Showing papers on "Electron backscatter diffraction published in 2018"

High Strength and Ductility of Additively Manufactured 316L Stainless Steel Explained

Abstract: Structure–property relationships of an additively manufactured 316L stainless steel were explored. A scanning electron microscope and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) analysis revealed a fine cellular-dendritic (0.5 to 2 μm) substructure inside large irregularly shaped grains (~ 100 μm). The cellular structure grows along the 〈100〉 crystallographic directions. However, texture analysis revealed that the main 〈100〉 texture component is inclined by ~15 deg from the building direction. X-ray diffraction line profile analysis indicated a high dislocation density of ~1 × 1015 m−2 in the as-built material, which correlates well with the observed EBSD microstructure and high-yield strength, via the traditional Taylor hardening equation. Significant variations in strain hardening behavior and ductility were observed for the horizontal (HB) and vertical (VB) built samples. Ductility of HB and VB samples measured 49 and 77 pct, respectively. The initial growth texture and subsequent texture evolution during tensile deformation are held responsible for the observed anisotropy. Notably, EBSD analysis of deformed samples showed deformation twins, which predominately form in the grains with 〈111〉 aligned parallel to the loading direction. The VB samples showed higher twinning activity, higher strain hardening rates at high strain, and therefore, higher ductility. Analysis of annealed samples revealed that the observed microstructures and properties are thermally stable, with only a moderate decrease in strength and very similar levels of ductility and anisotropy, compared with the as-built condition.

Strain rate effects of dynamic compressive deformation on mechanical properties and microstructure of CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy

Abstract: In this work, the effects of strain rate on mechanical deformation and microstructural evolution of CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy (HEA) under quasi-static and dynamic compression were investigated. The HEA exhibited high strain-rate sensitivity values (m = 0.028) of yield strength under quasi-static conditions. In particular, due to the viscous drag effect, the variation of yield strength with strain rate under dynamic compression was much larger than that under quasi-static compression. Microstructural analysis using electron backscatter diffraction shows profuse twinning under both conditions. The dynamically deformed specimens exhibited strongly localized deformation regions (i.e., adiabatic shear bands). The process of dynamic compressive behavior in this HEA is competitive between hardening by dislocation and twinning, and thermal softening. To analyze numerically the flow behavior of the HEA under dynamic conditions, the modified Johnson-Cook model considering adiabatic temperature rise was employed. The modified Johnson-Cook model offered good agreement with experimental results regarding dynamic flow curves of this HEA.

Interpass rolling of Ti-6Al-4V wire + arc additively manufactured features for microstructural refinement

Abstract: In-process deformation methods such as rolling can be used to refine the large columnar grains that form when wire + arc additively manufacturing (WAAM) titanium alloys. Due to the laterally restrained geometry, application to thick walls and intersecting features required the development of a new ‘inverted profile’ roller. A larger radii roller increased the extent of the recrystallised area, providing a more uniform grain size, and higher loads increased the amount of refinement. Electron backscatter diffraction showed that the majority of the strain is generated toward the edges of the rolled groove, up to 3 mm below the rolled surface. These results will help facilitate future optimisation of the rolling process and industrialisation of WAAM for large-scale titanium components.

Understanding Detrimental and Beneficial Grain Boundary Effects in Halide Perovskites

Abstract: Grain boundaries play a key role in the performance of thin-film optoelectronic devices and yet their effect in halide perovskite materials is still not understood. The biggest factor limiting progress is the inability to identify grain boundaries. Noncrystallographic techniques can misidentify grain boundaries, leading to conflicting literature reports about their influence; however, the gold standard - electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) - destroys halide perovskite thin films. Here, this problem is solved by using a solid-state EBSD detector with 6000 times higher sensitivity than the traditional phosphor screen and camera. Correlating true grain size with photoluminescence lifetime, carrier diffusion length, and mobility shows that grain boundaries are not benign but have a recombination velocity of 1670 cm s-1 , comparable to that of crystalline silicon. Amorphous grain boundaries are also observed that give rise to locally brighter photoluminescence intensity and longer lifetimes. This anomalous grain boundary character offers a possible explanation for the mysteriously long lifetime and record efficiency achieved in small grain halide perovskite thin films. It also suggests a new approach for passivating grain boundaries, independent of surface passivation, to lead to even better performance in optoelectronic devices.

