富钇稀土-铝合金制取的研究Study on Preparation of Yttrium-Rich RE-Al Alloys

我国江西龙南稀土矿是目前世界上储量最大的富钇稀土矿、研制具有多种用途的钇（Y）-铝（Al）或富钇混合稀土（Ymm）-铝中间合金，对于开拓我国龙南稀土矿的应用领域扩大稀土合金出口具有重要意义。基于这一背景并针对目前氟化物体系制取Ymm-Al合金时存在着电解温度高，腐蚀现象严重，电效偏低等缺点，本文系统开展了在氯化物熔盐体系中电解制取Ymm-Al合金的研究工作。本工作由三部分组成：在第一部分工作中，开展了熔盐电解所需要基本原料-无水稀土氯化物制取的工艺研究。利用化学分析和结构分析手段，弄清了干法氯化过程中YmmCl_3水解的机理，提出了减弱水解的措施，即YmmCl_3先在850-900 ℃灼烧1.5 + 0.2hr，脱掉吸附水并将碱式碳酸盐转化为氧化物，增加稀土氧化物的比表面。通过条件试验得到最佳工艺条件为：采用NH_4 Cl:Ymm_2 O_3 = 14:1（摩尔比）的配料比，每次投入氯化装置的原料量为0.26 - 0.36 kg, 在400-450 ℃氯化反应激烈开始后迅速降温至400 ℃以下，待物料粘结现象消失后，再行升温氯化。出料及后期控制温在475 ± 25 ℃。经过3.8 ± 0.2hr氯化，可制得水不溶物小于1%并符合熔盐电解要求的YmmCl_3原料。此新工艺与原有干法工艺相比，流程短，装置简单，不需密闭抽真空，成本低，适于制取任何量的优质熔盐电解所需氯化稀土原料。在第二部分工作中，利用上述YmmCl_3原料，以液态铝为阴极，在氯化物体系中进行熔盐电解，通过试验得出在小型试验规模制取Ymm-Al合金的最隹工艺条件为：电解质组成（重量比）40%YmmCl_3-1%NaF-59%等摩尔的NaCl-KCl；电解温度为790 ± 5 ℃；阴极电流密为0.7 - 0.02A/cm~2；电解电量为333 ± 5库仑/克铝，制得钇铝合金中Ymm含量为10 ± 2%。添加1%的NaF可消除阴极表面生成枝状物，减少合金中夹渣和熔盐中沉渣。在电解工作中，将方差分析应用于试验数据处理，方差分析结果表明，各种试验因素对电效有明显影响，试验数据可靠，试验误差在允许范围以内。在第三部分工作中，利用线性扫描伏安法测定了在最隹电解工艺条件下Y~（3+）和Ymm在液态铝及钼电极上的析出电位。测定结果表明：Y~（3+）和Ymm~（3+）在液态铝阴极上的析出电位比在钼阴极上偏正0.2 ～ 0.8伏，氟离子的加入要比不加氟时析出电位不有同程度的负移，但考虑到氟离了具有消渣作用，加入少量氟比物添加剂对提高电效有利。

Preparation of W-Al alloys by mechanical alloying

W1-xAlx (x=0-0.86) alloys were synthesized by mechanically alloying the pure metal powder mixtures at designated compositions by conventional high-energy ball milling. The W-Al alloys were stable under high pressure and high temperature. The alloys were lighter than W. The hardness and oxidation resistance of the alloys was greatly improved compared to both W and Al. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Welding of Al alloy plates using a novel high-average-power pulsed CO2 laser

A novel high-average-power pulsed CO2 laser with a unique electrode structure is presented. The operation of a 5-kW transverse-flow CO2 laser with the preionized pulse-train switched technique results in pulsation of the laser power, and the average laser power is about 5 kW. The characteristic of this technique is switching the preionized pulses into pulse trains so as to use the small preionized power (hundreds of watts) to control the large main-discharge power (tens of kilowatts). By this means, the cost and the complexity of the power supply are greatly reduced. The welding of LF2, LF21, LD2, and LY12 aluminum alloy plates has been successfully achieved using this laser. (c) 2005 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Welding of Al alloy plates using a novel high-average-power pulsed CO2 laser

