This study analyzed the influence of ball size and process control agents on the refinement and dehydrogenation behavior of TiH2 powder. Powders milled using ZrO2 balls with diameters of 0.1 mm, 0.3 mm, and 0.3+0.5+1 mm exhibited a bimodal particle size distribution, of which the first mode had the smallest size of 0.23 μm for the 0.3 mm balls. Using ethanol and/or stearic acid as process control agents was effective in particle refinement. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that dehydrogenation of the milled powder started at a relatively low temperature compared to the raw powder, which is interpreted to have resulted from a decrease in particle size and an increase in defects. The dehydrogenation kinetics of the TiH2 powder were evaluated by the magnitude of peak shift with heating rates using thermogravimetric analysis. The activation energy of the dehydrogenation reaction, calculated from the slope of the Kissinger plot, was measured to be 228.6 kJ/mol for the raw powder and 194.5 kJ/mol for the milled powder. TEM analysis revealed that both the milled and dehydrogenated powders showed an angular shape with a size of about 200 nm.

This study explored the process-structure-property (PSP) relationships in Ti-6Al-4V alloys fabricated through direct energy deposition (DED) additive manufacturing. A systematic investigation was conducted to clarify how process variables—specifically, manipulating the cooling rate and energy input by adjusting the laser power and scan speed during the DED process—influenced the phase fractions, pore structures, and the resultant mechanical properties of the samples under various processing conditions. Significant links were found between the controlled process parameters and the structural and mechanical characteristics of the produced alloys. The findings of this research provide foundational knowledge that will drive the development of more effective and precise control strategies in additive manufacturing, thereby improving the performance and reliability of produced materials. This, in turn, promises to make significant contributions to both the advancement of additive manufacturing technologies and their applications in critical sectors.

This study investigated the effects of revolution speed and ball size in planetary milling on the microstructure and dehydrogenation behavior of TiH2 powder. The particle size analysis showed that the large particles present in the raw powder were effectively refined as the revolution speed increased, and when milled at 500 rpm, the median particle size was 1.47 μm. Milling with a mixture of balls of two or three sizes was more effective in refining the raw powder than milling with balls of a single size. A mixture of 3 mm and 5 mm diameter balls was the optimal condition for particle refinement, and the measured median particle size was 0.71 μm. The dependence of particle size on revolution speed and ball size was explained by changes in input energy and the number of contact points of the balls. In the milled powder, the endothermic peak measured using differential thermal analysis was observed at a relatively low temperature. This finding was interpreted as the activation of a dehydrogenation reaction, mainly due to the increase in the specific surface area and the concentration of lattice defects.

High-Manganese (Mn) austenitic steel, with over 24 wt% Mn content, offers outstanding mechanical properties in cryogenic settings, making it a potential replacement for existing cryogenic materials. This high manganese steel exhibits high strength, ductility, and wear resistance, making it promising for applications like LNG tanks, flanges, and valves. To operate in cryogenic environments, hot forging and heat treatment processes are vital, especially in flange production. The cooling rate during high-temperature cooling after hot forging plays a critical role in influencing the microstructure and mechanical properties of high manganese steel. The rate at which cooling occurs during this process influences the size of the grains and the distribution of manganese and consequently has an impact on mechanical properties. This study assessed the microstructure and mechanical properties based on different cooling rates during the hot forging of High-Mn steel flanges. Comparing air and water cooling after hot forging, followed by heat treatment, revealed notable differences in grain size. These differences directly impacted mechanical properties such as tensile strength, hardness, and Charpy impact property. Understanding these effects is crucial for optimizing the performance and reliability of High-Mn steel in cryogenic applications.

AA1050/AA6061/AA1050 layered sheet was fabricated by cold roll-bonding process and subsequently T4 and T6 aging-treated. Two commercial AA1050 sheets of 1 mm thickness and one AA6061 sheet of 2 mm thickness were stacked up so that an AA6061 sheet was located between two AA1050 sheets. After surface treatments such as degreasing and wire brushing, they were then roll-bonded to a thickness of 2 mm by cold rolling. The roll-bonded Al sheets were then processed by natural aging (T4) and artificial aging (T6) treatments. The as roll-bonded Al sheets showed a typical deformation structure, where the grains are elongated in the rolling direction. However, after the T4 and T6 aging treatments, the Al sheets had a recrystallized structure consisting of coarse grains in both the AA5052 and AA6061 regions with different grain sizes in each. In addition, the sheets showed an inhomogeneous hardness distribution in the thickness direction, with higher hardness in AA6061 than in AA1050 after the T4 and T6 age treatments. The tensile strength of the T6-treated specimen was higher than that of the T4-treated one. However, the strength-ductility balance was much better in the T4-treated specimen than the T6-treated one. The tensile properties of the Al sheets fabricated in the present study were compared with those in a previous study.

