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At least 1,243 records · Page 69
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DOE OSTI2018

Effect of Al-Si Coating on Weld Microstructure and Properties of 22MnB5 Steel Joints for Hot Stamping

22MnB5 hot stamping steels are gradually being used in tailor-welded blank applications. In this experiment, 1-mm-thick Al-Si coated and de-coated 22MnB5 steels were laser-welded and then hot-stamped. The chemical compositions, solidification process, microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated to reveal the effect of Al-Si coating and heat treatment. In the welded condition, the coated joints had an Al content of approximately 2.5 wt.% in the fusion zone and the de-coated joints had 0.5 wt.% Al. The aluminum promoted the δ-ferrite formation as the skeletal structure during solidification. In the high-aluminum weld, the microstructure consisted of martensite and long and band-like δ-ferrite. Meanwhile, the low-aluminum weld was full of lath martensite. After the hot stamping process, the δ-ferrite fraction increased from 10 to 24% in the coated joints and the lath martensite became finer in the de-coated joints. The tensile strengths of the coated joints or de-coated joints were similar to that before hot stamping, but the strength of the coated joints was reduced heavily after hot stamping compared to the de-coated joints and base material. The effect of δ-ferrite on the tensile properties became stronger when the fusion zone was soft and deformed first in the hot-stamped specimens. The coated weld showed a brittle fracture surface with many cleavage planes, and the de-coated weld showed a ductile fracture surface with many dimples in hot-stamped conditions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Effect of Rolling Temperature on the Microstructure and Tensile Properties of 47Zr-45Ti-5Al-3V Alloy

The 47Zr-45Ti-5Al-3V (wt.%) alloy was solution-treated at 850 and 780 °C for 30 min and then rolled at different temperatures. The effect of rolling temperature on microstructure and tensile properties was investigated. The results showed that the microstructure contained a large amount of α phase at a rolling temperature of 600 °C. As the rolling temperature increased, the amount of α phase decreased, whereas the amount of β phase increased. When the rolling temperature was higher than 700 °C, the alloy was composed of a single β phase. The tensile properties of the alloy depended strongly on rolling temperature. The yield strength and tensile strength decreased with increasing rolling temperature, whereas the elongation increased. At a given rolling temperature, low solution treatment temperature resulted in higher strength and lower elongation than high solution treatment temperature. The fracture mode changed from cleavage fracture and quasi-cleavage fracture to dimple fracture with increasing rolling temperature.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Effect of Retrogression Heat Treatment Time on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of AA7010

The effect of retrogression time during retrogression and re-aging (RRA) treatment of AA7010 is evaluated by performing tensile tests and characterizing the microchemistry of the grain boundary precipitates (GBPs) using transmission electron microscope coupled with the energy-dispersive spectroscopy. Retrogression time is evaluated so that the ultimate tensile strength of the RRA-treated sample is equal to that of the T6-treated sample and the grain boundary microstructure similar to that of the over-aged (T7451) condition. The investigation reveals that the sample retrogressed at 200 °C for 20 min has UTS of 586 MPa which is equivalent to that of the T6 sample and 11.5% higher than that of the T7451 condition. The fracture toughness of the RRA-treated sample was 41 MPa√m. Microstructure of the RRA-treated sample is similar to T7451, along the grain boundaries and in the grain interior similar to that of the T6-treated sample. Energy-dispersive spectroscopy confirmed the increment of Cu content on the GBP’s with increase in the retrogression time, which is expected to improve the stress corrosion cracking resistance of the alloy.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Effect of Final Cooling Temperature on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of a Cr-Ni-Mo-V Bainite Steel

The microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of a low-carbon high-strength bainitic steel under different final cooling temperatures were studied. The microstructures of the experimental steel at different final cooling temperatures were composed of acicular ferrite and granular bainite. A decrease in final cooling temperature resulted in an increase in volume fraction of granular bainite and a decrease in volume fraction of acicular ferrite. The specimen with the lowest final cooling temperature (459 °C) exhibited the highest yield strength, tensile strength, and yield ratio, and a lower total elongation than the specimens with the highest final cooling temperatures (501 and 535 °C) because of the higher volume fraction of granular bainite and finer bainitic ferrite lath. The specimen with the lowest final cooling temperature had a lower absorbed energy than that of the highest final cooling temperature, because the strip-like martensite–austenite (M-A) constituents that existed between the bainitic ferrite or in prior austenite grain boundaries reduced its toughness. At an intermediate final cooling temperature of 501 °C, the experimental steel exhibited excellent mechanical properties with a yield strength, tensile strength, and absorbed energy of 825 MPa, 1232 MPa, and 102 J, respectively.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Annealing Effects on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Ultrafine-Grained Al Composites Reinforced with Nano-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} by Rotary Swaging

