Recalescence Behavior, Solidification Characteristics and Microstructure Transformation of Rapidly Solidified Undercooled Cu-based Alloys

The undercooled solidification microstructures of Cu55Ni45,Cu55Ni43Co2,and Cu60Ni38Co2 Cu-base alloys were obtained by fluxing method.Using infrared temperature measuring device,the law of the change of the recalescence degree with the increase of the undercooling during rapid solidification was studied.At the same time,high-speed camera was used to capture and photograph the images of solid/liquid interface migration during rapid solidification of undercooled melt,and the morphology evolution of solidification front was discussed.Finally,the microstructure morphology and transformation process of the Cubased alloys were systematically analyzed.It is found that the microstructure morphology of the alloys goes through the same evolution process and appeared two grain refinement phenomena,that is,“coarse dendrite-equiaxed grain-oriented fine dendrite-equiaxed grain”.But its characteristics undercoolingΔT_(1),ΔT_(2),and critical undercoolingΔT^(*)varies.Electron backscatter diffraction(EBSD)and transmission electron microscopy(TEM)were used to characterize the grain refinement structure with high undercooling.EBSD results show that the grain refinement structure with high undercooling presents a very high proportion of high angle grain boundaries,the grain orientation is random and there is no high strength texture,and a large number of annealing twins,which indicates that recrystallization occurs in the structure.TEM results show that dislocation network and stacking fault density are relatively low in most areas of grain refinement structure with high undercooling,which can confirm the theory that stress induces recrystallization of the structure.

Dislocation mechanism of Ni_(47)Co_(53) alloy during rapid solidification

Dislocations and other atomic-level defects play a crucial role in determining the macroscopic properties of crystalline materials,but it is extremely difficult to observe the evolution of dislocations due to the limitations of the most advanced experimental techniques.Therefore,in this work,the rapid solidification processes of Ni_(47)Co_(53) alloy at five cooling rates are studied by molecular dynamics simulation,and the evolutions of their microstructures and dislocations are investigated as well.The results show that face-centered cubic(FCC) structures are formed at the low cooling rate,and the crystalline and amorphous mixture appear at the critical cooling rate,and the amorphous are generated at the high cooling rate.The crystallization temperature and crystallinity decrease with cooling rate increasing.Dislocations are few at the cooling rates of 1×10^(11) K/s,5×10^(12) K/s,and 1×10^(13) K/s,and they are most abundant at the cooling rates of 5×10^(11) K/s and1 × 10^(12) K/s,in which their dislocation line lengths are both almost identical.There appear a large number of dislocation reactions at both cooling rates,in which the interconversion between perfect and partial dislocations is primary.The dislocation reactions are more intense at the cooling rate of 5×10^(11) K/s,and the slip of some dislocations leads to the interconversion between FCC structure and hexagonal close packed(HCP) structure,which causes the twin boundaries(TBs) to disappear.The FCC and HCP are in the same atomic layer,and dislocations are formed at the junction due to the existence of TBs at the cooling rate of 1 ×10^(12) K/s.The present research is important in understanding the dislocation mechanism and its influence on crystal structure at atomic scales.

Precipitation of multi-type nano-quasicrystals in a Mg-Zn-Y alloy

Mg-6Zn-1Y(at.%)ribbons with strengthening precipitates of multi-type nanoquasicrystals were prepared by melt-spinning followed by aging treatments.Microstructural evolution of the rapidly solidified ribbons during isothermal aging was comprehensively studied using various electron microscopy techniques.Two new kinds of decagonal quasicrystals were formed in aged ribbons,in addition to precipitation of nanometer icosahedral quasicrystals.Atomic-resolution observations reveal that both decagonal quasicrystals can be modeled by quasiperiodic tiling with decagonal clusters of 2.5 nm in diameter,but overlap of neighboring clusters in both decagonal quasicrystals is different from the Gummelt model observed in other quasicrystals.A shell composed of complex Laves Mg-Zn domains was formed surrounding each decagonal quasicrystal precipitate upon prolonged aging.In addition,all kinds of nanoprecipitates exhibit excellent structure and size stability at 573 K.Our findings may have implications for not only fundamental studies about quasicrystals,but also microstructural manipulation of high-performance Mg alloys.

