Microstructural evolution during superplastic deformation of a 7475 Al alloy

Grain refinement of a superplastic 7475 Al alloy is observed at strain rates of 10-2s-1 or higher. Metallographic observation shows that the average grain size is changed from 14 m to 10 m after 100% elongation. Two-stage strain-rate tests were performed on the 7475 Al alloy to correlate grain refinement with an improvement of superplasticity. The optimum first strain rate and strain in the first stage were determined through tensile superplastic tests. Superplasticity was improved significantly through two-stage strain-rate testing. This is believed to be related to the refinement of the initial grains at high strain rate. The specimen tested at a strain rate of 2.1×10-4s-1 revealed dispersoid-free zones (DFZs) near grain boundaries normal to the stress axis. When a higher strain rate was applied to the specimens with DFZs, no grain refinement was observed. The absence of grain refinement is due to the concentration of plastic deformation in the weak DFZs. © 1998 Kluwer Academic Publishers     

Internal variable approach to microstructural change in 7475 aluminium alloy during superplastic deformation

Abstract

Flow behaviour and microstructural changes in fine grained 7475 Al during superplastic deformation have been investigated. A series of mechanical tests and transmission electron micrography has been conducted at various temperatures ranging from 430 to 516°C. Quantitative constitutive parameters have been determined from load relaxation tests by applying the internal variable theory of structural superplasticity proposed recently. The validity of the mechanical analysis is proved by the evolution of the microstructure (precipitate free zones PFZs) during the accommodation process. Additional information about the mechanism of PFZ formation was determined by microchemical analysis.     

Effect of stress state on cavitation and hole growth in superplastic AA 7475 aluminium alloy

Abstract

A study has been made of the growth of cavities and of artificial holes in AA 7475 alloy sheet material during both uniaxial and equibiaxial tensile straining, with the object of clarifying the effect of stress state on cavitation during superplastic flow. The growth rate of cavities with strain was observed to be lower for uniaxial tension than for equibiaxial tension. An analysis of artificial hole growth data supports these observations, and is consistent with the view that continuous cavity nucleation and cavity coalescence lead to an increase in the apparent cavity growth rate during superplastic flow.

MST/1149     

The fracture process in a fine-grained superplastic 7475 Al alloy

In order to contribute towards alloy design and therefore an improvement in fracture toughness of engineering materials in general, the effect of temperature, strain rate and strain level on the superplastic deformation, cavity nucleation and growth, and fracture behaviour are studied in an important rate-sensitive structural engineering material, 7475 Al, in the light of current models and thinking. The efficacy of hydrostatic pressure in reducing cavitation during superplastic deformation is considered.     

Mechanisms of cavity growth in a fine-grained 7475 Al superplastic alloy

Under creep conditions, cavity growth may be controlled by vacancy diffusion or power-law creep. The two growth mechanisms are examined with reference to a superplastic 7475 Al alloy as a function of test temperature, superimposed strain rate and starting grain size. It is found that power-law cavity growth by plastic deformation of the matrix surrounding the cavities dominates at all test conditions. In addition, growth and interlinkage of cavities is an important parameter in controlling the ease and type of fracture and is enhanced by the ease of superplastic deformation.     

Microstructural evolution and threshold stress for superplastic flow in the Zn-Al eutectoid

The microstructural evolution and the stress-strain rate behaviour of superplastic Zn-Al eutectoid alloy were investigated by prestraining specimens at two strain rates corresponding to Regions I and II. Even though the scale of microstructure was similar, the stress-strain rate curves of differently prestrained specimens were distinctly different in the lower strain-rate regime. While Region I of low rate sensitivity was more prominent when prestrained at a lower strain rate of Region I, it was less distinct because of prestrain in Region II. The threshold stress for superplastic flow, as assessed by an extrapolation procedure, varied with the nature of prestrain. The interphase boundaries were more rounded (higher mean curvature) on prestraining on Region II, compared to Region I. The correlation between the changes in the mean curvature of phase boundaries and the threshold stress arising from the nature of prestrain was consistent with the boundary-migration controlled sliding mechanism to interpret the threshold stress for superplastic flow.     

Microstructure and thermal stabilityof superplastic aluminium—lithium alloy after severe plastic deformation

Structure and phase composition of 1420 (Al-Mg-Li-Zr) alloy obtained by equal channel angular pressing during mechanical tensile testing and annealing within the temperature range 423–723 K were studied by means of TEM and XRDA. It was revealed that structural changes of the alloy after the mechanical tests corresponded to two stages of the deformation. The alloy structure was unstable due to its non-equilibrium nature and came to the equilibrium state during the annealing. Changes in the grain size and phase composition during the alloy annealing resulted in a significant decrease of its hardness.     

Mechanism of plastic void growth during superplastic flow

Abstract

Existing models for plastic hole growth have been re-evaluated in terms of their applicability to superplastic flow. The Cocks and Ashby model is modified to include more properly the effect of void shape, and the effect of simultaneous strain hardening is also discussed. Some new experimental data on the growth of artificial holes drilled in a sheet sample of Coronze 638 are presented and compared with data on the development of general cavitation damage in the same material without artificial holes. The difference between the two sets of results is explained in terms of a coalescence effect during general damage. Cavitation rates are found to be independent of strain in both sets of experiments. This result is explained by including the effect of strain hardening (brought about by strain enhanced grain growth) in the models.

