Short-Term Oxidation Behavior, Microstructure Evolution and Compression Behavior of Nickel-Based Superalloy GH4037 in Solid and Semi-Solid States

Semi-solid processing combines the advantages of traditional forging and casting methods, so it has received much attention recently. However, the research on semi-solid behaviors of Nickel-based superalloys has been rarely reported. In order to investigate the behaviors of Nickel-based superalloy at solid and semi-solid states, oxidation experiments, isothermal treatment experiments and deformation experiments of GH4037 alloy were studied. Short-term oxidation experiments of GH4037 alloy were carried out at a solid temperature (1200 °C) and a semi-solid temperature (1360 °C). The results indicated that the oxides formed at 1200 °C were mainly composed of TiO2, Cr2O3 and a small amount of spinels NiCr2O4, while the oxides formed at 1360 °C consisted of the spinels of NiCr2O4, NiWO4 and NiMoO4 besides TiO2 and Cr2O3. Microstructure evolution of GH4037 alloy after semi-solid isothermal treatment at 1370 °C and 1380 °C was studied. The results indicated that semi-solid microstructures consisted of equiaxed solid grains and liquid phases. The average grains size and shape factor of solid grains were affected by melting mechanism and grain growth mechanism. Compression behaviors of GH4037 alloy after compressed at 1200 °C and 1360 °C were investigated. The results indicated that the flow stress of 1360 °C decreased significantly compared to that of 1200 °C. The deformation zones in the specimens were divided into three parts: the difficult deformation zone, the large deformation zone, and the free deformation zone. At 1200 °C, the deformation mechanism was plastic deformation mechanism. At 1360 °C, sliding between solid particles (SS), liquid flow (LF), flow of liquid incorporating solid particles (FLS), plastic deformation of solid particles (PDS) coexisted in the compression specimen.

Effect of Multi-Step Austempering Treatment on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of a High Silicon Carbide-Free Bainitic Steel with Bimodal Bainite Distribution

The effect of multi-step austempering treatments on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a novel medium carbon high silicon carbide-free bainitic steel was studied. Five different isothermal treatment processes were selected, including single-step isothermal treatments above martensite start temperature (at 350 °C and 370 °C, respectively), and three kinds of two-step routes (370 °C + 300 °C, 370 °C + 250 °C, and 350 °C + 250 °C). In comparison with single-step austempering treatment adopting a two-step process, a microstructure with a bimodal-size distribution of bainitic ferrite and without martensite was obtained. Bainitic transformation was studied using dilatometry both for single-step and two-step routes and the specimens were completely characterised by electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and standard tensile tests. The mechanical response of the samples subjected to two-step routes was superior to those treated at a single temperature.

Characterisation of the Microstructure of Plain Carbon Steel Formed during Isothermal and Continuous Cooling Following Austenitisation

The present study has been undertaken to compare the microstructure of the plain carbon steel, containing 0.65 carbon, which was formed during varying isothermal and continuous cooling conditions following austenitisation at the same temperature and soaking time. After austenitisation, one set of samples was subjected to isothermal treatment which was carried out at a temperature varying in the range of 650–400 °C, and the other one was continuously cooled to ambient temperature using different cooling rates ranging from 500 to 1.4 °Cs–1. The metallographic examination of the samples was fulfilled using light and TEM microscopy. Additionally, Vickers hardness measurements were performed.

The Mechanism of Joint Reduction of MoO3 and CuO by Combined Mg/C Reducer at High Heating Rates

Understanding of the decisive role of non-isothermal treatment on the interaction mechanism and kinetics of the MoO3-CuO-Mg-C system is highly relevant for the elaboration of optimal conditions at obtaining Mo-Cu composite powder in the combustion processes. The reduction pathway of copper and molybdenum oxides with combined Mg + C reducing agents at high heating rates from 100 to 5200 K min−1 was delivered. In particular the sequence of the reactions in all the studied binary, ternary and quaternary systems contemporaneously demonstrating the effect of the heating rate on products’ phase composition and microstructure was elucidated. The combination of two highly exothermic and speedy reactions (MoO3 + 3Mg and CuO + Mg vs. MoO3 + CuO + 4Mg) led to a slow interaction with weak self-heating (dysynergistic effect) due to a change in the reaction mechanism. Furthermore, it has been shown that upon the simultaneous utilization of the Mg and C reducing agents, the process initiates exclusively with carbothermic reduction, and at relatively high temperatures it continues with magnesiothermic reaction. The effective activation energy values of the magnesiothermic stages of the studied reactions were determined by Kissinger isoconversional method.

Spark Plasma Sintering of SiAlON Ceramics Synthesized via Various Cations Charge Stabilizers and Their Effect on Thermal and Mechanical Characteristics

