Effect of pre-induced twinning on microstructure and tensile ductility in GW92K magnesium alloy during multi-direction forging at decreasing temperature

Effect of pre-induced twinning on the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of extruded Mg-9.26Gd-2.08Y-0.36Zr(GW92K)alloy have been investigated during multi-direction forging with large strains at decreasing temperature from 400℃ to 300℃.The results showed that,whether there pre-induced twinning existing in the initial microstructure by pre-deformation or not,a mixed microstructure of residual coarse grains and notably refined grains formed under both conditions,combing with some residual coarse grains with less deformation inside grains and lots of dispersed nano-precipitates distributed along refined grain boundaries.However,a significant improvement with the tensile ductility was obtained by the pre-induced twinning in the former alloy.It was suggested that,the pre-induced twinning largely contributed to the grain refinement and lead to an increase in the ratio of fine grain structure which would be responsible for the better properties.Furthermore,during subsequent forging deformation in the pre-deformed sample,the grain refinement mechanism by gradual grain orientation rotation around the surface section in residual coarse-grains was a little different from that by the macro-shear deformation in the as-extruded condition.

Modeling effects of constituents and dispersoids on tensile ductility of aluminum alloy

The modeling effects of constituents and dispersoids on the tensile ductility of aluminum alloy were studied.The results show that the tensile ductility decreases with the increase of the volume fraction and size of constituents.Thus,purification can improve the tensile ductility by decreasing the volume fraction of constituents(normally compositions of Fe and Si)and the first-class microcracks.The model also indicates that the tensile ductility decreases with the increase in the volume fraction of dispersoids.Decreasing the volume fraction of dispersoids along the grain boundaries by proper heat-treatment and improving the cohesion strength between dispersoids and matrix can also improve the tensile ductility by decreasing the volume fraction of the second-class microcracks.

Tensile ductility improvement of AlSi9Cu1 alloy by chemical composition optimization

Diesel engines, characterized by higher breakout pressure and compression ratio in comparison with gasoline engines, require particularly elevated tensile properties for their engine parts. In order to maintain both high strength and high ductility in the cylinder head, i.e., to obtain higher percent elongation without further reducing the tensile strength, Al Si9Cu1 alloy was used to prepare the cylinder head in an aluminum diesel engine. At the same time, the effect of different modification elements, Na or Sr, and Fe content on the reduction of secondary dendrite arm spacing(SDAS) was discussed, and the design of T7 heat treatment parameters were analyzed in order to improve the tensile ductility. The result shows:(1) The SDAS is as small as 18±3 μm for the Sr modified alloy.(2) The percent elongation of the alloy with Sr modification increases by 66.7% and 42.9%, respectively, compared with the unmodified alloy and the alloy with Na modification.(3) Lower Fe content alloy(0.10%) gives good results in percent elongation compared to the alloy with higher Fe content(0.27%); in particular, after Sr modification and T7 heat treatment, the elongation of over 5% is obtained.

Medium-range order endows a bulk metallic glass with enhanced tensile ductility

Developing ductile bulk metallic glasses(BMGs)can benefit from an in-depth understanding of the structure-property relation during plastic deformation.However,endowing BMGs with tensile ductility in BMGs needs to reveal the response of critical structure units during deformation.Here,we report the experimental results of an in-situ synchrotron high-energy X-ray study of a Zr-based BMG under uniaxial tension after preprocessing by canning compression of the three-dimensional compressive stress state.It is revealed that the canning-compressed BMG(CC-BMG)sample has better tensile ductility and higher ultimate strength than the as-cast sample,which possesses heterogeneous and loosely packed local struc-tures on medium-range scales.The experimental results revealed two stages of plastic deformation in the CC-BMGs compared with one stage of plastic deformation in the as-cast BMG.Moreover,the shift in the first sharp diffraction peak along the tension direction for the canning-compressed sample is substan-tially more pronounced than that of the as-cast sample.Furthermore,the real-space analysis illustrates a competition mechanism between the 2-atom and 3-atom connection modes on medium-range order during the plastic deformation of the CC-BMG.Additionally,the ordering on the medium-range scale de-creases in the first plastic deformation stage but increases in the second plastic deformation stage.There-fore,a structural crossover phenomenon occurs in the CC-BMG during plastic deformation.Our results demonstrate a structure-property correlation for the CC-BMGs of heterogeneous medium-range ordered structures,which may be beneficial for endowing BMGs with ductility based on medium-range order engineering techniques.

