Investigation of nano-SiCp effect on microstructure and mechanical properties of Al/TiH2 foam precursor produced via ARB process

In this study, a new type of hybrid composite which can be potentially used as a foam precursor was achieved by 0.75 TiH2 and 0.75 nano-SiCp addition (wt%) between 5 pure Al strips, followed by 6 accumulative roll bonding (ARB) cycles at room temperature. The effect of nano-SiC particles addition on the resulting microstructures as well as the corresponding mechanical properties of the products was investigated. Al/0.75 wt% TiH2 sheets were also fabricated by the ARB process to compare with the hybrid nanocomposite specimens. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and related EDS color images revealed that applying 6 ARB cycles led to fairly homogeneous distribution of the TiH2 and nano-SiCp and elimination of porosity between the particles and matrix. It was also found that the tensile strength of the Al/TiH2/nano-SiC hybrid composite was about 1.27 times higher than that of the Al/TiH2 precursor. SEM observation of fractured surfaces showed that the failure mechanism of the composite and nanocomposite was shear ductile rupture. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.