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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 1,009 records · Page 56
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DOE OSTI2018

Comparative Analysis of the Microstructural Features of 28 wt.% Cr Cast Iron Fabricated by Pulsed Plasma Deposition and Conventional Casting

The effect of pulsed plasma deposition (by an electrothermal axial plasma accelerator) followed by post-heat treatment on the structure and microhardness of a 28 wt.% Cr white cast iron is analyzed and discussed with respect to the microstructure of the conventionally cast monolithic counterpart. The cast iron (as deposited on a 14 wt.% Cr cast iron substrate) had a microhardness of 630-750 HV{sub 0.05}; it had layered light contrast/dark contrast structure where dark contrast layers contain fine carbide network. Pulsed plasma deposition followed by heat treatment resulted in a substantial refinement of the microstructure: eutectic M{sub 7}C{sub 3} coarse acicular plates in the conventional cast iron were replaced by fine M{sub 7}C{sub 3}, M{sub 3}C{sub 2}, M{sub 3}C particles (Cr depleted in favor of Fe), while the initial carbide particle of 2-3 μm was reduced to 0.6 μm. Secondary dendrite arm spacing decreased from 15 to 1.3 μm, accordingly. The carbide volume fraction in the post-heat-treated coating remarkably increased with respect to the conventional counterpart resulting in a substantial increase in the coating hardness (1300-1750 HV{sub 0.05}). The heat-treated coating displayed higher resistance to three-body abrasion than the as-deposited coating and similar resistance with that of the conventionally cast iron.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

The Mechanical and Microstructural Changes of Sn-Ag-Bi Solders with Cooling Rate and Bi Content Variations

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of cooling rate and Bi addition on the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of Sn-3.5Ag alloy. A series of Sn-3.5Ag-xBi solders has been fabricated with Bi content in the range of 0.5-3.5 wt.%. After solution heat treatment at 170 °C for 24 h and subsequent aging heat treatment at 100 °C for 2 h, samples were divided into two groups. One group was rapidly quenched into iced water (water quenching) for the fast cooling rate (20 °C/s), while the second group was slowly cooled (furnace cooling) in the furnace for the slow cooling rate (0.2 °C/s) after the furnace reflow. The microstructural evolutions of the present solders have been investigated using x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The microhardness was measured to correlate the mechanical properties to alloy compositions and cooling rate. It was found that the microhardness of Sn-3.5Ag-xBi solders increased with increasing cooling rate. The indentation creep curves have been evaluated from the obtained microhardness values. Results revealed the steady-state creep rate decreased with increasing Bi content exhibiting an anomalous behavior at 2.5Bi. The reason for improved creep resistance of Sn-3.5Ag-xBi solders is the result of the combination of the solid solution strengthening and precipitation strengthening of Bi. The mean values of stress exponent indicated that the operative creep mechanism is dislocation climb.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Microstructure Characteristic and Mechanical Properties of High-Strength Mg-Nd-Zn-Zr Alloy Seamless Tube Produced by Integrated Extrusion

Large size seamless tubes of Mg-3.0Nd-0.4Zn-0.4Zr alloy (NZ30K, in weight percent) were prepared by integrating backward extrusion with forward extrusion. Microstructure, mechanical properties, aging behavior and texture of the tubes were investigated. The microstructure of as-extruded tube is characterized by the blend of considerably elongated grains and fine equiaxed grains. The maximum values of yield strength and ultimate tensile strength, i.e., 191 and 245 MPa, were obtained in the as-extruded tubes, and these values were increased to 212 and 267 MPa in the peak-aged tubes (T5), implying an increasing ratio of 9 and 11%, respectively. The peak value of the Vickers’ micro-hardness of the NZ30K tubes extruded at 673, 723 and 753 K are 66, 64 and 60 (kilogram-force per square millimeter), respectively. The texture of NZ30K tube is weak, the primary mechanism behind which is suggested to be the particle-induced nucleation responsible for the promotion of recrystallization.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Ca Addition Effects on the Microstructure, Tensile and Corrosion Properties of Mg Matrix Alloy Containing 8 wt.% Mg{sub 2}Si

