Papers by Author: Miroslav Karlík

Abstract: In this paper, recently developed ternary FeAl20Si20 (wt.%) alloy with promising high-temperature oxidation and wear resistance was prepared by mechanical alloying in a high-energy ball mill. The possibility to speed-up the mechanical alloying process by replacing aluminium (and partly silicon) elemental powder by the pre-alloyed powder (AlSi30) with relatively fine dispersion of Si in the Al-Si eutectic was examined. The microstructure, phase composition and mechanical properties after various time of mechanical alloying were characterized. The effect of using the pre-alloyed powders on kinetics of mechanical alloying is compared with the results obtained on batches prepared from elemental powders.

Abstract: The effect of processing conditions on microstructure and mechanical properties of Fe-Al-Si powders was studied by means of scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and nanoindentation. Fe-Al-Si alloy powder was prepared from pure elemental powders by mechanical alloying. Microstructure and mechanical properties of powders were characterized after various durations of mechanical alloying. Special sample preparation technique was developed allowing to characterize the properties of individual powder particles after each step of processing in a planetary ball mill. This step-by-step characterization allowed to find the optimum conditions for subsequent spark plasma sintering.

Abstract: NiTi alloy is usually prepared by casting and forming. As an innovative process, reactive sintering powder metallurgy is tested worldwide, aiming to prepare pure NiTi alloy easily from nickel and titanium powders. This process enables to prepare both porous and low-porosity alloy, depnding on the process conditions. However, the formation of NiTi phase in this process is always accompanied by the Ti₂Ni phase, which is hard, brittle, less corrosion resistant and does not have the shape memory. In this work, various alloying elements (Al, Si, Mg, Fe, Nb, V) were added to Ni-Ti alloy in order to lower the amount of Ti₂Ni phase or at least to minimize its undesirable effect on the alloy properties. The reactive sintering behaviour, phase composition and mechanical properties of Ni-Ti-X alloys were described.

Abstract: Free cutting alloys of Al-Cu (AA2011 and AA2111B) in T6 temper and Al-Mg-Si system (AA6023 and AA6262) in tempers T6 and T8 were subjected to Charpy U - notch impact testing at the temperatures ranging from 20°C to 350°C. The microstructure of the materials was characterized by light metallography, fracture surfaces were observed using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The alloys showed a significant decrease in the impact energy KU at temperatures ~125°C (AA2011, AA2111B), ~170°C (AA6023), and ~250°C (AA6262), respectively. This decrease of KU was caused by melting of disperse phases containing low-melting point metals (Pb, Sn, Bi), which was confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry. Additional annealing of the AA6262-T8 alloy for 2h at 400°C followed by slow cooling led to the transformation of Pb + Bi particles accompanied by the shift of the melting temperature from ~250 to ~310 °C. Higher temperature solution annealing of the AA6023 alloy for 30 min at 540°C (as a replacement of common 30 min at 520°C) resulted in a partial transformation of Sn + Bi particles accompanied by melting point shift from ~170 to ~200°C. Chemical composition of the corresponding phases was monitored by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy in SEM.

Abstract: The transition temperatures of small amounts of eutectic particles contained in free-cutting aluminum alloys (namely AA6262 and AA6023) are investigated in this paper. Detection of the transition temperatures by conventional differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements is difficult because of the small volume fraction (~ 1wt.%) of the eutectic. On the other hand, the melting of the particles induces small changes of elastic moduli of the alloy, which can be sensitively measured by resonant acoustic methods, for example by resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS). It is shown that the phase transitions of the particles correspond to well-detectable changes of the resonant spectrum, which enables a more detailed characterization of the transition process. A significant thermal hysteresis is observed between the cooling and the heating runs, and also the widths of the temperature ranges in which the transitions occur exhibit a strong melting/freezing asymmetry.

Abstract: The aim of the experiments was to study the influence of the rolling reduction in thickness on the size and distribution of secondary particles and recrystallization behaviour of Al-Mn sheets with Zr addition prepared by twin-roll casting (TRC) in the industrial conditions. Samples, cold rolled on a laboratory mill, were subjected to a one and two-step precipitation annealing. Their microstructure (grain structure, phase composition, particle analysis) and mechanical and physical properties (microhardness, electrical conductivity) were then characterized. Quantitative particle analysis was carried out on field-emission gun scanning electron microscope (FEG-SEM) micrographs.

