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.

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.

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.

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.

Laser directed energy deposited, ultrafine-grained functional titanium-copper alloys tailored for marine environments: Antibacterial and anti-microbial corrosion studies

The microorganism-rich nature of the ocean imposes great challenges to the structural integrity of met-als over their service lifespan,including titanium(Ti)alloys,which are usually prone to microbiologically influenced corrosion(MIC).So,multifunctional anti-MIC Ti alloys need to be developed and studied.This paper investigates the effect of copper(Cu)concentration on the MIC resistance of a series of additively manufactured,ultrafine-grained Ti-x Cu(x=3.5,6.5 and 8.5 in wt.%)alloys.The dependence of the cor-rosion resistance and MIC resistance on the Cu concentration of Ti-Cu alloy is interpreted considering all conceivable mechanisms.The mechanisms for excellent corrosion resistance of Ti-Cu alloy in seawater are attributed to the strong passive film and small surface potential difference between phases.Microstruc-tural characterization reveals that uniformly distributed,nanosized Ti_(2) Cu phase led to increased reactive oxygen species in the bacterial membrane,which is the root reason for the superb anti-bacterial property(99.2%)for Ti-8.5Cu.Compared to pure Ti and Ti-6Al-4V,Ti-8.5Cu alloy features both high strength(yield stress>1000 MPa)and the best MIC resistance(97.5%).The combination of such balanced properties enables this functional 3D printed Ti-Cu alloy to become an ideal material for load-bearing applications in the marine environment.

Effect of isothermal compression and subsequent heat treatment on grain structures evolution of Al-Mg-Si alloy

The constitutive relationships of Al-Mg-Si alloy deformed at various strain rates,temperatures and strains were studied.The microstructure evolution was quantitatively characterized and analyzed,including recrystallization fraction,grain sizes,local misorientation,geometrically necessary dislocation and stored strain energy during hot deformation and subsequent heat treatment.The results show that the dislocation density and energy storage are linear with ln Z during hot deformation and subsequent heat treatment,indicating continuous recrystallization occurring in both processes.With higher ln Z,the dislocation density declines more sharply during subsequent heat treatment.When ln Z is less than 28,dislocation density becomes more stable with less reduction during subsequent heat treatment after hot deformation.As these dislocations distribute along low angle grain boundaries,the subgrain has good stability during subsequent heat treatment.The main recrystallization mechanism during hot deformation is continuous dynamic recrystallization,accompanied by geometric dynamic recrystallization at higher ln Z.

Ultrafine-grained Ti6Al7Nb-xCu alloy with ultrahigh strength and exceptional biomedical properties

Grain refinement has been found to be able to improve the strength of metals without reducing their plasticity or ductility.In this work,ultrafine-grained Ti6Al7Nb-xCu(x=0,3 wt%,6 wt%,9 wt%)alloys were fabricated based on the clinically used Ti6Al7Nb alloy via Cu alloying fabrication strategy combined with dynamic recrystallization(DRX)from martensite during hot work.Our results indicate that Cu alloying is not only effective in reducing the width of martensite laths after quenching in theβphase region but also increases the nucleation rate of DRX during the high-temperature deformation.Additionally,the Ti2Cu phase that precipitates from the matrix can pin the grain boundaries and inhibit their growth during the high-temperature deformation.The optimal Cu concentration of Ti6Al7Nb-xCu alloy is determined to be 6 wt%,and the optimal deformation temperature is determined to be 750°C.At this Cu content and deformation temperature,the grain size is only 270 nm,the tensile strength is up to 1266±10 MPa,and the elongation is 17%.Compared with the commercial Ti6Al7Nb alloy,the ultrafine-grained Ti6Al7Nb-6Cu alloy has better overall mechanical properties,good biocompatibility,and unique antibacterial properties.This work provides a theoretical basis for fabricating the new antibacterial titanium-based alloys with high strength.

