Materials Science Forum Vol. 879

Abstract: Dual-phase (DP) steel sheets composed of both soft ferritic and hard martensitic phases are typical advanced high strength steel sheets applicable to a variety of automobile parts. The crystallite texture of the steel sheet is one of the important factors that influence press formability. However, the texture of the martensite itself in DP steels has not been discussed since the texture was generally measured by the X-ray diffraction method, which does not distinguish the texture of martensite from that of ferrite. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of intercritical and γ single-phase annealing on the texture evolution in DP steels by a newly-developed analysis method using Electron Back-Scatter Diffraction (EBSD) to obtain the texture of each phase separately. The chemical composition of the steel used was 0.1%C-1.2%Si-2.3%Mn-0.1%Ti (mass%). The 1st-annealing was carried out at 948K, which is below the Ac₁ temperature, in order to finish recrystallization after hot and cold rolling so as to focus on the transformation texture evolution itself. The steels were subsequently annealed both at 1123K in the intercritical region and at 1223K in the γ single-phase region to obtain DP microstructures with approximately 40% volume fraction of martensite. The overall texture including martensite in the case of intercritical annealing was similar to the initial texture before annealing, while the texture became randomized in the case of γ single-phase annealing. Moreover, our unique EBSD analysis method clearly showed that the textures of the martensite themselves were close to those of ferrite under the two annealing conditions.

Abstract: As part of a collaborative program to develop advanced manufacturing processes for next-generation hydraulic turbines, this study investigated the technological challenges for joining 25-mm thick martensitic stainless steel (MSS) plates using tandem and hybrid laser-arc welding. Although candidate materials for the intended application typically include wrought AISI 415 and cast CA6NM, a martensitic 410 stainless steel (SS) was especially selected in this study due to its greater crack sensitivity. A narrow-gap groove was designed to minimize the amount of 410NiMo filler metal required to fill the groove using a multi-pass single-sided welding technique. All the welding trials were performed using a 5.2 kW fiber laser. The root-pass quality was characterized in terms of weld bead geometry, defects and microstructure. The main technical challenges observed for the root pass were lack of penetration, lack of fusion and cracking, as detailed in this work.

Abstract: The influence of cyclic loading on microstructure and hardness of a 10%Cr steel with 3%Co and 0.008%B was examined at room temperature and total strain amplitudes of ±0.25% and ±0.6%. Low cycle fatigue (LCF) curves exhibit a stress peak after a few cycles. Hardening is attributed to an increase in dislocation density; no changes in lath size were observed. Then stress tends to decrease monotonically with number of cycles that is indicative for material softening. At ε_ac =±0.25%, strain softening is attributed to decreasing dislocation density and lath coarsening under LCF, whereas at ε_ac =±0.6%, the knitting reaction between dislocations comprising lath boundaries and trapped lattice dislocation leading to the transformation of lath boundaries to subboundaries is a reason for hardness decrease and strain-induced subgrain coarsening.

Abstract: The paper reports on the effect of severe plastic deformation on mechanical properties of an Al-4.57Mg-0.35Mn-0.2Sc-0.09Zr (in wt. pct.) alloy processed by equal channel angular pressing followed by cold rolling (CR). The sheets of the 5024 alloy with coarse grained (CG) structure exhibited a yield stress (YS) near 410 MPa and an ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 480 MPa, while the YS and UTS of this material with ultrafine-grained (UFG) structure increased to 530 and 560 MPa, respectively. On the other hand, the elongation to failure decreased by a factor of 2 and 4 after CR and CR following ECAP, respectively. It was shown that dislocation strengthening attributed to extensive CR plays a major role in achieving high strength of this alloy. Besides these macroscopic characteristics, jerky flow caused by the Portevin-Le Chatelier (PLC) instability of plastic deformation was examined. The formation of UFG structure results in a transition from mixed type A+B to pure type B PLC serrations. No such effect on the serrations type was observed after CR.

Abstract: Thermoplastic forming is a promising method for fabricating metallic glass (MG) products with complex shapes. This method can avoid the difficulties encountered in other manufacturing processes, such as very high cooling rate required by casting and catastrophic cracking in machining. However, during thermoplastic forming the adhesion between dies and MGs restricts the production. It is therefore important to explore the underlying adhesion mechanisms during forming and establish guidelines for selecting proper die materials. In this paper, we comprehensively studied the adhesion between La-based MG and some widely-used die materials (electroless Ni-P, Si, alumina and silicon nitride) in the thermoplastic forming process. It was found that, among these die materials, alumina has the best performance, which is attributed to its strong chemical bonds and low surface energy. The study concludes that the surface energy and the type of chemical bonds can be proper indicators for selecting die materials.

