Microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir weld of dissimilar AZ31-O magnesium alloy to 6061-T6 aluminum alloy

Dissimilar friction stir welding between AZ31-O Mg and 6061-T6 Al alloys was investigated. 3 mm thick plates of aluminum and magnesium were used. Friction stir welding operations were performed at different rotation and travel speeds. The rotation speeds varied from 600 to 1400 r/min, and the travel speed varied from 20 to 60 mm/min. Defect-free weld was obtained with a rotation speed of 1000 r/min and travel speed of 40 mm/min. Metallographic studies showed that the grain size in the stir zone is much finer than that in the base metals. Complex flow pattern was formed in the stir zone. Microhardness measurement revealed an uneven distribution in the stir zone. Tensile test results indicated that the tensile strength of the welded specimen is about 76% of AZ31 Mg alloy and 60% of the 6061 Al alloy in tensile strength. SEM fracture surface image of the welded specimen indicated that the welded specimen failed through brittle-mode fracture.

Microstructures of 2219 twin wire welded joints

With thick plates of 2219 high-strength alloy, the microstructures of welded joints with twin wire MIG welding were analyzed. Experimental results show that no hot crack was found in the weld due to discontinuous distribution of cocrystallization with low melting temperature, but porosity is serious in the first weld seam that is mainly composed of equiaxial grains with uneven sizes. As the poor position of the whole welded joint, fusion zone has big and coarse grains, uneven microstructures ; In quenching zone, there exist a lot of soaked microstructures that cocrystallizntion with low melting temperature solute into matrix, thus strengthening the metal in this zone; In excessive aging zone, much more phases that distribute evenly will be separated from the matrix; Ontside this zone, properties and microstructures of the metal are basically similar to matrix due to the relatively low temperature or unaffected heat in the zone during welding.

SIMULATION OF COMPOSITE NON-LINEAR MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF CMCS BY FEM-BASED MULTI-SCALE APPROACH

The non-linear behavior of continuous fiber reinforced C/SiC ceramic matrix composites(CMCs)under tensile loading is modeled by three-dimensional representative volume element(RVE)models of the composite. The theoretical background of the multi-scale approach solved by the finite element method(FEM)is recalled firstly.Then the geometric characters of three kinds of damage mechanisms,i.e.micro matrix cracks,fiber/matrix interface debonding and fiber fracture,are studied.Three kinds of RVE are proposed to model the microstructure of C/SiC with above damage mechanisms respectively.The matrix cracking is modeled by critical matrix strain energy(CMSE)principle while a maximum shear stress criterion is used for modeling fiber/matrix interface debonding. The behavior of fiber fracture is modeled by the famous Weibull statistic theory.A numerical example of continuous fiber reinforced C/SiC composite under tensile loading is performed.The results show that the stress/strain curve predicted by the developed model agrees with experimental data.

TEM OBSERVATION OF ION-PLATED Al FILM ON Ni SUBSTRATE

A new phase was found at the interface between Al film and Ni substrate when the time of ion-plating reaches 5 min.It was identified to be body centered tetragonal lattice with the constants a=b=0.588 nm,c=0.480 nm.The variation of microstructure and phases with the ion-plating time were observed.Based on these results,the ion-plating film formation mech- anism has been also discussed.

EFFECTS OF RARE EARTH METALS ON MICROSTRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION OF LOW OR MEDIUM CARBON Si-Mn-V STEELS DURING QUENCHING AND TEMPERING

The microstruetural transformation of steels:20SiMn2V,20SiMn2VRE,40SiMn2V and 40SiMn2VRE during quenching and tempering have been examined by TEM,X-ray diffraction and dilatometer.It was shown that the addition of rare earth metals not only can refine the austenite grains of the low or medium carbon steels and packet of lath martensite and lath size,lower the M_s temperature,but can also raise the relative percentage of disloca- tion substructure of martensite in medium carbon steel,but there is little effect on volume frac- tion and thermal stability of retained austenite quenching and tempering structure of low or medium carbon steels.The rare earth metals may remarkably inhibit the decomposition of low carbon martensite during low temperature tempering,retard the precipitation of cementite plates in lath grains and delay the spheroidization of carbides.They may also restrain obvious- ly the precipitation and spheroidization of cementite in medium carbon martensite during high temperature tempering.

