Metallurgy Commons^™

Stress Relaxation Cracking In 347h Austenitic Steel Weldments Under Various Heat Treatments: Experiments And Modeling, Yi Yang

Doctoral Dissertations

347H austenitic stainless steel exhibits exceptional creep and corrosion resistance, rendering it an exemplary candidate for pipeline materials, particularly in mid- to high-temperature working conditions. However, due to constraints in component dimensions, welding has been chosen as the preferred method for joining pipeline systems extensively employed in nuclear power plants, fossil fuel plants, and petrochemical companies. The welding process entails the accumulation of residual stress during the cooling stage, along with the introduction of microstructure evolution. Moreover, the residual stress field and microstructure continuously evolve under service conditions, thereby intensifying the susceptibility of crack initiation and propagation. The initial residual …

Additive Manufacturing Of High-Performance Nanolamellar Eutectic High-Entropy Alloys, Jie Ren

Doctoral Dissertations

Additive manufacturing, also called three-dimensional (3D) printing, is an emerging technology for printing net-shaped components layer by layer for applications in automotive, aerospace, biomedical and other industries. In addition to the vast design freedom offered by this approach, metal 3D printing via laser powder-bed fusion (L-PBF) involves large temperature gradients and rapid cooling and provides exciting opportunities for producing microstructures and mechanical properties beyond those achievable by conventional processing routes. Although these extreme printing conditions enable microstructural refinement to the nanoscale for achieving high strength. However, high-strength nanostructured alloys by laser additive manufacturing often suffer from limited ductility. Eutectic high-entropy …

Characterization Of Residual Stress And Precipitate Evolution In Aluminum 2xxx Self-Reacting Friction Stir Welds, Benjamin Joe Wing

Doctoral Dissertations

2xxx series aluminum alloys possess attractive properties for structural aerospace applications including high strength to weight ratio, corrosion resistance, and stable cryogenic performance. Solid state joining processes are often employed to reduce weld defects and improve weld performance/consistency as many alloys of this range have poor weldability for traditional fusion based joining techniques. One such process, self-reacting friction stir welding (SRFSW) allows for consistent high-quality, welding of large and curved articles is often used in the construction of large structures such as launch vehicle liquid propellant tanks.

Despite the merits of this process, joint softening (a decrease in mechanical properties …

Investigation Of Microstructure And Mechanical Behavior Of Novel Powder-Extruded Al-Ce-Mg Alloys, Mairym Vazquez

Doctoral Dissertations

Pursuing advanced structural materials with enhanced performance, reduced weight, and lower costs is a constant endeavor in the aerospace and automotive industries. Conventional structural alloys, such as cast irons, carbon steels, and titanium alloys, have strength, weight, and cost limitations. Aluminum-based alloys, known for their lightweight and high strength, have gained popularity in these industries. This dissertation focuses on investigating microstructure and mechanical behavior of novel powder-extruded Al-Ce-Mg alloys as potential candidates for high-performance structural materials.

This research explores using powder extrusion, a well-established forging methodology in the steel industry, to produce Al-Ce-Mg alloys with improved properties and aims to …

A Study Of The Effect Of Machine Parameters On Defects Produced In Eos Additive Manufacturing Builds, Tina White Malone

Doctoral Dissertations

⁵Additive Manufacturing (AM) is defined in the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard F2792 as “a process of joining materials to make objects from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer, as opposed to subtractive manufacturing methodologies. It provides an advanced method for building complex geometries and parts for high performance with a significant cost savings. ⁵⁵It’s advantages include the reduced need for tools and molds commonly used in manufacturing, a large reduction in wasted material, much shorter manufacturing cycles for the building of hardware, and its uniquely inherent ability to produce much more complex shapes. …

Al-Ce-Mn Solidification Phase Selection And Solid-State Phase Transformations, Kevin Dean Sisco

Doctoral Dissertations

The design of Al alloys has become an important topic in Additive Manufacturing (AM). The adoption of Al alloys to AM has been difficult because traditional alloys are prone to processing related defects such as solidification cracking. The Al-10Si-Mg alloy was initially adopted because of its resistance to solidification cracking. However, the Al-10Si-Mg alloy has reduced tensile properties especially at high temperatures, where the silicon phase coarsens readily. Therefore, efforts have been made to design new Al alloys that can take advantage of the AM processing. The goal of new alloys is to optimize based on rapid solidification conditions, while …

Compositional Effects On The Mechanical Properties And Deformation Mechanisms Of Face-Centered Cubic High-Entropy Alloys, Joshua L. Cicotte

