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Advanced Rolling, Heat Treatment and Electromagnetic Processing Technology of High Performance Metals

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A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701). This special issue belongs to the section "Metal Casting, Forming and Heat Treatment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 18591

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Prof. Dr. Dongsheng Qian

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1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
2. State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan 430070, China
Interests: ring rolling; electromagnetic strengthening; thermomechanical treatment; bainite; phase transformation of steel; advanced forming techniques of metals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Feng Wang

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Guest Editor

1. School of Automotive Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
2. Hubei Engineering Research Center for Green Precision Material Forming, Wuhan 430070, China
Interests: metallography; heat treatment of metals; bearing steel; ring rolling; material strengthening; characterization and testing techniques
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Rolling and heat treatment are essential processes in the manufacturing process of any basic component, which directly determine the final performance and service life. The question of how to achieve better performance while realizing the geometric shape of components has become constant topic of debate in industrial development. Meanwhile, electromagnetic processing technology shows great potential as a novel method in property improvement, which has a wide application prospect in the advanced manufacturing of basic components. To advance the development of processing technology of high-performance metals, it is very important to find out the relationship between microstructure and properties in the process of rolling forming, heat treatment and electromagnetic processing.

We are pleased to invite you to submit your research paper to this Special Issue. The Special Issue covers a wide range of topics, including advanced rolling forming, heat treatment and electromagnetic processing technology of all kinds of metals.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

Manufacturing of innovative high-strength steel by novel rolling and heat treatment technology;
Cold/warm/hot ring rolling technologies for metals;
The relationship between forming, heat treatment and electromagnetic processing technology and microstructure properties of various metallic materials;
Microstructural design of metallic materials processed using advanced manufacturing combined with rolling;
Improvement of microstructure and mechanical properties of metals by applying a novel thermomechanical processing technique;
Modification of metallic materials by introducing an external physical field such as an electric, magnetic, or electromagnetic field;
Numerical simulation and experiments of ring rolling processes;
Microstructural/mechanical characterization techniques of metals;
Wear, fatigue, and other properties of metals.

Prof. Dr. Dongsheng Qian
Dr. Feng Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Metals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

forming
heat treatment
alloy and steel
rolling
ring rolling
phase transformation
characterization
microstructure
high performance
wear
fatigue
mechanical property

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 10024 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Achieving High Strength and Good Ductility in a Nb-Containing CoCrNi-Based High-Entropy Alloy by Grain Boundary and Precipitates Strengthening

by Zewen Yu and Yaojun Lin

Metals 2023, 13(5), 936; https://doi.org/10.3390/met13050936 - 11 May 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1280

Abstract

Face-centered cubic (FCC) high-entropy alloys (HEAs) have attracted considerable attention due to their excellent mechanical properties; however, an insufficient yield strength (YS) limits their widespread engineering applications. To improve the strength of FCC HEAs, the present work aims to develop fine-grained Nb-containing CoCrNi-based HEAs with precipitates. In the present work, a single-phase FCC CoCrNi_1.5Nb_0.2 HEA was processed by cold rolling followed by annealing at a higher temperature and aging at a lower temperature, yielding fine- and ultra-fine-grained FCC matrices and two types of precipitates: ultra-fine granular C15 Laves phase CoCrNb-based precipitates and ultra-fine lath-shaped D0₁₉-structured ε-Ni₃Nb-based precipitates. The resultant alloy exhibits a combination of high strength (approximately 1409 MPa of yield strength) and good ductility (10.1% of uniform elongation). The contributions of grain boundary and precipitation strengthening to YS were analyzed and calculated. The mechanisms underlying good ductility were discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Rolling, Heat Treatment and Electromagnetic Processing Technology of High Performance Metals)

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12 pages, 4066 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Cryogenic Time on Microstructure and Properties of TRCed AZ31 Magnesium Alloy Sheets Rolled during Cryogenic Rolling

by Chen-Chen Zhi, Pei-Jin Li, Zhi-Quan Huang, Peng-Tao Liu, Hai-Jie Xu, Wei-Tao Jia and Li-Feng Ma

Metals 2023, 13(5), 870; https://doi.org/10.3390/met13050870 - 29 Apr 2023

Viewed by 1082

Abstract

Rolling experiments of TRCed AZ31 magnesium alloy with different cryogenic treatment time were carried out to study the evolution mechanism of its microstructure and mechanical properties. The experimental results showed that with the increase in cryogenic time, the grain size of the sheets after cryogenic rolling was significantly refined, and the dislocation density and texture strength were greatly weakened. The combined effect led to a significant increase in the elongation and tensile strength of the sheet after cryogenic rolling. The tensile strength, elongation and average hardness of the sheet increased from 282.6 MPa, 8.2%, and 54.6 HV to 305.4 MPa, 16.3%, and 62.8 HV, respectively. Therefore, when the cryogenic treatment time was 60 s, the performance of the rolled sheet was the best. At the same time, the appearance of dimples after cryogenic rolling led to a change of the fracture mechanism, which was also the key to the improvement of the sheet elongation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Rolling, Heat Treatment and Electromagnetic Processing Technology of High Performance Metals)