Defect control at nanoscale and flux pinning enhancement in MgB_2 superconductor

Defect control at nanoscale of MgB2 by doping various nanoparticles including Ti, C, nano-diamond, and HOB4, and their roles played to enhance flux pinning force in MgB2 are compared and analyzed. These nanodopants have different chemical and physical properties, thus bring about different pinning efficiency, especially nanodopants with strong magnetic moment are particularly interesting as pinning centers in MgB2 since magnetic impurities usually have a stronger interaction with magnetic flux line than nonmagnetic impurities and may exert a stronger force to trap the flux lines when they are properly introduced into the superconducting matrix.

Evolution of microstructure and high temperature tensile properties of as-extruded Ti Bw reinforced near-α titanium matrix composite subjected to heat treatments

The Ti Bw reinforced near-α titanium matrix composite（Ti-5.8 Al-3.4 Zr-4.0 Sn-0.4 Mo-0.4 Nb-0.4 Si-0.06 C） was successfully synthesized by powder metallurgy and hot extrusion route. The effects of solution and aging temperature on the microstructure and high temperature tensile properties of the composite were investigated. The results revealed that the fine transformed β phase can be obtained by the solution treatment at β phase region and aging treatment, no other precipitates were observed. The α2 phase（Ti3 Al） can be acquired when the solution treated at α＋β phase region followed by aging treatment. With increasing the aging temperature from 500 to 700℃ for 5 h, the size of α2 precipitates increases from about 5 to about 30 nm. The Ti Bw are stable without any interfacial reaction during the heat treatments. The high temperature tensile properties show that the composite performed by solution and aging treatment exhibits good strengthening effects. With increasing the aging temperature from 500 to 700℃, the strength of the composite increases at the expense of elongation due to the increment of α2 precipitates.The strength of the composite at 600℃ increases by 17% to 986 MPa after 1000℃/2 h/AC and 700℃/5 h/AC heat treatment.

Influence of Initial Microstructure on the Strengthening Effect of Extruded Mg–8Sn–4Zn–2Al Alloys

The Mg–8Sn–4Zn–2Al（TZA842, in wt%） alloys with different initial microstructure（as-cast-AC and homogenization treatment-HT） subjected to hot extrusion. Also, the strengthening responses to AC and HT for the extruded TZA842 alloys were reported. The results revealed that the alloy subjected to HT shows finer grain size, more homogenous microstructure and weaker basal texture than those of counterpart subjected to AC. In addition, compared with TZA842-AC alloy, precipitates were finer and uniformly dispersed in TZA842-HT owing to the utilization of HT. Moreover, the TZA842-HT alloy showed higher yield strength of 200 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 290 MPa and elongation（EL） of17.9% than those of TZA842-AC, which was mainly attributed to the combined effects of grain boundary strengthening,precipitation strengthening, solid solution strengthening and weak texture. Strengthening mechanism for both alloys was discussed in detail.

Metallurgical Studies of Austenitic Stainless Steel 304 under Warm Deep Drawing

Austenitic stainless steel 304 was deep drawn with different blank diameters under warm conditions using 20 t hydraulic press. A number of deep drawing experiments both at room temperature and at 150 ℃ were conducted to study the metallography. Also, tensile test experiments were conducted on a universal testing machine up to 700 ℃ and the broken specimens were used to study the fractography of the material using scanning electron microscopy in various regions. The microstructure changes were observed at limiting draw ratio （LDR） when the cup is drawn at different temperatures. In austenitic stainless steel, martensite formation takes place that is not only affected by temperature, hut also influenced by the rate at which the material is deformed. In austenitic stainless steel 304, dynamic strain regime appears above 300 ℃ and it decreases the formability of material due to brittle fracture as studied in its fractography. From the metallographic studies, the maximum LDR of the material is observed at 150 ℃ before dynamic strain regime. It is also observed that at 150 ℃, grains are coarse in the drawn cups at LDR.

