Study on nano-treating of Al-Mg-Si-Cu alloys with TiC nanoparticles

The 6xxx series wrought aluminum alloys (Al-Mg-Si-Cu) provide good formability and high strength po-tential, especially with high Cu additions. However, the large freezing ranges of these alloys often cause hot cracking susceptibility in solidification-based processes, such as casting, welding, and 3D printing. In this work, nano-treating, which is to tune the manufacturability and microstructure of metals by a small ad-dition of nanoparticles, was applied to Al-Mg-Si-Cu alloys during casting. This study shows that nano -treating can effectively refine microstructure, eliminate hot cracking, and promote the dissolution of al-loying elements. Tensile tests showed that nanoparticles enable strengthening. An extensive study on the TiC nanoparticle effect on Al-Mg-Si-Cu with various Mg and Si contents was conducted. This work provides valuable insights for rational design of nano-treated Al-Mg-Si-Cu alloys to achieve optimal combination of strength and ductility.(c) 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.