I. A. Bataev

Ti3SiC2-Cu composites by mechanical milling and spark plasma sintering: Possible microstructure formation scenarios

We present several possible microstructure development scenarios in Ti3SiC2-Cu composites during mechanical milling and Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS). We have studied the effect of in situ consolidation during milling of Ti3SiC2 and Cu powders and melting of the Cu matrix during the SPS on the hardness and electrical conductivity of the sintered materials. Under low-energy milling, (3–5) vol.%Ti3SiC2-Cu composite particles of platelet morphology formed, which could be easily SPS-ed to 92–95% relative density. Under high-energy milling, millimeter-scale (3–5) vol.%Ti3SiC2-Cu granules formed as a result of in situ consolidation and presented a challenge to be sintered into a bulk fully dense sample; the corresponding SPS-ed compacts demonstrated a finer-grained Cu matrix and more significant levels of hardening compared to composites of the same composition processed by low-energy milling. The 3 vol.% Ti3SiC2-Cu in situ consolidated and Spark Plasma Sintered granules showed an extremely high hardness of 227 HV. High electrical conductivity of the Ti3SiC2-Cu composites sintered from the granules was an indication of efficient sintering of the granules to each other. Partial melting of the Cu matrix, if induced during the SPS, compromised the phase stability and uniformity of the microstructure of the Ti3SiC2-Cu composites and thus it is not to be suggested as a pathway to enhanced densification in this system.

Formation and structure of vortex zones arising upon explosion welding of carbon steels

Presented are the results of investigation of vortex zones arising upon explosion welding of thin plates of steel 20. Specific features of the structure of the vortices and zones of the deformed material adjacent to them have been revealed by methods of structure analysis. It has been shown that in the process of explosive loading the central regions of the vortices characterized by an enhanced carbon content were in the molten state. The microhardness in the region of vortex zones reaches 5700 MPa. The character of the arrangement of ferrite grains and martensite microvolumes in peripheral regions of vortices is caused by intense rotation of the material. The intense intermixing of materials in different states of aggregation in vortex zones is one of the factors responsible for the formation of cavities, whose volume exceeds the volume shrinkage occurring upon casting of carbon steels. It has been established that traces of vortex zones are retained even after one-hour annealing of welded packets at 800°C.

Nucleation and growth of titanium aluminide in an explosion-welded laminate composite

Processes of nucleation and growth of titanium aluminide in a 23-layer aluminum-titanium composite produced by explosion welding have been studied. In the vortex zones of seven upper welds, microvolumes of melted metal whose microhardness is ∼5500 MPa have been revealed, which corresponds to the microhardness of the intermetallic compound Al3Ti. No formation of titanium aluminide in welded junctions that were not subjected to additional heat treatment has been revealed by X-ray diffraction. The holding of the composites at 630°C is accompanied by the formation of interlayers of intermetallic compounds of the Al3Ti type. Intermetallic compounds of two morphological types are formed in the welds. In the regions of vortex zones, compact precipitates of Al3Ti are formed; in the other regions of the welds, intermetallic compounds in the form of a film are precipitated. The intermetallic compounds of the first type grow more rapidly and in final account absorb the precipitates of the film type. The activation of diffusion in the upper junctions that occurs upon heating of the welded composites is favored by the nonequilibrium state of the material caused by the strain hardening of the initial samples. In the welds located deeper than the 13th layer, no signs of the formation of compact intermetallic compounds have been revealed upon the annealing for 5 h and less.

Structure and Fatigue Crack Resistance of Multilayer Materials produced by Explosive Welding

Multilayer materials produced by explosive welding of low carbon steel were investigated. Non-uniform structure of interlayer boundary was characterized using visible light microscopy, SEM and TEM. It was shown that 4 zones with different structure and mechanical properties present in the welded seams. To estimate fatigue properties of the multilayer materials kinetic diagram of fatigue failure were used. It was revealed that larger boundary waves give more significant contribution to fatigue crack resistance. In experiments carried out in the current research number of cycles to failure of multilayer materials was higher than those for bulk materials.

