ALBERT

Description: Porous shape memory alloys are a new class of advanced materials with combined advantages of both shape memory alloys and porous materials. In order to manufacture a porous shape memory alloy with the desired mechanical properties, it is important to predict its mechanical properties before fabrication. In this paper, a new unit cell model is proposed to simulate the mechanical stress-strain response of porous shape memory alloys. Microplane theory is used to attribute mechanical constitutive relations of shape memory alloys to the bulk material, and the finite element method is employed for numerical simulations. The results show a good agreement with the experimental stress-strain behavior reported in the literature. The effect of pore volume fraction on the stress-strain response is also studied using the proposed approach. Random microstructures are generated in the FE model, and the effects of randomness on the mechanical behavior of porous shape memory alloys are also investigated for different values of pore volume fraction.

Description: In the present work, Ni-WC powder was deposited on mild steel substrate to develop clads through microwave hybrid heating technique. The cladding trials were carried out in an industrial microwave applicator at 1.1 kW for 540 s. The Ni-WC composite clads were characterized for microstructure and abrasive wear performance through combination of x-ray diffraction, electron and optical microscopy, microhardness, and wear tests. Phase analysis of the Ni-WC clad indicated the presence of stable carbides such as WC, W 2 C, Ni 2 W 4 C, and Fe 6 W 6 C. The microstructure study of the clad layer revealed the presence of a uniformly distributed interlocked WC-based reinforcement embedded in the Ni-based matrix. The average Vicker’s microhardness in the clad layer was observed to be 1028 ± 90 HV, which was approximately three times the microhardness of the substrate. Abrasive wear resistance of the microwave clads was superior to the MS substrate. Abrasion was the main wear mechanism in the Ni-WC clads and the substrate samples. However, the presence of WC-based reinforcement in the composite clads reduced microcutting, resulting in enhanced wear resistance.

Description: Corrosion behavior of wrought Stellite 6B and Stellite 6K, which have similar chemical composition but contain different carbon content, in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution and in Green Death solution is investigated using various electrochemical methods, including potentiodynamic polarization, cyclic polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The obtained potentiodynamic polarization curves, cyclic polarization curves, and EIS spectra for these alloys are in good agreement, showing that Stellite 6K with higher carbon content is easier corroded due to its larger volume fraction of carbides but the Cr 2 O 3 film formed on this alloy is stronger and more stable than that on Stellite 6B. Further immersion tests on these alloys show that Stellite 6K has less resistance to pitting corrosion.

Description: A solution to improve the formability of aluminum alloy sheets can consist in investigating warm forming processes. The optimization of forming process parameters needs a precise evaluation of material properties and sheet metal formability for actual operating environment. Based on the analytical M-K theory, a finite element (FE) M-K model was proposed to predict forming limit curves (FLCs) at different temperatures and strain rates. The influences of initial imperfection value ( f 0 ) and material thermos-viscoplastic model on the FLCs are discussed in this work. The flow stresses of AA5086 were characterized by uniaxial tensile tests at different temperatures (20, 150, and 200 °C) and equivalent strain rates (0.0125, 0.125, and 1.25 s −1 ). Three types of hardening models (power law model, saturation model, and mixed model) were proposed and adapted to correlate the experimental flow stresses. The three hardening models were implemented into the FE M-K model in order to predict FLCs for different forming conditions. The predicted limit strains are very sensitive to the thermo-viscoplastic modeling of AA5086 and to the calibration of the initial geometrical imperfection which controls the onset of necking.

Description: The present work is based on the study of the electrochemical response of mild steel as a function of machining configurations. The variable parameters were rake angle and turning speed, while feed rate and depth of cut remained fixed. Dynamic polarization tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in 3.5% NaCl solution were done to analyze the electrochemical behavior of mild steels with the variation of rake angle and turning speed. The electrochemical response showed that the steel machined at higher speed and positive rake angle had higher resistance to charge transfer. Similarly, steel machined at lower speed and negative rake angle showed lower resistance to charge transfer. The results obtained in this study suggest that machining on mild steel should be carried out at positive rake angle and at higher speed to have smoother surface finish, strain-relieved surface grains, and subsequently better corrosion resistance, which was measured from corrosion current as determined by the Tafel extrapolation from the polarization plots.

Description: The effects of different nitrogen contents on the passivity of nickel-free stainless steels in 0.5 M sulfuric acid + 0.5 M sodium chloride solution were investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in the potential ranges of active dissolution and active-passive transition. A simplified reaction model containing adsorbed intermediates involved dissolution process, and passivation process was proposed to explain the impedance characteristics. Based on both equivalent circuit and mathematical model analysis, the effects of nitrogen on the passivity of stainless steels are discussed.

Description: The influence of heat treatment from 500 to 1100 °C on the 5 wt.% H 2 SO 4 solution-induced corrosion resistance of high-velocity oxygen-fuel sprayed WC-17Co coatings on 42CrMo steel was investigated, by using x-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM)-energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS), and polarization curve methods. XRD analysis showed decrease in W 2 C phase intensity with recrystallization of amorphous Co and generation of new Co 3 W 3 C and Co 6 W 6 C phases with heat treatment. Porosity distribution did not follow a particular pattern; it initially increased and then decreased with increasing temperature. Corrosion resistance sequence of the as-sprayed and heat-treated coatings in 5 wt.% H 2 SO 4 solution was C-5 〉 C-9 〉 C-A 〉 C-7 〉 C-11. Furthermore, microstructure and phase structure of heat-treated coatings revealed the formation of different discontinuous plate-like oxide films on the surface of the heat-treated coatings which indicated the vital effect of binder structure on the corrosion resistance.

Description: Isothermal die forging is one of near net-shape metal-forming technologies. Strict control of billet temperature during isothermal die forging is a guarantee for the excellent properties of final product. In this study, a new method is proposed to accurately control the billet temperature of complex superalloy casing, based on the finite element simulation and response surface methodology (RSM). The proposed method is accomplished by the following two steps. Firstly, the thermal compensation process is designed and optimized to overcome the inevitable heat loss of dies during hot forging. i.e., the layout and opening time of heaters assembled on die sleeves are optimized. Then, the effects of forging speed (the pressing velocity of hydraulic machine) and its changing time on the maximum billet temperature are discussed. Furthermore, the optimized forging speed and its changing time are obtained by RSM. Comparisons between the optimized and conventional die forging processes indicate that the proposed method can effectively control the billet temperature within the optimal forming temperature range. So, the optimized die forging processes can guarantee the high volume fraction of dynamic recrystallization, and restrict the rapid growth of grains in the forged superalloy casing.

Description: The hydriding-dehydriding process was used to recycle AZ40 magnesium (Mg) alloy scraps, and the microstructure nanocrystallization was realized. X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were carried out to characterize the microstructure. After mechanically milling in hydrogen for 72 h, matrix Mg was completely turned into nanocrystalline MgH 2 , with an average crystallite size of about 10 nm. And then, the MgH 2 phase was completely transformed into Mg again through vacuum dehydriding treatment at 300 °C for 192 min, with an average crystallite size of about 20 nm. In addition, the nanocrystalline alloy powders were hot-pressed and extruded into bars. The average grain size of the bars was about 500 nm, which had reached the size of ultrafine-grain. Meanwhile, the yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of the as-extruded bars reached about 312 and 497 MPa, respectively. The results indicate that hydriding-dehydriding process is a feasible method for recycling of Mg alloy scraps, and it is expected to have a good application prospect in preparing ultrafine-grain Mg alloys.

Description: In this study, the effect of KOH concentration on the electrochemical properties of micro-arc oxidation (MAO) coated Mg alloy AZ31B has been investigated. Also, the surface morphology and chemical composition of the MAO coatings have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction. In MAO process, an increase in the concentration of KOH as a result of increase in the electrolyte electrical conductivity leads to a reduction in sparking which in turn improves the quality and the behavior of anodic coatings in the concentration of 2.5 M. Moreover, it can be concluded that the MAO coating shows its best protective behavior when KOH concentration is equal 2.5 M, and if the concentration is higher or lower than this value, the protective properties of MAO coating will decrease.

Description: Titanium aluminide alloys are good candidates for structural applications thanks to their low density and good balance of properties up to relatively high temperatures. However, their application is still limited by significant oxidation. Four γ-TiAl alloys with different content of aluminum and niobium were produced by electron beam melting: Ti-45Al-2Cr-2Nb, Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb, Ti-45Al-2Cr-8Nb, and Ti-46Al-2Cr-8Nb. The behavior of these alloys in response to oxidation in air during constant heating up to 1000 °C and isothermal oxidation for 10 h at 850 and 950 °C were studied by thermogravimetric analysis. The mass gain due to oxidation of the low Nb-containing alloys was always at least twice that of the high Nb-containing alloys. Both low and high Nb-containing alloys exhibited on their surface oxidation products of the same nature: oxides TiO 2 and Al 2 O 3 , and nitrides TiN and Ti 2 AlN. Niobium addition up to 8 at.% did not suppress the growth of rutile and promote the formation of a protective alumina layer. However, it efficiently reduced the formation of rutile, mainly responsible for the mass gain due to oxidation of γ-TiAl alloys and with tendency to spallation.

Description: Strengthening of aluminum alloy 2219 by thermo-mechanical treatment has been compared with artificial aging. Three simple deformation modes including pre-stretching, compression, and rolling have been used in thermo-mechanical treatment. The tensile strength, elongation, fracture feature, and precipitated phase have been investigated. The results show that the strengthening effect of thermo-mechanical treatment is better than the one of artificial aging. Especially, the yield strength significantly increases with a small decrease of elongation. When the specimen is pre-stretched to 8.0%, the yield strength reaches 385.0 MPa and increases by 22.2% in comparison to the one obtained in aging condition. The maximum tensile strength of 472.4 MPa is achieved with 4.0% thickness reduction by compression. The fracture morphology reveals locally ductile and brittle failure mechanism, while the coarse second-phase particles distribute on the fracture surface. The intermediate phases θ ″ or θ ′ orthogonally precipitate in the matrix after thermo-mechanical treatment. As compared to artificial aging, the cold plastic deformation increases distribution homogeneity and the volume fraction of θ′′ or θ′ precipitates. These result in a better strengthening effect.

Description: Nano-crystalline and amorphous Co-P coatings were deposited on plain carbon steel substrates by using direct current. Effects of electrolyte pH on morphology, current efficiency, phosphorus content, hardness, and preferred orientation of the nano-crystalline coatings were investigated. Moreover, the effects of heat treatment on microstructure and hardness of the nano-crystalline and the amorphous coatings were studied. The results showed that, phosphorus content and hardness of the nano-crystalline coatings were decreased by increasing of the pH, in spite of a current efficiency enhancement to as much as 98%. Grain size and preferred orientation were also changed from 13 to 31 nm and from mostly [002] to [100] by increasing the pH from 1 to 4, respectively. Smoother coatings and higher current efficiencies were obtained by the addition of 1 g/L sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) to the bath. Highest hardness of the nano-crystalline and the amorphous coatings was about 600 and 750 HV, which increased and reached 760 and 1090 HV after heat treatment, respectively.