Abstract: As-solidified structure of an ingot is composed of the chill, columnar and equiaxed zones. The whole solidified structure is strongly affected by the chill crystals. Some initial solidification grains have been observed on the ingot surface and thought to be traces of the nucleation point. The aim of this study is, therefore, to develop the experiment technique to make one ‘grain’ and to crystallographically investigate the initial solidification grain using EBSD analysis. In order to start solidification at a very specified position, a small metallic protrusion was installed on an insulating plate. Al-6 wt%Si alloy was melted at 800 °C and was poured on the metallic protrusion. In this study, the amount of protrusion was varied to investigate the growth mechanism of the initial solidification grain. The longitudinal cross section of the specimen was observed by an optical microscope, a scanning electron microscope. The starting position of solidification was the area that was on the metallic protrusion. In this initial solidification grain, it was difficult to observe the dendritic structure. The shape of this grain was about hemispherical. The grain area seemed to increase with increasing the amount of protrusion. The results of EBSD analysis showed that almost all initial solidification grains were composed by several crystals. The reason of this is that the nucleation frequency may increase with the amount of protrusion. The dendrite grew radially from the initial solidification grain continuously. The crystallographic structure was also continuous on the boundary of the initial solidification grain.

Abstract: The microstructure evolution and strength properties of a Cu-0.096%Cr-0.057%Zr alloy subjected to equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) at a temperature of 673 K via route B_C to total strains of 1 to 4 were examined. The planar low-angle boundaries with moderate misorientations form within initial grains during the first ECAP passes. Upon further processing the misorientations of these boundaries progressively increase and the formation of new ultrafine grains occurs as a result of continuous dynamic recrystallization. Partially recrystallized ultrafine grained structure evolves at strains above 4. After straining to 4 the (sub) grain size attains 0.65 μm. The large plastic straining provides significant strengthening. The ultimate tensile strength increases from 190 MPa in the initial state to 420 MPa after 4 ECAP passes. A modified Hall-Petch analysis is applied to investigate the contribution of grain refinement and dislocation density to the overall strengthening.

Abstract: In this study, αAlB₁₂-20vol% NiAl cermet disk specimens were prepared by spark plasma sintering, and their microstructure, Knoop hardness, fracture toughness, and friction and wear properties were investigated. The αAlB₁₂-20vol% NiAl disk specimens were obtained by spark plasma sintering blended αAlB₁₂ and NiAl powder at 1573 K for 600 seconds. No reaction product phases were observed between the αAlB₁₂ and NiAl phases. The αAlB₁₂-20vol% NiAl disk specimens exhibited friction coefficients lower than 0.2 and specific wear rates as low as 1.3 × 10^-6 mm³/Nm when sliding against Si₃N₄ ball specimens in water. O-rich phases were observed on the worn surfaces of the NiAl and αAlB₁₂-20vol% NiAl disk specimens after sliding against Si₃N₄ ball specimens in water. The Knoop hardness of the disk specimens was as high as 10 GPa and the fracture toughness was as high as 7 MPa m^1/2.

Abstract: The Young’s modulus of Ti-Cr-Sn-Zr alloy varies with the composition of Cr, Sn and Zr, in which the elements act as β stabilizers. Some Ti-Cr-Sn-Zr alloys show very low Young’s modulus under 50GPa. The amount of Zr in alloys with very low Young's modulus increases with the decrease of Cr. We investigated the Young’s modulus and deformation behavior of Ti-xCr-Sn-Zr (x=0~1mass%) alloys containing a large amount of Zr. The quenched microstructure of Ti-Cr-Sn-Zr alloys changes from martensitic structure to β single-phase structure if the amounts of β stabilized elements are increased. The Ti-Cr-Sn-Zr alloys with compositions close to the transitional composition of microstructure from martensite to β phase show minimum Young’s modulus. The clear microstructural transition disappears and the minimum Young’s modulus increases if the amount of Cr becomes too small. In Ti-Cr-Sn-Zr alloys containing a large amount of Zr, Young’s modulus depends on β phase that is intermingled with martensite.

Abstract: The microstructure of rapidly solidified melt-spun ribbon in AlCoCrFeNi_2.1 eutectic high entropy alloys (EHEAs) was investigated for clarifying the effect of rapid solidification on the constituent phases and microstructure of specimens formed through solidification. XRD analysis indicates that the melt-spun ribbons were composed of a mixture of fcc and bcc phases. The rapidly solidified melt-spun ribbon shows a fine poly-crystalline structure with fcc matrix phase and crystalline precipitates in the grain boundary, indicating that the solidification structure in the melt-spun ribbon was significantly different from that obtained by conventional casting processes.