High plasticity achieved by spark plasma sintering method in aluminum matrix composites reinforced with Ti2AlC particles

Abstract The 20 vol% Ti2AlC particles reinforced Al composites were fabricated using spark plasma sintering technique followed by hot extrusion. The relationship between microstructure, phase composition and mechanical properties of composites at different sintering temperatures was investigated in order to achieve high plasticity. The Al matrix composite sintered at 590 °C with 20 vol% Ti2AlC particles demonstrates a large tensile ductility, with a uniform strain of 14.8%. The fracture morphology characterizes the kink and delamination ability of Ti2AlC particles and good interfacial bonding between Al matrix and Ti2AlC reinforcement. Furthermore, a combination of in-situ tensile test and digital image correlation (DIC) reveal that the process of uniform strain evolution plays an important role in high elongation. The high plasticity of Ti2AlC/Al composites are attributed to good interfacial bonding and microstructure obtained by SPS method, the ability of layered structure of Ti2AlC to kink and delaminate, and the uniform strain distribution in the multi-regions of Ti2AlC particles wrapped in Al matrix.