Doctoral Dissertations

High entropy alloys, HEAs, have expanded the compositional spaces of modern metallurgy into highly concentrated and chemically complex alloys, previously believed to be unproductive. With this newfound compositional freedom, comes additional control, allowing for new investigations into previously established mechanisms. To discover new and potentially useful alloys, the HEA field is continually expanding away from the equiatomic solid solutions that dominated early work. The work presented in this dissertation utilizes two, intuitive, pseudo-binary HEA systems to investigate compositional effects on solid solution strengthening in highly concentrated alloys and twinning and transformation induced plasticity. It furthers the understanding of the mechanical …

Fabrication, Thermophysical, And Mechanical Properties Of Cermet And Cercer Fuel Composites For Nuclear Thermal Propulsion, Neal D. Gaffin

Doctoral Dissertations

Nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) utilizes nuclear fission to double the efficiency of
in-space propulsion systems compared with traditional combustion rocket systems.
NTP systems are limited primarily by the fuel material choice, due to the extreme
conditions they will need to endure, including temperatures up to 3000 K, multiple
thermal cycles with rapid heating and cooling, exposure to hot flowing hydrogen,
large thermal gradients, and high neutron flux. Particle based fuels, namely ceramic-
metallic (cermet) and ceramic-ceramic (cercer) composites are both promising fuel
element material candidates for NTP. Given the high temperature nature, these
materials are difficult to fabricate and very …

Fundamental Understanding Of The Transient Melt Pool Dynamics, Solidification Kinetics And Build Texture In Spot-Melt Additive Manufacturing Of Ti-6al-4v, Rakesh Rajaram Kamath

Doctoral Dissertations

The overarching goal of this dissertation is to better understand the underlying process-structure relationships in play during the implementation of a spot melt strategy for metal additive manufacturing, which has become a popular alternative to the conventional raster melt strategy for site-specific microstructure control. In the first part of this dissertation, the effect of a spot melt strategy on the solidification texture, variant selection, phase fraction, and their variations along the build height of an E-PBF Ti-6Al-4V is investigated in comparison to a conventional linear melt strategy using high-energy synchrotron x-ray diffraction. In spite of the thermal excursions involved, the …

Effects Of Plastic Deformation From Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing, Michael Pagan

Doctoral Dissertations

Nuclear energy technology can be exponentially advanced using advanced manufacturing, which can drastically transform how materials, structures, and designs can be built. Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing (UAM) represents one of the four main additive manufacturing methods, although it is also the newest. As UAM technology and applications develop, a fundamental understanding of the bonding mechanism is crucial to fully realize its potential. Currently UAM bonding is considered to occur through breaking down surface asperities and removing surface oxides. Plastic deformation occurs although its role is currently unclear. This research analyzes material configurations in a variety of geometries, with similar and dissimilar …

Scale Formation, Properties And De-Scaling In Steelmaking, Richard Osei

Doctoral Dissertations

During continuous castings, reheating, and hot rolling, slab surfaces are exposed to atmospheres containing oxidizing gases which results in scale formation. Inefficient removal of the formed scale during reheating affects product surface quality. The effect of steel composition and operating parameters on scale formation and scale removal efficiencies were investigated. Experimental investigations were carried out using a thermogravimetric (TGA) apparatus designed to replicate the combustion gas atmosphere and temperature in actual industrial slab reheat furnaces. Report on oxidation kinetics, scale structure and properties, and descaling were conducted on laboratory cast and industrial samples. Different characterization techniques were used to analyze …

Peritectic Behavior Detection And Prediction In Fe-C-Si-Mn-Al System, Damilola Balogun

Doctoral Dissertations

"The non-uniformity of shell growth in the continuous casting of peritectic steels constitutes a major barrier to the commercial production of many steel grades such as Advanced high strength steels (AHSS), transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steels, abrasion-resistant steels, advanced armor plate steels, and many newly proposed steel grades that contain high levels of silicon, manganese, and aluminum.

The shell growth non-uniformity experienced in the continuous casting of peritectic steels results in the formation of defects in the as-cast slab and therefore increases the operating risk from cast aborts and breakouts. The ability to predict and avoid peritectic behavior at the …

The Effect Of Mass Transport On Deposit Quality In Copper Electrowinning, Joseph Bauer

Doctoral Dissertations

"Roughness and nodulation of copper electrodeposits depend strongly on mass transfer conditions of copper ions to the electrode surface. Mass transfer properties in electrowinning electrolytes were first characterized. The effective diffusivity of cupric ion was measured with a rotating disk electrode in CuSO₄-H₂SO₄ electrolytes at temperatures relevant to electrowinning, with and without additives. Adding 20 mg L^-1 of chloride ion increased the measured diffusion coefficient, but commercial smoothing additives had little effect. An empirical formula to predict cupric diffusivity was generated for later use in mass transport modeling.

