Abstract
In terms of aluminum alloy matrix composites, the effect of reinforcement on precipitation is worth investigating. In this work, the silicon carbide nanoparticles-reinforced 7075Al (SiCnp/7075Al) composite was fabricated through a series of powder metallurgy procedures, shift-speed ball milling, hot pressing, and hot extrusion, and the precipitation behavior of SiCnp/7075Al composite was compared with that of 7075Al alloy after T6 treatment. The results show that only a small addition (1 vol%) of SiCnp modifies the morphology and dispersion of precipitates. The uniformly dispersed small precipitates (η′ phase) and increased dislocation density have a positive influence on the mechanical properties of composites. Based on the fracture surface and element composition, a fracture mode dominated by precipitated phase-induced crack initiation was proposed. This study suggests a promising approach to design the alloy matrix composites through controlling the behavior of precipitated phases with nano-reinforcement.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Williams JC, Starke EA (2003) Progress in structural materials for aerospace systems. Acta Mater 51:5775–5799
Bayazid SM, Farhangi H, Asgharzadeh H (2016) Effect of cyclic solution treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welded 7075 Al alloy. Mater Sci Eng A 649:293–300
Das P, Jayaganthan R, Singh IV (2011) Tensile and impact-toughness behaviour of cryorolled Al 7075 alloy. Mater Des 32:1298–1305
Li Z, Xiong B, Zhang Y et al (2008) Investigation of microstructural evolution and mechanical properties during two-step ageing treatment at 115 and 160 °C in an Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy pre-stretched thick plate. Mater Charact 59:278–282
Fang X, Song M, Li K et al (2012) Effects of Cu and Al on the crystal structure and composition of η (MgZn2) phase in over-aged Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloys. J Mater Sci 47:5419–5427. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-012-6428-9
Li H, Chen P, Wang Z et al (2019) Tensile properties, microstructures and fracture behaviors of an Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy during ageing after solution treating and cold-rolling. Mater Sci Eng A 742:798–812
Liu JZ, Chen JH, Yuan DW et al (2015) Fine precipitation scenarios of AlZnMg (Cu) alloys revealed by advanced atomic-resolution electron microscopy study part I: structure determination of the precipitates in AlZnMg (Cu) alloys. Mater Charact 99:277–286
Yang W, Ji S, Zhang Q et al (2015) Investigation of mechanical and corrosion properties of an Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy under various ageing conditions and interface analysis of η′ precipitate. Mater Des 85:752–761
Zhao YH, Liao XZ, Jin Z et al (2004) Microstructures and mechanical properties of ultrafine grained 7075 Al alloy processed by ECAP and their evolutions during annealing. Acta Mater 52:4589–4599
Wang ZG, Li CP, Wang HY et al (2016) Effect of nano-SiC content on mechanical properties of SiC/2014Al composites fabricated by powder metallurgy combined with hot extrusion. Powder Metall 59:236–241
Wu RR, Yuan Z, Li QS (2017) Microstructure and mechanical properties of 7075 Al alloy based composites with Al2O3 nanoparticles. Int J Cast Metal Res 30:337–340
Jiang J, Wang Y (2015) Microstructure and mechanical properties of the semisolid slurries and rheoformed component of nano-sized SiC/7075 aluminum matrix composite prepared by ultrasonic-assisted semisolid stirring. Mater Sci Eng A 639:350–358
Ye T, Xu Y, Ren J (2019) Effects of SiC particle size on mechanical properties of SiC particle reinforced aluminum metal matrix composite. Mater Sci Eng A 753:146–155
Guo X, Guo Q, Nie J et al (2018) Particle size effect on the interfacial properties of SiC particle-reinforced Al–Cu–Mg composites. Mater Sci Eng A 711:643–649
Jiang L, Wen H, Yang H et al (2015) Influence of length-scales on spatial distribution and interfacial characteristics of B4C in a nanostructured Al matrix. Acta Mater 89:327–343
Wang Z, Li C, Wang H et al (2016) Aging behavior of nano-SiC/2014Al composite fabricated by powder metallurgy and hot extrusion techniques. J Mater Sci Technol 32:1008–1012
Xu R, Tan Z, Fan G et al (2018) High-strength CNT/Al–Zn–Mg–Cu composites with improved ductility achieved by flake powder metallurgy via elemental alloying. Compos A 111:1–11
Jiang Y, Tan Z, Xu R et al (2018) Tailoring the structure and mechanical properties of graphene nanosheet/aluminum composites by flake powder metallurgy via shift-speed ball milling. Compos A 111:73–82
