Lap-Shear Performance of Weld-Bonded Mg Alloy and Austenitic Stainless Steel in Three-Sheet Stack-Up

With the growing interest in utilizing Mg and austenitic stainless steel(ASS)in the automotive sector,joining them together in three-sheet configuration is inevitable.However,achieving this task presents considerable challenges due to the large differences in their physical,metallurgical and mechanical properties.To overcome these challenges,the feasibility of using weld-bonding to join Mg alloy/ASS/ASS was investigated.The nugget formation,interface characteristics,microstructure and mechanical properties of the joints were investigated.The results show that the connection between the Mg alloy and upper ASS was achieved through the combined effect of the cured adhesive and weld-brazing in the weld zone.On the other hand,a metallurgical bond was formed at the ASS/ASS interface.The Mg nugget microstructure exhibited fine columar grains composed predominantly of primaryα-Mg grains along with a eutectic mixture ofα-Mg andβ-Mg17Al12.The nugget formed at the ASS/ASS interface consisted largely of columnar grains of austenite,with some equiaxed dendritic grains formed at the centerline of the joint.The weld-bonded joints exhibited an average peak load and energy absorption of about 8.5 kN and 17 J,respectively(the conventional RSW joints failed with minimal or no load application).The failure mode of the joints changed with increasing welding current from interfacial failure via the Mg nugget/upper ASS interface to partial interfacial failure(part of the Mg nugget was pulled out of the Mg sheet).Both failure modes were accompanied by cohesive failure in the adhesive zone.

An Experimental Artificial Neural Network Model:Investigating and Predicting Effects of Quenching Process on Residual Stresses of AISI 1035 Steel Alloy

The present study establishes a new estimation model using an artificial neural network(ANN) to predict the mechanical properties of the AISI 1035 alloy.The experiments were designed based on the L16 orthogonal array of the Taguchi method.A proposed numerical model for predicting the correlation of mechanical properties was supplemented with experimental data.The quenching process was conducted using a cooling medium called “nanofluids”.Nanoparticles were dissolved in a liquid phase at various concentrations(0.5%,1%,2.5%,and 5% vf) to prepare the nanofluids.Experimental investigations were done to assess the impact of temperature,base fluid,volume fraction,and soaking time on the mechanical properties.The outcomes showed that all conditions led to a noticeable improvement in the alloy's hardness which reached 100%,the grain size was refined about 80%,and unwanted residual stresses were removed from 50 to 150 MPa.Adding 5% of CuO nanoparticles to oil led to the best grain size refinement,while adding 2.5% of Al_(2)O_(3) nanoparticles to engine oil resulted in the greatest compressive residual stress.The experimental variables were used as the input data for the established numerical ANN model,and the mechanical properties were the output.Upwards of 99% of the training network's correlations seemed to be positive.The estimated result,nevertheless,matched the experimental dataset exactly.Thus,the ANN model is an effective tool for reflecting the effects of quenching conditions on the mechanical properties of AISI 1035.

Microstructure and high temperature tribological behavior of laser cladding Ni60A alloys coatings on 45 steel substrate

The crack-free Ni60 A coating was fabricated on 45 steel substrate by laser cladding and the microstructure including solidification characteristics, phases constitution and phase distribution was systematically investigated. The high temperature friction and wear behavior of the cladding coating and substrate sliding against GCr15 ball under different loads was systematically evaluated. It was found that the coating has homogenous and fine microstructure consisting of γ（Ni） solid solution, a considerable amount of network Ni-Ni3 B eutectics, m^23C6 with the floret-shape structure and Cr B with the dark spot-shape structure uniformly distributing in interdendritic eutectics. The microhardness of the coating is about 2.6 times as much as that of the substrate. The coating produces higher friction values than the substrate under the same load condition, but the friction process on the coating keeps relatively stable. Wear rates of the coating are about 1/6.2 of that of the substrate under the higher load（300 g）. Wear mechanism of the substrate includes adhesion wear, abrasive wear, severe plastic deformation and oxidation wear, while that of the coating is merely a combination of mild abrasive wear and moderate oxidation wear.

