Study of rare earth element effect on microstructures and mechanical properties of an Al-Cu-Mg-Si cast alloy

The improvements of microstructures and properties of a high strength aluminum cast alloy were studied. The effects of rare earth elements on the microstructures and mechanical properties of the high strength cast alloy Al-Cu-Mg-Si were investigated. The result shows that the addition of rare earth elements can change the microstructures in refining the grain size of the alloy and making the needle-like and laminar eutectic Si to a granular Si. With the increase of the rare earth, the tensile strength and elongation of the alloy increase first and then fall down. The mechanical properties of the alloy will reach the highest value when the content of rare earth elements is about 0.7%.

Characterization of mechanical properties of aluminum cast alloy at elevated temperature

The tensile response, the low cycle fatigue （LCF） resistance, and the creep behavior of an aluminum （A1） cast alloy are studied at ambient and elevated temperatures. A non-contact real-time optical extensometer based on the digital image correlation （DIC） is developed to achieve strain measurements without damage to the specimen. The optical extensometer is validated and used to monitor dynamic strains during the mechanical experiments. Results show that Young＇s modulus of the cast alloy decreases with the increasing temperature, and the percentage elongation to fracture at 100 ℃ is the lowest over the temperature range evaluated from 25 ℃ to 300 ℃. In the LCF test, the fatigue strength coefficient decreases, whereas the fatigue strength exponent increases with the rising temperature. The fatigue ductility at 100 ℃. As expected, the resistance to and changes from 200 ℃ to 300 ℃. coefficient and exponent reach maximum values creep decreases with the increasing temperature

Formation and thermal stability of connected hard skeleton structure in ATX525 cast alloys

The formation and the thermal stability of a connected hard skeleton structure(CHSS) in the matrix of Mg-5Al-2Sn-5Ca(ATX525) alloy were investigated by using X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimeter, creep tester and isothermal treatment method. The results indicated that the CHSS composed of Mg2(Al,Ca) and Al2 Ca intermetallics was formed into a typical eutectic structure and no obvious change occurred when the samples were isothermally treated at 250 °C for 96 h and 350 °C for 72 h, respectively. It became a chained structure when isothermally treated at 450 °C for 48 h. The dissolution and reconstruction processes, however, were observed for the CHSS when the processing temperature was up to 550 °C. The creep life at the stress-temperature condition of 50MPa/200°C for the alloy treated at 450 °C for 48 h was as high as 510 h, and the strain at creep time of 100 h was as low as 0.03%, which indicated that the present alloy has not only a good thermal stability, but also a better heat resistance.

Study on Characteristics of Crystal Growth of NdFeB Cast Alloys

The characteristic of crystal growth of NdFeB cast alloys was studied. It is found that the crystal growth orientation of conventional ingots is along <410> or <411>. As the cooling rate increases, the crystallization orientation changes from a axis to c axis, along which the grain is easy to be magnetized. Meanwhile, by analyzing the change of crystallization orientation, the influence on the property of magnets was discussed.

A Banding Structure in a Ni-Cu-Si Cast Alloy

The solidified microstructure of a Ni-Cu-Si cast alloy has been investigated, and a kind of banding structure was observed. The results showed that, the banding structure was composed of coarser particles which were Ni3Si type of precipitates and similar to the fine particles precipitate uniformly distributed within matrix of Ni solid solution, in both crystal structure and composition. The formation of bandings was resulted from cast thermal stress and dislocation walls. It was found that the cracks propagated along these bandings in tensile test. The banding structure can be depressed by reducing the cast thermal stress, which can improve the tensile ductility.

STATISTICAL MODEL FOR FRACTURE TOUGHNESS OF A MODIFIED Al-7Si-0.45Mg CAST ALLOY

The statistical model for the fracture toughness of a modified Al-7Si-0.45Mg cast alloy has been proposed on the basis of analysis of the correlation between the size distribution of crack nuclei and Si particles and of the micromechanism of fracture.The suitable criterion of frac- ture toughness according to the model has been given.The model has found a good explana- tion for the fracture feature,fracture toughness and microstructure,and agreed with the ex- periments very well.

