Heat Treatment, Microstructures, and Mechanical Properties of Metallic Materials

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: 20 June 2025 | Viewed by 4627

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Metal Materials Department, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China
Interests: metal heat treatment; surface modification; powder modification; sintering; phase transformation; green manufacturing and remanufacturing

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Metal Materials Department, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China
Interests: metal heat treatment; surface modification; computational materials science
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Heat treatment is the foundation of modern manufacturing; it improves the properties of metal materials by changing their microstructure. Almost all important mechanical components require heat treatment to improve their performance and enhance their service safety. Advancements in heat treatment equipment and technology have greatly promoted the development of advanced metal materials, laying the foundation for the upgrading and development of future manufacturing industries. The scope of this Special Issue includes the following: progress in heat treatment, the relationship between heat treatment processes, microstructures and their properties, the heat treatment of new materials, the application of heat treatment in advanced metal preparation, and the relationship between heat treatment and the environment. Heat treatment is the soul of mechanical components, providing infinite possibilities for improving and optimizing the performance of metal materials. We aim to provide a platform where researchers can learn about the research and development of heat treatment and create space for the performance and quality improvement of advanced equipment in the future.

In this Special Issue, we welcome articles that focus on discussing the relationship between advanced heat treatment processes, microstructures, and their properties. Technology enabling green, intelligent, and low-cost heat treatment processes is particularly interesting and has the potential for implementation in advanced metal manufacturing and performance improvement. We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Guodong Cui
Dr. Chengsong Zhang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • heat treatment
  • microstructure
  • mechanical properties
  • characterization
  • mechanical components
  • green manufacturing