Microstructure evolution and variations in mechanical properties of Al-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanocomposite produced by powder metallurgy were investigated and compared with commercially pure aluminum (Al-1050) after furnace annealing. Fine gas-atomized Al powder compacts were first sintered in flowing nitrogen, subsequently consolidated into wires by rotary swaging and eventually annealed at 300 and 500 °C for 24 h each. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy was utilized to document the microstructure evolution. Rotary swaging was proven to lead to a marked decrease in grain size. After heavy swaging to true deformation degree of φ = 6 and annealing at 500 °C, obvious recrystallization was observed at Al-1050’s existing grain boundaries and the crystals began to grow perpendicular to the flow direction. In the Al-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanocomposite, fabricated from d{sub 50} = 6 μm Al powder, recrystallization partially occurred, while grains were still extremely fine. Due to the dual role of fine-grained Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} dispersion strengthening, the nanocomposite showed improved mechanical performance in terms of tensile strength, approximately twice higher than Al-1050 after annealing at 500 °C.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Effect of Hot Rolling on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Nitrogen Alloyed Austenitic Stainless Steel

In the present investigation, the effect of multi-pass hot rolling in the temperature range of 700–1000 °C on the microstructure and mechanical properties of nitrogen alloyed austenitic stainless steel was studied with the aid of optical microscopy, tensile testing and x-ray diffraction measurements. The microstructural changes that occurred in the hot rolled specimens were elongation of grains in rolling direction, nucleation of new grains at the grain boundaries of elongated grains and growth of nucleated grains to form fully recrystallized grains. Elongated grains formed at lower rolling temperature (700–800 °C) due to inadequate strain/temperature for the initiation of dynamic recrystallization. At higher rolling temperature (900–1000 °C), fine grains formed due to dynamic recrystallization. Tensile properties showed strong dependency on the rolling temperature. Tensile strength increased with the decrease in the rolling temperature at the cost of ductility. Maximum strength was observed in samples hot rolled at 700 °C with yield strength of 917 MPa and ductility of 25%. This variation in the tensile properties with the rolling temperature is attributed to changes in the dislocation density and grain structure. The estimated yield strength from the dislocation density, solid solution and grain boundary strengthening closely matched with experimentally determined yield strength confirming the role of dislocation density and grain size in the strengthening.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Effects of Stress Ratio and Microstructure on Fatigue Failure Behavior of Polycrystalline Nickel Superalloy

The effects of microstructure and stress ratio on high cycle fatigue of nickel superalloy Nimonic 80A were investigated. The stress ratios of 0.1, 0.5 and 0.8 were chosen to perform fatigue tests in a frequency of 110 Hz. Cleavage failure was observed, and three competing failure crack initiation modes were discovered by a scanning electron microscope, which were classified as surface without facets, surface with facets and subsurface with facets. With increasing the stress ratio from 0.1 to 0.8, the occurrence probability of surface and subsurface with facets also increased and reached the maximum value at R = 0.5, meanwhile the probability of surface initiation without facets decreased. The effect of microstructure on the fatigue fracture behavior at different stress ratios was also observed and discussed. Based on the Goodman diagram, it was concluded that the fatigue strength of 50% probability of failure at R = 0.1, 0.5 and 0.8 is lower than the modified Goodman line.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Current-Assisted Diffusion Bonding of Extruded Ti-22Al-25Nb Alloy by Spark Plasma Sintering: Interfacial Microstructure and Mechanical Properties

