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An experimental investigation for developing structure-property correlations of hot-rolled E410 steels with different carbon contents, i.e. 0.04wt.%C and 0.17wt.%C metal active gas (MAG) and cold metal transfer (CMT)-MAG weldments was undertaken.

Mechanical properties and microstructure of MAG and CMT-MAG weldments of two E410 steels with varying content of carbon were compared using standardized mechanical testing procedures, and conventional microscopy.

0.04wt.%C steel had strained ferritic and cementite sub-structures in blocky shape and large dislocation density, while 0.17wt.%C steel consisted of pearlite and polygonal ductile ferrite. This effected yield strength (YS), and microhardness being larger in 0.04wt.%C steel, %elongation being larger in 0.17wt.%C steel. Weldments of both E410 steels obtained with CMT-MAG performed better than MAG in terms of YS, ultimate tensile strength (UTS), %elongation, and toughness. It was due to low heat input of CMT-MAG that resulted in refinement of weld metal, and subzones of heat affected zone (HAZ).

A substantial improvement in YS (∼9%), %elongation (∼38%), and room temperature impact toughness (∼29%) of 0.04wt.%C E410 steel is achieved with CMT-MAG over MAG welding. Almost ∼10, ∼12.5, and ∼16% increment in YS, %elongation, and toughness of 0.17wt.%C E410 steel is observed with CMT-MAG. Relatively low heat input of CMT-MAG leads to development of fine Widmanstätten and acicular ferrite in weld metal and microstructural refinement in HAZ subzones with nearly similar characteristics of base metal.

The metallic alloys and their components fabricated via laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) suffer from the microvoids formed inevitably due to the extreme solidification rate during fabrication, which are impossible to be removed by heat treatment. This paper aims to remove those microvoids in as-built AlSi10Mg alloys by hot forging and enhance their mechanical properties.

AlSi10Mg samples were built using prealloyed powder with a set of optimized LPBF parameters, viz. 350 W of laser power, 1,170 mm/s of scan speed, 50 µm of layer thickness and 0.24 mm of hatch spacing. As-built samples were preheated to 430°C followed by immediate pressing with two different thickness reductions of 10% and 35%. The effect of hot forging on the microstructure was analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, electron backscattered diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Tensile tests were performed to reveal the effect of hot forging on the mechanical properties.

By using hot forging, the large number of microvoids in both as-built and post heat-treated samples were mostly healed. Moreover, the Si particles were finer in forged condition (∼150 nm) compared with those in heat-treated condition (∼300 nm). Tensile tests showed that compared with heat treatment, the hot forging process could noticeably increase tensile strength at no expense of ductility. Consequently, the toughness (integration of tensile stress and strain) of forged alloy increased by ∼86% and ∼24% compared with as-built and heat-treated alloys, respectively.

Hot forging can effectively remove the inevitable microvoids in metals fabricated via LPBF, which is beneficial to the mechanical properties. These findings are inspiring for the evolution of the LPBF technique to eliminate the microvoids and boost the mechanical properties of metals fabricated via LPBF.

Understanding and tailoring the solidification characteristics and microstructure evolution in as-built parts fabricated by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is crucial as they influence the final properties. Experimental approaches to address this issue are time and capital-intensive. This study aims to develop an efficient numerical modeling approach to develop the process–structure (P-S) linkage for LPBF-processed Inconel 718.

In this study, a numerical approach based on the finite element method and cellular automata was used to model the multilayer, multitrack LPBF build for predicting the solidification characteristics (thermal gradient G and solidification rate R) and the average grain size. Validations from published experimental studies were also carried out to ensure the reliability of the proposed numerical approach. Furthermore, microstructure simulations were used to develop P-S linkage by evaluating the effects of key LPBF process parameters on G × R, G/R and average grain size. A solidification or G-R map was also developed to comprehend the P-S linkage.

It was concluded from the developed G-R map that low laser power and high scan speed will result in a finer microstructure due to an increase in G × R, but due to a decrease in G/R, columnar characteristics are also reduced. Moreover, increasing the layer thickness and decreasing the hatch spacing lowers the G × R, raises the G/R and generates a coarse columnar microstructure.

