• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.287-293
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• 2021

This study was intended to investigate the influence of Al content on hardness and microstructural characteristics of discontinuous precipitates (DPs) formed by isothermal aging in Mg-8.7%Al and Mg-10%Al alloys. In order to obtain large amount of DPs in the microstructure, the alloy specimens were solution-treated at 688K for 24 h followed by water quenching, and then aged at 418K for 48h. The Mg-Al alloy with higher Al content was characterized by higher volume fraction of DPs at the same aging condition, lower interlamellar spacing of the DPs, thinner β phase layer and higher β phase content in the DPs. This is closely related to the higher velocity of discontinuous precipitation process resulting from the higher Al supersaturation in the α-(Mg) matrix. The Mg-10%Al alloy showed higher hardness of the DPs and greater difference in hardness between as-cast state and DPs than the Mg-8.7%Al alloy.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.16-23
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• 2021

Pin-to-disc wear testing experiments were conducted to investigate the wear characteristics of commercial oil (5W-40) with nano-diamond particles. The upper specimen was a SUJ-2 high-carbon chromium steel ball with a diameter of 4 mm, and the lower specimen was made of the Al-6061 alloy. The applied load was 5 N, and the sliding speed was 0.25 m/s. The wear tests were conducted at a sliding distance of 500 m. The friction coefficients and wear rates of the Al-6061 specimens were tested using commercial oil with different nano-diamond concentrations ranging from 0 to 0.02 wt.%. The addition of nano-diamond particles to commercial oil reduced both the wear rate and coefficient of friction of the Al-6061 alloy. The use of nano-diamond particles as a solid additive in oil lubricants was found to improve the tribological behavior of the Al-6061 alloy. For the Al-6061 alloy, the optimal concentration was found to be 0.005 wt.% in view of the friction coefficient and wear rate. Further investigation is needed to determine the optimal concentration of nano-diamond particles for various loadings, sliding speeds, oil temperatures, and sliding distances.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.31 no.11
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• pp.642-648
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• 2021

The precipitation effect of Al-6%Si-0.4%Mg-0.9%Cu-(Ti) alloy (in wt.%) after various heat treatments was studied using a laser flash device (LFA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Solid solution treatment was performed at 535 ℃ for 6 h, followed by water cooling, and samples were artificially aged in air at 180 ℃ and 220 ℃ for 5 h. The titanium-free alloy Al-6%Si-0.4%Mg-0.9%Cu showed higher thermal diffusivity than did the Al-6%Si-0.4%Mg-0.9%Cu-0.2%Ti alloy over the entire temperature range. In the temperature ranges below 200 ℃ and above 300 ℃, the value of thermal diffusivity decreased with increasing temperature. As the sample temperature increased between 200 ℃ and 400 ℃, phase precipitation occurred. From the results of DSC analysis, the temperature dependence of the change in thermal diffusivity in the temperature range between 200 ℃ and 400 ℃ was strongly influenced by the precipitation of θ'-Al₂Cu, β'-Mg₂Si, and Si phases. The most important factor in the temperature dependence of thermal diffusivity was Si precipitation.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.156-161
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• 2021

Cr-Si based alloys are not only excellent in corrosion resistance at high temperatures, but also have good wear resistance due to the formation of Cr3Si phase, therefore they are promising as metallic coating materials. Aluminum is often added to Cr-Si alloys to improve the oxidation resistance through which stable alumina surface film is formed. On the other hand, due to the addition of aluminum, various Al-containing phases may be formed and may negatively affect the heat resistance of the Cr-Si-Al alloys, so detailed investigation is required. In this study, two Cr-Si-Al alloys (high-Si & high-Al) were prepared in the form of cast ingots through a vacuum arc melting process and the microstructural changes after high temperature heating process were investigated. In the case of the cast high-Si alloy, a considerable amount of Cr3Si phase was formed, and its hardness was significantly higher than that of the cast high-Al alloy. Also, Al-rich phases (with the high Al/Cr ratio) were not found much compared to the high-Al alloy. Meanwhile, it was observed that the amount of the Al-rich phases reduced by the annealing heat treatment for both alloys. In the case of the high temperature heating at 1,400 ℃, no significant microstructural change was observed in the high Si alloy, but a little more coarse and segregated AlCr phases were found in the high Al alloy compared to the cast state.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.302-308
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• 2021

The aim of this study was to investigate the dependence of the hardness and thermal conductivity on the volume fraction of discontinuous precipitates (DPs) in the Mg-9.3%Al alloy with (α-(Mg)+DPs) dual phase structure. In order to obtain various DPs volume fractions, the alloy was solution-treated at 688 K for 24 h and then aged at 418 K for up to 144 h. The volume fraction of DPs increased from 0% to 63% with an increase in the aging time up to 72 h, over which, continuous precipitation was observed within the α-(Mg) grains. It is noticeable that the hardness and thermal conductivity of the alloy increased linearly with the volume fraction of DPs. The improved hardness and thermal conductivity with respect to volume fraction of DPs are closely associated with the higher hardness of the DPs with fine (α+β) lamellar structure and the lower Al concentration in the α phase layer of the DPs, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.672-676
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• 2021