Columnar to equiaxed transition during direct metal laser sintering of AlSi10Mg alloy: Effect of building direction

Abstract: In the current study, cylindrical samples of AlSi10Mg alloy were fabricated using direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) technique in vertical and horizontal directions. The microstructure of the samples was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. It was observed that, by changing the building direction from vertical to horizontal, columnar to equiaxed transition (CET) occurred in the alloy. While 75% of the grains in the vertical sample were columnar, by changing the direction to horizontal, 49% of the grains evolved with columnar shape and 51% of them were equiaxed. Moreover, the texture of DMLS-AlSi10Mg alloy changed due to CET. While {001} fiber texture evolved in the vertical sample, the direction tilted away from the building direction in the horizontal one. Using the fundamentals of solidification and constitutional undercooling, the solidification behavior of AlSi10Mg alloy during DMLS process was modeled. It was observed that, the determinant parameter in CET during DMLS of AlSi10Mg alloy is the angle between the nominal growth rate and h k l > direction of the growing dendrite, which is controlled by the geometry and building direction of the sample. Further TEM studies confirmed that, CET alters the shape and coherency of Si precipitates and dislocation density inside the α-Al dendrites in DMLS-AlSi10Mg alloy.

Microstructure characterization of SLM-processed Al-Mg-Sc-Zr alloy in the heat treated and HIPed condition

Abstract: Sc- Zr-modified Al-Mg alloy, processed by selective laser melting, offers excellent properties in the as processed condition, due to the formation of a desirable microstructure. As in conventional processing, such alloys are age hardenable, thereby precipitating a high fraction of finely dispersed coherent Al3(Scx Zr1-x) intermetallics, which serve for the improvement of the mechanical strength. Electron backscatter diffraction measurements and transmission electron microscopy were used to determine the effects of heat treatment and HIP on the microstructures of SLM processed specimens. In addition, the chemistry and number density of Al3Sc particles was analysed by atom probe tomography. The results show that the bi-modal grain size distribution observed in the as-processed condition can be maintained even after a heat treatment, due to a high density of intragranular Al3(ScxZr1-x) precipitates, and various other particles pinning the grain boundaries. A HIP post-processing can lead to grain growth in certain coarser grained areas, probably due to a local imbalance between driving and dragging forces, hence higher defect density and fewer pinning precipitates. Applying a heat treatment results in an increase of the density of ≤5 nm sized intragranular Al3(Scx Zr1-x) particles by a factor of 4–6, reaching 3·1023 m−3 to 5·1023 m−3.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of stainless steel 316L vertical struts manufactured by laser powder bed fusion process

Abstract: Stainless steel 316L (SS316L) vertical struts with various diameters ranging from 0.25 mm to 5 mm were manufactured by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process. A systematic investigation was conducted on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the produced struts. The struts possessed hierarchical microstructures consisting of cellular sub-grain structures inside columnar grains. The primary dendrite arm spacing (PDAS) of the cellular sub-grains decreased monotonically with increasing strut diameter until reaching a plateau after 1 mm. In contrast, the columnar grain width did not show a clear relationship with respect to the variation in the strut diameter. A to texture transition along the building direction (BD) of the struts was observed as the strut diameter decreased from 5 mm to 0.25 mm, which was attributed to the change of the heat extraction direction. Microstructure-property relations were established via Hall-Petch type correlations between the PDAS and the microhardness as well as the PDAS and the strengths of the struts, suggesting the importance of the role played by the cellular sub-grain structures in the strengthening of LPBF manufactured SS316L. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis confirmed that the strong texture within the thicker struts promoted the twinning-induced plasticity, and thus resulted in a better strength-ductility combination compared with that of the thinner struts with texture or weak texture.

Effects of graphene nano-platelets (GNPs) on the microstructural characteristics and textural development of an Al-Mg alloy during friction-stir processing