The proposed numerical modeling approach was used to parametrically investigate the effect of LPBF parameters on the resulting microstructure. A G-R map was also developed that enables the tailoring of the as-built LPBF microstructure through solidification characteristics by tuning the process parameters.

This study aims to characterize the mechanical properties of sintered nano-silver under various sintering processes by nano-indentation tests.

Through microstructure observations and characterization, the influences of sintering process on the microstructure evolutions of sintered nano-silver were presented. And, the indentation load, indentation displacement curves of sintered silver under various sintering processes were measured by using nano-indentation test. Based on the nano-indentation test, a reverse analysis of the finite element calculation was used to determine the yielding stress and hardening exponent.

The porosity decreases with the increase of the sintering temperature, while the average particle size of sintered nano-silver increases with the increase of sintering temperature and sintering time. In addition, the porosity reduced from 34.88%, 30.52%, to 25.04% if the ramp rate was decreased from 25°C/min, 15°C/min, to 5°C/min, respectively. The particle size appears more frequently within 1 µm and 2 µm under the lower ramp rate. With reverse analysis, the strain hardening exponent gradually heightened with the increase of temperature, while the yielding stress value decreased significantly with the increase of temperature. When the sintering time increased, the strain hardening exponent increased slightly.

The mechanical properties of sintered nano-silver under different sintering processes are clearly understood.

This paper could provide a novel perspective on understanding the sintering process effects on the mechanical properties of sintered nano-silver.

This paper aims to identify the optimal forming angle for the selective laser melting (SLM) process and evaluate the mechanical properties of the SLM-formed GH3536 alloy in the aero-engine field.

Forming the samples with optimized parameters and analyzing the microstructure and properties of the block samples in different forming angles with scanning electron microscope, XRD, etc. so as to analyze and reveal the laws and mechanism of the block samples in different forming angles by SLM.

There are few cracks on the construction surface of SLM formed samples, and the microstructure shows columnar subgrains and cellular subgrains. The segregation of metal elements was not observed in the microstructure. The pattern shows strong texture strength on the (111) crystal plane. In the sample, the tensile strength of 60° sample is the highest, the plasticity of 90° forming sample is the best, the comprehensive property of 45° sample is the best and the fracture mode is plastic fracture. The comprehensive performance of the part is the best under the forming angle of 45°. To ensure the part size, performance and support structure processing, additional dimensions are added to the part structure.

In this paper, how to make samples with different forming angles is described. Combined with the standard of forged GH3536 alloy, the microstructure and properties of the samples are analyzed, and the optimal forming angle is obtained.

The purpose of this study is to design and process the optimal V-shaped microstructure for 7075 aluminum alloy and reveal its wear resistance mechanism and performance.

The hydrodynamic pressure lubrication models of the nontextured, V-shaped, circular and square microtextures are established. The corresponding oil film pressure distributions are explored. The friction and wear experiments are conducted on a rotating device. The effects of the microstructure shapes and sizes on the wear mechanisms are investigated via the friction coefficients and surface morphologies.

In comparison, the V-shaped microtexture has the largest oil film carrying capacity and the lowest friction coefficient. The wear mechanism of the V-shaped microtexture is dominated by abrasive and adhesive wear. The V-shaped microtexture has excellent wear resistance under a side length of 300 µm, an interval of 300 µm and a depth of 20 µm.

This study is conductive to the design of wear-resistant surfaces for friction components.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of electric current stressing on damping properties of Sn5Sb solder.

Uniformly shaped Sn5Sb solders were prepared as samples. The length, width and thickness of the samples were 60.0, 5.0 and 0.5 mm, respectively. The damping properties of the samples were tested by dynamic mechanical analyzer with a cooling system to control the test temperature in the range of −100 to 100°C. Simultaneously, electric current was imposed to the tested samples using a direct current supply. After tests, the samples were characterized using scanning electron microscope, electron backscatter diffraction and transmission electron microscope, which was aimed to figure out the damping mechanism in terms of electric current stressing induced microstructure evolution.

