Characterization of bismuth–tin–lead and bismuth–tin–lead–cadmium fusible alloys

Microstructure, electrical, mechanical and thermal properties of quenched bismuth–tin eutectic, Rose (Bi₅₀Sn_22.9Pb_27.1) and Wood’s (Bi₅₀Sn_12.5Pb₂₅Cd_12.5) alloys have been investigated using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, the double bridge method, the dynamic resonance method, Vickers hardness measurement and thermal analysis. Wood’s alloy (Bi–Pb–Sn–Cd) has low electrical resistivity and melting point but a high elastic modulus and internal friction when compared with the Rose (Bi–Pb–Sn) alloy. The presence of cadmium in Wood’s alloy decreases its melting point and electrical resistivity with an increase in its elastic modulus, which improves the mechanical properties. Wood’s alloy (Bi–Pb–Sn–Cd) has better properties, which make it useful in various applications such as in protection shields for radiotherapy, locking of mechanical devices and welding at low temperature.     

Effect of lead on microstructure and some physical properties of Sn–Zn–Cd alloy

The effect of lead on the structure, electrical resistivity, internal friction, elastic modulus and thermal properties of Sn₈₁Zn₉Cd₁₀ ternary alloys have been investigated using different experimental techniques with their analysis. In addition, properties of this alloy were compared with other Sn–Zn or Sn–Zn–Cd alloys and commercial solder alloys. It has a higher electrical resistivity, internal friction and lower elastic modulus when compared with Sn–Zn or Sn–Zn alloys with other additions such as Cd, Bi or In. The Sn₆₁Zn₉Cd₁₀Pb₂₀ alloy has a lower melting point, electrical resistivity and internal friction when compared with the commercial Pb–Sn solder alloy, but it has a similar elastic modulus.     

Influence of alloying elements on structure and some physical properties of quenched Sn–Sb alloy

We study the influence of ternary and quaternary alloying elements (Pb, Cd, Cu or Cu–Pb and Cu–Cd) on structural, electrical, hardness and other mechanical properties of Sn–Sb alloys (using an X-ray diffractometer and optical microscope, the double bridge method, Vickers hardness tester and the dynamic resonance method) to produce the best alloy for bearing applications. Adding Cu or Pb to Sn–Sb alloys improves their bearing properties, such as the mechanical properties (elastic modulus, internal friction, hardness and fracture strain) and thermal conductivity. Also, adding Cu, Pb or Cu–Pb to Sn–Sb alloys makes them excellent in their bearing applications and environmental hazards when compared with the Pb ₈₈Sn ₁₀Cu ₂ alloy for automotive applications (FIAT Normalizzazione) and the lead-based Babbitt bearing alloy.     

Correlation study of structural,electrical and mechanical properties of quenched tin–zinc–cadmium solder alloys

It is important, for electronic application, to decrease the melting point of SnZn₉ solder alloy because it is too high as compared with the most popular eutectic Pb–Sn solder alloy. Adding Cd causes structural changes such as phase transformations, dissolution of atoms and formation of Cd crystals in the quenched SnZn₉ alloy, and its physical properties are affected by this change. For example, the melting point is decreased towards the melting point of the Pb–Sn eutectic alloy, or even much less. The structure, electrical and mechanical properties of quenched Sn_{91? x} Zn₉Cd _x (x?=?0 or x?≥?5) alloys have been investigated. Adding Cd to a quenched SnZn₉ alloy increases its electrical resistivity and decreases its elastic modulus and internal friction. The Sn₇₁Zn₉Cd₂₀ alloy has the lowest melting point (162 °C) and electrical and internal frictions as compared with commercial Pb–Sn solder alloys.     

New lead-free solder alloy

As the electronics industry is moving towards lead-free manufacturing processes, a new lead-free solder alloy based on Sn–9Zn–1Bi–2Cu–In is described. The quaternary alloy with indium additions exhibits melting, wetting, and mechanical properties superior to those in binary, ternary, and quaternary alloys. Indium as a penternary addition decreases the melting point of this alloy to 181 ^°C which it is a lower value when compared with the eutectic Sn–Pb solder (183 ^°C), it decreases the contact angle to 23^° which is very close to that for Sn–Pb solder alloy, it increases the Young’s modulus to higher values, and it increases its hardness to 19 kgf/mm² when compared with 12.9 kgf/mm² for the Sn–Pb solder alloy.     