Abstract: Fracture behaviour of two intermetallic alloys based on FeAl and Fe3Al was studied. On the alloys Fe-40Al-1C (at%) and Fe-29.5Al-2.3Cr-0.63Zr-0.2C (at%) (FA06Z), a basic characterization, the fracture toughness tests and fractographic analysis were carried out. Tensile tests and fracture toughness tests were performed at 20, 200, 400 and 600°C. The fracture toughness values range from 26 MPa.m1/2 at 20°C to 42 MPa.m1/2 at 400°C. In addition, Jintegral dependence on
a obtained by potential method was measured. The fractographic analysis showed that samples fractured at 20, 200 and 400°C in the tensile or fracture toughness tests exhibit transgranular cleavage fracture, while at 600°C the ductile dimple fracture predominates.

Abstract: Mechanical properties and microstructure of twin-roll cast (TRC) pure aluminium, Al-Fe-Mn-Si (AA8006) and Al-Mg (AA5754) alloy sheets ARB processed at ambient and elevated temperatures (200, 250, 300 and 350°C) were investigated. Processing at elevated temperatures results in better bonding but it produces smaller increases in hardness. AA8006 specimens were processed without any problems up to 7 cycles. The alloy AA5754 suffered from severe edge and notch cracking since the first cycle. The strength was evaluated from tensile test and microhardness measurements; the microstructure was examined using light microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The microstructure was compared to that of conventionally cold rolled (CCR) specimens with true strain ε of 0.8, 1.6, 2.4 and 3.2 corresponding to the strain induced by 1 to 4 ARB cycles. The work hardening of alloy AA8006 saturated after the 3rd cycle, whereas the hardness of alloy AA5754 increased steadily up to the 5th cycle. Very fine grain structure with large fraction of high angle boundaries was observed in both alloys after two cycles of ARB. The grains were refined to submicrometre and nanometre size (down to 90 nm in alloy AA5754). Intensive post-dynamic recovery was observed in AA8006 specimens. The recovery is less pronounced in the AA5754 alloy with high concentration of solute atoms in solid solution.

Abstract: Accumulative Roll Bonding (ARB) is a technique of grain refinement by severe plastic deformation, which involves multiple repetitions of surface treatment, stacking, rolling, and cutting. The rolling with 50% reduction in thickness bonds the sheets. After several cycles, ultrafine-grained (UFG) materials are produced. Since ARB enables the production of large amounts of UFG materials, its adoption into industrial practice is favoured. ARB has been successfully used for preparation of UFG sheets from different ingot cast aluminium alloys. Twin-roll casting (TRC) is a cost and energy effective method for manufacturing aluminium sheets. Fine particles and small grain size are intrinsic for TRC sheets making them good starting materials for ARB. The paper presents the results of a research aimed at investigating the feasibility of ARB processing of three TRC alloys, AA8006, AA8011 and AA5754, at ambient temperature. The microstructure and properties of the ARB were investigated by means of light and transmission electron microscopy and hardness measurements. AA8006 specimens were ARB processed without any problems. Sound sheets of AA8011 alloy were also obtained even after 8 cycles of ARB. The AA5754 alloy suffered from severe edge and notch cracking since the first cycle. The work hardening of AA8006 alloy saturated after the 3rd cycle, whereas the hardness of AA5754 alloy increased steadily up to the 5th cycle. Monotonous increase in strength up to 280 MPa was observed in the ARB processed AA8011 alloy.

Abstract: Accumulative Roll Bonding (ARB) does not require any special equipment and enables the production of large amounts of ultra-fine grained (UFG) materials. Grain refinement is thermally stable in materials with finely dispersed particles such as twin-roll cast (TRC) aluminium alloy sheets, favourable materials for manufacturing UFG sheets. The results of a study of the effect of ARB temperature on bonding quality, structure and properties of TRC AA8006 sheet are presented. Examinations by light and transmission electron microscopy, positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS), hardness and tensile tests were used in the study. After two cycles at 200°C, mean grain size of 0.4 - 0.8 μm is achieved, but areas with extremely fine grains of 0.1 to 0.3 μm in diameter are also observed. Hardness increases significantly after two cycles and it rises a little in subsequent cycles. Processing at higher temperatures (up to 350°C) results in better bonding but it produces smaller increase in hardness. Significant increase of dislocation density is observed by PAS after the first cycle at 250°C but it does not continue during subsequent cycles. Partial recrystallization occurs in samples processed at temperatures above 250°C explaining the smaller increase in hardness. Softening level depends on both ARB temperature and number of cycles. The thermal stability of refined structures produced by ARB at 250°C is better than these formed at higher temperatures.