Ultrasonic assisted reactive synthesis and characterization of Al–MgAl2O4 in-situ composite

The current study investigates the impact of Ultrasonic Treatment (UT) upon the microstructure and mechanical characteristics of Al–MgAl2O4 in-situ composite prepared using SiO2 oxide source and Al-2wt.% Mg alloy. According to the findings, because of UT in composite melt SiO2 reaction has been enhanced (86%) resulting MgAl2O4 particles of size ranging from 0.2 to 5 μm. The released Si after the silica reaction with Al–Mg has made in-situ alloying with matrix resulting Mg2Si phase formation along with α-Al. In UT composite 67% decrease in overall grain size was observed in the matrix material in comparison with Al–MgAl2O4 non-UT composite. The reinforcement of MgAl2O4 particles, combined with grain size refinement, has substantially enhanced the mechanical properties of the UT composite specifically hardness and tensile yield strength by 40 and 47%, respectively. [Display omitted] •Al–MgAl2O4 in-situ composites were fabricated using SiO2 as a precursor via stir casting.•Ultrasonic treatment in the melt reduced the grain size by 67% in Al–MgAl2O4 UT composite.•Ultrasonic treatment in Al–MgAl2O4 composite melt breaks MgAl2O4 particles into smaller sizes.