Papers by Author: Yong Lin Kang

Abstract: An efficient and low-cost aluminum alloy uniform solidification control technology, namely, air-cooled stirring rod (ACSR) process, has been developed for preparing large volume semisolid slurry. The semisolid slurry preparation process is connected with the die-casting machine to form multiple integrated intelligent rheological die-casting production lines for the efficient preparation of rheological die-casting of large-scale thin-walled aluminum alloys. At present, the ACSR process can produce 40 kg of large-volume semisolid slurry with a solid phase ratio of 25% to 35% within 30 s. This rheological die-casting process has been industrialized for the preparation of high-quality aluminum alloy large-scale thin-walled parts, such as new energy vehicles and 5G communications. Typical products produced by this process include heat dissipation housings for 5G communications, filter housings, antenna chassis and three-electric structural shell, end cover, and ABS system valve body for new energy vehicles. Compared with traditional die castings, aluminum alloy castings prepared by the new process not only have fine and spherical microstructures, good surface quality, and fewer internal pores but also enjoys more excellent mechanical properties and thermal conductivity.

Abstract: The solidification process and microstructure of Al-7Si-0.3Mg alloy with different rare earth (RE) additions have been studied by using thermal analysis, optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The results showed that the addition of RE enhanced the liquidus temperature and decreased the growth temperature of eutectic Si, which lead to obvious increase in solidification interval of the studied alloy. In addition, the grain size of primary α-Al had no obvious change, and the mean area of eutectic Si particles decreased with increasing RE content to 1.6 wt.%. The RE-rich compounds with different compositions were obtained with increasing RE concentration in Al-7Si-0.3Mg alloys. The method of phase diagram calculation helps to clarify the formation and growth mechamism of different RE-rich phases during solidification.

Abstract: The equipment and technology characteristics of endless strip production line in Rizhao steel were analyzed and the achievements of endless strip production in Rizhao steel were illustrated with detailed productive data in 2017. The achievements of endless continuous casting process was introduced from the aspects of the mold level deviation, the casting speed and the tundish temperature. The achievements of endless continuous rolling process was described from the rolling length, the mechanical properties and the microstructure at different position along the width. The achievements of endless continuous casting and rolling process was discussed from the product qualification rate, the yield rate, the thin strip ratio, the accident rate and the energy consumption. The productive practice of endless strip production (ESP) shows that the longest number of continuous casting furnace reached to 15 heats (4500 tons), the longest rolling length in single casting period was 182 km, the qualified rate of products was up to 99.73%, the yield rate was up to 97.51% and the thin strip ratio had a maximum value of 40.57%. At the same time, its accident rate was below 2.02% and its energy consumption was less than 27.26 kgce·ton^-1. These achievements indicated that the ESP line in Rizhao steel had the advantages of low cost, good performance and green manufacturing, so the endless rolling technology will be rapidly promoted and the hot rolled thin products by ESP will further expand the market.

Abstract: In this paper, the Steel Plate Heat Commercial (SPHC) that produced by RiZhao Steel’s Endless Strip Production (ESP) line was taken as the research object. The phase transition points under different cooling rates were measured by DIL805A thermal expansion instrument and then the static Continuous Cooling Transformation (CCT) curve was plotted. The rolling process of ferritic zone was simulated by Gleeble-3800 hot compression tester. The microstructure evolution of SPHC under different temperatures and different strain rates were analyzed, and the hot compression deformation behavior was studied. The experimental result has shown that when the cooling rate of low carbon steel is lower than 15 °C·s^-1, the microstructure is mainly composed of ferrite and a small amount of pearlite and tertiary cementite. The experimental material showed a mixed crystal phenomenon when the deformation reached 50% at 780 °C. The fitting calculation has shown that the deformation activation energy of the ferrite zone rolling is 112 kJ·mol^-1, and the relationship between the deformation energy storage and the temperature compensation strain rate factor was established. Subsequently, the above experimental results were verified in the RiZhao Steel’s ESP line, which laid the experimental foundation for the use of ferrite rolling technology for endless strip production.

Abstract: In this paper, a new type of automotive 1500 MPa grade hot-formed steel without boron but containing niobium was subjected to thermoforming experiments. The phase transition point and Continuous Cooling Transformation (CCT) curve of the hot-formed steel were measured by thermal dilatometer, and then the best austenitizing parameters was determined. The microstructure of the cold-rolled sheet and the hot-formed steel sheet were observed by electron microscopy. The microstructure of the steel sheet after hot forming was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) method to determine whether the microstructure after hot forming had residual austenite. The influence of residence conditions on its mechanical properties was studied. The experimental results has shown that the microstructure of the original cold-rolled sheet is mainly composed of ferrite and pearlite. After thermoforming, the basic microstructure are martensite and a small amount of ferrite; When the hot forming parameters is that 900 °C of the heating temperature, 3 min of the holding time, 8 s of the residence time, quenching temperature is the room temperature, the new 1500 MPa grade hot formed steel has the best mechanical properties that the tensile strength is 1519 MPa, the yield strength is 1060 MPa, the yield ratio is 0.73, and the elongation reaches 10.52%. The result shows that the new 1500 MPa grade hot formed steel could obtain excellent mechanical properties through a reasonable process under the premise of ensuring hardenability.