Boundary layer thickness information for commercial …

Corrosion Protection Mechanisms Of Trivalent Chromium Based Passivations On Γ-Znni Coated Al6061-T6 Alloy, Kevin Foster

Doctoral Dissertations

“The role of cobalt in trivalent chromium passivations (TCPs) to improve corrosion resistance of γ-ZnNi coated steel and aluminum is based on its effect on hexavalent chromium content in the passive layer. Investigations of both a cobalt-containing and cobalt-free TCP on SAE 1008 steel indicated that both passivations protect well for up to 1000 hours in neutral salt spray exposure (SSE). A repetition on Al 6061-T6 alloy indicated that TCP performed much better than cobalt-free TCP implicating the underlying substrate. Optical and electron micrographs indicated physical changes such as crack thickness, crack density, passivation porosity, and passivation thickness existed between …

Fundamentals Of Cavity Formation In Α-Fe And Fe-Cr Alloys, Yan-Ru Lin

Doctoral Dissertations

Ferritic-martensitic steels are attractive candidate materials for fusion and advanced fission reactors primarily due to their low swelling characteristic, attractive thermo-mechanical properties, and the potential for development of nanostructured ferritic alloys. However, significant discrepancies exist regarding the effect of solutes and irradiation temperature on cavity swelling under ion versus neutron irradiation conditions. Several mechanisms have been proposed that may affect cavity swelling, but no general theory or model has received complete acceptance to explain these phenomena.

To better understand the formation of cavities in ferritic steels, we have performed multi-temperature (400-550°C) single-beam and simultaneous dual-beam irradiations (ex-situ and in-situ) on …

Studies Of Creep Damage In The Heat-Affected Zone Of 9cr-1mo-Vnb Steel Weldments, John William Bohling

Doctoral Dissertations

Creep strength enhanced ferritic (CSEF) steels are used in power plants for high temperature, pressure-containing welded components such as steam headers. One CSEF steel, 9Cr-1Mo-VNb or Grade 91, often exhibits localized creep deformation and cavitation in the weld heat-affected zone (HAZ), identified as Type IV creep damage. Three Grade 91 weldments were evaluated by creep testing and microstructural characterization using optical and scanning electron microscopy, combined with image analysis, to investigate microstructure evolution and creep damage. Two weldments fabricated from dissimilar base metals were used for direct comparison of creep damage in two materials simultaneously during cross-weld testing. Longitudinal creep …

Transients In Plastic Instabilities During Thermo-Mechanical Reversals In An Additively Manufactured Ti6al4v, Sabina C. Kumar

Doctoral Dissertations

A complex interaction of process variables in an evolving geometry during Additive Manufacturing (AM), can bring about spatial and temporal transients of temperature and stress within each layer in a part. Although AM shares commonalities with conventional processing techniques such as casting, welding, and thermo-mechanical process, published literature has shown that the steady-state conditions are not strictly valid during AM process. Macro-scale fluctuations of thermal gradients (dT/dx: 10³ to 10⁷ K/m) combined with local changes in thermal expansion coefficients, crystallographic strains and localized stress-strain constitutive properties in conjunction with thermal cycles, can bring about a plastic strain gradient …

Microstructural Characterization And Analysis Of Laser-Powder Bed Fusion Grcop-84 By Metallurgical And Neutron Scattering Methods, Robert Minneci

Doctoral Dissertations

GRCop-84 or Cu-8Cr-4Nb (atomic %) is a structural high-heat-flux Cu alloy that is dispersion strengthened by C15 Laves Cr₂Nb [Niobium Chromide] that has seen significant development with laser additive manufacturing (AM), specifically laser-powder bed fusion (L-PBF) in recent years. A review of the development, properties, and performance of GRCop alloys has been conducted and provides pertinent background. The body of research provides fundamental understanding regarding microstructure evolution and phase interaction of GRCop-84 through characterization by neutron and X-ray scattering and metallographic techniques. This research is intended to bridge fundamental research of L-PBF, Cu alloys, structural thermal conductors, and …

Local Dynamics And Atomic-Level Structures In Metallic Liquids And Glasses, Zengquan Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

