Effect of quenching cooling rate on residual stress and microstructure evolution of 6061 aluminum alloy

In this study,the cooling rate was manipulated by quenching with water of different temperatures(30,60 and 100℃).Surface and internal residual stresses in the quenched 6061 aluminum alloy samples were measured using hole-drilling and crack compliance methods,respectively.Then,the processability of the quenched samples was evaluated at cryogenic temperatures.The mechanical properties of the as-aged samples were assessed,and microstructure evolution was analyzed.The surface residual stresses of samples W30℃,W60℃and W100℃is−178.7,−161.7 and−117.2 MPa,respectively along x-direction,respectively;and−191.2,−172.1 and−126.2 MPa,respectively along y-direction.The sample quenched in boiling water displaying the lowest residual stress(~34%and~60%reduction in the surface and core).The generation and distribution of quenching residual stress could be attributed to the lattice distortion gradient.Desirable plasticity was also exhibited in the samples with relatively low quenching cooling rates at cryogenic temperatures.The strengthes of the as-aged samples are 291.2 to 270.1 MPa as the quenching water temperature increase from 30℃to 100℃.Fine and homogeneous β"phases were observed in the as-aged sample quenched with boiling water due to the clusters and Guinier-Preston zones(GP zones)premature precipitated during quenching process.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of stationary shoulder friction stir welding joint of 2A14-T62 aluminum alloy

2A14-T62 butt joint was successfully welded by stationary shoulder friction stir welding(SSFSW)method.The results showed that using a pin with small shoulder could broaden the process window,and under a rotation speed of 2000 r/min and welding speed of 30 mm/min,joint with smooth surface,small reduction in thickness and little inner defects was obtained.The weld nugget zone was approx-imately circular,which was a unique morphology for SSFSW.The heat-affected zone(HAZ)and thermo-mechanically affected zone(TMAZ)were both quite narrow due to the lower heat input and slight mechanical action of the stationary shoulder.The fraction of high angle grain boundaries(HAGBs)exhibited a“W”shape along horizontal direction(from advancing side to retreating side),and the minim-um value located at HAZ.The average ultimate tensile strength and elongation of the joint were 325 MPa and 4.5%,respectively,with the joint efficiency of 68.3%.The joint was ductile fractured and the fracture surface contained two types of dimples morphology in different re-gions of the joint.Microhardness distribution in the joint exhibited a“W”shape,and the difference along the thickness direction was negli-gible.The joint had strong stress corrosion cracking susceptibility,and the slow stain rate tensile strength was 139 MPa.Microcrack and Al2O3 particulates were observed at the fracture surface.

Evolution of residual stress field in 6N01 aluminum alloy friction stir welding joint

Based on the characteristics of friction stir welding( FSW) and Coulomb friction work theory,the residual stresses field of FSW joints of 6 N01 aluminum alloy( T5),which was used in high speed train,were calculated by using the ANSYS finite element software. During the FEM calculation,the dual heat source models namely the body heat source and surface heat source were used to explore the evolution law of the welding process to the residual stress field. The method of ultrasonic residual stress detecting was used to investigate the residual stresses field of the 6 N01 aluminum alloy FSW joints. The results show that the steady-state temperature of 6 N01 aluminum alloy during FSW is about 550 ℃,and the temperature mutates at the beginning and at end of welding. The longitudinal residual stress σ_x is the main stress,which fluctuates in the range of-25 to 242 MPa. Moreover,the stress in the range of shaft shoulder is tensile stress that the maximum tensile stress is 242 MPa,and the stress in the outside of shaft shoulder is compressive stress that the maximum compressive stress is 25 MPa. The distribution of the tensile stress in the welding nugget zone( WNZ) is obviously bimodal,and the residual stress on the advancing side is higher than that on the retreating side. With the increasing of the welding speed,the maximum temperature decreased and the maximum residual stress decreased when the pin-wheel speed kept constant. With the increasing of the pin-wheel speed,the maximum temperature of the joint increased and the maximum residual stress increased when the welding speed was constant. The experimental results were in good agreement with the finite element results.

Butt-welding Residual Stress of Heat Treatable Aluminum Alloys

This study, taking three types of aluminum alloys 2024-T351, 6061-T6 and 7075-T6 as experimental materials, conducted single V-groove GTAW （gas tungsten arc welding） butt-welding to analyze and compare the magnitude and differences of residual stress in the three aluminum alloys at different single V-groove angles and in restrained or unrestrained conditions. The results show that the larger the grooving angle of butt joint, the higher the residual tensile stress. Too small grooving angle will lead to dramatic differences due to the amount of welding bead filler metal and pre-set joint geometry. Therefore, only an appropriate grooving angle can reduce residual stress. While welding, weldment in restrained condition will lead to a larger residual stress. Also, a residual stress will arise from the restraint position. The ultimate residual stress of weldment is determined by material yield strength at equilibrium temperature. The higher the yield strength at equilibrium temperature, the higher the material residual stress. Because of its larger thermal conductivity, aluminum alloy test specimens have small temperature differential. Therefore, the residual tensile stress of all materials is lower than their yield strength.

