Papers by Author: Lothar Wagner

Abstract: Ultrafine-grained (UFG) pure copper has been in the focus of materials scientists over the last two decades, however ultrafine-grained high-strength copper alloys have scarcely been processed or characterized so far industrially.In this contribution, UFG copper alloys, especially Cu-Ni-Si alloys, being well known as ideal materials for electromechanical connectors, springs and leadframes, are presented. Precipitation hardened Cu-Ni-Si alloys are a well established and technologically important class of materials for a wide range of applications where high strength and good conductivity are required. Yield strength and fatigue properties of metallic alloys can be significantly enhanced by severe plastic deformation methods. In contrast to other strengthening methods such as solid solution hardening, severe plastic deformation leads to a weaker decrease of electrical conductivity and is therefore a means of enhancing strength while maintaining acceptable conductivity for current bearing parts and components. Characterization of these materials after severe plastic deformation by swaging, wire drawing and subsequent aging was carried out using conductivity-, hardness-and tensile tests as well as highly-resolved microstructural characterization methods.The results reveal that UFG low alloyed copper alloys exhibit impressive combinations of properties such as strength, conductivity, high ductility as well as acceptable thermal stability at low and medium temperatures. By a subsequent aging treatment the severely plastically deformed microstructure of Cu-Ni-Si alloys can be further enhanced and thermal stability can profit from grain-boundary pinning by precipitated nanoscale nickel silicides.

Abstract: The grain refinement after thermo-mechanical treatment (TMT) was investigated in AZ91, AE42, und QE22 magnesium alloys. The optimal over-aging temperature was determined to be 300 °C in the case of AZ91 and AE42 alloys and 350 °C for QE22 alloy. After optimized TMT, the average grain sizes were 13.5 µm (AE42), 11.1 µm (AZ91) and 1.9 µm (QE22). The QE22 alloy exhibited the superior superplastic properties, with maximum elongation to failure 750 % and strain rate sensitivity parameter m=0.73. The Friction Stir Welding showed that the original base material grain structure of the alloys AZ31 and AZ91 replaced by ultrafine grains in the stir zone. The purpose of the present paper is to present the results of the grain refinement in magnesium alloys by thermo mechanical treatment and stir welding.

Abstract: Shot peening is a mechanical surface treatment having a deep impact on the materials which generates beneficial near-surface plastic deformation resulting in changes in peening texture characteristics. The present study aims to investigate the texture gradients in the solution treated (SHT) Ti-2.5Cu after shot peening with Almen intensity of 0.20 mmA. Due to a high transmission and a large beam cross-section of neutrons, texture analysis by neutron diffraction has become the standard method to investigate bulk textures. In contrary, the penetration depth of conventional X-rays is a relatively smaller than that of neutrons. Therefore, it is able to measure texture gradients in some hundred microns from the surface.

Abstract: The influence of various processing routes (casting, extrusion, ECAP) on microstructure evolution and electrochemical properties of the magnesium alloy AZ80 were investigated. Both extrusion and ECAP were found to result in significant grain refinement (by a factor of 100 in the ECAP alloy) of the as cast AZ80 alloy. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used to characterize the electrochemical properties of the surface of different microstructure states of the alloy. After the exposure to the corrosion environment containig aggressive chloride ions (0.1M NaCl) a complex polarization layer consisting of two different layers was formed on the specimen surface. The first compact layer directly adjoined to the specimen surface while the second porous layer was formed on the first layer. Microstructure changes due to extrusion and equal channel angular pressing were found to influence the stability of these layers. In the as cast alloy the compact layer was broken already during the first 24 hours of the exposure, while the compact layer in the extruded specimen remained unchanged up to 72 hours of the exposure. In the ECAP specimen both layers remained stable even after 96 hours of the exposure and no degradation occurred. Enhanced electrochemical properties were therefore found in the ultrafine-grained ECAP specimen.

Abstract: It is well-known that the high-cycle fatigue (HCF) performance of severe plastically deformed wrought magnesium alloys is not as good as one might expect from the significant grain size refinement. Although enhanced HCF strength after ECAP as compared to as-cast material was observed its value was significantly lower than after conventional extruding. The present investigation was undertaken to determine whether the relatively poor HCF strength of the ECAP processed wrought magnesium alloy AZ80 is associated with the ECAP-induced unfavorable crystallographic textures. Post-ECAP thermo-mechanical treatment (TMT) was found to result in favorable texture modifications as well as in markedly improved HCF performance. The proposed novel technique consists of a not yet used combination of severe plastic deformation via ECAP followed by a 1-step swaging process. It is shown that the resulting combination of both ultrafinegrain sized material and beneficial crystallographic texture results in superior HCF performance not achievable by ECAP-processing alone.

Abstract: The microstructure evolution during high pressure torsion and its influence on the mechanical properties of AZ80 magnesium alloy is presented in this study. Significant grain refinement was observed after high pressure torsion, while the homogeneity of the grain structure increases with the number of revolutions. Grain size decreases to about 50 nm after 15 revolutions. The microhardness profiles measured at through-thickness and through-width directions show no significant variation at different positions of the sample. Moreover, the negligible effect of the revolution number on the microhardness value was observed.

Abstract: The wrought magnesium alloys AZ80 and ZK60 were extruded at 175°C ≤ T ≤ 350°C at an extrusion ratio of ER = 12. With decreasing extrusion temperatures a marked refinement in grain size was found for both alloys resulting in higher values of yield stress while UTS values were hardly affected. As opposed to AZ80, a marked yield stress differential between loading in tension and compression was observed in ZK60, this effect being explained by the differences in crystallographic texture.

Abstract: The deformation degrees in near-surface zones and related microstructural changes in CuZn30 were determined after shot peening and ball-burnishing. The induced depths of plastic deformation increase with Almen intensity and rolling pressure in shot peening and ball-burnishing, respectively. As the ball size in burnishing increases, the depth of plastic deformation also increases. The local degrees of cold work within the affected depths were estimated by comparing micro-hardness values, penetration depths of induced slip bands as well as X-ray diffraction peak widths with those measured in blanks cold rolled to fixed degrees of plastic strain. The results clearly indicate that very high local deformation degrees above 80% are typically induced by mechanical surface treatments in areas very close to the surface with this deformation degree gradually decreasing with increasing distance to the surface. Depending on the intensity of ball-burnishing, deformation degrees still of the order of 10% were observed in regions having distances to the surface of as large as 1000 (m.

Abstract: Beta-21S titanium alloy is ranked among the most important advanced materials for a variety of technological applications, due to its combination of a high strength/weight ratio, good corrosion behavior and oxidation resistance. However, in many of these technological applications, this alloy is exposed to environments which can act as sources of hydrogen, and consequently, severe problems may arise. The objective of this paper is to investigate the influence of high fugacity hydrogen on Beta-21S alloy in as-received (mill-annealed and hot-rolled) condition. Hydrogen effects on the microstructure are studied using X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy, while the absorption and desorption characteristics are determined respectively by means of a hydrogen determinator and thermal desorption spectroscopy. Preliminary results at room temperature revealed hydrogen-induced straining and expansion of the lattice parameters. However, neither second phases formation (hydrides), nor hydrogen-induced cracking, were observed after hydrogenation. The main characteristics of hydrogen absorption/desorption behavior, as well as hydrogen-induced microstructural changes in both microstructures are discussed in detail.