Grain boundary engineering: fatigue fracture

Abstract

Grain boundary engineering has revealed significant enhancement of material properties by modifying the populations and connectivity of different types of grain boundaries within the polycrystals. The character and connectivity of grain boundaries in polycrystalline microstructures control the corrosion and mechanical behaviour of materials. A comprehensive review of the previous researches has been carried out to understand this philosophy. Present research thoroughly explores the effect of total strain amplitude on phase transformation, fatigue fracture features, grain size, annealing twinning, different grain connectivity and grain boundary network after strain controlled low cycle fatigue deformation of austenitic stainless steel under ambient temperature. Electron backscatter diffraction technique has been used extensively to investigate the grain boundary characteristics and morphologies. The nominal variation of strain amplitude through cyclic plastic deformation is quantitatively demonstrated completely in connection with the grain boundary microstructure and fractographic features to reveal the mechanism of fatigue fracture of polycrystalline austenite. The extent of boundary modifications has been found to be a function of the number of applied loading cycles and strain amplitudes. It is also investigated that cyclic plasticity induced martensitic transformation strongly influences grain boundary characteristics and modifications of the material’s microstructure/microtexture as a function of strain amplitudes. The experimental results presented here suggest a path to grain boundary engineering during fatigue fracture of austenite polycrystals.     

Texture development during cold rolling of Fe–Cr–Ni alloy-experiments and simulations

Abstract

In the present work, evolution of microstructure and crystallographic texture during cold rolling of two phase Fe–Cr–Ni alloy was investigated. Fe–Cr–Ni alloy (in initially solution annealed condition) was uni-directionally cold rolled in a laboratory rolling mill to different thickness reductions. Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the changes in microstructure, while X-ray diffraction was used to investigate changes in crystallographic texture of austenite and ferrite (through changes in orientation distribution function). Crystallographic texture was also simulated using different crystal plasticity models (Full constraint Taylor, relaxed constraint Taylor (lath and pancake) and co-deformation Visco Plastic Self Consistent (VPSC)). With the increase in plastic deformation, there were morphological as well as crystallographic changes in the microstructure. Strong α-fibre (RD//〈1?1?0〉) texture was developed in ferrite, while brass ({1?1?0}〈1?1?2〉) and Goss ({1?1?0}〈0?0?1〉) was dominant in austenite after 80% cold rolling. The formation of brass type texture after deformation has been attributed to the formation of shear bands and presence of strong crystallographic texture in the initial solution annealed material. Both Taylor as well as VPSC models could not capture the changes in texture with deformation accurately. For ferrite: γ-fibre (ND//〈1?1?1〉) and for austenite: Cu ({1?1?2}〈1?1?1〉) component was always present in the simulated textures. Possible reason for this could be the pining effect of interface boundaries and non-incorporation of non-crystallographic shear banding in the Taylor and VPSC models.     

Multi-phase transformation kinetics of HSLA steels during continuous cooling: experiments and cellular automaton (CA) simulation

ABSTRACT

Kinetics of multiply ferrite/bainite phase transformation of HSLA steels is investigated by experiments and cellular automaton (CA) simulation. Peak-differentiation method to elucidate the sequential ferrite and bainite phase transformation individually, which is verified by the CA simulation. Such CA modelling executed using classic JMAK theory, but also gives an insight of microstructure evolution of the multi-phase transformation routine on different cooling rate. From that, it enables classic JMAK modelling to capture the detached phase transformation with different growth models and interface-migration mechanisms. Also, we find that the final phase constitution is sensitive to the cooling rate. With increasing the cooling rate, bainite sheaves nucleated at prior austenite boundaries and ferrite/austenite interfaces are significantly facilitated, which seriously inhibits the growth of prior ferrites. The scenario can be interpreted by the CA simulation and the influence of the cooling rate on sequential multi-phase transformation can be also obtained.     

Evolution of dislocation density in a hot rolled Zr–2.5Nb alloy with plastic deformation studied by neutron diffraction and transmission electron microscopy

Abstract

The evolution of dislocation density and microstructure of a hot rolled Zr–2.5Nb alloy under compressive plastic strain, at room temperature, was analysed using neutron diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The dislocation densities of type 〈a〉, 〈c + a〉 and 〈c〉 dislocations at different plastic strains in the elastic–plastic transition regime and plastic regime have been measured by diffraction line profile analysis (DLPA). TEM microstructure characterization revealed the operation of different slip systems. It has been found that slip of type 〈a〉 dislocations contributed to most of the plastic strain at the early stage of deformation, and strong pyramidal 〈c + a〉 slip did not occur until the deformation was fully plastic. Unambiguous evidence of basal slip occurring at room temperature in Zr is provided. Loading along a plate direction with more basal poles favoured the operation of basal and pyramidal slip. Dislocation features including relative edge:screw character of 〈c + a〉 dislocations are shown to be different under tension and compression loading, providing a mechanistic driver for the previously observed asymmetry in critical resolved shear stress for 〈c + a〉 slip.     

