• Metals and materials international
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.1376-1385
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• 2018

Ultrasonic melt treatment (UST) was applied to an A390 hypereutectic Al-Si alloy in a temperature range of $750-800^{\circ}C$ and its influence on the solidification structure and the consequent increase in strength was investigated. UST at such a high temperature, which is about $100^{\circ}C$ above the liquidus temperature, had little effect on the grain refinement but enhanced the homogeneity of the microstructure with the uniform distribution of constituent phases (e.g. primary Si, ${\alpha}-Al$ and intermetallics) significantly refined. With the microstructural homogeneity, quantitative analysis confirmed that UST was found to suppress the formation of Cu-bearing phases, i.e., $Q-Al_5Cu_2Mg_8Si_6$, $Al_2Cu$ phases that form in the final stage of solidification while notably increasing the average Cu contents in the matrix from 1.29 to 2.06 wt%. A tensile test exhibits an increase in the yield strength of the as-cast alloy from 185 to 208 MPa, which is mainly associated with the solute increment within the matrix. The important role of UST in the microstructure evolution during solidification is discussed and the mechanism covering the microstructure-strengthening interrelationship of the ultrasonically treated A390 alloy is proposed.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.429-436
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• 2001

The effect of welding condition on the microstructures of the weld metal in A7N01 welded by $CO_2$ laser was investigated. The number of ripples was increased with decreasing power and increasing welding speed. In the bead without ripple lines, the subgrain microstructures distribution from the fusion line toward the center of the bead were in the order of cellular, dendritic and equiaxed dendrite. However, in the bead with ripple lines, cellular and dendritic were formed between the fusion boundary and the ripple line. Inaddition, those structures were also observed between the ripple line. Equiaxed dendrites were formed only at the center line region. Cellular and dendritics formed near the ripple line were larger than those formed near the fusion boundary. The cooling rates estimated by the dendrite arm spacing were in the range of 200 to 1150oC/s. Cooling rate was increased with decreasing the power and increasing the welding speed. Mg and Zn segregated at the boundaries of cellulars and dendritics, Mg was segregated more than Zn. The segregation of Mg and Zn decreased with increasing cooling rate. Hardness of the weld metal was lower than that of the base metal in all welding conditions and increased as the cooling rate increased.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2020

In this study, the effects of Sm addition (0, 0.05, 0.2, 0.5 wt%) on the microstructure, hardness, and electrical and thermal conductivity of Al-11Si-1.5Cu aluminum alloy were investigated. As a result of Sm addition, increment in the amount of α-Al and refinement of primary Si from 70 to 10 ㎛ were observed due to eutectic temperature depression. On the other hand, Sm was less effective at refining eutectic Si because of insufficient addition. The phase analysis results indicated that Sm-rich intermetallic phases such as Al-Fe-Mg-Si and Al-Si-Cu formed and led to decrements in the amount of primary Si and eutectic Si. These microstructure changes affected not only the hardness but also the electrical and thermal conductivity. When 0.5 wt% Sm was added to the alloy, hardness increased from 84.4 to 91.3 Hv, and electric conductivity increased from 15.14 to 16.97 MS/m. Thermal conductivity greatly increased from 133 to 157 W/m·K.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.299-304
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• 2004

Influence of Ca addition on microstructure and room temperature mechanical properties has been studied for AZ31(Mg-3%Al-1%Zn-0.2%Mn)-(0~0.5)%Ca wrought alloys, based on experimental results from metallography, X-ray diffractometry and mechanical tests. Yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and hardness of the alloys increased remarkably with increasing Ca content, whereas elongation was deteriorated continuously. Microstructural examination revealed that Ca addition efficiently refined grains of ${\alpha}$(Mg) phase and that some of the Ca dissolved in ${\beta}(Mg_{17}Al_{12})$ precipitates. The former and the latter facts are thought to be responsible for improved strength and loss of ductility of the AZ31+Ca wrought alloys, respectively.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2018

As structural materials, magnesium (Mg) alloys have been widely used in the fields of aviation, automobiles, optical instruments, and electronic products. There are few studies on the effect of coating conditions on the compositional variation during the formation process of the conversion coatings. Rare-earth based conversion coating on AZ91 magnesium alloy was prepared in ceric sulfate and hydrogen peroxide contained solution. The element composition and valence as well as their distribution in the coating were analyzed with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The effect of treating process on the element composition were also studied. It was found that the conversion coating surface consists of Mg, Al, O, Ce, and the weight content of Ce in the coating was affected by the treating solution concentration and immersion time; the Ce element was distributed in the coating non-uniformly and existed in the form of $Ce^{+3}$ and $Ce^{+4}$, while the O element existed in the form of $OH^-$, $O^{2-}$, $H_2O$. Based on microscopic analysis results, the electrochemical deposition mechanism on the micro-anode and micro-cathode in the process of the coating growth was suggested.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.270-274
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• 2011

Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) treatment was performed on squeeze cast AZ31 alloy and $Al_{18}B_4O_{33}w/AZ31$ composite. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was employed to characterize the surface morphology and cross-section microstructure of the coating. The phase structures of the PEO coating were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The corrosion resistance of the PEO coating was evaluated by electrochemical method. The results showed that the $Al_{18}B_4O_{33}$ whisker on the surface of the composite was decomposed and $MgAl_2O_4$ was formed in the PEO coating layer of $Al_{18}B_4O_{33}w/AZ31$ composite during PEO treatment. As a result, the electrochemical corrosion potential of the PEO coated $Al_{18}B_4O_{33}w/AZ31$ composite was increased compared with that of AZ31 alloy.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.268-273
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• 1998

Effect of aging treatment on the microstructures and mechanical properties of 6N01 Aluminium alloy was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, transmission electron microscopy, microhardness measurement and tensile test. It was found that the precipitation sequence of 6N01 Aluminium alloy was GP zone ${\rightarrow}$ metastable hexagonal $Mg_2S_i({\beta}^{\prime})$,${\rightarrow}$ equilibrium fcc $Mg_2S_i({\beta})$, and the precipitates at peak aged condition were GP zones and ${\beta}^{\prime}$ phase. Microhardness changes during over aged condition showed very small decrease upon increased aging time. This result was attributed to the very slow transformation rate of ${\beta}^{\prime}$ to ${\beta}$. Maximum hardness(116 Hv) and tensile strength(312.6MPa) with 22.3% elongation were obtained from the specimen aged at $180^{\circ}C$ for 15hrs.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.268-272
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• 2008

Interfacial characteristics of aluminum borate whisker reinforced AS52 matrix composite was investigated. Peak hardness of AS52 composite was obtained aging at $170^{\circ}C$ for 15h and the aging process was accelerated by the presence of the aluminium borate whisker. The MgO layer, which was the interfacial reaction product between the reinforcement and the Mg matrix, was produced with 20 nm thickness in as-cast condition. As the aging time increased, the thickness of the interfacial reaction layer increased to 50 nm in peak aged condition. The nano-indentation test results indicated that the strength of interface was improved by the aging but over-aging degraded the reinforcement and decreased the interfacial strength which resulted in the decrease of overall composite strength.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.34-43
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• 1990

Al-Si piston alloys such as AlS10CuMg have been anodized to examine apossibility of forming a hard film aat relatively higher temperatures compard with those in conventional sulfuric acid processes. Three types of electrolytes have been employed in this study ; electrolyte A(15% H2SO4, $0^{\circ}C$), electrolyte B(12% H2SO4, 1% oxalic, $10^{\circ}C$), electrolyte C(tartaric acid 125g/L+oxalic 75g/L+aluminum sulfate 225g/L, $25^{\circ}C$). Hard anodisine process in electrolyte B at a current density of 1.54A/dm2 produced a harder film of VHN 396 at a relatibely low film forming voltage compared with those obtained in other electrolyte at equivalent current density. A liner relationship between hardness and abrasion resistance exists for Al-Si piston alloys. The hardness of anodized film decreasees with increasing silicon content in Al-Si alloys and also with bath temperature. The film hardeness of Na-modified alloy os higher than that of P-modified alloy due to its finer microstructre. The film on the silicon phase in Al-Si alloys is observed to be formed by lateral growth of oxide film nucleated at surroundings.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2012.11a
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• pp.179-180
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• 2012

Aluminum alloys are widely known as non-ferrous metal with light weight and high strength. Consequently, these materials take center stage in the aircraft and automobile industry. The Al7075 aluminum alloy is based on the Al-Zn-Mg-Cu and one of the strongest wrought aluminum alloys. Aluminum nitride has ten times higher thermal conductivity($319W/m{\cdot}K$) than Al2O3 and also has outstanding electric insulation($1{\times}1014{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$). Furthermore, it has high mechanical property (430 MPa) even though its co-efficient of thermal expansion is less than alumina For these reasons, it has great possibilities to be used for not only the field which needs high strength lightweight but also electronic material field because of its suitability to be applied to the insulator film of PCB or wafer of ceramic with high heat conduction. This paper investigates the mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of aluminum alloy Al7075 deposited with aluminum nitride thin films To improve the surface properties of Al7075 with respect to hardness, and resistance to corrosion, aluminum nitride thin films have been deposited by pulsed DC reactive magnetron sputtering. The pulsed DC power provides arc-free deposition of insulating films.