Commercial Alloys Research Articles

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Laser Powder Bed Fusion 3D-Printed Cu-10Sn Alloy

This study investigated the optimal process conditions and mechanical properties of Cu-10Sn alloys produced by the powder bed fusion (PBF) method. The optimal PBF conditions were explored by producing samples with various laser scanning speeds and laser power. It was found that under optimized conditions, samples with a density close to the theoretical density could be fabricated using PBF without any serious defects. The microstructure and mechanical properties of samples produced under optimized conditions were investigated and compared with a commercial alloy produced by the conventional method. The hardness, maximum tensile strength, and elongation of the samples were significantly higher than those of the commercially available cast alloy with the same chemical composition. Based on these results, it is expected to be possible to use the PBF technique to manufacture Cu-10Sn products with complex 3D shapes that could not be made using the conventional manufacturing method.

Correlation of microstructure and magnetic softness of Si-microalloying FeNiBCuSi nanocrystalline alloy revealed by nanoindentation

Abstract Compared to the commercial soft-magnetic alloys, the high saturation magnetic flux density (B s) and low coercivity (H c) of post-developed novel nanocrystalline alloys tend to realize the miniaturization and lightweight of electronic products, thus attracting great attention. In this work, we designed a new FeNiBCuSi formulation with a novel atomic ratio, and the microstructure evolution and magnetic softness were investigated. Microstructure analysis revealed that the amount of Si prompted the differential chemical fluctuations of Cu element, favoring the different nucleation and growth processes of α-Fe nanocrystals. Furthermore, microstructural defects associated with chemical heterogeneities were unveiled using the Maxwell-Voigt model with two Kelvin units and one Maxwell unit based on creeping analysis by nanoindentation. The defect, with respect to a long relaxation time in relaxation spectra, was more likely to induce the formation of crystal nucleus that ultimately evolved into the α-Fe nanocrystals. As a result, Fe84Ni2B12.5Cu1Si0.5 alloy with refined uniform nanocrystalline microstructure exhibited excellent magnetic softness, including a high B s of 1.79 T and very low H c of 2.8 A/m. Our finding offers new insight into the influence of activated defects associated with chemical heterogeneities on microstructures of nanocrystalline alloy with excellent magnetic softness.

A Tribological Study of CrN and TiBN Hard Coatings Deposited on Cobalt Alloys Employed in the Food Industry

In this work, a comparative study of the tribological performance of two hard coatings, CrN/TiBN, was conducted for research purposes and industrial applications in food products, particularly for food packaging into cans using the double hermetic sealing process. CrN and TiBN coatings were successfully deposited on a base-cobalt metal substrate of a CoCrW commercial alloy using physical vapor deposition by arc evaporation (AEPVD) technology to improve the tribological properties of the commercial alloy, including wear and corrosion resistance, lower coefficient of friction, and overall durability. This research focuses on conducting scratch and abrasion wear resistance tests in dry conditions; specifically, it pursues to evaluate the wear corrosion properties, known as tribocorrosion performance, on CrN/TiBN hard coatings. The experimental results show that the CrN coating (2.9 μm) is slightly thicker than the TiBN coating (2.7 μm), with a 47 N critical load. It also shows a lower coefficient of friction (CoF) in a dry environment, while the TiBN coating showed total detachment and a high coefficient of friction in a dry environment condition. Tribocorrosion testing in brine aqueous solution indicated that CrN coating shows a high friction coefficient with a higher open circuit potential value (Ecorr), and TiBN shows the lowest corrosion potential (Ecorr) and the lowest friction coefficient. This suggests that CrN could provide better corrosion protection for commercial cobalt alloys and improve tool performance during the food canning process in brine environments.

