• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.277-283
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• 2020

Cu-Co-Si based alloy has a strengthening mechanism for Co₂Si intermetallic compounds deposited on the copper matrix after aging treatment and the solution treatment has a key influence on the strength and electrical conductivity of the final products. In this paper, the Cu-1.6%Co-0.38%Si alloy was fixed at the time and the solution treatment temperature was set at a temperature in the range of 800 to 950℃, and the change in mechanical properties was observed by fixing the temperature at 950℃ and changing the time. The microstructure was observed using an electron microscope and an optical microscope, and the changes in hardness, electrical conductivity, and bending workability after aging treatment were investigated. When the solution treatment time is less than 20 seconds, the solution treatment is not sufficient and the formation of precipitates contributing to the increase in hardness decreases and the hardness decreases after the aging treatment, and in more than 50 seconds, the hardness decreases due to the coarsening of the grains and the bending workability got worse.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.263-270
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• 2012

This study investigates the effect of heat treatment on the mechanical properties of a forged Ni-based superalloy called Nimonic 80A. Nimonic 80A ingot samples were fabricated by vacuum spray casting to achieve a fine and homogenized microstructure. The ingot samples were subsequently hot-forged with the diameter of 220 mm at 1373 K. From the center to the surface of the forged Nimonic 80A, its average grain size decreased and its micro-Vickers hardness increased slightly. Solution treatment was carried out at 1353 K with 8 hours of air cooling followed by aging treatment, which was carried out in the range of 873-1073 K with various times from 0.5 to 256 hours. To set the optimum aging conditions, micro-Vickers hardness tests were performed. The maximum hardness value of 388.0 Hv was obtained by aging at 973 K for 32 hours. Also, tensile tests were performed for optimum aging conditions at room temperature and 873 K. The results can be used effectively to perform reasonable heat treatment of Nimonic 80A superalloy.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.360-368
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• 2020

Wear resistance of cutting tools is one of the most important requirements in terms of the durability of cutting tool itself as well as the machining accuracy of the workpiece. Generally, tungsten carbide ball end mills have been processed with hard coatings for high durability and wear resistance such as diamond coating and tetrahedral amorphous carbon(ta-C) coating. In this study, we developed multilayer ta-C coatings whose wear resistance is comparable to that of diamond coating. First, we prepared single layer ta-C coatings according to the substrate bias voltage and Ar gas flow, and the surface microstructure, raman characteristics, hardness and wear characteristics were evaluated. Then, considering the hardness and wear resistance of the single layer ta-C, we fabricated multilayer coatings consisting of hard and soft layers. As a result, it was confirmed that the wear resistance of the multilayer ta-C coating with hardness of 51 GPa, and elastic recovery rate of 85% improved to 97% compared to that of the diamond coated ball end mill.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.1468-1475
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• 2023

Enhancement of wear resistance of components used in fast reactors is necessary for long service life of the components. Plasma nitriding is a promising surface modification technology to impart high hardness and improved wear resistance of various steel components. This study discusses the characterization of chrome nitrided SS316L casing ring used in secondary sodium pump of fast breeder reactor and its stability under long term sodium exposure. Microstructural and hardness analysis showed that stress relieved component could be chrome nitrided successfully to a thickness of about 100 ㎛. Assessment of in-sodium performance of the chrome nitrided casing ring subjected to long term exposure up to 5000h at 550℃, showed retention of chrome nitrided layer with a case depth almost similar to that before sodium exposure. A slight decrease in the hardness was observed due to prolonged high temperature sodium exposure. Tribological studies indicate very low coefficient of friction indicating the retention of good wear resistance of the coating even after long term sodium exposure.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.482-488
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• 2008

The indentation technique has been one of the most commonly used techniques for the measurement of the mechanical properties of materials due to its experimental ease and speed. Recently, the scope of indentation has been enlarged down to the nanometer range through the development of instrumentations capable of continuously measuring load and displacement. In addition to testing hardness, the elastic modulus of submicron area could be measured from an indentation load-displacement (P-h) curve. In this study, the hardness values of the constituent phases in Ti($C_{0.7}N_{0.3}$)-NbC-Ni cermets were evaluated by nanoindentation. SEM observation of the indented surface was indispensable in order to separate the hardness of each constituent phase since the Ti($C_{0.7}N_{0.3}$)-based cermets have relatively inhomogeneous microstructure. The measured values of hardness using nanoindentation were ${\sim}20$ GPa for hard phase and ${\sim}10$ GPa for binder phase. The effect of NbC addition on hardness was not obvious in this work.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.30 no.7
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• pp.350-358
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• 2020

A variety of composite powders having different aluminum and carbon contents are prepared using various organic solvents having different amounts of carbon atoms in unit volume as ball milling agents for titanium and aluminum ball milling. The effects of substrate temperature and post-heat treatment on the texture and hardness of the coating are investigated by spraying with this reduced pressure plasma spray. The aluminum part of the composite powder evaporates during spraying, so that the film aluminum content is 30.9 mass%~37.4 mass% and the carbon content is 0.64 mass%~1.69 mass%. The main constituent phase of the coating formed on the water-cooled substrate is a non-planar α₂ phase, obtained by supersaturated carbon regardless of the alloy composition. When these films are heat-treated at 1123 K, the main constituent phase becomes γ phase, and fine Ti₂AlC precipitates to increase the film hardness. However, when heat treatment is performed at a higher temperature, the hardness is lowered. The main constitutional phase of the coating formed on the preheated substrate is an equilibrium gamma phase, and fine Ti₂AlC precipitates. The hardness of this coating is much higher than the hardness of the coating in the sprayed state formed on the water-cooled substrate. When hot pressing is applied to the coating, the porosity decreases but hardness also decreases because Ti₂AlC grows. The amount of Ti₂AlC in the hot-pressed film is 4.9 vol% to 15.3 vol%, depending on the carbon content of the film.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.249-255
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• 2019

