Thesis (MTech (Mechanical Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009. / The objective of this project was to measure the performance of high-strength aluminium alloys as injection mould material compared against conventionally used tool steel.

Different problems arise from choice of setting technological parameters during welding of alluminium alloys. Choice of welding method, welding speed and material influence mechanical properties of welds. During welding of alluminium alloys come difficulties due to oxidation of thin surface layer of material. One of ways how to overcome this obtacle is to use hybrid laser-TIG welding method. In this diploma thesis is described influence of welding processes on mechanical properties of two alluminium alloys(EN AW-5754 H22, EN AW-6082 T6) and change in their microstructure during welding.

Among Al alloys, 2219 Al alloy possesses highest strength at elevated temperatures. However, the application of this alloy is also restricted to a maximum temperature of 150°C, above which, the strengthening precipitates coarsen rapidly resulting in a steep loss in strength. In the present investigation, an attempt has been made to improve the elevated as well as the room temperature properties of commercial 2219 alloy by the addition of small amounts of Sc & Mg, Sc & Zr, and Nb & Zr, and these are designated as 2219ScMg, 2219ScZr and 2219NbZr alloys, respectively. All the three alloys were cast in the form of strips in a water cooled copper mould using suction casting technique with a cooling rate of 102 to 103 K/s. The as-cast strips of 2219ScMg alloys were naturally aged and cold rolled by following three different routes (a) cold rolling, (b) homogenization and cold rolling and (c) hot rolling and cold rolling. A significant improvement in strength has been achieved by all the three wrought processing routes with greater than 140 MPa increase in 0.2% proof stress at room temperature and greater than 110 MPa increase in 0.2% proof stress at 200°C as compared to 2219-T851 alloy having 0.2% proof stress of 345 MPa at room temperature and 205 MPa at 200°C. Hardness values, measured at room temperature after exposure at 200°C, remain stable up to 1000 h. Microstructural analysis of 2219ScMg alloy reveals that Al3Sc or Al3(Sc,Zr) dispersoids form during casting and GP zones form on {100} and {111} plane during natural ageing. Subsequently, rolling introduces higher dislocation densities in the matrix. All these microstructural features contribute to the improvement of the room temperature strength of the alloy. On exposure at 200°C, GP zones transform to mainly θ′ and a few Ω precipitates. A finer, homogeneous distribution of θ′ and Ωprecipitates yields higher strength. Sc and Mg atoms are segregated at the θ′/matrix interface, which gives rise to slower growth kinetics of θ′ precipitates. As a result, the alloy exhibits better thermal stability at 200°C. For 2219ScZr and 2219NbZr alloys, the processing of the cast strip involves a two stage ageing procedure. This includes first stage ageing at 375°C for 2219ScZr alloy and at 400°C for 2219NbZr alloy. This is followed by solution treatment at 535°C for 30 minutes and second stage ageing at 200°C for both the alloys. For 2219ScZr alloy, tensile tests performed at room temperature, 200°C and 250°C show 0.2% proof stress of 456 ± 22 MPa, 295 ± 20 MPa and 227 ± 2 MPa respectively. The alloy is found to be thermally stable at 200°C. It is found that the addition of Sc and Zr results in the formation of Al3(Sc,Zr) precipitates during ageing at 375°C. These precipitates are fully coherent with the matrix and have a significant precipitation hardening effect. They also stimulate the nucleation of θ′′ and θ′precipitates during ageing at 200°C making them finer, homogeneously distributed and thermally stable. Therefore, the strength of the alloy at ambient and elevated temperature is improved. For 2219NbZr alloy, the tensile tests show that 0.2% proof stress is 409 ± 10 MPa at room temperature and 252 ± 22 MPa at 200°C. Microstructural observations reveal that the increase in strength is mainly due to the high volume fraction of Al3Zr precipitates, which form during ageing at 400°C, and due to the formation of θ′′ and θ′precipitates during ageing at 200°C. It is observed that Al3Zr precipitates facilitate the nucleation of θ′′ and θ′ precipitates making them finer, homogeneously distributed and thermally stable, as in the case of 2219ScZr alloy.

