J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2015, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (9): 930-934.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2015.01.012

• Orginal Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of 45 vol.% SiCp/7075Al Composite

Ziyang Xiu1, Wenshu Yang2, *, Ronghua Dong2, Murid Hussain3, Longtao Jiang2, YongXing Liu2, Gaohui Wu2   

  1. 1 State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China; 2 Department of Material Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China; 3 Department of Chemical Engineering, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, M.A. Jinnah Building, Defence Road, Off Raiwind Road, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
  • Received:2014-10-30 Online:2015-09-10
  • Contact: Corresponding author. Ph.D.; Tel.: +86 451 86402373x5010. E-mail address: yws001003@163.com (W. Yang).
  • Supported by:
    The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the project from “Key Laboratory Fund (5780011513) of Harbin Institute of Technology”, “University Basic Fund (5710011113) of Harbin Institute of Technology” and “the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities” (Grant No. HIT. NSRIF. 20161). The paper only reflects the view of the authors and the Harbin Institute of Technology is not liable for any use of the information contained therein.

Abstract: Microstructure and mechanical behavior of high volume content SiCp/7xxxAl composites have not been explored yet. Therefore, in the present work, 45 vol.% SiCp/7075Al composite has been prepared by pressure infiltration method. High density dislocations were found around SiC/Al interface in SiCp/7075Al composite after water-quenching and aging treatment. Fine dispersed nano-η′ phases were observed after the aging treatment. Adverse to other SiCp/Al composites prepared by the pressure infiltration method, an interface layer was observed between SiC particles and Al matrix. Furthermore, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) observation indicated that this interface layer was coherent/semi-coherent with that of the SiC particles. 45 vol.% SiCp/7075Al composite demonstrated high tensile strength (630 MPa) and micro-ductility. Compared to aged SiCp/2024Al composite, the aged SiCp/7075Al composite showed an increase of about 200% in the tensile strain and 90% in the tensile strength, respectively. It is speculated that nano-η′ phases in the Al matrix significantly contributed to the strengthening effect while the interface layer between SiC and Al matrix might be beneficial to the strength and plasticity of SiCp/7075Al composite.

Key words: Metal matrix composite, 7075Al, Interface, Nano precipitation, Mechanical properties