Showing papers on "Hardening (metallurgy) published in 2015"

Heterogeneous lamella structure unites ultrafine-grain strength with coarse-grain ductility.

Abstract: Grain refinement can make conventional metals several times stronger, but this comes at dramatic loss of ductility. Here we report a heterogeneous lamella structure in Ti produced by asymmetric rolling and partial recrystallization that can produce an unprecedented property combination: as strong as ultrafine-grained metal and at the same time as ductile as conventional coarse-grained metal. It also has higher strain hardening than coarse-grained Ti, which was hitherto believed impossible. The heterogeneous lamella structure is characterized with soft micrograined lamellae embedded in hard ultrafine-grained lamella matrix. The unusual high strength is obtained with the assistance of high back stress developed from heterogeneous yielding, whereas the high ductility is attributed to back-stress hardening and dislocation hardening. The process discovered here is amenable to large-scale industrial production at low cost, and might be applicable to other metal systems.

On the precipitation hardening of selective laser melted AlSi10Mg

Abstract: Precipitation hardening of selective laser melted AlSi10Mg was investigated in terms of solution heat treatment and aging duration. The influence on the microstructure and hardness was established, as was the effect on the size and density of Si particles. Although the hardness changes according to the treatment duration, the maximum hardening effect falls short of the hardness of the as-built parts with their characteristic fine microstructure. This is due to the difference in strengthening mechanisms.

The natural aging and precipitation hardening behaviour of Al-Mg-Si-Cu alloys with different Mg/Si ratios and Cu additions

Abstract: The natural aging and artificial aging behaviours of Al-Mg-Si-Cu alloys with different Mg/Si ratios and Cu additions were investigated using Vickers microhardness measurements, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterisation. Excess Si and Cu additions enhanced the alloy hardening ability during natural (NA) and artificial aging (AA). Alloys with low Cu and high Si contents exhibited higher precipitation hardening than alloys rich in Mg during artificial aging. In contrast, the alloys with high amounts of Cu were less dependent on the Mg/Si ratio during precipitation hardening due to their similar aging kinetics. The main precipitate phases that contributed to the peak-aging hardness were the L, Q′ and β″ phases. In the over-aging conditions, the alloys rich in Mg and Cu had finer and more numerous precipitates than their Si-rich equivalents due to the preferential precipitation of the L phase. The combination of excess Mg and high Cu resulted in an alloy with a relatively low hardness in T4 temper and a relatively higher hardness after the paint baking cycle. Thus, this alloy has good potential for use in auto body panel applications.

Wear and corrosion behavior of laser surface engineered AISI H13 hot working tool steel

Abstract: The present study reports the effect of laser parameters on the microstructure, and consequently, the wear resistance of laser surface engineered (hardening and melting) AISI H13 tool steel (in hardened and tempered condition) substrate The microstructure of the laser surface hardened zone consists of ultrafine mixed carbides (M 23 C 6 , M 7 C 3 , MC or M 2 C) dispersed between martensite laths On the other hand, a laser surface melted microstructure comprises retained austenite, martensite, transformed ledeburite and fine carbides precipitated in the inter-dendritic zone Microhardness of the laser surface engineered zone is significantly enhanced to as high as 670–810 VHN as compared to 480–500 VHN of the as received quenched and tempered substrate and decreases along vertical depth from the surface until a narrow soft zone at the interface with a typical hardness of 440 VHN Laser surface melting yields a higher hardness level (770 ± 10 VHN) as compared to that after laser surface hardening (660 ± 10 VHN) Wear resistance of laser surface engineered samples (evaluated both by ball-on-disk and fretting wear testing equipments) shows a significant improvement as compared to that in hardened and tempered condition Due to an increased hardness, surface melting shows superior resistance to wear both under fretting as well as ball on disk wear testing conditions A marginal improvement in corrosion resistance was also recorded in laser surface engineered samples due to microstructural/compositional homogenization introduced by laser surface engineering

Deformation microstructures, strengthening mechanisms, and electrical conductivity in a Cu–Cr–Zr alloy

Abstract: The ultrafine-grained microstructures, mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of a Cu–0.87%Cr–0.06%Zr alloy subjected to multiple equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) at temperatures of 473–673 K were investigated. The new ultrafine grains resulted from progressive increase in the misorientations of strain-induced low-angle boundaries during the multiple ECAP process. The development of ultrafine-grained microstructures is considered as a type of continuous dynamic recrystallization. The multiple ECAP process resulted in substantial strengthening of the alloy. The yield strength increased from 215 MPa in the original peak aged condition to 480 MPa and 535 MPa after eight ECAP passes at 673 K and 473 K, respectively. The strengthening was attributed to the grain refinement and high dislocation densities evolved by large strain deformation. Modified Hall–Petch analysis indicated that the contribution of dislocation strengthening to the overall increment of yield stress (YS) through ECAP was higher than that of grain size strengthening. The formation of ultrafine grains containing high dislocation density leads to a small reduction in electrical conductivity from 80 to 70% IACS.

Strain Hardening and Size Effect in Five-fold Twinned Ag Nanowires.

Abstract: Metallic nanowires usually exhibit ultrahigh strength but low tensile ductility owing to their limited strain hardening capability. Here we study the unique strain hardening behavior of the five-fold twinned Ag nanowires by nanomechanical testing and atomistic modeling. In situ tensile tests within a scanning electron microscope revealed strong strain hardening behavior of the five-fold twinned Ag nanowires. Molecular dynamics simulations showed that such strain hardening was critically controlled by twin boundaries and pre-existing defects. Strain hardening was size dependent; thinner nanowires achieved more hardening and higher ductility. The size-dependent strain hardening was found to be caused by the obstruction of surface-nucleated dislocations by twin boundaries. Our work provides mechanistic insights into enhancing the tensile ductility of metallic nanostructures by engineering the internal interfaces and defects.