Abstract: Microstructures with fine globular grains and refined eutectic structures are important to enhance the mechanical properties of A356 alloys processed by semi-solid and gravity die casting. Rare earth (RE) additions have been shown to be capable of refining both the α-Al particles as well as modify the eutectic phase of alloys. In semi-solid die casting, Al7Si0.3Mg alloys with RE concentrations (0, 0.1 and 0.4 wt.%) were used to prepare semi-solid slurries using the SEED (Swirling Enthalpy Equilibrium Device) method, and subsequently semi-solid die cast. The same compositions of alloys were also applied to gravity die casting. The microstructure and mechanical properties of castings in two processes have been characterized. Compared to the grains produced in gravity die casting, globular grains with small size (260 μm) in the semi-solid die casting significantly enhance the UTS and elongation of alloys. Although the size of grains had no change with increasing RE concentrations in alloys. The Al-Si eutectics were changed to refined morphology with the 0.1 wt.% RE addition, which enhanced the ductility of alloys in two processes. When increasing the RE addition to 0.4 wt.%, the RE-rich phases precipitated at grain boundaries, which decreased the UTS and elongation of alloys.

Abstract: A simplified and efficient process, namely air-cooled stirring rod (ACSR), was proposed to prepare semisolid slurry of aluminum alloys. An advanced integrated rheological high pressure die-casting (Rheo-HPDC) technology was established by combining the ACSR equipment with HPDC machines to produce high quality aluminum alloy products. Microstructures, surface qualities, mechanical properties, corrosion resistances and thermal conductivities of the Al-8Si alloy parts prepared by Rheo-HPDC were investigated and compared to those prepared by traditional HPDC. The results indicated that the Rheo-HPDC process can prepare aluminum alloy parts in which the primary particles are fine and spherical, and there is few shrinkage porosity. Multifarious high quality large thin-walled aluminum alloy parts, such as filter shells, cooling shells, antenna crates and mounting brackets for communication, were produced by the process. Rheo-HPDC alloys showed improved surface quality to those formed by traditional HPDC, and the surface roughness is small and avoid employing CNC to surface finish. Also, compared with HPDC alloys, the alloys prepared by Rheo-HPDC have an increased mechanical properties and thermal conductivity due to high density and refined microstructure. Furthermore, Rheo-HPDC aluminum alloys indicated a remarkable improvement in corrosion resistance as shown by the results of electrochemical and weight loss experiments.

Abstract: A201 alloy is the strongest cast aluminum alloy, but it is considered one of the most difficult aluminum alloys to cast due to its susceptibility to hot tearing during solidification. Semi-solid casting, which characterizes fine near-globular or non-dendritic grains and relatively narrow solidification range, is potential to reduce hot cracking tendency of alloys. In this present work, semi-solid slurries of A201 alloy were prepared using Swirled Enthalpy Equilibrium Device (SEED) technique and then injected into a self-designed high pressure hot tearing mold. The microstructures of A201 semi-solid slurries with different pouring temperatures were examined. Effects of different casting pressures on the hot tearing sensitivity of A201 have been investigated. This study finds that SEED is capable of producing satisfying A201 semi-solid slurries. Lower pouring temperatures produce A201 semi-solid slurries with finer and rounder grains as well as more uniform microstructure distribution. Increasing the intensification pressure significantly decreases the hot treating tendency of A201 alloy. When the pressure reaches to 90 MPa and the mold temperature of about 250 °C, the hot tearing susceptibility (HTS) index value is nearly zero, which means almost no surface cracks are found in the semi-solid A201 die casting parts.

Abstract: Turbocharger compressor wheels are often made of 3XX cast aluminum alloys and forged 2618 alloy. These age hardening aluminum alloys have high strength-to-weight ratio at ambient temperature. However, the strength of the aluminum alloys decreases rapidly when applied at high temperatures, such as for turbochargers where application temperature can be above 200 °C. The major reason is that the fine precipitated phases coarsen rapidly tending to their equilibrium states. The thermal stability of the 319s-T61, A201-T71 and 2618-T6 alloys were compared in this paper. The three alloys were exposed at 200 °C for 100 h during heat treatment. Hardness, tensile tests and TEM were carried out to investigate the mechanical properties and microstructure variation of these three alloys. The results indicated that the A201 alloy exhibited the best thermal stability among the three alloys and 319s alloy is the weakest one. TEM observation showed that with the increase of the exposure time, the strengthening precipitates phase θ′ in A201/319s alloys and S′ in 2618 alloy coarsened and then transformed to stable θ phase and S phase, respectively, while the primary strengthening phase Ω in A201 remained stable, which may be contributed the higher thermal stability of A201 than 319s and 2618.

Abstract: A new process so-called air-cooled stirring rod (ACSR) was developed to prepare semisolid slurries of Al-8Si alloy. A simplified rheological high pressure die-casting (Rheo-HPDC) process was developed by combining the ACSR device with a HPDC machine to form wireless base station shells. Microstructures of slurries at different rotation speeds and air flows prepared by ACSR device were studied. Microstructures, mechanical properties and thermal conductivities of the shells formed by Rheo-HPDC were studied and compared with those produced by HPDC. The results indicate the ACSR device can prepare slurries in which primary particles are fine, spherical and uniformly distributed in the matrix. As rotation speed or air flow increases, the size of primary particles (α₁-Al) decreases and shape factor increases. Rheo-HPDC parts show improved properties to those formed by HPDC, and increasing rates of ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, elongation, hardness and thermal conductivity are 15.4%, 8.2%, 62.1%, 6.67% and 2.1%, respectively.