The influence of aging treatment on the microstructural and mechanical behavior by ultra-micro hardness tester in Ni-rich NiTi alloy

The present study aims to assess the superelasticity behavior in Ni-rich NiTi alloy wire produced by rotary forging process. The thermomechanical process involved four steps of hot working at 800ºC, two steps of cold working with solution heat treatment at 800ºC between them, and subsequently a solution heat treatment (950ºC during 2 hours) followed by aging treatment at 350, 400 and 450 ºC during 30 minutes. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and instrumented ultra-micro hardness testers evaluated the present phase at each aged sample and were compared with their mechanical behavior. The results put in evidence the work-hardening effect on a forged condition associated with the final step of cold rotary forging. The solution treatment promotes stress relaxation and precipitate dissolution. The sample heat-treated shows the presence of the precipitated (Ni4Ti3) and R phase. The presence of these precipitates is beneficial because precipitation-hardening increases the yield strength of austenite, which in turn contributes to better functional stability.

Effect of Direct Powder Forging Process on the Mechanical Properties and Microstructural of Ti-6Al-4V ELI

The study of powder metallurgy processing methods for titanium represents a promising avenue that can respond to a growing demand. This work reports the feasibility of direct powder forging (DPF) as a method to process large spherical Ti-6Al-4V powder into wrought products with noteworthy properties and physical characteristics. Direct powder forging is a thermomechanical process that imparts uniaxial loading to an enclosed and uncompacted powder to produce parts of various sizes and shapes. Stainless steel canisters were filled with prealloyed Ti-6Al-4V powder and consolidated through a multi-step open-die forging and rolling process into wrought DPF bars. After DPF, annealing was performed in the upper α+β phase. The results show that full consolidation was achieved and higher mechanical properties than the Ti-6Al-4V grade F-23 requirements in annealed conditions were obtained. The results also show that direct powder forging of spherical titanium powder could produce wrought mill products and exhibit some potential for further investigation for industrial applications.

The development of a588 modified laterite steel using thermomechanical and low-temperature tempering process for weather resistant steel

Laterite Steel A-588 has the potential to be a high strength low alloy for Corten steel application. Laterite steel A-588 is developed through a thermomechanical process followed by a tempering process to obtain high strength and corrosion resistance. This study aims to determine the correlation between the addition of nickel content, the variation of the cooling rate during heat treatment to the mechanical properties, and the corrosion resistance of A-588 laterite steel. The Cu, Cr, Ni, P, and Si elements significantly impact microstructure transformation. Laterite Steel A-588 with nickel and thermo-mechanical process variation has been focused on in this research. Laterite steel with 0,42%, 1%, 2%, and 3% nickel varied was homogenized, hot rolled, and heat treated with three cooling variations by water, oil, and air. They are processed with 150 C tempering. Low tempering temperature caused fine carbide precipitation and phase transition of martensite to bainite. This resulted in bainite as the final microstructure, lath tempered martensite, carbide, and ferrite. 3% Ni with a fast cooling rate increased the tempered martensite and bainite phase formation. It allowed the strength and hardness to increase relatively, followed by decreased elongation and corrosion resistance caused by the galvanic reaction. Most optimal of mechanical properties determined at a sample with 2% nickel in a water medium (strength 1203 MPa, elongation 10%, hardness 404 BHN, corrosion rate 1,306 mpy).

A Mesoscopic Modelling Framework of Microstructure Evolution and its Application on Thermo-Mechanical Processes

In present study a quantitative modelling framework based on phase-field method is developed to simulate the microstructure evolution during thermomechanical process, e. g. grain growth, recrystallization, solid phase transformations and their interactions. Two application cases of microstructure evolution are introduced. The first one is the dynamic recrystallization behavior during the hot deformation of stainless steel. The effect of thermo-mechanical parameters including strain, strain rate, and temperature on DRX have been investigated quantitatively. Moreover, the present simulation provided an explanation of the dependence of final recrystallized grain size on initial grain size when it is decreased to a critically small value. This modelling framework is also used to simulate the interaction between the dissolution of precipitates and grain coarsening of matrix in the nickel alloys. The simulation results show that the decreasing dissolution temperature of precipitate slow down the matrix coarsening kinetics obviously. This provides an quantitative tool to predict and control the local microstructure of nickel alloy disk. In summary, the mesoscopic modelling can be used to investigate more kinetic details of microstructure evolution and engineering optimization for thermo-mechanical process.

