Microstructure characterization and enhanced mechanical properties of quasi-continuous network structured Ti3AlC2-Al3Ti/2024Al composite

Al matrix composites (AMCs) with high specific strength are highly desirable for a wide range of critical applications due to their unique mechanical and electrical characteristics. On the target of the effective production of high-performance AMCs, a novel quasi-continuous network structure based on Ti3AlC2 was devised rationally and developed a heterogeneous Ti3AlC2-Al3Ti synergistically reinforced 2024 Al composites by the technique of reactive hot press. Herein, the produced Ti3AlC2-Al3Ti/2024Al composite exhibited superior mechanical strength, importantly, it exhibits a minimal ductility reduction in comparison with pure 2024Al. Compressive yield strength, tensile ultimate and yield strength along with bending strength increased with the increasing Ti3AlC2 content; the optimal values for 5vol%Ti3AlC2/2024Al composite were increased by 16.9% in compressive yield strength, 11.5% in UTS and 30.0% in YTS compared with 2024Al. The mechanical properties increment was attributed to the synergistic effect of the quasi-network structure, dispersion strengthening, load transfer strengthening and thermal mismatch strengthening mechanism. The approach reported in this study is expected to open new avenues for advanced AMCs synthesis with tunable morphology and mechanical strength for their widespread applications.