The fourth International Conference on Thermal Process Modelling and Computer Simulation (ICTPMCS) is the latest in the series organised by the International Federation for Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering (IFHTSE: www.ifhtse.org). These wide ranging conferences cover all aspects of modelling and simulation of thermal processes. Following the first three events in Shanghai, China (2000), Nancy, France (2003) and Budapest, Hungary (2006), in 2010 ICTPMCS returned to Shanghai. Held on 31 May to 2 June, the conference attracted more than 150 participants from 20 countries and districts. The aim was to bring together specialists in modelling in materials science, solid mechanics and fluid mechanics as well as in numerical simulation to discuss the state of the art from both theoretical and practical viewpoints.
A total of 10 articles were carefully selected from the 177 papers presented at the conference and, following peer review according to MST’s standard procedures, are now published as a special issue. They deal with the modelling and computer simulation of various thermal processes including quenching, coating, casting, rolling and welding. Reich and Kessler report compression tests to measure the mechanical properties of non-equilibrium aluminium alloys at different quenching temperatures. The data derived have been utilised in successful finite element simulations of the residual stress distribution and axial distortion following water and gas quenching of two L-profile aluminium alloy extrusions.
A novel ‘isothermal treatment’ is proposed by Gu and co-workers in place of conventional normalising, to refine the grain size of a NiCrMoV steel down to ASTM 6·0. The results were strongly supported by quantitative OM observation. It is believed that the structural heredity is effectively suppressed by pearlitic transformation occurring along austenite boundary.
Chen and co-workers present a physical based microstructure model describing the microstructure evolution in controlled rolling, using data from an investigation of the dynamic recrystallisation behaviour of a Nb microalloyed steel. The predicted stress–strain curves for a range of rolling conditions show good agreement with experimental ones.
Yin et al. have investigated the microstructure features and tensile behaviour in multilayered metal composites consisting of alternate layers of steels (15 or 25 layers) with high ductility and high strength. The results are useful in providing information to optimise the manufacturing process to obtain better mechanical properties.
He et al. simulated the tensile behaviour of fcc metals using the crystal plasticity finite element method to consider the effects of the number and magnitude of active slip system and the rotation character due to crystalline orientation on the macromechanics response, which is of interest in deepening the understanding of the deformation mechanisms.
Meng et al. have employed first principles thermodynamic models based on the cluster expansion formalism, lattice dynamic calculations and quantum mechanical total energy calculations to compute the thermal stability of hcp metastable hardening precipitates in α-Mg–Gd alloys, with the aim of clarifying the precipitation sequence. The calculated results support the hypothesis that the hcp structure is more stable than the fcc and β" (D019) phases initially precipitated in isothermal aging.
Lin et al. report a study of amorphous RF magnetron sputtered AlN films on Mg–Li alloy substrates. The dependence of coating quality on the deposition parameters has been characterised through the surface morphology, interface conformity, microstructure, etc.
Wen and Ma have investigated the corrosion mechanisms of Al–Zn–In–Mg–Ti alloys, which are increasingly used for sacrificial anodes, via the electrochemical noise technique analysed by shot noise theory. The authors propose a physical model for the corrosion process involving three stages: pitting, pitting and dissolution–precipitation, and uniform corrosion.
Kang and co-workers have established a coupled thermal stress–phase transformation model for turbine blade castings for hydro power generation and propose a new inverse algorithm to describe deformation in a typical stainless steel.
Finally, Li et al. have developed a fully coupled thermomechanical 3D finite element model to simulate the entire friction stir welding process. The results obtained provide a better understanding of the friction stir welding mechanism and the effect of the processing parameters on the property of the welded joints.
These selected contributions give a flavour of the breadth of the conference and I trust readers will find them of interest.