Improved Corrosion Resistance of Ultrafine-Grained Mg-Gd-Zr Alloy Fabricated by Surface Friction Treatment

Gradient ultrafine-grained (UFG) Mg-2Gd-0.4Zr (wt%) alloy sheet, with a UFG layer of about 118 nm on the topmost treated surface, was fabricated by sliding friction treatment (SFT). The corrosion resistance of the SFT-processed UFG surface layer was greatly improved compared to the original coarse-grained (CG) structure, representing as a higher impedance and a lower corrosion rate (CG: 4.11 mm y^(−1), UFG: 2.71 mm y^(−1)). The UFG layer with high density of grain boundaries exhibits an excellent impeditive effect on the cracking of corrosion product films. Compared to the CG sample, the stable corrosion product film inhibits the formation of pitting so providing a better protective effect. In addition, the Gd-rich clusters are randomly distributed after SFT processing, which decreases the tendency of galvanic corrosion on the UFG surface.

Effect of long-period stacking ordered structure on very high cycle fatigue properties of Mg-Gd-Y-Zn-Zr alloys

Magnesium alloys with a long-period stacking ordered(LPSO)structure usually possess excellent static strength,but their fatigue behaviors are poorly understood.This work presents the effect of the LPSO structure on the crack behaviors of Mg alloys in a very high cycle fatigue(VHCF)regime.The LPSO lamellas lead to a facet-like cracking process along the basal planes at the crack initiation site and strongly prohibit the early crack propagation by deflecting the growth direction.The stress intensity factor at the periphery of the faceted area is much higher than the conventional LPSO-free Mg alloys,contributing higher fatigue crack propagation threshold of LPSO-containing Mg alloys.Microstructure observation at the facets reveals a layer of ultrafine grains at the fracture surface due to the cyclic contact of the crack surface,which supports the numerous cyclic pressing model describing the VHCF crack initiation behavior.

灭菌温度对超细晶Zn-0.3Mn合金力学和腐蚀性能的影响

通过大塑性变形(铸造-热挤压-多道次旋锻)制备了面向医用骨科植入应用领域的可降解超细晶(UFG)Zn-0.3Mn合金(Original),进而研究了其在低温灭菌(t 55)、蒸汽灭菌(t 120)和干热灭菌(t 180)温度状态下微观组织、力学性能、腐蚀性能的变化。研究发现:随着灭菌温度的提高,合金再结晶程度逐步加剧,主相晶粒尺寸和MnZn 13相颗粒尺寸均有所增加;力学性能方面,合金的纳米硬度和弹性模量会随着灭菌温度升高而逐渐提高;腐蚀性能方面,归因于晶界密度和MnZn 13相比例降低,减少了腐蚀起始点,合金腐蚀速率逐步下降。因而,灭菌温度会对可降解超细晶Zn-0.3Mn合金微观组织、力学性能和腐蚀性能产生足够大的影响,对于锌基植入器械的灭菌方法要尽量避免升温过程。

Enhanced Strength-Ductility Synergy in Submerged Friction Stir Processing ER2319 Alloy Manufactured by Wire-Arc Additive Manufacturing via Creating Ultrafine Microstructure

Submerged friction stir processing(SFSP)with flowing water was employed to alleviate the porosities and coarse-grained structure introduced by wire-arc manufacturing.As a result,uniform and ultrafine grained(UFG)structure with average grain size of 0.83μm was achieved with the help of sharply reduced heat input and holding time at elevated temperature.The optimized UFG structure enabled a superior combination of strength and ductility with high ultimate tensile strength and elongation of 273.17 MPa and 15.39%.Specifically,grain refinement strengthening and decentralized θ(Al_(2)Cu)phase in the sample subjected to SFSP made great contributions to the enhanced strength.In addition,the decrease in residual stresses and removal of pores substantially enhance the ductility.High rates of cooling and low temperature cycling,which are facilitated by the water-cooling environment throughout the machining process,are vital in obtaining superior microstructures.This work provides a new method for developing a uniform and UFG structure with excellent mechanical properties.