Spark plasma sintering (SPS) technology was used to current-assisted bond extruded Ti-22Al-25Nb alloy. The effects of bonding temperature (920-980 °C) and bonding time (10-30 min) on the microstructure evolution and shear strength of this alloy were investigated systematically. The temperature distribution in the specimen during the current-assisted bonding process was also analyzed by numerical simulation. It is noted that the highest temperature was obtained at the bonding interface. As the bonding temperature and bonding time increased, the voids in the interface shrank increasingly until they vanished. A complete metallurgical bonding interface could be produced at 960 °C/20 min/10 MPa, exhibiting the highest shear strength of 269.3 MPa. In addition, the shear strength of the bonded specimen depended on its interfacial microstructure. With increased bonding temperature, the fracture mode transformed from the intergranular fracture at the bonding interface to the cleavage fracture in the substrate.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Study on Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of Foam Titanium Carbide Ceramics Fabricated by Reaction Sintering Process

Foam titanium carbide (TiC) ceramics with a three-dimensional network structure were fabricated by the reaction sintering process, in which polyurethane foam was taken as the template, and TiO{sub 2} and phenolic resin were used as the reactants. Phase, microstructures and fracture morphologies of foam TiC ceramics were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The results show that when the mass ratios of phenolic resin and TiO{sub 2} (F/T) are (0.8-1.2): 1, foam TiC ceramics with pure TiC phase can be formed. As the F/T ratios increase, crystal lattice parameters of fabricated foam TiC ceramics become bigger. When the value of F/T decreases from 1.2 to 0.8, grain size of TiC grows larger and microstructures get denser; meanwhile, the compressive strength increases from 0.10 to 1.05 MPa. Additionally, either raising the sintering temperatures or extending holding time can facilitate the completion of the reaction process and increase the compressive strength.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Effects of Chromium Additions upon Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Cold Drawn Pearlitic Steel Wires

Cr-containing pearlitic steel wires were prepared through cold drawing and simulated galvanization process. Effect of chromium microalloying on microstructural and mechanical properties of the steel wires was investigated. Experimental results show that size of pearlitic colonies of the steel rods decreased as Cr content increased from 0.2 to 0.6 wt.%; meanwhile, interlamellar spacing was little affected because of isothermal phase transition in salt bath. The tensile strength of the pearlitic steel rods was increased from 1480 to 1550 MPa. The tensile strength of the Cr-containing cold drawn wires (ε = 1.58) was increased about 33%, and the torsion circle of the wires were about 15 with cleavage fracture. After annealing at 450 °C for 2 min, tensile strength of the wires increased, but torsion circle was decreased to less than 5. As the annealing time increased, the torsion circle of the steel wires with 0.2 wt.% Cr was improved to about 10 with cleavage fracture, while the torsion performance of the wires having high Cr contents remained low because of delamination fracture. The cementite platelets in Cr-containing wires turned into cementite crystal particles during cold drawing. Microstructure observation and thermal analysis have confirmed that thermal stability of cementite was enhanced with the increase of Cr content.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Influence of Welding Combined Plastic Forming on Microstructure Stability and Mechanical Properties of Friction Stir-Welded Al-Cu Alloy

A new tailor-welded process, which combines stages of welding, plastic forming, and heat treatment strengthening, was developed to produce a friction stir-welded (FSW) Al-alloy joint. The Al-Cu sheets were FSW under different welding parameters and then were plastic-deformed. The microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of the FSW joint were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and tensile tests. It was found that high heat input during FSW and low solution temperature suppress the abnormal grain growth (AGG) of the joint due to the differential in grain size and grain boundary energy. The microstructure heterogeneity of the FSW joint is effectively improved, as no AGG occurs. The retention of fine equiaxed grains and the increase in the density of precipitates result in excellent mechanical properties. The increase in the strength and micro-hardness of the joint mainly depends on the plastic deformation prior to aging treatment.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Investigation on Microstructural Evolutions and Mechanical Properties of P92 Steel During Thermal Processing

