Effect of Phosphorus and Strontium Additions on Formation Temperature and Nucleation Density of Primary Silicon in Al-19 Wt Pct Si Alloy and Their Effect on Eutectic Temperature

The influence of P and Sr additions on the formation temperature and nucleation density of primary silicon in Al-19 wt pct Si alloy has been determined, for small volumes of melt solidified at cooling rates _T of ~0.3 and 1 K/s. The proportion of ingot featuring primary silicon decreased progressively with increased Sr addition, which also markedly reduced the temperature for first formation of primary silicon and the number of primary silicon particles per unit volume �Nv: When combined with previously published results, the effects of amount of P addition and cooling rate on �Nv are in reasonable accord with �Nv� _T ¼ ðp=6fÞ1=2 109 [250 � 215 (wt pct P)0.17]�3, where �Nv is in mm�3, _T is in K/s, and f is volume fraction of primary silicon. Increased P addition reduces the eutectic temperature, while increased Sr appears to generate a minimum in eutectic temperature at about 100 ppmw Sr

Assessment of Ductile-to-Brittle Transition Behavior of Localized Microstructural Regions in a Friction-Stir Welded X80 Pipeline Steel with Miniaturized Charpy V-Notch Testing

Friction-stir welding (FSW) is an alternative welding process for pipelines. This technology offers sound welds, good repeatability, and excellent mechanical properties. However, it is of paramount importance to determine the toughness of the welds at low temperatures in order to establish the limits of this technology. Ductile-to-brittle transition curves were generated in the present study by using a small-scale instrumented Charpy machine and miniaturized V-notch specimens (Kleinstprobe, KLST); notches were located in base metal, heat-affected, stirred, and hard zones within a FSW joint of API-5L X80 Pipeline Steel. Specimens were tested at temperatures between 77 K (-196 °C) and 298 K (25 °C). Based on the results obtained, the transition temperatures for the base material and heat-affected zone were below 173 K (-100 °C); conversely, for the stirred and hard zones, it was located around 213 K (-60 °C). Fracture surfaces were characterized and showed a ductile fracture mechanism at high impact energies and a mixture of ductile and brittle mechanisms at low impact energies.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Inhibited coarsening of a sprayformed and extruded hypereutectic aluminium-silicon alloy in the semi-solid state

The microstructural evolution of a sprayformed and extruded hypereutectic aluminium-30% silicon-5% copper-2% magnesium alloy heated into the semi-solid state has been investigated. Liquid is formed initially by a quaternary eutectic reaction and then by a ternary melt reaction. These reactions occur relatively quickly. However, the binary Al-Si eutectic melt reaction takes a significant time – around several hours depending on the temperature. The coarsening rate constants (K) for the growth of the silicon particles are approximately 3 to 4 orders of magnitude lower than those for the majority of metal sprayformed alloys. This may be associated with difficulties in addition or removal of atoms from the low index silicon facets. Where growth does occur, agglomeration of silicon particles may play a large role, especially at higher liquid contents. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) gives evidence of agglomeration, and furthermore shows that high angle silicon-silicon boundaries are not wetted with liquid