Energy-storage Welding Connection Characteristics of Rapid Solidification AZ91D Mg Alloy Ribbons

Energy-storage welding connection characteristics of rapidly solidified AZ91D Mg alloy ribbons with 40-70 μm thickness are investigated using a microtype energy-storage welding machine. The microstructure and performance of the connection joints are analyzed and studied. The research results indicate that energy-storage welding is able to realize the spot welding connection of AZ9ID Mg alloy ribbons. The welding nugget consists of developed α-Mg equiaxed grains with the sizes of 1.2-2.7 μm and intergranular distributed β-Mg17Al12 compounds. The thickness of bond zone is about 4 μm and the solidification microstructure is characterized by the fine equiaxed grains with the sizes of 0.8-1.2μm and grain boundary has become coarsening. The columnar crystal in HAZ also becomes slightly coarsening and the grain boundary has broadened, however, there is no obvious change in its primitive morphology and crystallographic direction. When welding energy is about 2.0 J, the welding joints with higher shear strength and smaller electrical resistivity are obtained.

INTERACTION OF PRECIPITATION AND RECRYSTALLIZATION IN RAPIDLY SOLIDIFIED Cu-Cr-Zr-Mg ALLOY

The recrystallization process of a rapidly solidified Cu-Cr-Zr-Mg alloy during its aging was investigate experimentally. It was found that (1) upon aging, the precipitation process takes place prior to recrystallization for the cold-deformed Cu-Cr-Zr-Mg alloy produced by rapid solidification, and the precipitates have a restrained effect on the following recrystallization process; (2) the hindrance of the dispersed fine precipitates to the common recrystallization leads to the simultaneous in situ and discontinuous recrystallization; (3) the resolution of the precipitates in the front of migrating grain boundaries takes place during the nucleation and growth of recrystallization, which results in a supersaturation in the recrystallized zones, while the re-precipitation of the supersaturated solute atoms in vacancies further increases the dispersion hardening effect.

MICROSTRUCTURE OF Mg-6.4Zn-1.1Y ALLOY FABRICATED BY RAPID SOLIDIFICATION AND RECIPROCATING EXTRUSION

In order to explore the methods to prepare high-strength quasicrystal-reinforced magnesium alloys, the flakes of rapidly solidified Mg-6.4Zn-1.1 Y magnesium alloy with a thickness of 50-60μm were obtained by a melt spinning single-roller device, and the flakes were then processed into rods by reciprocating extrusion and direct extrusion. The microstructure of the alloy was analyzed by optical microscope and SEM, and the constituent phases were identified by XRD. Phase transformation and its onset temperature were determined by differential thermal analyzer （DTA）. The analysis result shows that rapid solidification for Mg-6.4Zn-I.IY alloy can inhibit the eutectic reactions, broaden the solid solubility of Zn in α-Mg solute solution, and impede the formation of Mg3 Y2Zn3 and MgZn2 compounds, and thus help the icosahedral Mg3 YZn6 quasicrystal formed directly from the melt. The microstructure of the flakes consists of the α-Mg solid solution and icosahedral Mg3 YZn6 quasicrystal. Dense rods can be made from the flakes by two-pass reciprocating extrusion and direct extrusion. The interfaces between flakes in the rods can be welded and jointed perfectly. During the reciprocating extrusion and direct extrusion process, more Mg3 YZn6 compounds are precipitated and distributed uniformly, whereas the rods possess fine microstructures inherited from rapidly solidified flakes. The rods contain only two phases： α- magnesium solid solution as matrix and fine icosahedral Mg3 YZn6 quasicrystal which disperses uniformly in the matrix.

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.

Aging Strengthening in Rapidly Solidified Cu-Cr-Sn- Zn Alloy

It is known that the strength of alloys can be successfully improved by rapid solidification. The paper presents a process where Cu-Cr-Sn-Zn lead frame alloy is produced by rapid solidification and aging. The microcrystalline structure of rapidly solidified Cu-Cr-Sn-Zn alloy is smaller grain structure examined by optical metallography. The effects of aging processes on the microstructure and properties of the lead frame alloy were investigated. Aged at 500℃ for 15 min the fine coherent precipitates Cr distribute in Cu matrix observed by transmission electron microscopy and the properties of hardness and electrical conductivity properties can reach 178HV and 61%IACS, respectively.

Texture Evolutions in Fe-6.5%Si Produced by Rapid Solidification and Chemical Vapor Deposition

Fe-Si ribbons and thin sheets with 6.5%Si content were prepared by means of the single roller rapid solidification and chemical vapor deposition (CVD), respectively. The initial textures of rapidly solidified Fe-6.5%Si ribbons were characteristic of the {100} fiber-type, which became weakened during primary recrystallization in various atmospheres. At the stage of secondary recrystallization, the {100} texture formed in Ar and the {110} texture in hydrogen, while there occurred a texture transformation from the {100} type to the {110} type in vacuum with the increase of annealing temperature. For Fe-6.5%Si sheets prepared by Si deposition in cold-rolled Fe-3%Si matrix sheets, their textures were dominated by the η-fiber (<001>//RD) with the maximum density at the {120}<001> orientations. After homogenization annealing, the η-fiber could evolve into the {130}<001> type or become more concentrated on the {120}<001> orientations, depending on the cold rolling modes of Fe-3%Si matrix sheets.

