R Vijaya Kumar, P B Asha, Junaidi Md Abdul Raheem, T Jagadeesha, K Raju, Goudar Dayanand M, Pinto Deesy G, S R Srinidhi Acharya, Bhat Subraya Krishna, L C Shashidhar, T Hemanth Raju, S Udayashankar
Aeronautical Engineering Department, MVJ College of Engineering (Affiliated to VTU), Bangalore, 560067, Karnataka, India.
Mechanical Engineering Department, Global Academy of Technology (Affiliated to VTU), Bengaluru, 560098, Karnataka, India.
Sci Rep. 2025 Apr 29;15(1):15011. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-99221-3.
Aluminium alloys exhibits excellent properties and therefore they are used broadly in automobile, aviation, and defence sectors. The studies on the effect of zirconium carbide (ZrC) particulates on the mechanical properties of heat-treated stir-cast Al7475 alloy are still in the initial stage. Hence, the present study is aimed at the study of microstructure and mechanical characteristics of as-stir-cast and heat-treated stir-cast Al7475-ZrC composites. The zirconium carbide particulates concentration ranges from 2 to 8 wt% in Al7475 alloy. The Al7475 alloy and Al7475-ZrC composites were T6 heat-treated. Both the Al7475 alloy and the Al7475-ZrC composites have undergone significant microstructure refinement owing to heat treatment. The SEM micrographs of heat-treated stir-cast Al7475-ZrC composites have revealed that the matrices of Al7475 composites consisted of a fine dispersion of uniformly distributed ZrC particles that eventually resulted in a considerable improvement in the properties of composites. The mechanical properties of heat-treated stir-cast Al7475-ZrC composites were superior to that of as-stir-cast Al7475-ZrC composites. The optimum values of UTS of as-stir-cast and heat-treated stir-cast Al7475-ZrC composites are 104.42 N/mm and 121.95 N/mm, correspondingly. The optimum values of compression strength of as-stir-cast and heat-treated stir-cast Al7475-ZrC composites are 665.43 N/mm and 789.68 N/mm, correspondingly. The optimum values of the hardness of as-stir-cast and heat-treated stir-cast Al7475-ZrC composites are 103.74 BHN and 126.86 BHN, respectively. The optimum values of impact strength of as-stir-cast and heat-treated stir-cast Al7475-ZrC composites are 16 J/mm and 19 J/mm, respectively. Among heat-treated stir-cast composites, Al7475-6%ZrC composite has the highest enhancement in mechanical characteristics, and the UTS, compression strength, and hardness are 15%, 16%, and 18% higher than that of as-stir-cast Al7475-6%ZrC composite and 19%, 14% and 10% higher than that of heat-treated stir-cast Al7475 alloy respectively.
铝合金具有优异的性能，因此广泛应用于汽车、航空和国防领域。关于碳化锆（ZrC）颗粒对热处理搅拌铸造Al7475合金力学性能影响的研究仍处于初始阶段。因此，本研究旨在研究搅拌铸造和热处理搅拌铸造的Al7475-ZrC复合材料的微观结构和力学特性。Al7475合金中碳化锆颗粒的浓度范围为2至8 wt%。对Al7475合金和Al7475-ZrC复合材料进行了T6热处理。由于热处理，Al7475合金和Al7475-ZrC复合材料的微观结构都有显著细化。热处理搅拌铸造Al7475-ZrC复合材料的扫描电子显微镜照片显示，Al7475复合材料的基体由均匀分布的ZrC颗粒的精细分散体组成，最终导致复合材料性能有相当大的改善。热处理搅拌铸造Al7475-ZrC复合材料的力学性能优于搅拌铸造的Al7475-ZrC复合材料。搅拌铸造和热处理搅拌铸造的Al7475-ZrC复合材料的抗拉强度最佳值分别为104.42 N/mm和121.95 N/mm。搅拌铸造和热处理搅拌铸造的Al7475-ZrC复合材料的抗压强度最佳值分别为665.43 N/mm和789.68 N/mm。搅拌铸造和热处理搅拌铸造的Al7475-ZrC复合材料的硬度最佳值分别为103.74布氏硬度和126.86布氏硬度。搅拌铸造和热处理搅拌铸造的Al7475-ZrC复合材料的冲击强度最佳值分别为16 J/mm和19 J/mm。在热处理搅拌铸造的复合材料中，Al7475-6%ZrC复合材料的力学特性增强最高，其抗拉强度、抗压强度和硬度分别比搅拌铸造的Al7475-6%ZrC复合材料高15%、16%和18%，比热处理搅拌铸造的Al7475合金分别高19%、14%和10%。