Residual stress analysis of 7075 aluminum alloy after vacuum electron beam welding

The residual stresses distribution of 7075 aluminum alloy in vacuum electron beam welding joint was numerically simulated using nonlinear finite element method. The result shows that the longitudinal residual stress is tension stress along weld center and the stress peak value appears in the middle of the welded seam; the transversal residual stress is compression stress ; the residual stress in thickness direction is very small.

Internal residual stress measurement on linear friction welding of titanium alloy plates with contour method

The internal residual stress within a TC 17 titanium alloy joint welded by linear friction welding （LFW） was measured by the contour method, which is a relatively new and destructive technique to obtain a full map of internal residual stress. The specimen was first cut into two parts; the out-of-plane displacement contour formed by the release of the residual stress was then measured; finally, taking the measured contour of the cut plane as the boundary conditions, a linear elastic finite element analysis was carried out to calculate the corresponding distribution of residual stress normal to the cut plane. The internal stress distribution of the TC 17 titanium alloy LFWjoint was also analyzed. The results show that the tensile residual stress in the TC17 LFW weld is mainly present within a region about 12 mm from the weld centerline; the peak tensile residual stress occurs at the weld centerline and reaches 360 MPa （about one third of the yield strength of TC17 alloy）; within the weld zone of the TC17 LFW weld, the through-thickness stress is not uniform, and the internal stress is larger than that near the top or bottom surface.

Prediction of vulnerable zones based on residual stress and microstructure in CMT welded aluminum alloy joint

Numerical simulation and experimental results were employed for the identification of the most vulnerable zones in three-pass cold-metal-transferring （CMT） welded joint. The residual stress distribution in the joint was predicted by finite element （FE） method, while the structural morphology of distinctive zones was obtained through metallographic experiments. The highest principal stress made the symmetric face of the joint most sensitive to tensile cracks under service conditions. Whereas, the boundaries between the weld seam and the base plates were sensitive to cracks because the equivalent von Mises stress was the highest when the first interpass cooling was finished. The third weld pass and the inter-pass remelted zones exhibited the modest mechanical performances as a result of the coarse grain and coarse grain boundary, respectively. The most vulnerable zones were regarded to be the crossed parts between the zones identified by numerical and experimental methods.

Residual stress with asymmetric spray quenching for thick aluminum alloy plates

Solution and quenching heat treatments are generally carried out in a roller hearth furnace for large-scale thick aluminum alloy plates.However,the asymmetric or uneven spray water flow rate is inevitable under industrial production conditions,which leads to an asymmetric residual stress distribution.The spray quenching treatment was conducted on self-designed spray equipment,and the residual stress along the thickness direction was measured by a layer removal method based on deflections.Under the asymmetric spray quenching condition,the subsurface stress of the high-flow rate surface was lower than that of the low-flow rate surface,and the difference between the two subsurface stresses increased with the increase in the difference in water flow rates.The subsurface stress underneath the surface with a water flow rate of 0.60 m^(3)/h was 15.38 MPa less than that of 0.15 m^(3)/h.The simulated residual stress by finite element(FE)method of the high heat transfer coefficient(HTC)surface was less than that of the low HTC surface,which is consistent with the experimental results.The FE model can be used to analyze the strain and stress evolution and predict the quenched stress magnitude and distribution.

Effects of welding parameters on weld shape and residual stresses in electron beam welded Ti_2AlNb alloy joints

In order to estimate the residual stresses in Ti2AlNb alloy jointed by electron beam welding (EBW), a computational approach based on finite element method was developed. Meanwhile, experiments were carried out to verify the numerical results. The comparison between the simulation results and measurements suggests that the developed computational approach has sufficient accuracy to predict the welding residual stress distributions. The results show that the central area of the fusion zone suffers tensile stresses in three directions. When the other parameters remain unchanged, the focus current has great impact on the weld shape and size, and then affects the residual stress level significantly. Moreover, the thick plate full-penetrated EBW weld suffers near 1000 MPa tensile stress of Z-direction in the center of the fusion zone. The wider weld has lower tensile stress in Z-direction, resulting in lower risk for cracking.

