Iranian Journal of Materials Science and Engineering

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In principal, a proper combination of strength and ductility is achieved through micro component refinement in steels. This is particularly empowered with ferrite refinement down to micron sizes in ferrite pearlite engineering steels. The latter is achieved through various well-defined methods in which strain induced transformation (SIT) has shown spectacular capabilities. In the present study, to address the effect of thermo mechanical processing parameters on the (SIT) behavior, two plain carbon steels were studied through single pass rolling. This was carried out at the corresponding Ar_3 + 20°C temperature of the steels. The results indicated that the transformation behavior and ferrite morphology would be .strongly influenced by both the chemical composition (i.e., carbon content) and the amount of applied strain. Furthermore, a high volume fraction of very fine ferrite with mean grain size of less than 2 µm was obtained. This was attributed to the ferrite nucleation at deformation bands and serrated austenite grain boundaries.

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In this research, effects of changes in aluminizing conditions on microstructure of Pt - aluminide coating applied oil a Ni - base superalloy GTD -111, has been studied. A thin layer (i.e.68,#mm ) of Pt was electroplated onto the surface of the .samples, and then they were aluminized by pack cementation technique under various conditions of time, temperature, rate of heating and pack powder compositions In addition, by application of a thin Ni layer on the substrate before applying Pt, the source of nickel available for diffusing into Pt layer during aluminizing process enhanced and the need for an extra heat treatment cycle before aluminizing process was practically omitted. Addition of a nickel layer, also prevented scaling of Pt layer during its electroplating and aluminizing processes that helps enhancement of cohesiveness of the coated layers.The general microstructure of the coating consisted of four layers, which are PtA12layer internal diffusion layer external diffusion layer and interdiffusion zone. The structure of each layer has been studied by optical and scanning electron microscopes as well as XRD technique.The results show the presence of the original Pt - electroplated layer had no effect on the thicknesses of the coating layers, but higher aluminizing time and temperature had increased the thicknesses of interdiffusion and internally diffused layers. In addition, at high temperature, aluminizing with a lower heating rate caused an increase in the thickness of internal diffusion layer. Aluminizing with a lower heating rate at high temperature (more than 900°C) had increased the thickness of interdiffusion laver Attempt has been made to justify , the changes occurred in microstructures and thick nesses of various coating layers as they exposed to different aluminizing conditions.

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In this study different volume fractions of SiC particles of various sizes were introduced into the semisolid A356 aluminum alloy by a mechanical stirrer. Then the slurry was poured into a permanent die of certain dimensions either when the metal alloy was partially solid (semisolid-semisolid or SS route) or after reheating to above the liquidus temperature of the alloy (semisolid-liquid or SL route). Both the SS and SL composite samples were solution-treated at 520°C for 8 hours followed by quenching in water at room temperature. Microstructural characterization studies have been conducted on both the SL and SS samples to quantify the effects of the size andcontent of the SiC particles as well as the solutionizing treatment on the morphology and size ofthe eutectic silicon particles and the matrix grain (globule) size. The results were rationalized in terms of the different nucleation, fragmentation, spherodization and coarsening events, which had taken place during the processing of these composites. Finally the impact of these microstructural features in improving the wear properties of the composites has been discussed.

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The surface condition and microstructure of near stoichiometric (Fe823Ndll.8B5.9) Nd-Fe-B alloy ribbons and the effect of melt spinning parameters were investigated using optical, scanning and transmission electron microscopes (SEM, TEM). The formation of gas pockets on the roll surface of the ribbons during melt spinning can prevent heat transform and result in local coarse grains. The local thickness would also be less in these places and thus perforates preferentially during ion beam milling. Therefore different areas of the sample should be carefully observed in the TEM. Reducing inert gas pressure in the chamber will eliminate the gas pockets. As a general trend, decrease in the ribbon thickness and mean Nd2 Fe14B grain size were observed on increasing the roll speed. By careful adjustment of the melt spinning parameters, the nanostructure will develop. An orientation relationship was found between Nd2 Fe14B and α-Fe precipitates for coarse grain samples melt spun at low roll speed. Dark field image of such grain also shows that some of these α-Fe precipitates have the same orientation. X-ray diffraction evident the development of texture by decreasing the roll speed.

