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A laboratory-scale hot extrusion setup was designed to investigate recrystallization and grain growth behavior of an AA7050 alloy during extrusion and subsequent heat treatments. Compared with industrial extrusion, the laboratory-scale process enabled rapid water quenching of extrudate with less delay so that the dynamic grain structure development was captured. After extrusion, static microstructure evolution in the extrudates was studied using salt bath annealing for 5 and 15 s at 490 °C and solutionization treatment for 1 h at 490 °C. The salt bath annealing was a simulation of the delay of press quenching in typical industrial extrusion practices. In the as-quenched extrudates, the peripheral region mainly exhibited continuous dynamic recrystallization and geometric dynamic recrystallization, whereas in the core region discontinuous dynamic recrystallization dominated. A and double fiber texture was identified in extrudates, and recrystallization behavior was found to be orientation dependent. The oriented grains contained more sub-grain boundaries and better-defined sub-grains and had a higher tendency to fragment via continuous recrystallization, while the oriented grains produced less sub-grain boundaries and did not recrystallize. Subsequent heat treatments resulted in static recrystallization and abnormal growth of the continuously recrystallized grains. Additionally, the effects of extrusion temperature (440, 480 and 520 °C) and punch speed (0.7, 1.4 and 2.1 mm/s) on grain structure were discussed. A revised grain structure evolution mechanism based on the observation of 7050 extrusion was proposed.

Simple shear deformation via hybrid cutting-extrusion is used to produce continuous electrical steel sheet from a commercial high-silicon (nominal 4 wt%) iron alloy of poor workability in a single deformation step, a fundamentally different route from the multi-step processing of rolling and annealing currently in use. The shear texture created in the sheet is found to be quite different from that produced by rolling. The magnetic properties of the shear-textured Fe–Si sheet are measured using closed-circuit permeametry and compared with those from sheet produced by rolling of the same alloy and a commercial non-grain-oriented sheet of similar composition. Properties compared include maximum relative permeability, induction, coercivity, and hysteresis loss. The results are interpreted in terms of microstructure, texture, and composition. A unit cell representation of the shear texture components is introduced that relates the expected orientation of easy magnetization directions with the sheet axes.

Sheet processing of high Si-Fe alloys (up to 6.5 wt pct Si) is demonstrated by application of highly confined shear deformation in cutting-extrusion. This alloy system, of major interest to electromagnetic applications, is characterized by poor workability. By a suitable interactive combination of simple shear, high strain rates, near-adiabatic heating, and large hydrostatic pressure in the deformation zone, flow localization, and cracking inherent to this alloy system are suppressed. This enables creation of sheet and foil forms from bulk ingots, cast or wrought, in a single deformation step, unlike rolling. The sheet is characterized by strong shear textures, described by partial {110} and 〈111〉 fibers, and fine-grained microstructures (~20 µm grain size). The orientation (inclination) of these fibers, with respect to the sheet surface, can be varied over a range of 35 deg through selection of the deformation path. In contrast to rolling textures, the current shear deformation textures are negligibly influenced by recrystallization annealing. A recovery-based continuous recrystallization mechanism is proposed to explain the texture retention. Some general implications for shear-based processing of alloys of limited workability are discussed.

The flow stress and ultimate tensile stress of the solid–liquid mushy zone of AA7050 were measured at solid fractions greater than 0.9 using a tensile testing procedure modified to capture the non-equilibrium microstructural conditions in castings. Tensile testing was conducted by reheating as-cast AA7050 tensile bars above the equilibrium solidus to produce an interdendritic liquid region. The samples were then cooled to the solidus temperature calculated by either the lever rule or Scheil analysis. The samples were strained at different temperatures during the cooling stage. This method produced much lower stress values than heating the specimen directly to the desired test temperature. Microstructures and fracture surfaces after testing using the modified procedure were compared to those of the original as-cast microstructure, confirming the presence of an interdendritic liquid film during testing.

Microstructure development in the casting of copper-manganese alloys based on the congruent point at 34.6 wt pct Mn and 1146 K (873 °C) has been studied. The alloys were prepared by induction melting of electrolytic Cu and Mn in clay-graphite crucibles in open air. Under conventional casting conditions, the alloys exhibit fine cellular (non-dendritic) solidification morphology with a distinct absence of solidification shrinkage microporosity, and they maintain these attributes over a composition range of approximately 3 wt pct Mn about the congruent point. The high Mn concentration in the alloy admits carbon into solution in the melt, resulting in formation of manganese carbide Mn7C3 particles having two different forms (globular and angular) in the cast microstructure. The Mn carbide was eliminated or controlled to low levels by melting in an alumina or a silicon carbide crucible, or in a clay-graphite crucible at lower temperatures. Microstructure development in casting the alloy was analyzed in terms of the available phase diagrams and thermochemical data. Hardness and tensile testing indicated a potent solid solution strengthening effect of Mn and high ductility in the as-cast condition, with additional hardness (strength) when the alloy contains the Mn carbide phase.

Mechanical properties and microstructure characterization of a series of graded commercial rigid polyurethane foams commonly used to mimic trabecular bone in testing orthopaedic devices is reported. Compressive testing conducted according to ASTM standard F1839-08, which requires large specimens (50.8 mm x 50.8 mm x 25.4 mm blocks) gave elastic modulus and compressive strength values ranging from 115 to 794 MPa and 4.7 to 24.7 MPa, respectively, for foams having densities of 0.240-0.641 g/cm(3). All these results were within the requirements of the specification for the corresponding grades. Compression testing using smaller specimens (7.5 mm diameter x 15 mm) typical of testing bone, gave results in good agreement with those obtained in the standard tests. Microstructural measurements showed the average pore size ranged from 125 to 234 microm for densities ranging from 0.641 to 0.159 g/cm(3), respectively. The relative modulus as a function of relative density of the foams fit well to the model of Gibson and Ashby. Cyclic testing revealed hysteresis in the lower density foams with a loading modulus statistically equivalent to that measured in monotonic testing. Shore DO durometry (hardness) measurements show good correlations to elastic modulus and compressive strength. The results suggest additional parameters to consider for the evaluation of polyurethane foams for bone analog applications.