In several applications of casting, dendritic microstructure is not desirable as it results in poor mechanical properties. Enhancing the fluid flow in the mushy zone by stirring is one of the means to suppress this dendritic growth. The strong fluid flow detaches the dendrites from the solid-liquid interface and carries them into the mold to form slurry. The detached dendrites coarsen in the slurry and form into rosette or globular particles based on processing conditions. This slurry offers less resistance to flow even at a high solid fraction and easily flow into the die-cavity. The above principle is the basis of a new manufacturing technology called “semi-sold forming” (SSF), in which metal alloys are cast in the semi-solid state. This technique has several advantages over other existing commercial casting processes, such as reduction of macrosegregation, reduction of porosity and low forming efforts. A major challenge existing in semisolid manufacturing is the production of metallic slurry in a consistent manner. The main difficulty arises because of the presence of a wide range of process parameters affecting the quality of the final product. An established method of producing slurry is by stirring the alloy using an electromagnetic stirrer. From an elaborate review of literature, it is apparent that solidification in presence of electromagnetic stirring involves a wide range of shear and cooling rates variation. However, the CFD models found in the literature are generally not based on accurate rheological properties, which are known to be functions of the relevant process parameters. Hence, there is a clear need for a comprehensive numerical model for such a solidification process, involving accurate rheological data for the semisolid slurry subjected to a range of processing conditions. The objective of the present work is to develop a numerical model for studying the transport phenomena during solidification with linear electromagnetic stirring. The study is presented in the context of a billet making process in a cylindrical mould using linear electromagnetic stirring. The mould consists of two parts: the upper part of the mould is surrounded by a linear electromagnetic stirrer forming the zone of active stirring, and the lower part of the mould is used to cool the liquid metal. The material chosen for the study is Al-7.32%Si (A356) alloy, commonly used for die casting applications. A complete numerical model will therefore have two major components: one dealing with rheological behavior of the semisolid slurry, and the other involving macroscopic modeling of the process using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques. For the latter part of the model, determination of rheological behavior of the slurry is a pre-requisite. The rheological characteristics of the stirred slurry, as a function of shear rate and cooling rate, is determined experimentally using a concentric cylinder viscometer. Two different series of experiments are performed. In the first series, the liquid metal is cooled at a constant cooling rate and sheared with different shear rates to get the effect of shear rate on viscosity. In the second series of experiments, the liquid metal is cooled at different cooling rates and sheared at a constant shear rate to obtain the effect of cooling rate on viscosity. During all these experiments, the shear rate is calculated from the measured angular velocity of spindle using inductive position sensor; viscosity of the slurry is calculated based on the torque applied to the slurry and angular velocity of the spindle; and the solid fraction is calculated from measured temperature of the slurry based on Schiel equation. From these data, a constitutive relation for variable viscosity is established, which is subsequently used in a numerical model for simulating the transport phenomena associated with the solidification process. The numerical model uses a set of single-phase governing equations of mass, momentum, energy and species conservation. The set of governing equations is solved using a pressure based finite volume technique, along with an enthalpy based phase change algorithm. The numerical simulation of this process also involves modeling of Lorentz force field. The numerical study involves prediction of temperature, velocity, species and solid fraction distribution. First, studies are performed for a base case with a moderate stirring intensity of 250A primary current and 50 Hz frequency. It is found that the electromagnetic forces have maximum values near the mould periphery, which results in an ascending movement of the slurry near the mould periphery. Because of continuity, this slurry comes down along the axis of the mould. Stirring produces a strong fluid flow which results good mixing in the melt. Correspondingly, a homogenized temperature distribution is found in the domain. Because of strong stirring, the solid fraction in the slurry is found to be distributed almost uniformly. It is also found that fragmentation of dendrites increases solid fraction in the slurry with processing time. During processing, the continuous rejection of solute makes the liquid progressively solute enriched. It is predicted from the present study that the remaining liquid surrounding the primary solid phase finally solidifies with a near-eutectic composition, which is desirable from the point of view of semisolid casting. Correspondingly, a set of experiments are performed to validate the numerically predicted results. The numerical predictions of temperature variations are in good agreement with experiments, and the predicted flow field evolution correlate well with the microstructures obtained through experiments at various locations, as observed in the numerical results. Subsequently the study is extended to predict the effect of process parameters such as stirring intensity and cooling rate on the distributions of solid fraction and solute in the domain. It is found, from the simulation, that the solidification process is significantly affected by stirring intensity. At increasing primary excitation current, the magnitude of Lorentz force increases and results in increase of slurry velocity. Correspondingly, the fragmentation of dendrites from the solid/liquid is more during solidification at higher stirring intensity, which increases the fraction of solid in the slurry to a high value. It is also found that the solute and fraction of solid in the liquid mixes well under stirring action. Thus, a near uniform distribution of solute and solid fraction is found in the domain. It is found that stirring at high currents produces high solid fraction in the liquid. Also, at very low cooling rate, the solid fraction in the liquid increases. The present study focuses on the model development and experimental validation for solidification with linear electromagnetic stirring for producing a rheocast billet. Further studies highlighting the effects of various process parameters on the thermal history and microstructure formation are also presented.

