Microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-TiB_2/TiC in situ composites improved via hot rolling

A kind of Al-TiB2/TiC in situ composite with a homogenous microstructure was successfully prepared through in situ reaction of pure Ti and Al-B-C alloy with molten aluminum.In order to improve the distribution of the particles and mechanical properties of the composites,subsequent hot rolling with increasing reduction was carried out.The microstructure evolution of the composites was characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM)and the mechanical properties were studied through tensile tests and microhardness measurement.It is found that both the microstructure uniformity and mechanical properties of the composites are significantly improved with increasing rolling reduction.The ultimate tensile strength and microhardness of the composites with90%rolling reduction reach185.9MPa and HV59.8,respectively,140%and35%higher than those of as-cast ones.Furthermore,the strengthening mechanism of the composite was analyzed based on the fracture morphologies.

In situ thermomechanical processing to avoid grain boundary precipitation and strength-ductility loss of age hardening alloys

To avoid grain boundary(GB) precipitation during aging, a new strategy of in situ thermomechanical processing for age hardening alloys was proposed. Specifically, high-density nanoscale precipitates were introduced into ultrafine grain(UFG) interiors of 7075 Al alloy by equal-channel-angular(ECAP) processing at 250 ℃ for 8 passes, thus avoiding GB precipitation. Tensile test results indicated that the UFG 7075 Al alloy exhibits superior mechanical properties(yield strength of 350 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 500 MPa, uniform elongation of 18% and tensile ductility of 19%) compared with the UFG 1050 Al counterpart(yield strength of 170 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 180 MPa, uniform elongation of 2.5% and tensile ductility of 7%). Fracture surface morphology studies revealed numerous homogeneous micro shear bands in necking shrinkage areas of both UFG 7075 Al and 1050 Al alloys, which are controlled by cooperative GB sliding. Moreover, the introduction of nanoscale precipitates in UFG 7075 Al matrix weakened the tendency of shear fracture, resulting in a higher tensile ductility and more homogeneous deformation. Different from the GB precipitation during postmortem aging, in situ thermomechanical treatment dynamically formed GBs after precipitation, thus avoiding precipitation on GBs.