摘 要: | Bulk Al/Al_3Zr composite was prepared by a combination of mechanical alloying(MA) and hot extrusion processes. Elemental Al and Zr powders were milled for up to 10 h and heat treated at 600℃ for 1 h to form stable Al_3Zr. The prepared Al_3Zr powder was then mixed with the pure Al powder to produce an Al–Al_3Zr composite. The composite powder was finally consolidated by hot extrusion at 550℃. The mechanical properties of consolidated samples were evaluated by hardness and tension tests at room and elevated temperatures. The results show that annealing of the 10-h-milled powder at 600℃ for 1 h led to the formation of a stable Al_3Zr phase. Differential scanning calorimetry(DSC) results confirmed that the formation of Al_3Zr began with the nucleation of a metastable phase, which subsequently transformed to the stable tetragonal Al_3Zr structure. The tension yield strength of the Al-10wt%Al_3Zr composite was determined to be 103 MPa, which is approximately twice that for pure Al(53 MPa). The yield stress of the Al/Al_3Zr composite at 300℃ is just 10% lower than that at room temperature, which demonstrates the strong potential for the prepared composite to be used in high-temperature structural applications.
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