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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of the soft annealing time on the microstructure and hydrogen embrittlement (HE) of Fe-0.22C-11.54Mn-2.05Al steels.

Steels A and B with different morphologies were prepared by cold rolling after warm rolling, long/short softening annealing and finally annealing at 700 °C for 30 min. Uncharged and charged samples were subjected to tensile, and HE behavior was studied by electron backscattered diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction.

The two samples exhibited similar tensile strengths. The homogeneous equiaxed microstructure of steel B was found to be more conducive to relieve its HE sensitivity. Steel A exhibited bimodal-grained microstructures – blocky and lath. The formation of crack in the blocky grains of steel A resulted in a significant reduction in its plasticity and tensile strength.

The high HE susceptibility of steel A is mainly connected with the inhomogeneity of martensite transformation.

The purpose of this paper is to report on the developments in manufacturing soft magnetic materials using laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF).

Ternary soft magnetic Fe-49Co-2V powder was produced by gas atomization and used in an L-PBF machine to produce samples for material characterization. The L-PBF process parameters were optimized for the material, using a design of experiments approach. The printed samples were exposed to different heat treatment cycles to improve the magnetic properties. The magnetic properties were measured with quasi-static direct current and alternating current measurements at different frequencies and magnetic flux densities. The mechanical properties were characterized with tensile tests. Electrical resistivity of the material was measured.

The optimized L-PBF process parameters resulted in very low porosity. The magnetic properties improved greatly after the heat treatments because of changes in microstructure. Based on the quasi-static DC measurement results, one of the heat treatment cycles led to magnetic saturation, permeability and coercivity values comparable to a commercial Fe-Co-V alloy. The other heat treatments resulted in abnormal grain growth and poor magnetic performance. The AC measurement results showed that the magnetic losses were relatively high in the samples owing to formation of eddy currents.

The influence of L-PBF process parameters on the microstructure was not investigated; hence, understanding the relationship between process parameters, heat treatments and magnetic properties would require more research.

The relationship between microstructure, chemical composition, heat treatments, resistivity and magnetic/mechanical properties of L-PBF processed Fe-Co-V alloy has not been reported previously.

In recent years, additive manufacturing (AM) has started to be used for manufacturing real functional parts and assemblies for critical applications in aerospace, automotive, and machinery industries. Most complex or assembled parts require internal features (IF) such as holes, channels, slots, or guides for locational and mating requirements. Therefore, it is critical to understand and compare the structural and mechanical properties of additively manufactured and conventionally machined IFs.

In this study, mechanical and microstructural properties of Inconel 718 (Inc718) alloy internal features, manufactured either as-built with AM or machining of additively manufactured (AMed) part thereafter were investigated.

The results showed that the average ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of additively manufactured center internal feature (AM-IF) is almost analogous to the machined internal feature (M-IF). However, the yield strength of M-IF is greater than that of AM-IF due the greater surface roughness of the internal feature in AM-IF, which is deemed to surpass the effect of microstructure on the mechanical performance. The results of digital image correlation (DIC) analysis suggest that AM-IF and M-IF conditions have similar strain values under the same stress levels but the specimens with as built IF have a more locally ductile region around their IF, which is confirmed by hardness test results. But this does not change global elongation behavior. The microstructural evolution starting from as-built (AB) and heat-treated (HT) samples to specimens with IF are examined. The microstructure of HT specimens has bimodal grain structure with d phase while the AB specimens display a very fine dendritic microstructure with the presence of carbides. Although they both have close values, machined specimens have a higher frequency of finer grains based on SEM images.

It was shown that the concurrent creation of the IF during AM can provide a final part with a preserved ultimate tensile strength and elongation but a decreased yield strength. The variation in UTS of AM-IF increases due to the surface roughness near the internal feature as compared to smooth internal surfaces in M-IF. Hence, the outcomes of this study are believed to be valuable for the industry in terms of determining the appropriate production strategy of parts with IF using AM and postprocessing processes.

A chromate conversion coating was prepared on the surface of bare AA2024 aluminum alloy by direct immersion in the chromating treatment bath, and the corrosion behavior of chromated AA2024 aluminum alloy in 3.5 per cent NaCl solution was studied by electrochemical measurement and microstructural observation.

According to the polarization curve test and the scanning electron microscope observation, the corrosion evolution of chromated AA2024 in 3.5 per cent NaCl solution was divided into the following three stages: coating failure, pitting corrosion and intergranular corrosion (IGC).

In the first stage, the chromate coating degraded gradually due to the combined action of chloride anions and water molecules, resulting in the complete exposure of AA2024 substrate to 3.5 per cent NaCl solution. Subsequently, in the second stage, chloride anions adsorbed at the sites of θ phase (Al2Cu) and S phase (Al2CuMg) on the AA2024 surface preferentially, and some corrosion pits initiated at the above two sites and propagated towards the deep of crystal grains. However, the propagation of a pit terminated when the pit front arrived at the adjacent grain boundary, where the initiation of IGC occurred.

