Quasi-plastic deformation mechanisms and inverse Hall-Petch relationship in nanocrystalline boron carbide under compression

Grain boundaries(GBs)play a significant role in the deformation behaviors of nanocrystalline ceramics.Here,we investigate the compression behaviors of nanocrystalline boron carbide(nB_(4)C)with varying grain sizes using molecular dynamics simulations with a machine-learning force field.The results reveal quasi-plastic deformation mechanisms in nB_(4)C:GB sliding,intergranular amorphization and intragranular amorphization.GB sliding arises from the presence of soft GBs,leading to intergranular amorphization.Intragranular amorphization arises from the interaction between grains with unfavorable orientations and the softened amorphous GBs,and finally causes structural failure.Furthermore,nB_(4)C models with varying grain sizes from 4.07 nm to 10.86 nm display an inverse Hall-Petch relationship due to the GB sliding mechanism.A higher strain rate in nB_(4)C often leads to a higher yield strength,following a 2/3 power relationship.These deformation mechanisms are critical for the design of ceramics with superior mechanical properties.

Microstructures and Toughness of Weld Metai of Ultrafine Grained Ferritic Steel by Laser Welding

3 mm thick 400 MPa grade ultrafine grained ferritic steel plates were bead-on-plate welded by CO2 laser with heat input of 120-480 J/mm. The microstructures of the weld metal mainly consist of bainite, which form is lower bainite plates or polygonal ferrite containing quantities of dispersed cementite particles, mixed with a few of low carbon martensite laths or ferrite, depending on the heat input. The hardness and the tensile strength of the weld metal are higher than those of the base metal, and monotonously increase as the heat input decreases. No softened zone exists in heat affected zone (HAZ). Compared with the base metal, although the grains of laser weld are much larger, the toughness of the weld metal is higher within a large range of heat input. Furthermore, as the heat input increases, the toughness of the weld metal rises to a maximum value, at which point the percentage of lower bainite is the highest, and then drops.

Microstructure and tensile properties of ultrafine grained copper processed by equal-channel angular pressing

Equal-channel angular pressing （ECAP） process was applied to a 12 mm ×12 mm ×80 mm billet of pure copper （99.98 wt.%） at room temperature. The shear deformation characteristics, microstructure evolution, and tensile properties were investigated. A combination of high strength （-420 MPa） and high elongation to failure （-25%） was achieved after eight ECAP passes at room temperature. The mixing of ultrafme grains （-0.2 μm） with nanocrystalline grains （-80 nm） resulted in high tensile strength and ductility.

Microstructures of an Ultrafine Grained SS400 Steel in an Industrial Scale

The microstructures of a SS400 steel after thermomechanical control process（TMCP） in an industrial production were observed by optical microscope,scanning electron microscope（SEM） and transmission electron microscope（TEM）.The results indicated that the size of ferrite grains was 4-5μm,and transmission of ferrite was around 70%.The types of the ultrafine ferrite grains were analyzed and the strengthening mechanisms were discussed.The results show that the ultrafine ferrite grains came from three processes,i.e.deformation induced ferrite transformation（DIFT）.dynamic recrystallization of ferrite and accelerated cooling process.The increase in the strength of the material was mainly due to the grain refining.

Dynamic Mechanical Behavior and Adiabatic Shear Bands of Ultrafine Grained Pure Zirconium

Dynamic compression tests were carried out to investigate dynamic mechanical behavior and adiabatic shear bands in ultrafine grained(UFG)pure zirconium prepared by equal channel angular pressing(ECAP)and rotary swaying.The cylindrical specimens were deformed dynamically on the split Hopkinson pressure bar(SHPB)at different strain rates of 800 to 4000s^-1 at room temperature.The temperature distribution of the shear bands was estimated on the basis of temperature rise of uniform plastic deformation stage and thermal diffusion effect.The results show that the true stress-true strain curves of UFG pure zirconium are concave upward trend of strain in range of 0.02-0.16 due to the effects of strain hardening,strain rate hardening and thermal softening.The formation of the adiabatic shear bands is the main reason of UFG pure zirconium failure.A large number of micro-voids are observed in the adiabatic shear bands,and the macroscopic cracks develop from the micro-voids coalescence.The fracture surface of UFG pure zirconium exhibits quasi cleavage fracture with the characteristic features of shear dimples and river pattern.The highest temperature within the shear bands of UFG pure zirconium is about 592 K.

Growth behavior of ultrafine austenite grains in microalloyed steel

Ultrafine austenite gains （UFAGs） with size of 1-5 μm were prepared through repetitive treatment, four times, of rapid heating and quenching, and the growth behaviors of these UFACs during both the reheating and cooling stages were investigated. The results indicated that UFAGs without pinning particles appeared with significant coarsening when the reheating temperature reached 1000 ℃. Although coarsening still occurred in the cooling stage, the growth was obscured during the isothermal holding process at temperatures between 900 ℃ and At3.