Effect of cooling speed on structure and properties of rapidly solidified Pb–25wt.% Sn alloy

The effect of cooling speed on structure, hardness, mechanical and electrical transport properties of rapidly solidified Pb–25wt.% Sn alloy have been investigated. A single roller melt spinning technique with linear speeds 15.7 and 31.7 m/s, was used for the preparation of specimens. The results showed that a lower cooling speed increased the precipitation of Sn in a Pb-matrix phase as compared with the higher cooling speed. This decomposition behavior decreased the electrical resistivity and increased the internal friction, thermal diffusivity and Vickers microhardness of the lower cooling speed as compared with those of the higher cooling speed.     

Microstructure and physical properties of bismuth–lead–tin ternary eutectic alloy

Using different experimental techniques, microstructure, electrical resistivity, attenuation coefficient, and mechanical and thermal properties of the quenched Bi–Pb–Sn ternary eutectic alloy have been investigated. From the X-ray analysis, Bi₃Pb₇ and Bi–Sn meta-stable phases are detected, in addition to rhombohedral bismuth and Sn body-centered tetragonal phases. This study also compared the physical properties of the Bi–Sn–Pb ternary eutectic alloys with the base binary Bi–Sn and Bi–Pb eutectic alloys.     

A study of Bi–Pb–Sn–Cd–Sb penta-alloys rapidly quenched from melt

Optical microscopy, X-ray diffractometry, the double bridge method, the Vickers microhardness testing and dynamic resonance techniques have been used to investigate structure, electrical resistivity, hardness, internal friction and elastic modulus of quenched Bi–Pb–Sn–Cd–Sb penta-alloys. The properties of these penta-alloys are greatly affected by rapid quenching. The intermetallic compound χ(Pb–Bi) or Bi₃Pb₇ is obtained after rapid quenching using the melt-spinning technique, and this is in agreement with reports by other authors [Marshall, T. J., Mott, G. T. and Grieverson, M. H. (1975). Br. J. Radiol., 48, 924; Kamal, M., El-Bediwi, A. B. and Karman, M. B. (1998). Structure, mechanical properties and electrical resistivity of rapidly solidified Pb–Sn–Cd and Pb–Bi–Sn–Cd alloys. J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron., 9, 425; Borromêe-Gautier, C., Giessen, B. C. and Grrant, N. J. (1968). J. Chem. Phys., 48, 1905; Moon, K.-W., Boettinger, W. J., Kattner, U. R., Handwerker, C. A. and Lee, D.-J. (2001). The effect of Pb contamination on the solidification behavior of Sn–Bi solders. J. Electron. Mater., 30, 45.]. The quenched Bi_43.5Pb_44.5Cd₅Sn₂Sb₅ alloy has important properties for safety devices in fire detection and extinguishing systems.     

Direct-soldering 6061 aluminum alloys with ultrasonic coating

In this study, the authors applied furnace soldering with ultrasonic coating method to solder 6061 aluminum alloy and investigated the effects of both coating time and soldering temperature on its properties. The following results were obtained: firstly, the solder region mainly composed of four kinds of microstructure zones: rich Sn zone, rich-Pb zone, Sn–Pb eutectic phase and rich Al zone. Meanwhile, the microanalysis identified a continuous reaction product at the alumina–solder interface as a rich-Pb zone. Therefore, the joint strength changed with soldering time and soldering temperature. Secondly, the tensile data had significantly greater variability, with values ranging from 13.99 MPa to 24.74 MPa. The highest value was obtained for the samples coated with Sn–Pb–Zn alloy for 45 s. Fractures occurred along the solder–alumina interface for the 6061 aluminum alloy with its surface including hybrid tough fracture of dimple and tear ridge. The interface could initially strip at the rich Bi zone with the effect of shear stress.     

Structure Evolution and Diffusion During Interphase Boundary Sliding in Binary Eutectics Based on Sn

Mechanical behaviour of interphase boundaries (IB) and microstructure in the binary eutectics (Al–Sn, Zn–Sn, Pb–Sn, Cd–Sn) heavily deformed by different schemes and regimes have been investigated. Experiments were carried out on the atomically clean surfaces of alloys and on the bimetallic joints with clean interfaces used as a macromodel of deformed IB. It has been shown that for the eutectics with high IB energy (Al–Sn, Zn–Sn) the interphase boundary sliding (IBS) occurs by means of the dislocation gliding, followed by a remarkable strengthening and accompanied by the formation of narrow stable IB cracks with sharp angles. For eutectics Pb–Sn and Cd–Sn with low IB energy, the IBS occurs as viscous flow and is accompanied by a correlated diffusion along IB. The softening of IB was observed. Intensity of development of the diffusion-controlled accommodation processes on IB depends on the extent of preliminary deformation and values of IB energy.     

