Solidification Behavior of Laser Melting Layer of Nd_(15)Fe_(77)B_8 Sintered Magnets and Its Microstructures Evolution

To research the solidification behavior and microstructures of a laser remelting/solidification layer on anisotropic Nd_(15)Fe_(77)B_(8 )sintered magnets with their magnetization direction parallel to X, Y, Z-axis respectively, their surfaces (parallel to XOY plane) were scanned by 5 kW Roffin-Sinar 850 type of CO_(2) laser along Y axis. The rapid solidification of the molten alloy in the layer results in three distinct zones. The transition zone close to the unmolten portion of a magnet (substrate), consists of the columnar Nd_(2)Fe_(14)B phase (matrix), the 10.0%~15.1% dendrite primary iron phase dispersing in the matrix, and the Nd-rich phase along Nd_(2)Fe_(14)B grain boundaries. The columnar crystal zone in the middle of the layer consists of the long columnar Nd_(2)Fe_(14)B grains and their grain boundary Nd-rich phase. And the dendrite crystal zone near the free surface of the layer consists of dendrite Nd_(2)Fe_(14)B grains and their grain boundary Nd-rich phase. When the laser scanning velocity is lower, the growing direction of the microstructures in the layer tends to the laser scanning direction step by step. When the velocity is not lower than 25 mm·s^(-1), the laser remelting/solidification layer thins and the columnar crystal zone comprises almost the whole layer. Under this condition, on the substrate with its magnetization direction along X or Y-axis respectively, the columnar Nd_(2)Fe_(14)B grains in the layer grow in the direction of Z-axis (that is their long-axis along Z-axis), their alignment of the easy magnetization axis [001] is parallel to the magnetization direction of the substrate correspondingly; but on the substrate with its magnetization direction along Z-axis, the columnar Nd_(2)Fe_(14)B grains in the transition zone grow at an angle of 30°~50° between Z-axis and their long-axis. And the columnar Nd_(2)Fe_(14)B grains in the columnar crystal zone gradually tend to the Z-axis,and their easy magnetization axis [001] arrange in the range of 0°~360° of the plane perpendicular to their long-axis.

Effects on Structure and Abrasion Resistance of GCr15 Steel by Surface Gas-Phase RE Diffused Permeation with Laser Melting Solidification

The effects on abrasion resistance and the microstructure of GCr15 steel surface by the compound technology of permeating RE combined with laser melting modification was studied. The results show that after compound treatment, the abrasion resistance of samples has been improved significantly and the weight loss has been reduced to 14% of blank sample; the microstructure has been denser and more uniform than that of untreated; meanwhile, the grain has been refined and the concentration gradients of the elements permeated have been decreased obviously.

Interplay of laser power and pore characteristics in selective laser melting of ZK60 magnesium alloys:A study based on in-situ monitoring and image analysis

This study offers significant insights into the multi-physics phenomena of the SLM process and the subsequent porosity characteristics of ZK60 Magnesium(Mg)alloys.High-speed in-situ monitoring was employed to visualise process signals in real-time,elucidating the dynamics of melt pools and vapour plumes under varying laser power conditions specifically between 40 W and 60 W.Detailed morphological analysis was performed using Scanning-Electron Microscopy(SEM),demonstrating a critical correlation between laser power and pore formation.Lower laser power led to increased pore coverage,whereas a denser structure was observed at higher laser power.This laser power influence on porosity was further confirmed via Optical Microscopy(OM)conducted on both top and cross-sectional surfaces of the samples.An increase in laser power resulted in a decrease in pore coverage and pore size,potentially leading to a denser printed part of Mg alloy.X-ray Computed Tomography(XCT)augmented these findings by providing a 3D volumetric representation of the sample internal structure,revealing an inverse relationship between laser power and overall pore volume.Lower laser power appeared to favour the formation of interconnected pores,while a reduction in interconnected pores and an increase in isolated pores were observed at higher power.The interplay between melt pool size,vapour plume effects,and laser power was found to significantly influence the resulting porosity,indicating a need for effective management of these factors to optimise the SLM process of Mg alloys.