Experimental observations on the nonproportional multiaxial ratchetting of cast AZ91 magnesium alloy at room temperature

The nonproportional multiaxial ratchetting of cast AZ91 magnesium (Mg) alloy was examined by performing a sequence of axial-torsional cyclic tests controlled by stress with various loading paths at room temperature (RT).The evolutionary characteristics and path dependence of multiaxial ratchetting were discussed.Results illustrate that the cast AZ91 Mg alloy exhibits considerable nonproportional additional softening during cyclic loading with multiple nonproportional multiaxial loading paths;multiaxial ratchetting presents strong path dependence,and axial ratchetting strains are larger under nonproportional loading paths than under uniaxial and proportional45°linear loading paths;multiaxial ratchetting becomes increasingly pronounced as the applied stress amplitude and axial mean stress increase.Moreover,stress-strain curves show a convex and symmetrical shape in axial/torsional directions.Multiaxial ratchetting exhibits quasi-shakedown after certain loading cycles.The abundant experimental data obtained in this work can be used to develop a cyclic plasticity model of cast Mg alloys.

I-DCGAN and TOPSIS-IFP:A simulation generation model for radiographic flaw detection images in light alloy castings and an algorithm for quality evaluation of generated images

The intelligent detection technology driven by X-ray images and deep learning represents the forefront of advanced techniques and development trends in flaw detection and automated evaluation of light alloy castings.However,the efficacy of deep learning models hinges upon a substantial abundance of flaw samples.The existing research on X-ray image augmentation for flaw detection suffers from shortcomings such as poor diversity of flaw samples and low reliability of quality evaluation.To this end,a novel approach was put forward,which involves the creation of the Interpolation-Deep Convolutional Generative Adversarial Network(I-DCGAN)for flaw detection image generation and a comprehensive evaluation algorithm named TOPSIS-IFP.I-DCGAN enables the generation of high-resolution,diverse simulated images with multiple appearances,achieving an improvement in sample diversity and quality while maintaining a relatively lower computational complexity.TOPSIS-IFP facilitates multi-dimensional quality evaluation,including aspects such as diversity,authenticity,image distribution difference,and image distortion degree.The results indicate that the X-ray radiographic images of magnesium and aluminum alloy castings achieve optimal performance when trained up to the 800th and 600th epochs,respectively.The TOPSIS-IFP value reaches 78.7%and 73.8%similarity to the ideal solution,respectively.Compared to single index evaluation,the TOPSIS-IFP algorithm achieves higher-quality simulated images at the optimal training epoch.This approach successfully mitigates the issue of unreliable quality associated with single index evaluation.The image generation and comprehensive quality evaluation method developed in this paper provides a novel approach for image augmentation in flaw recognition,holding significant importance for enhancing the robustness of subsequent flaw recognition networks.

Experimental investigation on uniaxial cyclic plasticity of cast AZ91 magnesium alloy

The uniaxial cyclic plasticity of cast AZ91 magnesium(Mg) alloy was investigated by conducting a series of cyclic straining and stressing tests at room temperature, and a unique cyclic plasticity(especially for ratchetting) and its physical nature were revealed. The experimental results demonstrate that the cast AZ91 Mg alloy behaviors tension-compression symmetry, because the dislocation slipping and twinning occur during both the tensile and compressive deformations;although the cast AZ91 alloy presents a certain pseudo-elastic behavior during unloading due to the detwinning, there is no obvious S-shaped asymmetric hysteresis loop like that of wrought Mg alloy in the cyclic tensile-compressive tests, and an obvious cyclic hardening is observed;moreover, the ratchetting of the cast AZ91 alloy presented in the cyclic stressing tests depends remarkably on the prescribed mean stress and stress amplitude, but slightly changes with the stress rate, and the evolution of responding peak/valley strain greatly differs from that of wrought Mg alloys and stainless steels. This work provides rich experimental data for establishing the constitutive model of cast Mg alloys.