Lichtelektrische Messungen an stark gestörten Zinn-, Blei- und Cadmiumschichten

Thin films of Sn, Pb and Cd are produced by quenching condensation at low temperatures. The photoelectric emission and the electrical resistivity are measured after condensation and during annealing. In the case of Sn and Pb both the electrical resistance and the photoelectric sensitivity decrease during annealing. The resistance of Cd-films shows the same behaviour, but the photoelectric sensitivity is lowered only above 90 °K.     

Decomposition behavior and properties for tin–antimony alloy with bismuth content

The peritectic alloy Sn–10Sb, was chosen as one of the lead-free solder alloys to be subjected to many studies. Bi atoms were added to this alloy in the range of 1–3 wt%. The experimental results obtained from this study show a complete solubility of Bi atoms when added by 2 wt%. More additions of Bi tend to increase the formation of the intermetallic compound SnSb by reducing the precipitations of Sb as a single phase. This intermetallic compound with the precipitation of Bi as a third phase tends to improve the mechanical properties of this alloy.     

Temperature distribution and its influence on microstructure of Mg–3Sn–1Mn alloy during rheo-rolling process

In this paper, an innovative semisolid rheo-rolling process of Mg–3Sn–1Mn alloy was proposed; the temperature distribution and its influence on microstructure of Mg–3Sn–1Mn alloy during the semisolid rheo-rolling process were studied. The alloy temperature decreased gradually from the entrance to the exit of the slope plate, and the alloy velocity increased gradually. The temperature of the alloy near the slope plate surface was lower than that of melt surface. The alloy temperature decreased gradually from the entrance to the exit of the roll gap. In the roll gap, the nearer the roll was, the lower the alloy temperature was. With the increment of casting temperature, the semisolid zone increased and moved forward from the filling mouth to the exit of the roll gap. When the casting temperature was 670°C and the roll speed was 0.052?m/s, Mg–3Sn–1Mn alloy strip with good surface quality was obtained. Homogeneous microstructure was obtained. Mechanical properties of the present product at room temperature or 150°C are higher than that of Mg–3Sn–1Mn–0.87Ce prepared by casting.     

Electrical resistivity of Sn–3.5Ag–xBi solder melts

This article reported the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity (ρ) of liquid Sn–3.5Ag lead-free solder alloy in continuous heating and cooling processes with varying Bi content in the range of 0, 2, 3.5, 5, and 7?wt.% Abnormal transitions can be observed on ρ–T curves, which indicate liquid–liquid structure transition (LLST) occurs in Sn–3.5Ag–xBi melts. Interestingly, unlike the pattern at first heating cycle, the LLST is reversible during subsequent cooling and heating cycles. Sn may play an important role on the reversibility, and Bi has a noticeable influence on the turning temperatures and characteristics during first heating cycle. The transition mechanism is analyzed from the viewpoint of short-range orders.     

Effect of rotating magnetic field on microstructure formation of directionally solidified Sn–1.6Cd peritectic alloy

In order to investigate the effect of rotating magnetic field on the microstructure formation of peritectic alloys, directional solidification experiments of Sn–1.6Cd peritectic alloy have been conducted under different rotating magnetic field conditions. The directional solidification microstructure of Sn–1.6Cd peritectic alloy changes from banded structure to axisymmetric isolated banded structure to axisymmetric oscillatory tree-like banded structure and to single primary phase structure when the magnetic Taylor number of forced-melt flow generated by a rotating magnetic field increases from 0 to 91 to 364 and to 1456. The second and third banded structures are observed in a peritectic alloy for the first time. The results indicate that it is possible to control solidification microstructure and prepare a single primary phase structure by using a rotating magnetic field during directional solidification of peritectic alloys. The experiments show that the effect of forced-melt flow on solute distribution transforms from solute buildup to homogenization with an increase in the magnetic Taylor number. The formation mechanisms of those structures are also discussed.     

ICP-AES在锌合金分析中的应用

研究了ICP-AES同时测定锌合金中Al、Pb、Fe、Cd、Cu、Sn的分析方法.考察了基体及酸度对以上6种元素分析线强度的影响,并采用基体匹配、背景扣除及内标法等进行校正.     

