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Recent Achievements and Developments in Micro/Nano-Forming: Theory, Technology and Applications

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Manufacturing Processes and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 August 2022) | Viewed by 23603

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Prof. Dr. Jie Xu

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Guest Editor

Micro/Nano Technology Research Center, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China
Interests: micro-forming; ultrafine-grained/nanocrystalline materials; electroplastic effect in micro/nano-forming

Prof. Dr. Linfa Peng

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Guest Editor

School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Interests: micro/meso-scale modelling; micro/meso-forming; new energy equipment manufacturing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Micro/nanoforming is a process to produce parts and structures with at least two dimensions ranging from sub-millimeter to nanometers by using plastic deformation, which has the attractive advantages of high productivity, low cost, near-net-shape and excellent mechanical properties. However, micro/nano-forming is far less established due to the so-called size effect in terms of materials model, process laws and tooling design, etc. The understanding of basic issues on micro/nano-forming are not yet mature and is currently a topic of rigorous investigations.

This Special Issue is an attempt at reporting the recent findings in the field of micro/nanoforming. The primary objective of the Materials Special Issue is to present the latest achievements in basic theory, materials, processes, tooling design and fabrication for micro/nanoforming, especially in multiscale model of size effects, micro/nanoforming process in new materials and nontraditional energy field micro/nano-forming. Other new findings about micro/nanoforming are also suitable for this Issue.

We are pleased to invite you to submit research papers and reviews related to the latest achievements and developments in micro/nanoforming. All comments and suggestions for the Special Issue are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Jie Xu
Prof. Dr. Linfa Peng
Guest Editors

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Keywords

microforming
nanoforming
size effect in micro/nanoforming
energy field assisted micro/nanoforming
micro/nanoforming in ultrafine-grained or nanocrytalline materials
friction in micro/nanoforming
simulation of micro/nanoforming

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Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 6805 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on the Springback Behavior of 316LN Stainless Steel in Micro-Scale Bending Processes

by Shubiao Guo, Chenchen Tian, Haitao Pan, Xuefeng Tang, Lu Han and Jilai Wang

Materials 2022, 15(18), 6373; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15186373 - 14 Sep 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1850

Abstract

Hydrogen fuel cells have been used worldwide due to their high energy density and zero emissions. The metallic bipolar plate is the crucial component and has a significant effect on a cell’s efficiency. However, the springback behavior of the metallic bipolar plate will greatly influence its forming accuracy in the micro-scale sheet metal forming process. Therefore, accurate calculation of the springback angle of the micro-scale metallic bipolar plate is urgent but difficult given the state of existing elastoplastic theory. In this paper, a constitutive model that simultaneously considers grain size effect and strain gradient is proposed to analyze micro-scale bending behavior and calculate springback angles. The specialized micro-scale four-point bending tool was designed to better calculate the springback angle and simplify the calculation step. A pure micro-bending experiment on a 316LN stainless steel sheet with a thickness of 0.1 mm was conducted to verify the constitutive model’s accuracy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Achievements and Developments in Micro/Nano-Forming: Theory, Technology and Applications)

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13 pages, 5270 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation on Deformation Behavior in the Surface of Metal Foil with Ultrasonic Vibration-Assisted Micro-Forging

by Zidong Yin and Ming Yang

Materials 2022, 15(5), 1907; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15051907 - 4 Mar 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2227

Abstract

Excitation of the acoustic field, leading to the Blaha effect, significantly affects the plasticity of a material. In the micro-forming field, the so-called impact effect is found to generate a larger amount of dislocation and produce greater plastic deformation than acoustic softening. In this study, the mechanism of deformation in the surface of the material with ultrasonic vibration assistance was investigated and compared with that in the bulk. Forging tests using a newly developed ultrasonic vibrator were carried out on pure Cu foils with various process conditions. The longitudinal vibration frequency of the ultrasonic transducer was 60 ± 2 kHz, and the vibration amplitude was in an adjustable range of 0~6 μm. Forging tests were carried out at different amplitudes. The result shows that acoustic softening and the impact effect could be separated by an oscilloscope in the micro-forging system. The difference in deformation on the surface asperity caused by acoustic softening and the impact effect is discussed. Compared to acoustic softening, which has a limited effect on the deformation of the surface asperity, the impact effect could create more plastic deformation on the surface asperity. Therefore, the reduction in the surface roughness would increase after the impact effect occurs. In addition, to confirm the mechanism of acoustic softening and the impact effect, the microstructural evolution of specimens, at the surface scale and inner scale, was investigated by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). It was found that acoustic softening could create more grain refinement, and with the amplitude increasing, the impact effect would oppositely cause the surface grains to grow. In this study, the mechanism of how the impact effect and acoustic softening affect the deformation behavior of the surface asperity was investigated. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Achievements and Developments in Micro/Nano-Forming: Theory, Technology and Applications)

