Microstructure and Dynamic Compression Properties of PM Al6061/B4C Composite

• Published in: Acta metallurgica sinica : English letters 2015-10, Vol.28 (10), p.1214-1221
• Main Authors: Chen, Hong-Sheng, Wang, Wen-Xian, Nie, Hui-Hui, Li, Yu-Li, Wu, Qiao-Chu, Zhang, Peng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aluminum base alloys; Aluminum carbide; Boron carbide; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Composite materials; Compressive properties; Constitutive models; Corrosion and Coatings; Damage; Deformation; Density; Dynamic loads; Hot pressing; Hot rolling; Materials Science; Mathematical models; Metallic Materials; Microstructure; Nanotechnology; Organometallic Chemistry; Particle size; Plasma sintering; Powder metallurgy; Reaction products; Scanning electron microscopy; Spectroscopy/Spectrometry; Spray forming; Strain hardening; Strain rate sensitivity; Tribology
• ISSN: 1006-7191; 2194-1289
• DOI: 10.1007/s40195-015-0315-8

Aluminum 6061 matrix composite reinforced by 35 wt% B 4 C particle was fabricated by power metallurgy method. Then, the as-deformed composite was tested by quasi-static (0.001 s −1 ) and dynamic (760–1150 s −1 ) compression experiments. The Johnson–Cook plasticity model was employed to model the flow behavior. The damage mechanism of composite was analyzed through the microstructure observations. The results showed that the B 4 C particles exhibited uniform distribution and no deleterious reaction product Al 4 C 3 was found in the composite. Al6061/B 4 C composite showed high yield strength, moderate strain rate sensitivity and strain hardening under the dynamic loading, and a constitutive model under dynamic compression was established based on Johnson–Cook model, and accorded well with experimental results. The microstructure damage was dominated by particle fracture and interface debonding, and the dislocation was observed in the composite at a higher strain rate.