Simultaneously enhancing the strength and ductility of as-extruded AlN/AZ91 composites via nano-precipitation and pyramidal slip

Age hardening is often used to optimize the mechanical properties of as-deformed Mg-based materials in industry,whereas the improvement of strength is usually accompanied by the significant loss of ductility,which hinders the application of Mg-based materials in structural components.In the present work,high strength-ductility synergy(the yield strength of 263±9 MPa,ultimate tensile strength of 398±7 MPa and elongation to fracture of 34%±1%)was realized in as-extruded AlN/AZ91 composites after optimiz-ing aging processes.Microstructural characterization shows that AlN particles induced a large number of geometrically necessary dislocations around the AlN/Mg interface during extrusion,which decreased the nucleation barrier and provided more heterogeneous nucleation sites forγ-Mg 17 Al 12 continuous precipi-tation.Meanwhile,95%of residual dislocations in as-extruded AlN/AZ91 composites were annihilated dur-ing peak-aging,suppressing the growth and coarsening of continuous precipitates.Therefore,high density of nano-sizedγ-Mg 17 Al 12 continuous precipitates was produced in as-extruded AlN/AZ91 composites af-ter peak-aging.During tension,gliding dislocations bypassed sphericalγ-Mg 17 Al 12 nano-precipitates by Orowan looping rather than cutting mechanism,which induced a strong block on dislocation motion.So high yield strength was mainly attributed to the high density of non-shearableγ-Mg 17 Al 12 nano-precipitates with spherical morphology,which was different from other Mg-Al-based systems.The results of texture evolution and slip trace analysis demonstrated that the suppression of extension twinning and less basal slip was due to the enhanced activity of pyramidalc+aslip in as-extruded AlN/AZ91 com-posites after peak-aging during the room temperature tension,meanwhile,the dislocation density of as-extruded AlN/AZ91 composites was significantly decreased during peak-aging,then higher elongation to fracture was achieved.