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The fracture toughness improvement of Ni-Mn-Ga-Fe ferromagnetic shape memory alloys containing ductile particles was explained by direct observation of microfracture processes using an in situ loading stage installed inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM) chamber. The Ni-Mn-Ga-Fe alloys contained a considerable amount of ductile particles in the grains after the homogenization treatment at 800~1100℃. γ particles were coarsened and distributed homogeneously along β grain boundaries as well as inside β grains as the homogenization temperature increased. The in situ microfracture observation results indicated that γ particles effectively acted as blocking sites of crack propagation, and provided stable crack growth that could be confirmed by the R-curve analysis. This increase in fracture resistance with increasing crack length improved overall fracture properties of the alloys containing γ particles.

keyword : Ni-Mn-Ga-Fe, Magnetic shape memory alloy, Fracture toughness, Homogenization treatment, R-curve

A study was made of the effects of a Sn addition on the microstructure and microfracture mechanism of squeeze cast AZ51-xSn magnesium alloys. Microstructural observation, in situ fracture testing, and fractographic observations were conducted on these alloys to clarify the microfracture process. The microstructural analyses indicated that Mg2Sn particles as well as Mg17Al12 particles precipitated mainly along the solidification cell boundaries; the volume fraction of these hard particles increased as the amount of added Sn increased, with increased the strength. From in situ fracture observations of the AZ51-7Sn alloy, coarse precipitates located on the cell boundaries worked as easy crack propagation sites and caused abrupt intercellular fracturing. On the other hand, the overall fracture properties of the AZ51-3Sn alloy improved because crack propagation proceeded into the Mg matrix rather than into the cell boundaries as twins developed actively, as confirmed by an R-curve analysis. These findings suggest that the addition of 3~5 wt.% Sn is effective in improving both the tensile and fracture properties on the basis of well-developed twins, the blocking of crack propagation, and crack blunting.

keyword : magnesium alloy, fracture toughness, microfracture mechanism, twin, R-curve

In order to meet increasingly complex and rigorous technical specifications, extensive effort has been devoted to fabricate clad materials with multi-layered metal plates. In this study, novel stainless steel/aluminum/copper (STS/Al/Cu) three-ply clad materials were fabricated by a hot rolling process for cookware applications. The effect of the testing temperature on the mechanical properties of the clad materials and on each component metal was investigated during the tensile tests. The interface properties of the clad materials were also examined by optical microscopy (OM) and an electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA). The best mechanical and interfacial properties for a warm working process were found in a sample annealed at a temperature of 300℃. For the sample annealed at 400℃, the results of the tensile test indicated that interface delamination occurred only in the region of the Al/Cu interfaces. This was due to the formation of the thick and brittle intermetallic compound of Al2Cu in the Al/Cu interface. In contrast, no interface delamination was observed in the STS/Al interface, most likely due to its strong bond strength.

keyword : STS/Al/Cu clad materials, annealing temperature, tensile properties, interface, delamination, intermetalic compound

This work is concerned with a statistical analysis of factors affecting the irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) of austenitic stainless steels for core internals of pressurized water reactors (PWR). The microstructural and environmental factors were reviewed and critically evaluated by the statistical analysis. The Cr depletion at grain boundary was determined to have no significant correlation with the IASCC susceptibility. The threshold irradiation fluence of IASCC in a PWR was statistically calculated to decrease from 5.799 to 1.914 DPA with increase of temperature from 320 to 340℃. From the analysis of the relationship between applied stress and time-to-failure of stainless steel components based on an accelerated life testing model, it was found that B2 life of a baffle former bolt exposed to neutron fluence of 20 and 75 DPA was at least 2.5 and 0.4 year, respectively, within 95% confidence interval.

keyword : accelerated Life testing model, austenitic stainless steels, Cr depletion, irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking, IASCC, statistical approach, stress

As a fundamental study in the development of a distillation process for ferromanganese alloy melts, the evaporation behavior of an electrolytic manganese melt under reduced pressure was investigated. The melt temperature, vacuum degree, surface area of the melt, and reaction time were considered as experimental variables. The amount of vaporized manganese increases linearly as the reaction time increases, and the evaporation of manganese was promoted by increasing the temperature and surface area of the melt. In the pressure range below the equilibrium vapor pressure of manganese, the amount of vaporized manganese per unit surface area of the melt increased sharply with a decrease of the pressure in the reaction chamber. An empirical equation for the evaporation rate of manganese was derived by regression analysis. The evaporation coefficient of manganese was determined to be approximately 3.84×10(-3) (g·K1/2)/(Pa·cm2·min) under the investigated conditions.

keyword : evaporation of manganese, reduced pressure, temperature, surface area of melt, reaction time