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 Ti content on microstructures and mechanical properties of cast Al-2Li-2Cu-0.5Mg alloy

Ti is regarded as one of the promising grain refiners in cast Al-Li-Cu alloys,but few research works have been done on its independent role.In this study,the effect of Ti on the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of cast Al-2Li-2Cu-0.5Mg base alloy was investigated.The results revealed that the grains can be prominently refined with the increase of Ti addition.After adding Ti,high density TiB_(2)-Al_(3)Ti composite particles with a low lattice misfit form as heterogeneous nucleation sites for the α-Al matrix.δ’(Al3Li) and T_(1)(Al_(2)CuLi) precipitates that provide enhanced strength are dominated in the alloys after T6 aging treatment.The average size of both δ’ and half-width of δ’-precipitation free zone(PFZ) decreases gradually with the increase of Ti content.This is because the higher binding energy between Ti atoms and vacancies limits the diffusion efficiency of Li atoms,and thus results in a higher ductility.Additionally,no nano-sized Al_(3)Ti or core-shell structure of Al_(3)(Li,Ti) particles are found.The tensile property test results indicate that the Al-2Li-2Cu-0.5Mg alloy achieves optimal properties after aging at 175 °C for 32 h when 0.15wt.% Ti is added.It exhibits a yield strength of 352±5 MPa,an ultimate tensile strength of 423±6 MPa,and an elongation of(3±0.4)%.These findings are expected to offer a reliable theoretical guidance for the industrial composition design of the Al-Li-Cu series cast alloys.

Effect of secondary aging on microstructure and properties of cast Al-Cu-Mg alloy

To obtain better comprehensive properties of cast Al-Cu-Mg alloys,the secondary aging(T6I6)process(including initial aging,interrupted aging and re-aging stages)was optimized by an orthogonal method.The microstructures of the optimized Al-Cu-Mg alloy were observed by means of scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy,and the properties were investigated by hardness measurements,tensile tests,exfoliation corrosion tests,and intergranular corrosion tests.Results show that the S phase andθ’phase simultaneously exist in the T6I6 treated alloy.Appropriately increasing the temperature of the interrupted aging in the T6I6 process can improve the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of Al-Cu-Mg alloy.The optimal comprehensive properties(tensile strength of 443.6 MPa,hardness of 161.6 HV)of the alloy are obtained by initial aging at 180℃for 2 h,interrupted aging at 90℃for 30 min,and re-aging at 170℃for 4 h.

Strength and ductility optimization of HPDC AlSi8MgCuZn2 alloys by modifying pre-aging treatment

Considering the components produced by high pressure die casting(HPDC)process usually with ultra-large sizes and complex morphologies,high temperature solid solution treatment is not a suitable method to further improve their mechanical properties.In this study,two-stage aging treatment with different pre-aging times was designed and employed to further improve the mechanical properties of HPDC Al8SiMgCuZn alloy.The characteristics of precipitates were evaluated by a transmission electron microscope(TEM),and the precipitation strengthening mechanism was discussed.The results reveal that the strengthening is mainly contributed by the precipitation ofβ″phase after two-stage aging,and the number density and size of the precipitates are significantly depended on the pre-aging time.The number density of precipitates is increased with the pre-aging time prolonged from 0 h to 4 h,and then decreases with the further increase of pre-aging time from 4 h to 6 h.The precipitates with the highest density and smallest size are observed after pre-aging for 4 h.After pre-aged at 100℃for 4 h and then artificial aged at 200℃for 30 min,the yield strength of 207 MPa,ultimate tensile strength of 325 MPa and elongation of 7.6%are achieved.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Co-28Cr-6Mo-0.22C investment castings by current solution treatment

