Characterization of severely deformed new composites fabricated by powder metallurgy including a stage of mechanical alloying

Mechanical properties of new composites having a binary matrix of Al-4Cu reinforced with TiO2 nano particles were investigated. The composites which consisted of 2 wt% and 8 wt% of TiO2 reinforcement particles, were fabricated using mechanical alloying and a powder metallurgy route. Morphology, phases and compounds formed during ball milling and densification of samples were studied. With increasing percentages of the reinforcement particles, mechanical properties of the composites were enhanced. Microstructural evolution and mechanical properties changes of the composites after application of twist extrusion (TE), as a severe plastic deformation (SPD) process, were also investigated. It was revealed that the more TE passes the higher hardness and yield strength obtained. In addition, increasing TE passes, led to occurrence of a more homogeneous distribution of the reinforcement particles within the structure, and development of an ultrafine-grained nano-structure. The maximum allowable number of TE passes was found to be four, above which the materials failed. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.