Effect of some processing parameters on microstructure and hardness profiles of Al-Al2Cu functionally graded composites prepared in-situ via interaction between molten Al and solid Cu

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Engineering, University of Luxembourg

2 North Kargar Ave. Faculty of Engineering, University of Tehran

Abstract

Functionally graded materials (FGMs) are receiving excessive consideration as they provide optimum thermal and mechanical properties without a distinct interface between two materials. These materials are considered for many applications such as aerospace, nuclear, energy, biology, electromagnetism, optics, energy and other fields. In the present study, for the first time, Al-Al2Cu FGMs produced by employing a casting method by utilizing the interaction between molten Al and solid Cu. Different weights of solid copper placed in a ceramic mold, pre-heated to the desired temperature and subsequently filled with molten Al at various temperatures. Consequently due to different proportions of generated Al-Cu solid solution (α-Al), Al-Al2Cu eutectic and remained un-reacted Al in the molten alloy, a functionally graded material was formed. The specimens subjected to optical microscopy (OM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies and hardness measurements. It was found that the pouring temperature as well as the mold preheat temperature affected the resultant microstructure gradients in the samples via their effects on the cooling rates during solidification. Moreover, the increased weight of solid copper resulted in shifting the hardness profiles towards higher values, while the gradient remained almost constant. It was concluded that three phenomena including melt convection, gravitational macro-segregation, and normal segregation governed the distribution of Cu atoms towards different directions in the samples. However, due to the dominant effect of gravity, steeper microstructure and hardness gradients obtained along the vertical as compared with horizontal directions.

