Experimental aluminum alloy containing 0.8% Ca, 0.5% Zr, 0.5% Fe and 0.25% Si (wt.%), in the form of a long-length rod 12 mm in diameter was manufactured using an electromagnetic casting (EMC) technique. The extremely high cooling rate during alloy solidification (≈10⁴ K/s) caused the formation of a favorable microstructure in the ingot characterized by a small size of the dendritic cells, fine eutectic particles of Ca-containing phases and full dissolution of Zr in Al the solid solution. Due to the microstructure obtained the ingots possess high manufacturability during cold forming (both drawing and rolling). Analysis of the electrical conductivity (EC) and microhardness of the cold rolled strip and cold drawn wire revealed that their temperature dependences are very close. The best combination of hardness and EC in the cold rolled strip was reached after annealing at 450 °C. TEM study of structure evolution revealed that the annealing mode used leads to the formation of L1₂ type Al₃Zr phase precipitates with an average diameter of 10 nm and a high number density. Experimental wire alloy has the best combination of ultimate tensile strength (UTS), electrical conductivity (EC) (200 MPa and 54.8% IACS, respectively) and thermal stability (up to 450 °C) as compared with alloys based on the Al–Zr and Al– rare-earth metal (REM) systems. In addition, it is shown that the presence of calcium in the model alloy increases the electrical conductivity after cold forming operations (both drawing and rolling).

The influence of strain rate in the interval of (10⁻⁵–10⁻³) 1/s on room temperature tensile behavior, dislocation arrangement, deformation mechanisms, and fracture of austenitic stainless steel AISI 316L electrochemically charged with hydrogen was investigated. Independently on strain rate, hydrogen charging provides the increase in the yield strength of the specimens due to a solid solution hardening of austenite, but it slightly influences deformation behavior and strain hardening of the steel. Simultaneously, hydrogen charging assists surface embrittlement of the specimens during straining and reduces an elongation to failure, which both are strain rate-dependent parameters. Hydrogen embrittlement index decreases with increase in strain rate, which testifies the importance of hydrogen transport with dislocations during plastic deformation. The stress–relaxation tests directly confirm the hydrogen-enhanced increase in the dislocation dynamics at low strain rates. The interaction of the hydrogen atoms with dislocations and hydrogen-associated plastic flow are discussed.

The results of the research show that it is possible to make axisymmetric blanks of satisfying quality and geometrical sizes using the process of wire feed electron additive manufacturing (3D-printing). Yield strength of blank’s material achieves 317 MPa, which is higher than that of base cast metal (SS321). It was figured out that varying the additive manufacturing parameters such as wire feed rate and substrate rotation rate one may finally obtain printed components of various microstructure and mechanical characteristics. In other words, the parameters of the process can be operated and combined in order to gain needed mechanical characteristics’ anisotropy of the material manufactured by wire feed 3D printing.

Investigating the effect of Fe and Si is essential for any new Al-based composition, as these impurities can be easily found both after primary production and recycling. This study is dedicated to filling the gap in revealing the phase composition of an Al-6%Mg-2%Ca-2%Zn alloy after the combined and separate addition of Fe and Si. This was addressed by permanent mold casting and solid solution heat treatment. The investigation of slowly solidified samples also contributed to understanding potential phase transitions. It was found that the alloy containing 0.5%Fe can have nearly spherical intermetallics after heat treatment, whereas a higher Fe content brought the formation of a needle-shaped Al₃Fe intermetallic. We explain this by the formation of a ternary α-Al + Al₁₀CaFe₂ + Al₄Ca eutectic, which is more compact in as-cast condition compared to divorced binary α-Al + Al₄Ca and α-Al + Al₃Fe eutectics. Similarly, 0.5%Si readily incurred the formation of a needle-shaped Al₂CaSi₂ intermetallic, probably also by a binary reaction L → α-Al + Al₂CaSi₂. In the solidified samples, no Mg₂Si phase was found, even in slowly solidified samples. This is contrary to the thermodynamic calculation, which suggests a peritectic reaction L + Al₂CaSi₂ Mg₂Si. Interestingly, the addition of 0.5%Si caused an even coarser microstructure compared to the addition of 1%Fe, which caused the appearance of a primary Al₃Fe phase. We conclude that the new alloy is more tolerable to Fe rather than Si. Specifically, the addition of 0.5%Fe can be added while maintaining a fine morphology of the eutectic network. It was suggested that the morphology of eutectic and solid solution hardening governed the mechanical properties. The strength of the alloys containing separate 0.5%Fe (UTS = 215 ± 8 MPa and YS 146 ± 4 = MPa) and the combined 0.5%Fe and 0.5%Si additions (UTS = 195 ± 14 MPa and YS ± 1 = 139 MPa) was not compromised compared to the alloy containing 0.5%Si (UTS 201 ± 24 = MPa and YS = 131 ± 1 MPa).