Changes in Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, and Electrical Conductivity of Severely Drawn AA1070 Wire with Annealing

The drawing process severely deforms commercial AA1070 alloy for electrical wire, reducing a rod from a diameter of 2.0 mm to 0.4 mm, followed by annealing. The annealing process was conducted at various temperatures ranging from 200℃ to 450℃, with each temperature maintained for 1hour. The effects of increasing annealing temperature on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and electrical properties of the Al wire were investigated in detail. The drawn Al wire showed a severely deformed microstructure and fiber texture that {110}<111> and {112}<111> components strongly developed. As the annealing temperature increased, the deformation structure changed into recrystallization structure over all regions. However, the fiber texture still strongly remained even in the specimens annealed at higher temperatures. The hardness decreased with increasing annealing temperature due to the occurrence of recovery and/or recrystallization. The strength also continued to decrease as the annealing temperature increased. However, elongation gradually increased with increase of annealing temperature to 250℃; above 275℃, it increased particularly sharply. The electric conductivity tended to increase slightly with increasing annealing temperature, reaching a maximum value of 62.2%IACS at 300℃. Changes in microstructure, mechanical properties and electrical conductivity with annealing of commercially drawn AA1070 were compared with those of the previous study.

Attention Pyramid Dilated Region-based Model for Metallurgical Defect Detection

Abstract Defect recognition is the key to realizing automatic visual inspection and quality control in intelligent manufacturing. Deep learning (DL) has been widely applied to locate damaged areas in images, characterize impurities of materials and further analyze the quality of products. However, automatic defect detection by DL in practical industrial applications is still a challenge due to the lack of sufficient datasets and appropriate recognition methods. Here, a novel Attention Pyramid Dilated Region-based Convolutional Neural Network (ADRCNN) is proposed to realize the multi-scale defect recognition and pixel-level instance segmentation of metallographic images. We also collected a dataset containing 900 images of commercial A356 aluminum alloy with different casting defects. The ADRCNN model is evaluated on our dataset with an average detection accuracy of 87.2% and 93.3% on validation and test sets respectively. To address the overfitting problem, a pretraining fine-tuning strategy is implemented by using the pretraining weights from large-scale datasets and temporarily freezing the weights of the backbone network during the training process. The experimental results show that the proposed model can achieve satisfactory defect segmentation in metallographic images, promoting the development of intelligent manufacturing in alloy industries.

SEM-DIC characterization of the damage mechanism of an AlSi10Fe0.7 casting alloy on the microstructure scale

Various brittle phases are present in commercial cast aluminum alloys, which strongly influence their mechanical behavior. Among these, silicon precipitates are nearly omnipresent, as Si is a common alloying element. In secondary alloys, usually Fe-containing phases cannot be avoided, and they tend to degrade the mechanical properties. The interaction between the silicon phase and the failure-critical intermetallic phase in the Al-Si-Fe phase system (β-Al5FeSi) is studied in this paper in high resolution. A model alloy AlSi10Fe0.7 was defined, which is composed of a large grain Al-matrix, Si-precipitates and the plate-like β-Al5FeSi phase. The goal of the study was to identify “hot spots” in the microstructure from which cracks may initiate under mechanical loading. The main tool was a deformation analysis via digital image correlation in the SEM (SEM-DIC). This allows the identification and tracking of developing strain localizations at different potential crack initiation sites with a high resolution as well as capturing an overview over the whole specimen. An adapted frame averaging script minimized measurement errors induced by drift. The SEM-DIC results show that the deformation field is governed by the elastic incompatibility of the microstructural constituents. Crack initiation occurs because of the detachment of the Si + β-Al5FeSi phase boundary. Cracks then cross the phase boundary and propagate along twin boundaries in the β-Al5FeSi phase. Final failure is caused by linking fractured brittle plate-like particles.

Enhanced CO2 Hydrogenation Performance of CoCrNiFeMn High Entropy Alloys

CO2 hydrogenation is a promising process for removing anthropogenic CO2 emissions and yielding C1 chemicals that can be utilized as fuels and valuable precursors for chemical synthesis. Commercial high-entropy alloys (HEAs) have widespread application in various fields owing to their exceptional thermal stability and tunable microstructure. However, their potential application as catalysts is often limited by the low exposure of active sites. In this study, the commercial CoCrNiFeMn powder was applied for atmospheric pressure CO2 hydrogenation and enhanced its catalytic performance by a combined treatment of ball milling and high-temperature H2 reduction. The high-energy ball milling results in a morphological transition in CoCrNiFeMn HEAs from spherical to irregular. This transformation leads to a significant decrease in particle size and more surface reactive sites. The high-temperature H2 reduction promoted the atomic rearrangement on the CoCrNiFeMn surface, thereby improving its alloy structural homogeneity. These modifications greatly improve the performance of CoCrNiFeMn for CO2 hydrogenation. This work introduces a facile modification approach to facilitate the catalytic efficiency of commercial HEAs in CO2 hydrogenation with high selectivity.