高温塑性变形引起的P非平衡晶界偏聚

阐述了高温塑性变形引起的非平衡晶界偏聚的准热力学和动力学,并使用该模型预测了低合金结构钢中高温塑性变形导致的P在奥氏体晶界的非平衡偏聚.研究发现：当变形为20%,应变速率为1×10^-3 s^-1时,在800 ℃左右会出现一个P的晶界偏聚浓度峰值;在1000 ℃变形为20％时,晶界偏聚浓度随着应变速率的增加而增加.预测结果与现有的实验结果基本一致. 关键词： 非平衡偏聚 晶界 塑性变形 磷     

Extended planar boundary inclinations in fcc single crystals and polycrystals subjected to plane strain deformation

When fcc single crystals with high-symmetry crystal orientations are deformed to moderate strains by rolling, tension or channel die compression, long dislocation boundaries inclined to the extension axis form. Similarly, long dislocation boundaries are often found in grains embedded in polycrystals deformed in the same manner. These extended planar boundaries (EPBs) are characteristically -30-40° from the extension direction and contain the transverse specimen axis. The objective of the present article is to demonstrate that EPBs formed during plane strain deformation are parallel to equivalent slip planes, a pair of hypothetical slip systems used for analyses of the strain and crystal rotation components in place of the larger number of physical slip systems. The coincidence of EPBs and equivalent slip plane inclinations is shown to account for persistent observations of EPBs in the angle range -30-40° from the rolling direction, in rolled single crystals of various initial orientations. The tendency of EPBs towards tilt or twist boundary character can also be rationalized on the basis of the equivalent slip system concept and consideration of the dislocation types available to be incorporated into EPBs.     

Thermomechanical response of an Ni–Ti–Cr shape-memory alloy at low and high strain rates

The thermomechanical response of an Ni–Ti–Cr shape-memory alloy is investigated at various initial temperatures, over a wide range of strain rates, using an Instron hydraulic testing machine and one of the modified split-Hopkinson-bar systems at the Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials, University of California, San Diego. The transition stress for the stress-induced martensite formation is observed to be quite sensitive to the initial deformation temperature, but the yield stress of the resulting martensite is not. The linear transition stress–temperature relation with a slope of 8.5?MPa?K^?1, obtained in a quasistatic loading regime, seems to remain valid for strain rates up to 500–700?s^?1. The transition stress and the yield stress of the stress-induced martensite show strain-rate sensitivity, increasing monotonically with increasing strain rate. There exists a certain critical strain rate at which the transition stress equals the yield stress of the material. This critical strain rate determines the material's deformation behaviour; the material deforms by the formation of stress-induced martensites and their subsequent yielding, when the strain rate is less than this critical value, and through dislocation-induced plastic slip of the parent austenite, when the strain rate exceeds the critical value. It appears that the critical strain rate increases slightly with decreasing initial temperature.     

Texture transition in Al–Mg alloys: effect of magnesium

ABSTRACT

The evolution of deformation texture and microstructure in commercially pure Al (cp-Al) and two Al–Mg alloys (Al–4Mg and Al–6Mg) during cold rolling to a very large strain (true strain ε_t? ≈?3.9) was investigated. The development of deformation texture in cp-Al, after rolling, can be considered as pure metal or Copper-type, which is characterised mainly by the presence of Cu {112}<111>, Bs {110}<112> and S {123}<634> components. The deformation microstructure clearly indicates that deformation mechanism in this case remains slip dominated throughout the deformation range. In the Al–4Mg alloy, the initial slip mode of deformation is finally taken over by mechanism involving both slip and Copper-type shear bands, at higher deformation levels. In contrast, in the Al–6Mg alloy, the slip and twin mode of deformation in the initial stage is replaced by slip and Brass-type shear bands at higher deformation levels. Although a Copper-type deformation texture forms in the two Al–Mg alloys at the initial stage of deformation, there is a significant increase in the intensity of the Bs component and a noticeable decrease in the intensity of the Cu component at higher levels of deformation, particularly in the Al–6Mg alloy. This phenomenon indicates the possibility of transition of the deformation texture from Cu-type to Bs-type, which is concurrent with the addition of Mg. Using visco-plastic self-consistent modelling, the evolution of deformation texture could be simulated for all three materials.     

