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Metals
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Structure-Properties-Processing Relationships in Metallic Materials
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Structure-Properties-Processing Relationships in Metallic Materials

A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701). This special issue belongs to the section "Metal Failure Analysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2021) | Viewed by 18020

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Spyros Papaefthymiou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Mining & Metallurgical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece
Interests: advanced materials; forming; welding; manufacturing; computational materials engineering; industrial processes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The steady innovation of the steel industry in the last three decades has been accompanied by the introduction of simulation and analytical technique tools in the materials development chain. The necessity for increased efficiency and power and low emissions and, in parallel, safety, has brought forth new advanced high and ultra-high strength multiphase steel grades into the game of the automotive industry, one of the most competitive sectors in the world. Currently, even stricter rules for vehicle emissions forces a broader usage of light-weight metals and alloys with the main candidate being aluminum, but also magnesium. Also, the need for electrification paves the way for broad utilization of electrical steels and copper alloys.

The microstructure analysis, the physical and the numerical simulation tools alone could not explain the penetration of new advanced high-strength steel grades into our everyday life. The process development of complex continuous annealing lines has served the thirst for complex thermal processing and heat treatment cycles, which in turn have made the commercialization of dual phase, TRIP, complex phase, and other advanced high-strength steel grades possible.

At present, the 4th-generation AHSS are on the doorstep of commercialization and seek their path into automotive production, where steel currently faces stiffer competition from aluminum. Quenching and partitioning and medium manganese steels are very promising candidates for high-strength body-in-white applications where thin sheets are still in high demand. Furthermore, rapid heating or ultra-fast processing may provide an alternative route with lean alloying and in cases where tubes or other structural parts, also sheets, can be utilized.

The microstructure–properties relationships in combination with processing or alloying strategies for the development of tailored microstructures and, thus, also mechanical properties, in new steels grades have been throughout the years intensively investigated by academia and industry. Simulation approaches for addressing not only diffusional, but also shear and displacive transformations are now of great interest for the process simulation and control of the microstructure evolution, taking into consideration processing conditions and/or limitations. Additionally, electrical steels and the need for texture oriented rolling, the aluminum with tailored rolling and heat treatments for aging characteristics underline the necessity for proper structure-properties-processing control.

In the current Special Issue of Metals, we cordially invite all researchers from academia and the steel industry to submit their opinions, their latest research developments, and achievements in this field. Our aim is to shed more light into the fascinating world of advanced high-strength steels, aluminum, copper and other lightweight materials for automotive applications including electrical steels for electrification needs. Works that focus on physical metallurgy, new characterization techniques, microstructure–properties relationships, and also on the significant scientific and technical challenges of simulation studies, both physical and numerical, are especially encouraged.

Our aim is to bridge academia and industry, providing the needed theoretical aspects for advanced applications in the automotive industry under the prism of microstructure–properties–processing relationships incorporating simulation (both numerical and physical) that can serve the purpose of optimization of new materials to be applied and/or concepts and novel aspects of current or new to-be-adopted steel grades. This Special Issue will encompass all of these areas, giving a broad spectrum that explains the complexity of the research and development of new advanced high-strength steel grades that are superior to other available materials (in thin sheets and other structural forms) for such applications.

Prof. Dr. Spyros Papaefthymiou
Guest Editor

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

  • Advanced high strength steels
  • DP/TRIP/TWIP steels
  • Medium manganese steels
  • Quenching and partitioning steels
  • Ultra-fast processed steels
  • Aluminum alloys for automotive applications
  • Magnesium alloys for automotive solutions
  • Electrical steels for electrified automobiles
  • Mechanical properties
  • Microstructural characterization
  • Process and microstructure optimization
  • Process simulation
  • Microstructure modeling
  • Physical and numerical simulations
  • Finite element analysis

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research

2 pages, 174 KiB  
Editorial
Structure–Properties–Processing Relationships in Metallic Materials
by Spyros Papaefthymiou
Metals 2022, 12(2), 361; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12020361 - 21 Feb 2022
Viewed by 1187
Abstract
The steady innovation of materials has been assisted by the introduction of simulation and analytical technique tools in the development chain [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure-Properties-Processing Relationships in Metallic Materials)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

