Effects of Sm addition on microstructural evolution of Mg-6Zn-0.4Zr alloy during semi-solid isothermal heat treatment

The application of segmental semi-solid thixoforming of magnesium alloys is confined due to the dimensional distinction existing in solid particles of the alloy billet from edge to center zones. In the present study, the effects of Sm addition on the microstructural evolution of Mg-6Zn-0.4Zr and Mg-6Zn-4Sm-0.4Zr alloys by semi-solid isothermal heat treatment were investigated, to obtain optimum semi-solid microstructures for the subsequently thixoforming. The results indicate that the grains of the Sm-bearing alloy are evidently refined and gradually evolve from dendritic to globular and elliptic particles. In addition, the distinctly dimensional effect of the Mg-6Zn-0.4Zr alloy is eliminated with 4% Sm addition; the particle sizes in all zones from center to the edge of the billet are almost identical. With the increment of isothermal heat treatment temperature, the dendritic microstructures completely disappear, and meanwhile, the irregular and globular particles gradually form. The size, morphology and the distribution of solid particles mainly depend on the formation and permeation of the liquid phase in the process of isothermal heat treatment. As the isothermal temperature increases from 570 °C to 610 °C, the average size and shape factor of solid particles of both the alloys with and without Sm addition gradually decrease while the liquid fraction gradually increases.

Effects of Microstructure on the Tensile, Fracture Toughness and Fatigue Behaviour of Gamma Titanium Aluminides

The effects of microstructure on the deformation and fracture behaviour of two-phase TiAl alloys were investjgated under monotonic and cyclical loading conditions, over a range of temperatu res.The tensile behaviour is analyzed for deformation temperatures between RT and 950℃, Fracture resistance behaviour and toughening mechanisms at RT and 800℃ are analyzed. and the inverse relationship botween ductility and toughness is explained using the crack initiation toughness. The preliminary results of load-controlled fatigue behaviour at 800℃ are interpreted using the tensile behaviour because deformation structure and fracture modes are similar under these two loading conditions

Effects of lime treatment on the microstructure and hydraulic conductivity of Héricourt clay

This study aims at evidencing the effects of lime treatment on the microstructure and hydraulic conductivityof a compacted expansive clay, with emphasis put on the effect of lime hydration and modification.For this purpose, evolutions of hydraulic conductivity were investigated for both lime-treatedand untreated soil specimens over 7 d after full saturation of the specimens and their microstructureswere observed at the end. Note that for the treated specimen, dry clay powder was mixed with quicklimeprior to compaction in order to study the effect of lime hydration. It is observed that lime hydration andmodification did not affect the intra-aggregate pores but increased the inter-aggregates pores size. Thisincrease gave rise to an increase of hydraulic conductivity. More precisely, the hydraulic conductivity oflime-treated specimen increased progressively during the first 3 d of modification phase and stabilisedduring the next 4 d which correspond to a short period prior to the stabilisation phase. The microstructureobservation showed that stabilisation reactions took place after 7 d. Under the effect of stabilisation,a decreasing hydraulic conductivity can be expected in longer time due to the formation ofcementitious compounds. 2014 Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Production and hosting byElsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of Additional Elements on Microstructure and Precipitation Behaviour in Rapidly Solidified Al-Ti Base Alloys

Rapidly solidified Al-Ti base alloys were prepared by melt spinning at the cooling rate about 107 K/s. The melt-spun ribbons were used to observe the dricrostructures after heat treatment.In the supersaturated Al-Tl-Si alloy, age hardening occurred after 1 h anneal in the temperature range of 4000~500℃, which seems to be attributed to the precipitation of metastable Ll2- (Al,Si)3Ti phase. However. the microhardness was relatively low because of the low v/o and the insufflcient stability of precipitates. Thus. Cr was added to Al-Ti-Si alloys in order to stabilize the microstructures and to increase the v/o of precipitate5. As a result. the alIoys containing Cr were evaluated to possess the improved properties at the service temperature.