Description: In this study, the stability and microstructural evolution, including grain size and hardness of nanocrystalline Fe 91 Ni 8 Zr 1 alloyed powders, produced by ball milling, were investigated after annealing at 900 and 1000 °C for up to 24 h. Results indicate that rapid grain growth to the micron scale occurs within the first few minutes of exposure to the elevated annealing temperatures. However, despite the loss of nanocrystallinity, an extremely stable and efficient hardening effect persists, which has been found to be equal to that predicted by Hall-Petch strengthening even at the smallest grain sizes. The mechanical properties of the samples consolidated to bulk via equal channel angular extrusion at 900 °C were evaluated by uniaxial compression at room and elevated temperatures. Results reveal high compressive yield stress as well as the appearance and disappearance of a yield drop indicating the presence of coherent (GP zone like) precipitates within the microstructure. Such a hardening mechanism has implications for developing new Fe-Ni-based alloys exhibiting a combination of high strength and ductility for high temperature applications.

Description: Agglomerated TiB 2 particle and network-like structure-reinforced titanium matrix composite coatings were prepared by laser cladding of the Ni + TiB 2  + Ti preplaced powders on Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The network-like structure mainly consisted of NiTi and Ni 3 Ti. Through the experiment, it was found that the size of agglomerated particle gradually decreased with the increase of Ti content, but the number of the network-like structure first increased and then disappeared. In-situ reaction competition mechanism and the formation of network-like structure were discussed. The average micro-hardness gradually decreased with the increase of Ti content, but the average fracture toughness gradually increased. Meanwhile, the wear resistance of the coatings is higher than that of the substrate, but the wear loss of the coatings is gradually increased with the increase of Ti content.

Description: This paper investigates the effect of quenching and aging treatment on microstructure and abrasive wear of Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The as-received alloy was solution treated at 1339 K, then oil quenched, followed by aging at 823 K for 4 h (14,400 s). The microstructures of as-received and quench-aged specimens were characterized by using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and electron backscattered diffraction techniques. The as-received specimen consisted of very fine α grains (average grain size 2 μm) with β phase uniformly dispersed throughout. The microstructure of the quench-aged specimen showed α plates (formed by the decomposition of α′ during aging). The β phase precipitated out of α′ martensite during aging and hence was dispersed uniformly in the α matrix. Ti-6Al-4V alloy was quench-aged to achieve maximum hardness with a view that the increased hardness would lead to an improvement in abrasive wear behavior. Two-body abrasive wear tests were carried out on the as-received and quench-aged specimens using pin-on-disk apparatus with SiC as abrasive media (150-grit size). The effect of sliding distance and normal load on the abrasive wear behavior was studied. The wear resistance of the as-received specimen was greater than that of quench-aged specimen, while hardness of the as-received specimen was lower than that of quench-aged specimen. The abrasive wear behavior of Ti-6Al-4V alloy has been explained based on morphology/microstructure of the alloy and the associated wear mechanism(s).

Description: In this study, in order to investigate the relationship between surface roughness and the corrosion resistance of the SS 316 LVM wires, samples have been prepared with different surface roughness by using different grits of SiC papers. In order to simulate the environment of implanted biomedical devices, a three-electrode electrochemical cell with 0.9% (by mass) NaCl solution has been used to test the corrosion resistance of the samples by potentiodynamic method and anodic polarization tests. SEM, EDS, and XPS have been performed to analyze the surfaces appearance and chemical elements on the surface before and after the corrosion. AFM was also used to get 3D images of the surface and to show the change in roughness of the samples after corrosion testing. Background-subtracted contrast-enhanced microscopy has been performed in situ to detect the pitting process happening on the surface of stainless steel samples. It was concluded that a relatively smoother surface can result in higher corrosion resistance and larger potential of stable pitting, whereas a rougher surface can easily go into stable pitting with lower pitting potentials. Rougher surfaces also showed a shorter time for the formation of stable pits. Microscopy observations illustrated more corrosion on rougher surfaces, and EDS showed more chloride ion remained on these surfaces.

Description: Superaustenitic stainless steel 654SMO was used as the experimental material to investigate the effect of heating temperatures and holding times on grain growth behavior in the temperature range of 1150-1250 °C and holding time ranging from 15 to 60 min. The contour maps of grain size and grain growth rate as a function of temperatures and times were plotted. The results of this study suggest that grains grow with parabolic trend. Grain size and its growth rate increase with increasing heating temperature, the former also increases with holding time, while the latter decreases with holding time. Both grain size and grain growth rate are more sensitive to holding time than solution temperature at temperatures below 1200 °C, which is contrary to that of at temperatures above 1200 °C. The growth behavior of grains in the tested steel is illustrated by a modified mathematical model deduced on the basis of previous empirical models, and this modified grain growth model can fit well with the experimental grain growth data obtained during solution treatment.

Description: An attempt to the modification of the microstructure and mechanical properties of affordable, Mn-containing maraging alloys is reported. These alloys have demonstrated strong age hardening but suffered with premature intergranular brittleness despite their potential applications in tooling, dies, and machinery industries. An Fe-10Ni-6Mo-3Mn-1Ti (wt.%) alloy was prepared by vacuum melting and processed by homogenization (1250 °C/48 h), cold rolling, solution annealing (950 °C/1 h), and aging treatments (500 °C/4 h). It presented tensile strength of about 2.65 GPa, a few percent of tensile elongation and a mixed ductile-brittle fracture mode. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed the precipitation of a nearly spherical phase. Crystal symmetry of the second phase precipitates was identified hexagonal close-packed corresponding reasonably to the Fe 2 Mo Laves phase having lattice parameters of a  = 0.4745 and c  = 0.7754 nm. Precipitation of a Mo-enriched second-phase particle was occasionally found at prior austenite grain boundaries but the pronounced grain boundary precipitation was never identified. Energy-filtering transmission electron microscopy using the Mo-M 4,5 post edge revealed remarkable segregation of Mo at grain boundaries.

Description: Friction stir welding was performed to join carbon steel plates at tool rotational rate of 800-1400 rpm. Microstructure and microhardness of welded specimens were evaluated across weld centerline. Torque base index, peak temperature, cooling rate, strain, strain rate, volumetric material flow rate, and width of extruded zone at weld nugget were calculated. Peak temperature at weld nugget was ~1300-1360 K. At this temperature, ferrite transformed to austenite during welding. Austenite was decomposed in to ferrite and bainite at cooling rate of ~4-7.5 K/s. The presence of bainite was endorsed by increment in microhardness with respect to base material. Ferrite grain size at weld nugget was finer in comparison to as-received alloy. With the increment in tool rotational rate strain, strain rate, total heat input, and peak temperature at weld nugget were increased. High temperature at weld nugget promoted increment in ferrite grain size and reduction in area fraction of bainite. Heat-affected zone also experienced phase transformation and exhibited enhancement in ferrite grain size in comparison to base alloy at all welding parameters with marginal drop in microhardness. Maximum joint strength was obtained at the tool rotational rate of 1000 rpm. Increment in tool rational rate reduced the joint efficiency owing to increment in ferrite grain size and reduction in pearlite area fraction at heat-affected zone.

Description: The strain-controlled low-cycle fatigue properties of gravity cast Al-Si-Cu alloys for engine cylinder heads were investigated. At strain ratios of R ε  = −2, 0, and 0.1, the cyclic stress amplitude progressively increased from initiation to the 450th cycle, and then proceeded into a steady stage until failure. At a strain ratio of R ε  = −∞, the material exhibited a continuous cyclic hardening. The hysteresis loops in this alloy for the 2nd and half-life cycle were tension/compression asymmetry, which also corresponded well to the evolution of peak/valley stress. Transmission electron microscopy analysis suggested that cyclic hardening was caused by the dislocations multiplication/tangles at strain ratios of R ε  = −∞ and 0. Besides, the presence of dislocation cross slip contributed to cyclic stabilization observed at later stage of deformation at a strain ratio of R ε  = 0. Micro-analysis of specimen fracture appearance was conducted in order to obtain the fracture characteristics and crack paths for different strain ratios. It showed that the fatigue cracks initiated basically at the internal defects in the samples. Meanwhile, at strain ratios of R   =  −∞ and 0, the fracture surface was rough with a large number of small unequiaxed dimples and some tear ridges. Moreover, the localized pores offered a preferential crack path in the samples, where they were surrounded by silicon particles. At a strain ratio of R ε  = −∞, the fatigue cracks preferentially initiated at pores rather than α-Fe phases. At a strain ratio of R ε  = 0, where fatigue crack initiation was observed at the interface between plate-like branch of α-Fe phase and aluminum matrix.

Description: Effects of liquid amine-terminated butadiene-acrylonitrile (ATBN) on the properties of bisphenol-A/aniline-based polybenzoxazine (PBA-a) composites were investigated. Liquid ATBN decreased gel time and lowered curing temperature of the benzoxazine resin (BA-a). The PBA-a/ATBN-based self-lubricating composites resulted in substantial enhancement regarding their tribological, mechanical, and thermal properties. The inclusion of the ATBN at 5% by weight was found decreasing the friction coefficient and improved wear resistance of the PBA-a/ATBN composites. Flexural modulus and glass transition temperature of the PBA-a composite samples added the ATBN was constant within the range of 1-5% by weight. A plausible wear mechanism of the composites is proposed based on their worn surface morphologies. Based on the findings in this work, it seems that the obtained PBA-a/ATBN self-lubricating composites would have high potential to be used for bearing materials where low friction coefficient, high wear resistance, and modulus with good thermal property are required.

Description: The structural properties of lightweight constructions can be adapted to specific local requirements using multi-material designs. Aluminum alloys and carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) are materials of great interest requiring suitable joining techniques in order to transfer the advantages of combining the materials to structural benefits. Thus, the research group “Schwarz-Silber” investigates novel concepts to enable frontal aluminum-CFRP joints using transition structures. In the foil concept titanium foils are used as transition elements. Specimens have been produced using three-layer titanium laminates. In tensile tests, three failure locations have been observed: (1) Al-Ti seam, (2) Ti-CFRP hybrid laminate, and (3) CFRP laminate. In this paper, the fracture mechanisms of these failure modes are investigated by analyzing metallographic micrographs and fracture surfaces as well as by correlating load-displacement curves to video imaging of tensile tests. The results show that the cracking of the CFRP layers can be traced back to an assembly error. The laminate character of the titanium part tends to reduce the Al-Ti seam strength. However, two sub-joint tests demonstrate that the Al-Ti seam can endure loads up to 9.5 kN. The ductile failure behavior of the Ti-CFRP hybrid laminates is caused by plastic deformations of the titanium laminate liners.

Description: SnO 2 nanosheets with sizes around 1 μm and thickness around 30 nm have been synthesized by a template-free hydrothermal method. With the addition of urea, SnO 2 hollow microspheres with diameters of about 1 μm and shell thickness of about 200 nm were also prepared. The structures, morphologies, and optical properties of the as-prepared samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and ultraviolet-visible absorption spectrophotometry. The possible mechanisms for the growth of these SnO 2 nanostructures were tentatively proposed based on controlled experiments. Moreover, photocatalytic investigations revealed that the as-prepared SnO 2 samples possessed good photocatalytic activity in the degradation of rhodamine B.