Preparation of Laser Cladding Coating Undercooling Cu-based Alloy and Co on Non-equilibrium Solidification Structure

The effect of the gradient content of Co element on the solidification process of Cu-based alloy under deep under cooling conditions was explored.The non-equilibrium solidification structure of the under cooled alloy samples were analyzed.It is found that the rapidly solidified alloy has undergone twice grain refinement during the undercooling process.Characterization and significance of the maximum undercooling refinement structure of Cu60Ni35Co5 at T=253 K were analyzed.High-density defects were observed,such as dislocations,stacking faults networks,and twinning structures.The standard FCC diffraction pattern represents that it is still a single-phase structure.Based on the metallographic diagram,EBSD and TEM data analysis,it is illustrated that the occurrence of grain refinement under high undercooling is due to stress induced recrystallization.In addition,the laser cladding technology is used to coat Co-based alloy(Stellite12) coating on 304 stainless steel substrate;the microstructure of the coating cross-section was analyzed.It was found that the microstructure of the cross-section is presented as columnar crystals,planar crystals,and disordered growth direction,so that the coating has better hardness and wear resistance.By electrochemical corrosion of the substrate and coating,it can be seen that the Co and Cr elements present in the coating are more likely to form a dense passivation film,which improved the corrosion resistance of the coating.

High-strength and thermally stable TiB_(2)-modified Al-Mn-Mg-Er-Zr alloy fabricated via selective laser melting

To increase the processability and plasticity of the selective laser melting(SLM)fabricated Al-Mn-Mg-Er-Zr alloys,a novel TiB_(2)-modified Al-Mn-Mg-Er-Zr alloy with a mixture of Al-Mn-Mg-Er-Zr and nano-TiB_(2) powders was fabricated by SLM.The pro-cessability,microstructure,and mechanical properties of the alloy were systematically investigated by density measurement,microstruc-ture characterization,and mechanical properties testing.The alloys fabricated at 250 W displayed higher relative densities due to a uni-formly smooth top surface and appropriate laser energy input.The maximum relative density value of the alloy reached(99.7±0.1)%,demonstrating good processability.The alloy exhibited a duplex grain microstructure consisting of columnar regions primarily and equiaxed regions with TiB_(2),Al6Mn,and Al3Er phases distributed along the grain boundaries.After directly aging treatment at a high tem-perature of 400℃,the strength of the SLM-fabricated TiB_(2)/Al-Mn-Mg-Er-Zr alloy increased due to the precipitation of the secondary Al6Mn phases.The maximum yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of the aging alloy were measured to be(374±1)and(512±13)MPa,respectively.The SLM-fabricated TiB_(2)/Al-Mn-Mg-Er-Zr alloy demonstrates exceptional strength and thermal stability due to the synergistic effects of the inhibition of grain growth,the incorporation of TiB_(2) nanoparticles,and the precipitation of secondary Al6Mn nanoparticles.

Effects of processing parameters on fabrication defects,microstructure and mechanical properties of additive manufactured Mg–Nd–Zn–Zr alloy by selective laser melting process

Mg–3Nd–0.2Zn–0.4Zr(NZ30K,wt.%)alloy is a new kind of high-performance metallic biomaterial.The combination of the NZ30K Magnesium(Mg)alloy and selective laser melting(SLM)process seems to be an ideal solution to produce porous Mg degradable implants.However,the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of the SLMed NZ30K Mg alloy were not yet studied systematically.Therefore,the fabrication defects,microstructure,and mechanical properties of the SLMed NZ30K alloy under different processing parameters were investigated.The results show that there are two types of fabrication defects in the SLMed NZ30K alloy,gas pores and unfused defects.With the increase of the laser energy density,the porosity sharply decreases to the minimum first and then slightly increases.The minimum porosity is 0.49±0.18%.While the microstructure varies from the large grains with lamellar structure inside under low laser energy density,to the large grains with lamellar structure inside&the equiaxed grains&the columnar grains under middle laser energy density,and further to the fine equiaxed grains&the columnar grains under high laser energy density.The lamellar structure in the large grain is a newly observed microstructure for the NZ30K Mg alloy.Higher laser energy density leads to finer grains,which enhance all the yield strength(YS),ultimate tensile strength(UTS)and elongation,and the best comprehensive mechanical properties obtained are YS of 266±2.1 MPa,UTS of 296±5.2 MPa,with an elongation of 4.9±0.68%.The SLMed NZ30K Mg alloy with a bimodal-grained structure consisting of fine equiaxed grains and coarser columnar grains has better elongation and a yield drop phenomenon.