Oxygen-rich SiAlON ceramics doped with various nanosized metal oxide (MO) stabilizers were synthesized with a view to examine their effect on thermal and mechanical characteristics. The nanosized starting powder precursors comprising Si3N4, AlN, Al2O3, and SiO2 along with oxides of Ba, Y, Mg, La, Nd, Eu, Dy, Er, and Yb as the MO charge stabilizer were employed in developing different SiAlON samples. Ultrasonic probe sonication was utilized to develop a homogenous mixture of initial powder precursors followed by spark plasma sintering (SPS) of the samples at the low temperature of 1500 °C coupled with 30 min of isothermal treatment. Sample compositions (according to general formula of alpha SiAlON: Mm/vv+Si12−(m+n)Alm+nOnN16−n) selected in the present study are represented by m value of 1.1 and n value of 1.6. The synthesized samples were evaluated for their physical behavior, microstructural and crystal structure evolution, and thermal and mechanical characteristics. More specifically, the sintered ceramics were examined by X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy to comprehend and relate the structural characteristics with the densification, thermal conductivity, hardness, and fracture toughness. The high reactivity of the nanopowders and the localized heating provided by SPS resulted in densified ceramics with relative densities in the range of 92–96%. Vickers hardness values were found to be in the range of 12.4–17.0 GPa and were seen to be profoundly influenced by the grain size of the alpha SiAlON (primary) phase. The fracture toughness of the samples was measured to be in the range of 4.1–6.2 MPa·m1/2. SiAlON samples synthesized using Er and Yb charge stabilizers were found to have the highest fracture toughness of 5.7 and 6.2 MPa·m1/2, primarily due to the relatively higher content of the elongated beta phase. While there was no obvious relationship between the thermal conductivity and the alpha SiAlON metal charge stabilizers, the values were seen to be influenced by the grain size of alpha phase where Dy-SiAlON had the lowest thermal conductivity of 5.79 W/m⋅K and Er-SiAlON showed the highest value of thermal conductivity (6.91 W/m⋅K). It was concluded that scientifically selected metal oxide charge stabilizers are beneficial in developing SiAlON ceramics with properties tailored according to specific applications.

Effect of Carbon Content and Intercritical Annealing on Microstructure and Mechanical Tensile Properties in FeCMnSiCr TRIP-Assisted Steels

Four TRIP (Transformation Induced Plasticity) assisted steels, three TBF (TRIP Bainitic Ferrite) steels and one TPF (TRIP Polygonal Ferrite) steel, were manufactured from three different carbon contents (0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 wt.% C), to study the evolution of their microstructure and tensile mechanical properties in 15 mm thick plates. TBF steels were subjected to the same austenitization heat treatment and subsequent bainitization isothermal treatment. The TPF steel was subjected to an intercritical annealing and subsequent isothermal bainitization treatment. All were microstructurally characterized by optical, scanning electron and atomic force microscopy, as well as X-ray diffraction. Mechanically, they were characterized by the ASTM E8 tensile test and fractographies. For the TBF steels, the results showed that when the carbon content increased, there were an increase in volume fraction of retained austenite, of the microconstituent “martensite/retained austenite” and in the tensile strength; and a decrease in the volume fraction of bainitic ferrite matrix and elongation; with an improvement in TRIP behavior due to the increase in retained austenite. The TPF steel presented around 50% ductile polygonal ferrite developing better TRIP behavior than the TBF steels. The evolution of the fractographies was ductile to brittle for TBF steels with an increase in carbon content, and for TPF, the appearance of the fracture surface was ductile.

Survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 during Moderate Temperature Dehydration of Plant-Based Foods

The effect of moderate-temperature (≤60 °C) dehydration of plant-based foods on pathogen inactivation is unknown. Here, we model the reduction of E. coli O157:H7 as a function of product-matrix, aw, and temperature under isothermal conditions. Apple, kale, and tofu were each adjusted to aw 0.90, 0.95, or 0.99 and inoculated with an E. coli O157:H7 cocktail, followed by isothermal treatment at 49, 54.5, or 60.0 °C. The decimal reduction time, or D-value, is the time required at a given temperature to achieve a 1 log reduction in the target microorganism. Modified Bigelow-type models were developed to determine D-values which varied by product type and aw level, ranging from 3.0–6.7, 19.3–55.3, and 45.9–257.4 min. The relative impact of aw was product dependent and appeared to have a non-linear impact on D-values. The root mean squared errors of the isothermal-based models ranged from 0.75 to 1.54 log CFU/g. Second, we performed dynamic drying experiments. While the isothermal results suggested significant microbial inactivation might be achieved, the dehydrator studies showed that the combination of low product temperature and decreasing aw in the pilot-scale system provided minimal inactivation. Pilot-scale drying at 60 °C only achieved reductions of 3.1 ± 0.8 log in kale and 0.67 ± 0.66 log in apple after 8 h, and 0.69 ± 0.67 log in tofu after 24 h. This illustrates the potential limitations of dehydration at ≤60 °C as a microbial kill step.

Influence of Si and Al contents and isothermal treatment condition on the microstructure and tensile properties in ultra-high strength Fe-0.2C-2.0Mn martensite-bainite complex phase steels

This study investigated the influence of partial replacement of Si by Al on the microstructure and tensile properties of ultra-high strength steels with martensite-bainite complex microstructure produced by austenitization and subsequent isothermal heat treatment around Ms temperature. When the isothermal heat treatment was done below the Ms temperature, the fraction of martensite increased with the lower isothermal temperature, but the fractions of constituent phases in the final microstructure were not significantly affected by the partial replacement of Si by Al. Nevertheless, the increase in Al content in the complex phase steel accelerated the bainite transformation, which is thought to be associated with the increase of the free energy difference between FCC and BCC. The enhancement of the bainite transformation not only effectively suppressed the martensite formation upon final cooling when the isothermal temperature was above the Ms temperature but also helped refine the final microstructure when subjected to isothermal heat treatment below the Ms temperature. The yield strengths of the investigated complex phase steels were little influenced by the partial replacement of Si with Al, as long as the fractions of the constituent phases were comparable. This possibly originates with the solid solution hardening and the microstructure refinement with Al addition.