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13 pages, 6152 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Study of Phase Transformation Behaviors for 38MnB5Nb Ultra High-Strength Steel by CCT Curves and TTT Curves

by Ping Luo, Xianjun Li, Wenliang Zhang, Xiao Liang, Zhunli Tan, Decheng Wang, Chao Jiang, Junqing Hou and Lizhuang Sun

Metals 2023, 13(2), 190; https://doi.org/10.3390/met13020190 - 18 Jan 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1258

Abstract

To elucidate the phase transformation behaviors for 38MnB5Nb ultra high-strength steel, the continuous cooling transformation (CCT) and time-temperature-transformation (TTT) curves were determined by the thermal expansion method with different cooling rates and isothermal temperatures after complete austenization. To be more accurate, the microstructure was observed and the hardness was tested. The results showed that the starting and ending transformation temperatures of austenite during heating are 748 °C and 805 °C, respectively. Bainite’s start temperature is between 540 °C and 550 °C, while martensite’s start temperature is about 310 °C. The critical cooling transformation rate is between 10 °C/s and 15 °C/s. The results showed that the microstructures are severely related to the cooling rate during the continuous cooling process and are related to isothermal temperatures during the isothermal process. The relationship between hardness and the microstructure was investigated and hardness is severely related to the microstructure. Based on the results of CCT curves compared with the conventional 22MnB5 hot stamping steel, the studied 38MnB5Nb steel is more beneficial for selective cooling processes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Rolling, Heat Treatment and Electromagnetic Processing Technology of High Performance Metals)

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9 pages, 4235 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Intercritical Deformation on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Quenching and Partitioning Low Carbon Multiphase High-Strength Steel

by Zhiqiang Yao, Mingshan Zhang, Yuan Zhang, Hongbin Li, Haiwei Xu, Yaqiang Tian and Liansheng Chen

Metals 2022, 12(12), 2010; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12122010 - 23 Nov 2022

Viewed by 915

Abstract

Low carbon multiphase high strength steel is widely used in the automobile industry. In this work, the effect of intercritical deformation on the partitioning of alloying elements and the evolution of microstructure, as well as the effect of retained austenite stability on mechanical properties, were studied in a low carbon steel. The results demonstrate that the intercritical deformation enhances the C, Mn partition from ferrite to austenite during annealing at 770 ℃, and the volume fraction of the retained austenite increased from 8.8% to 12.3%. The DIQ&PB sample shows good balance between strength (1226.5 MPa) and ductility (24.4%), whose product of strength and elongation reached a larger value of 29926.6 MPa·% due to the intercritical deformation. This research provides theoretical guidance for the process design of automobile high-strength steels, considering the integration between rolling and heat cycles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Rolling, Heat Treatment and Electromagnetic Processing Technology of High Performance Metals)

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17 pages, 2055 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Production Scheduling Optimization during Thermoforming of Ring Forgings Based on Genetic Algorithms

by Yizhe Chen, Beichen Xie, Huijuan Ma, Hui Wang, Yulong Zhou, Jie Chen and Lin Hua

Metals 2022, 12(10), 1631; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12101631 - 29 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1332

Abstract

In the aerospace industry, many important components are made of ring forgings with characteristics of multi-variety and multi-batch. Such components have many steps and complex parameters in the thermoforming process. The process orders are dynamic and time-varying, and, thus, optimizing the total production time and energy consumption is difficult. To solve the mentioned troublesome and time-consuming problem, this work transformed the workpiece’s required heating temperature and time index into the furnace temperature change and holding time index. Based on a genetic algorithm, an integrated production scheduling optimization of ring forging heating and model forming was established. The genetic algorithm for model improvement was optimized. The optimization objective was changed by using different fitness calculation methods. A multi-time simulation algorithm was designed to calculate each heating furnace’s time and furnace temperature. The proposed optimization method was used for a thermoforming process of ring forgings. When the optimization objective was designed to consider energy consumption and time consumption comprehensively, the average time saving was 6.93%, and the average energy saving was 12.99%. When the optimization objective was designed to prioritize energy consumption, the average time saving was 3.89%, and the average energy saving was 16.53%. When the optimization objective was designed to prioritize time consumption, the average time saving was 10.35%, and the average energy saving was 10.63%. Using the scheduling results for production, compared with the practical factory data, the errors in the simulation time and energy consumption were 2.4% and 1.6%. The results show that the scheduling efficiency of integrated thermoforming production is significantly improved by using this optimization model, and the simulation results have high reliability. The energy consumption of orders is greatly reduced, and the total production time is greatly shortened. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Rolling, Heat Treatment and Electromagnetic Processing Technology of High Performance Metals)