This study examined the impact of current solution treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the Co-28Cr-6Mo-0.22C alloy investment castings.The findings reveal that the current solution treatment significantly promotes the dissolution of carbides at a lower temperature.The optimal conditions for solution treatment are determined as a solution temperature of 1,125°C and a holding time of 5.0 min.Under these parameters,the size and volume fraction of precipitated phases in the investment castings are measured as6.2μm and 1.1vol.%.The yield strength,ultimate tensile strength,and total elongation of the Co-28Cr-6Mo-0.22C investment castings are 535 MPa,760 MPa,and 12.6%,respectively.These values exceed those obtained with the conventional solution treatment at 1,200°C for 4.0 h.The findings suggest a phase transformation of M_(23)C_(6)→σ+C following the current solution treatment at 1,125°C for 5.0 min.In comparison,the traditional solution treatment at 1,200°C for 4.0 h leads to the formation of M_(23)C_(6)and M_(6)C carbides.It is noteworthy that the non-thermal effect of the current during the solution treatment modifies the free energy of both the matrix and precipitation phase.This modification lowers the phase transition temperature of the M_(23)C_(6)→σ+C reaction,thereby facilitating the dissolution of carbides.As a result,the current solution treatment approach achieves carbide dissolution at a lower temperature and within a significantly shorter time when compared to the traditional solution treatment methods.

Tensile properties of high strength cast Mg alloys at room temperature:A review

As most Mg alloy products are now produced by a casting process,the development of high strength cast Mg alloys can promote their further applications and has already become one of the hot research areas of Mg alloys.The present paper reviews the strengthening mechanisms,tensile properties and modification results of commercial high strength cast Mg alloys;as well as the development of Mg-Gd,Mg-Nd and Mg-Sn based alloys.It concludes that precipitation strengthening is the most important strengthening mechanism in high strength cast Mg alloys,which contributes more than 60%of yield strength in solution&peak-aged(T6)cast Mg alloys.For the yield strength,the alloys follow the sequence of Mg-Gd(Y)-Ag>Mg-Gd(Y)-Zn>Mg-Gd-Y/Sm/Nd>Mg-Y-Nd(WE series)>ZK61>Mg-Nd>AZ91>Mg-Sn.Mg-Gd(Y)-Ag based alloys are the strongest cast Mg alloys at present,followed by Mg-Gd(Y)-Zn based alloys.The high yield strengths of Mg-Gd(Y)-Ag and Mg-Gd(Y)-Zn cast alloys are due to the co-precipitation of basal and prismatic meta-stable phases.

Inluence of heat treatment on microstructure and tensile properties of a cast Al-Cu-Si-Mn alloy

Solution and aging treatments are important approaches to improve mechanical properties and microstructure of aluminum-base alloys. In this research, a new type high strength Al-Cu-Si-Mn cast alloy was prepared. The effect of different solution and aging treatment temperatures on microstructure and mechanical properties of the Al-Cu-Si-Mn cast alloy were studied by means of microstructure observation and mechanical properties testing. Results showed that after solution treated at different temperatures for 12 h and aged at 175 ℃ for 12 h, with the increase of the solution temperature, both the tensile strength and the elongation of the alloy firstly increase and then decrease, and reach their peak values at 530 ℃. When the solution temperature is below 530 ℃, the microstructure of the alloy consists of α phase, undissolved θ phase and T phase; while when it exceeds 530 ℃, the microstructure only consists of α phase and T phase. After solution treated at 530 ℃ for 12 h and aged at different temperatures for 12 h, both the tensile strength and the elongation of the alloy firstly increase and then decrease with the increasing of temperature, and reach their peak values at 175 ℃. Therefore, the optimal heat treatment process for the alloy in this study is 12 h solution at 530 ℃ and 12 h aging at 175 ℃, and the corresponding tensile strength is 417 MPa, elongation is 4.0%.