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

26 pages, 5867 KiB  
Article
On Transformation and Stress–Strain–Temperature Behavior of Fine-Grained Ni-Rich NiTi Wire vs. Aging Mode
by Elena Ryklina, Kristina Polyakova, Victor Komarov, Semen Murygin, Anton Konopatsky, Vladimir Andreev and Adilet Ulanov
Metals 2025, 15(1), 3; https://doi.org/10.3390/met15010003 - 25 Dec 2024
Viewed by 635
Abstract
The present study was carried out using a cold-drawn wire of Ni50.8Ti at.% subjected to post-deformation solution treatment at 700 °C for 1 h to obtain a fine-grained recrystallized structure. Subsequent aging was carried out at a temperature range of 300, [...] Read more.
The present study was carried out using a cold-drawn wire of Ni50.8Ti at.% subjected to post-deformation solution treatment at 700 °C for 1 h to obtain a fine-grained recrystallized structure. Subsequent aging was carried out at a temperature range of 300, 430, and 500 °C for 1, 10, and 20 h. The time–temperature aging mode strongly affects the aging-induced microstructure. Variation of the aging-induced microstructure (using various aging modes) permits precise tuning of the characteristic temperature of the martensitic transformations and their specific temperature ranges upon cooling and heating. The latent heat and hysteresis exhibit different evolution vs. aging durations; this finding remains fair when using different aging temperatures. The aging mode strongly affects the stress–temperature behavior: (i) a dramatical expansion of the temperature range of realization of the transformation yield stress (σtr); and (ii) the magnitude of σtr at a chosen test temperature is generally determined by the position of the Ms temperature. An additional contribution of competing factors is discussed. The efficiency of the aging temperature under isochronous aging is significantly higher than the efficiency of the aging time under isothermal aging. Aging at 430 °C for 10–20 h provides the highest resource for the recovery strain. The strain–temperature behavior strongly depends on the relative position of the Rs and Ms temperatures (onset of B2→R and R→B19′ transformations, respectively). The regularities obtained can be used to predict the set of functional and mechanical properties of titanium nickelide. Full article
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16 pages, 20389 KiB  
Article
Analysis of the Structure and Properties of As-Built and Heat-Treated Wire-Feed Electron Beam Additively Manufactured (WEBAM) Ti–4Al–3V Spherical Pressure Vessel
by Andrey Chumaevskii, Sergey Tarasov, Denis Gurianov, Evgeny Moskvichev, Valery Rubtsov, Nikolay Savchenko, Aleksander Panfilov, Alexander M. Korsunsky and Evgeny Kolubaev
Metals 2024, 14(12), 1379; https://doi.org/10.3390/met14121379 - 2 Dec 2024
Viewed by 866
Abstract
In the present work, a high-pressure spherical vessel was fabricated from Ti–4Al–3V titanium alloy using wire-feed electron beam additive manufacturing and characterized for tightness at high pressure. Studies have been carried out to characterize the microstructures and properties of the vessel’s material in [...] Read more.
In the present work, a high-pressure spherical vessel was fabricated from Ti–4Al–3V titanium alloy using wire-feed electron beam additive manufacturing and characterized for tightness at high pressure. Studies have been carried out to characterize the microstructures and properties of the vessel’s material in four states: as-built (BM), annealed at 940 °C with cooling in air (HT1 treatment), quenched in water from 940 °C (HT2 treatment), and quenched with subsequent annealing at 540 °C (HT3 treatment). The microstructure of the as-built (BM) samples was composed of grain boundary α-Ti and α/β lath colonies located within the columnar primary β-Ti grain boundaries. The ultimate tensile strength of the as-built material was in the range of 582 to 632 MPa, i.e., significantly lower than that of the source Ti–4Al–3V alloy wire. The subtransus HT1 heat treatment allowed β→α″ transformation, while both HT2 and HT3 resulted in improved tensile strength due to the transformation of β-Ti into α/α′-Ti and the decomposition of α′ into α/β structures, respectively. Full article
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14 pages, 12307 KiB  
Article
Phase Transformations after Heat Treating an As-Cast Fe-30Mn-8.8Al-0.3Si-0.15C Steel
by Victor M. Lopez-Hirata, Eduardo Perez-Badillo, Maribel Leticia Saucedo-Muñoz, Felipe Hernandez-Santiago and Jose David Villegas-Cardenas
Metals 2024, 14(7), 748; https://doi.org/10.3390/met14070748 - 25 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1403
Abstract
The phase transformations in an as-cast Fe-30Mn-8.8Al-0.3Si-0.15C steel were analyzed experimentally and numerically with a Calphad-based method during heat treatment. The nonequilibrium phases were determined using the Thermo-Calc Scheil module and the equilibrium phases with Themo-Calc based on the steel chemical composition. The [...] Read more.
The phase transformations in an as-cast Fe-30Mn-8.8Al-0.3Si-0.15C steel were analyzed experimentally and numerically with a Calphad-based method during heat treatment. The nonequilibrium phases were determined using the Thermo-Calc Scheil module and the equilibrium phases with Themo-Calc based on the steel chemical composition. The precipitated phases were analyzed with TC-PRISMA using the chemical composition, nucleation site, and temperature among other factors. An ingot of this chemical composition was vacuum-melted using pure elements under an Ar gas atmosphere. As-cast steel specimens were annealed and solution-treated, quenched, and then aged at different temperatures. Heat-treated specimens were analyzed by different techniques. The results indicated that the microconstituents are the α and γ phases for the as-cast, homogenized, and quenched conditions. The main difference among these conditions is the distribution and size of the γ phase, which produced a change in hardness from 209 to 259 VHN. In contrast, the aging treatment at 750 °C caused a decrease in hardness from 492 to 306 VHN, which is attributable to the increase in volume fraction of the γ phase. On the other hand, the aging treatment at 550 °C promoted precipitation hardening from 259 to 649 VHN because of the κ precipitate formation. The calculated results for the different heat treatments with the Calphad-based method agreed well with the experimental ones. In addition, the intragranular precipitation of the κ phase could be simulated using the nucleation and growth and coarsening mechanisms based on a Calphad method. Full article
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15 pages, 6616 KiB  
Article
Temperature Dependency of Modified Mohr–Coulomb Criterion Parameters for Advanced High Strength Dual-Phase Steel DP780
by Yukuan Li, Di Li, Hui Song, Yiqun Wang and Dongze Wu
Metals 2024, 14(6), 721; https://doi.org/10.3390/met14060721 - 17 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1089
Abstract
The Modified Mohr–Coulomb criterion has been demonstrated to exhibit high accuracy in the prediction of fracture in high-strength steels. Taking DP780 as the research object, the undetermined parameters of the Modified Mohr–Coulomb criterion at different temperatures were calibrated by tensile and shear tests [...] Read more.
The Modified Mohr–Coulomb criterion has been demonstrated to exhibit high accuracy in the prediction of fracture in high-strength steels. Taking DP780 as the research object, the undetermined parameters of the Modified Mohr–Coulomb criterion at different temperatures were calibrated by tensile and shear tests combined with simulation. The relationships between the parameters and temperature were investigated. Finally, the relationship between criterion parameters and temperature was verified using the stretch-bending tests of U-shape parts. The fracture of automotive parts can be accurately predicted by simulation during warm stamping, thereby guiding actual production. Full article
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