The effects of annealing on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al–Zn–Mg–Cu–Si alloys fabricated by high-energy ball milling (HEBM) and spark plasma sintering (SPS) were investigated. The HEBM-free sintered alloy primarily contained Mg2Si, Q-AlCuMgSi, and Si phases. Meanwhile, the HEBM-sintered alloy contains Mg-free Si and θ-Al2Cu phases due to the formation of MgO, which causes Mg depletion in the Al matrix. Annealing without and with HEBM at 500oC causes partial dissolution and coarsening of the Q-AlCuMgSi and Mg2Si phases in the alloy and dissolution of the θ-Al2Cu phase in the alloy, respectively. In both alloys, a thermally stable α-AlFeSi phase was formed after long-term heat treatment. The grain size of the sintered alloys with and without HEBM increased from 0.5 to 1.0 μm and from 2.9 to 6.3 μm, respectively. The hardness of the sintered alloy increases after annealing for 1 h but decreases significantly after 24 h of annealing. Extending the annealing time to 168 h improved the hardness of the alloy without HEBM but had little effect on the alloy with HEBM. The relationship between the microstructural factors and the hardness of the sintered and annealed alloys is discussed.

The purpose of this study was to analyze microstructural changes and evaluate the mechanical properties of TWIP steel subjected to variations in heat treatment, in order to identify optimal process conditions for enhancing the performance of TWIP steel. For this purpose, a homogenization heat treatment was conducted at 1,200 °C for 2 h, followed by hot rolling at temperature exceeding 1,100 °C and cold rolling. Annealing heat treatment is achieved using a muffle furnace in the range of 600 °C to 1,000 °C. The microstructure characterization was performed with an optical microscope and X-ray diffraction. Mechanical properties are evaluated using micro Vickers hardness, tensile test, and ECO index (UTS × Elongation). The specimens annealed at 900 °C and 1,000 °C experienced a significant decrease in hardness and strength due to decarburization. Consequently, the decarburization phenomenon is closely related to the heat treatment process and mechanical properties of TWIP steel, and the effect of the microstructure change during annealing heat treatment.

In this study, changes in the microstructure and mechanical properties of cast and extruded Al-2Li-1Ce alloy materials were investigated as the Mg content was varied. The density decreased to 2.485, 2.46 and 2.435 g/cm3 when the Mg content in the Al-2Li-1Ce alloy was increased to 2, 4 and 6 wt%, respectively. Intermetallic compounds of Al11Ce3 were observed in all alloys, while the β-phase of Al3Mg2 was observed in alloys containing 6 wt% of Mg. In the extruded material, with increasing Mg content the average grain size decreased to 84.8, 71.6 and 36.2 μm, and the fraction of high-angle grain boundaries (greater than 15°) increased to 82.8 %, 88.6 %, and 91.8 %, respectively. This occurred because the increased Mg content promotes dynamic recrystallization during hot extrusion. Tensile test results showed that as the Mg content increased, both the yield strength and tensile strength increased. The yield strength reached 86.1, 107.3, and 186.4 MPa, and the tensile strength reached 215.2, 285, and 360.5 MPa, respectively. However, it is worth noting that the ductility decreased to 27.78 %, 25.65 %, and 20.72 % as the Mg content increased. This reduction in ductility is attributed to the strengthening effect resulting from the increased amount of dissolved Mg, and grain refinement due to dynamic recrystallization.

Boron carbide (B4C) is highly significant in the production of lightweight protective materials when added to aluminum owing to its exceptional mechanical properties. In this study, a method for fabricating Al-B4C composites using high-energy ball milling and directed energy deposition (DED) is presented. Al-4 wt.% B4C composites were fabricated under 21 different laser conditions to analyze the microstructure and mechanical properties at different values of laser power and scan speeds. The composites fabricated at a laser power of 600 W and the same scan speed exhibited the highest hardness and generated the fewest pores. In contrast, the composites fabricated at a laser power of 1000 W exhibited the lowest hardness and generated a significant number of large pores. This can be explained by the influence of the microstructure on the energy density at different values of laser power.