Microstructure and Strength of Al_2O_3/Al_2O_3 Joints Bonded with ZnO—Al_2O_3—B_2O_3—SiO_2 Glass—Ceramic

ZnO-Al2O3-B2O3-SiO2 （ZABS） glass powder was used as interlayer to join alumina ceramics. The effect of joining temperature on the microstructure and strength of joints was investigated. The results showed that the ZABS glass can react with alumina substrate to form a layer of ZnAl2O4 at Al2O3/glass interface. Bending test exhibited that low joining temperature （1150℃） led to low joint strength due to the formation of pores in the interlayer, originated by high viscosity of the glass. High joining temperature （1250 ℃） also resulted in low joint strength, because of large CTE （coefficient of thermal expansion） mismatch between amorphous interlayer and alumina substrate. Therefore, only when the joining temperature was appropriate （1200℃）, defect-free interface and high joint strength can be obtained. The optimum joint strength reached 285 MPa, which was the same as the base material strength.

Investigations on hydrogen storage properties of LaMg_(8.52)Ni_(2.23)M_(0.15) (M=Ni, Cu, Cr) alloys

LaMg8.52Ni2.23M0.15 （M=Ni, Cu, Cr） alloys were prepared by induction melting. X-ray diffraction showed that all the three alloys had a multiphase structure, consisting of La2Mg17, LaMg2Ni and Mg2Ni phases. Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer results revealed that most of Cu and Cr distributed in MgzNi phase. La2Mg17 and LaMg2Ni phases decomposed into MgHz, Mg2NiH4 and LaH3 phases during the hydrogenation process. Hydriding/dehydriding measurements indicated that the reversible hydrogen storage capacities of Mg2Ni phase in LaMgs.52Ni2.23M0.15 （M=Cu, Cr） alloys increased to 1.05 wt.% and 0.97 wt.% from 0.79 wt.% of Mg2Ni phase in LaMgs.52Ni2.38 alloy at 523 K. Partial substitution of Cu and Cr for Ni decreased the onset dehydrogenation temperature of the alloy hydrides and the temperature lowered by 18.20 and 5.50 K, respectively. The improvement in the dehydrogenation property of the alloys was attributed to that Cu and Cr decreased the stability of Mg2NiH4 phase.

Effects of process parameters on fragment and refinement of millimeter- grade coarse grains for 316LN steel during hot cogging

The heterogeneous mixed-grain microstructure is a common defect for the heavy forging of 316LN austenitie stainless steel. Isothermal compression experiments were performed on a Gleeble-3500 thermo-mechanical simulator to investigate the effect of process parameters on the fragment and re- finement of millimeter-grade coarse grains （MCGs） during hot cogging. The experimental results in- dicate that the stress of MCG specimens is much larger than that of fine grain （FG） ones at 1150 ℃, while the stress difference between MCG and FG samples became smaller at 1200 ℃. Moreover, the MCGs can be well fragmented and refined under the condition of temperature of 1200 ℃, strain rate of 0.01 s-1 , and reduction rate of 50%. Meanwhile, numerical simulations were conducted to study the influences of temperature, strain and strain rate on microstructure evolution. The results of ex- periments and simulations comprehensively demonstrate that the MCG results in the increase of de- formation resistance and incompatibility of deformation, and it can be fragmented and refined at 1200 ℃ so that the plastic deformation energy decreases remarkably with the increase of temperature from 1 150 to 1200 ℃.

Three-dimensional structure and micro-mechanical properties of iron ore sinter

A new analysis method based on serial sectioning and three-dimensional（3 D）reconstruction was developed to characterize the mineral microstructure of iron ore sinter.Through the 3 Dreconstruction of two types of iron ore sinters,the morphology and distribution of minerals in three-dimensional space were analyzed,and the volume fraction of minerals in a 3 Dimage was calculated based on their pixel points.In addition,the microhardness of minerals was measured with a Vickers hardness tester.Notably,different mineral compositions and distributions are obtained in these two sinters.The calcium ferrite in Sinter 1 is dendritic with many interconnected pores,and these grains are crisscrossed and interwoven;the calcium ferrite in Sinter 2 is strip shaped and interweaves with magnetite,silicate and columnar pores.The calculated mineral contents based on a two-dimensional region are clearly different among various layers.Quantitative analysis shows that Sinter 1 contains a greater amount of calcium ferrite and hematite,whereas Sinter 2 contains more magnetite and silicate.The microhardness of minerals from highest to lowest is hematite,calcium ferrite,magnetite and silicate.Thus,Sinter 1 has a greater tumbler strength than Sinter 2.

