Papers by Author: Peter D. Hodgson

Abstract: As-cast AZ80 magnesium alloy consists of α-Mg, eutectic product of α-Mg and γ-Mg₁₇Al₁₂, with the latter present in the form of partially and fully divorce eutectic. There occurs dissolution of harder γ-Mg₁₇Al₁₂ phase during homogenization treatment at 400 ᵒ and 439 ᵒC. The proportion of the α-Mg and γ-Mg₁₇Al₁₂ phase was varied by solutionizing the alloy for various lengths of time at these temperatures, in order to investigate the kinetics of phase transformation and to evaluate the effect of phase proportion, size and morphology on room temperature tensile properties. It was found that the yield strength decreases with the increase in solutionizing temperature from 400ᵒ to 439 ᵒC and at the same time, ductility in general increases with the increasing solutionizing temperature. The variation in tensile properties and the nature of fractographs were analyzed in terms of the effects of microstructure

Abstract: This study focuses on the microstructure and texture evolution of a Ti-5Al-5Mo-5V-3Cr alloy during cold rolling and annealing treatments. Three samples with different initial microstructures were cold rolled to a 40% reduction in thickness. The starting microstructure of one sample was single β phase while two other specimens were α+β phases with different α particle sizes, distributed in β grains. For all three samples, the average size of primary β grains was 150 µm. The cold rolled specimens were then annealed at 860 °C (10 °C above the β transus temperature) for 5 minutes followed by water quenching. Microstructure development during cold rolling and recrystallization was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) technique. Microstructure investigations showed that massive amount of shear bands occurred during the cold rolling of the single β phase sample while only a few shear bands were observed in the α+β cold rolled microstructures. The cold rolled texture of the sample comprised of a single β phase contains a gamma fibre (//ND) and a partial alpha fibre (//RD). Annealing treatment decreased the intensity of the cold rolled texture in the single β phase sample. Also, it was found that the presence of α precipitates changes the common annealing texture observed in the single β phase specimen.

Abstract: The present work provides a summary of the recent findings obtained from the experimental investigation of the grain structure, crystallographic texture and dislocation substructure evolution in an austenitic Ni-30%Fe model alloy during dynamic recrystallization (DRX) and post-dynamic annealing. It has been found that the DRX texture characteristics become increasingly dominated by the low Taylor factor grains during DRX development, which presumably results from the preferred nucleation and lower consumption rates of these grains. The substructure of DRX grains is random in character and displays complex, hierarchical subgrain/cell arrangements characterized by accumulation of misorientations across significant distances. The stored energy within DRX grains appears to be principally consistent with the corresponding Taylor factor values. The changes observed within the fully dynamically recrystallized microstructure during post-dynamic annealing have provided a basis to suggest a novel mechanism of metadynamic softening for the current experimental conditions. It is proposed that the initial softening stage involves rapid growth of the dynamically formed nuclei and migration of the mobile boundaries. The sub-boundaries within DRX grains progressively disintegrate through dislocation climb and dislocation annihilation, which ultimately leads to the formation of dislocation-free grains, and the grain boundary migration gradually becomes slower. As a result, the DRX texture largely remains preserved throughout the annealing process.

Abstract: The substructure and crystallographic texture characteristics of both the deformed matrix and dynamically recrystallized (DRX) grains were investigated in a Ni-30%Fe austenitic model alloy subjected to hot torsion. Deformation was performed at a temperature of 1000°C using strain rates of 1, 0.1 and 0.01 s^-1, which produced a range of DRX grain sizes. Electron back-scattered diffraction and transmission electron microscopy were employed in the investigation. Both the deformed matrix and DRX grains revealed the texture components expected for simple shear deformation by crystallographic slip. The texture of DRX grains was dominated by low Taylor factor components as a result of their lower consumption rate during growth of these grains. There was a marked difference in the substructure characteristics between the deformed matrix and DRX grains regardless of the grain size and orientation. The deformed matrix substructure was largely characterized by organized, banded subgrain arrangements with alternating misorientations. By contrast, the substructure of DRX grains was generally more random in character and displayed complex, more equiaxed subgrain/cell arrangements characterized by local accumulation of misorientations. Based on the experimental observations, a mechanism of the distinct substructure development within DRX grains has been proposed.

Abstract: Bending in a V-die has been used to indicate the outcome of bending in cold roll forming, although little direct correlation has been performed. In this work direct comparison of the springback in both processes was performed using six samples of automotive steels in a conventional roll forming line where the transverse springback is measured. A bend of similar radius was formed in a V-die and the springback determined. In general, the springback in V-die forming was greater than in roll forming, in some cases by a factor of 2. The theoretical springback angle was determined for all steels using a simple and approximate analytical equation and compared to the experimental roll forming and bending results. While for the roll forming process good agreement was achieved the theoretical values significantly underestimated springback in the V-bending process.

Abstract: The effect of foam fillers on the impact behaviour and energy absorption of an aluminium tube is investigated. Both experimental test and computational simulation are employed in current study. For comparison, hollow tubes and foams are also tested, respectively. Foam filler is found to be ineffective in increasing the crushing loads of the composite tubes over the simple superposition of the crushing loads of hollow tube and foam. Also, foam filler increases the tendency for the concertina mode of folding. The foam fillers of tubes additionally result in increasing the SAE values over those of hollow tubes.

Abstract: A nanocrystalline (NC) layer with the thickness of 30 µm was produced on pure titanium surface by surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT). Microstructure observation indicated that the grain size increases with depth from the treated surface. The friction coefficient decreases and the wear resistance increases with the SMAT sample as compared to its coarse-grained counterpart. The improvement of the wear properties could be attributed to the higher hardness of SMAT sample.

Abstract: This paper investigated the microstructures and compressive properties of hot-rolled Mg-Zr-Ca alloys for biomedical applications. The microstructures of the Mg-Zr-Ca alloys were examined by X-ray diffraction analysis and optical microscopy, and the compressive properties were determined from compressive tests. The experimental results indicate that the hot-rolled Mg-Zr-Ca alloys with 1% Ca are composed of one single a phase and those alloys with 2% Ca consist of both Mg₂Ca and a phase. The hot-rolled Mg-Zr-Ca alloys exhibit typical elongated microstructures with obvious fibrous stripe, and have much higher compressive strength and lower compressive modulus than pure Mg. All the studied alloys have much higher compressive yield strength than the human bone (90~140 MPa) and comparable modulus with the human bone, suggesting that they have a great potential to be good candidates for biomedical applications.