This study aims to examine the correlation between microstructures and the mechanical properties of two highstrength API X70 linepipe steels with different specimen directions and Moaddition. The microstructure of the Mo-added steel has an irregularly shaped AF, GB matrix with pearlite because of the relatively large deformation in the non-recrystallization temperature region, while that of the Mo-free steel shows a PF matrix with bainitic microstructure. In the Mo-added steel, the M/A (martensite-austenite) in granular bainite (GB) and pearlite act as crack initiation sites with decreased upper shelf energy and an increased ductile to brittle transition temperature (DBTT). Regardless of Mo addition, all of the steels demonstrate higher strength and lower elongation in the T direction than in the L direction because of the short dislocation glide path and ease of pile-up at grain boundaries. In addition, the impact test specimens with T-L direction had a lower impact absorbed energy and higher DBTT than those with the L-T direction because the former exhibit shorter unit crack path compared to the latter.

The Ag/WC electrical contacts were prepared via powder metallurgy using 60 wt% Ag, 40 wt% WC, and small amounts of Co3O4 with varying WC particle sizes. After the fabrication of the contact materials, microstructure observations confirmed that WC-1 had an average grain size (AGS) of 0.27 μm, and WC-2 had an AGS of 0.35 μm. The Ag matrix in WC-1 formed fine grains, whereas a significantly larger and continuous growth of the Ag matrix was observed in WC-2. This indicates the different flow behaviors of liquid Ag during the sintering process owing to the different WC sizes. The electrical conductivities of WC-1 and WC-2 were 47.8% and 60.4%, respectively, and had a significant influence on the Ag matrix. In particular, WC-2 exhibited extremely high electrical conductivity owing to its large and continuous Ag-grain matrix. The yield strengths of WC-1 and WC-2 after compression tests were 349.9 MPa and 280.7 MPa, respectively. The high yield strength of WC-1 can be attributed to the Hall–Petch effect, whereas the low yield strength of WC-2 can be explained by the high fraction of high-angle boundaries (HAB) between the WC grains. Furthermore, the relationships between the microstructure, electrical/mechanical properties, and deformation mechanisms were evaluated.

Titanium, which has excellent strength and toughness characteristics, is increasingly used in the aerospace field. Among the titanium alloys used for body parts, more than 80 % are Ti-6Al-4V alloys with a tensile strength of 931 MPa. The spark plasma sintering (SPS) method is used for solidification molding of powder manufactured by the mechanical milling (MM) method, by sintering at low temperature for a short time. This sintering method avoids coarsening of the fine crystal grains or dispersed particles of the MM powder. To improve the mechanical properties of pure titanium without adding alloying elements, stearic acid was added to pure titanium powder as a process control agent (PCA), and MM treatment was performed. The properties of the MM powder and SPS material produced by solidifying the powder were investigated by hardness measurement, X-ray diffraction, density measurement and structure observation. The processing deformation of the pure titanium powder depends on the amount of stearic acid added and the MM treatment time. TiN was also generated in powder treated by MM 8 h with 0.50 g of added stearic acid, and the hardness of the powder was higher than that of Ti-6Al-4V alloy when treated with MM for 8 h. When the MM-treated powder was solidified in the SPS equipment, TiC was formed by the solid phase reaction. The SPS material prepared as a powder treated with MM 8 h by adding 0.50 g of stearic acid also formed TiN and exhibited the highest hardness of Hv1253.

Because magnets fabricated using Nd-Fe-B exhibit excellent magnetic properties, this novel material is used in various high-tech industries. However, because of the brittleness and low formability of Nd-Fe-B magnets, the design freedom of shapes for improving the performance is limited based on conventional tooling and postprocessing. Laserpowder bed fusion (L-PBF), the most famous additive manufacturing (AM) technique, has recently emerged as a novel process for producing geometrically complex shapes of Nd-Fe-B parts owing to its high precision and good spatial resolution. However, because of the repeated thermal shock applied to the materials during L-PBF, it is difficult to fabricate a dense Nd-Fe-B magnet. In this study, a high-density (>96%) Nd-Fe-B magnet is successfully fabricated by minimizing the thermal residual stress caused by substrate heating during L-PBF.

This research investigated how adding Sb (0.75, 1.0, 2.0 and 5.0 wt%) to as-extruded aluminum alloys affected their microstructure, mechanical properties, electric and thermal conductivity. The addition of Sb resulted in the formation of AlSb intermetallic compounds. It was observed that intermetallic compounds in the alloys were distributed homogenously in the Al matrix. As the content of Sb increased, the area fraction of intermetallic compounds increased. It can be clearly seen that the intermetallic compounds were crushed into fine particles and homogenously arrayed during the extrusion process. As the Sb content increased, the average grain size decreased remarkably from 282.6 μm (0.75 wt%) to 109.2 μm (5.0 wt%) due to dynamic recrystallization by the dispersed intermetallic compounds in the aluminum matrix during the hot extrusion. As the Sb content increased from 0.75 to 2.0 wt%, the electrical conductivity decreased from 61.0 to 59.8 % of the International Annealed Copper Standard. Also, as the Sb content increased from 0.75 to 2.0 wt%, the ultimate tensile strength did not significantly change, from 67.3 to 67.8 MPa.

