• 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.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.50 no.12
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• pp.931-937
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• 2012

The microstructure of Cu-15 wt%Ag composites fabricated by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) with intermediate heat treatment at $320^{\circ}C$ was investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations. Ag precipitates with a thickness of 20-40 nm were observed in the eutectic region of the Cu-15 wt%Ag composite solution treated at $700^{\circ}C$ before ECAP. The Cu matrix and Ag precipitates had a cube on cube orientation relationship. ECAPed composites exhibited ultrafine-grained microstructures with the shape and distribution dependent on the processing routes. For route A in which the sample was pressed without rotation between each pass, the Cu and Ag grains were elongated along the shear direction and many micro-twins were observed in elongated Cu grains as well as in Ag filaments. The steps were observed on coherent twin boundaries in Cu grains. For route Bc in which the sample was rotated by 90 degrees after each pass, a subgrain structure with misorientation of 2-4 degree by fragmentation of the large Cu grains were observed. For route C in which the sample was rotated by 180 degrees after each pass, the microstructure was similar to that of the route A sample. However, the thickness of the elongated grains along the shear direction was wider than that of the route A sample and the twin density was lower than the route A sample. It was found that more microtwins were formed in ECAPed Cu-15 wt%Ag than in the drawn sample. Grain boundaries were observed in relatively thick and long Ag filaments in Cu-15 wt%Ag ECAPed by route C, indicating the multi-crystalline nature of Ag filaments.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.50 no.12
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• pp.897-905
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• 2012

Directional solidification experiments were carried out in a hypoeutectic Al-11.3Si-3.5Cu system to investigate the microstructural evolution with the solidification rate. At a fixed temperature gradient, a dendritic microstructure was observed at a constant speed of more than $25{\mu}ms^{-1}$, a cellular interface developed at $5{\mu}ms^{-1}$ and the growth rate of $0.5{\mu}ms^{-1}$ led to the stability of the planar interface. The results revealed that primary silicon phases formed among cells, even though the studied Al-Si alloy system formed the composition within a hypoeutectic silicon composition. This suggests that the liquid concentration among cells during solidification reached a higher concentration, i.e., the eutectic concentration. It is, however, interesting that primary silicon phases did not form during a dendritic growth of more than $25{\mu}ms^{-1}$. These experimental observations are explained using the theoretical models on the interface temperatures.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.182-188
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• 2008

Carbon nanotubes(CNTs) have outstanding mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties. Thus, by placing nanotubes into appropriate matrix, it is postulated that the resulting composites will have enhanced properties. Cold spray can produce thick metal-based composite coatings with very high density, low oxygen content, and phase purity, which leads to excellent physical properties. In this study, we applied cold spray coating process for the consolidation of Cu/CNT composite powder. The precursor powder mixture, in which CNTs were filled into copper particles, was prepared to improve the distribution of the CNT in copper matrix. Pure copper coating was also conducted by cold spraying as a reference. Annealing heat treatment was applied to the coating to examine its effect on the properties of the composite coating. The hardness of Cu/CNT composite coating represented similar value to that of pure copper coating. It was importantly found that the electrical conductivity of the Cu/CNT composite coating significantly increased from 53% for the standard condition to almost 55% in the optimized condition, taking annealed ($500^{\circ}C/1hr$.) copper coating as a reference (100%). The thermal conductivity of Cu/CNT composite coating layer was higher than that of pure Cu coating. It was also found that the electrical and thermal conductivities of Cu/CNT composite could be improved through annealing heat treatment. The microstructural evolution of Cu/CNT coating was also investigated and related to the macroscopic properties.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.158-168
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• 2021

Austenitic 316 stainless steel was irradiated with protons accelerated by an energy of 2 MeV at 360 ℃, the various defects induced by this proton irradiation were characterized with microscopic equipment. In our observations irradiation defects such as dislocations and micro-voids were clearly revealed. The typical irradiation defects observed differed according to depth, indicating the evolution of irradiation defects follows the characteristics of radiation damage profiles that depend on depth. Surface oxidation tests were conducted under the simulated primary water conditions of a pressurized water reactor (PWR) to understand the role irradiation defects play in surface oxidation behavior and also to investigate the resultant irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) susceptibility that occurs after exposure to PWR primary water. We found that Cr and Fe became depleted while Ni was enriched at the grain boundary beneath the surface oxidation layer both in the non-irradiated and proton-irradiated specimens. However, the degree of Cr/Fe depletion and Ni enrichment was much higher in the proton-irradiated sample than in the non-irradiated one owing to radiation-induced segregation and the irradiation defects. The microstructural and microchemical changes induced by proton irradiation all appear to significantly increase the susceptibility of austenitic 316 stainless steel to IASCC.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.273-280
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• 2022

