Effect of tungsten carbide particles on microstructure and mechanical properties of Cu alloy composite bit matrix

Copper alloy composite bit matrix was prepared by pressureless vacuum infiltration,using at least one of the three kinds of tungsten carbide particles,for example,irregular cast tungsten carbide,monocrystalline tungsten carbide and sintered reduced tungsten carbide particles.The effects of powder particle morphology,particle size and mass fraction of tungsten carbide on the microstructure and mechanical properties of copper alloy composite were investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy,X-ray diffraction and abrasive wear test in detail.The results show that tungsten carbide morphology and particle size have obvious effects on the mechanical properties of copper alloy composites.Cast tungsten carbide partially dissolved in the copper alloy binding phase,and layers of Cu_(0.3)W_(0.5)Ni_(0.1)Mn_(0.1)C phase with a thickness of around 8–15μm were formed on the edge of the cast tungsten carbide.When 45%irregular crushed fine cast tungsten carbide and 15%monocrystalline cast tungsten carbide were used as the skeleton,satisfactory comprehensive performance of the reinforced copper alloy composite bit matrix was obtained,with the bending strength,impact toughness and hardness reaching 1048 MPa,4.95 J/cm^(2) and 43.6 HRC,respectively.The main wear mechanism was that the tungsten carbide particles firstly protruded from the friction surface after the copper alloy matrix was worn,and then peeled off from the matrix when further wear occurred.

1.45 GPa ultrastrong cryogenic strength with superior impact toughness in the in-situ nano oxide reinforced CrMnFeCoNi high-entropy alloy matrix nanocomposite manufactured by laser powder bed fusion

CrMnFeCoNi high-entropy alloys(HEAs)exhibit an excellent combination of tensile strength and ductility at cryogenic temperatures.This study led to the introduction of a new method for the development of high-performance CrMnFeCoNi HEAs at cryogenic temperatures by jointly utilizing additive manufacturing(AM)and the addition of interstitial atoms.The interstitial oxygen present in the powder feedstock was transformed into beneficial nano-sized oxides during AM processing.The HEA nanocomposite fabricated using laser powder bed fusion(L-PBF)not only contains heterogeneous grains and substructures but also a high number density of nano-sized oxides.The tensile results revealed that the L-PBF HEA nanocomposite has superior yield strengths of 0.77 GPa and 1.15 GPa,and tensile strengths of 0.92 GPa and 1.45 GPa at 298 K and 77 K,respectively.In addition,the Charpy impact energies of the samples tested at 298 K and 77 K were measured as 176.2 J and 103.7 J,respectively.These results indicate that the L-PBF HEA nanocomposite successfully overcomes the well-known strength-toughness trade-off.The tensile deformation microstructure contained a relatively large number of deformation twins(DTs)at cryogenic temperature,a possible consequence of the decrease in the stacking fault energy with decreasing temperature.On the other hand,cracks were found to propagate along the grain boundaries at room temperature,whereas a transgranular crack was observed at cryogenic temperature in the specimens fractured as a result of the Charpy impact.

In Situ TiC/FeCrNiCu High-Entropy Alloy Matrix Composites:Reaction Mechanism,Microstructure and Mechanical Properties

In situ TiC particles-reinforced FeCrNiCu high-entropy alloy matrix composites were prepared by vacuum induction melting method.The reaction mechanisms of the mixed powder(Ti,Cu and C)were analyzed,and the mechanical properties of resultant composites were determined.Cu4Tiwere formed in the reaction of Cu and Ti when the temperature rose to 1160 K.With the temperature further increased to 1182 K,newly formed Cu4Tireacted with C to give rise to TiC particles as reinforcement agents.The apparent activation energy for these two reactions was calculated to be 578.7 kJ/mol and 1443.2 kJ/mol,respectively.The hardness,tensile yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of the 15 vol%TiC/FeCrNiCu composite are 797.3 HV,605.1 MPa and 769.2 MPa,respectively,representing an increase by 126.9%,65.9%and 36.0%as compared to the FeCrNiCu high-entropy base alloy at room temperature.However,the elongation-to-failure is reduced from 21.5 to 6.1%with the formation of TiC particles.It was revealed that Orowan mechanism,dislocation strengthening and load-bearing effect are key factors responsible for a marked increase in the hardness and strength of the high-entropy alloy matrix composites.