Improving mechanical properties of Mg–Zn-Nd-Zr alloy by low alloying with Yb and corresponding strengthening mechanisms

This study was aim to explore the possibility of adding Yb element to Mg–6Zn-3Nd-0.5Zr alloy to develop a commercial high-strength Mg alloy under the condition of low rare earth content. A systematic investigation was conducted and it was shown that the phase compositions were changed by the Yb addition (0–2 wt%). The Mg–Zn phases disappeared while a new phase, (Nd,Yb)Zn2, were formed. The volume fractions of precipitates increased with increasing Yb content. Due to the extra precipitation through the process of extrusion, the volume fractions of precipitates of as-extruded alloys were slightly higher than that of the as-cast alloys. All as-extruded alloys displayed the same strong fiber texture with the (10 1‾ 0) perpendicular and the [1‾ 100] parallel to the extrusion direction. The Yb addition improved the DRX degree, but has little effect on grain orientations, and adjusted the texture intensities by influencing DRX process. When the Yb content is 1.0 wt%, the alloy showed best mechanical properties, with the yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of 400 MPa and 407 MPa. The high strength is the result of the combined effects of excellent grain boundary and texture strengthening.

Investigating the Effects of Transition Metals and Activated Carbon on Hydrogenation Characteristics of Severely Deformed ZK60 Processed by High-Energy Ball Milling.

The synergic effects of activated carbon and transition metals on the hydrogenation characteristics of commercial ZK60 magnesium alloy were investigated. Severe plastic deformation was performed using equal-channel angular pressing with an internal die angle of 120° and preheating at 300 °C. The ZK60 alloy samples were processed for 12 passes using route BA. The deformed ZK60 alloy powder was blended with activated carbon and different concentrations of transition metals (Ag, Pd, Co, Ti, V, Ti) using high-energy ball milling for 20 h at a speed of 1725 rpm. The amount of hydrogen absorbed and its kinetics were calculated using Sievert's apparatus at the higher number of cycles at a 300 °C ab/desorption temperature. The microstructure of the powder was analyzed using an X-ray diffractometer and scanning electron microscope. The results indicated that 5 wt% activated carbon presented the maximum hydrogen absorption capacity of 6.2 wt%. The optimal hydrogen absorption capacities were 7.1 wt%, 6.8 wt%, 6.7 wt%, 6.64 wt%, 6.65 wt%, and 7.06 wt% for 0.5 Ag, 0.3 Co, 0.1 Al, 0.5 Pd, 2 Ti, and 0.5 V, respectively. The hydrogen absorption capacities were reduced by 35.21%, 26.47%, 41.79%, 21.68%, 26.31%, and 26.34% after 100 cycles for 5C0.5Ag, 5C0.3Co, 5C0.1Al, 5C0.5Pd, 2Ti, and 5C0.5V, respectively. Hydrogen absorption kinetics were significantly improved so that more than 90% of hydrogen was absorbed within five minutes.