Strain rate and cold rolling dependence of tensile strength and ductility in high nitrogen nickel-free austenitic stainless steel

The tensile strength and ductility of a high nitrogen nickel-free austenitic stainless steel with solution and cold rolling treatment were investigated by performing tensile tests at different strain rates and at room temperature. The tensile tests demonstrated that this steel exhibits a significant strain rate and cold rolling dependence of the tensile strength and ductility.With the increase of the strain rate from 10^-4s^-1to 1 s^-1, the yield strength and ultimate tensile strength increase and the uniform elongation and total elongation decrease. The analysis of the double logarithmic stress–strain curves showed that this steel exhibits a two-stage strain hardening behavior, which can be well examined and analyzed by using the Ludwigson equation. The strain hardening exponents at low and high strain regions（n2and n1） and the transition strain（εL） decrease with increasing strain rate and the increase of cold rolling RA. Based on the analysis results of the stress–strain curves, the transmission electron microscopy characterization of the microstructure and the scanning electron microscopy observation of the deformation surfaces, the significant strain rate and cold rolling dependence of the strength and ductility of this steel were discussed and connected with the variation in the work hardening and dislocation activity with strain rate and cold rolling.

High temperature tensile behaviors of extruded and rolled AZ31 Mg alloy

High temperature tensile ductilities and deformation mechanisms of an extruded and rolled AZ31 Mg alloy were investigated.Elongation-to-failure tests were conducted under constant T-head velocity and constant temperatures ranging from 300℃ to 450℃.Strain-rate-change tests were conducted under varying strain rate from 5×10-5s-1to 2×10-2s-1and constant temperature from 300℃ to 450℃.Experimental results show that the maximum elongation of the AZ31 alloy with an average grain size of about 19μm is 117%at strain rate of 10- 3s-1 and temperature of 450℃.Stress exponent and activation energy were characterized to clarify the deformation mechanisms.The enhanced ductility is dominated by solute drag dislocation creep,and the major failure mechanism is cavity growth and interlinkage.

A mesomechanical ductility model of SiC_p/Al composite

Based on tensile cracking of SiC_p and decohesion of the interface between SiC_p and Al matrix, a mesomechanical model for tensile deformation of SiC_p/Al composites was developed. The microcracks and multi-scale second phase particles were assumed to distribute homogeneously. A nonlinear quantitative relationship between tensile ductility and volume fraction of SiC_p was established based on the model. The tensile ductility values of 2xxx SiC_p/Al and 6xxx SiC_p/Al composites predicted by the model are in good agreement with the experimental values. The analysis of effects of multi-scale second phases on the ductility of the composites indicates that the ductility decreases with the increase of the volume fraction of SiC_p and precipitates in Al matrix and is almost independent of constituents and dispersoids.

INVESTIGATION ON HOT DUCTILITY AND STRENGTH OF CONTINUOUS CASTING SLAB FOR AH32 STEEL

By means of Gleeble-1500 testing machine, the simulation of continuous casting process forAH32 steel was carried out and hot ductility and strength were determined. The cracking sensitivity was studied under the different temperatures and strain rates. The Precipitations of AIN at different temperatures and the fractures of high-temperature tensile samples were observed by using TEM （transmission electron microscope） and SEM （scanning electron microscope）. The factors affecting the brittle temperature zone were discussed.

Development of engineered cementitious composites with local ingredients

In order to reduce the cost of high performance polyvinyl alcohol（PVA） fiber reinforced cementitious material（called engineered cementitious composites,ECC）,a ductile ECC material is developed using domestic PVA fibers along with other local ingredients,such as fly ash,cement and sand.In addition to the economic analysis of ECC,the four-point bending test and the optical microscope are employed to investigate the deflection capacity of ECC,its crack width and the occurrence of the self-healing phenomenon.The experimental results suggest that ECC made with domestic ingredients exhibits larger deformability and the average crack width is controlled around 60 μm.Furthermore,the self-healing behavior is observed in cracks of the specimens after cycles of wet and dry curing.The economic analysis shows that the cost of ECC can be greatly reduced via employing domestic PVA fibers.It is,therefore,feasible to produce low cost ECC material employing domestic PVA fibers,while simultaneously retaining high material ductility.