Influence of Mg Addition on Graphite Particle Distribution in the Al Alloy Matrix Composites

Al alloy matrix composites reinforced with copper-coated graphite particle have been prepared by melt stirring process in this work.The effect of the addition of Mg on distribution of the graphite particles has been investigated.Scanning electron microscopy （SEM） was used to observe the micro-morphology of Al alloy matrix composites reinforced with graphite particles.Meanwhile,the content of graphite was analyzed in the different position of casting by dissolution method and the mechanical properties of the composites were detected.The results show that the content of graphite increase with increasing Mg content;the graphite particles distribute uniformly in the particle reinforced metal matrix composites （PMMC） with 0.6 wt pct Mg;however,the agglomeration of the graphite particles is observed obviously in the matrix when Mg content is more than 1.0 wt pct.In addition,the proper Mg addition amount is beneficial to enhance the mechanical properties of the graphite particles reinforced Al alloy matrix composites and the abrasion resistance of the materials due to a reduce friction coefficient.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of in situ(TiC+SiC)/FeCrCoNi high entropy alloy matrix composites

In situ(TiC+SiC)particles(5 vol.%and 10 vol.%,respectively)-reinforced FeCrCoNi high entropy alloy matrix composites were fabricated via vacuum inductive melting method,with equal volume fractions of TiC and SiC particles.X-ray diffraction,scanning electron microscope and energy diffraction spectrum were employed to analyze the microstructure and composi-tion of the samples.The results manifested that the FeCrCoNi matrix is composed of FCC phase,and the in situ particles are homogeneously scattered in the matrix.The presence of reinforcements augmented the ultimate tensile strength from 452 to 783 MPa,and raised the yield strength from 162 to 466 MPa at room temperature,whereas the elongation to fracture was reduced from 70.6%to 28.6%.All the tensile fracture surfaces consisted of numerous tiny dimples,indicating that the composites exhibited ductile fracture.Furthermore,the enhancement of strength ascribes to a combination of thermal mis-match strengthening,load-bearing effect,grain refinement,Orowan strengthening and solid solution strengthening effect,which contribute about 58.0%,2.4%,12.3%,11.1%and 16.2%to the improvement of yield tensile strength,respectively.

Effect of vanadium content on microstructure and properties of in situ TiC reinforced V_(x)FeCoNiCu multi-principal-element alloy matrix composites

V_(x)FeCoNiCu high entropy alloy matrix composites reinforced by in situ TiC particles(10 vol.%),i.e.,V_(x)FeCoNiCu/TiC composites,were fabricated from V–Fe–Co–Ni–Cu–Ti–C system using vacuum inductive melting method.With the content of vanadium increasing,the size of TiC particles decreased gradually.Meanwhile,vanadium agglomeration occurred slightly.The reaction mechanism of the mixed powder(Fe,V,Ti and C)and the mechanical properties of obtaining V_(x)FeCoNiCu/TiC composites were studied.It was found that three reactions occurred(Fe-Ti-FeTi-Fe_(2)Ti,FeTi-Fe_(2)Ti-Fe-Ti and Ti-C-TiC)in the heating process.The apparent activation energy for these three reactions was calculated and found to be 26.4,698.3 and 1879.0 kJ/mol,respectively.At room temperature,tensile strength and elongation increased first and then decreased with the increase in vanadium content and the microhardness increased gradually.The maximum tensile strength of the composites was determined to be 666 MPa,representing a 17.7%increase over that of FeCoNiCu/TiC high entropy alloy composites.