It is confirmed experimentally that the increase in damping properties is due to Joule heating and athermal effects of current stressing, in which Joule heating should make a higher contribution. G–L theory can be used to explain the damping properties of strain amplitude under current stressing by quantitative description of geometrically necessary dislocation density. While the critical strain amplitude and high temperature activation energy decrease with increasing electric current.

These results provide a new method for vibration reliability evaluation of high-temperature lead-free solders in serving electronics. Notably, this method should be also inspiring for the mechanical performance evaluation and reliability assessment of conductive materials and structures serving under electric current stressing.

Au stud bump bonding technology is an effective means to realize heterogeneous integration of commercial chips in the 2.5D electronic packaging. The purpose of this paper is to study the long-term reliability of the Au stud bump treated by four different high temperature storage times (200°C for 0, 100, 200 and 300 h).

The bonding strength and the fracture behavior are investigated by chip shear test. The experiment is further studied by microstructural characterization approaches such as scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectrometer and so on.

It is recognized that there were mainly three typical fracture models during the chip shear test among all the Au stud bump samples treated by high temperature storage. For solder bump before aging, the fracture occurred at the interface between the Cu pad and the Au stud bump. As the aging time increased, the fracture mainly occurred inside the Au stud bump at 200°C for 100 and 200 h. When aging time increased to 300 h, it is found that the fracture transferred to the interface between the Au stud bump and the Al Pad.

In addition, the bonding strength also changed with the high temperature storage time increasing. The bonding strength does not change linearly with the high temperature storage time increasing but decreases first and then increases. The investigation shows that the formation of the intermetallic compounds because of the reaction between the Au and Al atoms plays a key role on the bonding strength and fracture behavior variation.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Ce and Sb doping on the microstructure and thermal mechanical properties of Sn-1.0Ag-0.5Cu lead-free solder. The effects of 0.5%Sb and 0.07%Ce doping on microstructure, thermal properties and mechanical properties of Sn-1.0Ag-0.5Cu lead-free solder were investigated.

According to the mass ratio, the solder alloys were prepared from tin ingot, antimony ingot, silver ingot and copper ingot with purity of 99.99% at 400°C. X-ray diffractometer was adopted for phase analysis of the alloys. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometer were used to study the effect of the Sb and Ce doping on the microstructure of the solder. Then, the thermal characteristics of alloys were characterized by a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Finally, the ultimate tensile strength (UTS), elongation (EL.%) and yield strength (YS) of solder alloys were measured by tensile testing machine.

With the addition of Sb and Ce, the ß-Sn and intermetallic compounds of solders were refined and distributed more evenly. With the addition of Sb, the UTS, EL.% and YS of Sn-1.0Ag-0.5Cu increased by 15.3%, 46.8% and 16.5%, respectively. The EL.% of Sn-1.0Ag-0.5Cu increased by 56.5% due to Ce doping. When both Sb and Ce elements are added, the EL.% of Sn-1.0Ag-0.5Cu increased by 93.3%.

The addition of 0.5% Sb and 0.07% Ce can obtain better comprehensive performance, which provides a helpful reference for the development of Sn-Ag-Cu lead-free solder.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the ultra-high cycle fatigue behavior and ultra-slow crack propagation behavior of selective laser melting (SLM) AlSi7Mg alloy under as-built conditions.

Constant amplitude and two-step variable amplitude fatigue tests were carried out using ultrasonic fatigue equipment. The fracture surface of the failure specimen was quantitatively analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM).

The results show that the competition of surface and interior crack initiation modes leads to a duplex S–N curve. Both manufacturing defects (such as the lack of fusion) and inclusions can act as initially fatal fatigue microcracks, and the fatigue sensitivity level decreases with the location, size and type of the maximum defects.

The research results play a certain role in understanding the ultra-high cycle fatigue behavior of additive manufacturing aluminum alloys. It can provide reference for improving the process parameters of SLM technology.