Effects of second phases on mechanical properties and martensitic transformations of ECAPed TiNi and Ti-Mo based shape memory alloys

TiNi and Ti-based shape memory alloys were processed by equal channel angular pressing （ECAP） at 673-773 K along Bc route to obtain ultrafine grains for increasing the strength of parent phase and improving the functional properties. The effects of both thermodynamically stable and metastable second phases on the mechanical properties and martensitic transformations of these alloys were investigated. It is found that thermodynamically stable Ti2Ni phase has no effect on martensitic transformation and superelasticity of Ti-rich TiNi alloy, thermodynamically stable α phase is harmful for ductility of Ti-Mo-Nb-V-Al alloy, but metastable Ti3Ni4 phase is effective for R phase transformation, martensitic transformation and superelasticity of Ni-rich TiNi alloy. The mechanisms of the second phases on the martensitic transformations and mechanical properties were discussed.

Evolution of second phases and mechanical properties of 7075 Al alloy processed by solution heat treatment

The effects of solution treatment on the evolution of the second phases and mechanical properties of7075Al alloy werestudied with scanning electron microscopy(SEM),energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry(EDS),differential scanning calorimetry(DSC),hardness and tensile tests.The results show that Mg(Zn,Cu,Al)2phases gradually dissolve into the matrix,yet the size andmorphology of Al7Cu2Fe phase exhibit no change with the increase of the solution treatment temperature and time due to its highmelting point.When the solution treatment temperature and time continue to increase,the formation of coarse black Mg2Si particlesoccurs.Compared to the as-cast alloy,the microhardness,tensile strength,and elongation of the sample under solution heat treatmentat460°C for5h are increased by55.1%,40.9%and109.1%,respectively.This is because the eutectic Mg(Zn,Cu,Al)2phases almostcompletely dissolve and basically no coarse black Mg2Si particles are formed.

Effects of second phases on fracture behavior of Mg-10Gd-3Y-0.6Zr alloy

The effects of second phases on the fracture behavior of Mg-10Gd-3Y-0.6Zr alloy were investigated.The results show that the fracture mode can be generally described as ductile transgranular fracture in as-extruded condition and intergranular fracture in peak-aged condition.In as-extruded condition,the ductile transgranular fracture occurs by the formation and transgranular propagation of the microcrack from the broken primary phases.However,as the collaboration effects of precipitates inside grains and on the grain boundaries have the tendency to reduce the cohesive strength of the grain boundary,and make the grain boundaries the favorable path for crack propagation,the intergranular fracture occurs in peak-aged condition.

Design biodegradable Zn alloys: Second phases and their significant influences on alloy properties

Alloying combined with plastic deformation processing is widely used to improve mechanical properties of pure Zn.As-cast Zn and its alloys are brittle.Beside plastic deformation processing,no effective method has yet been found to eliminate the brittleness and even endow room temperature super-ductility.Second phase,induced by alloying,not only largely determines the ability of plastic deformation,but also influences strength,corrosion rate and cytotoxicity.Controlling second phase is important for designing biodegradable Zn alloys.In this review,knowledge related to second phases in biodegradable Zn alloys has been analyzed and summarized,including characteristics of binary phase diagrams,volume fraction of second phase in function of atomic percentage of an alloying element,and so on.Controversies about second phases in Zn-Li,Zn-Cu and Zn-Fe systems have been settled down,which benefits future studies.The effects of alloying elements and second phases on microstructure,strength,ductility,corrosion rate and cytotoxicity have been neatly summarized.Mg,Mn,Li,Cu and Ag are recommended as the major alloying elements,owing to their prominent beneficial effects on at least one of the above properties.In future,synergistic effects of these elements should be more thoroughly investigated.For other nutritional elements,such as Fe and Ca,refining second phase is a matter of vital concern.

Automatic recognition and quantitative analysis of Ω phases in Al-Cu-Mg-Ag alloy

The main methods of the second phase quantitative analysis in current material science researches are manual recognition and extracting by using software such as Image Tool and Nano Measurer. The weaknesses such as high labor intensity and low accuracy statistic results exist in these methods. In order to overcome the shortcomings of the current methods, the Ω phase in A1-Cu-Mg-Ag alloy is taken as the research object and an algorithm based on the digital image processing and pattern recognition is proposed and implemented to do the A1 alloy TEM （transmission electron microscope） digital images process and recognize and extract the information of the second phase in the result image automatically. The top-hat transformation of the mathematical morphology, as well as several imaging processing technologies has been used in the proposed algorithm. Thereinto, top-hat transformation is used for elimination of asymmetric illumination and doing Multi-layer filtering to segment Ω phase in the TEM image. The testing results are satisfied, which indicate that the Ω phase with unclear boundary or small size can be recognized by using this method. The omission of these two kinds of Ω phase can be avoided or significantly reduced. More Ω phases would be recognized （growing rate minimum to 2% and maximum to 400% in samples）, accuracy of recognition and statistics results would be greatly improved by using this method. And the manual error can be eliminated. The procedure recognizing and making quantitative analysis of information in this method is automatically completed by the software. It can process one image, including recognition and quantitative analysis in 30 min, but the manual method such as using Image Tool or Nano Measurer need 2 h or more. The labor intensity is effectively reduced and the working efficiency is greatly improved.

