The effect of alumina content on the mechanical properties of hybrid composites fabricated by ARB process

Abstract In the present work, the effect of particle content on the mechanical properties of hybrid composites fabricated by anodizing and accumulative roll bonding processes was investigated. The ARB process was used for the fabrication of the hybrid composite, including different contents of alumina particles. Microstructural observations and fractography were performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Also, the mechanical properties were investigated by tensile and microhardness tests. It was realized that when the number of ARB cycles was increased, uniformity of particles distribution was improved in the aluminum matrix. Also, with increasing the number of cycles, the tensile strength of hybrid composites was increased too. In addition, with increasing the alumina content in the aluminum matrix, the tensile strength and elongation of hybrid composites were increased and decreased, respectively. The ARB-processed hybrid composites exhibited a higher hardness value than that of the annealed sample. Moreover, with increasing the alumina content in the aluminum matrix, the hardness of hybrid composites was increased. It was also found that with increasing the number of cycles, the bond strength of all interfaces was improved and the unbonded regions of the interface were decreased. The hybrid composites after the first and second cycles exhibited a typical ductile fracture showing deep equiaxed dimples, whereas the fracture mode after the fourth cycle was a combination of ductile and shear ductile fracture.