Effects of torsional deformation on the microstructures and mechanical properties of a CoCrFeNiMo0.15 high-entropy alloy

Abstract

The effects of torsional deformation on the microstructures and mechanical properties of a CoCrFeNiMo_0.15 high-entropy alloy have been investigated. The torsional deformation generates a gradient microstructure distribution due to the gradient torsional strain. Both dislocation activity and deformation twinning dominated the torsional deformation process. With increasing the torsional equivalent strain, the microstructural evolution can be described as follows: (1) formation of pile-up dislocations parallel to the trace of {1 1 1}-type slip planes; (2) formation of Taylor lattices; (3) formation of highly dense dislocation walls; (3) formation of microbands and deformation twins. The extremely high deformation strain (strained to fracture) results in the activation of wavy slip. The tensile strength is very sensitive to the torsional deformation, and increases significantly with increasing the torsional angle.     

A study of the α ↔ γ transformation in pure iron: rate variations revealed by means of thermal analysis

The α???γ transformation in nominally high purity Fe is shown to occur with a stepped peak in differential thermal analysis on both heating and cooling at rates between 0.5?K?min^?1 and 10?K?min^?1. The composite peaks mark changes in the transformation rate. To endorse the findings, the instrumental output has been thoroughly analyzed providing evaluations of time lags, suggestions for calibration and for the use of the derivative of the peak. The change in rate occurred in all samples irrespective of their grain size (average values from 91?µm to 1100?µm). The rate of movement of the interface in the α???γ transformation is estimated between 4?×?10^?5?m?s^?1 and 3?×?10^?6?m?s^?1. The present results extend previous dilatometric work in which the rate variation was detected only for large grain size and low undercooling. Possible reasons for the variation in rate are outlined: local development of strain in the austenite due to lattice misfit with respect of the growing ferrite, formation of a ragged microstructure and pinning of the boundaries by impurity.     

Observations of glide and decomposition of a⟨101⟩ dislocations at high temperatures in Ni-Al single crystals deformed along the hard orientation

Ni-44 at.% Al and Ni-50 at.% Al single crystals were tested in compression in the hard d001 ¢orientation. The dislocation processes and deformation behaviour were studied as a function of temperature, strain and strain rate. A slip transition in NiAl occurs from a?111? slip to non-a?111? slip at intermediate temperatures. In Ni-50 at.% Al single crystals, only a?010? dislocations are observed above the slip transition temperature. In contrast, a a?101?{101} glide has been observed to control deformation beyond the slip transition temperature in Ni-44 at.% Al. a?101? dislocations are observed primarily along both ?111? directions in the glide plane. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy observations show that the core of the a?101? dislocations along these directions is decomposed into two a?010? dislocations, separated by a distance of approximately 2 nm. The temperature window of stability for these a?101? dislocations depends upon the strain rate. At a strain rate of 1.4 210^?4 s^?1, a?101? dislocations are observed between 800 and 1000 K. Complete decomposition of a?101? dislocations into a?010? dislocations occurs beyond 1000 K, leading to a?010? climb as the deformation mode at higher temperatures. At lower strain rates, decomposition of a?101? dislocations has been observed to occur along the edge orientation at temperatures below 1000 K. Embedded-atom method calculations and experimental results indicate that a?101? dislocations have a large Peierls stress at low temperatures. Based on the present microstructural observations and a survey of the literature with respect to vacancy content and diffusion in NiAl, a model is proposed for a?101?{101} glide in Ni-44 at.% Al, and for the observed yield strength versus temperature behaviour of Ni-Al alloys at intermediate and high temperatures.     

Quantitative deformation measurements and analysis of the ferrite-austenite banded structure in a 2205 duplex stainless steel at 250 ℃

The deformation process of the microstructure in 2205 duplex stainless steel(DSS) under thermo-mechanical coupling at 250 ~?C was investigated using digital image correlation(DIC). A thermal tension test of duplex stainless steel(2205 DSS) with a banded structure was carried out to observe the initial deformation of the microstructure. It was found that inhomogeneous strain fields occurred primarily in austenite. The maximum normal strain in austenite was almost positive, while that in ferrite was almost negative. In addition, a thermal cyclic-loading test was conducted, and the strain field was characterized by e_11. Strain heterogeneities were induced after 400 cycles, which spread within the austenite and at the phase boundaries with the load increasing. The high tensile-strain regions were always located adjacent to regions of intense compressive strain. Based on the strain matrix sum vs. cycle number, we found that hardening occurred in the early cycles followed by softening.     