Different role of second phase in the micro-galvanic corrosion of WE43 Mg alloy in NaCl and Na_(2)SO_(4) solution

Effect of the second phase in the micro-galvanic corrosion of a commercial Mg alloy containing rare earth elements, cast WE43 alloy,was investigated in 0.6 M NaCl solution and 0.6 M Na_(2)SO_(4)solution by scanning electron microscopy(SEM) observations, scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy(SKPFM) analysis, hydrogen evolution, weight loss measurement, and electrochemical techniques. It is confirmed that the second phase of cast WE43 alloy is more active than Mg matrix and exhibits an anodic role in the micro-galvanic corrosion with α-Mg matrix as cathode and dissolves preferentially in Na_(2)SO_(4)solution, in contrast to the situation in NaCl solution. The corrosion rate of cast WE43 alloy in Na_(2)SO_(4)solution is much higher than that in NaCl solution, which is different from the conventional wisdom and could be attributed to the different role of the second phase in the micro-galvanic corrosion in two solutions.

Effect of ECAP processing on distribution of second phase particles,hardness and electrical conductivity of Cu-0.81Cr-0.07Zr alloy

The effect of equal-channel angular pressing(ECAP)processing at room temperature and 300℃on the distribution of the second phase particles and its influence on hardness and electrical conductivity of the commercial Cu-0.81Cr-0.07Zr alloy were investigated.Microstructural characterization indicated that the area fraction of coarse Cr-rich particles decreased after ECAP processing.This reduction was attributed to the Cr dissolution induced by plastic deformation.The electrical conductivity of the alloy decreased by 12%after 4 ECAP passes at room temperature due to the increase of electrons scattering caused by higher Cr content in solid solution and higher density of defects in the matrix.These results were supported by the reduction of the Cu lattice parameter and by the exothermic reactions,during differential scanning calorimetry(DSC)analysis,observed only in the samples subjected to ECAP processing.Aging heat treatment after ECAP processing promoted an additional hardening effect and the complete recuperation of the electrical conductivity,caused by the re-precipitation of the partially dissolved particles.The better combination of hardness(191 HV)and electrical conductivity(83.5%(IACS))was obtained after 4 ECAP passes at room temperature and subsequent aging at 380℃for 1 h.

Corrosion properties of ECAP-processed Mg-Al-Ca-Mn alloys with separate Al2Ca and Mg2Ca phases

To investigate the effect of separate Al_(2)Ca and Mg_(2)Ca phases on the corrosion properties of Mg−Al−Ca−Mn alloys,OM,SEM,immersion and electrochemical tests were conducted on the as-cast and ECAP Al_(2)Ca-containing(2Ca)and Mg_(2)Ca-containing(4Ca)alloys.At the beginning of corrosion,the two as-cast alloys are corroded slowly compared with ECAP alloys.With prolonging the corrosion time,the corrosion of ECAP alloys becomes slighter than that of as-cast alloys,which is mainly ascribed to the dispersion and refinement of the second phase in ECAP alloys.Moreover,the corrosion degree of 2Ca alloys is always slighter than that of 4Ca alloys,suggesting that Al_(2)Ca phase is more beneficial to the enhancement of corrosion resistance of Mg−Al−Ca−Mn based alloys than Mg_(2)Ca phase.Finally,based on the examinations of corrosion surface and electrochemical testing results,different corrosion mechanisms caused by the distributions and morphology of Al_(2)Ca and Mg_(2)Ca phases are discussed.

Effects of shape and size of second phase on mechanical properties of sintered Mo-Y_(2)O_(3) alloys

The morphology and size of second phase greatly influence the strengthening effect on oxidation dispersion strengthened Mo alloys.In this work,a novel nanostructuring strategy is adopted to modify the second phase of Y_(2)O_(3),and the corresponding effects of particle shape and size on mechanical properties of sintered Mo−Y_(2)O_(3) alloys were investigated.It is found that spherical particles with sizes below 200 nm are preferred due to the dominant intragranular distribution of second phases associated with better strengthening effect originating from dislocation pinning.With smaller particle size of Y_(2)O_(3) nanospheres(105 nm),the tensile strength of corresponding Mo alloy is enhanced by about 43.8%,much higher than that(8.3%)reinforced by second phase nanospheres with larger particle size(322 nm).Meanwhile,with similar particle size(around 100 nm),the spherical shape exhibits better strengthening effect than the one reinforced by one-dimensional rod-like second phase.