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16 pages, 5020 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation on Interfacial Bonding Characteristics of Steel/Aluminum Bi-Metal Gears by Hot Forging Processing

by Zhenghua Meng, Xiangyang Jia, Wei Feng, Wuhao Zhuang and Min Wu

Metals 2022, 12(8), 1244; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12081244 - 25 Jul 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1561

Abstract

In this study, steel/aluminum bimetal gears were manufactured under different deformation degrees by using hot forging processing. Optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS) were used to observe morphologies and the element composition of the interface region of the bimetal gears with different deformation degrees. Results show that the interface region between steel and aluminum is of mechanical bonding characteristics when the deformation degree is 50% and 70%, and the steel–aluminum interface joining zone is of the metallurgical bonding feature when the deformation degree is 90%. Finite element (FE) simulation of the hot forging process of the bimetal gear was carried out by using DEFORM-3D software. The simulation results show that the increase in the difference between the interfacial radial stress and the flow stress of the steel helps to form metallurgical bonding at the steel–aluminum joining zone. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Rolling, Heat Treatment and Electromagnetic Processing Technology of High Performance Metals)

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13 pages, 5512 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Zn and Cu Addition on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Al-10wt%Mg Alloy

by Xinbiao Wang, Shengfa Liu and Yaojun Lin

Metals 2022, 12(6), 1037; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12061037 - 17 Jun 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1941

Abstract

5xxx series aluminum alloys have been widely used in automobiles, ships, aerospace and other fields for their low density, good corrosion resistance and weldability. The present study designs a new Al-10.0Mg-1.0Zn-0.15Cu (wt%) alloy with different composition from the traditional 5xxx series and 7xxx series aluminum alloys; the Zn/Mg ratio is below 1.0. Detailed characterization by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has been carried out to reveal the microstructural evolution. The results show that the addition of Zn and Cu inhibits the precipitation of the Al₃Mg₂ phase in the traditional Al-Mg binary alloy during annealing and promotes the precipitation of T-Mg₃₂(Al,Zn)₄₉ phase, which contributes to precipitation strengthening. After 75% rolling and 150 °C annealing, the T-Mg₃₂(Al,Zn)₄₉ phase precipitates and the alloy obtains good strength and plasticity coordination with 0.2% offset yield strength of 519 MPa and ultimate tensile strength of 653 MPa, accompanied by uniform elongation of 8.1%. The mechanisms underlying the improved strength and plasticity in the Al-10.0Mg-1.0Zn-0.15Cu (wt%) alloy are discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Rolling, Heat Treatment and Electromagnetic Processing Technology of High Performance Metals)

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16 pages, 5068 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Enhanced Wear Resistance of the Ultrastrong Ultrasonic Shot-Peened M50 Bearing Steel with Gradient Nanograins

by Zhaohua Dong, Feng Wang, Dongsheng Qian, Fei Yin, Huiling Wang, Xiaokang Wang, Shan Hu and Jie Chi

Metals 2022, 12(3), 424; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12030424 - 28 Feb 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2525

Abstract

The enhancement of the wear resistance has long been important for bearing steels, hampered in part by the lack of suitable surface strengthening techniques. In this study, ultrasonic shot peening (USP) is employed to enhance the wear resistance of the M50 bearing steel by generating an ultrastrong surface layer with gradient nanograins. The effects of USP treatment on the surface integrity, microstructures, and wear behavior of M50 steel are investigated. The microstructural observation shows that the gradient nanograined surface layer is over 200 μm thick. The lath martensite is refined to nano-martensitic subgrains with few low angle boundaries in the USP-treated M50 steel. Additionally, the microhardness of the nanostructured M50 steel is increased from 795 HV to 987 HV with a penetrating depth of around 800 μm. Wear tests show that the wear rate of the USP-treated M50 steel is reduced by 50.4% under sliding conditions compared to that of the untreated samples. The significantly enhanced wear resistance of the USP-treated M50 is attributed to the ultrastrong gradient nanograined surface layer. The wear mechanism of the USP-treated M50 steel changes from oxidative wear and severe plowing wear to mild plowing wear. Additionally, the thickness of the plastic deformation layer generated during the friction process is reduced. This work provides the materials scientists and engineers with an efficient surface treatment method to enhance the wear resistance of high-strength steels. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Rolling, Heat Treatment and Electromagnetic Processing Technology of High Performance Metals)