Effect of the initial ECAP passes on crystal texture and residual stresses of 5083 aluminum alloy

To produce a highly refined microstructure,several metals or alloys have been processed via equal-channel angular pressing(ECAP).In this work,the mechanical and microstructural changes of the 5083 aluminum alloy in H11 condition after processed by two ECAP passes were investigated.An ECAP H13 steel die with an inner angle(α)of 120°and outer curvature(β)of 20°was used.The microstructural changes were associated with the loss of texture symmetry.The morphologies of the Mg2Si andα-Al(Mn,Fe)Si precipitates for the sample at the initial condition were similar to those subjected to two ECAP passes.The peak broadening measured by X-ray diffraction revealed an increment of both grain refinement and microstrain.After the second extrusion pass,the hardness increased by 62%compared with the initial condition.Moreover,the heterogeneous hardness behavior was compatible with a highly localized dislocation density.After two ECAP passes,shear parallel bands were observed to be at nearly 45°to the extrusion direction.The evaluation of first-order residual stress as a function of the depth of the analyzed sample displayed compressive or tensile values,depending on the measured face.With the plastic deformation applied,the first and second-order residual stresses exhibited significant increment.Williamson-Hall plots showed positive slopes,indicating an increment in the microstrain.

Transverse stress-strain evolution during welding of thin aluminum alloy plate

The FE simulation results of transverse stresses and strains during welding of thin aluminum alloy plate are presented. The results indicate that restraint condition is the main factor that determines whether or not hot cracking will occur. With rigid restraint hot cracking (crater cracking) will occur at the arc-stopping end, and such cracking usually will not occur without external restraint. But under restraint-free condition it is easy for terminal cracks to occur.

Numerical simulation of residual stress and deformation for submerged arc welding of Q690D high strength low alloy steel thick plate

The finite element simulation software SYSWELD is used to numerically simulate the temperature field,residual stress field,and welding deformation of Q690D thick plate multi-layer and multi-pass welding under different welding heat input and groove angles.The simulation results show that as the welding heat input increases,the peak temperature during the welding process is higher,and the residual stress increases,they are all between 330–340 MPa,and the residual stress is concentrated in the area near the weld.The hole-drilling method is used to measure the actual welding residual stress,and the measured data is in good agreement with the simulated value.The type of post-welding deformation is angular deformation,and as the welding heat input increases,the maximum deformation also increases.It shows smaller residual stress and deformation when the groove angle is 40°under the same heat input.In engineering applications,under the premise of guaranteeing welding quality,smaller heat input and 40°groove angle should be used.

Prediction model of residual stress field in aluminum alloy plate

Residual stress distributions in 7075 aluminum alloy thick plates with different thicknesses and different quenching speeds were measured. A shape function of stress distribution was proposed based on the internal stress distribution characteristics of aluminum alloy. Using nonlinear regression technology,the function between stress value of key points on internal stress curve and surface stress of the plate was obtained. Based on the measured surface stress,stress value of key points and stress distribution shape,the internal stress distribution can be reconstructed. The experiments show that the model is of good engineering practicality.

Evaluation of residual stress relief of aluminum alloy 7050 by using crack compliance method

High strength aluminum alloys of 7xxx series have unacceptable levels of quenching residual stresses from solution heat treatment. The residual stress not only results in machining distortion and dimensional instability, but also increases the possibility of stress corrosion cracks. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the residual stress to an acceptable level. The crack compliance method was adopted to study the influences of various stress relief methods on residual stress patterns in 7050 aluminum alloy. The results show that 90% residual stress can be eliminated by the cold stretching(Tx51) method. And a lower level of residual stress can be achieved by the uphill quenching(Tx53) method or the cold compression(Tx52). However, there is a very steep residual stress gradient normal to exterior surfaces.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF CONTROLLING IN TITANIUM ALLOY SHEETS WELDING RESIDUAL STRESS BY TRAILING PEENING

It is a promising and new technology to apply welding with trailing peening to control welding stress and distortion of titanium alloy.Numerical simulation of conventional welding and welding with trailing peening of the titanium alloy sheet is carried out,using nonlinear finite element theory and the engineering analysis software MARC.The result shows that welding with trailing peening technology reduces longitudinal residual stress in welding joint effectively,and it is more effective to reduce residual stress to peen the weld than to peen the weld toe.It is a effective result that other technology and method used in welding can never achieved.

