Experimental and simulation research on hollow AZ31 magnesium alloy three-channel joint by hot extrusion forming with sand mandrel

Magnesium alloy is one of the lightest metal structural materials.The weight is further reduced through the hollow structure.However,the hollow structure is easily damaged during processing.In order to maintain the hollow structure and to transfer the stresses during the high temperature deformation,the sand mandrel is proposed.In this paper,the hollow AZ31 magnesium alloy three-channel joint is studied by hot extrusion forming.Sand as one of solid granule medium is used to fill the hollow magnesium alloy.The extrusion temperatures are 230℃ and 300℃,respectively.The process parameters(die angle,temperature,bottom thickness,sidewall thickness,edge-to-middle ratio in bottom,bottom shape)of the hollow magnesium alloy are analyzed based on the results of experiments and the finite element method.The results are shown that the formability of the hollow magnesium alloy will be much better when the ratio of sidewall thickness to the bottom thickness is 1:1.5.Also when edge-to-middle ratio in bottom is about 1:1.5,a better forming product can be received.The best bottom shape in these experiments will be convex based on the forming results.The grain will be refined obviously after the extrusion.Also the microstructures will be shown as streamlines.And these lines will be well agreement with the mold in the corner.

Effect of grain refinement induced by wire and arc additive manufacture (WAAM) on the corrosion behaviors of AZ31 magnesium alloy in NaCl solution

Additive manufacturing(AM)of Mg alloys has become a promising strategy for producing complex structures,but the corrosion performance of AM Mg components remains unexploited.In this study,wire and arc additive manufacturing(WAAM)was employed to produce single AZ31 layer.The results revealed that the WAAM AZ31 was characterized by significant grain refinement with non-textured crystallographic orientation,similar phase composition and stabilized corrosion performance comparing to the cast AZ31.These varied corrosion behaviors were principally ascribed to the size of grain,where cast AZ31 and WAAM AZ31 were featured by micro galvanic corrosion and intergranular corrosion,respectively.

Corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity of V/Ce conversion coating on magnesium alloy AZ31B

A V/Ce conversion coating was deposited in the surface of AZ31B magnesium alloy in a solution containing vanadate and cerium nitrate.The coating composition and morphology were examined.The conversion coating appears to consist of a thin and cracked coating with a scattering of spherical particles.The corrosion behavior of the substrate and conversion coating was studied by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).Compared with AZ31B magnesium alloy,the corrosion current density of the conversion coating is decreased by two orders of magnitude.The total impedance of the V/Ce conversion coating rise to 1.6×10^(3)Ω·cm^(2)in contrast with2.2×10^(2)Ω·cm^(2)of the bare AZ31B.In addition,the electrical conductivity of the coating was assessed by conductivity meter and Mott-Schottky measurement.The results reveal a high dependence of the conductivity of the coating on the semiconductor properties of the phase compositions.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of curved AZ31 magnesium alloy profiles produced by differential velocity sideways extrusion

Lightweight curved profiles are widely utilised in the transportation industry considering the increasing need for improving aerodynamic efficiency,aesthetics and cutting emissions.In this paper,curved AZ31 Mg alloy profiles were manufactured in one operation by a novel process,differential velocity sideways extrusion(DVSE),in which two opposed rams were used.Effects of extrusion temperature and velocity(strain rate) on curvature,microstructure,and mechanical properties of the formed profiles were examined.Profile curvature was found to be more readily controlled by the velocity ratio of the bottom ram v2to the top ram v1,whereas extrusion temperature(T=250,300,350℃)and extrusion velocity(v_(1)=0.1,1 mm/s) slightly affect curvature for a given velocity ratio.A homogeneous microstructure with equiaxed grains(~4.5 μm) resulted from dynamic recrystallisation(DRX),was observed after DVSE(v_(2)/v_(1)=1/2) at 300 ℃ and v_(1)=0.1 mm/s,where the initial billet had an average grain size of ~25 um.Increasing extrusion temperature leads to grain growth(~5 μm) at 350 ℃ and v_(1)=0.1 mm/s.DRX is incomplete at the relatively low temperature of 250℃(v_(1)=0.1 mm/s),and higher strain rate with v1=1mm/s(T=300℃),resulting in inhomogeneous bi-modal necklace pattern grains ranging in size around 1-25 μm for the former and 2-20μm for the latter.Grain refinement is attributed to DRX during the severe plastic deformation(SPD) arising in DVSE,and initiates at the prior boundaries of coarse grains in a necklace-like manner.Compared with the billet,micro-hardness and ultimate tensile strength of the profiles have been enhanced,which is compatible with grain refinement.Also,an obvious increase in tensile ductility was found.However,yield strength slightly decreases except for the complete DRXed case(300℃,v_(1)=0.1 mm/s),where a slightly higher value was found,indicating strengthening by grain refinement is greater than softening caused by texture modification.The initial billet had a strong basal texture wherein the {0002} basal plane is oriented parallel to the extrusion direction(’hard’ orientation),while DVSE results in the profiles having weak basal textures and the {0002} basal plane oriented ~5-10° to the extrusion direction(i.e.towards the orientation for easier slip).This significantly modified texture contributes to the softening of the profiles in the extrusion direction,in which tensile tests were performed,and the related elongation improvement.

