Iranian Journal of Materials Science and Engineering

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Effects of temperature on properties and behavior of a 20 vol % particulate SiC reinforced 6061 aluminum alloy and 6061 unreinforced Al alloy were investigated. Yield strength and elongation to failure were measured as a function of test temperatures up to 180^oC. In addition, the effects of holding time at 180^ oC on tensile properties and fracture mechanisms of the materials at this temperature were studied. The behaviors of the materials were characterized by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic absorption (AA), hardness measurement and image analyzing (IA). The results show that an increase in temperature leads to a decrease in the yield strength and increase in the elongation to failure of the materials. On the other hand, while increasing holding time at 180^oC produces an increase in the elongation to failure of the unreinforced alloy, it reduces the elongation to failure of the composite. It was also observed that reduction in yield strength with increasing holding time at 180^oC was faster for the composite material compared to the unreinforced alloy. The results from SEM, XRD, EDS, IA and hardness tests indicated that some chemical reactions had taken place at the interface between the reinforcement and the matrix alloy during holding the specimens at elevated temperature. Therefore, different trend in elongation to failure of the unreinforced alloy and the composite material with holding time at elevated temperature could be attributed to development of chemical reactions between the reinforcement and the matrix alloy at the interface.

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In principal, a proper combination of strength and ductility is achieved through micro component refinement in steels. This is particularly empowered with ferrite refinement down to micron sizes in ferrite pearlite engineering steels. The latter is achieved through various well-defined methods in which strain induced transformation (SIT) has shown spectacular capabilities. In the present study, to address the effect of thermo mechanical processing parameters on the (SIT) behavior, two plain carbon steels were studied through single pass rolling. This was carried out at the corresponding Ar_3 + 20°C temperature of the steels. The results indicated that the transformation behavior and ferrite morphology would be .strongly influenced by both the chemical composition (i.e., carbon content) and the amount of applied strain. Furthermore, a high volume fraction of very fine ferrite with mean grain size of less than 2 µm was obtained. This was attributed to the ferrite nucleation at deformation bands and serrated austenite grain boundaries.

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In this study different volume fractions of SiC particles of various sizes were introduced into the semisolid A356 aluminum alloy by a mechanical stirrer. Then the slurry was poured into a permanent die of certain dimensions either when the metal alloy was partially solid (semisolid-semisolid or SS route) or after reheating to above the liquidus temperature of the alloy (semisolid-liquid or SL route). Both the SS and SL composite samples were solution-treated at 520°C for 8 hours followed by quenching in water at room temperature. Microstructural characterization studies have been conducted on both the SL and SS samples to quantify the effects of the size andcontent of the SiC particles as well as the solutionizing treatment on the morphology and size ofthe eutectic silicon particles and the matrix grain (globule) size. The results were rationalized in terms of the different nucleation, fragmentation, spherodization and coarsening events, which had taken place during the processing of these composites. Finally the impact of these microstructural features in improving the wear properties of the composites has been discussed.

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The new in situ method for AI-TiC composite fabrication has been carried out. In this method, fabrication of AI-TiC composite by simultaneous introduction of titanium oxide and carbon into aluminum melt was investigated.. Under the process conditions, titanium and carbon reaction results in titanium carbide whiskers. The salt containing keriolite (Na3AIF6), titanium oxide (TiO2) and graphite used for this purpose. Using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray Diffraction analysis (XRD) the resulted composite was characterized. It was shown that it contains Al as matrix and TiC as the reinforcement. Then, mechanical properties of fabricated composite were examined.

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In the current research, the optimum conditions for the electrolytic deposition of TiO2 coatings on titanium pieces were experimentally investigated. Flat pieces of commercially available titanium with dimensions of 50 x20 x3 mm were used as the anode and cathode electrodes. The coatings were applied on the cathode in an electrolyte solution essentially from water and methanol, containing different amounts of TiCI4, and H202. Coatings of sufficient thickness and adequate adhesion to the substrate were obtained at the optimum conditions of theELD process. The latter conditions were electrode gap distance of 3 cm, TiCl4 concentration of 0.005M, H202 concentration of 0.1 M, current density of 35 mA/cm2, methanol/water volume ratio of 9, and pH of the electrolyte in the vicinity of 1.40. Results of XRD analysis revealed the presence of anatase crystals of titanium oxide in the coated layers, where the deposited coating was treated at some temperatures in the range of 400 to 600°C for a period of at least 2 hours. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) pictures also confirmed the formation of a uniform coating layer with cracked suiface area. At the optimum conditions of the process coatings with thicknesses of up to 10 flm were easily obtained through the application of one to three deposited layers.