Interfacial structure and mechanical properties of hot-roll bonded joints between titanium alloy and stainless steel using niobium interlayer

The hot-roll bonding was carried out in vacuum between titanium alloy and stainless steel using niobium interlayer. The interfacial structure and mechanical properties were analyzed. The results show that the plasticity of bonded joint is improved significantly. When the bonding temperature is 800 °C or 900 °C, there is not intermetallic layer at the interface between stainless steel and niobium. When the bonding temperature is 1000 °C or 1050 °C, Fe-Nb intermetallic layer forms at the interface. When the bonding temperature is 1050 °C, cracking occurs between stainless steel and intermetallic layer. The maximum strength of -417.5 MPa is obtained at the bonding temperature of 900 °C, the reduction of 25% and the rolling speed of 38 mm/s, and the tensile specimen fractures in the niobium interlayer with plastic fracture characteristics. When the hot-roll bonded transition joints were TIG welded with titanium alloy and stainless steel respectively, the tensile strength of the transition joints after TIG welding is -410.3 MPa, and the specimen fractures in the niobium interlayer.

Corrosion and tribocorrosion behaviors of AISI 316 stainless steel and Ti6Al4V alloys in artificial seawater

The corrosion and tribocorrosion behaviors of AISI 316 stainless steel and Ti6Al4V alloys sliding against Al2O3 in artificial seawater using a pin-on-disk test rig were investigated. And the synergistic effect between corrosion and wear was emphatically evaluated. The results show that the open circuit potentials of both alloys drop down to more negative value due to friction. The corrosion current densities obtained under tribocorrosion condition are much higher than those under corrosion-only condition. Friction obviously accelerates the corrosion of the alloys. The wear loss for both alloys is larger in seawater than that in pure water. Wear loss is obviously accelerated by corrosion. And AISI 316 stainless steel is less resistant to sliding damage than Ti6Al4V alloy. The synergistic effect between wear and corrosion is a significant factor for the materials loss in tribocorrosion. In this surface-on-surface contact geometry friction system, the material loss is large but the ratio of wear-accelerated-corrosion to the total wear loss is very low.

Contact reactive brazing of Al alloy/Cu/stainless steel joints and dissolution behaviors of interlayer

Contact reactive brazing of 6063 Al alloy and 1Cr18Ni9Ti stainless steel was researched by using Cu as interlayer. Effect of brazing time on microstructure of the joints, as well as the dissolution behaviors of Cu interlayer was analyzed. The results show that the product of reaction zone near 1Cr18Ni9Ti is composed of Fe2Al5, FeAl3 intermetallic compound （IMC）, and Cu-Al IMC; the near by area is composed of Al-Cu eutectic structure with Al （Cu） solid solution. With increasing the brazing time, the thickness of IMC layer at the interface increases, while the width of Al-Cu eutectic structure with Al（Cu） solution decreases. Calculation shows the dissolution rate of Cu interlayer is very fast. The complete dissolution time is about 0.47 s for Cu interlayer with 10 μm in thickness used in this study.

Temperature and stress fields in electron beam welded Ti-15-3 alloy to 304 stainless steel joint with copper interlayer sheet

Electron beam welding of Ti-15-3 alloy to 304 stainless steel （STS） using a copper filler metal was carried out. The temperature fields and stress distributions in the Ti/Fe and Ti/Cu/Fe joint during the welding process were numerically simulated and experimentally measured. The results show that the rotated parabola body heat source is fit for the simulation of the electron beam welding. The temperature distribution is asymmetric along the weld center and the temperature in the titanium alloy plate is higher than that in the 304 STS plate. The thermal stress also appears to be in asymmetric distribution. The residual tensile stress mainly exists in the weld at the 304 STS side. The copper filler metal decreases the peak temperature and temperature grade in the joint as well as the residual stress. The longitudinal and lateral residual tensile strengths reduce by 66 MPa and 31 MPa, respectively. From the temperature and residual stress, it is concluded that copper is a good filler metal candidate for the electron beam welding of Ti-15-3 titanium alloy to 304 stainless steel.