Effects of soft beam energy on the microstructure of Pb37Sn, Au20Sn, and Sn3.5Ag0.5Cu solder joints in lensed-SM-fiber to laser-diode-affixing application

This paper reports on the effectiveness of soft beam energy as a heat source to form an optimum solder joint to fix a lensed fiber permanently on a Ni/Au-plated substrate. Solders, i.e., Pb37Sn, Au20Sn, and Sn3.5Ag0.5Cu (SAC) [wt%] were evaluated for this fluxless application. The microstructures of the solder joints have been examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), in order to understand the response of these solder materials to the focussed white light. Obviously, the exposure time has a greater effect on the soldering temperature before reaching the peak temperature, which is determined by the power. A power setting of 40 W can reach approximately 340 °C, 30 W can reach about 310 °C while 25 W can easily reach 260 °C. In general, a higher soldering temperature than the melting temperature is required to form good wetting solder joints for fluxless applications. However, too high an input thermal energy may result in premature aging for the cases of Pb37Sn and SAC, and lateral cracks for the case of Au20Sn. The thermal cracks and voids observed in Au20Sn solder joint were attributed to the fact that the soft beam heating profile does not suit the AuSn preform. Out of these three solder types, SAC demonstrated just the right response to the soft beam, i.e., good wetting, fine and homogeneous structure, and no cracks or other visible failures.     

Micromechanical Behavior of Carbon Nanotube-Covered SiC Fibers in Polymer Matrix Composites

The incorporation of nanotube-covered fibers in continuous fiber/epoxy composites has been shown to influence the mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties of the composite. Increased interlaminar shear stress, flexural strength and modulus have been reported in such composites over composites containing bare fibers. In this study, the microstructure and interfacial shear strength (ISS) of continuous silicon carbide fiber/epoxy composites with and without nanotubes grown from the SiC fiber surface were investigated with micro-Raman spectroscopy (MRS) and microscopy. The fibers with nanotubes grown from the surface were found to have a reduced ISS compared with the bare fibers. Electron microscopy showed good wetting of epoxy in the nanotube forests, but poor attachment of the nanotube forests to the fibers. These results suggest that the mechanism leading to improvements in bulk composite properties is not due to an improvement in the fiber/matrix ISS.     

Growth of tertiary dendritic arms during the transient directional solidification of hypoeutectic Pb–Sb alloys

Despite the importance of a complete characterization of dendritic patterns in castings, the availability of studies on the development of tertiary dendrite arms is scarce in the literature. In the present study, the tip cooling rate, local solidification time, primary and tertiary dendrite arm spacings have been determined in Pb–Sb alloys castings directionally solidified under unsteady-state heat flow conditions. The alloys compositions experimentally examined are widely used in the as-cast condition for the manufacture of positive and negative grids of lead-acid batteries. The initial growth of tertiary dendritic arms from the secondary branches was found to occur only for a Pb–3.5 wt% Sb alloy at cooling rates in the range 0.4–0.2?K/s, with no evidence of this spacing pattern for Pb–Sb alloys having lower solute content. Tertiary dendritic branches have been observed along the entire casting lengths for alloys of the Pb–Sb hypoeutectic range having compositions higher than 4.0 wt% Sb. It is shown that a power function experimental law with a characteristic ?0.55 exponent is able to characterize the tertiary spacing evolution with the solidification cooling rate for alloys compositions ≥4.0 wt% Sb. The only exception was the Pb–3.5 wt% Sb alloy for which λ ₃ exhibited significant lower values when compared with the experimental values obtained for the other Pb–Sb alloys for a same solidification cooling rate.     

Microtextures Induced by Nanosecond Laser on Ni–Co Alloy Coatings

Ni–Co alloys have a wide range of applications in various fields owning to their excellent physical, chemical, and mechanical properties. In this paper, we prepare Ni–Co alloy coatings on 316L stain steel surfaces by electroplating. We present a novel approach utilizing a nanosecond laser to induce microtextures on Ni–Co alloy coatings. We study experimentally the effects of laser power and scanning rate on the surface morphologies of Ni–Co alloy coatings. The results indicate that the shape and size of induced microtextures can be controlled by the laser power and scanning rate. The size of grains increases with increase in the work current of the laser (WCL) at a certain scanning rate. With the WCL constant, the size of grains decreases with increase in scanning rate while their average height increases. It is a simple and easily-controlled method for the fabrication of microstructures on Ni–Co alloy coatings, which has promising applications in investigations of the properties of microtextured surfaces, such as friction, adhesion, and wetting.