Section steels produced by welding are essential parts for shipbuilding and offshore plant production. T-type and H-type section steels are produced by handwork for secondary processing, which is a generally difficult and tedious activity. Therefore, automatic welding, with sound welding properties and a high-speed process, is necessary to meet the production demands. Welding conditions can be optimized by controlling various parameters to obtain suitable and highly reliable microstructural properties. In this study, the heat affected zone and weld defects of fillet-welded Angle and T-bar parts were investigated in terms of their microstructural, macrostructural, and mechanical properties to ensure the soundness of AH36 section steel parts joined by continuous welds.
The effect of TiC content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a nanocrystalline Fe-Mn alloy was investigated by XRD analysis, TEM observation, and mechanical tests. A sintered Fe-Mn alloy sample with nano-sized crystallites was obtained using spark plasma sintering. Crystallite size, which is used as a hardening mechanism, was measured by X-ray diffraction peak analysis. It was observed that the addition of TiC influenced the average size of crystallites, resulting in a change in austenite stability. Thus, the volume fraction of austenite at room temperature after the sintering process was also modified by the TiC addition. The martensite transformation during cooling was suppressed by adding TiC, which lowered the martensite start temperature. The plastic behavior and the strain-induced martensite kinetics formed during plastic deformation are discussed with compressive stress-strain curves and numerical analysis for the transformation kinetics.
This paper aims to investigate the microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of hot-deformed AlMg4 alloys with Mn, Fe, and Si as the main impurities. For this purpose, solidification behavior and microstructural evolution during hot-rolling and heat-treatment processes are investigated by using theoretical calculations and experimental characterization. The crystallization and morphological transformation of intermetallic Al3Fe, Al6Mn, and Mg2Si phases are revealed and discussed in terms of the variation in chemical composition. Following a homogenization heat-treatment, the effect of heat treatment on the intermetallic compounds is also investigated after hot-rolling. It was revealed that the Mg2Si phase can be broken into small particles and spherodized more easily than the Al3Fe intermetallic phase during the hot-rolling process. For the Mn containing alloys, both yield and ultimate tensile strength of the hot-rolled alloys increased from 270 to 296 MPa while elongation decreased from 17 to 13%, which can be attributed to Mn-containing intermetallic as well as dispersoid.
In this study, to investigate effects of rhenium addition on the microstructures and mechanical properties, 15Cr-1Mo ODS ferritic steels with rhenium additions were fabricated by the mechanical alloying, hot isostatic pressing, and hot rolling processes. Unremarkable differences on grain morphologies and nano-oxide distributions were estimated in the microstructure observations. However, the ODS ferritic steels with 0.5 wt.% rhenium showed higher tensile and creep strengths at elevated temperature than that without rhenium. It was found that rhenium is very effective to improve the mechanical properties.
In this study, the effects of adding niobium and vanadium to Fe-based oxide dispersion strengthened alloys are confirmed. The composition of alloys are Fe-20Cr-1Al-0.5Ti-0.5Y2O3 and Fe-20Cr-1Al-0.5Ti-0.3V-0.2Nb-0.5Y2O3. The alloy powders are manufactured by using a planetary mill, and these powders are molded by using a magnetic pulsed compaction. Thereafter, the powders are sintered in a tube furnace to obtain sintered specimens.
The added elements exist in the form of a solid solution in the Fe matrix and suppress the grain growth. These results are confirmed via X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analyses of the phase and microstructure of alloys. In addition, it was confirmed that the addition of elements, improved the hardness property of Fe-based oxide dispersion strengthened alloys.
In this study, a molybdenum alloy with dispersed high-entropy particles was fabricated using the powder metallurgy method. The high-entropy powder, composed of Nb, Ta, V, W, and Zr elements with a same atomic fraction, was prepared via high-energy ball milling. Using this powder, an ideal core-shell powder, composed of high-entropy powder as core and Mo powder as shell, was synthesized via the milling and reduction processes. These processes enabled the realization of an ideal microstructure with the high-entropy phase uniformly dispersed in the Mo matrix. The sintered body was successfully fabricated via uniaxial compaction followed by pressureless sintering. The sintered body was analyzed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope, and the high-entropy phase is uniformly dispersed in the Mo matrix.