Microstructural characteristics of joint region during diffusion-brazing of magnesium alloy and stainless steel using pure copper interlayer

A novel joining method,double-stage diffusion-brazing of an AZ31 magnesium alloy and a 304L austenitic stainless steel,was carried out using a pure copper interlayer.The solid-state diffusion bonding of 304L to copper was conducted at 850 ℃ for 20 min followed by brazing to AZ31 at 520 ℃ and 495 ℃ for various time.Microstructural characteristics of the diffusion-brazed joints were investigated in detail.A defect free interface of Fe-Cu diffusion area appeared between the Cu alloy and the 304L steel.Cu-Mg reaction products were formed between AZ31 and Cu alloys.A layered structure including AZ31/Cu-Mg compounds/Cu/Fe-Cu diffusion layer/304L was present in the joint.With time prolonging,the reduction in the width of Cu layer was balanced by the increase in the width of Cu-Mg compounds zone.Microhardness peaks in the zone between AZ31 and Cu layer were attributed to the formation of Mg-Cu compounds in this zone.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of friction welds between TiA l alloy and 40Cr steel rods

Direct friction welding of Ti Al alloy to 40 Cr steel rods was conducted, and the microstructure and mechanical properties of the resultant joints in as-welded and post-weld heat treatment（PWHT） states were investigated. The martensitic transformation occurred and brittle Ti C phase formed near the interface due to C agglomeration, which degraded the joint strength and increased the microhardness at the interface in as-welded state. Feathery and Widmanstatten structure generated near the interface on Ti Al alloy side. After PWHT at 580 °C and 630 °C for 2 h, the sorbite formed and C dispersed at the interface, leading to the increase of the joint strength from 86 MPa in as-welded state to 395 MPa and 330 MPa, respectively. The heat-treated specimen fractured with quasi-cleavage features through the zone 1 mm away from the interface on TiA l alloy side, but the as-welded specimen failed through the interface.

Structure and mechanical properties of aluminum alloy/Ag interlayer/steel non-centered electron beam welded joints

Electron beam welding was carried out between aluminum alloy and steel with Ag interlayer. Seam morphology, structure and mechanical properties of the joints were investigated with different action positions of the electron beam spot. The results show that with the increment of the beam offset to the silver side from the interface between silver and steel, the seam morphology was improved, and the porosity in the Ag interlayer vanished. A transition layer mainly composed of Ag2Al and Al eutectic was formed at the interface between silver and aluminum, and became thin and spiccato as the beam offset increased. When the beam offset was too large, two IMC layers composed of FeAl and FeAl3 respectively were formed at the interface between steel and Ag interlayer. The optimal beam offset was 0.2 mm, and the maximum tensile strength of the joint was 193 MPa, 88.9% that of the aluminum alloy, and the fracture occurred at the interface between steel and Ag interlayer.

Electron beam welding of 304 stainless steel to QCr0.8 copper alloy with copper filler wire

Electron beam welding （EBW） of 304 stainless steel to QCr0.8 copper alloy with copper filler wire was carried out. Orthogonal experiment was performed to investigate the effects of process parameters on the tensile strength of the joints, and the process parameters were optimized. The optimum process parameters are as follows：beam current of 30 mA, welding speed of 100 mm/min, wire feed rate of 1 m/min and beam offset of-0.3 mm. The microstructures of the optimum joint were studied. The results indicate that the weld is mainly composed of dendriticαphase with little globularεphase, and copper inhomogeneity only occurs at the top of the fusion zone. In addition, a melted region without mixing exists near the weld junction of copper side. This region with a coarser grain size is the weakest section of the joints. It is found that the microhardness of the weld decreases with the increase of the copper content in solid solution. The highest tensile strength of the joint is 276 MPa.