Superplastic behavior of an ultrafine-grained Mg-13Zn-1.55Y alloy with a high volume fraction of icosahedral phases prepared by high-ratio differential speed rolling

An ultrafine-grained（UFG） Mg-13Zn-1.55 Y alloy（ZW132） with a high volume fraction（7.4%） of icosahedral phase（I-phase, Mg;Zn;Y） particles was prepared by applying high-ratio differential speed rolling（HRDSR） on the cast microstructure following homogenization. The alloy exhibited excellent superplasticity at low temperatures(tensile elongations of 455% and 1021% 473 K-10;s;and 523 K-10;s;,respectively). Compared with UFG Mg-9.25Zn-1.66 Y alloy（ZW92） with a lower volume fraction of I-phase particles（4.1%）, which was prepared using the same processing routes, the UFG ZW132 alloy exhibited a higher thermal stability of grain size. Rapid grain coarsening, however, occurred at temperatures beyond523 K, leading to a loss of superplasticity. The high-temperature deformation behavior of the HRDSRprocessed ZW132 alloy could be well described assuming that the mechanisms of grain boundary sliding and dislocation climb creep competed with each other and considering that the grain-size was largely increased by accelerated grain growth at the temperatures beyond 523 K.

镁硅原子比对超细晶Al-Mg-Si合金微观结构及性能的影响

研究了Mg/Si原子比对超细晶铝镁硅合金微观结构和力学/电学性能的影响。结果表明,Mg/Si原子比对析出相的尺寸十分敏感,同时析出相的密度及析出相的间距也与Mg/Si原子比有很强的关系。最优的Mg/Si原子比为1.48,此时析出相最密集,并且使得合金具备最高的硬度和导电率。通过分析超细晶尺度下的析出行为以及析出相与硬度-导电率的关系,认为试验结果是合理的。考虑了超细晶Al-Mg-Si合金中晶粒尺寸、位错、固溶原子和析出相对强度的综合贡献,建立了强度模型。模型的计算结果也很好的契合了试验结果。超细晶Al-Mg-Si合金中的析出相可同时提高合金的强度和导电率,这对于设计具有良好综合性能的超细晶铝合金具有帮助。

Influence of different solution methods on microstructure, precipitation behavior and mechanical properties of Al-Mg-Si alloy

The effects of different solution methods on microstructure, mechanical properties and precipitation behavior of Al-Mg-Si alloy were investigated by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, tensile test, and differential scanning calorimetry. The results revealed that the recrystallized grains of the alloy after the solution treatment with hot air became smaller and more uniform, compared with solution treatment with electrical resistance. The texture of the alloy after two solution treatment methods was different. More rotated cube components were formed through solution treatment with electrical resistance, which was better for improving the drawability of the alloy. The strength of the alloy under the solution treatment with hot air was higher before stamping, because of the small uniform grains and many clusters in the matrix. The alloy solution treated with hot air also possessed good bake hardenability, because the transformation occurred on more clusters in the matrix.

Effects of doping route on microstructure and mechanical properties of W−1.0wt.%La2O3 alloys

A comparative study was conducted by using solution combustion synthesis with three different doping routes(liquid-liquid(WL10), liquid-solid(WLNO) and solid-solid(WLO)) to produce nanoscale powders and further fabricate the ultrafine-grained W-1.0 wt.%La2O3 alloys by pressureless sintering. Compared with pure tungsten, W-1.0 wt.%La2O3 alloys exhibit ultrafine grains and excellent mechanical properties. After sintering, the average grain size of the WLO sample is larger than that of WL10 and WLNO samples;the microhardness values of WL10 and WLNO samples are similar but larger than the value of WLO sample. The optimized La2O3 particles are obtained in the WL10 sample after sintering at 1500 ℃ with the minimum mean size by comparing with WLNO and WLO samples, which are uniformly distributed either at grain boundaries or in the grain interior with the sizes of(57±29.7) and(27±13.1) nm, respectively. This study exhibits ultrafine microstructure and outperforming mechanical properties of the W-1.0 wt.%La2O3 alloy via the liquid-liquid doping route, as compared with conventionally-manufactured tungsten materials.