Edge crack damage analysis of AZ31 magnesium alloy hot-rolled plate improved by vertical roll pre-rolling

In the present study,through vertical roll pre-rolling of AZ31 magnesium alloy hot-rolled plate at room temperature,the effect of different vertical roll pre-rolling reduction on edge crack of the plate during flat rolling was systematically studied.The evolution of microstructure and texture in the edge and middle of the plate after vertical roll pre-rolling,heating and rolling was analyzed by using EBSD technology.The results show that during the vertical roll pre-rolling,{10–12}primary twins and{10–12}-{10–12}secondary twins dominated the edge deformation,while{10–12}primary twins dominated the middle deformation.With the increase of vertical roll pre-rolling reduction,the twin volume fraction of the edge and the middle increased,and the difference between them decreased gradually.After heating,the twin orientation caused by vertical roll pre-rolling was still maintained,and there was a significant difference in grain size between the edge and the middle.When the reduction rate of flat rolling was 30%,cracks have already appeared in the initial plate,while the vertical roll pre-rolled samples showed extremely high rolling performance.When the reduction rate of flat rolling was 50%,the 8PR sample still had no crack initiation.In addition,after flat rolling of 50%,the initial plate showed a strong basal texture,while the maximum pole density of the 8PR plate was small,and the texture distribution was very scattered,showing the characteristics of weak orientation.

Effects of cold and warm cross-rolling on microstructure and texture evolution of AZ31B magnesium alloy sheet

Mg alloys conventionally rolled often present strong basal textures that affect negatively further deformations,limiting their applications.The present research found that cross-rolling experiences in adequate conditions can weaken those intense basal textures as a result of the interaction of deformation mechanisms and dynamic recrystallization.The effects of rolling temperature and strain rate on the microstructure and texture of an AZ31B magnesium alloy sheet generated heterogeneous microstructure where the initial basal texture was strengthened during cold cross-rolling and it was gradually weakening by the rolling reduction and the rolling temperature increases in such a way that a rather weak basal fiber was produced applying reductions higher than 15%at temperatures higher than 200℃.Their ODF functions supported the texture weakening,exhibiting a combination of two crystallographic orientations represented by{0001}<211^(-)0>and{0001}<101^(-)0>.

Review on the effect of different processing techniques on the microstructure and mechanical behaviour of AZ31 Magnesium alloy

Magnesium(Mg)alloys despite being the ideal candidate for structural applications,owing to their high specific strength and low density,are not widely used due to lack of active slip systems at room temperature in their hexagonal close-packed crystal structure,eliciting poor ductility and formability.Amongst the various series of Mg alloys,the AZ and ZK series alloys have been standouts,as they inherit better room temperature strength and flow characteristics through their solute elements.Grain refinement,as well as eliminating casting defects through metal processing techniques are vital for the commercial viability of these alloys since they play a key role in controlling the mechanical behaviour.As such,this review highlights the effect of different Bulk-deformation and Severe Plastic Deformation techniques on the crystal orientation and the corresponding mechanical behaviours of the AZ31 alloy.However,every process parameter surrounding these techniques must be well thought of,as they require specially designed tools.With the advent of finite element analysis,these processes could be computationally realized for different parameters and optimized in an economically viable manner.Hence,this article also covers the developments made in finite element methods towards these techniques.