Liquid metal extraction (LME) process results in 100% neodymium (Nd) extraction but the highest extraction efficiency reported for Dysprosium (Dy) so far is 74%. Oxidation of Dy is the major limiting factor for incomplete Dy extraction. In order to enhance the extraction efficiency and to further investigate the limiting factors for incomplete extraction, experiments were carried out on six different particle sizes of under 200 µm, 200-300 µm, 300-700 µm, 700-1000 µm, 1000-2000 µm and over 2000 µm at 900℃ with magnesium-to-magnet scrap ratio of 15:1 for 6, 24 and 48 hours, respectively. This research identified Dy2Fe17 in addition to Dy2O3 phase to be responsible for incomplete extraction. The relationship between Dy2Fe17 and Dy2O3 phase was investigated, and the overall extraction efficiency of Dy was enhanced to 97%.
In this study, the magnetic properties and wave absorption characteristics of high entropy alloys are investigated. The high entropy alloys with FeNiMnCoCu, FeNiMnZnCo, and FeNiZnCoCu compositions were synthesized by the sol-gel method. After the sol-gel process, the annealing process and hydrogen reduction process was performed. FeNiMnCoCu and FeNiZnCoCu were revealed soft magnetic property. The saturation magnetization was 12 emu/g and 36 emu/g, respectively. And The coercive force was –45 Oe and –34 Oe, respectively. The high entropy alloy with these compositions was revealed wave absorption property at above 10 gigahertz frequency region. And it has shown the trend that wave absorption frequency has decreased with the sample thickness increasing.
Recently, since the demand of rare earth permanent magnet for high temperature applications such as an electric motor has increased, dysprosium (Dy), a heavy rare earth element, is becoming important due to severe bias in its production. To fulfill the increasing need of Dy, recycling offers as a promising alternative. In recycling of rare earths, Hydro-metallurgical extraction method is mainly used however it has adverse environmental effects. Liquid metal extraction on the other hand, is an eco-friendly and simple method as far as the reduction of rare earth metal oxide is concerned. Therefore, liquid metal extraction was studied in this research as an alternative to the hydro-metallurgical recycling method. Magnesium (Mg) is selected as solvent metal because it doesn’t form intermetallic compounds with Fe, B and has a low melting and low boiling point. Extraction behavior of Dy in (Nd,Dy)-Fe-B magnet is observed and effect of Mg ratio on extraction of Dy is confirmed.
The U-type ferrite is a kind of hexagonal ferrite, and it is known as a microwave absorber in the X-band. The magnetic and dielectric loss of the U-type ferrite change to the composition and coating layer, etc. In this study, the silicon oxide layer was coated on the substituted U-type ferrites to improve microwave absorption characteristics. The complex permittivity and complex permeability were measured using toroidal specimens that were press-molded and the measured frequency range was set from 2-18 GHz. The improvement of the microwave absorption rate was different according to the type of the substituted U-type ferrites. Only in the substituted U-type ferrites with nickel and zinc, an improvement in the microwave absorption rate due to enhancement of magnetic loss was confirmed. The highest microwave absorption was 99.9% at 9.6 GHz, which was S_Z0.5U.
NdFeB anisotropic sintered permanent magnets are typically fabricated by strip casting or melt spinning. In this study, the plastic deformability of an NdFeB alloy was investigated to study the possibility of fabricating anisotropic sintered magnets using gas atomized powders. The results show that the stoichiometric composition Nd12Fe82B6 softens at high temperatures. The aspect ratio and orientation factor of Nd12Fe82B6 billets after plastic deformation were found to increase with increasing plastic deformation temperature, particularly above 800℃. This confirms that softening at high temperatures can lead to plastic deformation of Nd2Fe14B hard magnetic phases.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanical properties of beta type aged Ti-4Mo-4Cr-X (X = V, Sn, Zr) quaternary alloy for use as a cardiovascular stent. Titanium (Ti) alloys were fabricated using a vacuum arc remelting furnace process. To homogenize the specimens of each composition and remove the micro segregation, all cast specimens were subjected to homogenization at 850℃ for 4 h, which was 100℃ higher than the β-transus temperature of 750℃. The tensile strength and elongation of the aged Ti-4Mo-4Cr-X (X = V, Sn, Zr) alloys were increased as compared to the homogenized alloys. In addition, many α/β interface boundaries formed after aging treatment at 450°C, which acted as inhibitors of strain and caused an increase in tensile strength. The elongation of Ti-4Mo-4Cr-X alloys consisting of α + β phases after aging treatment was improved by greater than 30%. Results of a potentiodynamic polarization test showed that the lowest current density of Ti-4Mo-4Cr-4Sn with 1.05 × 10–8 A/cm2 was obtained. The present Ti-4Mo-4Cr-X alloys showed better corrosion characteristics as compared to the 316L stainless steel and L605 (Co-Cr alloy) cardiovascular stent alloys.
