Influence of Solution Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Tensile Properties of Gd-Treated Al-15% Mg2Si In-Situ Composites

Hamidreza Ghandvar; Tuty Asma Abu Bakar; Mohd Hasbullah Idris

doi:10.6180/jase.202206_25(3).0008

Influence of Solution Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Tensile Properties of Gd-Treated Al-15% Mg2Si In-Situ Composites

Hamidreza Ghandvar¹, Tuty Asma Abu Bakar This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.¹, and Mohd Hasbullah Idris¹

¹Department of Materials, Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Received: April 14, 2021
Accepted: May 31, 2021
Publication Date: October 11, 2021

Copyright The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are cited.

Download Citation: ||https://doi.org/10.6180/jase.202206_25(3).0008

ABSTRACT

Microstructural alteration and tensile properties of Al-15% Mg₂Si composite specimens was examined after addition of gadolinium (Gd) and conducting solution heat treatment. Various percentages of gadolinium (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 5.0 wt. % Gd) were added to the composite Al-15% Mg₂Si composite. The specimens then solutionized at 500 °C for 4h followed by quenching. The results showed that regular morphology and small size of primary Mg₂Si particles is achieved after addition of 1.0 wt.% Gd compared to untreated composite. Due to solutionizing effect, Mg₂Si dissolution occurred which led to alter the morphology of primary Mg₂Si particles to round shape. Tensile testing results revealed that enhancement in UTS and El% values owns to influence of both Gd addition and solution heat treatment on the Al-15% Mg₂Si composite. The fracture surface of untreated composite depicted a cellular fracture, while the fracture surface of Gd treated and heat treated composite showed a ductile surface containing fine dimples, in which alteration of fracture mode is due to the role of Gd and heat treatment on microstructural modification, which results in reduction of potential sites for stress concentration and crack initiation areas.

Keywords: Mg2Si, in-situ composite, Gd addition, solution heat treatment, tensile properties

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