Description: In order to improve the understanding of the hot deformation and dynamic recrystallization (DRX) behaviors of large-scaled AZ80 magnesium alloy fabricated by semi-continuous casting, compression tests were carried out in the temperature range from 250 to 400 °C and strain rate range from 0.001 to 0.1 s −1 on a Gleeble 1500 thermo-mechanical machine. The effects of the temperature and strain rate on the hot deformation behavior have been expressed by means of the conventional hyperbolic sine equation, and the influence of the strain has been incorporated in the equation by considering its effect on different material constants for large-scaled AZ80 magnesium alloy. In addition, the DRX behavior has been discussed. The result shows that the deformation temperature and strain rate exerted remarkable influences on the flow stress. The constitutive equation of large-scaled AZ80 magnesium alloy for hot deformation at steady-state stage (ɛ = 0.5) was \( \dot{\upvarepsilon } = 1.394 \times 10^{12} [\sinh (0.018\upsigma )]^{5.043} \exp ( - 169.610/RT). \) The true stress-true strain curves predicted by the extracted model were in good agreement with the experimental results, thereby confirming the validity of the developed constitutive relation. The DRX kinetic model of large-scaled AZ80 magnesium alloy was established as X d  = 1 − exp[−0.95((ɛ − ɛ c )/ɛ*) 2.4904 ]. The rate of DRX increases with increasing deformation temperature, and high temperature is beneficial for achieving complete DRX in the large-scaled AZ80 magnesium alloy.

Description: For a better understanding of the thermal fatigue behavior in compacted graphite cast iron (CGI), the cyclic thermal shock test is carried out through alternating induction heating and water quenching. The optical and scanning electron microscopy observations are used to examine the cracks and oxidation behavior on the cross section and heating surface of the material specimen, respectively. The results show that the thermal cracks in CGI initiate at the graphite phases mostly, and the multi-sourced thermal cracks would result in stable cracks morphology finally through crack shielding effect. In the oxidation analysis, it is found that the oxidation of graphite is selective, and the graphite is the potential channels for oxygen diffusion from the outside into the matrix, resulting in local oxidation of matrix around graphite and continuous oxygen diffusion paths in the microstructure. Thermal cracks nucleate from the oxidation holes at graphite caused by decarburization, and they prefer to propagate and coalesce by penetrating the oxide bridges.

Description: Air plasma-sprayed Ni-20Cr coating on stainless steel (AISI-304) substrate was re-melted using CO 2 laser to remove the inherent defects, i.e., porosity, splat boundaries, and oxides of air plasma-sprayed coating. The (1) uncoated, (2) air plasma-sprayed, and (3) laser-re-melted specimens were exposed to cyclic oxidation at 900 °C for a hundred cycles run. The oxidation products were characterized using XRD and SEM. Weight changes were determined after every 4th cycle; Uncoated samples showed severe oxidation indicated by substantial weight loss, whereas air plasma-coated samples demonstrated noticeable weight gain. However, oxidation resistance of laser-cladded samples was found to be significantly improved as the samples showed negligible weight change; porosity within the coating was minimized with an improvement in interface quality causing reduction in delamination damage.

Description: In the present study, corrosion inhibition influence of novel cationic surfactant (CS) with imidazole structure (1-methyl-3-octadecane imidazolium hydrogen sulfate) on low carbon steel in 1 M HCl was investigated by implementing weight loss, potentiodynamic polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. Increasing the amount of surfactant adequately leads to an increment of the inhibition efficiency of novel CS. According to the obtained results from EIS measurements, inhibition efficiency was about 34% in the presence of 1 ppm surfactant, increasing to about 96.8% at the 25 ppm (near critical micelle concentration) surfactant concentration. Also the effects of temperature and the synergistic effect between surfactant and NaHSO 4 salt were studied. The inhibition efficiency increased with the increase of NaHSO 4 concentration and reached the maximum value near 0.1 M and experienced a plummet in the temperature range of 30-50 °C. Potentiodynamic polarization measurements revealed that the surfactant acts as mixed-type inhibitors. Results obtained from weight loss, polarization, and impedance measurements are in proper agreement and confirmed the fact that this surfactant is an excellent inhibitor for low carbon steel in 1 M HCl environment. The surface morphology of inhibited and uninhibited metal samples was investigated by atomic force microscope (AFM) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM).

Description: The phase transformation temperature of nickel titanium (NiTi) shape memory alloy (SMA), which is commonly used in biomaterial fields, is strongly influenced by aging heat treatments. In this study, we apply a new aging heat treatment under loading conditions to near-equiatomic NiTi SMA wires to investigate its effect on phase transformation temperatures. We determine changes in the phase transformation temperatures via differential scanning calorimetry measurements. We analyze transformation temperatures, hysteresis properties, and enthalpy changes and discuss significant results with the help of micrographs. Moreover, we evaluate our results using two-way analysis of variance, axiomatic design methods, and customary analysis in order to make reliable inferences. We observe a significant difference between first and second heating-cooling cycle results for NiTi SMA samples on the basis of austenitic transformation temperatures. Consequently, we are able to theorize correlations between design parameters and functional requirements.

Description: Micromechanical response of silicon carbide particle dispersed Al/Mg/Ti/Cu composite, synthesized by powder metallurgy technique was investigated. A correlation between their microhardness and nanomechanical properties at submicron length scale was established. Hardening effect of SiC particles on the hardness, elastic modulus, recovery index, and plastic energy of the matrices was prominent and may be due to the interactions between geometrically necessary and statistically stored dislocations along with their impediment with dispersoids-matrix interface. The elastic recovery obtained from nanoscratch measurement was also correlated with the recovery parameter, which was derived from the nanoindentation of the composite compacts.

Description: Residual stresses introduced by manufacturing processes such as casting, forming, machining, and welding have harmful effects on the mechanical behavior of the structures. In addition to the residual stresses, weld toe stress concentration can play a determining effect. There are several methods to improve the mechanical properties such as fatigue behavior of the welded structures. In this paper, the effects of ultrasonic peening on the fatigue life of the high-temperature seamless steel pipes, used in the petrochemical environment, have been investigated. These welded pipes are fatigued due to thermal and mechanical loads caused by the cycle of cooling, heating, and internal pressure fluctuations. Residual stress measurements, weld geometry estimation, electrochemical evaluations, and metallography investigations were done as supplementary examinations. Results showed that application of ultrasonic impact treatment has led to increased fatigue life, fatigue strength, and corrosion resistance of A106-B welded steel pipes in petrochemical corrosive environment.

Description: The present study deals with the static and dynamic microstructural evolution of a high-Mn twinning-induced plasticity steel. Static recrystallization (SRX) is considered through cold rolling followed by annealing with different holding times. Dynamic recrystallization (DRX) was explored by hot compression tests at different temperatures and strain rates. The microstructural observations demonstrated that new grains nucleate at the prior grain boundaries and grain size decreased when cold rolling was followed by annealing. Additionally to the grain size reduction due to the SRX, nucleation sites for DRX increased. It is shown that flow stress level increased as a result of grain refinement caused by static and DRX.

Description: Phase transformation during heating in homogenized Ti-22Al-(27- x )Nb- x Zr ( x  = 0, 1, 6) alloys is monitored by dilatometry, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and detailed metallographic examination. Moreover, the dissolution of α 2 into the B 2 /β matrix is investigated and discussed. In Ti-22Al-27Nb alloy, the sequence of phase transformation during heating can be concluded as follows: B 2 /β → O, B 2 /β + α 2  → O, B 2 /β + O→ B 2 /β + O + α 2 , B 2 /β + O + α 2  →  B 2 /β + α 2 , and B 2 /β + α 2  →  B 2 /β. For Ti-22Al-21Nb-6Zr alloy, it is B 2 /β → α 2  + O, O + α 2  +  B 2 /β →  B 2 /β + α2, and then α 2 dissolves into B 2 matrix. There are considerable shifts in the maxima of the transformation rates in B 2 /β + O+α 2  →  B 2 /β + α 2 and B 2 /β + α 2  →  B 2 /β transformed region to the higher temperatures with increasing x value. In the stage of B 2 /β + α 2  →  B 2 /β, there is a deceleration of reduction in α 2 phase with increasing temperature for Ti-22Al-(27- x )Nb- x Zr ( x  = 0, 1, 6) alloys. And for Ti-22Al-21Nb-6Zr, the dissolution rate of α 2 phase is accelerated.

Description: The scanning vibrating electrode technique (SVET) has been used to study the in-situ corrosion phenomena on AA2024T3 aluminum alloy. Three distinct sequential stages of corrosion attack, with time, on the alloy have been revealed (0-75, 75-180 min, and after 180 min). The increase and decrease in the intensity of the anodic activities at the surface of the alloy, which give a corresponding increase and decrease in the net current density values, with time, are responsible for the stepwise changes in the corrosion stages. The work also revealed mild etch-like attack regions on the surface of the alloy after the immersion test.

Description: The injection-molded metallic glass soft magnet is prepared from the powder of melt-spun ribbon of Fe 36 Co 36 B 20 Si 4 Nb 4 glassy alloy and Nylon 6,6 of wt.% from 5 to 20 via the polymer injection molding technology. The product is characterized by the SEM, mechanical, and magnetic test. The results indicate that this type of materials has comparable mechanical properties and morphological feature with the conventional injection-molded NdFeB magnet and exhibits excellent soft magnetic behaviors. The magnetic properties of the injected magnets are compared with the raw metallic glass, solvent-casted resin bonding magnets, and thermal-treated magnets to confirm that the processing temperature of Nylon injection does not affect the magnetism. The injection technology is a practical processing method to be applied on the metallic glass for potential usage.

Description: Static recrystallization (SRX) behavior of a nitrogen-alloyed ultralow carbon austenitic stainless steel was studied on a Gleeble-1500D thermal-simulator by two-step hot compression tests. Deformation temperatures of 1173-1473 K, deformation strains of 0.051-0.105, strain rates of 0.01-1 s −1 , and inter-step times of 1-100 s were selected as the deformation conditions to investigate the effects of deformation parameters on SRX behavior. Besides, the influences of initial grain size on SRX behavior were studied. The results show that deformation temperature and strain have greater influences on SRX behavior than strain rate and initial grain size. Based on true stress-true strain data obtained from the experiments, SRX kinetics equation was determined. In addition, the established SRX kinetics equation was introduced into finite element simulation software DEFORM-3D to perform the two-step compression deformation. Furthermore, SRX kinetics equation was modified for improving the accuracy of finite element simulation, and the modified SRX kinetics equation was verified.

Description: In this work, effects of pH value on the electrochemical and stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior of X70 pipeline steel in the dilute bicarbonate solutions were investigated using electrochemical measurements, slow strain rate tensile tests and surface analysis techniques. Decrease of the solution pH from 6.8 to 6.0 promotes the anodic dissolution and cathodic reduction simultaneously. Further decrease of the pH value mainly accelerates the cathodic reduction of X70 pipeline steel. As a result, when the solution pH decreases form 6.8 to 5.5, SCC susceptibility decreases because of the enhancement of the anodic dissolution. When the solution pH decreases from 5.5 to 4.0, SCC susceptibility increases gradually because of the acceleration of cathodic reactions.