20 pages, 7590 KiB  
Article
Influence of Uniaxial Deformation on Texture Evolution and Anisotropy of 3104 Al Sheet with Different Initial Microstructure
by Sofia Papadopoulou, Vasilis Loukadakis, Zisimos Zacharopoulos and Spyros Papaefthymiou
Metals 2021, 11(11), 1729; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11111729 - 29 Oct 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1582
Abstract
Optimum mechanical behavior is achieved by means of controlling microstructural anisotropy. The latter is directly related to the crystallographic texture and is considerably affected by thermal and mechanical processes. Therefore, understanding the underlying mechanisms relating to its evolution during thermomechanical processing is of [...] Read more.
Optimum mechanical behavior is achieved by means of controlling microstructural anisotropy. The latter is directly related to the crystallographic texture and is considerably affected by thermal and mechanical processes. Therefore, understanding the underlying mechanisms relating to its evolution during thermomechanical processing is of major importance. Towards that direction, an attempt to identify possible correlations among significant microstructural parameters relating to texture response during deformation was made. For this purpose, a 3104 aluminum alloy sheet sample (0.5 mm) was examined in the following states: (a) cold rolled (with 90% reduction), (b) recovered and (c) fully recrystallized. Texture, anisotropy as well as the mechanical properties of the samples from each condition were examined. Afterwards, samples were subjected to uniaxial loading (tensile testing) while the most deformed yet representative areas near the fractured surfaces were selected for further texture analysis. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) scans and respective measurements were conducted in all three tensile test directions (0°, 45° and 90° towards rolling direction (RD)) by means of which the evolution of the texture components, their correlation with the three selected directions as well as the resulting anisotropy were highlighted. In the case of the cold-rolled and the recovered sample, the total count of S2 and S3 components did not change prior to and after tensile testing at 0° towards RD; however, the S2 and S3 sum mostly consisted of S3 components after tensile testing whereas it mostly consisted of S2 components prior to tensile testing. In addition, the aforementioned state was accompanied by a strong brass component. The preservation of an increased amount of S components, and the presence of strain-free elongated grains along with the coexistence of a complex and resistant-to-crack-propagation substructure consisting of both high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) and subgrain boundaries (SGBs) led into an optimal combination of Δr and rm parameters. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure-Properties-Processing Relationships in Metallic Materials)
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15 pages, 10383 KiB  
Article
Role of Non-Metallic Inclusions in the Fracture Behavior of Cold Drawn Pearlitic Steel
by Jesús Toribio, Francisco-Javier Ayaso and Beatriz González
Metals 2021, 11(6), 962; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11060962 - 15 Jun 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2196
Abstract
In this paper an exhaustive scientific work is performed, by means of metallographic and scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques, of the microstructural defects exhibited by pearlitic steels and their evolution with the manufacturing process by cold drawing, analyzing the consequences of such defects [...] Read more.
In this paper an exhaustive scientific work is performed, by means of metallographic and scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques, of the microstructural defects exhibited by pearlitic steels and their evolution with the manufacturing process by cold drawing, analyzing the consequences of such defects on the isotropic/anisotropic fracture behavior of the different steels. Thus, the objective is the establishment of a relation between the microstructural damage and the fracture behavior of the different steels. To this end, samples were taken from all the intermediate stages of the real cold drawing process, from the initial hot rolled bar (not cold drawn at all) to the heavily drawn final commercial product (prestressing steel wire). Results show the very relevant role of non-metallic inclusions in the fracture behavior of cold drawn pearlitic steels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure-Properties-Processing Relationships in Metallic Materials)
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19 pages, 6865 KiB  
Article
Phase Field Simulation of AA6XXX Aluminium Alloys Heat Treatment
by Antonis Baganis, Marianthi Bouzouni and Spyros Papaefthymiou
Metals 2021, 11(2), 241; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11020241 - 01 Feb 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4070
Abstract
Heat treatment has a significant impact on the microstructure and the mechanical properties of Al-Mg-Si alloys. The present study presents a first Phase-Field modelling approach on the recrystallisation and grain growth mechanism during annealing. It focuses on the precipitate fraction, radius, and Mg-Si [...] Read more.
Heat treatment has a significant impact on the microstructure and the mechanical properties of Al-Mg-Si alloys. The present study presents a first Phase-Field modelling approach on the recrystallisation and grain growth mechanism during annealing. It focuses on the precipitate fraction, radius, and Mg-Si concentration in the matrix phase, which are used as input data for the calculation of the yield strength and hardness at the end of different ageing treatments. Annealing and artificial ageing simulations have been conducted on the MultiPhase-Field based MICRESS@ software, while the ThermoCalc@ software has been used to construct the pseudo-binary Al-Mg phase-diagrams and the atomic-mobility databases of MgxSiy precipitates. Recrystallisation simulation estimates the recrystallisation kinetics, the grain growth, and the interface mobility with the presence/absence of secondary particles, selecting as annealing temperature 400 °C and a microstructure previously subjected to cold rolling. The pinning force of secondary particles decelerates the overall recrystallisation time, causing a slight decrease in the final grain radius due to the reduction of interface mobility. The ageing simulation examines different ageing temperatures (180 and 200 °C) for two distinct ternary systems (Al-0.9Mg-0.6Si/Al-1.0Mg-1.1Si wt.%) considering the interface energy and the chemical free energy as the driving force for precipitation. The combination of Phase-Field and the Deschamps–Brechet model predicted the under-ageing condition for the 180 °C ageing treatment and the peak-ageing condition for the 200 °C ageing treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure-Properties-Processing Relationships in Metallic Materials)
