High-strength and thermally stable Al – CeO₂ composite produced by means of mechanical alloying

Abstract

Abstract The effect of temperature on both mechanical and structural features of a new Al-based metallic composite reinforced with fine CeO 2 particles was the primary objective of the research work. Mechanically alloyed Al – CeO 2 composite was manufactured from high purity Al and CeO 2 powders. The powders were milled under argon atmosphere and then consolidated using hot pressing, vacuum degassing and hot extrusion methods. Hot compression tests revealed high mechanical properties of the material, which were ascribed to the very fine-grained structure of the composite. Transmission electron microscopy observations were performed on as-extruded material and samples annealed at 773 K. It was found that the composite structure is relatively stable at 773 K in comparison to Al-based composites reinforced with other heavy-metal oxides reported in literature.