reach the performances of raw material.

Effects of High Temperature Treatment on Seed Germination of Dodonaea viscosa(L.) Jacq

Seeds of Dodonaea viscosa （L.） Jacq, a representative species in dry and hot valleys in Southwest China, were chosen as experimental materials. In this experiment, the D. viscosa seeds were treated at 40, 60, 80 and 100℃ respectively before germination to study impacts of high temperature treatment on their generation rate and to further discuss the roles of fire during the process of vegetation formation in dry and hot valley areas of China. The results show that when the temperature was higher than 40 ℃, the germination rate of D. viscosa seeds was significantly higher than that of the control group, and the heat shock effect was apparent. The germination rate was the highest when the seeds were treated at 80 ℃ for 10 min, reaching 63.00%±2.55%. There was still a significant heat shock effect on the D. viscosa seeds which were stored for one year. In comparison with the conventional method of soaking seeds in hot water, the germination rate of D. viscose seeds which were treated at high temperature before germination increased significantly.

Characterization of A390 aluminum alloy produced at different slow shot speeds using vacuum assisted high pressure die casting

The effects of vacuum assistance on the microstructure and mechanical properties of high pressure die cast A390alloy at different slow shot speeds were evaluated.Plate-shaped specimens of hypereutectic A390aluminum alloy were produced on a TOYO BD?350V5cold chamber die casting machine incorporated with a self-improved TOYO vacuum system.According to the results,the vacuum pressure inside the die cavity increased linearly with the increasing slow shot speed at the beginning of mold filling.Meanwhile,tensile properties of vacuum die castings were deteriorated by the porosity content.In addition,the average primary silicon size decreased from23to14μm when the slow shot speed increased from0.05to0.2m/s,which has a binary functional relationship with the slow shot speed.After heat treatment,microstructural morphologies revealed that needle-shaped and thin-flaked eutectic silicon particles became rounded while Al2Cu dissolved intoα(Al)matrix.Furthermore,the fractography revealed that the fracture mechanism has evolved from brittle transgranular fracture to a fracture mode with many dimples after heat treatment.

Different aging behaviors at surface layer and central region of a die-casting A380 alloy during heat treatment

Microstructural and hardness evolutions of a vacuum-assistant die-cast A380(Al-8.67 wt.%Si-3.27 wt.%Cu) alloy during heat treatment were investigated. Isothermal DSC test at 200 °C revealed that the precipitation reaction in the surface layer was faster than that in the central region. This corresponded with the hardness evolution that the surface layer hardened faster. The hardness increment in the surface layer was higher than that in the central region. Further experimental evidences indicated that the differences were due to the different amounts of heterogeneous nucleation sites for precipitation in the two parts. The influence of the characteristic as-cast microstructure on the artificial aging process is analyzed and discussed in detail.

Selection of Heat Treatment Process and Wear Mechanism of High Wear Resistant Cast Hot-Forging Die Steel

Dry sliding wear tests of a Cr-Mo-V cast hot-forging die steel was carried out within a load range of 50--300 N at 400℃ by a pin-on-disc high temperature wear machine. The effect of heat treatment process on wear resistance was systematically studied in order to select heat treatment processes of the steel with high wear resistance. The morphology, structure and composition were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, X-ray diffraction （XRD） and energy dispersive spectroscopy （EDS） ; wear mechanism was also discussed. Tribo-oxide layer was found to form on worn surfaces to reduce wear under low loads, but appear inside the matrix to increase wear under high loads. The tribo-oxides were mainly consisted of Fe3O4 and Fe2O3, FeO only appeared under a high load. Oxidative mild wear, transition of mild-severe wear in oxidative wear and extrusive wear took turns to operate with increasing the load. The wear resistance strongly depended on the selection of heat treatment processes or microstructures. It was found that bainite presented a better wear resistance than martensite plus bainite duplex structure, martensite structure was of the poorest wear resistance. The wear resistance increased with increasing austenizing temperature in the range of 920 to 1 120 ℃, then decreased at up to 1 220 ℃. As for tempering temperature and microstructure, the wear resistance increased in following order： 700℃ （tempered sorbite）, 200 ℃ （tempered martensite）, 440 to 650 ℃ （tempered troostite）. An appropriate combination of hardness, toughness, microstructural thermal stability was re- quired for a good wear resistance in high-temperature wear. The optimized heat treatment process was suggested for the cast hot-forging steel to be austenized at 1020 to 1 120 ℃, quenched in oil, then tempered at 440 to 650℃ for 2 h.