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Thin sheets of hydroxyapatite were fabricated by tape casting process. The non-aqueoustape casting formulation was optimized by adjusting the concentration of organic additivesspecially those of binder and plasticizer in the slurry. The optimized slurry was cast on a glasscarrier using a designed laboratory scale doctor blade. Following a binder removal stage, thetapes were sintered at different temperatures in air atmosphere. Heat treatment at 1250 °C led tothe formation of a dense microstructure as was evidenced by the scanning electron microscopy.

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A large number of reinforced concrete structures subjected to chloride ions. Two basicapproaches for preventing corrosion of reinforcing steel embedded in concrete are: Increasing theconsolidation of concrete and using different coating on rebars. In present research steel rebarsare coated in different ways: a) 40 µm of zinc electroplated on steel rebar b) Zinc powder withepoxy paste (zinc rich). The rebars were placed in a macrocell design according to ASTM G109-92. Concrete operations were done with mixture designs of high and normal strength concrete.The results show corrosion decrease of zinc coated rebars.

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AA3004 alloy is widely used in can making. The major concern in the production of canbodies is earing, which develop by high planar anisotropy of rolled sheet. Balance ofrecrystallisation and rolling textures together with a uniform and fine grain microstructure canminimize the earing. The effects of finish rolling temperature (FRT) on planar anisotropy,microstructure, texture development and mechanical properties of sheet have been analyzedIncreasing the FRT resulted in promotion of cube and G texture in hot rolled sheet. Lower |ΔR| ofthe final sheet with higher FRY, i.e. the lower planar anisotropy, is accompained with a balance ofrolling and recrystallisation orientations.

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Anodes are critical component of cathodic protection systems. As part of this effort, three different anodes were tested in a cathodic protection system that was designed and constructed to prevent further corrosion of reinforced concrete. This anodic system includes an electrically conductive coating composition applied in fluid form over an outer surface of the concrete mix. The composition further includes a predetermined amount of electrically conductive carbon material (coke, carbon black, graphite) uniformly distributed in the epoxy resin (as a binder) whereby the coating composition has a predetermined value of resistively. This investigation attempts to find the best type and optimum content of conductive carbon filler in poxy coating, to ensure optimal anode working parameters for marine environments (basically marine and sewer environments) and if any of the coating systems tested in this study excel over the other. In this study, electric and electrochemical parameters of three layer (with average coating thickness of 300µm) coke-epoxy, carbon black-epoxy and graphite-epoxy conducting paints (with different amount of filler) have been determined during long-term anodic polarization (70 days) in a seawater solution. During this test, on the basis of impedance measurements, the electrical resistances of these coatings have been calculated every 14 days. if conductive paints exhibit good electric and electrochemical stability, they will be attractive for cathodic protection of reinforced concrete.

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In this research, the mechanism of joining three sheets of metals, i.e. brass-steel-brass, by cold roll welding process has been studied. For this purpose, the two surfaces of steel sheets were roughened with stainless steel wire brush by different amounts, then the brass sheets were put on both sides of the steel sheets, before they were subjected to cold roll process. During rolling, peaks of the asperities on the surfaces of the steel sheet were pressurized, i.e. deformed, much more than that of trough. Hence, more hardening due to formation of higher dislocation density in the peaks regions were detected in comparison to the trough regions. Therefore, due to the differences in the amounts of work hardening occurred during cold rolling in the peaks & trough of the scratches and also due to the nature of the rough surfaces of the steel sheets, which causes the smooth surface of soft brass sheets laied over the rough surface of the steel sheet to be shappend according to the profile of the steel sheet scratches during cold rolling, mechanical locking occurred at the interface of brass & steel sheets. In addition, while the extrusion of brass took place through cracks within the surface of hardend peaks and metal bonding occurred on the contact points of the brass sheet & the vergin steel. Therefore, it seems two mechanisms were in operation is making a suitable joining between the sheets. One was a locking mechanism due to the roughness of the steel sheets & the other was bonding mechanism due to the bonding between the peak points of the scratches &soft brass surface. The strength of the bonded points in the interface were later increased by annealing the composite, so that by annealing the samples within the 500-900°C range for aperiod of 1 1/2 hr the interface strength increase substantially. The results of peeling test indicated that the interface strength of the samples annealed at 700°C or more increased so much that the brass sheet toms during peeling & the fracture did not pass through the interface.

