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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Role of extrusion rate on the microstructure and tensile properties evolution of ultrahigh-strength low-alloy Mg-1.0Al-1.0Ca-0.4Mn(wt.%)alloy

Mg-1.0Al-1.0Ca-0.4Mn(AXM1104, wt.%) low alloy was extruded at 200 ℃ with an extrusion ratio of 25 and different ram speeds from 1.0 to 7.0 mm/s. The influence of extrusion rate on microstructure and mechanical properties of the AXM1104 alloy was systematically studied. With the increasing of extrusion rate, the mean dynamically recrystallized(DRXed) grain size of the low alloy and average particles diameter of precipitate second phases were increased, while the degree of grain boundary segregation and the intensity of the basal fiber texture were decreased. With the rising of extrusion rate from 1.0 to 7.0 mm/s, the tensile yield strength(TYS) of the as-extruded AXM1104 alloy was decreased from 445 MPa to 249 MPa, while the elongation to failure(EL) was increased from 5.0% to 17.6%. The TYS, ultimate tensile strength(UTS) and EL of the AXM1104 alloy extruded at the ram speed of 1.5 mm/s was 412 MPa, 419 MPa and 12.0%, respectively,exhibiting comprehensive tensile mechanical properties with ultra-high strength and excellent plasticity. The ultra-high TYS of 412 MPa was mainly due to the strengthening from ultra-fine DRXed grains with segregation of solute atoms at grain boundaries. The strain hardening rate is increase slightly with increasing extrusion speed, which may be ascribed to the increasing mean DRXed grain size with rising extrusion speed. The higher strain hardening rate contributes to the higher EL of these AXM1104 samples extruded at higher ram speed.

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 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.

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.

Annealing hardening effect aroused by solute segregation in gradient ultrafine-grained Mg-Gd-Zr alloy

In this study,a remarkable annealing hardening effect was detected in gradient ultrafine-grained(UFG)Mg-0.32Gd-0.11Zr(at.%)alloy sheet fabricated by sliding friction treatment(SFT).Under the precipitation-free condition,the annealed UFG structure shows an obvious hardness increment from 1.40 GPa to 1.89 GPa after 200℃ heating for 12 h,which exhibits a much higher hardening response than the annealed coarse-grained(CG)structure.The high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission elec-tron microscopy(HAADF-STEM)and elemental mapping reveal prominent segregation of solute Gd atoms along grain boundaries,which endows the UFG structure with excellent grain boundary stability.More-over,Gd segregation is also found around the extrinsic stacking fault(E-SFs)and the low-angle grain boundaries composed of edge dislocations.The large-scale solute partitioning provides a significant seg-regation hardening effect,which completely resists the softening effect aroused by the grain coarsening and dislocation annihilation.This work realizes a good combination of surface mechanical processing for fabricating UFGs and subsequent heat treatment,which earns desirable segregation hardening effects.

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.

High-performance Mg–Zn alloy achieved by the ultrafine grain and nanoparticle design

Improving the comprehensive performance of low alloyed Mg is a significant challenge for biomedical applications.This paper developed a high-performance Mg–Zn alloy with uniform ultrafine grains and nano-precipitates through a straightforward,high-temperature reciprocating equal channel angle extrusion(ECAP)process and researched the microstructure,mechanical property,degradation behaviour,and biocompatibility of the developed alloy.Results showed that the lean Mg–2Zn alloy successfully refined grain to about 1μm and produced plenty of nano-particles with uniform distribution,providing high comprehensive mechanical properties(YS:235 MPa,UTS:267 MPa,EL:15.6%).Additionally,Zn-riched nano-particles in the matrix could decrease the Zn aggregation at the corrosion layer-matrix interface and form a dense oxide film,achieving a low degradation rate(0.13 mm/year in vivo).Finally,this work realizes the low alloy content,low cost,and good properties of one biodegradable Mg alloy,which will benefit the promotion of future clinical applications.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of cryo-rolled AA6061 Al alloy

The microstructure and mechanical properties of the age hardening AA6061 Al alloy subjected to cryo-rolling（CR） and room temperature rolling（RTR） treatments were investigated. The rolled and aged alloys were analyzed by using DSC, EBSD, TEM, Vickers hardness analysis and tensile test. The results show that the cryo-rolled treatment has an effect on the precipitation sequence of AA6061 Al alloy. The ultrafine grain structures are formed to promote the fine second phase particles to disperse in the aluminum matrix after the peak aging, which is attributed to lots of dislocations tangled in the rolling process. Therefore, the strength and ductility of AA6061 Al alloy are simultaneously modified after the cryo-rolling and aging treatment compared with room temperature rolled one.

Effect of milling time on microstructure of Ti35Nb2.5Sn/10HA biocomposite fabricated by powder metallurgy and sintering

A new β-Ti based Ti35Nb2.5Sn/10 hydroxyapitite（HA） biocompatible composite was fabricated by mechanical milling and pulsed current activated sintering（PCAS）.The microstructures of Ti35Nb2.5Sn/10HA powder particles and composites sintered from the milled powders were studied.Results indicated that α-Ti phase began to transform into β-Ti phase after the powders were mechanically milled for 8 h.After mechanical milling for 12 h,α-Ti completely transformed into β-Ti phase,and the ultra fine Ti35Nb2.5Sn/10HA composite powders were obtained.And ultra fine grain sized Ti35Nb2.5Sn/10HA sintered composites were obtained by PCAS.The hardness and relative density of the sintered composites both increased with increasing the ball milling time.