Effect of Li on formation of long period stacking ordered phases and mechanical properties of Mg-Gd-Zn alloy

Alloys with composition of Mg_(96-x)Gd_3Zn_1Li_x(at.%)(x=0, 2, 4, and 6) were prepared by conventional casting. The microstructures of these alloys under as-cast and solid-solution conditions have been observed, and the mechanical properties were investigated. The results showed that Li is an effective element to refine the grains and break the eutectic networks in as-cast MgGd_3Zn_1 alloy. During solid solution treatment, these broken eutectic networks are spheroidized and highly dispersed. In addition, plentiful lamellar long period stacking ordered(LPSO) phases are precipitated in an α-Mg matrix when the Li addition is not more than 4%. Solid-solution treated Mg_(92)Gd_3Zn_1Li_4 alloy exhibits an optimal ultimate tensile strength(UTS) of 226 MPa and elongation of 5.8%. The strength of MgGd_3Zn_1 alloy is improved significantly, meanwhile, the toughness is apparently increased.

Monte Carlo study on abnormal growth of Goss grains in Fe-3%Si steel induced by second-phase particles

The selective abnormal growth of Goss grains in magnetic sheets of Fe-3%Si （grade Hi-B） induced by second-phase particles （AlN and MnS） was studied using a modified Monte Carlo Ports model. The starting microstructures for the simulations were generated from electron backscatter diffraction （EBSD） orientation imaging maps of recrystallized samples. In the simulation, second-phase particles were assumed to be randomly distributed in the initial microstructures and the Zener drag effect of particles on Goss grain boundaries was assumed to be selectively invalid because of the unique properties of Goss grain boundaries. The simulation results suggest that normal growth of the matrix grains stagnates because of the pinning effect of particles on their boundaries. During the onset of abnormal grain growth, some Goss grains with concave boundaries in the initial microstructure grow fast abnormally and other Goss grains with convex boundaries shrink and eventually disappear.

Phase-field study of the second phase particle effect on texture evolution of polycrystalline material

The second phase particle effect on texture evolution of polycrystalline material is studied through phase-field method. A unique field variable is introduced into the phase-field model to represent the second phase particles. Elastic interaction between particles and grains is also considered. Results indicate that in the presence of second phase particles the average particle diameter turns smaller than in the absence of these particles and retards texture formation by pinning effect. The second phase particles change the strain energy profile, which tremendously influences the pinning effect.

Grain growth simulation with the second phase particle pinning for heat-affected zone of microalloyed steel welds

The second phase particle dispersed in microalloyed steel has different effects on grain growth depending on their size and volume fiaction of the second phase particles which will change during welding thermal cycles. The particle coarsening and dissolution kinetics model was analyzed for continuous heating and cooling. In addition, based on experimental data, the coupled equation of grain growth was established by introducing limited size of grain growth with the consideration of the second phase particles pinning effects. Using Monte Carlo method based on experimental data model, the grain growth simulation for heat-affected zone of microalloyed steel welds was achieved. The calculating results were well in agreement with that of experiments.

Recent advancements in thermal conductivity of magnesium alloys

As highly integrated circuits continue to advance,accompanied by a growing demand for energy efficiency and weight reduction,materials are confronted with mounting challenges pertaining to thermal conductivity and lightweight properties.By virtue of numerous intrinsic mechanisms,as a result,the thermal conductivity and mechanical properties of the Mg alloys are often inversely related,which becomes a bottleneck limiting the application of Mg alloys.Based on several effective modification methods to improve the thermal conductivity of Mg alloys,this paper describes the law of how they affect the mechanical properties,and clearly indicates that peak aging treatment is one of the best ways to simultaneously enhance an alloy's thermal conductivity and mechanical properties.As the most frequently used Mg alloy,cast alloys exhibit substantial potential for achieving high thermal conductivity.Moreover,recent reports indicate that hot deformation can significantly improve the mechanical properties while maintaining,and potentially slightly enhancing,the alloy's thermal conductivity.This presents a meaningful way to develop Mg alloys for applications in the field of small-volume heat dissipation components that require high strength.This comprehensive review begins by outlining standard testing and prediction methods,followed by the theoretical models used to predict thermal conductivity,and then explores the primary influencing factors affecting thermal conductivity.The review summarizes the current development status of Mg alloys,focusing on the quest for alloys that offer both high thermal conductivity and high strength.It concludes by providing insights into forthcoming prospects and challenges within this field.