Description: On the basis of hot rolling practice, the effects of thermomechanical control process parameters on the evolution of austenite grain size before the deformation at non-recrystallization zone were investigated in detail. The inflections in the strain hardening rate versus true stress curves show that the dynamic recrystallization (DRX) has initiated for different deformation conditions studied in the present work. But the volume fractions of the equiaxed grains in the specimens which were immediately water quenched to room temperature after deformation are different from each other. Moreover, the main refinement mechanisms for different deformation conditions have been differentiated. It is interesting to note that the austenite grain size can be refined significantly with increasing the strain from 0.0 to 0.5 for different deformation temperatures. However, when the strain increases to 0.8, the austenite grain size cannot be further refined for the higher deformation temperature range, while the austenite grain size can be further refined for the lower deformation temperature range. In addition, the effect of strain rate on the austenite grain refinement is vigorous for the higher deformation temperatures. Moreover, the empirical equation to estimate the austenite grain size for different deformation parameters was established.

Description: Nanosized In 2 O 3 powders with different particle sizes were prepared by the microemulsion synthetic method. The effects of particle size on the gas-sensing and catalytic properties of the as-prepared In 2 O 3 were investigated. Reductions in particle size to nanometer levels improved the sensitivity and catalytic activity of In 2 O 3 to i -C 4 H 10 and C 2 H 5 OH. The sensitivity of nanosized In 2 O 3 (〈42 nm) sensors to i -C 4 H 10 , H 2 and C 2 H 5 OH was 2-4 times higher than that of chemically precipitated In 2 O 3 (130 nm) sensor. A nearly linear relationship was observed between the catalytic activity and specific surface area of In 2 O 3 for the oxidation of i -C 4 H 10 and C 2 H 5 OH at 275 °C. The relationship between gas sensitivity and catalytic activity was further discussed. The results of this work reveal that catalytic activity plays a key role in enhancing the sensitivity of gas-sensing materials.

Description: The evolution of micro-texture below the machined surface is computationally modeled and experimentally verified. The orientation distribution functions of the grains below the surface were represented in spectral form. The microstructure descriptor coefficients were derived, and their change with respect to the change in the cutting feed rate was computationally calculated and monitored. Micro-texture experimental observations conducted by electron back-scatter diffraction technique verify the modeling outputs. Continuation of changing the process parameter was done by finite element method, and the evolution in texture was investigated by computational modeling. The process path function which correlates micro-texture evolution and cutting feed rate, was obtained by applying the principle of orientation conservation in the Euler space. As a result of the major finding of this work, i.e., derivation of process path functions, the evolution of texture as a function of the material feed rate is numerically determined without any need to texture modeling or finite element analyses.

Description: The life cycle requirements for advanced Ni alloys are very demanding and can be on the order of several hundreds of thousands of hours. Results are presented on a wrought Ni-based superalloy designed within the nominal chemistry range of Haynes 282 with a fixed amount of γ′ strengthening phase, and either low Al or Ti (within the alloy specification) to give different ratios of Ti/Al, and thus, different γ′ misfit with the γ matrix. The effect that these changes have on the γ′ misfit and its relevance to long-term microstructural stability is being explored both experimentally as well as with computational modeling with results through almost 10,000 h. The basics of the modeling approach are presented as are the procedures for evaluating the γ′ volume fractions from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs and correcting these volume fractions for truncation error due to TEM foil thickness. Results on each alloy formulation are compared and discussed with respect to possible γ′ coarsening due to the different Ti/Al ratio and what this might mean for the long-term stability of the alloy.

Description: The numerical simulation of tensile fracture behavior on Al-Cu alloy friction stir-welded joint was performed with the Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman (GTN) damage model. The parameters of the GTN model were studied in each region of the friction stir-welded joint by means of inverse identification. Based on the obtained parameters, the finite element model of the welded joint was built to predict the fracture behavior and tension properties. Good agreement can be found between the numerical and experimental results in the location of the tensile fracture and the mechanical properties.

Description: In this work, the inhibiting effect of benzotriazole (BTA) on corrosion of X65 pipeline steel in bicarbonate solution was investigated by electrochemical measurements, including open-circuit potential, potentiodynamic polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy characterization. It is found that BTA is effective to inhibit the steel corrosion, and the inhibiting efficiency is increased by the increasing inhibitor concentration. The BTA is an anodic inhibitor, which shifts the corrosion potential of the steel less negatively and decreases the anodic current density at individual potential. A layer of inhibitor film is formed on the steel surface to reduce the corrosion rate of the steel. The formed film is quite smooth, with a roughness at the nano-meter scale.

Description: This study investigates the performance of three triazole derivatives with different molecular structures as corrosion inhibitors for the copper-nickel alloy CuNi 90/10 in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution. Inhibition behavior was systematically determined through electrochemical measurements, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. In addition, adsorption behavior and the inhibition mechanism were investigated via quantum chemical calculation and molecular dynamic simulation. Experimental results indicate that the three inhibitors with triazole rings and heteroatoms exhibited excellent corrosion inhibition capabilities on the copper-nickel alloy surface through physisorption and chemisorption. In particular, 3-amino-5-mercapto-1,2,4-triazole showed the best inhibition capability according to the concentration ranges considered in the experiments. The results of quantum chemical calculation agreed with the experimental findings.

Description: The addition of silicon carbide (SiC) nanoparticles into electroless nickel (Ni)-based coatings improves both corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of the resulting Ni-P/SiC nanocomposite coatings, making them potential candidate as protective coatings in aggressive environments. Ni-P/SiC nanocomposite coatings were produced from precursor bath with small SiC loading levels (0.25 or 1.0 g/L) and characterized for morphology, corrosion resistance, and hardness. Microstructural examination using FE-SEM and AFM revealed that incorporation of uniformly dispersed SiC nanoparticles leads to smaller nodule size with fine-grain structure and low surface roughness. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy studies in 4 wt.% NaCl solution showed that the nanocomposite coatings exhibit excellent corrosion resistance, as indicated by high charge-transfer resistance and low double-layer capacitance values of ~137 kΩ cm 2 and 19 µF cm −2 , respectively. The coatings maintained their structural integrity even after 5 days of saline bath immersion, as there was no cracking in the deposit microstructure besides formation of shallow pits and submicron-sized pores. A two-fold increase in the average hardness value was noticed from 4.5 (pure Ni-P) to 8.5 GPa (Ni-P/SiC coating) which can be ascribed to modified deposit morphology and uniformly dispersed SiC nanoparticles that act as obstacles to plastic deformation.

Description: Distortion resulting from heat treatment may cause serious problems for precision parts. A precision component made from 30CrNi3Mo steel with internal threads distorts slightly after quenching-tempering treatment. Such a small distortion results in serious difficulties in the subsequent assembly process. The distortion of the internal thread was measured using semi-destructive testing with video measuring system. Periodic wavy distortions emerged in the internal threads after heat treatment. Then both XRD analysis and hardness testing were conducted. A numerical simulation of the complete quenching-tempering process was conducted by DANTE, which is a set of user subroutines that link into the ABAQUS/STD solver. The results from the simulations are in good agreement with the measurement in distortion, microstructure field, and hardness. The effects of the technological parameters including quenchant, immersion orientation, and grooves were discussed on the basis of the simulation results. Finally, strategies to significantly decrease distortion and residual stress are proposed.

Description: Aluminum alloy 2024-T4 specimens were exposed to atmosphere for 7, 12, and 20 years, respectively, to study long-term corrosion in a coastal environment. One-directional corrosion region and cross-directional corrosion region were defined according to corrosion characters. The statistical regularities, surface appearance, corrosion products, and cross-sectional morphology of both regions were investigated. It was found that the minimum remaining thicknesses of each region can be described by a normal distribution and linearly decrease as the exposure time is increased from 7 to 20 years. The corrosion pits, chlorine ions, and interlinked inner pits are promoting exfoliation, and the alloy’s corrosion susceptibility along the long transverse direction is strongly location dependent due to the restrictions imposed by the side material.

Description: Photocatalysts that are used for waste water treatment are often suspended in the waste water during processing and then must be removed from the water after treatment. To reduce the post-degradation expenses and time, separation is facilitated by an immobilization process. The effect of immobilized TiO 2 geometries on the photocatalytic behavior of the photocatalyst is investigated in this work. Powder, fiber, film, and network-shaped TiO 2 nanocatalysts were produced by using different templates. The cellulose fiber and ceramic templates were used as substrates for fiber and film/network geometry production. The products were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area measurement. The photocatalytic performance was determined by methyl orange degradation and cyanide photo-oxidation under ultraviolet irradiation. From the SEM images, the size range of the TiO 2 particles in the film and in the network geometries were 20-60 nm. The nanoparticles had covered the surface of the substrate, uniformly. Removal of the cellulose substrate by heat treatment yielded hollow TiO 2 fibers with diameters of 0.5-1 µm and lengths of 30 µm. The efficiencies of both photocatalytic reactions were obtained in the following order: powder 〉 network 〉 film 〉 fiber geometry. The rate constant of the dye degradation reaction using powder catalyst was 0.0118 min −1 . For network catalyst, it was 0.0083 min −1 . Corresponding results for cyanide disinfection were 0.0055 and 0.0046 min −1 . Although powder samples had higher rate constants, network geometry was preferred due to its higher immobility.

Description: In this study, step-wise multilayer and functionally graded Ni-P coatings were deposited with electroless in which the content of phosphorus and nickel would be changed gradually and step-wise through the thickness of the coatings, respectively. To compare the properties of these coatings with Ni-P single-layer coatings, three types of coatings with different phosphorus contents were deposited. Heat treatment of coatings was performed at 400 °C for 1 h. The microstructure and phase transformation of coatings were characterized by SEM/EDS, TEM, and XRD. The mechanical properties of coatings were studied by nanoindentation test. According to the results of the single-layer coatings, low P coating had the maximum hardness and also the ratio of hardness ( H ) to elasticity modulus ( E ) for the mentioned coating was maximum. In addition, low and medium P coatings had crystalline and semi-crystalline structure, respectively. The mentioned coatings had 〈111〉 texture and after heat treatment their texture didn’t change. While high P coating had amorphous structure, after heat treatment it changed to crystalline structure with 〈100〉 texture for nickel grains. Furthermore, the results showed that functionally graded and step-wise multilayer coatings were deposited successfully by using the same initial bath and changing the temperature and pH during deposition. Nanoindentation test results showed that the hardness of the mentioned coatings changed from 670 Hv near the substrate to 860 Hv near the top surface of coatings. For functionally graded coating the hardness profile had gradual changes, while step-wise multilayer coating had step-wise hardness profile. After heat treatment trend of hardness profiles was changed, so that near the substrate, hardness was measured 1400 Hv and changed to 1090 Hv at the top coat.