Microstructure and Mechanical Property of 2024 Aluminium Alloy Prepared by Rapid Solidification and Mechanical Milling

Rapidly solidified 2024 aluminium alloy powders were mechanically milled, then consolidated to bulk form. The microstructural changes of the powders in mechanical milling (MM) and consolidation process were characterized by X-ray diffraction analyses and transmission electron microscopy observations. The results showed that mechanical milling reduced the grain size to nanometer, dissolved the Al2Cu intermetallic compound into the aluminium matrix and produced an aluminium supersaturated solid solution. During consolidation process. the grain size increased to submicrometer, and the Al2Cu and Al2(Cu, Mg, Si, Fe, Mn) compounds precipitated owing to heating. Increasing consolidation temperature and time results in obvious grain growth and coarsening of second phase particles. The tensile yield strength of the consolidated alloy with submicrometer size grains increases with decreasing grain size, and it follows the famous HallPetch relation

Investigation of Intermetallic Compound Formed from Rapid Solidification of Al-Ti-RE Alloy

Al-Ti alloy containing rare earth elements can produce fine, uniform dispersion intermetallic phase through rapid solidification (RS) technology. RS Al-Ti-RE alloy can be designed for applications at elevated-temperature since the intermetallic compound has good thermal stability. A transmission electron microscopy investigation shows the intermetallic phase has a diamond cubic structure (a=1.47736 nm), with space group Fd3m. The chemical stoichiometry is Al_(20)Ti_2La. The particle is formed from the melting directly, prior to other phases, and the nucleus is formed from icosahedrons composed with twenty tetrahedrons. Twin crystal structure plays an important role in the nucleation stage.

Effects of rapid solidification on the microstructure and microhardness of a lead-free Sn-3.5Ag solder

A lead-free Sn-3.5Ag solder was prepared by rapid solidification technology. The high solidification rate, obtained by rapid cooling, promotes nucleation, and suppresses the growth of Ag3Sn intermetallic compounds （IMCs） in Ag-rich zone, yielding fine Ag3Sn nanoparticulates with spherical morphology in the matrix of the solder. The large amount of tough homogeneously-dispersed IMCs helps to improve the surface area per unit volume and obstructs the dislocation lines passing through the solder, which fits with the dispersion-strengthening theory. Hence, the rapidly-solidified Sn-3.5Ag solder exhibits a higher rnicrohardness when compared with a slowly-solidified Sn-3.5Ag solder.

Microstructural evolution of Al-20Si-5Fe alloy during rapid solidification and hot consolidation

Al-20Si-5Fe melt was rapidly solidified into particles and ribbons and then consolidated to near full density by hot pressing at 400℃/250 MPa/1 h. According to the eutectic-growth and dendritic-growth velocity models, the solidification front velocity and the amount of undercooling were estimated for the particles with different sizes. Values of 0.43-1.2 cm/s and 15-28 K were obtained. The secondary dendrite arm spacing revealed a cooling rate of 6 × 10^5 K/s for the particles with an average size of 20 μm. Solidification models for the ribbons yielded a cooling rate of 5 × 10^7 K/s. As a result of the higher cooling rate, the melt-spun ribbons exhibited considerable microstructural refinement and modification. The size of the primary silicon decreased from approximately 1μm to 30 nm while the formation of iron-containing intermetallic compounds was suppressed. Supersaturation of the aluminum matrix in an amount of-7 at.% Si was noticed from the XRD patterns During the hot consolidation process, coarsening of the primary silicon particles and precipitation of β-Al5FeSi phase were observed. Evaluation of the compressive strength and hardness of the alloy indicated an improvement in mechanical properties due to the microstructural modification.

Study on Rare Earth-Containing Phases in TiAl Based Alloys Prepared by Non-Equilibrium Solidification Processing

Microstructure evolution of rare earth rich phase of rapidly-solidified (RS) TiAl based alloys was investigated. The two rapid-solidification techniques employed are melt-spinning technique (MS) and Hammer-and-Anvil technique (HB). MS ribbons and HA foils were obtained in the experiment. The results demonstrate that with the increasing of cooling rates of TiAl based alloys great changes are taken place in the microstructures of rare earth rich phase, from scattering mainly on grain boundaries of as-cast ingot to distributing homogeneously as very fine fibers or powders (nanometer grade) on the matrix. The fine paralleling second phase fibers in the HA foils are considered to be connected with gamma/alpha (2) lamellar colonies. Selected area electronic diffraction (SAED) patterns of the rare earth rich phase is in accordance with that of intermetallic AlCe.