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15 pages, 10322 KiB  
Article
Highly Enhanced Hot Ductility Performance of Advanced SA508-4N RPV Steel by Trace Impurity Phosphorus and Rare Earth Cerium
by Yu Guo, Yu Zhao and Shenhua Song
Metals 2020, 10(12), 1598; https://doi.org/10.3390/met10121598 - 28 Nov 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2039
Abstract
Advanced SA508-4N RPV steel samples, unadded, P-added, and P+Ce-added, are investigated on their hot ductility behavior. Hot tensile tests are carried out in the temperature range of 750 to 1000 °C through a Gleeble 1500D machine. It is demonstrated that the deformation temperatures [...] Read more.
Advanced SA508-4N RPV steel samples, unadded, P-added, and P+Ce-added, are investigated on their hot ductility behavior. Hot tensile tests are carried out in the temperature range of 750 to 1000 °C through a Gleeble 1500D machine. It is demonstrated that the deformation temperatures of all the three steels are located in the austenite single-phase region. There is no ductility trough present for the P+Ce-added steel, but the unadded one exhibits a deep ductility trough. The reduction of area (RA) of the former is always higher than 75% and increases with rising temperature until reaching ~95% at 900 °C or above, whereas the lowest RA value of the latter is only ~50% at 850 °C. Microanalysis indicates that the grain boundary segregation of P and Ce takes place in the tested P+Ce-added steel. This may restrain the boundary sliding so as to improve the hot ductility behavior of the steel. Furthermore, the addition of P and Ce is able to facilitate the occurrence of the dynamic recrystallization (DR) of the steel, lowering the initial temperature of DR from ~900 to ~850 °C and thereby enhancing the hot ductility performance. Consequently, the combined addition of P and Ce can significantly improve the hot ductility of SA508-4N RPV steel, thereby improving its continuous casting performance and hot workability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure-Properties-Processing Relationships in Metallic Materials)
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15 pages, 5419 KiB  
Article
Thermal Camber and Temperature Evolution on Work Roll during Aluminum Hot Rolling
by Evangelos Gavalas and Spyros Papaefthymiou
Metals 2020, 10(11), 1434; https://doi.org/10.3390/met10111434 - 28 Oct 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2821
Abstract
Flatness is an important quality characteristic for rolled products. Modern hot rolling mills are equipped with actuators that can modify the uneven thickness distribution across the width of the strip (crown), taking into account online measurements of various process parameters such as temperature, [...] Read more.
Flatness is an important quality characteristic for rolled products. Modern hot rolling mills are equipped with actuators that can modify the uneven thickness distribution across the width of the strip (crown), taking into account online measurements of various process parameters such as temperature, force and exit strip profile, either automatically or manually by the operator. However, the crown is also influenced by many parameters that cannot easily be measured during production, such as work roll temperature evolution through thickness and roll geometric variation due to thermal expansion (thermal camber). These have an impact on the strip flatness. In this paper, a thermo-mechanical finite element model on LS-DYNA™ software was utilized to predict the influence of process parameters, and more specifically strip temperature, cooling strategy (application of cooling on the entry or entry and exit side simultaneously) and roll core temperature, on the evolution of roll temperature and thermal camber. The model was initially validated with industrial data. The results indicate that the application of both entry and exit cooling is ~30% more efficient compared to the entry cooling only, thus the thermal camber will be reduced by 2 μm. A hotter roll (380 K) is more stable compared to the cold roll (340 K), showing also an improvement of 2 μm. The hotter roll will also reach a thermal steady state on the surface faster compared to the colder one, without making a significant difference on the steady state temperature. Strip temperature plays a roll in the thermal camber evolution, but it is a less important parameter compared to cooling strategy and roll temperature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure-Properties-Processing Relationships in Metallic Materials)
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13 pages, 4216 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Reduction and Thermal Treatment on the Recrystallization and Crystallographic Texture Evolution of 5182 Aluminum Alloy
by Sofia Papadopoulou, Athina Kontopoulou, Evangelos Gavalas and Spyros Papaefthymiou
Metals 2020, 10(10), 1380; https://doi.org/10.3390/met10101380 - 16 Oct 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2801
Abstract
During forming, thickness reduction and thermal treatment affect the recrystallization and evolution of the crystallographic texture of metallic materials. The present study focuses on the consequences of rolling reduction of a widespread aluminum alloy with numerous automotive, marine and general-purpose applications, namely Al [...] Read more.
During forming, thickness reduction and thermal treatment affect the recrystallization and evolution of the crystallographic texture of metallic materials. The present study focuses on the consequences of rolling reduction of a widespread aluminum alloy with numerous automotive, marine and general-purpose applications, namely Al 5182. Emphasis is laid on the crystallographic texture and mechanical properties on both hot and cold-rolled semi-final products. In particular, a 2.8 mm-thick hot-rolled product was examined in the as-received condition, while two cold-rolled sheets, one 1.33 mm and the other 0.214 mm thick, both originating from the 2.8 mm material, were examined in both as-received and annealed (350 °C for 1 h) conditions. Electron back-scatter diffraction indicated the presence of a large percentage of random texture as well as a weak recrystallization texture for the hot-rolled product, whereas in the case of cold rolling the evolution of β-fiber texture was noted. In addition, tensile tests showed that both the anisotropy as well as the mechanical properties of the cold-rolled properties improved after annealing, being comparable to hot-rolled ones. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure-Properties-Processing Relationships in Metallic Materials)
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