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16 pages, 15431 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Rapid Spheroidizing Annealing via Combining Warm Deformation with Divorced Eutectoid Transformation in M50 Steel

by Dongsheng Qian, Bin Chen, Feng Wang and Lingyan Wu

Metals 2022, 12(2), 359; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12020359 - 20 Feb 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1682

Abstract

In this work, a novel routine to realize the rapid spheroidizing annealing (SA) process has been proposed in M50 steel via combining warm deformation (WD) and divorced eutectoid transformation (DET). In this process, the sample is first subjected to partial austenitizing to realize the partial dissolution of carbides, then slowly cooled to DET temperature for WD. Finally, the sample is slowly cooled to below the eutectoid transformation temperature to complete the SA. The results show that an excellent spheroidized microstructure can be obtained via the rapid SA process within 2 h. The finest spheroidized carbide (0.295 μm), as well as an appropriate hardness (217 HV), is achieved when the WD and DET processes are conducted at 760 °C. This should be attributed to that the WD not only accelerates the DET but also can break the primary carbides, leading to the uniformly distributed and refined carbides. In addition, the proposed WD that realizes rapid SA shows the excellent roundness of spheroidized carbides compared with the traditional cold/hot deformation which needs a long-term SA process. This work provides a highly efficient routine to simultaneously realize the SA and shape forming, which is of great engineering significance for the manufacturing of bearings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Rolling, Heat Treatment and Electromagnetic Processing Technology of High Performance Metals)

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Review

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22 pages, 5243 KiB

Open AccessReview

Key Technology and Application of Production Scheduling for Heating Forming of Forgings: A Review

by Hui Wang, Jiejie Zhu, Xiang Huang, Huijuan Ma, Yizhe Chen, Yulong Zhou, Jie Chen and Zhili Hu

Metals 2022, 12(11), 1790; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12111790 - 23 Oct 2022

Viewed by 1631

Abstract

Forgings represented by rocket body rings, engine casings, vehicle drive shafts, etc., are key components of important equipment in the fields of aerospace, automobiles and high-speed rail. In recent years, with the rapid development of the manufacturing industry, it is also facing an increasingly fierce international competition environment. In order to adapt to the new production mode and quickly respond to the changing market demand, forging enterprises urgently need a reasonable and efficient forging production scheduling method, and based on the excellent production organization, in order to further build an intelligent production line, develop a forging production intelligent management and control integration architecture. This paper analyzes the production scheduling problem of forging thermoforming from two aspects: forging production line scheduling and forging production workshop scheduling. The research progress of optimization objectives and optimization algorithms of production scheduling is systematically reviewed. The subsystems serving the production and processing process and the intelligent management and control architecture based on system integration are summarized. It is of great significance to effectively reduce production costs, improve product quality, realize energy saving and emission reduction in the production process and promote further intelligent upgrading of the forging industry through production scheduling and intelligent management and control of the heating and forming process of forgings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Rolling, Heat Treatment and Electromagnetic Processing Technology of High Performance Metals)

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24 pages, 5941 KiB

Open AccessReview

Management Control and Integration Technology of Intelligent Production Line for Multi-Variety and Complex Aerospace Ring Forgings: A Review

by Huijuan Ma, Xiang Huang, Xuhua Cui, Peiliao Wang, Yizhe Chen, Zhili Hu and Lin Hua

Metals 2022, 12(7), 1079; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12071079 - 24 Jun 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2294

Abstract

Large and complex ring forgings are key structural parts of the aerospace field, and their quality is closely related to the reliability of aerospace vehicles. However, high-quality production of aerospace ring forgings faces many problems, such as the long process design cycle and impoverished consistency, the difficulties of real-time detection under the severe time-varying state of the deformation process, the complexity of high-quality non-destructive testing under multitudinous defects, and the cumbersome management control of the multi-source and multi-dimensional heterogeneous data. Considering the current situation of multi-variety and multi-batch production for aerospace ring forgings, establishing an intelligent production line is a crucial means to solving the above problems and realizing the standardization and premiumization of key aerospace components. Therefore, management control and integration technology of the intelligent production line play a crucial role. An analysis, including the research progress of the intelligent computer-aided process planning (CAPP) system, the real-time detection and control system, the product quality testing system, and the intelligent management control and integration system, is systematically reviewed in this work. Through intelligently managing and controlling the integrated systems of the production line, the production efficiency of ring forgings can be effectively improved, and the production energy consumption can be remarkably reduced, which is of great significance for enhancing the manufacturing technology level of aerospace products. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Rolling, Heat Treatment and Electromagnetic Processing Technology of High Performance Metals)

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