Effect of heat treatment before fast multiple rotation rolling on friction surfaced Al–Si–Cu alloy

In this study the effect of combination of heat treatment of consumable rod and solid solution heat treatment before fast multiple rotation rolling (FMRR) processing on microstructure, mechanical property and wear resistance of Al–Si–Cu alloy friction surfaced on commercial pure aluminum alloy were investigated. Results show that after the FMRR process, there is a significant reduction (99% reduction) in the friction surfaced coating surface roughness. The surface roughness after FMRR processing in the coatings created by homogenized and solid solution treated consumable rod is 0.74 ± 0.12, and 0.56 ± 0.08 μm, respectively. In the coating created by homogenized rod the minimum grain size (1.7 ± 0.2 μm) formed in the FMRR processed layer. Using homogenized consumable rod and FMRR processing by rotational speed of 3000 rpm and traverse speed of 140 mm/min, the maximum hardness (9.8 ± 0.3 GPa) and minimum wear rate (4.6 ± 0.1 μg/m) created at processed layer. FMRR processing by rotational speed of 3000 rpm and traverse speed of 140 mm/min, result in 27 and 24 % increasing in hardness at friction surfaced coating created by homogenized and solid solution treated consumable rods, respectively.

Multicomponent alloys designed to sinter

Powder sintering is a low-energy, net-shape processing route for many new products in the additive manufacturing space. We advance the viewpoint that for future manufacturing, alloys should be designed from materials science principles to sinter quickly at lower temperatures and with controlled final microstructures. Specifically, we illustrate the computational design of multinary Ni-base alloys, whose chemistries permit a low-temperature solid-state sintering scheme without any pressure- or field-assistance, as well as heat-treatability after sintering. The strategy is based on sequential phase evolutions designed to occur during sintering. The reactions involve rapid reorganization of matter to full density in cycles up to just 1200 °C, while conventional Ni alloys sintered in the solid-state require about ten times longer, or more than 250 °C degrees higher temperature. Our approach yields an alloy that benefits from precipitation hardening, has an increased strength ~\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\sim$$\\end{document}50% higher than solid-state processed commercial Ni alloys, and yet exhibits extensive plasticity beyond 35% uniaxial strain. The results point to a generalizable design scheme for many other alloys designed for solid-state powder processing that can enable greater value from additive manufacturing.

Improvement of Hydrogen-Resistant Gas Turbine Engine Blades: Single-Crystal Superalloy Manufacturing Technology.

This paper presents the results of an analysis of resistance to hydrogen embrittlement and offers solutions and technologies for manufacturing castings of components for critical applications, such as blades for gas turbine engines (GTEs). The values of the technological parameters for directional crystallization (DC) are determined, allowing the production of castings with a regular dendritic structure of the crystallization front in the range of 10 to 12 mm/min and a temperature gradient at the crystallization front in the range of 165-175 °C/cm. The technological process of making GTE blades has been improved by using a scheme for obtaining disposable models of complex profile castings with the use of 3D printing for the manufacture of ceramic molds. The ceramic mold is obtained through an environmentally friendly technology using water-based binders. Short-term tensile testing of the samples in gaseous hydrogen revealed high hydrogen resistance of the CM-88 alloy produced by directed crystallization technology: the relative elongation in hydrogen at a pressure of 30 MPa increased from 2% for the commercial alloy to 8% for the experimental single-crystal alloy.

Oxidation Behavior of a Novel Nickel-Based Alloy in Air and Steam at 1273 K for the Oxygen–Hydrogen Combustion Chamber

AbstractAs part of advancing oxygen–hydrogen combustion power generation technology, a study was carried out to evaluate the oxidation behavior of a novel developed Ni–Cr–W alloy as the structural material candidate. Tungsten is utilized in the alloy as a solid solution-strengthened element and as an α2-W precipitate former. The examination involved exposing the developed alloy and commercial alloys, Hastelloy X and Nimonic 263, to air and steam environments at 1273 K. The results show a different oxidation behavior of the developed alloy. Considering the air oxidation kinetics, the performance of the developed alloy was on par with that of Hastelloy X and superior to Nimonic 263. A single outer chromia scale was established with an intergranular oxide. Whereas steam exposure resulted in the formation of outer and inner chromia scales with a deeper intergranular oxide penetration. Thicker chromia formation with a lower mass gain indicates the evaporation of chromia under a steam atmosphere.