The Rapidly Solidified Aging Copper Alloy by BP Neural Network

Rapid solidifiation is a kind of new process for enhancing the hardness and electrical conductivity of Cu-Cr-Zr copper alloy.The use of BP neural network(NN) is presented to model the non-linear relationship between parameters of age hardening processes and the mechanical and electrical properties of rapdily solidified Cu-Cr-Zr alloy.The improved model is developed by the Levenberg-Marquardt training algorithm and the good generalization performance is demonstrated.So,an important foundation has been laid for optimisticaly controlling the rapidly solidified aging processes of Cu-Cr-Zr alloy.

Inherited multimodal microstructure evolution of high-fracture-toughness Mg-Zn-Y-Al alloys during extrusion for the consolidation of rapidly solidified ribbons

The mechanisms of multimodal microstructure evolution and the effects of microstructural factors on mechanical properties must be elucidated to design new alloys with superior properties.In this study,high-fracture-toughness and ductile Mg_(96.75)Zn_(0.85)Y_(2.05)Al_(0.35) alloys were developed using rapidly solidified(RS)ribbon-consolidation technique,and the inherited multimodal microstructure evolution during plastic flow consolidation of the RS ribbons was investigated.The use of extrusion for plastic flow consolidation of the heat-treated RS ribbons produced a multimodal microstructure consisting of the worked grains with high Kernel average misorientation(KAM)angles(Group1),the ultrafine dynamically recrystallized(DRXed)grains with intermediate KAM angles(Group 2),and the fine DRXed grains with low KAM angles(Group 3).Groups 1 and 2 contribute to the alloy strengthening,while Group 3 contributes to improving ductility with strainhardening,resulting in enhancement of the fracture toughness.To form the multimodal microstructure,it was necessary to apply plastic flow with equivalent strains of>2.3 to the heat-treated RS ribbons possessing duplex microstructures with different dispersions of the long-period stacking ordered phase.

MICROSTRUCTURE OF A RAPIDLY SOLIDIFIED Fe-C-Sn ALLOY

The microstructure of a laser-melted Fe-4% C-10% Sn alloy has been studied.A non-crystalline phase was found in the upper part of the laser-melted zone:At the bottom of the melted zone,however,the microcrystalline zone which consists of α-Fe and a bet phase was observed.Fine twinning martensite exists in the other area of the melted zone.

Microstructural Evolution of Rapidly Solidified Co-Mo and Ni-Mo Eutectic Alloys

Droplets of Co-37.6 wt pct Mo and Ni-47.7 wt pct Mo eutectic alloys were rapidly solidified during containerless processing in a 3 m drop tube. A kind of anomalous eutectic appears in these two eutectic alloys when undercooling is beyond 56 and 61 K, respectively. The two eutectic phases in anomalous eutectic were observed to grow in dendrite manner. The formation of anomalous eutectic is ascribed to the cooperative dendrite growth of the two independently nucleated eutectic phases. Current dendrite and eutectic growth theories are applied to describe the observed processes.

SUPERPLASTICITY OF A RAPIDLY SOLIDIFIED AI-Li ALLOY

A rapidly solidified microcrystalline Al-Li-Cu-Mg-Zr alloy and its superplasicity have been investigated.An optimum tensile elongation of 585% was obtained at 540℃ and strain rate 1.67×10^(-2)s^(-1).The superplastic Al-Li alloy is manufaetured using thermomechanical pro- cessing:solution,overaging,warm rolling and recrystallization.Microstructural changes in thermomechanical processing and cavitation occurred during superplastic deformation have been observed.The superplastic failure of alloy may be caused mainly by nucleation and growth of cavities as well as the linkage around grains.

Absolute stability of the solidification interface in a laser resolidified Zn-2wt.%Cu hypoperitectic alloy

This paper reports on laser surface remelting experiments performed on a Zn-2wt.%Cu hypoperitectic alloy by employing a 5kW CW CO2 laser at scanning velocities between 6 and 1207mm/s. The growth velocities of the mi- crostructures in the laser molten pool were accurately measured. The planar interface structure caused by the high velocity absolute stability was achieved at a growth velocity of 210 mm/s. An implicit expression of the critical solidification velocity for the cellular-planar transition was carried out by nonlinear stability analyses of the planar interface. The results showed a better agreement with the measured critical velocity than that predicted by M-S theory. Cell-free structures were observed throughout the whole molten pool at a scanning velocity of 652 mm/s and the calculated minimum temperature gradient in this molten pool was very close to the critical temperature gradient for high gradient absolute stability （HGAS） of the η phase. This indicates that HGAS was successfully achieved in the present experiments.