Residual Stress Relaxation of Thin‑walled Long Stringer Made of Aluminum Alloy 7050‑T7451 under Transportation Vibration

Thin-walled long stringer made of aluminum alloy 7050-T7451 is prone to deformation during transportation,so a research of residual stress relaxation was launched in this paper.The transport resonance stress of long stringer was analyzed based on the power spectral density of road transport acceleration.The residual stress relaxation experiment of aluminum alloy 7050-T7451 under different equivalent stress levels was designed and carried out.According to the amount of residual stress relaxation in the experiment,an analytical model was established with the equivalent stress level coefficient.The deflection range of long stringer was evaluated under different damping ratios.The results show that when the equivalent stress exceeds 0.8σ0.2,the residual stress relaxation of the thin-walled samples occurs.The residual stress relaxation increases linearly with the equivalent stress,which is logarithmically related to the loading cycle.The deformation caused by residual stress relaxation of the long stringer is proportional to the square of the length and the bending moment caused by stress rebalance,and inversely proportional to the moment of inertia of the structure.As the damping ratio decreases from 0.03 to 0.01,the total deflection of the long stringer increases from 0 to above 1.55 mm.

Simulation of temperature and stress in 6061 aluminum alloy during online quenching process

The cooling curves of 6061 aluminum alloy were acquired through water quenching experiment. The heat transfer coefficient was accurately calculated based on the cooling curves and the law of cooling. The online quenching process of complex cross-section profile was dynamically simulated by the ABAQUS software. The results suggest that the heat transfer coefficient changes during online quenching process. Different parts of the profile have different cooling velocity, and it was verified by water quenching experiment. The maximum residual stress of the profile was predicted using FEM simulation based on ABAQUS software The relations between the temperature and stress were presented by analyzing the data of key points.

Residual Stress Distribution of Asymmetric Quenching in Al-Zn-Mg-Cu Aluminum Alloy Plate

The residual stress distribution for two strategies of asymmetric quenching in Al-Zn-Mg-Cu aluminum alloy plates has been simulated using the finite element method. The results show that for asymmetric quenching between the upper and lower surfaces, the through-thickness asymmetric quenching residual stress distribution lies between the two distributions corre-sponding to the heat transfer coefficients on the upper and lower surfaces respectively. The surface and central stress magnitudes are equal to the average of the stress magnitudes corresponding to the two heat transfer coefficients. For asymmetric quenching of a single surface, the surface stress distribution is the same as the heat transfer coefficient distribution and the stress magnitude is equal to the stress magnitude corresponding to the average value of the heat transfer coefficients at each location. However, the center quench residual stress distribution is approximately uniform and the stress magnitude is equal to the average of the stress magnitudes corresponding to the maximum and minimum heat transfer coefficients.

Evolution of Residual Stresses in Micro-arc Oxidation Ceramic Coatings on 6061 Al Alloy

Most researches on micro-arc oxidation mainly focus on the application rather than discovering the evolution of residual stresses. However, residual stresses in the surface coatings of structural components have adverse effects on their properties, such as fatigue life, dimensional stability and corrosion resistance, etc. The micro-arc oxidation ceramic coatings are produced on the surfaces of 6061 aluminum alloy by a homemade asymmetric AC type of micro-arc oxidation equipment of 20 kW. A constant current density of 4.4___0.1 A/dm2 and a self-regulated composite electrolyte are used. The micro-arc oxidation treatment period ranges from 10 min to 40 min, and the thickness of the ceramic coatings is more than 20 Bin. Residual stresses attributed to 7-A1203 constituent in the coatings at different micro-arc oxidation periods are analyzed by an X-ray diffractometer using the sin2~u method. The analysis results show that the residual stress in the ceramic coatings is compressive in nature, and it increases first and then decreases with micro-arc oxidation time increase. The maximum stress value is 1 667_＋20 MPa for period of 20 min. Through analyzing the coating thickness, surface morphology and phase composition, it is found that the residual stress in the ceramic coatings is linked closely with the coating growth, the phase composition and the micro cracks formed. It is also found that both the heat treatment and the ultrasonic action release remarkably the residual compressive stress. The heat treatment makes the residual compressive stress value decrease 1 378 MPa. The ultrasonic action even alters the nature of the residual stress, making the residual compressive stress change into a residual tensile stress.

An investigation on the performance of stress corrosion cracking in aluminum-copper alloy welded joint

With the resistance to stress corrosion of the base metal as a reference, the contrast result of stress corrosion cracking （ SCC） susceptibility of aluminum-copper alloy 2219 and 2014 welded joints under different welding processes （ VP-TIG welding, HF-TIG hybrid welding, laser-TIG hybrid welding and laser HF-TIG hybrid welding） is obtained via the slow strain rate testing （ SSRT） , scanning electron microscope （ SEM） and microstructure observation auxiliary technologies. Test results show that the joints of aluminum alloy 2219, welded by hybrid welding processes, have superior resistance to stress corrosion compared to those welded by the VP-TIG welding process in varying degrees, especially, the joint welded by the laser HF-TIG hybrid welding process, where the resistance to stress corrosion is almost the same as that of the base material. However, the HF or laser hybrid welding effect is not significant under the same welding conditions for welded joints of aluminum alloy 2014.