The microstructure, tensile properties and corrosion behavior of the Mg-8 wt.% Mg{sub 2}Si-x%Ca alloy have been studied by the use of optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy-dispersive spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, standard tensile testing, polarization test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. Microstructural studies indicated that Ca modifies both primary and eutectic Mg{sub 2}Si phase. It was found that the average size of primary Mg{sub 2}Si particles is about 60 μm, which is dropped by about 82% in the alloy containing 0.05 wt.% Ca. By the addition of different Ca contents, Ca-rich intermetallics (i.e., CaSi{sub 2} and CaMgSi) were formed. The modification mechanism of adding Ca during solidification was found to be due to the strong effect of CaMgSi phase as a heterogonous nucleation site, apart from CaSi{sub 2} which was reported before, for Mg{sub 2}Si intermetallics. Tensile testing results ascertained that Ca addition enhances both ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elongation values. The optimum amount of Ca was found to be 0.1 wt.%, which improved UTS and elongation values from about 130 MPa and 2% to 165 MPa and 5.5%, whereas more Ca addition (i.e., 3 wt.%) reduced the tensile properties of the alloy to about 105 MPa and 1.8%, which can be due to the formation of CaMgSi intermetallics with deteriorating needle-like morphology. Polarization and EIS tests also showed that the Mg-3%Si-0.5%Ca alloy pronounces as the best anti-corrosion alloy. Nevertheless, further added Ca (up to 3 wt.%) deteriorated the corrosion resistance due to predominance of worse galvanic coupling effect stemmed from the presence of stronger CaMgSi cathode in comparison with Mg{sub 2}Si. With higher Ca additions, an adverse effect was seen on corrosion resistance of the Mg-3%Si alloy, as a result of forming a weak film on the alloy specimen surface.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Effects of Disodium Phosphate Concentration (Na{sub 2}HPO{sub 4}·2H{sub 2}O) on Microstructure and Corrosion Resistance of Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO) Coatings on 2024 Al Alloy

Since the electrolyte composition plays a pivotal role in the microstructure and corrosion behavior of plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) coatings, the effects of disodium phosphate (Na{sub 2}HPO{sub 4}·2H{sub 2}O) concentration on the microstructure and corrosion resistance of PEO coatings fabricated on 2024 Al alloy were studied in this investigation. Accordingly, electrolyte with four different concentrations of phosphate ion (5, 10, 15 and 20 g/L) was used. All PEO processes were conducted at constant current density of 15 A/dm{sup 2} for 15 min. The surface and cross-sectional morphologies of the coatings indicated that the coating formed in the electrolyte with 10 g/L Na{sub 2}HPO{sub 4}·2H{sub 2}O (with 9.14 µm thickness) had the most compact and uniform structure with the lowest and smallest micropores. Furthermore, studying the corrosion behavior of samples in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solutions by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization tests revealed that the sample coated in the electrolyte with 10 g/L Na{sub 2}HPO{sub 4}·2H{sub 2}O had the highest corrosion potential, the lowest corrosion current density and, accordingly, the best corrosion resistance. The corrosion resistance of this coating was 4.574 × 10{sup 5} Ω cm{sup 2}, which could increase the corrosion resistance of uncoated 2024 Al alloy substrate 48 times. The x-ray diffraction pattern of this coating proved that the coating was composed of α-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} and γ-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} phases.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Adiabatic Shear Localization and Microstructure in Ultrafine Grained Aluminum Alloy at Cryogenic Temperature

Adiabatic shear localization plays an important role in the deformation and failure of ultrafine grained 6061 aluminum alloy processed by friction stir processing. To understand the effects of temperature and strain on adiabatic shear localization in the ultrafine grained 6061 aluminum alloy, it has been investigated dynamic mechanical behavior of ultrafine grained 6061 aluminum alloy under the controlled shock loading experiments. Deformation characteristics and microstructures in the shear band were performed by optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The shear band in the ultrafine grained aluminum alloy is a long and straight band distinguished from the matrix. The width of the shear band decreases with increasing nominal strain. The results show that the grains in the boundary of the shear band are highly elongated along the shear direction and form the elongated cell structures (0.2 μ in width), and the core of the shear band consists of a number of recrystallized equiaxed grains 0.2-0.3 μ in diameters and the second phases distribute in both the boundary and the inner of the equiaxed new grains. The calculated temperature in the shear band is about 692 K. Rotational dynamic recrystallization mechanism is responsible for the formation of the microstructure in the shear band.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Tensile Deformation Temperature Impact on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of AISI 316LN Austenitic Stainless Steel

