Aluminum A356 Reinforcement by Carbide Nanoparticles

Abstract

The main issue of the study is aluminum A356 alloy modification by TiC nanoparticles process. Nanoparticles of TiC were especially mechanochemically activated to remove the oxide layer on the particle surface in order to prevent its floating on the molten metal surface. Experimental results indicate that after T6 heat treatment the tensile strength of the modified alloy increased by 6.5%, yield strength increased by 9% and the elongation increased by 22%. A high resolution electron microscopy study shows that dislocation of the modified alloy concentrates near the grain boundary during the crystallization process, and these grain boundaries act as obstacles to dislocation motion. Based on these results, it was found that grain-size aluminum strengthening mechanism occurs in the nanoparticle carbide reinforcement process.