Effect of Fe-Ni Substitution in FeNiSiB Soft Magnetic Alloys Produced by Melt Spinning

Alloys of FeNiSiB soft magnetic materials containing variable Fe and Ni contents (wt.%) have been produced by melt spinning method, a kind of rapid solidification technique. The magnetic and structural properties of FeNiSiB alloys with soft magnetic properties were investigated by increasing the Fe ratio. X-ray diffraction analysis and SEM images shows that the produced alloy ribbons generally have an amorphous structure, together with also partially nanocrystalline regions. It was observed that the structure became much more amorphous together with increasing Fe content in the composition. Among the alloy ribbons, the highest saturation magnetization was obtained as 0.6 emu/g in the specimen with 50 wt.% Fe. In addition, the highest Curie temperature was observed in the sample containing 46 wt.% Fe.

Magnetic and Magnetostrictive Properties of Ni50Mn20Ga27Cu3 Rapidly Quenched Ribbons

The influence of the rapid solidification technique and heat treatment on the martensitic transformation, magnetic properties, thermo- and magnetic induced strain and electrical resistivity is investigated for the Cu doped NiMnGa Heusler-based ferromagnetic shape memory ribbons. The martensitic transformation temperatures are unexpectedly low (below 90 K—which can be attributed to the disordered texture as well as to the uncertainty in the elements substituted by the Cu), preceded by a premartensitic transformation (starting at around 190 K). A thermal treatment slightly increases the transformation as well as the Curie temperatures. Additionally, the thermal treatment promotes a higher magnetization value of the austenite phase and a lower one in the martensite. The shift of the martensitic transformation temperatures induced by the applied magnetic field, quantified from thermo-magnetic and thermo-magnetic induced strain measurements, is measured to have a positive value of about 1 K/T, and is then used to calculate the transformation entropy of the ribbons. The magnetostriction measurements suggest a rotational mechanism in low fields for the thermal treated samples and a saturation tendency at higher magnetic fields, except for the temperatures close to the phase transition temperatures (saturation is not reached at 5 T), where a linear volume magnetostriction cannot be ruled out. Resistivity and magnetoresistance properties have also been measured for all the samples.

Microstructural Evolution and Hardness of Rapidly Solidified Hypereutectic Al-Si Surface Layers Produced by Laser Remelting

A laser rapid solidification technique was employed to remelt and refine the microstructure of Al-25wt.%Si and Al-30wt.%Si alloyed layers produced by laser melting. The microstructure of the as-fabricated Al-Si layers consisted of irregular polygonal primary Si crystals of size 5 to 7 µm, fine α-Al dendrites, and Al-Si eutectic. Laser rapid remelting results showed a significant refinement of all the solidified phases with increasing scan speed and decreasing laser power. At the lowest laser power (800W), the sizes of the primary Si crystals were reduced to a sub-micron level and an interwoven network of nano-sized eutectic colonies was obtained. The higher cooling rates, resulted in a reduction in the amount of the α-Al phase especially those surrounding the primary Si, thereby stimulating the eutectic Si fibers to grow from the pre-existing primary Si crystals and increased the proportion of the fibrous eutectic. Transmission electron microscopy revealed fibrous eutectic, which was internally nano-twinned, with a diameter approaching as low as 10-15 nm for the highest cooling rate. The hardness measured by nanoindentation of the eutectic in the remelted Al-25wt.%Si layer increased with decreasing the eutectic spacing (ʎ) reaching a maximum value of 3.15GPa.

Mechanical Behavior of Al–Al2Cu–Si and Al–Al2Cu Eutectic Alloys

In this study, laser rapid solidification technique was used to refine the microstructure of ternary Al–Cu–Si and binary Al–Cu eutectic alloys to nanoscales. Micropillar compression testing was performed to measure the stress–strain response of the samples with characteristic microstructure in the melt pool regions. The laser-remelted Al–Al2Cu–Si ternary alloy was observed to reach the compressive strength of 1.59 GPa before failure at a strain of 28.5%, which is significantly better than the as-cast alloy with a maximum strength of 0.48 GPa at a failure strain of 4.8%. The laser-remelted Al–Cu binary alloy was observed to reach the compressive strength of 2.07 GPa before failure at a strain of 26.5%, which is significantly better than the as-cast alloy with maximum strength of 0.74 GPa at a failure strain of 3.3%. The enhanced compressive strength and improved compressive plasticity were interpreted in terms of microstructural refinement and hierarchical eutectic morphology.

Research on Undercooling Grain Refinement Technology

Grain refinement can greatly enhance the material mechanics, magnetism and other physical properties. Exploration of grain refinement methodology has been one of the hottest fields of material research. Among all the methods, deep supercooling technology is an effective way to refine the grains. In this paper, the grain refinement mechanism has been explored by deep supercooling and rapid solidification technique with introducing grain refined process of pure metal, binary uniform crystalline alloy and the binary eutectic alloy. Furthermore, peritectic grain refinement mechanism and rapid solidification technique have been discussed.

Research Progress in Laser Clad Nickel-Based Alloy Coatings

Laser cladding, as a newly developed rapid solidification technique, is to cover a particular part of the substrate with another material that has superior properties, producing a metallurgical bond between the two materials with minimal dilution of the clad layer by the substrate. In this paper, the research progress in laser clad nickel based alloys is reviewed. The microstructures and wear resistance of the coatings are introduced, the main problems and some solutions of the laser cladding are analysized, and the development tendency and application prospect of laser cladding is also pointed out.