The evolution of the microstructure of P92 steel during heat processing has a significant effect on the final performance of steel products and is thus an area of critical interest. Accordingly, the grain growth behavior of austenite and δ-ferrite changes in P92 steel is comprehensively investigated in this study through thermodynamic calculations and physical simulation. The results show that the A{sub C1}, A{sub C3} and γ–δ transformation temperatures of P92 steel are 841 °C, 878 °C and 1095 °C, respectively, which are comparable to the measured values of 850 °C, 879 °C and 1175 °C, respectively. When the temperature exceeds the A{sub C1} temperature, the austenite grain size increases with increasing temperature and longer holding times, and the growth rate of austenite grains increases with higher temperatures but decreases with holding time at a certain temperature. A model that shows the austenite grain growth kinetics is established: D{sup n} − D{sub 0}{sup n} = 2.03 × 10{sup 16}exp(− 498,770/RT)t, in which the time exponent n decreases from 4.52 to 2.11 with an increase in temperature from 1000 °C to 1200 °C due to the reduced pinning effect resultant of the dissolution of precipitates, M{sub 23}C{sub 6}, VX and NbX at 887 °C, 1073 °C and 1200 °C, respectively. The formation of δ-ferrite at 1200 °C when held for 600 s and 1300 °C when held for 60 ~ 600 s causes a smaller austenite grain size. The relationship between the evolution of the microstructure of P92 steel and the mechanical properties is also studied. The results show that the prior austenite grain size has an inverse relationship with impact energy and ultimate tensile strength at 620 °C, while the presence of soft δ-ferrite leads to a reduction in the microhardness, impact energy and ultimate tensile strength at 620 °C.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Microstructure Analysis and Rheological Behavior of Magnesium Alloys at Semi-solid Temperature Range

Microstructure and rheological properties of AZ91 and Elektron 21 magnesium alloys in semi-solid state were studied. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed significant differences in melting range in analyzed materials. Isothermal annealing for 5, 30 and 80 min, in semi-solid range, corresponding to 50 and 70% of solid fraction, showed slower microstructure coarsening kinetics in Elektron 21 due to the presence of Zr- and RE-enriched precipitations. Ostwald ripening and coalescence resulted in decrease in grains density with increasing annealing time and temperature. Hardness after annealing showed overall tendency to diminish with soaking time probably due to the growth of average grain size. Rheological analysis showed tendency to lower the value of dynamic viscosity coefficient as shear rate rise, which confirmed non-Newtonian flow behavior. The highest values of dynamic viscosity coefficient were obtained for alloy AZ91.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Effect of Rotation Speed on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Friction-Stir-Welded CuSn6 Tin Bronze

Four-mm-thick CuSn6 tin bronze plates were friction stir welded at a constant tool traverse speed of 100 mm min{sup −1}. Favorable joints could be obtained with rotation speeds ranging from 600 to 1000 rev min{sup −1}, and groove was found on the surface of the joint under 400 rev min{sup −1}. The microstructure of the weld nugget zone was characterized by equiaxed recrystallized grains with heterogeneity along the thickness direction. Moreover, the grain size of the thermo-mechanically affected zone and stir zone increased with the increase in rotation speed. Hardness of the stir zone was higher than that of other zones due to microstructural refinement. There was little change in tensile properties of the defect-free welded joints. During tensile test, all of the defect-free joints were fractured at heat-affected zone with typical plastic fracture.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

The Effects of Low Frequency on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of High-Strength Al-Mg Aluminum Alloys by Wire and Double-Pulsed Arc Additive Manufacturing

An innovative and high deposition efficiency process, the double-pulsed arc additive manufacturing process, is used to produce high-strength Al-Mg wall components. This dissertation investigates the electrical parameter acquisition, bead appearance, porosity morphology, microstructure and mechanical properties of additively manufactured high-strength Al-Mg wall components and how these are affected by the low frequency of the double-pulsed arc additive manufacturing process. Then, using this process at different low frequencies of 0, 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 Hz, multilayer deposition experiments were performed. It can be observed that the deposit porosity is obviously eliminated compared with cold metal transfer (CMT) process. The bead appearance of the deposited aluminum wall varies clearly with low frequencies, and at a low frequency of 3 Hz, its appearance is the best of all. The optical observation of microstructure proves that the average grain size varies significantly with low frequency, and at a low frequency of 1 Hz, it is the smallest. In addition, the deposited wall showed maximum mean microhardness and maximum ultimate tensile strength at a low frequency of 3 Hz. Considering the deposited porosity and mechanical priorities, double-pulsed arc additive manufacturing with a frequency of 3 Hz is more suitable for making high-strength Al-Mg wall components than at other low frequencies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