Description: This paper investigates an approach to evaluate the fatigue damage of FSSW cross-tension specimens under two-step force amplitude conditions. In fatigue tests with repeated two-step force amplitude, the fatigue limit of the welded joint disappeared. However, the fatigue damage evaluation using the modified Miner’s rule erred too much on the side of safety, as the modified Miner’s rule tends to overestimate the damage by applied forces below the fatigue limit. Thus, it was determined that, within the testing conditions used in this study, the fatigue damage evaluation using Haibach’s method yielded an accurate evaluation. In the case where significant plastic deformation caused by the applied force occurred near the welded zone, the cumulative fatigue damage value based on Miner’s rule was often larger than unity. Therefore, it is important to consider a cumulative damage estimation that takes into account the effect of pre-strain from the high force amplitude.

Description: The processes governing the deformation and damage of C70 pearlitic steel were investigated in nanometer and micrometer scales using electron backscatter diffraction technique and “in-situ” scanning electron microscope tensile testing. The ferrite behavior was identified by “in-situ” x-ray tensile tests. Investigations were carried out on annealed microstructure with two interlamellar spacings of Sp = 170 and Sp = 230 nm. It is shown that pearlite yielding is controlled by the deformation mechanisms occurring in ferrite. Deformation and damage mechanisms were proposed. At low strain, pearlite deforms homogeneously with low misorientation (〈5°) inside the pearlite colonies and elongates the cementite plates. At high strain, pearlite deforms heterogeneously in intense localized shear bands inside the more favorably oriented pearlite colonies. Misorientation reaches values up to 15°. Cementite deforms by an offset of lamella along the shear bands. The nucleation of these shear bands occurs at strain level of E 11  = 7% for coarse pearlite and at a higher value for fine pearlite. Damage occurs by brittle fracture of the elongated cementite lamellae parallel to the tensile axis and which are developed by shear micro-cracks along the slip bands. The plastic-induced damage is thus delayed by the fine pearlite structure.

Description: The atmospheric corrosion behavior of 304 stainless steel in a simulated marine atmosphere has been investigated using scanning electron microscope, optical microscope, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and electrochemical measurements. The experimental results indicate that the main corrosion type of 304 stainless steel in a simulated marine atmosphere is pitting corrosion and the initiation of pits is associated with the dissolution of MnS inclusion. The maximum pit depth of 304 stainless steel increased in linear relationship with the extension of corrosion time. XPS results reveal that the corrosion products possess more hydroxide, and the ratio of [Cr]/{[Cr]+[Fe]} in the corrosion products gradually increases with the increasing time. The protective ability of corrosion products formed on 304 stainless steel has also been discussed.

Description: Throughout a long and distinguished career, the research activities conducted by Professor Ravindran have been characterized by the quest to generate fundamental as well as practical knowledge through collaborative efforts involving academia and industry as a basis for development of innovative manufacturing routes and improvement in performance of existing products and processes based on near-net-shape casting technologies. In this paper, the generation, validation, and implementation of new knowledge is illustrated by the Ohno Continuous Casting process, a heated mold system that permits the production of net-shape or near-net-shape products with a high-quality surface, controlled solidification structure, and significantly enhanced properties.

Description: Wear phenomena of cemented carbide (94 wt.% WC, 6 wt.% Co) tip of conical picks have been observed by field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and x-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The conical pick is one type of the cutters which are used to excavate soft structure like coal. It has a cone-shaped abrasive part made of cemented carbide (CC). The picks, under study, have been used for coal mining in an underground mine through a continuous miner machine. During the critical analysis of four picks, wear mechanisms are categorized into four parts, such as, cracks, cavity formation in WC grains, grinding effect , and roughness of WC surface. Through a careful examination, the cracking mechanism has been further divided into three parts. They are cracks with overlapping surfaces, crack on a large surface of CC , and cracks in WC grains . In addition, the severe crushing and tearing of WC grains have also been clearly examined. The possible causes of each wear phenomenon have been explained comprehensively. Crushing and corrosion are the two wearing processes which have severely deteriorated the condition of the CC. Corrosion has been easily identified by observing a number of pores and triangular notches in the WC surface. The oxidation of WC grains due to corrosion has been established by EDS and XRD.

Description: This paper presents the wear properties of hot-extruded pure Mg and its composite reinforced with 1 wt.% SiC nanoparticles. Wear tests were performed under dry and oil sliding conditions using ball-on-flat configuration. It was found that the nanocomposites show much lower wear loss mainly due to hardness improvement caused by the nanoparticles and grain refinement. The wear loss gradually decreases as the sliding speed increases and then it begin to rise beyond a critical value. With the wear temperature improves from 25 to 190 °C, wear loss of nanocomposites reduces.

Description: The search for the optimal Almen intensity to use in shot peening treatments to maximize the fatigue life of industrial steel components involves many different variables and physical phenomena. In this paper, the optimal peening intensity of different steel grades obtained from an AISI 4340 steel through heat treatments has been determined. Six different steel grades were subjected to shot peening treatments, which were performed under full coverage, but employing diverse Almen intensities, shot sizes and air pressures. The role of the mechanical properties of the treated steel and the applied Almen intensity on the shot peening effects were studied to understand the results obtained by means of rotating bending fatigue tests. Each steel has a specific Almen intensity value able to optimize its fatigue life, thereby allowing an optimal balance between the positive and negative effects induced by shot peening. This value, or range of values, is dependent on the mechanical properties of the treated steel, increasing with increasing steel properties up to a certain point and then decreasing for stronger steels. In these cases, over peening treatments produce sufficiently large surface defects to induce relaxation of the surface residual stress and facilitate the initiation of surface fatigue cracks.

Description: In the present work, electrochemical and passive behaviors of pure copper fabricated by accumulative roll-bonding (ARB) process in 0.01 M borax solution (pH = 9.1) have been studied. Before any electrochemical measurements, evaluation of microstructure was obtained by Vickers microhardness, x-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy. The results of microhardness tests revealed that microhardness values increased with the increasing number of ARB cycles. Also a sharp increase was seen in microhardness after the first ARB cycle, whereas mediocre additional increases were observed afterward up to the seven cycles. Moreover, XRD patterns showed that the mean crystallite size values decrease with the increasing number of ARB cycles. To investigate the electrochemical and passive behaviors of the samples, the potentiodynamic polarization, Mott-Schottky analysis and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were carried out. Polarization plots revealed that as a result of ARB, the corrosion behavior of the specimens improves compared with the annealed pure copper. Also, the Mott-Schottky analysis and EIS measurements showed that the increasing number of ARB cycles offer better conditions for forming the passive films with higher protection behavior, due to the growth of less-defective films.

Description: The present study comprises the determination of constitutive relationship for thermo-mechanical processing of INCONEL 718 through double multivariate nonlinear regression, a newly developed approach which not only considers the effect of strain, strain rate, and temperature on flow stress but also explains the interaction effect of these thermo-mechanical parameters on flow behavior of the alloy. Hot isothermal compression experiments were performed on Gleeble-3500 thermo-mechanical testing machine in the temperature range of 1153 to 1333 K within the strain rate range of 0.001 to 10 s −1 . The deformation behavior of INCONEL 718 is analyzed and summarized by establishing the high temperature deformation constitutive equation. The calculated correlation coefficient ( R ) and average absolute relative error ( AARE ) underline the precision of proposed constitutive model.

Description: IN718 is a Nickel-based superalloy, widely used in high-temperature applications such as aircraft, and land-based and marine turbines. This technical paper deals with high-temperature erosion behavior and its mechanism of IN718. The erosion mechanism of the IN718 was studied using hot air jet erosion experiments at 800 °C with varying parameters such as angle of impingement and erodent velocity. Characterization of the eroded samples was done using SEM micrographs and high-resolution universal tribometer to determine the erosion mechanisms. SEM micrographs of eroded samples reveal that lip formation, cutting, and ploughing are the dominant erosion mechanisms for IN718 at 45° angle of impingement, while at 90°, it is lip extrusion followed by flattening of lip and detachment of platelet. These mechanisms eventually retard the particle impact velocity, thus enhancing erosion resistance.

Description: Al-AlCr was coated on Mg-Ca and Mg-Zn-Ce-La alloys using physical vapor deposition method. The surface morphology of the specimens was characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The AFM results indicated that the average surface roughness of Al-AlCr coating on the Mg-Ca alloy is much lower than that of Al-AlCr coating on the Mg-Zn-Ce-La alloy. However, Al-AlCr coating on the Mg-Ca alloy presented a more compact structure with fewer pores, pinholes, and cracks than Al-AlCr coating on the Mg-Zn-Ce-La alloy. Electrochemical studies revealed that the novel coating (Al-AlCr) can remarkably reduce the corrosion rate of the Mg-Ca alloy in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution. It was seen that the anodic current density of the Al-AlCr-coated Mg-Ca alloy was very small when compared to the Al-AlCr-coated Mg-Zn-Ce-La and uncoated alloys. Impedance modulus ( Z ) of the Al-AlCr-coated samples was higher than that of the bare Mg alloys. Z of Al-AlCr-coated Mg-Ca alloy was higher than that of the Al-AlCr-coated Mg-Zn-Ce-La alloy at low frequency.

Description: In the present study, porous alumina template was fabricated by selective dissolution of Ni from the pressureless sintered Al 2 O 3 -Ni. Alumina and Ni powders of 99.9% purity were subjected to ball milling (200 rpm, 1 h, 10:1 ball-to-powder weight ratio) in order to get homogeneous mechanical mixture. The milled powder was compacted using hydraulic press under the uniaxial pressure of 400 MPa for 1 min, and the pressureless sintering was carried out in reducing atmosphere (H 2 ) at 1400 °C. Ni was then selectively and completely dissolved from the 1-mm-thick sintered disk of diameter 16 mm in 1 M HCl + 3 wt.% FeCl 3 solution to get the porous template of alumina. The porous alumina template was found to have sufficient compressive strength. BET, x-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy studies along with energy dispersive spectroscopy were performed to study microstructural evolutions, bonding characteristics, and distributions of Ni before and after the dissolution of the sintered composite.

Description: Taguchi method was used to optimize the parameters of the high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) spray process and obtain the high corrosion-resistant Fe-based coatings. Based on the signal-to-noise ( S / N ) ratio and the analysis of variance, the significance of spray parameters in determining the porosity of the coatings was found to be in the order of spray distance, oxygen flow, and kerosene flow. Thus, the optimal parameters for the porosity of the HVOF sprayed Fe-based coating were determined as 280 mm for the spray distance, 963 scfh for the oxygen flow, and 28 gph for the kerosene flow. The potentiodynamic polarization and EIS tests indicated that the Fe-based coating prepared with the optimal parameters exhibited a higher corrosion potential ( E corr ) of −196.14 mV, a lower corrosion current density ( i corr ) of 0.14 μA/cm 2 , and a higher coating resistance ( R c ) of 2.26 × 10 6  Ω cm 2 than those of the hard chromium coating in 3.5% sodium chloride solution. This superior corrosion resistance could be attributed to the dense structure with low porosity and partially amorphous phases of the Fe-based coatings.