Effect of intermetallic compounds on heat resistance of hot roll bonded titanium alloy-stainless steel transition joint

The effect of intermetallic compounds on the heat resistance of transition joint was investigated. The experiment of post-weld heat treatment for the hot roll bonded titanium alloy-stainless steel joint using nickels interlayer was carried out, and the interface microstructure evolution due to heat treatment was presented. There was not found significant interdiffusion at stainless steel/nickel interface, when the specimens were heat treated in the temperature range of 600-800 °C for 10 and 30 min, while micro-cracks occurred at the stainless steel/nickel interface heat treated at 700 °C for 30 min. The thickness of intermetallic layers at nickel/titanium alloy interface increased at 600 °C, and micro-cracks occurred at 700 and 800 °C. The micro-cracks occurred between intermetallic layers or between intermetallic layer and nickel interlayer as well. The tensile strength of the transition joint decreased with the increase of heat treatment temperature or holding time.

Welding of shape memory alloy to stainless steel for medical occluder

Dissimilar metal joining between NiTi shape memory alloy（SMA） and stainless steel was conducted.A cluster of NiTi SMA wires were first joined with tungsten inert gas（TIG） welding process,then the NiTi SMA TIG weld was welded to a stainless steel pipe with laser spot welding process.The microstructure of the welds was examined with an optical microscope and the elemental distribution in the welds was measured by electron probe microanalysis（EPMA）.The results show that TiC compounds dispersively distribute in the NiTi SMA TIG weld.However,the amount of TiC compounds greatly decreases around the fusion boundary of the laser spot weld between the NiTi SMA and stainless steel.Mutual diffusion between NiTi shape memory alloy and stainless steel happen within a short distance near the fusion boundary,and intermetallic compounds such as Ni3Ti＋（Fe,Ni）Ti appear around the fusion boundary.

Influences of different filler metals on electron beam welding of titanium alloy to stainless steel

Electron beam welding experiments of titanium alloy to stainless steel were carried out with different filler metals, such as Ni, V, and Cu. Microstructures of the joints were examined by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. Mechanical properties of the joints were evaluated according to tensile strength and microhardness. As a result, influences of filler metals on microstructures and mechanical properties of electron beam welded titanium-stainless steel joints were discussed. The results showed that all the filler metals were helpful to restrain the Ti-Fe intermetallics. The welds with different filler metals were all characterized by solid solution and interfacial intermetallics. For each type of the filler metal, the type of solid solution and interfacial intermetallics depended on the metallurgical reactions between the filler metals and base metals. The interfacial intermetallics were Fe2Ti＋Ni3Ti＋NiTi2, TiFe, and Cu2Ti＋CuTi＋CuTi2 in the joints welded with Ni, V, and Cu filler metals, respectively. The tensile strengths of the joints were dependent on the hardness of the interfacial intermetallics. The joint welded with Ag filler metal had the highest tensile strength, which is about 310 MPa.

Design of a low-alloy high-strength and high-toughness martensitic steel

To develop a high strength low alloy （HSLA） steel with high strength and high toughness, a series of martensitic steels were studied through alloying with various elements and thermodynamic simulation. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the designed steel were investigated by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, tensile testing and Charpy impact test. The results show that cementite exists between 500℃ and 700℃, M7C3 exits below 720℃, and they are much lower than the austenitizing temperature of the designed steel. Furthermore, the Ti（C,N） precipitate exists until 1280℃, which refines the microstructure and increases the strength and toughness. The optimal alloying components are 0.19% C, 1.19% Si, 2.83% Mn, 1.24% Ni, and 0.049% Ti; the tensile strength and the V notch impact toughness of the designed steel are more than 1500 MPa and 100 J, respectively.

In situ observation of austenite grain growth behavior in the simulated coarse-grained heat-affected zone of Ti-microalloyed steels

The austenite grain growth behavior in a simulated coarse-grained heat-affected zone during thermal cycling was investigated via in situ observation. Austenite grains nucleated at ferrite grain boundaries and then grew in different directions through movement of grain boundaries into the ferrite phase. Subsequently, the adjacent austenite grains impinged against each other during the α→γtransformation. After the α→γ transformation, austenite grains coarsened via the coalescence of small grains and via boundary migration between grains. The growth process of austenite grains was a continuous process during heating, isothermal holding, and cooling in simulated thermal cycling. Abundant finely dispersed nanoscale TiN particles in a steel specimen containing 0.012wt% Ti effectively retarded the grain boundary migration, which resulted in refined austenite grains. When the Ti concentration in the steel was increased, the number of TiN particles de- creased and their size coarsened. The big particles were not effective in pinning the austenite grain boundary movement and resulted in coarse austenite grains.

