Quantitative Metallography of the Age Hardening Precipitate in Superalloys by Replica Electron Microscopy

2009 ◽  
pp. 119-119-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
RJ Seher ◽  
HM James ◽  
GN Maniar
Author(s):  
J. E. O'Neal ◽  
K. K. Sankaran

Al-Li-Cu alloys combine high specific strength and high specific modulus and are potential candidates for aircraft structural applications. As part of an effort to optimize Al-Li-Cu alloys for specific applications, precipitation in these alloys was studied for a range of compositions, and the mechanical behavior was correlated with the microstructures.Alloys with nominal compositions of Al-4Cu-2Li-0.2Zr, Al-2.5Cu-2.5Li-0.2Zr, and Al-l.5Cu-2.5Li-0.5Mn were argon-atomized into powder at solidification rates ≈ 103°C/s. Powders were consolidated into bar stock by vacuum pressing and extruding at 400°C. Alloy specimens were solution annealed at 530°C and aged at temperatures up to 250°C, and the resultant precipitation was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM).The low-temperature (≲100°C) precipitation behavior of the Al-4Cu-2Li-0.2Zr alloy is a combination of the separate precipitation behaviors of Al-Cu and Al-Li alloys. The age-hardening behavior at these temperatures is characteristic of Guinier-Preston (GP) zone formation, with additional strengthening resulting from the coherent precipitation of δ’ (Al3Li, Ll2 structure), the presence of which is revealed by the selected-area diffraction pattern (SADP) shown in Figure la.


Author(s):  
M. Tamizifar ◽  
G. Cliff ◽  
R.W. Devenish ◽  
G.W. Lorimer

Small additions of copper, <1 wt%, have a pronounced effect on the ageing response of Al-Mg-Si alloys. The object of the present investigation was to study the effect of additions of copper up to 0.5 wt% on the ageing response of a series of Al-Mg-Si alloys and to use high resolution analytical electron microscopy to determine the composition of the age hardening precipitates.The composition of the alloys investigated is given in Table 1. The alloys were heat treated in an argon atmosphere for 30m, water quenched and immediately aged either at 180°C for 15 h or given a duplex treatment of 180°C for 15 h followed by 350°C for 2 h2. The double-ageing treatment was similar to that carried out by Dumolt et al. Analyses of the precipitation were carried out with a HB 501 Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope. X-ray peak integrals were converted into weight fractions using the ratio technique of Cliff and Lorimer.


2013 ◽  
Vol 770 ◽  
pp. 88-91
Author(s):  
Amporn Wiengmoon ◽  
Pattama Apichai ◽  
John T.H. Pearce ◽  
Torranin Chairuangsri

Effects of T6 artificial aging heat treatment on microstructure, microhardness and ultimate tensile strength of Al-4.93 wt% Si-3.47 wt% Cu alloy were investigated. The T6 age hardening treatment consists of solution treatment at 500±5°C for 8 hours followed by quenching into hot water at 80°C and artificial aging at 150, 170, 200 and 230°C for 1-48 hours followed by quenching into hot water. Microstructure was characterized by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). XRD and SEM revealed that the microstructure in the as-cast condition consists of primary dendritic α-Al, acicular-plate and globular forms of eutectic Si and intermetallic phases including globular Al2Cu and a flake-shape Al5FeSi. By T6 aging hardening, some intermetallics were dissolved and spheroidized. The volume fraction of eutectic phases in the as-cast, solution-treated, and solution-treated plus aging at 170°C for 24 hours is 17%, 12% and 10%, respectively. TEM results showed that precipitates in under-aging condition at 170° C for 6 hours are in the form of disc shape with the diameter in the range of 7-20 nm. At peak aging at 170°C for 24 hours, thin-plate precipitates with about 3-10 nm in thickness and 20-100 nm in length were found, lengthening to about 30-200 nm at longer aging time. The microhardness and ultimate tensile strength were increased from 71 HV0.05 and 227 MPa in the as-cast condition up to 140 HV0.05 and 400 MPa after solution treatment plus aging at 170°C for 24 hours, and decreased at prolong aging time.


Materials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 2316
Author(s):  
Feijoo ◽  
Cabeza ◽  
Merino ◽  
Pena ◽  
Rey

Pre-alloyed micron-sized 6005A Al alloy (AA 6005A) powders, with a Mg/Si atomic ratio of 0.75, obtained by high pressure inert gas atomization were consolidated by uniaxial cold pressing at 200 MPa into cylindrical Al containers and hot extruded at 450, 480 and 500 °C with an extrusion rate of 7:1, followed by artificial T6 precipitation hardening. Ageing conditions were varied between 170 °C and 190 °C and times of 6, 7 and 8 hours. The microstructure of the extruded profiles was analysed using X-Ray diffractometry (XRD), light optical microscopy (LOM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to study the possible phase transformations. After our results, the peak-aging hardness condition was achieved at 180 °C for 6 h. Mechanical properties of the powder metallurgy (P/M) aluminium alloys consolidated by hot extrusion were superior to those of the extruded profiles of wrought alloy using conventional ingot metallurgy (I/M) billets. AA 6005A wrought P/M alloy via T6 heat treatment shown yield stress of 317 MPa and elongation of 21% at the extrusion pre-heating temperature of 500 °C.