Coercivity enhancement of Nd_2Fe_(14)B/α-Fe nanocomposite magnets through neodymium diffusion under annealing

The coercivity enhancement of ball-milled Nd2Fe14B/α-Fe nanocomposite magnets was investigated. It was found that the coerciv- ity could be enhanced through mixing a small amount of Nd powder with as-milled Fe-rich Nd-Fe-B powders. The annealed samples were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and magnetic measurement systems. Under annealing, some of Nd powders promoted the formation of hard magnetic phase Nd2Fe14B. On the other hand, a few of Nd would diffuse into the interface of Nd2FelaB/α-Fe nanocomposite to compensate for the loss of the interracial magnetic anisotropy. These two features are all beneficial to the coercivity.

THEORETICAL STUDY OF POLYMERIZATION WITH POSITIONAL ISOMERISM

The polymerization with positional isomerism has been theoretically studied by means ofthe nonsteady-state kinetic method. The distribution function of head-to-tail sequence, theexpressions of the concentrations of head-to-head and tail-to- tail enchainments, and variousdyad and triad fractions have been rigorously derived on the basis of the reaction scheme.Finally, the relationships between the microstructural parameters of the resultant polymerand the polymerization conditions have been established, so that the microstructure of thepolymer with positional isomerism can be predicted from the polymerization conditions. In thecase of the reaction time being long enough, the expressions of dyad and triad fractionsgiven in this paper are simplified into those derived from the probability method.

Effects of Offline Relaxation Quenching on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of a Newly Designed High Performance Steel

The newly designed high performance tested steel was prepared by the process of vacuum induction furnace smelting and forging. According to the ideas of online relaxation and quenching intercritieal quenching-tempering （Q- L-T） process, effects of offline relaxation process on microstructure and mechanical properties of the tested steel were investigated. Offline results process was simulated using the MMS-300 thermal simulation testing apparatus and heat treating furnace. The results show that the microstructures are composed of bainite and martensite when the specimens are quenched in the austenite region. Once the specimens are ai〉cooled into the dual phase region, ferrite and granular bainite start to form. In the relaxation process, fine Nb（C, N） carbonitrides are precipitated first and then grow and coarsen. The microstructure is affected by process and determines mechanical properties. The Vickers hardness and yield strength （YS） first rise then fall when the relaxation temperature drops in austenite region, and then decline dramatically in dual phase region. When the relaxation time is 20 s, the tensile strength reaches the peak （1034 MPa）, and at that time YS is 872 MPa, elongation is 17.7% and Charpy V-notch impact energy is 171 J at -20℃. When the relaxation time increases to 100 s, the yield and tensile strengths are 750 and 934 MPa respectively, elon- gation is 18.6% and Charpy V-notch impact energy is 165 J at -20℃.

Microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of a new Ni-based heat-resistant alloy during aging at 750℃

Microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of a new candidate Ni-based heat-resistant alloy for advanced ultra-supercritical （A-USC） steam turbine rotors were investigated during aging at 750℃ up to 10000 h. The evolutions of γ＇ particles inside austenitic grain and M_23 C_6 carbides along grain boundaries were characterized according to their morphologies, distributions, and growth kinetics. Mean radius of the γ＇ spherical particles grew from 20.3 to 90.0 nm after aging for 10000 h, and;the corresponding coarse- ning behavior was conformed to the law of Lifschitz-Slyosovd-Wagner （LSW）. The weight fraction of γ＇ particles slightly increased from 10.0 to 12.0 wt. % after aging of long duration at 750 ℃.The Cr-rich M_23C_6 carbides discontinuously precipitated along grain boundaries, while other detrimental phases were not formed during the aging treatment, and hence the strength of grain boundary was enhanced by these discontinuously distributed carbides. The critical size of γ＇ had a direct influence on the maximum hardness of this alloy. Moreover, this alloy presented a good impact toughness for the safety after long time aging at high temperature.