Uniaxial tensile tests were conducted on AISI 316LN austenitic stainless steel from − 40 to 300 °C at a rate of 0.5 mm/min. Microstructure and mechanical properties of the deformed steel were investigated by optical, scanning and transmission electron microscopies, x-ray diffraction, and microhardness testing. The yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, elongation, and microhardness increase with the decrease in the test temperature. The tensile fracture morphology has the dimple rupture feature after low-temperature deformations and turns to a mixture of transgranular fracture and dimple fracture after high-temperature ones. The dominating deformation microstructure evolves from dislocation tangle/slip bands to large deformation twins/slip bands with temperature decrease. The deformation-induced martensite transformation can only be realized at low temperature, and its quantity increases with the decrease in the temperature.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Characterization of Microstructure, Mechanical Properties and Formability of Cryorolled AA5083 Alloy Sheets

In this work, microstructure, mechanical properties and formability of cryorolled and annealed AA5083 alloy sheets have been characterized and a comparison has been made with cold rolled and annealed sheets. Five-millimeter-thick sheets of this alloy were cryorolled in multiple passes to a final thickness of 1 mm (80% reduction with a true strain of 1.6). Effect of annealing time and temperature on hardness has been studied, and it has been found that a short annealing at 275 °C for 15 min after cryorolling would yield a good combination of strength and ductility. Microstructural investigations showed that the cryorolled and short annealed samples possess bimodal grain structure which is responsible for better mechanical properties than cold rolled sheets. From the experimentally determined forming limit diagrams, the limit strains of cryorolled sheets have been found to be almost equal to conventional cold rolled and annealed sheets in all modes of deformation. No major differences have been found in strain distribution also. This work clearly demonstrates that cryorolling of AA5083 alloy sheets followed by a short annealing with bimodal grain structure can be used for sheet metal forming applications with higher strength and toughness than conventional sheets without any reduction in formability.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Effect of Electropulsing-Assisted Ultrasonic Nanocrystalline Surface Modification on the Surface Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy

The effect of electropulsing-assisted ultrasonic nanocrystalline surface modification (EP-UNSM) on surface mechanical properties and microstructure of Ti-6Al-4V alloy is investigated. Compared to conventional ultrasonic nanocrystalline surface modification (UNSM), EP-UNSM can effectively facilitate surface roughness and morphology, leading to excellent surface roughness (reduced from Ra 0.918 to Ra 0.028 μm by UNSM and Ra 0.019 μm by EP-UNSM) and smoother morphology with less cracks and defects. Surface friction coefficients are enhanced, resulting in lower and smoother friction coefficients. In addition, the surface-strengthened layer and ultra-refined grains are significantly enhanced with more severe plastic deformation and a greater surface hardness (a maximum hardness value of 407 HV and an effective depth of 550 μm, in comparison with the maximum hardness value of 364 HV and effective depth of 300 μm obtained by conventional UNSM). Remarkable enhancement of surface mechanical properties can be attributed to the refined gradient microstructure and the enhanced severe plastic deformation layer induced by coupling the effects of UNSM and electropulsing. The accelerated dislocation mobility and atom diffusion caused by the thermal and athermal effects of electropulsing treatment may be the primary intrinsic reasons for these improvements.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Characterization of Microstructure and Wear Resistance of PEO Coatings Containing Various Microparticles on Ti6Al4V Alloy

Titania-based composite coatings were prepared by plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) treatment of Ti6Al4V alloy in electrolyte with α-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3} or h-BN microparticles in suspension. The microstructure, composition of PEO composite coatings were analyzed by SEM, EDS and XRD. The wear resistance of composite ceramic coatings was studied by ball-on-disk wear test at ambient temperature and 300 °C. The results showed that the addition of microparticles accelerated the growth rate of PEO coating and changed the microstructure and composition of PEO coating. PEO coating was porous and mainly composed of rutile-TiO{sub 2}, anatase-TiO{sub 2} and Al{sub 2}TiO{sub 5}. PEO/α-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3} or h-BN) composite coating only had small micropores and appeared some α-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3} or h-BN) phase. Besides, the addition of α-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3} or h-BN) microparticles greatly improved the wear resistance of PEO coating. At ambient temperature, abrasive wear dominated the wear behavior of PEO coating, but abrasive wear and adhesive peel simultaneously happened at 300 °C. Whether at ambient temperature or 300 °C, PEO composite coating had better wear resistance than PEO coating. Besides, PEO/h-BN composite coating outperformed other composite coatings regardless of the temperature.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Effect of Yttrium Addition on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Cu-Rich Nano-phase Strengthened Ferritic Steel

