Isothermal grain growth of reactive spray formed 7075 alloys in semi-solid state

The grain growth behavior in reactive spray formed 7075+2.91 vol percent TiCAl alloy was studied and compared with that of spray formed 7075 Al alloy at semi-solid state. Theeffects of in-situ TiC particles on the microstructure of spray formed 7075 Al alloy were alsoinvestigated. The specimens were heat-treated isothermally at various temperatures between thesolidus and liquidus of 7075 Al alloy for times in the range of 10-60 min, then quenched in water.The microstructure of reheated specimens was characterized using scanning electron microscopy andoptical microscopy. The grain size was measured using a mean linear intercept method. Results showthat the in-situ TiC particles can effectively retard grain growth and refine the grain at a limitedsize. The grain growth exponent in Arrhenius equation increases from 2 to 3, which indicates thatthe in-situ TiC particles have the significant pinning effect on grain coarsening in the semi-solidstate.

A new model for life prediction of GH4133 under TMF conditions

Thermal mechanical cyclic strain tests were carried out under in-phase andout-of-phase conditions on a Nickel-base Superalloy GH4133 in the temperature range of 571-823 degC. Based on analyzing the present models of TMF (thermal mechanical fatigue) life prediction, a newmodel for predicting nickel-base superalloy TMF lifetime was proposed. TMF life of superalloy GH4133was calculated accurately based on the new model. Experimental TMF life has been compared with thecalculated results and all results fall in the scatter band of 1.5. The calculating results showthat the new model is not only simple, but also precise. This model will play great roles as lifeprediction of the metal materials and the engineering components subjected to non-isothermal serviceconditions.

Interaction of fatigue and creep of GH33 under multi-axial stress at high temperature

Low-cycle fatigue experiments of tension-compression, torsion andtension-torsion with holding time were performed. The interaction law of creep and fatigue undermultiaxial stress at high temperature was investigated, and the micro-mechanism of equilibriumdiagrams was analyzed. A united equation of fatigue life under multiaxial stress was proposed.

Deposition of cerium contained conversion films on LC4 alloy with square wave pulse method

Cerium contained conversion films were deposited on LC4 aluminum alloy usingsquare wave pulse (SWP) in a CeCl_3 solution with KMnO_4 as the oxidant. Energy dispersivespectroscopy (EDS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were adopted to study the composition andthe morphology of the film. It is found that the film is composed of Al, Zn, Cu, and small amount ofcerium. The polarization curves of the specimens treated with SWP technique measured in 3.5% (massfraction) NaCl solution reveal that the film thus formed inhibits both the anodic and cathodicprocess of the corrosion of the specimen. The immersion tests of treated specimens in 3.5% NaClsolution indicate that the corrosion resistance of the SWP treated specimen is better than that ofthe untreated and is equivalent to or even better than that of the traditionally electro-chemicallytreated specimens.

Solidification structures of high niobium containing TiAl alloys

To understand the effect of alloy stoichiometry on the microstructural development and mechanical behavior of γ-TiAl- based materials, it is necessary to have a determination of the phase relationships for the TiAl alloy system near the γ phase field. Cast structures and phases of Ti-(43-47)Al-8Nb-(1-2)Mn (at%) alloys have been studied by using scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction. Their solidification path and microstructure development during the solidification were analyzed. The experimental results show that the alloys with different Al contents form different macrostructures and microstructural morphologies. This indi- cates that the solidification paths are different with different Al contents. The alloy with 43Al forms equiaxed grain structure, and the solidification path is as follows: L —? L+β —? β —? α+β —> α+β cores —> O2+γ+B2 cores. Whereas the alloy with 47Al forms colum- nar grain structure, and the solidification path is as follows: L —> L+β —? α+β+L —? α+γ+β cores —> tXj+γ+BZ cores. The p phase is their primary solid phase and can be retained to ambient temperature. The alloy with 43Al solidifies completely into β phase. The peritectic reactions L+P —> α and L+α-? γ appear when the Al content increases to 47Al.

Effect of pre-annealing on thermal stability of amorphous Zr-Cu-Ni alloy

The influence of pre-annealing on thermal stability of the amorphousZr_(70)Cu_(20)Ni_(10) alloy was reported by employing the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) techniques. It has been observed thatthe supercooled liquid region decreases with increasing the annealing time under isothermalconditions, indicating that the thermal stability of the amorphous Zr_(70)Cu_(20)Ni_(10) alloydecreases gradually. HRTEM observations reveal that there exist some ordered atomic clusters in theamorphous matrix at the relaxation stage. These ordered atomic clusters can be regarded asprecursors for the precipitation of the crystalline phases in the subsequent crystal-lizationprocess. The reasons resulting in the decrease in thermal stability of the amorphousZr_(70)Cu_(20)Ni_(10) alloy with annealing time are discussed through the Gaussian decomposition forthe radial distribution function of the amorphous Zr_(70)Cu_(20)Ni_(10) alloy.

Effect of Precipitating Phases on Tensile Strength and Microstructural Stability of a Spray-Deposited Al-Si-Fe-Mn-Cu-Mg Alloy

Spray deposition is a novel process which is used to manufacture rapidly solidified bulk and near-net-shape preforms. In this study, AI-20Si-5Fe-3Mn-3Cu-1Mg alloy was synthesized by spray deposition technique. The aging process of the alloy was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that two kinds of phases, i.e. S(Al2CuMg) and σ(Al5Cu6Mg2), precipitate from matrix and improve the tensile strength of the alloy efficiently at both the ambient and elevated temperatures (300℃). In addition, the σ-Al5Cu6Mg2 is a relatively stable phase which improves microstructural stability of the alloy.