TiNi alloys have excellent shape memory properties and corrosion resistance as well as high biocompatibility. This study investigated the effects of copper addition on the phase transitions and electrochemical corrosion behaviors of Ti50Ni50-xCux alloys. TiNi, Ti50Ni47Cu3, Ti50Ni44Cu6, and Ti50Ni41Cu9 alloys were prepared using vacuum arc remelting followed by 4 h homogenization at 950°C. Differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction analyses were conducted. The corrosion behaviors of the alloys were evaluated using potentiodynamic polarization test in Hank’s balanced salt solution at a temperature of 36.5 ± 1°C. The TiNi alloy showed phase transitions from the cubic B2 phase to the monoclinic B19’ phase when the alloy was thermally cycled. The addition of copper to the TiNi alloy played a major role in stabilizing the orthorhombic B19 phases during the phase transitions of Ti50Ni50-xCux alloys. The shifts in the corrosion potential toward the positive zone and the low corrosion current density were affected by the amount of Cu added. The corrosion resistance of the TiNi alloy increased with increasing copper content.
In this study, the extrusion characteristics of Al-2Zn-1Cu-0.5Mg-0.5RE alloys at 450, 500, and 550℃ were investigated for the high formability of aluminum alloys. The melt was maintained at 720℃ for 20 minutes, then poured into the mold at 200℃ and hot-extruded with a 12 mm thickness bar at a ratio of 38:1. The average grain size was 175.5, 650.1, and 325.9 μm as the extrusion temperature increased to 450, 500 and 550℃, although the change of the phase fraction was not significant as the extrusion temperature increased. Cube texture increased with the increase of extrusion temperature to 450, 500 and 550℃. As the extrusion temperature increased, the electrical conductivity increased by 47.546, 47.592 and 47.725%IACS, and the tensile strength decreased to 92.6, 87.5, 81.4 MPa. Therefore, the extrusion temperature of Al extrusion specimen was investigated to study microstructure and mechanical properties.
This study investigates the microstructures and the mechanical properties of equiatomic Ti20Mo20Ta20Nb20V20 and non-equiatomic Ti40Mo15Ta15Nb15V15 and Ti60Mo10Ta10Nb10V10 HEAs using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), and micro-Vickers hardness test. The specimens were fabricated using the vacuum arc remelting (VAR) process and homogenized at a temperature of 1300°C for 4 h in a vacuum atmosphere. The determined thermodynamic parameters, Ω ≥ 1.1, δ ≤ 6.6%, and VEC < 6.87, suggested that the HEAs consisted of BCC solid solutions. XRD patterns of all the HEAs displayed single BCC phases. The difference in the solidification rate led to the micro-segregation associated with the elements Ta and Mo enriched in the dendrite arms and the elements V and Ti in the inter-dendritic regions. The HEA specimens showed a decrease in hardness with higher concentration of Ti element because the intrinsic hardness of Ti is lower as compared to the intrinsic hardness of Nb and Mo.
The present study investigated various thermodynamic parameters, microstructures and electrochemical behaviors of TiMoVCrZr and Ti-rich TiMoVCrZr high-entropy alloys (HEAs) prepared by vacuum arc remelting. The microstructures of the alloys were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and potentiodynamic polarization tests. The determined thermodynamic values of the Ω-parameter and the atomic size difference (δ) for the HEAs were determined to be in the range of Ω ≥ 1.1, and δ ≤ 6.6% with valance electron configuration (VEC) ≤ 5.0, suggesting the HEAs were effective at forming solid solutions. XRD patterns of the equiatomic Ti20Mo20V20Cr20Zr20 HEA revealed four phases consisting of the body centered cubic1 (BCC1), BCC2, hexagonal close-packed (HCP), and intermetallic compound Cr2Zr phases. Three phases were observed in the XRD patterns of Ti-rich Ti40Mo15V15Cr15Zr15 (BCC, HCP, and Cr2Zr) and a single BCC phase was observed in Ti-rich Ti60Mo10V10Cr10Zr10 HEAs. The backscattered-electron (BSE) images on the equiatomic Ti20Mo20V20Cr20Zr20 HEA revealed BCC and HCP phases with Cr2Zr precipitates, suggesting precipitation from the HCP solid solution during the cooling. The micro-segregation of Ti-rich Ti60Mo10V10Cr10Zr10 HEAs appeared to decrease remarkably. The alloying elements in the HEAs were locally present and no phase changes occurred even after additional HIP treatment. The lowest current density obtained in the polarization potential test of Ti-rich Ti40Mo15V15Cr15Zr15 HEA was 7.12×10–4 mA/cm2 was obtained. The studied TiMoVCrZr HEAs showed improved corrosion characteristics as compared to currently available joint replacement material such as ASTM F75 alloy.