The Microstructure, and Mechanical and Corrosion Properties of As-Cast and As-Extruded Mg-2%Zn-x%Cu Alloys After Solution and Aging Heat Treatments

The effects of different Cu concentrations and heat treatment on the microstructure, mechanical and corrosion properties of the as-cast and hot-extruded Mg-2%Zn alloys were studied. The results showed that T6 heat treatment led to the dissolution of intermetallics and breaking the continuous networks of intermetallics. Also, the grain size of the base alloy decreased with further Cu additions after solution and aging heat treatments. Microstructural characterization indicated that Mg(Zn,Cu) and Mg(Zn,Cu){sub 2} intermetallics were formed which their volume fractions increased with exceeding Cu additions. Moreover, the addition of 3 wt.% Cu and T6 heat treatment increased the Brinell hardness of both as-cast and hot-extruded specimens reached to 94 HBN and 116 HBN, respectively. The optimum amounts of the ultimate tensile strength and elongation values obtained from 0.1 wt.% Cu addition for both conditions after T6 treatment which were 253 MPa, 11.5% and 263 MPa, 14.7%, respectively. However, more Cu addition (> 0.5 wt.%) deteriorated the tensile properties of the alloy due to the high volume fraction of intermetallics. The yield tensile strength increased continuously with different Cu additions for the cast and extruded alloys after solution and aging heat treatments. After T6 heat treatment, extruded alloys showed better anti-corrosion properties than those of the cast alloys, while the extruded Mg-2%Zn-0.1%Cu alloy exhibited the best anti-corrosion property. Further Cu addition increased the volume fraction of intermetallics and enhanced the corrosion rate which was due to the galvanic couple effect.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Effect of Preheated Microstructure Vis-à-vis Process Parameters and Characterization of Orange Peel in Incremental Forming of AA1050 Sheets

The present investigation systematically analyzes and compares the influence of microstructure and crystallographic texture of AA1050 sheet to that of the most critical process parameters, namely tool dimension, and incremental step depth, in single-point incremental forming (SPIF) process. The sheet samples were preheated at different temperatures to reform the original, i.e., distorted and misoriented grain distribution. The results from experimental and statistical analyses report higher sensitivity of global spring back, surface topography and forming limits strains to variations in microstructure and texture than tool diameter and incremental step depth. The preheating of the sheets resulted in the formation of preferential texture by grain reformation, which leads to the increase in the fraction of homogeneous orientated grains. Such grains increase the maximum forming limit strains and reduce the global spring back in SPIF. Fractography analysis of the failed components revealed that improvement in formability due to grain homogenization (developed texture) may be attributed to larger average void diameter. Empirical models were also developed, and optimized levels of parameters were identified to maximize the efficiency of the SPIF process. Further, qualitative and quantitative characterization of orange peel roughness was carried out by segregating the external formed surface into surfaces subjected to orange peel roughness and tool-induced texture.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Effects of Laser Fluence on Microstructure and Bonding Characteristics of Wideband Laser-Deposited Nickel Composite Coatings

The wideband laser has shown great potential in metal–ceramic coatings deposition due to the high efficiency and low dilution rate. However, the effects of wideband laser process on microstructure evolution and bonding mechanism at the coatings/substrate interface are still a critical problem and need further investigation. In this work, nickel composite coatings are fabricated on the surface high-strength low-alloy steel. The effects of laser fluence on microstructure evolution, shear strength and fracture mechanism are studied. Results indicated the added WC particles were partly dissolved due to the high-power laser irradiation. Many block precipitates and dense eutectic were synthesized in composite coatings. Reinforced phases mainly consist of Cr{sub 5}B{sub 3}, Cr{sub 23}C{sub 6}, W{sub 2}C and Cr{sub 3}Ni{sub 2}. The dilution of Q550 steel contributed to the formation of nickel dendrites and facilitated a dense metallurgical bonding at coating/substrate interface when laser fluence was high. Shear strength tests indicated the laser fluence and shear strength had a positive correlation. For Ni60/WC composite coatings designed in these experiments, the recommend laser fluence should be higher than 55 J/mm{sup 2}, above which the shear strength could be greater than 200 MPa. Fracture surfaces indicated the failure mechanism of composite coatings was quasi-cleavage fracture.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