Influence of carbon vacancy formation on the elastic constants and hardening mechanisms in transition metal carbides

Abstract: For group VB transition metal carbides, as compared to group IVB carbides, an anomalous rise in hardness occurs for substoichiometric carbon concentrations as compared to the stoichiometric monocarbides. Here we report the computationally derived elastic constants, electronic density of states, and activation energies for carbon vacancy migration as a function of carbon content to elucidate their effect on the hardening responses. The changes in elastic properties with respect to carbon vacancy concentration show similar behaviors of elastic softening and decreasing hardness for all of the cubic carbides. The consistent trends of vacancy diffusion energy barriers between all of the group IVB and VB transition metal carbides also suggests that carbon diffusion may not be a significant contributor to the reported hardness differences. Consequently, we propose that the anomalous hardening for substoichiometric behavior is a competition between elastic constant softening and a microstructural-based effect, i.e. domain hardening, that is present in group VB carbides but not in group IVB carbides.

A modified Johnson–Cook model for tensile flow behaviors of 7050-T7451 aluminum alloy at high strain rates

Abstract: The uniaxial quasi-static and dynamic tensile tests were conducted at different strain rates (10–3 s−1, 800 s−1, 1900 s−1 and 2900 s−1) for 7050-T7451 aluminum alloy. Then, research of the strain rate hardening coefficient in the original Johnson–Cook model at different strains and strain rates showed that the coefficient is a function of strain and strain rate from the tensile experimental results. Furthermore, a modified Johnson–Cook model was proposed to describe the flow behaviors of the studied alloy based on the correction to the strain rate hardening coefficient. Comparisons between the experimental data and predicted results using the original JC model, Khan–Liu (KL) model and the modified JC model showed that a better agreement can be obtained applying the modified model than the other two models. Verifications for predicting three new high strain rates (1500 s−1, 2500 s−1 and 3500 s−1) experimental data demonstrated the modified JC model can provide an accurate description for the dynamic behaviors of the studied alloy.

Computational modelling of mesoscale dislocation patterning and plastic deformation of single crystals

Abstract: We present a continuum dislocation dynamics model that predicts the formation of dislocation cell structure in single crystals at low strains. The model features a set of kinetic equations of the curl type that govern the space and time evolution of the dislocation density in the crystal. These kinetic equations are coupled to stress equilibrium and deformation kinematics using the eigenstrain approach. A custom finite element method has been developed to solve the coupled system of equations of dislocation kinetics and crystal mechanics. The results show that, in general, dislocations self-organize in patterns under their mutual interactions. However, the famous dislocation cell structure has been found to form only when cross slip is implemented in the model. Cross slip is also found to lower the yield point, increase the hardening rate, and sustain an increase in the dislocation density over the hardening regime. Analysis of the cell structure evolution reveals that the average cell size decreases with the applied stress, which is consistent with the similitude principle.

An elasto-plastic self-consistent model with hardening based on dislocation density, twinning and de-twinning: Application to strain path changes in HCP metals

Abstract: In this work, we develop a polycrystal mean-field constitutive model based on an elastic–plastic self-consistent (EPSC) framework. In this model, we incorporate recently developed subgrain models for dislocation density evolution with thermally activated slip, twin activation via statistical stress fluctuations, reoriented twin domains within the grain and associated stress relaxation, twin boundary hardening, and de-twinning. The model is applied to a systematic set of strain path change tests on pure beryllium (Be). Under the applied deformation conditions, Be deforms by multiple slip modes and deformation twinning and thereby provides a challenging test for model validation. With a single set of material parameters, determined using the flow-stress vs. strain responses during monotonic testing, the model predicts well the evolution of texture, lattice strains, and twinning. With further analysis, we demonstrate the significant influence of internal residual stresses on (1) the flow stress drop when reloading from one path to another, (2) deformation twin activation, (3) de-twinning during a reversal strain path change, and (4) the formation of additional twin variants during a cross-loading sequence. The model presented here can, in principle, be applied to other metals, deforming by multiple slip and twinning modes under a wide range of temperature, strain rate, and strain path conditions.

Dynamic nanoindentation testing for studying thermally activated processes from single to nanocrystalline metals

Abstract: Nanoindentation experiments are widely used for assessing the local mechanical properties of materials. In recent years some new exciting developments have been performed for also analyzing thermally activated processes using indentation based techniques. This paper focuses on how thermally activated dislocation mechanisms can be assessed by indentation strain rate jump as well as creep testing. Therefore, a small overview is given on thermally activated dislocation mechanism and how indentation data from pointed indenters can be interpreted in terms of uniaxial macroscopic testing. This requires the use of the indentation strain rate as introduced by Lucas and Oliver as well as the concepts of Taylor hardening together with Johnson expanding cavity model. These concepts are then translated to nanoindentation strain rate jump tests as well as nanoindentation long term creep test, where the control of the indenter tip movement as well as the determination of the contact are quite important for reliable data. It is furthermore discussed, that for a steady state hardness test, the interpretation of the hardness data is straightforward and comparable to macroscopic testing. For other conditions where size effects play a major role, hardness data need to be interpreted with consideration for the microstructural length scale with respect to the contact radius. Finally strain rate jump testing and long term creep testings are used to assess different thermally activated mechanisms in single to nanocrystalline metals such as: Motion of dislocation kink pairs in bcc sx-W, Grain boundary processes in nc-Ni and ufg-Al, and the Portevin-le Chatelier effect in ufg-AA6014.