Modeling of hot deformation behavior and prediction of flow stress in a magnesium alloy using constitutive equation and artificial neural network(ANN)model

The aim of the present study was to investigate the modeling and prediction of the high temperature flow characteristics of a cast magnesium(Mg-Al-Ca)alloy by both constitutive equation and ANN model.Toward this end,hot compression experiments were performed in 250-450℃and in strain rates of 0.001-1 s^(−1).The true stress of alloy was first and foremost described by the hyperbolic sine function in an Arrhenius-type of constitutive equation taking the effects of strain,strain rate and temperature into account.Predictions indicated that unlike low strain rates and high temperature with dominant DRX activation,in relatively high strain rate and low temperature values,the precision of the models become decreased due to activation of twinning phenomenon.At that moment and for a better evaluation of twinning effect during deformation,a feed-forward back propagation ANN was developed to study the flow behavior of the investigated alloy.Then,the performance of the two suggested models has been assessed using a statistical criterion.The comparative assessment of the gained results specifies that the well-trained ANN is much more precise and accurate than the constitutive equations in predicting the hot flow behavior.

Investigation on the homogenization treatment and element segregation on the microstructure of a γ/γ′-cobalt-based superalloy

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of element segregation on the microstructure and γ′ phase in a γ/γ′ cobalt-based superalloy. Several samples were prepared from a cast alloy and homogenized at 1300°C for different times, with a maximum of 24 h. A microstructural study of the cast alloy using wavelength-dispersive spectroscopic analysis revealed that elements such as Al, Ti, and Ni segregated mostly within interdendritic regions, whereas W atoms were segregated within dendrite cores. With an increase in homogenization time, segregation decreased and the initial dendritic structure was eliminated. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy micrographs showed that the γ′ phases in the cores and interdendritic regions of the as-cast alloy were 392 and 124 nm, respectively. The size difference of γ′ was found to be due to the different segregation behaviors of constituent elements during solidification. After homogenization, particularly after 16 h, segregation decreased; thus, the size, chemical composition, and hardness of the precipitated γ′ phase was mostly uniform throughout the samples.

Experimental and numerical study on plasma nitriding of AISI P20 mold steel

In this study, plasma nitriding was used to fabricate a hard protective layer on AISI P20 steel, at three process temperatures（450℃, 500℃, and 550℃） and over a range of time periods（2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10 h）, and at a fixed gas N2：H2 ratio of 75vol%：25vol%. The morphology of samples was studied using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and the formed phase of each sample was determined by X-ray diffraction. The elemental depth profile was measured by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, wavelength dispersive spectroscopy, and glow dispersive spectroscopy. The hardness profile of the samples was identified, and the microhardness profile from the surface to the sample center was recorded. The results show that ε-nitride is the dominant species after carrying out plasma nitriding in all strategies and that the plasma nitriding process improves the hardness up to more than three times. It is found that as the time and temperature of the process increase, the hardness and hardness depth of the diffusion zone considerably increase. Furthermore, artificial neural networks were used to predict the effects of operational parameters on the mechanical properties of plastic mold steel. The plasma temperature, running time of imposition, and target distance to the sample surface were all used as network inputs; Vickers hardness measurements were given as the output of the model. The model accurately reproduced the experimental outcomes under different operational conditions; therefore, it can be used in the effective simulation of the plasma nitriding process in AISI P20 steel.

Effect of magnesium and nickel coatings on the wetting behavior of alumina toughened zirconia by molten Al-Mg alloy

The wettability of alumina toughened zirconia （ZTA） by Al-Mg alloy was investigated using the sessile drop technique. The ef fects of nickel coating, magnesium content, nitrogen atmosphere, and processing temperature on the contact angle between the molten alloy and the substrate were determined. Likewise, the effect of these factors on the wetting properties was studied. The results showed that the nickel coating on the ceramic substrate caused a significant reduction in solid/liquid surface energy and the contact angle decreased obvi- ously. The presence of magnesium in the molten aluminum alloy in nitrogen atmosphere reduced the contact angle effectively. The presence of magnesium in the alloy must be at a minimum amount of 2wt%-3wt% . Moreover, it was suggested that some chemical reactions in the Al-Mg-N system led to the production of Mg3N2 and AlN compositions. These compositions improved the wetting properties of the systems by reducing the surface energy of the molten. It was shown that increasing the temperature is also an effective factor for the enhancement of wetting properties.

Effect of Al powder and silica sol on the structure and mechanical properties of Al_2O_3-ZrO_2 foams

Polymeric sponge replication method is one of the common ways for ceramic foam production. The existence of central triangular voids in the struts results in a decrease of mechanical properties limiting their applications. To remove this defect, some additives consisting of Al powder particles and silica sol are added to ceramic slurries consisting of Al2O3 and ZrO2 （partially stabilized zirconia）. With increasing temperature for pyrolyzing and sintering of raw materials, first the Al powder and then the glass phase which consisted of melted Al2O3, ZrO2 and SiO2 was soaked into hollow struts. SEM investigations showed that the center of foam struts were free of hollows. XRD considerations depicted that a ZrO2 phase with tetragonal crystallographic structure is present in the produced foam which could be the reason of improved toughness and mechanical properties. Compressive strength of foams increased significantly due to the decrease of closed porosity. The Weibull statistical study showed remarkable increasing of the Weibull module and its value for foams with 10, 20 and 30 ppi was 5.91, 6.06 and 6.53 respectively.