Understanding the mechanism of bimodal texture evolution and DRX behavior of AZ31 magnesium alloy during shear deformation

Shear deformation in commercial magnesium alloys frequently resulted in an additional atypical texture where the basal plane aligned nearly parallel to the extrusion direction, affecting the alloy's mechanical anisotropy. This study prepared AZ31 magnesium alloys with both typical shear texture and atypical texture using a two-stage shear method at 250 °C, 290 °C, and 340 °C. The formation mechanism of the bimodal texture and their relationship with dynamic grain refinement and deformation parameters were comprehensively investigated. While temperature-dependent activation of <c+a> slip usually contributed to the atypical texture, this study identified a {101¯2} twin associated microstructure that reinforced the abnormal texture at lower processing temperature. It was found that the abundant nucleation of the multi-orientation {101¯2} twin bands in the initial stage and their differential slip activations facilitated the evolution of an alternating banded structures characterized by bimodal texture. These microstructures inherited the grain boundary rotation axis of {101¯2} twin and was potentially assimilated into specialized θ[112¯0] symmetric tilt grain boundaries with lower interface energy during continuous shear, stabilizing the bimodal texture. During shear deformation, grain nucleation strengthened the [101¯0]−[112¯0] fibers with bimodal texture by generating ∼30°[0001] grain boundaries through the preferential accumulation of prismatic dislocations. However, more continuous dynamic recrystallization, discontinuous dynamic recrystallization, and micro-shear bands facilitated the nucleation of grains with dispersed basal orientations via dominant non-prismatic dislocations, weakening the overall texture. Besides, the mechanical anisotropy of the alloys was comprehensively influenced by atypical texture and microstructure. At higher deformation temperatures, the reduction in twinning bands and the increase in dynamic recrystallization level relieved the alloy’s tension-compression asymmetry, but deprived its yield strength. This study supplemented the formation mechanisms of bimodal texture during shear deformation, providing valuable insights for optimizing wrought magnesium alloys with superior mechanical properties.

Effect of heterostructure with hard/soft micro-regions on the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of Al-Mg-Si-Cu-Znalloys

Simultaneously improving formability and strength of commercial alloys in industrial production till a great challenge. In this paper, we have effectively fabricated a heterostructure with hard and soft microregions in automobile Al-Mg-Si-Cu-Zn alloy sheet by a short-flow route. Compared to the homogeneous alloy sheet prepared by conventional route, the alloy sheet with heterostructure displays an improved formability and strength (i.e., average r value: 0.686 → 0.739, Δr: −0.104 → -0.034, EI: 19.8% → 24%, TS: 379 MPa → 399 MPa) and almost constant corrosion resistance. The formation mechanism of the heterostructure, high formability and strength mechanisms, and corrosion resistance mechanism are systematically discussed and illustrated. Our work can provide a simple and practical method for the production of bulk automobile aluminum alloy sheets with simultaneously improved formability and strength.

Corrosion of Commercial Alloys in Ternary Carbonate Melt at 700 and 750 °C -Role of LiFeO2 Formation

Corrosion of Commercial Alloys in Ternary Carbonate Melt at 700 and 750 °C -Role of LiFeO2 Formation

Roles of Refractory Solutes on the Stability of Carbide and Boride Phases in Nickel Superalloys

Nickel-base superalloys contain high amounts of solutes like Cr, Mo, W, Nb, Ti, etc. These solutes promote the formation of different types of carbide and boride phases that may contain multiple elements. Researchers have mostly discussed the roles of primary elements responsible for the formation of a given carbide/boride phase, often ignoring the role of other solutes on its stability. In the present work, thermodynamic stability of carbide and boride phases in seven commercial superalloys, namely, Alloy 625, Alloy 690, Alloy 718, MAR M246, Rene 100, Udimet 710 and Nimonic 80A, has been studied using the CALPHAD based Thermo-Calc software. The aim of the study was to understand the role of different alloying elements on temperature stability and chemical compositions of equilibrium phases in superalloys. As the accuracy of CALPHAD based predictions depends upon the database used, a detailed examination of its inadequacies has also been carried out to ascertain the limitations of the predicted data. From the calculated equilibrium chemical compositions, major and minor constituents promoting the formation of carbides and borides have been identified. The individual effect of a given solute as well as the synergistic effect of two solutes on the relative thermodynamic stability of carbide/boride phases has been identified using property diagrams and isothermal sections of the temperature-composition diagrams. Most of the simulated results have been found to be consistent with the experimental data available in the literature. From a comparison of the experimental literature and the simulated data of the stable carbide and boride phases in the studied alloys, the interplay of different solutes has been deduced to define conditions under which these phases form, within the limitations of the database used. This study has helped in better understanding of general tendencies of solutes to form different carbide and boride phases in nickel-based superalloys.