Impacts of Process Parameters on Shape Memory Properties of Stereolithography Manufactured Parts: An Experimental Analysis

The emergence of smart materials coupled with additive manufacturing technology has provided competitive advantages over traditional manufacturing systems in terms of manufacturing flexibility, product functionality, and the ability to switch between multiple phases under given external stimuli. Although the fabricability of shape memory materials has been widely explored in stereolithography systems, the shape memory performance of printed smart structures has not been extensively studied. More specifically, in current literature, the printing process is mainly considered independent of material characteristics, and a lack of information is reported on how the printing parameters affect the shape fixity and free recovery performance of the printed parts. Therefore, this work is dedicated to experimentally investigating the influences of parameters from both the stereolithography printing process and thermomechanical process (i.e., shape programming and free recovery) on the shape memory properties. Five parameters, including layer thickness, scan speed, maximum programmed angle, hold time, and recovery time, are experimentally analyzed for their impacts on the shape morphing capabilities. According to the results of this study, a variation of 14.33% on the free recovery ratio can be observed when the scan speed is altered. In addition, the printing process parameters exhibit high levels of dominance in affecting the shape memory performance over parameters involved in the thermomechanical process, such as hold time and maximum programmed angle.

Thermally-Induced Shape-Memory Behavior of Degradable Gelatin-Based Networks

Shape-memory hydrogels (SMH) are multifunctional, actively-moving polymers of interest in biomedicine. In loosely crosslinked polymer networks, gelatin chains may form triple helices, which can act as temporary net points in SMH, depending on the presence of salts. Here, we show programming and initiation of the shape-memory effect of such networks based on a thermomechanical process compatible with the physiological environment. The SMH were synthesized by reaction of glycidylmethacrylated gelatin with oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) α,ω-dithiols of varying crosslinker length and amount. Triple helicalization of gelatin chains is shown directly by wide-angle X-ray scattering and indirectly via the mechanical behavior at different temperatures. The ability to form triple helices increased with the molar mass of the crosslinker. Hydrogels had storage moduli of 0.27–23 kPa and Young’s moduli of 215–360 kPa at 4 °C. The hydrogels were hydrolytically degradable, with full degradation to water-soluble products within one week at 37 °C and pH = 7.4. A thermally-induced shape-memory effect is demonstrated in bending as well as in compression tests, in which shape recovery with excellent shape-recovery rates Rr close to 100% were observed. In the future, the material presented here could be applied, e.g., as self-anchoring devices mechanically resembling the extracellular matrix.

Thermal Effects on Surface and Subsurface Modifications in Laser-Combined Deep Rolling

Knowledge of the relationships between thermomechanical process loads and the resulting modifications in the surface layer enables targeted adjustments of the required surface integrity independent of the manufacturing process. In various processes with thermomechanical impact, thermal and mechanical loads act simultaneously and affect each other. Thus, the effects on the modifications are interdependent. To gain a better understanding of the interactions of the two loads, it is necessary to vary thermal and mechanical loads independently. A new process of laser-combined deep rolling can fulfil exactly this requirement. The presented findings demonstrate that thermal loads can support the generation of residual compressive stresses to a certain extent. If the thermal loads are increased further, this has a negative effect on the surface layer and the residual stresses are shifted in the direction of tension. The results show the optimum range of thermal loads to further increase the compressive residual stresses in the surface layer and allow to gain a better understanding of the interactions between thermal and mechanical loads.

Thermally-Induced Shape-Memory Behavior of Degradable Gelatin-Based Networks

Shape-memory hydrogels (SMH) are as multifunctional, actively-moving polymers of interest in biomedicine. In loosely crosslinked polymer networks gelatin chains may form triple helices, which can act as temporary netpoints in SMH, depending on the presence of salts. Here, we show programming and initiation of the shape-memory effect of such networks based on a thermomechanical process compatible with the physiological environment. The SMH were synthesized by reaction of glycidylmethacrylated gelatin with OEG α,ω-dithiols of varying crosslinker length and amount. Triple helicalization of gelatin chains is shown directly by wide-angle X-ray scattering and indirectly via the mechanical behavior at different temperatures. The ability to form triple helices increased with the molar mass of the crosslinker. Hydrogels had storage moduli of 0.27-23 kPa and Young’s moduli of 215-360 kPa at 4 °C. The hydrogels were hydrolytically degradable, with full degradation to water soluble products within one week at 37 °C and pH = 7.4. A thermally-induced shape-memory effect is demonstrated in bending as well as in compression tests, in which shape recovery with excellent shape recovery rates Rr close to 100% were observed. In the future, the material presented here could be applied e.g. as self-anchoring devices mechanically resembling the extracellular matrix.