Strengthening behavior of nano–particle networks in an in–situ synthesized (α–Al2O3 + ZrB2)/Al composite

Abstract An (α–Al2O3 + ZrB2)/Al composite has been prepared in this work by promoting the reactions among Al, ZrO2 and B2O3 powders. The in–situ formed α–Al2O3 particles are around 50 nm and ZrB2 particles are around 10 nm in size. The nano–particles were detected mainly distributing along grain matrix boundaries, performing as particle networks. The composite exhibits well–matched tensile strength and elongation. The particle networks play a positive role for piling up of dislocations during tensile process.