Abstract: The aim of this research is to characterize the unique microstructural features of Al-matrix nanocomposites reinforced by graphene nano-platelets (GNPs), fabricated by multi-pass friction-stir processing (FSP). During this process, secondary phase GNPs were dispersed within the stir zone (SZ) of an AA5052 alloy matrix, with a homogenous distribution achieved after five cumulative passes. The microstructural characteristics and crystallographic textures of different regions in the FSPed nanocomposite, i.e., base metal (BM), heat affected zone (HAZ), thermo-mechanical affected zone (TMAZ), and SZ, were evaluated using electron back scattering diffraction (EBSD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses. The annealed BM consisted of a nearly random crystal orientation distribution with an average grain size of 10.7 μm. The SZ exhibited equiaxed recrystallized grains with a mean size of 2 μm and a high fraction of high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) caused by a discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX) enhanced by pinning of grain boundaries by GNPs. The sub-grains and grain structure modification within the HAZ and TMAZ regions are governed by dislocation annihilation and reorganization in the grain interiors/within grains which convert low-angle to high-angle grain boundaries via dynamic recovery (DRV). The FSP process and incorporation of GNPs produced a pre-dominantly {100} cube texture component in the SZ induced by the stirring action of the rotating tool and hindering effect of nano-platelets. Although, a very strong {112} simple shear texture was found in the HAZ and TMAZ regions governed by additional heating and deformation imposed by the tool shoulder. These grain structure and texture features lead to a hardness and tensile strength increases of about 55% and 220%, respectively.

Influence of texture and grain refinement on the mechanical behavior of AA2219 fabricated by high shear solid state material deposition

Abstract: Issues with rapid grain growth, hot cracking and poor ductility have hindered the additive manufacturing and repair of aluminum alloys. Therefore, this is the first investigation to spatially correlate the processing-structure-property relations of a precipitation hardened aluminum alloy 2219 (AA2219) material with respect to deposition orientations and build layers. The AA2219 material was processed by a high deposition rate (1000 cm3/h) solid-state additive deposition process known as Additive Friction Stir Deposition or MELD. An equiaxed grain morphology was observed in the three orientations, where Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) identified a layer-dependent texture with a strong torsional fiber A texture in the top of the build transitioning to weaker textures in the middle and bottom layers. Interestingly, the tensile behavior reflected the texture layer-dependence with tensile strength increasing from the bottom to the top of the deposition. However, there were no statistically significant differences in hardness measured from the top to the bottom of the deposition. Furthermore, no orientation dependence on mechanical properties was observed for compression and tension specimens tested at quasi-static (0.001/s) and high (1500/s) strain rate. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) determined a lack of θ′ precipitates in the as-deposited cross-section, therefore resulting in no precipitation strengthening.

Constitutive modeling of flow behavior and microstructure evolution of AA7075 in hot tensile deformation

Abstract: Hot tensile deformation behavior of AA7075 was studied on a Gleeble-3500 thermal simulation machine. The deformation temperatures were 300 °C, 350 °C, 400 °C, 450 °C, and strain rates were 0.01 s −1 , 0.1 s −1 , 1 s −1 . Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) technique was performed on the deformed specimens to investigate the microstructure evolution. The results showed that grain sizes can be refined with increasing deformation amount, temperature, and decreasing strain rate. A constitutive model coupling with the evolution of recrystallization, dislocation, grain size, and damage was established based on the experimental results. The comparisons between model predictions and experimental results were evaluated in terms of statistical methods, the minimum correlation coefficient value was 0.934, and the maximum average absolute relative error and root mean square error were 3.96% and 2.97 MPa, respectively. The results indicated a good prediction accuracy of the model in describing the flow behavior and microstructural evolution of AA7075.

Identifying strain localization and dislocation processes in fatigued Inconel 718 manufactured from selective laser melting

Abstract: The microstructure and fatigue behavior of additive manufactured Inconel 718 (IN718) were studied using digital image correlation (DIC), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The samples were produced with selective laser melting and underwent two different heat treatments (stress relieved and fully post-processed) that produced different microstructures. The solidification process led to the formation of dendrites where misorientation between each branch was accommodated with dislocations, producing subgranular cell structures. EDS observations revealed that Ti and Nb segregate to the cell and grain boundaries, forming carbides. The stress relieved sample retained the cell boundaries, which acted as barriers for dislocation propagation, thereby distributing strain evenly throughout the microstructure. In contrast, the post-processed sample contained no cell boundaries, and strain was localized at the grain boundaries. Mechanical tests showed that the precipitates and the annealing twins in the post-processed sample were much more effective at improving the strength than small grain size and cell boundaries found in the stress relieved sample.