Structure and dynamics at the atomic level in metallic glasses and liquids are poorly understood when compared to the crystalline solids. For instance, even though viscosity is the basic property of liquids, its atomistic origin is not well elucidated. Also, the physics of the fragility of liquids and the crossover phenomenon is far from full understanding. Earlier, through molecular dynamics (MD) simulations a direct connection was found between the timescale describing the macroscopic viscous behavior, the Maxwell relaxation time (t_M = h/G_∞, h is the shear viscosity and G_∞ is the high-frequency shear modulus) and …

Development Of A Novel Casting Alloy Composed Of Aluminum And Cerium With Other Minor Additions, Zachary Cole Sims

Doctoral Dissertations

Eutectic casting alloys of aluminum and cerium are a recent discovery and early research describes an alloy with great potential to meet the growing demand for a lightweight, economical, high specific strength material for use in high-temperature or extremely corrosive environments. The broad application of aluminum alloys across industry sectors is driven by their collection of balanced properties including economical cost, high specific strength, and flexibility of their production pathways. Additionally, their high corrosion resistance makes them a good choice for structural materials. Despite this, the push to use aluminum alloys in ever more extreme environments with higher temperatures, stresses, …

Design And Development Of Strong And Ductile Single Bcc Refractory High-Entropy Alloys For High-Temperature Applications, Chanho Lee

Doctoral Dissertations

The objectives of this proposed study are to (1) design and develop single BCC phase refractory high-entropy alloys (HEAs) for the high-temperature applications, (2) investigate the deformation mechanisms of refractory HEAs, (3) improve an integrated approach, coupling focused experiments and theoretical modeling, to design, discover, and develop HEAs, and (4) understand the alloy design-microstructure-property-performance links underlying the mechanical behavior of refractory HEA systems for gas-turbine applications

A traditional alloy system generally includes one or two principal elements that form the matrix with other additional elements, e.g., iron or aluminum alloys, to strengthen some specific properties, such as strength and corrosion …

Cracking And Earing Phenomenon In Deep-Drawn Stainless Steel Alloys: Role Of Transformation Kinetics, Microstructure, And Texture, Peijun Hou

Doctoral Dissertations

The enhancement of formability of advanced high-strength TRIP-assisted steel alloys is a challenging assignment for industrial application due to the cracking phenomenon. The critical factor governing the cracking behavior is residual-stress concentration resulting from the inhomogeneous plastic deformation and microstructural evolution during the forming processes. Martensitic phase transformation kinetics, constituent phases, and crystallographic texture in TRIP-assisted steel alloys are correlated to the microstructure evolution, resulting in phase-specific stress concentration. In the current study, we are aiming at understanding the fundamental mechanisms responsible for the cracking phenomenon and thus improving the formability of TRIP-assisted steel alloys. Four stainless steel (SS) alloys …

Development Of Stage-I Tempered High Strength Cast Steel For Ground Engaging Tools, Viraj Ashok Athavale

Doctoral Dissertations

"Ground Engaging Tools (GET) are the expendable replacement parts used in heavy machinery used with mining or construction equipment. GET’s protect the expensive machine components from the wear and tear found common in high-impact or high-abrasion environments. The goal of this project is to develop advanced next-generation alloy choices that outperforms the existing GET materials. A method of predicting tempered hardness of mixed microstructures was formulated. Using this model, two alloy series viz. Cr-Ni-Mo and Mn-Si-Mo-V were proposed and experimented with the goal of obtaining a high strength and impact resistant cast steel. Cast iterations of Cr-Ni-Mo alloy series were …

Oxide Inclusion Evolution And Factors That Influence Their Size And Morphology, Obinna M. Adaba

Doctoral Dissertations

"The evolution of oxide inclusion size distribution and the shape of the distribution during steelmaking and casting and the process variables that influence the inclusion characteristics at different stages were investigated and documented. A statistical method for transforming the 2D size distribution to their actual 3D distributions and the application of a kinetic model to determine nucleation and growth mechanisms were tested. Finally, laboratory experiments were performed to study the effects of preexisting inclusions, steel active oxygen content, and supersaturation on the size and morphology of Al₂O₃ inclusions.