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An AI-7wt%Si-5vol%TiCp was worn against a cast iron disc in a tri-pin-on-disc machine, under dry sliding conditions at the sliding speed of 0.24 m/s and applied loads of 6, 20 and 40 N/pin. Stress-strain (σ-ε) curves were constructed by measuring the microhardness and the equivalent strain gradients in near surface regions on the cross-sectional surface prepared parallel to sliding direction.It was shown that, both the magnitude of plastic strains and the depth of plastic deformed zones increased with the applied load. The material exhibited considerable work softening in addition to work hardening at the highest applied load. The softened layer placed just beneath the mechanical mixed layer (MML), was mostly covered with the fine fractured eutectic Si and TiC fragments most of which were associated with microcracks at Al/Si and Al/TiC interfaces. The results were discussed in terms of some of the current work hardening models.

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AA3004 alloy is widely used in can making. The major concern in the production of canbodies is earing, which develop by high planar anisotropy of rolled sheet. Balance ofrecrystallisation and rolling textures together with a uniform and fine grain microstructure canminimize the earing. The effects of finish rolling temperature (FRT) on planar anisotropy,microstructure, texture development and mechanical properties of sheet have been analyzedIncreasing the FRT resulted in promotion of cube and G texture in hot rolled sheet. Lower |ΔR| ofthe final sheet with higher FRY, i.e. the lower planar anisotropy, is accompained with a balance ofrolling and recrystallisation orientations.

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In this research, the mechanism of joining three sheets of metals, i.e. brass-steel-brass, by cold roll welding process has been studied. For this purpose, the two surfaces of steel sheets were roughened with stainless steel wire brush by different amounts, then the brass sheets were put on both sides of the steel sheets, before they were subjected to cold roll process. During rolling, peaks of the asperities on the surfaces of the steel sheet were pressurized, i.e. deformed, much more than that of trough. Hence, more hardening due to formation of higher dislocation density in the peaks regions were detected in comparison to the trough regions. Therefore, due to the differences in the amounts of work hardening occurred during cold rolling in the peaks & trough of the scratches and also due to the nature of the rough surfaces of the steel sheets, which causes the smooth surface of soft brass sheets laied over the rough surface of the steel sheet to be shappend according to the profile of the steel sheet scratches during cold rolling, mechanical locking occurred at the interface of brass & steel sheets. In addition, while the extrusion of brass took place through cracks within the surface of hardend peaks and metal bonding occurred on the contact points of the brass sheet & the vergin steel. Therefore, it seems two mechanisms were in operation is making a suitable joining between the sheets. One was a locking mechanism due to the roughness of the steel sheets & the other was bonding mechanism due to the bonding between the peak points of the scratches &soft brass surface. The strength of the bonded points in the interface were later increased by annealing the composite, so that by annealing the samples within the 500-900°C range for aperiod of 1 1/2 hr the interface strength increase substantially. The results of peeling test indicated that the interface strength of the samples annealed at 700°C or more increased so much that the brass sheet toms during peeling & the fracture did not pass through the interface.

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Copper coated SiC powders having three different amounts of copper, in the range of 20-60 wt%, were prepared via electroless coating process. The produced composite powders were uniaxially cold compressed and sintered at different temperatures and times under protective atmosphere. It was found that composite Cu/SiC powders and a relatively dense copper matrix composite with a uniform distribution of SiC reinforcing particles imbedded in copper matrix can be fabricated via electroless coating method followed by conventional cold pressing and sintering process. The results also show that SiC particles have a poor wettability with copper and so liquid phase sintering of the Cu/SiC composite powders did not enhance densification of the samples. Regarding this fact, optimum sintering temperatures, which depends on copper content, was determined to be in the range of 1050-1080?C.

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Fracture behavior of a 7075 aluminium alloy reinforced with 15 Vol%. SiC particles was studied after T6 and annealing heat treatments under uniaxial tensile loading at room temperature. The scanning electron microscopy of fractured surfaces and EDS analysis showed:, that fracture mechanism changed from due mainly to fractured particle in T6 condition to interface decohesion in samples in annealed state. Different fracture mechanisms in annealed and T6 conditions can be ascribed mainly to the significant difference in the stress concentration levels around the particles. In T6 condition, very high local stress sufficient to cause fracture of particle can be generated during loading, while the presence of large precipitates at the particle/matrix interface produced interface decohesion leading to final fracture in the annealed state.