Selective Laser Melting of Novel SiC and TiC Strengthen 7075 Aluminum Powders for Anti-Cracks Application

The aerospace and military sectors have widely used AA7075, a type of 7075 aluminum alloy, due to its exceptional mechanical performance. Selective laser melting (SLM) is a highly effective method for producing intricate metallic components, particularly in the case of aluminum alloys like Al-Si-Mg. Nevertheless, the production of high-strength AA7075 by SLM is challenging because of its susceptibility to heat cracking and elemental vaporization. In this study, AA7075 powders were mechanically mixed with SiC and TiC particles. Subsequently, this new type of AA7075 powder was effectively utilized in green laser printing to create solid components with fine-grain strengthening microstructures consisting of equiaxial grains. These as-printed parts exhibit a tensile strength of up to 350 MPa and a ductility exceeding 2.1%. Hardness also increases with the increasing content of mixed powder, highlighting the essential role of SiC and TiC in SLM for improved hardness and tensile strength performance. .

Study of ultrahigh-purity copper billets refined by vacuum melting and directional solidification

The purpose of this paper is to study large-sized copper billets refined with 5N ultrahigh purity after vacuum melting and directional solidifi-cation （VMDS）. The precise impurity analysis of copper billets was carried out with a glow discharge mass spectrometer （GDMS）. The re-sults demonstrate that the total concentration of twenty-two impurities is decreased by 63.1wt.%-66.5 wt.%. Ag, P, S, Na, Mg, Se, Zn, In and Bi are easy to be removed due to lgPimp - lgPCu 1.5, and they can be removed effectively under the vacuum condition of 1650-1700 K for 30 min. The electrical conductivity of 5N copper is higher than that of the raw material as the impurity concentrations decrease. The segrega-tion effect in directional solidification can be remarkable when the equilibrium distribution coefficient （k0） value is less than 0.65 due to the strong affinity of Cu for some metallic and non-metallic impurities.

Numerical and Experimental Studies of Substrate Melting and Resolidification during Thermal Spraying

A good understanding of melting and resolidification of the substrate will help us to achieve better bonding.Anumerical model is developed to investigate the solidification of the droplet,and melting and resolidification of thesubstrate.The molybdenum powder spraying onto three different substrates:a stainless steel,brass(70%Cu)andaluminum by atmospheric plasma spraying has been investigated.The maximum melting depth of the substrate hasbeen measured and compared with the numerical prediction.Experimental results show that the material propertiesof the splat and substrate and melting temperature of the substrate play the important roles on substrate melting.A dimensionless parameter,temperature factor,has been proposed and served as an indicator for substrate melting.

Melting Reconstruction Features and Solidification Mechanism of Heavy Metal-containing Slag

The relationships between microstructure and melting temperature of slag containing different heavy metals （Zn, Cu, Pb and Cr） were studied. Furthermore, the corresponding solidification mechanism and rule of heavy metals were analyzed by microscopic tests during melting and reconstructing process. Based on preliminary results, three conclusions were derived. Firstly, pure slag would begin to melt when the temperature reached 1 180℃; however, Zn did not play any fluxing action. Secondly, upon adding Cu and Pb, the initial melting temperature of slag decreased by 5-8℃ and their fluxing effect was observed. Thirdly, the initial melting temperature and the reaction time for slag decreased by 22℃ and 6 s respectively after adding Cr; the fluxing action was significant under Cr. The results of X-ray diffraction （XRD） and Fourier transform infrared spectroscope （FTIR） analyses showed that the above heavy metals had little influence on the reconstruction of slag. Toxicity characteristic leaching procedure （TCLP） leaching tests showed a good solidification effect of the heavy metals with melting slag, fixation rate of Zn, Cu, Pb and Cr was 36.3%, 24.6%, 9.2% and 93.2%, respectively. The leaching toxicity of the heavy metals met the requirements for environmental emission after solidification treatment.