Effects of Ta Addition on Microstructure and Transformation Behavior of Ni-Ti Alloys

The effect of adding Ta on the changes of microstructure and Ms temperature of a dualphase shape memory alloy with compositions of (Ni51 Ti49)1 -x.Tax. and Ni50-Ti50 -g.Ta.g were systematically studied. An optical microscope, SEM, X-ray diffraction and DSC were utilized in this work. The evolution of the microstructure as a function of Ta content was characterized. The variation of the Ni/Ti ratio in the NiTi phase plays an important role in the change of the Ms temperatures due to the addition of Ta. A pseudobinary NiTi-Ta phase diagram was proposed based on these results.

Cooling rate effects on the structure and transformation behavior of Cu-Zn-Al shape memory alloys

Different fragments of a hot-rolled and homogenized Cu–Zn–Al shape memory alloy（SMA） were subjected to thermal cycling by means of a differential scanning calorimetric（DSC） device. During thermal cycling, heating was performed at the same constant rate of increasing temperature while cooling was carried out at different rates of decreasing temperature. For each cooling rate, the temperature decreased in the same thermal interval. During each cooling stage, an exothermic peak（maximum） was observed on the DSC thermogram. This peak was associated with forward martensitic transformation. The DSC thermograms were analyzed with PROTEUS software： the critical martensitic transformation start（Ms） and finish（Mf） temperatures were determined by means of integral and tangent methods, and the dissipated heat was evaluated by the area between the corresponding maximum plot and a sigmoid baseline. The effects of the increase in cooling rate, assessed from a calorimetric viewpoint, consisted in the augmentation of the exothermic peak and the delay of direct martensitic transformation. The latter had the tendency to move to lower critical transformation temperatures. The martensite plates changed in morphology by becoming more oriented and by an augmenting in surface relief, which corresponded with the increase in cooling rate as observed by scanning electron microscopy（SEM） and atomic force microscopy（AFM）.

Effects of A1 Additions on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of MoSi_2

The effects of Al additions on the microstructure and mechanical properties of MoSi2 have been studied. With the A1 additions from 2.5 wt pct to 5 wt pct, the siliceous grain boundary phase in hot pressed samples was eliminated because of the formation of Al2O3 particles. It was shown that Al and SiO2 reacted at 860℃. During the reaction, A1 atoms were mainly transferred to Al2O3 particles, and to some extent, diffused into MoSi2 grains. Both the toughness and strength of Al containing composites exceeded those of pure MoSi2 material. Bending strength and fracture toughness reach the highest value of 350 MPa, 4.05 MPa.m1/2, respectively, at ambient temperature when Al addition was of 3.5 wt pct.

Identification of thermal effects involved in DSC experiment on Al-Cu-Mg-Ag alloys with high Cu:Mg ratio

Precipitation reactions in the differential scanning calorimetry （DSC） of an Al-Cu-Mg-Ag alloy were identified by analyzing the results from hardness test,electrical conductivity test,and transmission electron microscope （TEM） examination.It is discovered that thermal effects can be identified through selected area electron diffraction and bright-field images.The reaction peaks around 171,231,and 276℃ can be attributed to a structural rearrangement of coherent zones,to the precipitation of Ω phases,and to the precipitation of Ω and θ＇ and possible combination with the transition of θ＇→θ,respectively.In addition,the hardness and electrical conductivity of the alloy change proportionately with the progression of reactions during the heating process.This phenomenon can be attributed to the evolution of the micro-structure.

Ageing Effect on Hardness and Microstructure of Al-Zn-Mg Alloys

Experimental results of the investigation on the hardness of two Al-Zn-Mg alloys [Al-10.0 Zn-4.0 Mg and Al-8.5 Zn-3.0 Mg (wt pct)] aged in the temperature range 60～310℃ for different intervals of time from 1/4 h to 168 h are presented. Both the alloys were found to show identical behaviour of hardness with ageing time. Alloy with higher Zn and Mg content had higher hardness than the alloy with lower solute content. There were three ranges of temperature in which different types of precipitates formed and affected the hardness. Some of the grain boundaries were found to migrate and precipitate free zone has been observed.