Microstructural evolution of(TiAl)+Nb+W+B alloy

A newly designed TiAl alloy containing W,Nb,and B was produced through magnetic-flotation-melting method.Mass production of this TiAl-based alloy,15 kg ingot size,which is quite different from the 0.05 kg small ingot produced by arc-melting,has a large effect on the metallurgical properties,such as the grain size and the phase structures of the alloy.Heat treatments were carefully designed in order to reduce the amount of the high-temperature remaining β phase in the alloy,and to obtain optimal microstructures for mechanical behavior studies.A room-temperature ductility of 1.9% was obtained in the cast TiAl-based alloy after the appropriate heat treatment.The mechanical behavior of the large ingot through mass production of the TiAl-based alloy was largely improved by the alloy design and subsequent heat treatments.

Superplasticity-like creep behavior of coarse grained ternary Al alloys

Enhanced tensile ductilities in coarse grained Al-Mg-Zn and Al-Mg-Fe materials were studied.The materials were Al-2Mg-5Zn,Al-3Mg-5Zn,Al-4Mg-5Zn,Al-3Mg-0.11Fe,Al-3Mg-0.27Fe,and Al-3Mg-0.40Fe.Tensile elongation-to-failure tests were conducted at constant cross-head speed and constant temperatures from 300 to 450℃.Strain rate change tests were conducted at a constant temperature from 300 to 450℃and in strain-rate range from 4.31×10-5to 1.97×10-2s-1.Experimental results show that over 100%ductilities are consistently achieved in these materials.This superplasticity-like behavior is rate-controlled by solute-drag creep.Although ternary Zn and Fe additions do not have an adverse effect on solute-drag creep and ductility,they increase stress exponent and its sensitivity to Mg content during solute-drag creep.

Folded graphene reinforced nanocomposites with superior strength and toughness:A molecular dynamics study

Toughness and strength are important material parameters in practical structural applications.However,it remains a great challenge to achieve high toughness and high strength simultaneously for most materials.Here,we report a folded graphene(FG)reinforced copper(Cu)nanocomposite that overcomes the long-standing conflicts between toughness and strength.Intensive molecular dynamics simulations show that the 10%pre-strain-induced four-wave-patterned FG(1.09 wt%)reinforced Cu nanocomposite exhibits simultaneous enhancement in toughness(~13.59 J/m^(2)),ductility(~32.38%),and strength(~9.52 GPa),corresponding to 38.53%,58.88%,and 2.26%increase,respectively when compared with its counterpart reinforced by pristine graphene(PG).More importantly,the mechanical properties of FG/Cu nanocomposites can be effectively tuned by changing the pre-compressive strain,wave number,and peak number of FG.The toughening and strengthening mechanisms are applicable to other metal materials reinforced by other 2 D nanomaterials,opening up a new avenue for developing tough and strong metal nanocomposites.

Effects of cerium addition on solidification structure and mechanical properties of 434 ferritic stainless steel

Effects of Ce refiners on the solidification structure and the mechanical property of ferritic stainless steel were investigated, the corresponding mechanisms were also discussed. The results showed that the solidification of the ferritic stainless steel was remarkably refined with 0.011 wt.% Ce and 0.023 wt.% Ce refiners. Ce played a great role of inclusion modification and the shape and size of the inclusions were changed by adding Ce. And after adding rare earth Ce, great amounts of high-melting point rare earth Ce inclusions（Ce2O3 and Ce2O2S） were formed. The fracture mode of 434 ferritic stainless steel was typical cleavage fracture, however, the ductility and the toughness of ferritic stainless steel was remarkably enhanced with 0.011 wt.% Ce and 0.023 wt.% Ce refiner. But the solidification structure and the mechanical property of 434 ferritic stainless steel could not be improved with 0.034 wt.% Cerefiner.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of as-cast Mg-5Sn-2Ce-xZn alloys

The microstructure, mechanical properties and compression creep resistance of as-cast Mg-5Sn-2Ce-xZn（x=0, 2 wt.%, 4 wt.%） alloys were investigated in this paper. The results showed that the Ce-containing compounds were MgS nC e phase and an unknown phase, and they were the dominant intermetallics in as-cast Mg-5Sn-2Ce-xZn alloys. At x=0 wt.%, the Ce-containing compounds formed in interdendritic regions with the shape of rod. As the Zn content was increased to 2 wt.%, the Ce-containing compounds partly changed from rod-like to sheet-like. However, there were few further changes in the Ce-containing compounds with further increase in Zn content to 4 wt.%. Compared with Mg-5Sn-2Ce alloy, the tensile strength and elongation of the alloy containing 4 wt.% Zn increased by 39% and 112%, respectively, and the secondary creep rate（175 °C/55 MPa） decreased at least by an order of magnitude. These improvement could be attributed to the combined effects of the high content of Zn dissolving in a-Mg matrix and the modification of Ce-containing compounds by Zn addition.