Aluminium alloys, which are the most widely used materials in the aircraft and aerospace industries, find their applications due to high strength–to-density ratio, resistance to catastrophic fracture, high degree of toughness, fabricability including good weldability and availability. High strength aluminum alloys are used in different forms like sheets, forgings and extruded rods, welded and machined components in the aerospace industry. One major application of the aluminium alloys in the space sector is in the launch vehicle and satellite sub-systems. The Indian Space Research Organization has met major challenges of indigenization of suitable aluminium alloys, for example, Al-Cu alloys (like AA2219) and Al–Zn-Mg alloys (like AA7075 and AFNOR 7020). Many failures of the metallic sub-systems made of different grades of aluminum alloys have confirmed that high levels of residual stresses and unacceptable microstructures have played a role. Crystallographic texture in these materials has a very significant role to play in the performance of these materials in service. The anisotropy in the mechanical properties caused by crystallographic texture would add to the woes of the existing problems of residual stresses and directionality in the microstructure. In this context, a detailed study of crystallographic texture and residual stresses of high strength aluminium alloys is mandatory. It is also important to study the influence of texture on the anisotropy in mechanical properties. The present research programme aims at addressing some of these aspects. The entire work has been divided in three major sections, namely macro and micro texture analysis, non-destructive measurement of residual stresses using X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and the Ultrasonic Testing (UST) and the study of anisotropy in the mechanical properties arising due to the above two factors. The thesis composition is as follows. In Chapter I, a detailed survey of the literature has been presented wherein basic physical metallurgy for different aluminum alloys of interest has been given. Thereafter, details of texture measurement by the X-ray diffraction and Electron Back Scatter Diffraction (EBSD) are presented. This is followed by a detailed review on the texture studies carried out in aluminium alloys under various conditions. Literature review on the two non-destructive methods, namely the X-ray diffraction and ultrasonic method has been carried out in detail. In order to account for microstructural changes, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) was carried out. Recent work on the mechanical property anisotropy arising due to high degree of mechanical working in aluminium alloys has been reviewed. Chapter II includes the experimental details involved in the course of the present investigation. The procedural details of cold rolling and associated microstructural changes are given in this chapter. This is followed by the texture measurement methods. Experimental details of the bulk texture measurement using the X-ray diffraction and micro texture measurements by the Electron Back Scatter Diffraction (EBSD) in the SEM are described. Details of the texture computation procedure as well as micro texture analysis methods are also presented. Basic principles of the non-destructive methods of measuring residual stresses, viz., the X-ray diffraction and the Ultrasonic testing, including the theory of measurements, are dealt with. Finally, the details of measurements of anisotropy in mechanical properties, including simulation carried out, for the three alloys are delineated. Chapter III deals with the results of the crystallographic texture measurements carried out on the cold rolled and artificially aged aluminium alloys. Results obtained from the pole figure analysis, Orientation Distribution Function (ODF) method and estimation of the various fibres present in the cold rolled material and the volume fraction of the texture components are discussed in detail for the three aluminium alloys. Results of the micro texture measurements using the EBSD are presented, explained and analyzed in detail. A comparison of the inverse pole figures (IPFs), Image Quality (IQ) maps, Misorientation angle, Grain Orientation Spread (GOS), Kernal Average Misorientation (KAM), CSL boundaries, Grain size and Grain boundary character distribution (GBCD) for materials cold rolled to different reduction for each of the alloys are done and analyzed. Conclusions are drawn regarding the evolution of texture from the above analysis. Deformation texture components Cu, Bs and S increase from the starting material as the rolling percentage increases. On the other hand, recrystallization texture components of Goss and Cube are observed to be weak. AFNOR 7020 developed the strongest texture followed by the AA7075 and AA2219 alloys. The Bs component is stronger in AFNOR 7020 alloy. This is attributed to the shear banding. Average KAM value increases as the cold working in the material increases confirming that the material contains high dislocation density at higher working percentages. Chapter IV deals with residual stresses in the aluminium alloys. Measurement of residual stresses has been carried out on the same sheets and plates, wherever it was possible, using the two methods. The residual stresses have been measured in two mutually perpendicular directions of the aluminium alloy sheets. Residual stress measurements by the ultrasonic method using the Critically Refracted Longitudinal (LCR) wave technique is also used to measure the subsurface stresses non-destructively. Acousto Elastic Coefficients (AEC) is determined for the alloys, in uniaxial tension. Using the AEC for the alloys, the RS at a depth of 3mm are evaluated using a 2MHz probe. Results of the stresses measured by the two methods have been discussed. The trends and anisotropy in the stress values due to texture are discussed and compared with the literature available. Surface residual stresses by the XRD method show compressive stresses at a majority of the locations. Residual stresses measured by the ultrasonic technique, which has a depth of penetration of about 3mm, have shown tensile stresses on many locations. Residual stresses are influenced by the crystallographic texture. Anisotropy in stress values in the longitudinal and transverse directions is demonstrated. In Chapter V, the anisotropy in mechanical properties for the three alloys is discussed in detail. The anisotropy in the three directions, namely the parallel, transverse and 45 deg orientation to the rolling directions is evaluated. The Lankford parameter, otherwise known as Plastic Anisotropy Ratio “r”, has been measured from the tensile tests of the alloy samples in the cold rolled conditions. These have been compared with the computed “r” from the XRD ODF data using the VPSC simulations and found to be qualitatively matching. These trends are discussed with the available literature on the anisotropy of the mechanical properties for aluminium alloys. Samples subjected to high cold rolling show anisotropy of UTS, YS and ‘n’ values. Experimentally measured “r” values in all the deformation conditions match the trend qualitatively with the simulated ones. The maximum anisotropy was observed at 45o orientation to the rolling direction in all the three alloys. Chapter VI gives the summary of the results from the study and the suggestions for future work.