RARE EARTH DISSOLVED IN SOLID SOLUTION OF STEEL AND ITS EFFECT ON MICROSTRUCTURE

The amounts of rare earth in the solid solution in steel 16Mn were determined by means of inductive coupling plasma(ICP)spectroscopy.While the RE/S ratio was less than 1.9,the amounts of rare earth in solid solution were not more than 8 ppm,which rised slightly with the increase of the rare earth content in the steel.While the RE/S was more than 1.9,MnS disappeared completely in the steel and the amounts of rare earth in solid solution increased rapidly with the increasing of the rare earth content.The solubility of cerium in steel 16 Mn(St 52)is less than 0.011 wt% at room temperature.The results also indicate that rare earth in solid solution can reduce the amount of pearlite and increase that of ferrite and its mierohardness.The rela- tionship between microhardness(Hv)and the amount of rare earth in solid solution can be expressed by the equation of Hv=117+7 RE(ppm).

Effect of Pouring Process on the Microstructures of Semi-Solid AlSi_7Mg Alloy

The effect of different pouring temperatures and different pouring heights, the distance between the mouth of the pouring ladle and the top of the mold, on the microstructure of AlSi7Mg alloy have been researched in the paper. When the pouring temperature is close to the liquidus temperature, the primary alpha -Al in 'the billets of AlSi7Mg alloy solidified into spherical and nodular fine grains distributed homogeneously. The optimum pouring temperature for semi-solid AlSi7Mg billet with spherical or nodular primary alpha -Al is 615 degreesC. At the same pouring temperature, the higher the pouring ladle, the more easily the spherical and nodular primary alpha -Al obtained in the semi-solid AlSi7Mg billet. When the pouring temperature is close to the liquidus temperature and the pouring ladle is relatively high, it is the great cooling rate, the flow of the molten allay caused by pouring and the large simultaneous solidification region induced by the near liquidus temperature, that promote the formation of spherical or nodular primary cr-Al.

C^1 natural element method for strain gradient linear elasticity and its application to microstructures

C^1 natural element method （C^1 NEM） is applied to strain gradient linear elasticity, and size effects on mi crostructures are analyzed. The shape functions in C^1 NEM are built upon the natural neighbor interpolation （NNI）, with interpolation realized to nodal function and nodal gradient values, so that the essential boundary conditions （EBCs） can be imposed directly in a Galerkin scheme for partial differential equations （PDEs）. In the present paper, C^1 NEM for strain gradient linear elasticity is constructed, and sev- eral typical examples which have analytical solutions are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the constructed method. In its application to microstructures, the size effects of bending stiffness and stress concentration factor （SCF） are studied for microspeciem and microgripper, respectively. It is observed that the size effects become rather strong when the width of spring for microgripper, the radius of circular perforation and the long axis of elliptical perforation for microspeciem come close to the material characteristic length scales. For the U-shaped notch, the size effects decline obviously with increasing notch radius, and decline mildly with increasing length of notch.

Effect of Hot Deformation on Microstructure and Hardness of In-situ TiB_2/7075 Composite

Hardness of the TiB2/7075 composite increased with increasing deformation temperature. In the annealed TiB2/7075 composite, a great amount of fiber-like MgZn2 phases (about 1 mum in length) and small MgZn2 phases (about 100 nm in size) were precipitated nearby the grain boundaries where the TiB2 particles exist. After deformation at 300 degreesC, some of the large precipitates and all the small precipitates in these area dissolved into the matrix, meanwhile, fine precipitates were formed in grains. After deformation at 450 degreesC, all the precipitates in the annealed composite dissolved into the matrix, and new phases were precipitated in grains. The dissolution of the large fiber-like precipitate makes the saturation level of the matrix increased and leads to an increased solution hardening and natural aging, which contribute much to the hardening effect.

Effect of Microstructure and Sulfide on Corrosion of Cu-Ni Alloys in Seawater

The microstructure and the corrosion product films have been investigated on Cu-Ni alloys by TEM, SEM, AES and electrochemical technique as well as natural seawater exposure tests. Experimental results showed that the alloys had two kinds of microstructure, i.e. recrystallizatjon and incomplete recrystallization. In synthetic seawater containing 2x10^-6 S^2-, the stability of the alloy increased with the increase of deformation and annealing temperature, i.e., the degree of recrystallization. After exposure to natural seawater for different periods of time, the corrosion product films of the recrystallized alloy were rich in Ni and compact, and there were cracks in the outer layer which contained a small amount of S; the films of the alloy of incomplete recrystallization became thick, loose and porous, and obviously of layered structure, and the intergranular corrosion took place in the underlying substrate Besides, a great amount of seawater substance existed in the outer layer and some sulfur was found within the grain boundaries that prefer to corrode. The accelerating effect of sulfides in corrosion of Cu-Ni alloys in seawater is attributed to the coexistence and absorption of sulfides and carbides promoting the preference of corrosion where they absorb, and the formation of dissolvable Cu2S results in keeping the surface of the alloys in the active state.