Finally, in the third stage, the corrosion proceeded along the continuous grain boundary net and penetrated the internal of AA2024 substrate, resulting in the propagation of IGC. The related corrosion mechanisms for the bare and the chromated AA2024 were also discussed.

The purpose of this study to investigate the organized porous network zinc (OPNZ) scaffolds. Their mechanical characteristics, surface roughness and fracture mechanism were assessed in relation to their structural properties. The prospects of fused deposition modeling (FDM) for printing metal scaffolds via rapid tooling have also been studied.

Zn scaffolds with different pore and strut sizes were manufactured via the rapid tooling method. This method is a multistep process that begins with the 3D printing of a polymer template. Later, a paraffin template was obtained from the prepared polymer template. Finally, this paraffin template was used to fabricate the Zn scaffold using microwave sintering. The characterization of prepared Zn samples involved structural characterization, microstructural study, surface roughness testing and compression testing. Moreover, based on the Gibson–Ashby model analysis, the model equations’ constant values were evaluated, which can help in predicting the mechanical properties of Zn scaffolds.

The scanning electron microscopy study confirmed that the fabricated sample pores were open and interconnected. The X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the Zn scaffold contained hexagonal closed-packed Zn peaks related to the a-Zn phase, validating that scaffolds were free from contamination and impurity. The range for ultimate compressive strength, compressive modulus and plateau stresses for Zn samples were found to be 6.75–39 MPa, 0.14–3.51 GPa and 1.85–12.6 MPa by adjusting their porosity, which are comparable with the cancellous bones. The average roughness value for the Zn scaffolds was found to be 1.86 µm.

This research work can widen the scope for extrusion-based FDM printers for fabricating biocompatible and biodegradable metal Zn scaffolds. This study also revealed the effects of scaffold structural properties like porosity, pore and strut size effect on their mechanical characteristics in view of tissue engineering applications.

The purpose of this paper is to examine new alloys created from Alumix 431 powder and investigate their mechanical and electrochemical properties.

In this study; Alumix-431 alloy samples were prepared using the powder metallurgy (P/M) method applying cold (RT) and warm (50°C and 80°C) compaction methods under pressures of 200 and 250 MPa and were sintered at 600°C in N₂(g) atmosphere. Hardness and density of the samples were measured, and corrosion properties were determined by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy charting polarization curves. Surface characterization was determined by contact angle, scanning electron microscopy/mapping, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry and X-ray diffractometry images.

Alumix-431 alloys obtained upon compaction at 250 MPa/50 °C had the highest mechanical properties and corrosion resistance and good surface properties. On the surfaces of Alumix-431 alloys, α-Al, MgZn₂, Al₂,CuMg, Al₂,O₃, Al₂MgO₄ phases were recorded.

This study aimed to construct a correlation between mechanical and electrochemical properties of the newly created alloys (prepared under special conditions).

This paper aims to investigate the corrosion behaviour of heat-treated and cryorolled Al 5052 alloys in different Cl⁻ ion concentrations.

NaCl solutions with concentrations of 0, 0.5, 3.5 and 5.5 per cent were selected. Samples were subjected to pre-heat treatment (annealing at 300 °C and solution treatment at 540 °C) and cryorolling up to 30 per cent reduction before undergoing corrosion tests. The corrosion behaviour of the samples was then investigated by potentiodynamic polarization. The microstructure of the corroded samples was evaluated under an optical microscope, and the percentages of pits on their surfaces were calculated.

The cryorolled samples had a lower corrosion rate than the samples that were not cryorolled. The cryorolled sample that underwent solution treatment showed the highest corrosion resistance among all the samples tested.

The commercial impact of the study is the possibility of using the cryorolled Al alloy in various ion chloride environment.

The obtained results help in understanding the corrosion behaviour of cryorolled samples under different heat treatment conditions.

Hexagonal honeycombs with meso-metric cell size show excellent load bearing and energy absorption potential, which make them attractive in many applications. However, owing to their bend-dominated structure, honeycombs are susceptible to deformation localization. The purpose of this study is to provide insight about shear band propagation in struts of 3D-printed honeycombs and its relation to the achieved macroscopic mechanical behavior.

Hexagonal honeycombs and unit cell models are 3D-printed by fused deposition modeling (FDM). The samples are exposed to compression loading and digital image correlation technique and finite element analyses are incorporated.

It is found that the strain contours, which are obtained by finite element, are in agreement with experimental measurements made by DIC. In addition, three stages of shear band propagation in struts of 3D-printed honeycombs are illustrated. Then the correlation between shear band propagation stages and the achieved macroscopic mechanical responses is discussed in detail.

For the first time, a hierarchical activation of different modes of shear band propagation in struts of a 3D-printed honeycomb is reported. This information can be of use for designing a new generation of honeycombs with tailor-made localization and energy absorption potential.