Sharif Digital Repository

Aluminum matrix nanocomposites were fabricated via friction stir processing of an Al–Mg alloy with pre-inserted TiO2 nanoparticles at different volume fractions of 3%, 5% and 6%. The nanocomposites were annealed at 300–500 °C for 1–5 h in air to study the effect of annealing on the microstructural changes and mechanical properties. Microstructural studies by scanning and transmission electron microscopy showed that new phases were formed during friction stir processing due to chemical reactions at the interface of TiO2 with the aluminum matrix alloy. Reactive annealing completed the solid-state reactions, which led to a significant improvement in the ductility of the nanocomposites (more... 

Aluminum matrix nanocomposites were fabricated by friction stir processing of Al–Mg alloy sheets with pre-placed TiO2 nanoparticles at a concentration of 2 to 6 vol%. Microstructural studies showed that solid state reactions between the metal matrix and TiO2 particles caused in situ formation of MgO and Al3Ti nanophases with an average size ~50 nm. These nanophases were homogenously distributed in an ultra-fine grain structure (0.2–2 µm) of the base metal. The results of pole figures evaluation obtained by electron back scattered diffraction studies revealed that the random orientation of initial annealed sheet was changed to components near to shear and silver texture in the friction stir... 

In the present work, fcc-Al nanoparticle development in Al90−xNi10MMx (MM: Ce mischmetal; x=2, 4) amorphous alloys was studied via non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and nanoindentation test. Results showed that the crystallization of Al88Ni10MM2 alloy occurred by the precipitation of fcc-Al nanoparticles followed by the crystallization of Al11MM3 and Al3Ni phases. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the aluminum precipitates had an average size of ~12 nm with a round morphology. Increasing the mischmetal content to 4 at% (Al86Ni10MM4 alloy) caused a three-stage crystallization process with a change in the size... 

Friction stir processing (FSP) is a solid state route with a capacity of preparing fine grained nanocomposites from metal sheets. In this work, we employed this process to finely distribute TiO2 nanoparticles throughout an Al–Mg alloy, aiming to enhance mechanical properties. Titanium dioxide particles (30 nm) were preplaced into grooves machined in the middle of the aluminium alloy sheet and multipass FSP was afforded. This process refined the grain structure of the aluminium alloy, distributed the hard nanoparticles in the matrix and promoted solid state chemical reactions at the interfaces of the metal/ceramic particles. Detailed optical and electron microscopic studies showed that the... 

Cu/SiC nanocomposite powders with homogeneously distributed nanosize SiC particles were produced by high energy mechanical milling (MM). Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and micro-hardness and density measurements were performed to understand the effects of microstructure and hardness on compaction behavior during MM. The effects of SiC nanoparticle content and mechanical milling time on apparent density (AD) and tap density (TD) of the nanocomposite powders were systematically investigated. The Hausner ratio (HR), defined as TD to AD, were estimated to evaluate friction between the particles. Increasing MM duration and SiC content resulted... 

An ultrafine-grained Al6063/Al2O3 (0.8 vol.%, 25 nm) nanocomposite was prepared via powder metallurgy route through reactive mechanical alloying and hot powder extrusion. Scanning electron microcopy, transmission electron microscopy, and back scattered electron diffraction analysis showed that the grain structure of the nanocomposite is trimodal and composed of nano-size grains (< 0.1 μm), ultrafine grains (0.1–1 μm), and micron-size grains (> 1 μm) with random orientations. Evaluation of the mechanical properties of the nanocomposite based on the strengthening-mechanism models revealed that the yield strength of the ultrafine-grained nanocomposite is mainly controlled by the high-angle... 

This article describes a study on WC–10Co cemented carbides with different percent of grain growth inhibitors. Samples were prepared by the conventional powder metallurgy method, using WC and Co powder and different concentrations of VC and (Ta, Nb)C powder. All samples were processed using a hot isostatic press (HIP) and the effect of grain growth inhibitors on the microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated. Additionally, microstructure and powder particle morphology were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The specimen's microstructure proved that the addition of VC is more effective at suppressing grain growth than... 