Functionally Gradient Material Made by IncrementalMelting and Solidification Process

A new technique IMS (Incremental Melting and Solidification Process) has been introduced. A kind of cast steel high Mn foundry alloy gradient rnalerial was produced by this process. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the alloy were tested. Fe and Mn in the samples were measured by EPMA. The experimental results show that the content and hardness of Fe-Mn alloy vary continuously and the IMS process is an alternative way in producing metal matrix gradient material. It is possible for these materials to be made into some parts such as camshaft.

Numerical prediction of the incremental melting and solidification process

A mathematical formulation is applied to represent the phenomena in theincremental melting and solidification process (IMSP), and the temperature and electromagneticfields and the depth of steel liquid phase are calculated by a finite difference technique using thecontrol volume method. The result shows that the predicted values are in good agreement with theobservations. In accordance with the calculated values for different kinds of materials anddifferent size of molds, the technological parameter of the IMS process such as the power supply andthe descending speed rate can be determined.

Numerical simulation on rapid melting and nonequilibrium solidification of pure metals and binary alloys

A heat and mass transfer modelling containing phase transformation dynamics is made for pure metals and binary alloys under pulsed laser processing. The nonequilibrium effects of processing parameters and physical properties are evaluated on the melting and solidification of pure metals (Al, Cu, Fe and Ni) and Al Cu alloys. It is shown that the energy intensity of laser beam and physical properties of metals and the solute concentration of alloys have important effect on the interface temperature, melting and solidification velocity, melting depth and non equilibrium partition coefficient. This situation is resulted from the interaction of heat transfer, redistribution of solute, solute trapping and growth kinetics.

Partial melting and re-solidification in partially melted zone during gas tungsten arc welding of AZ91 cast alloy

During the welding of AZ91 cast alloy,the presence of eutectic β-Mg17Al12 phase results in constitutional liquation in the original interdendritic regions and in the formation of a partially melted zone(PMZ). In this study,gas tungsten arc welding(GTAW) and partial melting(simulated using furnace,salt bath and Gleeble) experiments were conducted. The results show that practically there would not be a critical heating rate during the welding to prevent constitutional liquation. The gradual change of the re-solidification microstructure within PMZ from base metal side to weld metal side was characterized. A sharp transition from base metal to PMZ has been observed. It is found that the original partially divorced eutectic has become a more regular eutectic in most of the PMZ,although close to the fusion boundary the re-solidified eutectic is again a more divorced one. Proceeding the eutectic re-solidification,α-Mg re-solidified with a cellular growth resulting in a serrated interface. The morphological change affected by the peak temperature and cooling rate will be presented and explained.

Si purification by solidification of Al-Si melt with super gravity

The investigation on purification of metallurgical grade silicon by solidification of hypereutectic Al-Si melt with super gravity as an intensified separation way was carried out.The results indicate that the refined silicon grains are successfully enriched at the bottom of the Al-Si alloy along the direction of super gravity.Then the refined silicon was collected by aqua regia leaching.The purity of the collected silicon is analyzed as 99.92%,which is obviously improved compared with the purity of the metallurgical grade silicon of 99.59%,proving the feasibility of this purification method.Furthermore,the mass fraction of B is reduced from 8.33×10-6 to 5.25×10-6 and that of P from 33.65×10-6 to13.50×10-6.