Microstructure and texture evolution during high-strain-rate superplastic deformation of coarse-grained Mg-Gd-Y-Zr rolled sheet

Microstructure and texture evolution during high-strain-rate superplastic deformation of the rolled Mg-Gd-Y-Zr sheet were investigated.The tensile tests at the strain rate of 0.01 s-1 achieved the elongations of 180%-266% in the deformation temperature range of 400-500 ℃.Post-deforming microstructures were characterized by optical microscopy,scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy,while crystallographic orientation information was obtained from macro-texture analysis.The results show that the high strain-rate superplasticity was attributed to class-I dislocation creep accommodated by dynamic recrystallization （DRX）.During preheating at 435 ℃ for 600 s,twinning-induced recrystallization occurred.The initial strain of 80% made original grains fragmented and produced homogenous DRX grains.The interaction between dynamic recrystallization and dynamic precipitation yielded out such a phenomenon that finer DRX grains were often accompanied by denser particles.The macro-texture evolution exhibited some characteristics of the crystal rotation arising from basal slip and prismatic slip despite the occurrence of DRX.

Effects of yttrium and strontium additions on as-cast microstructure of Mg-14Li-1Al alloys

Mg-14Li-1Al （LA141）, LA141-0.3Y, LA141-0.3Sr, and LA141-0.3Y-0.3Sr alloys were prepared in an induction furnace in the argon atmosphere. The microstructures of these alloys were investigated through scanning electron microscope （SEM）, X-ray diffractometer （XRD） and energy dispersive spectrometer （EDS）. The results show that yttrium and/or strontium additions produce a strong grain refining effect in LA141 alloy. The mean grain sizes of the alloys with addition of Y and/or Sr are reduced remarkably from 600 to 500, 260, 230 μm, respectively. Al 2 Y, Al 4 Sr and Mg 17 Sr 2 phases with different morphologies are verified and exist inside the grain or at the grain boundaries, thus possibly act as heterogeneous nucleation sites and pin up grain boundaries, which restrain the grain growth.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-Gd-Y-Zr alloy processed by equal channel angular pressing

Microstructure evolution and texture development and their effects on mechanical properties of a Mg-Gd-Y-Zr alloy during equal channel angular pressing（ECAP） were investigated.It is found that the microstructure is still inhomogeneous after four passes,and two zones,namely the fine grain zone（FGZ） and the coarse grain zone（CGZ） are formed.The grain refinement occurs mainly by particle-stimulated nucleation（PSN） mechanism,which led to a more random texture after four passes of ECAP.In the ECAP-processed alloy,the strength did not increase while the ductility was enhanced dramatically compared with the as-received condition.The change of ductility of this alloy was discussed in terms of texture and second phase particles.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of AZ31B magnesium alloy gas metal arc weld

Wrought magnesium alloy sheets were butt welded with gas metal arc welding process. Pores in the weld were investigated under different welding parameters, the causes of pore formation were systematically disposed, and the effects of porosity on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the joint were analyzed. The microstructure examination shows that the pores mainly appear close to the top or bottom part of the weld, and could connect to each other and lead to the formation of cracks in the welds. However, the pores can be controlled with proper welding parameters. The tensile testing results reveal that the average joint strength is close to or higher than that of the base metal. The microhardness in the weld can be even higher than that in the base metal due to the second ohase strengthening of β-Mg17（A1, Zn）12 formed in the weld.

Hot tearing susceptibility of MgZn_(4.5)Y_xZr_(0.5) alloys and mechanism

The hot tearing susceptibility of MgZn_(4.5)Y_xZr_(0.5)(x = 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6) alloys was evaluated using ClyneDavies' theoretical model and a constrained rod casting(CRC) apparatus equipped with a load cell and data acquisition system. The results obtained from these two approaches were in good agreement, illustrating that the hot tearing susceptibility of the investigated alloys is in the order of MgZn_(4.5)Y_xZr_(0.5) > MgZn_(4.5)Y_xZr_(0.5) > MgZn_(4.5)Y_xZr_(0.5) > MgZn_(4.5)Y_xZr_(0.5)> MgZn_(4.5)Y_xZr_(0.5). The microstructure and morphology of hot tearing regions were observed by means of X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The function curves on variation of contraction force and temperature versus time were recorded by a computer during solidification of the MgZn_(4.5)Y_xZr_(0.5) alloys in a "T" type mold after A/D(Analog to digital) conversion. Results show that both the amount and morphology of the second phases have a great relationship with the hot tearing susceptibility. But the former plays a more important role on that of MgZn_(4.5)Y_xZr_(0.5) alloys. The role of low-melting point eutectic phases on the hot tearing susceptibility of MgZn_(4.5)Y_xZr_(0.5) alloys changes gradually with different Y contents. When Y ≤ 1wt.%, it is mainly a damaging effect on intergranular bonding force; when Y > 1wt.%, it is mainly an intergranular feeding effect on formed separated dendrites.