A novel high-average-power pulsed CO2 laser with a unique electrode structure is presented. The operation of a 5-kW transverse-flow CO2 laser with the preionized pulse-train switched technique results in pulsation of the laser power, and the average laser power is about 5 kW. The characteristic of this technique is switching the preionized pulses into pulse trains so as to use the small preionized power (hundreds of watts) to control the large main-discharge power (tens of kilowatts). By this means, the cost and the complexity of the power supply are greatly reduced. The welding of LF2, LF21, LD2, and LY12 aluminum alloy plates has been successfully achieved using this laser. (c) 2005 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Effects of rare earth on the structure and properties of Mg–6Zn–5Al–4Gd–1RE (RE = Ce or Y) alloys

The microstructures and mechanical properties of Mg-6Zn-5Al-4Gd-1RE (RE = Ce or Y) alloys were investigated. The addition of Ce or Y obviously refines the grain size for the Mg-6Zn-5Al-4Gd-based alloy, while the Y element has a better refining effect. The Ce and Y show different grain-refining mechanisms: Ce addition mostly promotes the growth of secondary dendrite, while Y addition mainly increases the heterogeneous nucleation sites.

Preparation and characterization of As-cast and hot-rolled Mg-3Al-0.5Mn-0.5Zn-1MM alloy

Mg-3Al-0.5Mn-0.5Zn-1MM alloy was prepared by metal mould casting method. The as-cast ingot was homogenized and then hot-rolled at 673 K with total thickness reduction of 65%. Microstructure and mechanical properties of the as-cast and hot-rolled samples were investigated. The results showed that the as-cast sample mainly consisted of alpha-Mg, beta-Mg17Al12, Al10Ce2Mn7, and Al11RE3 (RE = La and Ce) phases. The average grain size of the sample homogenized at 673 K was about 240 gm, and it was greatly refined to about 7 mu m by dynamic recrystallization for the hot-rolled sample.

XRD and XPS studies on the ultra-uniform Raney-Ni catalyst prepared from the melt-quenching alloy

We present a novel method for preparing an ultra-uniform Raney-Ni catalyst, which includes melt-quenching, hydrogen treatment and leaching in an alkali solution. The resultant catalyst shows superior activity in the reaction of cyclohexanone hydrogenation. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and XPS have been employed to characterize the catalysts. As demonstrated, the pretreatment with hydrogen caused a distinct phase transfer of the Ni-Al alloys, forming more of the Ni2Al3 component. In the subsequent leaching process, the Ni2Al3 component shows high activity and the resultant catalyst exhibits high surface areas and small pores. Moreover, metallic Al in the hydrogen-pretreated alloy appeared to be leached more easily and thus the aluminium species remaining on the catalyst surface is aluminium oxide predominantly, which serves as a matrix to stabilize active Ni species on the surface. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Effect of Nb Content on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Zr-Cu-Ni-Al-Nb Glass Forming Alloys

(Zr65Al10Ni10Cu15)(100-x) Nb-x glass forming alloys with Nb contents ranging from 0 to 15 at.% were prepared by water-cooled copper mould cast. The alloys with different Nb contents exhibited different microstructures and mechanical properties. Unlike the monolithic Zr65Al10Ni10Cu15 bulk metallic glass, only a few primary bee beta-Ti phase dendrites were found to distribute in the glassy matrix of the alloys with x = 5. For alloys with x = 10, more beta-phase dendrites forms, together with quasicrystalline particles densely distributed in the matrix of the alloys. For alloys with x = 15, the microstructure of the alloy is dominated by a high density of fully developed P-phase dendrites and the volume fraction of quasicrystalline particles significantly decreases. Room temperature compression tests showed that the alloys with x = 5 failed at 1793 MPa and exhibited an obvious plastic strain of 3.05%, while the other samples all failed in a brittle manner. The ultimate fracture strengths are 1793, 1975 and 1572 MPa for the alloys with x = 0, 10 and 15 at.% Nb, respectively.