In this paper, the effect of Ni (0, 0.5 and 1.0 wt%) additions on the microstructure, mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of cast and extruded Al-MM-Sb alloy is studied using field emission scanning electron microscopy, and a universal tensile testing machine. Molten aluminum alloy is maintained at 750 ℃ and then poured into a mold at 200 ℃. Aluminum alloys are hot-extruded into a rod that is 12 mm in diameter with a reduction ratio of 39:1 at 550 ℃. The addition of Ni results in the formation of Al₁₁RE₃, AlSb and Al3Ni intermetallic compounds; the area fraction of these intermetallic compounds increases with increasing Ni contents. As the amount of Ni increases, the average grain sizes of the extruded Al alloy decrease to 1359, 536, and 153 ㎛, and the high-angle grain boundary fractions increase to 8, 20, and 34 %. As the Ni content increases from 0 to 1.0 wt%, the electrical conductivity is not significantly different, with values from 57.4 to 57.1 % IACS.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.3-10
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• 2021

In the compound casting between the aluminum alloy and the cast iron, the iron component may be dissolved from the cast iron during the process and mixed into the aluminum melt, thereby forming various iron-containing intermetallic compounds and significantly deteriorating the tensile properties of the aluminum alloy. On the other hand, unlike Fe, which is added as an impurity, Cu is added to improve the mechanical properties of the aluminum alloy. In this study, the change in microstructure and tensile properties of aluminum alloys due to the addition of Fe and Cu was investigated. A large amount of iron-containing compounds such as coarse Al₅FeSi phases were formed when the iron content was 1% or more, and the tensile properties were significantly reduced. In the case of the aluminum alloy to which Cu was added, an Al₂Cu phase was additionally formed and the tensile strength was clearly improved.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.226-232
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• 2021

The relationship between precipitation and coefficient of thermal expansion of Al-6%Si-0.4%Mg-0.9%Cu-(Ti) alloy (in wt.%) after various heat treatments were studied by the thermodynamic analyzer (TMA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Solution heat treatment of the alloy was carried out at 535℃ for 6 h followed by water quenching, and the samples were artificially aged in the air at 180℃ and 220℃ for 5 h. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) curve showed some residual strain and decreased with increasing aging temperature. The CTE curves changed sharply in the temperature range of 200℃ to 400℃, and the corresponding peak shifted for the aged samples due to the change in the precipitation behavior of the secondary phase. These transformation peaks in the aged sample are related to the volume of the precipitation of the Si phase as determined by DSC analysis. The change in CTE is mainly caused by the precipitation of the Si phase in the Al-Si alloy, and the size of the change occurs simultaneously with the size of the precipitate.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.161-176
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• 2021

In this study, the electrochemical behavior of Sm on the binary liquid Al-Ga cathode in the LiCl-KCl molten salt system is investigated. First, the co-reduction process of Sm(III)-Al(III), Sm(III)-Ga(III), and Sm(III)-Ga(III)-Al(III) on the W electrode (inert) were studied using cyclic voltammetry (CV), square-wave voltammetry (SWV) and open circuit potential (OCP) methods, respectively. It was identified that Sm(III) can be co-reduced with Al(III) or Ga(III) to form Al_zSm_y or Ga_xSm_y intermetallic compounds. Subsequently, the under-potential deposition of Sm(III) at the Al, Ga, and Al-Ga active cathode was performed to confirm the formation of Sm-based intermetallic compounds. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analyses indicated that Ga₃Sm and Ga₆Sm intermetallic compounds were formed on the Mo grid electrode (inert) during the potentiostatic electrolysis in LiCl-KCl-SmCl₃-AlCl₃-GaCl₃ melt, while only Ga₆Sm intermetallic compound was generated on the Al-Ga alloy electrode during the galvanostatic electrolysis in LiCl-KCl-SmCl₃ melt. The electrolysis results revealed that the interaction between Sm and Ga was predominant in the Al-Ga alloy electrode, with Al only acting as an additive to lower the melting point.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.417-422
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• 2021

In the present work, Inconel 718 alloy is additively manufactured on the Ti-6Al-4V alloy, and a functionally graded material is built between Inconel 718 and Ti-6Al-4V alloys. The vanadium interlayer is applied to prevent the formation of detrimental intermetallic compounds between Ti-6Al-4V and Inconel 718 by direct joining. The additive manufacturing of Inconel 718 alloy is performed by changing the laser power and scan speed. The microstructures of the joint interface are characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and micro X-ray diffraction. Additive manufacturing is successfully performed by changing the energy input. The micro Vickers hardness of the additive manufactured Inconel 718 dramatically increased owing to the presence of the Cr-oxide phase, which is formed by the difference in energy input.