Ultrafine-grained (UFG) Al6063/Al2O3 (0.8 vol%, 25 nm) nanocomposite was prepared via powdr metallurgy route. The grain structure of the nanocomposite composed of nano-size grains (< 0.1 μm), ultrafine grains (0.1-1 μm) and micron-size grains (>1 μm) with random orientations. It was found that the yield strength of the UFG nanocomposite is mainly controlled by the Orowan mechanism rather than the grain boundaries. The deformation activation energy at temperature ranges of T <300 ˚C and 300 ˚C ≤T < 450 ˚C was determined to be 74 and 264 kJ mol-1, respectively. At the higher temperatures, significant deformation softening was observed due to dynamic recrystallization of non-equilibrium grain... 

Nanostructured AA6063 (NS-Al) powder with an average grain size of ∼100 nm was synthesized by high-energy attrition milling of gas-atomized AA6063 powder followed by hot extrusion. The microstructural features of the consolidated specimen were studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) techniques and compared with those of coarse-grained AA6063 (CG-Al) produced by hot powder extrusion of gas-atomized powder (without using mechanical milling). The consolidated NS-Al alloy consisted of elongated ultrafine grains (aspect ratio of ∼2.9) and equiaxed nanostructured grains. A high fraction (∼78%) of high-angle grain boundaries with average... 

Microstructural development and phase formation at the interface of yttria stabilized zirconia (3Y-TZP)/430L stainless steel composite layers produced by co-sintering method were studied by SEM, HRTEM, micro-focus XRD, and EPMA. Formation of a rich chromium boundary layer at the interface was noticed, which revealed Cr aggregation at the interface at the elevated temperatures. Misfit dislocations were also observed at the joint interface to tackle the mismatch crystallographic orientations between the ceramic and metal layer. The results of the micro-focus XRD showed formation of no new phases at the boundary zone. Microstructural studies also revealed a retarded grain growth in the... 

The microstructure and mechanical properties of the ultra-fine grained (UFG) Al6063 alloy reinforced with nanometric aluminum oxide nanoparticles (25 nm) were investigated and compared with the coarse-grained (CG) Al6063 alloy (~2 μm). The UFG materials were prepared by mechanical alloying (MA) under high-purity Ar and Ar-5 vol pct O2 atmospheres followed by hot powder extrusion (HPE). The CG alloy was produced by HPE of the gas-atomized Al6063 powder without applying MA. Electron backscatter diffraction under scanning electron microscopy together with transmission electron microscopy studies revealed that the microstructure of the milled powders after HPE consisted of ultra-fine grains... 

Aluminum metal matrix composites (MMCs) reinforced with nanoceramics are ideal materials for the manufacture of lightweight automotive and other commercial parts. Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system combined with particle swarm optimization method is implemented in this research study in order to optimize the parameters in processing of aluminum MMCs. In order to solve the problems associated with poor wettability, agglomeration and gravity segregation of nanoparticles in the melt, a mixture of alumina and aluminum particles was used as the reinforcement instead of raw nanoalumina. Microstructural characterization shows dendritic microstructure for the sand cast and non-dendritic... 

The evolution of microstructure and the mechanical properties of an aluminum 6061 alloy tube subjected to a novel severe plastic deformation process called tube channel pressing were studied. Results show that the tube channel pressing causes an impressive grain refinement and strengthening of the material. As an illustration, mostly ultrafine grained tube (D-=760nm) bearing the yield strength of 352. MPa can be obtained after 5 passes of tube channel pressing. Additionally, the tube channel pressing causes the heterogeneous grain refinement resulting in a bimodal distribution of size of grains after 7th pass. Therefore, it can be inferred that the main microstructure refining mechanism... 

