A. Kiet Tieu

Atomistic Simulation of Tensile Deformation Behavior of ∑5 Tilt Grain Boundaries in Copper Bicrystal

Experiments on polycrystalline metallic samples have indicated that Grain boundary (GB) structure can affect many material properties related to fracture and plasticity. In this study, atomistic simulations are employed to investigate the structures and mechanical behavior of both symmetric and asymmetric ∑5[0 0 1] tilt GBs of copper bicrystal. First, the equilibrium GB structures are generated by molecular statics simulation at 0K. The results show that the ∑5 asymmetric GBs with different inclination angles (φ) are composed of only two structural units corresponding to the two ∑5 symmetric GBs. Molecular dynamics simulations are then conducted to investigate the mechanical response and the underlying deformation mechanisms of bicrystal models with different ∑5 GBs under tension. Tensile deformation is applied under both ‘free’ and ‘constrained’ boundary conditions. Simulation results revealed different mechanical properties of the symmetric and asymmetric GBs and indicated that stress state can play an important role in the deformation mechanisms of nanocrystalline materials.

Fabrication of ultra-thin nanostructured bimetallic foils by Accumulative Roll Bonding and Asymmetric Rolling

This paper reports a new technique that combines the features of Accumulative Roll Bonding (ARB) and Asymmetric Rolling (AR). This technique has been developed to enable production of ultra-thin bimetallic foils. Initially, 1.5 mm thick AA1050 and AA6061 foils were roll-bonded using ARB at 200°C, with 50% reduction. The resulting 1.5 mm bimetallic foil was subsequently thinned to 0.04 mm through four AR passes at room temperature. The speed ratio between the upper and lower AR rolls was 1:1.3. The tensile strength of the bimetallic foil was seen to increase with reduction in thickness. The ductility of the foil was seen to reduce upon decreasing the foil thickness from 1.5 mm to 0.14 mm, but increase upon further reduction in thickness from 0.14 mm to 0.04 mm. The grain size was about 140 nm for the AA6061 layer and 235 nm for the AA1050 layer, after the third AR pass.

A deformation mechanism of hard metal surrounded by soft metal during roll forming

It is interesting to imagine what would happen when a mixture of soft-boiled eggs and stones is deformed together. A foil made of pure Ti is stronger than that made of Cu. When a composite Cu/Ti foil deforms, the harder Ti will penetrate into the softer Cu in the convex shapes according to previously reported results. In this paper, we describe the fabrication of multilayer Cu/Ti foils by the roll bonding technique and report our observations. The experimental results lead us to propose a new deformation mechanism for a hard metal surrounded by a soft metal during rolling of a laminated foil, particularly when the thickness of hard metal foil (Ti, 25 μm) is much less than that of the soft metal foil (Cu, 300 μm). Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) imaging results show that the hard metal penetrates into the soft metal in the form of concave protrusions. Finite element simulations of the rolling process of a Cu/Ti/Cu composite foil are described. Finally, we focus on an analysis of the deformation mechanism of Ti foils and its effects on grain refinement, and propose a grain refinement mechanism from the inside to the outside of the laminates during rolling.

Modeling of the inlet zone in the mixed lubrication situation of cold strip rolling

Abstract In this paper a method to simulate the oil thickness and length of elastic deformation in the inlet zone of cold rolling has been developed. The mixed film lubrication model was adopted to describe the behavior of the lubricant and asperity deformation. The elastic Von Karman equation was used to describe the elastic deformation of strip in the inlet zone. The length and lubricant film thickness of the inlet zone can be obtained by a numerical method. Results of simulations show that the reduction, rolling speed, back tension have a significant influence on the lubricant film thickness and the inlet zone length.

Tensile fracture of ultrafine grained aluminum 6061 sheets by asymmetric cryorolling for microforming

The size effect on the mechanism of fracture in ultrafine grained sheets is an unsolved problem in microforming. This paper describes a tensile test carried out to study the fracture behavior and the shear fracture angles of both rolled and aged ultrafine grained aluminum 6061 sheets produced by asymmetric cryorolling. A scanning electron microscope was used to observe the fracture surface. The finite element method was used to simulate the tensile test using the uncoupled Cockcroft–Latham and Tresca criteria and the coupled Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman damage criterion. It was found that the shear fracture angle decreases gradually from 90° to 64° with an increasing number of passes. The results of simulations using the Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman criterion show trends similar to the experimental ones. The paper also presents a discussion on the fracture mechanism and the size effect during the tensile test.