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13 pages, 6076 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fine Piercing of Amorphous Electrical Steel Sheet Stack by Micro-/Nano-Textured Punch

by Yukiya Komori, Yohei Suzuki, Kohta Abe, Tatsuhiko Aizawa and Tomomi Shiratori

Materials 2022, 15(5), 1682; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15051682 - 23 Feb 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1713

Abstract

The periodic nanotexture was superposed to the micro-textured grooves on the side surface of the punch. These grooves with nanotextures were shaped to have parallel and vertical orientations to the punch stroke direction, respectively. A stack of five amorphous electrical steel sheets was punched out with these micro-/nano-textured punches. The process affected zone at the vicinity of the punched hole was analyzed by SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) and a three-dimensional profilometer. The punch surfaces were also observed by SEM to describe the debris particle adhesion on them. The dimensional change in each layer of the stack before and after perforation was measured to describe the punching behavior with the comparison to the punch diameter. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Achievements and Developments in Micro/Nano-Forming: Theory, Technology and Applications)

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14 pages, 7967 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effects of Geometry Size and Initial Microstructure on Deformation Behavior of Electrically-Assisted Micro-Compression in Ti-6Al-4V Alloy

by Jianxing Bao, Shoudan Lv, Bo Wang, Debin Shan, Bin Guo and Jie Xu

Materials 2022, 15(5), 1656; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15051656 - 23 Feb 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1538

Abstract

In this study, electrically-assisted micro-compression (EAMC) tests were conducted for cylindrical specimens of Ti-6Al-4V alloy with four geometric sizes and three initial microstructures. The result showed that the specimen temperature nonlinearly increased with the square of current density. The quasi-static heat equilibrium equation was established to quantify the effects of the scale factor on the Joule heat temperature. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the Joule temperature scale effect had a greater effect on the flow stress than the sample size effect for specimens of different dimensions. It was noted that the 0.5 mm diameter sample displayed abnormal deformation behavior, which was related to surface oxidation leading a brittle surface layer. By comparison of the microstructures, it was found that the α→β phase transformation occured below the β transus temperature, which was attributed to the local Joule heat effect and the scattering of drift electrons during EAMC. Furthermore, the flow curves showed a strong dependence of the strength and ductility on the initial microstructure. The widmannstatten microstructure exhibited higher strength, smaller hardening rate and more easy flow localization compared with basket-weave microstructures, which was attributed to the low β phase content and narrow interlamellar spacing of α lamellae grains in the widmannstatten microstructure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Achievements and Developments in Micro/Nano-Forming: Theory, Technology and Applications)

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14 pages, 6930 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Holding Time on the Extrusion Force and Microstructure Evolution during the Plastic Forming of Ti-6Al-4V Micro-Gears

by Xiangzhong Yan, Shengwei Zhang, Kunlan Huang, Yi Yang, Wei Wang and Mingxia Wu

Materials 2022, 15(4), 1507; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15041507 - 17 Feb 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1792

Abstract

The application of titanium alloy micro-gears in microelectromechanical systems has been severely restricted, as the graphite mold is prone to abrasion or even to crack at high temperatures, mainly due to the forming load. We aimed to manufacture Ti-6Al-4V alloy micro-gears through hot extrusion under an electric field and to clarify the influence of holding time on the extrusion force. The results suggest that the formed gears had a complete filling and clear tooth profile. Moreover, the contact resistance and current density caused a gradient temperature distribution inside the billet, resulting in a carburized layer and inhomogeneous β grains. The extrusion force increased with an increased holding time, which can be ascribed to the increase in the thickness of the carburized layer and the β grain size. Among these two factors, β grain size played a leading role in the extrusion force. Continuous dynamic recrystallization dominated the deformation in a single β phase, and the misorientation of the transformed α laths from β grains followed the Burgers orientation relationship. This study may pave the way for the extrusion forming of other titanium alloy micro-components. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Achievements and Developments in Micro/Nano-Forming: Theory, Technology and Applications)

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14 pages, 16135 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Electroplastic Effects on the Mechanical Responses and Deformation Mechanisms of AZ31 Mg Foils

by Shuai Xu, Xinwei Xiao, Haiming Zhang and Zhenshan Cui

Materials 2022, 15(4), 1339; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15041339 - 11 Feb 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1934

