Unveiling the influence of dendrite characteristics on the slip/twinning activity and the strain hardening capacity of Mg-Sn-Li-Zn cast alloys

This work explores the correlation between the characteristics of the cast structure(dendrite growth pattern,dendrite morphology and macro-texture)and strain hardening capacity during high temperature deformation of Mg-5Sn-0.3Li-0 and 3Zn multi-component alloys.The three dimensional(3D)morphology of the dendrite structure demonstrates the transition of the growth directions from<1123>,<1120>and<1122>to<1123>and<1120>due to the addition of Zn.The simultaneous effects of growing tendency and the decrement of dendrite coarsening rate at the solidification interval lead to dendrite morphology transition from the globular-like to the hyper-branch structure.This morphology transition results in the variation of the solidification macro-texture,which has effectively influenced the dominant deformation mechanisms(slip/twin activity).The higher activity of the slip systems increases the tendency of the dendrite arms for bending along the deformation direction and fragmentation.Apart from this,the dendrite holding hyper-branch structure with an average thickness below 20μm are more favorable for fragmentation.The dendrite fragmentation leads to considerable softening fractions,and as an effective strain compensation mechanism increases the workability of dendritic structure.

Mechanical property and biological behaviour of additive manufactured TiNi functionally graded lattice structure

Bio-inspired porous metallic scaffolds have tremendous potential to be used as artificial bone substitutes.In this work,a radially graded lattice structure (RGLS),which mimics the structures of natural human bones,was designed and processed by laser powder bed fusion of martensitic Ti-rich TiNi powder.The asymmetric tension-compression behaviour,where the compressive strength is significantly higher than the tensile strength,is observed in this Ti-rich TiNi material,which echoes the mechanical behaviour of bones.The morphologies,mechanical properties,deformation behaviour,and biological compatibility of RGLS samples were characterised and compared with those in the uniform lattice structure.Both the uniform and RGLS samples achieve a relative density higher than 99%.The graded porosities and pore sizes in the RGLS range from 40%-80% and 330-805 µm,respectively,from the centre to the edge.The chemical etching has significantly removed the harmful partially-melted residual powder particles on the lattice struts.The compressive yield strength of RGLS is 71.5 MPa,much higher than that of the uniform sample (46.5 MPa),despite having a similar relative density of about 46%.The calculated Gibson-Ashby equation and the deformation behaviour simulation by finite element suggest that the dense outer regions with high load-bearing capability could sustain high applied stress,improving the overall strength of RGLS significantly.The cell proliferation study suggests better biological compatibility of the RGLS than the uniform structures.The findings highlight a novel strategy to improve the performance of additively manufactured artificial implants by bio-inspiration.