Changes in the mechanical properties and microstructure of an IN 939 W alloy according to the sintering heating rate were evaluated. IN 939 W alloy samples were fabricated by spark plasma sintering. The phase fraction, number density, and mean radius of the IN 939W alloy were calculated using a thermodynamic calculation. A universal testing machine and micro-Vickers hardness tester were employed to confirm the mechanical properties of the IN 939W alloy. X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, Cs-corrected-field emission transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry were used to evaluate the microstructure of the alloy. The rapid sintering heating rate resulted in a slightly dispersed γ' phase and chromium oxide. It also suppressed the precipitation of the η phase. These helped to reinforce the mechanical properties.

A typical trade-off relationship exists between strength and elongation in face-centered cubic metals. Studies have recently been conducted to enhance strength without ductility reduction through surface-treatment-based ultrasonic nanocrystalline surface modification (UNSM), which creates a gradient microstructure in which grains become smaller from the inside to the surface. The transformation-induced plasticity effect in Fe-Mn alloys results in excellent strength and ductility due to their high work-hardening rate. This rate is achieved through strain-induced martensitic transformation when an alloy is plastically deformed. In this study, Fe-6%Mn powders with different sizes were prepared by high-energy ball milling and sintered through spark plasma sintering to produce Fe-6%Mn samples. A gradient microstructure was obtained by stacking the different-sized powders to achieve similar effects as those derived from UNSM. A compressive test was performed to investigate the mechanical properties, including the yielding behavior. The deformed microstructure was observed through electron backscatter diffraction to determine the effects of gradient plastic deformation.

Beta-titanium alloys are used in many industries due to their increased elongation resulting from their BCC structure and low modulus of elasticity. However, there are many limitations to their use due to the high cost of betastabilizer elements. In this study, biocompatible Ti-Mo-Fe beta titanium alloys are designed by replacing costly betastabilizer elements (e.g., Nb, Zr, or Ta) with inexpensive Mo and Fe elements. Additionally, Ti-Mo-Fe alloys designed with different Fe contents are fabricated using powder metallurgy. Fe is a strong, biocompatible beta-stabilizer element and a low-cost alloying element. The mechanical properties of the Ti-Mo-Fe metastable beta titanium alloys are analyzed in relation to the microstructural changes. When the Fe content increases, the tensile strength and elongation decrease due to brittle fracture despite a decreasing pore fraction. It is confirmed that the hardness and tensile strength of Ti-5Mo-2Fe P/M improve to more than 360 Hv and 900 MPa, respectively.

The effect of the laser beam diameter on the microstructure and hardness of 17-4 PH stainless steel manufactured via the directed energy deposition process is investigated. The pore size and area fraction are much lower using a laser beam diameter of 1.0 mm compared with those observed using a laser beam diameter of 1.8 mm. Additionally, using a relatively larger beam diameter results in pores in the form of incomplete melting. Martensite and retained austenite are observed under both conditions. A smaller width of the weld track and overlapping area are observed in the sample fabricated with a 1.0 mm beam diameter. This difference appears to be mainly caused by the energy density based on the variation in the beam diameter. The sample prepared with a beam diameter of 1.0 mm had a higher hardness near the substrate than that prepared with a 1.8 mm beam diameter, which may be influenced by the degree of melt mixing between the 17-4 PH metal powder and carbon steel substrate.

In this study, additive manufacturing of a functionally graded material (FGM) as an alternative to joining dissimilar metals is investigated using directed energy deposition (DED). FGM consists of five different layers, which are mixtures of austenitic stainless steel (type 316 L) and low-alloy steel (LAS, ferritic steel) at ratios of 100:0 (A layer), 75:25 (B layer), 50:50 (C layer), 25:75 (D layer), and 0:100 (E layer), respectively, in each deposition layer. The FGM samples are successfully fabricated without cracks or delamination using the DED method, and specimens are characterized using optical and scanning electron microscopy to monitor their microstructures. In layers C and D of the sample, the tensile strength is determined to be very high owing to the formation of ferrite and martensite structures. However, the elongation is high in layers A and B, which contain a large fraction of austenite.