Effects of RE on Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of Hot-Extruded AZ31 Magnesium Alloy

Effects of rare earth (RE) additions on microstructure and mechanical properties of the wrought AZ31 magnesium alloy were investigated. The results show that, by adding 0.3%, 0.6% and 1.0% RE elements, the as-cast microstructure can be refined, and the as-cast alloys′ elongation and tensile strength can be improved. After extrusion, the alloy with 0.3% and 0.6% RE additions obtain a finer microstructure and the best mechanical properties, but the alloy with 1.0% RE addition has the coarse Al-RE compound particles in grain boundaries which decreased elongation and tensile properties. Usually, Rare earth (RE) elements were used to improve the creep properties of aluminium-containing magnesium pressure die cast alloys at elevated temperatures. In this paper, it is also found that the high temperature strength of extruded materials can be increased by RE elements additions.

Effect of asymmetric rolling process on the microstructure,mechanical properties and texture of AZ31 magnesium alloys sheets produced by twin roll casting technique

Symmetric rolling(SR)and asymmetric rolling(ASR)processes were carried out on 6 mm thick AZ31 magnesium alloy sheets that were produced by twin roll casting(TRC)technique.Before rolling processes,sheets were heat treated in order to obtain a homogenized microstructure.In this study,for the ASR process the rolling speed ratio between upper roller and lower was selected as 1.25.Both SR and ASR processes were utilized with 40%reduction per passes using 2 pass schedule for a total reduction ratio of 0.67.Symmetric and asymmetric rolled sheets were characterized using optical microscopy(OM),scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and transmission electron microscopy(TEM)techniques.Texture measurements were performed by using X-ray diffraction(XRD)technique and mechanical properties were investigated by tensile tests and also hardness measurements.

Microstructure and texture evolution in AZ31 magnesium alloy during caliber rolling at different temperatures

Magnesium alloy AZ31 was caliber rolled at different temperatures viz.523K,573K,623K,673K and 723K imposing a total cumulative reduction of 92%and a cumulative strain of 2.6.The associated microstructure and texture evolution were studied using Electron Back Scattered Diffraction(EBSD)and X-ray macro-texture observations respectively.Grain refinement was observed in all the caliber rolled bars indicating the occurrence of dynamic recrystallization.Asymmetry parameter and texture index were used to study the evolution of texture.Near doubling of the yield strength at room temperature was observed by caliber rolling at a temperature of 573K.The improvement in mechanical properties was explained on the basis of the fine grain microstructures and suitable development of crystallographic texture.Based on the present study,warm caliber rolling can be used as a good production method for obtaining long bars of high strength magnesium alloy AZ31.

Evaluation of self-healing ability of Ce-V conversion coating on AZ31 magnesium alloy

This study investigated the influence of cerium nitrate in vanadate solutions on the properties of Ce–V conversion coatings on AZ31 magnesium alloys,and evaluated the self-healing behavior of the Ce–V conversion coating for AZ31 magnesium alloy.The results showed that the additions of cerium nitrate prevented pentavalent vanadium from reducing to tetravalent vanadium in the coatings during conversion reaction process.Adding appropriate cerium nitrate to vanadate solution led to a thicker coating with a more compact CeVO_(4) layer.The corrosion behavior of the Ce–V conversion coating was investigated by the electrochemical tests and the scratch immersion test in 3.5 wt.%NaCl solution.The self-healing ability of the coating was confirmed from all tests.The surface analysis revealed that the self-healing effect of the Ce–V conversion coating was only provided by the release and migration of vanadium compounds.

Effects of Er on the microstructure and properties of AZ31 magnesium alloy prepared via the EMS process

The effects of small amounts of the rare-earth element erbium on the microstructure and the mechanical properties of AZ31 magnesium alloy via the electromagnetic stirring （EMS） process have been studied. It has been shown that AZ31-Er alloys are mainly composed of α-Mg solid solution and β-Mg17TA112 phases. When the Er content reaches 0.12 wt.%, the characteristic peaks of A12Er can be observed. The micro- structure is obviously refined and the tensile strength of the AZ31-based alloy at ambient temperature is significantly improved by contents of 0.03 wt.% Er, especially the elongation （8= 19%）. More addition of Er obviously decreases the tensile strength and elongation of the AZ31-based alloy because of the grain coarsening and the reduction of β-Mg17A112 phases.