Effect of Nano-sized B4C Addition on the Mechanical Properties of ZA27 Composites

In order to understand the influence of nano-sized B4C additive on ZA27 alloy, mechanical and physical properties of ZA27-B4C nanocomposites were investigated in terms of B4C content. While physical properties were determined in terms of microstructural studies, density and porosity tests, mechanical properties were determined in terms of ultimate tensile strength（UTS） and hardness experiments. Morphological and microstructural studies were carried out with scanning electron microscopy（SEM）. The experimental results indicate that nano-sized B4C can be used to enhance the mechanical properties of ZA27 alloy effectively. The highest mechanical performance can be obtained at ZA27-0.5% B4C（in weight） nanocomposite with values of tensile strength（247 MPa） and hardness（141,18 BH） and low partial porosity（0.5%）. After a pick point, increasing B4C ratio may cause the formation of agglomeration in grain boundaries, that＇s why density, tensile strength, and hardness values are declined.

Hot deformation behavior and microstructure evolution of GH3536-TiB_(2) composites fabricated by powder metallurgy

The hot deformation behavior and microstructure evolution of GH3536-TiB2composites fabricated by powder metallurgy(PM)were examined in the temperature range of 950–1150℃ and strain rate range of 0.001–1 s^(-1). The hot compression stress-strain curves and the constitutive equation were obtained. In addition, the hot processing map was drawn, which indicated that the appropriate hot working window was 950–1050℃/0.001–0.1 s^(-1)and 1050–1100℃/0.001–0.01 s^(-1). The microstructure analysis showed that the splitting and spheroidization of M3B2led to a decrease in size and volume fraction at 950–1100℃. At 1150℃,the eutectic microstructure of M_(3)B_(2)+ γ was formed due to the dissolution of M_(3)B_(2), which caused macroscopic cracking of the deformed sample. Additionally, the deformation temperature and the strain rate had little effect on the size and volume fraction of M_(3)B_(2). Besides, discontinuous dynamic recrystallization(DDRX) and continuous dynamic recrystallization(CDRX) were found in the deformed microstructure, while the former was dominant. Within the test range of this work, the dynamic recrystallization(DRX) fraction of the deformed composites was high due to the bulging nucleation of numerous interfaces. The DRX grain size increased with increasing deformation temperature or decreasing strain rate. Texture analysis showed that the deformation texture of <101>//compression direction RD existed in the matrix when the deformation temperature was below 1100℃, and the texture type became <001>//RD at 1100℃. Additionally, it was also found that the <001>//RD texture was formed in M3B2under the strain rates of 0.1 and 0.01 s^(-1).

Effect of cooling rate upon the microstructure and mechanical properties of in-situ TiC reinforced high entropy alloy CoCrFeNi

Three types of in-situ TiC(5 vol%,10 vol%and 15 vol%)reinforced high entropy alloy CoCrFeNi matrix composites were produced by vacuum induction smelting.The effect of two extreme cooling conditions(i.e.,slow cooling in fu rnace and rapid cooling in copper crucible)upon the microstructure and mechanical properties was examined.In the case of slow cooling in the furnace,TiC was found to form mostly along the grain boundaries for the 5 vol%samples.With the increase of TiC reinforcements,fibrous TiC appeared and extended into the matrix,leading to an increase in hardness.The ultimate tensile strength of the composites shows a marked variation with increasing TiC content;that is,425.6 MPa(matrix),372.8 MPa(5 vol%),550.4 MPa(10 vol%)and 334.3 MPa(15 vol%),while the elongation-to-failure(i.e.,ductility)decreases.The fracture pattern was found to transit from the ductile to cleavage fracture,as the TiC content increased.When the samples cooled rapidly in copper crucible,the TiC particles formed both along the grain boundaries and within the grains.With the increase of TiC volume fraction,both the hardness and ultimate tensile strength of the resulting composites improved steadily while the elongation-to-failure declined.Therefore,the fast cooling can be used to drastically improve the strength of in-situ TiC reinforced CoCrFeNi.For example,for the 15 vol%TiC/CoCrFeNi composite cooled in the copper crucible,the hardness and ultimate tensile strength can reach as high as 595 HV and 941.7 MPa,respectively.