Influence of High-Speed Milling Process on Mechanical and Microstructural Properties of Ultrafine Grained Profiles Produced by Linear Flow Splitting

The effects of milling parameters on the surface quality,microstructures and mechanical properties of machined parts with ultrafine grained(UFG)gradient microstructures are investigated.The effects of the cutting speed,feed per tooth,cutting tool geometry and cooling strategy are demonstrated.It has been found that the surface quality of machined grooves can be improved by increasing the cutting speed.However,cryogenic cooling with CO_2 exhibits no significant improvement of surface quality.Microstructure and hardness investigations revealed similar microstructure and hardness variations near the machined groove walls for both utilized tool geometries.Therefore,cryogenic cooling can decrease more far-ranging hardness reductions due to high process temperatures,especially in the UFG regions of the machined parts,whilst it cannot prevent the drop in hardness directly at the groove walls.

Corrosion behavior of ultrafine-grained AA2024 aluminum alloy produced by cryorolling

The objectives of this study were to produce ultrafine-grained(UFG) AA2024 aluminum alloy by cryorolling followed by aging and to evaluate its corrosion behavior. Solutionized samples were cryorolled to ~85% reduction in thickness. Subsequent aging resulted in a UFG structure with finer precipitates of Al_2CuMg in the cryorolled alloy. The(1) solutionized and(2) solutionized and cryorolled samples were uniformly aged at 160°C/24 h and were designated as CGPA and CRPA, respectively; these samples were subsequently subjected to corrosion studies. Potentiodynamic polarization studies in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution indicated an increase in corrosion potential and a decrease in corrosion current density for CRPA compared to CGPA. In the case of CRPA, electrochemical impedance spectroscopic studies indicated the presence of two complex passive oxide layers with a higher charge transfer resistance and lower mass loss during intergranular corrosion tests. The improved corrosion resistance of CRPA was mainly attributed to its UFG structure, uniform distribution of fine precipitates, and absence of coarse grain-boundary precipitation and associated precipitate-free zones as compared with the CGPA alloy.

Formation of nanocrystalline AZ31B Mg alloys via cryogenic rotary swaging

A bulk nanocrystalline AZ31B Mg alloy with extraordinarily high strength was prepared via cryogenic rotary swaging in this study.The obtained alloy shows finer grains,higher strength,and a negligible tension-compression yield asymmetry,compared with that prepared via room-temperature rotary swaging.Transmission electron microscopy investigations showed that at the initial stage,multiple twins,mostly tension twins,were activated and intersected with each other,thereby refining the coarse grains into a fine lamellar structure.Then,two types of nanoscale subgrains were generated with increasing swaging strain.The first type of nanoscale subgrain contained twin boundaries and low-angle grain boundaries.This type of subgrain appeared at the twin-twin intersections and was mainly driven by high local stress.The second type of nanoscale subgrain was formed within the twin lamellae.The boundaries of this type of subgrain did not contain twin boundaries and were transformed from massive dislocation arrays.Finally,randomly oriented nanograins were obtained via dynamic recrystallization,under the combined function of deformation heat and increased stored energy.Compared with room-temperature rotary swaging,cryogenic rotary swaging exhibits a slower grain refinement process but a remarkably enhanced grain refinement effect after the same five-pass swaging.

Underwater friction stir welding of ultrafine grained 2017 aluminum alloy

2017 aluminum alloy plates with an ultrafine grained （UFG） structure were produced by equal channel angular processing （ECAP） and then were joined by underwater friction stir welding （underwater FSW）. X-ray diffractometer （XRD）, transmission electron microscope （TEM）, scanning electron microscope （SEM） and microhardness tester were adopted to investigate the microstructural and mechanical characteristics of the FSW joint. The results indicate that an ultrafine grained microstructure with the mean grain size of-0.7 Ixm is obtained in the weld nugget by using water cooling. However, The FSW joint exhibits softening compared with the ultrafine grained based material and the heat affected zone （HAZ） has the lowest hardness owing to the coarsening of the strengthening precipitates.