Topology optimization of microstructure and selective laser meltingfabrication for metallic biomaterial scaffolds

The precise design and fabrication of biomaterial scaffolds is necessary to provide a systematic study for bone tissue engineering. Biomaterial scaffolds should have sufficient stiffness and large porosity. These two goals generally contradict since larger porosity results in lower mechanical properties. To seek the microstructure of maximum stiffness with the constraint of volume fraction by topology optimization method, algorithms and programs were built to obtain 2D and 3D optimized microstructure and then they were transferred to CAD models of STL format. Ti scaffolds with 30% volume fraction were fabricated using a selective laser melting （SLM） technology. The architecture and pore shape in the metallic biomaterial scaffolds were relatively precise reproduced and the minimum mean pore size was 231μm. The accurate fabrication of intricate microstructure has verified that the SLM process is suitable for fabrication of metallic biomaterial scaffolds.

Laser surface melting AZ31B magnesium alloy with liquid nitrogen-assisted cooling

Laser surface melting（LSM） is a high-energy surface treatment that allows modification of the microstructure and surface properties of Mg alloys. In the present work, an attempt of LSM on magnesium alloy with liquid nitrogen-assisted cooling（LNSC） was carried out to get the higher cooling rate and improve the surface properties. The experimental results were compared with those of Ar gas protection at room temperature. The samples after LSM with LNSC resulted in a thinner melted layer, a highly homogeneous, refined melted microstructure and formed a lot of worm-like nanocrystals and local amorphous structures. Microhardness of the melted layer with LNAC was improved to HV 90-148 as compared to HV 65-105 of the samples with Ar gas protection. The corrosion resistance of the melted layer in a 3.5% Na Cl solution（mass fraction） was improved because of the grain refinement and redistribution of β-Mg17Al12 phases following rapid quenching associated with the process.

Solidification process of conventional superalloy by confocal scanning laser microscope

The solidification process of a conventional superalloy, IN718, was investigated by confocal scanning laser microscope （CSLM）. The liquid fraction during solidification was obtained as a function of real time and temperature in reference with the in-situ observation. The characteristics of L→γ transformation were analyzed and the γ growing rate of each stage was also calculated. Scheil equation was employed to predict the segregation behavior, and the predict results are in consistence with the experimental results. As a result, the confocal scanning laser microscope shows a great potential for solidification process research.

Effect of melt superheat on structural uniformity of lotus-type porous metals prepared by unidirectional solidification

Structural uniformity is an important parameter influencing physical and mechanical properties of lotus-type porous metals prepared by directional solidification of metal-gas eutectic (Gasar). The effect of superheat on structural uniformity as well as average porosity, pore morphology of porous metals was studied. The experimental results show that, when the superheat is higher than a critical value (ΔTc), the bubbling or boiling phenomenon will occur and the gas bubbles will form in the melt and float out of the melt. As a result, the final porosity will decrease. In addition, a higher superheat will simultaneously cause a non-uniform porous structure due to the pores coalescence and bubbling phenomenon. Finally, a theoretical model was developed to predict the critical superheat for the hydrogen to escape from the melt and the corresponding escapement ratio of hydrogen content. Considering the escapement of hydrogen, the predicted porosities are in good agreement with the experimental results.

Microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of laser melting deposited Ti-6.5Al-3.5Mo-1.5Zr-0.3Si titanium alloy

A rectangular plate of Ti-6.5A1-3.5Mo-I.5Zr-0.3Si titanium alloy was fabricated by laser melting deposition （LMD） technology. Macrostructure and microstructure were characterized by optical microscope （OM） and scanning electron microscope （SEM）. Room temperature tensile properties were evaluated. Results indicate that the macro-morphology is dominated by large columnar grains traversing multiple deposited layers. Two kinds of bands, named the wide bands and the narrow bands, are observed. The wide band consists of crab-like a lath and Widmanstatten a colony. The narrow band consists of a lath and transformed ft. The formation mechanism of the two bands was explored. The influence of heat effect caused by subsequent deposition layers on microstructural evolution during deposition process was discussed. The room temperature tensile test demonstrates that the strength of laser deposited Ti-6.5A1-3.5Mo-I.5Zr-0.3Si is comparable to that of wrought bars.