Liu Y, Yang C, Chen W et al (2014) Effects of particle size and properties on the microstructures, mechanical properties, and fracture mechanisms of 7075Al hybrid composites prepared by squeeze casting. J Mater Sci 49:7855–7863. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-014-8496-5
Luo ZP, Song YG, Zhang SQ (2001) A TEM study of the microstructure of SiCp/Al composite prepared by pressureless infiltration method. Scr Mater 45:1183–1189
Chen X, Zhou W, Feng Q et al (2016) Irradiation effects in 6H–SiC induced by neutron and heavy ions: Raman spectroscopy and high-resolution XRD analysis. J Nucl Mater 478:215–221
Guo B, Chen B, Zhang X et al (2018) Exploring the size effects of Al4C3 on the mechanical properties and thermal behaviors of Al-based composites reinforced by SiC and carbon nanotubes. Carbon 135:224–235
Mazzer EM, Afonso CRM, Galano M et al (2013) Microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy reprocessed by spray-forming and heat treated at peak aged condition. J Alloys Compd 579:169–173
Ma K, Wen H, Hu T et al (2014) Mechanical behavior and strengthening mechanisms in ultrafine grain precipitation-strengthened aluminum alloy. Acta Mater 62:141–155
Ma GN, Wang D, Liu ZY et al (2019) An investigation on particle weakening in T6-treated SiC/Al–Zn–Mg–Cu composites. Mater Charact 158:109966
Lu T, Chen W, Xu W et al (2018) The effects of Cr particles addition on the aging behavior and mechanical properties of SiCp/7075Al composites. Mater Charact 136:264–271
Xu X, Zheng J, Li Z et al (2017) Precipitation in an Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy during isothermal aging: atomic-scale HAADF-STEM investigation. Mater Sci Eng A 691:60–70
Pilania G, Thijsse BJ, Hoagland RG et al (2014) Revisiting the Al/Al2O3 interface: coherent interfaces and misfit accommodation. Sci Rep 4:4485
Mokdad F, Chen DL, Liu ZY et al (2016) Deformation and strengthening mechanisms of a carbon nanotube reinforced aluminum composite. Carbon 104:64–77
Shaeri MH, Salehi MT, Seyyedein SH et al (2014) Microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-7075 alloy processed by equal channel angular pressing combined with aging treatment. Mater Des 57:250–257
Yin X, Deng W, Zou Y et al (2019) Ultrafine grained Al 7075 alloy fabricated by cryogenic temperature large strain extrusion machining combined with aging treatment. Mater Sci Eng A 762:138106
Kenevisi MS, Mousavi-Khoie SM (2012) An investigation on microstructure and mechanical properties of Al7075 to Ti–6Al–4V transient liquid phase (TLP) bonded joint. Mater Des 38:19–25
Williamson GK, Hall WH (1953) X-ray line broadening from filed aluminium and wolfram. Acta Metall 1:22–31
Wu C, Ma K, Zhang D et al (2017) Precipitation phenomena in Al–Zn–Mg alloy matrix composites reinforced with B4C particles. Sci Rep 7:9589
Feng Z, Luo X, Chen Y et al (2019) Surface severe plastic deformation induced solute and precipitate redistribution in an Al–Cu–Mg alloy. J Alloys Compd 773:585–596
Hansen N (2004) Hall–Petch relation and boundary strengthening. Scr Mater 51:801–806
Zhao R, Xu R, Fan G et al (2015) Reinforcement with in situ synthesized carbon nano-onions in aluminum composites fabricated by flake powder metallurgy. J Alloys Compd 650:217–223
Jiang L, Yang H, Yee JK et al (2016) Toughening of aluminum matrix nanocomposites via spatial arrays of boron carbide spherical nanoparticles. Acta Mater 103:128–140
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support by the Equipment Advance Research Fund (No. 61409220102) and Student’s Platform for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program in Tianjin University (No. 201910056053).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
BP contributed to experiment, characterization, and writing of the original draft. XL was involved in the investigation, experiment, and characterization. BL contributed to experiment and characterization. XC was involved in the analysis, and revising. CH was involved in the validation, resources, and supervision. NZ contributed to revising, validation, and project administration.
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pu, B., Lin, X., Li, B. et al. Effect of SiC nanoparticles on the precipitation behavior and mechanical properties of 7075Al alloy. J Mater Sci 55, 6145–6160 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-020-04381-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-020-04381-4