The effect of laser cladding on the surface microstructure and corrosion properties of coated/uncoated specimens were investigated. Fe-based alloy coating was produced on 35CrMo steel by laser cladding. The phase composition, microstructure, interface element distribution, microhardness and corrosion resistance of the cladding coating were measured. The results show that the cladding layer is mainly composed of α-Fe phases, the microstructure presents a gradient distribution, and a good metallurgical bond is formed at the boundary with the substrate. Microhardness profiles show that the average microhardness of the cladding coating is about 2.1 times higher than that of the uncoated specimen. In addition, the electrochemical results show that the coated specimen exhibits far better corrosion resistance than to the uncoated specimen.

Ultrasonic treatment was applied during solidification forming of 6016 aluminium alloys. The effects of ultrasonic vibration on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the 6016 aluminium alloy ingot were studied. Compared with conventional casting, the ingot prepared with ultrasound applied to the molten metal had a fully refined microstructure and greater material homogeneity. Ultrasonic treatment reduced the amount of porosity developed by embedded gas and also resulted in an obvious decrease in solidification defects, like shrinkage. In addition, component segregation was minimised and the mechanical properties were enhanced.

Hot deformation experiments of as-cast 35CrMoV steel, with strain rates of 0.01 s⁻¹ and 10 s⁻¹, deformation temperatures of 850, 950, and 1050 °C, and an extreme deformation reaching 50%, were carried out using a Gleeble-3810 thermal simulator. Electrochemical corrosion experiments were conducted on the deformed specimens. The microstructure was observed by optical microscope (OM), and the corrosion morphology and corrosion products of the specimens were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS), confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The results show that the grain size increased gradually with an increase in the deformation temperature at the same strain rate, whereas the corrosion resistance deteriorated. At the same deformation temperature, the grain size becomes smaller as the strain rate increases, which enhances the corrosion resistance. This is mainly attributed to the fine grains, which can form more grain boundaries, increase the grain boundary area, and accelerate the formation of the inner rust layer at the beginning of corrosion. Moreover, fine grains can also refine the rust particles and enhance the bonding strength between the inner rust layer and the matrix. The denseness and stability of the inner rust layer increases as the corrosion process progresses, thereby improving corrosion resistance.

The effects of ultrasonic treatment (UST) on the solidification microstructure of a 35CrMo steel cast ingot were investigated. To avoid the erosion of a high-temperature melt, a T-shaped ultrasonic waveguide unit was used to introduce ultrasonic vibrations into a 35CrMo steel die casting melt. The experimental results show that the microstructure of the ingot was refined by ultrasonic treatment. While the microstructure of untreated 35CrMo steel is coarse dendritic grains, after the introduction of ultrasonic treatment, the solidification microstructure transforms from coarse dendritic to equiaxed grains, and the dendrites are also refined. Samples from different positions of the ingots were subjected to different ultrasonic effects, and the effects on grain refinement also varied due to the severe attenuation of the ultrasound in the melt. The mechanisms of grain refinement using ultrasonic treatment for 35CrMo steel melt are presented.

Wear resistance of metallic materials can be effectively improved by the deep cryogenic treatment. In this study, different deep cryogenic treatment conditions were considered, with different soaking durations between quenching and tempering. The main objective is investigating the effects of deep cryogenic treatment and exploring the relationship between the mechanical properties and the microstructure of GB 35CrMoV steel. Hardness and relative wear ratios of samples were evaluated by the Vickers-hardness test and the pin-on-disk wear test, respectively. Worn surface was characterized by a non-contact optical surface profiler. Microstructures were studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Significant improvements in hardness and wear resistance are observed for higher cryogenic soaking times; the root mean square deviation (RMS) parameter (Sq) was employed to evaluate the effect of deep cryogenic treatment on the worn surface roughness; the improvements were ascribed to the precipitated carbides. The mechanism can be interpreted not only as the promoted effect of deep cryogenic treatment in the decomposition kinetics of martensite, but also as the acceleration on the Ostwald ripening process.

The effects of ultrasonic introduced by L-shaped sonotrodes made of high-temperature-resistant ceramic on the microstructure and macro-segregation of solidifying 15t AA2219 aluminum alloy ingots have been examined in the present study. The macroscopic morphology of the corrosion of the sonotrode has been observed. Grain refinement has been observed, the shape and size of the precipitated phase of the ingot were counted, and the degree of segregation along the transverse direction at 500 mm from the head of the ingot has been evaluated. The results reveal that the L-shaped ceramic ultrasonic introduction device can effectively avoid the erosion of high-temperature melt on the sonotrode and the heat radiation of the high-temperature heat flow to the transducer. Furthermore, the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and chemical composition detection results also indicate that the inter-dendritic micro-segregation of the equiaxed grains can be reduced, and the macro-segregation of the chemical composition of the ingot can be suppressed, and more homogeneous microstructures can be obtained when ultrasonic has been applied during solidification.