Metallographic Analysis of Cu-Zr-Al Bulk Amorphous Alloys with Yttrium Addition

Minor yttrium addition can improve the glass-forming ability of Cu-Zr-Al ternary alloys via suppression of the growth of eutectic clusters. Yttrium addition also makes the room temperature ductility of the alloys decrease, and both the compressive strength and elastic strain limits increase slightly.

Mechanism of nucleation and precipitation in Li containing Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys

Investigations on the aging hardening behavior of four Al-Li-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys were carried out using differential scanning calorimetry, transmission electron microscopy and hardness measurement. It is shown that the addition of Li inhibits the formation of Zn-rich G.P. zones in Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys. The dominant aging hardening precipitates is delta'(Al3Li) phase. Coarse T ((AlZn)(49)Mg-32) phase, instead of MgZn2, precipitates primarily on grain boundaries, and provides little strengthening. The multi-stop aging involving plastic deformation introduces in the matrix a high concentration of structural defects. These defects play different role on the nucleation of Zn-rich G.P. zones in different alloys. For the Li free alloy, structural defects act as vacancy sinks and tend to suppress the homogeneous precipitation of G.P. zones, while for the Li containing alloys, these defects promote the heterogeneous nucleation of G.P. zones and metastable MgZn2. A significant aging hardening effect is attained in deformed Li containing alloys due to the extra precipitation of fine MgZn2 in the matrix combined with deformation hardening.

Influence of Forced Convection on Columnar Microstructure During Directional Solidification of Al-Ni Alloys

This paper presents a summary of cellular and dendritic morphologies resulting from the upward directional solidification of Al - Ni alloys in a cylindrical crucible. We analysed the coupling of solid-liquid interface morphology with natural and forced convection. The influence of natural convection was first analyzed as a function of growth parameters (solute concentration, growth rate and thermal gradient). In a second step, the influence of axial vibrations on solidification microstructure was investigated by varying vibration parameters (amplitude and frequency). Experimental results were compared to preliminary numerical simulations and a good agreement is found for natural convection. In this study, the critical role of the mushy zone in the interaction between fluid flow and solidification microstructure is pointed out.

Comparative Study Of The Influence Of Natural Convection On Directional Solidification Of Al-3.5 Wt% Ni And Al-7 Wt% Si Alloys

We present numerical simulations of thermosolutal convection for directional solidification of Al-3.5 wt% Ni and Al-7 wt% Si. Numerical results predict that fragmentation of dendrite arms resulting from dissolution could be favored in Al-7 wt% Si, but not in Al-3.5 wt% Ni. Corresponding experiments are in qualitative agreement with the numerical predictions. Distinguishing the two fragmentation mechanisms, namely dissolution and remelting, is critical during experiments on earth, when fluid flow is dominant. (C) 2007 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The growth of high-Al-content InAlGaN quaternary alloys by RF-MBE

High-Al-content InxAlyGa1-x-yN (x = 1-10%, y = 34-45%) quaternary alloys were grown on sapphire by radio-frequency plasma-excited molecular beam epitaxy. Rutherford back-scattering spectrometry, high resolution x-ray diffraction and cathodoluminescence were used to characterize the InAlGaN alloys. The experimental results show that InAlGaN with an appropriate Al/In ratio (near 4.7, which is a lattice-match to the GaN under-layer) has better crystal and optical quality than the InAlGaN alloys whose Al/In ratios are far from 4.7. Some cracks and V-defects occur in high-Al/In-ratio InAlGaN alloys. In the CL image, the cracks and V-defect regions are the emission-enhanced regions.

Electrochemical corrosion behavior of cast Mg-Al-RE-Mn Alloys in NaCl solution

The electrochemical corrosion behavior of Mg-6Al-0.4Mn and Mg-6Al-4RE-0.4Mn (RE = Mischmetal) alloys is investigated in 3.5% NaCl solution. The results of corrosion process, polarization behavior, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of the alloys reveal that Mg-6Al-4RE-0.4Mn exhibits enhanced corrosion resistance. The addition of RE stabilizes the solid solution and modifies the passive film through a finer microstructure.