A design of a third-order CVC roll profile

Abstract Continuously variable crown (CVC) system is an effective method for controlling the flatness and profile of strip. The key issue in the development of the CVC system is the design of the roll profile. In this paper, a design method of a third-order CVC roll profile is obtained. Minimizing the axial force on the work roll is considered as the criteria of design. The numerical method is used to obtain the coefficient of the CVC roll profile.

A new insight into ductile fracture of ultrafine-grained Al-Mg alloys

It is well known that when coarse-grained metals undergo severe plastic deformation to be transformed into nano-grained metals, their ductility is reduced. However, there are no ductile fracture criteria developed based on grain refinement. In this paper, we propose a new relationship between ductile fracture and grain refinement during deformation, considering factors besides void nucleation and growth. Ultrafine-grained Al-Mg alloy sheets were fabricated using different rolling techniques at room and cryogenic temperatures. It is proposed for the first time that features of the microstructure near the fracture surface can be used to explain the ductile fracture post necking directly. We found that as grains are refined to a nano size which approaches the theoretical minimum achievable value, the material becomes brittle at the shear band zone. This may explain the tendency for ductile fracture in metals under plastic deformation.

An Investigation of Interface Bonding of Bimetallic Foils by Combined Accumulative Roll Bonding and Asymmetric Rolling Techniques

The bond strength in bimetallic materials is an important material characteristic. In this study, 0.1-mm thick bimetallic foils (AA1050/AA6061) were produced using one pass of accumulative roll bonding followed by three passes of asymmetric rolling (AR). The AR passes were carried out at roll speed ratios of 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, and 1.4 separately. Finite element simulation was used to model the deformation of the bimetallic foils for the various experimental conditions. Particular attention was focused on the bonding of the interface between AA1050 and AA6061 layers in the simulation. The optimization of the roll speed ratio was obtained for improvement of the bond strength of the interface of AA1050/AA6061 bimetallic foils during AR process. In the simulation, the mean equivalent strain at the interface zone between the AA1050 and AA6061 layers was seen to reach a peak value at a roll speed ratio of about 1.2 to 1.3, which also corresponded to a high quality bond at the interface as observed experimentally.

Molecular dynamics study on the atomic mechanisms of coupling motion of (0 0 1) symmetric tilt grain boundaries in copper bicrystal

Recent research has revealed that some grain boundaries (GBs) can migrate coupled to applied shear stress. In this paper, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed on sixteen [0 0 1] symmetric tilt GBs of bicrystal Cu to identify atomic-scale GB migration mechanisms and investigate their dependence on GB structure. The misorientation angles (θ) of the sixteen GBs cover the interval from 0° to 90° and a wide range of Σ values. A general method was proposed to explore the possible GB structures for each misorientation angle. Molecular statics simulation at a temperature of 0 K was carried out first to determine the equilibrium and some possible metastable structures of the sixteen investigated [0 0 1] GBs. MD simulations were then conducted on the bicrystal models at equilibrium by applying a shear strain parallel to the GB plane. Shear deformation caused the tangential translation of the grain and induced normal motion of the GBs. This boundary coupling motion was present in the entire range of misorientation angles. Different mechanisms of coupled boundary motion at atomic scale were carefully examined in this work. The common feature of these mechanisms can be regarded as the displacement of local atoms and rotation of certain structure unit. Structure phase transformation of GB was found during the migration of Σ17 (4 1 0) and Σ73 (8 3 0) GBs.

Tribological Behavior of Aqueous Copolymer Lubricant in Mixed Lubrication Regime.

Although a number of experiments have been attempted to investigate the lubrication of aqueous copolymer lubricant, which is applied widely in metalworking operations, a comprehensive theoretical investigation at atomistic level is still lacking. This study addresses the influence of loading pressure and copolymer concentration on the structural properties and tribological performance of aqueous copolymer solution of poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide) (PPO-PEO-PPO) at mixed lubrication using a molecular dynamic (MD) simulation. An effective interfacial potential, which has been derived from density functional theory (DFT) calculations, was employed for the interactions between the fluids molecules and iron surface. The simulation results have indicated that the triblock copolymer is physisorption on iron surface. Under confinement by iron surfaces, the copolymer molecules form lamellar structure in aqueous solution and behave differently from its bulk state. The lubrication performance of aqueous copolymer lubricant increases with concentration, but the friction reduction is insignificant at high loading pressure. Additionally, the plastic deformation of asperity is dependent on both copolymer concentration and loading pressure, and the wear behavior shows a linear dependence of friction force on the number of transferred atoms between contacting asperities.