Abstract

Electrical-assisted (EA) forming technology is a promising technology to improve the formability of hard-deformable materials, such as Mg alloys. Herein, EA micro tensile tests and various microstructure characterizations were conducted to study the electroplastic effect (EPE) and size effect on the mechanical responses, deformation mechanisms, and fracture characteristics of AZ31 Mg foils. With the assistance of electric currents, the ductility of the foils was significantly improved, the size effects caused by grain size and sample thickness were weakened, and the sigmoidal shape of the flow stress curves during the early deformation stage became less obvious. The EBSD characterization results showed that the shape change of the flow stress curves was due to the EPE suppressing the activation of extension twinning at the early deformation stage, especially for the coarse grain samples. The suppression of extension twinning resulted in a quick increase in flow stress due to the dislocation-dominant work hardening, and the increased flow stress eventually promoted extensive deformation twins at large deformation. Thus, as the sample strained to 10% tensile deformation, the EA-tested samples showed a larger volume fraction of deformation twins than the non-EA samples. The reference orientation deviation analysis verified that the deformation twins in the EA samples were formed in the large deformation stage. Combined with the fractography, the EPE also improved the ductility by suppressing the expansion of cleavage surfaces. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Achievements and Developments in Micro/Nano-Forming: Theory, Technology and Applications)

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12 pages, 2356 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Crystal Plasticity Simulation of Yield Loci Evolution of SUS304 Foil

by Mingliang Men and Bao Meng

Materials 2022, 15(3), 1140; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15031140 - 1 Feb 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2087

Abstract

The deformation process of metal foils is usually under a complex stress status, and the size effect has an obvious influence on the microforming process. To study the effect of grain orientation and grain size distribution on the yield loci evolution of SUS304 stainless steel foils, three representative volume element (RVE) models were built based on the open source tools NEPER and MTEX. In addition, the yield loci with different grain sizes are obtained by simulation with Duisseldorf Advanced Material Simulation Kit (DAMASK) under different proportional loading conditions. The initial yield loci show a remarkable difference in shape and size, mainly caused by the distinct texture characteristics. By comparing the crystal plasticity simulation with the experimental results, the model with normal grain size distribution and initial texture based on Electron Back-scattered Diffraction (EBSD) data can more accurately describe the influence of the size effect on the shape and size of yield loci, which is the result of the interaction of grain size distribution and texture. However, the enhancement of grain deformation coordination will weaken the impact of the size effect on yield loci shape if the grain size distribution is more uniform. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Achievements and Developments in Micro/Nano-Forming: Theory, Technology and Applications)

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13 pages, 43421 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Microstructural and Texture Evolution in Pure Niobium during Severe Plastic Deformation by Differential Speed Rolling

by Sang Yong Park and Woo Jin Kim

Materials 2022, 15(3), 752; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15030752 - 19 Jan 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1975

Abstract

The evolution of the microstructure and texture in body-centered cubic (BCC) niobium (Nb) during conventional rolling and high-ratio differential rolling (HRDSR) at room temperature were compared. More effective grain refinement of the initial microstructure through continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX) occurred in the samples processed by HRDSR, but the overall degree of grain refinement was small, despite having undergone severe plastic deformation due to the low rate of CDRX. CDRX more preferentially proceeded on {111}<uvw> γ-fiber grains than on {001}<110> α-fiber grains. The HRDSR-processed samples exhibited weaker α-fiber and stronger γ-fiber than the conventionally processed samples, which indicates that the high shear deformation induced by HRDSR discourages the development of α-fiber while promoting the development of γ-fiber. The HRDSR processed Nb showed a high tensile strength of 450 MPa, and the major strengthening mechanism for the HRDSR-processed Nb was dislocation-density strengthening at large thickness reductions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Achievements and Developments in Micro/Nano-Forming: Theory, Technology and Applications)

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11 pages, 7030 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Effects of Unidirection/Bidirection Torsional Thermomechanical Processes on Grain Boundary Characteristics and Plasticity of Pure Nickel

by Yao Lin, Shan Liu, Tao Wu and Guangchun Wang

Materials 2022, 15(1), 236; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15010236 - 29 Dec 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1614

