Multi-phase intermetallic mixture structure effect on the ductility of Al3Ti alloy

In this work, to improve the ductility of Al3Ti alloy, a multi-phase intermetallic mixture structure was achieved by the post annealing treatments (AT) on the as-fabricated continuous shape memory alloy NiTi fiber reinforced Al3Ti composite (CSMAR-Al3Ti). Experimental results revealed that the multi-phase intermetallic mixture structure displays a multi-layer characteristic, including the newly formed intermetallic layer and the eutectic area. Microstructure characterization and formation mechanism confirmed that the newly formed intermetallic layer consists of NiAl, Al3Ni2 and Al3Ti phases, and the eutectic area still consists of Al3Ni and Al3Ti phases. The results of compression and tensile tests indicated that the multi-phase intermetallic mixture structure can simultaneously improve the maximum strength and the failure strain of the monolith Al3Ti alloy. Based on the systematic investigations, it is found that the toughening mechanism is related to the multi-layer characteristic of the multi-phase intermetallic mixture structure, which is beneficial to the crack blunting, crack deflecting and load transformation during the deformation process. Furthermore, the multi-phase intermetallic mixture structure achieved by the 48 h post annealing treatment is the most effective method to improve the ductility of Al3Ti alloy.