Formation of the Intermetallic Layers in Ti-Al Multilayer Composites

Commercially pure aluminum and commercially pure titanium plates have been explosively welded and annealed at temperature of 630 °C for 5, 20, 50 and 100 hours. The investigation of intermetallic formed during explosion welding and heat treatment processes has been carried out. The metallographic studies showed variation in the intermetallic volume fraction according to the deformation degree of different interfaces. Moreover the relation between the intermetallic layer thickness and time of explosively welded “Al-Ti” composite annealing has been found. The X-ray analysis reviled that intermetallic layer formed during the heat treatment process consisted of Al3Ti compound.

Peculiarities of Weld Seams and Adjacent Zones Structures Formed in Process of Explosive Welding of Sheet Steel Plates

The structure and mechanical properties of the laminates produced by explosive welding of low carbon steel were investigated. The maximum number of layers in the composites was 21. It was shown that the structure of the composite is not uniform across the thickness of the layers and along the boundaries in the shape of the wave. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the sizes of the grain-subgrain clusters forming in the weld adjacent zones are about 100…400 nm. The maximum temperature was reached in the areas of the vortices. High-strength martensite was formed in these zones in the process of cooling. The strength properties and toughness of the com-posite is almost 2 times higher compared with the properties of the original plates. It was shown that the boundaries of welds are the barriers inhibiting the development of fatigue cracks.

Metallic glass formation at the interface of explosively welded Nb and stainless steel

The interface between explosively welded niobium and stainless steel SUS 304 was studied using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy. The wavy interface along which vortex zones were located was observed. The vortex zones formed due to the mixing of materials typically had amorphous structure. Inoue’s criteria of glass formation were used to explain this result. The effect of the composition, cooling rate and pressure on the glass formation are discussed. The conditions of deformation, heating, and cooling as well as shockwaves propagation were numerically simulated. We show that the conditions of vortex zone formation resemble the conditions of rapid solidification processes. In contrast to the “classical” methods of rapid solidification of melt, the conditions of metastable phase formation during explosive welding are significantly complicated by the fluctuations of composition and pressure. Possible metastable structures formation at the interface of some common explosively joined materials is predicted.

Cladding of Tantalum and Niobium on Titanium by Electron Beam, Injected in Atmosphere

The aim of the work was to clad Ti-Ta-Nb coating on a substrate of pure titanium. Cladding was carried out by non-vacuum electron-beam treatment. As a result a good quality coating thickness of about 2 mm was obtained. Microstructural and microhardness tests were conducted. Dendritic structure and the borders of the former grains of β-phase were revealed. At the microlevel, the coating has a martensitic structure. The average hardness of coating is about 4000 MPa.

Structural Changes of Surface Layers of Steel Plates in the Process of Explosive Welding

Structural changes developing in surface layers of plates from steel 20 in the process of explosive welding are studied with the help of light metallography and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Mathematical simulation is used to compute the depth of the action of severe plastic deformation due to explosive welding of steel plates on the structure of their surface layers.

Structure and Microhardness of Cu-Ta Joints Produced by Explosive Welding

The structure and microhardness of Cu-Ta joints produced by explosive welding were studied. It was found that, during explosive welding, an intermediate layer 20⋯40 μm thick with a finely dispersed heterophase structure, formed between the welded copper and tantalum plates. The structure of the layer was studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Microvolumes with tantalum particles distributed in a copper matrix and microvolumes of copper particles in a tantalum matrix were detected. The tantalum particles in copper have a size of 5⋯500 nm, with a predominance of 5⋯50 nm particles. A mechanism for the formation of the finely dispersed heterophase structure in explosive welding is proposed. The microhardness of interlayers with the heterophase structure reaches 280 HV, which far exceeds the microhardness of copper (~130 HV) and tantalum (~160 HV). Many twins of deformation origin were found in the structure of the copper plate. The effect of heating temperature in the range from 100 to 900°C on the microhardness of copper, tantalum, and the Cu-Ta welded joint was studied. Upon heating to 900°C, the microhardness of the intermediate layer decreases from 280 to 150 HV. The reduction in the strength properties of the weld material is mainly due to structural transformations in copper.