The inclusion size, composition, and morphology following steel deoxidation …

Micro-Slotting Technique For Measurement Of Local Residual Stress In Metallic Materials, Elizabeth Anne Burns

Doctoral Dissertations

"Micro-slotting, a micro-scale relaxation residual stress measurement technique, has been shown in recent years to be a reliable method for measuring local residual stresses in metallic materials. This technique employs an SEM-focused ion beam system for milling and imaging, digital image correlation software to track displacements due to residual stress relaxation, and finite element analysis for interpolation of the original local stress state. In this research, a micro-slotting procedure was established using finite element models and was used to obtain sub-surface residual stress measurements on machined and shot peened planar Ti-6Al-4V samples. These measurements were compared to macro-scale XRD residual …

Chemistry, Design, And Processing Of Two-Stage Trip Steel, Daniel M. Field

Doctoral Dissertations

"A regular solution model was developed to calculate the chemical driving force for α-martensite formation, ΔG^{λ→ α}_Chem. A model for the strain energy, ΔG^λ→α_str, was formulated utilizing the Young’s modulus (E), lattice misfit squared (δ²), and molar volume (Ω) which opposed the chemical driving force for α-martensite formation. The M^α_S was determined at a temperature at which ΔG^λ→α_Chem + ΔG^λ→α_str = 0. In conjunction with a previously developed ε-martensite model, a means of predicting the volume fraction of λ-austenite was determined; and it was shown that for values …

Experimental And Computational Investigation Of High Entropy Alloys For Elevated-Temperature Applications, Haoyan Diao

Doctoral Dissertations

To create and design novel structural materials with enhanced creep-resistance, fundamental studies have been conducted on high-entropy alloys (HEAs), using (1) thermodynamic calculations, (2) mechanical tests, (3) neutron diffraction, (4) characterization techniques, and (5) crystal-plasticity finite-element modeling (CPFEM), to explore future candidates for next-generation power plants.

All the constituent binary and ternary systems of the Al-Cr-Cu-Fe-Mn-Ni and Al-Co-Cr- Fe-Ni systems were thermodynamically modeled within the whole composition range. Comparisons between the calculated phase diagrams and literature data are in good agreement. The Al_xCrCuFeMnNi HEAs have disordered [face-centered-cubic (FCC) + body-centered-cubic (BCC)] crystal structures. Excessive alloying of the Al …

Microstructure Control And Correlation To Creep Properties In Grade 91 Steel Weldment After Thermo-Mechanical Treatments And An Fe-30cr-3al Alloy Strengthened By Fe2nb Laves Phase, Benjamin Allen Shassere

Doctoral Dissertations

Type IV cracking in weldments of steel pipes after creep deformation is a concern in modern fossil-fueled power plants. Two possible methods for minimizing or eliminating Type IV cracking will be discussed. The first method alters the initial microstructure of typical Grade 91 steel base metal before welding, while the second provides baseline microstructure characteristics and creep performance of a new alloy that is strengthened by the intermetallic Fe2Nb Laves phase. The initial microstructure of the Grade 91 steel can be controlled by Thermo-Mechanical Treatments, which aids in precipitation of fine (5-10 nm) MX particles in austenite before transformation to …

Fundamental Understanding Of Bond Formation During Solid State Welding Of Dissimilar Metals, Niyanth S

Doctoral Dissertations

Dissimilar metal welds are used in a wide range of applications to effect light weighting and for corrosion resistance. While fusion welding techniques are limited in their ability to fabricate dissimilar metal welds, solid state welding techniques are limited in their ability to fabricate complex geometries with dissimilar metal combinations. Hence alternative techniques need to be explored to fabricate complex geometries with dissimilar metals welds in the solid state. Ultrasonic additive manufacturing in a solid state additive manufacturing process that combines ultrasonic welding with mechanized tape layering to fabricate dissimilar metal welds in the solid state. Though extensive feasibility studies …

Microstructure And Creep Deformation Behavior Of A Hierarchical-Precipitate-Strengthened Ferritic Alloy With Extreme Creep Resistance, Gian Song

Doctoral Dissertations

Hierarchical NiAl [nickel-aluminium compound]/Ni₂TiAl [nickel-titanium-aluminum compound] or single Ni₂TiAl-precipitate-strengthened ferritic alloys have been developed by adding 2 or 4 weight percent [wt. %] of Ti [titanium] into a previously-studied NiAl-precipitate-strengthened ferritic alloy. A systematic investigation has been conducted to study the interrelationships among the composition, microstructure, and mechanical behavior, and provide insight into deformation micro-mechanisms at elevated temperatures.

The microstructural attributes of hierarchical or single precipitates are investigated in the Ti-containing ferritic alloys. Transmission-electron microscopy in conjunction with the atom-probe tomography is employed to characterize the detailed precipitate structure. It is observed that the 2-wt.-%-Ti alloy …