Due to the brittle problem of Cu-rich nano-phase strengthened ferritic steel (CNSFS) after air aging, the effect of Y addition in CNSFS was systemically investigated in the present work. The microstructure, tensile fracture morphology and oxide layer of the steels were surveyed by optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. Transmission electron microscope with the combination of energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and selected area electron diffraction was used to analyze the morphology, size, number density, chemical compositions and crystal structure for nano-crystalline precipitates. Microstructural examinations of the nano-crystalline precipitates show that Cu-rich precipitates and Y compounds in the range of 2-10 and 50-100 nm, respectively, form in the Y-containing steel; meanwhile, the average size of nano-crystalline precipitates in Y-containing steel is larger, but the number density is lower, and the ferritic grains are refined. Furthermore, the tensile strength and ductility of Y-containing steel after air aging are improved, whereas the tensile strength is enhanced and the ductility decreased after vacuum aging. The drag effect of Y makes the oxide layer thinner and be compacted. Tensile properties of CNSFS after air aging are improved due to the refined grains, antioxidation and purification by the addition of Y.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Investigation of the Microstructural Changes and Hardness Variations of Sub-Zero Treated Cr-V Ledeburitic Tool Steel Due to the Tempering Treatment

The microstructure and tempering response of Cr-V ledeburitic steel Vanadis 6 subjected to sub-zero treatment at − 196 °C for 4 h have been examined with reference to the same steel after conventional heat treatment. The obtained experimental results infer that sub-zero treatment significantly reduces the retained austenite amount, makes an overall refinement of microstructure, and induces a significant increase in the number and population density of small globular carbides with a size 100-500 nm. At low tempering temperatures, the transient M{sub 3}C-carbides precipitated, whereas their number was enhanced by sub-zero treatment. The presence of chromium-based M{sub 7}C{sub 3} precipitates was evidenced after tempering at the temperature of normal secondary hardening; this phase was detected along with the M{sub 3}C. Tempering above 470 °C converts almost all the retained austenite in conventionally quenched specimens while the transformation of retained austenite is rather accelerated in sub-zero treated material. As a result of tempering, a decrease in the population density of small globular carbides was recorded; however, the number of these particles retained much higher in sub-zero treated steel. Elevated hardness of sub-zero treated steel can be referred to more completed martensitic transformation and enhanced number of small globular carbides; this state is retained up to a tempering temperature of around 500 °C in certain extent. Correspondingly, lower as-tempered hardness of sub-zero treated steel tempered above 500 °C is referred to much lower contribution of the transformation of retained austenite, and to an expectedly lower amount of precipitated alloy carbides.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Deformational Features and Microstructure Evolution of Copper Fabricated by a Single Pass of the Elliptical Cross-Section Spiral Equal-Channel Extrusion (ECSEE) Process

The objectives of this work are to study the deformational feature, textures, microstructures, and dislocation configurations of ultrafine-grained copper processed by the process of elliptical cross-section spiral equal-channel extrusion (ECSEE). The deformation patterns of simple shear and pure shear in the ECSEE process were evaluated with the analytical method of geometric strain. The influence of the main technical parameters of ECSEE die on the effective strain distribution on the surface of ECSEE-fabricated samples was examined by the finite element simulation. The high friction factor could improve the effective strain accumulation of material deformation. Moreover, the pure copper sample fabricated by ECSEE ion shows a strong rotated cube shear texture. The refining mechanism of the dislocation deformation is dominant in copper processed by a single pass of ECSEE. The inhomogeneity of the micro-hardness distribution on the longitudinal section of the ECSEE-fabricated sample is consistent with the strain and microstructure distribution features.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Effects of Synchronous Rolling on Microstructure, Hardness, and Wear Resistance of Laser Multilayer Cladding

A synchronous rolling method was proposed to assist laser multilayer cladding, and the effects of this method on microstructure, microhardness, and wear resistance were studied. Results show that the microstructure and mechanical properties of the traditional cladding layer exhibit periodic inhomogeneity. Synchronous rolling breaks the columnar dendrite crystals to improve the uniformity of the organization, and the residual plastic energy promotes the precipitation of strengthening phases, as CrB, M{sub 7}C{sub 3}, etc. The hardness and wear resistance of the extruded cladding layer increase significantly because of the grain refinement, formation of dislocations, and dispersion strengthening. These positive significances of synchronous rolling provide a new direction for laser cladding technology.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of High-Strength Steel Controlled by Hot Stamping Process

