Phase-field simulation of self-healing AlMg alloy

Sepulveda de la Fuente, Hector Ignacio [UCL] Fetni, S. [University of Liège] Delahaye, J. [University of Liège] Gheysen, Julie [Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne] De Raedemacker, Sophie [UCL] Villanova, J. [ESRF] Duchêne, L. [University of Liège] Simar, Aude [UCL] Habraken, Anne-Marie [University of Liège] et al.[show all]

The AlMg alloys are widely used in different transportation industries due to their excellent strength-to-weight ratio [1]. In these industries, the components must withstand overloads and a high number of loading cycles [2], which, over time, can generate damage in the materials and in the worst-case failure [3]. To increase the lifetime of these parts, one innovative solution is to use self-healing materials. There exist different types of self-healing methods, one of them is the diffusion self-healing mechanism. In this mechanism, the alloy microstructure is composed of a healing agent in solid solution [4]. After damage, a healing heat treatment triggers the diffusion of this healing agent towards the voids and heals the material. An in-situ Diffusion Healing Heat Treatment at 400 °C was applied to heal a damaged AlMg alloy at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) [5], where nano-holotomographies (nano-CT) of the damaged and healed microstructure evidenced the healing capacity of the alloy by diffusion mechanism with a voxel size of 35 nm. A diffusion phase-field model based on Kim-Kim-Suzuki [6] was applied to predict the microstructure evolution of the material during this healing heat treatment. The results obtained with the phase-field model are compared with the experimental measurements to corroborate their accuracy.The AlMg alloys are widely used in different transportation industries due to their excellent strength-to-weight ratio [1]. In these industries, the components must withstand overloads and a high number of loading cycles [2], which, over time, can generate damage in the materials and in the worst-case failure [3]. To increase the lifetime of these parts, one innovative solution is to use self-healing materials. There exist different types of self-healing methods, one of them is the diffusion self-healing mechanism. In this mechanism, the alloy microstructure is composed of a healing agent in solid solution [4]. After damage, a healing heat treatment triggers the diffusion of this healing agent towards the voids and heals the material. An in-situ Diffusion Healing Heat Treatment at 400 °C was applied to heal a damaged AlMg alloy at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) [5], where nano-holotomographies (nano-CT) of the damaged and healed microstructure evidenced the healing capacity of the alloy by diffusion mechanism with a voxel size of 35 nm. A diffusion phase-field model based on Kim-Kim-Suzuki [6] was applied to predict the microstructure evolution of the material during this healing heat treatment. The results obtained with the phase-field model are compared with the experimental measurements to corroborate their accuracy.