Ultrafine Grain Tungsten Heavy Alloys with Excellent Performance Prepared by Spark Plasma Sintering

Ultrafine grain tungsten heavy alloys (WHAs) were successfully produced from the nano-crystalline powders using spark plasma sintering.The present study mainly discussed the effects of sintering temperature on the density,microstructure and mechanical properties of the alloys.The relative density of 98.12% was obtained at 1 050 ℃,and the tungsten grain size is about 871 nm.At 1 000 ℃-1 200 ℃,the mechanical properties of the alloys tend to first rise and then goes down.After SPS,the alloy exhibits improved hardness (84.3 HRA at 1 050 ℃) and bending strength (987.16 MPa at 1 100 ℃),due to the ultrafine-grained microstructure.The fracture mode after bending tests is mainly characterized as intergranular or intragranular fracture of W grains,interfacial debonding of W grains-binding phase and ductile tearing of binding phase.The EDS analysis reveals a certain proportion of solid solution between W and Ni-Fe binding phase.The good mechanical properties of the alloys can be attributed to grain refinement and solid solution strengthening.

Effect of grain boundary sliding on the toughness of ultrafine grain structure steel: A molecular dynamics simulation study

Molecular dynamics simulations are carried out to investigate the mechanisms of low-temperature impact toughness of the ultrafine grain structure steel. The simulation results suggest that the sliding of the {001 }/{ 110} type and { 110}/{ 111 } type grain boundary can improve the impact toughness. Then, the mechanism of grain boundary sliding is studied and it is found that the motion of dislocations along the grain boundary is the underlying cause of the grain boundary sliding. Finally, the sliding of the grain boundary is analyzed from the standpoint of the energy. We conclude that the measures which can increase the quantity of the {001}/{110} type and {110}/{ 111} type grain boundary and elongate the free gliding distance of dislocations along these grain boundaries will improve the low-temperature impact toughness of the ultrafine grain structure steel.

DAMPING BEHAVIOR OF ULTRAFINE-GRAINED PURE ALUMINUM L2 AND THE DAMPING MECHANISM

Ultrafine-grained pure aluminum L2 with a mean grain size of 1.01μm was produced by equal channel angular pressing （ECAP） and annealing at 150℃ for 2h. Damping behavior of the alloy was measured using a dynamic mechanical thermal analyzer. The alloy had an excellent damping capacity Q^-1 with the ambient value being 9.8×10^-3 at 1.0Hz when the strain amplitude was 2.0×10^-5. The damping behavior of the alloy showed a non-linear damping variation tendency, that is, with an increase in temperature and a decrease of frequency, the damping capacity of the alloy increased. The damping capacity increased with the strain amplitude when the strain amplitude was less than 4.6×10^-5. When the strain amplitude was higher than 4.6×10^-5, the damping capacity became a constant and independent of strain amplitude. The high damping capacity was attributed to dislocation unpinning and a drag of dislocation on pinning points.

Effect of grain size on corrosion behavior of electrodeposited bulk nanocrystalline Ni

Nanocrystalline (NC) and coarse-grained Ni with different grain sizes (from 16 nm to 2 μm) were fabricated by direct current electrodeposition. Effect of grain size on the electrochemical corrosion behavior of these Ni deposits in different corrosion media was characterized by using potentiodynamic polarization test, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and immersion corrosion test. Results show that in the NaOH or NaCl solution, the NC Ni exhibits improved corrosion resistance with the decrease of grain size. But in H2SO4 solution, the higher grain boundary density accelerates corrosion due to no passive process and the corrosion resistance of NC Ni decreases with refining grain size. The distinct experimental results of NC Ni in corrosion behavior can be reasonably explained by the positive or negative effect of high-density grain boundaries in different corrosion media.

Observations on the Formation of Ultrafine Ferrite Grain Size in Steels by Physical Simulation Routes

Some observations are reported on the simulation of two thermomechanical routes to produce ultrafine ferrite grainsize in steels. One C-Mn grade and Nb, Nb-Ti and Nb-high Ti bearing steels were used in the tests performed ona Gleeble simulator and a laboratory rolling mill. The routes included severe hot deformation of prior grain-refinedaustenite at the temperature close to Ar3 (DIF) and static recrystallization of fine-grained cold-rolled martensite(SRM). It was observed that the hot deformation induces the formation of ferrite above the Ar3 temperature of thesteel, but severe reductions are required for the complete transformation. Strain of 1.2 can result in about 70% offerrite with the grain size of about 1.4～2μm in all the studied steels. Similarly, in short annealing of cold-workedmartensite, the static recrystallization can also lead to a grain size of about 1.5 μm. The distribution of carbonvaries in the microstructures, carbon being in the second phase in the DIF route and in carbide particles in the SRMroute, which may have a significant influence on the mechanical properties and the thermal stability of ultrafine grainstructure.

