237
Views
7
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Part A: Materials Science

Nanoscratch-induced deformation behaviour in B4C particle reinforced ultrafine grained Al alloy composites: a novel diagnostic approach

, , , &
Pages 1754-1763 | Received 11 Feb 2014, Accepted 12 Feb 2014, Published online: 14 Apr 2014
 

Abstract

We report on the novel application of nanoscratch characterization to provide insight into the plasticity mechanisms responsible for the behaviour of composites. Accordingly, we conduct deformation characterization with nanoscratch testing (DCNT) to study the deformation behaviour of two B4C reinforced ultrafine grained Al alloy tri-modal composites with average B4C particle sizes of ~1–6 μm and ~500 nm, respectively. To highlight the type of mechanistic information revealed in a DCNT study of composites, we concentrate on the influence of B4C particle size on deformation mechanisms.

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge financial support provided by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) [N00014-12-1-0237] with Dr. Lawrence Kabacoff as the program officer. The authors are also grateful to DWA Aluminium Composites for providing B4C in Sample II. The TEM and SEM work on the microstructure of Sample I from Dr Ying Li and Dr Zhihui Zhang, respectively, is also highly appreciated.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.