Microstructural Characterization and Mechanical Properties of VB_2/A390 Composite Alloy

In this work, we make the best use of the vanadium element; a series of A1-V-B alloys and VB2/A390 composite alloys were fabricated. For Ak-10V-6B alloy, the grain size of VB2 can be controlled within about 1 μm and is distributed uniformly in the AI matrix. Further, it can be found that VB2 promises to be a useful reinforcement particle for piston alloy. The addition of VB2 can improve the mechanical properties of the A390 composite alloys significantly. The results show that with 1 % VB2 addition, A390 composite alloy exhibits the best performance. Compared with the A390 alloy, the coefficient of thermal expansion is 13.2 × 10^-6 K-1, which decreased by 12.6%; the average Brinell hardness can reach 156.5 HB, wear weight loss decreased by 28.9% and ultimate tensile strength at 25℃ （UTS25 ℃） can reach 355 MPa, which increased by 36.5%.

Shape Memory Effect,Thermal Expansion and Damping Property of Friction Stir Processed NiTip/Al Composite

NiTi particles reinforced aluminum （NiTip/Al） composite was prepared via friction stir processing, elimi- nating interfacial reaction and/or elemental diffusion. The NiTip in the composite maintained the intrinsic characteristic of a reversible thermoelastic phase transformation even after heat-treatment. The shape memory characteristic of the NiTip decreased the coefficient of thermal expansion of the Al matrix, and an apparent two-way shape memory effect was observed in the composite. The composite owned a good combination of adjustable damping and thermal physical properties.

Suppressing Al2O3 nanoparticle coarsening and Cu nanograin growth of milled nanostructured Cu-5vol.%Al2O3 composite powder particles by doping with Ti

Both the coarsening of Al2O3 nanoparticles and the growth of Cu nanograins of mechanically milled nanostructured Cu-5 vol.%Al2O3 composites with, and without, trace amounts of Ti during annealing at973 K for 1 h were investigated. It was found that doping with a small amount of Ti（e.g. 0.2 wt%） in a nanostructured Cu-5 vol.%Al2O3 composite effectively suppressed the coarsening of Al2O3 nanoparticles during exposure at this temperature. Further, the Ti addition also prevented the concomitant abnormal growth of the copper grains normally caused by the coarsening of the Al2O3 nanoparticles. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis of the Al2O3 nanoparticles in the annealed Cu-5 vol.%Al2 O3-0.2 wt%Ti sample suggested that the Ti atoms either diffused into the Al2O3 nanoparticles or segregated to the Cu/Al2O3 interfaces to form Ti-doped Al2O3 nanoparticles, which was more stable than Ti-free Al2O3 nanoparticles during annealing at high homologous temperatures.

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.

Hot Deformation Behaviour of SiC/AA6061 Composites Prepared by Spark Plasma Sintering

In this study, SiC/AA6061 composites with different SiC volume fractions （5%, 10%, 15% and 20%） were fabricated by spark plasma sintering. The deformation behaviour of the composites was studied by uni- axial compression test at temperatures from 573 K to 773 K and strain rates between 0.001 s^-1 and 1 s^-1. Results indicate that the flow stress of SiCIAA6061 composites increases with the increase of SiC volume fraction, with the decrease of deformation temperature and with the decrease of strain rate. The main deformation mechanism of the composites is dynamic recrystallisation （DRX）, and the DRX degree depends on the processing parameters of deformation. Higher SiC volume fraction, higher deformation temper- ature and lower deformation strain rate promote the occurrence of DRX. The strain rate sensitivity and deformation activation energy of SiC/AA6061 composites are calculated. Results show that with the in- crease in deformation temperature and the decrease in SiC volume fraction, the strain rate sensitivity of the composites increases. From 573 K to 773 K, the average deformation activation energy of 5vol.%SiC/ AA6061, 10voI.%SiC/AA6061, 15voI.%SiC/AA6061 and 20vol.%SiC/AA6061 are 20Z91, 230.88, 237.7 and 249.87 kJ mol^-1, respectively. The optimum hot working zone of the SiC/AA6061 composites is in the tem- perature range of 723 K to 773 K at strain rates from 0.1 s^-1 to 1 s^-1.