Although the mechanical properties of high-entropy alloys depend on the annealing conditions, limited works were established to investigate the annealing effect on the mechanical properties of Mo-added high-entropy alloys. Therefore, in the present work, the annealing effects on the microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of Mo-added high-entropy alloy were investigated. As a result, incomplete recrystallization from the limited annealing time not only suppresses deformation-induced phase transformation during cryogenic tensile test but also induces a deformation instability that results into the ductility reduction compare with the fully recrystallized sample. This result represents adjustment of annealing time is useful to control both transformation-induce plasticity and deformation instability of high-entropy alloys, and this can be applied to control the mechanical properties of metallic alloys by combining pre-straining and subsequent annealing.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.8
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• pp.2582-2590
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• 2021

The high-energy milling is one of the most extended techniques to produce Oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) powder steels for nuclear applications. The consequences of the high energy mill process on the final powders can be measured by means of deformation level, size, morphology and alloying degree. In this work, an ODS ferritic steel, Fe-14Cr-5Al-3W-0.4Ti-0.25Y₂O₃-0.6Zr, was fabricated using two different mechanical alloying (MA) conditions (M_std and M_act) and subsequently consolidated by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS). Milling conditions were set to evidence the effectivity of milling by changing the revolutions per minute (rpm) and dwell milling time. Differences on the particle size distribution as well as on the stored plastic deformation were observed, determining the consolidation ability of the material and the achieved microstructure. Since recrystallization depends on the plastic deformation degree, the composition of each particle and the promoted oxide dispersion, a dual grain size distribution was attained after SPS consolidation. M_act showed the highest areas of ultrafine regions when the material is consolidated at 1100 ℃. Microhardness and small punch tests were used to evaluate the material under room temperature and up to 500 ℃. The produced materials have attained remarkable mechanical properties under high temperature conditions.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.78 no.4
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• pp.473-484
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• 2021

Similar to other structures, ultimate strength values showing the maximum load that the structure can resist without damaging has great importance on ships. Therefore, increasing the ultimate strength values will be an important benefit for the structure. Low carbon steels used in ships due to their low cost and good weldability. Improving the ultimate strength values without interfering with the chemical composition to prevent of the weldability properties of these steels would be very beneficial for ships. Grain refinement via severe plastic deformation (SPD) is an essential strengthening mechanism without changing the chemical composition of metallic materials. Among SPD methods, equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) is one of the most commonly used one due to its capacity for achieving bulk ultrafine-grained (UFG) materials. When the literature is examined, it is seen that there is no study about ultimate strength calculation in ships after ECAP. Therefore, the mean purpose of this study is to apply ECAP to a shipbuilding low carbon steel to be able to achieve mechanical properties and investigate the alteration of ship hull girder grillage system's ultimate strength via finite element analysis approach. A fine-grained (FG) microstructure with a mean grain size of 6 ㎛ (initial grain size was 25 ㎛) was after ECAP. This microstructural evolution brought about a considerable increase in strength values. Both yield and tensile strength values increased from 280 MPa and 425 MPa to about 420 MPa and 785 MPa, respectively. This improvement in the strength values reflected a finite element method to determine the ultimate strength of ship hull girder grillage system. As a result of calculations, it was reached significantly higher ultimate strength values (237,876 MPa) compared the non-processed situation (192,986 MPa) on ship hull girder grillage system.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.344-351
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• 2023

The use of Zn-Al-Mg alloy coatings for enhancing the corrosion resistance of steel sheets is gaining prominence over traditional Zn coatings. There is a growing demand for the development of thermal spray wires made from Zn-Al-Mg alloys, as a replacement for the existing wires produced using Al and Zn. This is particularly crucial to secure corrosion resistance and durability in the damaged areas of coated steel sheets caused by deformation and welding. This study focuses on the casting and extrusion processes of Zn-2Al-1Mg alloy for the fabrication of such spray wires and analyzes the changes in microstructure during the extrusion process. The Zn-2Al-1Mg alloy, cast in molds, was subjected to a heat treatment at 250 ℃ for 3 hours prior to extrusion. The extrusion process was carried out by heating both the material and the mold up to 300 ℃. Microstructural analysis was conducted using FE-SEM and EDS to differentiate each phase. The mechanical properties of the cast specimen were evaluated through compression tests at temperatures ranging from 200 to 300 ℃, with strain rates of 0.1 to 5 sec^-1. Vickers hardness testing was utilized to assess the inhomogeneity of mechanical properties in the radial direction of the extruded material. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was employed to understand the inhomogeneity in stress and strain distribution during extrusion, which aids in understanding the impact of heterogeneous deformation on the microstructure during the process.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.286-293
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• 2023

In this study, we investigated the microstructural evolution of Al-Mg-Zn aluminum alloy billet during homogenization treatment using OM, SEM, EDS and DSC. There were numerous phases found, such as; AlMgZn, AlMgFe, and AlMgZnSi phases, in the grain of the cast billet. After 6 hours homogenization treatment, Zn was mostly dissolved, whereas, Mg and Si were only partly dissolved. Accordingly, only AlMgFe and AlMgSi remained. After 18 hours, all of the leftover Mg and Si were dissolved, leaving only AlMgFe, which was also found after 24 hours. The results of the alloy design program, JMatPro showed that Mg dissloved more rapidly than Zn. According to the homogenization kinetic equation, Mg and Zn are completely dissolved within 1.9 and 3.5 hours, respectively.