Microstructure and mechanical properties of 7075 Al alloy based composites with Al₂O₃ nanoparticles

Abstract

A new method was used to fabricate 7075 Al alloy based composites with Al2O3 nanoparticles to improve the distribution of particles. In this study, nano-sized particles were fed into the molten alloy through the flow of argon gas, then the Al2O3/7075 composites were prepared by solid-liquid mixed casting. The results indicated that the composite samples showed fine microstructure and achieved a homogeneous distribution of particles. Also, it was found that relative to the as-cast 7075 alloy, the Al2O3/7075 composites exhibited higher mechanical properties, which is due to the effect of uniform distributed Al2O3 nanoparticles reinforcement.