Compressive strength and hot deformation mechanisms in as-cast Mg-4Al-2Ba-2Ca (ABaX422) alloy

The behaviour of an as-cast ABaX422 Mg alloy has been evaluated with regard to its compressive strength in the temperature range 25–250?°C and hot working characteristics in the range 260–500?°C. The microstructure of the as-cast alloy has intermetallic phases Mg₁₇Ba₂ and (Al, Mg)₂Ca at the grain boundaries and is fine grained. The alloy has compressive strength better than AZ31 with Ca and Zn, which was attributed to the finer grain size. A processing map developed to characterize its hot working behaviour revealed two dynamic recrystallization domains in the temperature and strain rate ranges of (1) 300–390?°C/0.0003–0.001?s^?1 and (2) 400–500?°C/0.0003–0.5?s^?1. In the first domain, basal?+?prismatic slip occurs along with recovery by climb while in the second domain, second-order pyramidal slip dominates and recovery occurs by cross-slip. The apparent activation energy estimated in Domains 1 and 2 are 169 and 263?kJ/mol respectively, both being higher than that for self-diffusion suggesting that the intermetallic particles in the matrix cause considerable back stress. Bulk metal working of this alloy may be done in Domain 2 which ensures high workability while finish working may be done in Domain 1 in order to achieve a fine grained component. The alloy exhibits flow instability regimes at higher strain rates, in both the lower and higher temperature regions of the processing map, the manifestation being adiabatic shear band formation and flow localization respectively.     

Grain refinement and strengthening of austenitic stainless steels during large strain cold rolling

The microstructure/texture evolution and strengthening of 316?L-type and 304?L-type austenitic stainless steels during cold rolling were studied. The cold rolling was accompanied by the deformation twinning and micro-shear banding followed by the strain-induced martensitic transformation, leading to nanocrystalline microstructures consisting of flattened austenite and martensite grains. The fraction of ultrafine grains can be expressed by a modified Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov equation, while inverse exponential function holds as a first approximation between the mean grain size (austenite or martensite) and the total strain. The deformation austenite was characterised by the texture components of Brass, {011}<211>, Goss, {011}<100>, and S, {123}<634>, whereas the deformation martensite exhibited a strong {223}<110> texture component along with remarkable γ-fibre, <111>∥ND, with a maximum at {111}<211>. The grain refinement during cold rolling led to substantial strengthening, which could be expressed by a summation of the austenite and martensite strengthening contributions.     

Low-temperature fatigue behaviour and development of dislocation structure in aluminium single crystals with single-slip orientation

Al single crystals oriented for single slip were cyclically deformed under constant plastic strain amplitudes between 1?×?10^?3 and 5?×?10^?2 at 77?K. Al single crystals showed hardening to saturation at all applied shear stress amplitudes. The resultant cyclic stress–strain curve (CSSC) showed a stress plateau in a range of plastic strain amplitude from 2?×?10^?3 to 2?×?10^?2. Surface observation revealed that multiple slip systems were active even at the strain amplitude in the plateau region. At plastic strain amplitudes corresponding to the plateau of the CSSC, persistent slip bands (PSBs) were formed parallel to the primary slip plane. In the PSBs, well-developed dislocation walls parallel to the {100} planes were observed. The microstructure in the PSBs was explained by the fact of multiple activation of the primary and critical slip systems. The above results indicate that the high stacking fault energy of Al is an important factor affecting the fatigue behaviour even at 77?K.     

Austenite grain growth kinetics and mechanism of grain growth in 12Cr ultra-super-critical rotor steel

ABSTRACT

In this paper, the austenite grain growth behaviour of 12Cr ultra-super-critical (USC) rotor steel was investigated by a series of heat treatments. The heat treatments at heating temperatures of 900°C–1250°C and holding time of 1?h–20?h were conducted in an electric box-type heating furnace. Experimental results showed that the sizes of austenite grain were affected by heating temperatures and holding time, and heating temperature was the dominant factor. In addition, the grain growth rate changed significantly before and after the turning points of 1050°C and 1250°C. Meanwhile, an austenite grain growth mathematical model was established at different heating temperature stages, and possession of the capability to accurately predict austenite grain size was confirmed. Furthermore, the microstructure of austenite grain in the heating process was observed by optical microscope (OM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which revealed the mechanism of austenite grain growth. Analysis indicated that the change of quantity of precipitate particles with increasing heating temperature was the main reason for the difference in austenite grain growth.     

