Effect of La addition on semi-solid microstructure evolution of Mg-7Zn magnesium alloy

Semi-solid billets of Mg-7Zn and Mg-7Zn-0.3La alloys were prepared by semi-solid isothermal heat treatment.The effects of the La element on the as-cast and semi-solid microstructures of Mg-7Zn alloy were investigated.Meanwhile,the effects of isothermal temperature and holding time on the evolution of the semi-solid microstructure of Mg-7Zn-0.3La alloy were also studied.Results indicate that the addition of a small amount of La can significantly refine the as-cast and semi-solid microstructure.During the semi-solid thermal transformation,the size and shape factor of solid particles decrease at first and then increase with the increase of isothermal temperature and holding time.The semi-solid microstructure of Mg-7Zn-0.3La alloy obtained by holding at 605℃ for 30 min is the optimal.The average size of solid particles,shape factor,and solid fraction are 42μm,1.45 and 61.8%,respectively.At the same time,a comparative study on the coarsening process of particles in the semi-solid billets of Mg-7Zn and Mg-7Zn-0.3La alloys reveals that the addition of La effectively decreases the coarsening rate of solid particles and restricts the growth of solid particles.

SOME DEVELOPMENTS IN RAPIDLY SOLIDIFIED ALUMINUM ALLOYS FOR ELEVATED TEMPERATURE APPLICATIONS

Therecent developments in elevated temperature ( ET) aluminum alloys prepared by therapidsolidification / powder metallurgy ( RS P/ M) process were reviewed briefly. TheRS P/ METaluminum alloyscan beclassified as(a) the aluminum transition metaltype, such as Al Fe, Al Cr, Al Ti, Al Zrsystem alloys,etc.,and (b) thealuminum rareearth elementtype,such as Al Y, Al Nd system alloys,etc. Among them ,the Al Fe and Al Ti system alloysarethe most attractive, which possessthe potentialto replacethetitanium alloy partson aircraft,engines,etc.,fortheuseattemperaturesrangingfrom 200 315℃. Theproblemsin applicationsfor RS P/ M ETaluminum alloys werealso discussed .

Coarsening Behavior of Gamma Prime Precipitates in a Nickel Based Single Crystal Superalloy

The γ/γ＇ microstructural evolution in a nickel based single crystal superalloy during load-free thermal exposure at 900 ℃ has been further investigated in this paper. The growth characteristics of γ＇ precipitates were discussed in detail. The generation of interfacial dislocations would accelerate the rate of coalescence in the dendrite arms. The average sizes of precipitates were used to compare interface with diffusion controlled growth mechanism and no mechanism seems obviously dominant, although the square rate law gives slightly better fit. The coarsening behavior may be controlled by diffusion through the ragged interface between the γ＇ precipitate and the y matrix.

Effect of Ti/V ratio on thermodynamics and kinetics of MC in γ/α matrices of Ti-V microalloyed steels

Through the solubility product theory of the ternary secondary phase,classical nucleation theory,and Ostwald ripening theory,a model was established to describe the thermodynamics and kinetics of(Ti,V)C precipitates in austenite/ferrite(y/α)matrices.The model was used to calculate the volume fraction,precipitation-temperature-time(PTT)curve,and nucleation rate-temperature(NrT)curve of MC(M=Ti,V)precipitates in γ/α matrices in Ti-V microalloyed steels with various Ti/V ratios,which is verified by hardness tester,transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.The calculations indicate that,by decreasing Ti/V ratio from Ti4V0 steel to Ti0V4 steel,the complete-dissolution temperature decreases monotonically from 1226 to 830℃,and the equilibrium volume fraction of MC pre-cipitated from austenite decreases from 0.333%to 0.091%at 900℃.Moreover,the maximum nucleation temperature of MC precipitated from α matrix decreases from 748 to 605℃and the fastest precipitation temperature decreases from 844 to 675℃as Ti/V ratio decreases.PTT and NrT diagrams of MC precipitated from α matrices in different Ti-V microalloyed steels all exhibit C-shaped and inverse C-shaped curves.In addition,both theoretical calculation and experimental results show that when tempered at 600℃for 100 h,Ti2V2 steel shows the largest hardness value of 312 HV among the three steels tested because it has a larger volume fraction(0.364%),a larger precipitate density(1689 μm-2),and the smallest average size(8.4 nm)of(Ti,V)C precipitates.The theoretical calculations are consistent with experimental results,which indicates that the thermodynamics and kinetics model for(Ti,V)C precipitates is reliable and accurate.

Effects of long term aging on microstructure and properties of a tungsten bearing heat resistant alloy

The effects of long-term aging at 700 and 750℃ on microstructure and mechanical properties of a new developed tungsten bearing heat-resistant alloy used for advanced ultra-supercritical power plant was investigated both experimentally and thermodynamically.Experimental results showed that the mechanical properties maintained excellent stability after long-term aging at 700℃ for 10,000h,while the impact absorbing energy decreased sharply after 1000-h aging and then kept constant till 10,000h.The main precipitates after long-term aging at 700 and 750℃ were M23C6,MC and homogeneous γ′-phases.The mass fraction of M23C6 carbides increased with increasing aging time,and M23C6 carbides precipitated in shape of chains and lamellas on grain boundaries.The slight decrease in MC carbides during aging may be due to degradation reaction.The weight fraction of γ′-phase increased with the aging time,and then changed little after 5000h;γ′-phase exhibited excellent microstructure stability and low coarsening rate during long-term aging at 700℃.However,the coarsening rate of γ′-phase was much higher at 750℃.

Charting the ‘composition–strength’ space for novel austenitic,martensitic and ferritic creep resistant steels

We report results of a large computational ＇alloy by design＇ study, in which the ＇chemical composition-mechanical strength＇ space is explored for austenitic, ferritic and martensitic creep resistant steels. The approach used allows simultaneously optimization of alloy composition and processing parameters based on the integration of thermodynamic, thermo-kinetics and a genetic algorithm optimization route. The nature of the optimisation depends on both the intended matrix（ferritic, martensitic or austenitic） and the desired precipitation family. The models are validated by analysing reported strengths of existing steels. All newly designed alloys are predicted to outperform existing high end reference grades.