Nanoscale precipitates and comprehensive strengthening mechanism in AISI H13 steel

The effects of heat treatment on the precipitates and strengthening mechanism in AISI H13 steel were investigated. The results showed that the presence of nanoscale precipitates favorably affected grain refinement and improved the yield strength. The volume fraction of precipitates increased from 1.05% to 2.85% during tempering, whereas the average precipitate size first decreased then increased during tempering. Contributions to the yield strength arising from the various mechanisms were calculated quantificationally, and the results demonstrated that grain refinement and dislocation density most strongly influenced the yield strength. In addition, under the interaction of average size and volume fraction, precipitates＇ contribution to the yield strength ranged from 247.9 to 378.5 MPa. Finally, a root-mean-square summation law of σ = σg ＋ σs ＋（σd^2 ＋ σp^2）^1/2, where σg, σs, σd, and σp represent the contributions of fine-grain strengthening, solid-solution strengthening, dislocation strengthening, and precipitation strengthening, respectively, was confirmed as the most applicable for AISI H13 steel, which indicates a strong link between precipitates and dislocations in AISI H13 steel.

Dislocation-Induced Precipitation and Its Strengthening of Al–Cu–Li–Mg Alloys with High Mg

Generally, the good combination of pre-deformation and aging can improve the mechanical strength of the Al–Cu–Li–Mg alloys. However, the effects of pre-deformation on competitive precipitation relationship and precipitation strengthening have not been clarified in detail in Al–Cu–Li–Mg alloys with high Mg. In the present study, the effects of pre-deformation level on the microstructure and mechanical properties of an Al–2.95 Cu–1.55 Li–0.57 Mg–0.18 Zr alloy have been investigated. It is found that the introduction of dislocation by 5% pre-deformation can facilitate the precipitation of new successive composite precipitates and T _1 precipitates along the sub-grain boundaries or dislocations and inhibit the precipitation of dispersive GPB zones which is the main precipitates of the alloys without pre-deformation. The introduction of 5% pre-deformation can enhance the mechanical properties considerably. When the pre-deformation level increases from 5 to 15%, the number density of the successive composite precipitates and T _1 precipitates increases, and the aspect ratio of T _1 precipitates decreases. The decrease in T _1 precipitate aspect ratio and the increment of the successive composite precipitates result in the reduction in precipitation strengthening. Therefore, the increase in pre-deformation level from 5 to 15% does not further improve the mechanical properties of the alloys, although the dislocation strengthening increases continuously.

Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of TiC Particle Reinforced TiAl Composites by Spark Plasma Sintering

Using spark plasma sintering（SPS） technique, TiC particle reinforced γ-TiAl composites were prepared with varying weight fraction of TiC powders. The effects of the TiC fractions and distributions on the properties of the composites were investigated. The composite containing 7wt% TiC had the optimum three-point bending strength of 842 MPa,which was 200 MPa greater than that of the unreinforced γ-TiAl intermetallic. The degradation of the bending strength occurred in the composites containing more than 7wt% TiC and this was believed to be attributed to agglomerated particles of TiC, which acted as crack initiation and propagation sites. The increase of strength in TiC reinforced IMCs came from the grain refinement and the interaction of dislocations with the reinforcing particles. The bending strength of the IMC containing 7wt% TiC was theoretically estimated to increase by 85 MPa and 200 MPa, respectively, by the grain refinement and dislocation strengthening, the total of which was ahnost in accordance with the improvement in that of the unreinforced γ-TiAl intermetallic when considering normal estimation errors.

MICROSTRUCTURE AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF Fe_3Al BASED ALLOYS

The promise for industrial applications offered by iron aluminides is today restricted by insufficient ductility at room temperature and mediocre strength and creep resistance at high temperatures. The tendency to embrittlement in the presence of hydrogen or water vapour limits the ductility even more. The atomic arrangements in binary and alloyed variants are examined here and related to the difficulties of dislocation propagation at room and at high temperatures. In this way the influence of intrinsic structure and alloying modifications on mechanical behaviour can be understood. Possibilities for further improving properties through structure control are considered.

