Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Novel Quasibinary Al-Cu-Yb and Al-Cu-Gd Alloys

Microstructure of Al-Cu-Yb and Al-Cu-Gd alloys at casting, hot-rolled -cold-rolled and annealed state were observed; the effect of annealing on the microstructure was studied, as were the mechanical properties and forming properties of the alloys, and the mechanism of action was explored. Analysis of the solidification process showed that the primary Al solidification is followed by the eutectic reaction. The second Al8Cu4Yb and Al8Cu4Gd phases play an important role as recrystallization inhibitor. The Al3Yb or (Al, Cu)17Yb2 phase inclusions are present in the Al-Cu-Yb alloy at the boundary between the eutectic and aluminum dendrites. The recrystallization starting temperature of the alloys is in the range of 250–350 °C after rolling with previous quenching at 590 and 605 °C for Al-Cu-Yb and Al-Cu-Gd, respectively. The hardness and tensile properties of Al-Cu-Yb and Al-Cu-Gd as-rolled alloys are reduced by increasing the annealing temperature and time. The as-rolled alloys have high mechanical properties: YS = 303 MPa, UTS = 327 MPa and El. = 3.2% for Al-Cu-Yb alloy, while YS = 290 MPa, UTS = 315 MPa and El. = 2.1% for Al-Cu-Gd alloy.

Operation corrosion test of austenitic steel bends for supercritical coal boilers

Corrosion tests of both annealed and not annealed bends of HR3C and S304H steels in operation conditions of black and brown coal combustion boilers in EPRU and EDE. After a long-term exposure, the samples were assessed gravimetrically and metallographically. The comparison of annealed and unannealed states showed higher corrosion rates in the annealed state; corrosion of the sample surface did not essentially differ for compression and tensile parts of the beams. Detailed assessment of both steels is described in detail in this study.

Investigation of metastability and instability effects on the minority carrier transport properties of microcrystalline silicon thin films by using the steady-state photocarrier grating technique

Metastability effects in hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon thin films due to air, high purity nitrogen, helium, argon, and oxygen were investigated using temperature-dependent dark conductivity, photoconductivity, and steady-state photocarrier grating methods. It was found that short-term air, nitrogen, and inert gases caused a small reversible increase of σDark and σphoto within a factor of two, but they did not affect the minority carrier μτ-products significantly. These changes are partially reduced by vacuum treatment and completely reduced after heat treatment at 430 K. However, oxygen gas treatment at 80 °C resulted in more than an order of magnitude increase in both σDark and σphoto and an increase in the diffusion length, LD, by 50% from that of the annealed-state value in highly crystalline samples, while no significant metastability is detected in amorphous and low crystalline silicon thin films. A following heat treatment partially recovers both σDark and σphoto to their annealed-state values, while LD decreases only slightly. Such increase in the LD values could be due to a decrease in the density of recombination centers for holes below the Fermi level, which may be related to passivation of defects by oxygen on the surface of crystalline grains.

Analysis of the Microstructure of High Chrome Steel for Roller under Forged Annealed State

Nowadays, the high chrome steel for roller is increasingly widely used in cold-rolled industry. The microstructure of rollers under forged annealed state has a significant influence on its final mechanical properties. This paper investigates the annealed microstructure of a new high chrome steel for roller, using methods of SEMDESXRD and hardness tests. The results show that the spheroidizing annealed high chromium steel is constitutive of ferrite and globular cementite, and the microstructure is relatively reasonable. But there are disadvantage characters such as small holes in the vicinity of the grain boundary, and residual lamellar pearlite exists in local area. In this paper, generation mechanisms of these characters are explained, and prevention methods are given for the weakness of the high chorme steel for roller.