Heat Treatment of Centrifugally Cast High-Vanadium Alloy Steel for High-Pressure Grinding Roller

The roller is one of the main parts of a high-pressure grinding roller, which is a type of highly efficient ore crushing equipment. Its working life is strongly affected by the materials used. In this paper, a new kind of roller material, the high-vanadium alloy steel （HVAS）, was investigated. The results showed that the as-cast microstructures of the HVAS roller contained martensite, residual austenite, and alloy carbides. The HVAS sample quenched at 1,080 ℃ had a high hardness, and it had much higher compressive strength and abrasive wear resistance after tempering at 560 ℃ for 30 rain. The mechanical properties of the HVAS are more sufficient than the existing roller materials, which are feasible for larger machine design.

Research on investment casting of TiAl alloy agitator treated by HIP and HT

Using TiAl alloy to substitute superalloy is a hot topic in aeroengine industry because of its low density, high elevated temperature strength, and anti-oxidization ability. In this research, Ti-47.5AL-2Cr-2Nb-0.2B alloy was used as the test material. By applying a combination process of ceramic shell mold and core making, vacuum arc melting and centrifugal pouring, and heat isostatic pressing （HIP） and heat treatment （HT） etc., the TiAl vortex agitator casting for aeroengine was successfully made. This paper introduced key techniques in making the TiAl vortex agitator with investment casting process, provided some experimental results including mechanical properties and machinability, and explained some concerns that could affect applications of TiAl castings.

Synthesis of Iron-containing Carbon Microparticles from Deoiled Asphalt and Ferrocene

The deoiled asphalt as the carbon source and the ferrocene as the metal source and the catalyst precursor were chosen to synthesize iron-containing carbon microparticles through co-carbonization at the temperature of about 450℃ for 3 h. The resulting products were treated at 2 000 ℃ for 2 h. All samples were examined by high resolution transmission electron microscopy （HRTEM） and X-ray diffraction （XRD）. The results show that the iron particles in the heat-treated material are completely coated by carbon. In addition to the fully filled carbon microparticles as well as hollow carbon ones, also form carbon fibers with hollow centers. The formation mechanism of the as-prepared products was discussed briefly.

Low-temperature Rapid Synthesis of Ultrafine Hafnium Carbide Ceramic Powders

Nano hafnium carbide（HfC） powders were synthesized by sol-gel combining hightemperature rapid heat treatment process using citric acid and hafnium tetrachloride as the raw materials. The effects of ball milling treatment on the phase and morphology of pyrolysis products（HfO_2-C） and final HfC product were investigated and the influences of heat treatment temperature and holding time on the structure and properties of the synthesized hafnium carbide powders were also studied. The experimental results showed that the HfO_2-C powders with good uniformity and small particle size were prepared by controlling the milling time. Pure HfC powders with an average particle size of 500 nm were obtained at 1 700 ℃ with a holding time of 3 min, and the oxygen content was about 0.69 wt%, lower than that of the hafnium carbide powders prepared by SPS（0.97%）.

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.

Laser-Heated Diamond-Anvil Cell (LHDAC) in Materials Science Research

Laser-heated diamond-anvil cell (LHDAC) is emerging as the most suitable, economical and versatile tool for the measurement of a large spectrum of physical properties of materials under extreme pressure and temperature conditions. In this review, the recent developments in the instrumentation, pressure and temperature measurement techniques, results of experimental investigations from the literature were discussed. Also, the future scope of the technique in various avenues of science was explored.