This study is intended to clarify the main microstructural factors that contribute to an increase of hardness during isothermal aging in Mg-Al alloy. For this work, Mg-9.3%Al alloy specimens were solution-treated at 688 K for 24 h followed by water quenching, and then aged at 473 K for up to 24 h. The aging at 473 K yielded nodular discontinuous precipitates (DPs) with (${\alpha}+{\beta}$) lamellar morphology at the grain boundaries, and the volume fraction of DPs increased from 0% to ~30% with increasing aging time up to 12 h. For the aging times longer than 12 h, further formation of DPs was substantially inhibited owing to the occurrence of significant continuous precipitation within the ${\alpha}-(Mg)$ matrix, and the density of continuous precipitates (CPs) becomes greater with increasing aging time. Hardness of the specimen was steadily increased with aging time up to 24 h. Microstructural examination on the aged specimens revealed that the increased overall hardness at the early stage of aging is associated with the increased volume fraction of DPs, but at the later stage of aging, where the amount of DPs was hardly changed, the increased hardness of the ${\alpha}-(Mg)$ matrix in response to the higher density of CPs within the matrix, plays a key role in increasing the overall hardness value.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.652-657
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• 2017

The use of continuous welded rail is increasing because of its many advantages, including vibration reduction, enhanced driving stability, and maintenance cost savings. In this work, two different types of continuous welded rails were examined to determine the influence of repeated wheel-rail contact on the crystal structure, microstructure and mechanical properties of the rails. The crystal structure was determined by x-ray diffraction, and the microstructure was examined using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Tensile and microhardness tests were conducted to examine the mechanical behaviors of prepared specimens taken from different positions in the cross section of both newly manufactured rail and worn rail. Analysis revealed that both the new and worn rail had a mixed microstructure consisting of ferrite and pearlite. The specimens from the top position of each rail exhibited decreased lamella spacing of the pearlite and increased yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and hardness, as compared with those from other positions of the rail. It is thought that the enhanced mechanical property on the top position of the worn rail might be explained by a mixed effect resulting from a directional microstructure, the decreased lamella spacing of pearlite, and work hardening by the repeated wheel-rail contact stress.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.92-98
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• 2010

Ferritic stainless steels, which have relatively small thermal expansion coefficient and excellent corrosion resistance, are increasingly being used in vehicle manufacturing, in order to increase the lifetime of exhaust manifold parts. But, there are limits on use because of the problem related to cosmetic resistance, corrosions of condensation and high temperature salt etc. So, Aluminum-coated stainless steel instead of ferritic stainless steel are utilized in these parts due to the improved properties. In this investigation, Al-8wt% Si alloy coated 409L ferritic stainless steel was used as the base metal during Gas Tungsten Arc(GTA) welding. The effects of coated layer on the microstructure and hardness were investigated. Full penetration was obtained, when the welding current was higher than 90A and the welding speed was lower than 0.52m/min. Grain size was the largest in fusion zone and decreased from near HAZ to base metal. As welding speed increased, grain size of fusion zone decreased, and there was no big change in HAZ. Hardness had a peak value in the fusion zone and decreased from the bond line to the base metal. The highest hardness in the fusion zone resulted from the fine re-precipitation of the coarse TiN and Ti(C, N) existed in the base metal during melting and solidification process and the presence of fine $Al_2O_3$ and $SiO_2$ formed by the migration of the elements, Al and Si, from the melted coating layer into the fusion zone.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.27-34
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• 2001

The effects of pre-heat treatment(Q/T) on microstructure and hardness of STD11 and STD61 tool steel nitrided by micro-pulse plasma were investigated. The quenching temperature for obtaining matrix hardness of STD11 and STD61 steel on range of HRC 50 to HRC 60 desired for machine parts is about $1070^{\circ}C$ and $1020^{\circ}C$ respectively. The hardness of STD11 and STD61 quenched at the temperature was HRC 63 and HRC 56 respectively. The nitrided case depth of STD11 and STD61 nitrided at $550^{\circ}C$ for 5 hours was independent of pre-heat treatment condition and the depth was approximately $100{\mu}m$. However, hardness and compactness of nitrided layer on Q/T treated specimen were higher than the annealed specimen. The case depth increased linearly with the increase of nitriding temperature, however, the hardness of nitrided layer decreased with the increase of temperature. Phase mixture of ${\gamma}-Fe_4N$ and ${\varepsilon}-Fe_{2-3}N$ was detected by XRD analysis in the nitrided layer formed at the optimum nitriding condition. The optimum nitriding temperature was approximately $490^{\circ}C$ which was $10^{\circ}C$ lower than the tempering temperature for preventing softening behavior of STD11 and STD61 matrix during nitriding process and the surface hardness of nitrided layer obtained by optimum pre-heat treatment condition was about Hv1400.