Improving the fatigue property of welded joints for AZ31 magnesium alloy by ultrasonic peening treatment

The fatigue property of AZ31 magnesium alloy and its TIG welded joints were investigated. The ultrasonic peening treatment （UPT） was used to improve the fatigue property of the TIG welded joints, which was treated at the weld toe by the UPT process. The test results show that the fatigue strength of the base metal of AZ31 magnesium alloys is 57.8 MPa, and those of the fillet joint and the transverse cross joint are respectively 20. 0 MPa and 17.2 MPa at 2 × 10^6 cycles. The fatigue strengths of two kinds of welded joints treated by the UPT are respectively 30. 3 MPa and 24. 7 MPa, which have been improved by 51.5% and 43.6%, respectively. The fatigue life of the fillet joint specimens is prolonged by about 2. 74 times and the fatigue life of the transverse cross joint specimens is prolonged by about 1.05 times when the stress range is at 40. 0 MPa.

Mechanical properties and texture evolution during hot rolling of AZ31 magnesium alloy

Mechanical properties and texture evolutions of the as-rolled AZ31 Mg sheets were investigated.The results show that the grains of the sheets are significantly refined after hot rolling.The mechanical properties of the as-rolled samples are enhanced due to the grain size refinement.The intensity of basal texture decreases with the increase of deformation ratio,and double-peak type basal texture is discovered in the intermediate and large strain hot rolling processes.The formation of the texture is ascribed to the activities of prismatic and non-basalslips,which is the same as the 30%rolled and 50%rolled samples.The incline of basal planes exerts an effect on the mechanical anisotropy during tension along rolling direction(RD)and transverse direction(TD)at room temperature.

Mathematical modeling of thermo-mechanical behavior of strip during twin roll casting of an AZ31 magnesium alloy

The effect of set-back distance on the thermo-mechanical behavior of the strip during twin roll casting(TRC)of an AZ31 magnesium alloy was modeled using finite element method(FEM).Model validation was done by comparing the predicted and measured exit strip surface temperature as well as the secondary dendrite arm spacing(SDAS)through the thickness of the sheet to those measured during experiments.Model results showed as the set-back distance increases,the strip exit temperature decreases and the solidification front moves toward the entry of the roll gap.The cast strip also experiences more plastic deformation and consequently,the normal stress on the strip surface and effective strain at the strip center-line increase.Moreover,higher separating forces were predicted for longer set-back distances.Model predictions showed that changing the set-back distance by varying the final thickness has a more significant effect on the temperature and stress-strain fields than altering the nozzle opening height.

MICROSTRUCTURAL STUDIES OF FRICTION STIR WELDED AZ31 MAGNESIUM ALLOY

Friction stir welding achieves the weld in solid phase by locally introducing frictional heating and plastic flow arising from rotation of the welding tool, which results in changes in the local microstructure of magnesium alloy. The purpose in the paper is to study the microstructures of friction stir welded AZ31 magnesium alloy. Residual microstructures, including dynamic re-crystallization zone and nugget structures have been systematically investigated utilizing optical microscopy (OM), scanning electric microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and micro-hardness. AZ31 magnesium alloy has been successfully friction stir welded and exhibits the variations of microstructure including dynamically recrystallized, equaxied grains in the weld nugget. Residual hardness in the nugget was found slightly lower than the parent but not too obvious.

Microstructural evolution characterization of friction stirring welded AZ31 magnesium alloy

A friction stirring welding to joint 5 mm rolled AZ31 magnesium had beendeveloped. The microstructures in various regions including the weld nugget, thermo-mechanicallyaffected zone (TMAZ) and heat affected zone (HAZ) were investigated and compared with unaffectedparent metal using optical microscopy. The results showed that the heat and mechanical process hadgreat effect on the microstructure evolution. In weld nugget, the heat was enough to producesufficient superplastic material flow and the mechanical effect was greatest, and the dynamicrecrystallization was completed thoroughly. In TMAZ, the mechanical effect was indirectly affectedby the welding tool and only some grains had undergone dynamic recrystallization. The variousregions were studied in detail to better understand the microstructure evolution during frictionstirring welding (FSW). The cross section near the 'key hole' showed clear onion rings because thematerial was stirred only by the rotation of the probe and materials rotated with the probe and didnot move along welding direction and in vertical direction, there was no material flow and the flowmovement can be regarded as two dimensional layer flow.