Description: Multilayer thin films prepared using the sol-gel process have been used in many antireflection applications. In this paper, antireflective nanoscale multilayer TiO 2 -SiO 2 coatings were formed on both sides of the glass substrates by combining sol-gel method and dip coating techniques. The coatings were carried out using tetraethyl orthosilicate as precursor for SiO2 and tetrabutyl orthotitanate as precursor for TiO 2 . The coatings prepared in this work were characterized using scanning electron microscope, Fourier-transformed infrared spectrophotometer and UV-Visible spectrophotometer. The SiO 2 top layer coatings showed excellent antireflection in the wavelength range of 400-800 nm where the transmittance of glass substrate is significantly lower. By increasing the number of double TiO 2 -SiO 2 layers, the transmission of the coated glasses increased due to applied multilayer coating properties. Six-layer sol-gel TiO 2 -SiO 2 coatings showed the highest visible transmittance about 99.25% at the band of 550-650 nm.

Description: Jet electrodeposition method was used to prepare Ni-W-P amorphous alloy coating and effects of plastic deformation on the crystal structure and crystallization kinetics were investigated. Based on the results of differential scanning calorimeter, x-ray diffractometer and transmission electron microscope, it can be seen that when the plastic deformation is up to 20%, the Ni-W-P amorphous alloy coating begins to crystallize. An increase of plastic deformation will lead to a decrease of crystallization temperature as well as a decrease of crystallization activation energy calculated by Kissinger equation. The effective activation energy is reduced from 268.63 kJ/mol in the as-deposited state to 246.63 kJ/mol in the cold deformation up to 40%. Analyses were presented to discuss the possible mechanism for the effect of plastic deformation on the crystallization kinetics of the Ni-W-P amorphous alloy coatings.

Description: The anisotropic mechanical behavior of quenched and tempered 4340 steel with different Ca contents was investigated by means of a macro/micrograph analysis, Charpy impact test, and rotating bending fatigue test. The 4340 steel with Ca added formed small spherical (Ca,Mn)S inclusions and effectively decreased both the inclusion size and the aspect ratio (length to width) of the MnS inclusions as compared to the Ca-free 4340 steel. The anisotropic impact value and fatigue strength were effectively improved due to the Ca addition that prevented the growth of MnS inclusions, which provided increased resistance against deformation to maintain a spherical shape because the elongated MnS inclusions acted as a crack propagation path and promoted the crack propagation due to higher stress concentrations.

Description: A physics-based, uncoupled damage model is calibrated using cylindrical notched round tensile specimens made of Ti5553 and Ti-6Al-4V alloys. The fracture strain of Ti5553 is lower than for Ti-6Al-4V in the full range of stress triaxiality. This lower ductility originates from a higher volume fraction of damage sites. By proper heat treatment, the fracture strain of Ti5553 increases by almost a factor of two, as a result of a larger damage nucleation stress. This result proves the potential for further optimization of the damage resistance of the Ti5553 alloy. The damage model is combined with an elastoviscoplastic law in order to predict failure in a wide range of loading conditions. In particular, a specific application involving bolted sectors is addressed in order to determine the potential of replacing the Ti-6Al-4V by the Ti5553 alloy.

Description: Three-dimensional crystal plasticity finite element (CPFE) method is used to investigate the hot compressive deformation behaviors of 7075 aluminum alloy. Based on the grain morphology and crystallographic texture of 7075 aluminum alloy, the microstructure-based representative volume element (RVE) model was established by the pole figure inversion approach. In order to study the macroscopic stress-strain response and microstructural evolution, the CPFE simulations are performed on the established microstructure-based RVE model. It is found that the simulated stress-strain curves and deformation texture well agree with the measured results of 7075 aluminum alloy. With the increasing deformation degree, the remained initial weak Goss texture component tends to be strong and stable, which may result in the steady flow stress. The grain orientation and grain misorientation have significant effects on the deformation heterogeneity during hot compressive deformation. In the rolling-normal plane, the continuity of strain and misorientation can maintain across the low-angle grain boundaries, while the discontinuity of strain and misorientation is observed at the high-angle grain boundaries. The simulated results demonstrate that the developed CPFE model can well describe the hot compressive deformation behaviors of 7075 aluminum alloy under elevated temperatures.

Description: The hot-corrosion behavior of detonation-gun sprayed Cr 3 C 2 -NiCr coatings with and without 0.4 wt.% CeO 2 additive on Ni-based superalloy inconel-718 is comparatively discussed in the present study. Hot-corrosion studies were carried out at 900 °C for 100 cycles in Na 2 SO 4 -60%V 2 O 5 molten salt environment under cyclic heating and cooling conditions on bare and coated superalloys. The thermo-gravimetric technique was used to establish kinetics of hot-corrosion. XRD, FESEM/EDAX, and EDX mapping techniques were used to analyze the corrosion products of bare and coated samples. The results indicate that Cr 3 C 2 -NiCr-CeO 2 -coated superalloy showed better hot-corrosion resistance as compared to bare and Cr 3 C 2 -NiCr-coated superalloys. The addition of CeO 2 has improved micro-hardness, porosity, and surface roughness values of Cr 3 C 2 -NiCr-CeO 2 coating. The overall weight gain and parabolic rate constant of Cr 3 C 2 -NiCr-CeO 2 -coated superalloy were found to be lowest in the present study signifying that the addition of CeO 2 in Cr 3 C 2 -NiCr powder has contributed to the development of adherent and dense oxide scale on the coating at elevated temperature.

Description: Fatigue wear resistance improvements were researched by studying experimental samples with gray cast iron fabricated with bionic units in different orientations. Experimental samples were modified by laser surface remelting, including parallel, vertical, and gradient units to the wear direction. The remelting pool was then studied to determine the micro-hardness, microstructure, alteration of phase, and etc. Lab-control fatigue wear test method was applied with the treated and untreated samples tested under the laboratorial conditions. Wear resistance result was considered as the rolling contact fatigue (RCF) resistance and mechanisms of the modified samples were experimentally investigated and discussed. Results suggested that all treated samples demonstrated the beneficial effect on the RCF improvement due to lack of graphite and reinforcement of treated region. Results also indicated the sample with fastigiated units was more effective than that with vertical units or parallel units to the wear direction. Influence of the sample unit’s angle which intensely depended on the conditions of actual application, however, was not identified.

Description: The crack propagation behavior of pipeline steels with or without AC application was studied in high pH solution using the crack propagation experiment (cyclic load). The results show that there is a significant difference in the crack propagation behavior of steels with or without AC interference. The crack growth rate (CGR) of steel under superimposed AC is considerably greater than that without AC. AC could cause an obvious effect on the crack propagation behavior, and enhance the CGR. The crack propagation behavior of steel under AC application in high pH solution is analogous to that in near-neutral pH solution.

Description: A high efficiency methane sulfonic acid electrolyte used for tin electrodeposition was studied, and the properties of the resulting deposits were compared to those of tin coatings obtained from an industrial phenol sulfonic acid electrolyte. Cyclic voltammetry was used to study the effect of organic additives on the reduction process to define the composition of the electrolytic bath. Thick tin electrodeposits were obtained on rotating cylinder steel electrodes, and their surface morphology, preferred crystal orientation, surface roughness, micro hardness, and tribological behavior were measured. Smooth, adherent, and bright tin coatings were obtained from the methane sulfonic acid electrolyte, which differed in morphology and texture from tin electrodeposited from the industrial bath. Influence of organic additives on preferred crystal orientation of the coatings was found to be stronger than changing the supporting sulfonic acid type. Tribological tests showed that the two types of deposits have a similar coefficient of friction. However, tin coatings obtained from methane sulfonic electrolytes presented a lower wear resistance and underwent galling at lower loads.

Description: Two WC-10Co-4Cr coatings were deposited by high-velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) and high-velocity air fuel (HVAF) spray processes, respectively, and their basic mechanical properties, cavitation and sand slurry erosion resistances were investigated. The results show that the HVAF-sprayed WC-10Co-4Cr coating exhibited a lower degree of decarburization and better properties in terms of hardness, fracture toughness, porosity, cavitation and sand slurry erosion resistances than those of the HVOF-sprayed WC-10Co-4Cr coatings, respectively. Therefore, HVAF-sprayed WC-10Co-4Cr coatings may be better employed for the protection of hydro-turbine component surfaces against cavitation and sand slurry erosion.

Description: The corrosion behavior and surface morphology of a Co-Cr-based implant after HA-coating using the sol-gel method were investigated. Sintering was performed at four different conditions. Surfaces of the samples were characterized and evaluated using field emission scanning electron microscopy. Atomic force microscope was used to measure the surface roughness and to collect the micrographs of the HA-coating layer. The x-ray diffraction results confirmed the formation of a crystalline phase of HA on the surface of the substrates. To measure the corrosion resistance, the samples were dip-coated with two different thicknesses (78 and 142 μm), and then tested by potentiodynamic polarization and spectroscopy (EIS) in SBF at 37 °C after sintering process. This study revealed that the thickness of the HA-coating layer affects the corrosion rate of the substrate, but the sintering condition of the HA-coating layer plays a remarkably more significant role in improving the corrosion resistance of Co-Cr-based implants. Moreover, the sample sintered at 600 °C for 20 min with thickness of 142 μm showed considerably enhanced surface morphology and superior corrosion resistance compared with the bare material and other treated samples.

Description: The effects of 0.3 wt.% Al added to flowing liquid zinc on the corrosion inhibition and erosion-corrosion interfacial characteristics of Fe-3.5 wt.% B alloy were investigated in order to separate the pure erosion rate from the total erosion-corrosion rate and further study the erosion-corrosion interaction created by flowing zinc. The result indicated that the erosion-corrosion rate increased slowly and then sharply thereafter, while the corrosion-inhibition rate increased linearly and slowly at a bath temperature of 460-550 °C. The corrosion-inhibition efficiency of 0.3 wt.% Al addition in the flowing liquid zinc bath was significantly reduced and then enhanced with increasing bath temperatures, depending on the interfacial microstructures after Al-corrosion inhibition. A uniform and continuous Fe 2 Al 5 Zn x inhibition layer, which suppressed the corrosion reaction of iron and zinc, formed on the erosion-corrosion interface of the Fe-3.5 wt.% B alloy, thereby reducing the spallation of anticaustic Fe 2 B skeleton. Moreover, the gradual deterioration of the inhibition layer led to a reduction in the corrosion-inhibition ability. The present results indicate that, due to the beneficial Al-corrosion inhibition effect, the corrosion-inhibition rate as the pure erosion rate of Fe-3.5 wt.% B in flowing liquid zinc can be well separated from the erosion-corrosion rate by adding 0.3 wt.% Al to flowing liquid zinc bath.

Description: A novel approach to produce Al-2 vol.% graphite nanocomposites using micron-sized graphite particles has been reported using conventional stir casting technique combined with ultrasonic treatment. Microstructural observations indicate that the visible agglomerations and porosities are significantly reduced after ultrasonic treatment. Transmission electron microscopy studies of ultrasonic-treated composites reveal that the size of the graphite particles is reduced substantially and its morphology is transformed into flake type structures. The width of the graphite flakes is reduced markedly with the increase in ultrasonic processing time and it is found to be in the range of 100-120 nm with an aspect ratio of 8.83 after 5 min of ultrasonication. Added to that, considerable improvement in the hardness values are noted for ultrasonic-treated Al-2 vol.% graphite composites when compared to conventional untreated composites. The mechanism behind the significant reduction in graphite particle size and porosity, uniform distribution of graphite particles and hardness increments are discussed.