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AZ31 magnesium alloy is considered as a promising alloy in various applications and industries. Furthermore, to design a proper hot working process (rolling, forging and extrusion), the assessment of hot working behaviour of the alloy is necessary. Accordingly, the hot deformation behaviour of AZ31 alloy was studied through hot compression testing method This was carried out in a wide range of temperature (523K to 783K) and strain rates. The obtained true stress-true strain curves and final microstructures were examined and a partial melting was realized at 740K. It was concluded that the presence of liquid did change the deformation mechanisms thereby affecting the flow behaviour.

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Life assessment on the base of grain boundary creep cavitation of 1%Cr - 0.5%Mo low alloy steel has been discussed in this paper. Since microstructural degradation is one of the most important mechanisms that affects creep life, it is necessary to assess microstructural damage in order to estimate the life. Microstructural damage within the grain boundaries is a continuous phenomena starting from about the beginning of secondary stage of creep process. In this research, the amounts of damage accumulation in the form of grain boundary cavitations for various creep times up to the ends of secondary creep stage for each creep condition was found by using quantitative metallography technique, i.e. image analyser. Then from the data obtained for grain boundary area cavitated and number of cavities per unit area, which was about linear as a function of time for each of creep conditions, the amount of damage in the tertiary stage was estimated for various times. Then a creep damage parameter was proposed for the creep process. Finally, having this damage parameter (?) and using continuum damage mechanics (CDM), a new version of Rabotnov-Kachanov equation for tertiary creep rate was established.

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An investigation of the electrochemical noise generation during Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) of 70-30 Brass in Mattson's solution was conducted. The fluctuations of potential and current were monitored. The relationship between potential and current fluctuations has been evaluated in time domain and the obtained data has been analyzed in the frequency domain using Power Spectral Density (PSD). It is shown that 70-30 Brass has characteristic noise behavior during SCC that is step-by-step change in current and potential up to the final stage of fracture, and this may be used for SCC monitoring.

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plasma-sprayed silicon layers have been used to produce silicon nitride layers with fibrous microstructure which optimizes fracture toughness and strength. SEM examination of the specimens shows that the surface is covered by fine needles and whiskers of Si3N4.In order to study the oxygen contamination effect as well as other contaminants introduced during spraying and nitridation processes, surface sensitive analysis techniques like AES and XPS have been used to determine concentration of these contaminants.

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Ultrafine hydroxyapatite (HAp) powders with crystallite size in the range of 10-90 nm were synthesized by chemical precipitation process using Ca(OH)2 and H3PO4 solutions as starting materials. Molar ratio of Ca/P=1.68 was kept constant throughout the process and alkaline condition for the reaction was maintained using ammonium hydroxide. The role of raw material concentration on HAp crystallite size and morphology were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques. The results revealed that variations in crystallite size and morphology of synthesized HAp are strongly affected by the concentration of acid solution. To study the sintering behavior of HAp particles, the powders were pressed at 200 MPa using a uniaxial press. Sintering experiments were carried out at temperatures of 1100, 1250 and 1300°C with various soaking times at maximum temperatures. XRD was also used in determining thephases present after sintering process. The results indicated the decomposition of HAp into a-tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and b-TCP phases at 1300°C. The microstructure of the sintered HAp ceramics was characterized by SEM.

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The hot cracking susceptibility can be determined by establishing the transition temperature between brittle and ductile fracture at high temperature tensile testing of in situ solidified samples. High temperature tensile properties were determined for commercial cathodic pure Cu and Cu- 30%Zn alloy. The transition temperatures for pure Cu and Cu-30%Zn were evaluated from ultimate tensile stress, true strain and area reduction at different testing temperatures. The results show that hot cracking in pure Cu also occurred below and near to its melting temperature. It can be proposed that in this case excess vacancies and vacancy diffusion and condensation are the dominating mechanisms for hot crack formation. The transition temperature for Cu- 30%Zn was much lower than its solidus temperature and this alloy has more susceptibility to hot cracking as compared to pure Cu. The effect of two different cooling rates (15 °C/min and 60 °C/min) on the transition temperature was investigated. The results show that by increasing cooling rate, the transition temperature will increase. The morphology of fracture surfaces for both ductile and brittle modes were evaluated by SEM Two different morphologies, i.e. interdendiritic and intergranual fracture, was found.