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In this research pitting Corrosion of a sensitized 316 stainless steel was investigated employing potentiodynamic, potentiostatic techniques. Sensitization process was carried out on as-received alloy by submitting the specimen in electric furnace set at 650°Cfor five hours and then the specimen was quenched 25°C water. Potentiodynamic polarization of as received and sensitized specimens in 1M H2SO4 solution at room temperature and 70°C clearly revealed that the sensitization process has caused a magnificent change on electrochemical behavior of the specimen by changing critical current density for passivation, passivation potential and passive current density. Optical microscopy examination of the specimen surface after oxalic acid electrochemical etching also showed the deterioration of grain boundary of sensitized specimen due to chromium carbide precipitation in compared to as-received one. Several anodic potentiodynamic polarization on rode shaped working electrodes prepared from as-received and sensitized specimen in 3.5% NaCl test solution proved an average ~220 mV drop in pitting potential due to sensitization. Anodic potentiostatic polarization at 400 and 200 mV above corrosion potential also demonstrate the deterioration of pitting resistance of alloy as a result of sensitization. Scanning electron microscopy examination of anodically polarized of sensitized specimen at 700mVprior and after oxalic acid etching revealed large stable pits with lacy cover and also openpits with deep crevice for etched specimens.

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In situ refractories are defined as brick or unshaped products, which react internally or with furnace atmospheres and/or slag components so as to be enhanced in their performance. Examples of such products are discussed with emphasis on those that are currently employed and are being developed for the melting of iron and steel. Some strategies for the development of future in situ products are outlined.

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Iron and steel is an energy intensive industry and its contribution to the pollution of environment is considerable. Direct reduction iron (DRI) is a major element of an iron and steel production plant. Its share in natural gas and electricity consumption of total plant is estimated to be 70% and 15% respectively. Reduction gases are produced in natural gas reforming unit and its elements are CO and H2. A major consequence of using this technology is high level of CO2 emission, which pollutes the environment. An alternative to the existing technology is utilization of H2 as reducing agent. A comparison of various hydrogen production processes indicate that thermal decomposition of methane provides an attractive option from economical and technical point of view. Therefore, a system for producing hydrogen, based on thermal decomposition technique, has been designed in the framework of the present paper.

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Enhancing the properties of dental resin composites is of interest to researchers. The objective of the present investigation was to improve the strength and fracture toughness of dental composites via addition of silicon carbide whiskers and substitution of commonly used filler materials with stabilized zirconia ceramic powder. It was also intended to study the effect of powder- to- whisker ratio on mechanical properties of the resultant composites. The flexural strength and fracture toughness of composite samples with different whiskers loadings were measured. It was found that addition of whiskers to the composites enhances the mechanical properties of the composites. The strength and fracture toughness increased by increasing the amount of whiskers. The flexural strength of a composite having 60wt% whisker and 10wt% zirconia powder was about 210 MPa while that of the composite having only 60wt% ceramic powder was about 110 MPa. The microstructural examinations revealed that reinforcing mechanism was whiskers pull-out as well as crack deflection.

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In this research, rotating bending fatigue test at minimum to maximum stress ratio of R=-1 was used for investigating the fatigue behavior of Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Both smooth and notched specimens, with elastic concentration factor, kt, of approximately 3.6 and 4.1 were used for this purpose.In addition, the effect of variation in ultimate tensile strength, UTS, on the fatigue behavior of this alloy was studied. S-N curves were drawn and the value of notch sensitivity was obtained or each case.The results showed that the presence of notch in Ti-6Al-4V alloy has a different amount of sensitivity when the notched specimens were subjected to high cycle fatigue (HCF) and low cycle fatigue (LCF) tests. However, the notch sensitivity of this alloy was shown generally to be much lower than steel alloys with similar UTS values. Thus, considering the high compatibility of this alloy with the body environment and its low sensitivity to notch, one can strongly recommend this alloy for use in biomedical application.