Description: An Al 0.5 CoCrFeNiSi 0.2 high-entropy alloy was prepared by vacuum arc melting. The alloy was aged from 700 to 1100 °C. The effects of aging on the phase transformation and mechanical performances were explored. The as-cast alloy showed a dendritic (DR) microstructure. The DR region was an Fe,Cr-rich FCC phase, while the interdendritic (ID) region was a spinodal structure composed of Fe,Cr-rich BCC (A2) and Ni,Al-rich BCC (B2) phases. At aging temperatures between 700 and 900 °C, the Fe,Cr-rich BCC (A2) phase in the ID region transformed into σ and Fe,Cr-rich FCC phases. Meanwhile, some Ni,Al-rich FCC phase particles precipitated from the DR region. During aging at 1100 °C, the DR microstructure disappeared, and a microstructure composed of Fe,Cr-rich FCC and Ni,Al-rich BCC (B2) phases both possessing a lamellar shape was developed. The alloy exhibited evident hardening and lower tensile strain when the aging temperature was lower than 1000 °C, which was mainly attributed to the generation of the σ phase in the ID region. However, a contrasting behavior was observed when the aging temperature was higher than 1000 °C, which was attributed to the redissolution of the σ phase and the microstructure coarsening.

Description: The Zn-TiO 2 composite coatings were electrodeposited on mild steel using sulfate plating bath dispersed with 1% Mn-doped TiO 2 nanoparticles. The agglomeration state and charge on the particles in plating condition were analyzed by zeta potential and particle size distribution measurements. The change in microstructure and morphology in composite coatings was analyzed by x-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive x-ray diffraction, and Scanning electron microscopic analyses. The corrosion behavior of the coatings was tested by electrochemical methods such as Tafel polarization and Electrochemical Impedance study. The increased charge transfer resistance with reduced corrosion rate was observed for composite coatings compared to pure zinc coating. The morphology and corrosion behavior of the composite coatings are correlated with pure zinc coating properties.

Description: The Ni-Si 3 N 4 composites were generated by pulse electrodeposition method (PC). Operating variables were optimized for getting a good deposit. The quantity of Si 3 N 4 particles in the coating was analyzed by an energy-dispersive x-ray diffraction spectrometer. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used to analyze the structure and surface morphology of the coatings. Texture coefficient and hardness of the deposits were determined and discussed. The corrosion behavior of the coatings was analyzed by traditional weight loss and electrochemical methods. Comparisons of the corrosion behavior of coatings obtained by direct current electrodeposition and with pulse electrodeposition were investigated.

Description: Isothermal compression tests of TC4-DT titanium alloy at the deformation temperature ranging from 1181 to 1341 K covering α + β phase field and β-phase field, the strain rate ranging from 0.01 to 10.0 s −1 and the height reduction of 70% were conducted on a Gleeble-3500 thermo-mechanical simulator. The experimental true stress-true strain data were employed to develop the strain-compensated Arrhenius-type flow stress model and artificial neural network (ANN) model; the predictability of two models was quantified in terms of correlation coefficient ( R ) and average absolute relative error (AARE). The R and AARE for the Arrhenius-type flow stress model were 0.9952 and 5.78%, which were poorer linear relation and more deviation than 0.9997 and 1.04% for the feed-forward back-propagation ANN model, respectively. The results indicated that the trained ANN model was more efficient and accurate in predicting the flow behavior for TC4-DT titanium alloy at elevated temperature deformation than the strain-compensated Arrhenius-type constitutive equations. The constitutive relationship compensating strain could track the experimental data across the whole hot working domain other than that at high strain rates (≥1 s −1 ). The microstructure analysis illustrated that the deformation mechanisms existed at low strain rates (≤0.1 s −1 ), where dynamic recrystallization occurred, were far different from that at high strain rates (≥1 s −1 ) that presented bands of flow localization and cracking along grain boundary.

Description: To better understand respective lubrication effects and mechanisms of graphite, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs), and multilayer graphene (MLG), comparison of tribological properties of NiAl matrix composites (NAMC) containing graphite, MWNTs, or MLG is investigated. Tribological results clearly indicate that the incorporation of solid lubricant remarkably improves the tribological properties of NAMC. NAMC containing MWNTs have better tribological properties than that containing graphite. NAMC containing MLG have the best tribological properties. EPMA, AFM, and FESEM analyses of worn surfaces suggest that the discontinuous island-like solid lubricant-rich films with different compacting extent forms on the worn surfaces of NAMC containing solid lubricant. The worn surface of NAM shows the slighter delamination and comparatively more compact films than that of NAC; in contrast, the worn surface of NAG presents the slightest delamination and the most compact films. It is concluded that graphite, MWNTs, and MLG indeed possess different lubrication effects and mechanisms.

Description: The dynamic recrystallization (DRX) and grain growth mathematical models of 38MnVS6 steel were obtained on the basis of the results from hot compression tests and isothermal annealing tests on a Gleeble-1500 thermo-mechanical simulator. A three-dimensional finite element model was established to investigate the compression process. In order to predict the evolution of DRX volume fraction and austenite grain sizes, a subprogram was designed and coupled in the FE model. The effects of deformation temperatures and strain rates on microstructural evolution and distribution of 38MnVS6 steel during hot compression process were simulated. The simulated results show that the distributions of DRX volume fraction are inhomogeneous in the deformed workpiece, and the degree of DRX increases with increasing deformation temperature and decreasing strain rate. The average rate of DRX increases with the increase of deformation temperature and strain rate. Additionally, with the decrease of deformation temperature and the increase of strain rate, the inhomogeneity of DRX grain sizes increases and the average complete DRX grain sizes become finer. The simulated values of average complete DRX grain sizes show a good agreement with the measured ones.

Description: TIMETAL 54M is a newly developed (α + β) titanium alloy with nominal composition Ti-5Al-4V-0.6Mo-0.4Fe. The alloy can provide a cost benefit over Ti-6Al-4V due to improved machinability and formability. In the present work, evolution of mechanical properties in terms of tensile and hardness values is investigated as a function of deformation degrees imposed via rotary swaging (RS). Microstructure, mechanical properties, and fatigue performance of Ti-54M are investigated after severe plastic deformation by RS conducted at 850 °C and after being subjected to two different post-swaging annealing conditions. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy using electron back scatter diffraction were utilized to document the evolution of the microstructure. Tensile tests were conducted to characterize mechanical properties. RS, to a true strain of 3.0, is found to lead to a marked ultrafine-grained structure of about 1 μm grain size with low content of high angle grain boundaries (HAGBs). Post-swaging heat treatment at 800 °C followed by air cooling did not change the grain size but exhibited high content of HAGBs. Post-swaging heat treatment at 940 °C followed by furnace cooling resulted in a grain size of about 5 μm and enhanced work-hardening capability and ductility, which resulted in less fatigue notch sensitivity, but at the same time lower fatigue strength at 10 7 cycles.

Description: In this study, different composite coatings with 20 wt.% silicon and 1 wt.% multi-walled carbon nanotubes of hydroxyapatite were developed on NiTi substrate using a combination of electrophoretic deposition and reactive bonding during the sintering. Silicon was used as reactive bonding agent. During electrophoretic deposition, the constant voltage of 30 V was applied for 60 s. After deposition, samples were dried and then sintered at 850 °C for 1 h in a vacuum furnace. SEM, XRD and EDX were used to characterize the microstructure, phase and elemental identification of coatings, respectively. The SEM images of the coatings reveal a uniform and compact structure for HA–Si and HA–Si–MWCNTs. The presence of silicon as a reactive bonding agent as well as formation of new phases such as SiO 2 , CaSiO 3 and Ca 3 SiO 5 during the sintering process results in compact coatings and consumes produced phases from HA decomposition. Formation of the mentioned phases was confirmed using XRD analysis. The EDX elemental maps show a homogeneous distribution of silicon all over the composite coatings. Also, the bonding strength of HA–Si–MWCNTs coating is found to be 27.47 ± 1 MPa.

Description: This paper investigates the corrosion behavior of different regions of weldment of 2.25Cr-1Mo steel exposed in mixed oxidation and sulfidation (SO 2  + O 2 ) environment up to 500 h at 773 K. Microstructural investigation and characterization of oxide scales are done using SEM, TEM, and XRD. The obtained results infer that heat-affected zone corrodes faster than both base and weld metal. The reaction kinetics follows a parabolic growth rate for all regions. The higher corrosion rate of heat-affected zone is attributed to the formation of Cr 23 C 6 secondary precipitates leading to depletion of protective inner scale of the Cr-rich oxide during welding.

Description: The effects of MgO as a sintering additive, sintering duration, and post-heat treatment on mechanical properties and microstructure of spark plasma-sintered aluminum powders were investigated. The sinterability of aluminum with or without MgO was found to be sensitive to the aluminum average particle size, meaning the amount of native oxide within the raw aluminum powders. The fracture mode changes gradually from a brittle mode (after short SPS), through a mixed brittle-ductile fracture mode (after long SPS), ending with the pure ductile form (short SPS followed by heat treatment). Maxima flexural strength and elongation were found in samples with particles size of about 44 μm and the addition of 2 wt.% MgO after short SPS process followed by an additional heat treatment. The addition of MgO may contribute to perforation of the aluminum native oxide and enhance aluminum diffusion during the heat treatment.

Description: Grade 92 steel (9Cr-2W) is a ferritic-martensitic steel with good mechanical and thermal properties. It is being considered for structural applications in Generation IV reactors. Still, the irradiation performance of this alloy needs more investigation as a result of the limited available data. The irradiation performance investigation of Grade 92 steel would contribute to the understanding of engineering aspects including feasibility of application, economy, and maintenance. In this study, Grade 92 steel was irradiated by iron ion beam to 10, 50, and 100 dpa at 30 and 500 °C. In general, the samples exhibited good radiation damage resistance at these testing parameters. The radiation-induced hardening was higher at 30 °C with higher dislocation density; however, the dislocation density was less pronounced at higher temperature. Moreover, the irradiated samples at 30 °C had defect clusters and their density increased at higher doses. On the other hand, dislocation loops were found in the irradiated sample at 50 dpa and 500 °C. Further, the irradiated samples did not show any bubble or void.

Description: The current work attempts to establish the criteria for powder material selection by investigating the influence of various powder-suspended dielectrics and machining parameters on various EDM characteristics of Inconel 625 (a nickel-based super alloy) which is nowadays regularly used in aerospace, chemical, and marine industries. The powders include aluminum (Al), graphite, and silicon (Si) that have significant variation in their thermo-physical characteristics. Results showed that powder properties like electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, density, and hardness play a significant role in changing the machining performance and the quality of the machined surface. Among the three powders, highest material removal rate was observed for graphite powder due to its high electrical and thermal conductivities. Best surface finish and least radial overcut (ROC) were attained using Si powder. Maximum microhardness was found for Si due to its low thermal conductivity and high hardness. It is followed by graphite and aluminum powders. Addition of powder to the dielectric has increased the crater diameter due to expansion of plasma channel. Powder-mixed EDM (PMEDM) was also effective in lowering the density of surface cracks with least number of cracks obtained with graphite powder. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated possible formation of metal carbides along with grain growth phenomenon of Inconel 625 after PMEDM.

