Contribution of interstitial solute strengthening in aluminum

Abstract

Enthalpies of solutions and misfit strains for the Al–X (X = H, B, C, N, and O) binary alloys were determined by first-principles calculations to estimate the strengthening of solid solutions caused by interstitial atoms. The results indicate that interstitial solute atoms produced large misfit strains. Electrodeposited Al containing 0.12–1.32 at.% C was used to assess the validity of solid-solution strengthening by interstitial solute atoms. The role that interstitial carbon plays in strengthening electrodeposited Al is discussed.

Keywords:

• aluminum
• first-principles calculations
• solute strengthening
• deposition
• hardness

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid or Scientific Research from Japan Aluminium Association, and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) (22560726) and a Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows from The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT), Japan.