A novel design and manufacturing method, dubbed “precast,” of the cooling system and tools for a hot forming process was proposed in this paper. The integrated structures of the punch and blank holder were determined by analyzing the bending and reverse-bending deformation of the forming parts. The desired crashworthiness performance of an automotive front bumper constructed with this process was obtained by a tailored phase transformation, which generated martensite-bainite in the middle and full martensite transformation in the corner areas. Varying cooling effects in the formed parts caused the highest temperature to be located in the bottom and the lowest on the end of the formed parts. Moreover, the microstructural distributions demonstrated that the bottom possessed a relatively lower content of martensite, while, conversely, the end possessed a higher content. This was precisely the most desired phase distributions for the hot formed parts. For the six-process cycle stamping, the temperatures reached a stable status after an initial rapid increase in the first three process cycles. The microstructural results verified the feasibility of the hot forming tools under multiprocess cycles.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Effects of TiB{sub 2} Particle and Short Fiber Sizes on the Microstructure and Properties of TiB{sub 2}-Reinforced Composite Coatings

In this study, particle and short fiber-reinforced titanium matrix composite coatings are prepared via laser in situ technique using (0.5 and 50 μm) TiB{sub 2} and Ti powder as cladding materials. The microstructure and properties of the composite coatings are studied, and the changing mechanism of the microstructure is discussed. The results reveal that particle agglomeration is prone to appear with using fine TiB{sub 2} particles. Decomposition of the particles preferentially occurs with using coarse TiB{sub 2} particles. The cracks and pores on the surface of the coating are formed at a lower laser energy density. With the increase in the laser energy density, cracking on the surface of the coating diminishes, but the coating exhibits depression behavior. The depression extent of the coating using fine TiB{sub 2} particle as the reinforcement is much less than that of the coating using coarse TiB{sub 2} particle. Moreover, the size of the aggregate and the tendency of cracking can be reduced with the increase in Ti addition. Meanwhile, short TiB fiber bundles are formed by the diffusion mechanism of rod aggregate, and randomly oriented TiB short fibers are formed mainly by the dissolution–precipitation mechanism of fine TiB{sub 2} particles. Moreover, the growth of short TiB fibers can be in an alternating manner between B27 and Bf structures. The micro-hardness and wear resistance of the coatings are evidently higher than that of the titanium alloy substrate. The wear resistance of the large size TiB{sub 2} coating is higher than that of the small size TiB{sub 2} coating under the condition of low load.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Microstructure and Strain Rate-Dependent Tensile Deformation Behavior of Fiber Laser-Welded Butt Joints of Dual-Phase Steels

The microstructure and tensile deformation behavior of the fiber laser-welded similar and dissimilar dual-phase (DP) steel joints over a wide range of strain rates from 10{sup −3} to 10{sup 3} s{sup −1} were investigated for the further applications on the lightweight design of vehicles. The high strain rate dynamic tensile deformation process and full-field strain distribution of the base metals and welded joints were examined using the digital image correlation method and high-speed photography. The strain rate effects on the stress–strain responses, tensile properties, deformation, and fracture behavior of the investigated materials were analyzed. The yield stress (YS) and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the dissimilar DP780/DP980 welded joints were lying in-between those of the DP780 and DP980 base metals, and all materials exhibited positive strain rate dependence on the YS and UTS. Owing to the microstructure heterogeneity, the welded joints showed relatively lower ductility in terms of total elongation (TE) than those of the corresponding base metals. The strain localization started before the maximum load was reached, and the strain localization occurred earlier during the whole deformation process with increasing strain rate. As for the dissimilar welded joint, the strain localization tended to occur in the vicinity of the lowest hardness value across the welded joint, which was in the subcritical HAZ at the DP780 side. As the strain rate increased, the typical ductile failure characteristic of the investigated materials did not change.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Microstructure and Mechanical Characterization of Friction-Stir-Welded Dual-Phase Brass

Friction stir welding (FSW) is an ideal process to join brass to avoid the evaporation of zinc. In the present investigation, 6-mm-thick dual-phase brass plates were joined efficiently using FSW at various tool rotational speeds. The microstructures were studied using optical microscopy, electron backscattered diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The optical micrographs revealed the evolution of various zones across the joint line. The microstructure of the heat-affected zone was similar to that of base metal. The weld zone exhibited finer grains due to dynamic recrystallization. The recrystallization was inhomogeneous and the inhomogeneity reduced with increased tool rotational speed. The dual phase was preserved in the weld zone due to the retention of zinc. The severe plastic deformation created a lot of dislocations in the weld zone. The weld zone was strengthened after welding. The role of tool rotational speed on the joint strength is further reported.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