A.M. Jorge

Severe Plastic Deformation of Mg-Fe Powders to Produce Bulk Hydrides

We describe in the present work the production of bulk Mg hydrides by hydrogenation treatment of samples processed by severe plastic deformation. The compact bulk samples of Mg-Fe have been obtained by high pressure torsion. The ternary complex Mg2FeH6 and the binary MgH2hydrides have been synthesized by hydrogenation treatment at 350°C, at 3 MPa during 24 h. The average grain refinement after HPT was modest as estimated by XRD. A comparison between the XRD patterns of the powders and of the HPT samples showed the formation, as expected, of a preferred orientation in the latter. The XRD of the hydride HPT samples (H-HPT) showed the presence of Mg, Fe, MgH2 and Mg2FeH6. The first de-hydrating reaction of the alloys (after H-HPT) was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). These results showed a reduction in the hydrogen dessorption temperature in comparison with commercial MgH2, indicating thermodynamic destabilization of the hydrides as a result of the high density of dislocations in the H-HPT samples.

Effect of the addition of Mn on the tensile properties of a spray-formed and extruded Al-9Si-4Cu-1Fe alloy

The microstructure and the tensile properties of a spray-formed and extruded Al-9Si-4Cu-1Fe alloy were investigated. Manganese (0.3, 1, 2 in wt%) was added to the alloy to avoid the formation of the needle-like β-AlFeSi intermetallic phases that are highly detrimental to the alloys ductility. The deposits were extruded at 623K with a n area reduction of 5 to 1. Small faceted dispersoids surrounding the equiaxial α-Al matrix, mainly in the form of silicon particles, were identified by SEM-EDS, as well as the Mn-containing α-Al15(Fe,Mn)3Si2 phase. The presence of the needle-like β-Al(Fe,Mn)Si was scanty, even with the lowest Mn content. The room temperature tensile tests of all the extruded alloys showed a significant increase in elongation to fracture when compared with the values observed fo r the as-spray formed deposits.This result can be ascribed to the elimination of porosity promoted by the extrusion process and to the smaller grain size of the extruded samples.