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The hot cracking susceptibility can be determined by establishing the transition temperature between brittle and ductile fracture at high temperature tensile testing of in situ solidified samples. High temperature tensile properties were determined for commercial cathodic pure Cu and Cu- 30%Zn alloy. The transition temperatures for pure Cu and Cu-30%Zn were evaluated from ultimate tensile stress, true strain and area reduction at different testing temperatures. The results show that hot cracking in pure Cu also occurred below and near to its melting temperature. It can be proposed that in this case excess vacancies and vacancy diffusion and condensation are the dominating mechanisms for hot crack formation. The transition temperature for Cu- 30%Zn was much lower than its solidus temperature and this alloy has more susceptibility to hot cracking as compared to pure Cu. The effect of two different cooling rates (15 °C/min and 60 °C/min) on the transition temperature was investigated. The results show that by increasing cooling rate, the transition temperature will increase. The morphology of fracture surfaces for both ductile and brittle modes were evaluated by SEM Two different morphologies, i.e. interdendiritic and intergranual fracture, was found.

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A film of osteoconductive and biocompatible material on biomedical metallic implants can create bioactivity of the implant and shorten healing time. Hydroxyapatite, that is the most important mineral part of human bone, was coated on Ti6Al4V using cathodic electrode position process. Pulse electrode position technique was used and the effects of different parameters such as potential, duty cycle (on time/ (on time+ off time)), temperature and current density on the morphology of the deposits were examined. Nano size deposits were formed under controlled temperature and optimization of voltage and current density.

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Although the flash smelting technologies use different furnace designs, the refractory linings are exposed to very similar aggressive environments and, as a result, the corrosion analysis results on one type of furnace could be generally applied to other furnaces of similar high temperature processes. Particularities regarding the different chemistries of the pyrometallurgical process and operating parameters of these furnaces could also bring particular aspects to be considered when analyzing the refractory ware and final failure in use. This paper presents a review of the existent experimental. data of corrosion analyses on refractory linings used in two particular flash furnaces for zinc-lead and respectively nickel-copper smelting. Although various modern water cooling systems are generally used to protect the refractory wall linings against corrosion by molten slag and matte, the performance of the refractory roof lining, usually used without water cooling, represents a permanent concern and the object of research studies to extend their life in service. The failure mechanisms analysed in this study are based on postmortem analyses and laboratory corrosion experiments with magnesite-chrome bricks of different chemical and mineralogical compositions. The gaseous atmosphere, usually rich in SO2 and/or CO and various metal fumes, produces irreversible microstructural changes which could shorten the life in service of the refractory lining. The experimental data proved that thermal cycling in SO2/SO3 atmospheres could bring more damage than a continuous use at relatively constant temperature, due to the magnesium and calcium sulphate formation. The laboratory experiments and postmortem analyses showed that that metal fumes at various partial pressure of oxygen would condense as oxides and react inside the pores and at the grain boundaries, contributing to the continuous deterioration of the ceramic matrix of the refractory brick lining. The mechanisms of corrosion, discussed based on laboratory experiments, were confirmed by the postmortem analyses on brick samples used in the industrial flash smelting furnaces.

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Abstract: The theoretical calculation of dislocation density in different regions of a deformed workpiece of 99.99% pure copper has been carried out using different procedures consisting of Finite Element Method (FEM) and hardness measurement. To assess the validity of the results pertaining to these procedures, the dislocation density is experimentally measured utilizing the Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). Comparing the predicted and experimental results, it was found that the average error in prediction of the dislocation density by the hardness measurement and FEM is 12% and 2.5%, respectively. Also, for further confirmation of the evaluated dislocation density of each region of the deformed workpiece, the annealing process was carried out and in the region of higher dislocation density, a finer grain size was observed.

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Abstract: Static recrystallization (SRX) behavior of a composite based 7075 Aluminum alloy reinforced with SiC particles was studied during annealing the deformed samples at high temperatures. The results showed an absence of SRX in the samples annealed after hot working at the same deformation temperature, however, a rise in annealing temperature of 100-1500 􀁱C above that the deformation temperature led to full recrystallization. This can be ascribed to the relatively moderate dynamic recovery and the presence of dispersions which stabilize the substructure. Particle stimulated nucleation (PSN) had a significant effect on the grain size in deformed samples at low temperature, but no PSN was observed in samples strained at high temperatures. The possible cause might be that at high temperature the dislocations can be annihilated by climb process around the particles together with the absence of deformation zone for nucleating the recrystallization.