K. A. Lark

Bio: K. A. Lark is an academic researcher from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The author has contributed to research in topics: Deformation (engineering) & Flow stress. The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 3 publications receiving 1029 citations.

Modeling of dynamic material behavior in hot deformation: Forging of Ti-6242

Abstract: A new method of modeling material behavior which accounts for the dynamic metallurgical processes occurring during hot deformation is presented. The approach in this method is to consider the workpiece as a dissipator of power in the total processing system and to evaluate the dissipated power co-contentJ = ∫o σ e ⋅dσ from the constitutive equation relating the strain rate (e) to the flow stress (σ). The optimum processing conditions of temperature and strain rate are those corresponding to the maximum or peak inJ. It is shown thatJ is related to the strain-rate sensitivity (m) of the material and reaches a maximum value(J max) whenm = 1. The efficiency of the power dissipation(J/J max) through metallurgical processes is shown to be an index of the dynamic behavior of the material and is useful in obtaining a unique combination of temperature and strain rate for processing and also in delineating the regions of internal fracture. In this method of modeling, noa priori knowledge or evaluation of the atomistic mechanisms is required, and the method is effective even when more than one dissipation process occurs, which is particularly advantageous in the hot processing of commercial alloys having complex microstructures. This method has been applied to modeling of the behavior of Ti-6242 during hot forging. The behavior of α+ β andβ preform microstructures has been exam-ined, and the results show that the optimum condition for hot forging of these preforms is obtained at 927 °C (1200 K) and a strain rate of 1CT•3 s•1. Variations in the efficiency of dissipation with temperature and strain rate are correlated with the dynamic microstructural changes occurring in the material.

Nickel-aluminum-molybdenum phase equilibria

Abstract: Recent work on alloys based on the Ni-Al-Mo system has brought to light several inconsistencies with published equilibrium phase diagrams for this system. Published diagrams have been based on theoretical computer models and on data gathered ostensibly before equilibrium was achieved, especially at temperatures below 1100 °C. The intent of this effort was to produce an experimentally validated ternary equilibrium phase diagram for the Ni-Al-Mo system. Specimens for this task were produced by both conventional casting and powder metallurgy techniques. The temperatures studied included 1260, 1171, 1093, 1038, and 927 °C (2300, 2140, 2000, 1900, and 1700 °F) for times up to 2500 hours. Phases were identified using an electron probe microanalyzer and X-ray diffraction. The results show significant deviations from the proposed phase diagrams published in the literature in the temperature range investigated. In particular, a class II four-phase equilibrium reaction γ + α cooling // heating γ′+ δ has been shown to occur at 1127 ± 2 °C (2060 ± 4 °F).

Plastic-flow behavior and microstructural development in a cast alpha-two titanium aluminide

Abstract: Plastic-flow behavior and microstructural development were investigated for a cast α2 titanium aluminide, Ti-24Al-11Nb (atomic percent), using the isothermal hot-compression test. Regimes of warm- and hot-working behavior were inferred from flow curves adjusted for deformation heating effects. Plots of flow stress as a function of inverse temperature and estimates of the strain-rate-sensitivity index confirmed the transition from warm to hot-working conditions over a rather narrow temperature range. Hot working in theα 2 +β phase field was also marked by a rather high activation energy (viz., ∼1080 kJ/mole) for the controlling deformation process, which appeared to consist of dynamic globularization of the ordered-α 2 phase. A sharp decrease in the activation energy was noticed when the deformation temperature was increased above the β-transus. Microstructural observations also indicated development of an unrecrystallized structure during warm working, with cavities and wedge cracks being found near the bulged free surfaces of the upset specimens. The plastic-flow phenomenology exhibited a number of similarities to that found in the wrought version of the Ti-24Al-11Nb alloy.

Overview No. 104 The physical and mechanical properties of NiAl

Abstract: A critical review of the physical and mechanical properties of NiAl is presented. The physical properties examined include electronic structure and bonding, crystal structure and phase stability, thermodynamic properties, elastic properties, and electrical, magnetic, and thermal properties. Discussion of crystal defects in NiAl include both constitutional and thermal point defects, the core structure and energy of line defects, and planar defects (shear faults, grain boundaries, and free surfaces). The mechanical properties, substructure, and mechanisms of ductility of NiAl single crystals and polycrystals are reviewed in detail, while alloying effects and the deformation of NiAl martensite are briefly described. The fracture toughness, modes of fracture, and cyclic properties reported in the literature are assessed. A critical analysis of diffusion data for NiAl is followed by a discussion of the activation energy and mechanisms of diffusion. This information is related to the creep properties of NiAl, and additional critical comments concerning the substructure and creep mechanisms of NiAl are provided. A review of the environmental resistance of NiAl is followed by a brief discussion of several current and potential applications of NiAl. Concluding remarks include suggestions for future research on NiAl.