3D processing map and hot deformation behaviour of a new type Al–Zn–Mg alloy

ABSTRACT

The thermal compression behaviour of Al–Zn–Mg alloy was studied on a thermal simulator machine at the temperature range of 380–540°C and strain rate range of 0.01–10?s^?1. The constitutive equation and 3D processing map of the alloys were established. The microstructure characteristics of the alloy were studied by metallographic observation, electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) microstructure analysis. The results show that the peak stress of high-temperature deformation of alloy decreases with the increase of deformation temperature and increases with the increase of strain rate. The dynamic recovery of the alloy occurs at the temperature range of 380–460°C and the strain rate range of 0.01–0.1?s^?1. The dynamic recrystallization of the alloy occurs at the temperature range of 460–500°C and the strain rate range of 0.01–0.1?s^?1. The alloy maintains fine and uniform recrystallized grains at a temperature range of 460–480°C and a strain rate range of 0.01–0.1?s^?1, which is suitable for hot working.     

Nucleation of dynamic recrystallization and variant selection in copper bicrystals

Orientation-controlled copper bicrystals containing [001] symmetrical tilt boundaries aligned parallel to the loading axis were deformed in tension at 923?K and a strain rate of 4.2?×?10^?4?s^?1. The nucleation of dynamic recrystallization (DRX) was investigated along the grain boundary. For this purpose, both optical and orientation imaging microscopy methods were used. After grain-boundary migration (GBM) and bulging, nuclei appeared behind the most deeply indented grain boundary regions. The critical strain for nucleation was about one-quarter to one-half of the peak strain and depended on the misorientation angle. All the nuclei were twin-related (Σ3) to the matrices. Furthermore, all the primary twin traces were parallel to those of the inactive slip planes of the parent single crystals. Crystallographic analysis revealed the important role of the direction of GBM on twinning-plane variant selection. The characteristics of grain boundary nucleation depended sensitively on grain boundary character and on grain boundary mobility. The observed DRX nucleation mechanism is discussed in relation to the occurrence of GBM and twinning.     

Effect of thermomechanical processing on the creep behaviour of Udimet alloy 188

Udimet alloy 188 was subjected to grain-boundary engineering involving thermomechanical processing in an attempt to improve the creep performance and determine the effects on creep deformation processes. The as-received sheet was cold-rolled to either 10, 25 or 35% reduction per pass followed by a solution treatment at 1191°C for 1 h plus air cooling. This sequence was repeated four times and the resultant microstructure and grain-boundary character distribution were described using electron backscatter diffraction. The fraction of general high-angle grain boundaries tended to increase with increased cold rolling. The 10 and 25% cold-rolled materials exhibited lower creep rates than the 35% cold-rolled material. The measured creep stress exponents and activation energies suggested that dislocation creep with lattice self-diffusion was dominant at 760°C for stresses ranging between 100 and 220 MPa. A transition in the creep exponent below the applied stresses of 100 MPa indicated that a different secondary creep mechanism was rate-controlling at low stresses. A significant amount of grain-boundary cracking was observed both on the surface and subsurface of deformed samples, but surface cracks were greater in number and size than those within the bulk. The cracking behaviour was similar in both vacuum and air environments, indicating that grain-boundary cracking was not caused by environment. To assess the mechanisms of crack nucleation, in situ scanning electron microscopy was performed during elevated-temperature (T ≤ 760°C) tensile-creep deformation. Sequential secondary electron imaging and electron backscatter diffraction orientation mapping were performed in situ to allow the evolution of crack nucleation and linkage to be followed. Cracking occurred preferentially along general high-angle grain boundaries and less than 15% of the cracks were found on low-angle grain boundaries and coincident site lattice boundaries. A fracture initiation parameter analysis was performed to identify the role of slip system interactions at the boundaries and their impact on crack nucleation. The parameter was successful in separating the population of intact and cracked general high-angle boundaries at lower levels of strain, but not after crack coalescence dominated the fracture process. The findings of this work have significant implications regarding grain-boundary engineering of this alloy and potentially for other alloy systems.