A study on the welding of electrogalvanized TRIP (Transformation-Induced Plasticity) steels was done to compare the life of the electrode and the alloying phenomena on the electrode tip surface using single-phase AC and inverter-DC resistance welding processes. A longer life of the electrode (>200 welds) was achieved using the inverter-DC welding process. The tensile shear strength was higher in the electrode life test when welded with the inverter DC welding machine it maintained a higher value even when the welding nugget diameter was smaller than specified. When spot-welding was conducted using the single-phase AC welding process, a higher wear rate of the electrode was observed compared to that with the inverter-DC process. An alloying layer used to determine the rate of electrode growth showed differences in the metallurgical features of the surface alloying and Zn penetration depending on whether the single-phase AC process or the inverter-DC welding process was used. Moreover, changes in the dynamic resistance during the electrode life test were correlated with the electrode wear (or growth) rate.

keyword : single-phase AC welder, inverter DC welder, spot weld, electrode Life test, TRIP steel

The long-term reliability of Sn-0.3wt%Ag-0.7wt%Cu solder joints was evaluated and compared with Sn-3.0wt%Ag-0.5wt%Cu under thermal shock conditions. Test vehicles were prepared to use Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu and Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder alloys. To compare the shear strength of the solder joints, 0603, 1005, 1608, 2012, 3216 and 4232 multi-layer ceramic chip capacitors were used. A reflow soldering process was utilized in the preparation of the test vehicles involving a FR-4 material-based printed circuit board (PCB). To compare the shear strength degradation following the thermal shock cycles, a thermal shock test was conducted up to 2,000 cycles at temperatures ranging from -40℃ to 85℃, with a dwell time of 30 min at each temperature. The shear strength of the solder joints of the chip capacitors was measured at every 500 cycles in each case. The intermetallic compounds (IMCs) of the solder joint interfaces werealso analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results showed that the reliability of Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu solder joints was very close to that of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu. Consequently, it was confirmed that Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu solder alloy with a low silver content can be replaced with Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu.

keyword : Low Ag, Pb-free, solder joint, reliability, Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu, thermal shock

The manufacturing process of zirconium alloys is an import factor to increase their strength and corrosion resistance. In order to find an improved manufacturing process of zirconium alloys in both Zr-1Nb-1Sn-0.1Fe (Alloy-A) and Zr-1.5Nb-0.4Sn-0.2Fe-0.1Cr (HANA-4) for fuel guide tubes, sheet samples were prepared by applying two- and three-step processes that were controlled by an annealing and reduction condition. The mechanical strength and corrosion resistance of both alloys were increased by applying the two-step process rather than the three-step process. From a matrix analysis using TEM, the property improvement is related to the decrease of the precipitate mean diameter with an application of the two-step process. In a comparison of the strength and corrosion properties between Alloy-A and HANA-4, the performance of HANA-4 was feasible for application to fuel guide tubes.

keyword : Zr alloy, fuel guide tube, strength, corrosion, manufacturing process

The effect of Co additive on the electrical properties of Fe-Si alloys prepared by a RF inductive furnace was investigated. The electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient were measured as a function of the temperature under an Ar atmosphere to evaluate their applicability to thermoelectric energy conversion. The electrical conductivity of the specimens increased as the temperature increased, showing typical semiconducting behavior. The electrical conductivity of Co-doped specimens was higher than that of undoped specimens and increased slightly as the amount of Co additive increased. This is most likely due to the difference in the carrier concentration and the amount of residual metallic phase ε-FeSi (The ε-FeSi was detected in spite of an annealing treatment of 100 h at 830℃). Additionally, metallic conduction increased slightly as the amount of Co additive increased. On the other hand, Co-doped specimens showed a lower Seebeck coefficient due to the metallic phase. The power factor of Co-doped specimens was higher than that of undoped specimens. This would be affected more by the electrical conductivity compared to the Seebeck coefficient.

keyword : Co-doped Fe-Si alloy, electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, power factor

The effects of magnetic powder thickness on electromagnetic wave absorption characteristics in Fe-6.5Si-0.9Cr (wt%) alloy flakes/polymer composite sheets available for quasi-microwave band have been investigated. The atomized FeSiCr powders were milled by using attritor for 12, 24, and 36 h, powder thickness changed from 40 μm to 3 μm upon 36 h milling. The composite sheet, including thinned magnetic flakes, exhibited higher power loss in the GHz frequency range as compared with the sheets having thick flakes. Moreover, both the complex permeability and the loss factor increased with the decrease in thickness of the alloy flakes. Therefore, the enhanced power loss property of the sheets containing thin alloy flakes was attributed to the flakes of high complex permeability, especially their imaginary part. Additionally, the complex permittivity was also increased with the reduction of flake thickness, and this behavior was considered to be helpful for improvement of the electromagnetic wave absorption characteristics in the composite sheets, including thin alloy flakes.

keyword : electromagnetic wave absorption, FeSiCr flakes, composite sheets, magnetic powder thickness