Anisotropic plastic deformation behavior of B2-ordered Fe_3Al single crystals at room temperature

The tensile plastic deformation behavior of B2 ordered Fe 3Al single crystals at room temperature was systematically investigated. The results show that the mechanical properties are strongly orientation dependent. The plastic elongation of crystals with orientation near is as high as 42%. Slip trace analysis shows that although slip planes are found to change among {110} , {112} and {123} with the change in orientations, the initial slip planes in all cases are {110}. Five stage work hardening curve including four linear stages and one parabolic stage is obtained; but not all stages are observed in the actual deformation of each crystal. In combination with investigations of dislocation substructure, it is found that deformations in stage Ⅰ～Ⅲ are corresponding to the motion of two fold superdislocations. The higher work hardening rate of stage Ⅱ is mainly due to the stronger interactions between primary dislocations and secondary dislocations than those in stage Ⅲ. Deformation in stage Ⅳ involved is not only the motion of two fold superdislocations but also the slip of dissociated superpartials with APB traps and the formation of APB tube, both of which are attributed to the hardening. Deformation in stage Ⅴ is controlled by the cross slip of dissociated superpartials. The dominated softening effect of cross slip reduces the hardening rate and leads to the formation of parabolic stage.

Determination of stacking fault energies in a high-Nb TiAl alloy at 298 K and 1273 K

The stacking fault energies of Ti-46Al-8.5Nb-0.2W alloy at 298 K and 1273 Kwere determined. The principle for the determination of the stacking fault energies is based on thefact that the stacking fault energy and the elastic interaction energy acting on the dissociatedpartial dislocations are equal. After the compress deformations with the strain of 0.2% at 298 K and1273 K, and water quench to maintain the dislocation structures deformed at 1273 K, thedissociation distances between two partial dislocations were determined by weak beam transmissionelectron microscopy (WBTEM) technique. Based on these dissociation distances and the correspondingcalculation method, the stacking fault energies were determined to be 77-81 mJ/m^2 at 298 K and tobe 57-60mJ/m^2 at 1273 K respectively.

Effects of small amount Ta on the characteristics of the Zr-Al-Ni-Cu-Ta bulk metallic glass

The effects of Ta on the characteristics of the Zr-base BMG (bulk metallic glass) were investigated. Zr55Al10Ni5Cu30-xTax (x=1, 2,4) bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) with 3.5 mm diameter and 70 mm length were successfully prepared by using combined jet and copper mold casting. A small amount of Ta addition does not change the glass transition temperature, crystallization temperature, and supercooled liquid region obviously, but Ta promotes composition separation and two-stage crystallization. The stable crystalline phases include Zr2Ni, CuZr2, Al2Zr3 intermetallic compounds and Ta-rich solid solution after annealing the Zr-Al-Ni-Cu-Ta alloys at 753 K. Zr55Al10Ni5Cu30-xTax (x=1,2,4) bulk glassy alloys exhibit a better compressive strength. The stress-strain curve shows a zigzag feature, and the fracture surface shows intersecting of shear bands. It may correlate with the inhomogeneous feature of amorphous structure.

Theoretical Analysis of Lattice Parameter Effect on Order-Disorder Transformation Based on Pair Potential

Based on pair potential, the Bragg Williams (B-W) model is modified to takeinto account the effect of the lattice parameter on theoretical order-disorder transformationanalysis. The main purpose of this work is to understand the basic aspects of this effect andrelated reasonable model on order-disorder transformation. In the present approach, theconfiguration free energy is chosen as function of the lattice parameter and the long-range order.This energy is calculated through Taylor's expansion, starting from the disordered state. It wasfound that the configuration free energy has been strongly modified when the lattice parameter istaken into account. It was also found only one type of order-disorder transformation exists in ABalloy and three kinds of order-disorder transformations for non-equiatomic alloy system such as A_3Balloy. This result is in agreement with experiments.

Observation and computer simulation of multicomponent chemical short-range order (MCSRO) for the bulk metallic glasses

The atomic configuration of chemical short-range order (CSRO) for the Zr-base metallic glasses was investigated by using nano-diffraction and high resolution transmission electronic microscopy (HRTEM) technology with a beam size of 0.5 nm. It is il- lustrated that the pattern of atomic configuration of CSRO might have various compound counterparts because of the chemical inter- action of bonding atoms. Some atomic configuration of MCSRO is similar to the icosahedral structure with 10-fold symmetry of very weak spots. In deed, the nano-beam technology could clearly detect the evolution of atomic configuration in nanometer scale during the transformation from the metallic melt to the primary crystallization. The local atomic configuration of CSRO is also investigated by molecular dynamics simulation (MD) for the Zr2Ni compound in a wider temperature range. The CSRO in the melt could be pic- torially demonstrated as distorted coordination polyhedron of the compound structure and/or the structure similar to cubo-octahedron analogs. The MD simulation illustrates that the atomic packing of long-range order disappears just above the melting point, but the chemical interaction of bonding atoms still exists that leads to form the various CSRO with the atomic configuration similar to stable or metastable unit cell of Zr2Ni compound. The icosahedral polyhedron became more abundance as the overheating temperature was raised.