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Abstract: Static recrystallization (SRX) behavior of a composite based 7075 Aluminum alloy reinforced with SiC particles was studied during annealing the deformed samples at high temperatures. The results showed an absence of SRX in the samples annealed after hot working at the same deformation temperature, however, a rise in annealing temperature of 100-1500 􀁱C above that the deformation temperature led to full recrystallization. This can be ascribed to the relatively moderate dynamic recovery and the presence of dispersions which stabilize the substructure. Particle stimulated nucleation (PSN) had a significant effect on the grain size in deformed samples at low temperature, but no PSN was observed in samples strained at high temperatures. The possible cause might be that at high temperature the dislocations can be annihilated by climb process around the particles together with the absence of deformation zone for nucleating the recrystallization.

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Abstract: Ball mills are used in the last stage of ore processing for grinding raw materials. Forged 70Cr2 alloy steel and Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI) balls are materials from which grinding balls are made for Sarcheshmeh Copper Plant (SCP) ball mills. In the present study wear and impact properties of these two kinds of balls have been investigated. Some balls randomly were selected as samples. They were cut to investigate the cross section under optical and scanning electron microscopes. The microstructure of the sample balls was studied and quantitative measurements of microstructural features were performed. The hardness of different parts of cross sections of balls was measured. The wear resistance of the balls was measured by Pin on Disc method. Repeated dropt test was employed to evaluate impact resistance of the balls. The microstructure of ADI balls consisted of bianitic matrix with graphite nodules and some retained austenite and martensite. Micro cracks and porosities in the cast structure were frequently observed. In the case of forged steel balls the microstructure composed of tempered martensite in outer area and bianitic structure with some tempered martensite in central areas. The wear and impact resistance of forged steel balls were markedly higher than those of ADI balls. The difference was consistent with the differences between the microstructures of the two kinds of balls. Cast structure with microcracks and shrinkage porosities in ADI balls gives rise to lower impact resistance.

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Abstract: Nanocrystalline MgAl2O4 spinel powder was synthesized using metal nitrates and a polymer matrix-based composed of sucrose and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The precursor and the calcined powders were characterized by simultaneous thermal analysis (STA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). According to XRD results, the inceptive formation temperature of spinel via this technique was between 600°C and 700°C. The average crystallite size of calcined powder at 800°C for 2h was in the range of 8-12nm. In addition, SEM micrograph showed that the synthesized powder had a spherical morphology.

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Abstract: Hardfacing is one of the most useful and economical ways to increase the service life of components subjected to abrasive wear. Iron based hardfacing alloys have long been considered as candidate coatings for wear-resistant applications in industry. In the present work two layer of Fe-34Cr-4.5C%wt hardfacing alloy was deposited on ASTM A36 carbon steel plates by SMAW method. The microstructure consists of large primary and eutectic M7C3 carbides, metastable austenite and small amount of secondary carbides. The microstructure was analyzed by optical and scanning electron microscopes. In the same condition of size, shape, distribution and volume fraction of carbides the as-welded matrix changed to martensite, tempered martensite and ferrite by heat treatment processes. The wear resistance was measured by pin-on-disk method under loads of 5, 10 and 20N and for sliding distance of 1500m. The results showed that the as-welded sample with austenitic matrix has the most and the ferritic matrix specimen has the least wear resistance. The predominate mechanisms for mass losses were determined to be micro-cutting, microploughing.

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Abstract: Despite having a number of advantages, reinforced concrete can suffer rebar corrosion in high–chloride media, resulting in failure of reinforced concrete structures. In this research the corrosion inhibition capability of the mixture of calcium and ammonium nitrate of steel rebar corrosion was investigated in the simulated concrete pore solution. Cyclic polarization and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) techniques were applied on steel concrete pore solution containing 2 weight percent sodium chloride (NaCl). Results show that such mixtures had higher inhibition efficiency than calcium nitrate alone. The optimum concentration of the inhibitor mixture was determined to be 45 mgr/lit.