Plane-strain machining can be used to impart large plastic strains in alloys that are difficult to deform by other severe plastic deformation (SPD) processes. By cutting at low speeds, the heating caused by friction with the tool can be reduced to insignificant levels. The utility of this approach for characterizing microstructure development in SPD is demonstrated using a variety of commercial alloys that exhibit different deformation behaviors and strengthening mechanisms, including CP-titanium, aluminum alloy 6061-T6, nickel-base superalloy IN-718, and pearlitic plain-carbon steel.

Large plastic strains between 1 and 15 can be imposed in chips formed by plane-strain (2-D) machining of metals and alloys. This approach has been used to examine microstructure changes induced by large strain deformation in model systems—copper and its alloys, precipitation-hardenable aluminum alloys, high-strength materials such as titanium, Inconel 718 and 52100 steel, and an amorphous alloy. It is shown that materials with average grain sizes in the range of 60 nm–1 μm can be created by varying the parameters of machining, which in turn affects the deformation processes. Furthermore, a switch-over from an elongated subgrain microstructure to an equi-axed nanocrystalline microstructure, with a preponderance of large-angle grain boundaries, has been demonstrated at the higher levels of strain in several of these materials. This switch-over can be readily controlled by varying the deformation conditions. Dynamic recrystallization has been demonstrated in select material systems under particular conditions of strain and temperature. This study may be seen as providing an important bridge between furthering the understanding of microstructural refinement by large strain deformation and the practical utilization of nanostructured materials in structural and mechanical applications. Conventional plane-strain machining has been shown to be a viable SPD method for examining the underlying processes of very large strain deformation.

A potential method for producing selectively reinforced, single-crystal superalloy castings was investigated. Porous particulate alumina preforms were infiltrated with the liquid Ni-based superalloy CMSX-4 under a gas pressure of about 1 atm, and then the alloy was solidified directionally through the preform at different rates. Optical microscopy and Laue X-ray diffraction showed that the orientation of the metallic grains was unaffected by the preform and that no stray grains were nucleated there. In the particular experimental configuration, single grain orientations (i.e., single crystals) were achieved at cooling rates ≤15 °C/min. Furthermore, the microsegregation pattern in the composite region showed that the alloy solidified from the center of the interstices toward the alumina particles, further indicating that nucleation did not occur on the preform. Microsegregation in the composite region is lower than in the unreinforced regions due to geometric confinement of solidification in the narrow spaces between the ceramic particles.

In spite of their interesting properties, nanostructured materials have found limited uses because of the cost of preparation and the limited range of materials that can be synthesized. It has been shown that most of these limitations can be overcome by subjecting a material to large-scale deformation, as occurs during common machining operations. The chips produced during lathe machining of a variety of pure metals, steels, and other alloys are shown to be nanostructured with grain (crystal) sizes between 100 and 800 nm. The hardness of the chips is found to be significantly greater than that of the bulk material.

The chemical and microstructural evolution of particulate (Bi,Pb)2223 in contact with pure bulk silver at 830 to 905 °C under flowing air and Ar−5% O2 atmospheres has been studied. Specimens annealed under PO2 and temperature conditions for which the (Bi,Pb)2223 phase itself is stable, based on a critical assessment of the literature, revealed a silver/(Bi,Pb)2223 interface-limited reaction, producing both solid and liquid decomposition phases. The (Bi,Pb)2223 not in direct contact with silver exhibited no reaction under the same conditions. Solid silver dissolves into the (Bi,Pb)2223 incongruent liquid, facilitating the incongruent melting reaction. On cooling, equiaxed metallic silver particles precipitated uniformly throughout bulk specimens partially melted on a silver substrate.

Due to the highly anisotropic properties of BSCCO superconductors, the bulk properties of these materials can be greatly affected by preferential orientation. Substantial c-axis orientation normal to the desired direction of current flow has been demonstrated by centrifugally slip casting lead-doped BSCCO-2223. The strong preferred orientation developed in the centrifugally slip-cast material demonstrates high critical current potential.

A study has been made of microstructure and hardness of machining chips created from commercially pure iron and carbon steels. Large shear strains imposed during chip formation in machining are found to produce significant microstructure refinement in the chips, resulting in higher hardness compared to the bulk. Transmission electron and scanning electron microscopy have shown the chips to consist entirely of ultra-fine grain structures with ferrite grain sizes in the range of 100-800 nm. With high carbon steels, the microstructure of the bulk material prior to machining is also seen to have a significant influence on the characteristics of the chip.

Multilayer Ag-BSCCO-2223 composites have been fabricated by open-die hot forging to study the role of Ag in densification and microstructural development. The composite microstructures were produced using Ag-coated BSCCO particles produced from a chemical precipitation technique. Grain alignment and Ag microstructure effects were characterized via optical and electron microscopy.

A refined thernodynamic analysis of the reaction between molen Al and SiC is presented. The calculations indicate much higher Si concentrations for saturation with respect to AkC 3 formation than previously reported. Preliminary microstructural studies confirm the formation of interfacial A14C3 for pure Al thin films on SiC reacted at 9000C. The implications of the calculations and experimental observations for the production of ohmic contacts to p-type SiC are discussed.