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Effect of SiC‐Reinforcement and Equal‐Channel Angular Pressing on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of AA2017
Author(s) -
Wagner Swetlana,
Siebeck Steve,
Hockauf Matthias,
Nestler Daisy,
Podlesak Harry,
Wielage Bernhard,
Wagner Martin F.X.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
advanced engineering materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.938
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1527-2648
pISSN - 1438-1656
DOI - 10.1002/adem.201100253
Subject(s) - materials science , microstructure , ultimate tensile strength , severe plastic deformation , hardening (computing) , extrusion , composite material , alloy , precipitation hardening , pressing , scanning electron microscope , hot isostatic pressing , metallurgy , optical microscope , work hardening , layer (electronics)
This article deals with powder metallurgical production and modification of properties of a composite material based on an age‐hardenable Al–Cu alloy. The main objective is to improve the mechanical properties by particle reinforcement and equal‐channel angular pressing (ECAP). Our approach makes use of four hardening mechanisms: precipitation hardening, particle reinforcement, strain‐hardening, and grain boundary hardening associated with an ultrafine‐grained microstructure produced by ECAP. The main processing steps are high‐energy ball milling, hot‐isostatic pressing, extrusion, heat treatment, and a single ECAP pass. Microstructures are analyzed by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and scanning transmission electron microscopy. The mechanical properties are characterized by hardness measurements and quasi‐static tensile testing. Our experimental results show that the proposed processing route results in a nearly homogeneous distribution of SiC particles in the matrix. The combination of particle reinforcement and ECAP leads to an improvement of ultimate tensile strength by almost 300 MPa compared to the unreinforced alloy. A subsequent heat treatment leads to a further increase in hardness and strength that can be related to changes in the defect structure. Our study provides detailed information on how processing steps, microstructures, and mechanical behavior are interrelated in this technologically relevant class of materials.