Zhengbing Xiao

First Principles Study of Adsorption of Hydrogen on Typical Alloying Elements and Inclusions in Molten 2219 Al Alloy

To better understand the effect of the components of molten 2219 Al alloy on the hydrogen content dissolved in it, the H adsorption on various positions of alloying element clusters of Cu, Mn and Al, as well as the inclusion of Al2O3, MgO and Al4C3, were investigated by means of first principles calculation, and the thermodynamic stability of H adsorbed on each possible site was also studied on the basis of formation energy. Results show that the interaction between Al, MgO, Al4C3 and H atoms is mainly repulsive and energetically unfavorable; a favorable interaction between Cu, Mn, Al2O3 and H atoms was determined, with H being more likely to be adsorbed on the top of the third atomic layer of Cu(111), the second atomic layer of Mn(111), and the O atom in the third atomic layer of Al2O3, compared with other sites. It was found that alloying elements Cu and Mn and including Al2O3 may increase the hydrogen adsorption in the molten 2219 Al alloy with Al2O3 being the most sensitive component in this regard.

The Effect of Homogenization on the Corrosion Behavior of Al–Mg Alloy

The effect of homogenization on the corrosion behavior of 5083-O aluminum alloy is presented in this paper. The intergranular corrosion and exfoliation corrosion were used to characterize the discussed corrosion behavior of 5083-O aluminum alloy. The variations in the morphology, the kind and distribution of the precipitates, and the dislocation configurations in the samples after the homogenization were evaluated using optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The effects of the highly active grain boundary character distribution and the types of constituent particles on the corrosion are discussed on the basis of experimental observations. The results indicated that the corrosion behavior of 5083-O alloy was closely related to the microstructure obtained by the heat treatment. Homogenization carried out after casting had the optimal effect on the overall corrosion resistance of the material. Nevertheless, all samples could satisfy the requirements of corrosion resistance in marine applications.

Effect of ultrasonic casting on microstructure and its genetic effects on corrosion performance of 7085 aluminum alloy

The effect of ultrasonic casting on microstructure and its genetic effects on strength, exfoliating corrosion, stress corrosion and electrochemical behavior of 7085 aluminum alloy have been investigated by optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM), together with tensile testing, exfoliation corrosion testing, electrical conductivity testing and polarization curve. The results indicate that ultrasonic casting could refine the grain, alleviate segregation and inhibit the formation of coarse nonequilibrium phase in as-cast state; in addition, the dissolution of nonequilibrium phase in the ultrasonic ingot during homogenization turns out to be more thorough. What is more, the plate processed from ultrasonic ingot holds a lower ratio of recrystallization after solid solution, and the corrosion performance of the alloy was improved under T6 temper, without sacrifice of strength, owing to the dispersive distribution of strengthening phase in the matrix and the coarse, sparse GBPs.

First principles calculations of formation energies and elastic constants of inclusions α-Al2O3, MgO and AlN in aluminum alloy

In this paper, the formation energies and elastic constants of α-Al2O3, MgO and AlN in both rock salt (cubic) and wurtzite (hexagonal) structures were investigated by first principles calculations. The results show that the formation energy being −17.8, −6.3, −3.06 and −3.46 eV/formula unit for α-Al2O3, MgO, AlN (rock salt) and AlN (wurtzite). It suggests that in the ground state, α-Al2O3 is relatively more stable than MgO and AlN. The elastic properties for a polycrystalline in the ground state were calculated with the obtained elastic constants, the elastic properties reveal the rock salt structure AlN is the hardest particles among all the inclusions, and all of these inclusions are classified as brittle materials, which is detrimental to the ductile nature of aluminum matrix. The calculated anisotropy index shows that the AlN (wurtzite) and α-Al2O3 have a lower degree of anisotropy compared with MgO and AlN (rock salt). The calculated results are in good agreement with the values of experimental and other works.

Modeling of Flow Stress of 2026 Al Alloy under Hot Compression

In order to investigate the workability and to optimize the hot forming parameters for 2026 Al alloy, hot compression tests were performed in the temperature range of 350~450°C with strain rates of 0.01~10 s−1 and 60% deformation degree on a Gleeble-1500 thermosimulation machine. The true stress-strain curves obtained exhibit that the stress increases dramatically at small strains and then moves forward to a steady state, showing dynamic flow softening. Meanwhile, on the basis of Arrhenius equation, a constitutive equation on the flow stress, temperature, and strain rate was proposed. Yet, the values of the predicated stress from the equation and the true stress differ by as much as 50.10%. Given the intricate impact of precipitation of the second phases on the strength of 2026 Al alloy, the introduction of a revised equation with the reinforcement of temperature was carried out, fitting well with the experiment data at peak stresses. What is more, both pictures obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were compatible with all the inferences.