Description: Microstructural evolution during the intercritical annealing at 740 and 770 °C for 120-900 s in a low-carbon low-alloy steel from the initial martensitic matrix was studied by electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction. It was seen that during the intercritical annealing, the martensitic structure changes to the tempered martensite with carbides. The results depicted that the temperature and time of intercritical annealing influence significantly the distribution and amount of the formed carbides. Two types of austenite morphology were identified to grow simultaneously, i.e., globular and acicular. A longer annealing time led to the coarse globular and thick acicular austenite morphology. The austenite with globular morphology nucleated preferably at prior austenite grain boundary triple and quadruple junctions. The austenite with globular and acicular morphology was developed in Mn-rich and -poor regions, respectively. The globular austenite morphology intensified the banded microstructure of ferrite-martensite dual-phase steel, whereas the acicular austenite morphology led to a more isotropic microstructure. The experimental results illustrated that the intercritical temperature is a significant factor which can contribute to intensify the banded ferrite-martensite microstructure. The volume fractions of austenite with globular and acicular morphology were quantitatively measured. The volume fraction of globular to acicular morphology of austenite was high and low at 770 and 740 °C, respectively.

Description: High-entropy alloys with composition of AlCoCrFeNiTi x ( x : molar ratio; x = 0, 0.2, 0.4) under quasi-static and dynamic compression exhibit excellent mechanical properties. A positive strain-rate sensitivity of yield strength and the strong work-hardening behavior during plastic flows dominate upon dynamic loading in the present alloy system. The constitutive relationships are extracted to model flow behaviors by employing the Johnson-Cook constitutive model. Upon dynamic loading, the ultimate strength and fracture strain of AlCoCrFeNiTi x alloys are superior to most of bulk metallic glasses and in situ metallic glass matrix composites.

Description: Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, tensile test, exfoliation corrosion test, and slow strain rate tensile test were applied to investigate the properties and microstructure of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy processed by final thermomechanical treatment, retrogression reaging, and novel thermomechanical treatment (a combination of retrogression reaging with cold or warm rolling). The results indicate that in comparison with conventional heat treatment, the novel thermomechanical treatment reduces the stress corrosion susceptibility. A good combination of mechanical properties, stress corrosion resistance, and exfoliation corrosion resistance can be obtained by combining retrogression reaging with warm rolling. The mechanism of the novel thermomechanical treatment is the synergistic effect of composite microstructure such as grain morphology, dislocation substructures, as well as the morphology and distribution of primary phases and precipitations.

Description: Novel biphenyl-based photo-cross-linkable polymers were synthesized and characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Upon UV irradiation, the polymers were cross-linked even in the absence of photo initiator or sensitizers, and the rate of photo-cross-linking was examined and discussed. The effectiveness of both virgin and cross-linked polymers for corrosion resistance on mild steel in 1.0 M hydrochloric acid medium was investigated, using polarization studies, electrochemical impedance measurements as well as by adsorption isotherm and surface analysis. The results clearly indicated a dramatic increase in the efficiency of inhibition of corrosion on mild steel by the photo-cross-linked polymer as compared to virgin polymers. Graphical Abstract

Description: Tin-zinc solder alloys are considered to be appropriate for soldering of aluminum alloys at low-temperature in electronics and radiators applications. In this paper, the effects of different soldering parameters on the microstructure and interfacial reaction behaviors of 1070Al/Sn-9Zn/1070Al joints were investigated. The results show that the Al substrate was dissolved by the liquid solder, but Al-related intermetallic was not observed in the interface. Two kinds of Al-rich phases formed in the solder matrix. Large butterfly-shaped solid solution (Al)″ phases (about 10 μm) were formed in the liquid alloys, and compact-shaped precipitations (nano-size) were dissolved out from solders during solidification process. With increasing of the soldering time, Al″ phases were migrated upwards in the solders and the amount of this phase increased. In addition, with the increase of the soldering temperature, the dissolution rate of Al into the solder increased and the formation time of (Al)″ phases was reduced. Shear test results indicate when soldered at 250 °C, the shear strength increased from 48.6 MPa to a maximum 60.5 MPa and then decreased to a stable value (about 55 MPa) with increasing of the soldering time. Similar trends were also observed at 300 and 350 °C, while the soldering time needed to obtain maximum shear strength was shortened. The formation of these Al-rich phases improves the shear strength but deteriorates the ductility.

Description: The mechanical properties of Al 0.3 CoCrFeNi and AlCoCrFeNi high-entropy alloys (HEAs) were investigated by instrumented nanoindentation over a broad range of loading rates. It was found that the loading portion of the two HEAs exhibited apparent discontinuities at low loading rates. However, the discontinuity became less pronounced with increasing the loading rate. The experimental results that the hardness, elastic modulus, and yield strength of AlCoCrFeNi HEAs are larger than those of Al 0.3 CoCrFeNi HEAs can be elucidated in terms of thermodynamic and topological parameters of the constituent elements and solid solution strengthening, respectively. In situ scanning images displayed a significant pile-up around the indents, demonstrating that a highly localized plastic deformation occurred under nanoindentation. Furthermore, the resistance for creep behavior increases as the Al concentration is increased due to the enlarged lattice distortion related to a solution strengthening effect.

Description: In this work, we report on the influence of microstructure and mechanical properties of the (Fe,Cr) 7 C 3 ceramic zone on wear resistance of the (Fe,Cr) 7 C 3 /Fe surface gradient composite fabricated by in situ synthesis method followed by a post-heat treatment at 1100 °C for 20 h in argon atmosphere. The phase composition, microstructure, nanoindentation hardness, elastic modulus, fracture toughness, and relative wear resistance of the (Fe,Cr) 7 C 3 /Fe surface gradient composite were investigated by means of x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, nanoindentation tester, and wear resistance testing instrument, respectively. The XRD results showed that (Fe,Cr) 7 C 3 is the predominant crystalline phases in the fabricated composite. The volume fraction of the (Fe,Cr) 7 C 3 particulates formed has a gradient distribution from the surface to the iron matrix, and the microstructure also changes significantly. The (Fe,Cr) 7 C 3 bulk ceramic zone with the volume fraction of about 100% and the (Fe,Cr) 7 C 3 dense ceramic zone with the volume fraction of about 90% were synthesized on the upper surface of the (Fe,Cr) 7 C 3 /Fe surface gradient composite, respectively. The average nanoindentation hardness and elastic modulus of the (Fe,Cr) 7 C 3 bulk ceramic zone of the composite were determined to be 12.711 and 256.054 GPa, respectively. The fracture toughness of the (Fe,Cr) 7 C 3 bulk ceramic zone is in the range of 2.06-4.19 MPa m 1/2 , and its relative wear resistance is about 56 times higher than that of the iron matrix. The (Fe,Cr) 7 C 3 dense ceramic zone with rod-like, secondary (Fe,Cr) 7 C 3 particulates was formed at the bottom of the (Fe,Cr) 7 C 3 bulk ceramic zone. Rod-like, secondary (Fe,Cr) 7 C 3 particulates are dense and grew in the direction of the iron substrate, providing higher wear resistance to the composite. The wear mechanisms of the (Fe,Cr) 7 C 3 bulk and dense ceramic zones are considered to be microcutting, microcracking, and spalling pit.

Description: Many studies have shown that the excellent tribological properties of materials are primarily attributed to the formation of expected frictional layer on the worn surface. This article is dedicated to explore the possible formation and acting mechanism of frictional layer of TiAl-12Ag-5TiB 2 composite. At normal load of 12 N, a frictional layer that consists of wear-induced layer and plastic deformation layer is observed. The soft wear-induced layer supported by the harder plastic deformation layer leads to the low friction coefficient and high wear resistance. The harder plastic deformation layer is induced by repetitive tribo-contact and considerable plastic deformation. Its high hardness improves the wear resistance of composite, and fine-grained structure promotes the diffusion of lubricating phase during dry friction process. The soft wear-induced layer can be divided into tribofilm and mechanically mixed layer. The mechanically mixed layer that consists of Ag and Ti-Al Oxides can continuously be provided to the worn surface to form a tribofilm with low shearing stress junctions, lowering the friction coefficient.

Description: Atmospheric corrosion behavior of 7A04 aluminum alloy exposed to a tropical marine environment for 4 years was investigated by weight loss test, morphology observation, and electrochemical impendence spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed that the weight loss of 7A04 alloy in the log-log coordinates can be approximately fitted with two liner segments, in which the slope value of the second segment is significantly lower than that of the first segment. This was mainly attributed to the protectiveness of the corrosion product layer formed on the specimen exposed for 12 and 24 months, which was further confirmed by the EIS results. Corrosion rate presented a significant fluctuation during the exposure test which is due to the deterioration effect caused by chloride ions and time of wetness and the stabilization process of the corrosion product layer. Intergranular corrosion occurred on the 7A04 alloy and then transformed into exfoliation corrosion because of the synergetic effect of the hydrogen-assisted crack initiation and the wedge effect-induced matrix delamination.

Description: Nickel-titanium (NiTi) shape memory alloys have been widely used as implant materials, due to their superior shape memory properties and similar mechanical behavior to bone tissue. The presence of nickel on the surface of nickel-titanium alloy and release of this ion in the body environment will result in some allergic reactions. In current study, we used shot pinning process to produce nanocrystalline nickel-titanium alloy with increased corrosion resistance. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and atomic force microscopy were employed to investigate the surface features of samples. The quantitative chemical analysis of NiTi and modified NiTi samples was conducted by energy dispersive x-ray method. The electrochemical behavior of NiTi alloy was evaluated using the potentiodynamic polarization scan and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests in Ringer solution after and prior to the shot pining process. The result of XRD analysis of modified samples showed an average crystalline size of 23 nm. Moreover, FE-SEM confirmed the development of a nanostructured alloy induced by shot pinning process. Modification of NiTi alloy by shot-peening process resulted in corrosion resistance improvement and decrease in the corrosion rate, which consequently led to less release rate of the toxic nickel ions in the corrosive environment, compared to the non-modified samples.

Description: Two-step quenching and partitioning treatment with hot stamping was applied to advanced high-strength steel (AHSS). The newly treated steel possesses a fine microstructure and typically curved micromorphology. The martensite start temperature of the newly treated steel is increased through the effect of plastic deformation on austenitic microstructure. However, the martensite volume fraction of this steel is deceased because of the enhanced stability of the untransformed austenite after plastic deformation. Consequently, the fraction of retained austenite is increased. The newly treated steel also shows excellent mechanical properties. The volume fraction of retained austenite reaches the highest value of 17.2% when hot stamping is performed at 750 °C. Hence, the steel displays favorable plasticity with an elongation of 14.5%. Moreover, the highest hardness value of 426 HV is obtained when hot stamping is performed at 650 °C. The newly developed process may be employed to develop a new generation of AHSSs.