Materials Science Forum Vols. 654-656

Abstract: Metal foams have both structural and functional properties, offer advantages in different fields such as automotive and aircraft etc., and thus gain more and more technical interest. In this study, a computational model is presented which allows the numerical simulation of the bubble expansion and solidification during metal foaming processes. Mathematical modelling of the different relevant physical properties and effects during the metal foam expansion and solidification is discussed in this paper. This model considers the broad variety of the complex boundary conditions, the simple and multiphase fluid flow with complex geometries, the stabilization of the foams, and the mutual interactions between the bubbles. The Navier-Stokes equation is applied to elucidate the fluid flows in the liquid and in the mushy zone. And the diffusion equation for the hydrogen transport, the distribution functions of the temperature, the density and kinetic equations are also be proposed and discussed.

Abstract: Both primary and secondary aluminium need to be refined. The most popular methods of aluminium refining is barbotage. This method is based on the introduction of refining gas bubbles into liquid metal. It can be done in batch or continuous reactors. The refining gas can be introduced to the metal by lances, ceramic porous plugs or rotary impellers. The gas bubbles generated in this way are then mixed with the liquid metal and the level of mixing depends on the processing parameters such as the flow rate of refining gas or the impeller speed. Five patterns of the refining gas dispersion in the liquid metal are known: no dispersion, minimal dispersion, intimate dispersion, uniform dispersion and over-dispersion. Physical modelling is the best way to visualize these kinds of dispersion. It also helps to choose the adequate processing parameters. However, it is also important to keep the dynamic and geometrical similarities to the refining process. In the paper the physical modelling of the aluminium refining process is presented. Two reactors: URO-200 batch reactor with a rotary impeller and URC-7000 continuous reactor with ceramic porous plugs were taken into consideration.

Abstract: The objective of the study is to diagnose the current condition of the two-strand tundish. The investigated object is a “T”-type tundish. The nominal capacity of the tundish is 7.5 tonne of liquid steel. By the mathematical simulation, fluid flow and heat transfer of molten-steel in a tundish of a billet caster under different conditions (bare tundish and tundish with flow control device) are analyzed. Three variants of subflux controller of turbulence configurations in the tundish are tested. Numerical simulations of are carried out with the finite-volume commercial code FLUENT using the realizable k- turbulence model. Liquid steel velocity, temperature, turbulent kinetic energy and Residence Time Distribution (RTD) characteristic have been obtained as a result of mathematical calculations. The RTD curve is used to estimate the different volumes such as plug volume, dead volume and mixed volume inside the tundish. The ratio of mixed to dead volume, which indicates the mixing capability of a tundish, is estimated.

Abstract: The groove design for creating ultrafine-grained low-carbon steel through a caliber rolling process was studied from the viewpoint of the large strain accumulation and cross-sectional shape variation in a bar. A three-dimensional finite element analysis was employed for this purpose. The caliber rolling process of foval (flat-like-oval)/square type was proposed as a method to efficiently introduce a large strain in material. The relationship among the foval configuration, strain, and cross-sectional shape was examined in the caliber rolling. The influence of the equivalent strain distribution by 1st pass (foval rolling) depends strongly on the strain distribution and a cross-sectional shape by 2nd pass, and the foval configuration to accumulate a large strain efficiently was shown. The optimum pass schedule to fabricate a 13mm square bar of ultrafine-grained steel from a 24 mm square bar by caliber rolling at warm working temperatures was proposed.

Abstract: Francis hydraulic turbine runner blade has a complex profile, which always causes severe and unpredictable deformation during the hot procedure. In this paper, an integral finite element method model based on ProCast software was developed to simulate the deformation of the blade during the whole hot procedure including casting, shake-out, cutting-off the gating system and heat treatment. And the model predictions were validated by the experimental measurements. Based on the predictions some inverse displacements were added to the initial mould. Finally a huge hydraulic turbine runner blade with uniform and reasonable machining allowance was produced successfully.

Abstract: A comparative experimental and simulation study of oxygen-free high conductivity copper produced by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) one-pass has been carried out by using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and a recently proposed grain refinement model. The grain size and misorientation distributions were extracted from the EBSD measurements. It was found that the microstructure in the ECAP deformed copper was much more refined on the TD plane. The grain size observed experimentally can be fairly well predicted by the grain fragmentation model.

Abstract: Equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) is a severe plastic deformation (SPD) method for obtaining bulk nanostructured materials. The ECAE die consists of two equal channels that intersect at an angle, usually between 90° and 135°. In the present study, the plastic deformation behavior of the Cu during the ECAE process with 120° die through multiple passes was investigated. Finite element modelling was included in order to analyze the deformation behavior as the material passes through the die. In order to perform the FEM simulations the properties of the commercial purity Cu have been selected.

Abstract: In the paper, the up-to-date advances in the statistical analysis of nano-mechanical measurements are briefly reviewed. It is shown that, by means of statistical methods such as a minimum information criterion, a better statistical model can be selected for quantifying the intrinsic mechanical properties of nanomaterials or extracting the optimal information from those imperfect experimental data obtained with recently available nano-mechanical testing techniques.

Abstract: In order to study the characteristics of fine grained polycrystalline metals, it is important to recognize the function of grain boundaries (GB), crystal defects such as dislocation and/or nanoscale voids, since the fraction of GB increases as grain sizes decreases, the deformation process of these metals could be different from those in larger size grains. In this study, we first evaluate the hypothesis that GB behaves as dislocation source and sink during the deformation of fine grained metal, then compare the behavior between GB and a tiny defect from the view point of dislocation source and sink phenomena. Since continuous dislocation supplies could be considered as the key issue to improve the toughness of fine grained metals, this concept could be helpful to design next generation polycrystalline metals.

Abstract: {10 2} twin is common in pure hcp metals. In this study, initiation and development of {10 2} twin in hcp metal was simulated by molecular dynamics (MD) method. Two types of model crystals were stretched along the y-axis by applying displacement of 0.005a (a is lattice constant of the basal plane) every 1000 MD steps and relaxed atoms by molecular dynamics method. The Y-boundary of the model was applied fixed boundary condition and the X and the Z-boundary were free boundary condition. The Lennard-Jones type interatomic potential was employed in this simulation. In the single crystal, {10 1} pyramidal slip initiated at the crack tip and the pyramidal slip was stopped at Y-boundary atoms. After that, a {10 2} twin was initiated at a front of the slip. With increasing external strain, the twin grew with increasing external strain. In the bi-crystal, {10 0} prismatic slip occurred at the crack tip in Crystal 1 and a-dislocation of the slip stopped at a grain boundary between the Crystal 1 and 2. With increasing applied strain, {10 2} twin was initiated in the Crystal 2 at the grain boundary. From the simulation results, the ‘shuffling’ process of twin deformation was estimated.