Formed in the semi-solid state, materials can obtain unconventional microstructures and properties compared with traditional method. In this paper, semi-solid billet of 9Cr18 steel was obtained through a wavelike sloping plate. Microstructure analysis of the semi-solid billet was conducted through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). X-ray diffraction (XRD) test and microhardness test were also used to analyze the properties. The results showed that the structure of 9Cr18 semi-solid billet contained globular primary austenite and secondary austenite-Cr7C3 eutectic. Globular primary austenite grains were first formed during partial solidification in the sloping plate, and then the rest liquid metal formed secondary austenite and Cr7C3 eutectic structure surrounding the primary grains. Cr atoms had a concentration in the rest liquid side, which along with C atoms contributed to the formation of the Cr7C3 carbide. Hardness in the primary solid grain area and the eutectic area was about 330 HV and 650 HV, respectively. These specific properties were important for subsequent thixoforming of the functional graded materials.

Semi-solid billet of 9Cr18 martensitic stainless steel with globular grains was made by a wavelike sloping plate experimental device, and hot compression tests were carried out in the semi-solid state of 9Cr18 semi-solid billet on Gleeble-1500 thermal simulation testing machine at the temperatures of 1250°C ~1300°C and the strain rates of 0.1 s-1~5.0 s-1to investigate the effects of thixoforming parameters on its deformation characteristics and mechanism. According to the true stress-strain curves obtained from the test, the influence of deformation temperature and strain rate on 9Cr18 semi-solid billet deformation resistance was investigated, and the deformation resistance model of specimen with coexistence of solid and liquid phases was established. In this paper, it was found that deformation mechanism changed because of different deformation temperature and strain rate. Dynamic recrystallization occured at 1250°C in different phases separately. So that big fine recrystallized grains were achieved at the soft primary austenite region while small recrystallized grains were achieved at the hard solidified liquid region. The melted metal would be extruded from the centre of the specimen to the free surface completely when the temperature was higher than 1275°C. And then specimen became FGM (functionally graded materials), with phases and properties graded distribution perpendicular to the stress direction. When thixoforming temperature reached 1300 °C, martensitic transformation occurred after rapid cooling. The mathematics models of the relation between stress and temperatures, fraction of solid, deformation rates and deformation degree of 9Cr18 semi-solid billet were regressed and established based on the dates attained from the compression deformation experiments. The R value was 0.991, and the RMSE value was 3.57.

An experimental equipment with inclined plate cooling and shearing had been developed to prepare semi-solid 9Cr18 martensitic stainless steel slurry. The effects of inclined plate angel and length on microstructures refinement and spheroidization in semi-solid 9Cr18 alloy was investigated. The results show that when the molten alloy is flowing along the plate surface, the microstructure of the alloy involves from coarse dendrite to fine spherical grains, the sloping plate can provide sufficiently the undercooling for nucleation and lay a foundation for heterogeneous nucleation to form lots of nuclei of crystal internally and on the sloping plate surface, thus causing the melt to nucleate eruptively. Sloping plate angle and sloping plate length can affect the shear strength and shear time of the flow alloy on the sloping plate and thus influence alloy microstructure. Fine spherical grain in the semi-solid 9Cr18 slurry can be obtained at α=45°and L=600mm, the major grain equivalent diameters are less than 55μm and more than 40% of the grain shape factor is in 0.75, exhibiting better grain fine degree and roundness. Using energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) to investigate the liquid and solid phase in the 9Cr18 semi-solid slurry, iron content is lower and carbon and chromium content is higher in the liquid phase than in the solid phase which makes it possible to prepare the FGM (functional gradient material) with a high wear resistance in the surface and a good strength and toughness in the center.

0Cr17Ni7Al is a precipitation hardening stainless steel, which combines the advantages of austenitic stainless steel and martensitic stainless steel. 0Cr17Ni7Al shows good corrosion resistance, excellent processability and high strength. This paper is mainly focused on the fracture morphology of 0Cr17Ni7Al wire during torsional deformation. Cracking mechanism and torsion failure reason is analyzed in detail. The results show that AlN inclusions are observed both in raw steel wire and fracture, the micro-cracks appear along the axial direction of the steel wire. The torsion strength is normally 2958MPa. but, the local stress of steel wire reaches up to5295MPa when a 0.4mm deep micro-crack locates on the surface of steel wire, and the local stress is obtained to 2953MPa around a 10μm AlN inclusion. Stress concentrating is caused by inclusions and micro-cracks, and the crack propagation lead to the torsion failure of steel wire when the local stress is beyond the torsion limit.

We report here the design and fabrication of an electromechanical tunable grating on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer. The tunable grating consists of a submicron electrostatic comb actuator and an expandable freestanding grating. Rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) method is utilized to analyze the optical responses of freestanding grating with different periods and filling factors. Obvious shift of the resonant peaks is obtained by changing the grating period and the grating filling factor. The electromechanical tunable grating is realized on the silicon device layer by a combination of electron beam (EB) lithography, deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) and wet etching. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrographs indicate that the grating is well fabricated. Via applying biased voltage, the force generated by the electrostatic comb actuator can modulate periods and filling factors of the freestanding grating. The electromechanical tunable grating with simple fabrication process shows bright prospects for optical telecoms and miniaturized spectrometers.