Hot ductility behavior of V-N and V-Nb microalloyed steels

The hot ductility of V-N and V-Nb microalloyed steels was investigated on a Gleeble-1500 thermomechanical simulator, and the results were compared with those of V and Nb microalloyed steels. A ductility trough is found in both the steels in the temperature range of 700 to 1050℃. Compared to the V steel, the V-N steel has a wider and deeper ductility trough with the increase of N content, due to the in- creased precipitation of V（C, N） in the steel. Above 930℃, when 0.047wt% V is added to the 0.028wt% Nb-containing steel, the ductility becomes worse, owing to the rise of the onset dynamic recrystallization temperature. However, the ductility gets better at 800 to 930℃ be- cause of the coarsening of precipitates in austenite. With the improvement in ductility, the fracture mechanism is changed from intergranular to high ductile fracture in the temperature range of 800 to 1050℃.

Influence of mill scale and rust layer on the corrosion resistance of low-alloy steel in simulated concrete pore solution

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic potentiodynamic polarization measurements, and scanning electron microscopy in conjunction with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to investigate the influence of mill scale and rust layer on the passivation capability and chloride-induced corrosion behaviors of conventional low-carbon（LC） steel and low-alloy（LA） steel in simulated concrete pore solution. The results show that mill scale exerts different influences on the corrosion resistance of both steels at various electrochemical stages. We propose that the high long-term corrosion resistance of LA steel is mainly achieved through the synergistic effect of a gradually formed compact, adherent and well-distributed Cr-enriched inner rust layer and the physical barrier protection effect of mill scale.

Microstructures of brazing zone between titanium alloy and stainless steel using various filler metals

Titanium alloy (Ti-Al-V alloy) substrate was brazed with stainless steel (STS304) using filler metal.At an optimized brazing condition,various filler metals were used.Microstructures were observed at each condition.Filler metals were titanium based 40Ti-20Zr-20Cu-20Ni,silver based Ag 5Pd,and nickel based Ni-7Cr-3.1B-4.5Si-3Fe-0.06C (BNi2) and Ni-14Cr-10P-0.06C (BNi7).To select a good filler metal for brazing process,wetting test was performed at 880-1050 °C.It was not brazed using silver based filler metals,but at the conditions using titanium and nickel based filler metals had brazed zone between titanium alloy and stainless steel.However,titanium alloy was eroded during brazing using titanium based filler metals.Nickel based filler metal has a good brazed zone between titanium alloy and stainless steel among the filler metals.

Austenite grain growth of medium-carbon alloy steel with aluminum additions during heating process

In this study, the effects of heating temperature(850–1100°C) and holding time(30–150 min) on the grain growth behavior of austenite in medium-carbon alloy steel were investigated by conducting experiments. The abnormal grain growth and mixed grain structure phenomenon are explained using an equilibrium precipitation phase diagram calculated by Thermo-Calc software package. The Al N particles were observed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM), and the amount of AlN precipitations was detected by electron probe microanalysis(EPMA). Based on the research results, it was found that the average grain size of austenite in the test steel increased continuously with the increase of temperature and holding time. Furthermore, the abnormal growth of austenite occurred in the test steel at 950°C, and the heating temperature affected the austenite grain size more significantly. In addition, the decline in the amount of AlN second-phase particle in the test steel, which weakened the "pinning" effect on austenite grain boundaries, resulted in abnormal growth and the development of mixed austenite grain structures. The prediction model for describing the austenite grain growth of medium-carbon alloy steel during heating was established by regression analysis of the experimental data, and the model was verified to be highly accurate.