Keywords

References

  1. Williams JC, Starke EA. Progress in structural materials for aerospace systems11The Golden Jubilee Issue—Selected topics in Materials Science and Engineering: Past, Present and Future, edited by S. Suresh. Acta Materialia. 2003;51(19):5775-99.
  2. Hadi, S., Paydar, M. Investigation on the properties of high pressure torsion (HPT) processed Al/B4C composite. Journal of Ultrafine Grained and Nanostructured Materials, 2020; 53(2): 146-157.
  3. Anvari, S. Z., Enayati, M. H., Karimzadeh, F. Wear Behavior of Nanostructured Al-Al3V and Al-(Al3V-Al2O3) Composites Fabricated by Mechanical Alloying and Hot Extrusion. Journal of Ultrafine Grained and Nanostructured Materials, 2020; 53(2): 135-145.
  4. Smagorinski ME, Tsantrizos PG, Grenier S, Cavasin A, Brzezinski T, Kim G. The properties and microstructure of Al-based composites reinforced with ceramic particles. Materials Science and Engineering: A. 1998;244(1):86-90.
  5. Khodabakhshzade Fallah, M., Ghesmati Tabrizi, S., Seyedi, S. Investigation of in-situ synthesis of alumina reinforcement and comparative flexural behavior with respect to ex-situ Al2O3 reinforced copper composite. Journal of Ultrafine Grained and Nanostructured Materials, 2021; 54(1): 101-111.
  6. Pramod SL, Bakshi SR, Murty BS. Aluminum-Based Cast In Situ Composites: A Review. Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance. 2015;24(6):2185-207.
  7. Kumar A, Jha PK, Mahapatra MM. Abrasive Wear Behavior of In Situ TiC Reinforced with Al-4.5%Cu Matrix. Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance. 2014;23(3):743-52.
  8. Georgatis E, Lekatou A, Karantzalis AE, Petropoulos H, Katsamakis S, Poulia A. Development of a Cast Al-Mg2Si-Si In Situ Composite: Microstructure, Heat Treatment, and Mechanical Properties. Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance. 2012;22(3):729-41.
  9. Hsu CJ, Kao PW, Ho NJ. Ultrafine-grained Al–Al2Cu composite produced in situ by friction stir processing. Scripta Materialia. 2005;53(3):341-5.
  10. Aravind M, Yu P, Yau MY, Ng DHL. Formation of Al2Cu and AlCu intermetallics in Al(Cu) alloy matrix composites by reaction sintering. Materials Science and Engineering: A. 2004;380(1-2):384-93.
  11. Suresh S. and Mortensen A. Fundamentals of functionally graded materials. In: processing and thermomechanical behaviour of graded metals and metal–ceramic composites. London, IOM Communications Ltd. 1998; p. 13–80.
  12. Miyamoto Y, Kaysser WA, Rabin BH, Kawasaki A, Ford RG. Processing and Fabrication. Functionally Graded Materials: Springer US; 1999. p. 161-245.
  13. Ichikawa K. Processing and System. Functionally Graded Materials in the 21st Century: Springer US; 2001. p. 53-102.
  14. Noroozi, Z., Rajabi, M., Bostani, B. Fabrication of functionally graded Ni-Al2O3 nanocomposite coating and evaluation of its properties. Journal of Ultrafine Grained and Nanostructured Materials, 2018; 51(2): 193-200.
  15. Abbasi M, Karimi Taheri A, Salehi MT. Growth rate of intermetallic compounds in Al/Cu bimetal produced by cold roll welding process. Journal of Alloys and Compounds. 2001;319(1-2):233-41.
  16. Bastow TJ, Celotto S. Structure evolution in dilute Al(Cu) alloys observed by 63Cu NMR. Acta Materialia. 2003;51(15):4621-30.
  17. Rios CT, Caram R, Kiminam CS, Bolfarini C. Intermetallic compounds in the Al-Si-Cu system. Acta Microscopica. 2003 Dec 1;12(1):77-82.
  18. Handbook AS. Alloy phase diagrams. ASM international. 1992;3:2.
  19. Reed RE, Abbaschian HR. Physical metallurgy principles. PWS Engineering, Boston, Massachusetts. 1973.
  20. Bäckerud L, Chai G, Tamminen J. Solidification characteristics of aluminum alloys. American Foundrymen's Society; 1990.
  21. Lasa L, Rodriguez-Ibabe JM. Characterization of the dissolution of the Al2Cu phase in two Al–Si–Cu–Mg casting alloys using calorimetry. Materials Characterization. 2002;48(5):371-8.
  22. Dubourg L, Hlawka F, Cornet A. Study of aluminium–copper–iron alloys: application for laser cladding. Surface and Coatings Technology. 2002;151-152:329-32.
  23. Watanabe Y, Oike S. Formation mechanism of graded composition in Al–Al2Cu functionally graded materials fabricated by a centrifugal in situ method. Acta Materialia. 2005;53(6):1631-41.
  24. Watanabe Y, Sato H, Ogawa T, Kim I-S. Density and Hardness Gradients of Functionally Graded Material Ring Fabricated from Al-3 mass%Cu Alloy by a Centrifugal <I>In-Situ</I> Method. MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS. 2007;48(11):2945-52.
  25. Zare GR, Divandari M, Arabi H. Investigation on interface of Al/Cu couples in compound casting. Materials Science and Technology. 2013;29(2):190-6.
  26. Flemings MC. Solidification processing. Metallurgical transactions. 1974;5(10):2121-34.
  27. Davis G.J. Solidification and Casting. Applied Science Publishers; 1973.
  28. Zeren M. Effect of copper and silicon content on mechanical properties in Al–Cu–Si–Mg alloys. Journal of Materials Processing Technology. 2005;169(2):292-8.
  29. Son SK, Takeda M, Mitome M, Bando Y, Endo T. Precipitation behavior of an Al–Cu alloy during isothermal aging at low temperatures. Materials Letters. 2005;59(6):629-32.
  30. Westbrook JH, Metzger M. Mechanical Properties of Intermetallic Compounds. Journal of The Electrochemical Society. 1960;107(9):222C.
  31. Mehditabar A, Rahimi GH, Krol M, Vahdat SE. Effect of Heat Treatment on the Characterizations of Functionally Graded Al/Al2Cu Fabricated by Horizontal Centrifugal Casting. International Journal of Metalcasting. 2020;14(4):962-76.
Journal of Ultrafine Grained and Nanostructured Materials
Volume 57, Issue 1
June 2024
Pages 35-47

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 10 June 2024
  • Revise Date: 24 June 2024
  • Accept Date: 24 June 2024

Share

How to cite

Statistics