New Heat Treatment Technology for Grain Refining of Structural Steel

The application of electrical contact heating （ECH） in austenitic grain refining of ultra-pure 42CrMoVNb steel was introduced. The ECH equipment was designed to reach uniform heating of uniform heat transfer in the sample. The 42CrMoVNb steel treated possesses uniform microstructure with an average austenite grain size of 1.4 μm, higher strength （1 538 MPa） and impact toughness （81J/cm^2）.

Fabrication of large-bulk ultrafine grained 6061 aluminum alloy by rolling and low-heat-input friction stir welding

In this study, the ultrafine grained （UFG） 6061 Al alloys fabricated by cold rolling were friction stir welded （FSW） with different rotation rates under both air cooling and rapid cooling in water. Low-heat-input parameters of 400 rpm rotation rate in water （400-Water） could effectively inhibit the coarsening of recrystallized grains, reduce the precipitation rate, and retain more dislocations of the UFG 6061 Al parent metal. 400-Water joint showed high lowest-hardness value, narrow low-hardness zone, and high tensile strength, attributing to the effect of dislocation, grain boundary, solid-solution, and precipitation hardening. This work provides an effective strategy to fabricate large-sized bulk UFG AI alloy by cold rolling with large deformation and low-heat-input FSW.

Microstructure refinement and second phase particle regulation of Mo-Y_(2)O_(3) alloys by minor TiC additive

The oxide dispersion strengthened Mo alloys(ODS-Mo)prepared by traditional ball milling and subsequent sintering technique generally possess comparatively coarse Mo grains and large oxide particles at Mo grain boundaries(GBs),which obviously suppress the corresponding strengthening effect of oxide addition.In this work,the Y_(2)O_(3) and TiC particles were simultaneously doped into Mo alloys using ball-milling and subsequent low temperature sintering.Accompanied by TiC addition,the Mo-Y_(2)O_(3) grains are sharply refined from 3.12 to 1.36μm.In particular,Y_(2)O_(3) and TiC can form smaller Y-Ti-O-C quaternary phase particles(~230 nm)at Mo GBs compared to single Y_(2)O_(3) particles(~420 nm),so as to these new formed Y-Ti-O-C particles can more effectively pin and hinder GBs movement.In addition to Y-Ti-O-C particles at GBs,Y_(2)O_(3),TiOx,and TiCx nanoparticles(<100 nm)also exist within Mo grains,which is significantly different from traditional ODS-Mo.The appearance of TiOx phase indicates that some active Ti within TiC can adsorb oxygen impurities of Mo matrix to form a new strengthening phase,thus strengthening and purifying Mo matrix.Furthermore,the pure Mo,Mo-Y_(2)O_(3),and Mo-Y_(2)O_(3)-TiC alloys have similar relative densities(97.4%-98.0%).More importantly,the Mo-Y_(2)O_(3)-TiC alloys exhibit higher hardness(HV0.2(425±25))compared to Mo-Y_(2)O_(3) alloys(HV0.2(370±25)).This work could provide a relevant strategy for the preparation of ultrafine Mo alloys by facile ball-milling.

Temperature-dependent tensile properties of ultrafine-grained C-doped CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy

Metallic materials can be strengthened by various kinds of plastic deformation strategies.However,the deformed materials suffer poor ductility and thermal stability due to the high-density defects.In this work,we prepared fully recrystallized ultrafine-grained(UFG)1%CCoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy(C-HEA)through cold rolling and annealing process.Quasi-static tensile tests were performed at temperatures between 77 and 823 K.Deformation micros true tures of the samples after tensile tests were characterized,and deformation mechanisms were discussed.There is a transition of deformation mechanisms from twinning and dislocation slip to dislocation slip and grain boundary sliding with temperature increasing.The UFG C-HEA exhibits balanced strength and ductility from the cryogenic temperature to high temperatures,indicating highly adaptive microstructure and mechanical properties.The strength and uniform elongation of the UFG C-HEA decrease monotonously with temperature increasing,but the elongation to failure exhibits the lowest value at the medium temperature.The grain boundary sliding is supposed to assist the unconventionally high elongation at 823 K.