Magnetically induced electric potential in first-order composite beams incorporating couple stress and its flexoelectric effects

A new model of a first-order composite beam with flexoelectric and piezomagnetic layers is developed.The new model is under a transverse magnetic field and can capture the couple stress and its flexoelectric effects.The governing equations are obtained through a variational approach.To illustrate the new model,the static bending problem is analytically solved based on a Navier’s technique.The numerical results reveal that the extension,deflection,and shear deformation of the current or couple stress relevant flexoelectric model are always smaller than those of classical models at very small scale.It is also found that the electric potentials only appear with the presence of the flexoelectric effect for this non-piezoelectric composite beam model.Furthermore,various electric potential distributions can be manipulated by the particular magnetic fields,and remote/non-contact control at micro-and nano-scales can be realized by current functional composite beams.

A Transversely Isotropic Magne to -Elec tro-Elastic Circular Kirchhoff Plate Model Incorporating Microstructure Effect

A non-classical model for transversely isotropic magneto-electro-elastic circular Kirchhoff plates is established based on the extended modified couple stress theory.The Gibbs-type variational principle is used to obtain the governing equations and boundary cond计ions.To illustrate the newly derived model,the static bending problem of a clamped circular plate subjected to a uniformly distributed constant load is solved numerically by Fourier-Bessel series.The numerical results show that the values of transverse displacement,electric and magnetic potentials predicted by the current model are always smaller than those of the classical model,and the differences are diminishing as the plate thickness increases.In addition,it is shown that the magneto-electro-elastic coupling effect plays an important role in the transverse displace-ment,elec trie pot ential and magnetic pot ential of the magne to-elec tr o-elastic circular Kirchhoff plates.Furthermore,several reduced specific models are provided for simpler cases.

Electroplastic Tensile Behavior of 5A90 Al–Li Alloys

The electroplastic（EP） tensile properties of 5A90 Al–Li alloys compared with thermal tension were investigated.The microstructural variation at different conditions was observed by SEM and TEM.The current density significantly influences the elongation and the flow stress.With increasing current density,wider and deeper dimples on the fracture surfaces and less dislocation density and pile-ups in the EP tension samples were observed compared with roomtemperature and thermal tension,which indicates the plasticity improvement and flow stress reduction.The EP effect（EPE） mainly results from a comprehensive function of Joule heating and pure EPE.Among them,Joule heating effect is perhaps a dominant factor.

Microstructures and mechanical properties of ferrite-based lightweight steel with different compositions

The microstructures and mechanical properties of ferrite-based lightweight steel with different compositions were investigated by tensile test,scanning electron microscopy（SEM）,transmission electron microscopy（TEM）,X-ray diffraction（XRD）and thermodynamic calculation（TC）.It was shown that the ferrite-based lightweight steels with 5wt.%or 8wt.%Al were basically composed of ferrite,austenite andκ-carbide.As the annealing temperature increased,the content of the austenite in the steel gradually increased,while theκ-carbide gradually decomposed and finally disappeared.The mechanical properties of the steel with 5wt.%Al and 2wt.%Cr,composed of ferrite and Cr7C3carbide at different annealing temperatures,were significantly inferior to those of others.The steel containing 5wt.%Al,annealed at 820°C for 50sthen rapidly cooled to 400°C and held for 180s,can obtain the best product of strength and elongation（PSE）of 31242MPa·%.The austenite stability of the steel is better,and its PSE is higher.In addition,the steel with higher PSE has a more stable instantaneous strain hardening exponent（n value）,which is mainly caused by the effect of transformation induced plasticity（TRIP）.When theκ-carbide or Cr7C3carbide existed in the microstructure of the steel,there was an obvious yield plateau in the tensile curve,while its PSE decreased significantly.