Abstract

The “torsion and annealing” grain boundary modification of pure nickel wires with different diameters was carried out in this paper. The effects of torsional cycles as well as unidirectional/bidirectional torsion methods on grain boundary characteristic distribution and plasticity were investigated. The fraction of special boundaries, grain boundary characteristic distributions and grain orientations of samples with different torsion parameters were detected by electron backscatter diffraction. Hardness measurement was conducted to characterize the plasticity. Then, the relationship between micro grain boundary characteristics and macro plasticity was explored. It was found that the special boundaries, especially Σ3 boundaries, are increased after torsion and annealing and effectively broke the random boundary network. The bidirectional torsion with small torsional circulation unit was the most conducive way to improve the fraction of special boundaries. The experiments also showed that there was a good linear correlation between the fraction of special boundaries and hardness. The plasticization mechanism was that plenty of grains with Σ3 boundaries, [001] orientations and small Taylor factor were generated in the thermomechanical processes. Meanwhile, the special boundaries broke the random boundary network. Therefore, the material was able to achieve greater plastic deformation. Moreover, the mechanism of torsion and annealing on the plasticity of pure nickel was illustrated, which provides theoretical guidance for the pre-plasticization of nickel workpieces. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Achievements and Developments in Micro/Nano-Forming: Theory, Technology and Applications)

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11 pages, 8287 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Atomistic Simulation of Microstructural Evolution of Ni_50.8Ti Wires during Torsion Deformation

by Shan Liu, Yao Lin, Tao Wu and Guangchun Wang

Materials 2022, 15(1), 92; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15010092 - 23 Dec 2021

Viewed by 2248

Abstract

To explore the microstructural evolution of Ni_50.8Ti wires during torsion deformation, single and polycrystalline models with various grain sizes (d = 9 nm, 5.6 nm, and 3.4 nm) were established on an atomic scale to explore their grain morphology evolution, stress-induced martensitic transformation, and dislocation movement. The results indicated that the grains were rotated and elongated to form long strips of grains during the torsion simulation. With the increase in torsion deformation, the elongated grains were further split, forming smaller grains. Stress-induced martensitic transformation took place and the martensite preferentially nucleated near the grain boundary, resulting in the formation of 30% austenites and 50% martensites. Additionally, a certain number of dislocations were generated during the torsion simulation. Under a low degree of torsion deformation, the main mechanism of plastic deformation was dislocation movement, while with a large degree of torsion deformation, the main mechanism of plastic deformation was grain rotation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Achievements and Developments in Micro/Nano-Forming: Theory, Technology and Applications)

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11 pages, 5179 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Strain Rate on the Mechanical Properties of Cu/Ni Clad Foils

by Haiyang Wang, Chuanjie Wang, Linfu Zhang, Gang Chen, Qiang Zhu and Peng Zhang

Materials 2021, 14(22), 6846; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14226846 - 12 Nov 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1749

Abstract

The performance of clad foils in microforming deserves to be studied extensively, where the strain rate sensitivity of the clad foil concerning the forming performance is a crucial factor. In this paper, the strain rate sensitivity of the mechanical properties of coarse-grained (CG) [...] Read more.

\dot{ε} = 10^{- 4} s^{- 1} ~ 10^{- 1} s^{- 1}

) is explored by uniaxial tensile tests under different strain rates. The results show that the strength and ductility increase with strain rate, and the strain rate sensitivity m value is in the range of 0.012~0.015, which is three times the value of m for CG pure Cu. The fracture morphology shows that slip bands with different directions are entangled in localized areas near the interface layer. Molecular dynamics simulations demonstrate the formation of many edged dislocations at the Cu/Ni clad foils interface due to a mismatch interface. The improved ductility and strain rate sensitivity is attributed to the interaction and plugging of the edged dislocations with high density in the interface layer. Additionally, the influence of size effect on mechanical properties is consistently present in the quasi-static strain rate range. This paper helps to understand the strain rate sensitivity of CG clad foils and to develop clad foils in microforming processes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Achievements and Developments in Micro/Nano-Forming: Theory, Technology and Applications)

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15 pages, 24509 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Deformation Behavior and Microstructural Evolution of T-Shape Upsetting Test in Ultrafine-Grained Pure Copper

by Hongpeng Jiang, Guangqiang Yan, Jianwei Li, Jie Xu, Debin Shan and Bin Guo

Materials 2021, 14(17), 4869; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14174869 - 27 Aug 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1829

Abstract

Ultrafine-grained (UFG) materials can effectively solve the problem of size effects and improve the mechanical properties due to its ultra-high strength. This paper is dedicated to analyzing the deformation behavior and microstructural evolution of UFG pure copper based on T-shape upsetting test. Experimental results demonstrate that: the edge radius and V-groove angle have significant effects on the rib height and aspect ratio λ during T-shape upsetting; while the surface roughness has little effect on the forming load in the first stage, but in the second stage the influence becomes significant. The dynamic recrystallization temperature of UFG pure copper is between 200 °C and 250 °C. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Achievements and Developments in Micro/Nano-Forming: Theory, Technology and Applications)

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