MST/461     

Tensile and fatigue properties of a thermomechanically treated 7475 aluminium alloy

High-purity Al-Zn-Mg alloy was thermomechanically treated. The process included solution treatment, pre-ageing, cold-working by rolling and final ageing. Pre-ageing was carried out at 100°C (TAHA1) and room temperature (TAHA2). Experimental results indicated that the TAHA1 process improved the tensile strength significantly while the TAHA2 process improved the fatigue life more substantially. Fatigue crack initiation sites were examined carefully by scanning electron microscopy. A correlation between fatigue crack initiation, fatigue striation, tearing ridge, dimple distribution and fatigue life was observed. The experimental results are discussed in terms of substructure and are also compared with the tensile and fatigue properties of a thermomechanically treated 7075 Al-Zn-Mg alloy which were previously reported by one of the authors.     

Study of fatigue behaviour of 7475 aluminium alloy

Fatigue properties of a thermomechanically treated 7475 aluminium alloy have been studied in the present investigation. The alloy exhibited superior fatigue life compared to conventional structural aluminium alloys and comparable stage II crack growth rate. It was also noticed that the fatigue crack initiated from a surface grain and the crack extension was dominated by ductile striations. Analysis also revealed that this alloy possessed fracture toughness and tensile properties superior to that noticed with other structural aluminium alloys. Therefore the use of this alloy can safely reduce the overall weight of the aircraft.     

Microstructural evolution in an Ni-Mn-Ga alloy during compression

Abstract

Microstructural aspects and interfacial characteristics of deformed martensite variants in a compressed Ni₅₅Mn₂₀Ga₂₅ (at.-%) alloy have been investigated using transmission electron microscopy. It is shown that the undeformed specimen exhibits a well accommodated morphology and a straight and well defined interfacial boundary. After deformation, reorientation of martensite variants occurs at the expense of unfavourable martensite variants, and the interfacial boundary changes from sharp and straight to curved and irregular. Meanwhile, lattice defects are formed inside the variants even in slightly compressed samples. With increasing deformation, high density lattice defects are generated and rearranged inside the variants as well as in the interfacial boundaries between variants.     

Rapid forming of superplastic aluminium alloy 5083

Abstract

Decreasing the cycle time significantly for forming the commercially available superplastic aluminium alloy 5083 has been achieved. Forming results and conditions are compared with previous relevant works which are actually scarce. A circular cup having a depthdiameter ratio of 1:2 can be formed in 70 s. This ratio requires flat sheet to be stretched in area by up to three times, which should be large enough when dealing with actual industrial sheet forming. On average, the thickness is decreased by two-thirds; in fact, the thickness distribution is not uniform and the gradient is concentrated at the wall of the cup. The location of minimum thickness in rapid forming is different from that in conventional forming. Disregarding the traditional approach, the pressure-time profile employed in this work was not restricted to yield the so called optimum strain rate, which is usually low. Following the same processing profile, but proceeding in stages of partial forming, a series of progressive forming configurations was obtained in order to analyse the strain rate path leading to the successful rapid forming. For a specimen processed at 500C, the maximum volume fraction of cavities is 4 existing at the location of minimum thickness.     

Effect of prestrain on the superplastic behaviour of a fine grained 7475 AI alloy

The effect of prestraining at a fast strain rate (region III) on the subsequent superplastic behaviour (region II) of a 7475 AI alloy has been studied. The results show that prestraining causes a decrease in the elongation to failure as compared to the non-prestrained (as-received) samples. This decrease in elongation is postulated to be associated with the growth of cavities formed during prestraining as well as grain growth during deformation in region II. Prestraining in region III did not lead to any observable inhomogeneities in strain distribution during subsequent deformation.     

Effects of intermetallic particles on cavitation during superplastic forming of aluminium alloy

An Al-4.6%Mg-1.5%Mn-0.27%Fe alloy was specially processed with friction stir processing followed by cold rolling. Half of the sheet thickness contains a large number of blocky or irregular-shaped Al₆(Mn,Fe) coarse intermetallic particles, while the other half, smaller and more spherical ones. The particle-induced cavitation upon uni-axial tension at 475°C with 2?×?10^?4–2?×?10^?2?s^?1 strain rates was investigated. The density of nuclei for cavities was estimated based on quantitative image analysis of the particles, and the strain controlled growth rate, calculated assuming the cavities are nucleated before or in the early stage of straining. The number, size and morphology of intermetallic particles are found to control the cavitation by determining the nucleation rate, but the strain controlled growth rate appears unaffected.     

Grain refinement and superplastic behaviour of a modified 6061 aluminium alloy

Abstract

The superplastic properties and microstructure evolution of a 0.15%Zr and 0.7%Cu modified 6061 aluminium alloy were examined in tension at temperatures ranging from 475 to 600°C and strain rates ranging from 7 × 10^-6 to 2.8 × 10^-2 s^-1. The refined microstructure with an average grain size of about 11 μm was produced in thin sheets by a commercially viable thermomechanical process. It was shown that the modified 6061 alloy exhibits a moderate superplastic elongation of 580% in the entirely solid state at 570°C and ? = 2.8 × 10^-4 s^-1. Superior superplastic properties (elongation to failure of 1300% with a corresponding strain rate sensitivity coefficient m of about 0.65) were found at the same strain rate and a temperature of 590°C, which is higher than the incipient melting point of the 6061 alloy (~575°C). The microstructural evolution during superplastic deformation of the 6061 alloy has been studied quantitatively. The presence of a slight amount of liquid phase greatly promotes the superplastic properties of the 6061 alloy, reducing the cavitation level.