Explore the Strengthening Mechanisms of the Ultra-Low Carbon and Low Alloy Steel

Room temperature tensile tests were carried on the hot-rolled state ultra-low carbon and low alloy cabainite and martensite steels which were get by different finishing temperatures and different cooling methods.We used the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM),Electron Backscattered Diffraction (EBSD) and X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD) to identify the metallographic structure and analyse the precipitated phase.The inherent mechanism of high strength of ultra-low carbon and low alloy bainite and martensite steels was discussed,and the analysis indicated that the reinforcement of ultra-low carbon and low alloy bainite and martensite steels was mainly produced by the superposition of the dislocation strengthening,solution strengthening and grain refinement strengthening.

Unveiling anneal hardening in dilute Al-doped Al_(x)CoCrFeMnNi(x = 0,0.1) high-entropy alloys

Anneal hardening has been one of the approaches to improve mechanical properties of solid solution alloys with the face-centered cubic(FCC) structure,whereby a considerable strengthening can be attained by annealing of cold-worked alloys below the recrystallization temperature(T_(rx)).Microscopically,this hardening effect has been ascribed to several mechanisms,i.e.solute segregation to defects(dislocation and stacking fault) and short-range chemical ordering,etc.However,none of these mechanisms can well explain the anneal hardening recently observed in phase-pure and coarse-grained FCC-structured high-entropy alloys(HEAs).Here we report the observations,using high-resolution electron channeling contrast imaging and transmission electron microscopy,of profuse and stable dislocation substructures in a cold-rolled CoCrFeMnNi HEA subject to an annealing below T_(rx).The dislocation substructures are observed to be thermally stable up to T_(rx),which could arise from the chemical complexity of the high-entropy system where certain elemental diffusion retardation occurs.The microstructure feature is markedly different from that of conventional dilute solid solution alloys,in which dislocation substructures gradually vanish by recovery during annealing,leading to a strength drop.Furthermore,dilute addition of 2 at.% Al leads to a reduction in both microhardness and yield strength of the cold-rolled and subsequently annealed(≤500℃) HEA.This Al induced softening effect,could be associated with the anisotropic formation of dislocation substructure,resulting from enhanced dislocation planar slip due to glide plane softening effect.These findings suggest that the strength of HEAs can be tailored through the anneal hardening effect from dislocation substructure strengthening.

An overview of rhenium effect in single-crystal superalloys

Nickel-based single-crystal superalloys are the key materials for the manufacturing and development of advanced aeroengines. Rhenium is a crucial alloying element in the advanced nickel-based single-crystal superalloys for its special strengthening effects. The addition of Re could effectively enhance the creep properties of the single-crystal superalloys; thus, the content of Re is considered as one of the characteristics in different-generation single-crystal superalloys. Owing to the fundamental importance of rhenium to nickel-based single-crystal superalloys, much progress has been made on understanding of the effect of rhenium in the single-crystal superalloys. While the effect of Re doping on the nickelbased superalloys is well documented, the origins of the socalled rhenium effect are still under debate. In this paper,the effect of Re doping on the single-crystal superalloys and progress in understanding the rhenium effect are reviewed. The characteristics of the d-states occupancy in the electronic structure of Re make it the slowest diffusion elements in the single-crystal superalloys, which is undoubtedly responsible for the rhenium effect, while the postulates of Re cluster and the enrichment of Re at the c/c0 interface are still under debate, and the synergistic action of Re with other alloying elements should be further studied.Additionally, the interaction of Re with interfacial dislocations seems to be a promising explanation for the rhenium effect. Finally, the addition of Ru could help suppress topologically close-packed（TCP） phase formation and strengthen the Re doping single-crystal superalloys.Understanding the mechanism of rhenium effect will be beneficial for the effective utilization of Re and the design of low-cost single-crystal superalloys.