Effect of reinforcement size on low strain yielding behaviour in Al–Cu–Mg SiCp composites.pdfVIP

Materials Science and Engineering A318 (2001) 57–64 /locate/msea Effect of reinforcement size on low strain yielding behaviour in Al–Cu–Mg/SiCP composites Vijay K. Varma a,*, S.V. Kamat a, Y.R. Mahajan b, V.V. Kutumbarao c a Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory, Kanchanbagh, Hyderabad 500 058, India b International Adance Research Centre, Balapur, Hyderabad 500005, India c Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Deelopment and Design Centre, Amraati Road, Wadi, Nagpur 440023, India Received 13 October 2000; received in revised form 13 March 2001 Abstract The low strain yielding behaviour of SiCp reinforced Al–Cu–Mg alloy matrix composites with varying reinforcement sizes was investigated. Three different sizes (1.4, 15.8 and 62.8 m) of SiCp were used to produce metal matrix composites (MMCs), namely, MMC1, MMC16 and MMC63, respectively, by employing a proprietary powder metallurgy technique. Matrix alloy was also produced in a similar manner for comparison and designated as Control. All materials were heat treated to peak aged condition and subjected to a controlled strain deformation of 1.5% in both tension and compression. The yield stress at 2.5 ×10 −4 offset strain, termed as ‘actual yield’, of all the MMCs was significantly lower than that of Control during both tensile and compressive deformation. The actual yielding in all the MMCs and Control occurred at lower stress levels in compression than in tension. The observed results were attributed to the distribution of residual st