Effects of Solution Treatment on the Microstructure,Tensile Properties,and Impact Toughness of an Al–5.0Mg–3.0Zn–1.0Cu Cast Alloy

This study investigates the eff ect of solution treatment(at 470°C for 0–48 h)on the microstructural evolution,tensile properties,and impact properties of an Al–5.0Mg–3.0Zn–1.0Cu(wt%)alloy prepared by permanent gravity casting.The results show that the as-cast microstructure consists ofα-Al dendrites and a network-like pattern of T-Mg32(AlZnCu)49 phases.Most of the T-phases were dissolved within 24 h at 470℃;and a further prolonging of solution time resulted in a rapid growth ofα-Al grains.No transformation from the T-phase to the S-Al2CuMg phase was discovered in this alloy.Both the tensile properties and impact toughness increased quickly,reached a maximum peak value,and decreased gradually as the solution treatment proceeded.The impact toughness is more closely related to the elongation,and the relationship between impact toughness and elongation appears to obey an equation:IT=8.43 EL-3.46.After optimal solution treatment at 470℃for 24 h,this alloy exhibits excellent mechanical properties with the ultimate tensile strength,yield strength,elongation and impact toughness being 431.6 MPa,270.1 MPa,19.4%and 154.7 kJ/m^(2),which are comparable to that of a wrought Al–6.0 Mg–0.7 Mn alloy(5E06,a 5 xxx aluminum alloy).Due to its excellent comprehensive combination of mechanical properties,this cast alloy has high potential for use in components which require medium strength,high ductility and high toughness.

Microstructures and Magnetic Properties of As-Cast RE(Dy)-Fe-C(B) Alloys

High coercivity was obtained in bulk RE(Dy) Fe C(B) alloys with RE=Nd, Pr and Mm. In the as cast state, the samples show a negligible coercivity H ci . Magnetic hardening takes place when annealing the as cast alloys at around 1173 K for several hours, which produces an H ci greater than 1200 kA·m -1 . Boron appears to be very important for achieving high coercivity, which is found to increase with increasing Dy content. SEM studies show a very small grain size at around 2 μm. X ray diffraction and TEM studies reveal the existence of multiphases after annealing. They are RE 2Fe 14 (B,C), RE 2Fe 3C x , alpha Fe(RE) and RE 2Fe 17 (B,C) in order of their amounts. The carbide RE 2Fe 3C x has a complicated hexagonal structure with a =0.468 nm and c =0.795 nm.

The Role of Particles in Fatigue Crack Propagation of Aluminum Matrix Composites and Casting Aluminum Alloys

Fatigue crack propagation （FCP） behaviors were studied to understand the role of SiC particles in 10 wt pct SiCp/A2024 composites and Si particles in casting aluminum alloy A356. The results show that a few particles appeared on the fracture surfaces in SiCp/Al composites even at high △K region, which indicates that cracks propagated predominantly within the matrix avoiding SiC particles due to the high strength of the particles and the strong particle/matrix interface. In casting aluminum alloy, Si particle debonding was more prominent.Compared with SiCp/Al composite, the casting aluminum alloy exhibited lower FCP rates, but had a slight steeper slope in the Paris region. Crack deflection and branching were found to be more remarkable in the casting aluminum alloy than that in the SiCp/Al composites, which may be contributed to higher FCP resistance in casting aluminum alloy.

Development of a magnesium alloy with good casting characteristics on the basis of Mg–Al–Ca–Mn system,having Mg–Al2Ca structure

Application of calcium as alloying element for magnesium alloys has been considered according to literature data.Mg–7%Al–4%Ca–0.5%Mn casting alloy was offered,which possesses the low propensity to the hot brittleness and good castability.The alloy has the moderate strength(σu=150 MPa)and the satisfactory percentage elongation(δ=3%).It is shown,that calcium-containing alloys smelting of Mg–Al–Ca–Mn system is preferable with the application of low-chloride flux FL10(20%MgCl_(2);29%KCl;12%BaCl_(2);23%CaF2;15%MgF2;1%B2O3).The alloy smelting in the atmosphere of argon and SF6 mixture results in the increased shelling and waste of calcium.The heat treatment is offered for the developed alloy,which is directed to the Al_(2)Ca phase spheroidizing.The developed magnesium alloy,alloyed with calcium,is perspective for the industry production of low-cost moulding.