A novel strategy to break through the strength-ductility trade-off of titanium matrix composites

This study used a solution blending method to coat Ti64 alloy particles with an organopolysilazane (OPSZ) precursor, creating (TiC + Ti3Si)/Ti64 composites via spark plasma sintering (SPS). During SPS, OPSZ decomposes, releasing silicon, carbon, and nitrogen. Nitrogen exits as NH3 and N2, while carbon and silicon partially dissolve in the matrix and partially react with titanium to form TiC and Ti3Si particles. The composite with 0.5 wt% OPSZ exhibited a tensile strength of 1135 MPa and an elongation of 19.0 %, 18.2 % and 28.5 % higher than commercial Ti64 alloy, respectively. The strength increase is attributed to grain refinement, solid solution strengthening, Orowan strengthening, and L phase strengthening. The improved ductility results from fine precipitates promoting dislocation multiplication, the dislocation storage effect of the interface L-phase, and matrix purification by H2 and NH3 from OPSZ decomposition.

Effect of ultrasonic and mechanical vibration treatments on evolution of Mn-rich phases and mechanical properties of Al−12Si−4Cu−1Ni−1Mg−2Mn piston alloys

Effects of ultrasonic vibration (UV) and mechanical vibration (MV) on the Mn-rich phase modification and mechanical properties of Al−12Si−4Cu−1Ni−1Mg−2Mn piston alloys were investigated. The results show that the UV and UV+MV treatments can significantly refine and fragmentize the microstructures. In addition, UV treatment can significantly passivate the primary Mn-rich Al15Mn3Si2 intermetallics. The formation mechanisms of refinement and passivation of the grains and non-dendrite particles were discussed. Compared with the gravity die-cast alloys, the UV and UV+MV treated alloys exhibit improved tensile and creep resistance at room and elevated temperatures. These results can be attributed to the refinement of the α(Al) grains and the secondary intermetallics, the increased proportion of refined heat-resistant precipitates, and the formation of nano-sized Si particles. The ultimate tensile strength of the UV treated alloys at 350 °C exceeds that of commercial piston alloys. This indicates the high application potential of the developed piston alloys in density diesel engines.

Revealing the heterogeneous nucleation mechanism of Mg17Al12 on impurity Mg2Si particles in commercial AZ31 alloy

Silicon (Si) is an inevitable impurity element in the AZ31 alloy. In this study, the Si impurity was detected mainly as fine Mg2Si particles dispersed widely within the central region of the Mg17Al12 phase. During the solidification process, the Mg2Si particle precipitates at about 565 °C, before the Mg17Al12 phase of 186 °C, potentially acting as the heterogeneous nucleation core for the Mg17Al12 phase. The orientation relationship between Mg2Si and Mg17Al12 was investigated using the edge-to-edge matching model (E2EM) calculations, which showed a misfit of only 0.1 %. This low misfit suggests that Mg2Si can serve as a heterogeneous nucleation site for Mg17Al12. The surface and interface structures of Mg2Si (220) and Mg17Al12 (332) were constructed, and then investigated through the first-principles calculation. The theoretical results indicate that Mg and Al are easily adsorbed on the surface of Mg2Si, with Al showing higher adsorption energy than Mg. Furthermore, the interface between Mg2Si and Mg17Al12 exhibits favorable thermodynamic stability. Combined with experiments and theoretical calculations, it is confirmed that the Mg2Si particles, formed due to the Si impurity, provide effective heterogeneous nucleation sites for the Mg17Al12 phase.