Exploration and Development of High Entropy Alloys for Structural Applications

Abstract: We develop a strategy to design and evaluate high-entropy alloys (HEAs) for structural use in the transportation and energy industries. We give HEA goal properties for low (≤150 °C), medium (≤450 °C) and high (≥1,100 °C) use temperatures. A systematic design approach uses palettes of elements chosen to meet target properties of each HEA family and gives methods to build HEAs from these palettes. We show that intermetallic phases are consistent with HEA definitions, and the strategy developed here includes both single-phase, solid solution HEAs and HEAs with intentional addition of a 2nd phase for particulate hardening. A thermodynamic estimate of the effectiveness of configurational entropy to suppress or delay compound formation is given. A 3-stage approach is given to systematically screen and evaluate a vast number of HEAs by integrating high-throughput computations and experiments. CALPHAD methods are used to predict phase equilibria, and high-throughput experiments on materials libraries with controlled composition and microstructure gradients are suggested. Much of this evaluation can be done now, but key components (materials libraries with microstructure gradients and high-throughput tensile testing) are currently missing. Suggestions for future HEA efforts are given.

Processing maps for hot working of titanium alloys

Abstract: In recent years, processing maps are being used to design hot working schedules for making near-net shapes in a wide variety of materials. In this paper, the results obtained on the characterization of hot working behavior of titanium and its alloys using the approach of processing maps are described. In commercial purity α titanium, dynamic recrystallization (DRX) domain occurs at 775°C and 0.001 s−1 with an efficiency of power dissipation [2m/(m+1) where m is the strain rate sensitivity of flow stress] of 43%. The DRX domain shifts to higher strain rates when the interstitial impurity content is lowered. In the near-α and α-β alloys like IMI 685, Ti–6Al–4V, the preform microstructure has a significant influence on the processing maps. For example, in the transformed β (Widmanstatten) preform microstructures, these alloys exhibit a domain of spheroidization at lower temperature and a domain of β superplasticity at higher temperatures, both occurring at slow strain rates. These domains merge at the β transus because of the occurrence of damage processes which lower the tensile ductility. On the other hand, processing maps on alloys with equiaxed preform microstructure exhibit a clear superplasticity domain in the α-β range and the β phase undergoes DRX with a power dissipation efficiency of ≈45–55%. Titanium materials in general, exhibit wide flow instability regimes due to adiabatic shear bands formation at higher strain rates and hence careful process design has to be adopted for successful forging and microstructural control.

Hot working of commercial Ti–6Al–4V with an equiaxed α–β microstructure: materials modeling considerations

Abstract: The hot deformation behavior of Ti–6Al–4V with an equiaxed α–β preform microstructure is modeled in the temperature range 750–1100°C and strain rate range 0.0003–100 s−1, for obtaining processing windows and achieving microstructural control during hot working. For this purpose, a processing map has been developed on the basis of flow stress data as a function of temperature, strain rate and strain. The map exhibited two domains: (i) the domain in the α–β phase field is identified to represent fine-grained superplasticity and the peak efficiency of power dissipation occurred at about 825°C/0.0003 s−1. At this temperature, the hot ductility exhibited a sharp peak indicating that the superplasticity process is very sensitive to temperature. The α grain size increased exponentially with increase in temperature in this domain and the variation is similar to the increase in the β volume fraction in this alloy. At the temperature of peak ductility, the volume fraction of β is about 20%, suggesting that sliding of α–α interfaces is primarily responsible for superplasticity while the β phase present at the grain boundary triple junctions restricts grain growth. The apparent activation energy estimated in the α–β superplasticity domain is about 330 kJ mol−1, which is much higher than that for self diffusion in α-titanium. (ii) In the β phase field, the alloy exhibits dynamic recrystallization and the variation of grain size with temperature and strain rate could be correlated with the Zener–Hollomon parameter. The apparent activation energy in this domain is estimated to be 210 kJ mol−1, which is close to that for self diffusion in β. At temperatures around the transus, a ductility peak with unusually high ductility has been observed, which has been attributed to the occurrence of transient superplasticity of β in view of its fine grain size. The material exhibited flow instabilities at strain rates higher than about 1 s−1 and these are manifested as adiabatic shear bands in the α–β regime.