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The Effect of Melt Ultrasound Treatment on the Microstructure and Age Hardenability of Al-4 Wt Pct Cu/TiC Composite

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Abstract

In the present work, Al-4 wt pct Cu/TiC composite was synthesized by the molten salt route that contains submicron-sized TiC particles in the Al-4 wt pct Cu matrix. The concentration of the TiC particle in the base alloy is 7.5 wt pct. Melt ultrasound treatment was done by remelting the as-cast composite at 1023 K (750 °C) in a view to refine the size of TiC particles to nanoscale and distribute them evenly in the matrix. The microstructure and age hardenability of the untreated and ultrasound-treated composites were investigated. The TiC particles accelerate the precipitation kinetics of CuAl2 phase in Al-4 wt pct Cu alloy. In the present study, the hardness obtained for untreated Al-4 wt pct Cu/TiC composite is 120 VHN within 5 hours of peak aging time, which is higher than the hardness of the monolithic Al-4 wt pct Cu, which is 104 VHN at 35 hours of peak aging time. Melt ultrasound treatment of Al-4 wt pct Cu/TiC composite shows no significant effect on the distribution and refinement of TiC particles in the matrix. However, it partially disintegrates the TiC into Al3Ti and Al4C3 particles. The ultrasound-treated composite showed an improved hardness of about 132 VHN at 5 hours of peak aging, in comparison to that of the untreated composite, by forming denser and homogeneous CuAl2 precipitates.

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Acknowledgments

One of the authors (GSV) thanks the Naval Research Board, Ministry of Defence, India (Grant No. NRB-317/MAT/13-14) for supporting this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. SRM Research Institute, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, 603203, India

    Sean D’Brass & K. M. Saradesh

  2. Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur, 342037, India

    K. R. Ravi

  3. Structural Nanomaterials Lab, PSG Institute of Advanced Studies, Coimbatore, 641004, India

    J. Nampoothiri

  4. Department of Metallurgical Engineering, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, 641004, India

    J. Nampoothiri

  5. Department of Mechanical Engineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, 603203, India

    T. Rajasekaran

  6. Department of Mechanical Engineering, SRM University-AP, Amaravati, 522502, India

    G. S. Vinodkumar

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  1. Sean D’Brass
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  3. J. Nampoothiri
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Correspondence to G. S. Vinodkumar.

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Manuscript submitted March 10, 2019.

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D’Brass, S., Ravi, K.R., Nampoothiri, J. et al. The Effect of Melt Ultrasound Treatment on the Microstructure and Age Hardenability of Al-4 Wt Pct Cu/TiC Composite. Metall Mater Trans B 50, 2557–2565 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11663-019-01683-0

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