Materials ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ines Häusler ◽  
Reza Kamachali ◽  
Walid Hetaba ◽  
Birgit Skrotzki

The age hardening response of a high-purity Al–4Cu–1Li–0.25Mn alloy (wt. %) during isothermal aging without and with an applied external load was investigated. Plate shaped nanometer size T1 (Al2CuLi) and θ′ (Al2Cu) hardening phases were formed. The precipitates were analyzed with respect to the development of their structure, size, number density, volume fraction and associated transformation strains by conducting transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) studies in combination with geometrical phase analysis (GPA). Special attention was paid to the thickening of T1 phase. Two elementary types of single-layer T1 precipitate, one with a Li-rich (Type 1) and another with an Al-rich (Defect Type 1) central layer, were identified. The results show that the Defect Type 1 structure can act as a precursor for the Type 1 structure. The thickening of T1 precipitates occurs by alternative stacking of these two elementary structures. The thickening mechanism was analyzed based on the magnitude of strain associated with the precipitation transformation normal to its habit plane. Long-term aging and aging under load resulted in thicker and structurally defected T1 precipitates. Several types of defected precipitates were characterized and discussed. For θ′ precipitates, a ledge mechanism of thickening was observed. Compared to the normal aging, an external load applied to the peak aged state leads to small variations in the average sizes and volume fractions of the precipitates.


2007 ◽  
Vol 539-543 ◽  
pp. 3595-3600
Author(s):  
Xin Hua Wu ◽  
Joaquin Del Prado ◽  
D. Hu ◽  
A. Huang ◽  
M.Q. Chu ◽  
...  

Samples of Ti-15Cr and Ti-15V-3Sn-3Al-3Cr (wt%) containing controlled additions of carbon up to 0.2wt% and different oxygen contents have been quenched and aged at temperatures between 400 and 600°C. Optical, scanning and analytical transmission electron microscopy have been used to characterise the microstructures of the quenched and aged samples. Hardness testing has been used to follow the kinetics and extent of age hardening, which are accelerated in Ccontaining samples. The addition of carbon results in the formation of Ti(CxOy) precipitates which pin grain boundaries in forged samples so that the grain size in the quenched C-containing samples is about a factor of ten less than that in the C-free samples. In the C-free samples coarse grain boundary alpha tends to form, but in the C-containing samples alpha precipitation is more uniform throughout the beta grains. The extent of omega precipitation is very different in the two alloys; the Ti-15Cr alloy forms athermal omega in the as-quenched samples and large omega precipitates are formed on ageing at 400°C. No evidence for omega has been obtained in the Ti-15-3. The hardening responses and microstructural observations are interpreted in terms of the different grain boundary oxygen contents in the C-containing and C-free samples and the different roles of omega and of carbon in the two alloys.


Author(s):  
Shelly Miyasato

The microstructure in lightweight aluminum-lithium alloys produced by two different quench rates after solution heat treatment were investigated using conventional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution electron microscopy (HREM). The formation mechanism, size and distribution of the phase δ’ (Al3Li) were compared, since the precipitate affects many of the mechanical properties in the age- hardening Al-Li system. The metastable δ’ phase has the L12 ordered structure based on the fcc lattice with a lattice parameter difference of -0.08% with the aluminum matrix. The equilibrium phase δ (AlLi) nucleates independently with the B32 structure. TEM yields direct evidence of δ’ formation, size and distribution which is unattainable by other methods due to the size of the precipitates and the presence of isostructural β’ (Al3Zr) dispersoids. Small blocks of Al-2.4Li-0.lZr and Al-2.6Li-lCu-0.5Mg-0.5Zr (wt.%) were solutionized at 550°C for 2 hrs, then either quenched in 0°C water or in still, ambient air. Electropolished foils were viewed in a Philips 301 (l00kV) or JEM 200CX (200 kV).


1991 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.W. Cahn ◽  
M. Takeyama ◽  
J.A. Horton ◽  
C.T. Liu

An alloy of composition (Co78Fe22)3V, which orders to an L12 superlattice below a critical temperature (Tc) of 910 °C, was rolled to 25–50% reduction in the initially ordered condition and annealed at various temperatures above and below Tc and examined by hardness, tensile testing, optical and electron microscopy and dilatometry, in order to study the progress of recovery and recrystallization. Recrystallization was severely retarded on annealing below Tc; close to Tc, recrystallization was ≈ 300 × slower in the ordered than the disordered range. Although recrystallization started promptly, predominantly at grain boundaries, very rapid recovery-softening of the unrecrystallized regions progressively reduced the driving force for recrystallization and slowed it down drastically. However, at 770°and 500 °C, recovery-softening was replaced by some recovery-hardening (i.e., strain-age hardening). Above Tc, recrystallization was complete in a few seconds and a special annealing method was needed to measure such times accurately. Dilatometric measurements showed that most of the order destroyed by rolling was restored long before recrystallization began, but the restoration was never complete unless the alloy was heated up through Tc and then slow cooled. Electron microscopy showed no sign of any antiphase domains in recrystallized grains except for a few isolated domain boundaries on annealing at 770 °C. A model is proposed to rationalize the incidence of recovery-softening or strain-age hardening at different annealing temperatures.


2012 ◽  
Vol 514 ◽  
pp. 220-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenchao Yang ◽  
Lanping Huang ◽  
Ruirong Zhang ◽  
Mingpu Wang ◽  
Zhou Li ◽  
...  

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