Grain refinement of AZ31 magnesium alloy by Al-Ti-C-Y master alloy

Al-Ti-C-Y master alloy was prepared by combining SHS technique and melting-casting method. The microstructure of master alloy and its grain-refining effect on AZ31 alloy were investigated by means of OM, XRD, SEM and EDS. Experimental results indicated that the prepared master alloy consisted of α-Al, TiAl3, TiC and Al3Y phases, and exhibited good grain-refining performance of AZ31 alloy. Morphology of α-Mg changed from coarse dendritic to free equiaxed and the average grain size of α-Mg matrix reduced from the original 580 to 170 μm after adding 1.0 wt.% master alloy. The grain refining efficiency of Al-Ti-C-Y master alloy on AZ31 alloy was mainly attributed to heterogeneous nucleation of TiC particles and grain growth restriction of Al-Y compound or TiC at grain boundaries.

The Stamping Formability of AZ31 Magnesium Alloy Sheet Improved by Equal-channel Angular Pressing

Equal channel angular pressing （ECAP） processing and annealing were applied to the AZ31 magnesium alloy sheets to evaluate the potential improvement in the mechanical properties and formability. The ECAP experiment was conducted at 300 ℃ in a die having an included angle of 90o between two channels by the BCZ route with the sheets rotated by 90°about the normal axis of plate plane. The tensile tests and conical cup tests were conducted at various temperatures from 20 to 250 ℃. The experimental results indicated that improving the working temperatures could lead to the soft in the material and the enhancement of ductility. Comparatively, the ECAPed AZ31 alloy sheets showed the lower yield strength and smaller conical cup value （CCV） than the unECAPed counterpart in the room temperature. The difference in yield strength between them became small in the elevated temperature, but the ECAPed samples still had the smaller CCV value, implying the improved formability. The texture of the AZ31 alloy sheets could be modified by ECAP and the decrease in the yield strength and more uniform deformation realized in the material, so the formability of AZ31 alloy sheets was improved.

Research on deformation mechanism of AZ31 magnesium alloy sheet with non-basal texture during uniaxial tension at room temperature:A visco-plastic self-consistent analysis

The relationship between activities of involved deformation mechanisms and the evolution of microstructure and texture during uniaxial tension of AZ31 magnesium alloy with a rare non-basal texture has been thoroughly investigated in the present study by means of electron backscattered diffraction(EBSD) measurement and visco-plastic self-consistent(VPSC) modeling. These results show that except basal slip and prismatic slip, {10■2} extension twin(ET) also plays a significant role during plastic deformation. With the increasing tilted angle between loading direction and rolling direction(RD) of sheet, the activity of {10■2} ET possesses a decreasing tendency and its role in plastic deformation changes from the one mainly sustaining plastic strain to the one mainly accommodating local strain between individual grains. When {10■2} ET serves as a carrier of plastic strain, it mainly results in the formation of basal texture component(c-axis//ND, normal direction). By comparison, when the role of {10■2} ET is to accommodate local strain, it mainly brings about the formation of prismatic texture component(c-axis//TD, transverse direction). At large plastic deformation, the competition between basal slip and pyramidal<c+a> slip is responsible for the concentration of tilted basal poles towards ND within all deformed samples. The larger difference is between the activities of basal slip and pyramidal <c+a> slip, the smaller separation is between these two tilted basal poles. Besides,VPSC modeling overesttmates volume fractions of {10■2} ET in samples with angle of 0 to 30° between loading direction and RD of sheet because interactions between twin variants are not included in VPSC modeling procedure at the present form. In addition, as compatible deformation between individual grains cannot be considered in VPSC modeling, the predicted volume fractions of {10■2} ET in samples with angle of 45 to 90° between loading direction and RD of sheet are smaller than the correspondingly measured results.