Incorporating grain-level residual stresses and validating a crystal plasticity model of a two-phase Ti-6Al-4 V alloy produced via additive manufacturing

Abstract: Titanium alloys, produced via additive manufacturing techniques, offer tremendous benefits over conventional manufacturing processes. However, there is inherent uncertainty associated with their properties, often stemming from the variability in the manufacturing process itself along with the presence of residual stresses in the material, which prevents their use as critical components. This work investigates Ti-6Al-4 V produced via selective laser melting by carrying out crystal plasticity finite element (CPFE) simulations and high-resolution digital image correlation (HR-DIC) on samples subject to cyclic loading. This is preceded by detailed material characterization using electron backscatter diffraction, back-scattered electron imaging and transmission electron microscopy, whose results are utilized to inform the CPFE model. A method to incorporate the effect of grain-level residual stresses via geometrically necessary dislocations is developed and implemented within the CPFE framework. Using this approach, grain level information about residual stresses obtained spatially over the region of interest, directly from the experimental material characterization, is utilized as an input to the model. Simulation results match well with HR-DIC and indicate that prior β boundaries play an important role in strain localization. In addition, possible sites for damage nucleation are identified, which correspond to regions of high plastic strain accumulation.

Dynamic deformation behavior of a face-centered cubic FeCoNiCrMn high-entropy alloy

Abstract: In this study, mechanical tests were conducted on a face-centered cubic FeCoNiCrMn high-entropy alloy, both in tension and compression, in a wide range of strain rates (10−4–104 s−1) to systematically investigate its dynamic response and underlying deformation mechanism. Materials with different grain sizes were tested to understand the effect of grain size, thus grain boundary volume, on the mechanical properties. Microstructures of various samples both before and after deformation were examined using electron backscatter diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The dislocation structure as well as deformation-induced twins were analyzed and correlated with the measured mechanical properties. Plastic stability during tension of the current high-entropy alloy (HEA), in particular, at dynamic strain rates, was discussed in lights of strain-rate sensitivity and work hardening rate. It was found that, under dynamic conditions, the strength and uniform ductility increased simultaneously as a result of the massive formation of deformation twins. Specifically, an ultimate tensile strength of 734 MPa and uniform elongation of ∼63% are obtained at 2.3 × 103 s−1, indicating that the alloy has great potential for energy absorption upon impact loading.

Deformation mechanism and mechanical properties of a thermomechanically processed β Ti-28Nb-35.4Zr alloy.

Abstract: The effects of thermomechanical treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a newly developed β titanium alloy, i.e., Ti–28 Nb–35.4Zr (wt%, hereafter denoted Ti–Nb–Zr) were investigated. The as-cast Ti–Nb–Zr alloy was subjected to solution treatment at 890 °C for 1 h, after which its thickness was reduced by 20%, 56%, 76%, and 86% via cold rolling. Results indicated that annealing at 890 °C for 1 h after cold rolling at a thickness reduction ratio of 86% resulted in a phase transformation from the stress-induced α” and ω into β, leading to a recrystallization of a uniform single β phase. The recrystallized Ti–Nb–Zr alloy exhibited a tensile strength of 633 MPa, Young's modulus of 63 GPa, and elongation at rupture of 13%, respectively. The cold rolled specimens showed a higher Young's modulus than that of the recrystallized specimen due to the stress-induced ω phase. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis revealed that ω, α” and β phases co-existed in the microstructure of the cold-rolled specimens. Electron backscatter diffraction analysis revealed that the deformation mechanisms during thermomechanical processing included kink bands, {332} twins and shear bands; and the predominant deformation mechanism depended on the extent of CR deformation.

Role of heat treatment and build orientation in the microstructure sensitive deformation characteristics of IN718 produced via SLM additive manufacturing

Abstract: The benefits of additive manufacturing have been well documented, but prior to these materials being used in critical applications, the deformation mechanisms must be properly characterized. In this work, the role of heat treatment and build orientation of selective laser melting IN718 is investigated through detailed characterization. The microstructure of this material is probed through a combination of electron microscopy to identify the precipitate structure, electron backscatter diffraction to quantify the grain-level features, and synchrotron-based X-ray microcomputed tomography to detect porosity. A high degree of porosity is observed spatially near the free surface of the part, where the contour during the build process meets the interior hatch. Further, microstructure based deformation mechanisms are explored through digital image correlation relative to the grain features after monotonic and cyclic loading and in situ high-energy X-ray diffraction to identify the lattice strain evolution in these materials. Demarcations between the behaviors of the as-built versus post-processed materials are discussed; specifically, in terms of anisotropy with respect to build direction and values of the strength properties, based on the grain morphology, coherent twin formation, and precipitate structure. Lastly, the presence of dislocation sub-structures within the grains is observed to homogenize deformation within the as-built sample, while strain partitioning is observed during loading of the post-processed sample.