Recently, considerable attentions have been paid to alloy Mg-4Zn-0.2Ca for biomedical applications due to its suitable biocompatibility and acceptable mechanical properties. In this work, the effects of the addition of different amounts of Al on microstructure, mechanical properties, degradation behavior, and biocompatibility of this alloy were investigated. The corrosion behaviors of the alloys were investigated through polarization tests, chronoamperometry analysis, immersion tests, and EIS experiments. The mechanical properties were analyzed by using tensile tests and compression tests. The results showed that the addition of Al up to 3 wt.% considerably modifies the degradation behaviors... 

A series of biodegradable acrylic terminated polyurethanes (APUs) based on poly(ε-caprolactone) diol (PCL), aliphatic 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) and hydroxyethyl methyl acrylate (HEMA) was synthesized as potential materials for hard tissue biomedical applications. PCLs with low molecular weights of 1000 and 2000 g/mol were employed to provide different amounts of end capped urethane acrylate in APUs. To control crosslink density, a mixture of two different reactive diluents including mono-functional HEMA and bi-functional ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) with different weight ratios was incorporated into the APUs, called here PUAs. Morphological characteristics and mechanical... 

Microstructural characteristics and mechanical properties of a friction stir welded cast aluminum bronze (Cu-9Al-1Fe), produced by a sand casting method, have been investigated at tool rotation of 850-1500 rpm and traverse speed of 50-100 mm/min. Refinement of the primary coarse cast microstructure in the base metal was seen after friction stir welding. Microstructure of the stir zone was characterized in four distinct areas of non-isometric fine grains while a significant grain growth was noticed in some of the areas. Conditions of grain growth are defined with high heat input intensity and low heat transfer capability. The grain size was observed to decrease after FSW, resulting in a... 

In this work, examinations on the microstructure and mechanical properties of plain carbon steel and AISI 430 ferritic stainless steel dissimilar welds are carried out. Welding is conducted in both autogenous and using ER309L austenitic filler rod conditions through gas tungsten arc welding process. The results indicate that fully-ferritic and duplex ferritic-martensitic microstructures are formed for autogenous and filler-added welds, respectively. Carbide precipitation and formation of martensite at ferrite grain boundaries (intergranular martensite) as well as grain growth occur in the heat affected zone (HAZ) of AISI 430 steel. It is found that weld heat input can strongly affect grain... 

The microstructural characteristic of HSLA welds containing different amounts of titanium were evaluated carefully. It was observed that the microstructure of welds consisted of ferrite with mixed morphologies, and small amounts of pearlite and martensite-austenite micro-constituents. Because of insufficient time for diffusion of carbon, formation of pearlite lamellae could not be completed in the weld region. Martensite was formed from carbon enrichment of austenite during nucleation and growth of acicular ferrite and bainitic ferrite. While coarse manganese sulfide particles had weak interface strength with matrix and formed some micro-fissures; increasing titanium amount of welds... 

Pure Zn and Zn matrix composite coatings containing nano-sized SiC particles with an average size of 50 nm were prepared from the zinc sulfate bath. The effects of the pulse frequency, maximum current density and duty cycle on the amount of particles embedded were examined. Electron microscopic studies revealed that the coating morphology was modified by the presence of SiC nanoparticles. In the presence of SiC nanoparticles deposit grows in outgrowth mode resulting in a very rough and porous microstructure. However, at very low and very high duty cycles a smooth and pore free microstructure was obtained. Corrosion resistance properties of the coatings were studied using potentiodynamic... 

The 1050 aluminum sheets are severely deformed by two passes of the constrained groove pressing (CGP) process to obtain the strain of 2.32. Friction stir processing (FSP) is then performed on these specimens at two conditions of with and without SiC nanoparticles. Microhardness measurements indicate that in the state of FSP without any particle, the microhardness of stir zone is decreased due to the recrystallization and grain growth occurrence because of high stored strain energy in the CGPed specimens. In order to enhance the mechanical properties of the stir zone, SiC nanoparticles are used during FSP. Also, the effect of FSP pass number on the distribution of nanoparticles is...