Strategies to suppress grain growth of nanocrystalline aluminum

The grain growth behaviors of nanocrystalline aluminum, alloy and composite are compared. First, nanocrystalline aluminum is fabricated by consolidation of ball-milled powder. Second, nanocrystalline aluminum alloy is designed to have elements such as Mn, Zr, and Misch metals, which can form thermally stable second phases at grain boundaries and also drag the movement of grain boundaries. Third, nanocrystalline aluminum-based composites containing multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MWCNTs) are also prepared because MWCNTs are expected to be located at grain boundaries and to suppress the grain growth of nanocrystalline aluminum. These three types of samples are annealed at 550 °C for up to 5 d and the effect of annealing time on Vickers hardness of the samples is compared. As a result, MWCNTs are found to be most effective to impede grain growth of nanocrystalline aluminum.

Grain growth and thermal stability of nanocrystalline Ni-TiO_2 composites

The grain growth and thermal stability of nanocrystalline Ni-TiO2composites were systematically investigated.Thenanocrystalline Ni-TiO2composites with different contents of TiO2were prepared via electroplating method with the variation ofTiO2nano-particles concentration.The effect of TiO2content on the grain size,phase structure and microhardness was investigatedin detail.The corresponding grain growth and diffusion mechanisms during the heating process were also discussed.The optimalmicrohardness of HV50270was achieved for the composite with addition of20g/L TiO2nano-particles after annealing at400°C for90min.The calculation of the activation energy indicated that lattice diffusion dominated at high temperatures for thenanocrystalline Ni-TiO2composites.It was indicated that the increase of TiO2nano-particles content took effect on restricting thegrain growth at high temperatures by increasing the grain growth activation energy.

Combined grain size, strain rate and loading condition effects on mechanical behavior of nanocrystalline Cu under high strain rates

Molecular dynamics simulations of nanocrystalline Cu with average grain sizes of 3.1 nm, 6.2 nm, 12.4 nm and 18.6 nm under uniaxial strain and stress tension at strain rates of 10^8 s^-1, 10^9 S^-1 and 10^10 s^-1 are performed to study the combined grain size, strain rate and loading condition effects on mechanical properties. It is found that the strength of nanocrystalline Cu increases as grain size increases regardless of loading condition. Both the strength and ductility of nanocrystalline Cu increase with strain rate except that there is no monotonic relation between the strength and strain rate for specimens under uni- axial strain loading. Moreover, the strength and ductility of specimens under uniaxial strain loading are lower than those under uniaxial stress loading. The nucleation of voids at grain boundaries and their subsequent growth characterize the failure of specimens under uniaxial strain loading, while grain boundary sliding and necking dominate the failure of specimens under uniaxial stress loading. The rate dependent strength is mainly caused by the dynamic wave effect that limits dislocation motion, while combined twinning and slipping mechanism makes the material more ductile at higher strain rates.

Using friction stir processing to produce ultrafine-grained microstructure in AZ61 magnesium alloy

In order to obtain fine-microstructure magnesium alloys with superior mechanical properties, AZ61 alloy was processed by friction stir processing(FSP) combined with rapid heat sink. It is found that ultrafine-grained microstructure with average size less than 300 nm is observed in the resultant AZ61 alloy. The mean microhardness of the ultra-fine region reaches Hv120-130, two times higher than that of AZ61 substrate. All these results demonstrate clearly that under a cooling rate high enough, ultra-fine structure inAZ61 alloy with superior mechanical properties can be produced by one pass FSP via dynamic recrystallization.

Texture evolution and mechanical anisotropy of an ultrafine/nano-grained pure copper tube processed via hydrostatic tube cyclic expansion extrusion

Texture evolution and mechanical anisotropic behavior of an ultrafine-grained(UFG)pure copper tube processed by recently introduced method of hydrostatic tube cyclic expansion extrusion(HTCEE)was investigated.For the UFG tube,different deformation behavior and a significant anisotropy in tensile properties were recorded along the longitudinal and peripheral directions.The HTCEE process increased the yield strength and the ultimate strength in the axial direction by 3.6 and 1.67 times,respectively.Also,this process increased the yield strength and the ultimate strength in the peripheral direction by 1.15 and 1.12 times,respectively.The ratio of ultimate tensile strength in the peripheral direction to that in the axial direction,as a criterion for mechanical anisotropy,are 1.7 and 1.16 for the as-annealed coarse-grained and the HTCEE processed UFG tube,respectively.The results are indicative of a reducing effect of the HTCEE process on the mechanical anisotropy.Besides,after HTCEE process,a low loss of ductility was observed in both directions,which is another advantage of HTCEE process.Hardness measurements revealed a slight increment of hardness values in the peripheral direction,which is in agreement with the trend of tensile tests.Texture analysis was conducted in order to determine the oriental distribution of the grains.The obtained{111}pole figures demonstrate the texture evolution and reaffirm the anisotropy observed in mechanical properties.Scanning electron microscopy micrographs showed that different modes of fracture occurred after tensile testing in the two orthogonal directions.